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  • Expression web developer tools could change how we build web sites

    Microsoft Unveils Expression Tools Suite, Flash Killer I saw this last week and I know a few of the SBSC members are looking at these dev tools. I am no longer a hot developer, but this stuff looks good. The mobile / Embedded versions also look powerful. The article is summaried as "Microsoft announces Expression Studio, a new integrated suite of its design tools, including the new Expression Media asset management tool. The software giant also announces a new preview of its "Flash killer" technology. Should Adobe be worried?" For those who do not know what the Expression suite is, it is focused on professional designers. You can find out more about Expression at http://www.microsoft.com/expression . We have the 1st product and others in Community Technology Preview (CTP - similar to beta process). Information on the released product can be found at Expression Web 1.0 , is available today at online retailers such as Amazon . The CTP products include Expression Design (CTP) and Expression Blend (Beta) (previously...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Dec 12 2006

  • Old but cool News - Sony 9mm OLED display @ 1080p resolution

    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
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Jun 7 2007
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  • Steve Job's Bloopers

    This happens to everyone - I've certainly had my demos die - especially at SMBNation in Amsterdam, so ho hum. However, so many people enjoy seeing others in pain, I thought I would share :-) http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=ac651701-cd09-4021-9008-bbc5950107f1 ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Oct 19 2006
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  • .NET Survival Guide by Redmond Developer News

    Great tips for Microsoft Developers - on a side note, those who said .Net would never take off... dropped to 64% of people targeting Windows (of course, more people are targeting the Web): .NET Survival Guide Eight essential skills and technologies for Windows developers. by Chris Kanaracus with RDN Staff If you're a .NET developer today, the landscape has to be looking pretty murky. On the one hand, Microsoft's dominance has clearly eroded, thanks to key rivals whose market penetration has come at Redmond's expense, open source alternatives and the remarkable growth in the power and reach of Web-based programming. A recent Evans Data Corp. survey validates the challenges facing the .NET community, revealing that the portion of developers targeting Windows continued to decline, to 64.8 percent this year from 74 percent in 2006. Despite these shifts, .NET- and Windows-based development remains the dominant programming platform for user-facing clients, Web applications and business-critical systems....
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Oct 23 2007
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  • Do you remember that little "poster" that came with SBS 2003 - do you want to make it better? We want your feedback on the SBS Quick Start Poster

    I saw this over on the SBS Documentation blog - please give generously to make it better in the future!! Using the SBS Quick Start Poster We've entered the planning phase for the next batch of Windows SBS product releases, and we're interested in hearing from those of you who have unfolded and presumably used the "Quick Start" poster that came in the box with the SBS discs. Most importantly, do you find the poster useful? Does it contain information that is helpful to you? Do you use the worksheets in the poster to help collect information about your Internet connection? Where is the poster now? Back in the box? Hanging on the wall? (It does add a big splash of color to a cubicle or drab IT office.) We want to know what you think! Submit your comment or send us your feedback in e-mail . Either way, we want to hear from you! Source: Windows Small Business Server Documentation : Using the SBS Quick Start Poster
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Oct 13 2006

  • Have you loaded R2, changed the settings in WSUS and now the R2 controlling of WSUS no longer works?

    I know this has happened to me, and a partner contacted me last week and it had happened to them. The green check (tick for the English speaking crowd ;-) ) turns to a blue one. This means that it is still running, but the WSUS console is now in control, not the nice things in R2. I tried to fix it by following the info in the KB article, but it just didn't work. I was then pointed to the blog by the SBS heros and all my questions went away once I had followed the instructions. To get to the road to the Emerald city, go to http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2006/07/13/441594.aspx Why Emerald city - green check - green city... Oh, go watch the Wizard of Oz :-) ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Dec 11 2006

  • Need to gen up on Windows Server 2003 Administration- then try this Webcast

    Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administration Webcast Series Get the most out of the management and administration features of Windows Server 2003 with this series. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Aug 7 2006

