Category Windows 7

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! What is new in Chicago land, more specifically in the User Group Community?!?! That’s right! The opening of the new Microsoft Store in Oak Brook!

This place is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I was there on Opening night (for those of you who saw me, I definitely said hi! and I’m sure I missed others!) This photo is of the interior, it’s definitely a site to see!   But that aside, there is some cool news and coming events to speak of!   Let’s discuss the matter of the November 18th (Thursday) CWUG meeting will be HOSTED at this Microsoft Store location! (OMG I know right?!)  The details are below of course, including where to register and the address/location [I personally find that parking by Pottery Barn and walking through it is the fastest way to get to the store!]

The Chicago Windows User Group has moved our suburban location from the Microsoft Downers Grove office to the Microsoft Store in Oakbrook Center! 

Our first meeting will be held there this Thursday (November 18th). 

Please RSVP by following the link here:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/65NFKSP
https://store.microsoft.com/StoreLocations/Home.aspx/Index/Oak-Brook-IL
49 Oak Brook Center
Oak Brook, IL 60523
Phone: (630) 288-3420
There will be a tour of the store, information on Windows Phone 7 and an opportunity to reach the Chicago land technical community in new and exciting ways.  Hope to see you there!
The CWUG Crew

This video happens to have a brief overview of what “A” Microsoft Store looks like, which honestly looks VERY similar, so give it a whirl if you want to check it out and will not have the opportunity to make Thursdays meeting!

Though so you don’t feel all lonely of what is going on, here is an ACTUAL Photo I took while going into the store recently too (Yes, it was taken from my iPhone, don’t hate the player!)

One of the cool things you should know about this store (Which I learned from their Community Manager, Ashley Trueblood [OMFG Yes she has a rockass name and rocks as well] ) Is that the store regularly runs training and sessions on:

• Windows 7
• Windows Phone 7
• Xbox
• Windows Live ID
• Windows Live Essentials
• Movie Maker
• ….And more!

So, whether you can make it to this weeks Chicago Windows Users Group meeting, or in general, check it out in the future! (I was just looking at their calendar of events.. Xbox Live Tournaments on Fridays?!? WTF?!?!? Yea it’s fricking cool, check it out!)

Oh yea…  I did mention Windows Phone 7 a little, didn’t I?   Okay, fine I won’t leave you hanging!  While I was at the store on launch day I also had the opportunity to run into Dave Bost (I’ve talked about Dave before, absolute rock star that he is, who also happens to be a Windows Phone Champion, rockstar, right?!) A shame you missed the demo’s he was doing in store days following the opening, and before the release of Windows Phone 7!

Nonetheless, I won’t invoke too many spoilers.. so go check it out! and I’ll see you there this Thursday!!!

So here we are kicking off the first official day of the IT Grand Prix in Washington DC!     We were supplied with a USB Key with our puzzle, an Internet connection USB card, and a $500 cash card for our incidentals! Our host David Elfassy gave us a ‘puzzle’ to solve in order to find out which non-profit organization we’re going to be going out to help.    Through deductive reasoning, over-thinking the problem, WAAAY OVER THINKING the problem, and some more deductive reasoning… :) We were able to find the non-profit we would be destined to help!

Welcome to KIPP DC!

KIPP DC is a network of high-performing, college-preparatory charter schools in Washington D.C., which serve the city’s under-resourced communities. At KIPP DC, there are no shortcuts: outstanding educators, more time in school, a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum, and a strong culture of achievement and support help our students make significant academic gains and continue to excel in high school and college.

But what does that mean to you and me?  They’re a business just like yours and anyone else’s who suffer many of the same challenges we all do.  And one of those challenges is how to manage the demanding needs of students, faculty and staff, while being able to stay strategic, forward thinking and be proactive instead of merely reacting to the future of computing.    The challenge with Daniel Nerenberg and I on the Red Team were helping them work with, was addressing Application Virtualization.  Our esteemed coopetition fellows Gordon Ryan, Andrew Bettany of the Blue Team are helping with a Windows 7 Deployment strategy and plan.

What do you get when you combine IT Pro’s, Non-Profits, Coffee and @cxi?

