John Weston Stories, Information, and random thoughts.

hello Houston!

jweston — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:51:02 GMT

Did you feel left out on a TechNet or MSDN event?
Well we added one on the calendar just for you March 12th. I know we haven’t told anyone yet. But you can go here: Houston, TX and register today.

If you want to see a complete list of events in the US go to www.technetevents.com or www.msdnevents.com

Visual Studio 2010 and .Net Framework 4 Release Candidate released

jweston — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:46:55 GMT

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Release Candidate

Visual Studio 2010 is an integrated development environment that simplifies the entire development lifecycle, from design to deployment.

Release Candidate Highlights

MSDN Subscribers: Download the Release Candidate

The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Release Candidate (RC) is available to MSDN subscribers on Monday, February 8th, with general availability on February 10th.

Featured Overviews and Walkthroughs

Check out this diverse collection of walkthroughs for RC. They provide step-by-step instructions for common scenarios and are a good place to start.

Tell Us What You Think

Once you've had a chance to download and start working with the RC, please take 5 minutes and tell us what you think.

TechNet Event Resources and Slides

jweston — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:07:12 GMT

Thanks Dallas for the Great TechNet event today. I love seeing that many turn out in the not so nice weather and traffic issues.

You can find the slides from today’s event at www.technetevents.com/resources.

Also i have been told there is a typo on my resources page the link should read:

http://blogs.technet.com/kevinremde/pages/FY10Q3.aspx the period before the apsx is missing.

Enjoy

Are you going to MVP summit?

jweston — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:46:49 GMT

Calling all MVPs! Sign up for the USDPE Side Session, SD05. Join USDPE as they share a little bit about their engagement with MVPs and the broader developer and IT professional communities. Attend this side session and:

· Connect with your local Evangelism team

· Be part of history; help shape engagement in 2010

· Participate in a panel discussion with Evangelism executives & MVP Award Program team

· Receive a very cool gift

I will be there, join us at this session above.

Chance to Win a laptop on toolbox, ok it’s time to go check this out..

jweston — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:16:08 GMT

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9702400

is the link you should follow, great conversation on Windows 7 You have a chance to win HP Envy.

Go….. Now……

New Windows Server 2008 R2 Book, hey I know the authors!

jweston — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:01:59 GMT

Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Insta Reference

is a new book my buddies Matt Hester and Chris Henley wrote. If you are working with the new Server Operating System 2008 R2, this book is a must.

I just got my copy, from first glance it is a great ‘little’ book (like 500 pages is little). It is packed with information, very well organized to find just the info you need.

Guess which author this is? Maybe the one from OH?

here is more info on the book:

Get up to speed on the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2 with this indispensable guide. Designed for busy IT professionals, it's the perfect go-to resource for quick answers and real-world solutions as you administer the new server OS. You'll find easy-to-read lists, quick-reference tables, helpful thumb tabs, and much more in a handy, compact format that puts the information you need at your fingertips. The book is designed for anyone who administers a Windows server environment. It is for experienced and new administrators alike. The book is also for administrators looking to learn how to use many of the new enhancements Windows Server 2008 R2 can bring to their existing networks. The book will also show administrators how to improve many of the day-to-day tasks of server administration. The book will provide guidance for many common ser ver tasks, such as setting up Group Policy and backing up and recovering your server and will also show you many of the new and features built in to Windows Server 2008 R2 to help you improve server administration and management.

Topics include:

Getting started and adding roles and functionality
Automating tasks
Managing users, groups, directories, and the centralized desktop
Handling folder security, disk management, storage, backup, and recovery
Monitoring and maintaining web servers
Troubleshooting IP and managing remote access
Doing performance tuning and maintaining virtual servers

Great job guys!

Where to see John Weston in February 2010

jweston — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:29:16 GMT

February 4th Dallas TechNet event 8-12 Azure, Virtualization, and Windows 7 deployment www.technetevents.com

February 4th DFW IT Professionals User Group 6PM at Microsoft Dallas office Sharepoint 2010 www.dfwitprofessionals.com

February 10th Chicago TechNet event 8-12 Azure, Virtualization, and Windows 7 deployment www.technetevents.com

February 11th Dallas TechTarget Dallas Exchange 2010 event http://events.techtarget.com/exchange2010/ registration is already full for Dallas.

February 15th-19th Seattle (Bellevue WA) MVP Summit if you are and MVP, this is the place to connect, most of our team will be there all week.

February 24th, Little Rock, AR TechNet event 8-12 Azure, Virtualization, and Windows 7 Deployment www.technetevents.com

TechNet Radio Community Corner

jweston — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:25:06 GMT

This morning Episode 2 posted to the web. I interview Russell Clements of DFW-Small Business Server User Group.

