chris e. avis - writing about microsoft and technology....

Xbox One Announcement live now!

2013-05-21T17:36:21Z

Updated Office Hours available….

2013-05-20T20:02:33Z

I have been using OHours.org to schedule virtual and in-person office hours to meet with folks from the community, user groups leaders, IT Pros, and just about anyone else that is interested in technology. This is a casual meeting where we can discuss anything that is on your mind. I have a widget on the right side of my blog where you can schedule hours or click the link below. Don’t limit yourself to just the office hours though. Feel free to email or call anytime! eMail – chris.avis@microsoft...(read more)

Tomorrow! - Microsoft Virtual Academy: Windows Azure for IT Pros

2013-05-15T18:19:00Z

Folks, If you have been to any of my live presentations, recently, you have probably hear m get super jazzed about Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service. I truly think this is the future of infrastructure for all businesses. I envision a world where new businesses starting up don’t have to invest in any server infrastructure at all and simply create everything they need in the cloud. If you would like to learn more about Windows Azure IaaS and how Windows Azure Cloud Computing...(read more)

AppFactor

2013-05-15T16:50:20Z

For more details and to register, please go to the App Factor main site! Home Have app ideas? Have software development skills? If so, that’s all you need to learn, compete and win ! 10 Cities, 100’s of developers and 1000’s of great ideas. The opportunity is NOW! Don’t miss another chance to get in on the next great marketplace! Get your competitive juices flowing and participate in a FREE Windows 8 App Factor event . THE MAIN EVENT WINDOWS 8 APP FACTOR LEARN Part one of the series...(read more)

Boot To VHD – Configuring, Creating a Reusable Trial version image and more….

2013-05-03T17:41:19Z

With the introduction of Boot To VHD in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, we have an excellent way of cleanly booting to multiple Windows OS versions (Windows 7 and later only). Traditional dual-boot scenarios required us to load different version of Windows in a specific order to ensure we could dual-boot properly. Even worse, if something caused a system wide failure, dual-boot systems are more difficult to troubleshoot and restore. Boot to VHD cleans all of this up, though it does restrict...(read more)

Last Chance!! – Register for TechDays in San Francisco!

2013-04-26T20:56:33Z

My friends over at the PacIT Pros User Group are holding another Tech Days event in a few weeks. I will be presenting a couple of sessions on Windows Azure IaaS at the event. There are also a lot of other great speakers that will be in attendance. if you will be in the area, check out the info on the event below! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you ask yourself if your job skill sets are current? Do you wonder what changes are happening in the industry that...(read more)

Online Training - System Center 2012 SP1: Application & Infrastructure Management

2013-04-26T19:31:27Z

TechTrax Train the Trainer System Center 2012 SP1: Application & Infrastructure Management Join us on May 2nd and May 9th for two TechTrax Train the Trainer sessions on System Center 2012 SP1 led by Microsoft Senior Technical Evangelist Symon Perriman. System Center 2012 SP1 provides the industry's best infrastructure and application management solutions using Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), App Controller (SCAP), Operations Manager (SCOM), Orchestrator (SCO), Service Manager (SCSM) and Data Protection...(read more)

Active Directory: Differences Between On Premise and In the Cloud – Part 2

2013-04-26T13:10:08Z

To my faithful readers – My Apologies. In my previous articles on Active Directory: Differences Between On Premise and In the Cloud , I neglected to include the single biggest (and most obvious) difference between traditional, on-premise Active Directory and Windows Azure Active Directory. I touched briefly on Authentication and Authorization in the previous article, but I failed to point out that Windows Azure Active Directory is not designed to nor will it handle Authentication of machine and computer...(read more)

Content Series: Build Your Cloud in a Month!

2013-04-25T14:26:29Z

The US IT Pro Evangelism Team has been working on another series of content! This set is designed to help you learn to guild out a cloud computing environment in a one month span. There is already some great content online with more to come! Week 1 – Build Your Private Cloud Foundation with Windows Server 2012 What is a Private Cloud? ( Video ) Why Private Cloud? by Yung Chou Build a Private Cloud Foundation - Overview ( Video ) Build a Private Cloud Foundation – Storage by Matt Hester Build...(read more)

Active Directory: Differences Between On Premise and In the Cloud

2013-04-24T16:03:45Z

Two days ago, I wrote up a post called - Getting Started with Windows Azure Active Directory – Setting up the Windows Azure AD Tenant – In that post, I walk through how to configure the Windows Azure Active Directory tenant, but I don’t spend any significant time on why you would want to do this. It is important to understand the difference between Active Directory Domain Services that you run on a Domain Controller on-premise, and Windows Azure Active Directory running in the Azure cloud. Even though...(read more)