Bulent's Blog

End User readiness materials for Office 365

2013-02-26T11:06:00Z

The following resources provide key links to information and documentation on working with Microsoft® Office 365.

Key Links

Category

Items

Key Links

· Office 365 Help: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/default.aspx
· Office 365 - a tour for users: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx
· Get Started with Office 365 Enterprise: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/gg570307.aspx
· Introduction for Office 365 administrators: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/gg524291.aspx
· Office Videos (see “Office Web Apps”): http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/office-video-FX102493438.aspx?CTT=97
· Community forum categories for Office 365: http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/default.aspx

Documentation

Category	Items
Getting Started	· Get started with Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/gg570307.aspx · Software requirements for Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff652534.aspx · Set up your desktop for Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637594.aspx · Add or change your profile photo: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff652536.aspx · Office 365: a tour for users: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx · Use email in Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637596.aspx · Set up your Mac for Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh180727.aspx · Change your display language: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh143482.aspx
Outlook	· Getting Started with Microsoft Outlook® Web App: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235521 · Email Set Up Help Wizard: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235522 · Connect Outlook to this Account: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235523 · Set Up Exchange ActiveSync E-Mail on Windows Phone: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235695 · Set Up Microsoft Exchange E-Mail on an Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235524 · Mobile Phone Setup Wizard: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235525 · Import Contacts: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235530 · Learn About Inbox Rules: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235531 · Learn About Conversations: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235532 · Add a Signature: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235533 · Learn About Junk E-Mail Messages: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235534
Lync	· Getting Started: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235673 · Contacts, presence, and instant messaging: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235675 · Meetings: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235677 · Voice and video: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235674 · Related products and technologies: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235676 · Sharing and collaboration: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235678
Sites	· Basic tasks in Microsoft SharePoint® Online for Office 365 for enterprises: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235576 · Getting started with SharePoint Online for Office 365 for enterprises: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235577 · Introductory videos for SharePoint Online for enterprises: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235670 · SharePoint Online planning guide for Office 365 for enterprises: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235578 · Introduction to SharePoint Online: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144945 · Parts of a Site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144946 · Site specifics that affect your experience: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144947 · Permissions and Access: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144948 · Adding content to a site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144949 · Managing and working with site content: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx#_Toc272144950 · Co-authoring documents: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx · Staying updated on changes: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx · Managing workflow: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx · Working with content types: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx
Office Web Apps	· Introduction to Office Web Apps: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235679 · Start using Office Web Apps in SharePoint: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235680

Videos

Category	Items
Getting Started	· Welcome to Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx · Email and more: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx · Collaborate with Team Sites: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx · Microsoft Office and Office Web Apps: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx · Communicate now with Microsoft Lync®: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/hh534390.aspx
Office Casual	· How Office works with your remote life: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102764294.aspx · What are Office Web Apps?: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102446424.aspx · Install Silverlight for the best view of Office Web Apps: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va101810474.aspx · Determine whether Office Web Apps are available: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va101810475.aspx · Download an Office attachment in Hotmail®: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102428627.aspx · How fast can I start using the Office Web App: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102731456.aspx · Using calendars with Office 365: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102767588.aspx
Outlook	· How do I connect to download email from another account: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235529 · Setting up an automatic reply: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235526 · Office Casual – Using calendars with Office 365: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102767588.aspx
Office Web Apps	· Getting Started with Office Web Apps and Office 365: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235681 · Move your data to Microsoft Access® 2010 and Office 365: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235683 · Tracking teamwork in the cloud: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=235682 · Office Casual – How fast can I start using the Office Web App: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/redir/va102731456.aspx

Quick Start Guide for Office 365

Category	Items
Getting Started	· Get started with Office 365: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/gg570307.aspx · Sign in to the Office 365 portal: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/gg570307.aspx · Change your password: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637578.aspx
Mail	· Sign in to Outlook Web App: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637596.aspx#BKMK_SignInOutlookWebApp · Create a message in Outlook Web App: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/bb899591.aspx · Get email from multiple accounts: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637596.aspx#BKMK_GetEmailFromMultipleAccounts · Connect Office 365 to Your Outlook Desktop application: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637593.aspx
Contacts	· Create a Contact: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/bb899557.aspx · Import Contacts: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/ff797549.aspx · Connect contacts by using SharePoint: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/import-contacts-into-a-contacts-list-HA101850484.aspx
Calendar	· Calendar: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/bb899488.aspx · Create a meeting request for an online meeting or conference call: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/communicator-help/create-a-meeting-request-for-an-online-meeting-or-conference-call-HA101990914.aspx
Instant messaging	· Chat with a contact: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/dd797562.aspx

