Did you know there is an arrow in the FedEx logo? Now that it has been pointed out, will you ever NOT see it?
This is an example used in Ric Merrifield’s Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation to illustrate how changing your viewpoint is a necessary, but not sufficient, step to innovation.
His bottom-line advice, once you have figured out your Hedgehog; start with the small, safe projects. Tackling the part of the diagram that drives your profit is high-risk, if you make a mistake, it’ll be painful.
Rethinking how to decouple “what” you are doing from “how” you are doing it will tempt you to judge people/yourself for the waste you come to see with your new viewpoint. That’s not productive, guard against it. Let it go and move on.
Remember Hamlet’s idiom: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Is it a woman’s face? Or a saxophone player?
The Appliance Test Drive — VHD Test Drive Program page has some updates:
Including a link to the free Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD and the Run IT on a Virtual Hard Disk – Test Drive Program, where you can download
Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
This download lets you evaluate Windows 7. Windows 7 has many new features and file management enhancements -- like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews -- all to help speed you through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance. Your PC just works the way you want it to! With 64-bit support, you can take full advantage of the latest generation of powerful PCs and processors. New features like HomeGroup, an updated Windows Media Center and Windows Touch make new things possible.
Exchange Server 2010 RC for Windows Server 2008
Download this fully configured virtual machine of the latest release of Exchange Server 2010 RC. Evaluate the new capabilities of Exchange Server 2010 RC, which helps you achieve new levels of reliability and performance by delivering features that help to simplify your administration, protect your communications, and delight your users by meeting their demands for greater business mobility.
SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Evaluation for Windows Server 2008
Start evaluating SQL Server 2008 Enterprise today. SQL Server 2008 Enterprise provides a trusted, productive, and intelligent data platform that enables you to run your most demanding mission-critical applications, reduce time and cost of development and management of applications, and deliver actionable insight to your entire organization.
We’ve published a new topic in the TN Library that lists new Hyper-V videos in LIFO order. Check it out at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee731912(WS.10).aspx
If you are interested in sorting these by number of views as of today:
CodePlex has a nifty free-as-in-beer app that sets your desktop wallpaper with the Bing daily image.
Salty goodness. And Free-as-in-beer.
The good folks at Codeplex, the folks who bring you the free-as-in-beer Hyper-V PowerShell SnapIn
also bring you the PowerShell PowerBoots.
“ PowerBoots makes it easier for scripters to create graphical user interfaces in PowerShell, exposing much of the power of WPF to PowerShell in a simple syntax which supports events, threading, and much, much, more.
PowerBoots is written as a script module which dynamically generates functions into static script files for each WPF control, combined with a compiled module called PoshWpf which was originally part of PoshConsole (and includes the Out-Wpf cmdlet and New-BootsWindow cmdlets among others) ... the module enables threaded UIs as well as enabling support for styles, control templates and data templates.
The result of this is that PowerBoots does not require that PowerShell be run with the -STA switch, and virtually everything works not only in PowerShell 2.0, but in PowerShell 1.0
The new TechNet Script Center Gallery has a useful RSS feed of most active submitted scripts. This help me find two useful ones:
There’s also a bunch I’ve uploaded for Hyper-V/Hyper-V Server and VPC/VS:
And don’t forget jamesone’s excellent PowerShell management Library for Hyper-V. Also free, as-in-beer.
You will also want to look at the Windows Management Framework: PS 2.0, WinRM 2.0 and BITS 4.0.
The Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series provides organizations with an end-to-end solution to help them plan, deploy, and monitor security baselines of Windows operating systems and 2007 Microsoft Office applications. Recent updates include new security baselines for Windows® 7, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and Windows Internet Explorer 8.
Did I mention, free-as-in-beer?
Includes:
Josh Barnard on the High Performance Computing team at Microsoft has a new video out explaining Job Templates in HPC. Click the image to watch the video on msn video.
You can read the white paper at Windows HPC Server 2008 Job Templates.
In Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V R2, when a running or a saved state virtual machine is migrated to another virtualization server (also called “host”), the destination server may have a processor with a different set of features. An operating system or application that attempts to execute CPU features discovered when the virtual machine was started on a "source" machine, but not present on the destination (called "destination") machine, will cause a virtual machine migration failure.
