Kurt Shintaku's Blog

This has been well-known for a while but for those of you who haven’t tried it, NFL Sunday Night Football is available in high definition 1080p streams using Microsoft Silverlight.

Watch HD 1080p stream LIVE (dynamically adjusts resolution based on your bandwidth in real-time), switch between 5 different camera views instantly, watch two views PiP, view real-time stats of teams/players, fwd/rew/slomo/freeze the broadcast, and more!

• WEB:  NFL Sunday Night Football
  http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26393211/
  (or http://tinyurl.com/SLNFL)
• DIRECT LINK:  Sunday Night Football Silverlight Player
  http://snfextraplayer.nbcsports.com/Player.html

Here’s a quick list of the fantastic interactive features available in the new Silverlight NFL player:

1. PiP CAMERA ANGLES ON-DEMAND: Be sure to check out the Picture-in-Picture functionality we built in there, giving you the ability to switch between 1 of 5 camera angles LIVE during the game in either the small picture window or the main video frame.
2. DYNAMICALLY ADJUSTING VIDEO QUALITY: Notice that the video quality automatically & seamlessly changes depending on your available bandwidth from 300kbps (480i) to 2.1Mb (1080p). Hover over the bandwidth icon in the lower right hand corner to see your current bandwidth.
3. STATS & COMMENTARY ON-DEMAND: During the game & commercial breaks, you hace access to game stats and play-by-play information from top NBC commentators. Click on the "Reveal" button in the bottom left corner to see social networking discussions and game stats live.
4. CLICKABLE ADS & FULL SCREEN EXPANSION: Expand the entire windows to the size of your display… and click on the screen during ads throughout the game to jump to the advertiser’s web site for "special deals".
5. REWIND/FAST FWD/15 SEC JUMP: View the broadcast llke you were using your DVR! Rewind 15 seconds to review the last play or rewind/ffwd through the live broadcast just as if it was being recorded live, all without lame "Buffering…10%" messages. (Courtesy of patented Microsoft Windows Media 9 streaming)
6. MULTIPLATFORM: The Silverlight broadcasting experience is portable, making it possible to broadcast the stream to Windows PCs, Macs, and Windows Phone 7 devices. That’s right: A rich interactive NFL experience scaled down to your phone. Awesome.
7. HIGHLIGHTS & EXTRAS: Missed the pregame or the first part of the game? View the ‘good parts’ with a simple click of the scenes listed in front of you. Replay the pregame commentary.
8. SHARE-A-PLAY: Wicked hit? Awesome pass? Disgusting north-south run? Hit the Share button and instantly share the play with others over Facebook, Twitter, email, and any number of 12 different social networking facilities.
9. PAUSE & SLO-MO: Totally forgot about this. Need to hit the head? Wanna see if the catch was REALLY inbounds? Was the pass made over the line of scrimmage? Rewind the play and slow it down in HIGH DEF and see it for yourself if the refs don’t review it.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Take a look at what the edito fo Macworld said about the Silverlight experience of watching the NFL on NBC… on a Mac!

• NEWS:  Macworld editor says Silverlight is much better than Flash for video
  http://www.timacheson.com/Blog/2009/sep/
  macworld_editor_says_silverlight_is_better_than_flash_for_video

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SIDENOTE:  Be sure to check out the first 30-40 min of every NFL "Sunday Night Football" broadcast – specifically the "star cam" & the "cable cam" views.  It’s view-worthy for no other reason than since the game’s not yet started, there’s really nothing much for the cameras to focus on other than the fans-in-the-stands & the cheerleaders and frankly that makes for some great entertainment in it of itself.

I apologize for disappearing off the face of the earth.  I’m currently in Las Vegas prepping for the BAI Retail Delivery (Banking Administration Institute) Conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. 

This is the nation’s largest retail banking conference and is attended by many of our partners as well as our largest financial services customers.  If you’re a customer of mine reading this… yes, there’s an 80% chance your company is represented here by someone on the retail side of the house.  I will be in the expo along with the rest of the Microsoft Financial Services industry team.

So, if you’re passing by Las Vegas… and you’re interested in talking about innovations in technology use within the financial services industry, come on by Booth #335!  Or if you’re just in the area, ping me, and we’ll hit “Red Square” at Mandalay for a snack!

