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Mitchell Ashley
Windows XP SP2 All Set For Retirement. XP SP3 or Windows 7?
Written on Wed, 06/23/10 - 2:03am
Windows XP SP2 has proven itself the stalwart of recent Windows operating system versions. Many organizations opted to stay on XP (SP2 or SP3) for some time, bypassing the Vista upgrade and hold out for a viable Windows 7. It's akin to Windows XP SP2 being our strong-hulled sunken submarine thats retained...
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Will Microsoft Lose the Tablet Market to Apple Too?
Written on Tue, 01/26/10 - 4:44pm
Microsoft's failing to even show a heartbeat of a mobile OS response to the Apple iPhone and Google Android is not new news. The next shoe to fall may be the tablet market, with tomorrow's expected announcement of the iSlate, iTablet, iWin from Apple. A desktop and laptop OS like Windows enabled the...
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How To Run Windows 7 Virtualized on Mac OS X
Written on Tue, 12/08/09 - 2:12pm
Windows 7 is my primary desktop but lately the amount of iPhone work I've been doing has prompted me to swap hardware so I could have my Mac Xcode development environment with me when I'm mobile. Thus, came the need to figure out: 1) what would it take to set up a MacBook Pro with Windows as a virtualized...
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Can You Work On A Virtualized Windows Desktop?
Written on Mon, 12/07/09 - 4:20am
I’m using a Macbook Pro laptop running OS X and I have Windows 7 installed on the Bootcamp partition. Normally this kind of setup only lets you boot up either Mac OS X or Windows, but with VMware Fusion 3 for Mac OS X I can run the bootcamp partition (Windows 7) as a virtualized guest operating...
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Productivity Hazards of Windows Updates
Written on Mon, 11/30/09 - 10:22am
Patch Tuesday. Windows updates. Microsoft Office updates. It's a necessary evil, making sure your Windows computers are up to date with the latest vulnerability patches. Patch "whatever day" for Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and others are now simply part of our normal IT process. Next to anti-malware and...
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Microsoft Missed Perfect Chance To Contribute GPL Code
Written on Wed, 11/11/09 - 8:52am
Using open source software in your product. Doesn't Microsoft know that bloggers, techno-dudes and everyone else is watch them like a hawk waiting for Microsoft to make a GPL license misstep? Friday blogger Rafael Rivera called Microsoft on the carpet accusing Redmond of lifting code from the ImageMaster...
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Microsoft Is Perfect Example Why Executive Pay Is Broken
Written on Fri, 11/06/09 - 8:34am
Text message this morning from CNN: Unemployment hit 10.2% in October. Microsoft announced earlier this week another 800 employee layoffs to the 5,000 previously announced employee layoffs. If you look at Microsoft's financials you see why, a 14% revenue and 18% net income drop for the last reported...
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User Support Is The Key To New Microsoft Store
Written on Mon, 11/02/09 - 9:38am
Now that Microsoft's first Apple-like store is open in Scottsdale Arizona, Microsoft has finally entered the world of direct consumer retail sales. Since I don't live in that part of the country I have to rely on the reports from others, and so far the feedback is that the store is a lot like Apple's,...
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Just How Much Is Riding on Windows 7 For Microsoft?
Written on Fri, 10/23/09 - 9:09am
In a word, Windows 7 means "everything" for Microsoft's future. We can all talk about the insane number of SharePoint licenses sold, how well Windows Server 2008 has been put together, Bing's surprising rise in the search market, and exciting moves by Microsoft into Online Services for hosted Microsoft...
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5 Of The Coolest Things You Should Check Out In Windows 7 Today
Written on Thu, 10/22/09 - 6:11am
Windows 7, it's here! Well, it's actually been here since PDC 2008 in some form or fashion, but Windows 7 has reached its official launch day. You've heard about the new taskbar, you've heard it's more stable and faster than Windows V(ista) (I don't want to say the V word anymore.) Windows 7 starts up,...
