If you have ever wanted to obtain the Visio Stencils used by the Microsoft User Assistance teams in all of our TechNet documentation… look no further, as they are available for free download.
Software and Database Shapes for Microsoft Visio
Geographic Map Shapes for Microsoft Visio
Just a quick solution in case you ever get the following message when trying to open a SharePoint Document Library in explorer view from Windows Server 2008
Your client does not support opening this list with Windows Explorer.
This is due to the fact that Explorer view uses the WebDav protocol to connect to SharePoint from the client. As Windows Server is not designed to be a client, the WebDav client is not installed or enabled by default.
In order to enable the WebDav client (along with other client features such as Windows Media Player and Desktop Themes) on a server (you’re not doing this on a production server, right?), simply enable the Desktop Experience feature.
(thanks to Troy on the SharePoint team for this tip!)
Update: This can also happen if you are using Internet Explorer 6 and the URL to the Document Library is longer than 100 characters (covered in KB 923906), but you're not using IE 6 are you? It's time to upgrade! http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx
I had a co-worker recently ask me about some of the incredibly long URL’s now used in SharePoint 2010. In SharePoint 2007, the URL to a document hosted in a document library looked something like http://sharepoint/sites/teamsite/project%20documents/mydoc.xls. Great for cutting and pasting into an e-mail. After upgrading the SharePoint 2007 farm to SharePoint 2010, right-clicking on that same document and copying the URL would result in something that looked like
http://sharepoint/sites/teamsite/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?id=/sites/teamsite/project%20documents/mydoc.xls&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fsharepoint%2Fsites%2Fteamsite%2Fproject%20documents%2FForms%2FAllItems%2Easpx%3FRootFolder%3D%252Fsharepoint%252Fsites%252Fteamsite%252Fproject%documents%26View%3D%7B391E5EDC%2DAA9C%2D4F64%2D9E8D%2D401965CFC83A%7D&DefaultItemOpen=1
Not so good for cutting and pasting into an e-mail, right? Why did the URL length grow so long when referring to the same document for which SharePoint 2007 had such a nice short URL?
SharePoint 2010 is not the only place with long names. Picture by Bree Bailey
PowerPoint in the browser, courtesy of Office Web Apps
What if you just want to link directly to the document itself? Some e-mail programs limit the length of URLs, as do places within SharePoint itself (Document Link content types can only be 260 characters, and links within “Current Navigation” are also limited). The link to the open-in-web-apps-view is usually too long.
Let’s deconstruct the long url:
Pretty sure your eyes are crossed at this point… this is way more than you wanted to know. Anyhoo… the point I was trying to make is… out of that ginormous URL, it is relatively easy to extract the path to the document itself. That source parameter is only necessary for Web Apps, and it takes up a lot of spac. Just combine the protocol with the server name with the parameter saying where the document is (in our example above, http://sharepoint/sites/teamsite/project%documents/mydoc.xls. It’s easier done than said
The other way to change the behavior away from long URLs (and back to the way SharePoint 2007 worked) is to change the default document opening behavior. You must be a Site Collection Administrator to do so, and simply go to:
Now you will notice that right-clicking on a document and selecting the URL will leave you with a nice short URL. Hope this helps someone!
I have spent a month troubleshooting a crazy problem with SharePoint 2010, stumping everyone that worked on it. The problem was just resolved, and it involves something I’ve never seen before, so I thought I would share so that the solution is out there on the intarwebs :)
I have a large document library, using managed metadata columns and metadata navigation. I had created some custom term sets at the site collection level, which were consumed by site columns in my document library. My users were all granted contributor permissions to the library, and could successfully upload documents into the document library.
Although users could upload to the library, they could not edit the properties of documents they had just uploaded. When trying to do so, they would receive an IIS 403 (access denied) error as below. Strange, as they had the right permissions, and this was an IIS 403 error, not a standard SharePoint access denied message.
Users would also be able to browse the document library with no problems, but if they tried to navigate via the metadata navigation, they would again receive the 403 access denied error. Strange… users could see ALL documents, but not a filtered view.
