I finally had a chance to put the Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC headset through some paces. This $380 (MSRP) headset sports boomless dual microphones – one on the front edge of each ear cup. Of course, this is a departure from “normal” UC headsets, and takes getting used to. But that’s not the only thing different. Dual mode active noise canceling (ANC) makes for a much quieter environment – whether you’re in a busy room, or mowing the grass (more on that later). This headset can be connected to two sources at one time, such as a PC and a mobile device. For a PC connection, the included BT600 USB Bluetooth dongle comes into play, and provides just under 100 feet of range. For a mobile device, it gets paired like any other Bluetooth device. There is also a removable 3.5mm audio cable included – perfect for watching those movies on the seat-back in front of you on a long flight.

This headset sports 24 hours of battery life for listening, but that drops to roughly 20 hours of talk time. When in standby mode, this headset should hold a charge for quite a while. Plantronics says a month, but I haven’t tried it that long. I use it too often! But more importantly, how does it sound? 40mm drivers give damn good sound, whether it’s speech related as part of a UC conversation, or you’re head-banging to Motley Crue.

Configuration/Setup

The free download Plantronics Hub software allows for configuration of the headset, as well as upgrading the firmware. That second part is key here.

When I first got the headset, receiving audio during calls had a horrible clipping problem. Within 2 minutes, I’d opt for a different endpoint as it was very distracting. Music from my mobile device sounded fine, however. I tried various options in the software, such as disabling HD audio, etc. But that didn’t work. Upgrading the device to the latest firmware resolved the problem, and the audio has been quite clear ever since. The firmware upgrade process is pretty straightforward. Once the headset is powered on, it appears as the ‘headset’ tab in the Hub software. Click on the ‘Notifications’ button in the upper right, then ‘Check for Updates’. The upgrade process only takes a couple of minutes over the air. Other things in the Plantronics Hub software include the following screens under ‘Settings’:

General

Answering Call Alert – This provides verbal feedback when you answer a call from the headset. You’ll hear ‘Answering Call’.

Audio Channel Tone – Hear a tone that the headset is on and ready.

Caller ID – With this enabled, you hear verbal prompt of incoming caller ID info from you cell phone’s contacts list.

Mute On/Off Alerts – Hear feedback when muting and unmuting the headset. Options include various tones or a verbal alert.

Mute Reminder – Get a reminder that you’re muted. Some nice options here include feedback when you start talking, but you’re muted. This is similar to the on-screen feedback in Teams for the same thing.

Online Indicator – This is an on-headset LED indicator to alert others around you that you’re in a call.

Second Incoming Call – This setting configures how you’re alerted when you’re on one system, such as a Skype for Business call, and a mobile call comes in.

Software Settings related to feedback and logging.

Ringtones & Volume

Ringtone – Whether you hear a ringtone from the device.

Sidetone – This is how much (if any) of your own voice you hear while on a call. Most people take this for granted and don’t realize you hear your own voice when talking – until it’s not there. This option has Low/Medium/High settings. I find that I needed it to be on high. Feedback from me on this is it would be nicer if this was more granular, and if the high setting was a litter louder.

Volume Level Tones – This setting provides feedback when you’re adjusting the volume on the headset. Options include feedback at every level, or just minimum and maximum.

Softphones & Media Players

Target Softphone – This sets what the headset defaults to. Many are listed here, including Avaya, Cisco, Skype for Business, Broadsoft, consumer Skype, etc. An option I don’t see here is for Microsoft Teams.

Media Player Action on Incoming Call – Here is a nice feature that dictates what happens to your media player when there is an incoming call. ‘Pause & Resume’ is nice.

Softphones & Media Players – This is an extensive list of various UC clients and media players that you can enable/disable access to.

Sensors & Presence

Wearing Sensor – Mostly a master setting for everything else.

Active Call Audio – This is a nice option that defines what action is taken when take off the headset while you’re in a call. ‘Mute microphone’ is my choice, but you can also transfer the call to your mobile device or take no action.

Auto-Answer – Another nice option to reduce fumbling. This dictates what happens when you put the headset on when your phone rings. Having it answer the call is nice, avoiding having to click a button on screen or press one of the buttons on the ear cups.

Auto-Pause Music – This option is specific to streaming music, and whether you want to end/resume the stream when you remove the headset or put it back on.

Aware for Microsoft – This is nice idea, but I couldn’t get it to work. Supposedly, when enabled, this will update your Skype for Business status when you’re in a mobile call.

Wireless

Extended Range Mode – if you’re finding that you’re often near the edge of the reception coverage, you can enable this setting to provide a little more range. The downside is that it disabled wideband audio.

HD Voice – This provides for richer audio, but consumes more battery power. But hey, that’s why they’re rechargeable, right?

Streaming Audio – This enables streaming audio mobile device, but at the cost of battery life. But we simply MUST have our Van Halen, right?

Advanced

Anti-Startle – Helps reduce loud noises for your hearing protection.

Noise Exposure – This is a tad different from the Anti-Startle. This monitors overall sound to make sure you’re below the level set by the EU government. Anti-Startle is more for sudden noises, while this is overall throughout the day.

For those in the enterprise, Plantronics Manager Pro can be used to maintain and monitor devices via a web browser.

Review

A great feature of this headset is its Active Noise Cancellation: The headset works great regardless if the active noise cancellation (ANC) is turned on. When enabled, it does a great job of reduction of steady noise sources such as airplane or lawn mower engine noise. Even if you aren’t listening to an audio source, the reduction in noise means you could take a quiet nap on a flight. When the ANC is turned off, you don’t hear a big change in the quality from audio sources like you do with some Bose headsets.

Controls on the right ear cup include a on/off hook button on the side, power and mute switches on the back. A USB micro port on the bottom of the right ear cup allows for charging, and a 3.5 mm jack next to that is for the included audio cable. Also on the right ear cup are several LEDs. A series of blue LEDs cycle when the headset is charging. A single blue LED lights up when you’re in a call, and it changes to red if you’re muted. On the left ear cup, there is the ANC switch on the back, play/pause, next & previous buttons on the side surrounded by the volume dial. The volume dial turns about 15 degrees in either direction to raise or lower the volume. Personally, I’d prefer that this be a continuous dial. On the front of each ear cups are the microphones used for both speech and noise cancellation.

Turning on the headset yields several voice notifications, including that it’s powered on, the battery level, and what it’s connected to. Pressing the power switch up and releasing will repeat these notifications. The option to mute the headset when taking it off is great, as is the ability to answer the phone automatically when putting it on. I really like these as they streamline the whole experience.

The Dynamic Mute Alert feature is advertised as “Dynamic mute alert senses and alerts you when you talk when muted.” This didn’t always work as I expected. Sometimes it would take up to 10 seconds before I would hear the “muted” notification. I would expect it to be a little faster. Sometimes, I wouldn’t hear it at all. That’s too bad, as this would be a great feature.

Other than audio quality, there are some things I always look at when testing a headset for use in the office.

Fitment: Fit of the headset is very good. It doesn’t squeeze my giant melon like the original Jabra Evolve 80 headset does. The 8200 UC is comfortable enough to wear on hour+ long conference calls. But lets look at a couple of other tests.

Sweat test: Over the ear headsets can generally get warm since they completely encase your ears. These are no different, even in a comfortable office environment. Mowing the grass with the 8200 UC headset results in pretty sweaty ears, but no degradation in audio quality or fit. And that includes not getting overly slippery.

Head tilt test: This is the test where you look down towards the floor, chin touching your chest, and see if the headset slides off your head. Over the ear headsets generally do well because your ears tend to keep it in place. With this headset, it pretty much stays in place unless you nod strongly, and then you can feel the headband slide forward a bit, but not enough to pull the headset off. I’ve had some where they slide right off my head when looking down.

Overall audio test: I used this headset in many Skype for Business and Teams calls – both one-on-one and conferences. Once the firmware issue was resolved, the headset worked great each time. I had no problems with clarity for received audio, and other call participants said my sending audio was also quite clear. For Bluetooth audio, again, the headset worked great when paired to my cell phone. I had two instances where the connection to the cell phone dropped, but I was unable to determine whether the cause was on the mobile or headset side. In both instances, it immediately reconnected. One issue I did run into is that the Bluetooth audio would cut out for a few seconds when I would reach the edge of the PC dongle’s range. This didn’t happen every time. Usually I would just hear the voice notifications “PC connected” or “PC disconnected”. But it would happen occasionally. When using the included 3.5mm audio cable for connecting to other devices, I had not problems at all. I watched several movies when traveling internationally. The ANC worked as expected, whether on a flight or cutting the grass. It even silenced the sound of air coming through the AC vent in my office, and that’s a sound I don’t generally notice.

Overall

Pros: Great sound quality, once the firmware was updated; Connecting to multiple audio sources; Great fit; Nice features in configuration software; Voice notifications; Plenty of hardware controls; Excellent battery life; Quite comfortable; Excellent build quality.

Cons: Volume control should be continuous dial; When at the edge of the PC coverage range, sporadically causes short loss of audio from mobile; headset comes with simple pouch instead of hard case; Dynamic Mute Alert feature is very inconsistent; Sidetone adjustment could be more granular, and have a wider ange.

Overall: The Plantronics 8200 UC is a great sounding headset that works great in Skype for Business and Teams, as well as with a mobile device, while blocking out distracting noise. I’d love to see improvements in the Dynamic Mute Alert feature as I’m somewhat jaded by the same on-screen feature in Microsoft Teams. I recommend this headset for those who like over-the-ear headsets with active noise cancellation. I plan on continuing to use this headset.

Ethics Statement: Companies may send software, hardware, or other products or samples to me in order for me to review such samples and determine whether I will provide a review of the product on UCUnleashed.com. I do not accept any samples on any preconditions, such as, that I will agree to provide a review simply because the company sent me a sample, or that I will only provide a positive review. Please note that companies may provide these samples before the product is commercially available, in which case, I may agree to an embargo with the company or its PR firm. This means I agree not to publish the review or associated news until a given time.

Description

Anyone working in Skype for Business consulting or support knows what a pain it is to test various accounts in an environment. Whether it’s testing an account in a new environment you’ve deployed, or troubleshooting an issue for a user, the process isn’t as easy as it could be. The Lync and Skype for Business clients only allow you to configure a single account. Well, once again, the community comes to the rescue!

Office Servers and Services (Skype for Business) MVP Greig Sheridan (@GreigInSydney) has come up with a solution with his clever BounSky application. The successor to ‘Profiles for Lync’, BounSky allows you to configure up to, wait for it, EIGHTY different Lync and Skype for Business accounts, and switch between them at the click of the mouse or hotkey combo. Each account can be configured with the typical sign-in address, user name, password, and alias. But each can also be manually configured to use specified internal and external server names, which is key in testing out scenarios where DNS is either not yet configured, or you’re attempting to bypass current configuration. Passwords are stored encrypted in the configuration file. The configuration can be exported and imported, which makes moving between machines or reloading workstations less troublesome.

Once configured a simple click on the taskbar/system tray icon brings up the menu and allows you to quickly click on a button next to each listed account. Presto, the client signs out of the current account and signs into the chosen account.

A nice feature is the new Auto-Home feature, which will automatically log you back into a default account after a configured number of hours and minutes. This is great in case you forget that you’re logged into a test account. A little stopwatch icon shows in the lower left corner to show the timer, and allows you to disable/suspend the Auto-Home feature. Click the image below for a view of the various options available.

BounSky also has the ability to be utilized to change sites by a command line interface.

Greig has informative user guide about the product on the BounSky website that breaks down every feature in detail. There’s also great troubleshooting and FAQ sections, although I don’t think I’ve ever had to use them. The tool just plainly works.

Installation

Download the MSI installer and run through it. Once launched, you can set the accounts and various application settings. Click the image below to see what the account setup screen looks like.

Conclusion

This is a phenomenal solution for those who must log-in to various Lync/SfB accounts. I use it often on deployments to test accounts in new pools, or those in Office 365 for hybrid scenarios. I also have work and personal tenants that I switch between. I can’t recommend this solution enough. Greig’s done an awesome job at filling a gap in the Skype for Business client space.

Description

A common request from Lync and Skype for Business users over the years is to be able to set Lync/Skype for Business presence based on rules. And a common rule is time. So, set my presence to ‘away’ at 5pm every weekday. Well, as is usually the case, the community was listening, and Andrew Morpeth (@AndrewMorpeth), fellow Skype for Business MVP, released a free solution called UC Extend.

UC Extend allows you to set various time of day presence and personal note changes. For example, you can set a presence of ‘Off work’ to start at 5:30pm until 8:00am. And the personal note can be something like ‘It’s currently outside my normal work hours so I may not respond’. UC Extend forces the configured presence and personal note during this time. So, even if you’re working on your computer, which would normally cause a presence of ‘available’, UC Extend will keep it as ‘Off work’. There are 4 standard ‘rules’ that can be enabled and configured, and they apply to every day. There is also a weekend rule that matches based on the day. So, if your weekend is Saturday and Sunday, from Midnight Friday till midnight Sunday, the configured rule will apply, and takes priority over the other rules. See the screenshot below to see how the application lays out the rules and their settings.

UC Extend has several other options as well, including forcing one UI (Skype for Business/Lync), and automatic ‘away’ settings. Andrew has done some work around also adding configuration of unanswered calls, but those features are not yet available. The right-click context menu for the application also supports custom options and custom URLs that are configured in the applications XML file. I did play around with those, but haven’t really found a need for them yet. Other options include the ability to include custom option in the Lync/Skype for Business context menu, which could be nicer. This includes custom support URLs, as well as the ability to launch an application. UC Extend also supports configuring registry keys in the XML, and forcing a value for those keys, such as when a change is detected. Andrew’s site describes these features further, and the XML file has some decent comment notes.

UC Extend will trigger a toast notification and system sound whenever it makes presence changes. For me, that’s a good ‘reminder’ that the working day is over.

Installation

Download the application from the TechNet Gallery. Run through the MSI installer, and you’re up and running. You can right-click on the ‘UC’ system tray icon to adjust the settings.

Conclusion

The application was released a while ago, and some of the dialogs mentions Lync instead of Skype for Business. The bottom of the settings dialog is an example of this. It doesn’t detect the sign-in status of Skype for Business in that location. But the application works great for Skype for Business clients. I really like the solution, and continue to use it to this day. My only real request, other than updating some of the dialogs to support Skype for Business, is to store the original personal note, so that when it’s outside of any of the configured rules, it can restore that. Or, and option to pick the original personal note instead of forcing a configured personal note. Certainly not a show stopper for me – just a wish. Maybe Andrew will get around to finishing the ‘unanswered calls’ config. Still, a cool solution that fills a known gap.

Description

A year or so ago, when I began some renovation projects, I started to really get into home automation. I’ve now got two Nest thermostats, probably a dozen Nest Protect devices, some Next cameras, dozens of Phillips Hue lights, and a bunch of SmartThings sensors, smart plugs, and more. I’m also utilizing things like 7 Amazon Alexa devices, Siri, and IFTTT and Stringify to help tie things together. They really all work great, with the exception of the Ring video doorbell, which, IMHO, is a piece of garbage –

For quite some time I’ve played with some of the presence lights by vendors such as Embrava’s Blynclight and Kuando’s Busylight family. They work really well at letting others see your presence before they interrupt you. I’ve used them both at customer locations (‘cube farms’) and in my home office. The problem in the home office is that I wanted the light to be outside of my office door, so that family members could see my presence if my door was closed. That required a long USB extension cable, and wasn’t the cleanest looking solution. Then one day, I was playing with some Hue bulbs and Alexa, when it dawned on me that it would be cool to change one or more Hue bulbs to match my presence. So I reached out to Tom Morgan (@TomMorgan), Skype for Business MVP, ace developer, and former coworker, with my idea. Not long after that, he introduced Skyue. Skyue is a client side system tray application that controls Hue lights, and sets them to your presence. Brilliant!

I set this up to utilize a light on the main floor, near the stairs. My office is on the second floor, so the light is visible before people come up the stairs. While my family doesn’t know what all the various presence colors mean, they do know that red (busy/on a call/in a conference) and purple (DND) mean that you approach my office with caution. My grandson also knows that it means not to run around the house like a banshee, because Papa is probably on a call (hey – I’m no presence liar!). The app keeps the bulbs in sync, and there is really no delay between a change in presence and the bulb color being updated.

Installation

Pretty easy, really. Download the tool and run it. It will prompt you to press the button on your Hue hub. Once that’s done, click the button in the app acknowledging that you pressed it. Select the Hue light(s) that you’d like to control. Only the color ambience lights should be visible in the pick list. White ambience lights are not – for good reason. You can also set the level of brightness for the lights. This was something that I asked for because a Hue light is pretty bright. So, setting to 20% was a perfect level to be seen but not overbearing. Once you hit ‘Save’, you’re off and running. You can also adjust the settings by right clicking on the little floor lamp icon in the system tray.

Coming soon

According to the website, Tom is looking at adding Contacts so you can show their presence, as well as notifications for incoming IMs, and incoming calls.

Conclusion

I’ve been running this for many months now, and it’s been rock solid. If you’re looking to have a quality solution to leverage existing Hue lights and Skype for Business, Tom’s cool utility should fill the requirement. Highly recommended!

At the 2014 Lync Conference, Logitech showed their inexpensive conference room device called the ConferenceCam CC3000e. It got a lot of attention for several reasons. The first is the relatively low list price of $999. The second was the features that this unit contained. After seeing a quick demo at the conference, and talking to some folks at Logitech, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one of these to play with. Finally, it showed up and I’ve been using it since.

The system comes with several key components:

Camera. The free-standing camera unit has a 1080p HD camera on a motorized pan/tilt unit that’s controlled by either the control unit, the infrared remote control, or a small client plug-in that supports both local and remote (far end) control. The client plug-in is available for Lync 2010, 2013, Skype, and Cisco Jabber. The camera supports up to 30 frames per second, 10x zoom, and a 90 degree field of view, pans 260 degrees, and tilts 130 degrees. This yields excellent video quality and flexibility. The camera supports H.264 & SVC, which allows for the offloading of video processing onto the unit itself instead of the PC it’s connected to. When not in use, the camera reverts to a position aimed down and away from users. When it’s next used, it returns to its previous “home” position. The camera can be table mounted, wall mounted, or even attached to a tripod with its industry standard threaded insert on its bottom.

Console unit. This is the heart of the unit, and contains two full-duplex omnidirectional mics that pick up conversations for everyone within about 20 feet in your conference room. Unlike other systems, the CC3000e doesn’t require separate mic pods. The unit has both touch controls for common features such as adjusting the camera for pan, tilt, and zoom, as well as on/off hook, mute, volume, etc. Also located on the control unit is a digital display that shows call information including called number or caller ID, and a call timer. The console also support both Bluetooth and NFC connectivity to devices.

Remote control. This is a very simple remote that includes all of the buttons that the console unit has, except for the Bluetooth button. The buttons are large and easy to see in a dimly lit room. The remote sits on the console unit when not in use.

Hub. This is the center of all physical connections. Among the connections to this hockey puck sized unit are a USB connection to a PC, a cable to the camera, a cable to the console unit, and a small power cable. This can be mounted or located out of sight. A small LED on the front indicates it has power.

Testing. I’ve been playing with this unit for several weeks now. This is one slick unit. It’s easy to set up and get going, and the controls are fairly intuitive. Even without installing the client plugin, I was up and running in seconds. An “idiot proof” pictograph on the inside lid of the box made connecting things simple.

I set my Lync client to default to the CC3000e, and started making audio and video calls. The sound was fabulous on both sides. The camera has great quality, and the ability to pan/tilt/zoom was something I was constantly playing with. I found myself using the CC3000e as my defacto device for all calls. Moving around my office, people in the conference could still hear me clearly, and I could adjust the camera if I decided to sit elsewhere in the room. A company initiative to add video to every call meant I had plenty of opportunities to test the video features. And, a nice, bright, obvious LED indicator shows muted/unmuted status that’s visible anywhere. This is a nice feature, as a common complaint I hear is that people often don’t notice they’re muted when using just the Lync client. With the CC3000e, you can’t miss it.

Updating the firmware of the device requires the installation of a small app, and it’s pretty straightforward. Personally, I’d like to see this rolled into the client plug-in instead of being a separate install/app to deal with.

As with any solution, nothing is perfect. I did notice a couple of things. First, entering a conference where you’re already muted sometimes shows the blue indicator (unmuted) instead of the expected red muted indicator. Pressing the mute button on the console quickly resolves this. But it can be a tad confusing when the client shows muted, but the console doesn’t. At any other time, the mute status on the console was correct.

Second, the console unit buttons can be a little hard to see in low light scenarios. So, when presenting something on a screen, with the lights turned low, the keys are just hard enough to make it difficult to distinguish the symbols on them. I did notice that the symbols on the remote control were easier to see. A possible solution would be backlit buttons on the console unit. But this is just a minor issue, as I don’t often have the lights turned down low.

Everything else worked great on all of my calls. I played around with putting the camera in different locations, at different heights. I tried audio from different spots in the room. And I certainly pushed all the buttons during calls. This is an excellent device that I would recommend to any org that expects up to 6-10 people in moderately sized conference rooms. It is well worth the price.

Donations

I’ve never been one to really solicit donations for my work. My offerings are created because *I* need to solve a problem, and once I do, it makes sense to offer the results of my work to the public. I mean, let’s face it: I can’t be the only one with that particular issue, right? Quite often, to my surprise, I’m asked why I don’t have a “donate” button so people can donate a few bucks. I’ve never really put much thought into it. But those inquiries are coming more often now, so I’m yielding to them. If you’d like to donate, you can send a few bucks via PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/PatRichard. Money collected from that will go to the costs of my website (hosting and domain names), as well as to my home lab.

I have to admit that I’m a heavy user of wired headsets for Lync and Skype. This is really due more to the fact that spare power outlets in my office don’t exist. In fact, the fire marshal had better never show up and look behind my desk. Also, I rarely need to move more than a couple of feet from my desk chair. So the wireless benefit is somewhat lost on me. That being the case, I’m constantly checking out new headsets to see which will be the most comfortable and have the best sound quality.

Logitech’s Lync Optimized H650e headset is a dual ear USB wired headset. But not only dual ear, it’s stereo. While I’m not likely to use it to listen to my extensive hair metal music collection through them, it’s a nice touch. The headband is narrow, light, and very comfortable. The padding is soft, but not so soft that I feel the plastic headband itself. The ear cups are also very soft, and remind me of those found on my Bose QC3 noise cancelling headphones. I’ve worn the headset for several multi-hour calls, and it was comfortable throughout. The sound is fabulous.

One cool aspect of this headset is that the USB cable is flat instead of round. This might not seem like much, but take it from someone who routinely has at least four headsets hanging together. This 7 foot cable just doesn’t tangle. And the integrated control head provides for hook and mute buttons – both of which are Lync integrated. Pressing the mute button on the control head mutes the Lync client – not just the headset. There are also volume up/down buttons on it as well.

The mic boom is a flexible rubber that’s easily positioned in any angle you need. It has great, natural sound, so I’m told by those I speak to with it. One cool feature on this is that at the end of the boom where it connects to the ear piece, is a presence indicator. This is designed for people who are behind you. They can see your presence and know you’re in a call. One might think that would be evident merely by having the headset on, but I would point back to the headset being stereo. So a user could be listening to non-call audio. It’s only illuminated when in a call/conference/meeting. A neat idea that would be beneficial in a Dilbert style cube farm.

I really like this headset. In fact, my old favorite, the Blackwire 720, has been pushed to standby status as I use the H650e pretty much exclusively. Great sound, comfortable, and a non-tangling cord are all wins. For a list of $89.99 USD, it’s a fabulous unit that should suit most chair jockeys that don’t need to get away from the desk while on the phone.

I love Plantronics gear. I’ve got plenty of their devices either on my desk or in my backpack. Recently, I had a chance to use the Plantronics Blackwire C720-M headset. The 720 is the dual ear model in the Blackwire 700 series. A single ear version, the 710, is also available. The 720 is a lightweight, comfortable headset that can be worn for hours on end.

The headset includes dual connectivity, which allows for a USB connection to a PC for Lync, Skype, and a bunch of other soft phone clients, as well as Bluetooth connectivity to a cell phone. You can switch back and forth between the two connection methods via buttons on the cable mounted control unit. If you install the Plantronics Control Panel software, you can configure the headset for various options including setting your presence when you put on/take off the headset, mute options, and more.

The headset can also automatically answer a cellphone call when you put the headset on – a really nice feature.

The cable based control unit has your typical volume up/down buttons, the PC and Cell Phone buttons to switch focus, and a mute button that does mute the Lync client – not just the headset. A bright red LED comes on when the Lync client is muted. You can’t miss it. The cable that goes from the control unit to the PC can be disconnected at the control unit so that you can move around while using the headset in Bluetooth mode. Plugging it back in re-enables the USB connectivity, as well as charges the internal battery.

