September 2014 included Exchange Connections in Las Vegas (all seemed to have a great time) plus some upheaval in Microsoft, so there was plenty to discuss in my “Exchange Unwashed” blog at WindowsITPro.com. Here’s what happened during the month:

The best Exchange documentation update ever? (Sept 30): I received criticism from some Microsoft employees for posting this note about a change made by a technical writer to the Exchange documentation before they lost access to the corporate network. But it was a good change (now reversed) because it recognized the achievements of some who should be acknowledged. And anyway, if you put something on the Internet, it becomes fair game for commentary…

Microsoft layoffs impact Exchange technical writers – where now for documentation? (Sept 25):  Layoffs are horrible exercises in corporate reductions, but some are worse than others. I didn’t like the way that Microsoft cut some of their technical writing talent during round 2 of their current layoffs because I think it weakens their ability to communicate complex technical content to the Exchange community. When Exchange 2016 comes into sight next year, we will realize the full impact of this change.

Chrome problem for Exchange due to Google haste and Microsoft inattention (Sept 23): The problem caused by Chrome 37 revealed an interesting lack of communication and attentiveness on the part of both Google and Microsoft. I don’t think Google quite realized the impact of the change on enterprise applications (like OWA and EAC) and Microsoft definitely didn’t track the thinking that Google expressed in various forums. So we came to a point where Chrome 37 appeared and everyone had a problem. Not good.

Wrapping up Exchange Connections 2014 (Sept 19): There really is a role for independent technology conferences that focus on real-world problems. At least, that’s what the folks who attended Exchange Connections seem to say after hearing great sessions delivered by great speakers in a great location (the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas). It was nice to avoid lashings of corporate marketing too. I hope that you’ll consider joining us next year.

Product quality and functionality gaps top-of-mind issues at Exchange Connections (Sept 17): The folks who come to Exchange Connections tend to be IT professionals who are responsible for running servers, so when they were asked about current concerns, they reflected on some recent quality problems experienced by Exchange 2013 (CU6 specifically) and a gap that seems to be growing between the functionality available in cloud versions when compared to on-premises software.

Google kills showModalDialog API in Chrome 37 and does evil to Exchange (Sept 15): Google shipped Chrome 37 in late August but it took a little time for software updates to make their way onto user PCs, at which time people started to notice that some of the user interface components in OWA and EAC just didn’t work any more. The problem affected Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013, and Exchange Online and it’s all due to a decision Google took to deprecate the showModalDialog API. After all, it’s old and tired – a bit like me, really. For more details on just how this problem developed, see my September 23 post above.

Office Delve debuts to help Office 365 users find information again (Sept 11): I really like Office Delve, the new Office 365 launched by Microsoft to exploit the power of the underlying “Office Graph” technology. I like Delve because I think it’s an interesting new approach to exposing and eradicating the information silos that develop all so rapidly inside large organizations. Of course, it’s early days yet, but I like what I see…

Yet another co-existence bug in Exchange 2013 CU6 causes ActiveSync failures for Exchange 2007 users (Sept 6): Just when you thought it was safe to start deploying Exchange 2013 CU6 (which really works very well in many circumstances), along came yet another co-existence bug, this time to afflict ActiveSync users whose mailboxes were still on an Exchange 2007 mailbox server. Maybe they should be using a more modern server? Or perhaps these bugs shouldn’t happen…

Sad death of Exchange expert Andrew Ehrensing (Sept 4): This was a really sad note to write, but so many people had experienced the wit and expertise of Andrew Ehrensing that his passing had to be acknowledged. Sad…

Why Exchange 2016 will be coming to you soon (Sept 2): The month opened with a discussion about the next major release of Exchange, expected to appear in late 2015 alongside the rest of Office Wave 16. Will this release include all the functionality now appearing in Office 365? We’ll just have to wait and see.

On to October. Every month brings its own surprises and developments! I’ll try to keep up to speed with what’s happening in the world of Exchange and bring it to you here or in “Exchange Unwashed.” Or you can hear what Paul Robichaux and I have to say about the world of Exchange in the “Exchange Exposed” quarterly podcast, the first episode of which is called “Searching for Stability” and is now available for your download delight.

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