The Desktop App Experience

Category	Items
Configuring your Office desktop apps for Office 365	· Set up and configure your Office desktop apps: http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/173/t/9222.aspx
Reading mail in your Outlook desktop app	· Add Office 365 to your Outlook desktop application: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637593.aspx#BKMK_ConnectDesktopAppToUnion · Set up Outlook for prompt you for an email account: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637593.aspx#BKMK_SetUpOutlookToPrompt
Importing Contacts	· Learn More About Importing Contacts: http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/ms.exch.ecp.csvimportcontactswizardlearnmore.aspx

The Mobile Experience

Category	Items
Use Email on Your Mobile Phone	· Use email on your mobile phone: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-enterprises/ff637599.aspx

Modern apps over proxy authentication

2012-10-30T14:52:00Z

Your Windows 8 app store Modern apps may not connect to their background services behind an authenticated proxy. This code logic might help to make your Modern application code proxy authentication aware...

HttpClientHandler handler = new HttpClientHandler();

handler.Proxy = WebRequest.DefaultWebProxy;

handler.Proxy.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;

HttpClient client = new HttpClient(handler);

Great Info on Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Networking Issues

2012-08-26T21:39:37Z

Great Tutorial on using Network Monitor –

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/video/Video/hh705191

Using NMCAP (Capturing from the Command line) -

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/video/technet-radio-it-time-using-network-monitoring-to-troubleshoot-office-365-connectivity-issues-part-2.aspx

and Capturing from a Box Without a Sniffer –

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/video/technet-radio-it-time-using-network-monitoring-to-troubleshoot-office-365-connectivity-issues-part-3.aspx

How Protocols Work –

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/video/technet-radio-it-time-in-depth-walk-through-of-the-5-basic-protocols-in-the-tcp-ip-stack

How to convert Turkish characters to English characters in PowerShell

2012-07-11T20:27:31Z

(Get-Culture).TextInfo.ToTitleCase("helloğüşiöçĞÜŞİÖÇthere") -creplace "ş", "s" -creplace "Ş","S" -creplace "ğ","g" -creplace "Ğ","G" -creplace "ı","I" -creplace "İ", "I" -creplace "ü", "u" -creplace "Ü", "U" -creplace "ö", "o" -creplace "Ö", "O" -creplace "ç", "c" -creplace "Ç","C"

System Center blog links

2012-06-26T06:57:49Z

How can you document SCOM business services (distributed applications) and their related objects in the service tree?

2012-05-30T21:26:00Z

I have needed to develop some powershell script to output SCOM business services (distributed applications) aka service trees and their related objects in the service tree.

Here is the powershell.

$daClass=get-monitoringclass -name:System.Service 
 
 $da=get-monitoringobject -monitoringclass:$daClass 
 
 $objects=$da | foreach-object{$_.displayname} 
 
 $myxml = ""
 
 function bul($objectName) 
 { 
 $myxml = "<?xml version=""1.0""?>"
 $myxml = $myxml + "<service><servicename>" + $objectname + "</servicename><objects>"
 $results = ($da | ?{$_.displayname -eq $objectName} | %{$_.GetRelatedMonitoringObjects()}) | %{$_.GetRelatedMonitoringObjects()} | %{$_.displayname} 
 
 $i = 0
 foreach($result in $results) 
 { 
 $i = $i + 1
 $myxml = $myxml + "<object" + $i + ">" + $result + "</object" + $i + ">" 
 } 
 
 $myxml = $myxml + "</objects></service>"
 $myxml | Out-File "c:\temp\myservice.xml"
 } 
 
 if($args[0] -eq "list") 
 { 
 $myxml = "<?xml version=""1.0""?>"
 $myxml = $myxml + "<service>"
 
 foreach ($myobject in $da)
 {
 $myxml = $myxml + "<servicename>" + $myobject.displayname + "</servicename>"
 }
 $myxml = $myxml + "</service>"
 $myxml | Out-File "c:\temp\myslist.xml"
 } 
 else 
 { 
 bul($args[0]) 
 }

This powershell script can call with either list parameter to list all business services (distributed applications) or you can directly give any SCOM business service name as the first parameter to get its related objects defined in the service tree. Assume the name of script as "myscript.ps1".

