DavidOverton.com
This site is my way to share my views and general business and IT information with you about Microsoft, IT solutions for ISVs, technologists and businesses, large and small.  

Microsoft

  • IE7 to become your befault browser - by default

    I read about this internally yesterday and then on the blog posts today - IE7 will become part of the core OS when it is released. What does this mean - simple, unless you load a " blocking tool " similar to the XP SP2 blocking tool, then IE7 will ship down to your PC as a security update. Why - well IE7 does make the browsing experience much more secure using the including ActiveX Opt-in , the Phishing Filter and Fix My Settings features. ttfn David
  • How to use the new Security features in Vista and Internet Explorer to stop malware (spyware and viruses) from infecting your computer - all in a Video presented with Silverlight

    The Video I have delivered a number of Vista and Office demos over my time, so I decided to record a number of them for others to borrow, use, learn from or anything else they choose. This video covers the following subjects in enough detail for people to hopefully understand what they need to know on how to use these features in Windows Vista and understand how to be a little safer online: Phishing protection in Internet Explorer ActiveX blocking in Internet Explorer Windows Defender in Windows Vista To see the video played using Silverlight (just try it) click here *. I am hoping that in the near future that the WMV file will be available at new bCentral - the UK Small Business Center on MS.com. At the moment it is not available there, but a copy can be found here * it will take a few moments to open if you have Silverlight installed and require you to download Silverlight if you don't, but it is a 1MB download How I made it I simply ran through part of my normal demo talking as I went. When presenting to...
  • Where is David now and what can Maps.Live.com do?

    It is that time of year again, so I will be on holiday again in the English Lake District. While Live Writer, my blogging tool, has the ability to show maps (click the map for more information) http://maps.live.com has also improved amazingly. To show you what I mean, click the link below: http://maps.live.com/?v=2&sp=Point.t1yfjsgqqygt_Holiday___&encType=1 and you will see a screen like this: Switch to Hybrid view to see the satellite and road maps: Zoom to this location by clicking on the pushpin: Switch to 3D mode by pressing the 3D button (it might have to load a control to your browser) and then hold the Ctrl button and drag the mouse down to see a 3D profile: Search for pubs in the area and see them on the 3D map: Now go to London (search for London in the location) and zoom down to start to see the 3D views: As you zoom in more you can turn on the birds eye photography of London - note on the above picture the glowing square - this is one of the birdseye photos - zoom in more to see the actual photos...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Oct 22 2007
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  • Are you an IT related architect (Office Business Application, Windows Server Security or Services Revolution aka SaaS) - if so then one of these events could be for you

    I've hung up my architecting gloves, but I still get the e-mails. I saw this and thought there were a few partners out there who would want to take advantage of the events. As a practising or aspiring architect, it's vital to keep up to date with the latest news and technological developments to make sure your work remains at the cutting edge. By attending a free Microsoft Architect Forum you'll learn how to get the most from your architecture and gain information to aid your architectural decisions. The Architect Forum series gives you free access to one-day events providing an expert overview of a specific topic as well as fantastic networking opportunities. To register for one of these events, follow the relevant link below: Office Business Applications Architect Forum - 13 September 2007, London Office Business Applications are an emerging class of application that helps businesses unlock the value of their line-of-business (LOB) systems and turn document-based processes into real applications...
  • Questions from today's Webcast

    I promised to load the questions from todays webcast. The blog on the webcast can be found at Slides from todays Webcast on Windows SharePoint Services on SBS (WSS v2 & WSS v3) . The Questions were: Do uploaded files take up space in the system partition or can they be stored in a different partition They can do - all files are stored in the SQL database, so moving the SQL database will move the files from the system partition. if the existing SharePoint 2 is almost empty - will you loose out anything if you upgrade? Don't upgrade it - do a clean install and then move data across Do you recommend any books for end-user/creators? If you do this search, you can see a couple of books http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=windows+sharepoint+services+book+sbs&src=IE-SearchBox - some people seem to rate the step by step book. You have a contacts list, can a specific detailed with field relevant to my business be created? Any fields can be added or removed from the WSS contacts fields, so yes, you can create...
  • SBS 2008, Installation, Migration and Configuration – Chapter 2 - Introdcution to SBS 2008

    Introduction to SBS 2008 SBS 2008 is a collection of standard Microsoft technologies designed to deliver benefits that larger businesses enjoy at a price point that is desirable for small businesses. In this chapter I explain how SBS 2008 helps you deliver the following: Provision of a robust email system to a small (up to 50) group of users Support for easy collaboration between those users: email, shared calendars, document repository, internet access to all facilities A single source of common data across the customers and suppliers of a business, with easy tools to manage that data in one place Provide a website for customers, suppliers and staff Management of the company’s PCs for security, efficiency and backup Enable staff to be productive while working away from the office I also discuss the components normally required in a successful SBS 2008 installation To order the book, go to http://davidoverton.com/r.ashx?1M . To find out more about my SBS 2008 BOOK - SBS 2008, Installation, Migration and...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Apr 8 2009
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  • Worldwide Partner Conference - WPC in Denver - what I know so far - Software plus Service

    Steve Ballmer has stated his case for Software PLUS Service. This should not be news for anyone who has been watching the world, but what is great to see if how Microsoft is trying to get it's existing partner leveraged model to work in the new web 2.0/3.0 world. Of course this will not suit everyone, but if done well, everyone can move forward is a happy little dance as things get re-jigged. Ballmer Outlines Microsoft's Software-As-A-Service Plans - Software - IT Channel News by CRN and VARBusiness noted Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes the evolution of the "computational model" and new user interfaces are going to create a flood of opportunities for the vendor's channel partners. In a Tuesday keynote speech to more than 12,000 attendees at Microsoft's worldwide partner conference in Denver, Ballmer provided insight into the Windows Live platform and how new technologies like Silverlight mark the beginning of the transformation to a new user interface model. Ballmer peppered his...
  • Making peace between web designers and developers - watch the movie

    This is a nice simple cheeky movie: ";" galleryimg="no" mce_src="http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/WindowsLiveWriter/Makingpeacebetweenwebdesignersanddevelop_E257/videofe25ed816e48.jpg"> It is all about and the finding some . Enjoy David Technorati Tags: Developer , Designer , Harmony , Web-harmony , XAML , Expression
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Mar 19 2008
  • Which 2007 Office Application Are You?

    I did this " Which 2007 Office Application Are You? " and apparently I am Excel You are Excel 2007! People trust you to find the right answer. They call you "the wizard" and are in awe of your PivotTable. When you say you love functions, it's understood that you're referring to spreadsheets, not social events. You import and export with ease, always maintaining balance. Thanks to your mastery of numbers, people are constantly asking you for help with their own budgets. With the new Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you'll see how those people can get their own answers - better and faster. They will be amazed that they, too, can create a new chart with only five clicks. You may not have been known as a trendsetter, but your ability to use conditional formatting to "see" new trends was well worth any wait. You can analyze the impressive productivity and efficiency gains in Excel 2007 and prove that the benefits justify the costs. Your favorite new feature in Office 2007 is likely...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, May 4 2007
  • Sean Daniel on "Where's my next version of SBS?" - Cougar as was known

    I was browsing Vijay's blog and notices a link to Sean Daniel's blog discussing Cougar. While there are many details of Cougar still to be released and some I would imagine still to be decided, here are some of the most interesting things he said: There will be a migration too that will take you from your current SBS to Cougar on ANOTHER BOX. We are still working on this solution. The SBS Backup solution is being completely re-vamped. However, we have made the full switch, and the backup solution will no longer support backing up to tape. Using snapshot technology, the backups will be extremely quick using incrementals that can be scheduled as often as every 30 minutes. A copy of NTBackup will be able to extract files from the old SBS 2003 format, but no new data can be added. Cougar will need to be installed behind some kind of firewall and the single-NIC model will be the only mode. You must use a firewall in front of the SBS box, this can be a hardware router type item, or a software firewall such as...
  • 70-282 Exam - what has changed, what has not and how it stands now after all the feedback

