Blogs

I saw this and thought I would post here. Microsoft Windows PowerShell 1.0 review Is Microsoft’s new tool a power shell or an egg shell? By David Cartwright, techworld List price:Free Pros: Brings Windows scripting into the .NET era, allowing you to do far more than you could with VBScript. Cons: The syntax will take you some getting used to – an IntelliSense equivalent would be a nice touch. Buying advice: Getting PowerShell is a no-brainer. It’s a no-cost scripting tool that you’ll find a use for before long, so it makes sense to get a copy now and get to grips with it a bit before you have to start using it in anger. "If you’re used to DOS batch files, VBScript scripts or Unix shell scripts, you’ll find this experience next to useless when trying to get to grips with PowerShell. The syntax is like nothing I’ve ever come across (and I’ve used all three of the above extensively)" "This said, it’s not the hardest thing in the world to get used to. It’s just a case of learning the keywords and, most...

Going through old mails and found this - maybe one day I will get a new screen: Thin displays Sony Demos 9mm-thick High-Def OLED Displays “Look and yearn folks. This here is Sony’s new OLED display. It’s an obscene 9mm thick yet it packs a 1080p resolution along with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Just as a recap, OLED displays are thinner and brighter than their LCD counterparts and they suck up less power.” ttfn David

I wrote about this the other day, that Windows Server 2008 (Longhorn) will be the last 32-bit Server product from Microsoft however some people have taken Bill Laing's comments to include Windows Client (i.e. Vista v.Next). Here is the official low down. Bill Laing, a General Manager in the Microsoft Windows Server Division, has been quoted as saying that Windows Server 2008 will be the last 32-bit operating system. Bill is a server guy and indeed Windows Server 2008 is the last 32-bit server operating system – all future operating systems for server hardware from Microsoft beyond Windows Server 2008 will be 64-bit. A few folks took Bill’s comments on Windows Server and applied them to Windows Client deriving that Windows Vista would be the last 32-bit operating system. That is an incorrect extension. While Windows Vista includes both 32-bit and 64-bit and there is a growing community of drivers for 64-bit Windows Vista we have not decided when Windows Client will follow Windows Server and become 64-bit only...

The Home Server team have made a shout out to a UK blogger who has lots of Add-ins and How-Two's for Home Server. Worth a peak!! Terry Walsh, some dude from the UK who has a blog ( We Got Served ) all about Windows Home Server, has been doing great things for the community. He's got a list of Add-ins , a bunch of How-Tos , and some great descriptions of the technology of Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server Blog : Couldn't have said it better myself ttfn David Technorati Tags: Home Server , Add-ins , Developer

If you have never heard of Office Live, go read the whole interview. If you have heard of it, but don't see the value, go read the interview to see what BT are doing with it. If you do not know about the BT and Microsoft Office Live deal.... I think you get the idea - it is not long, but will make you think for a bit about business models. Office Live - Live interview As Office Live comes out of beta, I thought it would be good to catch up on the latest news. Today I'm joined by Mr Office Live himself - Tim Kimber to tell us more: Hi Tim, perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself and what you do? I'm the Office Live Business & Marketing lead for Microsoft UK. Office Live is a set of web services for Small Businesses to help them get online and start promoting their companies how long has Office Live been available in the UK - is it still in beta? We launched the beta of Office Live in the UK on 21st November 2006, so we've been in market for around 6 months. We came out of beta on 23rd May...

I've said it before and I will no doubt say it again, but here are some really useful titbits from the Partner Perspectives Blog (UK Partner Team). Useful MSPP Contacts and Resources I'm running a series of internal training sessions on the Microsoft Partner Programme this week to make sure that everyone is clued up. I thought I'd share with you some useful MSPP contacts and resources which I'm telling your account managers about. I imagine it would be fairly useful for you too! MSPP Contacts: First Point of contact for Programme Questions and Escalations: Regional Service Centre - for MSPP questions (payment of fee, partner points, customer references, portal access, internal use licenses): Partner Tel: 0800 917 3128; email Ask Partner (to-customer licensing and product questions – not internal use MSPP software): 0870 60 70 700; email PR: (for Microsoft quotes and press release kits) [email protected] MS Club: website ; email MSDN: 0800 0517215; email MCP Hotline: Can be utilised by MCP’s only...

I get asked about this quite a lot - so Microsoft has this thing, the "TAT". I've looked at it and it is just a bunch of questions. Yep, but you can change the questions and all the results are stored and if you know what you are doing, you can use it to build an IT strategy for your customers which means that you go back to them regularly and take their IT onto the next stage for their business. I don't think this is rocket science, but perhaps it is something that we don't do enough of - look for the opportunities in a programmatic way. Now of course, this could be a very slavish process, but at Steve says: The questions are now much more relevant to the SME market and you don’t feel so uncomfortable asking your customers. We don’t just run through all the questions one after the other but slot them in to the rest of the presentation. It feels less like the Spanish Inquisition that way! We’ve conducted several surveys so far and they don’t just have to be prospective customers. You can...

