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  • Channel Business Says "Partners’ Vista marketing must drive solutions message"

    Having attended the [wpc] conference it was interesting to view this press coverage of the Vista message. It is true that Vista (and Office for that matter) will be marketted by Microsoft to both consumers and businesses alike. At the moment we are still building the messages for UK small businesses (We are running a technology adoption programme to get evidence specific for small business customers for the 1st time in the UK), but the article states that partners will need to think about customer solutions in their PR rather than just "safer, easier, faster" type messages. The campaigns will be based on our People Ready Business messaging and we will have materials for partners to use via campaign builder and other tools freely available to partners . ttfn David Related Links: http://212.21.97.148/magsites/cb/content/news/newsarticle.asp?CatID=12&ArticleID=1080
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Jul 24 2006

  • Windows Vista Upgrade information

    Vista, Your operating system of choice. So how are you going to get there? Hard Disk format, in-place upgrade, new system? Microsoft have released more information on the upgrade matrix - obviously you can not upgrade from anything to anything, so what can you do? Well the matrix at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeinfo.mspx shows WINDOWS VISTA EDITIONS Home Basic Home Premium Business Ultimate Windows XP Professional Windows XP Home Windows XP Media Center Windows XP Tablet PC Windows XP Professional x64 Windows 2000 Requires clean install. In-place installation option available. There is also a little side note that needs a little more testing that I have not had a chance to check into yet. "If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required." This might mean that all of you with x64 copies of Windows might get the new OS...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Jul 25 2006

  • New UK Vista Magazine, online portal and blogs

    I have been known to blow my own trumpet in the past and today is no exception :-). I currently have a utilities section in Windows XP Magazine and I have been asked to move this to a features column and blog on the Windows Vista magazine. Now they have not seen any of my material, so it is very possible that nothing will come of it, yet it is also possible that this might end up another important source of information regarding the world of Windows Vista and if I have anything to do with it - what small businesses can do with the technology. To visit the magazine, go to http://www.windowsvistamagazine.co.uk and if you want to see the blog, currently written by Jon Hicks, go to http://www.windowsvistamagazine.co.uk/page/windowsvista ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Jul 25 2006

  • Microsoft finally confirm that they are entering the media entertainment device arena - with the Zune

    http://www.billboard.biz/bb/biz/magazine/upfront/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002877378 This web site features an interview aroudn the Zune. Not much is really present in the article, except for the fact that it should ship this year, it will support wireless syncronisation, which could be used for wireless playlist and music swapping. Other places for info on the Zune include - https://www.comingzune.com/default.aspx and http://news.com.com/Microsofts+Zune+to+rival+Apples+iPod/2100-1041_3-6097196.html as soon as I hear more, I promise to tell all :-) ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Jul 26 2006

  • Find all the Microsoft MVP and employee blogs around SBS 2003

    I just found this tool that lists all the MS & MVP blogs that relate to SBS - they can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs/PortalResults.mspx?ResultPage=1&Charset=iso-8859-1&BlogPart=Blog&BlogCategory=f9e5172a-da57-4efb-ac8d-3eebbfeecf1f or via the OPML File . ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Jul 27 2006

  • 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
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Jul 27 2006

  • Why Microsoft Betas are often broadly available and the changes coming to the Office Ribbon Bar to resolve some of the biggest complaints about it

    Earlier Tim said he thought Microsoft betas were too common and that they were more like unsupported released products. Some would say that at one time, Microsoft used to release its products with all the bugs and charge customers full price to beta testing them. The truth is that we need more people to tell us what they think about our products. We need IT people, business people, customers and more, however the 1st group we need are our partners -if they don't think they can sell, use and build solutions with our product, then we have lost our sales force. That is not to say that we should not offer assistance here, but the critism and feedback is very welcome. I commented on the same blog back to Tim, so will not re-cover that ground again. So, Office and the Ribbon bar - the loss of menus in Word, Excel and PowerPoint has been quite a talking point and the replacement with the Ribbon bar has been refreshing. Finally, findign the function you want is easier - sometimes you even find things that have been...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jul 28 2006

  • UK Research shows that small business owner managers are doing everything to avoid working at the weekend - is this good or bad news for IT suppliers?

