Steve Lamb's Blog

Windows Phone 7 coupled with Azure provides computing platform at the edge of space

Steve Lamb — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:10:00 GMT

The incredible team at the University of Southampton successfully launched a Windows Phone 7 handset into the stratosphere as a testbed for a series of experiements to further atmospheric research into pollution. Friday's launch utilised a helium filled balloon to elevate a small package to an altitude of 18237 meters/59832 feet. The package contained a Windows 7 phone handset, additional power supply and a commodity digital camera which recorded 1,200 images during the flight.

At maximum altitude the balloon burst (as expected!) and the package returned to Earth via a small parachute. During the flight a custom application on the phone recorded the latitude, longitude and altitude. While in range of the cellular network the application streamed it's data to another application running on Windows Azure.Windows Azure provided the computational "horse power" to project the likely landing point of the package.

This is a great example of inexpensive hardware being combined in a creative way with phone software and a cloud service to enable something (scientific research in this case) that would otherwise have been prohibitively expensive yet which can bring benefit to us all.

The image below shows the team preparing to launch Astra 7

The team's write up provides much more information as does Stuart Dredge's article on the Guardian tech blog and Cliff Saran's piece on Computer Weekly.

Kudos to Keith who beat me to it in his post which gives a heads up of the flight's impressive statistics.

The image below shows the package containing the phone at it's maximum altitude

Congratulations to the Astra 7 team including Dr Andras Sobester, Dr Elizabeth Hart, Dr Steven Johnston and Neil O_Brien. Thanks to Geoff Hughes, Ben Nunney (@bennuk), Will Coleman and Lou Waller for their support

I'm delighted to be able to say that this wasn't a PR stunt - it was serious scientific research as part of The University of Southampton's ASTRA (Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft) project

SYN - is there anyone out there?

Steve Lamb — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:27:00 GMT

SYN-ACK anyone?

I've really missed hearing your views via comments to this blog. For three years I thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog and then all of a sudden I simply stopped.

I felt bad and meant to explain but never did. The more time passed the harder it seemed to explain why. Some people wondered if I'd been fired. Thankfully that wasn't the case :-)

This feels like my first post in that it's perfectly possible that I'm the only person who'll read this post.

Two things happened which resulted in me stopping blogging.

The main reason was that I took a bold and rather scary step. I left a job I loved. Being an Evangelist. I never liked the name but thoroughly enjoyed working with many people both within and outside the company to find solutions to challenging technical problems, writing about and presenting the solutions. After four years as an Evangelist I "jumped ship" to become a marketeer! The main reason was to push myself far outside my comfort zone and also to find out first hand where the following three forces smash into one another :-)

technology
public relations
social media

The other reason I stopped blogging was that I found myself so distracted by Twitter that I "no longer had time" to blog. As you may know from your own experience, the are many benefits of participating in micro-blogging including almost instant interaction and concise, often (though not always) thoughtful interaction. Blogging is absolutely complimentary as it's great to explore subjects in greater detail and it provides more of a statement of record - old content remains easily discoverable.

My Twitter tag is @actionlamb which is a nickname my peers gave me when I spent a month in Seattle back in 2002 when I joined the company. It stemmed from my enthusiasm for extreme sports coupled with my surname. I share both social and business thoughts on Twitter.

The more I tweeted, the more I put off blogging. I had planned to explain my change of role to you with the hope of encoraging you to join me on my journey of exploration in marketing. Given I had so much to learn in my new role (Technology Audience PR Manager) I found I didn't even tweet much in the first few months.

It's now over two years since I last spent time with many of you. It's far too long and I hope to connect again.

I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about marketing and specifically the art of Public Relations. I remain true to my Yorkshire roots and continue to be a straight talking chap as many of my peers do. Seeing where social media influences the traditional media and how Public Relations is evolving to remain relevant. As in the World of technology there are people who add value and some who detract. I've had the honour of meeting some incredible PR professionals who really "get it". Sadly I've also seen the "snakeoil" peddled by a minority of lazy PRs and seen their spam.

Eighteen months ago I came across a debate where the "social media experts" were pitched against "the traditional media" - thankfully each of the participants agreed that the whole idea was nonesense! Social and "traditional" media are not mutually exclusive. Many World class journalists and TV presenters are as passionate about the wonders of social media as I am.

I think it's incredible that ANYONE with access to the Internet (I appreciate there are still far too many people who still don't have access) can "live the social graph"/contribute to the conversation.

I hope you find this blog useful going forwards. I'm going to contribute to it on a regular basis once again and hope to hear from and learn from you in time.

Thank you.

Steve

What do our customers think of Microsoft Security?

Steve Lamb — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:41:00 GMT

You may recall that I shared the results of the previous Security Newsletter Survey - here's the latest version.

In case you're not familiar with the survey it comprises feedback and charts from the readers of the Microsoft Ltd (UK) Security Newsletter - I think both the charts and verbatim comments are pretty interesting

Survey:

(Jan 09) Security Newsletter Survey

Client:

Microsoft UK

Date ranges:

All dates ((Jan 09) Security Newsletter Survey)

Available dates:	No restriction (all to Feb 11th 2009 09:52)
First collection:	Jan 30th 2009 12:57
Last collection:	Feb 09th 2009 12:44
Responses collected in period:	66
Average collection rate:	0.3 per hour (6.6 per day)

Considering security overall, to you think Microsoft is...


		#

	Better than other companies	48.44%
	The same as other companies	39.06%
	Worse than other companies	12.50%

n = 64

Could you tell us what, if anything, you really like about the newsletter and how it adds value to you?

