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Download – Office 2016 IT Pro and Developer Preview

Today Microsoft announced the publicly-available preview of Office 2016.

The download is available by signing up for the Office 2016 Preview program on the Microsoft Connect site.

Note: You will need a Windows Live ID / Microsoft Account to sign up.

After logging into the Connect site you’ll fill out a self-nomination survey. Fill that out and then you’ll have access to the four files for the March 2015 preview:

  • Admin_OfficePreview.zip (2.27 MB)
  • Office 2016 Preview What’s Next.docx (687 KB)
  • Installation Guide for Office 2016 Preview – Business (External).docx (138 KB)
  • Known Issues for Preview – February Refresh – Business External.docx (24 KB)

Where’s the ISO?

There is no spoon.

The ZIP file contains a tiny Setup.exe file (2.42 MB) that leverages XML and BAT files to stream the installation bits to your PC in the background:

Office 2016 Preview setup screen

As you can see from the screenshot above, the bits are available in x86 ands x64 flavors.

Here are the new programs:

Office 2016 Preview

As you can also see, this *is* beta / preview level software.

Excel 2016 fail-o-rama

And if you click the Help button, the support site is *also* in beta:

Help site fail-o-rama

So – word to the wise, don’t install this in production.

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Download – Free Microsoft Azure Essentials eBook

Microsoft Azure Essentials - Fundamentals of AzureTitle: Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure
Authors: Michael S. Collier and Robin E. Shahan
Published: Feb 2015
Publisher: Microsoft Press
ISBN: 978-0-7356-9722-5
Pages: 246
Price: FREE
Download URL: Click here for download

E-BOOK FORMATS

PDF: 9780735697225.pdf (6.7 MB)
EPUB: 9780735697225.epub (12.0 MB)
Kindle / Mobi: 9780735697225.mobi (24.6 MB)

DESCRIPTION

The “Microsoft Azure Essentials” series helps you advance your technical skills with Microsoft Azure. “Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure” introduces developers and IT professionals to the wide range of capabilities in Azure. The authors—both Microsoft MVPs in Azure—present conceptual and how-to content for seven key areas and describe management tools and business cases.

CHAPTERS

  1. Getting started with Azure
  2. Azure Websites and Azure Cloud Services
  3. Azure Virtual Machines
  4. Azure Storage
  5. Azure Virtual Networks
  6. Databases
  7. Azure Active Directory
  8. Management Tools
  9. Business Cases
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Download – New Office Visio Stencil

Title: New Office Visio Stencil
Published: 10/03/2014
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
File name: OfficeSymbols_2014.zip
Size: 3.19 MB
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

This stencil contains more than 500 icons to help you create visual representations of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office 365 deployments including Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, Microsoft Lync Server 2013, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013.

Note: This is a (yet again) updated version with the ever-confusing same name of “New Office Visio Stencil”.

The zip file contains 10 individual .vss files:

CLOUDS – s_symbols_Clouds.vss
(11 stencils)
s_symbols_Clouds.vss

COMMUNICATIONS – s_symbols_Communications.vss
(65 stencils)
s_symbols_Communications.vss

CONCEPTS – s_symbols_Concepts.vss
(117 stencils)
s_symbols_Concepts.vss

DATABASES – s_symbols_Databases.vss
(45 stencils)
s_symbols_Databases.vss

DEVICES – s_symbols_Devices.vss
(50 stencils)
s_symbols_Devices.vss

SECURITY – s_symbols_Security.vss
(51 stencils)
s_symbols_Security.vss

SERVERS – s_symbols_Servers.vss
(95 stencils)
s_symbols_Servers.vss

SERVICES – s_symbols_Services.vss
(25 stencils)
s_symbols_Services.vss

SITES – s_symbols_Sites.vss
(23 stencils)
s_symbols_Sites.vss

USERS – s_symbols_Users.vss
(41 stencils)
s_symbols_Users.vss

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Windows 10 Technical Preview Download

Windows 10 Technical Preview (desktop version) and Windows Server Technical Preview (server version) hit the web today.

What do the versions look like currently?

