In this week’s newsletter
Be sure to check out our new section “COVID Corner” for our movie recommendations to help keep you entertained (and sane) during the virus crisis!
In this issue: Disruptions to global tech supply chain. 0patch support for Windows 7. Upgrade now to VMware Tools 11.0.6. Join us for Office 365 CON 2020 on May 14. Working from home with two monitors. Preventing use of company laptop after user exits company (Ask Our Readers). Disable processor boost mode to prolong your battery life (Tip). Rod Taylor film favorites (COVID Corner). Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!
Enjoy this week’s newsletter and feel free to send us feedback on any of the topics we’ve covered — we love hearing from our readers!
Got questions? Ask our readers!
WServerNews goes out each week to more than 200,000 IT pro subscribers worldwide! That’s a lot of expertise to tap into. Do you need help with some technical problem or are looking for expert advice on something IT-related? Ask Our Readers by emailing your problems and/or questions to us at [email protected]
Editor’s Corner
This week’s observations and ruminations from Mitch Tulloch our Senior Editor…
Disruptions to global tech supply chain
Bloomberg has some disturbing news for businesses and consumers who need new parts and components for their systems and devices:
“Broadcom Inc. warned customers they’ll need to place orders for parts at least six months ahead of time, a surprisingly long lead time that points to wider than anticipated disruptions to the tech industry’s global supply chain.”
They report that Broadcom is recommending that customers place orders 6 months ahead of when they need delivery of the components they produce which are often utilized in both consumer and business tech products. You can read the full article here:
Broadcom Sounds Alarm on Unforeseen Tech Industry Disruptions (Bloomberg)
The Verge also reports that research firm Canalys says that looming parts shortages due to COVID-10 disrupting global supply chains will also slow PC sales despite growing demand because of more people having to work from home:
Canalys says supply chain woes meant fewer PCs shipped in Q1 despite huge demand (The Verge)
Education Week also reports that a growing shortage of laptops and Chromebooks is making it harder for schools to make remote learning work with their students:
Coronavirus Squeezes Supply of Chromebooks, iPads, and Other Digital Learning Devices (Education Week)
How has this growing trend impacted our readers? Are any of you having difficulty procuring new systems or replacement parts from the hardware vendors you traditionally work with? If so, what steps are you taking to solve or mitigate the problem? Share your stories with us for the benefit of other readers of our newsletter by emailing us at [email protected]
0patch support for Windows 7
Has your company subscribed to Extended Security Updates (ESUs) from Microsoft? A reader has informed us that while 0patch currently plans to stop creating new patches for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 after 2023, they may continue to do so if enough companies currently using Microsoft ESUs want to continue using Win7/Server2008 after 2023. For more information see the 0patch website here:
Upgrade now to VMware Tools 11.0.6
A reader reports that version 11.0.6 of VMware Tools has now been released and that it’s highly recommended to upgrade to this new version. See the release notes here:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Tools/11.0/rn/VMware-Tools-1106-Release-Notes.html
Join us for Office 365 CON 2020 on May 14
Registration is now open for Office 365 CON 2020, the annual online gathering of IT Strategists, Domain Experts and Microsoft MVPs, presenting the latest technologies and solutions for the challenges facing the MS Office 365 community of professionals. Presented by TechGenix!
Working from home with two monitors
And finally here’s an interesting story from Microsoft dev guru Raymond Chen on how he set up two monitors for working from home and then found he was mostly only using one of them:
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20200331-00/?p=103616
Amazing how arranging things differently on your desk can make such a difference for your workflow.
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Ask Our Readers – Preventing use of company laptop after user exits company (new question)
A reader in Texas named Manoj asks for some help with the following situation:
Hi Team,
In this COVID Situation we are not able to perform exit formalities for user having LAPTOP allocated, Is there any way that we can restrict the use for our company laptop for other purpose after user exit. OR Can you help me any tool that we can install on user laptop at last day that will ask for password after reboot. So his local login can be stopped.
One option we have to deleted system files remotely but not sure that will really work or not.