  • IE7 shipped - I am sure you all know, but just in case

    The time has come, IE7 has shipped out the door, is available from http://www.microsoft.com/ie and will start coming down via Auto Updates on Windows PCs in a couple of weeks. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Oct 23 2006

  • Vista Complete PC Backup and Virtual Server / PC disks

    I spoke to Matt in our team recently about the backup and disk image technology in Vista and lo and behold, off he went and wrote a whole blog article on it with some fantastic links. The backup in Vista has been critised by quite a few as it does not allow the user to perform granual backups, however I do think that most users who want to backup their documents are more than capable fo simply draging their documents to a CD or DVD and having it burn. For those who want a more robust backup, the Complete PC backup of Vista does a full system image backup. While some find the lack of control fustrating, every end user I have spoken to simply wants a reliable regular backup - nothing more - and this is delivered excellently. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jul 7 2006

  • So you intend on loading WSS V3 somewhere - read this first

    Just pop along to http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2006/05/30/607260.aspx and read the WSS information. Simple David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Jul 8 2006

  • More people blogging on the site - SBS Partner Group leaders

    Hello guys, I have invited the UK Partner Group leaders to blog if they desire on this site. For those who do, you can see all the leader blogs by going to http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/default.aspx?GroupID=4 or all the MS folks by going to http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/default.aspx?GroupID=14 , or all blogs together by going to http://uksbsguy.com/blogs . Susanne Dansey, the Kent leader has already made her 1st post, which can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/susanne_dansey/default.aspx , while Time Long who runs the South Wales group has blogs at http://community.tigranetworks.co.uk/blogs/default.aspx Obviously these can all be found on RSS feeds too: Everyone's - http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/MainFeed.aspx SBS Leads - http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/MainFeed.aspx?GroupID=4 MS People - http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/MainFeed.aspx?GroupID=14 Susanne's - http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/susanne_dansey/rss.aspx Mine (OK, so the RSS link is long, so you can use the re-direct one too) http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/david_overtons_blog_more_technical...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Mar 27 2006

  • Do you sell SBS to UK charities - we can help

    I LOVE working with charities in the UK, so much so that I am the treasurer for one in the UK – if anyone wants to give funds or assistance to the Farnborough and District Samaritans (you know, the people you call when you are feeling very low or suicidal) let me know. Anyway, we would love to help other charities, so here is how we can work together. Here is the deal – if you: Send me details on the charity, including their charity number Tell me why they want the SBS server (a paragraph, not war and peace) Promise that we can talk to them within 6 months of it being put in to see how it has helped Then I will try to do you a deal – this has been very successful in the past. Mail me at [email protected]
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Mar 4 2006

  • Steve Marsh talks about Office 2007 and why you should care on PTS-TV

    PTS-TV has been very, very busy with several videos released over the last few days. I have just noticed that Steve Marsh has finally spoken about Office 2007. I have previously blogged about Office, and also added several blog sites to watch on my links page . Steve can be found on the normal PTS-TV page . You can also keep up to date with PTS-TV via the RSS feed . Having said that, watch Steve Marsh tell it how it is about Office 2007 and also see other posts on this site here . To watch Steve directly, either stream it or download it (46mb). Also, even though Steve has come through the Microsoft Graduate Scheme (as is post Uni, worked for me for a year and now is a fully fledged team member alongside myself) he has managed to catch my disease of saying "So" too many times. Finally, he called me a "Big person", something I need to have a chat to him about, although while on paternity leave I have been eating chocolate at all hours recently, so he might be very right. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sun, Jun 25 2006

  • Video's everywhere

    Hello, I have started added video links into the site - have a look under http://uksbsguy.com/files , but until I do so, you might also want to have a look at the following items on the Microsoft Partner blog site ( http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog ) http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo01-gettingemailanywhere.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo03-realtimecommunications.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo04-datavisualisation.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo05-portals.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo06-electronicforms.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo08a-businesssolutions.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo08b-businesssolutions.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo08c-businesssolutions.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo11-crm.wvx http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/blog/demo13-enterpriseprojectmanagement.wvx ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Mar 31 2006

