Microsoft announced a couple or so new Azure things at MS Ignite 2018

Seems like Microsoft has been hard at work on Azure, if this list is any indication.

In a blog post, the zookeeper for Azure outlined a list of new Azure infrastructure products, classifying them around the following nests: infrastructure for every workload, hybrid offerings, and security & management. In all, it is a lot of stuff to digest.

Thanks for sharing, Mike Baz

The following, in order of importance to Logikworx and our clients, are most pressing to me.

Item verbiage is by Microsoft, since I have not had the time to parse them):

• Windows Server 2019 (GA in the coming weeks) – I am incredibly excited about the newest release of Windows Server 2019! Windows Server 2019 is an OS built truly for the cloud with hybrid management, Linux containers, and many more amazing features. You can find more details on this exciting release on the Windows Server 2019 blog.
• Standard SSDs (GA) – Standard SSDs are a cost-effective disk offering optimized for low IOPS workloads that need consistent latency. Standard SSDs deliver better availability, reliability, and latency compared to HDD Disks, and are well suited for Web servers, low IOPS application servers, lightly used enterprise applications, and Dev/Test workloads. Read the engineering blog to learn more.
• Secure score, improved threat protection, and network map (preview) – Microsoft secure score makes it easier for you to understand your security position and potential risks in your environment. Azure Security Center now shows your secure score with clear recommendations on how to reduce risk and strengthen your security. We are also extending our threat protection capabilities to include Azure Storage, Azure Postgres SQL, and containers running on Linux VMs. Finally, we have added a new network map to help you visualize and get quick insights on network related vulnerabilities. You can find more details about these improvements in this blog.
• Azure Firewall (GA) – Azure Firewall is a managed cloud-based network security service that protects your Azure Virtual Network resources. It is a fully stateful firewall with built-in high availability and cloud scalability. Check these links for documentation and pricing.
• Virtual WAN (GA) – Virtual WAN provides a simple, unified, global connectivity, and security platform to deploy large-scale branch connectivity. You can utilize your favorite SDWAN and security technology vendor. Also, we now offer support for client-side connectivity using OpenVPN.
• Azure Blueprints and Azure Policy in Azure DevOps (preview) – Today, we are announcing the preview of Azure Blueprints. These blueprints make it incredibly easy for you to deploy and update Azure environments in a repeatable manner using composable artifacts such as policies, role-based access controls, and resource templates. This ensures you can configure your different environments to be compliant immediately after they are created. It also allows developers to be completely self-reliant in the creation of new environments. Furthermore, you can now include your Azure Policy definitions in the release management pipeline of Azure DevOps, ensuring that policy compliance is a part of shipping rather than considered after release.
• Azure cost management in the Azure portal (preview) – One year ago, we announced that Azure was the first cloud platform to provide free cost management capabilities to help you reduce your costs in the cloud. Today these capabilities are now integrated natively into the Azure portal for an improved experience. We are also providing an API so you can access cost management from PowerBI or directly from your own custom applications. Azure cost management in the Azure portal preview is available for EA customers today with all other customers on-boarding by the end of year.
• Migration. We recently announced support for Hyper-V assessments in Azure Migrate. We also announced GA of Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, which enables you to migrate SQL Servers to a fully managed Azure service. We also now support many new migration scenarios as part of the Azure Database Migration Service. Azure migration center.
• If you migrate Windows Server or SQL Server 2008/R2 to Azure, you will get three years of free extended security updates on those systems. This could save you some money when Windows Server and SQL Server 2008/ R2 end of support (EOS). If you combine the savings from with Azure Hybrid Benefit and Reserved Instances, running these servers on AWS will be 5 times more expensive than on Azure.

A more expansive list is below, and you can find descriptive information by following the link to the blog post, which, in turn, has links to all sort of relevant information.

Enjoy, and if need be, contact me directly.

MS Ignite 2018 New Azure Products List

• NVv2 VMs (preview)
• NDv2 VMs (preview by end of year)
• HB VMs (preview by end of year
• HC VMs (preview by end of year)
• Azure Firewall (GA)
• Virtual WAN (GA
• ExpressRoute Global Reach (preview)
• ExpressRoute Direct (preview)
• Front Door Service (preview)
• Ultra SSDs (preview
• Standard SSDs (GA)
• Larger managed disk sizes (preview)
• Azure Data Box Edge (preview)
• Windows Server 2019
• Azure Stack
• Confidential Computing DC VM series
• Secure score, improved threat protection, and network map (preview)
• Azure Blueprints and Azure Policy in Azure DevOps
• Azure cost management in the Azure portal
• Azure Migrate
• Azure SQL Database Managed Instance,
• Azure Database Migration Service

Read the entire blog here: A crazy amount of new Azure infrastructure announcements

© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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Why not Surface Go or Surface as a rental?