Innovative solutions the likes of which can only be explained with stirrer sticks and sugar packets!    If you know anything about me, you know that I love tactile reference of physical infrastructure, solely for the logic that we have the ability to MOVE objects around (unlike a whiteboard where we end up getting messy… and it’s not nearly as cool and impactful)   I felt it might be useful for a layman’s explanation of what I just said, so in simple terms…  I like to play with stuff you can find around you :)

The above picture is an architectural breakdown of application virtualization presented to a user use-case environment.   Basically look at it as the sticks are ‘boundaries’ in the first square picture, that physically shows a single ‘machine’ with applications living inside of it, with all of the constraints and conflicts which also happen to live within that environment.    However, in the second picture, you have a breakdown of applications virtualized into separate packages, yet there’s also a model of shared package layers and abstraction… Lots of abstraction! This video helps explain it a little further!

After our sit down talk and interview with Director of Operations, Edward Han and IT Manager, Adam Roberts we got to work on a plan of how Application Virtualization would help out Kipp DC with their organizational challenges.  

As you can see here, the Blue Team is hard at work.  I’m not sure if they were working on their slides, or checking out some new Chuck Norris statistic, but nonetheless… We all got down to business creating collateral, producing and providing information which would help out those folks and how it would apply (in our case) to what Application Virtualization with App-V could do for them!

I would be remiss in my duty to not share with you what I shared with them.  Use it in the context of your organization of course (as I will not be sharing the incidentals of their organization here! :))

Microsoft’s Application Virtualization collateral!

• App-V Case Studies
• University Reduces Application Packaging Time, Enhances Access, with Virtualization
• Independent App-V Blog
• Accelerate your Windows 7 deployment with App-V
• Application virtualization candidates
• Microsoft Office 2010, more integration in App-V 4.6

And here are a few videos produced by the folks on Sequencing and actually deploying using App-V (or Softgrid for you legacy folks like me :))

Though I’m sure some of you are saying “Hey, what about VMware ThinApp – Why didn’t you talk about that?!”  It’s true.   Our mission was to discuss App-V, fortunately I had Daniel with me who is an MVP in App-V too!  However, so you don’t feel left out, here are a few videos of Deploying VMware ThinApp from start to finish in 20 minutes! – Enjoy! :)

Following this, we wrapped up for the day, grabbed our (heavy) bags, and headed out to where the Bus would take us to our next destination: Marriott Brooklyn Bridge in New York City!

However, like the geeks we are… All the way at the back of the bus is… a Power Outlet! … Ooh! Two outlets actually! So the guys had their ‘friendmaker’ power strip multipliers, and we plugged them in, with enough arsenal to run a small business (or even a mid-sized enterprise with the kind of gear we’re sporting! :))   And just so you get a good feel for what we’re looking at here… I’m sitting in the literal hot seat!   See all the cables? Oh wait, what’s that you see? It’s 109.5 DEGREES DOWN THERE?!?!? Yea, it’s pretty hot at my feet :)

I hope you enjoyed Day 1 – This was only the beginning on this whirlwind adventure tour of madness, insanity, education, and Technology! We’re Technology Focused! :)

No, I haven’t been watching Caprica so much I’ve decided to join Zoe and the STO… For the One True GodMode knows all and directs us all.  So say Windows7!

Albeit, it would be kind of cool if there were indeed a GodMode version of the Cylons.. but I seriously digress!

No, I’m here to tell you about GodMode in Windows7 (Also applies to Windows Vista, but pshaw on vista!)

Enabling GodMode is very easy – simply create a folder and name it “GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}”  After that, poof! The folder will change into this icon!

Wow! Look we’ve got GodMode! But changing a ‘folder’ into a magical icon isn’t exactly the king of things, it’s what comes beyond that!   You open that bad boy up and you see a screen which looks like this!

