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May 2007 - David Overton's Blog
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  • Changing the way that Vista User Access Control (UAC) works in Vista by group policy

    James gave me some hassle the other day for not referencing his blog (which is a valid thing to do), so I thought I would point out this post as it will end some of the gripes of people out there. Using Group Policy you can change the following: User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users User Account Control: Elevate on application installs User Account Control: Run all users, including administrators, as standard users User Account Control: Validate signatures of executables that require elevation User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations More information from James Blog at Views on Windows Vista : Can I customise UAC? . ttfn David Technorati Tags: Vista , Group Policy , UAC , Security

  • 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

  • Want Microsoft to get you leads - this is how you do it

    One of the most commonly asked questions is "How do I get Microsoft to send me leads?" While we run campaigns that point people to the bCentral site and the find a small business IT advisor process some want more direct action. Well, using the Mr Busy campaign you can now get us to carry our a campaign on your behalf. Yes, that is right, we will carry out a campaign on your behalf to people you want to - either by e-mail (EM) or post (DM). The process is really simple - go here and read the instructions. For the Post Card campaign we know that using post cards effectively communicate with your customers and provide short and focused information. You can customise the postcard with your company details, your logo and a relevant web URL and phone number. We advise that the URL you supply has information about the IT healthcheck to increase the number of customers then contacting you. Your postcards will be sent directly to your customers in a neutral envelope within five business days of you submitting...

  • Microsoft says PCs may need DRAM upgrade (to ECC RAM)

    I have looked at many system crashed and often ended up concluding that RAM is at fault (random causes of BSODs is a very good pointer to this). It now appears that single bit errors is being considered as a major system failing. obviously, when spec'ing a server or computer perhaps you should consider ECC RAM as a standard to improve reliability. For about four years Microsoft has been collecting data through its Online Crash Analysis (OCA) tool that reports system crashes to a Microsoft Web site. About 18 months ago it began sharing OCA data and the white paper with systems and chip makers. According to one source, the report said single-bit error rates in DRAM are now among the top ten causes of systems failures Source: EETimes.com - Microsoft says PCs may need DRAM upgrade Technorati Tags: BSODs , ECC RAM

  • Vista now supports 1.9M devices - up 300,000 since the January launch

    I have had a lot of people come to the site for advice on device drivers. The advice is always the same - go ask your hardware manufacturer about support, however this is good news from the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference Responding to low-level but persistent grumbling from users about peripheral devices that won't work with Windows Vista , Microsoft Corp. claimed Wednesday that its new operating system now supports 1.9 million devices –- up from 1.6 million at Vista's launch in January. In a keynote speech at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) here, Mike Nash , corporate vice president of Windows product management at the software vendor, blamed driver compatibility problems with about 4,000 devices for creating roughly 80% of the user complaints received thus far. "It's a relatively small number of drivers that are driving most of the complaints," Nash said in an interview at WinHEC on Tuesday. Source: WinHEC: Microsoft drives toward better device...

  • Site up and down more frequently than something that goes up and down - like an lift (elevator for my US friends) at the "how do lifts work" world convention!!

    My trusty old SBS box that was a re-purposed server from somewhere else with old (very) cpus etc is crying at me lots. I've moved the databased elsewhere, but it won't be enough, so a new machine has been ordered. I hope to be able to put it together in the next day or two, however until it happens, the performance of the site will still stink a bit and might just hang every-so-often :-( Please bear with us, we hope to have normal transmission resumed as soon as possible

  • The price of Vista in the UK - some really, really bad maths

    OK, so this has really got my goat - I read that there is a £100 difference between the UK and US prices for Vista Premium Edition, so I thought I would add my PERSONAL view on this. Microsoft does not set the prices, the resellers do - some offer products at a loss to bring you in, some add plenty of margin because they believe the market can bear it When comparing prices we need to do so on as close to a level playing field as possible - so no VAT & state tax etc There is some difference due to the unusually high exchange rate - and using the market exchange rate rather than a normal punter exchange rate does not reflect the man on the street pricing The figures stated don't seem to bear out in reality in my opinion I found a typical story here : UK customers face disparity and confusion over the pricing of Microsoft Windows Vista , Computing Which? has discovered. Windows Vista Home Premium has a recommended retail price of $240 (£125) in the US. But to buy the same software in the UK would set consumers...

  • A Nod to Journalistic Integrity Is Seen in an Editor’s Return - PC World - he wanted to run a 10-things we hate about Apple article, but the CEO would not let him as they were a big advertiser

    I saw this and was amazed twice - 1st that PC World magazine allowed their independence to be so badly tarnished and then 2nd the actual article that they wanted to print. Have a look at the story at http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130994/article.html or the what happened story below: A Nod to Journalistic Integrity Is Seen in an Editor’s Return Heidi Schumann for The New York Times Harry McCracken was reinstated as the editor in chief of PC World after a disputed article about Apple was posted on the publication’s Web site. Source: A Nod to Journalistic Integrity Is Seen in an Editor’s Return - New York Times ttfn David Technorati Tags: apple , PC World

  • Windows Hacktivation (or Activation) Trojan Horse / Phishing scam

    I saw this and for a change decided I needed to blog on something about Symantec. The story is simple - a program pretends to be Windows Activation and asks for a credit card to prove ID. IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT A MICROSOFT TOOL, but I am sure some people might presume it is. For more information, have a look at the eWeek and Symantec sites: Symantec is reporting on a Trojan horse that mimics the Windows activation interface. Once you reboot your PC after running the program, the program asks you to activate your copy of Windows and, while it assures you that you will not be charged, it asks for credit card information. If you don't enter the credit card information it shuts down the PC. How to clean it - Symantec writeup Source: Top Threat: Windows Hacktivation ttfn David Technorati tags: Security , Activation , Phishing

  • Don't want to download Longhorn, then try the virtual Labs

    I've said it before and I will say it again, the next version of SBS will be based on Longhorn - you need to go and get knowledgeable if you want to be good with SBS Cougar. Test-Drive Windows Server "Longhorn" Join a Virtual Lab to try out new and improved features and functionality in the upcoming Windows Server "Longhorn" release, including management, network protection, and improvements to Terminal Services. The site then has the following options: Step into a New Windows Server “Longhorn” Virtual Lab for Free It's simple-no complex setup or installation is required to try out Windows Server “Longhorn”. You get a downloadable manual and a 90-minute block of time for each module. You can sign up for additional 90-minute blocks anytime. Managing Windows Longhorn Server and Windows Vista using Group Policy Managing Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn Network Bandwidth with Policy-based Quality of Service Windows Server Longhorn Beta 2 Server Core Windows Server Longhorn Beta...

  • Where to go for information on Office Live in the UK, see a demo, see how to develop against it and even use it as a SharePoint data repository and show the information on the public site

    Tim Kimber the UK Office live product manager sent me these links and they are pretty good: bCentral Office Live SB+ webcast (requires sign-in) - http://www.microsoft.com/uk/businesscentral/small-business-plus/sign-up.aspx?xid=sbplus_ol_bcban Flash demo : http://www.microsoft.com/winme/0703/29661/UK/DEV_Deploy/index.html Office Live Mix presentation : http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1556816&SiteID=1 Tips and Tricks for Using JavaScript on Your Office Live Public Site : http://blogs.msdn.com/doncampbell/archive/2007/04/20/tips-and-tricks-for-using-javascript-on-your-office-live-public-site.aspx Using the collect/display data module (connect to the SharePoint back end) in Office Live : http://channel9.msdn.com/Media/Firesign.html ttfn David Technorati Tags: Office Live , demo , develop

  • Longhorn Events in London and Reading in late May and early June

    23 May 2007, London: Web Administration Summit: An In-depth Look at Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 in Windows Server "Longhorn" Windows Server "Longhorn" delivers Microsoft's most powerful pipeline of web technology around the latest version of Internet Information Services (IIS). Far from a simple version upgrade, IIS version 7.0 is an extensible platform for more reliably and securely hosting Web applications and services that are easy to manage at scale. IIS 7.0 is a major enhancement to earlier versions, offering for the first time a componentized architecture with full extensibility, a single integrated pipeline for all IIS and ASP.NET processing, and a comprehensive administration tool to support powerful diagnostics and delegated management. This comprehensive one-day seminar will introduce you to many of the key improvements in IIS 7, including administration, security and troubleshooting. 12 June 2007, Reading: Overview of Windows Server codename "Longhorn" The...
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  • Powershell is the new tool for managing Exchange 2007 and Windows Servers too - get a look at it on 22nd May in Reading or the Powershell User Group

    Again, something you will have to get to grips with in Longhorn and Exchange 2007. To find out about powershell go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/default.mspx . It is described as: Microsoft Windows PowerShell command line shell and scripting language helps IT Professionals achieve greater productivity. Using a new admin-focused scripting language, more than 130 standard command line tools, and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell allows IT Professionals to more easily control system administration and accelerate automation. Windows PowerShell is easy to adopt, learn, and use, because it works with your existing IT infrastructure and existing script investments, and because it runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server “Longhorn”. Exchange Server 2007, System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Data Protection Manager V2, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager leverage Windows PowerShell to improve efficiency...

  • Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" – Learning Portal

    Since we will all have to learn Longhorn for the next version of SBS, here is a place to start Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" – Learning Portal Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" is the next-generation Windows Server operating system that helps IT professionals maximize control over their infrastructure with increased security, reliability, and flexibility. E-Learning training Collection 5934: Introducing Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" (Beta 3) — Free for a limited time! This online learning collection of five clinics introduces the new features and functionality in Windows Server "Longhorn." The courses cover server virtualization, security and policy management, branch office management, centralized application access, and server management. You can take the entire collection or just the courses that interest you. • Clinic 5936: Introducing Security and Policy Management in Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" (Beta 3) • Clinic 5937: Introducing Branch...
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  • How to do mail merge letters and labels in Office 2007

    I got a mail on this today, so thought I had better drop a quick note. The Office 2007 web site has a great search system that got me an answer straight away that includes screen shots to make it real simple. (I searched on the site for mail merge and then picked Word 2007 from the product picker). Please note that you can also e-mail merge to result in a number of e-mails being sent (perhaps with a newsletter) and that if you use publisher then you can also do things like put in place web links that have a unique identifier so you can tell who clicked on them. The answers can be found at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/word/HA100819761033.aspx?pid=CH100626281033 for the letters http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/word/HA101091611033.aspx?pid=CH100626261033 for the labels ttfn David Technorati tags: mail merge , word 2007 , Office 2007

  • Microsoft Watch - Vista - I Shacked Up with Windows Vista - what happens when a journalist tries Vista and likes it - he makes his Mac Tiger move out for a while :-)

    I saw this and the whole article is well worth a read - a good Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday read to smile. I Shacked Up with Windows Vista Joe Wilcox Last week, Vista and I started living together again , and Tiger moved into an apartment across the hall. I like Vista, but she's sometimes a tough companion. Tiger and Vista are both attractive, but my new roomie is just so much more pleasing to look at—and she likes to do fun stuff that's quite different from the cat woman. Over the weekend we did the Vongo together and hung out at the Yahoo Music club. Tiger wouldn't do either. Vista also is much more social. She loves to nudge her friends and hang out at social clubs MySpace and Live Spaces . She's quite particular about her social calendar , too. Source: Microsoft Watch - Vista - I Shacked Up with Windows Vista ttfn David Technorati tags: Vista business value , MAC

  • Virtual TechEd - all the joys of Tech-Ed without being their (well you can be there too)

    Virtual TechEd is the place to be to get the lowdown on TechEd and also to get access to "stuff" and information all year round that is normally only at TechEd. This is what they had to say for themselves inside Microsoft: Visit www.virtualteched.com today to extend Tech·Ed to an always-on, year-round, online experience! Easily access Tech·Ed content when you want, where you want, in an engaging community environment. Gain the technical education you need to build, deploy, secure, mobilize, & manage solutions across currently shipping and soon-to-be-released products. In addition to new content postings we will be adding new functionality to extend the site at regular intervals, both pre- and post-event; so be sure to check back often. We think you’ll like what you see! ttfn David Technorati tags: TechEd , Virtual

  • Windows Vista AppReadiness- Find out if your application is known and / or supported or expected to run on Vista

    I saw this was released and thought I had to share it - finally a resource will logo'd ready and community opinion on application compatibility for Vista. It states: Welcome to the Windows Vista Application Readiness Beta site! The central place to find and share information about software that runs on the Windows Vista platform. Browse through a comprehensive listing of applications that have a Windows Vista Logo or are Ready for Windows Vista, See comments on compatibility that the community has contributed and The url is easy to remember with www.windowsvista.com/appreadiness . As a quick sample you have the following: Browse by Application A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ( Browse by Company ) Or the "new" sections: NEW! Community Submitted Applications Application App Version Company Comments Status Cosmocall 4.5.0 Build 3201 Cosmocom ( www.cosmocom.com ) Not working on Windows Vista Incompatible with Windows Vista Harvst V. 7 patch 3 Computer Associates (All Fusion) Waiting...

  • Vista Squad 2nd Reading meeting on 24th May 2007 - Bitlocker and WPF to be discussed

    Did you make it to the 1st Vista Squad event? Well, if you did you will know how well it was appreciated, and if you did not, then time to get down here. The details are: The next Vista Squad meeting is confirmed :) All your favourite superheroes will be in attendance. In addition we have two guest heroes sharing their superpowers on WPF and Vista's BitLocker feature. Date: 24th May 2007 Time: 5.30pm onwards Location: Microsoft UK HQ, TVP, Reading, Building 3 Room: Memphis Agenda: 6.15pm - 6.30pm "Introduction" 6.30pm - 7.20pm "BitLocker presented by Stephen Lamb" 7.20pm - 7.30pm "BitLocker Q&A" 7.30pm - 8.30pm "Food and Networking" 8.30pm - 9.20pm "Introduction to WPF presented by Ray Booysen" 9.20pm - 9.30pm "WPF Q&A" Link: http://vistasquad.co.uk/blogs/announcements/archive/2007/05/02/vista-squad-2-0.aspx Come along!! ttfn David

  • Installing Office 2003 and Office 2007 on the same system

    [updated 16:42 9th May 2007 with url for MS Support of this] [updated 9:45 22nd July 2007 with url to fix for install dialog coming up with word] I was recently asked in Office 2003 and Office 2007 can co-exist on the same system. The answer is yes, except for Outlook which as in previous versions get a little precious if this is attempted (it will not let you do this, btw). You can choose to have them both installed to the same drive or one to an external hard drive, it does not matter. The key option is when installing Office 2007 is to customise the options and select to NOT uninstall the previous versions. When you install both copies of Office to be installed on 1 machine that switching between Word 2003 and Word 2007 will result in an install dialog box coming up. See How to get rid of the installer / configuration dialog when running Office 2007 and Office 2003 on the same system - for Vista and other versions of Windows to fix this. For more support information, look at http://support.microsoft.com/default...

  • Buying Vista and then installing an old version of Office - what are you allowed to do

    I have already discussed on this blog what is and is not support for Office on Vista (any version from 2000 on) here . However there is always the question of licensing what is actually allowed and what would be piracy. I am going to try to make it very simple here. · If you have the Home and Student (was the Student and Teacher) Edition then this can be installed on 3 computers in the same household · If you have a previous “Full Packaged Product” – the pretty box you bought at a retailers – version of the product then this can be removed from one computer and installed on a new computer. It can only be installed on one computer at any time · If your software is provided as part of a volume license agreement then you can install on a new computer or other computers, but if you change the number of computers that it is installed on you may have to pay more for the extra usage. · If you have neither of these then you have an OEM copy – this is provided and supported by the people who supplied your computer and...

  • May security updates for Server DNS and Office 2003/2007 and IE7. Also Quicktime needs an update

    I did a quick scan and it seems that this month Office is the main target of updates, along with one critical one for Windows Server (for DNS RPC attack) and one for IE7. Worth a quick download and install :-) I also got this in the mail today: Apple QuickTime 7.x must be upgraded to 7.1.5 or higher. On the security updates: Microsoft is releasing the following new security bulletins for newly discovered vulnerabilities: Bulletin Number Maximum Severity Affected Products Impact MS07-023 Critical Microsoft Excel (all currently supported versions) Remote Code Execution MS07-024 Critical Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 (Mac) Remote Code Execution MS07-025 Critical Microsoft Office (all currently supported versions) Remote Code Execution MS07-026 Critical Microsoft Exchange (all current versions) Remote Code Execution MS07-027 Critical Internet Explorer - all current versions on all currently supported versions of Microsoft Windows Remote Code Execution MS07-028 Critical CAPICOM, BizTalk Server Remote Code Execution...

  • How to remove those spaces before, after and inbetween paragraphs in Word 2007 (Part of Office 2007)

    I got this mail on the blog today, so decided I would post a solution: 2007 Vista Student and Office Edition does not allow me to create one line spacing in Address Headings but okay within the body of the letter, is this a glitch. I have never experienced this in my former Word Programs. In the dialog box it does specify single spacing. Any advice would be appreciated I have created a simple document and you might notice that there is a big gap between each sentence. This is caused by both line spacing and space before or after the paragraphs. I will walk you through the process I went through to make things look less spaced out. To do all of this I will be using just one icon on the ribbon bar - the one circled below If I hover over this, you can see it is for line spacing. The 1st thing I did was highlight my text and try setting the line spacing to 1.0 - you can see the result is that the text is slightly closer together. Next I clicked the "Remove Space Before Paragraph" option and you will notice...

  • What is the difference between an Outlook contact and a Business Contact Manager (BCM in Office 2007) contact

    I was asked this by someone today and thought I would show you the differences BCM Contact General Page followed by the Outlook Contact General Page: There are lots of differences, but the big ones are: Information Source - where did it come from, how did you get this contact and which account started it. Classification - Is this a lead and is the person still "active". Also who is managing this person, what their credit rating is and whether there is a payment issue BCM Details Page followed by the Outlook Details Page: A host of job related information and then a section for personal information about the person, plus a huge comments section. There is also the communication preferences piece and the ability to suppress mailings (do not call, do not e-mail, do not fax, do not mail (write to on paper)). Finally the BCM (only) History Page: Some of this information can be automatically generated, so for example, the e-mail items can be auto generated whenever you mail, or they mail you. ttfn David Technorati...

  • Which 2007 Office Application Are You?

    I did this " Which 2007 Office Application Are You? " and apparently I am Excel You are Excel 2007! People trust you to find the right answer. They call you "the wizard" and are in awe of your PivotTable. When you say you love functions, it's understood that you're referring to spreadsheets, not social events. You import and export with ease, always maintaining balance. Thanks to your mastery of numbers, people are constantly asking you for help with their own budgets. With the new Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you'll see how those people can get their own answers - better and faster. They will be amazed that they, too, can create a new chart with only five clicks. You may not have been known as a trendsetter, but your ability to use conditional formatting to "see" new trends was well worth any wait. You can analyze the impressive productivity and efficiency gains in Excel 2007 and prove that the benefits justify the costs. Your favorite new feature in Office 2007 is likely...
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(c)David Overton 2006-23