Will Craddock's Technology Adventure in Ireland : Windows 7

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

Windows 7 Deployment Tools Beta

will.craddock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:48:35 GMT

There has been a lot of posts around the Beta offering of Windows 7, and the message has been taken up with over 2.5 million downloads and counting. From an IT Pro perspective the great new interface and some of the additional features are fantastic but what I am concerned about is deployment. How will I be able to role out Windows 7 to all my users without running from desk to desk doing an install or using the old “Ghost” method for every system model I have.

Microsoft have had a number of tools available for the deployment of OS’s, System Center Configuration Manager being the main tool but this may not be the right tool for all organizations due to size or budget.

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) is a tool to help IT pros create and deploy Windows images to new hardware. The Windows AIK is a collection of tools and documentation that help you automate Windows OS deployments with a high degree of flexibility—allowing you to configure many deployment options, which is helpful in highly customized environments. Tools such as the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT—discussed below) and products like System Center Configuration Manager use components of Windows AIK to create system images and automate their installation. This latest release of Windows AIK is designed to work with Windows 7 images, and supports the new Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool that is part of Windows 7. The User State Migration Tool (USMT 4.0) is now installed as part of Windows AIK, to help streamline and simplify the migration of user accounts, files, OS settings and application settings. You can download the latest Windows AIK here.

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Beta is also now available as an open beta on Connect. MDT 2010 is the fourth generation deployment Solution Accelerator from Microsoft. Along with detailed guidance, MDT 2010 provides unified tools and processes for desktop and server deployments from a common deployment console, delivering standardized images across both your server and client infrastructure. MDT 2010 also supports Hard Link Migrations using USMT 4.0 for refresh scenarios, which will reduce your user state back-up and restore time. MDT 2010 supports deployment of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, in addition to supporting Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2003.
Check out other Solution Accelerators at www.microsoft.com/solutionaccelerators, and visit the Springboard Series on TechNet for more information and guidance on Windows technology adoption!

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 Server 2008 R2 Beta Available too!

will.craddock — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:55:42 GMT

With all the news about the release of the first public look at Windows 7 something might have slipped past you and that was the release of Windows Server 2008 R2. As you might imagine there are quite a few upgrades and improvements and there is a great four page document that covers the Top 10 IT Pro Tasks Made Easier with Server 2008 R2 as well as a PowerPoint that gives a Windows Server 2008 R2 Overview and finally a Windows Server 2008 R2 Reviewers Guide that covers off everything new and different.

Probably the biggest changes, or at least the most important ones in my mind being a virtualization guy, are those related to Hyper-V 2.0. I get asked every week about QuickMigration vs. VMotion and the associated downtime with with a Quick Migration vs. a VMotion migration. Well Hyper-V 2.0 now supports Live Migration which provides seemless migration of VMs between hosts in a cluster with no loss of connectivity, no downtime! Finally I can answer that question, now all I need is the hardware to demo it!

There is also some great new features for the mobile worker and those in the branch office. With Windows Server 2008 R2 we will be introducing Branch Side Caching, BranchCache reduces the bandwidth consumed by users for intranet based HTTP and SMB traffic and improves end user experience by serving frequently accessed content from within the branch office network. BranchCache is a part of the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Client and works with security technology such as SSL and IPSEC.

DirectAccess is a new feature in Windows® 7 and Windows Server® 2008 R2 that gives users the experience of being seamlessly connected to their corporate network any time they have Internet access. Think RPC over HTTPS for Outlook for all corporate applications. This is truly moving towards the fully connected mobile user, securely working from anywhere with an internet connection.

Oh I almost forgot, for those of you using Microsoft Hyper-V Server, there is an R2 version of that as well that adds the same support and new features as above but also adds Windows Server Failover Clustering to the mix allowing you to add high availability and Live Migration capabilities to your free Hyper-V Server deployments!

You can grad the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta here and be sure to also check out the Virtualization Team Blog for more.

Credit to my friend Rodney Buike, IT Pro Advisor in Canada for some of the info in this post.

Windows 7

will.craddock — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:40:05 GMT

The public beta for Windows 7 is available today! I have included some information and links for those looking to test the new windows OS in a NON-PRODUCTION environment.

The Beta is your chance to help us with feedback that targets the fundamentals—the “quality bar” that we are setting for Windows 7 on security, reliability and performance. If you are interested in getting even more involved, the Windows Feedback Program is your chance to directly influence future versions of the Windows operating system. This program is limited to the first 500 IT professionals to sign up, so don’t delay!

