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  • How I do my webcast videos - using SnagIt Screen Capture and Sharing tools

    You may have seen a number of videos that I have recorded that were screen captures and my voice. To do this I use the tools from Techsmith - Snagit. For £24 I was able to buy the tools to record my screen and put it all together. Overall I think it was a great investment which you can also get from http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp . I have stored my videos on Windows Live Storage - more details of all the videos at Videos on Office usage - Document Inspector, Excel Templates and formatting, Outlook on the go and enhancing word documents for Office and Videos on Vista usage - Checking for updates, Backup options, Offline file options, How to use security in Internet Explorer, Sharing files for Vista. While SnagIt produces .AVI files, good of Windows Movie Maker did the last little conversion to WMV files. If you want output to many other formats, Nick has some pointers to more locations at Techsmith release new SnagIt Accessories - Nick Whittome - The Naked MVP . ttfn David Technorati Tags: Snagit
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Oct 13 2007
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  • While Microsoft is often accused of being the big bad company on Patents, IBM continues to lead the way

    I always find it sort of silly the way Microsoft is accused of being tight with information on how to develop with our products, yet there is loads and loads of information on MSDN and then the ability to license information as the Samba group did. IBM is often 1st up to hit Microsoft with a "your mean and successful and patent everything" yet here is another article, another year and IBM leads the patent list: This story appeared on Network World at http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/011408-patent-list.html IBM retains slim lead among patent-winners; Samsung, Microsoft gain ground U.S. patent backlog more than 1.1 million after drop in patents issued By Jon Brodkin , NetworkWorld.com, 01/14/08 IBM secured 3,148 patents in 2007, besting all other competitors for the 15th consecutive year, but Big Blue's lead is getting slimmer and Microsoft charged into the top 10 with 1,637 patents, according to an analysis that will be released Monday. Microsoft, which ranked No. 6 on the annual list after failing...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Jan 17 2008
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  • Windows Server 2008 RTMs

    This is covered in many places, but just to be sure As Windows Server 2008 RTMs, Customers and Partners Adopting with Help of New Tools, Training With Windows Server 2008 releasing to manufacturers today, Microsoft has made tools, training and resources available to customers and partners to help make it easier and faster to deploy or build upon the new operating system. REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 4, 2008 – Approaching the company’s largest enterprise launch in its history, Microsoft reached another important milestone today with the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Server 2008. The response from IT professionals and developers has been strong as the company moves toward the worldwide launch of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 on February 27. As Windows Server 2008 RTMs, Customers and Partners Adopting with Help of New Tools, Training: With Windows Server 2008 releasing to manufacturers today, Microsoft has made tools, training and resources available to customers and partners to...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Feb 4 2008
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  • Updated templates for Windows SharePoint Services V2 (WSS)

    Again, writing blog entries while on train, but from the Microsoft Download Notification mail I see the following: Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: Project Team Management The Project Team Site application for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services provides a central location for the project manager and team to collaborate during all phases of the project lifecycle from initiation to close-out. Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: All Templates (English) This download contains all downloadable application templates in the English language for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Sep 7 2006

  • Installing CRM 3.0 on an SBS2003 PE Virtual Server image

    Fun and games I am still using CRM 1.2 in my business because all the horror stories of upgrades from 1.2 to 3.0 around and about. Reading Larry Lentz's blog at http://ts2community.com/blogs/larrylentz/default.aspx is enough to turn your hair grey So I decided to install CRM 3.0 on a VS image of SBS2003 PE SP1 that I have here. NB I don't have ISA2004 installed My standard way of setting an SBS box up is to have the domain name as domainname.local and then when I run the CEICW to give the machine name as server.domainname.co.uk. This means that it works when somone wants to use RWW and you can update the external DNS for your domain to point to the external IP address of your server. So what did I have to do to get CRM 3.0 installed on SBS2003? Setup a forward lookup zone for domainname.co.uk in the SBS server DNS and create an A record for server.domainame.co.uk pointing to the internal IP address of the SBS server. Fix the loopback problem as outlined in this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/default...