Open SCOM powershell and type:

myscript.ps1 "list"

You will get c:\temp\myslist.xml file.

Open SCOM powershell and type:

myscript.ps1 "mycustomservice"

You will get c:\temp\myservice.xml file.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Protocol Workloads Poster

2012-04-04T08:16:30Z

This poster shows each workload in Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software, describing relationships, dependencies, flow of information, and certificate requirements.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=6797

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 ebook

2012-03-22T12:29:33Z

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a high-level preview of the capabilities and features associated with SQL Server 2012. This book is not intended to be a step-by-step comprehensive guide. Moreover, there have been over 250 new improvements associated with the product; therefore, the book may not cover every improvement in its entirety.

Download: http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/F/6/FF62CAE0-CE38-4228-9025-FBF729312698/Microsoft_Press_eBook_Introducing_Microsoft_SQL_Server_2012_PDF.pdf

PowerShell Webcast Series

2012-03-12T19:11:01Z

TechNet Webcast: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin (Part 1 of 5): PowerShell
'SmowerShell'—Why You Should Learn Windows PowerShell (Level 200)

Monday, March 12, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, Microsoft Corporation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032508049&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin
(Part 2 of 5): Heard It through the Pipeline—How to Compound Windows PowerShell
Commands for Fun and Profit (Level 200)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, Microsoft Corporation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032508051&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin
(Part 3 of 5): Sole Provider? Not Hardly—A Look at Windows PowerShell Providers
(Level 200)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, Microsoft Corporation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032508053&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin
(Part 4 of 5): The Main Event—Windows PowerShell Does Event Logs (Level 200)

Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, Microsoft Corporation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032508058&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin
(Part 5 of 5): More Than Remotely Possible—Using Windows PowerShell to Manage
the Remote Desktop (Level 200)

Friday, March 16, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, Microsoft Corporation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032508060&Culture=en-US

Office 365 for Enterprise Service Descriptions

2012-03-09T11:34:40Z

Office 365 is a suite of Internet-based services that are designed to help meet your needs for robust security, 24/7 reliability, and user productivity. This set of documents provides service descriptions for the components of the suite.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=13602

A case study on the comparative costs of database administration for two of the premier enterprise relational database management systems; Oracle vs Microsoft

2012-03-08T14:48:25Z

In these tough and uncertain economic times lowering operational costs and total cost of ownership (TCO)
has become a crucial factor for IT infrastructure decisions. While some factors such as purchase price and
annual support are easy to measure, other key costs such as administrative labor are more difficult to
differentiate between technology alternatives. Considering that on-going administrative costs often make
up 70% of IT budgets, it is critical to measure and assess the alternative management costs between
competing technologies.
This paper discusses the findings from several customer case studies conducted on the costs associate with
managing two of the leading database management platforms from Microsoft Corp. and Oracle®. This
research was in follow up to an earlier study conducted in 2006, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle®
Database: A Comparative Study on Total Cost of Administration (TCA), Alinean 2006. The first study
conducted in-depth interviews with 100 Directors of Database Administration and Senior level Database
Administrators regarding their database environments, user populations, and database administration
activities. These follow up customer case studies focused on a dozen of the largest organizations to see
how their use of the two database platforms for mission critical applications had changed and how the
database administrative effort to manage these databases had changed.
The customer case studies revealed two major findings. First, while the use of Oracle databases remained
relatively similar to previous observations, both the number and size of Microsoft SQL Server databases had
increased significantly in the majority of organizations. Second, the difference in Total Cost of
Administration (TCA) became even greater for the two database platforms than in the original study. The
customer case studies demonstrated that on average a Database Administrator (DBA) could manage over
65 mission critical Microsoft SQL Server databases, while Oracle Database implementations required one
DBA per 15 critical databases. Factoring in slightly higher average salaries for Oracle DBAs, the
corresponding annual cost for administration for these two databases comes out to $1,605 per year per
database for Microsoft SQL Server and $7,385 per year per database for Oracle Database; a 460%
difference in annual cost of administration per database.