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Revo Uninstaller - A Better Way To Uninstall Windows Software
Written on Mon, 10/19/09 - 11:22am
Windows is notorious for leaving lots of leftovers around after a program uninstall. Windows 7 is no different. Whether you use the Control Panel uninstaller or a default uninstaller listed with the application in the start menu, traces are still left in the registry and on your hard disk. Enter Revo...
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Remote Desktop To Windows From Your iPhone
Written on Thu, 10/15/09 - 12:56pm
Wouldn't it be convenient to Remote Desktop Connect into your Windows box using your iPhone? That would be great in situations where you're out to dinner, running an errand, to someplace where your computer's not. Enter RDP, Moacha Remoted Desktop iPhone app by Mochasoft.dk.
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Microsoft Fix It. Where Is "Harry Tuttle" When We Need Him?
Written on Tue, 09/22/09 - 10:00am
The current Server Message Block (SMB) vulnerability we're experiencing caused me to go out and run Microsoft's Fix It application. It reported that the fix doesn't apply to the Windows 7 RTM I'm running. I hope that's because this version isn't vulnerable and not because Fix It doesn't work with Windows...
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Number 1 Thing To Make Windows 7 Installs Easy
Written on Mon, 09/14/09 - 11:00am
I'd hate to think exactly how many times I've installed some version of Windows 7 since its debut back at Microsoft PDC 2008. There was the Windows 7 pre-public beta (that didn't have the new UI and menu bar), the Windows 7 public beta, the Windows 7 RC and the Windows 7 RTM. On my daily use laptop alone...
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The Curse of the Ribbon Menu
Written on Wed, 08/26/09 - 9:56am
Everyone wants to take their shot at what's wrong with Microsoft these days so here's mine. Ribbon menus. I've long detested Microsoft's ribbon menu user interface. The biggest issue is what you once knew how to do, you now have to find again (and again). The net gain being a big net loss in productivity.
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Windows 7 Feature Focus: Libraries
Written on Tue, 08/25/09 - 10:53am
Every new release of an OS like Windows has it's nuggets and one of Windows 7's is the new Library feature. If you don't know about Libraries, and I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to try it, you'll want to check it out. One of the most frequent tasks users perform is navigating to all of the content...
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Virtualization Day: Virtual Machine Manager R2 RTM and Windows 7 XP Mode
Written on Mon, 08/24/09 - 2:13pm
It must be Virtualization Day at my office as right in the middle of test out XP Mode on Windows 7 with some VoIP software, Microsoft announces System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2 is RTM (released to manufacturing). We have a number of projects in the office centered around virtualization, including...
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5 Reasons Macs Can't Claim They're Better than Windows 7
Written on Wed, 08/19/09 - 11:18am
I regularly use both Windows and Mac PCs, so any comments that I've never used a Mac are bunk. I've been using Windows 7 since before its public beta release at the first of this year. I use my Mac for video editing, iPhone development, etc. I love all of my computers equally -- my Windows...
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Will Apple's multi-touch tablet steal Windows 7's multi-touch thunder?
Written on Wed, 08/05/09 - 1:05pm
Rumors about a possible (some say likely) Apple tablet are so intriguing because of Apple's huge success with the iPhone. Gizmodo says its a 90% likelihood we'll see an Apple Tablet within 4 months. One of the more recent debates is whether the tablet would be a MacBook Touch (based on Mac OS X) or an...
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Microsoft... Coming to a New Store Near You
Written on Tue, 07/28/09 - 3:36am
Apple and Radio Shack are probably the two most successful electronics brands to have retail stores dedicated to selling their own products direct to the customer. Radio Shack of course is a much different business model, more of a commercialization of the hobby electronics store, where as Apple stores...
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About Converging on Microsoft
Mitchell Ashley has a diverse background in software development, network engineering, information security, mobility, collaborative technologies, and IT management and operations. An early adopter of social media in business, he began blogging about security and information technologies in 2006 at theconvergingnetwork.com. Mitchell is VP of Information Technology at CableLabs in Louisville, CO, and previously held positions as CIO, CTO and VP Engineering at prior companies.
 

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