Incidentally, here are Microsoft’s partners at BAI Retail Delivery this year:

• ARGO – Booth #718
  ARGO is a recognized innovator providing technology-based solutions to major banks, regional banks, credit unions credit aggregators as well as credit originators and processors.  ARGO’s solutions integrate multiple distribution channels including Branch, Contact Center, Internet, and Loan Processing Centers, plus support product line integration for financial products including Deposits, Credit, Investments, and Insurance.
  www.argodata.com
• Cognizant – Booth #304
  Cognizant’s Banking & Financial Services (BFS) practice offers industry-leading
  expertise in developing, implementing, and optimizing IT applications and infrastructure, as well as business process outsourcing. As Cognizant’s largest industry practice, BFS serves nine of the top 15 FIs in NA, four of the top fve in the UK, and many leading firms in CE and APAC. 
  www.cognizant.com
• Fiserv – Booth #727, mR5
  The EnAct solution from Fiserv is powered by Microsoft Dynamics CRM and is
  designed exclusively for financial services institutions. The EnAct solution boasts rich banking sales management capabilities for all business lines and management levels, and it leverages a powerful and highly intuitive platform, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. 
  www.fiserv.com  
• Harland Financial Solutions – Booth #1302
  Harland Financial Solutions supplies software and services to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes. The company is a leader in core systems, item and payment processing, enterprise content management, branch automation, customer relationship management, business intelligence, lending solutions, risk management, compliance training, financial accounting, mortgage, and electronic banking solutions.
  www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com  
• Jack Henry & Associates – Booth #1209 ProfitStars (A Jack Henry company)
  Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a leading provider of computer systems and ATM/debit card/ACH transaction processing services that serves more than 11,200 fnancial services organizations nationwide through four primary brands.  ProfitStars® provides solutions to mitigate and control risks, optimize revenue and growth opportunities, and contain costs.
  www.jackhenry.com

As expected, we published the launch catalog of devices available from the carriers and OEMs running Windows Phone 7.  Here’s a glimpse of what they’re showing:

• AT&T Samsung Focus
• AT&T LG Quantum
• AT&T HTC Surround
• T-Mobile HTC HD7
• Dell Venue Pro 
  (Ooh.  Vertical slide out keyboard!)

LINK:  Windows Phone 7 Launch Device Catalog
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/buy/7/phones.aspx

I really love these two ads.  Nothing’s funnier than the truth.

The first is designed to capture your imagination with a single shot view of everyone… well… you’ll see.  The second is more short-attention span theatre for folks that need things changing every 5 seconds.  And both ads do a very good job IMHO.

Our Windows Phone 7 launch will be video broadcasted via stream starting at 6:30AM PST!

• VIDEO: Microsoft and AT&T to Hold Windows Phone 7 Press Conference
  http://bit.ly/cQLh7P

(…6:30AM PST!  Rise and shine fellow west coast geeks!)

Now, in case you miss it or prefer to read about it play-by-play, here’s some liveblogs going on of the event starting at 6:30AM:

• Seattle Post Intelligencer – a.k.a. Journalist Nick Eaton’s Microsoft beat blog
  http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/
• Engadget – a.k.a. Joshua Topolsky & the Engadget team, the masters of the Live Blog
  http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/10/microsofts-windows-phone-7-launch-event-is-tomorrow-at-9-30am-e
• CNET – a.k.a. Beyond Binary’s Ina Fried, the Microsoft beat writer.
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20019051-56.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks
• Windows Phone Central – a.k.a. Malatesta & Nickinson of the very long lived WMExperts Podcast
  http://www.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-7-launch-liveblog-9-30-a-m-edt-6-30-a-m-pdt
• Ars Technica – a.k.a. The “One Microsoft Way” blog
  http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/10/liveblog-windows-7-phone-launch-in-london-and-nyc.ars
• Technologizer – a.k.a. Well-known industry pundit, Harry McCracken
  http://technologizer.com/2010/10/08/join-me-for-live-coverage-of-the-windows-phone-7-launch/
• Windows Observer – a.k.a. Master Chief Petty Officer Richard Hay, 27 year Navy Veteran & all-around ubergeek
  http://www.windowsobserver.com/2010/10/10/windows-phone-7-press-conference-and-launch-event-live-blog/
• intoMobile – a.k.a. The all-platforms blog
  http://www.intomobile.com/2010/02/15/live-blog-microsofts-windows-phone-7-press-conference/

Yup.  It’s a little early but the portal on Microsoft.com for Windows Phone 7 is up and running.

Why do you care?  Well, because if you are at all interested in Windows Phone 7, not only do they go over what’s great about the phone on this site, you can also BUY software for your device, learn how to use the device, and even FIND YOUR LOST PHONE from the portal by signing in with the Windows Live ID tied to the device you lost.

Cool.

Instead of covering all it’s aspects, I’m just gonna post the link as well as Neowin.net’s coverage of the portal since they did a pretty darned good job.

• LINK: Windows Phone 7 Portal
  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/default.aspx
• LINK:  NEOWIN’s Review of the Windows Phone 7 portal
  http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-phone-7-portal-goes-live-early

New podcast folks as announced by the folks at the Windows Phone Blog!

Windows Phone Radio… the podcast, just broke ground a couple days ago.  There are two episodes posted so far, available for subscription via Zune Marketplace or RSS.  The description of the series is as follows:

“Windows Phone Radio is the place for the latest news and information from the Windows Phone team at Microsoft. Your hosts Brian Seitz (@brianseitz) and Matt Akers (@skipdeez) will track the people behind the news and broadcast on location from around Microsoft campus and industry events.”

Subscribe to it now via Zune or RSS… and follow along on the Windows Phone blog!

• BLOG:  Windows Phone Blog
  http://windowsteamblog.com/Windows_Phone/b/windowsphone/
• SUBSCRIBE WITH RSS:  Windows Phone Radio
  http://wpradio.podcast.windowsphone7.com/rss
• SUBSCRIBE WITH ZUNE: 
  http://social.zune.net/External/LaunchZuneProtocol.aspx?pathuri=navigate%3FpodcastID%3D576d7f83-2b2e-4afe-8e89-a20e3746d8c1

Microsoft is pleased to announce the availability of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2. Both the Service Pack and Feature Pack updates are now ready for download on the Microsoft Download Center.  Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 2008 includes new compatibility features with SQL Server 2008 R2, product improvements based on requests from the SQL Server community, and hotfix solutions provided in SQL Server 2008 SP1 Cumulative Update 1 to 8.

Key enhancement in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 are:

• Reporting Services in SharePoint Integrated Mode. SQL Server 2008 SP2 provides updates for Reporting Services integration with SharePoint products.   SQL Server 2008 SP2 report servers can integrate with SharePoint 2010 products. SQL Server 2008 SP2 also provides a new add-in to support the integration of SQL Server 2008 R2 report servers with SharePoint 2007 products. This now enables SharePoint Server 2007 to be used with SQL Server 2008 R2 Report Server. For more information see the “What’s New in SharePoint Integration and SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2)” section in What’s New (Reporting Services).

• SQL Server 2008 R2 Application and Multi-Server Management Compatibility with SQL Server 2008.
  • SQL Server 2008 Instance Management With SP2 applied, an instance of the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine can be enrolled with a SQL Server 2008 R2 Utility Control Point as a managed instance of SQL Server. SQL Server 2008 SP2 enables organizations to extend the value of the Utility Control Point to instances of SQL Server 2008 SP2 without having to upgrade those servers to SQL Server 2008 R2. For more information, see Overview of SQL Server Utility in SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online.

• Data-tier Application (DAC) Support. Instances of the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine support all DAC operations delivered in SQL Server 2008 R2 after SP2 has been applied. You can deploy, upgrade, register, extract, and delete DACs. SP2 does not upgrade the SQL Server 2008 client tools to support DACs. You must use the SQL Server 2008 R2 client tools, such as SQL Server Management Studio, to perform DAC operations. A data-tier application is an entity that contains all of the database objects and instance objects used by an application. A DAC provides a single unit for authoring, deploying, and managing the data-tier objects. For more information, see Designing and Implementing Data-tier Applications.

To download the SQL Server 2008 SP2 release please select from the links below:

• SQL Server 2008 SP2
• SQL Server 2008 SP2 Express
• SQL Server 2008 SP2 Feature Packs

Registration for MMS 2011 is now open!
Microsoft Management Summit 2011
March 21 – 25, Las Vegas, Nevada

It’s time to start planning for the Microsoft Management Summit 2011 (MMS 2011) – the place to learn about the latest IT Management products, technologies and solutions from Microsoft and partners. Covering all of the latest management product releases, including five new management product versions planned to release in the coming year and demonstrating a variety of new Beta products, attending MMS 2011 is a valuable learning opportunity you won’t want to miss!

Registration is now open, and if you register before February 15, 2011 you can save $275 off the regular registration fee. Event details, including an overview of the event, overall event agenda, and registration and hotel information, can be accessed from the event web site at www.mms-2011.com. 

Event Overview

The sessions and hands-on labs at MMS 2011 will offer a unique opportunity to dive deep into the wide range of new products and solutions being released in the coming year, allowing you to evaluate the latest technologies against the needs of your organization.  The event will also offer sessions on best practices – real-world tips and tricks developed in live deployments around the world – presented by attendees, IT Management Consultants and Microsoft field staff. 