The Hyper-V R2 virtualization platform prevents the migration of a virtual machine that will fail in this way because the processors of the "source" and "destination" servers are not compatible. However, this check for compatibility only happens at the time of virtual machine migration, not when the server joins a cluster.
Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a capability called “Processor compatibility mode” so that you can avoid the situation where virtual machines cannot be migrated due to processor incompatibilities. However, if you do not want to turn this capability on for each of your virtual machines, you can use the free-as-in-beer Virtual Machine Migration Test Wizard to identify which machines in your environment are compatible.
You can use the wizard before you have clustered any hosts to show you pools of servers that are processor compatible. The wizard covers four use scenarios:
Want to read the doc before downloading the wizard? See http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/VMMTestWizard/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=3326.
Note: You’ll run this wizard on a server, pre-reqs include:
You can watch a video with Dinesh explaining/demonstrating the Virtual Machine Migration Test Wizard here.
There’s a new video showing How to Deploy Windows XP Mode. Requisite see alsos:
Others who downloaded Window XP Mode IT Pro Deployment Video also downloaded:
Ben’s blog post lays out all the background and details on import/export of VMs in Windows Server 2008 R2. Soumya’s blog post gives a couple of scripts showing how to do a config-only export,a nd a script for importing it.
Scientists in Switzerland map the human brain on hallucinogens. Measured this way, all tripper’s brains look the same, yet internally, each drug-takers experience is different and personal…
Warning: clicking the link subjects you to a short commercial before vid plays. Can anyone tell me how to skip the commercial?
I was a ha-yuge Laurie Anderson fan in the 80s. I’ve seen her perform live more than I’ve seen any other artist, United Sates a couple of times, and Mister Heartbreak twice. Think that defines me as a fan.
“Holy smokes, looks like some kind of guest/host relationship to me…”
“Let X = X, ya know?”
The way she chanted her lyrics opened up worlds of meaning for me. It wasn’t a Mondegreen, because I believe she knew I would hear:
“It
It aches
It takes one
It takes 1 2
It takes 1, to no-1”
Ironic I now work in I.T.
She’s a gifted artist, teacher, inspiration. Genius.
I thought of her tonight as I listened to an old recording I’d made of a conversation many years ago with Dialog Coach Andrew Jack. Among other things, he’s responsible for the dialect work in the Lord of the Rings.
Gifted artist, teacher, inspiration. Genius.
“language is a virus”
Books are a medium of transmission.
Increasingly, so are sound recordings. We are missing something really important in this whole podcasting/webcasting/zunecasting thing…
According to Text2Go:
The average worker in the US spends 46 minutes a day commuting. That's almost 200 hours or over 8 days a year wasted. Enough time to listen to
I am getting more and more enamored of listening to Narrator read text-to-speech in Win 7 for stuff that I do not need to focus on intently. For those studying dialects, the different accent voices, like those you can hear at http://www.text2go.com/voices.aspx is fantastic. You just load the screen reader with the appropriate accent with the actual dialog you have to say, then listen/repeat after the bot till fluent – instant electronic coach.
Well, at least it’ll get you started till you can arrange to get with Andrew.
There is a fascinating new time-waster at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/social/, including this gem for Firefly fans…
I’ll be in my bunk…
John shares how to hack your 12V drill to power you Zune speakers.
He also tells How to Detect The Virtualization Layer From Within A Guest.
Yesterday I blogged about the awesome new bing search for twitter. You don’t need to follow the tweetstorm to know by now that Windows 7 was released today.
I’m with James on this one: today is A uniquely good day to be at Microsoft.
Plus, last night my teenager turned me to on a fabu new pizza place near our home: Flying Squirrel Pizza – their music library looks like this:
People who bring in a mixtape (cassettes only) get 10 percent off their total order. If your tape is deemed good enough, it may even get played at the restaurant…
According to this article.
Windows XP Mode is ready for download.
Read about Windows XP Mode modes of operation over on the VPC blog: http://blogs.technet.com/windows_vpc/archive/2009/08/27/three-modes-of-windows-xp-mode.aspx
This is not the image search for Tony Soper you were looking for…
Doing a Bing image search on yourself can be eye-opening. For instance, I once worked with this guy (great actor and human being BTW, check out his current TV show)
And I currently work with this guy – also a fine human being that is a pleasure to work with, check out his blog
I’ve used various obscure but meaningful-to-me images for Tony Soper as avatars across the interwebs, including
and and (my fav and current).