Go download the 30 min show here:

http://edge.technet.com/Media/TechNet-Radio-Community-Corner-with-John-Weston-Episode-2/

Join the conversation on Windows 7

jweston — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:01:19 GMT

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9702400 is the place to find toolbox discussion on Windows 7, join the community.

Looking for some Software to test?

jweston — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:13:46 GMT

Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701662

Download the Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701666

Evaluate Forefront Server Security Management Console today

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701670

Download Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Beta Today

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701674

Evaluate System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 today

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701678

Evaluate Windows HPC Server 2008

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701682

DFW IT Professionals User Group

jweston — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:54:29 GMT

www.dfwitprofessionals.com Is a group I am helping in the Dallas area, see other post for when they meet next. Today we had a huge milestone with this group 1000 members in LInkedIn? Wow!!!! Keep it up!

liveocean.org

jweston — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:51:40 GMT

Not everything is work. I have some things I am passionate about outside of technology. Sailing, Ocean, and teaching are some of those. I have several Friends in the Seattle area that have started a great project. They need your help.

Go check out www.liveocean.org. Join. Sign up, go help. Tell them your sailing friend John sent ya.

Live Ocean
1617 1st Street #22
Kirkland, WA 98033
PHONE: (425)922-7364 (425)922-7364
FAX: (425)650-2972
E-mail: info@liveocean.org

Chance to win HP Envy, Windows @ work Join the Conversation on Windows 7

jweston — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:14:12 GMT

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9702400

is the correct link to get to toolbox.com. Go there and register, join the conversation on Windows 7 and chance to win HP Envy. It’s all part of the Windows @ work.

Dallas TechNet event February 4, 2010 sign up now! www.technetevents.com

jweston — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:20:44 GMT

TECHNET EVENTS:
Windows Azure, Hyper-V and Windows 7 Deployment
Join your local TechNet Events team for a lively tour of the latest tools and resources for IT Pros. We’ll start with an overview of Windows Azure™, and explore how you can use this high-performance hosted platform to build customer-facing applications and add horsepower to your computing infrastructure. Next, we’ll look at all the tools and techniques available for building virtual environments in Hyper-V™ version 2.0 and finish the day by demonstrating how to simplify your Windows® 7 deployments. TechNetEvents are free, live learning sessions packed with hands-on technical content. Register today!
Session 1 | The Next Wave: Windows Azure
The future of highly available, high-performance, secure, dynamically scalable, hosted computing is here. It’s Microsoft’s new online service computing platform: Windows Azure. In this session, we’ll discuss and demonstrate the basics of Windows Azure and how you can leverage it in your work. We’ll show you real-world examples of how companies are using Azure today and help you think about applying it for customer-facing applications, or to quickly and dynamically add horsepower to your own computing infrastructure. We’ll also touch on the exciting future of the platform – including what you can expect to see in the coming months and years.
Session 2 | Hyper-V: Tools to Build the Ultimate Virtual Test Network Windows Server® 2008 R2 and Hyper-V version 2.0 provide a powerful base upon which you can build a highly realistic, effective test bed for servers, clients, and networks. In this session, you’ll learn how to use the resources of a TechNet subscription, Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V, and a new, free sysinternals tool called Disk2vhd, to build the ultimate test or training environment. We’ll show you how to import existing virtual machines and export virtual hard disks. You’ll see how to take point-in-time snapshots, and to build snapshot hierarchies that allow you to move both backward and forward to specific points in the time. We’ll also demonstrate how to create a virtual machine from a running physical machine, and then import that VHD into Hyper-V. By the end of this session, you’ll have a solid understanding of the tools and techniques currently available for building a great virtual environment in Hyper-V.
Session 3 | Automating Your Windows 7 Deployment with MDT 2010
Deploying Windows 7 is easy if you’re using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010. This session will walk you through the various tools that can help simplify your deployments. We’ll drill down in the MDT Workbench and look at how the MDT process helps you create a reference image, which can then be easily deployed to the target computers. We’ll look at how to configure the deployment environment, show how you can add operating systems, applications, drivers, and language packs using the Deployment Workbench, and then finish up by creating a task-sequenced deployment to a target computer.
For more information or to register, visit: www.technetevents.com
OR CALL 1-877-MSEVENT

Make a day of it. Join us in the same location from 1:00pm - 5:00pm, for a MSDN Event focused on Cloud Computing and Windows Azure designed specifically for Developers, visit www.msdnevents.com

New Code for TechNet Subscriptions

jweston — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:46:00 GMT

We just changed programs. I now can get you 28% off TechNet Plus subscription, use the code TNITE07 or this link http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb892754.aspx?pm=Lv:103|np:TNITE07

This offer is only for TechNet Plus Direct NEW orders only and is only valid for redemption in US. This offer is valid from 01/18/10 to 03/31/10, subject to change