Everything worked fine for site collection administrators (one of the support folks just suggested that I make all site collection users to be site collection admins, but I did not think that was a very good idea ;)
The common thread for both of these issues was the managed metadata. Users did have permissions in the library, and to the managed metadata service. It turns out that SharePoint 2010 has a hidden list at the site collection level called… appropriately enough, “TaxonomyHiddenList”. You can access this by going to http://servername/sitecollectionname/Lists/TaxonomyHiddenList/. As near as I can figure, this list holds all of the taxonomy items at the site collection level. You can visit and see all sorts of back-end information that probably means something to a programmer, but absolutely nothing to me.
In any case… my issued was caused by the fact that this list was not inheriting permissions from the site collection. Once I changed the permissions for this list to inherit from the site collection, everything started working. Good times! Hope this helps someone.
*Update: I spoke with the developer in charge of this feature (make sure to add the Microsoft Enterprise Content Management (ECM) team blog to your RSS reader BTW). This list should not inherit permissions from the site collection, but it SHOULD have read permissions for all authenticated users (this permission was missing in my case).
Complementing the Technical Diagrams for deploying Office 2010 post, here are the technical diagrams for SharePoint 2010. As I am a visual person, I find these to be more helpful than the written documentation at understanding key SharePoint concepts (I tend to use the written documentation if I need detailed step-by-step or clarification on a particular point).
As before, all diagrams are available in Visio, PDF, and XPS format:
SharePoint 2010 Products Deployment
Presents such deployment-related information as the different deployment stages and environments, plus a flowchart that illustrates the steps for installing and configuring SharePoint 2010 Products.
Services in SharePoint 2010 Products
Describes and illustrates the services architecture, including and common ways to deploy services in your overall solution design.
Cross-farm Services in SharePoint 2010 Products
Illustrates how to deploy services across farms to provide centralized administration of services.
Topologies for SharePoint Server 2010
Describes common ways to build and scale farm topologies, including planning which servers to start services on.
Extranet Topologies for SharePoint 2010 Products
Illustrates the specific extranet topologies that have been tested with SharePoint 2010 Products. Provides a comparison of ISA Server, Forefront TMG, Forefront UAG when used as a firewall or gateway product with SharePoint 2010 Products.
Hosting Environments in SharePoint 2010 Products
Summarizes the support for hosting environments and illustrates common hosting architectures.
Search Technologies for SharePoint 2010 Products
Compares and contrasts the search technologies that work with SharePoint Products 2010:
Search Environment Planning for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
Walks through primary architecture design decisions for search environments.
Search Architectures for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
Details the physical and logical architecture components that make up a search system and illustrates common search architectures.
Design Search Architectures for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
Walks through the initial design steps to determine a basic design for a SharePoint Server 2010 search architecture.
Business Connectivity Services Model
Microsoft Business Connectivity Services are a set of services and features in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 that support integrating data from external systems into solutions based on Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation. This model poster describes the architecture of Microsoft Business Connectivity Services in SharePoint Server 2010 and provides information about how to create solutions that are based on the service.
Use this model with the following article: Business Connectivity Services overview (SharePoint Server 2010)
Content Deployment in SharePoint Server 2010
Describes the content deployment feature in SharePoint Server 2010. It includes information about the following:
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Upgrade Planning
Covers planning for an upgrade from Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010. It includes information about the following:
Use this model with the following article: Upgrading to SharePoint Server 2010
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Upgrade Approaches
Helps you understand the in-place, database attach, and hybrid approaches to upgrading from Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010.
Use this model with the following articles:
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 — Test Your Upgrade Process
Explains the methodology for testing the upgrade process before upgrading from Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010.
Use this model with the following article: Use a trial upgrade to find potential issues (SharePoint Server 2010)
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 — Services Upgrade
Covers upgrading services from Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010.
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 — Upgrading Parent and Child Farms
Covers the process for and considerations to keep in mind when you upgrade farms that share services (parent and child farms).
Getting started with business intelligence in SharePoint Server 2010
Covers an overview of business intelligence in SharePoint Server and provides you with the following information.
Databases That Support SharePoint 2010 Products
Describes the Microsoft SQL Server databases on which SharePoint Server 2010 runs.
SharePoint 2010 Products: Virtualization Process
Provides guidance related to virtualization and the various stages of deployment, as well as requirements and examples.
I just saw the following from our Product Quality team, and thought I would pass along the resolution. While 64-bit installations of Office 2010 are still relatively uncommon, there are a few known issues/growing pains, and this is one of them
Issue:
Datasheet feature on SharePoint not available for customers who install the 64-bit version of Office 2010. When clicking on the Datasheet View, the following message is displayed:
The list cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons:
Description:
Customers using the 64-bit version of Office 2010 are unable to use the Datasheet view of SharePoint lists. This issue occurs regardless of what version of SharePoint the customer is using: Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, SharePoint Foundation 2010, SharePoint Server 2003, SharePoint Server 2007 or SharePoint Server 2010. The picture below is an example of the experience with SharePoint Server 2010 when you click the Datasheet View button.
The component that provides this functionality is not installed during the setup of the 64-bit version of Office 2010 because a 64-bit version of the Datasheet component does not exist.
Resolution:
Customers using the 64-bit version of Office 2010 can install the 2007 Office System Drivers: Data Connectivity Components to regain the Datasheet functionality when using the 32-bit version of an internet browser.
The resolution is documented in KB 2266203: You cannot view a list in Datasheet view after you install the 64-bit version of Office 2010.
Jason Buffington’s Book on Data Protection for Virtual Data Centers is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but while you are waiting for the UPS Man to arrive, the DPM Content Publishing team has been hard at work on documentation to help you plan, run, and troubleshoot your installation of Data Protection Manager 2010.
Planning a System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 Deployment
This guide provides an introduction to Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 and guidance on how to plan a DPM 2010 deployment.
Gratuitous usage of a Visio Diagram in a post. I just picked a pretty diagram from the paper. It doesn’t really relate to anything.
Deploying System Center Data Protection Manager 2010
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing, upgrading, and configuring DPM 2010, and includes an introduction to the DPM user interface, DPM Administrator Console. This guide also provides step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting, repairing, and uninstalling a DPM 2010 installation.
Data Protection Manager 2010 Operations Guide
This guide provides recommendations for monitoring and managing DPM servers and tape libraries, and protected computers that are running Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Virtual Server, or the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. This guide also provides instructions for setting up protection of data on desktop computers that are connected to the network, and portable computers that are connected to the network intermittently, and for setting up disaster recovery.
Data Protection Manager 2010 Troubleshooting Guide
This guide explains the process for diagnosing request tracking and error tracing for Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010, provides troubleshooting information by product category, and includes a list of the error codes for DPM 2010.
A year ago, I showed how to lock down SharePoint 2007 using the Security Configuration Wizard that was introduced with Windows Server 2003. The last post includes information on how the tool works, but as the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administration Toolkit was just released (which includes the Security Configuration Wizard (SCW) manifests for SharePoint 2010 running on Windows Server 2008/R2, I thought I would link to some resources and provide screenshots of the process.
While the documentation discusses how to install the SharePoint Foundation and SharePoint Server manifests, it appears that Project Server 2010 security manifests are included as well:
The Project Server manifests depend upon having the SharePoint Foundation and SharePoint Server manifests installed following the steps here, after which you can register them as follows:
Once you are done, just start up the Security Configuration Wizard by clicking Start –> Run –> scw.exe. Just click through the wizard, choose the appropriate options, and apply the configuration. You will then be all set to go with unnecessary services/ports disabled and firewall/auditing/registry settings configured as locked down.
The SharePoint 2010 Certifications (both for IT Pros and Developers) both go live on Monday.
For IT Pros:
For Developers:
There are some classes available (under “Preparation Materials” at the above links), and if you can get your boss to send you to training, that is absolutely the way to go. If you are more the self-study type, there are a TON of books available on SharePoint 2010 and related technologies (many more than there were at this point with 2007):
I always recommend studying by reading through the exam objectives (links at the top), reading through the associated documentation on TechNet, and then practicing installing and configuring with the trial software and/or a demo virtual image. This has always been a passing strategy for me!
