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  • Thank-you for helping my site grow - I hope it will continue to help

    I have now had my site open for 16 months. In that time you have managed to ask me loads of questions and I hopefully have answered plenty too. Lets both keep this up. We are currently running at about 1.2+ million page views per month and about 300,000+ RSS sync requests per month. Keep the questions coming :-) ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 1 2007

  • Mix:UK 07 - Want to know more about building solutions using Silverlight, Expression and Live Services in the UK? With UK Early Bird registration until 10th August

    I intend to be there - it will be great if you can be there too if this is for you. I have to say I think it is an incredibly exciting area. Have a look at Mix:UK 07 for more information. Latest event news: Registration and schedule now live! About Mix:UK 07 Mix:UK 07 is the premier event for web designers and web developers to: Get creative inspiration from design and development gurus, web agencies and innovators Discover how technologies like Silverlight, Expression and Live Services are already being used to create a new generation of rich media experiences and RIAs (Rich Interactive Applications) Connect with others in the industry who, like yourself, have a passion for innovation and creativity and have built personal and business success on that passion. Register now, early-bird rate expires soon! Until the 10th of August 2007 we’re offering a discounted early bird registration price of £199, saving you £100 from the standard price of £299. Speakers Announced to Date. We are proud to announce that Scott...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 1 2007

  • The UsefulTechnology Blog: Windows Vista's Reduced Functionality Mode

    Since this is coming, I thought I would share this with you - if your customers find lots of "genuine" warnings and then rebooting every hour... think about this as a cause :-) Well, think about the non-genuine license. That does not mean that the customer has necessarily knowingly bought ripped off software, but it does happen. You may have recently read about the $500M bust of a piracy ring - they were not giving the software away to their customers - they were selling it as full price product. Windows Vista's Reduced Functionality Mode Now, think about it, does that look genuine? It's not a widely publicised feature, but users of Windows Vista who fail to properly activate their software may find themselves in Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM) . In this state, you will be unable to use any of the Windows Vista Premium features like Aero Glass and ReadyBoost, nor will you be able to play any of the built-in games. Tougher still you'll only be able to use the computer for one hour before...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 6 2007

  • SBS 2003 Configuration Webcast - presentation and key links

    Part 2 or 3 for the Webcast series was how to configure SBS and discussed things like disk, memory, dual NICs, firewalls and the Pop3 connector. The presentation can be found here . Useful links from the presentation: WSUS upgrade documentation http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/05/02/installing-wsus-3-0-on-sbs-white-paper-released-including-when-you-already-got-wsus-on-there-or-need-to-upgrade.aspx Transition pack http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2006/09/18/Transition-Pack-for-Windows-SBS-2003-R2.aspx The questions from the event: Is there anything different we need to do on the server with Win Mobile 6 devices? No, it works, but you still need to be aware of the need for a certificate by a trusted root authority on the SBS box for Smartphones (just the same as all previous versions) On the install it showed Active sync 3.8 available to install, why not the latest version? I have not updated the box, but you can load a later version of ActiveSync onto SBS What is the URL to access outlook...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 8 2007

  • 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...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 8 2007

  • Microsoft launches beta of "skydrive" - a disk in the cloud (and now you can use it in the UK too)

    Another "it is here" moment. Skydrive gives you, today, 500MB of storage in the cloud, free of charge. You can set up permissions to control who can read and write files. I love it. In fact, I love it so much that I have put all my demo videos that I recorded recently up there. The Skydrive team blog can be found at http://skydriveteam.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!977F793E846B3C96!124.entry . Click for the Training Videos to be downloaded as videos. Top features for me are: Upload and download documents with permissions on files Embed file stores in web pages Drag and drop upload process Accessible everywhere For some eye candy: - Home Screen - Documents sub folder - Folder Options - Change Folder Permissions - Embed your SkyDrive into your web site - Drag and drop files for uploading - The upload process - Non ActiveX upload page ttfn David Technorati Tags: SkyDrive , Live , SAS
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Aug 10 2007
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  • 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

  • Recent Business Contact Manager Questions and Answers

    I was just writing this e-mail back to someone who e-mailed me and I decided to blog it. - Is there a way to timestamp notes in Outlook by itself, or is the only way to get Business Contacts Manager? Everything in outlook has a timestamp, but obviously BCM has better facilities. You could write a short piece of VBA to add a time stamp button to the Notes form - Are the contacts stored in Outlook 2007 the same as those contacts stored in BCM or are they stored completely differently? Outlook contacts are stored in a PST file while BCM contacts are stored in a SQL database. To see the differences between the fields in contacts in BCM and Outlook, have a look at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/05/04/what-is-the-difference-between-an-outlook-contact-and-a-business-contact-manager-bcm-in-office-2007-contact.aspx - If the contacts are different, will other third party programs like Plaxo be able to update files based on BCM or only the Outlook contacts? It depends on how they are accessed – you would...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 13 2007

  • Nano-tech to use old mechanical designs to implement technology rather than simply copying silicon

    One of my University lecturers help at the London Science Museum to build the Babbage difference engine around twenty years ago. Engines like this which is very mechanical based are obviously simple ways to implement functions of modern cpus in nano technology. It was a a nice surprise to see the article " Antique engines inspire nano chip " where we see that this is progressing. “The blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. ”What we are proposing is a new type of computing architecture that is only based on nano-mechanical elements,” said Professor Robert Blick of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the authors of the journal paper. “We are not going to compete with high-speed silicon, but where we are competitive is for all of those mundane applications where you need microprocessors which can be slow and cheap as well.” ttfn David Technorati Tags: Nano Technology , Babbage , Difference Engine
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 13 2007
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  • Explore Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0 webcasts and virtual labs

    In my new role I find I need to get up to speed on the MS Dev technologies. I found the page Explore Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0 which seems to have lots of education for me in the ASP.Net 2.0 world. Microsoft ASP.NET is a set of Web application development technologies that enables programmers to build dynamic Web sites, web applications, and XML Web services. Whether you already use ASP.NET 2.0 or want to start, watch our webcasts and participate in our virtual labs to see what it can do for you. This series will help you learn about the improvements in ASP.NET 2.0 and better understand how you can utilize ASP.NET 2.0 to create faster, more secure Web applications. Webcasts During this series, learn how you can use membership and personalization to build rich Web sites, use the new provider model to customize ASP.NET for your enterprise, and more. Virtual Labs Take part in these virtual labs to learn about the major improvements introduced with ASP.NET 2.0 and see how you can create richer Web applications...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Aug 14 2007

  • SharePoint webcasts, business information, KB support information and developer information

    When I talk to partners delivering solutions on Windows SharePoint Services V2, V3 and even for some Portal server is becoming a real business opportunity. When I met with Vin of Wem & Co the other day, some of the stuff they were doing was amazing! Anyway, here are the 3 things I thought might be useful - one being the SharePoint VHD so you can just download and play. SharePoint information Creating Business Value through Better Collaboration http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&productId=353C4E9D-9E78-4435-A360-01BB7F540D17&sortCriteria=date Tools Office SharePoint Server 2007 VHD This download comes as a pre-configured VHD. This download enables you evaluate Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&productId=353C4E9D-9E78-4435-A360-01BB7F540D17&sortCriteria=date Webcasts TechNet Webcast: Workflow in Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies 2007: Out-of-the-Box and Creating Custom...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 15 2007

  • Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Technet information inc Cluster Edition information, AD Explorer, IIS7, Scenario feedback for Windows Server 2008

    Windows Server 2003 (including Cluster Edition) HPC Grid-Computing White Paper This paper explains the benefits of integrating Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 with Platform Computing's LSF grid-enabled solution, and describes the architecture and configuration of this integrated high-performance computing (HPC) solution. HPC Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Solution Brief FLUENT 6.3 running on the Windows Compute Cluster Server operating system yields a cost-effective parallel processing solution for CFD analysis. FLUENT 6.3 users running simulations on Windows can exploit the larger memory address space provided by 64-bit systems to run more detailed FLUENT simulations. CCS 2003 Partner White Papers Learn more about compute clusters, today's applications, and options available to you from CCS Partners. Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator Version 2.04 This is the latest version of the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator enables connection of a Windows 2000, Windows...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Aug 16 2007

  • Vista Squad meeting in London on 6th September 2007

    Thenext Vista Squad meeting is around the corner and we have a great line-up foryou! We also listened and the next meeting is in London. MikeTaulty and Stephen Lamb will be presenting and this should be a massive eventin terms of content. If you can please leave a comment at the link belowto let us know you’re attending, this will allow us to cater better fornumbers and refreshments. http://vistasquad.co.uk/blogs/announcements/archive/2007/08/10/vista-squad-3-0.aspx Pleasespread the word through your contacts, blogs and any other means, we would bevery grateful. See you then! Date: 6thSeptember 2007 Time: 6pm onwards Location: MicrosoftLondon (Cardinal Place) 100 Victoria Street London SW1E 5JL Agenda: 6:30pm: Start, so plan to arrive just after 6pm. 6:30pm – 7:30pm Stephen Lamb: Windows Deployment 7:30pm – 8:00pm Break 8:00 – 9:00pm MikeTaulty: WPF and Silverlight There will be a copyof Vista Ultimate up for grabs! Published with BlogMailr
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 15 2007

