I long ago deleted the stock RSS gadget in Vista since I wasn't using it.  Just the other day I decided I wanted it back for a special application.  All is not lost.  Those gadgets are stored in Program Files, presumably just to prevent people like me from doing permanent damage.  I found the following step in the online help articles to recover the gadget.

Note: If you uninstall gadgets that came with Windows, you can restore them to the Gadget Gallery by following these steps:

a. Open Windows Sidebar properties by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Windows Sidebar Properties.

b. Click Restore gadgets installed with Windows.

Windows Vista Help: Customize Windows Sidebar

 Quick tip  - I've been a Franklin-Covey user for many years now.  I might not have survived college without it faithfully by my side.  I learned through their training to use the priority method of assigning things based on have to, need to, want to, or whichever terms you would like to apply.  I then go through and assign a number to each of those tasks and work through them in order.  Aaah, chaos controlled...

Well it has been driving me crazy that although I could use categories in Outlook or the priority field to group my tasks, I had no way to assign a custom rank.  Neither start date, due date, nor alphabetical order is always the best sorting method.  I prefer to do it the hard way I guess.

With the help of a specialist on my team I found how to add a custom column.  Actually quite easy.  First, collapse any tasks you have in the to-do bar and right-click within the white space and select Properties.  You should have no problem on your own clicking Fields and then creating a new custom property.  I chose to call mine "order"  The tricky part is how to have the column appear in the to-do bar.

Click on Other Settings and then look for the field below.  Uncheck the box to use compact layout and select the radio button for "Always use single-layout".  You will then be able to customize which columns appear on your to-do list.  Unfortunately, if you resize the to-do bar your columns will adjust widths so you may need to break one habit in sacrifice for another.

I've been wanting a shortcut I can stick in IE7 to quickly Digg sites.  I'm sure this exists somewhere but I didn't find it right away so I wanted to post what I got to work in case I need to someday come back and find it quickly.

javascript:void(location.href='http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url='+location.href)

This is a combination of the shortcut used by TinyURL and a page I found who claims to be the original poster of the link, which I discovered here.  The difference is the shortcut above takes the page and transfers the URL to Digg using the same window rather than popping up a new window, which was being suppressed by the IE pop-up blocker (rightfully so).

Well it's official, it's Q4, it's near the end of June, people are working their tails off to wrap up the end of Fiscal Year 07.  I'm getting this post out a bit later in the day than I would like but hey, priorities...

A few interesting tidbits today.  Microsoft TV: IPTV edition has a new version and a new name.  "Mediaroom" is the new brand.  I would LOVE if IPTV would come to my block.  Hey AT&T, let's roll baby!  If you want to see the demo's for yourself, check out the Mediaroom site.  Well worth your time IMHO.  This is absolutely fascinating technology.

MSN has a new site which renders much better for mobile browsing.  I'm happy to see that.  I spend enough time wasting away in airport terminals to appreciate any new content that can be rendered in a pocket-sized browser.

An update to BDD has been released.  The update addresses several scripts which need changes after significant feedback from the field and from customers.  Both an MSP file for existing installs and a new MSI install are available.

Our good friend Blake posted a link to the SteadyState release.  If you have ever considered the need for a tool to set your computer to "forget" all changes after a reboot, this is one option.  It's a great option for kiosk machines, computer labs, Internet cafe's, etc.  Anywhere you might want to quickly and easily undo and changes made by anonymous users to a public PC.

Hey check it out - beta preview of a new Channel 9 interface.  I like it!

Popfly topped a list of 25 websites to watch.  The number of things you can use for mash-ups in Popfly is growing.  I'm definitely going to have to find time for another project.  Maybe plot TechNet blogs?

I'm off to LabMan this week.  Hope your week is enjoyable!  I'll leave you with a photo I snapped in DTW last week.  Those of you who fly Northwest will recognize the fountain from Detroit.  I just happen to catch it as the water which jumps from the outside of the ring was falling towards the center, creating a bouquet-like look.

Interesting info.  The details of this report include enough information you could easily use it as a guide for your own testing.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Network Benchmark Study

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 include significant network performance improvements that can increase user productivity. This third-party benchmark study done by The Tolly Group compares network throughput and time-to-completion of several tasks when using Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

This is a great source of info to start reading-up on Server 2008.  The page doesn't first expand out the chapters, but if you click on the plus sign you will see a break down of all the changes.

Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn"

I love writing about the week's news on Monday.  The hype is all stirred up and you just never know how things are going to look by Friday.  Not much in the news today though.

The Imagine Cup Innovation Fair is on campus in Redmond this week and gives students an opportunity to show off their projects.  If you've never heard of the Imagine Cup, think of it as a World Cup competition but for students who want to show their talent with technology!  It's not just programming.  Projects include everything from applications to photography and short films.  This is a really cool opportunity if you are looking to show all the world your potential.  The 2007 competition is focused on Education!

The world’s premier student technology competition,
the Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. Now in its fifth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues.

