Will Craddock's Technology Adventure in Ireland : TechNet

Upcoming Microsoft Ireland TechNet Tour

will.craddock — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:52:52 GMT

Event Description:
‘Tech Days’ are a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the IT Pro community to re-deliver the highlights of Tech Ed Conference to IT Pros across Ireland. Most of the sessions will be delivered by a combination of Microsoft and Community technical presenters and will involve as much time spent demo the technology, as possible. The content delivered will be technical level 300. March will see the four-city tour stop for evening events in Galway and Cork, with full day events in Dublin and Belfast.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to get up-to speed on the latest Microsoft technology at no cost! We hope to see you there.
Enda, Dave and Will.

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Galway, 10th March (Days Hotel Galway, Dublin Road, Galway City East, Map and directions)
7pm-9.30pm
Cost: Free
Register Here

Agenda

1. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools

2. The Accidental DBA

3. SQL Server Reporting Services

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Cork, 12th March (Rochestown Park Hotel, Rochestown Road, Cork, Map and Directions)
7pm-9.30pm
Cost: Free
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)

2. SharePoint - The Implementation Journey..from WSS to MOSS

3. Unified Communications - Using it Today and Preparing for the Future

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Dublin, 24th March (Venue tbc)
Cost: Free
Infrastructure Morning (9.30am – 1pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)

2. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools

3. Virtualising Windows Essential Server Solutions (SBS &EBS)

Unified Communications and Collaboration Afternoon (2.30pm – 6pm)
Register Here
Agenda

1. SharePoint - The Implementation Journey..from WSS to MOSS

2. Unified Communications - Using it Today and Preparing for the Future

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Belfast, 26th March (Venue tbc)
Cost: Free
Infrastructure Morning (9.30am – 1pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)

2. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools

3. Virtualising Windows Essential Server Solutions (SBS &EBS)

Database and Business Intelligence Afternoon (2.30pm – 6pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. The Accidental DBA

2. SQL Server Reporting Services

3. Integrated BI Solutions with SQL Server 2008, SharePoint Server 2007 (including scorecarding, dashboarding and analytics) & Excel 2007

(including scorecarding, dashboarding and analytics) & Excel 2007

MS @ Home Evenings Event Description:
Placeholder for content

Microsoft @ Home Evening, for IT Professionals
Event Description:

This session will be an overview of the connected technologies of Windows 7, Windows Home Server and Xbox to provide a secure, shared and media rich home computing experience. We will demonstrate parental controls, media tagging, shared media, centralized backup and the extensibility of Home Server and the community that surrounds this product. We will also look at how the web plays a part in this experience through remote web access and a personalized website address for sharing photos and home videos in home server.
Dublin, 23rd March, 7pm-9.30pm (Venue tbc). Register Here
Belfast, 25th March, 7pm-9.30pm (Venue tbc).Register Here
Cost: Free

Agenda

1. Digital Photography

2. Home Server & Media Extender

3. Securing Your Home Network

Last Day for Windows 7 Public Beta Downloads Extended

will.craddock — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:58:13 GMT

Brandon LeBlanc of the windows 7 team posted a notice last night regarding the the Windows 7 Beta. Here is an excerpt:

First off: thank you for your interest in beta testing Windows 7! As we near January 24th, we wanted to update everyone again on the next steps for the Windows 7 Beta. The amount of feedback we have received has been amazing and continues to pour in. We are at a point where we have more than enough beta testers and feedback coming in to meet our engineering needs, so we are beginning to plan the end of general availability for Windows 7 Beta.

Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.

February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.

February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.

MSDN and TechNet Subscribers will continue to have access to the Windows 7 Beta bits throughout the Windows 7 Beta phase. The above dates do not apply to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers

See the full article on the Windows 7 Blog.

Windows 7 Available through TechNet and MSDN

will.craddock — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:02:47 GMT

Interest in Windows 7 is high to say the least. Since PDC when the first public pre-beta views of the new Windows OS were released there has been endless blog postings and screenshots of the product. Well now you too can participate in the lead up to one of the most highly anticipated releases in Microsoft’s history.

