It’s summer, so it’s time for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC).  During this annual event, Microsoft and the Windows Server Solutions Group share strategies and visions for addressing the challenging economy, saving customers money, and helping partners and customers compete confidently. Senior leader keynotes include Steve Ballmer (Chief Executive Officer) , Stephen Elop (President, Microsoft Business Division), Kevin Turner (Chief Operating Officer), Allison Watson (Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group), Bob Muglia (President, Server & Tools Division), Bob Kelly (Corporate Vice President, Server & Tools) and many other executives who will share their vision for the company and its partners.

The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference held July 13–16 in New Orleans, is an annual gathering where Microsoft Corp.’s partner community will network and build connections, share best practices, and learn new skills and techniques. 

If you are attending WPC, this is your chance to learn about all the Windows Server options for Small & Medium Businesses by attending our session CI003 Windows Server Portfolio for SMB: Which Server Is Best for Your Customer (and You!) on Monday afternoon at 3:30-4:30 in Room 255-257.

Also come by our Exposition Hall booth # 621 and you can enter to win one of 6 HP MediaSmart Server EX485 (ERP $599) Windows Home Servers and attend one of our two booth theater sessions.  The Windows Server for SMB booth theater sessions are Windows Essential Business Server 2008 and the free IT Network Health Scanner for SMB on July 16th from 12:30 – 12:50PM and the Windows SBS and Windows Home Server Client Backup on July 16th from 2:30 to 2:50PM. Simply drop your business card into the fishbowl on your way in the door or at the booth and we will choose one winner per day at the booth and one winner at each session. Sorry this Sweepstakes is only for event attendees, you must be present to enter.

Hopefully we'll get to see many of you at WPC this year. The best part of this conference is the time we spend with our partners and we are looking forward to meeting with as many of you as we can. Please use the WPC Connect to create a meeting request to request a specific meeting or simply drop by the booth to meet the Windows Server for SMB team including: Dean Paron, Eric Watson, Eric Kidd, Russ Madlener, Nick King, Leslie McGuire, Katharine Pike, Becky Lymberis, Vikram Ghosh, Cecile Charlot, Jonas Svensson, Kannan Iyer, Murali Sangubhatia, Sean Daniel, Lingan Satkunanathan, Cassie Hicks, Eduardo Melo, Brijesh Ramachandran, David Fabritius, Moira Whidby and Brent Reeser.

For those of you who are unable to join us in New Orleans next week, we’ve created new social networking assets so feel free to follow WPC virtually on our team blog, Facebook or Twitter.

Don’t you love to share your photos with your friends and family? Those great shots of your little kids wearing their strained carrots or a picture of your daughter’s first formal dance; it’s through images that we graphically share the high’s and low’s of our most personal lives.  With Windows Home Server you can easily create a private online photo sharing experience for only those individuals you permit while being accessible to the internet.

When you add a Windows Home Server to an online photo sharing site, like Flickr it gets even more interesting. We know that for many Windows Home Server users securely storing and sharing photo’s online is a main reason for them to purchase a server in the first place. Add to that the robust developer community add-ins such as Ed Holloway’s online photo sharing Photosync for Windows Home Server  which automatically syncs the contents of your photo’s folder on the Windows Home Server to Flickr, Doug Barrett’s WebGuide which enables you to remotely access, listen, watch and stream your music, photos and videos stored on your home server while away from home and Andrew Grant's Whiist that allows you to create and manage web content on your Windows Home Server.

I’m a social networking geek these days,  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and I blog about our cycling epics and Windows Home Server, yet I am very hesitant to share truly personal photos, especially group photos, using the current publically available online tools. I value my privacy and want to respect the privacy of my friends by not sharing photos or videos of them in a way that might make them uncomfortable, now or in the future.

It’s amazing how much information is shared across the web and photos are a means of visual sharing.  These days social networking and online photo sharing sites  like Facebook,  Flickr, Photobucket, and SmugMug  to name a few, allow us to share our photos with our friends and potentially the world with a few clicks of a mouse. These sites do a great job and provide a community gathering place for those interested in visually exploring the world around them. For an in depth look at the online photo sharing ecosystem including analysis of the various services, check out Wikipedia, cnet Online digital photo printing & sharing and Lifehacker’s review of the Five Best Photo Sharing Sites.

I mentioned my cycling epics earlier; this past year I spent 2 weeks riding our tandem down the pacific coast with 28 other folks from all over North America to raise funds for the American Lung Association. Before the trip I knew only one individual, afterwards we are all fast friends who now keep in touch regularly over Facebook and email. Over the course of the trip as the miles passed we all unwound and the ensuing antics of the trip were dutifully recorded by multiple cameras including some video footage of the best dances, camping mornings and late night cribbage games.

After the trip we all wanted to check out the photos from the other riders, especially the dancing, however as many of the riders are in the legal profession it was important to ensure security for many of the pictures, especially the really good stuff; yet we wanted to make it possible for all of the riders to access the photo’s online.  The answer to our dilemma was the Windows Home Server and its remote access and shared folder features.