  • David, holiday, comments on posts will not get approved unless you sign-in

    OK, so this is really simple. I'm off on my holidays for two weeks and I won't be updating the site (I do have some posts that will appear, but nothing will be topical as I won't be writing anything during that time). If you want to make MY life easier and have your comment posted for others to see, before you post a comment to the blog, go create an account, sign in, and then post a comment - unless it comes under scrutiny from the spam or rude word filter it will get published. Thanks - I hope you all have a lovely time on your holidays this summer (is it summer??). ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 20 2007
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  • FoxPro Service Pack beta

    Many years ago I used to do database development and my preferred environment was FoxPro. Well, were now on version 9 and the latest service pack is in beta. Have a play, but think how you can move to Access or SQL in the future. Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0 Service Pack 2 and "Sedna" - Beta This download contains the BETA release for Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP2 and the "Sedna" add-ons. This release has two parts: The Sedna Beta download contains six components: VistaDialogs4COM, Upsizing Wizard, Data Explorer, NET4COM, MY for VFP and VS 2005 Extension for VFP. The VFP 9.0 SP2 Beta download contains a patch that can be applied to VFP 9.0 or VFP 9.0 SP1. In addition to fixes to the core product, this patch contains significant enhancements to the Reporting features. Note that the SP2 patch can only be applied to VFP 9.0 or VFP 9.0 SP1. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=05A0E7C9-43C1-417F-8810-AE7D7C66BAC8&displaylang=en ttfn David Technorati Tags: Foxpro , beta...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 20 2007
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  • CRN says "Microsoft Partners Stake Claims In Sharepoint Goldmine"

    I saw this and thought it further highlighted that partners are seeing huge opportunity with SharePoint - both portal and services. You can load WSS v3 onto a SBS box or use WSS v2. The opportunity is still huge. Microsoft Partners Stake Claims In Sharepoint Goldmine It's getting tough to find a Microsoft partner who isn't either reaping the financial benefits of deploying Office Sharepoint Server 2007 or eagerly planning to add it to their portfolio. Released last November, Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007, also known as MOSS, is a workflow and collaboration engine that integrates with the Office platform and features Web content management, enterprise content services, enterprise search, and business process and business intelligence tools. Although it initially attracted interest primarily from medium and large enterprises, Sharepoint is now penetrating the SMB space, says Stephen Moss, COO of NSPI, a security solution provider in Roswell, Ga. that hosts Sharepoint sites for other companies....
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 22 2007

  • If you want to see what Vista, Media Center, Xbox 360, Movie Maker, Home Server and more can do when you use Vista, then go to this event in Manchester, Newcastle, Falkirk and London.

    This was only 2 or 3 times overbooked last time it ran and had rave reviews. Now there are another 4 events to choose from. I found them at the Microsoft TechNet UK Events website. James and Matt will be hosting, so it is bound to be huge fun Vista After Hours You may be familiar with Windows Vista at work – whether you have deployed it or are evaluating it – but have you ever thought about the possibilities of Vista outside work? This session, aimed at IT professionals, explores not only the built in elements of Vista (such as Search, Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and the Networking and Sharing Centre) but also how you can extend your Windows Vista Experience with Windows Media Centre, Xbox 360 and specific applications to open up a new world of gaming and home entertainment. 20 September 2007, Manchester: Vista After Hours 25 September 2007, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Vista After Hours 27 September 2007, Falkirk: Vista After Hours 03 October 2007, London: Vista After Hours Timings: 18:00-18:30pm- Registration...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 20 2007

  • 1st SBS webcast from series of 3 - SBS & the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) by Sven

    I should have posted this information a few days ago, but I am making up for it now. Anyway, Sven's presentation can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/files/folders/events/entry4621.aspx and he has also gracefully provided a number of scripts to make the install even simpler which can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/files/folders/events/entry4622.aspx . Enjoy David Technorati Tags: SBS 2003 R2 , OPK
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Aug 23 2007

  • Web scams trick one in five US surfers - vnunet.com

    This applies to the UK as well as the US, however recent surveys which showed that people in the UK were prepared to give up their password for chocolate. Anyway, the rules are: If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is You have not : won the lottery failed a bank security test had someone try to hack your account and you need to re-enter them had bad feedback on a site you have never heard of, or without your full name in the e-mail Got someone at a bank in another country wanting to give you some money If the mail is not sent to you and only you, then it is very, very, very unlikely to be real If the phishing scanner says it is a bad site, trust it unless you know that the address is the address bar is real, and then still don't enter personal information Even if they don't want your mail, handing over your personal details is telling them what they need to know in the real world. If you are asked to disable your system security, don't! Web scams trick one in five US surfers - vnunet...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 29 2007
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  • Security is a journey, never a destination