Over the last few moths I have been evangelizing the value of a TechNet subscription (or MSDN is you are a developer). Well, the value has again been proven as you can download the Beta release of Windows 7 today!

I will say it again, a TechNet Plus subscription provides amazing value in being able to evaluate MS software without any time restrictions. Plus, you also get a couple of free support incidents worth the price of the subscription.

Windows 7 is available on Subscriber Downloads right now!! Not only that, you can also download Windows Server 2008 R2 beta as well so that you can test out both the client and server piece of the next version of Windows. In case you're wondering, yes, it is downloading to my machine as I write this post.

I'll keep you informed on more details and links on Windows 7 as they become available. In the meantime, if you are a TechNet Plus subscriber, download it, install it on a test machine (don't use it in production, please) and let me know what you think by posting a comment on the blog or sending me an email at wilbour.craddock@microsoft.com.

Fix it for me blog on Microsoft TechNet

will.craddock — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:58:45 GMT

I just happened to find this new blog posting in the TechNet Blogs feed:

Have you ever come across a Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article or been presented with a Windows Error Reporting (WER) solution and asked yourself, why can't Microsoft just fix this for me? Today KB articles and WER solutions provide you with a list of steps that can be followed to resolve your issue. However, tomorrow looks much different and we hope it helps you resolve any issues you have with our products faster and easier.

Our team's purpose is to automate the steps in Microsoft KB articles and Windows Error Reporting (WER) solutions so you can click a button and have the issue resolved.

I was hoping that maybe they came out with some cool new technology that let you run a script to fix these issues, but alas, it’s just a standard Windows Installer MSI file that modifies the registry or runs a script or whatever. But it’s still incredibly useful for non-techies who don’t need to know or care about the Registry.

Check out the the FixIt4Me blog to see what solutions for common problems are listed and hopefully the feed provide you help whenever a new article is published.

-W

TRAINING: TechNet Plus Subscribers only – Windows Server 2008 Network & Admin Courses

will.craddock — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:23:32 GMT

I have blogged in the past about the benefits of having a TechNet subscription, here are a couple of more of the benefits. Currently the following courses are available to TechNet Plus Subscribers:

Course 6690: Exploring the Fundamentals of Network Infrastructure in Windows Server 2008
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with an overview of network infrastructure in Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

A conceptual introduction to the physical network infrastructure
Introduction to the organization of logical networks
Introduction to Active Directory
Introduction to server roles and features

Course 6694: Fundamentals of Administering Windows Server 2008
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with the knowledge and skills required to administer Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

Introduction to administrative tools in Windows Server 2008
Introduction to performance monitoring tools in Windows Server 2008
Procedures to perform server administration

Course 6698: Fundamentals of Implementing Network Load Balancing and Virtualization
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with the knowledge and skills required to implement network load balancing and virtualization in Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

Various methods to implement server scalability and availability
Implementation of Windows network load balancing
Introduction to server virtualization
Implementation of server virtualization
The courses above are all part of a Microsoft E-Learning course collection designed to help you build your knowledge to design, deploy & secure your environment.

Individuals with Microsoft Technet Plus Subscriptions may access these courses at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/manage

TechNet Edge

will.craddock — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:57:00 GMT

There is a lot of hype about web 2.0 for the last few years. Facebook, MySpace, MS Live Space and others have changed the way people interact and communicate. I am an active participant, as are many of you….it is not a geek thing anymore….it is a people thing…my wife who can’t install an application without phoning me is an active participant! There are many Facebook groups dedicated to Microsoft technologies and employees. It is not surprising to then see this extend to how we as IT Pro's can gather and share our experiences.

I subsribe to the RSS feed for the site to keep up as new info is presented and thought this morning that I should ensure others know of this site. What made me think of it was the following feed:

Sometimes you just want to evaluate a new technology, or run through the set up or configuration of a new product, but you just don't have a spare machine available, or the time to build up a new virtual environment.

