Welcome to TechNet Blogs Sign in | Join | Help

November 2006 - Posts

ReadyBoost Compatibility

Posted Thursday, November 30, 2006 2:18 PM by James Senior
At the moment there are some USB devices on the market which won't work with Windows Vista Readyboost because the data transfer rate is not quick enough. The problem is trying to figure out which devices are fast enough. Grant Gibson has put together Read More...
3 Comments
Filed under: ,

Ready for a new Day?

Posted Thursday, November 30, 2006 1:24 PM by James Senior
The launch website for Office 2007, Vista and Exchange 2007 has just been unveiled and amongst other things you can view the official product launch at the NY stock exchange later today. Other useful resources are the videos and the forums where the business Read More...
0 Comments

New Vista Training Courses Available

Posted Thursday, November 30, 2006 9:54 AM by James Senior
This one-day clinic introduces students to Microsoft Windows Vista, including an introduction to security, reliability, performance, manageability, and productivity features and includes Hands on Labs. http://www.interquad.com/search/courseDetails.asp?course=M5056/57 Read More...
1 Comments
Filed under: ,

Competition Time: Vista Preview Magazine

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2006 2:02 PM by James Senior
The chaps over at Windows Vista Magazine have generously given me 5 copies of the official Vista Preview Magazine to give away to you!!! The magazine is best described in their own words: "Inside, Windows Vista is introduced in a detailed 20-page feature, Read More...
2 Comments
Filed under:

Explaining Vista Editions - the fun way

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2006 12:19 PM by James Senior
WindowsVistaRetail.com does a really good job of explaining the different editions of Windows Vista. It's so easy to understand which edition you should choose according to which type of user you are. Even Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols who was really confused Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

SideShow Photo Frames and English History

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2006 11:55 AM by James Senior
One of the things I love about my job is playing with cool technology and yesterday was a real treat for me as I made my way down to meet the guys at a Living Picture on the south coast of England, in the historic town of Battle . It's funny to think Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: ,

T-Shirts and tour dates

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2006 10:44 AM by James Senior
You know it's getting serious when they give you a "crew" t-shirt for the upcoming Cinema tour! We've nearly sold out on this tour so make sure you book your ticket immediately! Book me a seat and get my popcorn ready! Read More...
1 Comments

Time to get skilled up on Vista, Office 2007 & Exchange

Posted Monday, November 27, 2006 12:03 PM by James Senior
Windows Vista, Exchange 2007 and Office 2007 - they're just round the corner now - are you and your teams ready? Check out these courses which can help get you prepared: Are you ready? Prepare now by taking the Windows Vista 101 mini-course. You'll learn Read More...
0 Comments

Gaming on Windows Vista

Posted Friday, November 24, 2006 3:40 PM by James Senior
Robert came across the new Games for Windows website - the new place to find out about all things related to Gaming on the Windows platform. They're trying to empahsise the following reasons why playing games on Windows is the best place you can do it: Read More...
3 Comments
Filed under: ,

What the... WPF/E?

Posted Friday, November 24, 2006 2:48 PM by James Senior
I've had a few questions recently about WPF/E and what exactly it is. WPF/E stands for Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere and is a rather exciting development because it sees the extension of WPF which is desktop based in .NET 3.0 onto the internet Read More...
0 Comments

Whistle-stop tour of Expression Web Designer

Posted Friday, November 24, 2006 2:42 PM by James Senior
Scoble has posted this really nice demo of Expression Web Designer by the product manager. Wayne Smith menions "standards" at least four or five times in the first two minutes - looks like they've put creating compliant web sites at the center of the Read More...
0 Comments

UK Partner TV reloaded

Posted Friday, November 24, 2006 10:14 AM by James Senior
Background We have collected a lot of feedback from Partners over the past few months to understand how they want to receive information from Microsoft. In addition to the Partner web site we have now extended PTS- TV to a wider audience with Partner- Read More...
0 Comments

Vista & Office Events

Posted Thursday, November 23, 2006 5:50 PM by James Senior
28 November 2006, Edinburgh: Windows Vista Security Titbits and Data Security This security-focused TechNet event will have two distinct parts, the first covering security. Find out how to prevent attacks while still giving your organisation the agility Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: , ,

UK Business Symposiums

Posted Thursday, November 23, 2006 5:44 PM by James Senior
We are running two Partner Business Symposiums on the 7 th and the 8 th December at Microsoft UK, Thames Valley Park, aimed at Business Decision Makers within Certified Partners. The events give the Partners a unique opportunity to discover the means Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Hands-on Lab: Deploying 2007 Microsoft Office System

Posted Thursday, November 23, 2006 5:43 PM by James Senior
Get Hands-on Experience Deploying 2007 Microsoft Office System in TechNet Virtual Labs Try out all the cool new features of ISA Server 2006 such as single sign on, automatic link translation, HTTP compression, flood resiliency and more. This series of Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Windows Live Search spotted!