This is a highly-requested product/service?

While it is true that I don’t have the number that Microsoft probably has, it seems unreal.

If you look at Microsoft’s hardware inventory, what product, or products scream out for a subscription service?

Did you utter “Surface Go”? And/or scream “The Entire Surface line, dodo!”?

Aaah! So, you know.

I have been totally verklempt trying to understand why an LTE-equipped Surface Go was not offered on Day One, and at that same price.

(The glacial pace of hardware developments and refreshes from Microsoft expose it as a software company. Nothing is wrong with that, for Microsoft mints more bars of gold-pressed Latinum than many sovereign countries. However, it does not show an undeniable commitment to hardware.)

In fact, is there any reason why the entire Microsoft Surface line does not have LTE-equipped models at launch?

And subsequently bundled with a rental+cellular subscription?

Even if you remove LTE from the devices for cost reasons, why aren’t Surface/Surface Go subscriptions available?

If low enough, it would be a fantastic K12 offering.

But, nooooo.

Xbox.

Unless this is a test case for Microsoft coming up with a Surface Go subscription service, or a completely BS rumor, I wouldn’t

© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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The Circle of Trust

Every day, we entrust our private and professional lives in these United States, and for most of the world actually, to basically these 6 companies, namely Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft and Starbucks. To a lesser extent, Snapchat, and Twitter. I have to add Uber and AirBnB as well. Facebook’s Instagram and WhatsApp will also be talked about under Facebook, as would YouTube under Google.

We do so mostly willingly, but mostly because of some vestigial connections still using that specific service or resource.

However, are these companies deserving of our trust, and our business, at all? Are they practitioners of ethical computing? Is our data safe with them? Can they be trusted in the future?

Over a series of blog posts, I will give you my thoughts on the firms listed above, and why I either have increased, stagnant, decreased, or zero engagement with them.

Believe me, some of these companies are not, and will NEVER be, in my Circle of Trust!

© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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The incredible madness that is 'dockless personal transportation'

Why would any municipality agree to this nonsense?

$10 to start. But, how do the batteries get recharged?

How also, would they be paid for it?

Listen, spare me the horsecrap explanations, and just solve this for me: if a legally-rented bicycle is left dockless by a paying customer at La Cienega & Rosewood, and then ridden illegally by someone else to Sunset & Fairfax, who is financially responsible for that additional ride?

Right?

Now, we come to dockless EV conveyances.

In addition to the previous question, I have just one more: how and where do these dockless EV devices get their catteries recharged?

Solar?

While cities have all these visions of millions of dollars from startups in this field dancing before their eyes, the reality is, these schemes have every indication of being just this side, legally, of a con.

And not even a long con, either.

Mix in cultural differences, and now, you have a problem.

Just because a pilot program worked in some Euro nation, doesn’t mean it would work here. Not at all.

Then, you have the ridership.

In every promotional media for these ‘creations’, it seems to target a certain demographic.

And unless that demographic can produce profits, these schemes are doomed.

Now, let us move on to societal concerns.

Ride this bike in certain gang territory, and you're just asking for it!

Can you see some rando millennial safely tooling around on an EV scooter in the C-P-T, Compton?

Or on the Eastside?

Me neither.

The perp of this flagrant millennialness would probably get #$%@&^ for being a complete doofus in the neighborhood, bringing down home prices in the process.

Homie just won’t survive.

Source: Citylab.

© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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Just about all Android phones ship with firmware vulns

“Pssst! Would you like a side of malware with that Android phone?”

Sounds harsh, but hey, that’s the reality of using Android devices.

Remember when it was discovered that almost all Android phone came with an app that phoned in customer data to a server in mainland China?

That app, though it could be deleted by users, would automagically resurrect itself, prompting emergency updates by wireless providers.

Well, this is even more insidious.

As discovered by security research firm Kryptowire, these Android problems just aren’t user-fixable at all. They’re embedded in the firmware, for goodness sake!

So, as a side dish to your Android phone, you get to have an increased malware attack area that attackers can use to surface your data wherever they can monetize it.

Ain’t that something?

I’m going to resist making a droll comment here.

Source: The Verge

© 2002 – 2018, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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