 

WINDOWS 10 TECHNICAL PREVIEW (DESKTOP / TABLET)
Build: 9841
Current availability: MSDN, TechNet, and public preview –
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-download

Public Preview

  • x86: WindowsTechnicalPreview-x86-EN-US.iso (2.93 GB)
  • x64: WindowsTechnicalPreview-x64-EN-US.iso (3.81 GB)

MSDN & TechNet

  • Windows Technical Preview (x86) – DVD
    en_windows_technical_preview_x86_dvd_5552509.iso
    Size: 3,009 MB
  • Windows Technical Preview (x64) – DVD
    en_windows_technical_preview_x64_dvd_5552500.iso
    Size: 3,911 MB
  • Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise (x86) – DVD
    en_windows_technical_preview_for_enterprise_x86_dvd_5554091.iso
    Size 2,913 MB
  • Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise (x64) – DVD
    en_windows_technical_preview_for_enterprise_x64_dvd_5554079.iso
    Size 3,797 MB

Windows 10 Technical Preview screen shot:

Windows 10 Technical Preview screen shot

 

WINDOWS SERVER TECHNICAL PREVIEW (SERVER)
Build: 9841
Current availability: MSDN & TechNet Subscribers

MSDN & TechNet

  • Windows Server Technical Preview (x64) – DVD
    en_windows_server_technical_preview_x64_dvd_5554304.iso
    Size: 4,210 MB
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server Technical Preview (x64) – DVD
    en_microsoft_hyper-v_server_technical_preview_x64_dvd_5554305.iso
    Size: 1,903 MB
  • Windows Server Datacenter Technical Preview (x64) – VHD
    en_windows_server_datacenter_technical_preview_x64_vhd_5554157.vhd
    Size: 7,661 MB

Windows Server Technical Preview screen shot:

Windows Server Technical Preview

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

  • Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
  • RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
  • Free hard disk space: 16 GB
  • Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
  • A Microsoft account and Internet access (not required for Server Preview)

NOTES

  • I intentionally installed the 64-bit version with only 1 GB of RAM to see if a warning was thrown – no warnings.
  • Both OSes were installed as Generation 2 virtual machines as guest VMs on Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Both VMs have 127GB dynamic VHDX files
  • The technical preview expires April 15, 2015 (Upgrade reminders start on April 1, 2015)
  • The version of PowerShell in the Server preview is 5.0.9841.0

image

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Download – PowerShell Hyper-V Cookbook

The Altaro PowerShell Hyper-V CookbookTitle: The Altaro PowerShell Hyper-V Cookbook
Author: Jeffery Hicks, PowerShell MVP
Twitter: @JeffHicks
Published: 2014
Publisher: Altaro Software
PDF: Altaro-PowerShell-Hyper-V-Cookbook.pdf
Size: 6.9 MB
Pages: 63
Scripts: Altaro-PowerShell-HyperV-Cookbook-Scripts.zip
Size 44.7 KB
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

  • Understand the basics of Hyper-V Cmdlets and how to create
    a Hyper-V VM
  • How to display and discover information about your VMs and Hyper-V host
  • Get mounted ISO files & identify orphaned VHD/VHDX files
  • How to delete obsolete snapshots and query Hyper-V event logs

SAMPLE POWERSHELL SCRIPTS

  1. Get-HyperVEvents.ps1
  2. Get-ImageFromISO.ps1
  3. Get-MyVM.ps1
  4. Get-ObsoleteVHD.ps1
  5. Get-VHDInfo.ps1
  6. Get-VMMemoryReport.ps1
  7. Get-VMOS.ps1
  8. Get-VMSnapshotUsage.ps1
  9. New-HVHealthReport.ps1
  10. New-VMfromISO.ps1
  11. New-VMFromTemplate.ps1
  12. Remove-OldVMSnapshot.ps1
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PowerShell Cheat Sheet for Active Directory

Old school MicrosoftAll right, pop quiz, hotshot:

Do you still use any of the following commands?

  • CSVDE
  • DCPROMO
  • DNSCMD
  • DSACLS
  • DSADD
  • DSGET
  • DSMOD
  • DSMOVE
  • DSQUERY
  • DSRM
  • GPRESULT
  • GPUPDATE
  • IPCONFIG
  • NETDOM
  • NETSTAT
  • NLTEST
  • NSLOOKUP
  • PING
  • REPADMIN

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of the previous items, you failed.

ALL of those commands have been replaced by PowerShell.

And they were replaced over a year and a half ago.

News flash: You’re falling further behind in your IT career.

“But PowerShell is hard to remember…” which is true.

Good news though. There’s a handy 4-page cheat sheet to help wean you off the sour milk of the command prompt and get you eating the solid food of PowerShell.

Title: PowerShell Command Line Conversion Guide: Active Directory
Published: 01/02/2013
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
File name: PowerShell Cmd Line Conversion Guide AD.pdf
Pages: 4
Size: 48 KB
Download URL: Click here for download

PowerShell Command Line Conversion Guide: Active Directory

Enjoy your meal!

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Download – PowerShell 4 Quick Reference Guide

Title: Windows PowerShell 4.0 and Other Quick Reference Guides
Published: 04/23/2014
Publisher: Microsoft / PowerShellMagazine.com
Size: 2.08 MB
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

Quickly learn tips, shortcuts, and common operations in Windows PowerShell 4.0, Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration, Windows PowerShell Workflow, Windows PowerShell ISE, Windows PowerShell Web Access, Server Manager for Windows Server 2012 R2, WinRM, WMI, and WS-Man.

CONTENTS

  • Windows PowerShell 4.0 Examples
  • Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) 4.0
  • Windows PowerShell 4.0 Language Quick Reference
  • Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration Overview
  • Windows PowerShell Web Access
  • Elements of Windows Management Infrastructure (WMI)
  • WMI in Windows PowerShell 4.0
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Download – New Office Visio Stencil

Title: New Office Visio Stencil
Published: 04/22/2014
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
File name: FLEX_Stencil_121412.vss
Size: 3.9 MB
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

This stencil contains more than 300 icons to help you create visual representations of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office 365 deployments including Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, Microsoft Lync Server 2013, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013.

Note: This is an updated version (April 22, 2014) of the old Office Visio Stencil

NEW VERSION

New Office Visio Stencil

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Download – Active Directory Replication Status Tool

Title: Active Directory Replication Status Tool
Published: 04/17/2014
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Version: 1.1
Size: 5.7 MB
File name: adreplstatusInstaller.zip
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

The Active Directory Replication Status Tool (ADREPLSTATUS) analyzes the replication status for domain controllers in an Active Directory domain or forest. ADREPLSTATUS displays data in a format that is similar to REPADMIN /SHOWREPL * /CSV imported into Excel but with significant enhancements.

CAPABILITIES

  • Expose Active Directory replication errors occurring in a domain or forest
  • Prioritize errors that need to be resolved in order to avoid the creation of lingering objects in Active Directory forests
  • Help administrators and support professionals resolve replication errors by linking to Active Directory replication troubleshooting content on Microsoft TechNet
  • Allow replication data to be exported to source or destination domain administrators or support professionals for offline analysis
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Download – Test Lab Guide – Windows Azure AD

Test Lab Guide: Creating a Windows Azure AD and Windows Server AD Environment using DirSync with Password SyncTitle: Test Lab Guide: Creating a Windows Azure AD and Windows Server AD Environment using DirSync with Password Sync
Author: Bill Mathers
Published: 01/15/2014
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Pages: 48
Size: 1.8 MB
File name: DirSync_TLG.docx
Download URL: Click here for download

DESCRIPTION

This document will assist IT professionals, administrators, architects, and developers with in creating a test lab that uses Windows Azure Active Directory and Windows Server AD.

CONTENTS

  1. Set Up the Configuring the Windows Server 2012 Base Configuration Test Lab for Public Cloud Technologies
  2. Sign-up for a Windows Azure 30-Day Trial
  3. Create a Windows Azure AD Tenant
  4. Prepare the Windows Azure AD Tenant for Synchronization
  5. Create Organizational Units and Test Users in Windows Server AD
  6. Download and Install DirSync
  7. Configure DirSync to specific Organizational Units
  8. Run DirSync and Verify Results
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