To me it seems like we just finished TechEd 2009!  We still have some of the Netbooks hanging around so the memory is fresh.  But like everything in life things have to move on.  So we are beginning our planning already for TechEd 2010 and as usual we want to get feedback from the community about what you would like to see at this year’s event. I’m most likely going to be running the Windows Server track again to I would like to hear what you want to see in this track.  This is

Today at the Mobile World Congress we announced Windows Phone Series 7 and I have to say I’m pretty excited about what we announced today.  I can see so much more synergy and consistency in the new Windows Phone platform than ever before.  I’ve been a user of Windows Mobile since the beginning and this is truly exciting.  What I like the most is the fact that Zune is going to be integrated.  Finally I’ll be able to carry one device that does everything!  But don’t take my

With the number of new products that have come out recently it’s a good time to re-visit your Microsoft certification status and get up to date. To help with this the folks over at Microsoft Learning are running a program until December 31st 2009 where you can get up to 25% certification exams .  We also have what we call Learning Plans which help you become certified in the most notable and correct Microsoft products.  If you follow the Career Map you can get a clear picture of where you

Earlier this year we announced that we would be delivering a new Windows Phone based on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform.  Well today is the day we are launching in North America, Europe and Asia.  And today we are launching with Telstra and HTC locally in Australia!  This means that right away you’ll be able to purchase really cool devices with Windows Mobile 6.5.  So what is new with the new Windows Phone? First of all we have focused on work and play - We know that people use

As you all know this month is launch month for Windows 7 and the folks over at TechNet Magazine are getting in on the action with a bunch of articles to help you get started with all the new features.  Check out some of the highlights below! Windows 7 – The 10 things to do first for Windows  7 – We all know that getting ready for a major release  such as Windows 7 can seem like a huge task.  In this article Bill Boswell talks about how you can streamline your efforts and smooth

Windows PowerShell is something I’ve talked about and emphasized in many of my presentations on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 .  Windows PowerShell is a management technology designed for ease of use by both system administrators and developers.  It’s often thought of as something only for developers but it’s something all system administrators need to get their head around.  Windows PowerShell V2 is available in box in both Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 and as an optional

The August 2009 Edition of TechNet Magazine is now online.  Check out some of the highlights below.   The theme this month is “connecting the dots” using Microsoft BI solutions.  Plus as always there is lots of other good information in there. Business Intelligence:   Planning your first Microsoft BI Solution Business Intelligence: Building a Data foundation for a BI Solution Web Infrastructure: ASP.NET Web Cache spurs Performance and Scalability Microsoft Dynamics:   Troubleshooting

  As we get close to the general availability of Windows 7 on October 22nd it’s a good time to think about deploying Windows 7.  Well we have been very busy with making sure we remove as many deployment blockers as we can.  We have worked hard to make sure we remove as many of these as we can.  Whether it’s application compatibility, or just the method of getting Windows 7 out on scale you need the right tools.  We have just made some announcements around a couple of technologies

Yes I know I’m a day late but hey I had to get Windows 7 RTM installed on my primary machine before I headed off to the US.  At 1.40 PST on July 22nd 2009 we released Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 simultaneously to what we call RTM or Released to Manufacturing.  This means we declared build 7600 as the final build ready to ship  to customers.  This is also the first time since 2000 that we have been in-sync with both the server and client operating systems.  This is

Well it’s that time of year again.  Another financial year has gone by and we are beginning to plan for the new year.  Well to be honest we have been planning for some time now.  But this time around I thought I would call out to the community to get your thoughts on a couple of areas myself and Deeps have been thinking about so that we can tailor events and content delivery that best meets your needs.  So what I’ve done is setup some simple polls on Twitter using Polldaddy . 

  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.

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

  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

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

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

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

  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 . 

Yes it’s that time again!  I’ve blogged a few times on E-books that have been made available by Microsoft press as part of there 25 year celebrations.  Well this time around there are 2 books on offer.  One for the IT Pro and one for the Developer.  Check out the details below and to register click on the picture of each book. Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit All the tools and technical information to help you setup, deploy and manage Terminal Services farms

For those of you planning on attending Tech Ed Australia 2009 , the registration site is now live so you can begin the process of convincing the boss that you absolutely need (emphasize need!) to go to this year’s Tech Ed conference.  But in all seriousness this year is going to be a bumper year with so many things happening around Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization, Windows Mobile and SQL Server plus many more technologies. So head over to the registration site and if you are

Next week the inaugural meeting of the Sydney Windows User Group or SWUG will kick off with some great stuff around the Windows 7 Release Candidate!   So what’s the group about?  Well it’s all about Windows of course!  It’s all about talking about the Windows Operating system as it relates to consumers, power users and small business's.  Nick Rayner or Aussienick as he’s known on Twitter is running the group and is really passionate about technology and has got a good line-up