Month: November 2024
New Copilot agents: Supercharge Microsoft 365 Copilot
Are you ready to supercharge Microsoft 365 Copilot? Following the recent Wave 2 announcements and the general availability of Copilot agents, we are excited to introduce a curated set of new Copilot agents developed by Microsoft. These agents are designed to help you and your team optimize and reinvent your business processes.
Copilot agents can help you transform complex and dynamic processes. By integrating Copilot agents into your workflow, you can harness their power, right within the flow of your work. Powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot, these agents utilize the same scalable, secure infrastructure and platform, tailored to your business needs, providing an intuitive and advanced experience without the need for coding.
We are releasing the following Copilot agents to enhance your Microsoft 365 Copilot experience and help showcase what’s possible with simple agents created using Copilot Studio agent builder, like the coaching agents and advanced agents created with pro-code like Visual Creator.
Help your ideas come to life with Visual Creator
Visual Creator: Allows users to generate images, and soon videos, using natural language prompts. Its simple interface provides guidance of what you can create and how to write your prompt so you can enhance your work with compelling visuals.
Elevate your career with Career Coach
Career Coach: Provides personalized career development suggestions, including role understanding, skill gap analysis, learning opportunities, and career transition plans. It aims to understand the user’s current role, identify career goals, assess skills and gaps, suggest learning opportunities and create a detailed action plan for future growth.
Plan and execute brainstorming with Idea Coach
Idea Coach: Facilitates brainstorming sessions and planning, offering creative exercises, idea organization techniques, and feedback for improvement. It uses a fun, collaborative tone, asks iterative questions and provides detailed agendas and creative suggestions for running effective brainstorming sessions.
Unlock your potential with Learning Coach
Learning Coach: Helps users understand complex topics by breaking them down into simple, intermediate, and advanced summaries, and also provides guided practice and learning plans. It employs various techniques for learning complex topics, including glossaries, analogies, practice exercises and structured study plans.
Write better prompts with Prompt Coach
Prompt Coach: Assists users in creating effective and well-structured prompts for Copilot. Offering analysis, compliance checks and improvement suggestions. It asks for information on the goal, context, source, and expectations to generate effective prompts and provides detailed analyses for to help elevate your prompt writing prowess.
Take your writing to the next level with Writing Coach
Writing Coach: Provides detailed feedback on writing, helps change the tone of messages, translates text, and assists in writing instructions, stories, blog posts, and whitepapers. It focuses on clarity, coherence, grammar, and overall impact, offering specific improvements and alternatives for various types of document authoring.
Availability and deployment
These Copilot agents, created by Microsoft, extend the native capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot with instructions and knowledge sources relevant to each use case. They will be available to Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users from early October 2024. Make sure to check the Teams App Store or use the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to deploy them within your organization.
Empower your developers and makers
We are making the instructions for the Career Coach, Idea Coach, Learning Coach, Prompt Coach and Writing Coach Copilot agents, open source, so your makers and developers can use them as a starting point for their own journey in creating agents to improve your business workflows, via Copilot Studio or Teams Toolkit.
Get started today
Don’t miss out on these powerful tools to enhance your Microsoft 365 Copilot experience. Start by ensuring your users can access these new tools, create excitement internally via your modern workplace champions and encourage your developers to review the source material on the PNP community today.
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How do I display a “Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADPropertyValueCollection” using PowerShell
PS C:Usersserveradmin.QA> Get-ADDomainController -Filter * | Select-Object Name, OperationMasterRoles |Where-Object {$_.OperationMasterRoles}
Name OperationMasterRoles
—- ——————–
ADAICTQA {SchemaMaster, DomainNamingMaster, PDCEmulator, RIDMaster…}
in the above command I output OperationMasterRoles Id like those to be displayed in the same row comma seperated …how do I disect that ADPropertyValueCollection ?