  • CRM Webcast focusing on the customer's needs that CRM can help solve

    CRM: Focus on the Customer Tune in and learn how you can help increase sales success, deliver superior customer service, and make informed, agile business decisions with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Whether your organization is currently using Microsoft CRM or considering it, this Webcast series offers demos and interaction with CRM experts that you won’t want to miss. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Sep 18 2006
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  • The Power of the Wizards

    Many of you know that I am a Star Wars fan (anyone seen my avatar?), but you may also remember me telling everyone to "Use the wizards, Luke, use the wizards" over 3 years ago when explaining that SBS can help make life easier. Today, when playing catch up on a number of blogs, I noticed this article from Susan Bradley that said all I wanted to say / have been saying: http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2006/04/08/89925.aspx A blog worth reading, and I especially like the start: Well..actually more likely.. once you screw up the box so much .. you learn yourself why there are some wizards you should just never bypass..... and the biggie... the granddaddy of the wizards that you should not bypass unless you want me to personally hunt you down... is the basic install wizard of Small Business Server in the first place. HandyAndy's web site has the screen shots..but make your life and your customer's life easier by letting the box install everything as it wants to be laid down by that SBS installer. I don't care...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Apr 18 2006

  • FSB presentation on security (online, credit card, phishing, backups etc)

    Hi guys - I managed to fill the fringe meeting room and then some today with this discussion. The workshop seemed to be a success and discussed the several forms of security peope need to worry about, from remembering to test backups to getting a quality partner to work with. The slides are available in PDF format (one of the output formats from 2007 Microsoft Office system) :-) http://uksbsguy.com/files/12/fsb_event/entry190.aspx to download the file. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Mar 25 2006

  • getting 8 people to service 30,000 parnters is nothing compared to getting <1000 partners to service 4.1M busineses - that is the reality for UK SBSC members

    My boss, Steve Clayton recently noted how hard the job that the team I am part of has. We are responsible for working with, understanding and helping all UK partners, irrespective of size. To this end, he as written an excellent article " 30k divided by 8 just doesn't work ". This got me thinking, the ratio we have here is 1:3750 (PTS to Partners), but in the small business space where we have less than 1000 in the UK, to the 4.1M UK small businesses, we start to see a ratio of twice that at the moment, so while we feel pain, it really highlights just how difficult it is in the partner market. At the same time, it shows that for each partner, working together in community is very sensible as the number of times you are likely to compete with a fellow partner is a rounding error on a percentage. To this end, Susanne Dansey wrote an excellent posting http://www.uksmbgirl.co.uk/blog/archives/7 discussing the community and this was followed up by http://www.uksmbgirl.co.uk/blog/archives/8 and then http://www.uksmbgirl...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, May 23 2006

  • Lots more about the new Office UI - and some scenarios on how it all works together

    Hello, It is rare that I copy from MS newsletters, but I suspect many people do not get the UK MSDN (developer) newsletter, so since this issue talks about the online videos for Office 2007 and scenarios on how it all works together, I thought I should highlight David Gristwood, a great colleague who cares passionately about Office Development and also wrote this little article. I have clipped it to remove some of the more developer oriented content. Note the links for the videos to see more of the product. ttfn David Office Developers Conference, Redmond - David Gristwood <sniped> One of the big announcements was openXMLDeveloper.org , a community site supporting Open XML. You can see the video on demand here . (Bill Gates also gave an interview with InformationWeek just before the dev con, which you can read here , which explains more of his thinking) Part of the keynote included a very compelling demo, that showed end to end the various client and server elements of the Office platform all fully integrated...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Apr 18 2006
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  • Want do develop solutions based on Office – come to Office Dev Con – June 21st – 22nd – included WSS

    So, learn more about Office 2007 - a great set of tools for small businesses - I will blog why once the beta is launched - soon!! ttfn David Microsoft Office System Developers Conference http://www.microsoft.com/uk/business/devcon/ Microsoft Office System Developers Conference is the best opportunity for you to learn more about all the new solution technologies and capabilities in the Microsoft Office System 2007 wave of programmes and servers. At this two-day conference, members of the Microsoft product development and management teams will drill into the latest Office System 2007 innovations to show how developer extensibility will allow you to build powerful custom solutions. You will learn the latest techniques for creating applications around business intelligence, enterprise content management, collaboration, and more! You will also have the opportunity to meet and network with developers and architects on the Microsoft product teams and other customers and partners from the UK and Ireland. Key benefits...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, May 22 2006

  • Office 2007 Webcasts (US and on-demand recorded)

    Many of these are focused on much larger customers, but if you want to have a peek, do so. ttfn David Live Webcasts Microsoft Webcast: Building Composite Applications Using the 2007 Office System Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time Microsoft Webcast: Deploying the 2007 Office System Wednesday, January 31, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time Microsoft Webcast: Overview and Demonstration of myBI Thursday, February 1, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time Microsoft Webcast: Deploying Exchange Server 2007 Thursday, February 8, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time Microsoft Webcast: Improve Productivity and Communication Using Office SharePoint Server 2007 (Level 100) Thursday, February 22, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time On-Demand Webcasts Microsoft Webcast: Introducing Exchange Server 2007, the Next Generation Messaging Platform from Microsoft Original Air Date: October 25, 2006 Customer Rating: Microsoft Webcast: Optimizing ROI with the Microsoft Branch Office Infrastructure...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sun, Jan 21 2007

  • Personal Success - helping others

    I get a great deal of personal satisfaction out of helping others. That is not to say that I don't also enjoy achieving things physically myself or cracking problems myself, but seeing others benefit from an interaction is what gives me the biggest buzz. I have ahd this on my fridge since shortly after my 1st child was born and I try still today to have it as a mantra today. "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson I found this online at http://www.transitionslifecoaching.co.uk/2006/09/success-ralph-waldo-emerson.html I would like to say that I think that this is the ethos of most people you meet in life, and especially in Microsoft and then...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Dec 19 2006

  • Off-topic – Get a bit of Vista technology on Windows XP - Windows Media Player 11 (wmp11) beta

    I know this is off topic, but as a beta tester of Windows Vista, I have also been using the new media player to manage my music. The new ways of organising music and seeing what is in albums or podcasts has got easier. WMP also now handles pictures, which given the number of them I have, it is a nice change to see this functionality off of Media Center systems. So, to get the new UI, formats and ease of management, go have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx Ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, May 17 2006

  • Seasons Greetings (Happy Christmas in my house) and throw snowballs at the UK Partner team

    Updated with game URL This is a simple festive one. The UK Partner team have a simple set of questions, which if you get enough right answers (of course you will all get 5 out of 5) then you get to throw snowballs at them. Fancy playing the quiz and game yourself? While they are all heros for the work they have delivered this year, including content for the SBSC members, the person I would personally aim for is Karl (suited on the left). I've only had a chance to play once, and I scored 17. Let me know how you do in the comments!! Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year from everyone at Microsoft, and from me!! ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Dec 15 2006
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  • Small Business News : Small firms 'overlooking' networking benefits

    From bCentral : Small firms 'overlooking' networking benefits Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:21:12 GMT Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. The latest research report from Lloyds TSB Business and the SERTeam at the Open University found that two fifths of small firms do not believe that networking can boost their businesses' chance of growth and success. It also shows that one in ten small firms say they do not devote any time to networking, while 42 per cent admit they only get involved a few times a year. Lloyds TSB believes that those businesses that do become adept at networking are likely to gain significant benefits. It reveals how almost three quarters of firms have won new customers over the past year as a direct result of marketing, while two fifths have found new suppliers. more at Small...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Oct 16 2006
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  • Connect iPaq to Motorola L6

    Just had to replace my aging (and totally horrible) Sony Ericsson T610 phone when it decided that life was no longer worth living. Basically I traded it's corpse in for the cheapest bluetooth phone the local Orange shop had, a Motorola L6. As I use my iPaq and Outlook Mobile Access to read email whilst I'm out of the office I needed to get the iPaq to talk to Orange GPRS via bluetooth and my phone. Basically the procedure is as follows: 1) Pair the iPaq and the phone. I won't go into that here. Look in the phone and iPaq docs on how to do that. 2) Open the Connections applet (Start, Settings, Connections tab). Click on Connections. 3) Add a new modem connection 4) Choose a meaningful name for the Connection and select "Bluetooth Dialup Modem". Click on next. 5) Enter *99# in the number field. Click on use dialling rules and ensure Use dialling rules is unchecked. 6) Enter "user" and "pass" in the username and password fields (without the quotes). 7) Click on Advanced. Change the baud rate to 57600 and enter the...

  • Site Performance over the shop while NTL (Virgin Media) upgrade internet connection to 20mbs/768kbs

    My server is on an NTL XL line and this is being upgraded at the moment. The result is pants network performance, so if the site is slow, blame the upgrade and not me. It should take a few days to sort, but then be 50% faster to access the site. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, May 1 2007

  • Proliant Support Pack 8.0 is a bit broken.....

    We have one HP ML350 G4p server that we have just started providing full Managed Service for. As a matter of course we install the HP Proliant Support Pack. The latest version is 8.0, but there appears to be a problem with it where it breaks the System Management Home Page . Only solution according to HP Support is to downgrade PSP to previous version 7.91 which does not require a server reboot. According to HP there is a fix due RSN, but I'm not holding my breath :-) Hope that helps someone avoid the same pain!

  • The "If you only read one post today, this is the one" Post tag is coming

    I was talking to Adrian from EJC.IT yesterday (a great Small Business partner) and one comment that was made was that I sometimes post lots of entries and knowing which one to read if only one was to be read was hard. So, I have decided to create the " If you only read one post today " tag for those blog entries that fall into the category. Obviously this is one as it is the 1st one and tells you about it :-) [updated 11:33 on 23/05/2007] The URL to get just these posts is http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/tags/If+you+only+read+one+post+today/default.aspx and the RSS feed for this is http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/rss.aspx?Tags=If+you+only+read+one+post+today&AndTags=1 ttfn David Technorati Tags: If you only read one post today
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, May 23 2007

  • Vista Versions Joke

    This is a little dig at the versions of Vista available (luckily they missed out Mandated Euro "N" versions). This comes from John on the UKSBSG Yahoo Groups. Of course, at the end, once the 30th Jan is up, then it would be Windows Vista Ultimate Edition ;-) ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Jan 29 2007

  • Testing connectivity to Exchange Server

    We have just being doing some work for a new client who's SBS box was in a real mess. We took advantage of Business Critical Support as part of our Microsoft Partner benefits and one of the sites the MS Engineer pointed us to was https://www.testexchangeconnectivity.com/ It's in beta at the moment, but looks as if it could be a useful resource.
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  • Longhorn Forums

    For those of you who are interested in Windows Server Longhorn , we have 13 forums available for discussion with eachother and Microsoft at http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?ForumGroupID=161&SiteID=17 General General discussion on Windows Server “Longhorn” Directory Services Discussion on Windows Server “Longhorn” Active Directory services File Services and Storage Discussion on file systems and storage functionality within Windows Server "Longhorn" Migration Discussion on migrating to Windows Server “Longhorn” Management Discussion on managing Windows Server “Longhorn”, including management tools Network Access Protection Discuss on Network Access Protection Platform Networking Discussion on networking with Windows Server “Longhorn”, including networking technologies and solutions Print/Fax Discussion on printing and faxing with Windows Server “Longhorn" Setup & Deployment Discussion on setting up and deploying Windows Server “Longhorn” Terminal Services Discussion on all things Windows...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Jun 28 2006
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  • Happy 50th, hard drive. But will you make it to 60?

    I saw today that the good old hard disk is 50 years old - I remember my winchester drives, I remember my 1st PC 5MB hard disk. Now my laptop has 2 x 80GB hard disks and my PCs at home are powered by disks totaling a few TB. What is interesting is whether "platters" will be replaced by RAM in some way. To learn more, go look at Happy 50th, hard drive. But will you make it to 60? at ComputerWorld. ttfn David
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Sep 29 2006
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  • WinFS - moving to SQL (Katmai) and then available to everyone - honest

    So there I was, reading about WinFS and the fact that it was going to be in Katmai - the next release of SQL and I was very happy with this when I read the blog and all the comments and discovered that the world and their dog was not happy with this. I was so concerned that I pinged Quentin who wrote the blog and got the right response from him - "when inclusion of part of WinFS into Katmai is completed, the technology will be in ALL versions of SQL, including the Express versions". Now before I go into more detail, what was WinFS always going to be? A way to store data alongside the filesystem (no, not to replace NTFS) and access it using all those nice database functions. How did people think the data was stored or where the database functions were going to be provided from? SQL of course, so having to load a cut down version of SQL Server onto the system was always what a WinFS install does - and will do, just you now load it via SQL Express rather than WinFS setup. I am sure some of the technical detail is...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Jun 26 2006
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