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August 2007 - David Overton's Blog
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  • Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Technet information inc Cluster Edition information, AD Explorer, IIS7, Scenario feedback for Windows Server 2008

    Windows Server 2003 (including Cluster Edition) HPC Grid-Computing White Paper This paper explains the benefits of integrating Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 with Platform Computing's LSF grid-enabled solution, and describes the architecture and configuration of this integrated high-performance computing (HPC) solution. HPC Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Solution Brief FLUENT 6.3 running on the Windows Compute Cluster Server operating system yields a cost-effective parallel processing solution for CFD analysis. FLUENT 6.3 users running simulations on Windows can exploit the larger memory address space provided by 64-bit systems to run more detailed FLUENT simulations. CCS 2003 Partner White Papers Learn more about compute clusters, today's applications, and options available to you from CCS Partners. Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator Version 2.04 This is the latest version of the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator enables connection of a Windows 2000, Windows...

  • 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...

  • Vista Squad meeting in London on 6th September 2007

    Thenext Vista Squad meeting is around the corner and we have a great line-up foryou! We also listened and the next meeting is in London. MikeTaulty and Stephen Lamb will be presenting and this should be a massive eventin terms of content. If you can please leave a comment at the link belowto let us know you’re attending, this will allow us to cater better fornumbers and refreshments. http://vistasquad.co.uk/blogs/announcements/archive/2007/08/10/vista-squad-3-0.aspx Pleasespread the word through your contacts, blogs and any other means, we would bevery grateful. See you then! Date: 6thSeptember 2007 Time: 6pm onwards Location: MicrosoftLondon (Cardinal Place) 100 Victoria Street London SW1E 5JL Agenda: 6:30pm: Start, so plan to arrive just after 6pm. 6:30pm – 7:30pm Stephen Lamb: Windows Deployment 7:30pm – 8:00pm Break 8:00 – 9:00pm MikeTaulty: WPF and Silverlight There will be a copyof Vista Ultimate up for grabs! Published with BlogMailr

  • 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...

  • 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

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Nano-tech to use old mechanical designs to implement technology rather than simply copying silicon

    One of my University lecturers help at the London Science Museum to build the Babbage difference engine around twenty years ago. Engines like this which is very mechanical based are obviously simple ways to implement functions of modern cpus in nano technology. It was a a nice surprise to see the article " Antique engines inspire nano chip " where we see that this is progressing. “The blueprint for a tiny, ultra-robust mechanical computer has been outlined by US researchers. ”What we are proposing is a new type of computing architecture that is only based on nano-mechanical elements,” said Professor Robert Blick of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the authors of the journal paper. “We are not going to compete with high-speed silicon, but where we are competitive is for all of those mundane applications where you need microprocessors which can be slow and cheap as well.” ttfn David Technorati Tags: Nano Technology , Babbage , Difference Engine
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  • Recent Business Contact Manager Questions and Answers

    I was just writing this e-mail back to someone who e-mailed me and I decided to blog it. - Is there a way to timestamp notes in Outlook by itself, or is the only way to get Business Contacts Manager? Everything in outlook has a timestamp, but obviously BCM has better facilities. You could write a short piece of VBA to add a time stamp button to the Notes form - Are the contacts stored in Outlook 2007 the same as those contacts stored in BCM or are they stored completely differently? Outlook contacts are stored in a PST file while BCM contacts are stored in a SQL database. To see the differences between the fields in contacts in BCM and Outlook, have a look at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/05/04/what-is-the-difference-between-an-outlook-contact-and-a-business-contact-manager-bcm-in-office-2007-contact.aspx - If the contacts are different, will other third party programs like Plaxo be able to update files based on BCM or only the Outlook contacts? It depends on how they are accessed – you would...

  • The Linux is beginning to admit that Microsoft might have some good ideas, but shows that it is still important for you to code the kernel and there still is not a way to know an application will run on it!

    You know me, I like talking about Linux and when I saw these three articles I thought I had to share them. They all came out last week. The 1st article discusses the need for a bit more respect between the Windows an Linux camp. Microsoft has tried to put fact behind the arguments against Linux adoption and while some people think the surveys were doctored (they were not), they did start the discussion as to why each OS was better. I have said before that this should not be a religious discussion, but an evaluation based upon needs. In some cases people will choose Linux, in others Windows. It is nice however to have this recognised by the Linux community. While the article only discusses Microsoft's PR, there is an underlying respect beginning to grow with statements like "has a good track record in fending off competition" have to mean more than just marketing otherwise it paints most users as pretty stupid. One other thing discussed is the fact that the lack of release synchronisation causes users...

  • 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

  • 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

  • Microsoft launches beta of "skydrive" - a disk in the cloud (and now you can use it in the UK too)

    Another "it is here" moment. Skydrive gives you, today, 500MB of storage in the cloud, free of charge. You can set up permissions to control who can read and write files. I love it. In fact, I love it so much that I have put all my demo videos that I recorded recently up there. The Skydrive team blog can be found at http://skydriveteam.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!977F793E846B3C96!124.entry . Click for the Training Videos to be downloaded as videos. Top features for me are: Upload and download documents with permissions on files Embed file stores in web pages Drag and drop upload process Accessible everywhere For some eye candy: - Home Screen - Documents sub folder - Folder Options - Change Folder Permissions - Embed your SkyDrive into your web site - Drag and drop files for uploading - The upload process - Non ActiveX upload page ttfn David Technorati Tags: SkyDrive , Live , SAS
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  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Vista updates (performance fixes) now out

    OK, so there I was posting that they were coming and now 2 days later they are here. If you want to improve Vista, go get them: Title Release Date Popularity Update for Windows Vista (KB938194) This is a reliability update. Install this update to improve the reliability of Windows Vista in certain scenarios. 8/7/2007 #15750 Update for Windows Vista (KB938979) This is a performance update. Install this update to improve the performance of Windows Vista in certain scenarios. 8/7/2007 #12367 Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB938979) This is a performance update. Install this update to improve the performance of Windows Vista in certain scenarios. 8/7/2007 #16432 Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB938194) This is a reliability update. Install this update to improve the reliability of Windows Vista in certain scenarios. 8/7/2007 #16951 ttfn David Technorati Tags: Windows Vista , Performance , Application Compatibility

  • 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...

  • The UsefulTechnology Blog: Windows Vista's Reduced Functionality Mode

    Since this is coming, I thought I would share this with you - if your customers find lots of "genuine" warnings and then rebooting every hour... think about this as a cause :-) Well, think about the non-genuine license. That does not mean that the customer has necessarily knowingly bought ripped off software, but it does happen. You may have recently read about the $500M bust of a piracy ring - they were not giving the software away to their customers - they were selling it as full price product. Windows Vista's Reduced Functionality Mode Now, think about it, does that look genuine? It's not a widely publicised feature, but users of Windows Vista who fail to properly activate their software may find themselves in Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM) . In this state, you will be unable to use any of the Windows Vista Premium features like Aero Glass and ReadyBoost, nor will you be able to play any of the built-in games. Tougher still you'll only be able to use the computer for one hour before...

  • They're coming - the list of fixes in those new Vista fix packs - soon going out to beta and then to the rest of the world

    [updated to correct grammar in title - thanks to Warren Jacobi for pointing it out to me] I have been hearing about these at work - I don't have them yet, so can't comment on them, but apparently they will be going to trial soon and then out via updates. 938979 Vista Performance and Reliability Pack This update resolves a number of individual issues which may be affecting some computers running Windows Vista. These issues have been reported by customers using the Error Reporting service, product support, or other means. Installing this update will improve the performance and responsiveness for some scenarios and improves reliability of Windows Vista in a variety of scenarios. Some examples of the improvements contained in this update are: • Improves performance in resuming back to the desktop from the Photo and Windows Energy screensaver. • Resolves an issue where some secured web pages using advanced security technologies may not get displayed in Internet Explorer on Windows Vista. • Resolves an issue...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Thank-you for helping my site grow - I hope it will continue to help

    I have now had my site open for 16 months. In that time you have managed to ask me loads of questions and I hopefully have answered plenty too. Lets both keep this up. We are currently running at about 1.2+ million page views per month and about 300,000+ RSS sync requests per month. Keep the questions coming :-) ttfn David
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(c)David Overton 2006-23