PS C:Usersserveradmin.QA> Get-ADDomainController -Filter * | Select-Object Name, OperationMasterRoles |Where-Object {$_.OperationMasterRoles}
Name OperationMasterRoles
—- ——————–
ADAICTQA {SchemaMaster, DomainNamingMaster, PDCEmulator, RIDMaster…} in the above command I output OperationMasterRoles Id like those to be displayed in the same row comma seperated …how do I disect that ADPropertyValueCollection ? Read More
Windows news you can use: October 2024
Learn more about what’s new in Windows 11, version 24H2 and the enhancements made possible through continuous innovation across Windows update and device management, security, Copilot+ PCs, and Windows Server. You’ll also find important lifecycle and preview news.
New in Windows update and device management
[24H2] The Windows 11, version 24H2 feature update began a gradual rollout this month. With it, you can get a new security baseline, administrative templates, Group Policy settings, Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), and channels to test it and learn more. To manage Windows Server roles and features from a Windows 11 device, go to Settings > Apps > Optional features > Add an optional feature, select View features, and search for “RSAT.”
[WINDOWS UPDATE] Windows 11, version 24H2 monthly updates are at least 43.6% faster to install and 33.5% faster to restart. Get reduced CPU usage times and smaller download sizes for feature updates. Additionally, Windows 11, version 24H2 comes with the new servicing model of checkpoint cumulative updates, introduced to Windows Insiders earlier this year.
[INTUNE] Have you experienced disruption issues when using Windows Autopilot with Microsoft Entra hybrid join? Before unjoining and rejoining Microsoft Entra hybrid devices, always unenroll them from mobile device management (MDM).
[W365] Considering a move to Windows 365 Enterprise or Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PCs? See this comprehensive migration guide.
New in Windows security
This Cybersecurity awareness month, brush up on Microsoft resources for security teams, and then get a start on this month’s innovations.
[24H2] When you install Windows 11, version 24H2, you get the following security features and capabilities: Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) policy improvements and new automatic account management, Personal Data Encryption (PDE) for folders, App Control for Business, Windows protected print mode, Local Security Authority (LSA), rust in the Windows kernel, SHA-3 support, and more. Additionally, review the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes.
[SUDO] You can take advantage of Sudo for Windows, previously available to Windows Insiders only, on Windows 11, version 24H2. If you enable it from Windows Settings > System > For Developers, you can run elevated commands (as an administrator) directly from an unelevated console session on Windows. Note that it comes disabled with the new security baseline.
[CYBERSECURITY] Download the Be Cybersmart Kit and take advantage of other learning and support opportunities at Cybersecurity Awareness – Education and Resources. If you didn’t attend the October 30 event, watch the recording for Build a Security-First Culture in the Era of AI.
[CYBERSECURITY] Do you know what to do about Kerberoasting, an Active Directory attack vector? Learn what it is, how to detect it, and how to prevent it with guidance to help mitigate Kerberoasting.
[PASSWORDLESS] If you haven’t yet, help users at your organization save and sync passkeys for their Microsoft account with Windows Hello. Soon, they’ll be able to use those synced passkeys across multiple Windows 11 devices, including mobile. Once available to Windows Insiders in the coming months, they’ll just sign in to another Windows 11 device with their Microsoft account and complete a one-time setup.
[PRINT] Improve endpoint security and eliminate driver issues by enabling Windows protected print mode. To enable it, open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers. Select and hold (or right-click) on Configure Windows protected print and select Edit. Select the Enabled radio button, then select Apply, then OK.
New in Copilot+ PCs and AI
[COPILOT KEY] On devices with the Copilot key, configure it in Settings > Personalization > Text input or with the SetCopilotHardwareKey policy. This setting will do nothing for PCs without the Copilot key. For users signed in to their account with a Microsoft Entra ID, the key opens the Microsoft 365 app. To change it to another app, the app must be in a signed MSIX package. This setting is available on Windows 11, versions 24H2, 23H2, and 22H2 with the October 2024 non-security preview update.
[COPILOT+ PC] Windows 11, version 24H2 offers several exclusive features for Copilot+ PCs. These include Live Captions, Windows Studio Effects, Automatic Super Resolution, Cocreator in Paint, and Microsoft Photos restyle Image and Image Creator.
