Video: Updates to the Windows as a service model

If you're a Microsoft Windows IT professional and support Windows 10, then you should spend 5 minutes to watch this video. This will explain the changes that are being made to Windows Update service model.

Video Description: "With Windows 10, there is a shift to delivering Windows as a service. Catch up on the new way Microsoft builds, deploys and services Windows. Michael Niehaus, Director, Windows Commercial, defines the core components of the Windows as a service model and recent updates Microsoft announced. He will also review the build release process and update cadence, upcoming enhancements to further streamline the model, and how the model also applies to Office 365 ProPlus and Windows Server."


 

Microsoft Edge: Changing the default search engine

If you use Microsoft Edge, and want to change the default search engine (which is the Bing search engine).  Follow the instructions below:

• Open Microsoft Edge, and go to the search engine that you want to use (in this example we will use http://www.google.com/). 
• Open the Settings menu under the ellipsis (…), press the View advanced settings button.
• Scroll down to Search in the address bar with, and then press the Change search engine button; select the search engine, then press the Set as default button.

Windows 10: Taskbar keyboard shortcuts

Below is a list of taskbar keyboard shortcuts that work in Windows 10 (and previous versions of the operating system, such as Window 7 or even earlier):

• Shift + Click a taskbar icon – Opens an app or opens another instance of it.
• Ctrl + Shift + Click a taskbar icon – Opens an application as a local administrator.
• Shift + Right-click a taskbar icon – Shows the window menu for the app
• Shift + Right-click a grouped taskbar icon – Shows the window menu for the group
• Ctrl + Click a grouped taskbar icon – Cycles through the windows of the group

Video: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

On October 17, 2017, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The video below from Microsoft gives an overview of the new features that are included in this update to the Operating System.

Some of the new features include, Mixed reality support (i.e. blending the virtual and real world together using a headset like a HoloLens), updates to the photo app to create movies from your photographs.  The update also includes several enhancements to Cortana and Microsoft Edge.

The operating system includes new security features to make your system more secure, such as the Windows Defender Security Center. Which includes new features Windows Defender Exploit Guard.  That helps protect files from unauthorized changes by malware (and ransomware).

Another new feature is the Continue on PC. When you visit websites, do searches, or read articles online that are on your iPhone or Android smartphone.  They can be forward to your PC where they can be instantly opened.

The video is a Microsoft promotion for their products, but it includes a lot of useful information about the new Windows OS update.  It also includes examples of the available mixed reality hardware and an overview of the new Surface Book computer.


 

PowerShell: One Line Ping Scanner

Need to do some basic network exploration, use the one-liners below to see what device are on your network (Note: only setup for Class C, IPv4 networks).

Example 1: Less Detail
0..255|%{$a="192.168.0.$_";$b=Test-Connection -count 1 -ComputerName $a -quiet;If($b){Write-Host $a}}

Example 2: More Detail
0..255|%{$a="192.168.0.$_";$b=Test-Connection -count 1 -ComputerName $a -quiet;If($b){Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $a}}

Windows PowerShell Equivalents: Networking Commands (PING)

Looking for PowerShell equivalents for older console network commands such as PING. The PING command is used for checking connectivity and to measure network latency between two devices.

PowerShell: Test-NetConnection

Examples:
Test-NetConnection www.example.com
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName www.example.com -InformationLevel Detailed
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName www.example.com | Select-Object -ExpandProperty PingReplyDetails | Format-Table Address, Status, RoundTripTime

Advanced Tip: Finding and Uninstalling a HotFix From PowerShell

Warning: Use this trick at your own risk, uninstalling the wrong hot fixes on your system can cause problems.

There are several ways to find the hotfixes from the GUI tools on your system, such as the Windows Update GUI.  I generally like to use PowerShell only tricks, but this one is a hybrid. It uses a utility called WUSA to uninstall the hotfix.

To uninstall a hotfix on your system, you need to know its KB number.  You can use this technique to test if it exists and then uninstall it. All you have to do is change the KB number in the $A variable.

$a="11111111";$b="KB"+$a;$c=Get-HotFix|Where-Object HotFixID -eq $b;if(![string]::IsNullOrEmpty($c)){wusa /uninstall /kb:$a}

Windows PowerShell Equivalents: Networking Commands (IPCONFIG)

Looking for PowerShell equivalents for older console network commands such as IPCONFIG. The IPCONFIG command is used for displaying IP address information (including the subnet mask, and gateway) for the local NIC adapter attached to the computer.

PowerShell: Get-NetIPConfiguration or Get-NetIPAddress

Examples:

• Get-NetIPConfiguration
• Get-NetIPAddress | Sort-Object InterfaceIndex | Format-Table InterfaceIndex,InterfaceAlias,AddressFamily,IPAddress,PrefixLength -Autosize
• Get-NetIPAddress | Where-Object AddressFamily -eq IPv6 | Format-Table –AutoSize

Windows 10's Anniversary Update

If you have not heard, Microsoft is releasing a free Windows 10's Anniversary Update. This upgrade is supposed to be available in July of this year. This is not a small update, it's going to contain a lot of new features and enhancements.

