Microsoft Build 2017: The lessons learned on Windows, Azure, Dynamics

ZD Net ^ | May 12, 2017 | Larry Dignan

[Bob434]

install virtualbox- install linux mint cinnamon edition, and give it a test run- you’ll be surprised how well it works- once it’s running- it’s every bit as capable as windows for online Internet stuff- the only place it falls short really is not being able to run windows programs well- like photoshop- windows games etc- I solve this issue by dual booting- linus is my main os for ALL online activity- while my windows 7 os is strictly for off-line work like playing windows only games and running photoshop to work on my photos-

linux does have ‘the equivalent’ of things like office, excell and such if you use those programs a lot- but they aren’t as good- i don’t use use those programs though- so no problem for me- linux also has their version of photoshop- but I don’t like it- it’s usable enough- but photoshop is still king-

[Bob434]

been using it for awhile- no issues or me so far- one slight issue- if you hover over the ‘show desktop icon’ to long, when you click it, and try to open a program or browser- it will be transparent- I couldn’t figure out what was going on for awhile- but finally discovered if i just click the show desktop icon again, it makes the windows opaque again- you might run into that issue- seems that hoverign over the show desktop icon causes transparent windows for soem reason

[Alas Babylon!]

People miss this so much, but Microsoft is SO MUCH more than a desktop and desktop apps and programs. So much more.

I’m doing datacenter, data management, system center, and now Azure Stack, which brings the cloud into the datacenter.

I’m working with Nano Server, Windows Containers Desired Configuration State/PowerShell and Docker.

Microsoft itself is moving more and more content and scripts of all kinds over to GetHub. It really is becoming a Heterogeneous world. Lots of Linux integration. They’re even offering Azure/Linux certifications.

I love Apple products, but face it, Apple is all about consumers and Microsoft is focused on business. There is lots of synergy here as well. Both companies should work together here.

I’m enjoying the HECK out of all the new stuff and ways to do things.

NOT a Build (Dev) guy. See me at Ignite (IT Pro)!

[Alas Babylon!]

even experts do not want to admit the cloud is just a remote server. (that is totally hackable)

I've never heard any "Experts" say otherwise.

It depends on what you need the server to do.

A DNS server finds an address for you to reach a web page. In this regard, DNS is a "cloud" service. You didn't need to program it, write a complex query, or anything. Your device "knew" how to ask DNS, DNS "knew" how to search and respond.

I get tired of all the references to "Cloud" when we've had this all along since the Internet started receiving packets. When ever you remoted to a server in the server room or a VM in AWS, it's basically the same. AS you say, just another server.

If you run a query on SQL server, are you using the server, or the database engine? An app that pulls the queried data so you don't even need T-SQL skills? To most people, it's the app doing all the work. They don't even think about everything beyond their device that works to make it happen. Sure, it's all conceptualized, and that's beautiful.

In so far as security goes, it's ALL vulnerable since we devised these things:

[minnesota_bound]

Sideways note. Use a DVI cable to connect your monitor, if not you may get the following problems.

I switched to a Displayport cable and my desktop icons would change position and the web browser if left open would resize to about a quarter screen.
It happened when I was not using the pc.

Once I switched back to using the DVI cable the issue went away.
I did a search and found many complaints. Something to do with AMD video cards and Windows.

[dayglored]

> They had Xenix before MS-DOS, but not before their BASIC interpreter business..

Quite true; after all, their first BASIC interpreter for the Altair was in development practically before they started the company.

[dayglored]

> Businesses aren’t moving off of the Windows platform anytime soon.

True, and they're staying on Win7 to a very large degree. Businesses don't upgrade their computers unless there's a compelling reason, because upgrading costs real money and comes straight out of profit. "It's the Latest and Greatest Release!" is not a compelling reason to throw away profit.

[dayglored]

> ...even experts do not want to admit the cloud is just a remote server...

Just about daily, I have to beat it into someone's head that the "CLOUD" is just some other company's "DATACENTER" that they're letting us use part of. Nothing more.

[Alas Babylon!]

they're staying on Win7 to a very large degree.

That is really not true.

Gartner is saying 85% of the business world on Windows 10 by the end of the year.

Are you deploying brand new hardware?

Are you using deployment tools?

Hopefully, you have a Enterprise License Agreement and are not just using the "come with" operating systems.

Even so almost all new purchases come with Windows 10. you can specify Windows 7, but it cost extra, at least with Dell.

This is clipped from the Dell customizer app to purchase from my business license with Dell:

Windows 7 Professional 64
Windows 7 Professional English, French, Spanish 64bit (Includes Windows 10 Pro License) [add $32.26]

Windows 10
Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish [Included in Price]

$32 and a quarter doesn't seem like a lot until you're replacing 20% of your 7000 Desktops every year.

It's simple economics, and the accounting department doesn't care which PCs I prefer to support.

[dayglored]

>> they're staying on Win7 to a very large degree.

> That is really not true. Gartner is saying 85% of the business world on Windows 10 by the end of the year.

