January, 2007

  • TONYSO

    Patch your smartphone for DST 2007

    • 0 Comments

    KB 923953 "How to configure daylight saving time for the United States and Canada in 2007 and in subsequent years on Windows Mobile-based devices" *helps* you patch up your smartphone to deal with the upcoming DST change.

    WARNING: the fix is a reghack, so standard waiver applies. "Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk."

    Loverly. You know how to hack the registry of your smartphone, right? Well, the KB give the .inf file your carrier is supposed to use to hack your phone :-(

    Watch this space, I'll post if a user-friendly patch method becomes available on Technet.

    If you haven't read up on the DST 2007 change, or planned to fix your desktops and servers, read this.

  • TONYSO

    PowerShell: the DMZ of Interop

    • 1 Comments

    Windows PowerShell is shaping up to be the technology around which IT Pros from *nix and Windows worlds meet and build community (virtualization will be another, IMO). Check out Bill's post on PowerShell on Port25. Some nifty links there, such as:

    Interview on Port25 with Jeffery Snover, Architect of PowerShell

    NewsGator Powershell Provider (my favorite RSS reader): http://www.codeplex.com/NewsGatorPSProvider

    Powershell Analyzer: www.powershellanalyzer.com

    Expose SharePoint as a filesystem: http://www.codeplex.com/PSSharePoint

    ‘Powershell Week’ webcasts, virtual labs, and ‘labcast’ - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/webcasts/ps.mspx

     

  • TONYSO

    30 days left to help kids by searching

    • 1 Comments

    Looks like they may have extended to this deal to March ;-)

    * For each search originated from this page between January 8th, 2007, and March 31st, 2007, Microsoft will contribute $1.00 to Children's Hospital on behalf of Team Seattle, up to $25,000.

    original post: 

    Hi, I found a way to support Seattle's Children's Hospital by using Live Search, from Microsoft. Just search from http://teamseattle.live.com between Jan 8, 2007, and Jan 29, 2007, and Microsoft will contribute to Children's Hospital though their alliance with Team Seattle. Launch a search from TeamSeattle.Live.com, it will load a gadget into your browser which will track your searches, and pay Children’s $1 per search for every search from Live.com.

  • TONYSO

    Why 1TB disks will force you to embrace virtualization.

    • 2 Comments

    Jerome Wendt, president and lead analyst with DCIG Inc, shares an interesting perspective to day - Why 1TB disks will force you to embrace virtualization.

    "...low-cost network connectivity does not translate into simpler and lower costs of storage management. If anything, it has the opposite effect...

    As companies SAN-connect more of their servers using lower-cost Ethernet connections, their storage provisioning and data migration problems will become more acute. This will force many companies to re-evaluate network-based storage virtualization's value proposition and why it now makes sense, whereas just a few years ago, its risks outweighed its rewards."

    He is speaking about Enterprise IT, but I just bought a .5 TB NAS device for my home network a few days ago for <US$200. Granted, I am an early-adopter type, but how long before virtualization moves from the data center to the living room? Leave comments.

  • TONYSO

    VM Optimization

    • 1 Comments

    You may have read that you can improve the performance of most VMs by using SCSI instead of IDE disks. All well and good, but, uh, where are the instructions on how to do that if you already created the VM with IDE drives?

    Thanks to Nelson, the instructions are here in the download center: Virtual Server 2005 – IDE to SCSI Virtual Machine Migration

    This whitepaper describes tips and methods to help you migrate your Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 virtual machine from IDE to SCSI bus. You can increase overall virtual machine performance in most scenarios up to 20% by using SCSI virtual hard disks instead of IDE.

    Enjoy. If these instructions are helpful, leave feedback and I will make sure it gets to Nelson.

    Others who downloaded Virtual Server 2005 – IDE to SCSI Virtual Machine Migration also downloaded:

    1. Business Desktop Deployment 2007
    2. Configuring Active Directory to Back up Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption and Trusted Platform Module Recovery Information
    3. Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals Add-on for Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite Edition
    4. Extended Security Update Inventory Tool
    5. Windows Vista Security Guide
  • TONYSO

    Free Windows Server Virtualization Calculator

    • 0 Comments

    The new *free* Windows Server Virtualization Calculator helps you forecast licencing costs for your virtualization initiative. Budget those bits!

