Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Microsoft Visio 2010 Viewer allows anyone to view Visio drawings and diagrams (created with Visio 5.0 through Visio 2010) inside their Microsoft Internet Explorer (versions 5 through 8) Web browser.

[taken from web source]

Visio Viewer enables users to discover the advantages of using Visio drawings, charts, and illustrations in a Web-based environment. Visio Viewer is particularly useful for teams that need to collaborate from different locations.

Viewing Visio drawings is as simple as double-clicking the drawing (files with a .vsd, .vss, .vst, .vdx, .vsx, or .vtx extension) in Windows Explorer. Internet Explorer will open, and Visio Viewer will render the drawing in the browser window. You can then pan and zoom in the drawing window by using toolbar buttons, keyboard shortcuts, or menu items in the shortcut menu. Also, you can see properties on any shape by opening the Properties and Settings dialog box and then selecting a shape. Some rendering and display settings are available in the Display Settings tab of the Properties and Settings dialog box. Additionally, you can set drawing-layer visibility and colors in the Layer Settings tab, and annotation visibility and colors in the Markup Settings tab.
Notes

• Both Visio binary (.vsd) and XML (.vdx) files are supported.
• Visio Viewer is implemented as an ActiveX control that loads and renders Visio drawings inside Internet Explorer.

DOWNLOAD: Visio 2010: Visio Viewer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=f9ed50b0-c7df-4fb8-89f8-db2932e624f7

Stuff that annoys the heck out of me about Internet Explorer 9… and how to fix it:

—————————

Tired of Internet Explorer 9 doing a BING search on “MSW” when you type MSW into the URL line?

1. Go to Tools (Alt-X)
2. Select Internet Options
3. Click “Advanced Tab”
4. Find “Browsing” settings group & check the box for “Go to an intranet site for a single word entry in the Address bar”.
5. Click OK

Wondering why whenever you try to go to LiveMeetings by clicking on the “JOIN” link in schedule requests, instead of going straight to the LiveMeeting client, IE9 keeps popping up the dialog bar below asking you:

“Do you want to open or save launch.rtc (733 bytes) from www112.livemeeting.com?”

1. When you see the dialog bar appear, click the “Compatibility View” button next to the Address bar.  (Looks like a ‘broken page’ icon)  This adds livemeeting.com to the Compatibility View settings.
2. Click the “Open” button in the dialog bar.  From now on when you open copy/paste Live Meeting link in the browser it will directly open up this option to open Launch.rtc file rather than showing previous option

Wanna stop all those popup messages that keep bypassing our popup filter?
(or… Wanna stop Google from tracking you movement on the Internet?)

1. Go to Tools (Alt-X)
2. Click SAFETY then Tracking Protection menu options.
3. Click on “Your Personalized List”.
4. Click the ENABLE button at the bottom right hand corner.
5. OPTIONAL:  If you click on the SETTINGS button, you’ll see what advertising/tracking domains IE9 is now blocking for you, many of which are responsible for the popup windows that appear when you go to many web sites.
6. OPTIONAL:  To expand your Tracking Protection:
1. Go to:  https://easylist.adblockplus.org/en/. 
   Look for EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection List.
2. Click on “Add EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection list to Internet Explorer 9”.
3. Approve the addition of the list.

March is “Branding your Business” month at the Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo.

They’re running a series of events featuring industry experts on the topics below that may be beneficial to you if you are considering leveraging the power of social networking to further your business’ success.

Branding your Business – Social Networking Overview
Business analysts estimate that U.S. businesses will spend nearly $3.1 billion to advertise on social networking sites in 2011, a 55% increase from 2010.  Some of these businesses will see much more return than others by using certain tools, language, and strategies.  Start off “Branding your Business” month at the Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo with a social networking overview of the top networking sites. Set the stage for the following weeks as we delve deeper into Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Monday, March 7, 2011 
6:30pm-8:00pm           
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011
8am-9:30am
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Branding your Business – Facebook and Twitter
Research has found that people respond differently to the same information presented on different social networks on a moment-to-moment basis.  Facebook business pages are often professional and forward-facing while Twitter followers respond positively to the fun-loving, personal side of a company.  Learn to engage your market in the right way with our Facebook and Twitter for business workshop.

