I got details of this from a former colleague of mine; Paul Woods who is now working for Data #3 in Brisbane who are one of our certified Gold Partners. These guys are being proactive around Windows 7 Deployment and have even entered a video into a competition being run at our Worldwide Partner Conference being held this year in New Orleans. They are so keen that they are the only Aussie Partner to enter the competition. Check the video below to see what they have submitted.
Also you can check Data #3’s progress of their Windows 7 deployment at http://www.win7deployment.com/. It’s great to see a local Partner getting behind Windows 7 and deploying it early in their environment.
Jeffa
Yes the secret squirrel is out! As Nick and Long have already posted we are giving each paid delegates to TechEd Australia an HP 2140 
Mini Notebook with Windows 7 pre-installed. Pretty cool eh? in my opinion this has to be the coolest and most useful thing we have ever done at TechEd. Yeah bags are nice but you can only use so many of them right? But a Netbook? Very cool indeed!! So what are the details of this machine?
Screen: 10.1”
Hard Drive: 160GB 5400 RPM
Memory: 2GB
Processor: Intel Atom 1.6GHZ N270
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate – You might have guessed that from the boxshot!
So my role in this process is to own the image that gets put on these 2300 machines. Yes I have final say on what we put on the Netbooks. Fun and scary all at the same time. My goal is to make sure delegates have a great experience during TechEd with the devices and be able to take some learning's back to their office around Windows 7 Deployment. After all this is a pretty good size deployment to gain some good insights.
So right now I’m in the early planning stages of working on the image and what’s going to be included. The good news is I’m working very hard to make sure the image is built with Windows 7 RTM code. Could be a bit of a challenge since we don’t know exactly when that will be. So in the early discussions with folks we are look at using the following technologies.
The idea is that delegates will open the laptop at TechEd when they receive it and the machine will go through a Lite Touch Deployment of Windows 7 and the applications we include plus give you a chance to choose from a list of additional applications. We think that developers and IT Pro’s might not choose the same applications so we want to give you a choice.
So if you are on the fence with attending TechEd this year maybe this will get you over the line. Click on the button to the right to go to the registration page and don’t forget early bird registration is open until July 14th. So get in before then to get a discount!
Community Callout
So given we are in the early stages of developing the image we want to get your help. Tell us what you think should be in the image and what shouldn’t. Let me know your thoughts because the more ideas we have the better it will be!
I also wanted to call out some guys that are helping me out from Microsoft in the US. Jeremy Chapman, Adam Carter and Mike Niehaus will be helping with the creation and loading of the images. These guys have heaps of experience in OS deployment and are going to be at TechEd as well! We are really grateful to have them involved in this project!
Now the fun begins!
Jeffa
Well maybe not completely the Outback but certainly in the country for sure. Over the last 6 months or so I’ve been talking with many an IT Pro throughout Australia about all the goodness that is Windows 7. The response of course has been overwhelming with many of you running it day to day on your productions machines. And that’s what we were really going for when we embarked on this project. To make it just work. For it to be complete. For it to do what you want it to do. I hope we have lived up to that. Based on the feedback we have been getting I certainly think we have.
To get more of you involved I blogged awhile back about IT Pro Momentum as a way to adopt new Microsoft technologies and many of you are enjoying the benefits. Which brings me to a small computer reseller in 
Queensland who provides computer services to his local community.
Rex Vivash runs R & B Computers in Kingaroy, Queensland which when I looked it up on the map is 985km from my house and 207km from the Microsoft Office in Brisbane. Here’s a map of the location so you can get the idea.
So Rex runs a system builder shop and has been running Windows 7 since the beta and is now running on the Release Candidate. So I got a chance to have a chat with Rex on the phone so he could explain to me how he is using Windows 7 and what he likes best about it.
Jeff: So how long have you been running Windows 7?
Rex: Well since the Beta came out really and at that time ran the 32-Bit version. I’m now running the 64-Bit version with the Release Candidate and have found that runs really well except for an onboard video card that was in the machine. I now have an ATI video card in the machine and it all works fine.
Jeff: How many machines have you deployed Windows 7 on?
Rex: Well 3 machines for now and one is my main work machine with plans to do many more. I run my entire business on that including MYOB
which is my accounting software I use to run the business. I’ve had no issues and it seems to run much faster than Windows Vista on the same hardware.
Jeff: “So Rex; what are the main benefits you are getting out of Windows 7?