    I came across this article which suggests that small business owner / managers are avoiding working at the weekend. The article is backed by research from Barclays Bank . There are a few facts that really sound out to me: The development and uptake of new technologies is having a positive impact on hours worked: - 46 per cent of businesses with internet access work a standard 5 day week, compared to just 35 per cent of those without. Owners of small and medium businesses in the UK work 24 hours longer each week than the rest of the UK workforce 43 per cent said they now will not work weekends compared to 36 per cent in 2003 and Sundays have become even more precious with only 29 per cent admitting to working on that day compared to 36 per cent in 2003. On average entrepreneurs are spending over 15 hours a week – equivalent to almost two full days for most workers – on administration. Six out of ten entrepreneurs feel that regulation is a barrier to doing business, particularly in larger SMEs, where...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jul 28 2006

  • Microsoft releases campaign builder tool for partners - Non-marketing folks can use it (as well as the marketing ones) as a step by step process for delivering Microsoft aligned marketing campaigns to your customers

    Imagine the scene - Microsoft is running a marketing set of events and awareness to encourage customers to buy their technology. We tell customers that they need to work with SBSC specialists and point them to the bCentral web site. However, at the same time, you also get the materials you need from Microsoft to run your own campaign - be it post cards, handouts, telephone scripts, letters. And using a simple tool it will take you a few minutes to create the materials. Below is a walkthrough of how I built a campaign for SBS using 5 types of material (Telemarketing script, Postcard, Business Letter, e-Mail and Flyer) 1st off, you need to visit the Campaign Builder Web site and log in. This enabled you to choose the campaign that is right for you. You may notice it looked at the fact that I am a registered partner with the SBSC badge, so suggested the SBS Campaign (there are also campaigns for solutions that major in Office, Windows, CRM and so on). One I had selected the campaigns, it is simply a case of walking...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jul 28 2006

  • Microsoft's online strategy discussed at analyst meeting

    I saw this article from the NY Times and thought I would share it. It is a report on MS plans for Internet enabling even more things that we do. Some key statements from it included: "any big payoff from those investments would not come for a few years" - so this is a long term play "Internet search, according to Microsoft, will increasingly become seamlessly integrated into the Windows desktop operating system, Office productivity software, cellphones powered by Windows and Xbox video games" - I like the idea of hybrid utilities and the fact that search is a tool for me to do something, rather than something I explicitly have to go to a web site to do "In a demonstration, Mr. Mehdi showed some of the work being done by a group exploring the future of advertising in Microsoft’s research labs. In a digital television prototype, a viewer who liked a dress worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in an episode of “Sex and the City” could click on it, automatically pausing the video...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jul 28 2006

  • Two PTS-TV videos about Vista

    Windows Vista. An exciting operating system, but is there more to it than "eye candy". Can finding information, making systems easier to manage, support great applications and making another step change in Security really do enough to persuade people to buy? I don't have the answers to this yet, but there are now a total of 4 PTS-TV videos on Vista (2 newer ones with Mike Dixon and Tim Tiscornia and two I recorded a little while ago now). You might want to go see what it is all about :-) Obviously the downloads of Vista Beta 2 have closed, but this will be shipping in Action Packs , so you can still evaluate it yourself. Hopefully RC1 is not too far off and you can see the progress we are making in closing bugs. The videos for PTS -TV are always found at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/pts-tv/ and the Vista ones are: PTS-TV: Tim Tiscornia Stream this video Download video (right-click/save as) Comment on this video PTS: Vista Stream this video Download video (right-click/save as) Comment...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Jul 29 2006

  • How to get content filtering (anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-malware), archival services, DR / Continuity and Encryption services for your SBS box at a great price