I like the open nature of the authers. It keeps me in touch with best practices and points me at areas I may have overlooked in my busy schedule.

The newsletter is just saying that Microsoft is better than any other IT Company - Rubbish. You release bug fixes / security updates every month - if you wrote the software properly in the first place then you wouldn't need to. Also, why are all the security updates to help because someone has discovered that a program / code can cause remote access to a Windows based PC. Do you not have any other reasons why a security update is released.

Keeps me informed of new developments and new risks from virus attacks. I am a committed Windows One Care user.

I've only received one copy so far but I like the variety of articles and that it's not just a marketing exercise.

It's a useful summary/reminder of the current patches available. Some of the coding articles are useful to help avoid future pitfalls.

The magazine doesnt scare you like reading the daily news like yahoo, I like it because it seems the content can be read by anybody with interest in security topics and it comes across as a 1 to 1 tool. keep it up microsoft :).

Feedback is Good tp paraphrase Gecko.

Its informative and varied.

I get a Microsoft view on security issues re their products.

As images are blocked at the gateway by my company. A single link at the top to a web version would be really handy.

It's the best starting point to reach all needed information concerning security with Microsoft products.

Good overview of topical security issues of the day with links to additional/more detailed information on the topic.

It is regular, informative and seems honest and reasonably objective.

Useful updates on relevant security issues. Good mix of technical articles and simple tips.

Being informed.

I like the fact that is is a starting point to explore issues and solutions that are currently being mooted.

Up to date concise relevant information without having to read loads of marketing.

The newsletter is very informative and I; as an IT professional. Am dedicated in my overall approach, to security improvement. (In the sixty hours a week that I work).Always for the greater good of Microsoft. On any one, or, two or more PC's that I use. I scan and update my PC's a lot using Microsoft products and feel that the newsletter gives me an edge, overall, in my ongoing quest to improve my own and Microsoft's security policies.

Its nice to know what is going on in the world of security.

It keeps me up-to-date on current security issues.

There is information there that I would not otherwise have heard about.

The newsletter seems to have changed style from the more formal to less formal (perhaps a reflection on a change in Microsoft) albeit a little too late! Security issues generally good to have the all round aspects although I do see changes now which do not reflect the serious nature of Microsoft's security now comparing it to other OS and browsers. 2008 newsletters seemed more serious.

It gives me a fair and balanced view of the risks to Microsoft products against the other products out there. I have to say that I trust the information that I get from the Microsoft Security Newsletter, but can't say that for other sources of information.

Being kept up to date on security and abreast of the opposition (Hackers and the like)!

It is well presented and even I as an amateur can distinguish what is for me and what is not!

Notifies me of important steps to take which I might have been unaware of.

I feel that it gives an honest appraisal of everything concerned with Microsoft even the security issues.

It is straight forward.

Info on the background to security issues.

It gives mw in one place, information I might have missed in other sources.

It as general information about what microsoft is downing that I would not get from where I usually browser.

Keeps me up to date.

Nothing to improve. All is perfect.

It means Microsoft can explain its policy and also keeps me in touch with the policy and problems tackled.

The newsletter gives an insight into the thinking of MS and key people in MS - it also adds some context and extra information about whats going on, what the threats are etc - it's a good thing to receive.

Keeps me upto date with whats happening around the world with security issues.

It advises you, rather then telling you what to do. Its a very good piece of factural information aswell as entertaining.

Keeps me up to date with the bad lads out there.

It is clearly and easily laid out and understandable.

As a Systems Administrator you don't get time to research into specialised areas. The newsletter is written by security experts who can point me in the right direction as to what is currently relevant and worthy of my direct attention with regards to IT security and how I can apply it to support my meriad other responsibilities during the working day.

I don't currently work in IT so it adds very little professional value to me. But I enjoy reading it.

Gives coverage of more than microsoft, formal yet informative.

It is a question of you cannot search for information that one does not know about. It is the means of promulgating that information. At that point one then has knowledge not previously known and thus can act on it if applicable.

Helps keep me up to date on how to protect my computer against problems that may cause me to lose all my work, and is an interesting read.

Snappy headlines and feature rich. Keeps me informed on the impotanat news at a glance.

The overall view of security within the IT world and not just specifically Microsoft products.

Quick to scim-read. Issues I am unaware of tend to stick out so I click and read more.

Lots of useful information.

Can't say I "really" like anything about the newsletter - it's good to keep up to date with what's going on but much of it is not relevant.

Lets me know what Microsoft is doing to help make its products more secure and provides access to tools that help me as an IT professional protect my users and networks, making them more secure.

The newsletter is always informative and up to date. it provides infromation on security for my microsoft products which I find make things easier when I am doing security for my networks.

Summarises most of the information I need in a single place ... no need to go searching.

I like the Security Guidance section. There I can often find useful articles and documents that explain how to improve security in MS products.

A good round up of what's going on with MS security.

I read 3 computer magazines a month but they tend to be telling me about security issues after they have already been dealt with due to the speedy notifications in the newsletter (and of course the automatic downloads) that are keeping me up to date with the info behind the downloads.

It keeps security issues at the forefront of my thinking and ensures that I stay on top of the issues.

Ed Gibson's feature because of his different perspective of IT. Most people I work with and new sources are very IT.

I like every thing.

If any, what other sources of information do you use with regards to security and IT?

Online forums and web sites eg- techrepublic and paper press.

The Register. The software manufactures help sites - update site. Google.

BT Yahoo.

Various other websites, RSS feeds and newsletters.

Ubuntu Security Notices, Government ITsafe notifications and a variety of anti-virus vendor RSS feeds.

