New Azure posts at http://craigswartz.wordpress.com

I've started posting at http://craigswartz.wordpress.com and welcome your feedback on posts via the ratings feature, and more features to come..Thanks for following me via RSS, Craig

Many of my client discussions have been around creating lab environments for developers - new on the scene is Visual Studio Lab Management 2010.. Visual Studio Lab Management 2010 enables teams to accelerate setup/tear down and restoration of complex...

Direct Access allows you to be connected to corporate reources from anywhere without a VPN login process. I was part of a meeting today observing how you can use a UAG appliance from Celestix to make this happen quickly without a great deal of network...

At todays Mobile World Congress, free development tools and free support were offered to MIX10 attendees - for details, visit the MIX10 site here: here . There is also a Windows Phone 7 Series track at MIX10. This is a great opportunity to see the...

Steve Ballmer announced Windows Phone 7 Series today in Barcelona. To see a video demonstration and have access to backstage content, register at the Windows Phone 7 Series site. Heres the link: http://www.windowsphone7series.com/ If you also want...

One of the hidden gems at the Developers conference was this presentation on how the combination of Word services in Sharepoint2010 and Open XML can automate the document creation and assembly process. This can be escpecially applicable in Legal, Banking...

Heres a video detailing the setup and client interface of OCS R2 Group chat in Technet. While its listed as 200 level, my caution is that it is for the technically inclined, as it walks thru the administration setup process, so Caffeine is a prerequisite...

Heres a great article and video about the sprint to create Social search in Bing: Sean Suchter works on the white board at the Microsoft Research lab... (Gary Reyes, Mercury News) http://tinyurl.com/yed7l6w

Build and customize Dashboards in minutes using the new flexible and interactive interface. Here is a view how the new Beta dashboard for Configuration Manager operates: To Join the beta, heres the link: https://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse...

I spend a good deal of time discussing the power of scripting using Powershell at the overview level, but certainly the proof is in the pudding. Here is a specific blog for Scripting, giving tips and specific scripts to use: http://blogs.technet.com/heyscriptingguy...

The 2010 Microsoft BI Conference will be in New Orleans June 7-10, topic areas include: · Empowering End Users · Improving Organizational Effectiveness · Increasing IT and Developer Efficiency · Partner Services and Solutions Delivery ...

Bill Zack spoke regarding Microsofts Technology Vision at a penel in NYC. This vision is he convergence of content and protocols across all devices - see Bill's post here: http://blogs.msdn.com/billzack/archive/2010/01/18/3-screen-the-cloud-in...

Now that Exchange 2010 has released, many are looking for guidance on migration, includng some who are evaluating moving from Exchange 2003. Here is a technical article on the subject in Technet: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exdeploy2010/default...

The Branch Infrastructure Deployment Guide has been updated with new guidance for the Server R2, including Branch Cache. IThe new guide can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/branchoffice/default.aspx

Now that Virtualization and Live Migration are commodity capabilities across the virtualization landscape, its time to make life easier for the operations of these environments, and a little less manual, by monitoring and making systemic changes in an...

Here is a list of Webcasts to address many of the persistent questions I receive related to Sharepoint implementation for Public sites - SharePoint Internet Business Live Webcasts TechNet Webcast: Staffing, Methodology, and Governance for...

Many clients have asked about Web analytics wit SharePoint sites, Here is a whitepaper on the topic: whitepaper .

Channel 9 is featuring a training course with hands on labs to take advantage of the servces in Windows Server 2008 R2 featuring: -Many Core scaling -Trigger started services -Windows Powershell features -Web Platform Extensions -Automation...

SharePoint is widely used for intranets, now an increasing number of companies are using it for their Public-facing site, leveraging the heavy lifting SharePoint can do in the background to add more time to the creative. There is a technet webcast which...

Bing has a number of web services offered in addition to search. One example is the Bing translator. There is a great description of how to integrate the Bing translator engine (Ajax service via API) with enterprise search. Find it here: http:/...

Search for a locale, and get directed there using Bing Maps on the iphone. This 2.99 app makes navigation pretty cost effective (that is, if you have already the sunk cost of an iphone).. Heres a link to Chris Pendleton's post o the app: http:/...

Just released, Security Essentials is a security package for the home PC, as a download from Microsoft. The key difference is this version is not centrally managed as the corporate version is. Get it Here: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

Joy Dakin-Schwalm has created a space specifically for all things Office deployment related. Included are webcasts, tips for deployment, and downloads for Office. This is a great wealth of Office related information. Rather than restate it, I suggest...

Business intelligence is enhanced by visualizing data patterns. Best of all, geo maps highlight location and regional awareness of key performance indicators. Add this to the great integration with Sharepoint, SQL and Performance point, and you have a...