Archive for April 2007

How many times did you ask where is that command ? (I know were it was before)

Microsoft has develop three really cool apps in Flash that can visually help you find these commands.

If you prefer to navigate from the Office Web site (it's not always obvious) :

  • Go to the Products section
  • Click on Excel, Word or Powerpoint from the list that appears down the left hand side
  • Look for the "Quick Start" Box way down the page for the product (centre right)
  • Click the link "Find Commands in ..."

To my knowledge these apps are only available form the English US web site.

Thanks to Darren Strange for giving us a steer on this stuff. (By the way Darren has a great blog about Office : blogs.msdn.com/officerocker

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Bill Staples [Product Unit Manager for the Internet Information Services (IIS) team] has a great article about the new IIS7 in Longhorn beta 3 at IIS.net

Read the arcticle : iis.net

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Jeremy Page wrotes in OneMicrosoftWay Journal :

Your life as a web admin is about to get easier, assuming you are using Windows as your platform of choice. IIS7 in the newly released Longhorn Beta 3 is chock full of updated and upgraded goodness. A few specific features look like they will save a lot of time and effort for admins.

Read the article : arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars

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Another good article from Paul Thurrott. If you have some interest in Longhorn you should read this one.

Ref : www.winsupersite.com

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Windows Server Code Name Longhorn is schedueled for release to beta testers sometime later today, with some of the most important changes coming to Longhorn Server Core. Core will support a grand total of 8 roles, double the 4 roles it had back in mid 2005. The grand total of roles available to Server Core includes:

  • Active Directory
  • Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
  • DNS
  • DHCP
  • File/Print
  • Windows Media Services
  • Terminal Services Easy Print, Remote App, and Gateway
  • Virtualization (configuring a server as a dedicated host for virtual servers.) (won't be available immediately)

PowerShell is also included in the 3rd beta release of Longhorn Server, as well as the Windows Firewall being enabled by default.

Download : www.microsoft.com/windowsserver/longhorn
Direct download : Enterprise Edition

Source : Bink.nu

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It has been a while since we've heard of former Formula One Champion, Jacques Villeneuve. The Canadian gave an interview with jv-world to talk about his music, motor racing, married life and baby Jules.

Source : www.jv-world.com

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Matt Mondok wrote in OneMicrosoftWay Journal:

After some users with large Outlook 2007 Personal Folders (pst files) complained about the e-mail client running slowly, Microsoft released a patch last week that is said to improve the application's performance.  According to the patch's description, it fixes two problems:  the first where a calendar item is marked as private if it is opened by the Search Desktop feature, and the second being the performance issue.

Functionality that should become more responsive after applying the update includes:

  • Downloading messages from Exchange
  • Deleting messages
  • Moving and copying messages
  • Switching between messages
  • Outlook startup

Read the complete article at ARStechnica
The update, KB933493, is available from the Microsoft Download Center

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Vista uses a new protocol named Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) to display a network “map” of all computers in a network, but the protocol is only in Vista, so XP computers do not show up in this map.

Microsoft has generously released the software for XP, and it must be installed on an XP machine for it to show up in the Vista map. Click here to download the software for Windows XP SP2.

Source : Top 12 Vista Tweaks

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Nick White wrote on Windows Vista Team Blog :

Yesterday we officially unveiled the name for what was previously known as the extremely catchy "WPF/e" (Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere) at the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters Conference.  WPF/e is now Microsoft Silverlight.

 

OK, so what?  Just what is Microsoft Silverlight?  It's a new cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in that allows users a new and richer multimedia experience when using a Web browser (for example, it supports 720p HD media playback).  Web developers targeting IE, Firefox and even Apple's Safari browser can all make use of Silverlight for a consistently amazing experience.  It's also a client- and server-agnostic platform; this means that the runtimes are the same on any platform, allowing you to deliver the Silverlight experience from an Apache web server, if you like -- without requiring any MS software on the server.  How's that for interoperability?

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Jason Brooks has a good article for linux beginners on eWeek.com :

It's free! You can tailor it to your own needs! There's a distro for every need! Sure, Linux is tempting, but getting started isn't so easy. eWEEK Labs offers advice for getting your head, and your organization, around Linux.

Source : eWeek.com

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For some IT pros, the only thing they look forward to more than the new version of Windows is the new Windows Resource Kit-and the Windows Vista Resource Kit is available now. This official Microsoft reference provides more than 1,500 pages of in-depth technical guidance on deploying; securing, and managing Windows Vista.