Rex: Well since moving to Windows 7 I’ve found it’s a lot faster for copying files. Let me explain. I have 3 different hard drives in this machine and have file spread out across the different drives. I’m often moving and copying files around not only this machine but other machines on my network. So 2 other features really help out with that. The first is the new Libraries function which enables me to create custom libraries of data that sits in different locations. This makes it easy to find what I’m looking for across different drives. The next feature that helps in this situation is the new Homegroup feature in Windows 7. This makes home networking a snap and is going to be big for my customers with more than one PC in there house.
Jeff: So if you had to pick one feature as your favourite what would it be?
Rex: Well I would have to make it a tie between the new Libraries feature and the new user interface. The user interface is just so much easier to use and I love the way Windows Explorer is laid out.
So there you have it! That was just a small snippet of how one of our system builders is using Windows 7 today in his business to make himself more productive. And it’s great to see this story coming from a country part of Australia rather than the big smoke as we call the cities down under! And thanks goes to Rex for being so candid and willing to share your story mate!
I hope to hear more great stories as we lead up to RTM and beyond! If you want to get involved with new technologies and want to know more about IT Pro Momentum; drop me a line and I’ll send you some details.
Jeffa
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are just around the corner and if you are thinking of deploying these two 
new OS releases you need some good planning tools. If you are thinking of this then make sure you have a look at the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta.
MAP Toolkit 4.0 Beta – What is it?
MAP Toolkit 4.0 is an integrated planning toolkit that makes it easier for you to quickly identify what servers, workstations and network devices are in your environment. There is no agent that has to be installed on target machines and it’s able to discover all computers in Active Directory and in workgroup environments. MAP can get hardware and device inventory, hardware compatibility analysis and generate actions that are environment specific to help with migration to the latest Microsoft technologies.
What’s New in MAP 4.0 Beta?
- Windows 7 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
- Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V R2 Server Consolidations
- Integration with the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Calculator
- Inventory of VMware Server Hosts and Guests
- User Interface and Proposal Customization for Partner Co-Branding
- Enhanced Usability and Improved Inventory Performance
Additional Features - Carried over from version 3.2
- Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V Server Consolidation
- Windows Vista Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
- Windows Server 2008 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
- 2007 Microsoft Office Readiness Assessment
- SQL Server Instance Discovery
- Desktop Security Assessment for Anti-virus and Anti-malware Programs Installation
- Forefront Client Security/NAP Readiness Assessment
- Online Services (Exchange Online) Assessment
- App-V Infrastructure Readiness Assessment
- Power Savings “Green IT” Calculator
So as we get closer to the release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 you need to start to think about what you have in your environment and get a good inventory before you start your migration projects. MAP 4.0 Toolkit Beta can provide you with a great way to get this information.
So make sure you head over to the MAP Site on TechNet to download the Beta!
Jeffa
Today we announced some details of upgrade options for Windows 7 and general pricing details. Check out this
video from Brad Brooks who is a Corporate Vice President in the Windows Consumer Marketing division.
Announcing the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program & Windows 7 Pricing I haven’t had any confirmations yet of local pricing in Australia as of yet but I will keep you informed as soon as I hear something.
We are getting close!
Jeffa
The July edition of TechNet Magazine is now online and features a great article by Mark Russinovich on UAC in 
Windows 7 and what it will look like in the final version of the product. Check out the details below along with more great information.
- Identity and Access Management – Managing AD Users with ILM 2007 – We all know that enterprises have to deal with multiple digital identities to keep user data in sync between diverse directories and databases. Microsoft Identity Lifecycle manager 2007 is a key tool to help keep all this data in sync. Check out this article for more details of how you can solve this problem.
- User Account Control – Inside Windows 7 User Account Control – UAC is a set of technologies that was introduced with Windows Vista with one clear goal in mind. “To make it possible for users to run as Standard User’s”. Sounds like a pretty simple goal right? Well UAC has been one of the more hotly debated topics since Windows Vista came out and one that is often confused. We know that Vista prompted to much and often confused and frustrated customers. Check out the data we received from customers in this post from the E7 blog. So in this article Mark goes through what we have done up until this point and the changes that have been made in Windows 7. The article is definitely worth a read to understand what this key technology is going to look like in Windows 7
- SQL Server – Understanding SQL Server Backups – Backing up database is critical piece in maintaining data integrity. But there is confusion about the best strategy to use. In this article Paul Randal explains the 3 most common types of backups you would use and how you can combine them for an effective strategy.
Lots of good stuff this month so make sure you set aside some time to have a look!
Jeffa
We even have a tagline for the packaging of Windows 7. Simple, Clean and Easy to Open..And they are greener than the Windows Vista packaging and 37% lighter! And finally it’s easy to open. The box opens more like a standard DVD case which will make it easier to get to the DVD inside.
So that’s what you can expect to see in retailers later this year. Based on feedback we received we’ve made the logo more prominent and given the packaging a clean look. We hope you like it!
Jeffa
Next Friday at 1pm is the first of a series of 3 Live Meetings to help Australian developers get started developing for Windows Mobile 6.5 – and to get those apps in Marketplace (Windows Marketplace for Mobile – Open for Developer registration) to distribute/sell to the millions of Windows Mobile users globally.
These Live Meetings will run through July, all on a Friday starting at 1pm. So grab some lunch, your favourite beverage, and get ready to learn. The first starts Friday week, July 3 – click to register now.
July 3rd 1pm - Introduction to Windows Mobile 6.5 and Marketplace: the opportunity and the platform
This webcast introduces the new and upcoming features of Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Marketplace. It also outlines the incredible business opportunity for developers to reach millions of users globally via Windows Marketplace – and the processes required to do so.
Register now for Live Meeting session 1
July 17 1pm - Getting started developing for Windows Mobile 6.5: developer tools, technologies, debugging and testing
Learn how to get started developing for Windows Mobile 6.5, what can be done with the new technologies and how to use your existing skills to start coding apps for Windows Mobile 6.5 phones via Windows Marketplace.
July 30 1pm - Widgets: the new internet application
Get insight into the Widgets platform for Windows Mobile 6.5 and discover how to develop powerful Widgets that leverage today’s web experience in a new way.
Jeffa
This is just a heads up reminding you that on July 1st 2009 the Windows 7 Beta will shutdown every 2 hours and it
will expire on August 1st 2009. So the best thing to do is download the Release Candidate if you want to continue to run Windows 7. However the downloads for the Release Candidate program will expire on August 15th 2009 so make sure you head over to the download page and download the RC.
And if you are already on the RC and like what you see or want to send us some feedback you can do so with this link. http://input.microsoft.com
Hope this helps you in evaluating Windows 7!
Jeffa
The next Windows 7 TechNet Live event with be on Windows 7 Deployment. More details below.
Windows 7 Deployment Enhancements
Date: Friday, July 3rd 2009
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (AEST)
Event Overview
This session will focus on Windows 7 enhanced deployment capabilities. We will explore Virtual Hard Disk Image Management and Deployment, Dynamic Driver Provisioning, and Multicast Multiple Stream Transfer functionality that is used with Windows Deployments Services for operating system deployments. In addition we will discuss Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7 which includes Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) to create Windows 7 deployment packages. In this session, we will show you how to deploy Windows 7 to a bare metal machine and upgrade existing Windows Vista computers to Windows 7 using Windows Deployment Services included in Windows Server 2008 R2. Then we will show you how to provision a VHD using Windows Deployment Services.
Speaker Details: Me!
If you have any questions prior to the event Twitter it with the hash tag #win7live
Registration Link
http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032418256&EventCategory=4&IO=gsXEArGBrBvoXZ3DcZ0kBQ%3d%3d&culture=en-AU&CountryCode=AU
Hope to see many of you there!
Jeffa
The good folks at Microsoft Press have another couple of free E-Books available for download. This time around they are on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. If you are working on projects in this space then you might want to download these great resources.
Programming for Unified Communications with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Step-by-step programming scenarios show you how to deliver high-quality VoIP, presence, click-to-communicate, and contextual collaboration across the enterprise and across time zones.
Click here to download this E-Book.
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Resource Kit
Get the definitive resource for deploying, configuring, and supporting Office Communications Server 2007—now fully updated. For more information or to buy the print version of this title, visit the Microsoft Learning website.
Click here to download this E-Book.
Jeffa
It’s that time again and as I did last year I’m going to be owning Windows Server content. This year the way we are organising the tracks is going to be a bit different than it was last year. This year’s Tech.Ed is going to have a heavy focus on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. And since there are so many crossovers in technology where you need both we are combining this into on track called Windows Client and Server. Here is a bit of excerpt of that
track.
Windows Client and Server
The basis of any strong data centre now and for the future starts with the core operation system. The Windows Server® family of products provides you with the best solution to build your IT infrastructure for any size organization. From the Essential Server Solutions to Windows Server 2008 R2, this track shows you the solutions and set of technologies to ensure success.
In addition, this track covers the comprehensive set of management products and solutions enabled by the Microsoft® System Center product suite as well as various Windows Management Technologies to help you gain back control of your environment. The sessions presented provide you with in-depth guidance and technical background in "Managing the Data centre" and "Managing the Desktop" while also covering the management of heterogeneous IT environments.
