Hi Everyone,
We are in the process of updating the look and feel of the TechNet Plus subscription offering and we’re looking for feedback on initial concepts from those of you in the real IT world.
I realize that most IT folks completely disregard most of what us marketing-types do J, but if you could bear with us for an hour and participate in this feedback session, you have a chance to give us real-time input on concepts our fancy brand teams have developed in this very early design phase. You don’t need a marketing or design background to participate—Just be an IT pro! We’re looking for candid, honest, constructive feedback on a few of the design concepts along with input on how you would like to see information presented to you.
To participate, email me at Karen Fassio (karfas@microsoft.com) by June 30, 2009 and we’ll provide additional details in email. Ideally, we’d like to have 10 participants. I expect this feedback session to last no more than an hour with the first feedback session scheduled sometime before July 10th 2009.
Thanks!
Karen Fassio
TechNet Plus Product Marketing
Microsoft Redmond WW HQ
Heads up! The Windows 7 Beta will expire on August 1, 2009 so be prepared and plan to rebuild your PC with either the Release Candidate (RC) or another valid version of Windows before July 1, 2009. You will receive a warning two weeks prior to July 1; after this date, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.
TechNet Plus Product Team
We are experiencing very high demand for the Windows 7 Release Candidate and have taken steps to improve the download experience. As capacity increases, subscribers should now be able to more easily download the software from the subscription portal. Thank you for your patience and we apologize for any inconvenience
Thank You
TechNet Plus Subscriptions team
Due to very high demand, we are temporarily experiencing distribution issues on the download of Windows 7 RC. We are working hard to resolve this issue, and will keep you updated. This issue applies to TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers. Our goal is to restore full download capacity as soon as possible.
TechNet Plus subscription team.
Exclusively for TechNet Plus Subscribers and other IT community supporters, we invite you to join us for an invitation-only party at The Standard in Los Angeles. This is your opportunity to network with industry peers and key Microsoft executives while enjoying an evening of music, food, drinks, and fun—all compliments of TechNet Plus and Springboard Series. Space is limited and registration is required. Be sure to register today to reserve your spot at TechEd’s only true community party!
The Standard http://standardhotels.com/los-angeles
Monday, May 11, at 9:00 p.m.
Attendee Site: http://microsoft.crgevents.com/SpringboardCommunityParty
Registration Code: TEUS-TN
We are pleased to announce the availability of the Exchange Server 2010 beta to our subscribers. The Exchange Server 2010 offers features that will help businesses share server data, and administrators and end users can now seamlessly go between internal and hosted e-mail servers. Some of the new features include:
MailTips: A feature designed to give users a warning “before they commit an e-mail faux pas such as sending mail to large distribution groups, to recipients who are out of the office or to recipients outside the organization”
Voice Mail preview: Functionality allowing users to see text previews of voice mail directly in outlook
Ignore Conversation: An email “mute button” that allows people to remove themselves from an irrelevant e-mail string, reducing unwanted e-mail and runaway reply all threads.
Conversation View: A feature allowing users to combine related e-mail messages in a single conversation to reduce inbox clutter
Call Answering Rules: Customizable call routing menus with Exchange voice mail
Go ahead and experience Exchange Server 2010 beta!
We are happy to announce the following new E-Learning courses for April-June 2009 .
1) Course 4330: Working with Subqueries Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008:In this 2 hour course students are introduced to subqueries.. Using common table expressions in queries to generate hierarchical result sets is also explored. Topics covered in the courses within the course include:
- How to write basic sub queries.
- How to write correlated sub queries.
- Compare subqueries with joins and temporary tables.
- Describe common table expressions:
2) Course 7250: Managing Applications in a Windows Server 2008 Environment : This 2-hour course describes enhancements to the Application Server, Web Server, and Terminal Services roles in Windows Server 2008. It also provides guidelines for deploying applications on your servers. This knowledge helps you use the server roles to manage an organization’s application infrastructure.
The course covers the following:
- Application platform services roles
- Application deployment - Web Server enhancements in Windows Server 2008 - Terminal Services.
3) Course 6321: Configuring a Virtual Environment : This two-hour online course provides IT professionals with knowledge about the tools used for configuring a virtual environment. These tools include virtual network, virtual hard disks, and virtual machines. This knowledge helps you gain the skills necessary for setting up a virtual environment.
