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This site is my way to share my views and general business and IT information with you about Microsoft, IT solutions for ISVs, technologists and businesses, large and small.  

August 2007 - David Overton's Blog
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  • Mix:UK 07 - Want to know more about building solutions using Silverlight, Expression and Live Services in the UK? With UK Early Bird registration until 10th August

    I intend to be there - it will be great if you can be there too if this is for you. I have to say I think it is an incredibly exciting area. Have a look at Mix:UK 07 for more information. Latest event news: Registration and schedule now live! About Mix:UK 07 Mix:UK 07 is the premier event for web designers and web developers to: Get creative inspiration from design and development gurus, web agencies and innovators Discover how technologies like Silverlight, Expression and Live Services are already being used to create a new generation of rich media experiences and RIAs (Rich Interactive Applications) Connect with others in the industry who, like yourself, have a passion for innovation and creativity and have built personal and business success on that passion. Register now, early-bird rate expires soon! Until the 10th of August 2007 we’re offering a discounted early bird registration price of £199, saving you £100 from the standard price of £299. Speakers Announced to Date. We are proud to announce that Scott...

  • A selection of WPF-based (Silverlight) applications

    I saw this blog entry and just had to share it - a number of Silverlight application (don't know how many will work with the updated Silverlight builds) - WPF Cornucopia - A selection of WPF-based applications . Below are some of my favourites. There are many more on the blog entry Some cool WPF and Silverlight applications that you can download or play with today. The deployment model has been added so that you know what you are getting into as far as installation goes. Lots are using ClickOnce .application files and .xbaps, so installation is trivial! My Web Pages Starter Kit New with Silverlight Demo (Web Application) New York Times Reader Next-generation online reading experience for the NY Times (MSI) Microsoft Calendar Printing Assistant Generate printed calendars from your Outlook schedule (MSI) Microsoft Expression Blend Designer tool for building WPF experiences (MSI) Microsoft Expression Design Illustration and graphic design tool (MSI) Microsoft Windows Live for TV 3D access to Messenger contacts...

  • Windows Client (Vista and XP) - Active X installer service, Volume Activation Tool, Diagnosing XP crashes, modifying the boot configuration parameters

    If you use volume licensing with Windows Vista then you need to be aware of the tools to manage them - it is not as simple as it used to be as you now need a management tool inside the business. VAMT answers this as does Desktop Management. Then we have some webcasts on slow networks, diagnosing crashes in Windows XP (although many of the techniques work for Vista too), backup and restore in Vista, using the ActiveX installer Service and Boot config parameters VAMT 1.0 (x86) The Volume Activation Management Tool enables IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the volume activation process using a Multiple Activation Key (MAK). VAMT v1.0 is only available as a US-EN (x86) release. Best Practices on Managing Windows Vista Desktops Get best practice guidance for managing Windows Vista desktop operations. Windows Vista Service Life-Cycle Management (WVSLM) provides concise guidance to help minimise the total cost of ownership of desktop infrastructure. Process guidance and document templates help make service...

  • Business Contact Manager (BCM) on Office 2007 error and the .Net framework

    I got an e-mail a few week back that showed a customer getting the following error with BCM: "Business Contact Manager failed to load". "Business Contact Manager failed to initialize Common Language Runtime Class not registered I was not able to respond timely, but I did get feedback that the issue was caused by a problem with the installation of the .Net framework. Updating and re-installing the framework fixed the problem. The partner that solved the problem was Pat Summers of PCS Enterprises in the US :-) ttfn David Technorati Tags: Business Contact Manager , BCM , error , .Net

  • Microsoft, web services, new business models and small business

    In the IT market the term "change is the only constant" has been around for years (well, certainly since I left ICL where change was not constant, but that was due to the contract that dictated that everything did not change, so fell behind). Note, this post is purely the ramblings from my mind, not a statement from Microsoft in an Official or Unofficial capacity We've seen big iron, then smaller systems, the rise of SMP, the reduction in IT hardware and software costs for solutions, the rise of Microsoft servers, client server, 3-tier, clustered computing, multi-core and now internet enabled computing. There is much more, of course, to come, but how we deliver IT to customers has changed too. Of course, this is all generalised and some people have always been at one end or the other, but general acceptance is always shifting - remember the ASP business model of the late 90's - dead, yet here it is again with Software as / plus service. The pricing of some services even appears to be £0, yet...

  • Slides from todays Webcast on Windows SharePoint Services on SBS (WSS v2 & WSS v3)

    Today I did my last Webcast on SBS. It was the 3rd of a 3 parter on SBS. Part 1 was about how to use the OPK, part 2 was on Configuring SBS. I will post links to part 1 & 2 later today, but thought I would get the last one out 1st. If you watched the Webcast you will know that explorer crashed on my machine stopping the demos with word and excel working, which was not desired, but I did load 2 beta patches onto my system yesterday, so now the diagnosis as to wether that was the problem begins. Anyway, if you want the slides set they can be found here . Some of the useful links from the deck are: WSS v2 Office 2003 web parts (the last ones) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=38be67a5-2056-46a1-84b1-337ffb549c5c&displaylang=en Samples and information http://www.sharepointcustomization.com/wss/articles.htm Enable Office 2007 support http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/03/13/how-to-get-companyweb-windows-sharepoint-services-v2-to-work-with-office-2007.aspx Backup and restore...

  • How do I take a public folder offline

    I seem to have been asked this a number of times recently, so here is the answer. To take a public folder offline, simply add it to your favourites and then enable synching of public folders. Mark the public folder as a favourite (right click on the folder and select make favourite Go into your account settings and ensure that public folders are enabled for caching Tools / Account / Properties for the Exchange Account / More Settings / Advanced - then tick the box Now, when you sync the favourite public folders will be copied too. That is it ttfn David Technorati Tags: Offline , Public Folders

  • SharePoint webcasts, business information, KB support information and developer information

    When I talk to partners delivering solutions on Windows SharePoint Services V2, V3 and even for some Portal server is becoming a real business opportunity. When I met with Vin of Wem & Co the other day, some of the stuff they were doing was amazing! Anyway, here are the 3 things I thought might be useful - one being the SharePoint VHD so you can just download and play. SharePoint information Creating Business Value through Better Collaboration http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&productId=353C4E9D-9E78-4435-A360-01BB7F540D17&sortCriteria=date Tools Office SharePoint Server 2007 VHD This download comes as a pre-configured VHD. This download enables you evaluate Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&productId=353C4E9D-9E78-4435-A360-01BB7F540D17&sortCriteria=date Webcasts TechNet Webcast: Workflow in Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies 2007: Out-of-the-Box and Creating Custom...

  • Tool to modify UAC behaviour in Vista using Group Policy - BeyondTrust Privilege Manager

    I am one of those people who always leaves UAC enabled - I like to see when something (*cough* - Adobe Update - *cough*) wants to execute with admin privilege on my system and then get the choice as to whether to allow it or not. However, not everyone likes the choices that are presented by default with the GPOs ( Group Policy Objects ). Coming to the rescue are tools to help enhance these offerings, such as the Privilege Manager from BeyondTrust. Sometimes people forget that Microsoft is a platform for others to build on and this is no different. Their product enables pre-defining the responses to UAC based on a number of variables. While I have NOT tried the product, it is getting good reviews. You can however download an eval copy for free if you so desire. One thing to bear in mind is that when a tool like this is used, you weaken security - why, well, even if you use a SHA1 hash to work out if an application is safe or not, a clever hacker will use plugins, dll's etc to attack that product - it does not...

  • My RSS reader

    I subscribe to a lot of blogs and reading them all can be a bit of a pain. If you want to see who I read, have a look at http://uksbsguy.com/files/folders/files/entry4501.aspx to get the OPML file. I store and read some in Outlook, but the rest need something bigger. The tool I seem to be using a lot at the moment is RikReader. It is not perfect, but it works nicely for me. RikReader FAQ "Codename: RikReader" is an RSS Reader which complements the RSS Platform delivered by Microsoft in Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7 . The RSS Platform makes it possible to share feed subscriptions and items between multiple applications. "Codename: RikReader" provides only reading and searching capabilities. To manage your feed subscriptions, it's recommenced that you use Internet Explorer 7. What does RikReader offer over Internet Explorer 7? A unified view of all your feeds: See all your items in a single view. "Codename: RikReader" collapses the hierarchy of feeds and folders into a single...

  • Application news for developers - x64 support, application people ready assessments, Vista Gadget security inspection and SharePoint development

    While I am on holiday I thought I would forward these items for the developers out there. The http://blogs.iis.net blog looks awesome for IIS7 information, including videos and the other MSDN information demonstrates how to develop SharePoint tools. Application support Is Your Application Platform People-Ready? Complete the Self-Assessment and Find Out Take the Application Platform Infrastructure Optimisation assessment to measure the effectiveness of your current infrastructure in platform-agnostic terms, and compare your application platform infrastructure against industry best practices and the latest IT research. http://www.microsoft.com/business/peopleready/appplat/ac/apio.mspx Inspect Your Gadget http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bb498012.aspx Today, the Windows Vista Sidebar hosts Gadgets built from HTML, JavaScript, and potentially ActiveX controls. Because Gadgets are HTML, they are subject to Cross-site Scripting style bugs. These bugs are extremely serious because script in the Sidebar is capable...

  • Security for Windows Vista (understanding more about UAC), Networks, plus advice and guidance

    Security is always a big subject area. Over the last two months Technet have published the following items that will help understanding and delivery of secure systems base do Microsoft technology. Windows Vista TechNet Magazine: Inside Windows Vista User Account Control Mark Russinovich explains that User Account Control (UAC) is one of the most misunderstood new features in Windows Vista. But its goal -- to enable users to run with standard user rights -- can solve many security issues. Get an inside look at the problems UAC addresses and see exactly how this new feature works. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6803653 Network Security Internet Protocol Security Enforcement in the Network Access Protection Platform This white paper describes the Network Access Protection (NAP) platform, how IPsec protects traffic, and how IPsec Enforcement in NAP provides system health policy enforcement for IPsec-secured communication. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=144cc69f-790f-4f52-8846-3f3b8584d7cd&DisplayLang...

  • Simple overview of what is in Windows SharePoint Services 2007 & MOSS 2007 and how to develop on them

    For those who wish to expand into SharePoint enhancements (remember that you can enhance the site without any dev tools using the browser features) I found this simple blog entry ( Know your options for developing with SharePoint 2007 - Program - .Net - Builder AU ) and it is quite nice. Read the whole blog, but here is a snippet. The editions of SharePoint One of the more confusing aspects of SharePoint is that there are two versions available: Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007. Developers follow the same basic steps to get started with SharePoint regardless of the version. Here's an overview of both offerings. |> WSS: This is the so-called "free" version, as there are no additional licensing issues. It is included with the Windows Server 2003 operating system (version 2.0). The current 3.0 version is available via download. It provides core document management, collaboration, and search functions, which include blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, e...

  • SBS Technet Chat Transcript published

    Hi folks, this is a really simple one - I had the pleasure of answering some questions at a TechNet chat a few weeks back - that chat has now had a polished transcript published on the web at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/chats/trans/sbs/07_0713_tn_sbs.mspx . thanks David Technorati Tags: SBS , SBS 2003 , SBS 2003 R2 , Technet , Chat

  • SBS 2003 Configuration Webcast - presentation and key links

    Part 2 or 3 for the Webcast series was how to configure SBS and discussed things like disk, memory, dual NICs, firewalls and the Pop3 connector. The presentation can be found here . Useful links from the presentation: WSUS upgrade documentation http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/05/02/installing-wsus-3-0-on-sbs-white-paper-released-including-when-you-already-got-wsus-on-there-or-need-to-upgrade.aspx Transition pack http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2006/09/18/Transition-Pack-for-Windows-SBS-2003-R2.aspx The questions from the event: Is there anything different we need to do on the server with Win Mobile 6 devices? No, it works, but you still need to be aware of the need for a certificate by a trusted root authority on the SBS box for Smartphones (just the same as all previous versions) On the install it showed Active sync 3.8 available to install, why not the latest version? I have not updated the box, but you can load a later version of ActiveSync onto SBS What is the URL to access outlook...

  • 1st SBS webcast from series of 3 - SBS & the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) by Sven

    I should have posted this information a few days ago, but I am making up for it now. Anyway, Sven's presentation can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/files/folders/events/entry4621.aspx and he has also gracefully provided a number of scripts to make the install even simpler which can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/files/folders/events/entry4622.aspx . Enjoy David Technorati Tags: SBS 2003 R2 , OPK

  • Windows Live Hotmail will soon bring you more of your requests, better performance, huge amounts of storage, de-dupe of contacts, message forwarding, Out of Office and much more

    You can tell from the title the favourite things I have found testing the latest version of Hotmail - well it is now public - we start rolling these features and more out over the Hotmail clusters. For more information look at the Ellie Powers-Boyle blog post Your mail is here, come and get it!: August: Hotmail will soon bring you more of your requests, better.performance . Obviously if you are a Office Live customer then you will also see these changes coming to you. For the international of us, I have called "Vacation Replies" Out of Office - you know what I mean then :-) 13 August August: Hotmail will soon bring you more of your requests, better performance We went out of beta in May, and we’re already releasing something new. Today, these new features will begin to roll our gradually to all our customers over the next few weeks, so if you don’t immediately see them, be patient, they’re coming! It’s a fun time to be working on Hotmail. We already did a ton of work to get the basics ready to get out...

  • SQL 2005 & 2008 webcasts, recovery tips, developer tools, best practices, Silverlight development and more

    As you know SQL 2005 has been released and we are already seeing SQL 2008 on the horizon. To keep up to date and step into the future the following should be able to help with understand the products, finding information about solutions using them and developing solutions using them, SQL Server 2005 SQL Server Premier Field Engineers Deliver SoundBytes The UK SQL Server PFE team is preparing a series of SQL Server SoundBytes aimed to deliver proactive content to our Premier customers via LiveMeeting. Premier SoundByte sessions will be ideal for customers who need proactive information, for whom it may not be convenient to leave the office to come to a workshop. These sessions are set to run from the beginning of September 2007 through to the end of December 2007 and will range from Clustering a SQL Server 2005 Database System, to Database Mirroring, Configuration Best Practices through to SQL Server in a SAN Environment, Corruption / Detection and Recovery of a SQL Server 2005 System. Please contact your TAM if...

  • Will Virtualisation really crush the server market and Virtualised Windows on Linux... not likely

    From the register I saw the article " Virtualization Software to Crush Server Market " and it sort of made me laugh. Last year saw a dramatic drop in growth of Server shipments, both Microsoft and non-Microsoft. One explanation given is that virtualisation has increased so much that less servers are being bought, but the growth was still strong, just not in actual servers. I have seen the growth of virtual servers, but don't think it really accounts for the hundreds of thousands of servers that fill the gap that appeared in the research last year. VMWare's growth does not account for this, nor does the impact on Windows licensing that would be seen. Analysts and executives came out this week and declared that x86 server shipments will likely decline as VMware, Microsoft, and a host of startups push their virtualization wares at speed. In a rare feat, Schwartz and Sacconaghi also happen to agree about another trend that virtualization will drive. They're claiming that customers will buy larger...

  • Questions from today's Webcast

    I promised to load the questions from todays webcast. The blog on the webcast can be found at Slides from todays Webcast on Windows SharePoint Services on SBS (WSS v2 & WSS v3) . The Questions were: Do uploaded files take up space in the system partition or can they be stored in a different partition They can do - all files are stored in the SQL database, so moving the SQL database will move the files from the system partition. if the existing SharePoint 2 is almost empty - will you loose out anything if you upgrade? Don't upgrade it - do a clean install and then move data across Do you recommend any books for end-user/creators? If you do this search, you can see a couple of books http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=windows+sharepoint+services+book+sbs&src=IE-SearchBox - some people seem to rate the step by step book. You have a contacts list, can a specific detailed with field relevant to my business be created? Any fields can be added or removed from the WSS contacts fields, so yes, you can create...

  • Are you an IT related architect (Office Business Application, Windows Server Security or Services Revolution aka SaaS) - if so then one of these events could be for you

    I've hung up my architecting gloves, but I still get the e-mails. I saw this and thought there were a few partners out there who would want to take advantage of the events. As a practising or aspiring architect, it's vital to keep up to date with the latest news and technological developments to make sure your work remains at the cutting edge. By attending a free Microsoft Architect Forum you'll learn how to get the most from your architecture and gain information to aid your architectural decisions. The Architect Forum series gives you free access to one-day events providing an expert overview of a specific topic as well as fantastic networking opportunities. To register for one of these events, follow the relevant link below: Office Business Applications Architect Forum - 13 September 2007, London Office Business Applications are an emerging class of application that helps businesses unlock the value of their line-of-business (LOB) systems and turn document-based processes into real applications...

  • Service Packs, Vista and a Q&A with Jon DeVaan, senior vice president of the Windows Core Operating System division at Microsoft, discusses the company's plans for the first service pack of Windows Vista.

    A few people have asked me about Vista SP1 - what will it contain, how big will it be, can you tell me more, so I thought I would share these two articles with you. One is a press report of a discussion with Shannon on http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Windows-Vista-SP1-weighs-in-at-1GB/0,130061733,339281624,00.htm which states things like: the company has revealed that test versions of the update are currently 1GB As for what's in the Vista update, it's mostly a collection of existing fixes and tweaks aimed at improving stability and reliability of the operating system ability to encrypt multiple hard drive partitions using Vista's BitLocker feature removable storage file format known as exFAT as well as for EFI (extensible firmware interface), an alternative to the BIOS (basic input output system) that handles the initial start-up of a system changes to Vista's desktop search feature in response to complaints from Google or http://www.betanews.com/article/Windows_Vista_SP1_Will_Uninstall_Group_Policy_Management...

  • How unified communications could be with Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server (OCS)

    Unified Communications, VoIP, IM, e-mail, messaging, call redirecting, talking to your calendar - so hard to explain in words, so easy to watch in this short demo. A bit cheesy, but it works ttfn David Technorati Tags: Unified Communications , Exchange 2007 , Office Communications Server , VoIP

  • Explore Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0 webcasts and virtual labs

    In my new role I find I need to get up to speed on the MS Dev technologies. I found the page Explore Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0 which seems to have lots of education for me in the ASP.Net 2.0 world. Microsoft ASP.NET is a set of Web application development technologies that enables programmers to build dynamic Web sites, web applications, and XML Web services. Whether you already use ASP.NET 2.0 or want to start, watch our webcasts and participate in our virtual labs to see what it can do for you. This series will help you learn about the improvements in ASP.NET 2.0 and better understand how you can utilize ASP.NET 2.0 to create faster, more secure Web applications. Webcasts During this series, learn how you can use membership and personalization to build rich Web sites, use the new provider model to customize ASP.NET for your enterprise, and more. Virtual Labs Take part in these virtual labs to learn about the major improvements introduced with ASP.NET 2.0 and see how you can create richer Web applications...

  • How to improve Array Performance in .Net programming

    I have been known to write the odd program, often using a large number of arrays for some of the manipulation I do. Multi-dimensional arrays is something I have done a lot of, so seeing this little tip from CodeGuru to speed them up and reduce memory footprint is a great benefit for me. Below are a few snippets, but read the whole article to know more. Jag It Up What is a jagged array, and why does it have such an alarming name? I can't answer the second question, but I'll give the first one a shot. A jagged array is essentially just a one-dimensional array where each element contains its own one-dimension array. It's an array of arrays! (For those who just must jump ahead—you know who you are—yes, you can indeed have arrays of arrays of arrays through infinity or until your memory runs out. But, let's not go there now....) How is an array of arrays different from a two-dimensional array? I'm glad you asked. This is where the jaggy bit comes in. In a two-dimensional array, you have a fixed...
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