Here’s a little breakdown of ‘title’ sections you’ll get to dive into here within GodMode

• Action Center (15)
• Administrative Tools (10)
• AutoPlay (3)
• Backup and Restore (2)
• Biometric Devices (5)
• BitLocker Drive Encryption (2)
• Color Management (1)
• Credential Manager (1)
• Date and Time (4)
• Default Programs (2)
• Desktop Gadgets (6)
• Device Manager (1)
• Devices and Printers (11)
• Display (11)
• Ease of Access Center (26)
• Folder Options (5)
• Fonts (3)
• Getting Started (4)
• HomeGroup (2)
• Indexing Options (1)
• Internet Options (14)
• Keyboard (2)
• Location and Other Sensors (3)
• Mouse (8)
• Network and Sharing Center (16)
• Notification Area Icons (7)
• Parental Controls (1)
• Performance Information and Tools (4)
• Personalization (12)
• Phone and Modem (1)
• Power Options (9)
• Programs and Features (8)
• Recovery (1)
• Region and Language (10)
• RemoteApp and Desktop Connections (1)
• Sound (4)
• Speech Recognition (3)
• Sync Center (6)
• System (22)
• Taskbar and Start Menu (10)
• Troubleshooting (12)
• User Accounts (13)
• Windows CardSpace (1)
• Windows Defender (1)
• Windows Firewall (2)
• Windows Mobility Center (2)
• Windows Update (2)

Effectively what you get is a kind of ‘super control panel’ which is basically a breakdown of all features you’d get whenever you were to dive into each of these sections individually, except consolidated down to a single super GodPanel!

So, I leave you to play with it, and try not to get taken over by any Windows7 based Cylons.  For the One True GodPanel that knows and directs all mgmt tools, So say we all!

Special thanks to Rob Nottoli for the link I was sent to about this, and the author of the article on this, @inafried “Understanding Windows 7’s ‘GodMode’”

Disclaimer: No offense is intended to anyone’s God’s in particular, as I did not name this particular function of Windows. Unless you’re a poly-theist from Caprica or your God happens to be Windows Vista, in which your god is CLEARLY dead, suck it up and start worshipping Windows 7 :) (And seriously, all you Win-XP-theists, it’s time to drop it, XP is DEAD!)

Did you get one of these mails? House Party extravaganza?! If you didn’t, well here is the low-down!

Be a part of Windows^® history.
Host a Windows^® 7 Launch Party.

Have Fun. Help Your Friends.

Receive a Signature Edition of Windows^® 7 Ultimate.

You host the party. We’ll bring the favors.

Apply online to host a Launch Party. Choose a day from October 22-29 and if you’re selected, you’ll not only receive a special Signature Edition of Windows^® 7 Ultimate but your very own Windows^® 7 Party Pack.

Hosting a Windows^® 7 Launch Party is easy.

You’ll be assisted by House Party, the world’s leading party organizer. Pick a theme, then upload photos and videos, chat with other hosts, blog your experience, and download fun favors all from your personal House Party page.

Let’s Party!
Just choose one of our Windows® 7 Party Themes:
•    > PhotoPalooza
•    > Media Mania
•    > Setting Up With Ease
•    > Family Friendly Fun

All around it sounds like it’d be a blast! Fill out the form, and coordinate a party, receive a party pack and give away favors.. yay?!   I don’t know about you, but I’m all signed up and if I get approved… par-tay! It doesn’t hurt that a majority of all computers we run in our household are already running Win7 ;)

So, get out there, apply.. earn your free Signature Edition of Win7 Ultimate! Party Favors! Connect with the community! and more!   Hell, I may host mine at our 2000 square foot studio if I get much demand for this! :) So, party down! win7, yay! :)

So, I was talking with someone recently and noticed they had an SD card sticking in the SD slot on these Lenovo Laptops.    Specifically noticing that I asked him about it to which he replied, that he leveraged that to improve performance by utilizing ReadyBoost! I thought to myself “Wow, that’s a great idea, since it’s just a slot taking up space and often not being used! Why not do this myself!”   So I started offloading my data from this device and then while waiting for it to finish I impatiently went and checked my details for kicking off ReadyBoost and lo and behold, I get this image!    For those of you who know me, you know that I run my Lenovo T61p with Win7 and 2008R2Ent from BootfromVHD images which reside on an SSD.

Apparently, My SSD is so fast (even though it’s running from a VHD) that I cannot gain value from ReadyBoost!

Frankly, that’s pretty damn cool from where I’m standing! :)