GRC.com is good - in my eyes - it should be a wakeup call to everybody. Antivirus companys are a must to keep uptodate with breaking news and lastest work arounds!

Awareness is VIP.

Infosec and various ther sources.

The Register, US CERT, BCS Security newsletter, BCS IRM.

All sources I can get hold off.

Only Microsoft Products documentations, Courses, Meetings and conferences.

Irish reporting and information security service - www.iriss.ie.

Http:/www.security-forums.com/.

Http:/www.dshield.org.

In terms of technical advice - Experts Exchange, and in terms of news - BBC Technology site. I also get books on Code security and general IT security.

Security mailing lists (e.g. CERT lists).

Pcpitstop.com, codeproject.com.

Norton security response.

NtBugtraq, SANS, Symantec.

I always look from the point of view of a potential attacker, in my strategy against intrusion and other threats to my Windows PC's. Just like we secure our homes; with locks and alarm systems. I also extensively research my potential enemies tactics. Constantly gathering information on how they operate, from many sources. The ancient saying: "Know your enemy". Is one of my main methods of defence.

Games & Computing.

Computer Shopper is my main source of these sorts of information.

I also use the government source which usually follows the Microsoft source.

Forums plus blogs as I feel the scope has changed and with the non start with Vista I feel Microsoft are trying to cover up and make themselves friendly which other blogs and forums give a better real statistic view.

Tech republic, and a host of other publications.

Nothing, I rely on microsoft for that.

What AVG provides.

Cnet, Technet, Znet.

Try to keep up to date with all the latest security threats.

Zone Alarm-Windows update-Mozillz firefox Update.

None.

McAfee, BBC website, Guardian IT news.

Just general blogs with links to the usual secruity sites. (I let others filter out all the dull stuff).

Forums, magazines, chat with other people.

Google kaspersky.

BBC's Click.

I read online stuff like the windows secrets newsletter - I browse the antispyware forums as I help my friends by removing stuff from their PCs - a number of places have gone under over time - the passing of castle cops was a blow to PC users everywhere. I regularly purchase IT related mags and stuff, like PC Advisor etc....

BBC website.

I get a Symnatec Newsletter at work.

Bbc news.

Hmg.

ZDNet group, Secunia PCI.

My other main source of info is Tech Republic which gives me a global view of security and IT.

Googling processes and virus descriptions which invariably lead me to microsoft.com.

Computer mags.

As many sources as one can obtain especially where security is concerned if ones system is relevant to business and financial activities. It is also extremeley relevant for keeping up to date in a fast moving it industry.

Anti virus software updates, other newletters, he internet, friends advice etc.

Other printed Magazines.

Windows IT Pro Magazine, The Register and various Antivirus vendor sites.

General news websites and specific computer security websites.

Schneier webiste. CESG website. DISA & NIST websites.

General web browsing; The Register; other mailing lists.

Various mailing lists and technology websites. AV and Anti-Malware vendors.

Tech republic.com, elite hackers.com.

The Register, Secunia.

Books, articles on web sites, discussion with colleagues and suppliers.

Various websites and colleagues.

The internet, I have my homepage setup with an area linked to magazines that I subscribe to.

Forums, CERT websites, AV vendor websites, Bugtraq.

Industry contacts.

Websites such as The Register, The Inquirer and BBC.

If you would like to make any other comments, including ways we can improve the newsletter to make it more useful to you, please use the box below:

No, I read it and file it away.

No. In my opinion you are the best and are doing fine.

More information on how Microsoft is being proactive on security vulnerabilities. We pay a premium for proprietary software but at present you seem to be reacting to exploits like the Open Source world. Help us justify to customers why you are worth paying for!

More infomation on BAD people who write virues and spyware, I want to see more getting locked up, .

Fien as is.

Knowing that a Computer has to be protected, sometimes we have to manually delete either a virus or some other beast from a Machine. It would be very useful and interesting being able to connect, from your newsletter, a database containing that kind of procedures concerning Microsoft products.

More tutorials would be good; the best way to inform is using practical examples of pros and cons. Competitions encourage word of mouth and interaction. Free subscriptions to Technet perhaps?

There's a spelling mistake in the first question. 'to'? I expect they've paid a lot of money to have this survey put together! Proof read it...

The most recent edition was weak - don't criticise the competition: have the confidence to stand on your own merits. Pointing out other's weaknesses just comes across as trying to distract people from one's own.

A shorter notification aimed at non technical / non professional people, would greatly enhance security, keeping the ordinary user informed would go a long way to stop the spread of viruses and hoaxes.

I like the format of the news letter, and enjoy following the links as these generally lead to other issues that can be explored.

To be totally honest with you. The best, and only way that you will ever improve this particular newsletter. Is to create a harsher, and more clinical approach in regards to security, Rather than your softly, softly, customer friendly tone. As you do not instil any fear. Or true, sober and dynamically thought out endeavours. To really shock people to the reality of the threats that are facing them.

News and information about virus outbreak, how they work and what people are doing to prevent them.

It's just the same as is happening now. Listening to users.I find it a good source of information.

Perhaps stop trying to mimic other OS as there is no way Microsoft despite mentioning Mac OS and other browsers will ever compare - life with a Mac is much superior :) learn to enjoy the computer and not fear what Microsoft will do next the new virus speaks for itself.

Not at the moment.

Maintain news for xp users.

None.

Change design of letter! Could you make something like this survey design?

Some explanations can be a bit too technical for the layman.

MS could really assist in having a tool to encrypt and save the original registry settings - I'm talking XP here as I don't know anyone using a vista PC in anger. Give us a method of getting a PC back to it's original state - without losing data - but losing all the spyware and rubbish that's written into the registry. Protect the hosts file - put an alarm on it, some mechanism that warns the user that settings are being changed. This needs to be an op system function, not some add on. The newsletter is great - you could add some brief features on security code? Or rather how to write code that isn't going to cause registry overloads with "unpredictable" consequences....

It fine for me.

Keep it easy for the new ones on the block.

I like the newsletter generally, although most of it is not appropriate for my needs, but I would prefer you not to cover too wide a range of topics, as I believe the content matter may become diluted in an effort to cover too many subjects.

I like the way Tech Republic inserts the occasional video feature. Its quick and easy to view, is almost always relevant, takes no more than 5 minutes and adds personality to the newsletter.

Well done.

Whilst I do not consider Microsoft as the B ALL and there are deficiencies in their systems etc. It would be nice if some of the other hardware and s/w providers took some note of Microsoft and were as informative in keeping their clients updated and informed automatically without having to constantly search for that information that one does not know about!

Can it be personalised to only show relevenat user specific content.

Don't particularly want the newsletter to be better; just want MS to be better. I'm not saying that MS is worse than others but it ought to be the best and yet we still seem to see exploits of stuff which seems blindingly obvious!

None, all good. Thanks.

An expansion on the immediate threats to IE8 would be great.

It could be nice to have a "security tips" section, without links to external pages, to provide quick ways to improve security. It could interesting to have a 5-10 steps procedure to configure security settings in Microsoft products.

The only problem I seem to be having with the newsletter is that not all of the hyperlinks work. Those down the right hand side usually all work but those within the text don't always work.

The newsletter pushes the 'new' technologies but gives very little for those of us who are in organisations that are on the older systems and not about to move.

Time's running out to download Windows 7 Beta1 for free

Steve Lamb — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:03:00 GMT

If you're either a TechNet or MSDN subscriber then there's no need to rush though the sooner you start evaluating Windows 7 the sooner you can realise the benefits in your business. The public download of Windows 7 Beta 1 finishes on 10th February so if you want to try it then you'd better get your skates on.

I've installed Windows 7 Beta 1 on a wide range of machines including my 6 year old Compaq Evo, a Samsung Q1 Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), a Mac Air running Win7 natively using bootcamp as a boot manager and a wide range of Lenovo and ASUS EEE PCs - it's benefits are more apparent on both the low powered machines (as it's really fast) and those with decent graphics due to the wonderful live preview of running applications.

The download is 2.8Gb so it's not trivial but it's worth it.

Which fonts are available in Windows 7 and how can I access them?

Steve Lamb — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:53:00 GMT

I've been suprised at the number of people who've asked me this question in the last couple of days. As I've mentioned previously I moved over to Windows 7 as my main O/S back in October with the PDC/WinHec M3 pre-Beta. A couple of days ago I moved up to the official public beta 1 which is build 7000.

Viewing the available font list is pretty straight forward - there are 133 built-in fonts in the beta - simply type "font" at the Start menu - this will take you into Control Panel>fonts (unless you have index documents/emails with the word "font" in - in that case you'll have to pick the font applet from the search result list) which will reveal the following:

If you double click on one of the fonts then you'll see a subset of fonts on the screen - the members of the corresponding font family, double clicking again will give you a screen like the following illustrating the font:

Which do you prefer to use? Your home PC or your work one?

Steve Lamb — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:32:00 GMT

Be it a desktop, laptop or netbook many people I've asked this question to answer "my home one" - if that's the case for you I'd love to hear the reason why.

If you're old enough to do so please cast your mind back to your work PC circa 1995 - the vast majority of personal computers back then were desktop machines - the exception being for unusually mobile people like some sales people and some IT Professionals. Back then typical "road warriors" used laptops that were of poor performance compared to desktop machines and they cost >£1,500 each. We relied upon corporate networks for useable internet access as dial-up access was the common home alternative - broadband and 3G simply hadn't arrived.

1 - 2 - 3 back in the room! These days one can buy a perfectly good netbook for £300 and 3G (3Gb / month) mobile internet access for £15/month in the UK. If you want an uuber desirable (pretty shiney) laptop it can be yours for around £1,000. Both computing power and Internet access is no longer the luxuary they once were - I know they are still outside the reach of some people but the situation is improving rapidly.

I continue to be amazed how poor the corporate computing experience is for many people due to the provision of machines that are not fit for purpose - not due to lack of money being spent but simply due to poor configuration/management/consideration of what's required.

I've come across companies who spend over a thousand pounds per laptop per year simply to have it managed by a third party and yet they take forever to boot - run ancient software and simply don't work properly.

I'm not suggesting spending more money on management - I know it's simply not there even if one wanted to do so.

If you are an IT Professional then work with those around you to view your corporate infrastructure from the perspective of your users. Whatever your level of seniority I strongly suggest you make a few minutes to watch how end-users get on with their corporate PCs - chances are there are improvements that could be made simply by better understanding where the frustration lies.

I have seen far too many people saying "stuff it - I'll bring my own machine in" - typically netbooks - entirely bypassing much of the corporate infrastructure and therefore making it obsolete. A challenge of "letting people do their own thing" is that it becomes incredibly difficult to comply with data protection legislation plus few users backup their data effectively.

If you see people bringing their own machines in then make the time to find out why they've chosen to do so - don't start suggesting solutions - first find out if there's an effective way to improve efficiency either by improving systems or training.

