After rumors and guesses, Microsoft has finally named it’s replacement for Steve Ballmer. Satya Nadella, a 22 year veteran of Microsoft will be taking the reigns. No pressure at all, Sir.  

“Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company,” Nadella said. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”

As I have been acquiring several Microsoft certifications, I’ve been wanting to add a new section to the site. I will be documenting and offering tips regarding Microsoft certifications, through my personal experience and that of others. If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see, please let me know.

As I haven’t wanted to become YATF (Yet Another Tech Forum) requiring registration, I’ve decided to not add a forum to help with this. Instead, for certification (as well as other topics and certifications), I’d direct you to the new Geek Barn forums. I am a moderator in the Microsoft specific section there, and am sure it will grow and help you with any questions or experiences you may have with the various topics. Be sure to sign up!

Microsoft has been leading US sales charts for quite a while (32 months). Now, in December, it once again gains that top spot. This time, for the new Xbox One. Congrats to Microsoft!

In both October and November, Sony had managed to usurp Microsoft: the PlayStation 3 topped the charts in October, as Microsoft customers began cutting back on purchases. In November, Sony’s PlayStation 4 rode the launch wave to become the most popular console in America in terms of sales. But that also left just nine days (as the Xbox One was launched on Nov. 22) for Microsoft to catch up; the company sold 909,132 Ones during that time.

Surprisingly, Microsoft actually sold fewer Ones during December than those nine days in November:  908,000 units, according to NPD data that Microsoft released. But that was good enough to boost Microsoft to the top of the U.S. console market once again.

As the deadline for Windows XP is getting closer, more and more people are upgrading to a newer version of Windows. For some, though, it’s more difficult. Many banks have ATM’s that run a version of Windows XP. Many use the full version of XP, and the hardware isn’t good enough to run Windows 7. So, the ATM may end up being scrapped and replaced. Others run a version of XP called Windows XP Embedded, which is a smaller version of Windows designed for these types of applications. In that case, support is good for another 2 years, ending in 2016.

Even as a Windows guy, I do always look for the best tool for the job. I have not looked into ATM’s much, but I wonder why a form of *nix or BSD isn’t considered for the OS for ATM’s. It’s smaller, easier to update, stable, secure and can run on lesser hardware than Windows. It can also be customized to be a lean, fast OS for that specific use. Any *nix or Windows experts that know something about ATM’s know why Windows is preferred in this case?

The many offshoots of the country’s jumbled ATM network, ranging from convenience stores that operate a single antiquated cash machine to national banks that oversee tens of thousands of terminals, are feeling the deadline in different ways, says Suzanne Cluckey, the editor of ATM Marketplace, a news site that serves the industry. More advanced ATM fleets can do the update over their networks. Older ATMs must be upgraded one by one or even replaced entirely if they don’t have enough computing power to run the newer, more demanding software. “My bank operates an ATM that looks like it must be 20 years old, and there’s no way that it can support Windows 7,” says Cluckey. “A lot of ATMs will have to either have their components upgraded or be discarded altogether and sold into the aftermarket—or just junked.”

Microsoft has extended the support for more than a year for Microsoft Security Essentials on the Windows XP operating system. Previously, they were shutting down the support when support for XP ends on April 8th, 2014. Now, the antimalware updates will end July 14, 2015.

This does not affect the end-of-support date of Windows XP, or the supportability of Windows XP for other Microsoft products, which deliver and apply those signatures.

For enterprise customers, this applies to System Center Endpoint Protection, Forefront Client Security, Forefront Endpoint Protection and Windows Intune running on Windows XP. For consumers, this applies to Microsoft Security Essentials.

Microsoft seems to have overlooked something with the Xbox One. A longer cable for the Kinect. A lot of people have their TV’s mounted away from the rest of their AV equipment or run a projector (which can be 15’ away) and the short cable included with the Kinect just isn’t going to cut it.

Has anyone tried any other cables (Original Kinect extension cable?) that worked?

Due to this some people have been put off buying the Xbox One and Kinect 2. No one would want to purchase a console and then have to reorganise their TV location just to play. Gamers have been left waiting and many hope that a 3rd party accessory maker will rise to the challenge.

I know a lot of people that I will be included in the 5% of the submissions. Some very excellent photographers with some excellent work. So, to you budding and professional photographers, get some of your pictures included in the Microsoft Personalization Gallery. I know I visit the gallery to spice up my desktop backgrounds a bit.

So, how difficult is it to get into the gallery? Actually, there’s a lot of competition! We receive so many thousands of submissions that fewer than 5 percent end up being chosen. The sheer volume of submissions also means that the time between when you submit an image and when it actually appears on the gallery can be quite long–up to six months or even longer. I’m part of a small panel of reviewers who look at every single submission we receive, and carefully assess each photo or artwork before making selections and preparing them for publication. It can be a very time-consuming process.

As the release of Windows Phone 8.1 is nearing, there are some ‘wish lists’ of sorts. The author of this article hits it right on the head. Yes, it’s taking some of the ideas from the iPhone and iOS, but they are pretty common in other devices, but lacking on the Windows Phone. Do Not Disturb is one feature I’d really love to see added to the OS. I use it constantly on my iDevices, and it’s great. My wife, on the other hand, has an app that reminds her (and me) in the wee hours of the morning. That app got deleted.

Though Windows Phone 8.1 should certainly borrow a few features from other Windows operating systems, it would also be a good idea for Microsoft to borrow a few features from the world’s second most-popular operating system: iOS, the software that powers Apple’s iPhone.

Paul Thurrott is reporting that the next big release of Windows, code named “Threshold” is going to be Windows 9 and is targeted for April of 2015. In other news – Microsoft will be releasing Windows 8.1 Update 1 around BUILD 2014 (in April) alongside Windows Phone 8.1.

Windows 9 rumors have been flying around for a while, but at least now we may have a code name and some other possible information about it. Expect a lot more rumors (“The Start Menu is back!”) about the upcoming release, but take it with a grain of salt. Some may come to be true, but much of it probably won’t. Always nice to speculate and have fun with it, though.

In some ways, the most interesting thing about Threshold is how it recasts Windows 8 as the next Vista. It’s an acknowledgment that what came before didn’t work, and didn’t resonate with customers. And though Microsoft will always be able to claim that Windows 9 wouldn’t have been possible without the important foundational work they had done first with Windows 8—just as was the case with Windows 7 and Windows Vista—there’s no way to sugarcoat this. Windows 8 has set back Microsoft, and Windows, by years, and possibly for good.

Microsoft has partnered with GoDaddy to help bring Office 365 to it’s small business customers. I’d recommend Office 365 to any small business (or larger, for that matter). I don’t think I’d say the same with GoDaddy, however.

GoDaddy, the Web’s top platform for small business, and Microsoft Corp. announced on Monday a long-term strategic partnership to offer Office 365 as GoDaddy’s exclusive core business-class email and productivity service to its small-business customers. This partnership supports GoDaddy’s ongoing push to deliver premium small-business management solutions. Serving 12 million customers worldwide, GoDaddy has created a simple experience for small businesses with industry-leading productivity tools backed by best-in-class customer support at an affordable price.