Kurt Shintaku's Blog

It’s time to upgrade from the Windows 7 Release Candidate

While most people who tested Windows 7 have now moved to the final version, some are still running the Release Candidate. If you haven’t moved yet, it’s time to replace the RC.

Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.

The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Your PC running the Windows 7 RC will continue shutting down every two hours and your files won’t be saved during shutdown. In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black background with a persistent message on your desktop. You’ll also get periodic notifications that Windows isn’t genuine. That means your PC may no longer be able to obtain optional updates or downloads requiring genuine Windows validation.

To avoid interruption, please reinstall a prior version of Windows or move to Windows 7. In either case, you’ll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the RC. As with any clean installation, you’ll need to back up your data then reinstall your applications and restore the data. For more details about replacing the RC, see the Knowledge Base article KB 971767. For more information, visit the Window 7 Forum.

Thanks again for helping us test Windows 7.

Microsoft Office 2010 is set to release relatively soon.  One of the capabilities that Enterprise customers will have when they are properly licensed for Office on the desktop, is that they are also licensed to use the Office Web Apps.

What are Office Web Apps?
Office Web Apps are web-based versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote.  They are run on a server and provide users the ability to view & edit actual Office documents (.DOC, .XLS, .PPT, .ONE) using exclusively a modern web-browser that is capable of AJAX, DHTML, and little else.  No Silverlight, no Flash, nothing needs to be installed on the client to provide this functionality.

Are Office Web Apps any good?
What is notable about Office Web Apps is that it provides the BEST fidelity in Office document consumption.  Not only does Office Web Apps render and display Office documents richly and accurately, it allows full editing while maintaining the integrity of the document – i.e. it’ll display it correctly and won’t screw it up when you save, unlike other web-based applications such as Google Docs & Google Spreadsheet.

So what infrastructure is required for Office Web Apps?
The following blog post on Deploying Office Web Apps in the Enterprise gives good instructions on how to get things going: http://blogs.msdn.com/officewebapps/archive/2009/11/18/9924525.aspx.

It references the OWA deployment guide available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=166485&clcid=0x409. From a capacity planning perspective, the product group is still working on the final materials, but offered the following advice:  Please note that Office Web Apps are run from SharePoint 2010. You can refer to the following guidance to do capacity planning for SharePoint 2010: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/05/11/announcing-sharepoint-server-2010-preliminary-system-requirements.aspx

Verizon has a new ROM image for the Imagio addressing some issues with radio and memory.  For those of you with the Verizon Imagio, you’ll probably want to download and install this.  Don’t know if it’s announced or anything so grab it while you can.

DOWNLOAD: 
http://www.pcdphones.com/phone_downloads.aspx?bid=136&cid=1&mid=364&carrier=Verizon%20Wireless

UPDATE 2/27/2010:
Correction:  Make that “Team USA  GOLD MEDAL-WINNING Olympian”!

———-

Steven Holcomb is a reigning world champion in the four-man bobsled and a tech addict. 

• CNET:  Top U.S. bobsledder is a gold medal nerd
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10454763-56.html

Interesting quotes from the article:

• "I’m a huge gamer. I’m A+ certified and a Microsoft Certified Professional"
• "…definitely a PC guy"
• "The whole hand-eye coordination thing is a big factor.." [then mentions FPS and Halo]

…I’m a PC and I’m proud to be an American.

For folks paying the premium for Solid State storage, speed & performance are obviously of interest to you.  (Otherwise you wouldn’t be paying that 150%-200% margin for less capacity than what could be obtained using magnetics alone.)

So this little find might be of interest to you.  Someone named “elpamyelhsa” from Elpamsoft wrote a tool specifically for SSD users saying, “With all the advice online for SSD hard drives it can take hours of research and fiddling to properly setup your SSD drive. Now with this Utility you can adjust Windows settings in seconds including:”

– Windows Indexing Service
– System Restore
– Windows Defrag
– Use Large System Cache
– NTFS Memory Usage
– Disable 8.3 Filenames
– Disable Date Stamping
– Disable Boot Tracing
– Windows Prefetcher
– Windows Vista Superfetch
– Windows Services

Personally, I haven’t experienced much of a dramatic change however I don’t directly know how to use the tool to it’s maximum efficiency so click the link below for the download as well as advice on usage.

• DOWNLOAD: SSD Tweak Utility
  http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?49779-SSD-Tweak-Utility

(found off of TechSpot)

Security Compliance Manager version 1.0 provides centralized security baseline management features, a baseline portfolio, customization capabilities, and security baseline export flexibility to accelerate your organization’s ability to efficiently manage the security and compliance process for the most widely used Microsoft technologies. Join the beta review program for Security Compliance Manager version 1.0, and get the tools and guidance you need to better balance your organization’s needs for security and functionality.

This end-to-end Solution Accelerator is designed to help you plan, deploy, operate, and manage the security baselines of your Windows® server and client operating systems, and Microsoft applications.

The beta review program will run through early March 2010. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to provide feedback on this new tool. The release of Security Compliance Manager version 1.0 is scheduled for April/May 2010.

Features and benefits:

• · Centralized management and baseline portfolio.
• · Security baseline customization.
• · Security baseline comparison and export.
• · Security baseline compliance monitoring and verification.

Join the Beta by registering at:
https://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=2682&InvitationID=SUN-TJKJ-7XWY&SiteID=715

Microsoft invites you to an exclusive briefing with Citrix and HP!
Virtualization can dramatically improve scalability, data security, and IT efficiency. Join experts from Citrix, HP and Microsoft to discover how you can develop an end-to-end virtualization strategy that encompasses the entire technology stack, from the datacenter to the desktop, from inception to implementation.
You’ll hear how to take back control by virtualizing desktops, applications, and servers in a centralized datacenter for delivery as flexible, secure on-demand services for users anywhere.