In this video Melanie gives us a quick tour of TechNet Virtual Labs, which give you the opportunity to run through hundreds of different labs on Microsoft technologies without having to install or download anything - all the labs spin up virtual machines hosted by Microsoft.

cost: free
cool factor: 10

Any of you who have ventured to the developer communities run under the Microsoft Evangelism Team at the Redmond offices have seen how Microsoft and developers have taken hold of this. Channel 8, 9, 10, Mix and other communities have emerged over the last few years under the guidance of Jeff Sandquist. Jeff’s group added a new community to their growing “city” this year with the addition of EDGE. An important note on Jeff is that he is Canadian, and for me of great importance is that fact he is from Estevan, Saskatchewan…just down the road from my home town.

As Jeff has dubbed it "TechNet Edge is a place where IT professionals go to get the inside scoop on the latest and greatest technologies. You can do stuff like watch screen casts, check out interviews with people who develop the products, connect with your peers and speak what’s on your mind. It is part of the Evangelism Network and follows its doctrine, so you know we keep it real."

Are you a student? Visit Channel 8
Do you architect or create software solutions? Check out Channel 9
Power User? Channel 10 (some great stuff here on Jeff's use of technology at home)
Love the Web? Mix Online or Silverlight or IIS.net or ASP.net
and now, are you an IT Pro? Come on over to TechNet Edge

All of these our sites do have some similarities. These community sites are a place to hang and use a lot of media. Through social media, they introduce you to the people behind the scenes at Microsoft, highlight what people are doing with Technology in the industry and finally hopefully show you some new things via screencasts.

The communities take advantage of some cutting edge technology in the AJAX interface and Silverlight streaming media. Again, an opportunity the let your creative juices flow and see how these technologies can be implemented in your environment. As an architect, I am constantly looking at technology and it's implementation to see how the organization I work for can move forward and Jeff's group consistently points me in the right direction to keep me informed and energized.

Sign in with a Live account, create a profile and join the community! As a starting point, post an introduction in The Perimeter’s Who Are You thread. If you see an Avatar on the home page with a bald guy in a red shirt, click on it as that is me…wcraddock. Send me message, check out information about the people who have joined….you may be surprised to find people from Kenya, Europe, Japan, the US and Canada already there. Some of them are Microsoft employees and the balance are IT Pro’s like you from around the world who share a common interest and experience.

Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 available for download

will.craddock — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:44:46 GMT

Earlier today I blogged about the virtues of a TechNet Plus subscription and I have to add one more reason to subscribe. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ie/windows/dd262148(en-us).aspx

Service Pack 2 for Vista and Server 2008 are now available as part of the Customer Preview Program on TechNet. This Service Pack will be the first to introduce a single installer for both the desktop client and server products, a model that will be adopted from this release forward.

As announced on the Windows Vista Team Blog, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta will be made available to a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers at the end of October. No final date has been set for release.
In addition to previously released updates since the launch of Windows Vista SP1, Windows Vista SP2 contains changes focused on supporting new types of hardware and adding support for several emerging standards:

Windows Vista SP2 adds Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches.
Windows Vista SP2 contains the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology.
Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista.
Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration.
Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

Here are some resources on Windows Vista from TechNet Springboard:
How (and Why) to Get Going on Windows Vista Adoption
Deployment Stories and Case Studies
Five Ways Windows Vista Makes Deployment Easier
Answers to Common Deployment Questions

Detailed Features List:

Emerging Hardware Support

• SP2 contains Blue tooth 2.1 feature pack supporting the most recent specification for Blue tooth technology

• Ability to record data on Blu-Ray media,

• Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration to Windows Vista SP2,

• exFAT file system now supports UTC timestamps, which enables correct file synchronization across time zones.

• SP2 provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID. new form factor support --example USB form factor as opposed to PCMCIA).