I based my statement (that you quoted) on statistics gathered over the past year.

Gartner is making hopeful predictions about the future.

There's a world of difference between past and future. The past can be measured; the future is uncertain.

And historically, Gartner has nearly always predicted rosy futures for Microsoft/Windows, many of which have fallen flat on their faces. They're a Microsoft booster, so that's their job, nothing wrong with that. But to say that factual statistics from the past year are "really not true" based on a Gartner prediction of the future?

Nobody has stats on the future, so I'm not saying they're wrong, but color me skeptical. Let's look at the real stats at the end of the year and update our predictions. :-)

[dayglored]

> $32 and a quarter doesn't seem like a lot until you're replacing 20% of your 7000 Desktops every year. It's simple economics, and the accounting department doesn't care which PCs I prefer to support.

Microsoft knows that it has to beat businesses over the head with an iron truncheon to get them to move off Win7 to Win10. So they're throwing that cost differential in to force the accountants to make decisions the way Microsoft wants them too.

It's completely legal, and not unethical. Just business strategy -- make the thing you want your customer to buy more attractive than the alternative.

But it should tell you something about the huge customer resistance to moving from Win7 to Win10. Because clearly, on a level playing field, Win10 loses.

[Thibodeaux]

Windows 10 + Office 365 + One drive (cloud) = Future

The global business base in place will accept the combo and go forward.

[dayglored]

> Windows 10 + Office 365 + One drive (cloud) = Future The global business base in place will accept the combo and go forward.

Oh, I know; of course they will, they always do, because they have no real choice.

As someone who has used Microsoft products for four decades (since the mid-1970's), and has run and supported corporate network datacenters based on Microsoft products, I have a certain familiarity with that scenario.

Business by-and-large bought into the Microsoft product line long ago, and there's no getting out of it without changing things. Pick your poison...

[Alas Babylon!]

Let’s agree to disagree then. The most resistance I see is on the consumer home user.

I see little if any resistance at the enterprise to medium size business at all.

I wish I did, but it’s not there.

BTW, the customization page I clipped was from Dell Business Systems; not Microsoft. Note that while it costs more, it does offer a free upgrade to Windows 10.

But seriously, who buys the Pro version for business clients?

Volume License IS ENTERPRISE.

That and Deployment through Configuration Manager/MDT/WDS integrated.

So no matter what version or OS Dell or anyone puts on a large purchase, IT wipes and loads with their volume license equivalents, don’t you?

If you do not then you are at an extreme disadvantage labor-wise.

At this point it isn’t a decision for Win 7 vice 10. It would be deploy 10, because that’s the biggest cost savings volume license-wise.

I’m confused. Do you work at a business in IT or some Mom and Pop operation with a bunch of old boxes with Win 7 on them? Most businesses with a proper IT department are replacing inventory every 3-5 years. I have seen Mom and Pop/Small Businesses with some stuff 10-15 years old. That’s way more expensive in volume than a timed lifecycle!

So if a business is doing lifecycle, amortization, replace percentage yearly—why would they “put/deploy” a VL of Win 7 on the new stuff?

I’m not trying to cause a disagreement, but I do think most business are doing things the modern way. It’s just a user’s OS. Best price drives most deployments and equipment refresh. The difference between the two OSs isn’t that wide.

[dayglored]

> Let’s agree to disagree then.

Sure, no prob. And you may yet convince me that I'm in the wrong, I've been there once or twice. :-)

> Do you work at a business in IT or some Mom and Pop operation with a bunch of old boxes with Win 7 on them? Most businesses with a proper IT department are replacing inventory every 3-5 years.

I've worked in small software development companies most of my career, for many decades as an engineer, and the past decade in IT. "Small" means maybe 50-100 engineering developers, and perhaps 20-30 non-engineering support/admin folks. The customer base is global, but the core of the company is a tight technical crew.

We have to provide releases, updates, and support for a huge customer base that spans Windows from Win10 back to WinVista, Mac OSX from the latest Sierra back to 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, Linux from the latest Ubuntu and CentOS to 10-yr-old SuSE, Sun Solaris on both Intel and Sparc processors, and both FreeBSD and NetBSD.

We have to maintain many hundreds of development build-and-test servers running all the above operating systems.

Most of our engineers use Windows 7 on their workstation, the rest Linux. There is absolutely no motivation to force our employees to move from whatever they're using, to Windows 10.

I'm not in an enterprise situation, where OF COURSE everything is done the way you describe it. No disagreement there. Mine is a very different environment -- small business.

I'm just saying I believe that small businesses comprise a large percentage of the Windows business customer base. Most small businesses aren't even eligible for VL.

So since I don't have figures at my fingertips just now, I'll ask, do you happen to know how many business installations of Windows are done on VL vs. individual? I could be full of beans, it's happened before... :-)

[Alas Babylon!]

No problem.

I respect small business IT admins/engineers. Nobody in MSFT cares about them like they do the big guys, and the work is definitely harder.

I’ll finish this later; got to go pick up some Chinese food!