How do you find details about the aliases in WMI?

In order to explore with WMI we need to know the alias for the item we want to explore. Let us find out what the 'alias' in WMI is.

Let us get the help on 'alias' first.
Run this command (just type WMIC in search charm in Windows 10[this is where you see the Cortana icon]) and the C:\windows\System32\wbem\wmic.exe will come up as shown.

Now type alias /? at the wmic:root> prompt as shown.
-----------------------------------
wmic:root\cli>alias /?
ALIAS - Access to the aliases available on the local system
HINT: BNF for Alias usage.
( [WMIObject] | [] | [] ) [].
USAGE:
ALIAS ASSOC []
ALIAS CALL []
ALIAS CREATE
ALIAS DELETE
ALIAS GET [] []
ALIAS LIST [] []
wmic:root\cli>
------------------
Now we can get the aliases and what they represent using the Alias List command as shown in the next using the list switch - brief:
------------
wmic:root\cli>Alias List Brief
FriendlyName         PWhere                                  Target
NICConfig               Where Index=#                        Select * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration
SysDriver                 where Name='#'                       Select * from Win32_SystemDriver
TapeDrive                                                                 Select * from Win32_TapeDrive
NTEventLog           WHERE LogfileName='#'        Select * from Win32_NTEventlogFile
UserAccount                                                             Select * from Win32_UserAccount
Job                          WHERE jobid=#                               Select * from Win32_ScheduledJob
SoftwareElement                                                      Select * from Win32_SoftwareElement
--------------------------------------------------------
The full list is long and above is a clipped list.

Here is picture of the complete list (use a magnifier to see it):

WMicaliaslist.png

Does PowerShell work with XML?

XML is stored as a string in PowerShell. Hence it can work with XML.

For example I have a XML document such as this one:

http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2007/07/simple-xml-file-aka-my-hello-world-for.html
-----------------

Review image 

-------------
How do I use this XML document?

Just assign this string to a PowerShell string variable as shown:(note the XML formatting has been changed slightly)
-------------

What is OWIN? How does it relate to Web?

.NET is Microsoft Specific which is also featuring in some Open source projects. Believe me it is true, read here:

https://opensource.com/business/14/11/microsoft-dot-net-empower-open-source-communities

'Microsoft is providing the full .NET server stack in open source, including ASP.NET, the compiler, the .NET Core Runtime, Framework and libraries, enbaling devvelopers to build with .NET across Windows, Mac or Linux'.

This is old story, since 2004 the 'mono project' was a open source implementation of .NET platform.

Now coming to OWIN, which is short for Open Web Interface for .NET OWIN) defines a standard interface between .NET web servers and web applications.

You can find everything you want to know about OWIN here at this master site.
http://owin.org/

These are some of OWIN compatible projects:
Servers and Hosts
    Katana
    Nowin
    Suave
Frameworks
    Jasper
    Nancy
    SignalR
    WebApi
    WebSharper
    DuoVia.Http
    Simplify.Web
    Wisej
Implementations
    Katana
    Freya
    ASP.NET vNext

Microsoft uses OWIN for building ASP.NET Single-Page applications and several of the assemblies used are OWIN based as shown here:

MicrosoftOwinAssmeblies.png

What are the differences for Sparklines in Microsoft Excel and in R?

These are the sparkline related functions in R:
newSparkLine()
newSparkBar()
newSparkBox()
newSparkHist()
newSparkTable()

You could get access to sparkLines in R using the package "sparkTable"
You may need to get the Package from a CRAN Site.

These functions are used with plot(). If the method export() is used then they are saved as mini-plots in png,eps and pdf.

The Spark lines in MS Excel are:

SparkLine_00

SparkLine_01

Excel Sparklines

It is straightforward to use in Excel as long as you have the data as in the posts.
http://hodentekhelp.blogspot.com/2017/06/how-do-you-create-sparklines-in-excel.html
http://hodentekhelp.blogspot.com/2017/06/how-does-winloss-sparkline-work.html

Examples (graphic) of Sparkline(), Sparkbar() and

R Reference for SparkTable()
https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/sparkTable/sparkTable.pdf
R has a larger option with sparklines than Microsoft Excel.

What is WMI?

