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Russell Smith

Editorial Director

Russell Smith, the Editorial Director at Petri IT Knowledgebase, has over two decades of hands-on experience in IT, in both small business settings and government IT infrastructure projects.

Russell started writing for Windows IT Pro Magazine in the early 2000s. Since then, he has contributed insights to various IT publications, including Petri and CDW. His authoritative voice has resonated across industry blogs, where he dissects complex topics into an ‘easy read’.

Russell has authored over a thousand articles, each a testament to his depth of knowledge. His expertise doesn’t stop there: he wrote a book on Privilege Management and co-authored another for Microsoft’s MOAC series. Moreover, Russell’s commitment to education shines through in the courses he crafted for Pluralsight.

He is also presenter on his own YouTube channel, This Week in IT, and the current presenter of Petri Dish.

LATEST

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AI PCs: Is Search the Secret Weapon?

This Week in IT, AMD says AI PCs will be a no brainer for businesses but exactly what benefit will they provide? Plus, Teams gets a new live chat feature, and Microsoft updates the Windows Admin Center with new security tools for Windows Server. Links and resources Episode overview This week in IT, AMD advocates…

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Windows app

Remote Desktop Shakeup, AI for Licensing, and Search Struggles

This Week in IT, Microsoft is set to discontinue the Remote Desktop App, a new AI startup aims to help organizations with Microsoft licensing, and workers are spending 9 hours a week searching for information. Links and resources Episode overview Microsoft is discontinuing its Remote Desktop app on May 27, 2025, recommending users to migrate…

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microsoft 365 hero approved

IT Overload is Driving Workers Away + Microsoft Updates

This Week in IT, 60% of UK workers report tech overload, Microsoft is retiring Skype in May, and Teams gets some new features. Links and resources Episode overview In this week’s IT news, 60% of UK workers report tech overload, and Microsoft is retiring Skype in May, with new features added to Teams.

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Microsoft Teams

Is Microsoft 365 a Geopolitical Risk?

This Week in IT, as Microsoft completes it EU data boundary project, Bert Hubert tells the Register that M365 is a geopolitical risk under Trump 2.0, admins get new Copilot feedback controls, and Microsoft introduces new Tenant Outbound Email Limits in Exchange Online. Links and resources Episode overview This Week in IT, Russell discusses concerns…

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Microsoft Majorana 1 Quantum Computing

Microsoft Fast Forwards Quantum Computing

This Week in IT, Microsoft makes a significant breakthrough in the race to build commercially useful quantum computers, File Explorer gets cleaned up, and Russian hackers are targeting 2FA codes again. Links and resources Episode overview This Week in IT, Russell covers Microsoft’s quantum computing breakthrough, File Explorer updates, and Russian hacker attacks on multi-factor…

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Teams Logo Hero

Microsoft Teams Adopts Facebook-Style Storylines, Windows 11 New Features

This Week in IT, Microsoft Teams is bringing a Facebook-style storyline to users, the February CU for Windows 11 brings several new features and updates to File Explorer and the Taskbar, and government users in Australia think Microsoft Copilot isn’t quite as good as they’d hoped. Links and resources Episode overview This week’s IT news…

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Microsoft Defender for individuals

Microsoft Kills Defender VPN, It Was Just a Gimmick Anyway

This Week in IT, Microsoft shuts down its Defender VPN service, hackers are targeting ADFS, and the last Cumulative Update (CU) for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 gets delayed for extended testing. Links and resources Episode overview This week’s IT news highlights Microsoft’s shutdown of its Defender VPN service, hacker attacks on ADFS, and delays in…

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surface laptop 7

Microsoft Introduces DeepSeek to Windows 11 and Unveils New Surface Devices

This Week in IT, Surface Copilot+ PCs go all in with Intel, Microsoft announces DeepSeek support is coming to Windows, and the WSUS driver sync service is being retired. Links and resources Episode overview This Week in IT covers various updates from Microsoft, including new AI support, device releases, and service changes.

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Copilot hero

Tech Tsunamis: Stargate Upset, Windows Server Woes, and Azure AD APIs End

Last Update: Jan 27, 2025

This Week in IT, the US government’s Stargate project causes upset with US Tech Bros but will likely benefit Microsoft, Windows Server 2022 stops booting, and Microsoft is retiring Azure AD APIs at the end of this month. Episode overview This week’s IT news covers the US government’s Stargate project, Windows Server 2022 issues, and…

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Microsoft Copilot

Unlocking the Future: Copilot Chat Aims to Improve AI Adoption

This Week in IT, Microsoft announces Copilot Chat and pay-as-you go agents – Outlook and Teams is getting a unified contacts experience, and Patch Tuesday causes a problem for some Citrix users. Episode overview This Week in IT, we look at Microsoft’s new Copilot Chat feature, a unified contact experience for Teams and Outlook, and…

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Microsoft Hero WPC

Microsoft’s Strategic Layoffs: Innovation and Efficiency in the AI Era

This Week in IT, Microsoft is set to layoff underperforming employees, website certificates could be set to expire much faster, and Microsoft urges orgs to patch AD domain controllers as a new vulnerability is identified. Episode overview This week’s IT news highlights Microsoft’s plans for layoffs, changes to website certificate expiration, and a new Active…

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This Week in IT ep140

Top 5 IT News Stories of 2024

This Week in IT, I look at the year in review with stories about new features that came to Microsoft Loop, the beginning of the end for WS Update Services, a new Microsoft app for hybrid teams, how Teams got a Slack-like makeover, and the timeline for phasing out the legacy Outlook client for the…

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