    The Calculator helps you estimate license costs in two ways:

    • you can enter the number of servers by processor (socket, not core) count with the average number of virtualized instances of Windows Server that will run on each server.
    • you can enter the processor (socket, not core) count and number of virtualized instances of Windows Server for each individual server.

    The calculator is pre-populated with the US dollar Open agreement Estimated Retail Prices for Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition, but you can also customize ith with your organization’s prices for more accurate estimates.

  • TONYSO

    Are you prepared?

    • 0 Comments

    Today is the 6th snow day in the Seattle area this school year. Are you prepared for an emergency? Here's a good (free) PDF list to print out and check through.

    Another good prep link: http://www.govlink.org/3days3ways/

  • TONYSO

    If a picture is worth 1K words, how many words is a blogcast/screencast worth?

    • 0 Comments

    If you could make the choice for all IT Pros for Microsoft enterprise management products, would you choose:

    1) traditional text-based help on the box

    2) traditional tex-based help on the box supplemented with blogcasts/screencasts (see below for examples) for the most complicated issues/sceanarios/features

    3) just 'casts

    Why? Leave comments.

    Example screencasts/blogcasts:

    Jeff's:
    Windows Vista Screencast: Aero Interface
    Windows Vista Screencast: Search
    Windows Server 2003 R2 Upgrade Blogcast
    Windows Server 2003 R2 Blogcast: Part II: Installed Components

    Kleefy's:
    WinPE Driver Addition
    Windows System Image Manager
    Windows Deployment Services Overview

    Bonus question: 'casts audio tracks are pretty easy to localize, much easier (therefore faster) that text. However, would you want to see screens that are in English, with a localized audio track, or would you be willing to wait a longer time in order to get a new 'cast that shows the screens in the same language as the audio? Why? Leave comments.

    What I'm trying to get feedback on is what is the best way to learn an enterprise management software product? Take a look at Jason's video on how to juggle, and think of the time required to get all that down in words. More efficient for you to learn new stuff if we switched to screencasts?

  • TONYSO

    How to uninstall IE 7 from XP SP2

    • 0 Comments

    I install and uninstall a lot of software on my laptop in the course of my work. Sometimes, stuff happens, and I can't be sure what the problem might be. Standard advice from support in these case is "pave it" meaning uninstall and reinstall the app to see if that fixes the problem.

    Recently, IE7 has been throwning the same Onfolio error message at me every 15 mins or so.

    In case you need it, here are the instructions for uninstalling IE7 from Windows XP SP2 from kb 917964:

    If Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is installed on the computer

    If Windows XP SP2 is installed on the computer, uninstall Internet Explorer 7. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
    2. In the Currently installed programs list, click Internet Explorer 7, and then click Remove.
    If Internet Explorer is not listed in the Currently installed programs list, follow these steps:
    1. Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/) How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
    2. Type the following commands.

    Note Press ENTER after each command.
    CD ie7\spuninst
    batch Spuninst.txt
     
    If Internet Explorer 7 cannot be uninstalled, but if the Windows\ie7\Spuninst folder exists, uninstall Internet Explorer 7 in the Recovery Console. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/) How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
    2. Type the following commands.

    Note Press ENTER after each command.
    CD ie7\spuninst
    batch Spuninst.txt

    Reinstall Internet Explorer 7

    When Windows XP has been repaired and is running correctly, reinstall Internet Explorer 7. To reinstall Internet Explorer 7, you must have the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. This installation package may still be on the computer from the first time that you installed Internet Explorer 7. Locate the installation package in the folder in which you saved the files.

    Note This package may be located in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

    If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer 7 installation package, visit the following Microsoft Web site to obtain this package:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)
    To connect to the Microsoft download site, you must have a functional Web browser. If Internet Explorer 6 does not work on the computer after you uninstall Internet Explorer 7, you cannot download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Therefore, you will have to use a computer that has a functional Web browser to download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Then, use a shared network drive to install the program from the downloaded installation package on this other computer onto the repaired computer. If you cannot use a shared network for this purpose, copy the Internet Explorer 7 installation package onto a CD on the second computer. Then, use this CD to install Internet Explorer 7 on the first computer.
     