I’ve worn this headset on 4 hour calls, and quick 30 second calls. I’ve used it in Skype, Lync, and with my Windows Phone. It works really great. It’s comfortable, stays adjusted and in place, and the audio is fabulous. Callers have mentioned that it sounds great when I use it.

One thing I don’t care about is that I’ve noticed I can’t really hear my own voice when talking. Now, before you think “this guy’s ego is so big he needs to hear himself talk…”, keep in mind on normal landline/VoIP/cellphone calls, you typically hear your own voice. And you don’t really notice it until it’s gone. It can be VERY distracting. But other than that, I’m a big fan of the headset, and have recommended it for use by our internal folks.

The headset comes with a nice case for storage and travel.

If you’re looking for a nice headset with some cool unique features, the Plantronics Blackwire C720-M is a great choice.

I like Exchange. And PowerShell. So, when Packt Publishing asked if I was interested in reviewing their latest book “Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 PowerShell Cookbook”, I jumped at the chance. I was even more excited when I realized that it was written by two heavy hitters, Jonas Andersson and Exchange MCM and Microsoftie Mike Pfeiffer. I’ve known Mike since his days as an Exchange MVP prior to joining Microsoft.

I had not read any books published by Packt previously, so I was interested to see how this one was put together. What a pleasant surprise. The book, now in its 2nd edition, wastes no time in dispensing some solid PowerShell knowledge with the first chapter, “PowerShell Key Concepts”. If you’re a complete newbie who has been reluctant to take the PowerShell plunge, this chapter has a substantial amount of information to help you get started. In fact, If you read the first chapter, you’ll have an excellent understanding of the basics of PowerShell. Not only is that a great building block for what comes later in the book, but it’s also a great PowerShell primer just by itself. If you’re an experienced coder, the first chapter will help fill in some gaps.

From there we go to common tasks in both PowerShell and Exchange. Some great info there, as well, as we look at many of the things that help tie scripts together including remote sessions, tasks, dealing with .csv files, etc.

From that point on, each subsequent chapter deals with a different area of Exchange, and how PowerShell can make life easier. These are including topics such as mailbox and database management, high availability, and more. Each area is broken down into a specific subject, and includes information broken into several different sections, including “How to do it..”, “How it works..”, “There’s more..”, etc. These start with a simple task, explain the basics, and build on them so that the reader can develop great PowerShell functions and scripts, and understand what’s happening “under the hood”. In reading this book, I can say I’ve learned several different approaches to things that I had not considered previously.

Some things often get left out of Exchange books just due to the complexity of the product. This is often things like compliance. But, oh no – Mike and Jonas dive into this as well, discussing archiving, retention and legal holds, auditing, and more. There’s also a chapter on using the EWS Managed API, which really opens the door to doing all kinds of things by connecting to Exchange via EWS. Just look at what Glenn Scales is doing with EWS.

Chapters break down as follows:
Chapter 1: PowerShell Key Concepts
Chapter 2: Exchange Management Shell Common Tasks
Chapter 3: Managing Recipients
Chapter 4: Managing Mailboxes
Chapter 5: Distribution Groups and Address Lists
Chapter 6: Mailbox Database Management
Chapter 7: Managing Client Access
Chapter 8: Managing Transport Service
Chapter 9: High Availability
Chapter 10: Exchange Security
Chapter 11: Compliance and Audit Logging
Chapter 12: Server Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Chapter 13: Scripting with the Exchange Web Services Managed API

The book also contains some great reference materials in the appendices. A common shell appendix is a great add-on to what’s in the book, especially chapter 1. I probably learned more from this part of the book than anything.

Appendix B delves into query syntaxes – something that can be frustrating if you don’t know the basics and pitfalls. From AND and NOT to date ranges and more. Solid info that should be kept within arms reach.

I have to say, it’s no surprise that I liked this book. Mike and Jonas did a fantastic job keeping the reader engaged. By taking a simple idea and building on it, each example and section helps solidify a solid PowerShell understanding and how it relates to Exchange. Installation, configuration, and administrative tasks are all made substantially easier by the information in this book. The book doesn’t talk over the reader’s head, and the code provided is solid and clean. I can’t recommend this book enough if you’re an Exchange person looking to get into PowerShell to increase your productivity and enhance your career.

The book is available from Packt Publishing in formats including print, ebook, and .pdf, and from Amazon as a printed book, or Kindle download. Buy it! Now!