Swiss IT Professional and TechNet Blog

SQL Server 2008 R2 Release to Manufacturing

Roger Breu [MSFT] — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:32:51 GMT

SQL Server 2008 R2 is here! Get to know the new features and capabilities like Application and Multi-server Management, PowerPivot, Master Data Services, Report Builder 3.0, StreamInsight! Microsoft, Dell, MaximumASP and PASS provide a free hosted demo environment on http://www.previewsqlserver.com/ for you to test SQL Server 2008 R2 with several interesting labs.
The new opportunities with SQL Server 2008 R2 are also shown at our TechNet Techtalk at Wallisellen on the 27th of Mai at now cost (in German). Registration under: TechTalk- SQL Server 2008 R2 – Was ist neu.

I can also recommend our Reviewers Guide, which gives you insights about all the new features of SQL Server 2008 R2 on a technical level.

More on SQL Server 2008 R2 including Case Studies: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/tour/en/default.aspx
Download SQL Server 2008 R2 Trial and Express (up to 10GB DBs in Express now!): http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2Downloads.aspx

Downloads of the other editions in the TechNet or MSDN Portal will be available in early May…

- rb -

Intel Itanium Processors – End of an Era

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:48:45 GMT

Today Microsoft announced that Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010 will be last releases of our products with support for Intel Itanium Processors.

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2010/04/02/windows-server-2008-r2-to-phase-out-itanium.aspx

Support for shipped products continue as per the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy

Internet Explorer – Out of Band Security Update

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:25:01 GMT

The security of our products is an important matter for us at Microsoft. In order to support you to optimum effect in the secure operation of your IT infrastructure, Microsoft has released an unscheduled security update. We only ever issue unscheduled security updates for important reasons.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6, 7 or 8 we recommend that you install this security update as quickly as possible. You can use the link below or Microsoft Update

Further information and the link to download the security updates can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-018.mspx.

Swisscom TV air - Swisscom offers TV for PC and Mobile

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:29:06 GMT

Swisscom has launched a new Television offering: “Swisscom TV air” for computers and Mobile Phones.

Live TV, Video on Demand and also Sport Events, that are currently only available on Swisscom-TV und Teleclub is now available to everyone in Switzerland.

The platform supports HD (H.264) and is based on Microsoft Silverlight, PlayReady and IIS Smooth Streaming

Webcast Series – Migrating from IE6 to IE8

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:29:36 GMT

A webcast series, level 300, “Migration from IE6 to IE8” is being offered until the end of March 2010. The webcasts will show what tools are available to you, plus the effort needed to migrate your environment to Internet Explorer 8.

Find a suitable date and time for you to view the webcast from the Webcast Calendar

SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Builds

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:49:27 GMT

Sometimes it is difficult to determine which fix is included in which SQL Server Service Pack, Cumulative Update or even build.

There are a number of Knowledge Base Articles (KB) that list this very nicely.

SQL 2005 builds released after SP2: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937137
SQL 2005 builds released after SP3: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960598

SQL 2008 builds released after RTM: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956909
SQL 2008 builds released after SP1: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970365

And the above pages are all listed here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957826

Microsoft DirectAccess Connectivity Assistant

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:29:42 GMT

The DirectAccess Connectivity Assistant informs DirectAccess users of their connection status with the organization’s intranet; provides tools to help them reconnect on their own if problems arise; and creates diagnostics to help users provide IT staff with key information if necessary—all to help customers operate with more efficiency, and at a lower cost. Learn more about DCA.

Simple Dialogues show the user what the client machine’s DirectAccess status is and directs the user how to resolve the problem if one exists. For the Administrator, detailed event logs are also available for troubleshooting.

DCA is the newest addition to the Windows® Optimized Desktop Toolkit 2010, which helps IT pros plan, deliver, and operate the right desktop technologies for users across their organization.

Windows Phone 7 Series

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:48:22 GMT

Windows Phone 7 Series is truly a different type of Phone. For Business or Consumers.

Windows Phone is THE experience -completely different from other phones available today.

Information is brought together in a meaningful and valuable way. With the new Windows Phone hubs, information from multiple sources (your phone, applications, social network sites, other web sites) is served up in one place, organized around you.

Windows Phone will also provide many valuable services – thanks to great integration with Xbox Live, Windows Live, Zune, Bing, and Office.

Learn more at http://www.windowsphone7series.com/

TechNet Event - Introduction to MDX with Chris Webb

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:50:25 GMT

16th March 2010
Registration 08:30, Seminar start 09:00, End 16:30
Location: Microsoft, Richtistrasse 3, 8304 Wallisellen
Language: English

If you want to get the most out of your Analysis Services cube it’s essential to know and understand MDX: you need to be able to write queries and calculations.

This one-day seminar, aimed at those with little or no previous MDX experience, will teach you the basic concepts of the language as well as show you how to write common queries and calculations.

The seminar will be taught by Chris Webb of Crossjoin Consulting Limited. Chris is an independent consultant specialising in Analysis Services performance tuning, troubleshooting, design and complex MDX; he’s also a SQL Server MVP, co-author of the books “MDX Solutions” and "Expert Cube Development with SQL 2008 Analysis Services" and a well-known Analysis Services blogger (http://cwebbbi.spaces.live.com/) He has been running MDX training courses for companies worldwide (including Microsoft) for several years.

Register here.

TechNet Webcast: Network Considerations for Deploying Communications Server 2007 R2 (Level 300)

Michael Epprecht [MSFT] — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:45:35 GMT

With Desmond Lee, Swiss MVP

Event ID: 1032439126

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

11:00 - 12:30 (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

20:00 - 21:30 (CET+1) Central European Time

Deploying and scaling Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in your enterprise network requires thoughtful consideration to ensure the quality of experience for end users. In this webcast, we discuss the features of Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 R2 that are relevant to the network administrator, including codecs, quality monitoring, quality of service (QoS), and virtual local area network (VLAN) support. Discover how large enterprises have used these features, along with network right-provisioning and bandwidth planning, for their own successful OCS deployments, and learn how to apply these techniques to your enterprise network.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032439126