The May Edition of TechNet Magazine is now online. Some of the highlights this month include: 
Enjoy!
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Oh man I want one of these! 
HTC have just announced their long awaited HTC Touch Diamond and it looks very sweet. Check out the video below to wet your appetite!
Now I have to talk to the Windows Mobile guys to see when it's coming to Australia!
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Well it's that time of the year again. Time to start preparing for another TechEd. To get you started the registration 
site is now live and you begin registering now. Just click the button on the left to be taken there. The dates for TechEd Australia are September 2-5 and we are in Sydney this time around at the Convention Centre Darling Harbour. Let's hope the party is not as crowded as the last time we had the event in Sydney!
This year I'm owning the Windows Server Track and I'm in the early stages of planning. I have to get 44 sessions from TechEd in the US down to the 23 sessions that we will have at TechEd Australia. I'm going to post a draft of topics we are thinking about soon to get your feedback because after TechEd is for you so we want to make sure we deliver the sessions you want. One good thing I know you will like straight away is I've gone through all the sessions and cut anything below 300 level. We know you all like deep content so that's what we are going for this year!
So as I write this post there are 118 days left until TechEd Australia so start those conversations early with you're manager and get approval for the registration cost!
Jeffa
Well I'm here in Canberra today presenting at the Canberra Security Interchange user group. My good mate Rocky 
normally runs the group and does all the presenting but he is away at the moment so I'm stepping in. So I decided to be really proactive and post the resources from these session before it happens because you know that's the first question people will be asking. So what's the topic tonight? Well it's a technical overview of Network Access Protection in Windows Server 2008. And in particular I'm going to be showing how to configure NAP using 802.1x authentication. I have my HP Procurve 2600 Switch which acts as my Radius client in my environment. It's always good to have real equipment with you when you're doing sessions as it makes everything so much more real to the customer.
So for that did attend please see the deck below and more resources on NAP.
PowerPoint Slides
More resources on NAP
Network Access Protection on Technet - This is a great site to start and includes all the step-by-step guides for trialling NAP in a lab.
NAP team Blog - great resource for finding out the latest on what the team is working on.
NAP API on MSDN - Because NAP is an extensible platform we make SDK available and all the details and references are on this site.
Network Access Protection in SCCM 2007 - This site gives you all the information on how you can extend NAP's capabilities with SCCM 2007.
Jeffa
The Microsoft Operations Framework 4.0 is now available for download! MOF 4.0 applies service management 
concepts to the tasks and challenges that you the IT Pro face each and every day. The guidance it provides put IT Pro's in the spotlight-it speaks to your needs and provides you with job aids to help you make sound decisions. MOF 4.0 also includes guidance for CIO's, IT Directors, IT Managers and IT professionals to help them plan, deliver, operate and manage IT services.
In version 4.0, MOF introduces a new structure that puts emphasis on outcomes, results, and roles in a format that's easy to reference. Because every group, team, and company is unique, the service management functions (SMF's) in MOF 4.0 are anchored by questions that support the decision making process within and organisation.
The practical guidance in MOF 4.0 features processes; governance, risk, and compliance activities; management reviews; and best practices from Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). Finally, to ensure industry alignment, MOF 4.0 supports the best practices found in frameworks such as ITIL, CoBIT, and ISO 20000.
The new release of MOF offers concise, practical guidance across the IT lifecycle, but it doesn’t stop there. Another very important element of version 4.0 is our online community: a platform where IT professionals can contribute their own timely, relevant recommendations for achieving reliable, cost-effective IT services…and benefit from the contributions of their peers.
What You Should Do Next?
Download MOF 4.0 now at www.microsoft.com/MOF, then join the online MOF community. See what you can contribute—and what you can gain—by participating in forums and blogs, providing feedback, and supporting other IT professionals. And don't forget about the complete library of Solution Accelerators available right now!
Jeffa
This month the Sydney SharePoint User Group is meeting at the Microsoft North Ryde offices instead of in the city ![clip_image001[6]](http://blogs.technet.com/blogfiles/jeffa36/WindowsLiveWriter/SydneySharePointUserGroupMayMeeting_D5CC/clip_image001%5B6%5D_thumb.jpg)
and this month they have a special guest; Mike Fitzmaurice from the US doing a special "Open Mike" session on all things about the SharePoint platform.
