All screencasts for the TechDays 09 sessions are now online

For TechDays 09 Bern (German): http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/msdn/de/techdays/Presentations.aspx
For TechDays 09 Geneva (French): http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/msdn/fr/techdays/Presentations.aspx

The presentation slides are also available at the same URLs.

In order to view the sessions, Microsoft Silverlight must be installed.

On Monday 11 May 2009, Markus Erlacher will be presenting a TechNet Deep Dive (Level 300) covering Windows 7.

Topics such as Deployment, Application Compatibility, Management and Security plus Enterprise Features like Branch Cache, Direct Access and Federated Search will be covered.

The differences between Beta and Release Candidate will also be shown.

Date: Monday, 11 May 2009
Time: 09:00 until 13:00
Language: German
Venue: Microsoft Schweiz (Zurich), Wallisellen 8304

Registration, Agenda and further information:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032412556&Culture=de-CH

Have you visited the Swiss TechNet IT Events Calendar yet??
http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/server/de/events/default.mspx

Today we shipped Service Pack 2 for:

• Microsoft Office 2007
• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Highlights include:

• The ability to open, edit and save documents in version 1.1 of the OpenDocument Format for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These applications now let users save, open, and edit files as OpenDocument Text (*.odt), OpenDocument Spreadsheet (*.ods), and OpenDocument Presentations (*.odp).
• Save As PDF or XPS add-in has been built into Office applications. Users no longer have to download and install the add-in separately.
• SharePoint offers support for a broader range of Web browsers.

For a list of the other 50 or so improvements and also the bugs that were fixed, visit the Office Sustained Engineering Blog, KB 953195 (Office Client), KB 953334 (Office Server) und KB 953338 (Windows SharePoint Server)

The Service Packs can be downloaded from here

Join the Conversation with the people behind the code.

See what they have to say. Mark Russinovich, Jon Devaan, Rich Coulter, Gabriel Aul and Sharif Farag give you their points of view.

http://talkingaboutwindows.com

In the real world, you might need more than one chance at certification. With Second Shot, if you do not pass any IT professional, developer, or project manager certification exam on your first try, you can retake the exam without an additional cost. Offer valid until 30 June 2009.

Also until 30 June 2009, as a part of Second Shot, we are offering a Career Assist Package. Along with enjoying the benefits of Second Shot, you can access a collection of Microsoft E-Learning courses, which provide 8 to 20 hours of online instructional content to help you master a product and prepare for a certification. This offer applies to IT professional or developer e-learning collection titles only. Does not include Microsoft Office or Windows end-user (non-IT) focused collections.

Visit the Second Shot website to see which countries it is available in and how the enroll.

Wanting to do Projects with New Technologies? It sounds exciting, but does have an element of risk.

Why does one want to be an Early-Adopter of new Technology?

Generally, new technologies have new, and marked improvements in features. In most cases, real-world problems and requirements are solved by a new version of software, and sometimes things are just easier and faster than in the past.

How and we (Microsoft) help you?

The IT Pro Momentum Program was designed with that in mind. By Invite, you get access the the Project Portal where you can profile your projects, and have access to Exclusive Information, Training, Product Downloads and Support.


Is such a program for me?

It depends on how many of the following questions you can answer to your satisfaction:

• Does new Technology Interest me?
• Do I want, and need Support during the Evaluation of the various Products?
• Am I not scared to try out the Products and Solutions (in a test environment at least) with Beta Products?
• Do I want to give feedback about the Products to the Development Teams (bugs, features and new ideas), and also my experiences in deploying the product?

Target Audience

Targeted with this program are Small and Medium Sized Business (SME) and Microsoft Partners that do not have regular and dedicated contact/support from Microsoft. For Large Enterprises, other programs like TAP (Technology Adoption Program) and RDP (Rapid Deployment Program) are more suitable, but do not exclude you from IT Pro Momentum.

What will I as a participant get?

It depends on the stage of you Project.

• Evaluation Phase
  You get access to technical content and dedicated forums. You also have access to Online Trainings.
• Planning Phase
  You receive a 1 year subscription to TechNet Plus and access to the product setups.
• Pilot Phase
  You have the opportunity to request free help from Microsoft Support up to a a maximum of 1 year for the product you are Piloting to help you quickly solve issues that you have.
• Deployment Phase
  You project is virtually complete and here comes our ask of you.

