In the last 2 days the biggest question I’ve heard is what makes this device good for me? The best response I’ve had for that is if you are a standard user, the Surface can be your only computer and you will not skip a beat with your day to day life.
Microsoft Surface with Cyan Touch Cover
First I would like to start out by defining what I consider a “Standard User”. A standard user is someone who uses a computer for email, social media, blogging, consuming media (Music/Video) and casual gaming. This user can potentially be on the go and doing all of these things but this is not a requirement nor does it hurt if they are. …
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!
On April 15th @MichaelBender challenged the readers of MS Learning’s Born To Learn blog. The challenge is to complete the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Private Cloud Certification. This certification requires five exams, I have completed three of these already so I decided that I will take on the challenge of completing two of these exams by/at Tech Ed! I am required to complete two exams, however there an extra exam that is a possible substitute. The exam is the 70-659 (Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization), which will count as the 70-247. Throughout this blog post I am going to outline my tentative schedule and some of the learning resources I’ve already gathered.
