Microsoft

Blogging as a Microsoft Employee is always a tricky decision as what to tell or not tell. I personally feel that it is very important that the true is always told and that information if not confidential should be disclosed as desired. A recent post has caused lots of controversy as it discussed from one managers point of view the reason why Vista slipped in the 1 st place. Some may find the contents of the posting quite damning, yet the reality is that in a complex project, some things are not perfect, or even fixable. The things that Philip has highlighted are often based on human characteristics, such as trust, friendship and self protection. Great in some circumstance and bad in others. Vista is still a great product, and when it does ship will significantly move the bar for quality operating systems, but this is not to say that it won’t have had a hurdle or two to jump or lost a few pounds during this marathon race. For now, enjoy Philip’s blog and perhaps reflect what you might do to protect yourself when...

This discussion came up yesterday internally and I thought I would share this as it has been discussed before In the Licensing FAQ: http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/licensing.mspx it states: Q. Do additional servers in my SBS 2003 R2 network require a CAL to connect to the domain? A. You do not need a CAL for additional servers to connect to the domain. ttfn David

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Just spotted this one on the download list. If you want to get map information directly in outlook, visit the Microsoft mapping service (local.live.com) to download the outlook tool . According to the site this tool enables you to map your appointment and meeting locations directly from within Microsoft® Office Outlook®. Get driving directions, print detailed maps, find optimized trip routes, and estimate travel times. Receive reminders based on the estimated travel time. Even save details to view when you’re offline. It also allows you to send Outlook appointment location details to others—even those without the add-in. Finally you can quickly locate restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, gas stations and other points of interest near your meeting location and map the best route. ttfn David

Hi, I love the new interface on Office 2007, but I occasionally can't find something that I knew exactly where it was in Office 2003. I then saw this excellent blog posting on how to find things from Word, Excel and PowerPoint- using a web based tool you click on a pseduo Office 2003 interface and find out where it has gone in 2007. http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/05/30/610907.aspx ttfn David

SQL 2005 Webcasts and Virtual Labs SQL Server 2005 is data management and analysis software that delivers enhanced security, availability, and scalability to mission-critical data applications—while making them easier to develop, deploy, and manage. Choose from a wide range of live and on-demand webcasts. Or take part in a virtual lab, which allows you to cut your teeth on the new platform by experimenting with its different capabilities. http://www.microsoft.com/sql/eval/webcast.mspx?wt.mc_id=sql.ad.01037 Free SQL Server 2005 Training Whether you are interested in database administration, database development, or business intelligence, you can access the E-Learning topic you want, when you want it, and learn at your own pace. Each lesson includes hands-on virtual labs and offline functionality. In addition, you may consider taking a free Microsoft Skills Assessment to help you meet your Microsoft SQL Server 2005 training goals. You'll receive a learning roadmap with additional skills resources including instructor...

You can get the Technology Toolkit from http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/sales_and_marketing/partner_initiatives/rightserver/default.aspx?page=sell which provides information on this tool and how it can help you spot, sell and close deals. If the toolkit is very useful then SBSC Members can also report their success to Microsoft and earn money to spend in the MS Merchandise store. To get details on the offer (which is available all over the world) can be found at https://www.mssboffers.com/Default.aspx ttfn David

As you might have gathered, I think Office and Vista are going to be very important for small business partners and customers. While I still have not had the chance to write everything up, I thought it important enough to tell everyone about this one day event to learn more. It is taking place at the Novatel in Hammership on the 20th June 2006 The agenda is as follows: 09.00 to 09:30 Registration 09:30 to 09:45 Welcome and introduction 09:45 to 10.45 2007 Microsoft Office system: talking with customers 10:45 to 11.00 Break 11.00 to 12.45 Windows Vista awareness and positioning overview 12.45 to 13.30 Lunch 13.30 to 15:30 Systems Integrator / Value-Added Reseller Track Aligning your organisation to the Microsoft Infrastructure Optimisation and (IW) Application Optimisation initiatives. Introduction to Information Worker Solution Services (IWSS) and Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS). 15:30 to 17:00 Structured networking: your meetings 17.00 Finish From the mail, registration, summary of event etc: About...

Folks, while the server is on a UPS now, the internet conenction seems to be more sensative to the lighting and thunder outside :-) Hopefully the server will not be down too often. ttfn David

I was over the Windows Vista Magazine and saw this - great little bit of help!! New shortcut opens any program Here's a neat tip I learned while I was talking to Microsoft last week: keyboard shortcuts for the Quick Launch icons in Vista. You can open any icon in the Quick Launch bar (just to the right of the Start button) by holding down the Windows key and pressing what I'll call the "rank number" of the icon - the number that corresponds to its position in the list. So, in my desktop here, Windows + 1 opens Outlook, Windows + 2 opens Internet Explorer, Windows + 5 opens the Snipping Tool and so on. Source: Windows Vista™ Magazine ttfn David

I have just updated the site to a beta of the next version of Community Server which means the nice theme I normally use has stopped working. I will look at why next week, so again we are back to the "old" style of interface. Ttfn David

Once upon a time I was known as a hacker - not because of my ability to break into NASA computers (no, I have never done this), but because I am quite skilled at taking something someone else has started and hacking it around to do more. My site stats for May were produced by taking the vb.bet web analyzer starter kit and enhancing it. To see what I have produced, go to http://uksbsguy.com/usage_report/may06 . If you want the code, ping me and let me know. It is good to see the site usage going up too :-) ttfn David

Hi folks, I am sure I have missed a few people out, but I finally added the list of common blogs and sites I visit. To get to the information, click the "links" button in my blog, or go there directly by clicking here . ttfn David