For those of you who have been following Build 2015 you might've already seen this, but for the rest of you...

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that they are integrating Continuum into the Windows 10 for Phones platform. Continuum is their engine for resizing applications to the current display whether it is 4 inches or 50 inches. While in itself a neat thing, the part that made my jaw hit the floor was when Joe Belfiore demonstrated a Windows Phone connected to an external monitor, BT keyboard, and BT mouse. Using the familiar mouse/keyboard interface he was interacting with the applications installed on the phone that were scaling up to the 27" (ish) display he was using. While the phone still cannot run Win32 applications, for many people in my organization they don't need anything beyond MS Office, a web browser, and Citrix. If I could get people down from 2-4 devices to just one it would be amazing for them.

At this point we don't know what devices will be needed to run this as they haven't been announced. The only thing that is known for certain is that current phones will not be able to connect to the external display in the way that was demonstrated. Hopefully they will be able to utilize Continuum when they're upgraded and then you can utilise Miracast or something similar.

For more info check out Paul Thurrott's article here: https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/windows-phone/3238/here-comes-continuum-for-phones

@thecreativeone91 said:

Does webroot have a local Enterprise web interface for management and AD integrated deployment? Never used it in an enterprise (or outside of my old mac) environment. I'm running Sophos at home right now with their console on my UTM (mainly cause the enterprise version is free for home use)

I have never used it, but it does have one: http://www.webroot.com/us/en/business/products/endpoint/management-complexity/management-control.

@Breffni-Potter said:

@Kelly said:

@Breffni-Potter They will be at SpiceWorld London, so you can get a more thorough demo there if you're interested.

The problem is, product demos are always biased. They are there to show off their product and the demo I saw last night was good enough, I don't need someone to explain how it works when I can trial it.

The biggest thing is, are people using it, do they like it or hate it, if they hate it, then no product demo will ever fix that, if they like it, then it just confirms what I know.

You might be able to get hands on time with the console and see more for yourself on the admin side without actually having to install it.

@Breffni-Potter They will be at SpiceWorld London, so you can get a more thorough demo there if you're interested.

@garak0410 said:

@Kelly said:

@thecreativeone91 said:

I'm wondering if this will work on current Lumia devices (like my 1520). It would be cool if there was already the hardware ablility to do HDMI over the USB like some android phones did.

Belfiore specifically stated that it was only available on new devices. I'm guessing they're going to be leveraging USB-C to add the bandwidth necessary.

And did he say he would show the new hardware tomorrow?

I think he might've said later, but I don't remember specifically. I do know that he gave zero specifics on date/time/model/etc. Unfortunately. I'm really hoping that MS gets smart and realizes that carrier lockin is not helping their platform. Push this to every carrier in the US and you will have a much larger and better response.

@thecreativeone91 said:

I'm wondering if this will work on current Lumia devices (like my 1520). It would be cool if there was already the hardware ablility to do HDMI over the USB like some android phones did.

Belfiore specifically stated that it was only available on new devices. I'm guessing they're going to be leveraging USB-C to add the bandwidth necessary.

I'll be there assuming I can get my accommodations sorted properly.

I watched/listened to most of the keynote. Microsoft really killed it today imo. There were a lot of really cool things, but the thing that stood out the most to me was Continuum. People have been saying that MS needs a killer app to push the Windows Phone platform into the market, and this did it for me. Assuming that the as yet unannounced devices check all the other business required features, this will likely be replacing laptops, tablets, and phones for most of our travelling staff and managers. Being able to connect to an HDMI monitor and have your device scale properly to be usable as a full computer without need for a dock or other peculiarities make the Windows Phone a serious contender for us.

@nadnerB said:

I think the OpenSource community could benefit from a bit more spooning.

Quote of the day right here.

@Dashrender said:

Definitely upgrade.

I agree with the 635 though - I have one, I really like it even though I'm running beta Windows 10 on it and it has issues.. they are beta issues I live with.

Now I'm waiting on the 640 XL

I'm hoping that the new Lumia flagship gets announced soon and is allowed on T-Mobile. The reports that it has been spotted in tracking data is promising.

@Minion-Queen Make sure the 525 is updated to WP8.1. There are some significant improvements moving from WP8 to WP8.1. The 525 might come with 8.1 natively though, I can't remember.

@scottalanmiller The OWA app or the web app? I know that Microsoft is pushing their "full" Office apps development on Android and iOS pretty hard. I wouldn't be surprised if the OWA app is deprecated soon.

On the consumer side T-Mobile sent me a booster with no questions asked. If it isn't a huge house the cell provider might give you one for free. They're very easy to set up.

Outlook for Android just left beta today. You might give that a whirl.

The thing that many people neglect is that the first amendment, and by extension, freedom of assembly/association, is aimed at restricting the powers of government, not delineating the freedoms of people. From a legal standpoint it doesn't matter if an implementation of freedom of association is discriminatory. Under the first amendment (assuming it is actually applied), there is nothing that the government can do. Society could ostracize you, but there should be no laws "abridging...the right of the people peaceably to assemble".

This is particularly funny since y'all are here in Colorado. This type of BS is normal ad copy in some places.

@thanksajdotcom said:

@Kelly said:

@thanksajdotcom I find your apparent lack of caring about your online perspectives incongruous in light of your proposed session at SWA2015. You might want to reconsider some of the things that are now publicly tied to your "brand".

I don't necessarily recommend people mimic how I post or all my actions. My presentation is more about utilizing professional networks to network yourself with vendors and companies. In addition, it talks about other ways to market yourself as a brand. My brand is different from someone else's. I don't claim everything I do is right or the best way. However, a lot of people from a lot of different places know my name. I will soon be published on a very major website in the IT world. While I may get criticized for some of the things I say, I've been very successful for someone my age. I've worked very hard to become so. As much as people may not believe it, I work very hard and very carefully to maintain what I've built.

Right now your "brand" is associated with unethical practices. It doesn't matter what you tell people to do if your own brand is tarnished. What happens if, after you've been published, some people go searching your name, hit this thread, and get you blackballed from the major IT rags. That isn't beyond the realm of possibility. In all honesty the more well known you become the more scrupulously you have to guard your brand from hints of this stuff.

@thanksajdotcom I find your apparent lack of caring about your online perspectives incongruous in light of your proposed session at SWA2015. You might want to reconsider some of the things that are now publicly tied to your "brand".

@scottalanmiller said:

@Kelly said:

Nope, I was there for a couple of days last year most recently, and I'd been there a couple of other times. London is my favorite "big city" so far.

One of my least, actually. Barcelona is my favourite large city.

It isn't for the city. It is for the people. I have never been in a city near that size, with as many friendly (non creepily), helpful people.

@scottalanmiller said:

Is this your first time to London?

Nope, I was there for a couple of days last year most recently, and I'd been there a couple of other times. London is my favorite "big city" so far.

Traveling across Spain and France by train sounds very cool. If the weather is nice, seeing the countryside with a large amount of time to just sit and think would be amazing.