Date: Monday May 5th 2008
Time: 12:30PM-2:00PM
Where: Microsoft Australia 1 Epping Road North Ryde NSW 2113
If you haven’t already registered, simply click here and fill out the registration form
You can send through your questions to OpenMike@SharePointUsers.org.au.
For additional information visit the Sydney SharePoint User Group site at http://www.sharepointusers.org.au/sydney
Food and refreshments will be provided. And if you're not a member of the group already just go to the website to join!
Jeffa
The Security Compliance Management toolkit provides customers with best practices from Microsoft about how to plan, set, get and remediate a security baseline, along with tools that you can use to verify the implementation of recommended security baselines from Microsoft for Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP2. The toolkit helps customers quickly and easily provide this compliance information to auditors to demonstrate how their organization is meeting important compliance regulations.
The toolkit helps customers manage the compliance process by enabling:
- Automated security checks in their environment.
- Verification of security baseline in their environment, and identification of baseline settings changes or “drift” from prescribed values.
- Implement regulatory compliance through security checks.
The verification process is performed by Configuration Packs that can be applied using the desired configuration management (DCM) feature of Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager 2007.
Jeffa
This week we finished off the Windows Vista SP1 Technet updates and for those of you that attended we hope you 
found the information useful and informative. John and I both wished we had more time but hopefully we sparked some interest to at least get you to start thinking about deployment. So with that I thought I would provide you with the slides decks we both used and some links to more resources that were shown during the sessions. So check out below for all the goodness!
Presentations
For the first time I'm trying out Windows Live SkyDrive as the vehicle to get the presentations decks to you. Let me know what you think. Just click on the buttons below to download each deck. Personally for me it's much easier for me to do it this way than what I was using before. I just use a plugin for Windows Live Writer to insert the SkyDrive attachment. Way Cool!
Today's session certainly sparked a lot of discussion around the perception of Windows Vista and in particular SP1. We talked about the enormous work that has gone into making SP1 a great update. Area's like Performance and Reliability and of course the file copying engine. Personally I think perceptions are exactly that. Perceptions. They don't necessarily represent reality. Sure there are people that have had issues with Vista and we've taken a lot of feedback through Windows Error Reporting to address the most common issues. But I think what often gets overlooked are the positive experiences people have had. I know plenty of people that have had great experiences and indeed many customers have as well. Unfortunately it often gets lost in the noise that is out on the Internet
Like I said today there are a lot of amateur journalists out there with opinions which adds to the noise.
So with that I would like to get your opinion? I might be opening a can of worms here but I think it's healthy to have a dialogue. Because if you don't tell us then we simply can't fix it..Let me when you think of Vista and or SP1 if you've applied it. So onto the additional resources.
Resources
IT Wire article on Windows Vista versus Windows XP SP2
APC Magazine article of SP1
Springboard Series and in particular watch the Springboard Live virtual Roundtable with Mark Russinovich. This is a good session in which Mark is joined by a panel of experts from Microsoft and from some of customers who have already deployed.
Windows Vista Team Blog
Windows Vista Deployment
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008
Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Tool
Please let me know your stories on Vista!
Jeffa
Well maybe not completely but Dell has unveiled an eco-PC encased in Bamboo! These announcements were made as part of Dell's overall commitment to green computing at the recent Fortune Green summit.
I've been reading quite a bit about what's been going on in this space and it's good to see so much progress and great to see big manufacturers like Dell jumping on board
If you want to check out more photos of the Eco-PC head over to Earth2tech which is another blog site site I recently found that is focusing on startups and entrepreneur's dedicated to fighting climate change.
jeffa
I thought this would be a good one to leave you with over the Anzac Day Long weekend.
Donovan over at Home Server Hacks is doing a 5 part series on building a green Home Server using a Shuttle KPC as the barebones PC. Which according to shuttle runs at only
55 watts when running and 33 watts when idle and runs 1/3 quieter. Check out the first part here for all the details and the other parts used. I would be interested to see how much we could build one of these for in Australia. I might have a hunt around and see if I can find the parts being used in these posts and see what I can get them for. Not that I could justify replacing my exisiting home server but hey it's ok to dream!
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There has been quite a bit of new content coming out of our Microsoft IT team; particularly with the release of Windows Server 2008. More details below:
Windows Server 2008 – High Availability-Failover Clustering
Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) uses failover clustering in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system to support users worldwide. Microsoft IT found the solution easy to plan and deploy, especially because of built-in migration tools. The result is a set of Windows Server 2008 clusters that support more users through increased reliability and features.