[DEFENDER] If you intend to onboard your Copilot+ PCs to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, you might need to install the Windows Sense Client.
New in Windows Server
[ADMIN] Investigate and manage Windows Server with Windows Admin Center, now in public preview. Thanks to multiple improvements, you get improved virtual machine (VM) management options, easier installation, and seamless data migration.
[WS 2025][PREVIEW] If you’re a Windows Server Insider, Windows Server Preview Build 26311 and Build 26304 are available.
[SECURITY][PREVIEW] Preview the Windows Server 2025 Security Baseline with its three categories: Domain Controller (DC), Member Server, and Workgroup Member.
[WDAC][PREVIEW] In the Windows Server Preview Build 26304, apply a new default policy via OSconfig to configure Windows Defender Application Control for Business (WDAC).
[DATACENTER][PREVIEW] Try Windows Server 2025 Datacenter: Azure Edition preview build 26304 in Microsoft Azure. It’s available for both Desktop experience and Core version.
New in productivity and collaboration
[24H2] Experience better productivity with Windows 11, version 24H2. Its key features include: energy saver, hearing aid support with Bluetooth LE Audio, and Wi-Fi 7 support, as well as improvements to location settings, File Explorer, the taskbar, the system tray, and more.
Get the October 2024 security update to start using the following improvements, which might be rolled out gradually.
[ACCOUNT] If you’re on Windows 11, version 23H2 or 22H2, you can now manage your Copilot Pro subscription in Settings > Accounts when signed in to your Microsoft account. You can also share local files directly from the Search box results on your taskbar.
Install the October 2024 non-security preview update to get the following Windows 11 improvements ahead of next month’s quality update:
[NARRATOR] You can now copy what Narrator last spoke to clipboard with a new shortcut Narrator key + Ctrl + X. Additionally, use Narrator to read contents of a mail in the new Outlook app.
[SETTINGS] Stop suggestions to turn off notifications from certain apps. Go to Settings > System > Notifications, look for “Notification Suggestions” in the senders list, and turn it off.
[24H2] Preview additional improvements for your Windows 11, version 24H2 devices:
[NETWORKING] If you use the netsh wlan show networks command, read Wi-Fi SSIDs with Unicode characters seamlessly.
[WINDOWS SANDBOX][PREVIEW] Preview Windows Sandbox Client on Windows 11, version 24H2. Use the ellipsis icon (…) at the upper right on the app to access runtime clipboard redirection, audio/video input control, and the ability to share folders with the host at runtime.
Support user productivity at your organization with a new LinkedIn course, Windows 11 Essential Training.
Lifecycle milestones
Check out our lifecycle documentation for the latest updates on Deprecated features in the Windows client and Features removed or no longer developed starting with Windows Server 2025 (preview).
[24H2] Update your records with Windows 11, version 24H2 lifecycle dates. Home and Pro editions will be serviced through October 13, 2026. Enterprise and Education editions will be serviced through October 12, 2027.
[WINDOWS 11 LTSC] Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 is now available for five-year support. Its features are similar to Windows 11, version 24H2, including improvements in management and servicing, accessibility, networking, security, and energy savings.
[IOT LTSC] Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 began its 10-year support lifecycle this month. Its features are similar to Windows 11, version 24H2, including improvements in management and servicing, accessibility, security, and energy savings. You can download it from Microsoft Evaluation Center today.
[WINDOWS 11 22H2] Home and Pro editions of Windows 11, version 22H2 and Windows 11, version 21H2 (Enterprise, Education, and IoT) reached end of servicing on October 8, 2024. They will no longer receive security or non-security, preview updates. We recommend that you update these devices to the latest version of Windows. Note: We will continue to support Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11, version 22H2 through October 14, 2025.
[SERVER] In light of the upcoming PPTP and L2TP deprecation from future Windows Server versions, please start transitioning to more secure and efficient alternatives: SSTP and IKEv2.
[VBSCRIPT] Starting this month, VBScript is available as a Feature on Demand (FoD) and is enabled by default on Windows 11, version 24H2. This marks the beginning of Phase 1 of VBScript deprecation.