I will post more information as we get closer to the release.  If you want to play with the new enhancements now, join the Insider Preview program and joining fast ring. Open the Setting app, select Update and Security, select Windows Update, press the Advanced options link. Follow the instructions under Get Insider Builds section. 

Please note this is beta prerelease software, so don't run it on your production computer.

To learn more about this and other features check out my book on Windows 10 (Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets: The Ultimate Windows Tips and Tricks Guide for Everyone) [shameless plug].

Window 10: File Explorers New ‘Quick Access’ Menu

Quick Access folders

The File Explorer has a new feature called ‘Quick Access’ list. This feature allows the user to pin their favorite folders to the top of the list for quick, one-click access.

Recently used folders show up below the pinned items in the list, which can be handy when the user is working with a group of files.

To add a folder to this list, right-click it and select Pin to Quick Access. To remove a folder from the list, right-click the folder and select Unpin to Quick Access.

Frequent folders section

When the user first opens the File Explorer, any items in the Quick Access list also show up in the Frequent folders section. Recently used folders show up automatically in this section.

Software: Microsoft Snip

Microsoft has just released a new and very handy screen capture application, it's called Microsoft Snip. The app allows you to capture any window or area of your screen.

You can then annotate it with narrated comments or draw on it with digital ink. You can then copy and paste it into another application, or share it with your friends and colleagues by sending a URL to it, or save it as an MP4 video.

Windows 10: Use the Cortana search to perform quick calculations

One of Cortana's many features is that you can use it to perform quick calculations, such as:

• How many ounces are in a pound?
• What’s the square root of 578?
• 1 USD to CAD (or 1 US Dollar to Canadian Dollar) [most currencies are supported]

Note: These searches will also work in Google and Google Now

Windows 10: How to Get Help (How-To Video)

In this Windows 10 how-to video, it explains how to get help from the operating system using the search box and Cortana.

Windows 10: Windows Hello (How-To Video)

This how-to video explains the Windows Hello feature, which offers a fast, secure, and password-free way to log in to Windows 10.

Note: the hardware on your computer needs to be supported by this technology in order for it work.

Windows 10: Xbox on Windows (How-To Video)

In this video you'll learn about Windows 10 and its Xbox integration with the console and the Xbox Live community.

Some of the tips that are covered are:

• Stream your Xbox games to your PC
• How to record those great gaming moments.
• And more.

Windows 10: 5 Tips for Productivity (How-To Video)

This Windows 10 how-to video shows quick productivity tip for:

• Start Menu
• Action Center
• Windows Store
• Search in the taskbar
• Cortana

New Book: Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2015 Edition)

I wanted to post some information about my new Windows 10 book that is now available for purchase. Below is all the details and links to the new book.

This is the forth book that I have published. If you buy it and enjoy it, please post a review to let me and others know. I love hearing feedback from my readers.

• Title: Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2015 Edition)
• Author: Jason Savitt
• Description: This book helps all levels of users (from novice to IT Professional) to take full advantage of the operating system. Some of the topics covered in the book: Understanding the different installation and upgrade options. Leveraging the power and features of the new OS and applications and services. Hundreds of power user notes, tips and tricks to fully utilize the features of the OS. Learn the background, history and future of the Windows product line, and what this will mean to you. Discover undocumented and little known features that can grant the user access to functionality that is only known to experts. Understand the new privacy concerns that comes with using all the new applications and services.
• Free preview
• Buy a copy

Windows 10: Windows Store (How-To Video)

The Windows Store is Microsoft's one-stop shop for all things Windows apps and media. The store offers free and paid apps, games, movies, TV shows, and the latest music.

This feature first appeared in Windows 8, and has been enhanced and upgraded in Windows 10. The biggest enhancement is the cleaner user interface design, it’s much easier to find things.

Windows 10: Microsoft Edge (How-To Video)

The Microsoft Edge browser, is the company's replacement for Internet Explorer. The Edge browser gets rid of a lot of legacy technologies that IE was hindered with. Microsoft had to make a logical separation between the two apps to abandon the bloat of the old browser.

One of the new features of the new Edge browser is the ability to mark up a webpage and share it with someone. Another cool feature is the Reading View strips away the clutter, then allows the user to place articles in the Reading List app for later review.

Windows 10: Windows and OneDrive (How-To Video)

Microsoft OneDrive is a built-in cloud storage service in Windows 10. This is a great feature if you want to store your files in the cloud so they’re accessible from a mobile device or another computer. This feature was also built-in to Windows 8. That version allowed you to keep most of your files in the cloud, but it could do more than the Windows 10 version.

The Windows 8 version also allowed you to select which ones you wanted to keep locally and everything else stayed in the cloud until you needed it. For some reason they removed this feature from Windows 10.

In a future article I’ll discuss how to work around this issue for devices that don’t have a great deal of storage