    Howdy. There has been a lot of discussion recently about the huge changes to the 70-282 exam, especially following people helping us with the 71-282 beta exam work. Having worked many hours as an investagtive reporter (at least 2) and searched many a rubbish bin, I now have a pretty good answer to what happened. I managed to get this statement from the "right people" inside Microsoft. In short - 71-282 was a beta which had some things in it that did not make it into the final revised 70-282 exam. "70-282 Clarification around the introduction of a new version of the exam In Early 2006 Microsoft felt that exam "70-282 Designing, Deploying and Managing Network Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses" had not been performing at the Microsoft standard. Microsoft constantly reviews customer feedback and exam statistics, and determines if exam item changes or additions are required. To keep this exam current and valued by our customers and partners, Microsoft revised the questions and carried out testing of the...
  • OFF TOPIC - Overton Family has another child - Lizzy May

    Hello everyone, just a quick note to say that today Lizzy May was born into this world at 2:24am GMT. She is happy and health, as is her mum and the rest of us. She weighs 6lbs 15 1/2 ounces and was 54cms long. If you want to see some lovely pictures, go to http://uksbsguy.com/photos/doverton/category1018.aspx obviously this will slow down some of the posts over the next few days or weeks. ttfn David
  • UK SMB Girl » DemoShowcase goes SBSC

    This is old news, but in-case you have not seen it, here we go. The Demo Showcase is an extremely valuable sales and learning tool, but it is also a benefit of the being a Certified Partner. Most SBSC partners are not Certified partners though, so this is a great win. DemoShowcase goes SBSC October 25th, 2007 Great news! Microsoft Corp. have finally allowed one of the greatest tools that bridges the gap between the techies and the sales teams. Vijay announced it on his blog after the much anticipated Worldwide SBSC PALs meeting. Thank you to Nigel Postings and Chris Parkes for taking the feedback the Community has been generating over the last few months regarding this and helping to make a difference with the big guns. Keep an eye out for it in your Action Packs (I assume?) UK SMB Girl » DemoShowcase goes SBSC ttfn David Technorati Tags: SBSC , Demo Showcase
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Nov 13 2007
  • What has happened in management over the last 2 months - downloads and information for System Center, MOM, SMS, Forefront and even a bit of ITIL

    This informaiton can be found (and more) at the TRM blog can be found here http://blogs.technet.com/trm/ . News SMS&MOM http://blogs.technet.com/smsandmom/default.aspx Nexus SC: The System Center Team Blog http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenter/ Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 International Client Packs released Two ICP packs for ConfigMgr have been released. ICP1 contains the following languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish ICP2 contains all languages from ICP1 plus the following: Chinese (Simplified),Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Swedish, Turkish Webcasts TechNet Webcast: Client Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200) - Friday, February 29, 11:30 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) In this session, we show you some of the new features that we have built into Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007. By the end of this session, you will...
  • Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista for Microsoft (UK) Partners' Friends and Family

    [updated 18th March 08:44am] - The links are working now - hurray Now before someone goes and shoots this down, we have managed a small discount for Microsoft UK Partners' friends and family. It is not a half price discount or anything close, but if you know someone who was going to buy our software or wanted too, it is now a more attractive price :-) Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista for your Friends and Family Are you experiencing the 'WOW' of the new Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista yet? If you are you'll probably want your friends and family to feel it too! To help you spread the WOW factor Microsoft Partner DABS is offering a special price to Microsoft Partners' friends and family on the home-use versions of these exciting new releases*. Product Special Friends and Family Price** Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student £85.00 Vista Home Premium £185.00 Vista Home Premium Upgrade £123.50 *Please note: These products are not discounted. The products on offer are legitimate software applications...
  • Service Packs, Vista and a Q&A with Jon DeVaan, senior vice president of the Windows Core Operating System division at Microsoft, discusses the company's plans for the first service pack of Windows Vista.