If your domain is setup as a Single Label Domain or with a Disjoint/Discontiguous namespace, head on over to the DNS Namespace Planning Solution Center.
This Solution Center outlines Microsoft’s support policy for customers with various namespace configurations and includes links to individual products and known technical issues, if any, related to Single Label Domains (SLDs), Disjoint Namespaces, and other uncommon naming configurations.
This Solution Center also provides information on the use of namespace in Microsoft server products, including deployments with Single Label Domains (SLDs), Disjoint Namespaces, and Discontiguous Namespaces.
Single Label Domains Single-label DNS names are DNS names that do not contain a suffix such as .com, .corp, .net, or .org. For example contoso would be an SLD while contoso.com, contoso.net, or contoso.local would not be an SLD.
Disjoint Namespaces A disjoint namespace occurs when one or more domain member computers have a primary Domain Name Service (DNS) suffix that does not match the DNS name of the Active Directory domain of which the computers are members. For example, a member computer that uses a primary DNS suffix of corp.fabrikam.com in an Active Directory domain named na.corp.fabrikam.com is using a disjoint namespace.
Discontiguous Namespaces Discontiguous namespace, also referred to as non-contiguous namespace, is one in which the domains in a forest are not lined up in one hierarchical DNS tree. If the domains in a forest have discontiguous DNS names, they form separate domain trees within the forest. An Active Directory forest can have one or more domain trees. An example of a multi-tree forest would be a forest containing the domains, contoso.com and fabrikam.net.
The following screenshot will give a DBA severe indigestion (although I have to imagine it is not entirely uncommon on unmanaged installations of SQL, especially those where SQL is just the black box that is installed as a prerequisite).
A SQL installation with the database files, logs, and backups on the same volume, all with the simple recovery model enabled. Excessive memory paging. Unexpected shutdowns. Database consistency check not current (Paul Randal is probably losing sleep at night). Disk partition offset is wrong see here and here).
I can’t imagine why this server is not performing optimally.
The first step to fixing a problem is understanding and admitting that you have a problem.
Fortunately, the SQL Team and CSS Escalation Engineers have put their heads together to document common SQL misconfigurations, written a tool to scan your SQL Server for these misconfigurations, and give you information on how to fix them. I strongly recommend you give it a go on your own SQL server :) It may just save a call into support down the road.
You’ll need to install the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer first, and then the SQL Best Practices Analyzer. You can run the scan remotely, but will need to enable PowerShell remoting following the steps at the bottom of the post (if you are installing the BPA locally, the installer will do it for you). Can anyone beat my screenshot for the ugliness of their install?
Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0
Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 (MBCA 2.0) can help you maintain optimal system configuration by analyzing configurations of your computers against a predefined set of best practices, and reporting results of the analyses.
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2 Best Practices Analyzer
The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 BPA is a diagnostic tool that performs the following functions:
Important: SQL Server 2008 R2 BPA is able to scan both the local computer and remote computers. Therefore, in both the local and remote cases, it is required that your PowerShell settings be modified. The modifications support PowerShell remoting, and increase maximum number of concurrent shells for a user. The following commands will be executed on the machine where the BPA analysis is initiated. You MUST check the “Select to continue…” box to apply these modifications, or select “cancel” to exit Setup. Enable Remoting using "Enable-PSRemoting"- Performs configuration actions to enable this machine for remote management. Includes:
I’ll get the ugly out of the way first… When developing Project Server 2010, the development team was faced with the same constraints that any project team faces… the Project Management Triangle (which the Project Management Institute (PMI) has now replaced with the six-dueling-constraints-of-doom as illustrated below http://www.bing.com/search?q=pmbok+six+constraints).