Monday, March 14, 2011
6:30pm-8:00pm                          
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
8am-9:30am
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Branding your Business – LinkedIn
“It’s who you know.”  Increase your contacts by putting your email address in the “last name” field of your profile and your full name in the “first name” field.  Since you need a potential contact’s email address in order add them you have made it easier for people to add you!  Come learn lots of other simple and effective ways to grow your professional contact base on LinkedIn.

Monday, March 21, 2011
6:30pm-8:00pm      
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
8am-9:30am
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Branding your Business – Paul Roberts with OCTalkRadio.net
“Marketing is no longer a one way street.”  This quote comes direct from OCTalkRadio.net.  Come engage with Paul Roberts and discover the power of hosting your own online radio show.

Friday, March 25, 2011
3pm-5pm
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Branding your Business – Resume – Guest Speaker (Monday Only) – Kirsten Wright from Wright Creativity – wrightcreativity.com

If experience seems to be the winning preference of an employer for a position that you are pursuing as a career change, then focus on a skills format resume highlighting your strengths.  Join us on our final week of “Branding your Business” month by learning to mix Microsoft Word with clever strategy to convince your prospective employer that you are the best person for the job.

Monday, March 28, 2011– Guest Speaker (Monday Only) – Kirsten Wright from Wright Creativity – wrightcreativity.com
6:30pm-8:00pm            
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
8am-9:30am
Click Here to RSVP or email us with your reservation.

This download contains Awareness Resources, including email templates for a pilot program, form templates for signing users up for a Lync pilot program, and poster and t-shirt templates for creating posters and t-shirts to help generate excitement and awareness for Lync in an organization.

• DOWNLOAD:  Lync Adoption & Training Resources (4.9MB)
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=A1F626C6-3E3D-4D73-84F8-579169D8E066

Before you’re ready to go to production, you’re gonna wanna make sure you run this on your Lync Server implementation to ensure you have things configured for best practices.

Here’s the verbage on what the BPA does for Lync:

You can use Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Best Practices Analyzer to identify and resolve problems with your Lync Server deployment. The Lync Server 2010, Best Practices Analyzer gathers configuration information from Lync Server 2010 components.
With the proper network access, the Best Practices Analyzer can examine servers running Active Directory Domain Services, Exchange Server Unified Messaging (UM), and Lync Server. You can use Best Practices Analyzer to do the following:

• Proactively perform checks, verifying that the configuration is set according to recommended best practices.
• Automatically detect required updates to Lync Server 2010.
• Generate a list of issues, such as suboptimal configuration settings, unsupported options, missing updates, or practices that we do not recommend.
• Help you troubleshoot and fix specific problems.

Best Practices Analyzer provides the following features:

• Minimal installation prerequisites.
• Online documentation about reported issues, including troubleshooting tips.
• Configuration information that you can save for later review.
• State-of-the-art system analysis.

DOWNLOAD:  Lync Server 2010 Best Practices Analyzer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=030548df-0dc7-4f86-b8a9-2f5ec8de8ba5&displaylang=en

Check this out!  A real “Dummies” book on Desktop Virtualization!  We’re making thie entire 43-page eBook available for free for you to either view online or download in its entirety.

Here’s the table of contents:

• Introduction
• Part 1:  What is Desktop Virtualization anyway?
• Part 2:  Discovering the Benefits of Desktop Virtualization
• Part 3:  Thinking about your organizations requirements
• Part 4:  Choosing between the options
• Part 5: Taking things forward with desktop virtualization
• Part 6:  Ten (well nearly) Top Tips for Desktop Virtualization

Here’s the link to the online version:

• VIEW ONLINE:  “Desktop Virtualization for Dummies”
  http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/54ef6966#/54ef6966/1

(Note:  To download, press the “Print” button which will output a PDF file of the online eBook.)