Technical Case Study | IT Pro Webcast
Internet Information Services 7.0 in Windows Server 2008 Provides an Improved Web and Application Platform
Internet Information Services 7.0 in Windows Server 2008 provides management, security, performance and extensibility improvements when Windows Server 2008 is deployed to host and manage applications and services that run on the server and/or over the Web.
Technical White Paper | IT Pro Webcast | TechNet Radio
New Storage Designs for Exchange Server 2007 in Microsoft IT
Exchange Server 2007 enables large accounts to replace SAN with DAS solutions and still maintain high availability standards. With 64 bit and lower IOPS, customers have the ability to go for lower cost storage technology. CCR enables high-availability with DAS. Disk-based backup solutions can enable IT organizations to eliminate tape backups and achieve associated cost savings.
Technical White Paper | IT Pro Webcast | WMA | MP3
Jeffa
Tomorrow, April 22nd is Earth Day 2008. Check out the Earth Day Website for more details and how you can make a difference. There's also information about Earth Day events that are happening around the world if you want to get involved in those. But the best thing to do is call your local council or political leader and demand action. Start with the Live Earth pledge:
- Demand that our country join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
- Ask them to fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
- Tell them to work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of homes, workplaces, schools, places of worship, and means of transportation;
- Encourage them to pass laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal.
And here is a video for some inspiration!
Cheers, Jeffa
Well the Heroes Happen {Here} launch wave is almost over now but that doesn't mean we are stopping there. On April 1st we launched the Demo's Happen {Here} competition which will run until July 30th. So what is the Demo Comp all about? Well's it's a community demo competition happening across Australia and it's your chance to expand you're skills and try something different. Entries close on July 30th with the national finals happening at TechEd in Sydney on September 3-5 2008.
Last night I was at the Sydney Windows Infrastructure Group presenting my session I did at the Wave Launch and as part of that introduced the group to the demo competition. Well we got 5 volunteers from the group with 3 of them doing there demo's next month at the May meeting. Good luck guys! Also thanks to Derrick for setting up a base set of virtual machines for the group so they can get started with their demo's!
So how does it all work? Go to the Hero's Happen {Here} website and click on the Community tab for all the details but in a nutshell here is what you need to do:
So if you think you have what it takes to be crowned {Australian Demo God 2008} then head over to the Heroes Happen site and register. Oh and did I mention there will be some cool prizes for the State Finalists, State Winners and the National Winner.
I know that presenting can often be a daunting thing to undertake but it's a really good thing to do if you have never done it before. But when you think about furthering your career; communication skills is one of those soft skills we all need to improve on and presenting is one way of doing that. And don't worry because this competition is a great way to get your feet wet in a safe environment. And at the end of the day if it all goes pear shaped what have you lost? Nothing really..and maybe you've learned more about a new skill!
And one last thing to mention in this post that came from Harry Wong's Blog. Some folks in the US are delivering a Heroes event in Second Life! Now I've heard everything! What a great way to deliver an event so people can get the content. So of course I had to check this out and see what it was like. I've never tried Second Life because to be honest I'm busy enough with my first life..Anyway I joined up and went to the Microsoft User Group Island and below is the screenshot of what I found.
So it's Heroes Happen Virtually...The event happens on April 26th so I might pop my head in on the day to see what happens..Who knows we may to a future TechNet Update event in Second Life..you never know..
jeffa
The April Edition of Technet Magazine is online now and features everything you need to know about SQL Server 
2008. There are articles on What's new, Security, New Data Types and more so check it out if you get a moment.
But this month's magazine is not just about SQL. There is even an article by the Cable Guy on troubleshooting NAP so make sure you check that out as well.
Enjoy!
Jeffa
Remix is on again this year in Sydney and Melbourne next month so if you plan on going the registration site is up 
and running now. If you want to hear all the latest on Silverlight 2, Expression 2, Internet Explorer 8, Windows Live and all the other cool web technologies then make sure you register.
The event is being held in Sydney on May 20th at the Powerhouse Museum and on May 22nd at the Melbourne Town Hall. I won't be there as I'm presenting at Auscert 2008 this year but Fin, Michael, Shane and Nick will be there along with many others I'm sure..
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