Microsoft begins rolling out Windows Phone 7.5

Microsoft promised just a few days back that the Windows Phone 7.5 update (otherwise known as “Mango”, because updates need funny little names now) would roll out “sometime in the next week or two” — and sure enough, said roll out has just begun.

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As for who it’s rolling out to… that’s still a bit of a mystery.

Check out this statement:

Today we’re starting the roll out of Windows Phone 7.5 to more than 98 percent of existing Windows Phone customers. This is a simultaneous, coordinated, global update that cuts across carriers, phone models, and countries. This time, almost everybody is going first.

Then, just a few sentences later:

So we’re deliberately starting out slow. This week, we’ll be making the update available to 10 percent of customers.

So, good news: Hurray! 98% of people will get the update beginning today! Everybody goes first!
But the bad news: only 10% of people actually get to install and use it.

70-642 Exam

UESTION 1
ABC.com has a forest with a domain named ABC.com. A server named ABC-SR05 is configured
as the DNS server. During a routine security check you discover a number of outdated resource
records in the ABC.com zone. You successfully set up the DNS service to do scavenging on ABCSR05
but after a month ABC-SR05 was clogged up with the same stale resource records again.
What action should you take to take away all outdated resource records?

A. You should execute the dnscmd ABC-SR05 /AgeAllRecords command.
B. You should disable the DNS service on ABC-SR05 and manually start scavenging stale
records.
C. You should execute the dnscmd ABC-SR05 /StartScavenging command.
D. You should enable the DNS scavenging utility on the us.ABC.com zone.
E. You should execute the dnscmd /zonerefresh command.
F. You should increase the Expires After setting of the Start of Authority (SOA) record.

Answer: D

Explanation:
You again noticed the same stale resource records still lay na.contoso.com even after enabled
DNS scavenging on Server1 because the Server1 may not have na.contoso.com zone integrated
with AD DS and loaded at the server.
To ensure that the stale resource records are removed from na.contoso.com, you need to enable
DNS scavenging on the na.contoso.com zone. The aging and scavenging can be configured for
specified zones on the DNS server to make sure that the stale records are removed from the
specified zone.
Reference: Enable Aging and Scavenging for DNS

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/7972082c-22a1-44fc-8e39-

841f7327b6051033.mspx?mfr=true

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---

QUESTION 2
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network uses the public
namespace ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Microsoft Windows Server 2008.
The ABC.com CIO does not want user to have the ability to copy the public DNS zone records.
You must make sure that the zone transfers are restricted to DNS servers that are listed in the
Name Servers option without affecting the operation of the public name resolution.
How will you comply with the CIO’s requirement?

A. Check the Service Locator (SRV) resource record enabled option on all ABC.com domain
controllers.
B. Configure the priority value for the SRV records on all the domain controllers of us.ABC.com to 1.
C. Check the Allow zone transfers only to servers listed on the Name Servers option on ABC.com.
D. Uncheck the DNS scavenging option on the us.ABC.com zone.

Answer: C

Explanation:
To ensure that public DNS zone records cannot be copied without impacting the functionality of
public DNS name resolutions, you need to configure the Allow zone transfers only to servers listed
on the Name Servers option on ABC.com. This setting allows you to restrict zone transfers only to
DNS servers listed in the Name Servers resource option on ABC.com.
Reference: DNS Zones

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=pL89TOMFcHsC&ABC=RA1-PA244&lABC=RA1-

PA244&dq=Allow+zone+transfers+only+to+servers+listed+on+the+Name+Servers+option+&sourc
e=web&ots=StFz29rSf5&sig=0wRSARkgYxCy2ohweQs4QUDMqEQ&hl=en#PRA1-PA243,M1

---

QUESTION 3
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client
computers run Windows Vista.
The ABC.com network has two Servers named ABC-SR05 and ABC-SR06. ABC-SR05 is a
domain controller that is configured as DNS server. ABC-SR06 is configured to run a legacy
application. You receive an instruction from the CIO to include parameters like Service, Weight
Protocol, and Port number for the legacy application on ABC-SR05.
What action should you take to accomplish this?

A. You must create a Host Info (HINFO) record on ABC-SR05.
B. You must create a Well-Known Service (WKS) record on ABC-SR05.
C. You must create a Service Locator (SRV) record on ABC-SR05.
D. You must create a Pointer (PTR) resource record on ABC-SR05.
E. You must create a Start of Authority (SOA) record on ABC-SR05.

Answer: C

Explanation:
Your best option in this scenario would be to create a Service Locator (SRV) record. To configure
DNS on ABC-SR05 to include the parameters such as Service, Priority, Weight Protocol, Port
number, and Host offering this service for the custom application, you need to configure Service
Locator (SRV) records. An SRV record or Service record is a category of data in the Internet
Domain Name System specifying information on available services. Service locator (SRV)
resource record. Allows multiple servers providing a similar TCP/IP-based service to be located
using a single DNS query operation. This record enables you to maintain a list of servers for a
well-known server port and transport protocol type ordered by preference for a DNS domain name.
References: SRV Record

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRV_record

Resource records reference / SRV

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/9b561e1b-9a0d-43e5-89a8-

9daf07afac0d1033.mspx?mfr=true

---

QUESTION 4
You work as the network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a forest with two
domains named us.ABC.com and uk.ABC.com.
All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client computers run
Windows Vista. Users in the us.ABC.com zone complain that it takes a long time to access
resources in the uk.ABC.com zone.
What action should you take to reduce the resolution response times? (Each correct answer
presents part of the solution. Choose TWO.)

A. You should create and configure a GPO with DNS Suffix Search List option to uk.ABC.com,
us.ABC.com.
B. You should configure the priority value for the SRV records on all the domain controllers of
us.ABC.com to 5.
C. You should apply the policy to all user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone.
D. You should enable Scavenge Stale resource records in the Zone Aging /Scavenging Properties
dialog box of every workstation.
E. You should create and configure a GPO with the Local-Link Multicast Name Resolution feature enabled.
F. You should execute the dnscmd /zonerefresh command on the workstations in uk.ABC.com.

Answer: A,C

Explanation:
To configure the user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone to improve the name resolution
response time for resources in the uk.ABC.com zone you need to configure a new GPO that
configures the DNS Suffix Search List option to us.ABC.com, us.ABC.com. Thereafter the policy
can be applied to all user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone.
A customized DNS suffix search lists to ensures that clients can locate services and other
computers when they perform single-label name queries.
Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution cannot be used because it allows IPv6 hosts on a single
subnet without a DNS server to resolve each other names. Therefore it need not be used here.
DNS SRV records cannot be used because they are the service records, which are a type of DNS
entry that specify information on a service available in a domain. They are typically used by clients
who want to know the location of a service within a domain. When multiple hosts are configured
for the same service, the priority determines which host is tried first.
Reference: Create a Disjoint Namespace / Update the DNS suffix search list

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/afe94bc3-41fb-4817-84b5-

5517c38a0d391033.mspx?mfr=true
Reference: Introducing MS Windows Vista/ Learning about Dual Stack and IP Management
Enhancements

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/7/8/578cbb95-c42e-4b9f-9989-

93ffdeae8af4/Introducing_Windows_Vista.pdf
Reference: Understanding DNS SRV records and SIP

http://blog.lithiumblue.com/2007/07/understanding-dns-srv-records-and-sip.html

---

QUESTION 5
You are employed as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a
domain named ABC.com. ABC.com has a subsidiary company named TestLabs.com. The servers
on both domains are configured to run Windows Server 2008.
You are responsible for a ABC.com server named ABC-SR05. ABC-SR05 is a configured to run
the DNS server role. There is a server on the TestLabs.com network named TESTLABS-LR18
that is configured to run the DNS server role. ABC-SR05 contains a stub zone. The master for the
stub zone on ABC-SR05 is ABC-SR06. During routine monitoring you discover that ABC-SR06
has failed resulting in name resolution problems for ABC users connecting to the TestLabs.com
network.
What action should you take to overcome this problem?

A. You must decrease the Minimum (default) TTL setting in the SOA record for the zone on
TESTLABS-LR18.
B. You must modify the stub zone to a secondary zone on ABC-SR05.
C. You must create a new Service Locator (SRV) record in the primary DNS zone on TESTLABSLR18.
Also create a new host (A) record for ABC-SR05.
D. You must enable DNS scavenging in the DNS zone on TESTLABS-LR18.
E. You must use a DNS forwarder on TESTLABS-LR18.

Answer: B

Explanation:
Users are not able to resolve names for testlabs.com because the master server has failed. To
ensure that users are able to resolve names for testlabs.com in such a scenario, you need to
change the stub zone to a secondary zone on ABC-SR05. This is because the primary name
server notifies the secondary zone server keeps an identical copy of the primary zone. Although it
contains read-only zone information, it can resolve names of the existing names.
You need to remove the stub zone because it requires the IP address of at least one DNS server
in the source domain to the DNS server hosting the stub zone. If this server goes down, then the
stub zone records eventually expire.
Reference: The Long and Short of Stub Zones / What Happens if a Source Server Goes Offline?

http://redmondmag.com/columns/article.asp?EditorialsID=641

Reference: DNS Stub Zones in Windows Server 2003

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/DNS_Stub_Zones.html

---

QUESTION 6
You are employed as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client
computers run Windows Vista.
The ABC.com domain contains three Windows Server 2008 servers named ABC-SR05, ABCSR06
and ABC-SR07. ABC-SR05 and ABC-SR06 are configured as DNS servers while ABCMicrosoft
70-642: Practice Exam
SR07 passes DNS requests on to ABC-SR06.
How can you configured to enable ABC-SR07 to be updated as soon as DNS records are updated
on ABC-SR06 ?

A. You should execute the ipconfig /flushdns command on all ABC.com client computers.
B. You should execute the dnscmd /clearcache command on ABC-SR07.
C. You should decrease the Retry Interval value of the Start of Authority (SOA) record of ABC.com
to 10 minutes in the DNS service.
D. You should increase the Expires After option of the Start of Authority (SOA) record to 10
minutes in the DNS service.
E. You should enable the DNS Client service on the all client computers in the zone.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To ensure that ABC-SR07 is able to resolve the updated DNS record immediately you need to run
the dnscmd . /clearcache command on ABC-SR07.
Both the DNS server and the local DNS resolver cache any records they receive for a period of
time determined by a TTL setting in the record. The SOA for the zone determines the default TTL,
which is one hour for Windows DNS servers. To ensure that server immediately finds the updated
record, you need to use the Clear Cache option in the server’s property menu in the DNS console
or use the Dnscmd utility with the syntax dnscmd /clearcache, so that less records needs to be
searched.
If you restart the DNS user workstations it will only clear the DNS client cache. This will not resolve
the problem and restore proper name resolution however the DNS server will still respond to query
the name of the workstation.
Reference: dnscmd . /clearcache

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/e7f31cb5-a426-4e25-b714-

88712b8defd51033.mspx?mfr=true
Reference: 10 DNS Errors That Will Kill Your Network

http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=413

---

QUESTION 7
You work as an enterprise administrator for ABC.com. The ABC.com network consists of a forest
with a domain named us.ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server
2008.
You are responsible for a DNS server named ABC-SR10 that hosts numerous secondary zones of
which us.ABC.com is one.
What action should you take to have ABC-SR10 perform the function of a caching-only DNS
server?

A. You should have the DNS stub zones disabled on ABC-SR10 prior to re-enabling the DNS
service.
B. You should have the DNS service uninstalled on ABC-SR10 prior to re-installing the DNS
service.
C. You should configure DNS Scavenging on ABC-SR10.
D. You should modify the DNS zones on ABC-SR10 to standard primary zones.
E. You should re-configure the DNS service with one or more forwarders.
F. You should enable Zone Aging on ABC-SR10.