    A few people have asked me about Vista SP1 - what will it contain, how big will it be, can you tell me more, so I thought I would share these two articles with you. One is a press report of a discussion with Shannon on http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Windows-Vista-SP1-weighs-in-at-1GB/0,130061733,339281624,00.htm which states things like: the company has revealed that test versions of the update are currently 1GB As for what's in the Vista update, it's mostly a collection of existing fixes and tweaks aimed at improving stability and reliability of the operating system ability to encrypt multiple hard drive partitions using Vista's BitLocker feature removable storage file format known as exFAT as well as for EFI (extensible firmware interface), an alternative to the BIOS (basic input output system) that handles the initial start-up of a system changes to Vista's desktop search feature in response to complaints from Google or http://www.betanews.com/article/Windows_Vista_SP1_Will_Uninstall_Group_Policy_Management...
  • What did SB+ ever do for me?

    One of the recent heated discussions has been around the services that Microsoft has started to offer to consumers and small businesses. Last night at the Thames Valley Partner Group I was asked in Microsoft was going to start servicing customers directly. This was then followed by Matt's presentation ( http://www.axxis.com ) on SLAs and much discussion was had about how people do/don't want to deal with those "how do I format my Excel spreadsheet" type questions. So I thought I would highlight the services Microsoft offers, for both consumers and small businesses, but we are hardly alone in this and I think it ties up to Vlad's post at http://www.vladville.com/2006/04/your-potentialour-passion-they-took-r.html . The world is constantly changing, online services are being offered by many people and Microsoft is working to see how new partner can benefit and existing parnters can take advantage of them. So let's look at the services: SB+ / One Care - information about this can be found at https://www.microsoft...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Apr 13 2006
  • Where to get lots and lots of information on BCM (Business Contact Manager) 2007

    I found this blog and realised several things. 1) The Brelsford family (no, they are not related) are very good in the small business space. 2) I now have a BCM 2007 hero. Who am I talking about? Bill Brelsford - http://blog.rebarbusinessbuilders.com/about.html - who says "For the past 20 years, I have been working with and for small businesses in a variety of roles." I love BCM and here are some of the things he has written about BCM. It is worth noting that Bill does not just write about BCM, but many things including marketing and many other issues that a small business would face. BCM: Setting Up Marketing Campaigns in BCM Tracking Customer Anniversary Dates in BCM Getting Started Managing Suspects in BCM Small Business CRM It has to be worth a look. ttfn David Technorati Tags: Business Contact Manager , BCM , Small Business
  • Training for users on SharePoint 2007

    From the SharePoint product team: Greetings, Looking for end user training for WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 ? The product team has released the SharePoint End User Training Kit - http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2007/10/11/sharepoint-end-user-training-kit-now-available.aspx . The SharePoint Server 2007 Training includes interactive demos, videos, and articles. You can customize the training to match your site look and feel or use it as is. The SharePoint End User Training Kit will also have a standalone deployment option, which can be installed on a PC and used by an individual. This version of the kit will be available within the next few weeks. For more information about the kit and instructions on how to obtain it, please go to the end user focused " Get the 'Point " blog. ttfn David Technorati Tags: SharePoint , Training
  • How unified communications could be with Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server (OCS)

    Unified Communications, VoIP, IM, e-mail, messaging, call redirecting, talking to your calendar - so hard to explain in words, so easy to watch in this short demo. A bit cheesy, but it works ttfn David Technorati Tags: Unified Communications , Exchange 2007 , Office Communications Server , VoIP
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Aug 10 2007
  • What is going on in the world of Virtualisation with Virtual Server and Virtual PC on licensing, Vista, x64 and more

