February, 2006

Rick has just posted this information over on the CanITPro blog ( http://blogs.technet.com/canitpro/archive/2006/02/27/420707.aspx ) For business users, we are going to be releasing two different versions of Vista: Windows Vista Business and Window Vista Enterprise . For your use at home, we are going to be releasing three different versions: Windows Vista Home Basic , Windows Vista Home Premium...

Earlier, I introduced DJ Dunkerley, a Business Analyst and Project Manager currently lending his expertise with Annex Consulting and working on a host of projects. DJ has a two-part blog about Project Management. Here's part 2. ________________ Part Two of Two: The Secret List We draw on the pitcher to fill our glasses, and for some strange reason you are reminded of a scene in Revenge of the...

There is a series of podcasts that are running in the Globe and Mail from now until March 13th. These podcasts address some great topics dealing with Productivity in the Canadian market. Last week's podcast addressed Business Intelligence , this week's discussion is around IT Security and Productivity . Listen each week for IDC's Perspectives on Productivity and look for the printed supplement...

On Friday I talked about the fine Professional Development Conference sponsored by CIPS Vancouver and hosted at BCIT. I had a chance to dialogue with session speaker, DJ Dunkerley, and invited DJ to share his thoughts here. DJ is a Business Analyst and Project Manager with more than 10 years experience working in the hi-tech industry in Vancouver, starting at Laser's Edge in 1994 and continuing...

Want to know more about data mining? Try Crisp-Dm. No, it’s not a breakfast cereal but it is a methodology to use for your data mining projects. For those of you who don’t realize it, SQL Server 2005 includes a great deal of data mining functionality for clustering and forecasting. Crisp-DM is a step by step guide for a process model to be used with your data mining projects. A typical...

Over the past few weeks I have spoken to a number of IT Managers who have commented on the many posts on this blog about careers and development in IT. I also often get asked why managers should give their IT team time to go to TechNet events. My answer is simple... Think of the TechNet events; monthlies, tours, webcasts and online resources as part of a curriculum. For example; the Build'06...

I was invited to keynote the Career Professional Development Event this week hosted by CIPS Vancouver and held at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). With proceeds going to scholarships, Neil Johnson, President of CIPS Vancouver provided a convincing argument [to reschedule my existing conflicting commitments] when he requested I share my experiences, and provide career lessons. The event...

Security is a top priority for IT managers and will be for the future. I’m always on the lookout for security webcasts that will keep you and your team at the top of your security form. Here’s a must see series to put into your calendars. http://msdn.microsoft.com/canada/securityonthebrain/default.aspx Here are session details: Session One-March 1, 2006 Partial Trusted Development...

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our two newest bloggers here on the Canadian IT Managers blog. Adam Cole , who you have seen here in the past, being interviewed by Stephen, has just provided his first direct post ( http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/02/22/420247.aspx ). Mitch Tulloch is an MVP for Windows Server based out of Winnipeg and has provided his first post ...

I have just been wowed by DotNetNuke ( http://www.dotnetnuke.com/ ). Our team is completing a web-based EDC ("Electronic Data Capture") application. EDC is used by the pharmaceutical industry to enable doctors to collect clinical trial data directly from their desktop PCs. (Traditionally, a doctor would fill out a paper form, fax it to our office, and then we would undertake a lengthy process of...

John Oxley suggested that I blog what myself and some other IT pros are doing here in Winnipeg, so here goes! First, the larger community: WITPRO meets once a month at Red River College for technical presentations concerning various Microsoft products. Momentum seems to be building and the turnout is growing! IT Lounge is our innovative attempt to put some fun into the IT community here...

I'm finding viruses, spyware, phishing, identity theft threats so irritating. How about a mandatory 5 years imprisonment and a $5M fine for those involved? Every time my system starts to slow down I bring up the task manager looking at what processes are stealing cycles - this is how I found the last virus that got into my system. It's making me feel more insecure and recent surveys are also supporting...