  • TONYSO

    Lifetime Learning

    • 1 Comments

    MIT posts courseware on the web - FREE - http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

    "By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted"

Page 1 of 1 (10 items)
  • TONYSO

    Patch your smartphone for DST 2007

    • 0 Comments

    KB 923953 "How to configure daylight saving time for the United States and Canada in 2007 and in subsequent years on Windows Mobile-based devices" *helps* you patch up your smartphone to deal with the upcoming DST change.

    WARNING: the fix is a reghack, so standard waiver applies. "Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk."

    Loverly. You know how to hack the registry of your smartphone, right? Well, the KB give the .inf file your carrier is supposed to use to hack your phone :-(

    Watch this space, I'll post if a user-friendly patch method becomes available on Technet.

    If you haven't read up on the DST 2007 change, or planned to fix your desktops and servers, read this.

  • TONYSO

    PowerShell: the DMZ of Interop

    • 1 Comments

    Windows PowerShell is shaping up to be the technology around which IT Pros from *nix and Windows worlds meet and build community (virtualization will be another, IMO). Check out Bill's post on PowerShell on Port25. Some nifty links there, such as:

    Interview on Port25 with Jeffery Snover, Architect of PowerShell

    NewsGator Powershell Provider (my favorite RSS reader): http://www.codeplex.com/NewsGatorPSProvider

    Powershell Analyzer: www.powershellanalyzer.com

    Expose SharePoint as a filesystem: http://www.codeplex.com/PSSharePoint

    ‘Powershell Week’ webcasts, virtual labs, and ‘labcast’ - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/webcasts/ps.mspx

     

  • TONYSO

    30 days left to help kids by searching

    • 1 Comments

    Looks like they may have extended to this deal to March ;-)

    * For each search originated from this page between January 8th, 2007, and March 31st, 2007, Microsoft will contribute $1.00 to Children's Hospital on behalf of Team Seattle, up to $25,000.

    original post: 

    Hi, I found a way to support Seattle's Children's Hospital by using Live Search, from Microsoft. Just search from http://teamseattle.live.com between Jan 8, 2007, and Jan 29, 2007, and Microsoft will contribute to Children's Hospital though their alliance with Team Seattle. Launch a search from TeamSeattle.Live.com, it will load a gadget into your browser which will track your searches, and pay Children’s $1 per search for every search from Live.com.

  • TONYSO

    Why 1TB disks will force you to embrace virtualization.

    • 2 Comments

    Jerome Wendt, president and lead analyst with DCIG Inc, shares an interesting perspective to day - Why 1TB disks will force you to embrace virtualization.

    "...low-cost network connectivity does not translate into simpler and lower costs of storage management. If anything, it has the opposite effect...

    As companies SAN-connect more of their servers using lower-cost Ethernet connections, their storage provisioning and data migration problems will become more acute. This will force many companies to re-evaluate network-based storage virtualization's value proposition and why it now makes sense, whereas just a few years ago, its risks outweighed its rewards."

    He is speaking about Enterprise IT, but I just bought a .5 TB NAS device for my home network a few days ago for <US$200. Granted, I am an early-adopter type, but how long before virtualization moves from the data center to the living room? Leave comments.

  • TONYSO

    VM Optimization

    • 1 Comments

    You may have read that you can improve the performance of most VMs by using SCSI instead of IDE disks. All well and good, but, uh, where are the instructions on how to do that if you already created the VM with IDE drives?

    Thanks to Nelson, the instructions are here in the download center: Virtual Server 2005 – IDE to SCSI Virtual Machine Migration

    This whitepaper describes tips and methods to help you migrate your Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 virtual machine from IDE to SCSI bus. You can increase overall virtual machine performance in most scenarios up to 20% by using SCSI virtual hard disks instead of IDE.

    Enjoy. If these instructions are helpful, leave feedback and I will make sure it gets to Nelson.

    Others who downloaded Virtual Server 2005 – IDE to SCSI Virtual Machine Migration also downloaded:

    1. Business Desktop Deployment 2007
    2. Configuring Active Directory to Back up Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption and Trusted Platform Module Recovery Information
    3. Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals Add-on for Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite Edition
    4. Extended Security Update Inventory Tool
    5. Windows Vista Security Guide
  • TONYSO

    Free Windows Server Virtualization Calculator

    • 0 Comments

    The new *free* Windows Server Virtualization Calculator helps you forecast licencing costs for your virtualization initiative. Budget those bits!