Given unlimited time and resources, the team could deliver unlimited features. Unfortunately, there are ship dates and budget and risks and resources to consider, and above all, shipping is a feature. A critically important one. When faced with the decision of adding the great features that are part of SharePoint and Project Server 2010 or enabling direct upgrades from n-2 versions that had shipped in 2003, they decided to go with the former.
That was a long way of saying that you cannot upgrade directly from SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or Project Server 2003 to their 2010 equivalents. It also allowed me to play with Smart Art in PowerPoint 2010 and link to Wikipedia, Bing, and Joel Spolsky :)
So how do you upgrade from SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or Project Server 2003 to Project Server 2010? Ideally, at Microsoft we would love you to have Software Assurance so you can always update to the latest and greatest version :) If that isn’t in the cards for some reason, then the SharePoint and Project teams have come up with the Virtual Migration Environment (VME) for Microsoft Project 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010.
The Virtual Migration Environment is a set of two virtual disks that provide Office Project Server 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007 environments, sample content, and scripts design to assist customers with upgrade and migration from Office Project Server 2003 and Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to Project Server 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010. The Virtual Migration Environment provides the tools and resources to assist with upgrade and migration and planning and preparation resources to determine upgrade approaches and address common issues. The Virtual Migration Environment can be used to attach your existing production Project Server 2003 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003 databases for upgrade to Project Server 2007 or Office SharePoint Server 2007 or can be used with sample databases to test and understand the upgrade process.
The Virtual Migration Environment is a set of two virtual disks that provide Office Project Server 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007 environments, sample content, and scripts design to assist customers with upgrade and migration from Office Project Server 2003 and Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to Project Server 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010. The Virtual Migration Environment provides the tools and resources to assist with upgrade and migration and planning and preparation resources to determine upgrade approaches and address common issues.
The Virtual Migration Environment can be used to attach your existing production Project Server 2003 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003 databases for upgrade to Project Server 2007 or Office SharePoint Server 2007 or can be used with sample databases to test and understand the upgrade process.
A free Hyper-V image that is preconfigured with SharePoint 2007 and Project Server 2007, along with planning information, training videos, documentation, and a pretty sweet background? How can you go wrong? Download it here.
For more information on planning your upgrade/migration, please visit the following Upgrade and Migration Centers on Microsoft TechNet:
In case you are starting to evaluate the deployment of Windows 7 and Office 2010 in your environment (especially now that Windows 2000 is no longer supported), I just found an excellent resource on TechNet:
Building a Technical Proof of Concept for the Joint Deployment of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010
The site and content walk you through exploring the benefits, creating a business case, assessing hardware readiness, determining application comptibility, creating an image, and deploying a technical proof of concept. There is also a downloadable Jumpstart kit that includes a preconfigured VHD that includes all of the tools you need… the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, Application Compatibility Toolkit, Windows 7, Office 2010, etc. Make sure you run the VM on Hyper-V with connectivity to the internet so that the image can activate when it first loads.
For more information:
I just got my printed copy of Microsoft Project 2010: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore, that I was fortunate enough to be able to tech review while it was being written. The book is absolutely excellent, both for the information on Project 2010, but also the tips and tricks that Bonnie includes throughout that are useful for Project managers of all kinds.
I won’t include the table of contents or abstract here, but you can pick the book up at finer bookstores everywhere, including:
I strongly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself, one for the road, one for Grandma, and a few to hand out as party favors for your kid’s kindergarten graduation. They make great stocking stuffers as well.*
All kidding aside… the very first (readable) book I ever read on project management was On Time! On Track! On Target!, an MS Press book that happens to have been authored by Bonnie as well. Great author, great book, and I learned quite a few tips and tricks that I was able to apply in Project 2010 (which is a HUGE upgrade to previous versions) and to projects I am leading at work.
*Disclaimer: Although I was a tech reviewer for this book, I do not get any commissions from any sales of the book, or from click-throughs to any of the book stores listed.
In my last post, I linked to some great training available on learning web development with Visual Studio 2010. Complementing that content is some excellent (and free) training on Microsoft Expression Studio with sessions for visual designers and Flash/Flex/Business developers:
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/resources/BlendTraining/
The OnRamp training has been designed to work with Expression Blend 4, part of Expression Studio 4 Ultimate. Many of the lessons have assets available that enable you to easily follow what is being presented on screen. To use these assets please install the 60 day trail of Expression Studio 4.
