Here's a strange article I came across. You know those shipping containers that come from China with all the stuff we buy? OK, maybe not just China, that's just a dig because 95% of what I buy now is made in China J . Even some of the food I'm buying...

One of my co-workers Chris Henley just did a great video/screencast on WinPE. What Exactly Is WinPE?  Have you ever done custom setups of Windows? Have you ever needed a small version of the OS to boot a box and troubleshoot hardware issues? ...

We received a warning today from our IT department about an increase in Greeting Card spam mail. The emails contain URLs that are pointing to malicious executables. I wanted to blog about it but didn't have any in my Inbox. So I checked around to see...

TechNet Resources Below is a list of links to a variety of resources related to the content the US TechNet event team is delivering between now and December 2008.  This resource list comes courtesy of my teammate Kevin Remde .  Thanks Kevin...

Our US TechNet events team is back on the road presenting at various locations around the country. One of the sessions we're delivering is on Managing Windows Vista with Windows PowerShell . Microsoft.com has some great PowerShell resources including...

Servers have been around in the office forever. Many of us in the IT industry have our own home networks, either for learning or for actually running web and mail servers (yes fellow team members, you know who I'm talking about J ). But for everyone...

When I was doing the Windows Server 2008 launch events earlier this year Hyper-V always garnered a lot of interest. Usually the audience would ask a lot of questions. Thankfully they were usually technical and within my expertise. But sometimes someone...

Per the security bulletin update August 20th :   "This security update resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer that could allow remote code execution if a user opens...

Yes folks!! Another beta exam opportunity!!! If you're an SBS specialist and want to get a head start on your peers, then take the Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring beta exam. What do I need to know for this exam? Go to http...

I did a post at the beginning of the month called Home wireless networks: Why is everyone still only using WEP? I suggested if you hadn't done it already, you should secure your wireless network. I also suggested that if you were already secure using...

Just wanted to thank the Association of Information Technology Professionals in Charleston, SC for inviting me down for their monthly meeting. Also wanted to call out the evenings sponsor: ECPI College of Technology . I had a great time, and enjoyed...

Small Business Server 2008 was released to manufacturing yesterday, which means it will be widely available on November 12th launch. Windows Small Business Server 2008 is designed for small businesses. It is designed to work with existing technology,...

Yeah, I'm pushing certification again, although in this case I won't be taking the exam as I am so not a SQL guru. But if YOU are and you want to test your skills, as well as help guide the resulting final exam, then show your worth and take this beta...

During the Windows Vista session at today's TechNet event in  Jacksonville, FL, I talked about some of the new group policies that come with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  I had a slide that mentioned a study indicating up to $50 per...

  Today at my TechNet event in Jacksonville, FL I had an attendee tell me about an issue one of his customers was having with their Windows Vista laptop.  They just couldn't get the machine to browse to anything on the wireless network at the...

I'm in Florida for a TechNet event tomorrow at the Wyndham Hotel in Jacksonville. Tonight JJ, TS2 presenter, and I went to an Indian restaurant called Cilantro . We had originally intended to go to one called Shalimar, but it appears its been closed down...

What?  Are you seeing things?  System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 managing non-Windows machines?  How can that be?  Well folks, the IT world is a complex, heterogeneous place where customers use a variety of platforms...

Are you a webdesigner or developer?  You might want to download and take a look at the Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 preview .  You'll be able to see the great new features that IE8 brings to the table and take advantage of them to enhance your...

                        In response to Keith's post about Texas weather,  here's what a perfect weather day is.....ooh....no clouds... no rain... and its only going to 89F today (32C for...

Here's something really cool!!  I just wish this had been around when I was at school (that's right when slide rules were state-of-the-art) maybe I could have brought my astronomy grade up to a "C", well maybe "C-minus" J . ...

Join us at a TechNet event for some great sessions on Windows Vista, PowerShell and Group Policy Preferences!!   Where Are the Events?   FLORIDA - Jacksonville - 8/19/2008 ILLINOIS - Chicago - 8/21/2008 IOWA - Des Moines - 8/26/2008 MISSOURI...

  FLORIDA - Jacksonville - 8/19/2008 ILLINOIS - Chicago - 8/19/2008 IOWA - Des Moines - 8/26/2008 MISSOURI - Kansas City - 8/28/2008 MISSOURI - St. Louis - 8/21/2008 NEW JERSEY - Edison - 8/28/2008 NEW YORK - New York - 8/26/2008 SOUTH CAROLINA ...

Partners – Attend a TS2 event! Join us at the next TS2 event in your area, where we will focus on exciting Microsoft technologies that will broaden your portfolio of customer offerings and boost your ongoing revenues.   Our TS2 team will offer...

Partners - Looking for new ways to expand your offerings and grow your business? Be sure to attend the Microsoft Dynamics partner event in your city! Where are the events? Bellevue, WA - 8/26/2008 9:00AM - 12:00PM PT Bellevue, WA - 8/26/2008 1:30PM -...

Microsoft Momentum Event: A Solution Briefing for IT and Business Executives   This event is designed exclusively for IT executives that want to understand what business value can be derived from the latest technology solutions. During this event...

On my quest to encourage people to upgrade their certifications,  I found a neat resource from the online Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine .  They have regular exam reviews that help you better understand what knowledge you need in...

Here's an interesting article from ComputerWorld, PC upgrades: When to turn the page isn't an easy call for IT execs .  When I was in consulting working on deployment projects, it was always interesting to me how companies decided upon the lifecycles...

Just published a few weeks ago, the Windows Vista Resource Kit is a must have book if you're responsible for deploying Windows Vista!!  I always try and keep my resource kit library up-to-date as they put so much information at your finger tips. ...

Thought I'd crop some of my pictures and see if anyone can work out where it was taken.  Here's the first.  Pretty simple one...  any guesses?

There are so many acronyms in our industry it's sometimes hard to keep up with them all. Every corporation has their own internal TLAs that grows in leaps and bounds. At Microsoft we live by them, half the time I know what the acronym is referring to...

If you're virtualizing your data center then the Virtualization Launch will be of great interest to you!!!! Currently, the launch will take place on September 8th, 2008 in Bellevue, WA.  However, there should be additional events around the US to...

Here's an offer that you shouldn't pass up if you're looking to upgrade your certifications!!!! Hopefully my previous posts on certification got you fired up to upgrade your MCSA or MCSE to the new MCITP certifications.  If so, you will be interested...

I recently had a question about task sequences in System Center Configuration Manager. Task sequences provide the mechanism for performing multiple steps or tasks on a computer without requiring user intervention, extremely useful if you're deploying...

It always amazes me how some people buy a wireless router for home and just plug it in and setup the basics; no security, default SSID (usually the manufacturers name like Linksys), default user and password (try user: admin, password:admin ). "Hey...

Yes folks, its time, our new live event schedule is here. Here are a few events I'll be doing over the next 6-8 weeks (I'll be adding more cities as the information becomes available). Jacksonville, FL: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST...