I was working on a deployment of DirectAccess for a company and of course how to deploy NLS came up. Obviously it is important that the NLS servers always be available, so the plan was to create two virtual IIS servers and put them behind their internal...

Recently, I got rid of my Sprint 3G/4G Overdrive access point and replaced it with a Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE access point. This thing is really fast and seems to get great coverage in a lot of place. However, the other day I started to have problems with...

After taking a two year hiatus during which I moved (back) to the Phoenix area and worked for a Big 4 accounting firm, I've returned to Microsoft. I'm working in Microsoft Consulting Services now, focusing on security and identity management. I'm glad...

Well, I've been in the Xbox Live team for the past 3 days and my head is swimming! I had never thought about all the work that goes into keeping Xbox Live up and operational, but now that I'm here and get to see it, it's pretty remarkable. There is a...

Starting this Tuesday, I will begin a new job at Microsoft: I am joining the Xbox Live Operations team as a Program Manager. I have really enjoyed my nearly 3.5 years on the Solution Accelerators Team, but am looking forward to a new challenge. My job...

I'm happy to announce that the External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint has been released and is now available at http://www.microsoft.com/collabkit . This toolkit helps you easily deploy a SharePoint-based external collaboration facility at your...

My buddies down the hall recently released the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide the other day. This security guide is targeted at the latest Windows Server release (obviously!) and helps you implement the appropriate security settings based on the server...

In my previous post (since corrected), I included an incorrect link to get access to the beta of the Extranet Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint. The actual URL is https://connect.microsoft.com/SelfNomination.aspx?ProgramID=1657&pageType=1&SiteID...

I am happy to announce the beta release for the Extranet Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint. We are making this beta release available in order to get feedback from our customers and partners. With your help, we can ensure that the Extranet Collaboration...

We are looking for beta participants for my current project, a set of guidance and tools that makes it easier to collaborate with people outside the firewall using SharePoint. If you are thinking about extranet collaboration, please get in touch by using...

Employees need to share documents with individuals from other companies, such as partners and suppliers. These documents often contain sensitive information that needs to be kept safe and secure. Microsoft SharePoint products deliver the document collaboration...

It's 5:30pm on Wednesday and it's been pouring down rain for the past 2 hours or so. This was bound to happen; after all, this is Florida! I'm hopeful that we're getting this stuff out of the way so that we'll have nice weather for the attendee party...

Today I conducted what I would characterize as a very successful side meeting at the Peobody hotel. The side meeting was focused on secure collaboration, and ran about 2 hours. We got about 60% of the RSVPs that attended which seems to be about par for...

I am happy to announce that the we have released the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs. This solution accelerator is designed to help you understand the encryption options that Microsoft provides that can help protect laptop data (BitLocker and Encrypting...

On the way to lunch today, I was approached by someone with a small black device just a bit too large to fit in your shirt pocket. It turns out that it is an OQO , a device she billed as "the smallest Vista PC in the world". This thing was pretty amazing...

I managed to attend a few sessions yesterday. One was a session on ADFS "2". The speaker talked about how the new version of ADFS integrates with CardSpace and showed an interesting demo. Having spent some time in a past job looking at SAML, this was...

Well, Day 1 is in the can and I've got some general impressions: The convention center is more spacious than Boston, so it seems like everyone has a bit more room. On the downside, that could mean more walking... It seems like it is easier to...

The first thing I had to do at Tech Ed this year was a chalk talk on the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs that I just finished. The session was pretty heavily attended, with all chairs filled and lots of folks sitting on the sides and standing in...

I consider myself a pretty typical PM, and like most PMs at Microsoft, I like to unwind by playing bass drum in a bagpipe band. You can see me doing just that with my band, the Keith Highlanders Pipe Band , in this photo .

There's been a lot of buzz around Microsoft regarding the Microsoft Surface announcement today. I had seen this a while back at TechFest, the internal event put on by Microsoft Research every year. At the time I thought it was really cool. But I've got...

I'm now envisioning my next project for the Solution Accelerators for Security and Compliance team. As a bit of background, my team provides prescriptive, tested guidance to help customers solve tricky security problems quickly. My new project is going...

There's nothing like handing off to the Release Manager and being "done" with your project. After many months and lots of twists and turns, I've handed the final pieces of the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs off to Karina (our RM) who is taking...

If you are going to be at Tech Ed the week after next, I'd love to meet you. I'll be doing a TLC chalk talk session at 10:30 on Monday entitled "Your Customers' Laptop Data Is at Risk! Protecting Customer Data with the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile...

Scott Dorman has created an excellent post on his blog called " TechEd for Novices ". It has great information for first-timers to TechEd, but I think it can be useful for just about anyone.

I leave for Tech Ed in 15 days. I'll be staying at the either the Swan or Dolphin Hotel . I'm not quite sure how it works as they are two different hotel buildings but you somehow find out which you're staying in when you get there. At least that's what...