Powerpoint skills builder

2012-02-25T12:13:50Z

Improve your Powerpoint presentations by using simple tips & tricks...

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/powerpoint-skills-builder-FX102718701.aspx

Analysis of SaaS and On Premise ICT solutions for SMEs in Turkey

2012-02-20T14:16:00Z

This study is written to provide guidance for evaluation SaaS solutions and comparing it with on premise solutions by developing an integrated framework which includes qualitative and quantitative aspects. The cloud computing is a fairly new technology that has many facets that remain mysterious to the average person. This study will seek to help familiarize SMEs and analysts with the SaaS concept and why it makes sense to subscribe IT applications online instead of owning them on premise. The variety of options and potential benefits of SaaS make it a consideration worth making. This study is written for SMEs particularly who want to use their IT budget and resources better than their competitors in the future. Although written with SMEs in mind, large organizations may also benefit from it due to hybrid deployment models. There are a several options when it comes to SaaS. SMEs must understand the nuances inherent in the different models they evaluate, along with understanding the difference between SaaS, hybrid, hosted, and in-house. If we make analogy such as most companies do not build their own electrical generating plants or their own water treatment facilities. They purchase only the utilities they really need without wasting any resources deliberately. Why not do that with computing in terms of fitness for purpose and fitness for use. This study covers the in depth analysis of SaaS service model and public deployment model of cloud computing. SaaS is never one-size-fits-all, however. IT departments should have a clear framework for evaluating and operating any new model, and a detailed supply chain IT impact assessment should be performed to determine if the SaaS model is a good match for the operation. Benefits such as rapid deployment, lower cost, and scalability must be balanced by other key decision criteria particular to an organization such as fit for use, fit for purpose, total cost of ownership (TCO), return on investment (ROI) and risk. Evaluations should consider both long-term ROI and short-term total cost of ownership.

For the complete paper, please visit either http://free.yudu.com/item/share/478915/Analysis-of-SaaS-and-On-Premise-ICT-solutions-for-SMEs-in-Turkey

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=311edb84d80f45f9&Bsrc=Share&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&id=311EDB84D80F45F9%21194 web links.

Effective Meetings Code of Conduct

2011-11-18T00:12:08Z

Fewer meetings on critical dates for most attendees.

No laptops, no phone e-mail checks!

No meetings without valid agenda.

Max 30 min meetings if possible.

Come on time – leave on time.

Prefer online meetings to save from lost time in traffic.

Powershell resources

2011-11-16T17:58:39Z

Brief Getting Started Overview of Windows PowerShell (15 min.)

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/windows-powershell-overview/10tv9ptcn?q=powershell%20videos&FORM=VIRE2

Architect Evangelist David Aiken provides an introductory demonstration of Windows PowerShell covering help resources, basic command usage, formatting, working with objects, navigation of management information and security features.

http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/PSV2

Lots of training here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEOq-S3veiA

The ultimate PowerShell resource: Windows PowerShell Survival Guide

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/windows-powershell-survival-guide.aspx

There is a full book section at the above wiki. The ones I recommend to get started are highlighted below. Read and use Bruse Payette’s book first to get a solid foundation then move to Ed Wilson’s book for best practices.

Books

New! Automating
Active Directory Administration with Windows PowerShell 2.0
New! Learn Windows Powershell in a Month of
Lunches
New! Mastering Powershell (ebook)
Windows
PowerShell 2.0 Administrators Pocket Consultant - By William R. Stanek
Windows PowerShell 2.0 - Best Practices By Ed Wilson
Windows PowerShell 2.0 - Step by Step By Ed Wilson
Windows PowerShell 2.0 - By Don Jones and Jeffrey
Hicks
Windows PowerShell Cookbook - By Lee Holmes
Windows Powershell in Action 2nd edition
- By Bruce Payette

Holistic picture of PowerShell:
      not just the syntax and semantics, but the why of it all. Explanations of tradeoffs in features or syntax. In-depth
      looks at using PS for WMI and a few other broad categories of usage.
      Strong discussion of PS v2 features and changes. Strong discussion of
      security.

