Windows Phone Deployment Guide for IT Professionals

November 11, 2011 Leave a comment

I have been honored again to be given the chance to present at Techdays.ca for the third time.  Every year I have covered Windows Phone from the IT Pro point of view and this year’s presentation, The Consumerization of IT: Windows Phone in the Workplace, takes Microsoft’s mobile offering to the next level of secure and manageable deployment.  A great deal of new functionality has now been made available with the launch of the “Mango” upgrade for Windows Phone and has application developers buzzing.  The opportunities to develop new and innovative solutions from within the Windows Phone OS since the Mango update has increased interest amidst the developer community in the platform which is evident by the standing room only Windows Phone developer sessions at Techdays.

With that being said, interest has also increased within the IT community around deploying Windows Phone within enterprise after a chain of events surrounding the current dominating mobile offering in business faltered severely and made IT departments wary of its consistency to deliver voice and data connectivity.  Couple that with the emergence of the rapidly growing trend of Consumerization of IT and now I too have a standing room only session on my hands with IT teams interested in learning how to securely deploy and manage Windows Phone within their respected organizations.

I invite those attending Techdays.ca to attend my session as I perform a live aggregation of Windows Phone and Office 365 showcasing the power of manageability and security which can be enabled from Microsoft Exchange itself.  To add, here is a listing of Windows Phone deployment and security documentation provided by Microsoft which detail and address deployment and security concerns:

Windows Phone 7 Deployment Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=8842

Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” Deployment Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27743

I look forward to seeing you all there and continuing on the conversation as to how Windows Phone could enhance your organization’s mobile offering.

Filed under Deployment, Events, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , ,

System Tray Customization for Windows Phone 7

October 4, 2011 2 Comments

In Windows Phone 7, the System Tray is the small bar across the top of the screen and is currently used to display signal strength, current time and WiFi connection strength of your device.   This system tray can be hidden and show on command should you application require it to do so.  The following is a demonstration as to how to make this happen.

To begin, design a page with a CheckBox inside it.  This will enable the event to show or hide the System Tray. 

Here is the XAML code for your reference:

<Grid x:Name="ContentPanel" Grid.Row="1" Margin="12,0,12,0" VerticalAlignment="Top">
<CheckBox Content="Show System Tray" Checked="ShowSystemTray" Unchecked="HideSystemTray"/> </Grid>

Here is the code implementation:

private void ShowSystemTray(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
 SystemTray.IsVisible = true;
}
private void HideSystemTray(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
 SystemTray.IsVisible = false;
}

When the “Show System Tray” is checked, you will see the System Tray bar at the top of the screen as shown in the first figure below:

 

 

 

 

Uncheck the “Show System Tray”. This will hide the System Tray bar from the screen.

 

 

 

 

As mentioned, this can be used to capitalize on screen real estate or can be used in situations were system notification is required.

Filed under Development Tips, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , , ,

Microsoft’s Renewed Focus on Customers and Partners

October 3, 2011 Leave a comment

Twice a year Microsoft (through a third-party) conducts a survey to gauge how satisfied IT Pros are with Microsoft.  The survey is called “The Global Relationship Study”.  The email is sent by “Microsoft Feedback” with the subject line: “Help Microsoft Focus on Customers and Partners”.

The results from the survey enable Microsoft to focus on the content they deliver and the way it is delivered.  It’s critically important to have people to fill out the survey and even more important to land a message of satisfaction.  The key drivers and messaging associated with them are as follows:

1)    Help and Support from Microsoft

Have you ever wondered where to go to get help with your common, everyday IT challenges? 

Based on feedback and constructive criticism, Microsoft Canada has identified key areas where they can improve and help you by providing better resources to answer your questions, solve your real world problems and help you achieve your business goals.  Maybe it’s just ensuring you know you have a voice – or just making your life a little easier at the end of the day – whatever it takes, Microsoft is listening.

What if I told you there were some great Microsoft Resources available for support that you could use?  

Help and Resources

This is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you a great start when you need to tackle your next IT challenge.

Other Resources You May Find Useful 

  • Microsoft Virtual Academy  - For Free Training To Help Improve Your IT Skill Set.
  • TechNet Evaluation Center  - Try some of the latest Microsoft products like Office 365, Windows Intune or System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 for free, before you buy.
  • TechNet Newsletter - Sign Up To Receive The Latest IT News and Developments, Product Releases, Expert Insights and Support Services with Microsoft’s complimentary biweekly newsletter for industry professionals.

2)    Security – How to Help Keep Your PC Protected

Have you ever wondered how you can help keep your PC protected? 

Whether it’s at work or at home, I’ve been told that it can be hard to make sense of what’s important, which updates should be installed and how best to protect your PC. Microsoft has a resource center for their Monthly updates listed below – it’s something you should check out every second Tuesday of the month. If you prefer to listen to a podcast – they’ve created one that’s easy to listen to and not too technical called Security Bulletins for the Regular IT Guy.