What do we (Microsoft) gain from this?

Firstly, we want to hear from and about you and your Projects you are planning to, or currently working on, and help you where possible. For some, it may be very interesting to be profiled, either on a Blog or a Case Study, to show the world and your colleagues what you achieved. At the same time, share your experiences with the community and prove your competency.
Secondly, we have customers who have deployed, and are happily using our Products!

Products and Technologies for the Year 2009 in IT Pro Momentum (Not product shipping dates and is subject to change)

How do I get invited (or have questions)?

Contact Michael Epprecht, IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Switzerland via e-mail or the Contact Form.
If you are not based in Switzerland or Lichtenstein, we will pass your request onto the responsible IT Pro Evangelist in your region if IT Pro Momentum is offered in your region.

Windows 7 RC and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC (builds 7100) will be made available for download to TechNet and MSDN subscribers on 30 April 2009 and on 5 May 2009, will be available for general download.

Just remember, unless you download it from Microsoft, you can’t be guaranteed that it is the actual RC, and that nothing “extra” is included. Be safe, don’t download software from un-trusted sources.

Hosted services have always been a favorite for Companies and Individuals. The trend of "Services On Demand" has been growing consistently for Internet Based Services and will grow exponentially in the next few years.

Microsoft is committed to it’s Software + Services (SaaS) strategy, for example http://www.officelive.com or http://www.microsoft.ch/online. Both solutions are based on Windows Technologies and have proven Availability and Performance. For many customers in Switzerland these 2 solutions may be a limitation as the data centers are currently not based in Switzerland.

There is a solution: Heidi Hosts. Modern Microsoft Technologies (Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V), Swiss Location, solutions for Students, Companies and also Developers all in one place. Interesting is that the lady used in the advertising can be added as a Friend on Facebook  :)

http://blogs.technet.com/chitpro-de/archive/2009/04/23/heidihosts-ch-modernste-hostingl-sung-mit-microsoft-technologien.aspx

We have been getting a few questions from Customers and Partners about BPOS. One of the questions is "Will BPOS support Outlook 2003?".

It is expected that from June 2009, Outlook 2003 will be supported, but there are clear limitations. See this extract from a MS Field Blog:

Outlook 2003 WILL BE supported in Exchange Online Standard by June 2009.  However, there are two very critical caveats:

No Free-Busy:  While Exchange Online Standard will support Outlook 2003, the Free-Busy functionality in Outlook 2003 will be completely disabled when connected to Exchange Online.  In other words, there will be NO Free-Busy support or capability in Outlook 2003 when used with Exchange Online.  We are investigating possible mitigations for this issue, but we cannot commit a date for  Free-Busy support in Outlook 2003 when used with Exchange Online.

Possible Workaround:  Free-Busy WILL work in OWA.  So an end-user could switch to OWA to schedule a meeting when they need to see Free-Busy info for another Online user (note that Exchange Online still will NOT expose Free-Busy information in a co-existence scenario to on-premises users -- this limitation still exists and will not be fixed until Wave 14 - see F/B Coexist Topic)

Outlook 2003 Not Supported By Exchange Online 2010 Version (Wave 14):  Be aware that Outlook 2003 support for Exchange Online will end at Wave 14 when Exchange Online moves onto Exchange Server 2010.

Possible Mitigation:  Customers have 12 months to opt into platform upgrade of BPOS.  So a customer who is on BPOS Standard who needs Outlook 2003 support could have it for up to 12 months after Wave 14 platform upgrade if customer chooses to stay on the current platform.  But it does mean they will not get the benefits of Wave 14 capabilities.  So customer will have to weigh Outlook 2003 support against Wave 14 benefits.

We will provide more information about exactly what this support will look like shortly.  (I.e. will the Sign-In Tool configure Outlook 2003 as it does Outlook 2007, etc.)

Refer to Outlook 2003 WIKI Topic page for subsequent updates.

UPDATE:  A third caveat to consider - just added this to the WIKI topic:  Outlook 2003 Mainstream Support Ended 4/14/2009:  Be aware that mainstream support ended for Outlook 2003 on 4/14/2009.  So Outlook 2003 is now in Extended Support phase.  Customers currently running Outlook 2003 should be reminded of this when considering to stay with Outlook 2003 versus moving to Office 2007.