Most people with good intentions disrupt systems that are broken - if corporate IT doesn't provide the tools to help users be more efficient then they'll either go elsewhere (perhaps less likely in the current financial climate) or they'll be less productive than they'd otherwise be.

Remember: Information Technology exists to make it easier for each of us to make well informed decisions

Where can I download the public beta of Windows 7 (beta 1)?

Steve Lamb — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:41:00 GMT

The Windows Team Blog will be updated in the next few hours detailing when and where to download the public beta 1 of Windows 7

I've been running the PDC/WinHec build of Windows 7 since October daily as my main machine and it's worked brilliantly.

James Senior's blog has some great links to and descriptions of what's in store with Windows 7:

Join us to discuss Windows Live Mesh and the Cloud ** amended to add James Senior's bio

Steve Lamb — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:16:00 GMT

If you'd like to join us please edit the wiki to add your name - that way we'll have a good idea of how many people to expect.

Where: The Coach and Horses pub, 29 Greek Street, Soho, London W1V 5LL

When: 11th December from 6pm to 8pm (and onwards for anyone that fancies it)

Who'd enjoy this? Anyone who's interested in discussing cloud computing with two of the leaders from Microsoft

What do I need to know? This will be an informal chat with two interesting passionate guys over a pint or two (or soft drink if you prefer). We're meeting in the function room that's located above the bar - to access the room you'll need to let the bar staff know your intention as you literally have to go behind the bar and up the stairs to reach the room - it's on the first floor. This is the old location of the Social Media Cafe so if you've been there then it will already be a familiar location.

What about food? The pub serve good hearty "pub food" and hence you are welcome to order food though Microsoft won't be picking up the bill!

Jeff Hansen and Angus Logan are keen to meet interesting people on their way back to Redmond following Le Web - their details are shown below

Jeff Hansen

General Manager – Services Strategy / Live Mesh, Microsoft Corporation

Jeff Hansen reports to Ray Ozzie and is responsible for helping drive Microsoft’s services strategy. Central to this strategy is the “Software plus Services” approach that brings together the best of cloud-based services and the software that resides on a world of devices. An approach that utilizes the power of local client and/or on-premises server software combined with the reach and always up-to-date nature of services in the cloud. As part of this effort, over the last three years Jeff has worked closely with Microsoft’s Live Services platform team on the mesh initiative - providing Product Management support for the Live Mesh offering and the recent introduction of the mesh technologies in the developer focused Live Framework – Community Technology Preview. Live Mesh is a marquee example of the S+S approach – providing symmetry between the client and the cloud by using the web as a hub to bring together a wide range of user’s devices. Enabling individuals to manage, access, and share their information and programs seamlessly on the web and across their world of devices. Deliverying on the vision of computing experiences that seamless span the ‘data, devices, people, and applications’ people interact with everyday.

Angus Logan

Senior Technical Product Manager, Live Services, Microsoft Corporation

Responsible for all technical product management of Microsoft’s Live Services (consists of Windows Live Platform / Live Framework / Live Mesh), Angus’ team manage content creation, high-value opportunity management, and developer experience. Prior to being on the Live Services team, Angus was a Portals Technology Specialist with Microsoft Australia, worked for several Microsoft partners, was an MVP, and co-authored a book on Microsoft Content Management Server. You can read Angus’s blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/angus_logan/ or spot him around the world.

James Senior

Technical Evangelist, Live Services, Microsoft Corporation

James Senior is responsible for driving global awareness and understanding of Microsoft’s Live Services (including Live Framework and Live Mesh) to technical audiences and business decision makers. Prior to this role in Redmond, James worked as a Technology Specialist for Microsoft in the UK and as Senior Developer at Intel Corporation. James blogs frequently at www.jamessenior.com and you can follow him on Twitter here: www.twitter.com/jsenior.

Happy Birthday to Windows!

Steve Lamb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:22:00 GMT

Windows 1.0 was released on 20th November 1985 hence it's twenty three years old today!

There's a great write up on TheRegister which includes a link to the pcmuseum - it's a third party site which runs through a summary of the releases of Windows incuding screenshots - it's a step back in history.

GetSafeOnline: providing advice for consumers to help them stay safe on the Internet without blinding them with science

Steve Lamb — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:03:00 GMT

It's the fourth annual GetSafeOnline campaign week whereby the team will raise the profile of consumer internet safety through a revamped GetSafeOnline website (containing a wealth of commonsense "how to" information) and a range of media activity. It's a great cause as the campaign is not trying to sell you any products or services and it aims to help consumers to help themselves to be safer on the Internet.

I've been heavily invovled in supporting this important initiative in previous years and hence am keen to do whatever I can this time around too.

Here are some words directly from the GetSafeOnline team:

"Today the UK’s fourth annual Get Safe Online kicks off, a weeklong internet safety awareness campaign encouraging UK computer users to take steps to ensure that they and their machines are protected.

In a time of economic uncertainty, online security is becoming even more important as the growth of the ‘shadow economy’ in stolen identities can mean a person’s assets such as savings accounts can be stolen and emptied faster than ever.

Particularly, the use of ‘phishing attacks’ is rapidly on the rise – where criminals send fraudulent emails designed to trick internet users into submitting their financial or other confidential details. 23% of UK internet users surveyed said that they or someone they knew fell victim to such an attack this year, compared to just eight per cent in 2007.

The image of the geeky hacker is inaccurate: the vast majority of computer crime in the UK is highly organised, with criminals dealing in the buying and selling of personal information used to defraud targets such as full name, address, passport details, driver's licence number, date of birth, bank account details and sort codes, plus credit card numbers and security codes.