Specifically what we did is to create one photo album (folder) and it’s link and password was sent out to the participants. This enabled them to use the web to link into the remote Windows Home Server to access the one online photo album while still keeping the rest of the information on the server private.  We also leveraged the add-in Photosync to share specific photos with the masses on Flickr.

With Windows Home Server we were able to collect hundreds of photos of the trip in a private password protected online location.  By allowing each rider to upload their photos, sharing became a breeze. Each of the photos is available online to anyone using web browsers who have the proper permissions.  Permissions are simple to set and can be revised at any time by the Windows Home Server administrator (probably youJ).  This enabled our entire cycling crew to share the experience all over again whenever they want. In addition with the add-ins like Whiist & WebGuide we were able to create a more robust viewing experience.

For families, hobby organizations, sports teams, vacation buddies, or conference attendees, anytime when privacy matters Windows Home Server is your online photo sharing solution. It provides a secure location to allow private online photo sharing in addition to robust image based backup software technology. There are alternatives to public websites, why take the chance with a public solution when Windows Home Server can create a private community where you can share photos, videos and files with your friends and family?

Moira

For those of you that have been reading this blog for a while, you may remember Dispatch from Computex Taipei (Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2008).  Last year was the Windows Home Server team's first time attending Computex. 

Fast forward one year.  Microsoft had a major presence at Computex last week which included a large booth, broad marketing & PR activities, and a June 3 keynote in the main convention auditorium.  One of the significant announcements was the October 22nd General Availability date for Windows 7.

For the Windows Home Server team, Computex was an important opportunity to meet with existing and prospective hardware manufacturers.  We also strove to increase industry awareness.  Over 14,000 international buyers and attendees visited the Microsoft booth! 

Our team in Taipei organized a terrific event presence.  In the Microsoft booth, there was a section dedicated to Windows Home Server.  On the main stage there was a 25-minute demonstration that featured: Easy setup, protecting PCs and files, easy storage expansion, smart storage management, media streaming, and home surveillance. 

We were really pleased to unveil the D-Link ViewCam add-in for Windows Home Server, which allows control of a wide range of D-Link’s IP cameras from the Windows Home Server Console.  Also notable, each scenario was demonstrated using a netbook as the interface and playback device for Windows Home Server.

Of course no booth would be complete without a "muscle beach" of cool hardware.  Acer, Foxconn, Lenovo, and VIA hardware designs were showcased in the booth.  For those of you seeing the Lenovo model for the first time, it is currently only available in China. 

Acer Aspire easyStore H340	Lenovo IdeaCentre Q500	VIA NSD 7800

-Steven

There is good news if you are one of the many people that purchased a netbook computer over the past while. A home server and a netbook can be a complementary solution. In addition to the image-based backup software included in Windows Home Server, the ability to augment the netbook storage space with a home server is a no-brainer. Shad Larsen commented on this solution in a post, “Making your Netbook functional using Windows 7 and Windows Home Server.”

Photo: Acer Aspire One A150

One of the benefits of a netbook is the small size and portability of the device.  However, that size means a smaller screen and less visual real estate for applications. As a result, the Windows Home Server Console may not have displayed correctly on some netbook computers. The latest update, described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 963032, enables the Windows Home Server Console to support a resolution of 1024 x 600.

The update will automatically install as part of Windows Update if Automatic Updates is enabled on the home server. (How to turn on automatic updates.) Users can also click Update Now on the Settings tab of the Windows Home Server Console.

- Steven

Earlier this month, Terry Walsh at We Got Served announced the launch of a new Windows Home Server add-in competition.  Announcing the Windows Home Server Add-In Idea Challenge ‘09!

With an interesting format, this competition should attract the attention of a broad group of Windows Home Server enthusiasts.  As opposed to actually developing the Windows Home Server add-ins, We Got Served is simply looking for the best ideas.

Excerpt from blog post... "You don’t have to be a developer or technically minded to enter. All you need is your creativity and imagination to come up with the best idea for a future Windows Home Server add-in, which will then be coded up and released to the community for all to share."

There is still some time left to submit your ideas!  The entry period closes on May 31st, and voting will commence in June.  Developer Felix Kollmann (author of Router Control) will turn your idea into reality.

The Windows Home Server team anticipates seeing some terrific ideas from this community-led challenge.  The winners may be featured in stories on the Windows Home Server Community web page.  We showcase some of the most popular add-ins every month on the Windows Home Server add-ins page and your idea for an add-in may join the ranks of over 100 Windows Home Server add-ins available.  For a comprehensive list, visit Home Server plus. 

Pictured: "Hall of Fame" winner of the Code2Fame contest, Andrew Grant's Whiist.

If you need any added encouragement, here it is!  Microsoft was asked to contribute some prizes for the contest... and believe me, they are awesome!

- Steven