Original post from Schweizer IT Professional und TechNet Blog by Stefan Hagenbuch.

Windows and Security are definitively not unknown word-pairs

With the Forefront Product family and Windows 7, you are fully armed to provide a secure Windows Desktop. This TechTalk will give the the information you need to be successful, without a lot of work, to develop and deploy you Business Security Policy and keep your desktops secure.

The focus will be on the following products:

• Forefront Codename "Stirling"
• Forefront Client Security v2
• Forefront Threat Management Gateway
• Intelligent Application Gateway 2007 SP2
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Internet Explorer 8

Naturally, many demos will be shown

Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 9:00 – 16:00
Venue: Microsoft Schweiz GmbH, Richtistrasse 3, 8304 Wallisellen
Language: German
Target Audience: IT Specialists
Presenters: Dominik Zemp, Markus Erlacher

Registration and Agenda: www.microsoft.ch/it-events

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion from Microsoft Press is available as a FREE download. By Charlie Russel and Sharon Crawford. ISBN: 9780735620704

How to get it: Register at http://csna01.libredigital.com/?urws8un4p7

NOTE: Once you’ve authenticated using your Passport/Live ID the only required fields for registration are: name, country, role, and an email address. You’re taken directly to the download from there (you will need to temporarily allow Pop-Ups for the download window).

SQL Server 2008 SP1 states that Cumulative Updates 1 to 3 are included in it. For those customers who have CU4 already installed, you need to know how it affects you. Have a look on the CSS blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/psssql/archive/2009/04/09/sql-server-2008-sp1-and-cumulative-updates-explained.aspx

CU 1 for SQL Server 2008 SP1 will cover all the fixes included in SQL Server 2008 RTM CU 4. CU1 for SQL Server 2008 SP1 was just released and is available http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969099

[Edit 2009-04-16 10:00. Added Link to CU1]

Exchange Server 2010 Beta is now available for download on TechNet Subscriber Downloads and as a Public Beta here

You can also try it as an Online Trial here. In the Online Trial version, you do not have to install anything on your machines. The Trial in run on Virtualized Servers at Microsoft.

To see what is new in Exchange Server 2010, visit the Exchange Web Site

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) version 5.5 contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Windows 7, Windows Vista, a Windows Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

ACT helps customers lower their costs for application compatibility testing, prioritize their applications, and deploy Windows more quickly.

You can use the ACT features to:

• Verify an application's compatibility with a new version of the Windows operating system, or a Windows Update, including determining your risk assessment.
• Become involved in the ACT Community, including sharing your risk assessment with other ACT users.
• Test your Web applications and Web sites for compatibility with new releases and security updates to the Windows® Internet Explorer® Internet browser.

You can get the tool from here.

Further information on the Windows Application Compatibility page on TechNet.

Today was D-Day for Windows XP and Office 2003. Both products moved from Mainstream Support phase to Extended Support phase.

Extended Supports entails:

• Paid support
• Security update support at no additional cost
• Non-security related hotfix support requires a separate Extended Hotfix Support Agreement to be purchased (per-fix fees also apply

Support for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 also ended today. If you have not upgraded to Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003, then you are totally unsupported.

All editions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 will transition from the Mainstream Support phase to the Extended Support phase on July 13, 2010.

For a complete breakdown of the support phases, see the Support Lifecycle Page

There are still some older applications, and some application installers that are 16 bit.

Some customers have only noticed it now that those applications don’t work when running on 64 bit Operating Systems.

The support of 16 bit on 64 bit platforms has never existed. SysWOW64 supports 32-bit, but not 16bit. Windows Server 2008 R2 will only available as x64 and Itanium (IA-64) editions. Windows 7 will be available as x86 and x64 editions.

(x86 = 32 bit, x64 = 64 bit, IA64 = 64 bit)

If you are running a 16-bit application in this day and age, there must be a good reason. If the application is that important, then the investment should be made to redevelop it as long term solution. In the meantime, if you need to run it on a Server edition, you can run Windows Server 2008 x86 or Windows Server 2003 SP2 x86 in a Hyper-V Virtual Machine and run 16-bit applications on that Guest OS.