Security Resources

 Other Resources You May Find Useful

  • Springboard Series - Your destination for technical resources, free tools and expert guidance to ease the deployment and management of your Windows-based client infrastructure.
  • AlignIT Manager Tech Talk Series  - A monthly streamed video series with a range of topics for both infrastructure and development managers. Ask questions and participate real-time or watch the on-demand recording.
  • Microsoft Virtual Academy  - For Free Training To Help Improve Your IT Skill Set.
  • TechNet Evaluation Center  - Try some of the latest Microsoft products like Office 365, Windows Intune or System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 for free, before you buy.

3)    Licensing Simplified – at Home and at Work

Have you ever wondered if there’s an easier way to understand licensing, for both home and business use?

Whether you need to buy one license from a traditional retail store or explore options for a more flexible volume licensing program, it can be confusing and sometimes downright intimidating to figure out what you need.  After doing a little digging – I’ve highlighted some resources you can use to help figure out exactly what you need when you talk with your software reseller.

Licensing Resources

 Other Resources You May Find Useful

  • TechNet Cloud Hub – Get the latest news and find great resources to help you jump into the Cloud.
  • TechNet Evaluation Center - Try some of the latest Microsoft products like Office 365, Windows Intune or System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 for free, before you buy.
  • Microsoft Virtual Academy  - For free training to help improve your IT skill set.

4)    Free Online Training and Resources from Microsoft

Have you ever wondered how you can help build your IT skill set?

Microsoft has a number of great resources to help you in areas of professional development and access to software.  The Microsoft Virtual Academy contains some fantastic FREE online training on hot topics for IT Professionals.  Once you’ve stopped by and tried out a course or two — head on over to the Microsoft Eval Center to download copies of their server products to try out in your lab environment.  And while you’re at it, check out this free Microsoft Office 365 ebook by Katherine Murray, it shows you how you can use cloud computing to help get more done and help improve ease of collaboration.

What is refreshing about this past survey is that Microsoft Canada has actually taken our opinions into account.  Providing the resources and support required for my business is key. Microsoft Canada, now adhering to my grips about support, now solidifies my partnership with them and allows my business to grow enabled through their services.

This by no means is a complete list and I do implore you to add to my list by entering further resources in the comment section below.

Filed under Resources & Support Tagged with , ,

MS WPC 2011: Microsoft, Samsung Canada & You

July 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Microsoft’s World Partner Conference, the “SuperBowl” of Microsoft conferences, is happening in less than 4 days and @SamsungCanada and I could not be happier to be sponsoring the Canada lounge at this year’s event.

Set aside hearing Richard Branson and other keynotes (yes Ballmer is speaking too), watching Maestro Fresh Wes and the Arkells perform and learning what future offerings Microsoft has in store for FY12, what I’m really looking forward to is connecting with you. 

As of late, the team at Samsung Canada and I have been working hard to complete Samsung’s solution offering.  Samsung already produces great hardware and has recently partnered with the likes of Microsoft and others to ensure best of breed software solutions to run better on our hardware.  What’s missing is your creativity to take our partnered solutions to the next level.  That’s where you come in.

Samsung Canada is looking to collaborate with you, the SI / ISV community, to extend the reach of our offering.  Gain the ability to take advantage of the relationships Samsung has established to provide a more robust offering to your clientele. Secure access to Samsung’s knowledgeable team to gain insight on what partnerships and offerings could “up your game”.  It all starts at WPC 2011.

I will be at WPC all week hanging out with the @WPCCananda team at the Canadian Lounge.  Samsung laptops, tablets and smartphones will be on hand for you to try and there will be prizes to be won, but more details on that later.

 Feel free to DM me @SamsungConnect or @WirelessLife to continue the conversation.

Looking forward to chatting with you there.

Filed under Events Tagged with , , , ,

Ready to “Code Your ‘ART’ Out” Vancouver?

April 25, 2011 1 Comment

Make Web Not War (MWNW), one of Canada’s largest open source community events, will be concluding this year’s Vancouver Open Source Week.  Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and techniques available to the ever-evolving coding community. MWNW bridges the gap between different platforms, communities, and developers of all trades and backgrounds.  At MWNW, expert speakers will discuss Open Source platforms such as WordPress, mobile, cloud and commercial software. Attendees will also get the opportunity to mingle with some of the best web developers in Canada, social media savants & provocateurs, experts and leaders in industry today, have the ability to play with some of the new and exciting technology and gain access to the VIP party being held in the lovely city of Vancouver.

Samsung Mobile Canada is one of the Partner Sponsors at this year’s MWNW alongside the likes of Microsoft, Novell, Telerik and others.  I too will be speaking at this year’s event presenting on the aspects of “Capitalizing on the Consumerization of IT.” The rest of the MWNW agenda can be found here.  MWNW takes place Saturday May 7th at the Masik Studios in Vancouver. Tickets for this FREE event are available here and will also include your free admission to the MWNW VIP event taking place afterwards at a secret location.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events, Social Media Mixer Tagged with , , ,

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