Just to clarify, I’m not the ornithologist, and I once looked like this…
And this blog post - aside from sweeping my pics folder clear of images of Tony Soper, is designed to see if I can modify those Bing image search results a bit…
Bing.com now searches twitter. Interesting way to keep tabs on the twitterverse chatter about *things you care what people are twittering about*.
For example:
In the beginning, there was blogs.msdn.com. IT Pro bloggers posted there, because there was no place for IT Pros to blog. Then there was blogs.technet.com.
Looks like the devs are leading the way again with the recent update on mdsn.com of “community stuff”. For example, they’ve now got a very nice plateful of links called “Networkwide” (warning: they have ads, IT Pros tell us they don’t like ads – I always thought devs don’t like them either, but the folks at TN/MSDN say they’ve received no negative feedback since launching ads…)
Would you like to see “Networkwide” on TN? Leave feedback and I’ll forward.
Free-as-in-beer Codeplex help for Hyper-V admins.
PowerShell Management Library for Hyper-V
A project to provide a PowerShell management library for Hyper-V
Hyper-V Web Manager
Hyper-V Web Manager (HVWM) is a web-based management utility for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V role. The web manager will eventually give you most of the functionality that is available in the Microsoft Management Console for Hyper-V. The project is not an official Microsoft project and is not developed by Microsoft employees.
Hyper-V Server 2008 Local Management scripts / UI
Hyper-V Server 2008 is based on Server Core and has no local management possible. One must have a second machine (either Windows Vista SP1 or Windows Server 2008). This project intends to develop various scripts and put them together in to a small user interface for easier / local management of hyper-v server. Most of the functionality (except VM console access / Guest Install) achieved using Hyper-V Management MMC will be mimiced here.
Hyper-V Powershell Snap in
A Powershell snap-in to access and manager Hyper-V Servers (locally or remotely)
Hyper-V Machine Recovery Tool
Small tool to recover/import Hyper-V machines which were not exported. This will include snapshots related to the Hyper-V machine.
Meet the team behind codeplex in this C9 vid: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Glucose/Hanselminutes-on-9-Inside-CodePlexcom/
There wasn’t a lot of hoopla last month about the launch of Technet Script Center Gallery, but there should have been.
150+ scripts (just in the first month), free-as-in-beer, tagged and sorted and searchable…
They even hand you an evergreen top ten list, how cool is that?
Oh, and Scripting Guys? THANKS for understanding that RSS feeds for everything is a real time saver for IT Pros.
Kudos!
KB957256 describes the options that are available for upgrading or migrating from a Windows Server 2008 installation with the Hyper-V role enabled to Windows Server 2008 R2. For Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters that are running virtual machines, see the "Upgrade guidance for virtual machines on failover clusters" section of the KB.
See also
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730990.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/clustering/archive/2009/09/02/9890272.aspx
10 modules to help supercharge your Windows PowerShell scripting. The PowerShellPack lets you write user interfaces in PowerShell script, manage RSS feeds, schedule operating system tasks, and much more.
Here’s what you get:
WPK Create rich user interfaces quick and easily from Windows PowerShell. Think HTA, but easy. Over 600 scripts to help you build quick user interfaces
TaskScheduler List scheduled tasks, create or delete tasks
FileSystem Monitor files and folders, check for duplicate files, and check disk space
IsePack Supercharge your scripting in the Integrated Scripting Environment with over 35 shortcuts
DotNet Explore loaded types, find commands that can work with a type, and explore how you can use PowerShell, DotNet and COM together
PSImageTools Convert, rotate, scale, and crop images and get image metadata
PSRSS Harness the FeedStore from PowerShell
PSSystemTools Get Operating System or Hardware Information
PSUserTools Get the users on a system, check for elevation, and start-processaadministrator
PSCodeGen Generates PowerShell scripts, C# code, and P/Invoke
According to my teenager, “twitter is creepy, its just stalking. I mean the button you push says follow”! Duh!.” Yet, some in the business press in the US say Microsoft should buy Twitter.
Hrmm… Microsoft advertises job listings there, Bing integrates tweets, and there are colleagues I respect happily building community there.
So what is UA for IT Pros to do? Conversations continue inside Windows Server UA about the best use of our time as far as engaging with community is concerned?
What are your thoughts? Leave feedback.
And then consider:
Try wait, you could consider those links first, THEN leave comments. Yeah…that’s probably better…