In the interview that appeared here, Roger Sessions speaks about tighter integration and communication between corporate and IT governance and major failures when this doesn't happen. In fact he is predicting this will happen sooner than later. Roger has an enviable record for accuracy and I hope all executives and board directors are listening. The most agile firms who have a rock solid lock in...

We have talked about AJAX and ATLAS a couple of times already in this blog, but I thought I would include a link to a podcast that Burton Group published talking about AJAX. Burton Group, the only IT research firm focused on in-depth analysis of enterprise infrastructure technologies, launches "Inflection Point", a complimentary podcast series from its analysts and consultants. "Inflection Point...

There is a series of podcasts that are running in the Globe and Mail from now until March 13th. These podcasts address some great topics dealing with Productivity in the Canadian market. Last week's podcast addressed Business Process Automation , this week's discussion is around Business Intelligence. Listen each week for IDC's Perspectives on Productivity and look for the printed supplement...

I know you want to make migrating Visual Studio 2003 Web projects to Visual Studio 2005 as painless as possible. I feel models save a lot of time. Take a look at these two web sites. "There's a preview http://webproject.scottgu.com/Download.aspx of the Visual Studio 2005 Web Application Project http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2005/12/07/432630.aspx . This new project model is an add-in...

Yesterday, I attended a great presentation on Security in SQL Server 2005 presented by Canadian IT Pro Advisor Damir Bersinic. He covered four main areas, Windows Server Security, SQL Server Logins and Connections, Database Schemas and Encryption and finally DDL Triggers. SQL Server is secure by default out of the box . This means you have to turn things on in order to use them. This is easily accommodated...

Watch out! It is amazing how simple it is to break into companies and steal all their data. This story " Anatomy of a Break-in " details how easy it is by profiling "step-by-step" how Ira Winker and his team were able to compromise all the critical systems within two days including having the ability to steal sensitive information and threaten the entire IT infrastructure of a business. I recommend...

One study has it at 2.5% and another at nearly 3% of all e-mail that is contaminated with e-mail borne viruses. That’s a sobering thought since part of this is attributable to the Sober virus. I receive more than 200 e-mails per day so up to 6 contain a virus. This is staggering to me. Especially since the number is on the rise. Add to this nearly 80% of e-mail is SPAM divided into software/drugs...

There is a series of podcasts that are running in the Globe and Mail from now until March 13th. These podcasts address some great topics dealing with Productivity in the Canadian market. Last week’s podcast addressed Meeting the Productivity Challenge , this week’s discussion is around Business Process Automation. Listen each week for IDC's Perspectives on Productivity and look for the printed...

There is a series of podcasts that are running in the Globe and Mail from now until March 13th These podcasts address some great topics dealing with Productivity in the Canadian market. Listen each week for IDC’s Perspectives on Productivity and look for the printed supplement in the Monday Report on Business section of the Globe and Mail. The series is available to both read and download at...

Gates Shares Microsoft’s Vision for a More Secure Future At RSA Conference 2006, Microsoft's chairman outlines priorities and urges the industry to partner to build trust among computer users. In his keynote address at the RSA Conference 2006, Bill shared our immediate and future plans to achieve a more secure digital future. His vision outlines where interconnected networks worldwide allow people...

Kim Cameron is an icon and thought leader when it comes to identity. As we’ve had some recent press announcements regarding our identiy direction his blog has become a must read on identity futures in MS products. You might also want to check out InfoCard. It's an interesting product that's getting some great coverage over on Kim's blog, as well as some other blogs he links to. I highly suggest checking...

I thought I'd link to John Howard's blog as he brought a good article to my attention. John is an IT Pro evangelist in the UK that has a focus on virtualisation. ______________________________ Windows Server Virtualisation - Overview and Roadmap I thought I'd mention this - some of you may have either personal or corporate subscriptions to Directions on Microsoft . There was a paper published...

From the interview archives... What’s the best way to achieve an objective? I believe it is by modeling others who have reached a particular goal you want to achieve. You want to be a top-level executive then listen to the views of senior CIO, Peter Grant. What’s the best way to learn about key factors affecting IT leaders? It helps to examine a leader who is in the trenches and has...