  • Would you mind joining a chat with the SBS EMEA support team they ask - I say yes, thinking it is internal, but no - on the Web "Join Microsoft SBS Experts for an Online Chat!" - Best come along then to see what advice we can offer

    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...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jun 22 2007

  • Why Small Business Server 2003 is right for small businesses

    I have my 1 st Technet Article published in the news flash today. The article is below and it talks about why SBS is right for small businesses – for the “IT Pros” in the world – i.e. those who are technical by nature. To add a bit more to the article, I have included several links in this to pictures of the reports. Hello, My name is David Overton and I am the Head of Technology for Small Business in Microsoft UK. I spend a good deal of my time explaining the benefit of Microsoft Technology focused on the small business market. Windows Small Business Server 2003 (SBS) is a product that is perfect for those organisations who are looking for a single server that does everything in one box and meet the requirements of 75 users or less. In the one box you get Windows Server 2003 standard, Exchange 2003 standard and a host of SBS specific wizards and tools that ensure it is simple to install. What is more the price is less than that of Windows Server 2003. (Further wizard pictures for To Do List , Adding a User 1...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Jun 15 2006
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  • New Microsoft Code sharing site (CodePlex) and Forums for WSS

    I see over at CNET that Microsoft has launched a new code sharing, shared sources initiative where people can work on joint code. This is called CodePlex . While browsing there, I saw a great looking Forum for WSS. To get to the forum, go to http://www.codeplex.com/Wiki/View.aspx?ProjectName=SPFORUMS . Picture below ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Jun 28 2006

  • Is Linux making a move into Small Business

    I read this CRN article that Jo sent me earlier today and it makes me wonder about why people choose SBS. I love it because it is an action packed package in the size of a matchbox and a price to match. Others love it because it has a bunch of cool features and plays to their Windows experience. One thing the article said, which I think applies not just to those Linux folks, but also to us SBS folks is: Another partner said Linux rivals should worry less about the 800-lb. gorilla they are competing with and focus on making customers aware of their products and their benefits . "The smallest companies with one to 20 employees often don't understand the benefits of server technology or don't trust the ROI projections," Fogg said. "Those companies often elect to stay with peer-to-peer networks I think we can all learn more on how to do this. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Jun 28 2006
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  • Things they said would never happen - Sun becoming a Windows OEM and Microsoft and Novell open Windows and Linux interop Labs

    I saw this and thought I would publish this to show that businesses will always put differences behind them if they think there is a buck to be made: Sun to Install Windows Server on Its Hardware Sun Microsystems will start selling its lineup of 64-bit, x86-based servers preinstalled with the Windows Server operating system within 90 days. and Microsoft/Novell Open Windows/Linux Interop Lab The initial focus will be around three projects involving virtualization, management, and identity federation. This just proves that all firms are commercial! Don't believe the religious hype! Of course, competition will still be just as fierce. ttfn David Technorati Tags: Sun , Windows , Novell
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Sep 14 2007

  • Creating a "reminder" appointment for the next day in Outlook

    I don't know about you, but I often need to put a quick reminder in Outlook for tomorrow. Such things as "Phone Bill", "Feed the Guinea Pig" and "Get son to have bath" are the sort of essential things that make life slip along that little easier. A while ago I wrote a quick VBScript to do just that. Here it is: ' Written by Ian Watkins September 2002 ' This script creates an Outlook Appointment item to act as a reminder to the user Dim ol Dim olns dim olAppt dim olAppointmentItem olAppointmentItem = 1 ' Set the Application object. Set ol = CreateObject("Outlook.Application") ' Set the Namespace object. Set olns = ol.GetNamespace("MAPI") ' Create an appointment item and populate it set olAppt = ol.CreateItem(olAppointmentItem) olAppt.start = date + 1 & " 09:00am" olAppt.duration = 0 olAppt.ReminderMinutesBeforeStart = 0 olAppt.subject = inputbox("Please enter a subject", "Reminder Appointment") olAppt.BusyStatus...