What do our readers suggest for this situation? Email us at [email protected]
Tip of the Week
>> Got any IT pro tips you’d like to share with other readers of our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
Disable processor boost mode to prolong your battery life (Ctrl Blog)
This tip from Ctrl Blog explains how to disable processor performance boost mode to get more battery life out of your laptop in exchange for sacrificing some performance:
https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/laptop-boost-mode-battery.html
Admin Toolbox
>> Got any admin tools or software you’d like to recommend to our readers? Email us at [email protected]
SPF Surveyor is an SPF diagnostic tool that presents a graphical view of SPF records.:
https://dmarcian.com/spf-survey/
ActivePasswords is a lightweight, powerful and fully customizable password strength & account synchronization tool:
https://www.wizardsoft.nl/activepasswords/activepasswords.html
SPF Record Testing Tools are meant to help you deploy SPF records for your domain:
http://www.kitterman.com/spf/validate.html
Mailbag
This email came in to us from Craig Hollins in Australia:
Hi Mitch
In a desperate attempt to read about anything other than a virus, I came across this story in the Australian media:
With the recent decline in media stocks and cutbacks to news organizations, we’ve seen a distinct drop in quality of independent news. Hopefully if they can get some of their revenue restored they may be able to give us the news we need and not what the sponsors want them to say.
For the rest of our readers out there who are desperate to read or watch something other than news about the Coronavirus crises, see our new section COVID Corner below.
COVID Corner – Rod Taylor film favorites
The Coronavirus is interrupting plans and upsetting our lives and businesses which causes a lot of stress for most of us. Ingrid and I have been dealing with these stresses in three ways:
We go for long walks together each morning.
We eat Black Forest cake — we buy one a week at this point:
Yes I know those two actions work seem to against each other, at least as far as weightloss is concerned. But as I pointed out in our most recent issue of FitITproNews, now is not the best time for us “recovering fat IT pros” to try and lose more weight but simply try to stay fit and keep our weight in check.
Anyways, the third stress-relieving thing we do each day is watch a movie together, usually in the evening when our work is done and we need to relax. We’ve always loved watching good movies and have built up quite a collection over the years buying hard-to-get DVDs and Blu-ray disks from all around the world. And while our movie-watching interests have been wide and varied, they’ve recently settled down mostly to movies from the 60s and 70s when the world was a bit more sane (and fun!) than it is today.
So along these lines we’re temporarily pausing our weekly Factoid section to start a new section called COVID Corner where we’ll share our movie recommendations for burnt-out IT pros looking for healthy, sane entertainment instead of the special-effects-driven DC/Marvel Universe of drivel that’s dominated the movie industry during the last dozen years. And to kick off our inaugural COVID Corner section we recommend three must-see films with our favorite Australian actor Rod Taylor. Not sure if these are available on Netflix or other streaming sites, but you can probably find them as DVDs on Amazon or some other sources.
The High Commissioner (1968)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063067/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_41
Our long-time favorite Rod Taylor movie with terrific acting also from Christopher Plummer and Lilli Palmer. A good story propels the drama forward in this low-key crimi that builds towards the end. Also included is our favorite Swedish actress Camilla Sparv who we’ll highlight in a future installment of COVID Corner. Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray version of this film classic.
Hotel (1967)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061786/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_44
We take that back! Our FAVORITE favorite Rod Taylor movie has now become Hotel, sorry!! Based on a novel by Arthur Hailey, the movie deals with a grand old New Orleans hotel faced with financial difficulties and targeted for takeover by a shrewd businessman. Rod Taylor shines with dignity and grace in his role as the hotel manager while Karl Malden as a thief adds some humor along the way. The jazzy soundtrack is superb and Carmen McRae’s singing in the hotel lounge is wonderful.
The Liquidator (1965)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059390/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_47
Rod Taylor as an assassin? It’s not what you think! Rod does everything he can do to *not* have to pull the trigger and instead outsources his kill jobs to a hit man to fulfill his contract with the British government. Hilarious and fun, though personally I find the girl who is Rod’s main love interest (Jill St. John) a bit stiff and over the top with her acting. But the movie is still fun entertainment and a showcase for Rod’s amazingly natural sense of humor.
And that’s it for this week’s COVID Corner, stay healthy and safe! And do let us know if you have any Rod Taylor movies you can recommend by emailing us at [email protected]
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Conference calendar
NOTE: Because of the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 situation some of these conferences may be moved online or even cancelled. Please check the conference websites for the latest updates.