Topics covered in the course include:
- Steps to create a virtual network
- Steps to create a virtual hard disk
- Steps to create a virtual machine
Happy learning!
Nitin Saxena.
Senior Product Manager TechNet Plus Subscriptions
Here is the updated ship schedule for March 2009
Europe and Middle East Region: 3/3/2009
America and Canada:3/13/2009
Asia Pacific:3/9/2009.
Nitin Saxena
Senior Product manager TechNet Plus.
On 02/25, we announced Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 to our subscribers.
SP2 is an update to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 that addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack, which will be thoroughly tested by Microsoft and by industry partners and customers during the RC cycle, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers
In addition to all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on supporting new types of hardware and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 will also continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage large installations of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
Nitin Saxena
Senior Product Manager-TechNet Plus
Microsoft Corporation
Technet plus is pleased to announce the availability of our new e-learning courses for the current quarter.Please log onto the managed my subscription site to avail these courses.
1.Course 6537: Implementing High Availability in Windows Server 2008
This 2-hour online course provides IT Professionals with the knowledge and skills to implement high availability in Windows Server 2008.
Topics covered in the course include:
-Network load balancing configuration
-Failover clustering implementation and configuration
2.Course 6320: Introducing the Hyper-V Technology
This two-hour online course provides IT professionals with an overview of the Hyper-V technology and its features. This course also teaches you how to implement Hyper-V on a Windows Server 2008 server. This knowledge helps IT Pro’s plan and implement a Hyper-V virtualization server to enhance your IT infrastructure.
Topics covered in the course include:
- Benefits of Hyper-V
- Features of the Hyper-V technology
- Planning for Implementing Hyper-V virtualization
3. Course 4327: Querying and Filtering Data in Microsoft SQL Server 2008
Published on: 12/15/2008, E-Learning Course
In this 2 hour course the IT Pro’s are introduced to the basic Transact-SQL statements that are used for writing queries, filtering data, and formatting result sets. Topics covered in this course include:
- Introduction to the SELECT statement.
- How to filter data.
- How to retrieve unknown values.
- Format result sets.
- Describe the performance considerations of Transact-SQL.
Happy Learning!
Windows 7 Beta is available for download for MSDN and Technet subscribers. Subscribers are encouraged to go to the MSDN and TechNet sites for information on beta downloads.
Product keys are not required for Beta download but are needed within 30 days of download. Anyone who did not receive a product key during their original download, simply need to return to the download site and click the “product key” tab to secure an individual product key.
TechNet Plus Subscribers can now download and evaluate Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 Beta & Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 Beta. Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta is an update to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 providing customers and partners feedback driven fixes into a single service pack which helps to minimize deployment and testing complexity. Login to TechNet Plus Downloads portal and get your evaluation copy.
Having some days off and feeling like expanding your knowledge about Windows Server 2008? TechNet Plus Subscribers can attend up to three premium e-learning courses that will be available until December 30th 2008. Login, register, learn!
Due to technical reasons, the December shipment of TechNet Plus are being delayed. The new shipment dates are as follows:
EMEA:12/10
US and CANADA:12/16
APAC:12/11
We regret the inconvenience caused. for any further information, please contact Nitin Saxena : WW Senior Product Manager at nitinsa@microsoft.com
We have introduced the following new E learning courses for the period of October-December 2008.
Course 6698: Fundamentals of Implementing Network Load Balancing and Virtualization
Course 6694: Fundamentals of Administering Windows Server 2008
Course 6690: Exploring the Fundamentals of Network Infrastructure in Windows Server 2008
For any clarification
Please contact:Nitin Saxena-Senior Product Manager TechNet Plus. nitinsa@microsoft.com
News about September TechNet Plus Subscription DVD Shipment
For subscribers that also get DVD shipments, please note that due to product and content release cycles, there will be no DVD shipment in September. The next DVD shipment is scheduled for October and will include the following:
· SQL Server 2008 Enterprise
· System Center Configuration Manager 2007 with Service Pack 1
· System Center Operations Manager 2007 with Service Pack 1
· Updated Technical Library
All current TechNet Plus subscribers can access these software titles for download today on the Downloads portal.
The most up-to-date TechNet Library, latest software and service packs are available on the Benefits portal in the subscriber download section. Sign-in and access these and other benefits today.
