Tag: Windows 7

Categories
Uncategorized

Shuttle rides, waiting for meetings, and other places: articles and posts I’ve read

On Shuttle rides, my WindowsPhone keeps me in touch and busy… And it tells me where my next ride is. What it allows me to do is to catch up on articles of interest and Tweet or post about what I’m reading. (And when I’m waiting in someone’s office for their meeting and I know they’re on Twitter, they can see I’m waiting for them… if they subscribe to my posts 😉 With work, I’ve had less time to blog publicly: that’s a choice, particularly as I’ve been busier than ever the last few months. (And, some would argue that unless you have something of interest to say, keep it to yourself.)

But on the last shuttle ride today, I ran into a friend from another side of the campus, who asked if I was “still keeping up that blogging thing. I enjoyed your weekly reading list.”

OK, so to kick off the blog and my Commitment to step up my game in 2013, here’s an installment of “What I’ve read” recently, and posted about on Twitter. You can find a complete list on my twitter stream and in my favourites.

Via @EverythingMS: Teenagers: Apple no longer cool, Microsoft Surface is in https://t.co/V47nAvKp

Having great mentors, cabinet helps https://t.co/NEhyXpuF link

Several slim PCs to choose from. My wife has a sleek model from Samsung https://t.co/av6GonU5 link

Via @_craigk: You can put this reality distortion field in my living room right over…there. #IllumiRoom https://t.co/HaJrhYWb

Via @Competia: Reading: Why entitled millennials and their enabling boomer parents just can’t quit each other https://t.co/olghOhcK link

Via @CNET: The best new gadgets at #CES in every category https://t.co/2uytGNKi

Via @zephoria: I’m glad to see the @nytimes pay homage to @aaronsw’s accomplishments and struggles: https://t.co/mQiWT43M
link

Via @guardian: The inside story of how David Bowie made The Next Day https://t.co/3koCRESC  (via @GuardianMusic)

Via @BradSmi: Spoke @enterpriseSEA event #EFCSeattle Need for change w/ #STEM edu & high-skilled immigration reform https://t.co/q8OnZpxW

To @tom_peters five minutes… then lather, rinse and repeat? Excellence as a habit comes with consistency and repetition link

Via @marypcbuk: Oracle must up its security game. With widespread adoption comes Spiderman levels of responsibility https://t.co/TwlEGHgl link

Via @ForbesTech: XBox is winning the living room wars. Here’s why. https://t.co/t2H3eHpY  #ForbesGreatestHits

Usually, Big Bird at an event is a plus: @deantak has five weirdest things @VentureBeat saw at #CES2013 https://t.co/2yN9QQ0i

This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For: @whitehouse comments on the Deathstar petition https://t.co/2xjLeA9q

Via @wmpoweruser: Evernote for Windows Phone updated, business features added https://t.co/ZBKdlLs6

Via @SFGate: U.S. government tells computer users to disable Java. https://t.co/rNSs2IQE

Via @mahoekst: Windows Phone 8 security overview https://t.co/4TwGJxQH  Nice read! #wpnl #wpdev

The 100 Days Project and a Definition of Creativity via @erinjo https://t.co/f7Hv6gbb

Weekend reading: make time for “The Anti Meeting Culture” by @docjamesw https://t.co/jBfbuO8I

Disruptive Trends to Watch in 2013 via @HarvardBiz https://t.co/fgRVd7bX

Via @aaronecarroll: Me over at @CNNOpinion: America flunks its health exam https://t.co/EdiRgfPO

I asked presenters to describe issues to their audience as if talking to a 5-yr old. Now I tell them to explain as @neiltyson would (link to the tweet)

Via @nytimesbits: Information Technology Dividends Outpace All Others https://t.co/IcXQ9NDH

Via @On_MS_Products: Tablets started out as a consumer business priority but that’s changing quickly https://t.co/gpPbU3ZF

Via @geekwire: Microsoft: Big possibilities for IllumiRoom technology https://t.co/TZ1nAovV

Via @VisualStudio: Really good Info for Windows 8 apps: a lot of icons are available out of the box – https://t.co/c0dlSYvK

Via @CNET: At #CES, two HP laptops do Windows 8 right https://t.co/hX7OCBBr  #2013CES