>> Got an IT conference or event happening that you’d like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
Microsoft Build
May 19-21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/build
Microsoft Inspire
July 20-24, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada
https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire
Microsoft Licensing Boot Camps
For dates and locations see https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/training
Cyber Security Summits
For dates and locations see https://cybersummitusa.com/summits/
Other conferences
Future Tech Summit – May 15 in Santiago, Chile
https://www.collabsummit.eu/en/
PowerShell Conference Europe – June 2-5 in Hannover, Germany
European Collaboration Summit – June 8-10 in Wiesbaden, Germany
https://www.collabsummit.eu/en/
Evolve – June 8-10 in Las Vegas
https://evolvetechconference.com/
RSA Conference Asia Pacific & Japan – July 14-16 in Singapore
https://www.rsaconference.com/apj
VMworld – Aug 30 – Sept 3 in San Francisco
https://www.vmworld.com/en/us/index.html
Interop – Sept 21-24 in Austin, Texas
European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference (ESPC20) – Nov 9-12, 2020 in Amsterdam
https://www.sharepointeurope.com/
DevOpsCon – Nov 30 – Dec 3 in Munich, Germany
Podcast Corner
Migrating from Server 2008 to Server 2019 with Sonia Cuff (RunAsRadio)
A Wireless Upgrade Case Study (Heavy Networking)
https://packetpushers.net/series/weekly-show/
VMware Cloud Foundation 4 (Virtually Speaking)
https://www.vspeakingpodcast.com/
Cisco Exams Online, New Channel Chart, No-Twitter Chuck on Twitter (Clear To Send)
Czech spear phishing spurs fightin’ words from Pompeo (Risky Business)
https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/
Azure Web App for Containers (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)
https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/
Exploring Adaptive Cards (Microsoft Cloud Show)
http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast
New on Techgenix.com
Review: Self-service key recovery solution Specops Key Recovery
Helpdesks spend way too much of their time unlocking users’ computers. Specops Key Recovery is a self-service solution for this problem. Here’s our review.
https://techgenix.com/review-specops-key-recovery/
Think your BYOD policy is really secure? You’d better read this now
Companies are adopting BYOD programs in response to a growing mobile workforce. But having a BYOD program is different than having a secure BYOD policy.
https://techgenix.com/byod-policy/
Purge protection & soft-delete: Azure Key Vault protections you must know
This Azure Quick Tip gets cloud administrators up to speed on two important Azure Key Vault features: purge protection and soft-delete.
https://techgenix.com/purge-protection-soft-delete/
Hidden challenges of replacing a desktop HDD with an SSD
As an IT pro, you’ve probably replaced hard drives more times than you can count. So why is replacing a desktop HDD with an SSD such a chore?
https://techgenix.com/replacing-hdd-with-an-ssd/
Slow VPN? These troubleshooting tips can get you fixed fast
VPNs are crucial during the coronavirus pandemic. But a slow VPN can harm productivity. Here are some tips to get your VPN up to speed.
https://techgenix.com/slow-vpn/
Fun videos from Flixxy
Two Neighbors Play Tennis Across Rooftops In Italy
Two women playing tennis across rooftops in Finale Ligure in northern Italy.
https://www.flixxy.com/two-neighbors-play-tennis-across-rooftops-in-italy.htm
Pass The Pepper – Rube Goldberg Machine
Use this fool-proof method for completely safe passing of condiments across the table.
https://www.flixxy.com/pass-the-pepper-rube-goldberg-machine.htm
Bob Dylan – ‘I Contain Multitudes’
Bob Dylan, 78, is surprising fans yet again by releasing a poetic new song ‘I Contain Multitudes.’
https://www.flixxy.com/bob-dylan-i-contain-multitudes-released-16-april-2020.htm
Taddy Snowskate 2020 Best Cat Skate Video Ever
Watch Taddy the Cat’s amazing snow skating to the music ‘Hustle to Meowtivate’ by Ande Burman.
https://www.flixxy.com/taddy-snowskate-2020-best-cat-skate-video-ever.htm
More articles of interest
Guide to business continuity planning during coronavirus
This guide offers information on the effect of the coronavirus on enterprises and the need for pandemic and business continuity planning to keep businesses safe and in operation.
Remote work tools go from ‘0 to 100’ in Corona
This city has turned to technology — like Citrix virtual desktops — to maintain services in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. CIO Chris McMasters discusses the lessons already learned.
Walk through 5 common PowerShell uses for IT ops teams
PowerShell use cases have expanded past Microsoft’s original design — but IT automation is still at the tool’s core, whether it’s to support an AIOps strategy or monitor server performance.
Tips for updating your corporate pandemic response plan
To ensure your workplace pandemic response plan is up-to-date and sufficient, check it against other business continuity procedures, and consult important sources for further guidance.
Send us your feedback!
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at [email protected]