Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Microsoft Alumni:  Stay Connected and Get Great Benefits!

With the Microsoft Alumni Network (MSA), you can keep in touch and get great benefits, such as spending up to $600 at the Company Store. To celebrate 15 years of success, new members can join free until May 31, 2011. All former blue-badge Microsoft employees who are first-time MSA members can register for this special anniversary offer.

Join today, visit: http://www.microsoftalumni.com. Enter MSAlumni2011TF in the Promo Code box.

The MDOP, App-V and MED-V teams are excited to announce the release today of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2011 with App-V 4.6 Service Pack 1 and MED-V 2.0!

App-V 4.6 SP1 makes application virtualization…

Easy

• A simplified packaging experience – new packagers are productive right away
• Step-by-step guidance for common packaging tasks
• Diagnostic that alert you to potential issues before they become problems

Fast

• App-V Package Accelerators speed packaging of complex applications
• App-V Templates provide a way to quickly and easily reuse common settings
• Eliminate the App-V Sequencing learning curve

Predictable

• Consistent, repeatable application packaging
• Built-in best practices make you a sequencing expert
• Streamlined command-line scripting enables automation

App-V 4.6 SP1 rolls-up existing App-V hotfixes and also extends support for the App-V read-only shared cache to RDS as well as VDI scenarios. With this new support, you can save storage space no matter which desktop virtualization technology you choose for server-based computing.

Check out videos that demonstrate the new features in App-V 4.6 SP1. And when you’re ready to get started, you can download the App-V 4.6 SP1 Trial Guide. If you’re already an expert at App-V, then the updated App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencing Guide is for you.

MED-V 2.0 helps you bridge “the last mile” of application compatibility as you move from Windows XP to Windows 7 by allowing older applications, including web-based application, to run in a Windows XP-based compatibility workspace within Windows 7.

Don’t confuse MED-V with Microsoft’s consumer and small business compatibility tool, Windows XP Mode. MED-V expands on the capabilities in Windows XP Mode by adding enterprise features, such as the ability to use a custom Windows XP image, automating first time setup and controlling URL redirection for Internet Explorer.

What’s new in MED-V 2.0?

• No dedicated MED-V infrastructure to deploy – MED-V 2.0 workspaces are deployed and managed using existing electronic software distribution (ESD) systems, including System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 R2 or higher.
• Streamlined sign-on to the MED-V workspace – Users can save their passwords for seamless sign-on to the MED-V workspace.
• Automatic application publishing – New applications deployed to MED-V workspaces, including App-V virtual applications, are available to the Windows 7 host automatically.
• My Documents and Desktop redirection – Legacy applications work just like locally installed applications when it comes to opening, saving and printing documents.
• USB device/SmartCard support – USB devices, including thumb drives and Smartcard readers can be shared between the host and applications running in the MED-V workspace.
• New Internet Explorer redirection options – IT administrators can redirect legacy web applications using wildcards (http://*.example.com), sites (http://www.example.com/hr), at the page-level (http://www.example.com/hr/benefits.asp) or by specifying a port (http://vpn.example.com:1234)
• Automated guest hibernation at shutdown – The MED-V workspace is seamlessly suspended when the user logs off or shuts down the Windows 7 host.

See for yourself how MED-V looks from a user’s point of view. Want a deeper look? There are more videos that show you how to create and deploy MED-V workspaces, and a MED-V 2.0 Trial Guide to help you get started.

Don’t miss a game… with our Outlook March Madness Tournament Calendar!”

Subscribe to the free March Madness calendar in Outlook, and keep track of all 67 games in the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Get updates automatically and stay on top of game matchups as the teams advance. The calendar can be viewed side-by-side with your main Outlook calendar or in overlay mode. Drag the games you don’t want to miss to your main calendar to get reminders and sync with your mobile phone. Subscribe to the 2011 March Madness calendar today — it’s fun and free!

• READ MORE:
  http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-outlook/archive/2011/03/09/march-madness-don-t-miss-a-game.aspx

Tired of Windows Phone 7’s slow evolutionary advertising & marketing?  Looks like the people that love Windows Phone 7 have decided to take things into their own hands.  And DAMN – they’re good.  Really good.  Remember:  These are NOT commercially funded in any way by Microsoft.