[WINDOWS 10] To help you plan for Windows 10 end of support in 12 months, use the Windows 10 End Of Support Calculator. Additionally, answer a few questions to evaluate your readiness for Windows 11 migration.
Windows Insider Preview news
In celebration of 10 years of the Windows Insider Program, rewatch this month’s Windows Insider Webcast and subscribe to Windows Insider Program on YouTube.
Here’s a summary of this month’s new experiences available to Windows Insiders. Remember that gradual rollout reaches some devices earlier than others.
[DEV][PREVIEW] Try the following Windows 11 innovations that have been released in three waves this month.
On Build 26120.2122, try the new “Copy as table” feature in Snipping Tool!
Build 26120.2200 brings updates to the Dynamic Lighting settings page, such as placeholder options for potential devices and direction options for the Wave and Gradient effects. Access Windows Studio Effects in Quick Settings from the system tray of the taskbar to use AI-based camera and audio enhancements. Hover over the new icon in the system tray to see which application is using the camera.
[BETA][PREVIEW] Depending on the build you’re on, try this:
On Build 22635.4371, try the new “Copy as table” feature in Snipping Tool!
Share local files directly to supported apps by right-clicking them from File Explorer or the desktop (Build 22635.4367).
Build 22635.4435 brings updates to the Dynamic Lighting settings page, such as placeholder options for potential devices and direction options for the Wave and Gradient effects. You can also launch apps as an admin by holding Shift + CTRL and selecting the jump list item in the Start menu or taskbar.
[CANARY][PREVIEW] Build 27729 includes the same “Copy as table” feature in Snipping Tool in the Canary Channel.
Note: Many new features are rolled out gradually and belong to different build versions. If you want to be the first to get features, you can switch the toggle to On to get the latest updates as soon as they are available via Settings > Windows Update. Please visit the Windows Insider Blog for complete details.
If you haven’t yet, register to experience the latest innovations for AI transformation at Microsoft Ignite in November. Until then!
Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us @MSWindowsITPro on X and on LinkedIn. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.
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Revolutionizing Presentations with AI and Microsoft Designer
In today’s fast-paced digital world, the way we create and deliver presentations has evolved dramatically. With the integration of AI tools and platforms like Microsoft Designer,, it is possible to craft visually stunning and engaging presentations with ease. In this article, we will explore how Yulia Barnakova, a Microsoft 365 MVP, leverages these innovative tools to revolutionize her presentations and storytelling techniques.
1. How did you get started with using emerging technologies for presentations and storytelling?
I’ve always loved to play around with technology for storytelling. When I was a kid, I used to borrow my parents’ camcorder to make stop motion animation video stories with McDonald’s Happy Meal characters. In my early days in consulting, I discovered the similar magic of PowerPoint animations to make storylines more creative, memorable, and impactful. I then started to integrate more emerging technology into my presentations, including 3D models, virtual/augmented reality, and now increasingly generative AI imagery, video, audio, and avatars – and now even design itself.
2. What excites you the most about using the AI tools to help create dynamic presentation?
We now truly have everything we need to create (nearly!) anything we want in just a few clicks, which is exciting for enhancing creativity. As someone who isn’t naturally artistic, I find it amazing that tools like Microsoft Designer can quickly create professional layouts for slides or social media and edit images, tasks that used to require a lot of manual work.
Other AI tools for image creation (e.g., DALLE, Midjourney, Playground), video (e.g, RunwayML, Pika Labs), and audio (e.g., Udio or Suno) massively enhance engagement and memorability of our messages. We are flooded with various forms of presentations daily, and AI tools help us stand out with just a little extra creativity that doesn’t add hours of work.
3. How and where do you use Microsoft Designer and the AI Tools, and where do you use the content you create with?
I’ve been closely following the evolution of Microsoft Designer, as it’s been exciting to see it constantly adding more and more AI features. I frequently speak at conferences and enjoy using Microsoft Designer to create flyers for my talks, especially since the hosts don’t always provide them for individual sessions. Microsoft Designer has a lot of great templates that you can modify and rework (tip: Search “webinar” in the templates section in Social Media). Since you can’t (yet!) add video backgrounds to flyers, I’ll even sometimes export the template as an image, then paste into PowerPoint and add a video there. (In this case, you have to set your PPT slide to be the size of the flyer then export when you add the video).