Answer: B

Explanation:
In order to reconfigure ABC-SR10 as a caching-only DNS server you need to disable and reenable
the DNS service on ABC-SR10. Uninstalling and reinstalling DNS service will remove all
the previously configured data from ABC-SR10.
Reference: Install the DNS Server service

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/421cd57a-9fd4-42da-8d22-

067738f034ee1033.mspx?mfr=true

---

QUESTION 8
You work as the network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a forest that
contains four domains. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008. The
domain controllers are configured as DNS servers. All ABC.com users make use of a Web server
named ABC-SR02 to accomplish their daily tasks.
What action should you take to make sure that ABC.com users can access ABC-SR02 by using
Internet Explorer? (Each correct answer presents part of the solution. Choose THREE.)

A. By creating a GlobalNames zone on a DNS server.
B. By configuring ABC-SR02 in order to enable DFS-R on it.
C. By replicating the GlobalNames zone to all domains controllers in the ABC.com forest.
D. By creating a host (A) record for ABC-SR02 in the GlobalNames zone.
E. By creating a LegacyWINS zone on a DNS server.
F. By replicating the GlobalNames zone in the DNS zone for the forest root domain.

Answer: A,C,D

Explanation:
To ensure that users from all domains are able to access a ABC-SR02 by browsing to http: //Test
WebApp you need to create a zone named GlobalNames on a DNS server. Then GlobalNames
zone can be replicated to all domain controllers in the forest. Lastly a host (A) record can be
created for ABC-SR02 in the zone.
GlobalNames Zone (also known as GNZ) is designed to enable the resolution of the single-label,
static, global names for servers using DNS. GNZ is intended to aid the retirement of WINS, and it’s
not a replacement for WINS. GNZ is not intended to support the single-label name resolution of
records that are dynamically registered in WINS, records which typically are not managed by IT
administrators.
Reference: Understanding GlobalNames Zone in Windows Server 2008

http://www.petri.co.il/windows-DNS-globalnames-zone.htm

---

QUESTION 9
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. ABC.com has its headquarters in Miami and a branch office in Toronto. IPv4
addressing is utilized at both offices.
During the course of the day you receive instruction from ABC.com to travel to the Toronto office
and deploy an additional server named ABC-SR06.
What action should you take to configure Routing and Remote Access on ABC-SR06?

A. You should have ABC-SR06 configured with the Routing and Remote Access role.
Then you should execute the netsh command with the interface ipv4 enable parameter.
B. You should have ABC-SR06 configured with the Routing and Remote Access role.
Then you should enable IPv4 Router Routing and Remote Access on ABC-SR06.
C. You should execute the netsh command with the interface ipv4 enable parameter on ABCSR06
prior to enabling Routing and Remote Access.
D. You should execute the netsh command with the ras ipv4 set access ALL parameter on ABCSR06.
Then you should have Router Routing and Remote Access enabled for IPv4 and IPv6.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To configure routing on the server at the branch office, you need to first install the Routing and
Remote Access role on the server and then enable the IPv4 Router Routing and Remote Access
option on the server.

---

QUESTION 10
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. ABC.com currently has their headquarters located in Miami. The ABC.com
network servers run Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and the client computers run Microsoft
Windows Vista.
You are preparing to deploy a computer named ABC-SR21 which is configured with the Network
Access Policy (NAP) server role. ABC.com wants you to have the tunnel interface and the IPv6
Loopback interface as the only connections running IPv6.
What action should you take?

A. You should execute the netsh interface ipv4 enable command on ABC-SR21.
B. You should consider clearing the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) checkbox in the Local
Area Connection Properties window.
C. You should execute the netsh internal interface ipv6 delete command on ABC-SR21.
D. You should consider disabling the IPv4 Routing and Remote Access option on ABC-SR21.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To disable IPv6 for all connections except for the tunnel interface and the IPv6 Loopback interface,
you need to uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) from the Local Area Connection
Properties window.
This is because unlike Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, IPv6 in Windows Vista and
Windows Server 2008 cannot be uninstalled. However, you can disable IPv6 in Windows Vista
and Windows Server 2008 by doing one of the following: In the Network Connections folder, obtain
properties on all of your connections and adapters and clear the check box next to the Internet
Protocol version 6 (TCP/IPv6) components in the list.
This method disables IPv6 on your LAN interfaces and connections, but does not disable IPv6 on
tunnel interfaces or the IPv6 loopback interface.
Reference: IPv6 for Microsoft Windows: Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/ipv6/ipv6faq.mspx

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Why Microsoft's tablet strategy is flawed

Gary Marshall: Do we really want tablets to mimic our PCs?

Imagine if the motor car was designed not around the engine, but the horse. Instead of fuel injection we'd have carrots on strings. Our steering wheels would be connected to reins, we'd honk the horn to make the car move faster, and we would live in constant fear of enormous horse farts.

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That's more or less what Microsoft wants to do with tablets.

Speaking at Microsoft's Partner Conference in LA, Windows Phone president Andy Lees pooh-poohed the idea of Windows Phone running on tablets. "We view a tablet as a PC," he said, claiming that "Microsoft wants people to be able to do the sort of things they do on a PC on a tablet."

Opinion:Windows 8 could make you rethink buying iPad 3

While Microsoft plans a "unified ecosystem" of devices sharing the same OS, the transcript of Lees' speech on WinRumors shows that the "sort of things" Microsoft has in mind for tablets are "things like networking, to be able to connect to networks and utilize networking tools. To get USB drives and plop them into the tablet. To be able to do things like printing, all of the things, using Office, using all of the things you would expect on a PC."

Last month, I wrote: "I worry that Microsoft isn't thinking 'how do we reinvent document creation and editing on tablets?', but 'how can we shove Office into it?'"

I didn't expect Microsoft to prove me right quite so quickly.

No means no

Windows-powered tablets have been around for longer than many TechRadar readers. Fujitsu started flogging Windows-powered tablets in the early 1990s, Microsoft unveiled its own vision for Windows-powered tablets in 2001 and a tablet-friendly version of Windows XP shipped in 2002. And with the exception of a few niche markets, they didn't sell.

Here's why. Back in 2001, PC World quoted Andrew Dixon, group marketing manager for Microsoft's Tablet PC division. "Tablet PCs are just better notebook computers," Dixon said.

As a result, things went pretty much like this for a decade:

MICROSOFT: "Look! Windows in a tablet!"

EVERYONE: "No thanks."

MICROSOFT: *rummages* "Look! A slightly different Windows in a tablet!"

EVERYONE: "No thank you."

MICROSOFT: "Look! Windows in a slightly different tablet!"

EVERYONE: "Er, no thanks."

It is entirely possible, of course, that with Windows 8 Microsoft will finally find the magic formula, a version of Windows that's as finger-friendly as iOS, Android or WebOS and that doesn't suffer from the complexity and vulnerabilities of a fully-fledged desktop operating system.

It's possible. But it's not very likely.

We're in Maslow's Hammer territory here. Maslow's Hammer, Wikipedia informs me, is the rule we know as "it is tempting, if the only tool you have is in a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail".

Microsoft's hammer is Windows, and 2011's "Microsoft wants people to be able to do the sort of things they do on a PC on a tablet" is the same message as 2002's "Tablet PCs are just better notebook computers".

It wasn't the right message then, and I don't think it's the right message now.

How do I select the most marketable database certification for me?

Which database certification is the most marketable? It is clear when searching online job sites that Oracle, DB2, and SQL Server certifications are what employers are expecting from a qualified database administrator (DBA). Being aware of the different standards for each industry will help you decide which is best for you 70-640 Training .

SQL Server 2008 is the current version and offers progressive certification levels entitled Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), IT Professional (MCITP), Master (MCM), and Architect (MCA). The MCTS Implementation and Maintenance certification is required for the MCITP DBA exam.

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The MCTS Database Development certification is required for the MCITP Database Developer exam. Both the MCITP DBA and the Database Developer certifications are required for the MCM exam. The MCM certification is required to reach MCA. The MCA certification requires a review board interview conducted by Microsoft. This would be the most marketable certification for someone wanting to move into a senior DBA position at a small to medium size company.

Oracle has historically been the most popular platform for larger companies. It has a balanced presence across all platforms and currently dominates all forms of UNIX. It is a close second to SQL Server on Windows and has been the most marketable certification internationally for years. The Oracle 9i Release 2 certification has three progressive levels of advancement called Associate (OCA), Administrator (OCP), and Master (OCM). An OCM will work best for someone looking forward to joining a large company and is willing to relocate.

DB2 is the platform of choice for most mainframes. It has a significant UNIX and Linux market presence because it runs on almost any operating system. DB2 offers a highly scalable and flexible product in a setting where most of the customer interaction happens through an ATM or kiosk of some kind. These custom devices require custom software and applications that can eventually report to an Oracle or SQL database but cannot run the software themselves.

The progressive certifications for DB2 are IBM Certified Database Associate, Administrator, and Advanced DBA. The Associate level is the prerequisite to the Administrator, which includes DBA for Linux, UNIX, and Windows (LUW), Mainframe DB2 DBA for z/OS, and IBM-Certified Application Developer. These certifications are only for a dedicated DB2 and mainframe professional as DB2 is not marketable is other industries and platforms Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.

Cloud Computing: What You Need to Know About PaaS

Cloud computing discussions invariably begin with the “IPS” taxonomy: Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service. This taxonomy has the virtue of being comprehensible and neatly partitioning assessment requirements:

The Challenges PaaS Presents

Why would one call PaaS a significant challenge for users? Simply because the undoubted power and productivity of these platforms brings a new set of issues to enterprises that they may not realize until well after they’ve deployed a number of applications.

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Here are some of the things IT leaders should think about as they begin to evaluate their PaaS options:

1. Lock-in. Using a PaaS framework entwines your functionality with the CSP framework far more than installing your application into a provider’s virtual machine. Attempting to extract an application when it is internally dependent upon services the provider presents requires deep inspection of code–not just installing a tarball into a different provider. The productivity you gain by leveraging the PaaS provider’s offerings is matched by the dependence you suffer by being locked into the specifics of the offering. I’m less disposed than many to see lock-in as purely negative, as in my experience organizations embrace lock-in because it provides significant benefits. But it’s important to go into this with one’s eye open because it definitely represents a higher level of lock-in.

2. Complexity. Every PaaS provider puts its set of functionality together differently, with its framework constructed according to its view of how applications should be designed. Trying to determine how best to write and run your application in a PaaS environment is not trivial. For sure, it’s a big step away from traditional on-premise environments.

3. CSP (cloud services provider) differentiation. As noted above, a number of PaaS frameworks claim to provide a layer of abstraction that hides the details of the cloud provider from the application developer. Setting aside the likelihood of this application abstraction really working, it overlooks the meta-application functionality that can lock one in as surely as anything. Much of this functionality will be provided by the CSP–think monitoring and payment systems, for example–and will focus on operations, not application writing. CSPs will use this level of functionality to differentiate themselves, with the net effect of locking you in at the operations level rather than the code level. Don’t think this won’t happen. The first thought a cloud provider has is, “How do I differentiate myself from other CSPs?” because they all fear becoming the computing equivalent of a “dumb pipe.”

4. New skills. Your application developers will need to learn a new framework and how to develop applications for it. While many early cloud adopters are blessed with highly skilled development personnel that build new skills quickly, in the rest of the industry, getting organizations up to speed with something new is a human capital challenge.

5. Mapping existing practices to new frameworks. Most organizations have defined frameworks, methodologies and operational practices. These will have to be evaluated in light of a new framework and modified accordingly. In effect, this issue already exists with IaaS cloud offerings; it will just be exacerbated as the richness of the new framework presents more touch points for mapping.

Intel Joins the Windows 8 Developer Push

IDF takes place at the same time as BUILD, and the Wintel alliance (for now) is linking arms to reach out to developers Microsoft 70-640 Training .”.

If you’re going to Intel’s Developer Forum next week and want to know what’s up with Windows 8, good news: you don’t have to jet down to Anaheim, Microsoft has got you covered at IDF, too.

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As we all know, the Microsoft BUILD conference takes place next week in Anaheim, California (just across the street from Disneyland). BUILD is a rollup of PDC and WinHEC, so it’s the show for developers to attend. At the same time, Intel is hosting the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.

This may present a quandary for some people, but thankfully, Microsoft and Intel are coordinating this rather well. For those of you attending IDF, you can get yourself at least some info on Windows 8. As for a beta, well, we still don’t know if one will come out at BUILD (although I’d be shocked if it didn’t happen). The most likely scenario is that you can register to get the beta while at IDF.

