Kurt Shintaku's Blog

We just released a free “winter holiday” theme for the Xbox 360 if you have a Gold Account.  You can download it RIGHT NOW by orchestrating the download from your browser.

Go here:

• http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802FFFE07D1?cid=MajorNelson&partner=MajorNelson

You’ll see that you can “Download to Xbox 360”.  Once you’ve done that it’ll execute the transaction against your Xbox Live account – which is free, but still a transaction-based download.

Once your Xbox has been turned on and you’ve logged into your Xbox Live Gold account, it will go ahead and start the download.

Enjoy!

Besides this guy creating a great list of reasons the Zune rules, his web site is just gorgeous and well done.  He’s one hell of a designer and developer.  Must… subscribe… to his blog!

• http://jeffblankenburg.com/2008/11/10-reasons-zune-beats-ipod-seriously.aspx

QUICK LAUNCH BAR
So I thought that article was pretty cool.  But then he wrote this article recently entitled, “Whats In Your Quick Launch Bar?” which is near and dear to my heart because I used the Quick Launch Bar like a MAD MAN.

• http://jeffblankenburg.com/2008/10/whats-in-your-quick-launch-bar.aspx

SPAM FREE!
And then just when I thought I was done, this guy wrote ANOTHER post entitled, “5 Steps for Living a Spam-Free Life”:  Who the hell is this guy?  He’s awesome!  And his 5 rules are REALLY GOOD.  Stuff that I’ll admit, I didn’t even know.  Check it out:

• http://jeffblankenburg.com/2008/12/5-steps-for-living-spam-free-life.aspx

The Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 4.0 is the revised version of the original Microsoft Security Risk Self-Assessment Tool (MSRSAT), released in 2004 and the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 2.0 released in 2006. Security issues have evolved since 2004 so additional questions and answers were needed to ensure you had a comprehensive toolset to become more aware of the evolving security threat landscape that could impact your organization.

The tool employs a holistic approach to measuring your security posture by covering topics across people, process, and technology. Findings are coupled with prescriptive guidance and recommended mitigation efforts, including links to more information for additional industry guidance. These resources may assist you in keeping you aware of specific tools and methods that can help change the security posture of your IT environment.

There are two assessments that define the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool:

• Business Risk Profile Assessment
• Defense in Depth Assessment (UPDATED)

The 200 questions identified in the survey portion of the tool and the associated answers are derived from commonly accepted best practices around security, both general and specific. The questions and the recommendations that the tool offers are based on standards such as ISO 17799 and NIST-800.x, as well as recommendations and prescriptive guidance from Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group and additional security resources valued in the industry.

After completing an Assessment, you will gain access to a detailed report of your results. You may also compare your results with those of your peers (by industry and company size), provided that you upload your results anonymously to the secure MSAT Web server. When you upload your data the application will simultaneously retrieve the most recent data available. To be able to provide this comparative data, we need customers such as you to upload their information. All information is kept strictly confidential and no personally identifiable information whatsoever will be sent. For more information on Microsoft’s privacy policy, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/info/privacy.mspx.

MSAT provides:

As of yesterday, Dec 2^nd 2008, subscribers to TechNet and the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) can download the Customer Preview of Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 .  This was posted on the Vista Blog: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/
windowsvista/default.aspx. 

The CPP will be publically available on Thursday Dec 4^th.

You can also read about this from the Technet Page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd262148.aspx , and it also provides links to the MSDN and Technet links as well as Deployment Guides.  This is the first time we’ve provided both Server and Client service packs in the same download and we want to ensure you are aware of the availability and projected plans.  Please take the time to review and evaluate. 

Getting Started

• Release Notes for Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta
  Get notes addressing latest issues and information about Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta
• Release Notes for Windows Vista SP2 Beta
  Get notes on latest issues and information about Windows Vista SP2 Beta

Deployment

• Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta
  Get technical information, procedures, and recommendations for installing Windows Server 2008 Beta SP2 in a business or corporate environment
• Deployment Guide for Windows Vista SP2 Beta
  Get technical information, procedures, and recommendations for installing Windows Vista SP2 Beta in a business or corporate environment

Product Evaluation

• Notable Changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Beta
  Get details about notable changes made to Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista in SP2 Beta
• Guidance for Testing Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2 Beta
  Get customer guidance for testing Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista SP2

Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) is a remote access gateway that boosts productivity by giving mobile and remote workers, partners and customers easy, flexible and secure access to virtually any application from a broad range of devices and locations.