We’ve published yet another eBook for you client folks to download, called “Windows Optimized Desktop”, a 27-page guide to understanding all the benefits of modern desktop deployment today with the Windows client operating system, including:

• Strong user state virtualization (docs, settings, etc.)
• Application virtualization
• Enterprise search scopes
• Branch caching
• Direct access
• Bitlocker & Bitlocker-to-go
• Enhanced device control over Group Policy
• Applocker
• Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
• Hyper-V
• Remote Desktop Services
• System Center Config Manager 2007 R3
• App-V
• System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2
• etc.

This is a REALLY good document to view online as it’s loaded with hyperlinks and redirects to all sorts of great 3rd party studies and such.

• VIEW ONLINE:  “Windows Optimized Desktop”
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/e-book/Default.html
• DOWNLOAD:  Free eBook – “Windows Optimized Desktop” (7.27MB)
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/9/A/E9A95912-92C9-440B-AD61-DAB46FFCF0DA/fullbook.pdf

Microsoft Lync 2010 Group Chat is a feature of Microsoft Lync that allows users to have topic-based, multi-party discussions that persist over time, which allows efficient information sharing and discussions as a group.

(The image to the right is my Lync 2010 Group Chat client… with all the names, messages, and membership redacted in RED.  No, the client doesn’t normally have a ton of red bars in it!)

Here’s a list of goals of Lync Group Chat:

• Create ongoing discussions about specific topics that persist over time and are available to geographically dispersed teams
• Establish chat rooms that federate with partners, customers, and vendors
• Initiate broader Lync 2010-based voice/video/data communications within Group Chat
• Share documents, links, posts, across multiple people immediately and persistently
• Control notifications based on user-designated criteria
• Work in multiple languages across geographies

For more information, visit the product description page:
http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/Product/Workloads/Pages/group-chat.aspx

Content available online for Lync 2010 Group Chat:

• DOWNLOAD:  Lync 2010 Group Chat client
  User client for persistent topic-based chat rooms.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4a202df0-c2ac-48b5-a621-1b3f22003632
• DOWNLOAD:  Lync Server 2010 Group Chat
  Group Chat is a server role of Lync Server 2010, which enables persistent topic-based chat rooms.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=575484F9-2A93-4450-A4C7-7D08A1290700
• DOWNLOAD:  Lync Server 2010, Group Chat Admin Tool
  Administration of users and chat rooms.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=A50CF7A4-6E8C-48A3-8C54-2449106F1627
• WHITEPAPER: Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Administration Guide
  The purpose of the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Administration Guide is to guide you through the process of administering Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Server and the related components, such as might be required to meet regulatory compliance requirements. These components are required to support organizations set up searchable, topic-based chat rooms that persist over time, allowing geographically distributed teams to better collaborate with one another while preserving organizational knowledge. This document provides step-by-step procedures and other information that you need to set up Lync Server group chat support, including the procedures and information you need to meet the hardware and software prerequisites for administering the group chat components.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7af3e109-38ec-4f04-bf2f-3d35b6454a77
• WHITEPAPER: Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Deployment Guide
  The purpose of the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Deployment Guide is to guide you through the process of migrating and deploying Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Server and the related components, such as might be required to meet regulatory compliance requirements. These components are required to support organizations set up searchable, topic-based chat rooms that persist over time, allowing geographically distributed teams to better collaborate with one another while preserving organizational knowledge. This document provides step-by-step procedures and other information that you need to set up Lync Server group chat support, including the procedures and information you need to meet the hardware and software prerequisites for migrating and deploying the group chat components, install the required Lync Server and other software for all group chat components, and complete the initial configuration required to support group chat.
  

So Rob Miles wrote an eBook called the “Windows Phone Blue Book” and published it to the web.  In his words:

This is kind of a companion to the "C# Yellow Book” which has been around for a while. However, it has a lot more stuff with it. There are demo programs and also a whole set of presentations and exercises that you could use to create a complete course on Windows Phone 7.

The problem?  The files are no longer hosted where he hyperlinked to.  Here’s the new location:

• Rob Miles Windows Phone Blue Book.pdf (4M)
  Follows on from the C# Yellow Book and shows you how to get started writing Silverlight and XNA applications for Windows Phone.
  http://www.robmiles.com/c-yellow-book/Rob%20Miles%20Windows%20Phone%20Blue%20Book.pdf

• Windows Phone Blue Book Demos.zip (6.3M)
  Demo software that accompanies the Windows Phone Blue book.
  http://www.robmiles.com/c-yellow-book/Windows Phone Blue Book Demos.zip

Internally, Lync is taking Microsoft by storm.  Exchange was a pretty big deal back in the mid 90’s and everyone was either talking about it, deploying it, or finding new uses for it.  Then I thought SharePoint was a big deal.  It spread like wildfire throughout Microsoft practically eliminating the use of file shares:  Everything is hosted on SharePoint now.

But now it’s Lync.  Our Unified Communications technology must have turned a corner or something because everyone is using the heck out of Lync 2010.  Phone calls, desktop integrated conference calls, internal presentations, external desktop sharing, online meeting with 100+ people on line… you name it.

Which begs the question… why is Lync so cool relative to other Unified Communications clients, even it’s predecessor “Office Communicator”?

——————

Single Application, Three Great Ways to Connect

• One tool, many ways to connect – Lync combines the conversation features of Communicator with the collaboration and presentation functionality of Live Meeting and more in a single tool.
• Easy online meetings – Easily join online meetings, revise and compare content, and present information from wherever you are.
• Natural collaboration – Transform every day conversations into fully-fledged collaboration sessions with shared comments, documents, applications and media.

Bring your work and people together.

• Connect and share your work directly from within Microsoft Office applications – send your document through Lync or share your desktop from Save & Send in the File Menu.
• Experts at your fingertips – Advanced search features help you find the people you need chat, meet or collaboration with using names or keywords.

Lync is Your Phone.  Your Phone is Lync.

• The phone you know but better – Lync is a phone on your PC that works the way you’d expect, but does so much more.  Lync has in-line access to voicemail, single click calling, and calling by name rather than number.
• Conversations with context – Start your phone calls from within any document and frame the context of your conversation with the document title.
• Experience greater clarity – Rich panoramic and HD video paired with HD audio give nuance to your communications. (must have HD capable hardware)

So give it a try!  The next time you get a conference call request from someone and you notice that the body mentions the Lync client, try downloading and installing the ‘Lync attendee client’.  (The ‘attendee client’ is the version of Lync’s desktop software for folks without Lync deployed in their organization)  It’ll allow you to participate in the Lync-originated conference call over VOIP directly from your PC, see remote desktop visuals, work on shared whiteboards & fill out polls, view/lead PowerPoint presentations, see video camera feeds from participants, download documents shared within the meeting, and of course, send & receive instant messages between participants… all over the open Internet. (Using a secure protocol & well-know ports, of course)

• DOWNLOAD:  Lync 2010 Attendee – User Level Installation
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=68a3ca04-a058-4e47-98ea-9e9af7ebd6e3
  (To be used if you are not an administrator on the computer you are using but an administrator has allowed you to perform installations; this does a PER USER installation of Lync 2010 Attendee client)
• DOWNLOAD:  Lync 2010 Attendee – Admin Level Installation
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=1772a5ad-9688-4861-8387-ec30411bf455
  (To be used if you are an administrator of the computer you are using; this does a FOR ANYONE installation of the Lync 2010 Attendee client)