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  • Office 2007 and Office System events from Technet team and others

    Exchange 16 May 2007, Reading: Overview of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 At this session we will discuss how Exchange gives administrators more control, provides 'anywhere access' to your inbox, and in-built security and protection mechanisms. We'll also cover the new Exchange Management Console, and look at how Windows PowerShell, the new administrative interface, provides a rich command-line experience. We will finish with a look at the significant client-side improvements and transport rules. SharePoint 25 April 2007, Reading: Planning and Deploying Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Part 1 Find out what SharePoint Server 2007 has to offer. At this session we will present the concepts of topology, server roles and network conditions. We'll also provide an overview of administration features, introduce the three-tier administration model and explain various security topics. Third-party Events 8 February 2007, Microsoft TVP, Reading: SharePoint User Group The first main SUGUK meeting this year is probably...

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

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

  • Vista Webcasts US and on-demand

    Live Webcasts Microsoft Webcast: Maintaining Windows Vista Wednesday, January 24, 2007 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time On-Demand Webcasts New Microsoft Webcast: Best Practices for Deploying Windows Vista Original Air Date: January 18, 2007 Microsoft Webcast: Get a Head Start on Windows Vista Original Air Date: June 23, 2006 Microsoft Webcast: Introduction to Windows Vista Original Air Date: October 4, 2006 Microsoft Webcast: Optimizing Your infrastructure with Windows Vista, Exchange Server 2007 and the 2007 Office system Original Air Date: November 8, 2006 Microsoft Webcast: Planning a Successful Windows Vista Implementation Original Air Date: December 6, 2006 Source: IT Manager Connections: Build Business and Careers on the Microsoft Platform

  • Get the Application Compatibility Toolkit to ensure applications will work with Vista

    So you have Vista, not how do you make sure you applications will run? Use this toolkit (which will also sort out things for Windows XP SP2 too: Are Your Existing Applications Compatible with Your New Windows Operating System? Use the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit and additional application compatibility resources to find out if your applications are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows XP Service Pack 2. ttfn David Technorati tags: vista , microsoft , small business

  • Design an IT Solution for Charity and get up to 15,000 pounds of software and hardware to make it a reality

    I went to the press launch for the UK Design IT competition at the Kinetica Museum of Art and Technology in London and saw some amazing things. However, the purpose of the evening was to share the successes of last years competition and ensure people were aware of this years. If you want to see one of the most curious mechanical pieces of art, have a look at this movie (filmed with a strobe light on) - http://uksbsguy.com/images/kinetica.mov Details are on the site at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6084193 DesignIT Competition: An Innovative Way to Make a Difference If you dedicate time to a charity, this competition is a great opportunity for you to help even more. We are asking you to send us a system design that will improve the IT infrastructure of a charity of your choice. If you don't have a particular charity in mind, don't worry, as we have asked the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Leonard Cheshire and Global Action Plan to supply us with details of problems that require...

  • Debug Diagnostic Tool v1.1 - troubleshoot hangs, slow performance, memory leaks and crashes in any Win32 user-mode process

    I saw this and thought of you :-) Seriously, if you are trying to resolve these issues then these tools can be very useful indeed. Debug Diagnostic Tool v1.1 The Debug Diagnostic Tool (DebugDiag) is designed to assist in troubleshooting issues such as hangs, slow performance, memory leaks or fragmentation, and crashes in any Win32 user-mode process. The tool includes additional debugging scripts focused on Internet Information Services (IIS) applications, web data access components, COM+ and related Microsoft technologies. Source: Download details: Debug Diagnostic Tool v1.1 ttfn David

  • SBSC UK Symposium is coming - quick - sign up or miss out

    The Symposium is coming - 1/2 MS Speakers coving MS Strategy, Products such as EVO, Live, Security and much much more, but not only do you get all this. You also get experts from your community presenting to you about how to make it work, be it with Technology, business practises or the community iteself. This is the one event of the year to find out what Microsoft is doing and planning on doing, how you can join in, and then what the community has been doing and will be doing and how this can be of huge use to you and your business. (Updated 16th Jan - Link to book the event is http://www.microsoft.co.uk/events/EventDetail.aspx?eventid=8591 ) Susanne has a little bit about it here - http://www.uksmbgirl.co.uk/blog/archives/124 and there is more at SIGN-UP Page http://www.bmsnet.co.uk/blog/?p=30 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SBSManchester/message/124 http://www.sbsbpi.co.uk/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=2225#2225 See you there. ttfn David
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  • Small Business Partner Community ‘Catch Up’ Evening - Come to the SBSC Symposium "pre-drinks" - yes, drinks the night before the Reading event (so drinks on the 31st January)

    If you will be in the Reading area on the night before the SBSC Symposium, then come along to Reading and have a drink and catch up with the community. You'll have the opportunity to mix and chat to different members of the regional groups as well as exchange ideas about business (or anything you like!). No agenda has been set for the evening (as yet); think of it as a regional SBS group meeting on steroids! The VIP area has been booked out for our meeting so there’ll be plenty of space to spread out and relax. Members of the community, Microsoft, and other vendors will be available to chat to and this will hopefully be a great start to the Microsoft Small Business Specialist Symposium. And just a reminder, while some drinks will be bought, more food and drink is available, but sorry guys, you've gotta pay for yourselves!

  • Download details: Business Desktop Deployment 2007 (BDD) - Deployments for Vista and Office made simpler - not for very simple / very small customers

    In theory, BDD is not for what MS calls small business customers - i.e. less than 25 PCs, but for some the tools are amazing. The BDD is described as: "A tool that provides the depth of guidance and tooling to make the Windows Vista and 2007 Office system deployment process predictable and scalable. Many of the tools and guides within BDD 2007 can even be used throughout the desktop management life cycle to provision new users, maintain images, and centrally manage drivers and applications. BDD 2007 also introduces the new Deployment Workbench, which enables users to build and manage multiple OS configurations, define network deployment points and network shares, inject drivers, attach language packs, and chain applications. It even helps generate ISO and WIM images using Windows PE that can be deployed in a networked environment or using DVDs offline. BDD 2007 also alleviates much of the scripting requirements of previous BDD versions by incorporating a stand-alone task sequencer derived from System Center Configuration...

  • Office Live is here for testing in the UK

    I am cheating as this artwork is all from the Office Live Website. You can go and claim your own domain and web site for free by going to http://office.microsoft.com/en-GB/officelive/default.aspx . This is an amazing solution for those customers who are too small for SBS or want as much as possible off premise, or want hosted solutions, but don't want full Exchange. Have a go!! ttfn David FREE Attract new customers Get started on the Web for FREE Create a professional Web site Learn more FREE Sign up now FREE .co.uk domain name for the first 10,000 UK customers Compare services Generate repeat business Create a professional Web site Organise your customer information online Share documents with online Workspaces Learn more Free during Beta Sign up now FREE .co.uk domain name for the first 10,000 UK customers Essentials = FREE during Beta, then £11.95 per month * * price excludes VAT Stay on top of your business Create a professional Web site Manage your projects and tasks Organise your customer information online...
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  • What do Small Businesses worry about in IT?

    I just saw this re-sent internally and the data is quite UK centric, so: 63% of small businesses put data back and privacy as a top priority 7.6% of UK small business software spending was on Anti-Virus, in 2006 they planned to spend 10% more on data security - Source AMI 2006 50% of small businesses have as a priority to deploy in house or hosting data back up and disaster recovery (AMI) ttfn David

  • If you don't know what OBA is, then you might want to watch the Partner TV episode: Ben Tamblyn on Office Business Applications

    OBA is not the nicest sounding acronyms, but we still seem to use it. Oh well. If you want to know more about performance management and business intelligence, or these terms mean nothing to you and you are now getting worried, then watch Partner TV at http://blogs.msdn.com/ptstv/archive/2006/11/28/partner-tv-ben-tamblyn-on-office-business-applications.aspx ttfn David

  • Problems with Girlfriend 1.0 (&1.2), Fiancee 1.0 and Wife 1.0

    Again, this was sent to me by my good lady. This was sent to me by my wife as 2 of 2. The other one can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/01/16/problems-with-boyfriend-5-0-husband-1-0-and-nagging-5-3-humour.aspx Dear Technical Support, 18 months ago, I upgraded to Girlfriend 1.0 from DrinkingMates 4.2 , which I had used for years without any trouble. However, there are apparently conflicts between these two products and the only solution was to try and run Girlfriend 1.0 with the sound turned off. To make matters worse, Girlfriend 1.0 is incompatible with several other applications, such as LadsNightOut 3.1 , Football 4.5 , and Playboy 6.9 .Successive versions of GirlFriend proved no better. I tried a shareware program, Slapper 2.1 , but it had many bugs and left a virus in my system, forcing me to shut down completely for several weeks. Eventually, I tried to run GirlFriend 1.2 and Girlfriend 1.0 at the same time, only to discover that when these two systems detected each other they...
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  • Problems with Boyfriend 5.0, Husband 1.0 and Nagging 5.3 (Humour)

    This was sent to me by my wife as 1 of 2. The other one can be found at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/01/17/problems-with-girlfriend-1-0-amp-1-2-fiancee-1-0-and-wife-1-0.aspx Dear Tech Support: Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in the overall performance, particularly in the Flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 un-installed many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as: Football 5.0 , Rugby 4.3 and Cricket 3.0 . Conversation 8.0 no longer runs; it simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, to no avail. What can I do? Signed, Desperate ************************************************************* Dear Desperate: First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System. Try entering the command: C:/I-THOUGHT-YOU...
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  • IE 7 reaches 100 million users | CNET News.com

    This is an interesting one - I have IE 7 installed on all my machines except my SBS 2003 server and the reason for it not being on there is because I like to have an IE6 hanging around for those sites where I have no other option - and browsing on the server (sorry Susan) is something I really, really try to avoid, so the site must be important enough to me, trusted and not need any java etc before I will consider using it. Anyway, that means that 7 PCs in the house (counting the 2 work laptops) are IE 7. I have not found a site that does not work yet, although some like the Live Spaces photo uploading tool is a bit of a pain in the bum to get working (you need to run as admin in Vista). IE 7 reaches 100 million users Web browser now second only to IE 6 in terms of usage in the U.S., Microsoft announces. More than 100 million people have installed Internet Explorer 7, making it the second most used browser in the U.S., trailing only its predecessor--IE 6, the software maker said Friday. "I'm pleased to report...

  • 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...

  • If you are interested in Exchange 2007 integration with PBXs, here is some more information

    I was wondering over Eileens blog and came to this one - Configuring your PBX for Exchange 2007 - it talks about a preview of documentation covering VoIP gateways, PBXs and gateway. Have a look at the blog and link for more info. Just as a btw, the list is quite extensive: The following PBXs are supported by the Dialogic NetStructure PBX-IP Media Gateway (PIMG). PBX manufacturer PBX Model/Type PIMG model and additional signaling Avaya Definity G3 S8100, S8300, S8700, & S8710 (Communications Mgr SW V2.0 or later versions) PIMG80DNIV4 Avaya Magix PIMG80DNIV4 Mitel SX-200D, SX-200 Light, SX-2000 Light, SX-2000 S, SX-2000 VS, SX-200 ICP PIMG80MTLDNIV4 Nortel Meridian 1 - Option 11, 21, 21A, 51, 61, 71, and 81, Meridian SL1 - Generic X11, Release 15 or later versions, Nortel Communication Server - 1000M, 1000S, 1000E with Rls V3.0 or later versions PIMG80DNIV4 Nortel SL 100 PIMG80LSV4 Analog connectivity using SMDI serial protocol NEC 2000, 2400, 2400 IPX PIMG80DNIV4 Siemens HiCom 300E CS PIMG80DNIV4 Siemens HiCom...
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  • Partner TV and how you can do your own marketing and sell more using Captain Campaign

    I've mentioned Captain Campaign before and now Lorrayne Gilbert talks on Partner-TV about marketing with him. This episode of Partner-TV can be found here . After watching this you will be better equipped to do your own marketing, even if it is to just 5 new customers. What is more, you will probably be better at it if you use the tools :-) ttfn David

  • 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

  • Site Keeps on Growing, stats for last month had over 400,000 hits - thank-you

    I always hope this site is appreciated by people and so far, the statistics seems to show this. Here are the page hits results - they are now constantly updated at http://uksbsguy.com/stats.aspx Date RSS Feeds Web Hits Total Hits March 2006 2,802 15,700 18,502 April 2006 12,735 32,885 45,620 May 2006 21,366 62,321 83,687 June 2006 33,788 140,650 174,438 July 2006 43,263 140,947 184,210 August 2006 52,821 181,843 234,664 September 2006 65,643 186,650 252,293 October 2006 84,413 282,805 367,218 November 2006 84,301 266,947 351,248 December 2006 89,339 340,435 429,774 January 2007 52,334 171,492 223,826 Totals 542,805 1,822,675 2,365,480
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  • 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 the iPhone is changing the perception of Apple

    I think Apple can do some amazing things with hardware and making some categories exceptionally sexy (can you remember MP3 players before the iPod) is one of their core talents. This has led to a large following who "ooh" and "ahh" after almost anything Apple make from a keen almost religious following. I then saw the iPhone and was amazed by the number of people who said "wow, all that in one device - why hasn't anyone else thought of this" - I almost spilt my cornflakes - this is not a new. Then there was the "what a nice device" - I like to feel my buttons, so nope, this, along with a whole host of other phones like it is not for me. Is the styling great... well, each to their own. I think Vlad summarised it well with the iMeToo , but for some people, all the previous messaging about phones has not hit the mark and the iPhone might just be what some people need to move on their thinking as to what a device might do for them. Vijay links to seth's blog on this very subject at http://www.iqubed.biz/blog/?p=193...
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  • 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

  • SBSC (Small Business Specialist Community) has a little chat about what is coming up on Partner TV

    Do you know Robbie? Have you met him, if so, then you will feel justa little sorry for Aileen in this short film (possibly up for a Bafta) staring the two of them. I did record one, but alas, like many things I do, it ended up on the cutting room floor!! Jog along to Partner-TV: Small Business Specialist Competency for a little glimpse of stardom in action and find out what is coming your way. ttfn David

  • London SMB IT Pros group meeting - Monday January 15th

    Hello peeps, I just saw this mail from Ian remind people that the next London group meeting is tomorrow (today if you are reading this on Monday morning). The special thing to note about this meeting is that it is no longer at the Microsoft location in London, but a nice drinking and meeting establishment that most regulars to the meeting will know of :-) Anyway, details etc below: Just to remind you that the next meeting of the London SMB IT Pros group is MONDAY night 15th January at the Sun & 13 Cantons, 21 Great Pulteney St, London, W1F 9NG, just up the road from the Microsoft Offices. A map and a few more details can be found on the following map: http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=174788104E27AD26!188 Three things on the agenda this month. The first is "Virtualisation: benefits, pitfalls and business benefits". Vin Jauhal & Steve Foster have both recently done Virtual Server-based projects for their clients and will be sharing their experiences from these to help us all understand the pros and cons...
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(c)David Overton 2006-23