IAG enables IT administrators to truly enforce compliance and address virtually any remote access scenario by providing easy to configure, built-in, policies that address common applications and user environments.

IAG SP2 delivers a range of new, important enhancements for customers.

• Runs as a virtual machine on Hyper-V for low TCO, flexible/secure deployment and simple disaster recovery.
• Interoperability for non-Windows environments with support for Firefox, Linux and Mac.
• New application support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and OCS Web client.

This release introduces a new license allowing customers to buy a Virtual Machine version of IAG that is preconfigured and ready to run. Customers will still need to provision a Windows Server 2003 R2 key as well as purchase the required CALs or External Connector. Lastly customers will also need to acquire Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V or Hyper-V Server 2008.

For more on Intelligent Application Gateway:
http://www.microsoft.com/Forefront/edgesecurity/iag/en/us/default.aspx

CNet ran their head-to-head challenge this week iPod Classic vs Zune 120.

REVIEW: 
http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-6490_7-706-101.html

Well, whaddya know about that.  We won.

WINDOWS USERS:  GO ZUNE
The major dings that made the evaluation even close were around “compatibility” because we don’t support the Mac.  But if you’re a Windows user, and don’t care about Mac compatibility, all of a sudden you can disregard two of the judges’ deductions for the lack of Mac compatibility and tack on almost an entire extra point to Zune’s final score.

…suddenly, there’s no contest:  Zune comes out the clear winner.

The highlighted benefits Zune 120 has over iPod Classic according to CNet include:

• A la carte music purchases or subscription to all-you-can-eat music
  Judge’s quote:  “I definitely prefer subscription to a la carte”
• Large video screen for viewing TV, Movies, and Downloadable content
  Judge’s quote:  “It blows the iPod out of the water for videos.” “Almost twice the size of the iPod”
• Intuitive, easy-to-use click/touchpad user interface
  Judge’s quote:  “Possibly my favorite navigation experience ever” “The Zune’s large screen and Twist menu system feels more natural to me. Audio and video podcast organization is more logical and attractive on the Zune. The Zune pad also makes for a better game controller.” 
• Rich set of advanced features such as WiFi support & multiplayer games
  Judge’s quote:  “…features such as video output, Wi-Fi music downloads, tagable RBDS FM radio, subscription music support, and multiplayer games should make iPod owners jealous.” “Zune gets the edge with sound, but its FM Radio, Wi-Fi features, and the capability to download music directly from the device give it the edge…”
• Consistent, reliable value with frequent updates of firmware
  Judge’s quote: “Unlike Apple, Microsoft has been very cool about offering new features and firmware updates to all Zune models, year after year. There’s some comfort knowing that the Zune you buy this year will get all the new features of next year’s Zune.” “It’s packed with features galore that make the Classic look a bit aged.”

<taken from Windows Vista blog>

Hi, Mike Nash here. In late October I announced the Beta  of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 – beginning with a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers. This week we’re opening up the beta to a broader audience. Starting today, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta to begin testing.  

Beginning Thursday Dec. 4^th, we will be making the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta available to everyone through a Customer Preview Program (CPP). The CPP will launch on TechNet and be available to anyone interested in trying out this service pack. The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT Pros who would like to test Service Pack 2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release. For most customers, our best advice would be to wait until the final release prior to installing this service pack.

For those of you who choose to test this service pack, we encourage you to install the beta as soon as you can; your feedback will help us to ship a solid and stable service pack for Windows Vista.

Windows Vista SP2 builds on the solid foundation of Windows Vista SP1, and represents our ongoing commitment to Windows Vista today. Windows Vista SP2 includes all of the updates that have been delivered since the release of Windows Vista SP1, and incorporates improvements discovered through automated feedback from the Customer Experience Improvement Program (where users voluntarily opt-in to sending Microsoft error reports from their systems).  In addition to these updates, SP2 also includes support for new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in the coming months. For specific changes in Windows Vista SP2 – see my previous post on Windows Vista SP2 or check out the notable changes document.