  • Ricardo (you know, the engine / power train experts) now offer their solutions on Windows Server 20003 Compute Cluster Edition. Cool. Windows HPC is moving along nicely. Oh, Corporate Modelling is not doing badly either!

    I've been very lucky this year to get some great accounts. I have two in the HPC world, neither sit in my traditional small business space, but their solutions are still amazing to understand. Corporate Modelling who offer a great new concept in business process management, modelling and business solution creation, using the latest techniques in business service modelling, process modelling, business solution and application generation techniques. This is a great platform for requirements such as new insurance products and six-sigma to mention a few. I hope to have more to say about this soon. Anyway, Ricardo . They have just had their European User Conference which I have to admit more than stretched me in trying to understand some of the details of what goes on inside an engine, but one thing I did get loud and clear was that to "simulate" that information with a high degree of accuracy takes a LOT of computing power A single run could take days on a powerful workstation, thus tying up the workstation...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Nov 15 2007

  • Find out about Longhorn Server – not SBS Longhorn, but Longhorn Server via online chat

    We will not have a version of SBS Longhorn for many months yet, but we do already know that it will be a x64 product only – as all Microsoft products are heading in that direction. Anyway, to the chase, on the 9 th June there is a chat on Longhorn. Details as below: An Introduction to Windows Server "Longhorn" Please join Bill Laing, General Manager of the Windows Server Division, and Iain McDonald, Director of Central Program Management within the Windows Server Division, for a discussion about Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 2. Windows Server “Longhorn” is the next generation server operating system from Microsoft that will help IT professionals maximize control over their infrastructure and deliver a more secure, reliable and robust server environment. Join us to provide feedback, input into the product and to get answers to your tough questions. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/chats/default.mspx ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sun, May 21 2006
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  • Daily Telegraph - Story of how SBS and a retail system has greatly enhanced an amazing Manchester Arts and Crafts shop

    I have been to visit Fred Aldous in Manchester - the range of arts and crafts items was baffling to me, a non-artist, however with their help I was able to find the perfect things for my wife. The reason I was there though, was not to buy some paint, but to meet with the current family owners. They are an amazing showcase of what technology can do without damaging the fabric of what makes a family run business great. I have spoken about them before and yesterday someone asked me to provide the references, but the great success has been written up in the Daily Telegraph in the UK, so it is not something I can send out. A quick search of the Telegraph site has produced two stories on Fred's transformation - one as it was happening and one six months later. I strongly suggest a read to learn more! Victorian ledgers give way to age of Epos (Filed: 12/09/2005) A city craft shop founded in 1880 is going for the latest retail software to provide 21st century service, says Selina Mills Source: Telegraph | Money | Victorian...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Oct 17 2006
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  • Microsoft Begins Buildup to Longhorn's Release - if you intent on playing with SBS Cougar then you need to start on this path too

    We all know that the next version of SBS will be based on Windows Server 2008 and that it will be x64 based. Many of the benefits of SBS Cougar will come from Windows Server 2008 (Longhorn), so if you want to be with the leading pack on SBS, you need to be up there with Windows Server 2008. ComputerWorld recently noted that the "long march" to the release of this product was signaled by the release of the latest RC candidate. It is worth getting this to start to understand Windows Server 2008. There are a host of features in the standard edition that should make life easier. For more info, access to code, virtual PCs etc on Server 2008, have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008 . Also, since it will be possible to run virtual machines on this system (again), you can take advantage of the amazing Terminal Server features with your clients by using TS inside a VM too. From ComputerWorld - Microsoft Begins Buildup to Longhorn's Release The long march to the release of Windows Server...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Oct 25 2007

  • BitLocker is very secure, so how can you prepare for when you or your customer looses their key / password so their disk is not turned to mush?

    I have been asked this before - how can someone recover information if they forget their BitLocker password. One of the things that Bitlocker does now is offer a recovery mechanism. This is not something that can be done post a failure, but at the time a disk is encrypted. This is documented on the Bitlocker Team's blog at Open Sesame: BitLocker Recovery Passwords . ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Sep 18 2006
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