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April 2007 - Posts

Monday, April 30, 2007 7:47 PM

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 released!

Downloading the bits right now (while watching Ray Ozzie's keynote here: http://www.visitmix.com/ :) Today Microsoft released Windows Server Update Services version 3.0 to our website for download. Below are links to where you can get it as well as read
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Saturday, April 28, 2007 11:15 PM

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) in Virtual PC 2007

Another Saturday, another OS install... After having installed Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) in Virtual PC 2007 a few weeks ago here , I thought I would give the latest release a go. As you may recall, I ran into some problems with the last install, as Ubuntu
Posted by smearp | 6 Comments
Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:57 AM

If you can't make it to Mix07

Watch from home ... We’re in the final moments leading up to MIX07. The halls around my office are emptying out as people head to Vegas to prepare, or catch up on sleep in advance of 72 hours of activity. Starting on Monday morning, we’re going to be
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Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:44 AM

System Center Operations Manager 2007 Performance and Sizing Guide

I wonder if I could fit more words into the title if I put a little effort into it ;) On the MOM Product Team Blog , they have announced the release of the Performance and Sizing Guide for OpsMgr 2007, covering: Capacity Planning and Best Practices -
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Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:17 AM

When Microsoft Presentations go wrong

If you've ever attended or given a presentation, you'll get a kick out of this video. My laughing is causing my cube neighbors to give me dirty looks right now ;) Thanks Loke !
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Friday, April 27, 2007 9:23 PM

What's the best way to become certified?

There are a million different resources out there, from MSLearning to Exam Cram books, to MSPress books , to sites that provide exam questions word-for-word (making the value of the certification worthless to those that cheated to pass). The Microsoft
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Friday, April 27, 2007 5:18 AM

How did THAT security vulnerability slip through?

Michael Howard (of the Secure Development Lifecycle team at Microsoft) has posted a detailed analysis of the recent MS07-017 security vulnerability, and the lessons learned from examining the code responsible for the vulnerability. Great read. A core
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Thursday, April 26, 2007 2:04 AM

Longhorn Beta 3... From the Source

Saving me from having to type up a list of all the resources that are available to support the Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 3 launch, the Windows Server Team Blog has a comprehensive post with all the links you will need... Today we reach another major
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Thursday, April 26, 2007 2:02 AM

Free E-learning for Windows Server "Longhorn"

The price is right! Take some training on Longhorn while you are downloading from the link in my last post . Collection 5934: Introducing Microsoft Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" (Beta 3) In this online collection composed of four clinics, you are
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Thursday, April 26, 2007 1:56 AM

Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 3 released.

Woohoo! Get it now before the Download Servers are overwhelmed. I see it is up on Connect (if you had previously been accepted into the Beta), and you can download it as an IT Pro or Developer from the Beta 3 site. What's the address you ask? You'll have
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007 6:19 AM

Exchange 2007 Desktop Wallpaper

For the Exchange Admin in your life... Available in 1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1920x1200 from the Exchange Team blog .
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007 6:11 AM

Business Desktop Deployment 2007 Source Code released

Get it while its hot! The Microsoft® Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) is best-practice guidance for desktop deployment. BDD is targeted at companies that want to reduce deployment time, effort, and cost by increasing the level
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 5:52 AM

New Blog: Microsoft Forefront Server Security

It looks like the Microsoft Forefront Server Security team has a new blog up: Hello all and welcome to the new blog for the Microsoft Forefront Server Security products. Many of you may be familiar with and/or running our products under one of our previous
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007 5:44 AM

System Center Virtual Machine Manager Beta 2 released

I have previously noted that Beta 2 of System Center Virtual Machine Manager was on it's way. Tonight it dropped. Here is a preview of the major upgrades in this release (and this is just touching on a significant list of improvements and feature enhancements):
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 3:59 AM

Cruel Irony

I just picked up the following book from the Microsoft internal library: You Don't Have to Go Home from Work Exhausted! by Anne Mcgee-Cooper If only I had time to read the book. I'm so tired... ;)
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007 1:36 AM

Pinging in IPV6

I know the transition from IPV4 to IPV6 is inevitable, but I am going to go kicking and screaming... In any case... IPV6 has apparently been enabled on my subnet at work. Here's what ping looks like now: Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000] Copyright
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 1:21 AM

Karl Rove and Clippy

Courtesy of Gizmodo , this is pretty funny...
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007 1:16 AM

Silverlight Almost Wasn't

The original product name that was almost approved was: Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation Live Rich Client ActiveX Player R2 Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1 CTP (or WPFLRCAPR2UESP1CTP for short) Find out more at Tim Sneath's blog.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007 1:14 AM

Orcas (Visual Studio 9) Beta 1 available

In a preconfigured Virtual Machine environment no less! From the Virtual PC Guy's Blog: Here is another interesting virtual machine. The Visual Studio team have made Beta 1 of the next release of Visual Studio (codenamed 'Orcas') available as a virtual
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Monday, April 23, 2007 9:15 PM

What ports do I need to open for (insert product here) to work?

Are you setting up a router or a firewall, perhaps setting up a domain trust, connecting some Forests, or remotely managing your environment, and you need to know what ports must be opened for (Active Directory, MOM, SMTP, whatever…) to work? We have
Posted by smearp | 2 Comments
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Saturday, April 21, 2007 9:28 AM

How do I index network shares in Vista?

It can be done! By default, the search function built into Windows Vista will only search indexing local volumes and directories. You may have some file shares, however, that contain a large number of documents that you would like to rapidly search. Here
Posted by smearp | 1 Comments
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Saturday, April 21, 2007 9:24 AM

Get Certified on Windows 2000 while you still can!

If you are just getting started on some Microsoft Certifications, you will definitely want to take a look at the new generation of technology specific certifications , or at the Windows 2003 MCSA/MCSE track . If you have started the Windows 2000 track
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:05 AM

Running PostgreSQL and MySQL on Windows

Looking to run a database (maybe to learn SQL or to host your recipe collection)? SQL Server 2005 certainly fits the bill (and there is a free edition here ), but if you want to try some of the other options available on the interweb, the two following
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007 6:09 AM

Windows Media now works on Firefox!

The Windows media team has been hard at work on an updated plugin for FireFox that will enable you to watch Windows Media files within FireFox, which has now been released through Port 25 (the team at Microsoft that works on interoperability with Linux,
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007 12:11 AM

Is There a Guide for That?

So you have just been tasked with setting up Active Directory, or creating a Backup Plan, or setting up a PKI infrastructure for your company. There's no need to start from scratch!!! We've already done the heavy lifting for you: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/solutionaccelerators/wssra/raguide/default.mspx
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Monday, April 16, 2007 2:01 PM

WPF/E is Silverlight

And now has a pretty kickass logo if I do say so myself ;) There is much more information on our announcement yesterday at the following links: Silverlight website Silverlight Virtual Press Room Tim Sneath's Blog Tina Wood's On10 Blog Loke Uei's Blog
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Friday, April 13, 2007 8:03 PM

Action Required: Turn off RPC management of DNS on all DCs. Do it now.

If you administer a Windows domain, or a domain with Windows DNS/DC Servers, you will want to take care of this problem before you leave for the weekend. According to the advisory here , Microsoft has received public reports of a limited attack exploiting
Posted by smearp | 1 Comments
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Friday, April 13, 2007 7:05 PM

Dude, where's my RAM? (or, why don't I have 4GB?)

I ran into this exact issue yesterday, and intended to write a post. Fortunately, the ASKPERF Blog covers this issue today, and at the bottom of this post, I get to link to 3 more of my favorite blogs that cover the problem in depth: Memory Management
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Friday, April 13, 2007 6:56 PM

Windows splash screens from 1.01 to Vista

To follow up on my Why Design Matters. A pictorial history of microsoft.com post (showing the microsoft.com homepage iterations dating back to 1994), TechRepublic has a great posting called Dinosaur Sightings: Windows splash screens from 1.01 to Vista
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Friday, April 13, 2007 5:34 AM

How do I do that in Vista?

The Windows Vista Documentation team has been super busy compiling and releasing a huge collection of Step-by-Step guides. If you have always wanted to know how to manage group policy with the new ADMX files, or how to implement User Account Control (UAC),
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Friday, April 13, 2007 5:19 AM

Apple, we feel your pain...

When you are developing a large Software project, be it an Operating System or a major Virtualization Release , there are a large number of components that make up the finished product. Despite the best planning efforts from the Program managers, and
Posted by smearp | 3 Comments
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Friday, April 13, 2007 4:49 AM

Steve Riley's upcoming TechEd presentations

If you are a fan of energetic security presentations by someone with earrings, shorts, and (typically) colored hair, than Steve Riley is your man (we're not much into the "button up" type at Microsoft ;) In any case, Steve has posted a list of the sessions
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:56 PM

Virtual Server and Windows Server Virtualization timelines adjusted

From Mike Neil (Virtualization GM) on the Windows Server Blog : As the person who oversees the development plans, teams and strategy for Microsoft’s virtualization software on desktops and servers, I want to update everyone on the timing of our server
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:51 PM

Microsoft System Center Capacity Planner 2007 (SCCP) beta available

What server(s) do I need to run Exchange ? That is a loaded question that I hear several times a week. The answer, of course, is: "It depends". It depends on MANY factors, and Exchange Server Sizing is as much art as it is science. Exchange 2003 Server
Posted by smearp | 2 Comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:31 PM

Why doesn't this feature exist?