    I was watching the Bourne Identity the other night and Marie asked "how did they find us", to which Bourne replied "we let our guard down, we got lazy". This is so very true for computer security - you can't stop updating your systems, updating your anti-malware tools, updating the firmware in your firewall and more. To highlight this I saw the article below. There was an operating system that claimed it did not suffer from the issues of needing constant TLC. Then 5 of the 8 community servers were compromised. Nice. Ubuntu Servers Hijacked, Used to Launch Attack Members of the Ubuntu colocation team suggest the attack could have begun with a Chinese IP address. The Ubuntu community had to yank five of the eight Ubuntu-hosted community servers sponsored by Canonical offline Aug. 6 after discovering that the servers had been hijacked and were attacking other machines. It was suggested during an IRC (Internet relay chat) meeting of the Ubuntu colocation team Aug. 14 that the source of the...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 27 2007
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  • New blog "hackers @ microsoft"

    A new blog has opened at Microsoft called "hackers @ microsoft". As many people know Microsoft is very strongly involved in the security arena. Part of this is having people who have hacked or now hack against our products to understand how to make them more secure. This group of people know have a voice in the blogsphere. Welcome to a new blog from Microsoft. The focus of this blog is likely to be a little different from most other blogs you'll see on blogs.msdn.com. Microsoft employs some of the best hackers in the world and actively recruits them and develops them. They work on all kinds of projects, whether it be in development, research, testing, management and of course security. Of course, there is controversy even in the word " hacker " but I don't think that should stop us from using it in the manner I think is the most appropriate. At his or her core, a true hacker is someone who is curious and wants to learn how systems work. This can and of course at Microsoft is done in...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Aug 30 2007

  • How to improve Array Performance in .Net programming

    I have been known to write the odd program, often using a large number of arrays for some of the manipulation I do. Multi-dimensional arrays is something I have done a lot of, so seeing this little tip from CodeGuru to speed them up and reduce memory footprint is a great benefit for me. Below are a few snippets, but read the whole article to know more. Jag It Up What is a jagged array, and why does it have such an alarming name? I can't answer the second question, but I'll give the first one a shot. A jagged array is essentially just a one-dimensional array where each element contains its own one-dimension array. It's an array of arrays! (For those who just must jump ahead—you know who you are—yes, you can indeed have arrays of arrays of arrays through infinity or until your memory runs out. But, let's not go there now....) How is an array of arrays different from a two-dimensional array? I'm glad you asked. This is where the jaggy bit comes in. In a two-dimensional array, you have a fixed...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Aug 31 2007
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  • Halo 3 - Silverlight based build and watch trailers - promo site and fun

    I'm no great Halo Wiz - why, I don't have the reactions of a 21 year old to beat them in network play, but I do enjoy playing against the cpu inside the box (whenever I join a network match I nearly always end up dead in a few second.. ho hum). Anyway, the graphics of the xbox 360 always impress me as does the UI of some of the games. Halo 3 is coming and there is now a site with great trailer videos, background info and more. For those of you who don't believe that Halo is reality, have a look at some of the film (yes film, not graphics) that was shot and for example, see the Warthog that was used ( http://www.bungie.net/images/News/WeeklyUpdate/WarthogB110707.jpg ) Anyway, enjoy the site and enjoy building your own trailers too :-) ttfn David Technorati Tags: xbox 360 , Halo 3 , trailers
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Aug 31 2007
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  • Halo 3 is Gold - so I post about the trailers and then see that it has released to manufacturing

    OK, so I just posted about the trailers and now the product is finished according to this "mag" Halo 3 is Gold : Next Generation - Interactive Entertainment Today, Video Game and Industry News Halo 3 is Gold The fight is ready to be finished: Halo 3 has gone gold and is heading to manufacturing. ttfn David Technorati Tags: Halo 3 , Xbox 360
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Aug 31 2007
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  • Latest web site stats for UKSBSGUY.com and a chance to tell me what you do and don't like.

    Hi, This is a bit of blowing my own trumpet, but I thought I would share the latest figures for my web site. As best as I can tell, about 61,000 people visited my site last month and about 17,000 bots (those are people, not page views). While the site peaked in June, it is still doing nicely, so thank-you for continuing to read the site. As always, if there is more you would like to see, let me know, in fact, this would be a great time to write a comment on what you do and don't like on the site, especially after all the changes. The most popular pages are still those associated with Vista and Office (together), be it the Office Assistance or problems having both loaded on a system at the same time. Peoples interest in my fingers has also slimmed down, but that can only be a good thing. Let me know what you think and thanks for the interest - hopefully it has helped to put a more human face to Microsoft and my role. ttfn David (back from holiday and reading lots of mail)
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Sep 3 2007
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