Get Safe Online Week aims to give everyone the tools and confidence to enjoy and use the internet safely. In the span of a couple of hours, anyone can learn a few simple steps to remain up-to-date and aware about online safety – a small investment compared to the potential loss and inconvenience if they are instead victims of identity theft.

Get Safe Online has created a web resource of information that can be perused at anyone’s convenience and contains tips for computer users of all ages, interests and levels of experience. For complete information and advice on how to guard against online identity fraud and other internet crime, visit the new Get Safe Online website at www.getsafeonline.org."

How much data is CERN's Hadron Collider expected to generate? Edited to correct typo

Steve Lamb — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:33:00 GMT

I stumbled across this earlier in an edition of Computing - apparently the Hadron Collider "is expected to generate 40,000Gb of usable information per day" - assuming it operated at this rate for a year that would be over 14 Peta-bytes of data! I wonder what their backup regime is?

Note: Thanks to Paul Steaders for noticing my typo - I'd stated the data volume would be 14 Tb when I meant Pb

How to sort a list of names into alphabetical order

Steve Lamb — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:22:00 GMT

You might be surprised just how easy it is to sort lists of text into alphabetical order simply using Microsoft Office's Excel as you can see from the screenshot below - the sort function works just as happily with text as numerals:

The VistaSquad are meeting again in London on the 19th - they have the General Manager of Visual Studio joining them

Steve Lamb — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:46:00 GMT

If you'd like to join the user group meeting then simply browse to the VistaSquad's website to sign up - it's free and will be a great opportunity for you to ask questions and learn from your peers.

The following talks will take place during the user group meeting and there will be plenty of time to meet your peers too.

2010 Road Map: Visual Studio Rosario and .Net 4.0 (Jason Zander, Microsoft Corp)

Hyper-V and System Centre Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (Jeremy Pack (MVP), HP)

What do you think of Microsoft Security and Management products?

Steve Lamb — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:38:00 GMT

What are the first things that come to mind for you when considering "System Centre", "Forefront" and specific Microsoft security and/or management products? What's good? what frustrates you?

Please comment to share your thoughts.

where can I access the PDC keynote streams?

Steve Lamb — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:33:00 GMT

Simply browse to the Microsoft PDC website which advertises the streams as follows:

"Watch the PDC2008 keynotes LIVE online on Monday and Tuesday from 8:30 AM- 10:30 AM Pacific Standard Time. Bookmark www.microsoftpdc.com and join Ray Ozzie and friends each day for the latest news from PDC. "

Don't get stuck with your head in the clouds

Steve Lamb — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:29:00 GMT

There's a great deal of expectation around Microsoft announcements at PDC2008 - I know what the details are and they are exciting.

It's important though to not become "blinkered" and miss the other content - there's a great deal of great content both at PDC and TechEd EMEA that shows where we're going with our other significant revenue streams.

It's not what you know, it's when can you talk about it that matters

Steve Lamb — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:14:00 GMT

I love working at Microsoft as I get to work on cool new technologies that can be used to help people be more effective. I am lucky to be able to work with fascinating people from all walks of life. I've been quieter than usual on my blog over the last few months as most of my time has been spent learning about and planning for technologies and services who's details are not yet in the public domain. Leading the charge of course are Windows 7 (client and server), the next generation of Microsoft Office and of course our plans for Cloud Computing.

Steve Clayton's Clouds on the Horizon at PDC 2008 post sums up quite nicely how I feel as the keynotes at PDC will be used to share the details of much of the technology that I'm excited about. TechEd EMEA will complete the story by sharing the remainder of the annoucments.

There's much more at PDC than Cloud Computing.

As Steve mentions the keynote timings are as follows:

Monday, October 27 8:30am - 10:30am Keynote – Ray Ozzie, Amitabh Srivastava, Bob Muglia and David Thompson

Tuesday, October 28 8:30am - 10:30am Keynote - Ray Ozzie, Steven Sinofsky, Scott Guthrie and David Treadwell

Tuesday, October 28 11:00am - 12:30pm Keynote - Chris Anderson and Don Box

Wednesday, October 29 8:30am - 10:00am Keynote - Rick Rashid

How many people went to Microsoft's Heroes Happen Here events?

Steve Lamb — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:07:00 GMT

The Heroes Happen Here launch events may seem a long way back in the past (Spring 2008) but I thought you might find this interesting.

I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the UK launch event and I remember the huge amount of time and effort that went into just presenting two sessions - I saw those who worked to pull together the logistics and behind the scenes work and they really pushed the boundaries.

I'm in a pre-briefing session at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) during which the following statistics were announced for the world wide launch of Windows Server, SQL and Visual Studio:

270,000 attended microsoft events
500,000 attended community events
12m reached via launch website
5M+ copies of products distributed

Here are the results from the Microsoft Security Newsletter Survey

Steve Lamb — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:59:00 GMT

Thanks to those of you who completed August's Security Newsletter Survey and to Phil Cross for sharing the results which are as follows:

Survey:

(Aug 08) Security Newsletter Survey

Client:

Microsoft UK

Date ranges:

All dates ((Aug 08) Security Newsletter Survey)

Available dates:	No restriction (all to Sep 17th 2008 10:20)
First collection:	Aug 28th 2008 13:48
Last collection:	Sep 12th 2008 18:36
Responses collected in period:	76
Average collection rate:	0.2 per hour (5.0 per day)

What size of organisation do you work in?


