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I really like to see robotics coming ahead leaps and bounds and also a bit of Azimov fear and the requirements of "ethical roles and functions". I have a lego Mindstorm kit that Mel bought me a while back, but somehow I don't think this is quite where they are. Having said that, if you are into robotics, it might be worth you having a look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/robotics/ ttfn David Technorati tags: robotics Robotic ethics Robotic age poses ethical dilemma “The South Korean government has identified robotics as a key economic driver and is pumping millions of dollars into research. “The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to develop strong intelligence in the near future,” the ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.” Learning to walk Walking robot steps up the pace “A humanoid robot is teaching itself to walk and eventually run around a California research lab. Dexter took its first tentative steps only a few days after it...

This has been banded about a lot inside Microsoft, but it is just too good to ignore. Enjoy!! Foxit PDF Preview Handler in my daily work i spend a majority of my 'computing' time in outlook. communicating with peers, team members, customers, etc. is mostly done via communication (sad, i know). a lot of that time it involves sending information attachments back and forth, using office documents, etc. i've said a lot about how much i love the preview functionality within vista and office 2007. i even wrote a code preview handler for .cs, .vb, .sql, .js files. one of the samples in the msdn article was for pdf files...of which i receive a lot. i don't use adobe reader because i think it is overkill for reading pdf's personally. the sample, however, relies on having adobe reader installed...which i didn't like. i started working with the foxit activex sdk , because i love their reader product. after some communication with the team at foxit, we started collaborating. as a result of that collaboration, foxit software...

[updated 21th March 14:15] This is just a quick note to say that the release notes are WRONG (and will be changed) in stating that IE7 has to be uninstalled. Also, if you have automatic updates turned on, SP2 will still prompt prior to an install as the EULA needs to be accepted, so no discovering that it was installed by the note that the server has rebooted. I did the install today my system is fine and I have had it confirmed that unless you specifically fall into the problem areas listed in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/932600 : You upgrade from an evaluation copy of Windows Small Business Server 2003 to the full retail version. You upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to the full retail version of Windows Small Business Server 2003. You migrate to Windows Server 2003 from Windows Small Business Server by using the Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Transition Pack. For information on SP2 and what it delivers, please look at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sp2.mspx . This is a...

I'm beginning to think I need a subscription from Neoblog to appear higher in my list. I have not tested this, so let me know if there are any issues, but here is the information he has posted. OWA and Vista Posted on February 14th, 2007 by Kevin Higerty If you use Outlook Web Access and have recently upgraded to Vista you will find that you can’t reply or do any action on an email, typically the edit area shows a ‘image not found’ red x in the corner. This is because Windows Vista no longer includes support for the ActiveX control that is used for HTML editing in Outlook Web Access, you need to apply a hotfix to Exchange. Source, more details and the link to the fix: neoblog » OWA and Vista ttfn David Technorati tags: Windows Vista , Vista , Exchange 2003 , SBS 2003 R2 , SBS 2003 , Small Business Server 2003 , Outlook Web Access , OWA

I was a little horrified to see a small business group posting that said " In my opinion, there is nothing in Vista that warrants an upgrade at this time for businesses." Oh my golly gosh thought me. Has this person actually looked at the stuff we have to better explain what the benefits are? (I don't know, but if they have then Microsoft needs to do a better job, if not, then Microsoft needs to do a better job telling everyone). 1st off though, just as many people have commented - I expect many people to buy Vista with a new PC, but I also believe that the decision to buy a new PC will in part be driven by Vista as opposed to just hardware needs. OK, where does Vista add value to businesses (this is where I use it) over Windows XP out the box today and even more so over Windows 2000: Work More Efficiently Searching for documents, e-mails, contacts Preview files without opening them via thumbnails and preview pane Shrink to fit for IE printing Finding open programs, items on start menu, control panel items Enhance...

[updated 12th March 2007 21:03] This particular problem went round the internal discussions groups - having told people how to turn on hibernation and suggested a KB article on it, Armelle O'Neal told me that is has already been written up in KB Article (928897) . SYMPTOMS After you use the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows Vista, you may experience the following symptoms: You cannot see the Hibernate option in Power Options. When you use the sleep feature, the computer does not recover its settings if power is lost. CAUSE This problem occurs when the Disk Cleanup Tool disables the hibernation file. The hibernation file must be enabled to access the hybrid sleep feature and the hibernation feature in Windows Vista. When the hibernation file is disabled, and the hybrid sleep feature is enabled, a backup of open programs and open files will not be saved to the disk when you use the sleep feature in Windows Vista. Additionally, if the computer loses power while the Windows is in sleep mode, open programs and open files...

