Well, I guess you figured out my name is Daniel van Soest.

I work for Microsoft NL as an IT Pro Technology Advisor, based in Amsterdam. Together with my colleague Tony Krijnen  we work with the TechNet community in the Netherlands through TechNet events, Innovation Labs, technical presentations/demo's, webcasts and Technical events like TechED and IT Forum. Our main focus areas are technical infrastructure related issues, including product roadmaps, futures and long term vision.

This means we have the coolest job in the world! We get to play with all the new technologies, build demo's and present about all those neat products. As Technology Advisors our goal is to exchange knowledge and opinions with the IT Pro audience in order to gain insights if Microsoft is giving you as IT Pro audience the right software products, tools, solutions, documentation, etc to fullfill your daily job in the right manner.

Due to the fact there are a lot of Microsoft server products, Tony and I cover different products. I mainly focus on platform, deployment and management technologies and cover Windows Server, Active Directory, Group Policies, Virtual Server, RIS, MOM, SMS, SUS, WUS.

So being the ears and eyes of Microsoft towards the IT Pro community doesn't mean I have to close my eyes for what others (non-Microsoft companies) are doing. No, no, no, I'm actually allowed to investigate those technologies and may tell what I like about them and may even point out in which areas Microsoft needs to improve! Yep, I love my job. Off course is my overall opinion that Microsoft makes the best software.

That's me in a nutshell. I will place some pictures of myself in the future but I'm still in doubt if I should use some personal pictures or a 'Microsoft' picture. Hmmm..I do address this weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer so..personal pictures? Maybe I should blog about my hobbies too!

Greetings, Daniel.

Ok, this recently updated KB article caught my attention: Animations do not work in Access 2002 Help running on Windows Server 2003

This issue occurs because the animation in Access 2002 Help requires that you first install Macromedia Flash Player. However, you are not prompted to automatically install the Flash Player because of the increased security that is introduced in Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

Well, so far so good, and the resolution is to install Macromedia Flash Player. Hmmm...and that makes me wonder, why would an administrator install the flash player on a server? Furthermore, why would an administrator install Office and/or Access on a server?? And what kind of administrator is in need of the animated help for Access on a server???

My resolution would be something like: Please remove Access and/or Office from your server, it's already difficult enough to secure this box, you do NOT want to be bothered with Office patches!

Can someone enlighten me?

Greetings, Daniel

Yes! It's finally there, The Smart Way to Copy Files! SyncToy v1 Beta helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers quickly and easily.

Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to move files from one place to another; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications of one sort or another to provide this functionality for them.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

I was in desperate need of this one. I use a tablet for my daily work, emailing, study, creating ppt's etc. For demo's/presentations I have a 2 GB RAM laptop with an external 250 GB hard drive in order to get all my demo's running at max speed in a virtual environment (I use both Virtual PC and Virtual Server). I end up syncing data between my tablet, laptop and external drive every week with robocopy. With robocopy you can  use the -mir command to mirror a directory but it stil lacks a graphic interface. Internally some guys created an GUI for robocopy but I'll go for the SyncToy! 

Enjoy SyncToy, Daniel.

Update: Here is the link to the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP which consists of the following tools:

• RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer
  Are you a serious photographer? Now you can organize and work with digital RAW files in Windows Explorer (much as you can with JPEG images). This tool provides thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images.
• ClearType Tuner
  This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.
• HTML Slide Show Wizard
  This wizard helps you create an HTML slide show of your digital pictures, ready to place on your Web site.
• Open Command Window Here
  This PowerToy adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders, giving you a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at the selected folder.
• Alt-Tab Replacement
  With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open.
• Tweak UI
  This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.
• Power Calculator
  With this PowerToy you can graph and evaluate functions as well as perform many different types of conversions.
• Image Resizer
  This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click.
• CD Slide Show Generator
  With this PowerToy you can view images burned to a CD as a slide show. The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well.
• Virtual Desktop Manager
  Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy.
• Taskbar Magnifier
  Use this PowerToy to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.
• Webcam Timershot
  This PowerToy lets you take pictures at specified time intervals from a Webcam connected to your computer and save them to a location that you designate.
  

I mainly use Image Resizer and Open command Window Here. In explorer I can now select a picture and with the right click context menu resize it or select a folder and with the right click open a CMD box there. Handy!

Power! Daniel

Evaluate Systems Management Server 2003 SP 2 (Beta). Nominate yourself and get started now!

The SMS 2003 SP2 (Beta) program is currently open for enrollment. Please note that:
• Enrollment for the SMS 2003 SP2 (Beta) is open for a limited time.
• Enroll your organization for evaluation of SMS 2003 SP2 (Beta) if you are willing to provide feedback to Microsoft. We consider customer feedback from Beta programs critical to our ability to successfully deliver a product that meets customer needs. If your interest is just in learning more about this solution, please keep checking the Web site over the coming months for new product information.

Maybe you don't want to participate in this beta program and wait for the RTM? Maybe you don't want to upgrade at all? In my opinion everyone who is using SMS 2003 with patch management functionality should consider to upgrade to SMS 2003 SP2 RTM when it arrives.

Greetings, Daniel.
 

There’s been some commentary the past couple of days regarding a potential Windows Vista virus as posted by the Register: Hasta la Vista, baby.

Virus writers created 5 proof of concept viruses targeting the scripting language MSH (codenamed 'Monad') and it was uncertain if the new scripting tool would ship as part of Windows Vista or was shipped with the Windows Vista Beta 1. I already felt a headache developing; people concerned and/or pointing that Windows Vista is not secure, etc.

Well, I think Vista will be secure and now Microsoft has confirmed that Monad will not ship as part of the next version of its operating system, Windows Vista (headache is suddenly partially gone). Phew.

In the Security Response Centre's blog Stephen Toulouse, a program manager in a posting said: “Monad is not included in the beta release of Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2003 R2. Monad will not be included in the final version of Windows Vista and there is no relation between Monad and Windows Vista Beta 1.”

In the Windows Server Division WebLog there’s also a posting about this subject stating Monad is not planned to be in the release of Longhorn Server at this time.

The Register also released an article “Microsoft quells Vista virus concerns” to address this matter and ends it with the following line: "These, it's now clear, are not Windows Vista viruses but MSH viruses."

For all you folks out there being critical (like me) and thinking: Yeah, right! Monad is pulled from Windows Vista due to the virus story here is another post by Stephen Toulouse clarifying this is not the case. 

Finnaly, I would like to point you to the post on Kevin Remde's WebLog called Vista Shmista. It basically has the same info but the animation with his post is super funny (headache totally gone, it’s a bright sunny day).

Vista Fever, Daniel