Via @MicrosoftEMEA: Steve Clayton shares why natural user interface is much more than touch and gesture https://t.co/aTllmxTR

Via @wired: Recent Top Stories: CES Day 3: Curved TVs, Handheld Microscopes and Tablets Big and Small https://t.co/Sz3LifHe

Via @ryanday: More than 1/3 XBox Users Engage With Interactive Ads: https://t.co/1Wvkks9p  @MSAdvertising

Via @KevinRemde: TechNet Radio: Cloud Innovators: How Datacastle uses Windows Azure to Protect Business Data : https://t.co/87kZTuqx

Pogue on the Microsoft Surface Pro: “it changes the game”… “a home run” – https://t.co/DtGLJ6JJ

Via @CNET: Lenovo’s 27-inch Horizon Table PC walked away with a #BOCA for best PC at #CES. Here’s why: https://t.co/mxAbsjCE

Via @bizspark: What’s the difference between Azure and AWS? https://t.co/maG1Qjcw

Via @edbott: Odd. Not a single mention of Gorilla Arm in this @pogue post: https://t.co/cdD5laIK

Reading “Brussels takes tough stance on Google” in @ FinancialTimes https://t.co/A0FwBfyf

Reading: @clairesuddath @BW writes about something I know well and need: Rejection Therapy https://t.co/6MKLwE8I 😉

Via @whymicrosoft that should be: how we help #parents create a #healthy computing environment for their #kids: https://t.co/fYFOXglj

Via @sylviebarak: Video: Intel’s CES press conference highlights: https://t.co/ftRdAssB  via @eetimes

Via @DrRez: New Post from Lync team Blog: Client Side Recording: Lync 2013. #Lync #UC #Microsoft https://t.co/3LTGgAVW

Tags: articles, what I read, twitter.

Also available at https://aka.ms/blxpps

Categories
Uncategorized

It’s Time To Fall Back An Hour in the US and Canada: Daylight Saving Time Ends This Sunday

Drawing of a man holding back the hands of a clock with the caption "You can't stop time"

How quickly time flies, seems like just yesterday we were Springing Forward (way back on Sunday, March 11). Yes, it’s that time again if you’ll pardon the pun, to fall back in much of the Northern Hemisphere.

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 2:00AM local time in much of the U.S and Canada, except in parts of the countries (including Hawaii and Arizona). For some folks in my old home north of the boarder, Daylight Saving Time means most Canadians will get an extra hour of sleep. Our friends in much of Europe have already bid goodbye, adieu, auf wiedersehen, gesundheit, farewell to European Summer Time, as they fall back on the last Sunday in October each year. (Not to worry, they’ll get back up and Spring forward again on the last Sunday in March.) For our friends in Russia, I’m not sure what the next few months will bring given the back and forth we’ve seen in the country in regard to policies, but safe to assume for now there is a state of détente in the Federation.

You can read more than you’ll ever want to know about DST here and on our official Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center at http://www.microsoft.com/time. DST in much of the US and Canada ends in accordance with the US Department of Energy’s Energy Policy Act of 2005 that was passed into law. DST ends later than it did prior to 2007, on the first Sunday of November; more details on the new DST start and end times can be found here). This results in a new DST period that is approximately three to four weeks longer than in past years.

Also important to note, but often ignored: the switch to daylight saving time also means the time zone suffix changes in North America, now using Daylight Time: for example, Pacific Standard Time is now Pacific Daylight Time (aka PDT). The other time zones move to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), Central Daylight Time (CDT), and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

National Geographic has a very interesting article on “Daylight Saving Time – Why and When Does It End” (including a very cool photo of the display model of the inner workings of a clock at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing). As you may know (especially if you’re geek familiar with my woefully ignored blog – been busy!) the quite historical Benjamin Franklin pioneered the daylight saving time, as noted in David Prerau’s book Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. And of course, you’re likely much too young to recall the move by the U.S. Government in the 1970s to extend DST (back when the price of gas jumped nearly 50% to about 55 cents a gallon in the States)…

“During the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. once again extended daylight saving time through the winter, resulting in a one percent decrease in the country’s electrical load, according to federal studies cited by Prerau.”