What You’ll Get
Go virtual now and get the tools you need to leave with a defined action plan for your desktop virtualization efforts. Join us for this information-packed live briefing and you will learn how to:

• Provide desktop and application virtualization with a “high-definition” user experience via any device.
• Minimize downtime and server workload to ensure business continuity and fast, efficient application performance for local, remote, and branch users.
• Integrate software, hardware, desktop, server, storage, and client solutions to become an agile, adaptive enterprise ready to meet competitive, compliance, and cost challenges.
• Avoid costly “virtual sprawl,” centralize virtual desktops in the datacenter, and simplify management and desktop lifecycles.

And Much More!

Don’t Wait – Registration is Limited
Whether you are a large enterprise or a small or midsize business, or whether you are piloting or rolling out company-wide, come see how this game-changing partnership among Citrix, HP and Microsoft can bring you best-in-class tools for virtualizing your complete IT infrastructure and transform your IT organization from a cost center into a powerful enabler of business.

Location/Date:
Los Angeles
March 24, 2010

Registration:
Please contact me for registration details if you are a customer of mine.

Max Adams presented a “How Do I” video that reviews 4 core core scenarios in which Microsoft’s Windows Azure Platform is becoming very useful for modern organizations.

The scenarios are:

• Scalable Web Applications
• Web Applications with Background Processing
• Parallel Computing
• Data Storage in the Cloud

VIDEO: How Do I: Scenarios IT Pros can use Azure in?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ee920349.aspx

Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) 2008 is a toolkit that dramatically cuts the effort, cost, and risk of migrating from MySQL to SQL Server 2008 and SQL Azure. SSMA 2008 for MySQL v1.0 CTP1 provides an assessment of migration efforts as well as automates schema and data migration.

• DOWNLOAD:  Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant 2008 for MySQL v1.0 CTP1
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e6168b0-2d0c-4076-96c2-60bd25294a8e&displaylang=en

Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) 2008 for Access is a tool for migrating databases from Microsoft Access to Microsoft SQL Server 2008. SSMA for Access converts Access database objects to SQL Server database objects, loads those objects into SQL Server, and then migrates data from Access to SQL Server.
SSMA for Access supports Access 97 – Access 2007 databases.

• DOWNLOAD:  Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant 2008 for Access v4.0
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=133B59C2-C89C-4641-BEBB-6D04476EC1BA&displaylang=en

SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) 2008 for Oracle is a complete suite of tools that dramatically cuts the effort, cost, and risk of migrating from Oracle to SQL Server 2008. SSMA 2008 for Oracle automates almost every aspect of the migration process including assessment, schema and data migration, business logic conversion, and validation. Companies such as Motorola and Simon & Schuster have used SSMA to migrate their business-critical databases quickly, easily and accurately.  With SSMA, IT organizations now have the freedom to move to SQL Server and take advantage of SQL Server’s exceptional security, scalability, developer productivity, and the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership.

• DOWNLOAD:  Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant 2008 for Oracle v4.0
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3E8722AE-77F3-4288-906D-F421E24D322F&displaylang=en

The Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard lets customers track application and operating system deployments, security updates, the health status of computers, and IT compliance with key regulations—with an easy to use, customizable Web interface.  Because the Dashboard is built on Windows® SharePoint® Services, IT staff can access information without using the Configuration Manager console. The Dashboard is a free Solution Accelerator, and fully supported by Microsoft.

Key features of the Dashboard include:

• Easy access to key information without using the Configuration Manager console  
• Centralized view of Configuration Manager data sets
• Data can be viewed in graph, table, or Dundas gauge formats
• You can create custom dashboards for different departments, based on site user’s group membership.

How the Dashboard Works
The Configuration Manager Dashboard is designed to work with an existing Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure. The Dashboard queries the Configuration Manager site database and uses the resulting data set to present key infrastructure metrics in a graphical format.

The Configuration Manager Dashboard uses SharePoint Web parts to manage and display data sets:

• Microsoft Dashboard Configuration Web Part. Use this Web part to create and modify the SQL queries that produce the data sets and the other properties that govern how the Dashboard displays the data sets.
• Microsoft Dashboard Viewer Web Part. Use this Web part to display the data sets. A Dashboard Viewer Web Part displays one data set at a time. The Configuration Manager Dashboard can contain multiple copies of the Dashboard Viewer Web Part at once, each copy displaying a different data set.

The Configuration Manager Dashboard process flow involves the following sequence of activities:

1. An IT Service Manager requests a new data set.
2. The IT Administrator uses the Dashboard Configuration Web Part to define the new data set.
3. The IT Administrator stores the configuration information for the new data set (the information is saved in the Windows SharePoint Services Content database).
4. The IT Administrator adds a new copy of the Dashboard Viewer Web Part to the default Configuration Manager Dashboard and then modifies the Web part to display the new data set.
5. The IT Service Manager browses to the Configuration Manager Dashboard site.
6. Windows SharePoint Services queries the Configuration Manager site database as specified by the data set configuration.
7. Windows SharePoint Services renders the new data set using the Dashboard Viewer Web Part.

BETA:  Join the Beta program for the SCCM 2007 Dashboard
The Configuration Manager Dashboard is now in Beta release (English only).  Click here to join the beta.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff369719.aspx