    There are a couple of recent announcements with regard to the current range of products that I thought I would cover off. One is about licensing and has been written up by Matt McSpirit at http://blogs.technet.com/mattmcspirit/archive/2007/06/22/microsoft-virtualisation-licensing-client-and-server.aspx and covers how many licenses you get when. The other is Virtual Server SP1: Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Is Now Available Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 is the server virtualization technology engineered for the Windows Server operating system to increase hardware utilization and enable IT staff to rapidly configure and deploy new servers. Register to download the free software and you will receive relevant resources that are strategically assembled to address the challenges you will face as you discover, assess, and deploy the software. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7042993 The What is New page shows (plus more on the page) - note the x64 support for more memory. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/virtualserver/evaluation...
  • Finally the internal mail arrives announcing two new SBS MVPs in the UK

    You saw it here last folks. Congratulations to both Susanne and Tim and to the existing peeps of Scott, Steve and Nick (since he works the UK patch sometimes). If you know of these two then you know they are hard working people in the SBS community and have probably already read that they have been honoured with the MVP award. They join the ranks previously blazed by Steve, Scott and Nick. I also think that Susanne might have decided that since at least 50% of the photos from the MVP site look scary, she would forgo one just now :-). Their comments about this on there blogs can be found here for Susanne and here for Tim - both humble, but the links to other pages shows what others think. New MVPs in UK Susanne Dansey: Windows Server System - Small Business Server Susanne Dansey has spent her entire career in business development in the IT industry & recognizes that the key to successful customer relationships is empathy, trust and under... Tim Long: Windows Server System - Small Business Server Tim has been...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Jul 24 2007
  • Do you sell Microsoft product and went something to make it easier to understand our licensing and products? Something that will help you up-sell and cross-sell to your customers? If so, then the Gear Up book is for you

    In a recent mail it announced: The Microsoft Sales Toolkit is your source for driving sales. It is the licensing and sales 'product handbook' that will help you generate up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, giving you and your Partners information on the full portfolio of Microsoft products and services. You can find information on what the product is, how to sell it, relevant SKU numbers and FAQs. The toolkit is produced twice a year and is available as a hardcopy, to keep on your desk, or to download as a pdf, to take out with you to meet customers. Visit www.microsoft.com/uk/gearup for more details or to download the pdf version. Go get it, it might just answer one or two of those questions you have!! ttfn David Technorati tags: Gear Up , licensing , sales , Microsoft
  • More on Vista vs XP performance - why doesn't everyone want a racing car, but instead do they opt for safety, comfort or even the ability to have more than one passenger?

    Having been quotes by Vlad and others (or was this others? ), some more views worth reading here and some Windows Blog stuff here I thought I had better make myself a bit clearer. 1st off, this is MY opinion, not something that is sanctioned or designed by anyone else in Microsoft. I did benchmarking for 5 years and won plenty of business by it, but I also understand when a test is Apples to Apples and not Apples to Oranges. If the purpose of Vista was to be the fastest engine for Office 2003 (as was the test), then there is a lot that can be done to the product to make that happen, but that was not the goal, so testing it on that one goal and then saying it fails is a bit poor. You can turn off the new features that "slow" it down if you want, but then you don't get the feature. My car accelerates faster with the air-con turned off, but on hot days, being comfortable is more important that the acceleration, so I opt to go slightly slower rather than get there just a bit quicker. There is more to...
  • New SQL 2008 training for UK partners

    Hi, I know I’ve been away a lot recently (closing the year end and then doing some travelling for work), but while cleaning my inbox (ohh, 2500 mails processed, replied too, filed and actioned – yee har!) I came across this and it is bang up to date. SQL 2008 is going to be the hot, hot, hot product for a few months, along with how it sits with other BI solutions, such as SharePoint and PerformancePoint. To help you get started, here are some training opportunities : SQL Server 2008 Database Infrastructure and Scalability This three-day training course will help database administrators understand how to exploit the new performance, scalability, manageability and high-availability enhancements introduced in SQL Server 2008. They will also learn how to exploit these capabilities, ensure application scalability and how to manage a database using the new features. Click here Introduction to SQL Server 2008 BI Solution Development This three day course is designed to give developers the confidence to tackle a BI project...
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