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 9:09 PM by James Senior
I'm seeing this pop up more and more frequently on my favourite websites. Its the appearance of integrated Windows Live Search. Cool! If websites like this are finding Live Search a viable and accurate alternative to Google, then isn't it time you gave Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Share UK Passport data via RFID

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 7:33 PM by James Senior
Worrying security developments with UK passports. They should have bitlockered them ;-) "UK security experts have cracked the sooper sekure new UK biometric passports. It took 48 hours. With £174 worth of sniffer hardware, attackers can read all the personal Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Flash 9 Update - nice job Adobe

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 6:48 PM by James Senior
The IE Blog has been congratulating the Adobe Flash team for shipping a model implementation of an IE Plugin that works with IE Protected mode. Nice to see early adoption to help keep users safe whilst they are online. "As most of you already know, on Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: ,

IBM gets dumped on Valentine's Day

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 6:45 PM by James Senior
Video: windows of choice Ouch! Talk about not pulling any punches when painting a picture of your competitor! Steve reckons this was never supposed to be public, never mind - neither were the Ricky Gervais videos filmed at Microsoft UK! Read More...
0 Comments

Windows Vista Security Guide

Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2006 11:34 AM by James Senior
The Vista Security Guide has gone through a beta programme and taken on plenty of feedback from you guys and now has been released. The purpose of the guide is to provide IT Pros with best practices and tools that help harden their Vista deployments against Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: ,

RSS: more than just a tool for blogs

Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2006 6:26 PM by James Senior
Blogging in my team is really gathering momentum and we're finding that more and more people we talk to are understanding the value of RSS feeds (which is a popular way to consume blogs) and how this new medium can help manage the "drinking from a firehose" Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: , ,

Vista Beta Testers get a free copy of Ultimate

Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2006 1:21 PM by James Senior
The blogosphere was recently alight with the news that beta testers would receive a free copy of Vista Ultimate Edition as a thanks for testing out the product. There was also much speculation as to who was eligible for this and why. I checked in with Read More...
4 Comments
Filed under:

Take your Vista Gadgets with you

Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2006 12:59 PM by James Senior
Thought this was pretty cool - a post which explains how to take your gadgets with you from PC to PC. This is going to be great for people who use public PC's like those in libraries, schools or net cafe's. Now, the process for making your Gadgets roaming Read More...
0 Comments

Wireless on the train

Posted Monday, November 20, 2006 11:02 PM by James Senior
Last week I was complaining about planes not having wireless but today , on the way to our EVO event in Leeds, I was pleasantly suprised to find myself able to connect to WiFi enroute. Well done GNER - I salute you! They even had a map showing the current Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Gartner: Exchange 2007 to shape the future of email

Posted Monday, November 20, 2006 11:50 AM by James Senior
In December Exchange 2007 will be release to manufacturing. Gartner think its going to change the face of email. Here's why: Microsoft Exchange has about half of the market for corporate e-mail seats, with share expected to grow steadily through the end Read More...
1 Comments
Filed under:

Partner Vista RTM Availability

Posted Monday, November 20, 2006 10:11 AM by James Senior
Windows Vista Release To Manufacture (RTM) Accessibility for partners Unlike the Release candidate versions of Windows Vista that were designed for partners and customers to evaluate, test and demonstrate on a very broad basis, The RTM version marks the Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Surveys, Polls and Dell Vista Deployment

Posted Friday, November 17, 2006 11:05 AM by James Senior
In order to help with anticipated demand, Dell have acquired a British IT firm called ACS who specialise in large scale IT deployments. Apparently they will be used for planning of customer deployments. See the full InfoWorld article here. It's a poignant Read More...
1 Comments
Filed under:

Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 Certifications

Posted Thursday, November 16, 2006 8:35 AM by James Senior
Preview Office, Vista, and Exchange Certifications (Worldwide) Although we're still finalizing details for training and certification after this year's new software is released to market, we know many MCPs would like an idea of what's coming. We've published Read More...
1 Comments

iPod connectivity on planes

Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 3:02 PM by James Senior
Genius! :-P "On Tuesday, Apple announced a partnership with carriers Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United. Beginning in mid-2007, the six airlines will offer iPod connectivity so that travelers can charge their iPods in transit. Additionally, Read More...
3 Comments
Filed under:

Windows Live Search - new kid on the 3D block

Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 1:39 PM by James Senior
Video: Virtual Earth 3D Trailer Live Search is sneaking up behind Google in terms of relevance all the time and also the Live platform is constantly releasing new and cool stuff . Recently, I posted about Virtual Earth 3D which was introduced to complement Read More...
1 Comments
Filed under:

An unparalleled Windows Vista Demo environment

Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 12:46 PM by James Senior
If you're a Microsoft Partner then you will be very interested in what we call the Windows Vista Demo Readiness Toolkit (DRT). It's a Windows Vista installation (imaged based - naturally) that comes ready with customer scenarios, sample applications and Read More...
5 Comments
Filed under:

When is 4GB not 4GB?

Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 8:20 AM by James Senior
When you're running 32bit operating systems - that's when! Mike Tricker, the Program Manager for Windows Core Platform Architecture helps explain about this modern day phenomenon: There are three questions to ask that will tell you the maximum amount Read More...
3 Comments
Filed under: ,

Virtual Lab on Security Layering

Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 11:35 AM by James Senior
Neutralise Threats with Multiple Layers of Security Find out how multiple layers of security in your IT environment can help protect your information and control access. Try this self-paced virtual lab that can help you determine the ideal solution for Read More...
1 Comments
Filed under:

And the winner is.....

Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 8:57 PM by James Senior
Thanks to the 823 people who entered the Windows Vista Lanyard competition. I've not had the time to read every entry but rest assured the ones I did read were very funny indeed. The lanyards seem to attract alot of interest from Russia - I'm sorry guys Read More...
2 Comments

Exchange 2007 will RTM in December

Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 1:03 PM by James Senior
Not to be left out the cold by the recent Office 2007 and Vista RTM announcements, Exchange 2007 is hot on their heels with the announcement that it will RTM in December. So if the launch of Vista wasn't big enough on it's own, we're also launching Office Read More...
1 Comments

Photosynth Technology Preview is Live!

Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 12:19 AM by James Senior
This is the application that blew me away at Microsoft's annual sales conference in July. The demo was absolutely stunning and the technology behind it is mind-blowing. I've been playing around with the internal release for the last couple of months and Read More...
1 Comments

prepareforwindowsvista.com

Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 8:28 PM by James Senior
The Windows Vista Demo for IT Pros will help you understand the features and functionality that will make a real difference when it comes to running you and your customer's businesses. These are broken down into four main areas: Optimising Destop Infrastructure Read More...
1 Comments

Upcoming Vista Events in the UK

Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 5:16 PM by James Senior
9 November 2006, Bristol: Windows Vista System Integrity Technologies and Internet Explorer 7 Security Features Windows Vista will ship with several new system integrity technologies including code integrity, secure start-up, service hardening, mandatory Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: ,

WinFX Screencast

Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 5:13 PM by James Senior
I've been talking a lot about the power of WinFX (aka .NET 3.0) for some time now and I'm seeing more and more examples coming to market that take advantage of the platform. This screencast shows off an ficticious application that's part of our demo toolkit Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: , , ,

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 CTP

Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 11:36 AM by James Senior
You can get SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 on the Community Technology Preview Program now! Service Pack 2 incorporates enhancements in the following areas: Analysis Services Database Engine Integration Services Reporting Services Shared Tools There are Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under:

Windows Vista - It's Time

Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:20 PM by James Senior
Video: Windows Vista JimAllchin RTM Announcement 8th November 2006 19:00 GMT The anticipation has been enormous, and now it's finally upon us - Windows Vista RTM. For those of you who don't know, RTM means Release To Manufacturing - basically when a product Read More...
2 Comments
Filed under:

Download Exchange Server Beta 2

Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 8:07 PM by James Senior
I've been talking about it recently , and we're running it happily at Microsoft so why not give it a go yourself and download the Exchange Server Beta 2 today? Click here to download it now Technorati tags: Exchange 2007 , Beta Read More...
4 Comments
Filed under:

UK Vista Early Adopter Lab

Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 3:54 PM by James Senior
Here's some event information for ISVs in the UK who are building apps on the Vista platform. It's a day workshop for people who want to understand more about the Certified for Windows Vista programme - definitely worth a look if you are readying your Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: , ,

IE feeding Firefox

Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 3:33 PM by James Senior
The IE team made a nice gesture to the Firefox team and sent them a big cake as a congratulation for launching Firefox 2 a few weeks ago. Competition is healthy after all, without them the IE team - or any other product team - wouldn't be innovating like Read More...
0 Comments

The Zune Ecosystem already growing

Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 11:42 AM by James Senior
The number of third party addons and products for the Zune is already starting to increase with companies like Belikin, Altec Lansing, Monster Cable, Logitech, Klipsch Audio Technologies and VAF Research either having already launched products or in the Read More...
2 Comments
Filed under:

