Google Chrome - Searching with Bing

It may seem a little "unnatural" but for those who like to use Google Chrome as their default browser but believe that Microsoft's Bing it's really making a lot of good improvements to compete with the undisputed champion of internet searching, it's now possible to use both.

To use Microsoft Bing as the default search engine on Google Chrome, follow this steps:

• Go to Chrome settings, or simply write down chrome://settings/ on the Omnibar
• On the settings search write "search" and click on "Manage search engine..."
• Now simply click on "Bing" and "Make default" button and it's all done

Now Microsoft Bing it's your default search engine on Google Chrome, even when you open a new tab.

One Windows to Rule Them All!

This is not new but now it's more or less official.
Like other players in the operating systems market, Microsoft is converging all their operating systems on a single "NT core" platform.

During a conference of Microsoft's third quarter results report, Satya confrmed that Microsoft will converge Windows Phone, Windows and Windows RT in a single operating system platform when launching Windows 9.
Like Apple for example, the main objective is to have a single base code for the OS, similar aspect, a unique app store and cloud services for all devices (PCs, smartphones, tablets and consoles).
This also means that should be only one single team to develop Windows.

I believe this will finally be a "next step move" to make Microsoft reach it's competitors.

LDAP Queries - Filtering Computer Accounts Service Pack Level

When managing a large environment, it can be sometimes difficult to get all your machines up-to-date.
If you don't have the right tools to get the job done, due to financial restrictions for example you may use some quick and easy ways to get some information you need about how's your environment.

In this case, I'll show how to get the a Microsoft Windows operating system service pack level.
Besides the importance of being up-to-date, if you have some kind of Microsoft Enterprise/Premier support, it's really important to level up your service pack to a supported level.
For example, Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (without any SP) support ended on April 9, 2013.

To get the information, there's a really simple way to do it if the target machines are domain joined.

So, here are the steps:

1. Open the "Active Directory Users and Computers" mmc
2. Then, go to "View" -> "Filter Options"
3. Select "Create custom filter:" and click on "Customize"
4. Click the "Advanced" tab
5. Copy and paste one of the queries below depending on what your looking for and click "OK"
6. Now your mmc will only show computer account that match your query

Queries

Windows XP without any service pack installed
(&(operatingSystem=Windows XP Professional)(!operatingSystemServicePack=*)))
 
Windows XP with service pack 1 installed
(&(operatingSystem=Windows XP*l)(operatingSystemServicePack=Service Pack 1)))

Windows XP with service pack 2 installed
(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows XP Professional)(operatingSystemServicePack=Service Pack 2))


Windows 7 without any service pack installed
(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows 7*)(!operatingSystemServicePack=Service Pack 1))

Windows 7 with service pack 1 installed
(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows 7*)(operatingSystemServicePack=Service Pack 1))

Windows New Start Menu Images Emerging Again

After last week appearance of the future Windows Start Menu, today the website Myce it's showing a new image.

The image above shows a kind of mixed Start Menu with "classic" applications and some apps Modern UI style.

The website also shows a new image of an Modern UI app running directly on the desktop. This is another promise from Microsoft.
In this case, it's the Windows Store App running:


Although this images are displaying Windows 8 logo, there's still a lot of doubts if this will be an update to Windows 8 or if the new Start Menu will only be available on the future Windows 9.

Windows Phone 8.1 - Dynamic Lockscreen Preview Available

So, like promised by Joe Belfiore (corporate vice president and manager for Windows Phone Program Management) last week, Windows Phone users can now test the new dynamic lockscreen app. It's not yet a final version but we can have a look and feel of what's coming.

Called "Animated LockScreen Preview" and was made available by a publisher called Venetasoft. This is only a preview since the final developer APIs are not yet publicly available (what should be happening next days).

The preview has 4 lock screens that are basically restyled versions of the lock screens demoed at Microsoft's BUILD conference.
This 4 lock screens are called:
.: Tokyo
.: Diagonal
.: Stripes
.: Zoom

According to the information available on the Windows Store this app should also run on Windows Phone 8.0 devices with at least 512MB but the final version should be limited to a minimum of 1GB of RAM.

Here's a video showing up this app:



To download Animated LockScreen Preview just go here:

Windows Phone 8.1 - Dynamic LockScreen to Arrive Soon

During the latest Microsoft's BUILD Conference, a lot of features regarding Windows Phone 8.1 (WP 8.1) was revealed.

One of the most hyped features was the Dynamic LockScreen, an innovative feature not only for Windows Phone but also for other smartphones operating systems.

This is a features that should be available very soon.

Basically, this new features allows users to get a more customized lock screen with animated images, control music player, change volume settings, view new messages, etc.

In a proof that Microsoft's it's finally looking at the smartphones business in another away than before, this is not a native WP 8.1 feature but an independent app instead that can be installed via Marketplace.

Although we've not seen nothing since BUILD about this app, a couple of days ago, Joe Belfiore, a corporate vice president and manager for Windows Phone Program Management at Microsoft posted the following tweet, stating that the app could been a week from launching:

The app should be made available on a beta phase in English only and for devices with at least 1GB RAM.

Windows Phone 8.1 on Your Browser

Microsoft's new smartphone OS, Windows Phone 8.1 it's already on it's rollout phase. WP8.1 comes with a lot of new features, so it's normal that WP 7.5 or even WP 8 users get a little lost.

Thinking on that users and obviously for new users, Microsoft has created a website that guides users through the new functionalities in a very interactive and intuitive way.

Because Microsoft it's pushing for getting users from other systems, there's a dedicated area called "Easy to switch" that gives some information for example about how to transfer information from an Apple iPhone or sync contacts and calendar from Android phones.

Take a look and discover Windows Phone 8.1 at:
Microsoft - Windows on your phone