Finally, the Windows Client and Server track has everything you need to know about adoption, deployment, management, and virtualization of the Windows® Desktop Environment, including a technical introduction into Windows 7 and Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 8. Come learn best practices and hear about the advancements in the Windows Client technologies which will help you manage and accelerate your desktop deployment efforts. Get real-world guidance from our industry experts via sessions that span client-side development, readying applications for your OS roll-out, deployment tools and technologies, virtualization, and much more.
So for Tech.Ed Australia I’m going to be owning the Windows Server sessions for this track and I’ve gone through the sessions that were delivered in that track at Tech.Ed North America and ones that have been submitted using the Call for Content Tool. Of course 200 level sessions or overview sessions get dumped straight away as we know that you all want deep level content. So below is a table of my first pass at this. I would love to get your feedback on these and let me know what you think. Of course we can’t do all of these session as we only have 19 sessions dedicated to the Server part of the Windows Client and Server track. So out of these I’m going to have to cut 4 sessions. But before I do that i would like to get your feedback.
| Number | Session Title | Products/Technology | Level |
| 1 | Windows Server 2008 R2: Technical Overview | Windows Server 2008 R2 | 300 |
| 2 | Failover Clustering Feature Roadmap for Windows Server 2008 R2 | Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows 7; Hyper-V | 300 |
| 3 | Windows Essential Business Server 2008: Technologies to Drive Cost Out of Midsize Business | Windows Essential Business Server; ISA Server; Active Directory | 300 |
| 4 | Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack: Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Deployment Security Best practices | Microsoft® Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP); Microsoft® Application Virtualization | 300 |
| 5 | Deploying and Managing Scalable Web Server Farms with Internet Information Services 7.0 | Windows Server 2008 R2; IIS | 300 |
| 6 | Overview of Remote Desktop Services: The merging of terminal services and VDI | Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows 7; Remote Desktop Services; VDI | 300 |
| 7 | Optimizing PHP on Windows Server 2008 R2 for Production Web Services | Windows Server 2008 R2; IIS | 300 |
| 8 | From Zero to Live Migration: How to Setup a Live Migration | Windows Server 2008 R2; Hyper-V | 300 |
| 9 | Extend Your Web Server: What's New in IIS and the Microsoft Web Platform | Windows Server 2008 R2; IIS | 300 |
| 10 | Deploying NAP with 802.1x | Windows Server 2008 R2; NAP | 300 |
| 11 | Windows Server 2008 R2: Hyper-V Technical Overview | Windows Server 2008 R2; Hyper-V | 300 |
| 12 | Determine Candidates for Hyper-V Server Virtualization and Windows Server 2008 with Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit | Windows Server 2008 R2; Hyper-V; MAP | 300 |
| 13 | Virtualization for Sustainable Computing: Lowering your Power Footprint with Microsoft Virtualization Solutions | Windows Server 2008 R2; Virtualization; Power Management | 300 |
| 14 | Windows Server 2008 R2 Group Policy Changes | Windows Server 2008 R2; Group Policy | 300 |
| 15 | BranchCache: Helping You Save on WAN Bandwidth Consumption at Branch Offices | Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows 7 Client | 300 |
| 16 | Reinventing Remote Access with DirectAccess | Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows 7 Client | 300 |
| 17 | Windows Server 2008 R2 Streamlined Management | Windows Server 2008 R2; PowerShell; WMI | 300 |
| 18 | Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2: Technical Overview | Windows Server 2008 R2; SCVMM 2008 R2 | 300 |
| 19 | High Availability and Disaster Recovery Considerations for Hyper-V | Windows Server 2008 R2; Virtualization; Clustering | 300 |
| 20 | What's New in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 - High Performance Computing Simplified | Windows Server 2008 HPC | 300 |
| 21 | Top Ten Active Directory issues from the field | Windows Server System; Active Directory | 300 |
| 22 | Use the power of Group Policy Preference to eliminate logon scripts and take control of your environment. | Windows Server 2008; Windows 7 | 300 |
| 23 | Windows Small Business Server 2008: Up and Running in Under an Hour | SBS 2008 | 300 |
So let me know what you think. Are we covering the right things when it comes to Windows Server? Is there something I’m missing? Let me know so we can make this track about the content you want to see..
And if you are going to TechEd this year don’t forget that Early Bird Registration closes on July 14th. So get in early to receive a discount off the full registration price.