[SOURCE:  http://brandonfoy.tv/]

[SOURCE:  http://www.creative.vesinet.com/]

I seriously can’t wait to see what else the community creates.  I’ll shout about these ads from the top of the hills.

This book provides how-to information: the recommended steps to execute specific deployment tasks, such as customizing the installation, installing Microsoft Office 2010 system on users’ computers, implementing the deployment in many languages, and migrating to the new file format.

The audiences for this book are IT professionals who plan, implement, and maintain Office installations in their organizations.

• DOWNLOAD:  Deployment guide for Microsoft Office 2010
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5d0e7e0e-9e9b-43ba-a9ab-4775a26ffc2e

We have an awesome web site that y’all need to check out:

• LINK: The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown
  http://www.ie6countdown.com/

Here’s the thing:  Consumers will eventually upgrade… hopefully to IE9.  But Corporate IT:  This needs to happen sooner rather than later, and I still have customers with pockets of their end user population using IE6.x instead of IE7 or IE8.

The majority have plans already in place, thank goodness, but there are some that still have the following excuses for not upgrading:

• In-house Application Compatibility
  ”We have applications developed internally that won’t work with IE7/8/9 and we haven’t retrofit them.”
• 3rd Party Web App Incompatibility
  ”Our business depends on a 3rd party application that uses IE6 and won’t work on anything else so we’re beholden to them.”
• IT Priorities/Deployment Issues
  ”Our company doesn’t have this as a priority.”

WHY YOU SHOULD GET OFF OF IE6.X:
Here’s a short list of reasons IE6 needs to be upgraded in your company:

1. Support.  Once support on IE6 expires, there’s no more security patches & the risk of malware will reside entirely on IT.  No more calling into support.
2. Compatibility.  Ironically, IE6 is completely incompatible with new web standards.  Advanced AJAX used in most of today’s web applications will not function under IE6.  Examples?  Sharepoint Web Apps.  Office Web Apps.  Microsoft Skydrive.  YouTube.  Google Apps.  The future is completely dependent on getting off of IE6.
3. Speed.  IE6 is upwards of 10x slower than IE9 on traditional applications.  Not just Javascript execution but also HTML rendering.  Graphics processing.  Simple stuff.  And this is on the same desktop hardware you’re using today.
4. Expectations.  End users expect Tabs to be available…crash recovery to be enabled… privacy protection to be operational.  None of this is there until you upgrade to IE7/8/9.
5. Security.  The obvious concern.  No browser Microsoft supports today has more malware threats posed against it, more security flaws, & more support issues – and yet, it remains in use.

HOW TO GET OFF IE6.X:
There are many ways to continue to deliver IE6 functionality or compatibility while upgrading the infrastructure to a more modern, secure, and manageable Enterprise class browser… and they don’t require violating Microsoft licensing & terms of usage agreement by attempting to ‘package IE6’ using Application Virtualization.  Extracting out an packaging IE6 for the purposes of app compatibility is illegal and may constitute the need for a 2nd Windows Client License.

Now Desktop Virtualization is a different thing.  When you use Desktop Virtualization, you are repackaging the entire operating system and with the right licensing, this is possible for providing web app compatibility for desktops without IE6.

Here is a video explaining the process of using MED-V, or Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization to provide an IE6 experience to desktops using Windows 7 & Internet Explorer 8.   Essentially what is happening is a fully managed VM of Windows XP w/ IE6.02 is placed on every desktop… and when a user clicks on a shortcut for a web-app-that-only-runs-on-IE6, it opens IE6 in the VM and only displays the IE6 window.  The rest of the OS desktop is hidden from view, providing the end user with the belief that they are only running that web app and not an entire VM.