The information comes courtesy of Intel’s IDF site, which lists a few notable sessions involving Microsoft (click on the Technical Session Catalog and search for Microsoft). The biggest one comes on Wednesday, where Microsoft will deliver a session on Windows 8 called “Microsoft Windows 8 on Intel Architecture.” This session will be the look at Windows 8 and discuss “the work both companies are undertaking to deliver this new compute experience.”

Most of the sessions are reserved for Thursday, the last day of IDF. I’ve seen how attendance falls off on day 3 of IDF and question whether that’s a good idea, but maybe it was all they had Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.

The two companies will host a session called “Hot Topic Q&A: Intel and Microsoft – Windows 8.” Microsoft will have three representatives, Intel will have two engineers.

Another session on Thursday will be “Microsoft Windows Platform Evolution and UEFI Requirements.” UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and will finally replace the creaky old BIOS firmware that has been in PCs for more than 30 years. The session will talk about the latest Windows 8 platform requirements including UEFI boot and security features.

The final session on Thursday will be “Integrating Intel Platform Capabilities on Microsoft Windows Security Architecture.” Intel will detail improvements in the Windows security architecture and how Intel hardware will work with the next-generation of Windows.

Sure sounds like a beta is coming, doesn’t it?

Microsoft's 5 biggest weaknesses

Search, mobile devices, the Web and even the desktop represent challenges for Redmond

For all its success as the world's biggest maker of PC operating systems and office programs, Microsoft's position as the dominant provider of software to consumers is at risk.

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2. Browsers

Once upon a time, Microsoft's Internet Explorer commanded greater than 90% market share, dominating the Web browser market as much as Windows dominates PCs today. The Microsoft monopoly earned itself antitrust penalties by beating Netscape into submission, but it wasn't until the rise of Mozilla's Firefox (a descendant of Netscape) and Google's Chrome that the monopoly would be broken.

Nowadays, Microsoft loses browser share almost every single month, dropping to 52.71% in total number of users, according to Net Applications, and to 42.45% in total page views, according to StatCounter. The discrepancy between numbers of users and amount of usage suggests that the Web's heaviest users are the ones who replace the default Internet Explorer with Firefox and Chrome.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 took steps forward in speed, the user interface, and ability to display sophisticated content like HTML5, and Microsoft is moving to a faster release schedule that brings improvements to users on a more regular basis. Perhaps just as important, Microsoft has made IE9 available only on the newest versions of Windows, arguing that creating browsers that work across all types of computers drives quality down by appealing to the lowest common denominator.

In other words, Microsoft says Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox are hobbled because they run across Windows, Mac, Linux and older, less capable versions of Windows such as XP. Microsoft wants you to believe that unless you buy a new version of Windows, you won't get the best browsing experience.


"In the future, the browser is only as good as the operating system and the device it runs on," IE Senior Director Ryan Gavin argued several months ago. "We have to think about these things as being integrated."

Internet Explorer itself isn't a moneymaker for Microsoft, although it can be used to direct consumers to Microsoft's online services. Theoretically, someone who tries out Chrome and likes it better than IE is a potential customer for other Google products, and someone who tries out Safari and likes it may become enamored with Apple.

Because of the move from locally installed applications to the Web, the browser is becoming "the portal into your world," says IDC analyst Al Gillen. "The reason Microsoft wants to fight movement is if you can wrestle the browser away from Microsoft, the more your interface to the rest of the world becomes your browser, and you worry more about what browser you're running than what operating system you're running."

Microsoft's response: Microsoft declined to answer questions about Internet Explorer, but pointed to a blog post by executive Roger Capriotti, who notes that IE9 is gaining popularity among Windows 7 users and business customers.
3. Mobile phones and tablets

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously laughed at Apple's iPhone in 2007, saying, "It's the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which means it's not a very good email machine. ... We have great Windows Mobile devices in the market today. I look at that and say I like our strategy, I like it a lot. We're selling millions and millions and millions of phones a year. Apple is selling zero phones a year."