Today was a big day for Microsoft. Today was the release of Windows 8 and of the Surface RT. I have been using Windows 8 quite a bit already and so I wasn’t expecting much aside from my excitement for the Surface RT to show up.
My day started by as soon as I woke up I grabbed my phone and tracked the delivery of my Surface RT. I saw that it was on the truck for delivery so I decided for sure I was working from home in the morning. I had completed quite a bit of work and just finished up with a conference call when I heard a knock at the door. I rushed into the living room to find my Surface RT with Cyan Touch Cover waiting for me.
I personally have been using Windows 8 off and on since the Developer Preview was released over a year ago, more frequently after I received a Samsung Series 7 Slate in February to start working on it for work. I’ve been following all of the news articles about how this is going to change everything or how it is going to completely bomb. I’ve been in multiple conversations with co-workers, and friends from previous jobs about what will be changing and if it is an improvement or degrading and I’ve decided that I will share my point of view publicly.
The Good:
Word Processing on the Go
Windows RT (ARM Processor Devices) has Office 2013 built in.
Windows 8 (Intel/AMD Devices) can have any version of Microsoft Office Installed.
I’ve heard multiple coorporations wanting to implement Tablets, however the most frequent request is word processing.
Build in Hyper visor
I was thrilled to see that they included Hyper-V into Windows 8.
Gives me the ability to stay away from VMWare Player/Workstation.
Unified System
Home desktops, corporate desktops and tablets you can carry around with you all being the same.
Can also use cloud services to share files across all these devices.
Touch and Keyboard/Mouse Friendly
Throughout the preview the mouse/keyboard usage has improved. Overall I think they have made it seem less when using either touch or keyboard/mouse combo.
Better Performance
As hardware improves so does software, even running the same hardware I ran with Windows 7 I have a faster boot time, and I am seeing better overall performance.
Windows Live Login
Manage a single login across all of your Windows 8 devices
Manage basic settings and Metro apps across all Windows 8 devices
Improved Interface
My personal feeling is that the interface is aesthetically more appealing.
The Bad:
Harder learning curve
With the modified interface it will be much more challenging for people to learn the interface.
Limited Applications at Launch
Currently the amount of apps in the Windows Store is limited but growing.
Price
Some of the hardware I believe could be priced a little bit lower.
I do want to clarify the Microsoft Surface is competitively priced when comparing to an iPad.
Will it Succeed:
Overall with the amount of experience I have with Windows 8 I strongly believe that this operating system and tablet devices have the ability to succeed. I do see this being highly usable in enterprise environments using tablet devices. I’ve spent a couple days working purely using a tablet device and docking it at work. My main concern on if this will succeed or not will come down to the ability to properly train everyone on the new operating system and how to use it.
Some final notes I have on the up coming operating system and hardware that is coming out is to keep an open mind to using an entirely new interface, make sure you dedicate time into learning it and you will realize that it is a move in the proper direction.
TechEd was an extremely busy week, and it was a ton of fun. There were many challenges throughout the week maintaining my schedule however it was overall another amazing year. I had 3 goals I wanted to complete, and I feel I completed all 3 of them.
Take Certification Exams
Network and meet new people
Learn
For the first 3 days (0-2) I was able to fit in time to write a summary, for the last 2 I did not have much free time however I will summarize them now.
If you do not wish to read through those 3 blog post I’ll tell you now that I did amazing networking with my buddies in #TheKrewe on Day 0, on Day 1 I failed my #60Days2MCSE certifications (70-246) however I learned a great deal and blogged details about follow up steps. Later in the Day on Day 1 I took the beta exam for Windows 8, Configuring. I will not know my score until the full exam is released however I feel confident that I have passed this exam and am excited to find out for certain.
Day 2 came along and started just as crazy, I rushed to breakfast, rushed to The Keynote, and then rushed to the first exam (70-247) which I was not required to take and pass however I did take and fail it! I was lucky enough between exams to get a chance to write my blog post, and start focusing on the Server 2012, Configuring Exam I was about to take. The exam was a bit more rough than the Windows 8 exam, and I feel it was focused heavily on Active Directory. I am unsure if I passed it; however since it is also a beta I will not know until the full exam is released.