		#

	0 - 4 PCs	25.33%
	5 - 24 PCs	10.67%
	25 - 49 PCs	4.00%
	50 - 249 PCS	14.67%
	250 - 500 PCs	9.33%
	500 - 1000 PCs	5.33%
	1000 + PCs	29.33%
	I don't know	1.33%

n = 75

What is your job role?


		#

	IT Manager	20.00%
	Desktop/End user Support Specialist	6.67%
	Infrastructure Specialist	14.67%
	Applications/Line-of-Business Specialist	4.00%
	IT Generalist	13.33%
	Do-It-Yourselfer (IT is not my main role)	16.00%
	Other	25.33%

n = 75

If Other: What is your job role?

From Question: If 'Other', please specify:

QA Manager.	Software Developer.	Developer.	Purchasing manager.
Technical Director.	Home users desktop pc expert.	Csa.	Managing Director.
Information Security Manager.	Technical Trainer.	Planning Manager.	Retired.
Retired.	Domestic PC.	Retired.	Retired IT Trainer.
Director.	Mgr.	IT Consultant.

What is your overall opinion of the Security Newsletter?


		#

	Excellent	33.33%
	Good	61.33%
	Average	5.33%
	Poor	0.00%

n = 75

Which statement best describes how often you read the newsletter?


		#

	I always read every issue	34.67%
	I try and read every issue	46.67%
	I read most issues	12.00%
	I read some issues	5.33%
	I only refer to it sometimes	1.33%
	I never read it	0.00%

n = 75

How thoroughly do you read the newsletter?


		#

	I read all of it	17.33%
	I read most of it	62.67%
	I read some of it	17.33%
	I don't read very much of it	2.67%
	I don't read it	0.00%

n = 75

What do you normally do with your copy of the newsletter after you read it?


		#

	Keep it for personal reference	48.00%
	Keep it for team reference	8.00%
	Delete it	44.00%

n = 75

Do you ever forward the newsletter on to colleagues?


		#

	Yes	38.67%
	No	61.33%

n = 75

Please rate the following aspects of the security newsletter:


	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent	I don't know

Topics covered	0.00%	12.16%	58.11%	29.73%	0.00%
Usefulness of information	0.00%	13.51%	45.95%	39.19%	1.35%
Length of newsletter	2.70%	13.51%	56.76%	27.03%	0.00%
The content is relevant to my role	1.33%	24.00%	49.33%	25.33%	0.00%
Overall layout and appearance	5.33%	13.33%	37.33%	44.00%	0.00%

n = 74, 74, 74, 75, 75

Below is a list of the sections in the current newsletter. Please rate the content according to how interesting you found it:


	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent	I didn't read

Editors Intro	0.00%	12.50%	58.33%	29.17%	0.00%
Ed Gibson articles	0.00%	16.44%	56.16%	21.92%	5.48%
Top Stories	0.00%	17.57%	54.05%	27.03%	1.35%
Security Guidance	0.00%	12.33%	41.10%	45.21%	1.37%
This Months Security Bulletins	0.00%	14.86%	56.76%	25.68%	2.70%
Community/MVP Update	2.78%	33.33%	43.06%	11.11%	9.72%
Product Lifecycle Information	4.17%	30.56%	43.06%	16.67%	5.56%
Security Events and Training	0.00%	27.03%	44.59%	20.27%	8.11%
Upcoming Security Webcasts	1.37%	27.40%	50.68%	12.33%	8.22%

n = 72, 73, 74, 73, 74, 72, 72, 74, 73

Is there any other information you would like to be included in the newsletter?

More technical information. Examples of software based attacks etc.

No.

More on keeping XP safe. I know Vista might have more security features but it will be some time yet before we deploy it widely (too many machines with too low a spec; no need for any of its features; no desire to use its new UI).

Current 'white' papers on security issues, especially cross working with other supplier's kit, i.e. using MS certificates on cisco IOS boxes.

Give summary of particular problems & how it was solved, no need to name persons, but confirm which microsoft products used.

There ought to be some information about the future lifecycle of the window xp for system builder so the other would have known the danger after the suppor lifecycle has ended.

Bite sized articles on best practices for securing elements of the network.

It's a good mix of info, no change spotted.

Current know threats especially thos purporting to be from Microsoft, Window Live, windows XP etc.

None.

Status categories for occupational classifications. As a "Domestic PC" (male, 60) I own and use 3 fairly new Windows desktops inside my home, only one at a time. This cieculates me loosely around the lower reaches of geekdom, without being occupationally a geek.More solo desktop tips!

Info on relevant certification exams on the security front, and coverage of ILM / enterprise single sign-on / SOX compliance etc on a regular basis.

No.

N/a.

Do you have any other comments about the newsletter?

Facelift wouldn't hurt but the general layout is good.

No.

Ed Gibson's comments about "just get Vista" to be secure are just annoying. I'm sure Vista is more secure than XP but it's simply not appropriate for many users (because their hardware won't run it or specialist software won't work on it).

Thanks - it is a good way to keep up to date....

Keep trying for the top, you will get there.

Still prefer plain text version, so please don't lose it.

Would be great to have more news about future operating system released in the oncoming newsletter.

No.

Doesn't need to be any longer as often the content includes links to further details.

Confusing having menus down the right hand side of the newsletter. Makes it difficult to read.

None.

A little plainer english and less tech would be really good.

Excellent newsletter, always a lot of accurate details.

Yes, I get a bunch of these communications from Microsoft as both a TXT and HTML email, I really only need to receive the HTML version, not the TXT duplicate.

None.

Keep going.

I do not like the blue column on the right of the newsletter. It means that I have to scroll through the newsletter twice, once to read the main text, and again to read the blue column. I prefer the layout of the 'consumer' newsletter and the Windows Mobile 'Total Access' newsletter.