    The Calculator helps you estimate license costs in two ways:

    • you can enter the number of servers by processor (socket, not core) count with the average number of virtualized instances of Windows Server that will run on each server.
    • you can enter the processor (socket, not core) count and number of virtualized instances of Windows Server for each individual server.

    The calculator is pre-populated with the US dollar Open agreement Estimated Retail Prices for Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition, but you can also customize ith with your organization’s prices for more accurate estimates.

  • TONYSO

    Are you prepared?

    • 0 Comments

    Today is the 6th snow day in the Seattle area this school year. Are you prepared for an emergency? Here's a good (free) PDF list to print out and check through.

    Another good prep link: http://www.govlink.org/3days3ways/

  • TONYSO

    If a picture is worth 1K words, how many words is a blogcast/screencast worth?

    • 0 Comments

    If you could make the choice for all IT Pros for Microsoft enterprise management products, would you choose:

    1) traditional text-based help on the box

    2) traditional tex-based help on the box supplemented with blogcasts/screencasts (see below for examples) for the most complicated issues/sceanarios/features

    3) just 'casts

    Why? Leave comments.

    Example screencasts/blogcasts:

    Jeff's:
    Windows Vista Screencast: Aero Interface
    Windows Vista Screencast: Search
    Windows Server 2003 R2 Upgrade Blogcast
    Windows Server 2003 R2 Blogcast: Part II: Installed Components

    Kleefy's:
    WinPE Driver Addition
    Windows System Image Manager
    Windows Deployment Services Overview

    Bonus question: 'casts audio tracks are pretty easy to localize, much easier (therefore faster) that text. However, would you want to see screens that are in English, with a localized audio track, or would you be willing to wait a longer time in order to get a new 'cast that shows the screens in the same language as the audio? Why? Leave comments.

    What I'm trying to get feedback on is what is the best way to learn an enterprise management software product? Take a look at Jason's video on how to juggle, and think of the time required to get all that down in words. More efficient for you to learn new stuff if we switched to screencasts?

  • TONYSO

    How to uninstall IE 7 from XP SP2

    • 0 Comments

    I install and uninstall a lot of software on my laptop in the course of my work. Sometimes, stuff happens, and I can't be sure what the problem might be. Standard advice from support in these case is "pave it" meaning uninstall and reinstall the app to see if that fixes the problem.

    Recently, IE7 has been throwning the same Onfolio error message at me every 15 mins or so.

    In case you need it, here are the instructions for uninstalling IE7 from Windows XP SP2 from kb 917964:

    If Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is installed on the computer

    If Windows XP SP2 is installed on the computer, uninstall Internet Explorer 7. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
    2. In the Currently installed programs list, click Internet Explorer 7, and then click Remove.
    If Internet Explorer is not listed in the Currently installed programs list, follow these steps:
    1. Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/) How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
    2. Type the following commands.

    Note Press ENTER after each command.
    CD ie7\spuninst
    batch Spuninst.txt
     
    If Internet Explorer 7 cannot be uninstalled, but if the Windows\ie7\Spuninst folder exists, uninstall Internet Explorer 7 in the Recovery Console. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/) How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
    2. Type the following commands.

    Note Press ENTER after each command.
    CD ie7\spuninst
    batch Spuninst.txt

    Reinstall Internet Explorer 7

    When Windows XP has been repaired and is running correctly, reinstall Internet Explorer 7. To reinstall Internet Explorer 7, you must have the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. This installation package may still be on the computer from the first time that you installed Internet Explorer 7. Locate the installation package in the folder in which you saved the files.

    Note This package may be located in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

    If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer 7 installation package, visit the following Microsoft Web site to obtain this package:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)
    To connect to the Microsoft download site, you must have a functional Web browser. If Internet Explorer 6 does not work on the computer after you uninstall Internet Explorer 7, you cannot download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Therefore, you will have to use a computer that has a functional Web browser to download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Then, use a shared network drive to install the program from the downloaded installation package on this other computer onto the repaired computer. If you cannot use a shared network for this purpose, copy the Internet Explorer 7 installation package onto a CD on the second computer. Then, use this CD to install Internet Explorer 7 on the first computer.
     

  • TONYSO

    Lifetime Learning

    • 1 Comments

    MIT posts courseware on the web - FREE - http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

    "By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted"

Page 1 of 1 (10 items)

January, 2007