September 2006 - David Overton's Blog

I am not one who likes to dwell on things, but the doctors have said I can drive and this is in part to the progress of my finger. I am off the big pain killers too, so the mind is less numbed, although I do now feel like I want my drugs back - they made the world a more smiley place. To see how I did this, go to here . For those who like the gross things in life, once again, some links to the gory detail: Finger from above before the stitches were removed Finger from side before the stitches were removed Finger from above after the stitches were removed ttfn David

This is so important I just had to blog on it. As a SBSC member you now have access to a superb support organisation to answer your questions. No longer do you have to rely on me being there for you (as I have not been for the last couple of weeks). To get there, go to Microsoft Small Business Specialists Community Managed Newsgroups and go through the sign-in process. You can ask questions on any Microsoft Technology and someone from the community or Microsoft will be able to help, and often in a very speedy way. Give it a try - you will be amazed and it might just save your bacon one night in front of a server. ttfn David

I noticed these two magic keystroke links at the Windows Vista™ Magazine blog site, but I thought I would add another. How to shutdown with the keyboard: Ctrl+Esc, Right, Right, Right, u Ctrl+Esc will open the start menu, which can also be done by pressing the Windows-key ttfn David

This simple guide covers what you need to know to install the Premium Technologies. Installing SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition You can install SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition as your database for a business application. Additionally, you can upgrade the instance of Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows) (MSDE) that is used by Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services if you want to be able to search document libraries in your company's internal Web site. For step-by-step instructions about how to install SQL Server 2005, download the file sqlinstallsteps.htm below. Installing ISA Server 2004 You can install ISA Server 2004 as the firewall for your local network. For step-by-step instructions about how to install ISA Server 2004 with Service Pack 1, download the file isainstallsteps.htm below. Installing FrontPage 2003 You can install FrontPage 2003 on one computer in your Windows SBS network and then use FrontPage to create or modify your Internet Web site. Note It is recommended that you do not install...

This is definitely a great blog entry - about how organisations and people manage change. Some things change I have a lot of debates at the moment about how hard it will be for people and companies to adjust to the new release of Office. The first discussion usually surrounds the new user interface and how different it is. I'm not going to go over all the reasons behind the contextual approach again. The research in our labs, and this matches what I observe with the people I know who start using 2007, is that it takes between 2 days and a couple of weeks to feel at home in the new user interface. Now this is NOT how much downtime each user suffers making the transition, it is the time it takes for them to feel as confident with the new release and to take advantage of the new usability. <snip> If it all goes wrong and you really can't find your favourite feature the Office online animations are fab. These give you a mock up of 2003 UI, you click on your beloved feature and it switches to show you where it...

Someone recently asked me my Myers-Briggs personality type and while I had taken this test a long time ago, I could not remember my type. I went to the Personality test based on Jung - Myers-Briggs typology and answered the 40 questions. It came back with the following information - always an interesting read. Purely for fun. Your Type is ENTP Extroverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving Strength of the preferences % 22 12 38 22 ENTP type description by D.Keirsey ENTP type description by J. Butt and M.M. Heiss Qualitative analysis of your type formula You are: slightly expressed extrovert slightly expressed intuitive personality moderately expressed thinking personality slightly expressed perceiving personality ttfn David

Just a quick one to say that MS has discussed Vista Pricing in the US at CNet . While I have no idea how this translates to the UK, this is how it came out. More information is formally announced on the Microsoft site : Full retail versions of Vista Upgrades from XP Windows Vista Ultimate, $399 Windows Vista Ultimate, $259 Windows Vista Business, $299 Windows Vista Business, $199 Windows Vista Home Premium, $239 Windows Vista Home Premium, $159 Windows Vista Home Basic, $199 Windows Vista Home Basic, $99 A quick search of a US site showed XP Home @ $199, upgrade @ $99, Pro @ $299, upgrade @ $199 ttfn David