Jeffa
This month we have quite a few security bulletins for you to consider. Please see the details below for links and more information.
| Bulletin ID | Bulletin Title | Maximum Severity Rating | Impact | Restart Requirement | Affected Software |
| MS09-018 | Vulnerabilities in Active Directory Could Allow Remote Code Execution | Critical | Remote Code Execution | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-019 | Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer | Critical | Remote Code Execution | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer |
| MS09-020 | Vulnerabilities in Internet Information Services (IIS) Could Allow Elevation of Privilege | Important | Elevation of Privilege | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-021 | Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution | Critical | Remote Code Execution | May Require Restart | Microsoft Office |
| MS09-022 | Vulnerabilities in Windows Print Spooler Could Allow Remote Code Execution | Critical | Remote Code Execution | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-023 | Vulnerability in Windows Search Could Allow Information Disclosure | Moderate | Information Disclosure | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-024 | Vulnerability in Microsoft Works Converters Could Allow Remote Code Execution | Critical | Remote Code Execution | May Require Restart | Microsoft Office |
| MS09-025 | Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege | Important | Elevation of Privilege | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-026 | Vulnerability in RPC Could Allow Elevation of Privilege | Important | Elevation of Privilege | Requires Restart | Microsoft Windows |
| MS09-027 | Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution | Critical | Remote Code Execution | May Require Restart | |
If you want to see a summary of these bulletins please click here.
New Security Advisories
We are also releasing two new security advisories. These were released on June 9th 2009. Details are below.
| Security Advisory # 1 | Microsoft Security Advisory (971888) - Update for DNS Devolution |
| Summary | Microsoft is announcing the availability of an update to DNS devolution that can help customers in keeping their systems protected. Customers whose domain name has three or more labels, such as "contoso.co.us", or who do not have a DNS suffix list configured, or for whom the following mitigating factors do not apply may inadvertently be allowing client systems to treat systems outside of the organizational boundary as though they were internal to the organization's boundary. |
| Mitigating Factors | Customers who are joined to a domain and have a DNS suffix search list configured on their system are not at risk of inadvertently treating external systems as though they were internal. Microsoft encourages all enterprise customers to set DNS suffix search lists on client systems in order to ensure all DNS queries stay within organizational boundaries. In most cases, home users who are not members of a domain do not use DNS devolution and therefore are not exposed to this risk. Home users who are not members of a domain but have configured a primary DNS suffix, however, do use DNS devolution and are at risk of inadvertently treating external systems as though they were internal. Customers whose DNS domain name consists of two labels are not exposed to this risk. An example of a customer who is not affected is contoso.com or fabrikam.gov, where "contoso" and "fabrikam" are customer registered domain names under their respective ".com" and ".gov" top-level domains (TLDs). |
| | |
| Security Advisory # 2 | Microsoft Security Advisory (969898) - Update Rollup for ActiveX Kill Bits |
| Summary | Microsoft is releasing a new set of ActiveX Kill Bits with this advisory. The update includes a kill bit from a previously published Microsoft Cumulative Update: - Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 6 Cumulative Update (KB957924)
The update also includes kill bits for the following third-party software: - Derivco: This security update sets a kill bit for an ActiveX control developed by Derivco. Derivco has released a security update that addresses a vulnerability in the affected component. For more information and download locations, see the security release from Derivco. This kill bit is being set at the request of the owner of the ActiveX controls.
- eBay Advanced Image Upload Component: This security update sets a kill bit for an ActiveX control developed by eBay. eBay has released a security update that addresses a vulnerability in the affected component. For more information and download locations, see the security release from eBay. This kill bit is being set at the request of the owner of the ActiveX controls.
- HP Virtual Room v7.0: This security update sets a kill bit for an ActiveX control developed by Research In Motion (RIM). RIM has released a security update that addresses a vulnerability in the affected component. For more information and download locations, see the security release from HP. This kill bit is being set at the request of the owner of the ActiveX controls.
|
| Additional Resources | |
And as per normal we are release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Get more details on that here.
Jeffa
I’m using Bing now and it’s cool. You should too..try it out at www.bing.com
Jeffa
Today we announced when Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be available to the public. Drum roll please!
October 22nd 2009 is the day both of these products will be available with the RTM of the product being sometime in the 2nd half of July 2009! Wow! That means I could have the RTM next month! I like the sound of 
that.
So until then; sit back and relax and while your waiting try out the Release Candidate for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. I only have one machine left not running either Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. That’s my wife’s laptop which she doesn’t want me to touch. Fair enough I guess..
So the journey continues….
Jeffa
