Aaron Tiensivu's MCS blog

Lync 2013 client for Android available on Google Play

Aaron Tiensivu — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:31:15 GMT

I know what you're thinking - what devices are officially supported? Well, you can read the list here.

What if you need troubleshooting help? Check out this KB article.

You can download the client from here.

KB 2791382 - Lync 2010 client - March 2013 cumulative update

Aaron Tiensivu — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:10:01 GMT

This cumulative update fixes the issues that are documented in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

A user unexpectedly signs in to Lync 2010 as another user without a prompt for credentials after a cumulative update for Lync 2010 that is dated February 2012 or later installed
IM window opens unexpectedly when you use the IME to search in Lync 2010
Lync 2010 contacts list does not display in alphabetical order after a contact's name is changed in the Contacts folder in Outlook
An update is available to enable you to join a meeting by using Lync 2010 when a proxy authentication is required
Error message when you try to send an email message to a contact in Lync 2010 on a computer that does not have Outlook installed
An update enables participants to join meeting audio by telephone or phone when the meeting is organized by an audio/video-disabled user in Lync 2010
Call transfer is not successful when you use UI suppression in a Microsoft Lync 2010 SDK application
You cannot use Lync 2010 to join a Lync Online meeting that was created by a user in a non-federated organization
Error message when you try to join a Lync Online meeting that is created by a user in a non-federated organization in Lync 2010

You can read more about it here.

KB 2775511 - An enterprise hotfix rollup is available for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Aaron Tiensivu — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:38:02 GMT

I always keep an eye out for cumulative updates for operating systems, especially when there hasn't been a service pack released for a while.

This one in particular caught my eye because it combines over 90 hotfixes that are particularly useful in an enterprise environment.

Based on my experience with this collection of updates, I've installed this cumulative update on my personal systems at home.

The TCP, WMI and SMB fixes are pretty universal in appeal.

Some of the highlights:

Improves the Windows Client Remote File System components. These components include the following:

Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)
DFSN client
Folder Redirection
Offline Files and Folders (CSC)
SMB client
Redirected Drive Buffering Subsystem (RDB)
Multiple UNC Provider (MUP)

Improves the SMB Service and TCP protocol components. These improvements work together with other improvements to help improve the overall networking performance on Windows 7 SP1-based and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1-based computers.
Improves the processing of Group Policies and Group Policy preferences. The performance of computers is improved after you install this rollup update on Windows 7-based computers that have several Group Policy preferences configured. Additionally, the network load and the domain controller usage may be reduced. We recommend that you install this hotfix rollup on every Windows 7 computer that has Group Policy preferences configured.
Improves the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) components to reduce the CPU usage and to improve the repository verification performance.

You can read about it more here.

KB 2812461 - Lync 2013 client - February 2013 update

Aaron Tiensivu — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:35:00 GMT

These updates for Lync 2013 include many basic quality improvements since the initial release of Lync 2013.

Enables users to hide away or offline contacts in the contact list.
Enables users to receive buddy invites from untrusted networks.
Improves the support for high dots per inch (DPI) display, Microsoft Narrator, and other accessibility features.
Fixes bugs related to Location sharing and settings.
Fixes bugs related to Tabbed Conversations.
Enables participants to join online meetings by dialing out to their telephone number if online meetings are scheduled by a non-audio enabled Lync 2013 user.
Improves the handling of devices that have both a front and rear facing cameras.
Improves user experience when you join a Lync meeting in a Lync Room System enabled room.

Note: These updates only affect the Lync 2013 Desktop client. The Lync 2013 Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) client is not affected and will be updated at a later date. We do not recommend that you install these updates if you use Lync 2013 in VDI mode.

Lync 2013 client update (v15.0.4454.1506)

Download the x86 package now.
Download the x64 package now.

Office 2013 MSO update (v15.0.4454.1504 - required for February 2013 update)

Download the x86 package now.
Download the x64 package now.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2812461 (as of 02-12-13, may still be catching up with web caches)

Live Meeting updates to support Office 2013 and Windows 8 - KB 2770455 and 2770463 - build 8.0.6362.215

Aaron Tiensivu — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:51:00 GMT

I'll keep this short and sweet because there isn't much to say other than this is a welcome update for Office 2013 and Windows 8.

