DavidOverton.com
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.  

Windows 7, Vista and XP - David Overton's Blog
Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Most Commented

  • Birmingham SB Partner Group - January 22nd event - Vista and Office from the Inside

    I got a mail from Vijay and never quite made the "putting it on the blog", so before time runs out too much, two great colleagues of mine are presenting Office and Vista and obviously, having the group meeting. From the web site http://www.nxtgenug.net/ViewEvent.aspx?EventID=39 this is the information. Matt and James are truly well versed in both products and will be able to answer any and all questions. The Association of Midlands IT Professionals (MITPRO) and NxtGenUG team up to bring you an evening of Vista! Matt McSpirit and James Senior, otherwise known as "The Vista Boyz" from the Vista Partner Technical Specialists will talk about the various new features of Vista and Office 2007 and how they affect the SMB. Vista as a development platform will be looked at in the second part of the session and how Vista is the platform on which to create better applications. Members are invited to bring a guest to this event, although we ask that the guest uses the registration page to sign up to NxtGenUG and then registers...

  • So you like shortcuts - commands to quickly do things without resorting to the UI - have a look at how to do them here

    Ewan is a tall chap who used to work in the SE team (which was the team I joined in Microsoft) many years ago. He then went off and did some Exchange EMEA type roles and his skills were sorly missed. Well, he is back "in the UK" (he never left, but his heart was elsewhere). And this posting is beginning to cause a bit of a stir. http://blogs.technet.com/ewan/archive/2007/01/02/some-more-useful-windows-shortcuts.aspx My favourites are for quick keyboard things in Outlook: In Outlook, CTRL-2 switches to the Calendar, CTRL-3 to Contacts, and CTRL-1 back to Inbox. Handy if you're often flicking around to arrange a meeting with lots of people... Still in Outlook, when viewing the Calendar ALT-= switches to Month view, ALT- "-" (next to equals sign) switches to the week view, and ALT- number displays the number of days forward from the current date (eg ALT-9 will show 9 day view). Have a look to see what else he can teach you :-) ttfn David

  • Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

    [updated - see the FAQ at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/02/12/windows-vista-windows-xp-office-2003-and-office-2007-action-pack-update-my-faq.aspx for more information on the benefits of the Action Pack and in answer to the questions raised in the comments] I am trying to re-confirm all the details, but this is the latest information I have asked for it to be double checked so as not to upset everyone. Here is the low-down: When will the Action Pack arrive - Before the end of Jan I heard the latest shipment was delayed - It was due to the Office OPK, but should still be there by end of Jan How much is the upgrade to Ultimate Edition - Action Pack subscribers can upgrade to Vista Ultimate for $139 (USD) – per license. Visit www.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade.com/maps to learn more (not active yet) Is the version of Vista an Upgrade or bare metal install (ala recent changes to stop piracy, so not an OEM version) - This is an upgrade, just like the XP discs that ship Can I use this as home - The Action Pack...

  • How Microsoft UK deployed Windows Vista and Office 2007

    Partner TV has been busy recently, with this discussion about Microsoft UK's own deployment of Vista and Office 2007 . An except from the site says: James Senior talks to Asif Jinnah, the Senior IT manager for Microsoft UK, about the internal deployment of Vista and Office 2007. Asif also talks about best practices using Microsoft tools and services to help with deploying images (for example Windows Deployment Services Windows Desktop Search and System Management Server [SMS]). Asif was previously part of the team responsible for launching the “Microsoft Deployment Centre of Excellence” (CoE) in the UK to educate partners and customers on how best to deploy operating systems. To learn more, click the link above - the video is only 11 minutes long. ttfn David

  • Need to install Windows Server 2003 admin tools on a Vista PC

    I knew this was not the easiest thing to do today, but good old Susan has blogged the links on what to do. Note, this should be followed carefully :-) ttfn David

  • How to get great moving Aurora background on your Vista desktop today

    There is a benchmark / system test tool in Vista called WinSAT. You can test all sorts of things and those of you who want to poke around in it you can. However I found a less than used feature and it gives you an expensive Aurora backdrop in Windows. To make this work, open up an elevated cmd prompt and type the following: start /B winsat aurora & net stop uxsms & net start uxsms This will set the winsat tool running and give you a nice backdrop and re-enable aero on your desktop. You may need to press the Windows key to see yoru task bar again. Please note WinSAT is a test program, not designed to be a backdrop displayer, but it does look very pretty. ttfn David

  • ISA 2004, meet Vista, Vista, meet ISA 2004 client so that you can now work!!

    If you are using Vista and ISA, you will be used to getting a compatibility warning when the client loads. Well, this KB and download gives you a time when that is no longer the truth :-) From the joys of Susan B's blog View article... .. How to obtain the version of Firewall Client for ISA Server (December 2006) that includes Windows Vista support: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929556 Finally the ISA firewall client that will support Vista is out today and there's a new WSUS category to boot! As always, be careful when playing with your systems ttfn David

  • Being a search "Power User" in Vista and Office 2007

    Vista has lots of new features and while the new user interface (UI) is very cute, cuddly and even makes life easier, one of the most useful features that I find is the new search facility. I recently heard the term “stop searching and start finding” and realised that this was probably a great description to goal of searching – it still takes effort, so time to spill the beans on how to find things easier in Vista. One quick thing to point out is that Vista will index not just the file names and dates, but also the contents of your files too. This process will busy itself on your machine when Vista is 1 st loaded, so give it some time, but once it is done, it is done. I let this onetime slowdown happen while I was asleep as I left running overnight to index my 40-50GB of documents and photos. There are four places where the search tools show their hand in Vista before you start putting other applications on that use this technology, such as Office 2007: Start Menu (find programs and a quick file search tool) Search...

  • Download Vista RTM and Office 2007 RTM for evaluation from Technet Online Subscripition, plus two technical support calls, plus access to our betas - just £230 in UK

    I was talking with members of the South West of England small biz group last night and the topic of Vista and Office access and Technet came up. Being a dutiful person, I came and spoke to the Technet team here and this is what I found out. Action Pack gives you licenses you can use to run your business and evaluate solutions for your customers. Technet Plus gives you two support calls, access to managed news groups (ask and get your technical questions answered), and the ability to download and evaluate MS products and beta products. To me, this means that every serious partner that wants to play with betas or products long before a customer can get hold of them should get an Action Pack subecription to give them intenral use licenses and Technet for the beta access. More information on the Technet from the web site http://www.microsoft.com/uk/technet/abouttn/buynow.mspx : Buy TechNet Plus Direct (Online) £230 - 1st time £170 - renewal Buy TechNet Plus (DVD) £330 - 1st time £270 - renewal Telephone Support Every...

  • Is Microsoft Driving Innovation Or Playing Catch-Up With Rivals?

    I saw this over at the Wall Street Jounral ( http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116490323676636989-HnHPKLzkyy9xKy2wnokbd2bc_bE_20071130.html ) and it made me think. Can I point to Innovation from Microsoft in the small business arena? I'd be happy on your thoughts, but her are some areas I think MS is innovating: SBS - an amazing package of great technologies, not just the "enterprise" version at a lower price, but some thought put in to make the wizards workable for small businesses, with defaults that won't scale to 5,000 users, but will work just fine for 100 Publisher to enable small businesses to participate in marketing and image management without having to learn a package as complex as Pagemager or Quark Express - something I used to earn great money training people to use Office 2007 - making great presentation of documents accessable without a marketing degree Vista - Getting the balance right between onus on the user vs the system for security I have some more in mind, but what do you think?

  • Office 2007 and Vista coming in January Action Pack

    [updated - see the FAQ at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/02/12/windows-vista-windows-xp-office-2003-and-office-2007-action-pack-update-my-faq.aspx for more information on the benefits of the Action Pack and in answer to the questions raised in the comments] One of the most asked questions I get is "When will it ship in the action pack". Well, the January Action pack starts shiping in the 2nd week on January, so before General Availability Launch (GA). This is what it will contain: Software Included software in January 2007 MAPS: • Windows Vista Business • Microsoft® Office Enterprise 2007 • Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 • Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager • Microsoft Office Visio® 2007 • Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 • Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 • Microsoft Expression® Web Because Action pack is for business use, you are not getting Vista Ultimate, but we are working on a special partner rate to upgrade to Ultimate - more news in...

  • Windows Vista documentation (including product guide, IPv6 transition and PowerShell)

    Windows Vista Product Guide A comprehensive feature by feature guide to Windows Vista. With contributions from people who actually worked on the product, this is the definitive resource to learn about Windows Vista. The Windows Vista Product Guide is available in the new Microsoft Word 2007 or the new XPS format. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbc16ebf-4823-4a12-afe1-5b40b2ad3725&DisplayLang=en Windows Vista Step-by-Step Guides for IT Professionals These step-by-step guides will assist IT Professionals in deploying or migrating to Windows Vista. These guides will also provide step-by-step information on how to control device installation using Device Management and Installation (DMI) and manage ADMX files. There are also step-by-step guides to help you protect data using BitLocker Drive Encryption, to administer the TPM Security Hardware in a computer using Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Services, and to help deploy better-managed desktops and mitigate the impact of malware using User...

  • Need Norton Anti Virus for Vista - get the beta then

    I have just seen that the beta for AV and security software from Symantec is now available for download . As one would hope, it comes with the following information: What is a Beta? A “beta” is a pre-release version of a Symantec product that is available for public testing before the final version is released. Through public testing, we can evaluate how the product performs in “real world” environments and collect valuable feedback from you. We want you to tell us what you like and don’t like about the product and report any problems to us directly. Be among the first to experience the new features and functionality of our latest products. Current betas: Norton Internet Security 2007 Vista Public Beta Norton AntiVirus 2007 Vista Public Beta Norton 360 All-In-One Security Learn More

  • How to manage Shadow Copies (Previous Versions of files) in Windows Vista and SBS 2003

    At the Kent partner group I was asked if shadow copies applied to all volumes or just the main system volume. To find out the answer I typed "vssadmin list shadowstorage" and the result was: C:\Windows\system32>vssadmin list shadowstorage vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool (C) Copyright 2001-2005 Microsoft Corp. Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{f2dea953-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{f2dea953-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.622 GB Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.874 GB Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 6.05 GB Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{f2dea955-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Shadow Copy Storage volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{f2dea955-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 33.453 MB Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 300 MB Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 961.343 MB This tells me how much storage is used on each...

  • Vista and Office 2007 for Small Business (responding to more comments) - and the EVO Tour and more learnings (updated with links)

    Well, the EVO Tour is underway, with some initial bad feedback, we have taken that on board and now the feedback is MUCH better from all partners, including SBSC members, so the inital concerns appear have been answered - which is well done to the team for such a quick turnaround. When I answered the previous complaints " here ", I wanted to respond more fully to Martin's comments, so I will do that here. This is what Martin said that I will respond to now: "because this customer has temps that may or may not work on these platforms[David: Vista machines], the changes in UI between XP and Vista are significant that this solution[David: Using Vista on some machine] will not work. They believe (and so do I knowing the workforce) they are going to have to upgrade all of their Computers all 35 Desktops. On top of this, they are then going to have to ensure that all of the other LOB Apps run, and then train all users on the diverencies. That will cost the IT budget for the next 12 months so just isn't going to happen...

  • BSOD screensaver - how to frighten people

    I saw this little ditty that is part of the SysInternals acquisition - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/BlueScreen.mspx - it simulates a BSOD on your system as a screen saver and then even goes as far as to show the boot screen. Amazingly funny and I had to check that the machine was really ok by stopping the screen saver. Enjoy

  • Vista and Office for Small Businesses - replying to Susanne's and Vijay's blogs

    Wow, I go on holiday, spend some time catching up on e-mail, and what do I find " There’s a whiff of coffee in the air… " asking if Microsoft can help position Vista and Office for small businesses and then Vijay also asking " What’s the Value Proposition…?? ". Now these two blogs acknowledge that there is value in both products, just that the communication of that value is not getting through. It is also worth me saying that I thoroughly appreicate and desire this sort of discourse. Without getting the occational slap around the face Microsoft can not improve what it does, especially if the slap is deserved. Lets start with some ground rules: Vista & Office are not something that every business has to buy either on the 30th November or the 30th January, some people can or will wait a month or two before they feel the need :-) Microsoft does not have all the answers - that is why we rely on a fantastic partner network to fill the gap between MSs view and the customers The products value is additive - one feature...

  • What can Vista and Office do for Small Businesses

    This post is in reply to some recent questions raised by partners on Vista and Office. While the documents referenced here will be posted on the UK Vista and Office Microsite, I have hosted them quicker for your convenience. Files: Top 10 reasons why Vista and Office are right for small businesses Top 4 reasons why Vista and Office are right for small business Document explaining to partners why the top ten features are great for small businesses Why should your customer Vista and Office? Because they need it to solve many IT and business problems. Let's start with run rate. Not everyone has Windows XP, so many people are dealing with the computers they bought over the last 7 years. These people will need to buy new PCs, when they do, what will you tell them? The answer is a business PC that is designed for the 21st century. For those who have newer PCs and are not sure then the answer is that they might not want to upgrade just yet - this is not a "once only" offer - it will take years to move the whole world...

  • CIO Jury: The Linux desktop is dead - silicon.com

    I always like to share information about how Windows or Linux is perceived on the desktop, but this little article puts it stronger than I ever would! Linux is unlikely ever to be a viable alternative to Microsoft's Windows on the desktop for corporate IT departments, according to leading CIOs. Just this week new research by the National Computing Centre (NCC) found only one Linux desktop for every 300 currently running Windows XP in UK organisations. Three-quarters of silicon.com's 12-strong CIO Jury backed the view that the Linux desktop dream is dead. Rorie Devine, IT director at Betfair.com, said Linux would have to change drastically to compete at desktop level. He said: "There would have to be a unified vision of where the components fit together and application developers would have to be able to work to that and have a mass market. At the moment there are too many options for the Linux desktop to support mass market tools. A more likely Unix on the desktop is Mac OS X." Source: CIO Jury: The Linux desktop...

  • Windows XP Media Player 11 and Digital Image 11.1 downloads

    Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP Windows Media Player 11 offers great new ways to store and enjoy all the music, video, pictures, and recorded TV on your computer. Microsoft Digital Image Starter Edition 2006 60-day Trial (Version 11.1) This 60-day trial includes easy-to-use tools that help you create, organize, enhance, and share your digital photos.

  • SQL Server 2005 SP2 for Vista and Longhorn

    If you have SQL based apps, they will have to upgrade to SQL 2005 SP2 (that includes the MSDE replacement SQL Express). e-Week noted ( SQL Server 2005 SP1 Users Face Vista, Longhorn Glitches ): These two operating systems will only support SQL Server 2005 SP2 "or later when it becomes available," according to Microsoft's SQL Server support Web pages. But there is no indication on these sites of how soon it will deliver SP2 or whether it will deliver the service pack at about the same time Vista and Longhorn are released. the CTP of SP2 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/ctp.mspx More information on the problems users experience when not running SP2 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/sqlonvista.mspx with support information at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/windowsvistasupport.mspx which notes: Known Issues This section describes known issues that relate to installing and running SQL Server 2005 on Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn." Issues Related to User Account Control...

  • Microsoft Packaging for Vista and Office 2007 Revealed - Gizmodo

    I just like the pictures - cool looking packaging :-) Microsoft Packaging for Vista and Office 2007 Revealed Microsoft, planning to lure you into using Windows Vista and Office 2007 for the rest of your life, today reveals the packaging for the upcoming products, going with a rounded design reminiscent of a 1950s toaster. Let's let the Microsoftians damn us with their faint prose: Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that's designed to protect the software inside for life-long use. It provides a convenient and attractive place for you to permanently store both discs and documentation. The new design will provide the strength, dimensional stability and impact resistance required when packaging software today. Our plan is to extend this packaging style to other Microsoft products after the launch of Windows Vista and 2007 Office system. Take a look at close-ups of a couple of the new boxes, after the jump. – Charlie White Announcing New Packaging [Windows Vista Blog...

  • Windows Vista Released to Manufacturing - i.e. RTM - aka Shipping, done, finished, out the door to be made into DVDs

    The product is finished, millions of downloads, 60,000 machines in Microsoft, a huge amount of feedback and the product is out the gate. We still need to produce millions of boxes, but if you have Volume Licensing you can get the product at the end of the month, otherwise we have the product launch in January. I am upgrading my laptops as we speak. They are over 2 years old and run Vista like a dream. No fancy hard disks, one has 1GB, one 2GB of memory, one has a 64MB ATI graphics card and it still makes Vista look amazing. Jim Alchin made a very long post here - http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/11/08/it-s-time.aspx and simply said "It's Time", however more information can be found at http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/11/08/windows-vista-releases-to-manufacturing.aspx including a video of Jim's announcement. ttfn David

  • Windows Defender released to market - free Anti-Spyware product

    Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected and minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive. Now with 2 free support incidents for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Source: Windows Defender home The product has the following features: A redesigned and simplified user interface – Incorporating feedback from our customers, the Windows Defender UI has been redesigned to make common tasks easier to accomplish with a warning system that adapts alert levels according to the severity of a threat so that it is less intrusive overall, but still ensures the user does not miss the most urgent alerts. Improved detection and removal – Based on a new engine, Windows Defender is able to detect and remove more threats posed by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Real...

  • Important Sneak Peak – UK Small Business Symposium coming

    I can't reveal all the details, although I am sure others will, however we are working on special event for SBSC members. This event design incorporates your feedback and suggestions as to what you want to hear about, share as a community as well as information Microsoft needs to share with you. Expect useful information, the opportunity to network with your peers, Microsoft and partners and the ability to socialise too J The timeframe for this event is February 2007, in Reading, Manchester (or Leeds) and Edinburgh, although more sessions will happen in the afternoon in Reading due to availability of speakers and rooms. The ROUGH agenda looks like this Morning: UK Exec who actually cares about Small Business (such as Natalie Ayres - Director of SMS&P*) talking about: What's the view from the top? Why does everything you've heard matter? What's the opportunity for partners? Aileen Hannah – responsible for SBSC programme in the UK, talking about: Highlights & lowlights of the program so far Latest resources...
« First ... < Previous 6 7 8 9 10 Next > ... Last »

(c)David Overton 2006-23