Management Product Content

During MMS 2011, in addition to sessions covering existing products and solutions, there will be significant coverage of recent and upcoming management product releases including:

• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3
• System Center Configuration Manager v.Next
• System Center Data Protection Manager
• System Center Operations Manager v.Next
• System Center Service Manager R2
• System Center Virtual Machine Manager v.Next

There will also be significant coverage of Opalis Integration, and more topics on Forefront Security products as well as Windows Embedded, Windows Server and Windows Client management technologies and solutions.  In addition, a number of exciting new announcements are planned around Cloud management solutions for both desktop and datacenter management scenarios. Sessions will provide insight into both hosting and utilization of Cloud infrastructures, with new products and solutions from Microsoft and key partners.

Event Agenda

MMS 2011 will offer deep technical Breakout Sessions covering a range of IT Management topics and technologies. Daily “Speaker Q&A” sessions allow attendees to meet the presenters at the end of each day to discuss specific session content informally in a casual format. In addition, the event will provide over 8,000 Instructor-led Hands-On Lab places during the week and a “walk-in” Self-paced Lab area.  Microsoft’s Management solutions, together with those provided by Partners, will be on show at the MMS 2011 Expo where you’ll have the opportunity to review the solutions on offer and discuss your specific requirements with experts.

Visit the conference web site at www.mms-2011.com for more details of content on offer, the overall agenda and registration information.

Content Survey

If you’d like to help in the content selection process for MMS 2011, we invite you to complete the MMS 2011 Content Survey. By taking a few minutes to tell us about your IT experience and expectations for the event, you’ll help ensure the topics and labs offered during MMS 2011 are relevant to you and your organization. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and when it closes on Nov 24th two entries will be drawn from amongst the responses to win a Portable Media Player.

Registration

This year’s event will be at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.  The MMS 2011 Event Team has negotiated a special rate for MMS attendees at Mandalay Bay and at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay.  As in past years, two different registration options are available for attendees – you may either purchase your MMS 2011 registration and hotel accommodation separately, or as a package.

If you choose to register using the “Package” option, your registration fee includes accommodation for the nights of March 21st to 24th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Alternatively you may choose to purchase accommodation separately from your registration, during the registration process or at a later date. The special MMS conference rates at Mandalay Bay or THEhotel at Mandalay Bay are only available through the registration web site. Details of registration and accommodation options are provided on the Registration Overview page.

Isn’t it a pain having to categorize individual appointments, just so that they appear in another color on your calendar?

• Wouldn’t it be awesome if an appointment that had the word “todo” in it, automatically turned YELLOW?
• Wouldn’t it be great if an appointment that had the word “drivetime” in it automatically turned BLUE?
• Wouldn’t it be slick if an appointment that had the word “Live Meeting” in the location field automatically turned RED?
• Wouldn’t it also be slick if an appointment that had the word “Conference Call” or “your company’s conference call number” in the location field automatically turned ORANGE?
• Wouldn’t it be swell if an appointment that had the word “vacation” in it automatically turned GREEN?

With this trick, you’ll never have to manually color code any appointment.  With just the content of the appointment, Outlook will automatically color code it for you without any intervention on your part.

——————-

HOWTO: Automatically color code appointments in your calendar based on keywords in the Subject
(This is written for Outlook 2010 in mind, but will also work for Outlook 2007 with slightly different instructions)

• Open your Outlook Calendar
• Click the View Menu item
• Click the “View Settings” button under Current View
• Click the “Conditional Formatting” button
• Click the “Add” button to create a new rule for auto-coloring appointments
• Enter the name of the rule in the “Name:” text box
• Select a color in the “Color:” drop down list box
• Click the “Condition…” button to identify the conditions under which this color should be applied
• Select the “Appointments and Meetings” tab and enter a keyword into the “Search for the word(s):” text box to look for a word in the Subject field
• Select the “Advanced” tab, select the “Field” drop down list box, select “Frequently-used fields” and “Location” and enter a keyword into the “Value” field to search for content in the “Location” field in the appointment.
• Click OK, OK, OK to apply your new formatting rule.
  Rules are applied immediately, and if they worked, you should see your appointments light up with color.

Personally, at Microsoft, I created rules for myself around the following:

• Drivetime
• Concalls
• Hotel check in
• Flights
• Vacation
• Todo
• “Live Meeting” (in the Location field)
• “Conference Call” (in the Location field)
• Conference Call (searching for our company’s outbound concall # in the Location field)