In today’s “that’s kind of cool”, it turns out you can use Bing’s Visual Search for more than visualizing the top movies in theatres or new cars, you can also use it as a reference for Powershell Cmdlets. How cool is that?
Try it here: http://www.bing.com/visualsearch?g=powershell_cmdlets
Get them while they’re hot! Download here: Linux Integration Services v2.1 for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V R2. This version of the integration services for Hyper-V supports Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.5.
When installed in a supported Linux virtual machine running on Hyper-V, the Linux Integration Components provide:
Support for this version of Linux Integration Services is provided via the Microsoft TechNet forums or by contacting the appropriate support channels for Microsoft, Novell, or Red Hat.
Download the Integration Service installer ISO here: Linux Integration Services v2.1 for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V R2
I love the technical diagrams that the Office/SharePoint teams release… if you have access to a plotter (or Kinko’s), you can print them out and hang them on your wall. Why wouldn’t you? ;)
All of the diagrams are available in PDF, XPS, and VSD (Visio) format in case you want to edit the diagram yourself to add your own logo or reflect a specific environment before presenting it to your manager/stakeholder/client.
Deployment Options for Microsoft Office 2010
Download (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=168621)
Describes and illustrates the client deployment methods for Office 2010. Deployment options include network share, Group Policy startup scripts, managed deployment, and virtualization. Use this model with the following article: Choose an option for deploying Office 2010.
Deploy Multilanguage Packs for Microsoft Office 2010
Download (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=168622)
Describes and illustrates how to deploy multilanguage packs for Office 2010. Elements include evaluation criteria, planning considerations, and deployment tasks. Use this model with the following article: Plan for multilanguage deployment of Office 2010.
64-bit Client Installation of Microsoft Office 2010
Download (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=168620)
Describes and illustrates the 64-bit client installation of Office 2010. Elements include setup overview, processes, requirements, deployment considerations, and supported scenarios. Use this model with the following article: 64-bit editions of Office 2010.
Virtualization Overview - Architecture
Download (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=168624)
Describes and illustrates the architectural overview of virtualization technology and the different models that are possible. Use this model with the following article: Plan for virtualization for Office 2010.
Application Virtualization - Delivery Methods
Describes and illustrates delivery methods of virtualization, focused on sequencing. Use this model with the following article: Plan for virtualization for Office 2010.
Application Virtualization for the Mobile User
Describes and illustrates stand-alone delivery method of virtualized applications for mobile users. Use this model with the following article: Plan for virtualization for Office 2010.
Volume Activation of Microsoft Office 2010
Download (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=188811)
Describes the volume activation methods for Office 2010 and illustrates typical network scenarios. Use this model with the following article: Plan volume activation of Office 2010.
If you are planning an upcoming rollout of Office 2010, the Office team has released some readiness materials to help get your end users excited about Office 2010. The download includes posters, flyers, and weekly e-mails with tips and tricks. Good stuff!
Download Here: Office 2010 IT Professional User Readiness Resources
Related Downloads:
Overview (100-200 level)
Advanced (300-400 level)
Just saw this over on the Windows Team Blog... it looks like the Microsoft Security Essentials team is keeping busy, the first release is already very awesome, and now we have a beta available for the next version.
New features in the beta of Microsoft Security Essentials include:
Windows Firewall integration – During setup, Microsoft Security Essentials will now ask if you would like to turn the Windows Firewall on or off.
Enhanced protection for web-based threats – Microsoft Security Essentials now integrates with Internet Explorer to provide protection against web-based threats.
New protection engine – The updated anti-malware engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
Network inspection system – Protection against network-based exploits is now built in to Microsoft Security Essentials.