A major focus of Windows 7, from an IT professional perspective, has been to improve overall PC manageability, security, and end user and IT productivity—especially given the more mobile and distributed work environments that we see today. You will find key advancements that will impact you and your end users every day—such as accessing information and network resources across the enterprise; implementing security and compliance policies, and automating the management of physical and virtual PCs. For a more in-depth view of Windows 7 and how it will impact your day-to-day work, take a look at the feature articles on the Springboard Series, "First Look at Windows 7 for IT Professionals," and "Ten Things IT Professionals Should Know About Windows 7.” Or, for even more background on the fundamentals, visit the Engineering Windows 7 blog.

Visit the Springboard Series for Windows 7 to register for the Windows 7 Beta^—and access rich content including video walkthroughs—in your local blogs, newsletters, and websites.

* This is a limited Beta program available to the first 2.5 million people who download the bits. This limit does not apply to TechNet/MSDN subscribers.

February 12^th Virtual Roundtable with Mark Russinovich

Please join Mark Russinovich and a panel of subject matter experts on Thursday, February 12^th at 11:00AM Pacific Time for a live discussion of what's in store for IT pros with Windows® 7. Learn about the evolution of features like Group Policy, BitLocker™ To Go, DirectAccess, BranchCache™, and Software Restriction then get tips on troubleshooting, deployment, and application compatibility. Bring your questions—Mark and the panel will answer as many as they can during the hour-long event, then publish the rest in a Q&A after the event.

Visit https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard to add the event to your calendar.

One thing of note, I had this conversation with Dave Northey this morning and it is an important one to have. While the download for this and every other OS is provided as an ISO, that does not mean you need to burn a DVD to install it. I recommend going to a bootable USB key for 2 reasons. It is faster to install from (15 minutes for Windows 7 last night on my Tablet) and it is more environmentally friendly as those DVD’s don’t end up in the landfill.

For those that don’t know how to make a bootable USB key, here is the recipe:

Creating a bootable USB device:

Start\run\diskpart.exe

DISKPART> list disk

Select the USB device from the list and substitute the disk number below

when necessary

DISKPART> select disk 1

DISKPART> clean

DISKPART> create partition primary

DISKPART> select partition 1

DISKPART> active

DISKPART> format fs=fat32

DISKPART> assign

DISKPART> exit

xcopy X:\*.* /s/e/f Y:\

where X:\ is your mounted image or physical DVD and Y:\ is your USB device

Now all you need to do is plug the device into your target box's USB slot and boot it. This may require hitting F12 to load the one-time boot menu and selecting the USB Key.

cheers

Will

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.

Windows Overview...today and future with some of the big names

will.craddock — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:32:13 GMT

If you are up for a late afternoon through the evening LiveMeeting (if you are based in Ireland!) on the Windows platform, the this is the session for you!

Event Overview

On December the 12^th (Friday) we are hosting a Windows FireStarter! If you are a Developer or an IT Pro you’d definitely not want to miss this event.

Just like all other FireStarter Events, we will be recording and making the entire content available for download post event. All the sessions in this event are presented to you by some Excellent Microsoft Speakers who are Subject Matter Experts.

Take a look at the agenda below:

Agenda:

	Session Name	Speaker
8:15 – 8:30	Kick off	Mithun Dhar
8:30 – 9:30	Keynote/Why Vista!	Chris Henley
9:30 – 10:45	The Case of the Unexplained	Mark Russinovich
10:45 – 11:00	Break
11:00 – 12:15	Building Differentiated UI Applications Using Composite WPF	Glenn Block, Bob Brumfield & David Hill
12:15 – 1:00	Lunch
1:00 – 2:00	Best Practices for Developing for Windows for Windows Standard User	Crispin Cowan
2:00 – 3:00	Windows Security and Bitlocker	Byron Hynes
3:00 – 3:15	Break
3:15 – 4:00	(Windows 7 + Windows Server 2008 R2) Teaser Session	Byron Hynes
4:00 – 5:00	Windows for everyone!	TBA

We are bummed that you cannot attend this meeting in person! We’ll strive to make sure that you have as good an experience when you attend Online.

To participate in this event via Live Meeting, here’s what you’ll need to do:

When: December 12^th 2008 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM PACIFIC

The Live Meeting Space won’t be active till 8:00 AM on December 12^th

Computer Audio
To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset. Questions can be asked via the Q&A panel in Live Meeting.