“OK, that’s all nice and such, but what do I need to do besides set my kitchen clock back an hour?”

As I noted in this article, Microsoft strongly recommends that DST and time zone updates be installed on all affected systems, devices and applications to ensure consistency with current DST rules and time zone settings worldwide. Customers should review the product updates available and posted on this site and at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/dst_prodlist for the latest and updated information of Microsoft products affected by daylight saving time.

Here’s more coverage on DST this year from Bing News.

On a personal note, remember to keep things in perspective. Time is a precious thing. Never waste it…

Have a good weekend, and don’t keep too much of that Halloween candy around. As noted here, you can thank candy makers for some of the politics behind DST.

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, DST.

References to DST on Bing: 1,700,000.

Share this post: Bookmark and Share

Also available via http://bit.ly/SyW30e

Categories
Uncategorized

Your Questions: “What do you think about Windows 8? Which one should I get?”

I’m very excited today with the release of Windows 8. It’s been nice to see the positive press on the new OS release, and to connect with friends with questions about the latest version of Windows.

As an example of the mails I’ve received, one was from one of my friends from a past life in Silicon Valley (ohai!) asking for my feedback on the release. I thought I’d share it here as I know others have similar question.

If you want to know more about Windows 8, you’ll get a good overview of Windows 8 at http://windows.microsoft.com/.

The latest release provides the Windows desktop that you’re accustomed to (new and improved!) and provides the Windows 8 Start screen that presents all the most important things you need (your apps, favourite web sites). In short, I love it. I’d say that even if I didn’t work at Microsoft.

What I love is that the new Windows 8 PC that’s right for me is already at home and at work: I can upgrade my Windows 7 devices easily. As I have a number of touch enabled PCs at home and at work, I like how Windows 8 is optimized for touch – this is a big plus for me. In addition to traditional desktop PCs with monitors, I have Sony and HP All-In-One PCs at home (plus a TabletPC at the office – I love my HP EliteBook 2670). I can use the built in touch screen with our modern OS and better leverage the touch interface.

I also like the different hardware options offered for Windows: the new Microsoft Surface with Windows RT (which runs on ARM) and the Surface with Windows 8 (Intel) – more info is available at http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US. You can view which to choose from here. The Surface with Windows 8 runs all your current Windows 7 apps as well as those available on the new Windows Store.

As for which one to get, that’s a very personal decision. I will likely get both: upgrades for my current Windows 7 PCs to Windows 8 Pro (I only have to buy one copy for five machines at home – a very nice deal) plus a Microsoft Surface with Windows RT to have as my around the home and on the go tablet.

That is, until I get a new Surface with Windows 8. 😉

Also nice are the new ASUS Vivo Tab RT, Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet 2, the HP Spectre XT Ultrabook, and Dell’s XPS 10 tablet with Windows RT – a shout out to my friends at Dell for bringing a very cool device to market!

To find the PC that’s right for your life, go to the Windows PC Selector – just answer a few questions to find the right PC or tablet for you.

(BTW… Here’s the deal on the upgrade offer, valid from October 26, 2012 until January 31, 2013 and is limited to five upgrade licenses per customer. To install Windows 8 Pro, customers must be running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. You can get full details on our special offer here. Not a bad deal if you ask me! 😉

Categories
Uncategorized

Advisory: October 2012 DST Cumulative Update for Windows operating systems

As just announced, the October 2012 DST Cumulative update for Windows operating systems has been published on the Microsoft Download Center. This year’s October Update replaces the normal August Cumulative Update. 

More info is available here on the official DST blog, and you can get the update in KB 2756822

Categories
Uncategorized

Update: No immediate plans in Russia to return to Winter Time in 2012

A few days ago I mentioned the discussion that Russia may return to Winter Time in 2012.

I now have news that legislative initiative of the State Duma Health Committee to switch Russia back to the “winter time” has been withdrawn. As such, we don’t believe there will be any near-term change to Russia’s time zone offset for what we refer to commonly as Daylight Saving Time, or any immediate move in the Federation to move their clocks again. We believe the issue will be considered by the Government and will continue to watch the issue.

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS,DST, Russia

Also available via http://bit.ly/V1jEcw

Bookmark this on Delicious Bookmark and Share