Windows PowerShell: In a Month of Lunches - By Don
Jones
Windows PowerShell Pocket Reference - By Lee Holmes
Windows PowerShell Unleashed - By Tyson Kopczynski
PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010
Administrators - By Niklas Goude and Mattias Karlsson
Managing VMware Infrastructure with Windows
PowerShell - By Hal Rottenberg
Managing Active Directory with Windows PowerShell -
By Jeffery Hicks
Essential PowerShell by Holger Schwichtenberg
Microsoft PowerShell, VBScript & JScript Bible -
by William R. Stanek, James O'Neill, and Jeffrey Rosen
Windows 7 and Vista Guide to Scripting, Automation,
and Command Line Tools - By Brian Knittel
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Administration with
Windows PowerShell - By Ananthakumar Muthusamy and Yan Pan
Pro Windows PowerShell - By Hristo Deshev

Videos and Webcasts:

Scripting with Windows PowerShell

5 part series: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scriptcenter/dd742419

Windows PowerShell Week webcasts

November 6 - 10, 2006

The
Windows PowerShell Week, a series of five Webcasts that were held November 6
- 10, 2006 on TechNet. These Webcasts will provide you with a thorough
introduction to Windows PowerShell.

And Now for
Something Completely Different:

Introducing
Windows PowerShell

What is Windows PowerShell? Find out on Day 1.

Recorded on Monday November 6, 2006

One Cmdlet, Two Cmdlet, Three Cmdlet, Four:

An
Introduction to Windows PowerShell Commands

Learn all about cmdlets and how to use them.

Recorded on Tuesday November 7, 2006

Objects, Objects Everywhere:

Working
With Objects in Windows PowerShell

Discover the wonderful world of objects and how to access them in Windows
PowerShell.

Recorded on Wednesday November 8, 2006

New Kid on the Script Block:

Writing
Scripts with Windows PowerShell

Day 4 is all about writing scripts.

Recorded Thursday November 9, 2006

Amazing But True:

Things
You Never Dreamt You Could Do With Windows PowerShell

Learn about Windows PowerShell and maybe even have a little fun in the
process.

Recorded Friday November 10, 2006

These too are pretty good. It’s
using the PowerGUI tool (my favorite tool to date), but still good.

http://www.powergui.org/tutorials.jspa

Download and use PowerGUI as
your editor, it’s free http://powergui.org/index.jspa

If you are still using VBScript
this is a very good tool. Also free to use but the paying for it turns on all
the features.

http://www.vbsedit.com.
If you are converting from VBS to PSH then take a look at:

The
VBScript-to-Windows PowerShell Conversion Guide

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee221101.aspx

PowerShell Scripts, Tips, Expert
Advice & Training, Forums, and Resources

http://powershell.com/cs

You have to register at this
site, but free ebooks here as well.

Free ebooks:

Administrator's Guide to Windows
PowerShell Remoting

http://powershell.com/cs/media/p/4908.aspx

Master-PowerShell | With Dr.
Tobias Weltner

http://powershell.com/cs/blogs/ebook

Reference Architecture for Private Cloud

2011-10-17T11:23:29Z

This document set is designed to facilitate an organization’s transformation to private cloud as a service delivery enabling set of processes and technologies. Business decision-makers, technical decision-makers, IT architects and IT Pro’s interested in private cloud should use relevant documents in this collection to understand the transformation to private cloud in terms of business drivers, potential architectural approaches, and impact on key aspects of IT.

Link: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/reference-architecture-for-private-cloud.aspx

Why to buy Microsoft Premier Support Services?