• Support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU

Security

• SP2 includes all previously released security updates, and builds on the proven security benefits of Windows Vista

• Secure Development Lifecycle process updates, where we identify the root cause of each security bulletin and improve our internal tools to eliminate code patterns that could lead to future vulnerabilities

• Reliability

• SP2 addresses previously released reliability updates, as well as addressing crashes, caused by Microsoft code, discovered since the launch of SP1

Performance

• Resume performance when Wi-Fi connection is no longer available after resume from sleep

• Inclusion of Windows Search 4 for improved indexing performance, improved relevancy in search, broader indexing scenario inclusion, as well as new Group Policy integration for Windows Search,

• Improvements to the RSS feeds sidebar gadget to improve update performance and responsiveness,

Application Compatibility

• It is our goal that applications that run on the Windows Vista Operating System today and are written using public APIs will continue to work as designed on Windows Vista SP2.

• Previously released Application Compatibility updates are included in Windows Vista SP2.

• Spysweeper and ZoneAlarm now working with POP3 email accounts

Administration and Support Improvements

• Customers installing .net framework 3.5 service pack 1 will notice shorter download and installation times with Vista service pack 2 or Windows 2008 service pack 2 already installed,

• Service Pack Clean up tool (Compcln.exe): This tool helps restore the hard disk space by permanently deleting the previous versions of the files (RTM & SP1) that are being serviced by Service Pack 2.

• Single installer for both Vista & Server 2008

• Ability to detect an incompatible driver and block service pack installation or warn users of any loss of functionality

• Better error handling and providing more descriptive error messages where possible

• Better manageability through logging in system event log

• Componentization for Serviceability of the installer

Some Specific Fixes/Additions Include:

· Inclusion of Hyper-V

· Event logging support in SPC

· DNS Server now listens over ISATAP address

· Fixes DRM issues from WMP upgrades

· Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless

· Reduction of resources required for sidebar gadgets

· Improved power settings for WS08

TechNet Subscription Discounts

will.craddock — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:01:59 GMT

In my role here at Microsoft I make presentations to customers and partners alike every day of the week. One of the things that strikes me in these is the limited number of people who are taking advantage of TechNet Plus subscriptions.

In my last number of roles within different organizations I have always ensured I had budget allocated to have a TechNet subscription, in fact I had a personal TechNet and MSDN subscription for the last year. The reason is simple....value. For a very insignificant price I have access to full versions of Microsoft software for the desktop and server for me to test with. In today's virtualized world, having access to Exchange, Server 2008, OCS, SharePoint, etc to install into a lab and test with no time bombs associated is invaluable. You also have access to Office 2007, Vista in its various versions to test with these server technologies. I am a person who learns by doing, and for the less than the price of Office 2007 I am able to install, play and learn with all the technology I can consume. That is value.

I came across the following discounts today and wanted to spread the information regarding them. TechNet Plus is ordered online through the TechNet site and are payable in US Dollars. Subscription is either online only or with media at differing prices and are good for 1 calendar year from date of purchase, so please take a look and find what is right for you.

These are 3 different discount offerings that I have seen are below:

15% off New TechNet Plus Subscriptions – Code: TMSAM15
$100 discount New TechNet Plus Direct Subscriptions (essentially 15% off) – Code: TMSAM03
$70 discount off new TechNet Plus subscriptions – Code: TNPV07

Check out what the TechNet Plus subscription gives you:

Full-version software for evaluation - without time limits – including Microsoft operating systems, servers, and Office System software.
Pre-release versions of Microsoft operating systems, servers and business applications.
Complete access to a technical information library including knowledge base articles, resource kits, technical training, and security updates.
Two (2) technical support calls and a 20% discount on additional phone support incidents to help you quickly resolve mission-critical technical issues.
Unlimited managed newsgroup support and online concierge chat to provide the extra assistance you need to be successful.
A free subscription to TechNet Magazine with hands-on information for the IT Professional.