Main KB articles and download links

KB 2770455 - Live Meeting 2007 client update - download
KB 2770463 - Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook - download

Changes in client

KB 2776602 - Shared application takes longer than expected to appear in an Office Live Meeting 2007 conference in Windows 8

Changes in add-in

KB 2776601 - "You need 32-bit Outlook to use this setup" error message when you try to install the Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook in the 64-bit version of Windows 8
KB 2776596 - User is not connected to a live meeting that you created by using the Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook when the user clicks "Join the meeting" in an invitation email message
KB 2783950 - The "Office Communication Server" option displays after you install Office 2013 and the Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook in Windows 8
KB 2757536 - Outlook 2013 restarts when using "Meet Now" or "Schedule a Live Meeting" in the Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook
KB 2793819 - Live Meeting Conferencing Add-in for Outlook does not appear in a 32-bit version of Outlook 2013 on a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows 8

Office 365 rule limit sizes can be increased to 256k, from the default 64k

Aaron Tiensivu — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 01:34:04 GMT

One of the aspects of going to "the cloud" with my corporate account that I had to adjust to was the 64k rule limit for Outlook/OWA.

It limited the amount of rules I could create and process, and I had quite a few due to being a "filer" more than a "piler" for e-mail.

On a good note, you can now increase your rule limit to 256k for your Office 365 tenants.

On my friends and family tenant, I just had to execute "set-mailbox -identity aaron@tiensivu.tld -RulesQuota 256kb".

The "living document" related to this feature can be access here.

Windows 8 - What are these netcfg-*.log files in my %windir\system32 directory?

Aaron Tiensivu — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:40:09 GMT

Do you notice numerous netcfg-[randomnumber].log files in C:\windows\system32 with Windows 8 RTM? If so, you can safely delete them. There is an upcoming update to fix the creation of these log files.

Office and Lync 2013 Public Preview (Beta 2) display corruption - white or blank content

Aaron Tiensivu — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:06:00 GMT

Some video drivers seem to be rendering the content incorrectly.

Thankfully, there is an easy workaround for this, for most cases.

The telltale signs look something like this:

If your display driver version has been blacklisted (forced software rendering) by IE 9, Firefox, or Chrome, you are more likely to have this occur.

In most cases, using updated videos drivers will solve the problem.

If all else fails, run these two commands from an elevated command prompt:

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Graphics" /v ForceClientSoftwareRendering /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f

reg.exe add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Graphics" /v DisableHardwareAcceleration /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f

Easy to remember URL for the MS12-20 / RDP security patch / KB 2671387 / http://aka.ms/ms12-020

Aaron Tiensivu — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:33:39 GMT

You can use http://aka.ms/ms12-020 to read up on the latest news related to the RDP security update that came out today.

A more in-depth technical writeup about the update can be accessed here, which also includes a few FixIt items that can enable Network Layer Authentication (NLA) for RDP connections.

One FixIt to enable NLA. One FixIt to disable NLA. One FixIt to enable NLA support for Windows XP SP3.

Enabling NLA, in general, is a good idea anyway and I've always configured my PCs to use it ever since Windows Vista.

With NLA, the user connecting in will need to have proper user credentials before the server creates a full blown RDP session.

From what I can tell, the files updated in this security release, for Windows 7, are rdpcore.dll and rdpcorets.dll.

Lync 2010 mobile client updated for Android - requires manual update - v4.1.5014.8880

Aaron Tiensivu — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:35:55 GMT

Changelog from v4.0.4801.8882 to v4.1.5014.8880:

Enabled call-via-work - allowing Enterprise Voice enabled users to make and receive calls using your Enterprise Voice (Lync ID) number only. Connect with others using a single identity.

Added user controls for adjusting the sound/vibration for incoming notifications.

Improved the Lync status icon - know if you can receive IM messages.

Enabled copy of IM text to the clipboard.

Multiple bug fixes.

You can download the updated Android client using this link.