This one was a bit of a surprise to me, but my Dad, who is an IT Consultant phoned me up to explain that when he range business critical support for a customer down situation he was told that his registration had lapsed. He then had to go through a process to re-register before his call could be processed - and this all took valuable time. I put this down to my Dad's unique way of finding problems with systems, however the very next day I got a mail from another partner who hit exactly the same thing, so think of this as a warning, go give yourself the ability to call MS Support without them charging you when your customers are "down". To get more information and registration information (it is not a long process honest), go to Register for free- Business Critical Telephone Support for registration and http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/tech_support/b... for information. Once you are set up, you MUST note your Support ID - this is the magic that will make it work when you need it. ttfn David

I am someone who likes the best browser for me. While I have often tried other browsers, I have always come back to IE based ones. I say IE based ones as I was a Avant and Maxthon user for a good 2 years until IE7 came on the scene. I loved tabbed browsing and those browsers gave me that. The discussion can be found at the CRN web site and does an amazing job of describing the browser wars and talking about who won each round. What might surprise many is that MS has not won many, but does have a large base now and the verdict is open for the next round. For the record, I now use IE7, I still get tabbed browsing and quick tabs and I have not yet had a site I could not browse, so that is great. I LOVE the new security features - protected mode and anti-phishing technology. I save trees with the "about time" feature of shrink to fit for printing and when I start the browser, it opens up the 8 pages I want it to in tabs, so no longer choosing which page will be my homepage, I have 8. (as it happens, they are Valdville...

We are publishing a long list of mini-presentations, aka the virtual conference on 26th September. You will be able to hear loads about Microsoft, our plans and products from the managers and people in the know. Below are just some of the items I think might be of interest to you. For a full list, go to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/partnerconfere... on or after 26th September. Some of the topics include: Karl Noakes introduces the Virtual Partner Conference. David James from Henley Management College talks about what successful businesses are doing today outside of our industry and within it. Hear a discussion between Nigel Montgomery of AMR Research and David James of Henley Management about the UK market trends, opportunity areas and how you can align your business to take full advantage. Steve Marsh talks you through the 2007 Microsoft Office System, addressing key areas including personal productivity, communication and collaboration, enterprise content management and business intelligence. Exploring...

I am not one to laugh at other's misfortunes... or at least not very often, but Chris had arranged to go to the Kent Partner Group meeting, when I asked him how it went he gave me some story about hit house falling down. Being the sport he is, this is part of his blog entry on the whole sad affair. I still say it is an extreme way to avoid meeting partners, but that is Chris for you! I am sure he will be at the group soon! Source: Chris Parkes: A PC is not just for Christmas... : A Day in The Life (of the People Ready Business) A Day in the Life of...Ken 8:00 - 9:00 AM Check email/voicemail messages 9:00 - 10:00 Review cash on hand and bank balances 10:00 - 12:00 PM Attend scheduled meetings 12:00 - 1:00 Have lunch 1:00 - 2:00 Meet with accounting staff 2:00 - 3:30 Review finances/prepare reports 3:30 - 5:00 Continue work on current projects/work on the To Do list generated from meetings 5:00 - 7:00 PM Review and respond to email messages/work on a facilities issue/go home A Day in the Life of...Chris 2:15 - 2...

If you have a customer who wants these capabilities, but does not have the resources or cash to buy it, then Office Live could be quite amazing for you. Microsoft Office Live is coming - what is it Today, more than ever before, an Internet presence is indispensable for small businesses. That’s why Microsoft is introducing Microsoft Office Live — a set of affordable business productivity services designed to help you grow your business more easily by establishing a professional presence online. Microsoft Office Live will provide your company with its own domain name, Web site, and company-branded e-mail accounts for free. Additionally, Microsoft Office Live will offer you and your employees expert business management applications, such as customer, project, and document management tools, and a security-enhanced private Web site — affordably managed and maintained by Microsoft — where you can work together and share information with your employees, customers, suppliers, and contractors. If you’re not at the stage...