The 2007 Theme: Education
This year, Microsoft is calling on young programmers, artists and technologists around the world to "imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all." We’re challenging students to bring their ideas to life in a multifaceted competition that comprises nine categories, each catering to a different technological or artistic affinity. Students’ work will reflect valuable, real world solutions, while giving them the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. When coupled with the power of technology the potential of young people is unlimited and the ideas they develop for the Imagine Cup could significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world. In this competition, everyone wins.

Information about the 2008 competition is online now.  The theme for next year is "the Environment" and finals are being held in Paris!  Get your web 2.0 hats on and show them what you've got!

I have no doubts that the desktop search discussion will continue this week.

And of course the news this week is going to be all hyped up over the iPhone.  I'll admit, I want to go play with one to check out if the overselling pays off.  I'll keep my opinions to myself as always, but I will say I am continually impressed by the reach and continuity of the advertising.  The phone goes on sale Friday so you can expect reports to buzz all week.  One of my old college roommates called today and I think he put it well, "I'm just waiting to see how all the other phone manufacturers respond.  You know they are going to raise the bar to keep competing against a new device."  Well said, and any of you who have had a chance to talk with me at length know how I feel about competition - nothing spurs new innovation like good ole' competitive spirit!

Each day I gain a bit more appreciation for a site called "Lifehack".  It's the type of site I would love to contribute to.  As a blogger I respect sites who bring real material almost every day without introducing a bunch of opinionated nonsense just to get a rise out of people.  I have learned from Lifehack and occasionally something I read there will cause me to bring back good habits or dump bad ones.  The content is not typically technical in nature, but sometimes they mix one in to keep it fresh.

Well here's a tip they posted over the weekend.

Insert Tables in Word 2007 Without the Mouse - lifehack.org

It's this simple - if you want to insert a table in Word 2007, you could use the very simple drag and drop table insert method.  You know, if you're a sucker...  ;-)

Or, you could keep your fingers on the board, so to speak, and drop in a new table through a series of dashes and plus signs.  A one row, three column table, would be created using the pattern below.  The table will appear with you hit Enter at the end.

+-----+-----+-----+

How cool is that?  Thanks Lifehack!

Wanting to try Vista but not ready to perform a full upgrade just yet?  Vista has been added to a pretty large variety of products which can be downloaded as virtual machines for evaluation.  The S3 Ultra 64 video card in virtual machine hardware will not show off the visual capabilities of Vista but this is still a good way to test application compatibility.  From the site:

For organizations with complex desktop infrastructures, whether large or small, Windows Vista Enterprise is the operating system designed specifically to help realize a better return on IT investments. In this VHD, you'll have the opportunity to road-test new and improved features including management (e.g. MUI, BDD, etc…) usability (e.g. Search, Navigation, etc…) and security (UAC, Windows Defender, etc…), enhancements to the Windows Vista platform.

Download details: Windows Vista

Posting on Tuesday, "Sounds like a case of the Mondays?"  Maybe.

The big IT event this week is the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.  The Steve Jobs keynote presentation took place yesterday and focused on Leopard and an announcement that Apple is releasing Safari for Windows.  I haven't tried it yet to determine an opinion.  Overall, the world was obviously looking for iPhone hype and didn't get it.  I have no doubt WWDC will attract a majority of news coverage over the next few days as people take rumors and beat them to death.

BTW, could it take any longer for the official video stream to get published?

I've seen several posts making observations from screenshots.  People did that around Vista too.  Ugh.  Look, if making broad observations from almost no technical information gets you 15,000 subscribers, I'm fine with my 50...

 In Microsoft related news, Virtual Server R2 SP1 has gone RTM.  Check out the new web site.  The highlight IMHO is the pre-built VHDs of various products -

Exchange Server 2007
ISA Server 2006
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2005/Exchange 2007
System Center Essentials 2007
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Beta 2
Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite
Windows Server 2003 R2
Windows Vista

Also interesting - Microsoft hired Tom Hanrahan, a 30 year veteran of open source development, to contribute to the Open Source Software lab.  I'm hoping to work with the lab on a write-up this summer, stay tuned to see if I can make that happen...

The best news this week, and the reason I held off for a day - we just got back from the Dr. and found out we are having a boy.  It will be nice to bring things back in to balance, I've been out numbered for a few years now.  Cheers.

You can barely make out a little finger pointing up there on the left hand, that's my son giving me the ole' FTW (for the win).  Well, it's easier to see on the video...  ;-)

 Just a quick note to make sure anyone subscribing to my blog gets this info.  Service Pack 2 for Server 2003 (yes, it has been out for a while now...) will be put on automatic updates June 12th.  See Sean's site linked below for more detail and how to block it if needed.

The Sean Blog : Windows Server 2003 R2 hits Automatic Update on June 12th

This is a great blog entry about a TechEd session focused on Multicast in Windows Server 2008 Windows Deployment Services.  Some very interesting information about special options to detect and deal with the slowest clients on your network. 

Josh's Windows Weblog : TechEd 2007 - Day 2 - WDS Multicast Deployments Coming

 This is one of the most useful systray apps I have seen in a long, long time.  This would resolve a major issue for me.  I have a weirdness lately where sometimes I put my laptop to sleep and then it doesn't really go to sleep, it's like a child that wants back up...

