Windows 10: PowerShell Core 6.0 is now available...

If you are a Windows PowerShell scripter, then you might be excited about Microsoft announcing the release of PowerShell Core 6.0.  For the first time in the scripting language’s ten-year history, it is now cross-platform (meaning the same script can run on Windows, MacOS, and Linux) and its open-source (so it is freely available to download or modify).

If you are a PowerShell scripter, this opens up new opportunities for managing heterogeneous environments (meaning multiple different types of OSs) with a single scripting language.
PowerShell is not the first or only open source cross-platform scripting environment that is currently available.  Python is a very mature scripting language that has a huge following right now.

Windows PowerShell vs. PowerShell Core

Here is the interesting news.  There are now two versions of PowerShell; there is the Windows and the Core version.  Windows PowerShell, which is the current version of PowerShell that is shipping with the OS today, is now being dropped in favor of PowerShell Core.

What this means is now that PowerShell Core 6.0 has been released, Microsoft will not be developing any new releases of Windows PowerShell.  All new development in the language will be done under PowerShell Core.


Downloading and Installing PowerShell Core

To download and install PowerShell Core, just select the link next to the OS you are using and follow the instructions on the page to install the software.

• Windows: https://aka.ms/getps6-windows
• MacOS: https://aka.ms/getps6-linux
• Linux: https://aka.ms/getps6-linux

Checking for the Meltdown and Spectre Intel CPU Flaws

You have probably already heard about the Meltdown and Spectre flaws in the Intel CPUs.  The flaw has existed in the chips since 1995.  This flaw also effects any OS that uses the Intel chips that are effected, so it's not just Windows, this also effects Linux and the MacOS.

To learn more, check out the article I just posted about how to check if your Windows computer is effected, "Meltdown and Spectre CPU Flaws".

New Book: Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2018 Edition): The Ultimate Windows Tips and Tricks Guide for Everyone

Check out the new edition of my book called "Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2018 Edition): The Ultimate Windows Tips and Tricks Guide for Everyone".  

It is now available for sale on Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078DTQTVM).

Book Description: Windows 10 is the latest Windows operating system from Microsoft. The new OS contains hundreds of new and updated features, applications, services and user interface changes.

This edition of the book series has been updated to discuss the latest release of Windows 10, the Fall Creators Edition. The content of the book has been doubled from the original version.

This book can help all levels of users (from beginner to IT Professional) to take full advantage of the operating system. Below are just some of the topics covered in the book:

• Leveraging the power and features of the new OS and applications and services.
• The book includes hundreds of power user notes, tips and tricks to utilize all the new features of the OS.
• Learn the history and future of the Windows ecosystem, as well as what this means for the users.
• Discover undocumented and little known features that can grant the user access to functionality that is only known to experts.
• Understand the new privacy and security concerns that comes with using all the new applications and services.
• Understand the different installation and upgrade options that are available to you. Including how to create your own installation media.
• There is expanded technical content for IT professionals that provides basics like networking troubleshooting, more. 
• Including new and updated sections on getting started with Hyper-V, Docker, Linux, PowerShell and the upgraded command prompt.
• - And more...

Android Tip: Turn on the LED Notification Light on Pixel C

If you own a Pixel C, you might not know this but it has an LED notification light.  This light is turned off by default.  To turn on the LED notification light on the phone.

• Pull down the Notification bar and tap the gear-shaped Settings icon
• Scroll and select Notifications
• Tap the gear-shaped Settings icon in the top right
• Enable the Pulse Notification Light option
• Tap the Home button to go back to using the phone as always.

The next time a notification comes in from a missed call, text message, emails, etc. you’ll see a small LED light blinking in the left corner of the upper speaker grill.

New Book: Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2015 Edition)

I wanted to post some information about my new Windows 10 book that is now available for purchase. Below is all the details and links to the new book.

This is the forth book that I have published. If you buy it and enjoy it, please post a review to let me and others know. I love hearing feedback from my readers.

• Title: Power User Guide: Windows 10 Secrets (2015 Edition)
• Author: Jason Savitt
• Description: This book helps all levels of users (from novice to IT Professional) to take full advantage of the operating system. Some of the topics covered in the book: Understanding the different installation and upgrade options. Leveraging the power and features of the new OS and applications and services. Hundreds of power user notes, tips and tricks to fully utilize the features of the OS. Learn the background, history and future of the Windows product line, and what this will mean to you. Discover undocumented and little known features that can grant the user access to functionality that is only known to experts. Understand the new privacy concerns that comes with using all the new applications and services.
• Free preview
• Buy a copy

Video: A Better Kind of Selfie Stick: "Friend"

 

 



Looking for a better kind of Selfie Stick, try a "Friend."

Father's prayer for their children

This is my prayer for my child: "be strong, live well, grow old well, and then die long after I'm died, and if possible die with a smile on your face."

Audio: Global Business: Shake Up Your Company (from: 12 Feb 2015)

I have to admit I was really impressed what Gary Hamil said in the following audio interview.  Here is an excerpt from the site, "Shake Up Your Company: That's the message from one of the USA's (and the world's) best known management gurus, Gary Hamel. It's not a message aimed just at the bosses, but at the workers too. Every few years Global Business drops in on Professor Hamel to sample the sort of tutorial he gives his clients and business school students and this week Peter Day presents the latest of these encounters."

Video: Richard St. John: Success is a continuous journey

The secret to be continually successful at anything is to not lose focus on how you got where you are in the first place.  Everyone's 'success formula' is different, but the biggest mistake that can be made is to proverbially 'rest on your laurels' and expect the rewards to continue.

Secrets to Happiness

Secrets to happiness:

• Slow down, don't rush.
• Avoid mind wandering.
• Live as simply as you can
• Learn the joys of less stuff
• Help others
• Get more sleep

Mostly from: Ted Radio Hour (on 8/19/14)

Video: Humans Need Not Apply

A mini-documentary about the wide-ranging repercussions of automation on the labor market going forward.

Video: Hidden Mathmatics in Futurama

Video Description: "Author Simon Singh discusses mathematics in the TV show Futurama - specifically taxicab numbers and the great Ramanujan.

This video features 1729 and 87539319 among its stars."

Arthur Benjamin: The magic of Fibonacci numbers

Video Description: "Math is logical, functional and just ... awesome. Mathemagician Arthur Benjamin explores hidden properties of that weird and wonderful set of numbers, the Fibonacci series. (And reminds you that mathematics can be inspiring, too!)"

Video: Dambisa Moyo: Is China the new idol for emerging economies?

Video Description: "The developed world holds up the ideals of capitalism, democracy and political rights for all. Those in emerging markets often don't have that luxury. In this powerful talk, economist Dambisa Moyo makes the case that the west can't afford to rest on its laurels and imagine others will blindly follow. Instead, a different model, embodied by China, is increasingly appealing. A call for open-minded political and economic cooperation in the name of transforming the world. "

Video: 24 Unintended Scientific Discoveries

Alessandro Acquisti: Why privacy matters

Video Description: "The line between public and private has blurred in the past decade, both online and in real life, and Alessandro Acquisti is here to explain what this means and why it matters. In this thought-provoking, slightly chilling talk, he shares details of recent and ongoing research -- including a project that shows how easy it is to match a photograph of a stranger with their sensitive personal information. "

Larry Swanson: Build Your Own Standing Desk

Video description: "In what became the very first standing Ignite Seattle talk, office fitness expert Larry Swanson gives a great introduction to the health benefits of standing desks and presents a number of inventive DIY standing desk designs. Be sure to stand up before you hit play.

You can find Larry at http://www.officefitness.org"

Mohamed Hijri: A simple solution to the coming phosphorus crisis

Video Description: "Biologist Mohamed Hijri brings to light a farming crisis no one is talking about: We are running out of phosphorus, an essential element that's a key component of DNA and the basis of cellular communication. All roads of this crisis lead back to how we farm -- with chemical fertilizers chock-full of the element, which plants are not efficient at absorbing. One solution? Perhaps … a microscopic mushroom. (Filmed at TEDxUdeM.) "

The Future of Human Enhancement by Technology

Video Description: "Natasha Vita-More explores the future of human enhancement by technology."

Video: 30 Life Hacks Debunked

Video description: " John tests 30 "life hacks" to see if they work as promised. "