One of my UK SBSC partners asked me how to do a couple things in Remote Desktop using the new Vista RDP v6 client as they were bugging the hell out of him and others (I asked him how Vista was going). Since he admins a number of SBS boxes, these were his top (valid) gripes: Stop putting in IP addresses for the domain name Stop the pre-prompt for credentials when TSing to another system Stop the statement about security every time I try to remote admin into things The good news is that much of this has been documented else where. Stop putting in IP addresses for the domain name Problem is that you fill in a screen like this and get a prompt as below. Notice it has the domain name as the IP address? The quick answer is to type the username as <domain>\<username> - eg abusiness\administrator. This will change the domain name. Stop the pre-prompt for credentials when TSing to another system Now the pre-prompting for credentials is the process we have just seen above. This is required in domains where Network...

I saw this and thought I would share Check out the Licensing Wheel in the EVO GA Kit which can be ordered on the Partner Portal. The wheel matches the type and size of customer with suitable licensing packages and is a great starting point for a discussion with your client. Have a look at Gear Up – a book available online or in print that acts as a definitive sales guide to all Microsoft’s licensing products. Gear Up gives you the background on the full range of licensing options and the advantages they will offer different customers Use the Licensing Configurator – once you have ascertained your client’s exact requirements the Licensing Configurator will give you a robust and accurate picture of the right programme for them Talk to Ask Partner at 0870 60 70 700. The team will answer any questions and help you get started with selling Open If you’d like to offer your customer Open through someone else, talk to either a Large Account Reseller or one of Microsoft’s specialist Partners with the Gold Licensing competency...

Lets start off by saying this is a RANT. If you don't like rants, look away now. I saw this in CRN and it made me laugh and cry. We have seen news that iTunes has undisclosed issues with Vista (even after being fixed ), poor drivers from nVidia and others and even enough to stop a BBC reporter from getting it going , yet from the list below, most are down to 3rd parties. I have only a little sympathy for hardware partners who didn't get drivers out - I was at WinHEC 3 and 2 years ago when the need to build drivers was hammered home. I have seen the offers of help to ISVs to get their applications working. I have seen the large amount of online training available for partners of all sizes to understand the benefits of the products. However, I have also seen the difficulties people have in when to bet on Vista and deploy the resources - I think its success has taken a few people by surprise! Microsoft is certainly happy with the launch . If like me, when you have 2 years to solve a problem it is always tomorrows...

I was browsing Nick Whittome’s blog when I came across this : Sage Line 50 Version 12 - A fix for the ACCREP32.DLL error I would like to publicly thank Sage – specifically Lydia Coakley in Sage Ireland – for listening to my whining and helping me work directly with the Line 50 Development team on getting a fix . Please note that this fix is unsupported at this time, but should be in an update to the version 12 patches soon. In the mean time, this will get your Sage Line 50 version 12 working correctly with Outlook 2007. Good to see them moving on this. Ttfn David Published with BlogMailr

With support for Vista and Office 2007 being key for people inside and outside of Microsoft we have had two updates recently to support this. This entry relates to Virtual PC 2007 and another will relate to SQL 2005 SP2. You can find out about Virtual PC 2007 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx , however the key features over and above the 2004 product are: · Support for Windows Vista as a host · Support for Windows Vista as a guest · Support for Windows Vista 64-bit as a host · Improved performance compared to Virtual PC 2004 Ttfn David Technorati tags: Virtualisation , Virtual PC , Vista , Windows Vista , x64

[last updated 8th Mar 2008 Please read http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2008/03/08/action-pack-subscribers-get-full-windows-vista-dvds-not-upgrades-and-they-also-get-a-copy-of-ultimate-too-plus-a-stack-of-materials-to-sell-the-product.aspx to read about how full Vista SP1 will be shipped in the Action Pack ] Inside Microsoft we have been toiling very hard to provide solutions that answer the most common feedback. To this end, perhaps slightly before all the legal stuff gets finalised, here is my FAQ on the subject, however the headlines are: You can continue to use the Windows XP and Office 2003 CDs that were supplied in your Action Pack subscription You can Upgrade from Windows Vista Business to Windows Vista Ultimate. This is not a free upgrade, however you get the benefits of this being thought of as a Not for Resale FPP copy AND it does not expire should you stop using Action Pack* (please see legal statements below) Personally I think this is an amazing offer and I am very grateful to the Windows...

I have updated the FAQ, but I can now confirm that there is an intention to ship Vista x64 to partners via the Action Pack, although all the details for the process have not be sorted, meaning that I cannot yet confirm which pack they will be shipping in. As soon as I get more information I will share it, but for now, be aware that we have again put in place a solution to the issues raised by partners around their desires for the Action Pack. ttfn David Technorati tags: Action Pack , Windows Client , Windows Vista and XP , Windows Vista , x64