TechEd Day 3 Summary
Day 3 was not as exhausting however it was time consuming because I was attending sessions and I had little time between them. I started with a session about Storage and Hyper-V, most of it was over my head and felt more like a sales pitch, I followed that up with VIR303 which covered the Networking side of Hyper-V, I felt it was a solid presentation; but over my head again because I am not the network guy. I will admit this is the session I took the most notes in though. In the afternoon I went to Optimizing SQL for the Private cloud, it was very interesting learning about the MAP Toolkit which I had never used before and how they used it to plan for a large scale SQL deployment in a virtual environment. After this session I attended the Exam Cram for the 246/247 and then headed back to the hotel to rest some for that night. In the evening I was attending the Microsoft Springboard Party at Ember in Downtown Orlando. While there I had a chance to network more and I was able to meet more Indiana locals including the president of IWUG. I never knew that I could network so well if I just talked to people!
TechEd Day 4 Summary
Whew at this point I wasn’t sure if I was excited TechEd was almost over or not. I love going however it completely physically and mentally drains you. I spent another morning in sessions, followed by an afternoon winning a bean bag (Sadly not an MCSE bag) and finishing up my networking in the alumni lounge.
The evening of the last day was the closing party at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. I had a good time checking out everything and enjoying free unlimited food from all the stands around Universal. It was cool to get to check everything out in a relaxed environment.
Until Next Year!
I had an amazing time and would not trade it for anything. I am hoping to get to go back next year and see all of my friends in #TheKrewe in New Orleans for TechEd 2013 June 3rd – 6th!
“The Krewe is a group of hard working/fun-loving IT Pros and Developers. We gather every year at Microsoft TechEd North America, the largest Microsoft technology education conference. Our mission is to build a dynamic networking community through various activities and gatherings.” – TechEdKrewe.com
The Story
In the months leading up to TechEd I decided to become much more involved. I vowed that I was going to Network all throughout TechEd. I posted on #TheKrewe Facebook page which I had been involved with the year before; but did not really network much. I asked how I can break the ice with people when by nature I am not the most social until I know people. Many people told me I was already doing a decent job being involved with #60Days2MCSE, and promoting myself on Twitter before TechEd.
After posting that I was approached by Michael Bender asking if I’d be interested in helping with #TheKrewe Meet N Greet party which was a good time last year, and I was planning on attending anyway. I went ahead and offered to help, and then became the person coordinating the volunteers for the event. It wasn’t much work, and I figured it’d be a good way to get to know more people.
All I had to do was create a sign up form, promote the form and coordinate some people, that’s simple! We also had some emails going back and forth about a #TheKrewe T-shirt, my design abilities and the ones that were already provided I felt could use some improvement. I suggested a T-Shirt Design contest which I took on the lead of. I posted the contest and didn’t get too many entries but we got enough good designs for a really sweet looking shirt. …
Day 2 was a rough start, every day you progress through TechEd the more exhausted you feel in the morning. The day started with another Keynote that was all about Windows 8, the keynote mostly felt like a basic how to session on how to navigate the OS. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of deep detail, although watching them use Windows 2 Go was pretty nifty.
After the Keynote I was in a hurry to get to my first certification of the day which was the 70-247. I did not need to take this exam, however I figured that it was free so why not? The exam was challenging like I expected, and I was unable to pass it. After that I had some time to browse the TechExpo floor, then grab lunch before my next exam.
The exam I took in the afternoon was the 71-410 which is Server 2012 Configuring. I was surprised by the exam because it mostly covered Active Directory. I have completed the Active Directory Exam, so I was mostly familiar with the content. I will know about if I passed the beta exams in about 2 months.
The day went on and I had a little bit of time to learn about Windows Phone and convince myself I want one (have not bought one). I didn’t have much time after the Windows Phone demo to get to my next session but I made it. I attended Mark Russinovich’s session on using the sys internal tools to discover malware to remove it. This was a great way to wrap up the sessions for the day.
In the evening was the community night which I spent talking with some SQL people and talking about the Indy PowerShell User Group, which I will be helping jumpstart in the coming months. The night ended with relaxing in the hotel room and reenergizing for the next day.