To download the beta of Microsoft Security Essentials, click here to visit the Microsoft Connect page to register for the beta. Once completed – you will find the instructions for downloading and installing the beta. We value your feedback – beta participants are encouraged to provide feedback about their experiences with Microsoft Security Essentials through Microsoft Connect. Please note that this is a limited beta available in English (U.S.), Israel, and Brazilian Portuguese (the beta will also be available in China in Simplified Chinese later this year) and is available to genuine Windows users on a first come, first serve basis until the allotted spots for the beta have been reached.
Woohoo! After a bit of a delay (my calendar says it is July 22nd), the June CU is finally available for SharePoint and Project Server 2010.
Project Server 2010 is built on top of SharePoint Server 2010, and SharePoint Server 2010 is built on top of SharePoint Foundation, so if you are running Project Server 2010, you’ll need all 3 updates, and if you are running SharePoint Server 2010 you’ll need the top two hotfixes.
Before installing the updates, make sure you read through the KB articles above to see if you are impacted by any of the bugs that were fixed, and then head on over to the SharePoint 2010 Update Resource Center to learn how we recommend you test and implement updates for SharePoint 2010.
System Center Essentials 2010 has been out a few months (download Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Trial), and already there is a Resource Kit available!
The System Center Essentials Resource Kit includes:
Essentials Server Migration AdvisorYou can use this tool to move an Essentials 2010 management server installation to a different server. The tool backs up the installation on the source server and restores it on the target server. Published Software Certificate Update ToolThe published software certificate update tool removes the existing software publishing certificate from the Essentials 2010 or Essentials 2007 management server and all managed computers, generates a new certificate, deploys the certificate to managed computers, and signs all locally published content with the new certificate. Setup Log ParserWhen you install System Center Essentials 2010, Setup creates SCESetupWizard.log and a set of related log files, depending on the features you chose to install, such as SQL Server, Reporting, and Virtualization Management. If installation fails, you can use this tool to get an easy-to-read-report that contains enough information to determine if the installation was successful and to highlight any issues. Maintenance Mode Management PackSystem Center Essentials 2010 maintenance mode does not provide a way to schedule the maintenance mode start time to begin at a future time. Use this tool if you want to schedule a group of computers to enter maintenance mode at a fixed time in the future. For example, you may want to schedule a group of computers to be in maintenance mode every Friday and Saturday night at 11:00PM for a duration of three hours. Computer Group Repair ToolThe computer group repair tool identifies and repairs broken relationships between System Center Operations Manager computer groups and their corresponding Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) computer groups.Essentials Server Cleanup ToolAfter an installation failure, you can run the Essentials Server Cleanup Tool to clean out files left over from the failed installation and restore the computer to a clear, preinstallation state so that you can start the installation over again. Note that the tool removes existing Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) certificates from the computer.
Download the System Center Essentials 2010 Resource Kit here
I see over on the Windows Phone Developer Blog that the UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 and Design Templates for Windows Phone 7 are now available for Developers. The UI Design guide is actually a very interesting read, even if you are not a developer. I am getting so excited for the launch of Windows Phone!
Some important resources:
The Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta includes the following
This Training Kit will give you a jumpstart into the new Windows Phone world by providing you with a step-by-step explanation of the tools to use and some key concepts for programming Windows Phones.
This topic serves as a roadmap into the documentation that you can use to build engaging consumer applications for Windows Phones.
This page lists a set of code samples for developers of applications for Windows Phone. You can download the samples listed here to see how the Windows Phone APIs are used in practice or as a starting place for your own applications. New samples will be added to this page periodically, so check back often and see what’s new.
Courtesy of James Senior, I see that we have released the Web Camps Training Kit: July 2010 Edition. This is perfect timing as I am in the process of teaching myself Web Development.
Overview
The kit includes all the content presented around the world at the recent Web Camps events; presentations, demos, labs and more. Inside the new kit you’ll find content that covers the following technologies:
We’ve also included scenario based content which comes in the form of complimentary slides, demos, demo scripts and hands-on-labs. These scenarios show you how to take your own web application from an idea and prototype all the way to getting more visitors and optimizing for performance using the Microsoft Web Platform and other technologies from Microsoft.