OK, so this is more my fault than anyone else's, but I was asked to join a chat with the SBS EMEA team and I thought they wanted to chat about how to make things better internally, so I said yes. Then I discover that it is an external chat, with SBS people and partners. OMG!! So anyway, on July 13th around lunchtime there will be a 45 minute "ask the expert" session on all things SBS. Should be fun. Better than my 8 stints on talk sport - not knowing where the next question will come from, or what it will be about!! Join Microsoft SBS Experts for an Online Chat! [Today's tip comes to us courtesy of Karan Rustagi] Small Business Server 2003 Chat (EMEA Community) Join the Small Business Server team for questions and general discussion on SBS 2003. Bring your comments and concerns on the product and discuss them with the team. Friday, July 13, 2007 12:00 - 12:45 P.M. British Summer Time (UTC + 1 hour) 7:00 - 7:45 A.M. Eastern Time 11:00 - 11:45 GMT Join the chat room on the day of the chat: www...

I have just seen these, register if you want to know more. Event ID: 1032343756 Title: Microsoft Virtual Server Install and Configure Walk-through Microsoft is presenting new information to help you learn the tips and tricks to install, configure and operate Microsoft Virtual Server SP1. You'll be able to watch live installation steps and ask questions with virtualization expert Allen Stewart. Date: 06-18-2007 from 8:00 am to 9:30 am Pacific Registration Forward Link: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6924611 Replay URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/msevents/view?id=1032343756&role=attend&pw=NFTRD66 Event ID: 1032343760 Title: Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager Install and Configure Walk-through Microsoft is presenting new information to help you learn earn the tips and tricks to install, configure and operate Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager with Microsoft Virtual Server SP1. You'll be able to watch live installation steps and ask questions with virtualization expert Allen Stewart...

SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition FIX: You may receive an assertion or database corruption may occur when you use the bcp utility or the "Bulk Insert" Transact-SQL command to import data in SQL Server 2000 http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=933573 FIX: Error message when you use the sp_addarticle stored procedure to add articles to an existing transactional replication publication in SQL Server 2000: “Cannot create a file when that file already exists” http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=932686 FIX: The Sqldumper.exe utility cannot generate a filtered SQL Server dump file when you use the Remote Desktop Connection service or Terminal Services to connect to a Windows 2000 Server-based computer in SQL Server 2000 http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=928079 FIX: The sp_droparticle stored procedure performs very slowly if the @immediate_sync property is set to TRUE in SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=932674 SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services FIX: An access violation may occur...

I saw this and thought it was another reason why you need to be prepared for Vista and Office 2007. Among small and mid-sized enterprises 47 percent of them plan to upgrade to Microsoft’s Vista operating system in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to a Cowen & Co. survey. The survey, which is done in conjunction with CRN magazine , also found that 78 percent of small and mid-sized businesses will adopt Vista by the second quarter of 2008. Simply put, the small fry will lead the charge when it comes to the Vista upgrade cycle. Cowen analyst Walter Pritchard said in a research note that his firm’s most recent survey is above the adoption rates predicted in February. In February, 43 percent of small businesses indicated they would adopt Vista by the end of 2007. » Survey: SMBs more aggressive with Vista upgrade plans | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com ttfn David Technorati Tags: Vista , Small Business

I got this mail the other night that directed me to this video - it is of a Savant and the process he goes through to prove that he can "see" pi to 20,000+ decimal places and do amazing number feats (anyone do 37^4 in their head?). He was also able to perform other memory feats by turning what he saw into numbers. Bored, late at night having wound myself up with some programming issues, I decided to go stumbling through the web. The very first site was this Youtube video of a guy with an extra-ordinary brain. I think it’s ½ hour long, might be more – I just watched it from start to finish – but it is REALLY worth watching. Incredible. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4913196365903075662 I don't normally spend more than 5 mins on a site like this, but ended up walking through this video constantly amazed at his skill. Upon further investigation it turns out that this man, Daniel Tammet, has a book and blog site - http://www.optimnem.co.uk/ - possibly worth getting! ttfn David Technorati Tags...

I was reading the latest Technet newsletter and saw this and thought I would pass on these two items: 2. How do I license Microsoft Office so my users can access it over Terminal Service? Microsoft has produced a Word document (126Kb) that discusses the options available to customers who would like to configure access to Office in this way. 3. How does Microsoft license its products for use in a disaster recovery situation? View the guide to "Cold" Server Back-Up for Disaster Recovery" . ttfn David Technorati Tags: Licensing , DR , Disaster Recovery , Office 2007 , Terminal Services