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Single Sign-On Woes
I love the idea of Single Sign-On. The fact that I can use a single set of credentials when I log on to my laptop, and then not have to keep entering passwords for subsequent actions, is in theory a great idea. However there are four ‘great ideas’ that, when combined (as they so often…
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Why I Need to Be Escalated…
I got a message from a faithful reader yesterday pointing out in rather interesting terms that I have not been posting as much as I should. Sorry about that! –MDG — Recently I noticed that a ticketing system that my client uses was taking an unusually long time to apply updates. Every month it would…
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Work from Anywhere: The gold standard PPO
There are days when I love being a blogger. A few days after I published my recent article on the ChargeTech ThinCharge case for the iPhone 6, I got an e-mail from the company telling me that they wanted me to try another one of their products, the Portable Power Outlet. They shipped it off…
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I’m Back!
As many of you know I left Microsoft to pursue other adventures when I did my first gig with Rakuten in the fall of 2013. The plan was, according to the managers I spoke with, for me to return to Microsoft when I got back from Japan. That obviously did not happen. I will not…
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Keep it in Your Pocket…
Here’s a tip for travelers going through Airport Security: you are going babe asked to empty your pockets … Everything, including wallet and car keys and passport. It all has to go in one of those plastic bins. Lots of coins? Put em in da bin. Matches? Bin em. You also have to take off…
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Drive Space Nightmares with Hyper-V
As you know, I have been using Hyper-V since before it was released, and am a huge proponent of the solution (although I am also a huge proponent of VMware). The fact that Hyper-V is also included in Windows 10 makes my life easier – I use it on my Windows Client for several reasons. …
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The (Solar) WInds of Change…
I used to love System Center. Simply put, if you were a systems administrator / engineer / architect it did… everything. It monitors, automates, protects, virtualizes, scripts, patches, deploys, integrates… everything in your environment. It is, in a word, comprehensive. It is also big. There was a time (prior to System Center 2012) when you…
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Rules: Why are they Client-Side only?
For several of my clients I use a great monitoring tool called SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM). It does a spectacular job of monitoring my environments and letting me know when there are issues. What I like to do is set up the mail alerts to let me know everything that is going on…
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Smoke ‘Em While You Got ‘Em!
Okay, as many of you know I am stuck at home with pneumonia, so I am not smoking anything this week. With that said, many of you know that I am a cigar lover, and have over the past couple of years accumulated a decent collection of them. The thing is, whenever I speak to…
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Saying Goodbye to My Best Friend
I have sat down several times over the past fortnight to write a goodbye to my best friend, but have not found the words. Jacob-pup was the best friend a man can have. He was not always well behaved, but he was fiercely loyal to me and to his family. Jacob joined our home when…
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Since When…?
Those of us who have been in the IT industry for a while remember the heady days of never having to reboot a server… otherwise known as ‘The days before Windows Server.’ Those days are long gone, and even non-Windows servers need to be patched and restarted. But how do you know when it last happened?…
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The Bands: Who should I believe?
You think you have problems? I’m lopsided. It would appear that my right arm has taken 1,717 steps this morning, while my left arm has only taken 1,520. For the last few days I was thinking that either the Fitbit Charge or the Microsoft Band was more accurate than the other… but I couldn’t figure…
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Server Core on VMware
When I was a Virtual Technical Evangelist for Microsoft Canada I spent a lot of time telling you why you should use Server Core… especially if you were on Hyper-V. Why? You save resources. It is now over two years since I turned in my Purple Badge, and I still think Server Core rocks. In…
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Smartphone Etiquette
I have often heard discussions on how rude it is to pull out your smartphone during meetings, during meals, and so on. Personally I am against it, but I understand where there may be mitigating circumstances – sick parents or sick children for example. With that said, there are a lot of people who will…
The World According to Mitch
The day to day ramblings of an IT Professional (and so much more…)
The World According to Mitch 