    As many of you know, I have always argued that MS online services only serve to complement our other solutions. One classic example of this is the Hosted Exchange Services - now before you run around with your fingers in your ears shouting "LALALA", have a look to see what they are. These services work with an existing Exchange server - ala SBS, so there is no threat to the SBS system at all. We then offer 4 services which includes those listed below, but the nice thing is the price. On the How to buy page is lists the prices - these are per user and you can start at 5 users - oh, and this is real per user, so if you have 20 aliases for 5 users (eg sales, support etc) - that is 5 users: Estimated Pricing All prices below are based on estimated retail pricing (per user, per month licensing). This pricing would apply to a small business with as few as 5 users. Services Prices Comments Microsoft Exchange Hosted Filtering $1.75 US Exchange Hosted Filtering is a fully managed service that employs multiple...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sun, Jul 30 2006

  • Microsoft local.live.com map technology - when it works, it is amazing - or just have a nostalgic look at Concorde

    I have just posted a blog item about the latest SB Ignite tour event - hurray I hear you all say, but the thing that got my attention was I went to local.live.com to get a map and it offered me 3 views - road, aerial view (using satellite imagery) and then Birds' eye view. This is just an awesome, awesome, way to see where you are going - have a look at the blog entry - Nottingham, England, 7th September - be there to learn so much more - Small Business Partner Ign and click on picture then play around or click the concord map above - get your personal driving instructions, look at the hotel that is the destination for 8 different angles - makes it so, so, so much easier. I was just blown away by this. Not every location has a birds eye view yet, but the aerial images, routing and the occasional birds eye views are amazing. For more information on Birds' eye images, go to http://www.birdseyetourist.com or to see the local.live.com blog have a look at http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/PersonalSpace.... ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Aug 3 2006

  • UK Technet Windows Vista Events

    For those who need more info on Vista, want to see it, and will be managing it, come along to: • 11 September 2006, London: Windows Vista System Integrity Technologies Windows Vista will ship with several new system integrity technologies, including code integrity, secure startup, service hardening, mandatory integrity control and Internet Explorer protected mode. In this session, Steve Lamb explores how these technologies work to thwart malware's attempts to take over your computer. • 14 September 2006, Reading: What's New in Administering Vista In this session, we will examine group policy functionality improvements that have been made with Windows Vista. We will describe the new and updated features and how these help to alleviate the problems that were present with previous versions of Windows. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 7 2006

  • Need to gen up on Windows Server 2003 Administration- then try this Webcast

    Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administration Webcast Series Get the most out of the management and administration features of Windows Server 2003 with this series. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 7 2006

  • Great R2 Spoof Advert based on DaVinci Code - good humour

    Microsoft often pokes fun at itself, but due to one of our competitors taking it a little too seriously some years back, these rarely come out to play in public. Well, have a look at this one . It was posted by Jules in the UKSBSG forum and I also got private messages from a few people saying that we should use this in the UK. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 7 2006

  • What is going on in the world of Windows Live Ideas - IM, chat and web

    You can see any Live areas you have access too by going to http://ideas.live.com You can now IM to Yahoo Messenger users. Try it | Learn more | View blog The Live.com site continues to be updated - there is just so much you can do to your home page. If you have not been here, have a go at http://www.live.com and see how much fun it can be. Try it | Learn more | View blog There are lots of things you can load onto your Live.com page, your toolbar, Live Messenger and more - the place to configure all this is the Gallery - http://gallery.live.com Of course, there is also: messenger.live.com toolbar.live.com ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Aug 8 2006
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  • This is broken! Great web site about broken signs, projects etc

    I was reading this blog from the Live Writer site and came across this link - it is just one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. Link to ...the musings of a psycho...: This is broken! enjoy David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 14 2006
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  • USATODAY.com - Cybercrooks constantly find new ways into PCs

    I was reading this article and it reminded me of a few things. Sometimes when sitting in the Microsoft camp we say how good / bad others are at security, but rarely reflect on what people need to do and why. When there is a known issue with a package, I suspect many don't go to a test environment and pull the patch apart, many just do a quick test on 1 pc and then deploy wider. Obviously SBS 2003 R2 makes this process easier as you can now control the deployment and retraction of patches via the console. It also reminds me that it a patch is needed, it is really a mute discussion on how many issues it fixes, reboots or any other aspect - if your systems are vulnerable, you need to patch of mitigate. To do neither is inviting huge issues - and I have seen plenty of customers with issues. What I did also see was a comparison table showing that systems often thought to not be at risk, such as those by Apple, can still be very susceptible. When a security issue exists on a system, it does not matter if 1 or a 100...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Aug 15 2006
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  • Customizing the Ribbon in Outlook 2007

    I was reading the MSDN Flash and came across this article " Link to Customizing the Ribbon in Outlook 2007 " and thought a few of you who wanted to customise the Office 2007 Ribbon bar can see how to change it and add new icons. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Aug 15 2006

  • Robbie and Susanne's Marathon - come join in

    Think of this as a 1st mover notification. I am always in awe of those who can motivate themselves to do physical exercise and even more so if it is also raising money for charity. Well Robbie and Susanne have decided to take up the challenge. They have a joint site that will feature blogs, training details, events and other useful information as well as guest speakers/ bloggers. The site is just beginning, but pop along to Robbie and Susanne's Marathon and support a good cause and then sponsor them both - I have - by clicking the two charity logos at the top. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 28 2006
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  • Windows Vista Team Blog : It's Official: Windows Vista RC1 Is Complete

    Again, fingers still missing on left hand, so just a quick one to say that RC1 has started the shift out the door. Expect to see if on the official sites over the coming hours and days. Lots of new features, the platform to build and certify applications against and start the serious hardware testing for too. ttfn David Link to Windows Vista Team Blog : It's Official: Windows Vista RC1 Is Complete
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Sep 1 2006

  • More Vista Gadgets

    I just popped along to http://gallery.microsoft.com/Results.aspx?vista=la... and saw that there was a number of Vista gadgets, 24 in total. For an RSS feed of the last 10, go to http://gallery.microsoft.com/rss.aspx?r=1&q=&l=1&s... ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Sep 1 2006

  • Short chance to offer feedback on the Vista Security Guide

    The Vista Security Guide will be released to Beta on September 6 th exclusively through Microsoft Connect. It will be available to anyone who signs in at https://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=820&InvitationID=VSG-P74P-BFTH&SiteID=14 . The Beta period will extend for just three weeks, during which we’ll be accepting and triaging bugs and comments. To support this Beta release, the development and program management teams will deliver a LiveMeeting on Wednesday September 6 th . Details are below. We want to welcome as many customers and partners into the Beta as possible to gather the most feedback and ensure that we ship a customer-driven solution. With that in mind, feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might benefit from attending the session. We’ll be describing the guide, how we developed it, the best way to use it, and one really cool new tool that can save lots of time in the test and deployment phases. We will also take questions at the end of the presentation...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Sep 4 2006

  • What is the Demo Showcase and how do you use it?

    I have a mate at work, Chris, who has always been a good and clever egg the whole time I have known him. He is also very passionate about partners getting the right level of support as well as liking Stoke City, but something's just have to be forgiven. One thing he has got a bee in his bonnet about this year is the Demo Showcase, which we will be using for all our demos going forward for a while. If you have been to an ignite tour, that was based on an early version of the Showcase DVD set. Chris has been a prolific blogger on the subject - this is a great tool for you to use, so look at: Whoever heard of the Demo Showcase for the People Ready Business? The Demo Showcase Line Up What Does the Demo Showcase Look Like (Physically)? What Does the Demo Showcase Look Like (in Reality?) The Demo Showcase Team Tactics ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Sep 4 2006
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