How do you hear about our security notifications (apart from in the newsletter)?(Please tick all that apply)

From Question: How do you hear about our security notifications (apart from in the newsletter)?(Please tick all that apply)


	Yes	No

E-mail	69.74%	30.26%
RSS	9.21%	90.79%
Windows Live Alert	10.53%	89.47%
Web Site	38.16%	61.84%

n = 76 [each row]

Do you think Microsoft products are more or less secure than our competitors?


		#

	More secure	30.14%
	As secure	63.01%
	Less secure	6.85%

n = 73

What can you and I do to help companies weather the global credit crunch?

Steve Lamb — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:56:00 GMT

The aim of this post is to start a conversation to share ideas rather than pitch Microsoft products. At a time of economic uncertainty it's in everyone's interest to help our business' to reduce their costs and improve profits.Please share suggestion via comments to this post or write your own and link to this one.

Much is made of the benefits of transformational technologies like server virtualisation to improve the efficiency of corporate infrastructure - without question these can be very valid though they typically require up front investment to cover software and services (whether internal our outsourced) to re-configure the infrastructure - the return is in the medium to long term.

I'm a big fan of making small but significant changes such as improving the effectiveness of remote working using technologies like webcams and devices like Roundtable in conjunction with LiveMeeting. What good devices and technologies have you come across that help in this and other spaces concerned with improving effectiveness?

British Airways pilot concerned over finding the airport

Steve Lamb — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:55:00 GMT

I flew to Edinburgh yesterday to give a talk to the BCS (British Computer Society) and the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) - the details of which can be found here. The talk was recorded so that those of you who may wish to listen another time will be able to do so. The audience were fantastic as was the venue and the organisation of the event - thank you if you were there.

I was amused to here the pretty standard announcement as we taxied in stating that we should refrain from activating our mobile telephones as they may interfere with the navigational systems of the aircraft - I wanted to shout out "look, the terminal building is over there!".

Needless to say I'm not suggesting ignoring the advice of aircraft crew.

There's a sign in our (Microsoft) office in London stating that "this door closes at 6:30pm" and couldn't help wondering if it could be closed at any other time.

I'm amused by Google's mail Goggles

Steve Lamb — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:48:00 GMT

You may have seen the coverage on the BBC or elsewhere for Google's "Mail Goggles" - I stumbled across it when buying a coffee as Rory Cellan-Jones was discussing it live on TV. Apparently it's an "opt-in" service so shouldn't frustrate those of you who use their email service late at night and don't want to have your sobriety assessed.

I think many people have enough sense not to send emails (certainly after making the mistake once) while under the influence though can't help thinking it would be much more useful to have something similar for SMS messages or perhaps for prospective partner selection in night clubs!

Here's a letter for your Boss to encourage them to sign-off your trip to PDC

Steve Lamb — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:47:00 GMT

I was amused to see the Letter to your Boss on the MicrosoftPDC website as referenced by the PDC Twitter feed.

I'm sure budgets are tight for most organisations given the current financial melt down hence following as much of the proceedings as possible online via blogs and twitter may be the only option for you. If you do make it to PDC then please feel free to email me with a subject line of "Let's meet up at PDC" if you'd like to do so.

Time's running out to register for Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC)

Steve Lamb — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:37:00 GMT

If some how you have the 27th to 30th October booked out to participate in PDC and haven't got around to registering or are still trying to find the budget to do so then you need to get your skates on as the conference is very close to being sold out. There's also a pre-conference taking place on the 26th October.

Click here for the PDC registration site

This PDC event promises to be really interesting due to the large number of significant announcements and associated technology demonstrations - we only hold PDC the gravitas of content warrants such an event. I know the details of the announcements and am looking forward to them being in the public domain.

For those of you that can't be there (and those that want a "back channel) then it's worth following the twitter feed

How can I view Microsoft Office System 2007 files without buying the product?

Steve Lamb — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:52:00 GMT

I was asked this very question moments ago and while it's not anything new I thought it was probably worth sharing that there's a free standalone viewer available - just click here to access the download

Steve Lamb's Blog

Windows Phone 7 coupled with Azure provides computing platform at the edge of space

SYN - is there anyone out there?

What do our customers think of Microsoft Security?

Time's running out to download Windows 7 Beta1 for free

Which fonts are available in Windows 7 and how can I access them?

Which do you prefer to use? Your home PC or your work one?

Where can I download the public beta of Windows 7 (beta 1)?

Join us to discuss Windows Live Mesh and the Cloud ** amended to add James Senior's bio

Happy Birthday to Windows!

GetSafeOnline: providing advice for consumers to help them stay safe on the Internet without blinding them with science

How much data is CERN's Hadron Collider expected to generate? ** Edited to correct typo **

How to sort a list of names into alphabetical order

The VistaSquad are meeting again in London on the 19th - they have the General Manager of Visual Studio joining them

What do you think of Microsoft Security and Management products?

where can I access the PDC keynote streams?

Don't get stuck with your head in the clouds

It's not what you know, it's when can you talk about it that matters

How many people went to Microsoft's Heroes Happen Here events?

Here are the results from the Microsoft Security Newsletter Survey

What can you and I do to help companies weather the global credit crunch?

British Airways pilot concerned over finding the airport

I'm amused by Google's mail Goggles

Here's a letter for your Boss to encourage them to sign-off your trip to PDC

Time's running out to register for Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC)

How can I view Microsoft Office System 2007 files without buying the product?

How much data is CERN's Hadron Collider expected to generate? Edited to correct typo