As for other AI tools, I think AI music can add a nice quick dash of spice to any message. For example, after finishing a project recently, I created an AI-generated music video to thank each member of my developer team for their unique contributions. I made the lyrics in ChatGPT (refining several times), then pasted into Suno, an AI audio generator. My team loved the video and said it was the most creative thank you message they’d seen. So, thanks to AI, it didn’t take me long at all to create a lasting, stand-out memory for them. A fellow MVP who attended my session was inspired to create a song for his tech meetup, which you can see here. These types of internal, personal use cases are great ways to experiment with AI, as they’re much less risky than customer-facing ones.
4. What advice would you give to someone new to Microsoft Designer and AI tools to get the most out of the tool?
If you’re completely new, I’d start with two features. First, try to remove a background in an image (Edit with AI –> Remove Background) – this is a fairly simple task, and if you’re used to using basic removal tools like PowerPoint, you’ll be surprised at the quality Designer gives. For instance, take a look at my photobombing avatar; I just put the avatar into Designer’s background removal tool, then put it on top of my friends’ picture and saved. Much cleaner edges than in PowerPoint, for instance.
The second feature I’d try with Microsoft Designer is the avatar creator (Edit with AI –> Restyle Image). Start by uploading your photo into the tool and choosing your style and any background elements (like an office or beach). In no time, you’ll have a fun image that you can use on social media or as a unique profile photo. This is a basic but fun use case to try, especially if you haven’t worked a lot with Designer or AI imagery.
5. How do you stay up to date with AI presentation tools, given how quickly they’re evolving?
It’s indeed hard! I have two tips, first follow major technology players like Microsoft on social media and add notifications to immediately see when new features are released. Over time, you’ll discover leaders who are engaging and active on socials and can follow them as well. You can also subscribe to AI newsletters that give you weekly roundups. Second, is to experiment constantly and try tools – even if you don’t always need them. For instance, I make it a habit to use Microsoft Designer at least once a week to see what new features it has. I also try to do as much as I can with Copilot at work, even if it’s not always perfect. This enables me to stay on the leading edge and discover new capabilities much faster. Constant curiosity and experimentation are key.
Yulia created this group of avatars (in red suits) in Microsoft Designer
The integration of AI tools and Microsoft Designer has significantly changed the way we approach presentations and storytelling By continuously experimenting and staying curious, we can unlock new possibilities and create memorable experiences for our audiences. Embracing these innovations will be key to standing out in an increasingly digital world, and with the right tools, we can captivate and inspire like never before.
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Azure at GitHub Universe: New tools to help your devs accelerate project completion times!
There were several impactful announcements from Azure at GitHub Universe! Here are the highlights but check out the blog and remember to forward the blog to your dev teams!
GitHub Copilot for Azure (in preview) builds upon the Copilot Chat capabilities in VS Code to help you manage resources and deploy applications. Using “@ azure,” you can get personalized guidance to learn about services and tools without leaving your code.
Deploy apps quickly (in minutes!) with AI App Templates! Templates provide flexibility and choice, offering a variety of models, frameworks, programming languages, and solutions from popular AI toolchain vendors such as Arize, LangChain, LlamaIndex, and Pinecone. You can deploy full apps at once or start with app components.
GitHub Models (in preview) provides every GitHub developer with access to top AI models via a playground, API, and more. Compare model performance, experiment, and mix-and-match a variety of models, including advanced proprietary and open models that support a broad range of tasks.
GitHub Copilot upgrade assistant for Java generates an upgrade plan and guides you through a step-by-step process to transition from an older Java runtime to a newer version with optional dependencies and frameworks such as Spring Boot and JUnit.
And there’s more! Check it all out in the blog below. And again, don’t forget to forward to your dev teams!
Azure at GitHub Universe: New tools to help simplify AI app development | Microsoft Azure Blog
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