If you are thinking about (or have already) Virtualized Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, have a look the the Virtualization blog for some really good real-world experiences and guidance.

http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2009/04/06/Series-on-virtualizing-SharePoint.aspx

Just saw this over on the AD blog.

10 years ago, Microsoft’s largest internal domain was upgraded to Windows 2000 becoming the first production Active Directory, and it’s still going strong…

Dn: DC=redmond,DC=corp,DC=microsoft,DC=com
   whenCreated: 4/9/1999 7:49:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time;

redmond.corp.microsoft.com

If you are wondering what the timelines are for Internet Explorer 8 release via Windows Update are, well, today we announced on the IE blog that users with IE 6 and IE 7 will get it pushed in the 3rd week of April 2009. The install will be opt-in.

On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important

For companies who wish to manage their own deployment, they should use the free Blocker Toolkit that will block automatic delivery of IE8 via Windows Update.

If you want to Install IE 8 now, you can get it from here.

Today Microsoft Released Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2008

Some of the changes include:

• SQL Server 2008 SP1 has made it easier and more efficient to deploy and manage service packs. By adding the ability to Slipstream, SQL Server 2008 and SP1 can be installed simultaneously. This decreases the total time for an installation, including a fewer number of reboots.
• Service Pack Uninstall allows administrators to uninstall the service pack separately from the database release.
• Report Builder 2.0 Click-Once deployment. Up till now, Report Builder 2.0 was only available as a separate install on the client machines. Now .NET’s Click-Once technology is used so that users can run Report Builder without having to install it first through a setup file locally.
• In addition to the a roll-up of previous cumulative updates, SP1 includes quick fix engineering updates and minor fixes in response to requests reported through the SQL Server community. There are no new feature updates in this service pack.

SQL Server 2008 SP1 has in total 300 fixes included, with the majority being minor tweaks. If you compare this to the SQL Server 2005 SP1, which contained 2’500 fixes, you really see that SQL Server 2008 is a very stable release.

You can download the Service Pack from here. The build number is 10.00.2531

The Knowledge Base Article can be viewed here.

The Windows Product Team have published a blog entry on what their expectations are of the Beta testers, and what the Beta Testes can expect once the Windows 7 Release Candidate is released.

It is possible to upgrade Windows 7 Beta to RC, but it is not the most important thing. Windows Vista upgrades and Migrations from Windows XP are what end users will be doing and receive priority, so the path may not be very easy for beta testers.

Have a look at the blog here and see how it affects you.

The Swiss daily newspaper 20minuten Online had a closer look at the Microsoft Surface. See the Article and Video (German) here:

http://www.20min.ch/digital/hardware/story/PC-der-Zukunft-erfordert-Fingerspitzengefuehl-18929865

XING, the social network platform focusing on Professional-Professional contact has made a Vista (and Windows 7) Sidebar gadget available on gallery.live.com

http://gallery.live.com/liveitemdetail.aspx?li=b329b15b-8ab3-4c9e-8aa6-8247b3f701a7&pl=1&bt=1&dpt=ma&ttp=sysnews&plf=own&pid=20090305&xtr=vstgdgt

My Profile on XING. Contact me if you want.

A new Solution Accelerator just released by Microsoft - Hyper-V Security Guide.

The guide provides authoritative guidance that relates to the following strategies for securing virtualized environments:

• Hardening Hyper-V. Providing prescriptive guidance for hardening the Hyper-V role. Measures include reducing the attack surface of a server running Hyper-V, properly configuring secure network and storage devices.
• Delegating Virtual Machine Management. Common delegation scenarios and detailed steps guide you through using Authorization Manager (AzMan) and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM 2008) to separate virtual machine administrators from virtualization host administrators.
• Protecting Virtual Machines. Providing prescriptive guidance for securing virtual machine resources. Covering best practices and also detailed steps for protecting virtual machines by using a combination of file system permissions, encryption, and auditing. Included are resources for hardening and updating the operating system instances running within your virtual machines

You can download the guide from the Microsoft Download Center

Have a look at this 11 minute Video on Busting the top ten myths about VMware virtualization from Microsoft

http://www.microsoft.com/video/en/us/details/f8c3314f-c82d-4f8d-8b19-6a59733670f8?vp_evt=eref&vp_video=Microsoft+Mythbusters%3a+Top+10+VMware+Myths

Have you tried Hyper-V yet?