Here are a few of the topics that are covered in the Windows Vista Resource Kit:

Deployment
From installation basics to corporate-level installation guidance for the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 for Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, the Windows Vista Resource Kit covers all areas of Windows Vista deployment including:

  • Deployment automation
  • Application compatibility and deployment
  • Disk imaging
  • User state migration
  • Volume activation

Management
Controlling how Windows Vista functions and how users access its resources is an important part of supporting the operating system. The Windows Vista Resource Kit covers management topics such as:

  • User accounts
  • Disks and storage
  • Device management
  • Printing
  • File sharing and collaboration
  • Internet access and security

Maintenance
The ability to restore a system to efficient operation is an important part of a technician's job. The Windows Vista Resource Kit offers guidance for maintenance tasks including:

  • Health and performance monitoring
  • Remote user assistance
  • Software updates and patches
  • Client protection (hardening Windows)

Networking
Windows Vista is designed to operate in networks from two linked home systems to immense corporate networks with thousands of networked computers. The Windows Vista Resource Kit has everything you need to know about the following topics:

  • Configuring Windows networking
  • Configuring Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
  • Connecting to remote networks
  • Deploying the next generation Internet-TCP/IP version 6 (IPv6)

Troubleshooting
Windows Vista is designed to be the most resilient operating system we've ever released. In spite of this, problems do sometimes happen. When they do, the Windows Vista Resource Kit has information on the following topics:

  • Startup issues
  • Hardware issues
  • Network issues
  • Stop errors

Tools and Utilities
In addition to the guidance listed above, the Windows Vista Resource Kit includes a CD of tools and utilities to help you troubleshoot, manage, and configure Windows Vista. Among these tools are more than 150 timesaving scripts to help automate administrative tasks, additional job aids, and an eBook of the entire resource kit.

Source : windowsvistablog.com

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There is two new Virtual Labs at TechNet that looks interesting :

Microsoft Search Solutions for the Enterprise

  • Overview (Lab 1 of 8)
  • Security and Compliance (Lab 2 of 8)
  • Customizing Search (Lab 3 of 8)
  • Desktop Search (Lab 4 of 8)
  • Configuring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for Search (Lab 5 of 8)
  • People and Properties (Lab 6 of 8)
  • Business Data Catalog (Lab 7 of 8)
  • Protocol Handlers (Lab 8 of 8)

Getting Started with Windows Vista: Virtual Lab Express Series

  • Browse with enhanced security
  • Better Protection from Malware
  • Built-in Diagnostics
  • Instantly Search and Find Information
  • Improved and Automated Help Options
  • Set up and Connect to Networks with Simplicity
  • Easily Manage your Data Synchronization
  • Improve your PC's Power Management
  • Collaborate in Small Groups Anywhere, Anytime
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Large WSUS deployments will have their performance degrade over time if the WSUS database is not maintained properly. The WSUSDBMaintenance script is a T-SQL script that can be run by SQL Server administrators to re-index and defragment the WSUS database.

Source : www.microsoft.com/downloads

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The Virtual Machine Additions for Linux were updated to version 1.2 yesterday.  They were last updated on the 16/10/2006.  You can download the additions from Microsoft Connect and a snippet is below:

This package contains the Virtual Machine Additions for Linux, for use with Virtual Server 2005 R2.

VERSION 1.2 - now with support for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10

Important

Please review the README documents that are installed with the package, as they contain important information about the use of the Virtual Machine Additions for Linux.

The Virtual Machine Additions for Linux can be installed in the following Linux Operating Systems when running as guests of Virtual Server 2005 R2:

Enterprise distributions

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 (update 6)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (update 6)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
  • SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9
  • SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10

Standard distributions

  • Red Hat Linux 7.3
  • Red Hat Linux 9.0
  • SuSE Linux 9.2
  • SuSE Linux 9.3
  • SuSE Linux 10.0

Support

The Virtual Machine Additions for Linux are supported through the product support channels for Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Source : Bink.nu

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The Change Analysis Diagnostic tool scans the computer and displays recent changes to the following areas:

  • Software programs: The software programs that are listed in the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel.
  • Operating system components: Hotfixes and downloads from Windows Update.
  • Browser Helper Objects (BHOs): COM components that Internet Explorer loads when it starts. BHOs can intercept browser events, access Internet Explorer controls, create windows, and install add-ins that monitor messages and actions.
  • Drivers: Kernel-mode device drivers and file system drivers.
  • ActiveX controls: COM controls that have been downloaded by Internet Explorer or that are used in some Web pages.
  • Other Auto-Start Extensibility Points (ASEPs): ASEPs let programs start without action from the user. An ASEP may accept one or more ASEP hooks, each of which is associated with a program.

The tool also displays changes to loaded applications and startup objects.

This is a new Microsoft's tool.

More infos : www.microsoft.com/technet

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