Virtual Billboards

Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:09 PM by James Senior
I like the way businesses can hire out virtual billboards as advertising space on Virtual Earth - I imagine this medium is going to prove very valuable to advertisers. Check out these examples I found in and around Boston: And Seattle, which also has Read More...
5 Comments
Filed under:

Guided Help not shipping with RTM

Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 12:33 PM by James Senior
But don't panic it'll be online instead! The guided help feature that I've been shouting about recently is not going to ship with the final RTM code, rather it will be delivered online. The reason behind this is to do with it's sensitivity to changes Read More...
0 Comments
Filed under: ,

Screencasts - embedded!

Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 12:13 PM by James Senior
I've tamed the screencasts and have managed to embed them within the pages of this blog - which is fantastic! No more having to open up the Media Player - you can even zoom in and check out those Vista build numbers if you so wish, right from your browser! Read More...
0 Comments

Virtual Earth 3D

Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 11:45 AM by James Senior
Microsoft has just released Virtual Earth 3D which complements our local.live.com map offering by running directly in the browser window. If you are familiar with Google Earth, this is a similar concept but with more integration with browser search and Read More...
5 Comments

Office 2007 RTM (it's finished)

Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 8:28 PM by James Senior
"It's in the bag!" It's the first one out of the starting blocks - with Vista and Exchange 2007 shortly to follow suit. Office 2007 was the first bits of Beta software I installed this year and I've grown completely dependant on it. It's a really great Read More...
0 Comments

Resolution Gadget

Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 4:24 PM by James Senior
Found this handy gadget which helps you change resolution very quickly - great for designers or people who make screencasts! Thanks to Mike Taulty for this little creation - he writes a great blog over at http://mtaulty.com/ The gadget itself isn't a Read More...
5 Comments

Microsoft: Change the world or go home?

Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 10:48 AM by James Senior
It's interesting how different people are interpreting Hugh MacLeod's latest cartoon on Microsoft (pictured right). I personally believe we do a lot of things that change the world - it's just that most of the time people don't stop to realise. When you Read More...
7 Comments

Windows Vista Packaging: Pivotal

Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 7:17 PM by James Senior
Even after rummaging around the patent registrations , not even Long could have predicted the pivoting action on the new Vista packaging! I wonder if the pivoting mechanism is powered by a small electric motor - now that would be nice! Technorati tags: Read More...
3 Comments

What does "Unified Communications" really mean?

Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 1:48 PM by James Senior
When talking to Mark Deakin - the UK Product Manager for UC (Unified Communications), I've always been struck by the way he manages to explain quite complicated topics in a way that makes them very easy to understand. He explains UC like this: "For most Read More...
0 Comments

Microsoft Watch(ed)

Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 2:05 PM by James Senior
I've been reading Microsoft Watch for a while (just out of curiosity mainly) but today was the day I unsubscribed from their RSS feed. Not only did I get bombarded today with loads of posts that were republished, but going through them I noticed a pattern. Read More...
5 Comments

Exchange 2007 = new features enabled in Outlook 2007

Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 2:00 PM by James Senior
Having completed my migration from Exchange 2003 to 2007 whilst I was tucked up in bed (thank you Microsoft IT), I now have access to lots of new cool features in Outlook 2007. The first thing I rushed to check was the out-of-office assistant which has Read More...
1 Comments

Friday Humour

Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 11:58 AM by James Senior
Courtesy of BoingBoing : Read More...
0 Comments

Windows Live Barcode

Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 11:44 AM by James Senior
If you've got a Windows Mobile device then you might want to try out this new application called Windows Live Barcode. It's a neat way to make data entry quick and easy. Basically you can encode free text and templates like business cards into a kind Read More...
4 Comments

Zune.net

Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 5:47 PM by James Senior
It's live and beautiful - Zune.net http://www.zune.net Technorati tags: Zune.net Read More...
3 Comments

Microsoft TV IPTV Launched in Switzerland

Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 12:10 PM by James Senior
As well as enjoying Cukoo clocks , Toblerone and annoymous banking the Swiss have been one of the first to get their hands on Microsoft TV IPTV which is a brand new software service providing broadcast quality tv and interactive services. From what I've Read More...
0 Comments

Jim Allchin talks Vista Security

Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 7:10 PM by James Senior
After taking some flak from other security vendors on the security features in upcoming Windows Vista Jim Allchin has written an open letter to customers addressing some of the points that the competition has raised. I'll start by quoting his conclusion, Read More...
4 Comments
Filed under: ,
 
Page view tracker