Love the creative resolution!

Brien Schultz has tied together some .NET and come up with a fantastic program called bedtime which uses the accelerometers in most modern laptops and tablets. His program monitors these accelerometers to detect if you laptop is moving, if it is moving, a countdown to suspend is initiated.

Credit: The Student Tablet PC » Blog Archives » Bedtime in a backpack

Link: http://8r13n.wordpress.com/2007/06/05/it%e2%80%99s-bedtime/

As a follow-up to the links I posted to the series of articles in TechNet magazine, here is another good analysis from ArsTechnica.  This is a very respectable piece with constructive criticism. 

From the intro:

Editor's Note: In "Windows Vista: more than just a pretty face," we began our extensive assessment of Windows Vista with a focus on the changes to the graphical framework of Windows. We also talked about improvements to the general Windows API, the media foundation, and improvements in sound. In what follows, we look at three remaining areas of major improvement for Vista: security, networking, and storage. At the end, we present the first round of our criticisms of the new OS. In the coming weeks, we will unveil our performance-oriented examination of the OS. Without further ado...

Windows Vista: Under the Hood: Page 1

This was a great for-fun project.  Microsoft Research has a tool available for download named MapCruncher that can take an image, PDF file, etc, and overlay it on Virtual Earth.  I was talking to Travis about local groups that support Mountain Biking and he suggested I look in to Gateway Off-Road Cyclists*.  Turns out, they have a great website and they have done a nice job keeping their trail maps up to date - not surprising since it looks like they are major supporters of the trails.

I have been looking for a good trail map to mashup with VE.  This one works perfectly and overlays my favorite bike trail.  I plotted several points of correspondence between their trail map and VE to get everything pretty well lined up.  It would only take 5 or 6, I ended up taking it overboard and plotting more like 70.

Live - MapCruncher Mashup of SIUE Trail map

If you would be interested in doing one of these on your own or as part of a classroom exercise, it is really quite easy and requires no coding unless you want to customize the sample page it provides for publishing the maps.  I recommend starting off by watching the tutorial video and then downloading the tool to start playing around.  Try rendering your campus map, here's someone who has!

Not a ton of news this morning.  It sounds like the iPhone is going to release June 29th.  I'll admit, I am interested in this thing if only to see if the hype pays off for them, and because I love good competition, and because it has some interesting features.  If you are among those who are sitting around hyperventilating over it here's something to read in the mean time - Gartner Hype Cycle.

The ForeFront Business Security Solutions announcement is interesting.  I'm looking forward to digging in to this.  Things like this make me wish there was an Enterprise version of my favorite podcasts, they seem to only dwell on consumer software these days.  Here's a scoop from the press release:

The Forefront solution, codenamed “Stirling,” is a single product that delivers unified security management and reporting with comprehensive, coordinated protection across an organization’s IT infrastructure.

Most importantly, this is the week of TechEd 2007.  For those of you who just decided IT is an interesting place to be - TechEd is the largest yearly Microsoft event.

With this in mind, I am looking forward to some announcements trickling out and interesting reports from people who are there.  For the rest of us, don't forget most of the sessions are online at -

Virtual TechEd

So you have no excuse for being behind the curve this year.  As for me, I'll be tuning in to everything PowerShell, Server 2008, and Virtualization related.

Just heading out to watch the keynote now.  Ah... delivered in high quality Silverlight!  Love the B2TF spoof.  :-)

Guest blog from Zanoon Nissar!  Zanoon is with our Partners in Learning group and wished to spread the word to anyone in the education community who might subscribe to my blog.  Thanks Zanoon!

2007 U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum: Rewarding 21st Century Learning Teams

Each year the Innovative Teachers Forum recognizes outstanding examples of collaborating educators focused on improving student outcomes in the 21st century.  Based on applications that reflect excellence in teacher collaboration and elements of 21st century learning, 25 learning teams will be selected for recognition.  Up to four educators from each team, including the school principal, will be invited to attend the event on September 27 – 28 at the Microsoft Corporate Campus in Redmond, Washington.

As an attendee, you would receive the following benefits:

• Paid airfare, hotel and other travel expenses on behalf of your school*
• Recognition for your team’s outstanding work
• The chance to network with leading educators
• Professional growth through learning projects

Apply now at www.microsoft.com/innovativeteachers

*certain conditions apply. See application website for details.

I like Virtual Earth, in fact hopefully I get a post out tomorrow morning regarding a fun MapCruncher project I just completed.  Just need to retake some screenshots...

I see on the VE blog that they have integrated with Instant Search.  Neat!  Instant Search is the name for the quick results you get at the top of the results page on Live.com.  If you search for a company you can get their info, stock price, etc.  Sports teams - scores.  Etc.

Go ahead, search MSN or Live.com for an address, or simply "traffic".  Traffic is awesome, it tracks back to your location and shows any traffic alerts, and in my case it even revealed one possible cause!  Of course, if I had a VPN session open to Redmond, I'm sure my results would vary.  :-)

Virtual Earth / Live Maps: Instant Answer for Maps and Traffic added