• VIDEO: Internet Explorer Virtualization with MED-V
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/internet-explorer-virtualization-with-med-v.aspx

For actual web app remediation by configuring IE8 for IE6 compatibility to enable IE8 to run IE6 web apps in ‘compatibility modes’, here are some videos on migrating off of IE6 to IE8 with compatibility in mind:

• VIDEO: Migrating from IE6 to IE8 Part 1
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/thrive-live-migrating-from-ie6-to-ie8-part-1-of-2.aspx
• VIDEO: Migrating from IE6 to IE8 Part 2
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/thrive-live-migrating-from-ie6-to-ie8-part-2-of-2.aspx

UPDATE 3/4/11:
So I’m looking at some web sites and I see this logo ad pop up to the right: 

Awesome!  It leads to the following URL which provides an ever growing list of Touch-enabled Windows applications for your Slate PC or Tablet PC:

• Great touch products for Windows 7

Here’s a few that I gleaned from the site listed under Apps for Slate PCs:

• Evernote for Windows – Notetaking tool
• ArtRage 3 Studio Pro – Art/Graphics tool
• Blio Reader – eBook reader
• WildTangent Games (40 touch friendly games)
• Jack of All Tribes
• Season Match 3:  Curse of the Witch Crow
• Eggz
• Klondike Solitaire Gold
• Toy Chest Mahjongg
• Monkey Gems
• Pegland
• Pyramid Solitaire Silver
• Mahjongg Dark Dimensions
• Collapse! CRUNCH (My personal favorite)
• …
• Thump Football (Coming this March) – Interactive Game player
• Copia Reader – eBook reader
• USA Today – eNews reader
• NOOK for PC – eBook reader

Here’s a few I got listed under Touch Apps:

• Mindjet MindManager 9 – Thought organizer
• Loilo Touch – Video Editing Tool
• Seesmic Look – Twitter/Facebook Feed tool
• Cyberlink YouMemo – Mulimedia Creation Tool
• CyberLink YouPaint – Touch-based painting tool
• ItzaBitza – Children’s game
• Where’s Waldo – Children’s game
• Roxio Photoshow Touch – Touch-enabled Photoviewer
• Club Cooee – 3D touch-enabled Chat application

—————–

Here’s some touch-enabled or touchscreen aware software for you to download & show off to others once you receive a Tablet PC with a touchscreen:

[Last updated: 3/3/11]

• DOWNLOAD: Microsoft Touch Pack – a.k.a. All the Microsoft Surface software + some touch games for your Tablet PC
  https://kurtsh.com/2010/04/23/release-microsoft-touch-pack-for-windows-7/
• DOWNLOAD: Amazon Kindle eBook Reader w/ Touch for Tablet PCs
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_ln_ar?docId=1000426311
• DOWNLOAD: Flickr Touch-enabled Photo Application for Windows 7 (Also Windows Phone 7)
  http://www.flickr.com/windows7
• DOWNLOAD: Crazy Coins – Silverlight 3 Multitouch Game for Windows 7
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jbarnes/archive/2009/09/28/silverlight-3-windows-7-browser-based-multi-touch-game.aspx
• DOWNLOAD: Air Hockey for Windows 7 – Touch-enabled Game
  http://blendables.com/files/folders/windows_7_air_hockey/entry714.aspx
• DOWNLOAD: Graphic.ly – Graphic novel viewer for Tablet PCs & Touch devices
  https://kurtsh.com/2010/09/06/info-%e2%80%9cgraphic-ly%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-a-free-windows-7-wpf-graphic-novelcomic-book-viewer/
• DOWNLOAD:  Flashcard.Show – Simple Card Games
  http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/developers/archive/2011/02/17/flashcards-show-version-2-for-the-desktop-browser-and-windows-phone.aspx
• PURCHASE: “Thinix Touch” User Interface – for Windows 7-based Touchscreen Devices ($29.99)
  http://www.thinix.com/product.asp?p=8FDF2852-CE87-4FEB-A830-542F609F5959
• PURCHASE: World of Goo ($19.99)
  http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/Games/Pages/worldofgoo.aspx
• PURCHASE: Plants vs Zombies ($9.99)
  http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Games/Plants-vs–Zombies/
• PURCHASE: Bejeweled 3 ($19.99)
  http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Games/Bejeweled-3/
• PURCHASE: Bejeweled 2 ($9.99)
  http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Games/Bejeweled-2/
• PURCHASE: Bookworm ($9.99)
  http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Games/Bookworm/
• PURCHASE: TextTwist 2 ($9.99)
  http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Games/TextTwist-2/

And if you’re in the mood to spend $500… (No joke. That’s what they charge for this monster suite of Touch enabled Windows 7 software.)

• PURCHASE: Nuiteq Snowflake Suite for Windows® 7 – Touch Interactive UI for Windows 7
  http://nuiteq.com/products/windows7_plugin.php

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.