Your feedback from testing will help us deliver the highest quality release possible. As of today, we are tracking to ship Windows Vista SP2 in the first half of 2009.

Several months ago, I created a post that explained how to license Windows properly in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure configurations because often times customers aren’t told by their virtualization vendor that corporations aren’t permitted to “just move their Windows desktop license over to the server”.  (Funny how they intentionally lead customers down this road without ever mentioning the Windows licensing implications – I just ran into another yesterday and it was real eye opener for the IT dept)

I repeat from my original post:
Customers do NOT natively have the right to run Windows 2000/XP/Vista on virtual machine servers in VDI configurations.

How to License Windows client OS’s for VDI:
In order to properly license your company for Windows 2000/XP/Vista desktop operating systems to run on virtual machine servers, you have one of the following options:

OPTION 1:
Option 1 requires three licenses:

1. Windows Client OS Licensing per Virtual Machine
   This is the standard Windows license purchased from a typical Volume License agreement with Microsoft.  Most people forget this however this Windows OS license is actually an ‘upgrade’ license.  It ‘upgrades’ a Windows OEM license typically purchased with a desktop PC to the Enterprise deployable version found on Volume Licensing media.
2. Windows Software Assurance subscription
   This is an annual subscription license applied to each virtual desktop and is usually something around 10% of the license cost.  It provides a dozen or so benefits to customers including the ability to upgrade to any new releases of Windows released during the period of the subscription, as well as the right to downgrade to any supported release of Windows.  Companies with Enterprise Agreements usually have Windows Client Software Assurance subscriptions for their desktop OS licensing.
   In most agreements, the licensing for both the Client OS & Software Assurance are put together in a single-priced package called "Windows Vista Business English Upg/SA Pack MVL w/VisEnterprise".
3. Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) Subscription for customers with Software Assurance
   (Win VisEnt CentralDsktpSA English Monthly Subscription MVL Per Device)
   This is a monthly subscription that is applied per access device for a virtualized desktop environment.  The access device is typically a ‘thin client’ but may include home PCs and other workstations that will access the virtualized desktops hosted on a server.

The subscription license is paid per access device/month.  Just a reminder:  The name of this subscription is a misnomer; it applies to ANY Windows version and not just Windows Vista.

OPTION 2:
Option 2 requires just 1 license:

1. Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) Subscription for customers without Software Assurance
   (Win VisEnt CentralDsktp English Monthly Subscription MVL Per Device)
   This is again a monthly subscription that is applied per access device for a virtualized desktop environment.  Again, the access device is typically a ‘thin client’ but may include home PCs and other workstations that will access the virtualized desktops hosted on a server.
   Recall that with this option, once the subscription lapses, the customer does not own any licenses of any Client OS.  Usage rights to Windows expires as soon as the subscription agreements ceases.  The license is more expensive than VECD for SA customers, and is again licensed per access device/month.

Pricing:
I’ve recently learned of a drop in the price of VECD.  Here are the numbers as I understand it, (no guarantees around this so talk to your account executive/LAR) but to put it into English – customers looking to purchase "VECD for devices with Windows licenses and Software Assurance", will have pricing around ~$2/month/device.  Customers with devices like thin clients that don’t have Windows licenses and Software Assurance will have pricing around $10/month/device.  The pricing waterfall depends on the contract size that your organization has with Microsoft.

For more information, visit the following resources:

• Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/benefits/licensing.mspx

The System Center Operations Manager team is excited to announce the availability of the Operations Manager 2007 R2 Beta, which is ready for you to download through Microsoft Connect today!

As announced and demonstrated by Brad Anderson at TechEd EMEA 2008 earlier this month, Operations Manager 2007 R2 will deliver key new capabilities including cross-platform monitoring, service-level tracking, new and updated monitor templates (including process, OLE DB, NT Service, and Unix/Linux log file), and much more!

