Microsoft

I know this is off topic, but as a beta tester of Windows Vista, I have also been using the new media player to manage my music. The new ways of organising music and seeing what is in albums or podcasts has got easier. WMP also now handles pictures, which given the number of them I have, it is a nice change to see this functionality off of Media Center systems. So, to get the new UI, formats and ease of management, go have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx Ttfn David

I get a great deal of personal satisfaction out of helping others. That is not to say that I don't also enjoy achieving things physically myself or cracking problems myself, but seeing others benefit from an interaction is what gives me the biggest buzz. I have ahd this on my fridge since shortly after my 1st child was born and I try still today to have it as a mantra today. "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson I found this online at http://www.transitionslifecoaching.co.uk/2006/09/success-ralph-waldo-emerson.html I would like to say that I think that this is the ethos of most people you meet in life, and especially in Microsoft and then...

From bCentral : Small firms 'overlooking' networking benefits Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:21:12 GMT Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. The latest research report from Lloyds TSB Business and the SERTeam at the Open University found that two fifths of small firms do not believe that networking can boost their businesses' chance of growth and success. It also shows that one in ten small firms say they do not devote any time to networking, while 42 per cent admit they only get involved a few times a year. Lloyds TSB believes that those businesses that do become adept at networking are likely to gain significant benefits. It reveals how almost three quarters of firms have won new customers over the past year as a direct result of marketing, while two fifths have found new suppliers. more at Small...

I was talking to Adrian from EJC.IT yesterday (a great Small Business partner) and one comment that was made was that I sometimes post lots of entries and knowing which one to read if only one was to be read was hard. So, I have decided to create the " If you only read one post today " tag for those blog entries that fall into the category. Obviously this is one as it is the 1st one and tells you about it :-) [updated 11:33 on 23/05/2007] The URL to get just these posts is http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/tags/If+you+only+read+one+post+today/default.aspx and the RSS feed for this is http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/rss.aspx?Tags=If+you+only+read+one+post+today&AndTags=1 ttfn David Technorati Tags: If you only read one post today

For those of you who are interested in Windows Server Longhorn , we have 13 forums available for discussion with eachother and Microsoft at http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?ForumGroupID=161&SiteID=17 General General discussion on Windows Server “Longhorn” Directory Services Discussion on Windows Server “Longhorn” Active Directory services File Services and Storage Discussion on file systems and storage functionality within Windows Server "Longhorn" Migration Discussion on migrating to Windows Server “Longhorn” Management Discussion on managing Windows Server “Longhorn”, including management tools Network Access Protection Discuss on Network Access Protection Platform Networking Discussion on networking with Windows Server “Longhorn”, including networking technologies and solutions Print/Fax Discussion on printing and faxing with Windows Server “Longhorn" Setup & Deployment Discussion on setting up and deploying Windows Server “Longhorn” Terminal Services Discussion on all things Windows...

At the two Community roadshows I promised content on this site - it is coming. I have been disconnected for a little while, but will spend this afternoon updating information. If there is anything in particular you want to discussed, either join and add to the forums, or put in a comment ttfn David

SQL Server 2008 Solutions – Your Data, Any Place, Any Time SQL Server 2008, the next release of Microsoft SQL Server, will provide a comprehensive data platform that is more secure, reliable, manageable and scalable for your mission critical applications, while enabling developers to create new applications that can store and consume any type of data on any device, and enabling all your users to make informed decisions with relevant insights. http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/futureversion/default.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/futureversion/bi/default.mspx SQL Server 2008 Books Online – Overview (SQL Server 2008) Microsoft SQL Server is a database platform for large-scale online transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing, and e-commerce applications; it is also a business intelligence platform for data integration, analysis, and reporting solutions. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms166352(SQL.100).aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb510421(SQL.100).aspx Online Transaction...

Sometimes it is possible to do some really, really stupid things. I thought I would share it with you all as 1) you may have noticed a little less availability to the site and 2) this is just to prove that I am human too What did I do, well, I was playing with ISA 2004 on the SBS system that this site runs on and changing the rules. It was late at night and my timetable has been busy to say the least recently, so I decided to fiddle with http headers in SBS. The problem was that I changed the headers to be blocked, rather than the headers to use, so the site was passing all content for uksbsguy.com through, but blocking any headers from that site .. major badness ANyway, this is fixed, when looking at it in the cold light of day, and you should see the site be 100% available again. Oh, now where did I put my halo..... ttfn David

Do you find yourself struggling to fix SMTP issues with your Exchange set up? If so, give this tool a try and things might look much better for you. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=BC1881C7-925D-4A29-BD42-71E8563C80A9&displaylang=en ttfn David

Susanne has asked me to attend the Kent Partner Group and talk on a number of subjects. The best I can do is May 23rd, so this is when I will be there. As always I expect the discussions to be lively, but we will cover for sure the up & coming technologies as well as some tried and tested areas, such as SharePoint, licensing and anything else you need to chat about. For more information, have a look at http://www.sbsbpi.co.uk/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=22 See you there David

It does seem that from being SBS based, then into Small Business partners that the blog has finally morphed into the Vista blog. This is not the case, but I am responding to the needs and requests of the Microsoft partners. SBS 2003 still does an amazing job and should be part of almost any customer request where they have more than 5 PCs (IMHO). However, you know all about SBS, don't you? However I suspect that Office 2007 and Windows Vista are a little bit stranger, so hence the focus. Don't worry - SBS will become more prominent very soon :-) Every dog has its day and this is Vista's and Office's. Give it a week or so and it will be back to the whole ecosystem of Windows Client, Windows Server (or SBS), Office and Windows Mobile. ttfn David

I did promise to post the IDC whitepapers URL and find the Toolkit URL. They are both currently in the global SBS site, but will be moving to the UK SBSC site soon. I have posted the links in tge SBSC forum so people can share experiences on them. ttfn David

I was asked this in the forums, but I felt it was important enough to write about it both here and in the forum. Patch Management should be a key part of what you do. Patching is like car servicing - it can sometimes be put off a little bit, but failure to keep the oil and water up todate and without a regular service, things go horribly wrong. You MUST tell your customers this so they can choose how to pay you for this service. (they can always just call you in when things go wrong, but it will take longer and cost them more). Obviously patching is just one tool in yout kitbag for keeping systems secure - local and perimeter firewalls and anti-spyware and anti-virus software is also needed, as is good password and administrator policy. The best person to talk about patching is the now famous Susan Bradly, who is a SBS MVP and known as a Diva. Before I point you off to some of her blogs on it, I thought I would answer some questions often asked in this area: 1) How do you decide whether to patch or hold off? You...