2011-10-14T13:31:55Z

Find out how in this short video.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 (SP3)

2011-10-14T11:19:09Z

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available for download. While keeping product changes contained, we have made significant investments to ease deployment and management of Service Packs. A few key enhancements for customers in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 are :

Enhanced upgrade experience from previous versions of SQL Server to SQL Server 2008 SP3. In addition, we have increased the performance & reliability of the setup
experience.
In SQL Server Integration Services logs will now show the total number of rows sent in Data Flows.
Enhanced warning messages when creating the maintenance plan if the Shrink Database option is enabled.
Resolving database issue with transparent data encryption enabled and making it available even if certificate is dropped.
Optimized query outcomes when indexed Spatial Data Type column is referenced by DTA (Database Tuning Advisor).
Superior user experience with Sequence Functions (e.g Row_Numbers()) in a Parallel execution plan.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 is not a prerequisite for installing SQL Server 2008 Service Pack3. These packages may be used to upgrade any of the following editions of SQL Server 2008:

Enterprise
Standard
Evaluation
Developer
Workgroup

SQL Server 2008 SP3 contains the cumulative updates of SQL Server 2008 SP2 cumulative update package 1 to 4, and fixes to issues that have been reported through our
customer feedback platforms. These include supportability enhancements and issues that have been reported through Windows Error Reporting.

Note: To obtain SQL Server 2008 SP3 for Express Edition or Express Edition with Advanced Services, please go here.

For a detailed list of new features and improvements that are included in SQL Server 2008 SP3, review the Release Notes

Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

2011-10-14T11:12:25Z

Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2) introduces new functionality to Forefront TMG 2010 Standard and Enterprise Editions.

The service pack includes the following new functionality and feature improvements:

New Reports

• The new Site Activity report displays a report showing the data transfer between users and specific websites for any user.

Error Pages

• A new look and feel has been created for error pages.

• Error pages can be more easily customized and can include embedded objects.

Kerberos Authentication

• You can now use Kerberos authentication when you deploy an array using network load balancing (NLB).

To read the release notes, see the Forefront TMG Release Notes (SP2).

Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - Forefront TMG 2010 Service Pack 2.

Windows Phone Guides for IT Professionals

2011-10-13T20:58:23Z

Windows Phone brings together the information, applications, tools, and services needed to help your workforce accomplish what they most want to do, easier and faster. At home or on the go, people can use powerful solutions such as Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft SharePoint Server to stay up-to-date with colleagues and business associates. Microsoft Outlook Mobile also delivers easy access to email messages and calendars so people can respond quickly and efficiently. And with the intuitive user interface of Windows Phone 7, people can work more efficiently using gestures like tapping and pinching to select content and navigate on their phone. If you are an IT professional and your business users are asking for Windows Phone 7, this is a good place to start investigating what it takes to integrate and support the phone in your organization. This series of articles explores a variety of topics important to you—from providing how-to guidance on integrating technologies that businesses already use while helping to support corporate security and management
requirements, to providing insights into how Windows Phone 7 helps to create compelling applications for phone, web, and PC by using powerful and familiar development tools.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8842

How to Perform an upgrade from Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010

2011-10-13T13:54:12Z

This book is designed to guide administrators and IT professionals through the process of upgrading to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=3837

Work Smart Guide Zip Download

2011-10-13T11:10:28Z

Download customizable versions of Work Smart materials to use as samples and reusable templates that specifically address the scenarios and processes in your information worker environment.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=1229

Deployment guide for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

2011-10-13T11:08:43Z

This book includes information deployment scenarios, step-by-step installation instructions, and post-installation configuration steps for deploying Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=10009

SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit

2011-10-13T09:30:22Z

The SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit includes technical content including labs, demos and presentations designed to help you learn how to develop SQL Server 2012 database and BI solutions. New and updated content will be released periodically and can be downloaded on-demand using the Web Installer.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27721

Microsoft Lync 2010 Training Download Package

2011-10-09T08:13:51Z

This zipped folder contains all of the available training and user education resources for Microsoft Lync 2010. The included Lync Training Plans workbook helps you choose the resources that will work best for your users. The Lync Training Download Package contains all of the available training and user education resources for Lync. The training strategy and resources that offer the best return on investment vary depending on the user profile and the product features deployed in your organization. The Lync Training Plans workbook included with this download package helps you understand the available user education and training resources and recommendations for use so that you can make informed decisions about training strategies.

Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=9642