Downloading the Operations Manager 2007 R2 Beta

• If you registered for the Cross Cross Platform Extensions Beta, you can download the R2 Beta through that same program.
• Those new to the Betas should self-subscribe to the Operations Manager 2007 R2 Beta Connect program, which will automatically register you and give you access to the beta download, documentation and support newsgroups.

About Operations Manager 2007 R2

Operations Manager 2007 R2 introduces key new and enhanced functionality, including:

•  Enhanced application performance and availability across heterogeneous platforms
  • Delivers monitoring across Windows, Linux and Unix servers–all through a single console.
  • Extends end to end monitoring of distributed applications to any workload running on Windows, Unix and Linux platforms.
  • Maximize availability of virtual workloads with integration with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.

•  Improved management of applications in the data center
  • Delivers on the scale requirements of URL monitoring of your business.
  • Meet agreed service levels with enhanced reporting showing application performance and availability.
  • More efficient problem identification and action to resolve issues.

•  Increased speed of access to information and functionality to drive management
  • Faster console load times for views and results.
  • Simplified identification and download of new and updated Management Packs through an integrated wizard.
  • Faster identification of where Management Pack settings have been tuned using the new overrides summary view.
  • Simplified notification setup and management.
  • Improved and simplified management pack authoring experience.

The Operations Manager 2007 R2 beta integrates the functionality delivered with the Cross Platform Extensions Beta, which was originally made available at MMS 2008 in April.  Work also continues on the Interoperability Connectors (which enable the sharing of information between Operations Manager and other management systems), and new betas of these will become available in December through the Operations Manager R2 Connect program (we will announce through this blog and to those signed up to the R2 Beta accordingly).

More details can be found in this What’s New & Improved in Operations Manager R2 Overview, or in the documentation found within the R2 Beta Connect program.  Additionally, the Operations Manager 2007 R2 page on TechNet will be updated later today with additional information and links to the download.

Support for the Operations Manager 2007 R2 Beta can be found through the following:

• For general questions on the Operations Manager 2007 R2 beta, please use the existing newsgroups at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/opsmgr/bb839593.aspx
• For questions relating to Cross Platform and the Interoperability Connectors, we are excited to launch the new forums available at:
  • Cross Platform Monitoring – http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?ForumGroupID=604&SiteID=17
  • Interoperability Connectors – http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?ForumGroupID=605&SiteID=17

We look forward to your evaluating this exciting new beta release, and hearing your feedback on the Operations Manager 2007 R2 beta.

Best regards,

Sacha Dawes (on behalf of the System Center Operations Manager team)
Sr. Technical Product Manager
System Center

I’m pleased to announce that the new beta of System Center Service Manger is now available. This beta includes the updated infrastructure components that will both deliver the performance we are targeting for the release and support our objective of delivering an IT service desk that is tightly integrated with the rest of the System Center product family.

How to Get the Bits:
You can access the beta on Microsoft Connect, where you will first need to fill out a nomination survey. Once you’ve completed the survey, you will see the Service Manager beta connections page, which provides links and instructions for downloading.

As a reminder, the objectives of Service Manager are to deliver an IT service desk that provides:

• Built in service management best practices
• Simple customization and extensibility
• Common platform and workflows across System Center

You can download a whitepaper outlining the vision for Service Manager here.
(http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/b/3/eb3a6c98-ff24-4801-88af-95990dc6bd35/SystemCenter_ServiceManager_WhitePaper.pdf)

Key capabilities available for testing in this beta release include:

• Administrative tasks such creating users and groups
• Change management activities such as creating and monitoring the progress of requests
• Creating and viewing configuration items (CIs)
• Editing incident notification templates or workflows
• Create incidents and editing the incident (and problem) workflow
• Integration with System Center Configuration Manager

We’re excited to make this beta available publically and will be delivering a second beta in the middle of 2009. Until then I hope you enjoy this important step on the journey to expand the System Center family to include a strong Service Desk capability

Visit the Connect site to download and start trying out Service Manager today.

LINK: 
https://connect.microsoft.com/SelfNomination.aspx?ProgramID=2733&pageType=1&SiteID=446