Microsoft

Following on from people who wanted a quicker blog, I have moved to another theme by Nick at http://www.nbdev.co.uk . If you are seeing the blog "messed up", then you need to set your site options to Athena by clicking Edit Profile in the top right corner: and then selecting the site options and choosing your theme: thanks David

In a nutshell, DesignIT is about recognising the IT community for its innovation and demonstrating how it can be used to benefit a charity in the UK. Feedback from IT professionals shows that while their practical nut-and-bolts contributions are clear, the creativity applied is often less appreciated. In order to highlight the elegance and finesse that underlies the best system solutions and prove that a creative use of technology can really change people's lives, Microsoft have teamed up with Computing , the leading business technology magazine, to invite IT professionals to meet this challenge. To find out more: www.microsoft.com/uk/designit

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

People are always asking me about how to learn more about Windows SharePoint Services and now finally we have two selfpaced items of training that can help. Have a look at these - they do cost a bit of cash – less than $23, but worth a look from the agenda. Course 4115: Getting Started with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Plus Access to Online Book The self-paced e-learning course will help you become familiar with the basics of working with Microsoft Windows SharePoint sites via interactive simulations that provide hands-on practice to master specific tasks. It also includes skills assessment to help pinpoint the areas where training can have the most impact. In addition, this course can be downloaded for offline use for the length of your subscription so you can learn even when you’re not connected to the Internet. https://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/offerDetail.aspx?offerPriceId=73964 Course 4114: Doing More with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Plus Access to Online Book The self-paced...

These documents are slightly old, as in published in late July 2006, but very much worth a read and a potentially useful as a checklist for those customers without servers in their environment. Protecting Client Computers from Network Attacks.doc Securing Remote Clients and Portable Computers.doc Securing Windows XP Professional in a Peer-to-Peer Networking Environment.doc Link to Download details: Small Business Security Guidance ttfn David

I went to the press launch for the UK Design IT competition at the Kinetica Museum of Art and Technology in London and saw some amazing things. However, the purpose of the evening was to share the successes of last years competition and ensure people were aware of this years. If you want to see one of the most curious mechanical pieces of art, have a look at this movie (filmed with a strobe light on) - http://uksbsguy.com/images/kinetica.mov Details are on the site at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6084193 DesignIT Competition: An Innovative Way to Make a Difference If you dedicate time to a charity, this competition is a great opportunity for you to help even more. We are asking you to send us a system design that will improve the IT infrastructure of a charity of your choice. If you don't have a particular charity in mind, don't worry, as we have asked the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Leonard Cheshire and Global Action Plan to supply us with details of problems that require...

http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_office_word/ ttfn David

My blog will be moving to the new address of http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/default.aspx and the RSS feed will become http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/RSS.aspx on the 9th April. Until then, continue to use this feed

Something my daddy told me (well, actually most of the sales people I have ever worked with) is that you should always know the people you work with or rely on in some way. Nicola is one of those people that if you get the action pack, carry the SBSC badge or use the MS Partner site has a hand in your interaction with Microsoft. There are obviously other people, like Alex and Aileen who work on the site and own the SBSC programme, but Nicola used to work in a small business, so reading about her is never a bad thing! Below is just an extract - read the whole thing on the Partner Perspectives blog. ttfn David Introducing the Microsoft Partner Programme (MSPP) Manager...Miss Young Nicola Young has been almost 3 months in role. She sits opposite me so I know her rather well - that's a good thing! She's a great person. So let me introduce you to her. Some words from the lady herself... You've been 3 months in your role as MSPP Manager. How's it going? I'm really enjoying the new role, my head is spinning to lots of...

This is just a quick note to say welcome to Ian Watkins who is the London Partner Group lead and also a recent SBSC member. Ian is now also blogging on the web site. His blog can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/ianwatkins/default.aspx or the RSS feed at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/ianwatkins/rss.aspx . Ian joins Susanne with her blog at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/susanne_dansey/default.aspx or the RSS feed at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/susanne_dansey/rss.aspx . Look out for more soon. ttfn David

Yes! The Soccer World Cup started yesterday! The Windows Client team contributes to this awesome event with the super cool Football Scoreboard. T his gadget enables you to track the teams and results in real-time. Don’t miss out on any important goal! The useful applet is part of the Value of Genuine initiative driving up compliance. It only runs if the user has a genuine Windows installed. Spread the word, let friends and family know about this great tool! Have a great World Cup experience with Windows Genuine Advantage! The applets can be found on: German download French download English download

New security features in Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 2) http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4979991 Learn about the new security features in the browser's latest version that help better protect your PC and personal information Microsoft Threat Analysis and Modelling Tool, Version 2.0, RC1 http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5049706 The free Microsoft Threat Analysis and Modelling tool allows nonsecurity subject matter experts to enter already-known information, including business requirements and application architecture, to produce a feature-rich threat model. Along with automatically identifying threats, the tool can produce valuable security artefacts such as data control, component access control, and subject-object matrices as well as data flows and focused reports. Reduce Your Risk: 10 Security Rules to Live By http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5049703 When you manage security you must strive to reduce unacceptable risk while keeping the impact on workflow of the organization and total cost of ownership of the infrastructure...