I hear this question fairly often... usually in regards to a product that depends on another (that just shipped). For example, "Why is it that Data Protection Manager cannot do an item level restore on a SharePoint 2007 Document Library?!?!?". Well...
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007 2:07 PM

WGA Team responds to Vista OEM BIOS Hacks

Alex on the WGA team has posted a written response to the reported OEM BIOS Hacks regarding Vista: I know many of you are aware of reports of hacks that attempt to exploit our OEM BIOS based activation. We're aware of this type of hack and I wanted to
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Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:15 AM

Exchange 2007 SP1 Beta posted to MSDN and TechNet

The beta for Exchange 2007 SP1 has been posted to MSDN and TechNet for download. Weighing in at a hefty 717MB, it looks like the Exchange Team has been busy. You will of course want to limit this beta to a dev/test environment, while we work the bugs
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Thursday, April 12, 2007 12:11 AM

Professional Virtual Server Book Published

Ben Armstrong, (AKA Virtual PC Guy ), has published a book on Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. Currently available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble (as well as at your favorite local reseller). You can also download the example code from the book at the Publisher's
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 5:44 PM

You say potato, I say potaaaahto

At Microsoft, we have some product names that do not always roll off the tongue ;) The problem is compounded when we start adding service packs to revisions to product families. Right now, for example, I am testing Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Beta 2 .
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Monday, April 09, 2007 6:15 AM

Why Design Matters. A pictorial history of microsoft.com

If you designed websites (even for a club or small business) in the mid-90's, you recall the experience of working with tables and invisible GIFs for layout, proprietary HTML tags (ie <marquee>), scrolling banners, and the popularity of the starfield
Posted by smearp | 4 Comments
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Friday, April 06, 2007 12:38 AM

Replacing your Motherboard (without killing Windows)

It can be done! If you want to replace an older motherboard in your computer (without having to wipe and reload Windows), we have a KB article for that! Off to NewEgg to find a nicer Motherboard to replace the one that came for free with my Processor...
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 05, 2007 6:58 AM

Microsoft Best Practices

What are Best Practices? According to Wikipedia : Best Practice is a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique,
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Thursday, April 05, 2007 3:05 AM

Windows Vista Resource Kit released

Just saw this on the Windows Vista Team Blog . The Windows Vista Resource Kit is THE definitive guide to all things Vista. Weighing in at 1,568 pages (and 5.3 lbs), this book weighs more than many notebook computers. Good Times! The official MS Press
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Thursday, April 05, 2007 2:42 AM

Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs

If you work in an organization that utilizes laptops, and has data that you do not want to fall into the wrong hands (be they competitors or foreign agents), you will want to take a look at the new laptop Data Encryption Guide released by the TechNet
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 04, 2007 7:40 AM

XBox 360 warranty just gets better and better!

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemsetup/xbox360/resources/warrantyupdate.htm After recently changing the XBox 360 warranty from 90 days to 1 year, the XBox team has decided to take it to the next level! Your warranty now covers: Free Shipping: Microsoft
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007 7:30 AM

Microsoft Virtual Server - Virtual Machine Additions for Linux updated

I see that the Virtual Machine Additions for Linux have been updated to now support Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10. You can download the ISO from the Connect site here: https://connect.microsoft.com/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?SiteID=154&DownloadID=5929&wa=wsignin1.0
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 6:38 PM

Microsoft Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office

Announced at Convergence 2007 , the new Microsoft Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office and SharePoint Server package includes a collection of up to 12 self-service applications that are built to plug into Microsoft Office and SharePoint, as well as Standard
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 6:29 PM

Windows Server Longhorn Tech Overview

I see that Keith Combs has posted the slide decks from his recent presentations on Longhorn Server to his blog here: http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2007/04/02/windows-connections-conference-slides-posted.aspx Decks include: Windows Server
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 6:23 PM

Expression web design applications now available on MSDN

I see on Microsoft Watch that due to feedback from developers, we have now made the Microsoft Expression line of web design products available for download on MSDN. The versions that are available depend on how you subscribe to MSDN, as shown in the table
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 4:48 PM

How much memory does Windows support?

I had a customer recently ask about the memory limits for various editions of Windows, and thought that I would share the answer with everyone (as it took me a little while to find it). As 64-bit drivers are becoming more common from the OEMs, it is more
Posted by smearp | 1 Comments
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007 1:42 AM

Get Netscape 3.0 NOW!

I was looking at a site I designed in High School (back in the day), and the two following logos were on my site. Is Lycos still around? (I guess so... the web page resolves). I don't know if they are at all associated with the early search engine site.
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 1:33 AM

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager

One of the pillars of System Center is the new Virtual Machine Manager. Beta 1 has been out since last August, and at the Microsoft Management Summit last week, Microsoft announced the pending release of Beta 2. A lot of great coding and features have
Posted by smearp | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 12:57 AM

Microsoft Management Summit - Videos Posted

As I have mentioned earlier, Microsoft's Management products (under the System Center brand) are going to be a huge focus this year. Last week, the Microsoft Management Summit took place in San Diego, and I will try to cover some of the announcements
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Sunday, April 01, 2007 8:55 AM

Safari's WebKit being replaced by Internet Explorer 7 Engine

I was hoping the official announcement would come out of Apple before I posted my last blog entry ( Running Mac OS X on Virtual PC 2007 ), but now that the announcement is final, I thought I would share! http://webkit.org/blog/100/webkit-shutting-down/
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