Windows Management Instrumentation(WMI) allows you to use API calls to control systems and services on Microsoft Windows 10 (also from Windows XP) through models Win32_LogicalDisk and Win32_Process. You can use WMI to control local and remote machines. WMI is available for all Windows' versions.

Some of the tasks that you can undertake with WMI are,

Start a process on a remote computer.
Schedule a process to run at specific times on specific days.
Reboot a computer remotely.
Get a list of applications installed on a local or remote computer.
Query the Windows event logs on a local or remote computer or multiple computers with a single command.

You access  WMI locally and remotely using the interactive command WMIC in command-line as follows:
----------
C:\>wmic
wmic:root\cli>
-----------
Now you can see what WMI is about using the help flag /? as follows:
----------
wmic:root\cli> /?
[global switches]
The following global switches are available:
/NAMESPACE           Path for the namespace the alias operate against.
/ROLE                Path for the role containing the alias definitions.
/NODE                Servers the alias will operate against.
/IMPLEVEL            Client impersonation level.
/AUTHLEVEL           Client authentication level.
/LOCALE              Language id the client should use.
/PRIVILEGES          Enable or disable all privileges.
/TRACE               Outputs debugging information to stderr.
/RECORD              Logs all input commands and output.
/INTERACTIVE         Sets or resets the interactive mode.
/FAILFAST            Sets or resets the FailFast mode.
/USER                User to be used during the session.
/PASSWORD            Password to be used for session login.
/OUTPUT              Specifies the mode for output redirection.
/APPEND              Specifies the mode for output redirection.
/AGGREGATE           Sets or resets aggregate mode.
/AUTHORITY           Specifies the for the connection.
/?[:]    Usage information.
For more information on a specific global switch, type: switch-name /?

The following alias/es are available in the current role:
ALIAS                    - Access to the aliases available on the local system
Press any key to continue, or press the ESCAPE key to stop
----------
Refer to this source for more information:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384642(v=vs.85).aspx

What happenned to my restore points in Windows 10?

They disappeared because there was an automatic update of the operating system.

One creates system restore points to go back in case there is a problem. Typically when you encounter some rpoblem you would want to go back to a restore point you have created. The restore point would still be available to you were it not for the automatic Windows Updates.

It would be nice if there is a way of having OS on one drive that does not update (so restore points are available) and OS on the other that can update and install the better(?) code.

Do more tabs means more memory usage in Chrome?

I think the more tabs you open in any browser the more memory is used, not particularly Chrome.
Chrome has a task manager of its open which you can open from a Chrome browser.

You just bring up this Task Manager and watch the Task Manager as you open in new tabs. Here are some pictures for you to see. There are no extensions right now, just the browser. Start with just the browser and go on adding tabs.

Windows 10 Insider build related errors

I am in the Windows 10 Insider program and I have noticed some 'bizzare' displays quite unexplicable. I believe they manifest whenever there is some kind of attack from an external site.
These appear to manifest during such an attack. I have felt that the computer has slowed down and the Windows Explorer has lost some control.

Sometimes they go away if you empty past history, cookies, etc.

Look at what happens when I do a right click on desktop.

Insider Problem.png

This should have been this:

Look at the contextual menu of a desktop folder.

InsiderProblem2

Instead of this:

Look at this empty content.

More importantly I strongly believe that my Report Builder UI related errors are because of the Insider Build.

https://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2017/11/report-builder-3-has-ui-problems-that.html

What is the latest Windows 10 release version?

If you work with Windows 10 you better know what version you are using. Additionally, if you are in the Windows Insider program you better know the build you are using.

Windows OS updates are automatic. The Insider builds may interfere with your other programs. I noticed it accidentally and could not make something work which worked like a clock earlier.

https://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2017/11/report-builder-3-has-ui-problems-that.html

The Windows 10 release information my be found here:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-info.aspx

Here it is all tabulated:

Windows 10 Versions.png

Can you create a subscription in SQL Server Reporting Services to deliver to Public folder?

Public folder is shared by all the users of a computer and you should have no problem creating a subscription to deliver to the Public folder. Provide the UNC path to the folder.

Here is a subscription.

This subscription delivered a report to the Public folder.

What is a Public folder on Windows 10?

This is a very useful feature if you want to share files with other users of the computer. If your computer has others users you should be aware of the existence of this feature. Public folder is therefore available to all users, a shared folder. any user who can log into the computer can access the Public folder without any other permission. If you and your users are working on a common document then it is easy to colloboratively work on the document using the Public folder by moving the document to the folder.

You can find Public folder here (C:\Users\) :

PublicFolder_00

The folder contents are as shown. Foxit Software is not one of the defaults, the others are and to begin with they are all empty. You move related files that your other users can access.

PublicFolder_01

These are the visible items and there are few hidden ones.

In the folder's View menu, place check mark on Hiddem items as shown.

PublicFolder_02

The folders Libraries and Public Account Pictures are the hidden items. The Public Desktop folder, also hidden contains applications that are shared. Usually the installed software asks at installation time whether you want the app shared and if you have clicked YES, you will find them here as in my case.

PublicFolder_03

From the properties of this folder you can make changes to the security and access advanced properties as well.

Do you need a CIO or a CEO? What is CDO or WhoIs CDO?

What we more importantly need is a CDO.

CDO is Chief Data officer(DBA in disguise?) who can mesmerize your customers with the infinite possibilities of data analytics.

Well, you also need a CAO, the Chief Analytics Officer.

Here is a play on the anagrams from Gannet.

What is XMLNotepad and where do you get it?

XMLNotepad is a Microsoft tool, an XML editor. You can easily open an XML documents using this tool. It is very useful and very informative.

You can get the latest version from the Codeplex site here:

Go to this link.
https://xmlnotepad.codeplex.com/

Click on downloadable installer.
This will take you to the site where you can download the Microsoft XML Notepad.

XMLNotepad2_7.jpg

This application requires .NET 4.0. If it is not available in your computer (look inside Programs and features in Control panel). If you do not have this, you can download and install from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=17851

Click on Microsoft XML Notepad which brings up the following:

 XMLNotepad2-7_1.jpg

Click Install. It will install directly from a server on the internet and you may see this window.

XMLNotepad2-7_2.jpg

After a while the application gets downloaded and you should see in your All Programs as shown

XMLNotepad2-7_5.jpg

You can get the user interface of this application by clicking the shortcut in the above.

XMLNotepad2-7_4.jpg

Enjoy!

Which of MS EXCEL versions support Power View feature?

Whether or not you will be able to use Power View, quite a useful feature to display interactive reports, depends on the Excel architecture.

Excel comes in the most popular and most common x32 bit version. Many add-ins are compatible with this version. At least that is the reason Microsoft offers for not installing x64 bit version of MS Excel. Also, both versions cannot co-exist, it is one or the other. 64bit Office can work on only x64 computers but this is not really serious we will be seeing fewer and fewer x32 bit computer. The way out is for Microsoft to take a bold step to bring these differences to a close.

People who have more complex worksheets require 64-Bit office 2013.

Power Views are only supported on these versions and SKUs:

PowerViewExcelVersion.jpg

How do you find what version of Excel you are using?

I have a Microsoft Office 365 Business subscription.

Click File on the main menu of a Excel document to bring up a list of other items that you may want to find out as shown.


ExcelVersion_0

Click Account to open the account details on the right as shown.

ExcelVersion_1

Click About Excel on the icon to display the following:


ExcelVersion_2

The version used here is x32 bit.

How do you install Visual Studio Community 2017?

Visual Studio has grown a lot and it is really humongous with several different kinds of Works loads.
You can install to work with all kinds of work loads or you can pick and choose on the page "Installing -Visual Studio Community 2017 - 15.4.2.

For example I have chosen to install the following:

Summary
Visual Studio core editor
.NET desktop development
ASP.NET and web development
Node.js development
Data science and analytical applications
Mobile development with .NET
Visual Studio extension development
.NET Core cross-platform development
Universal Windows Platform development
Data storage and processing
Mobile development with JavaScript

I have left out C++, Python, Azure, Office/SharePoint development, game development and Linux development with C++.

Choose your workloads here:


Just choosing the above I need a whopping ~54 GB that is just for using the English language pack.

You start your download here:
https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/

Is Mozilla better than Microsoft Edge?

Yes, in some ways.

Here is a response from Microsoft Edge while trying to access a Reporting Services Web URL. The message leads to a dead-end.

The same site on Mozilla Firefox provides more detailed information as shown: