Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Discover the best Optimized Desktop Delivery Solutions!
Attend a half-day seminar hosted by Microsoft and Citrix.

In today’s economy, IT budgets are leaner and adopting a green VDI solution is a great way to choose the client computing scenarios that best meet the unique needs of your business, while making a positive impact on the environment. That’s why Citrix® and Microsoft® have joined forces to offer one of the best Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions for companies looking to take desktop management to the next level.

Citrix XenDesktop™ together with Windows Server® 2008 Hyper-V™, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, and Microsoft Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) offers a complete, green desktop delivery solution that enables flexible work scenarios (like mobile commuting which reduces gas use) and extends desktop lifecycles (which minimizes waste and saves on replacement costs).

Join us to hear more about this technology that virtualizes Windows® desktops and applications in the datacenter and delivers them as a service, while consolidating servers and reducing energy requirements.

Can you afford not to attend? Register now!  http://registerandcompute.com/vdi/

• Energy-saving & flexible desktop configurations
• Best possible desktop & application performance in a VDI scenario
• Easily manage physical & virtual environments through world-class infrastructure management solutions
• Dynamic provisioning delivers desktops & applications on demand

Agenda
8:30 a.m –  9:00 a.m  Registration
9:00 a.m –  9:45 a.m  Virtualization 360 – From the Desktop to the Datacenter (Microsoft)
9:45 a.m – 10:45 a.m  Introduction to Microsoft Optimized Desktop and Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (Microsoft)
10:45 a.m – 11:00 a.m  Break
11:00 a.m – 12:00 p.m  Citrix Dynamic Desktop Delivery, Much More than VDI (XenDesktop) (Citrix)
12:00 p.m –  1:00 p.m  “Lunch with the Experts,” Q&A, Evaluations & Drawing

REGISTER: 
Irvine, CA – Tuesday, January 27, 2009
http://registerandcompute.com/citrix/eventinfo/event_details.asp?effortID=86370003&custurltype=true

We recently released the first public beta of the BizTalk Server 2009 and made available RFID mobile features for the current version of the software.

With the public beta release of BizTalk Server 2009, Microsoft is delivering the first customer preview of the multi-release road map announced in September 2008 and is giving customers the first look of the feature-complete download. BizTalk Server 2009 supports the latest Microsoft application platform technologies, including Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 SP1, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. BizTalk Server 2009 also delivers expanded new connectivity options including new integration with Oracle Corp.’s E-Business Suite, as well as updated platform support for the most recent versions of IBM Corp.’s Customer Information Control System (CICS), Information Management System (IMS), DB2, DB2/400, DB2 Universal Database and WebSphere MQ.

Customers will also benefit from BizTalk Server updates in key enterprise focus areas, including connectivity, visibility and platform support, which extend their investments in existing infrastructure, people and applications. BizTalk Server 2009 also delivers improved scalability and reliability through support for SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtualization and enhanced failover clustering. It provides significant new enhancements to both individual and team productivity by enabling new interoperability with Microsoft’s application life-cycle management (ALM) solution Visual Studio Team System and Team Foundation Server. This allows development teams to utilize the integrated source control, bug tracking, team development support, Project Server integration, and support for automating builds via MSBuild for a more seamless development and testing experience.

BizTalk RFID Mobile also extends the power of BizTalk Server RFID to mobile devices running Windows Mobile and Windows CE. In addition, BizTalk RFID Mobile delivers simple device management and offline processing capabilities, all of which help reduce the total cost of ownership.

In addition, customers and partners can now expedite development of RFID applications in heterogeneous environments with BizTalk Server support for RFID standards, Tag Data Translation (TDT) and Low Level Reader Protocol (LLRP). Also being released today is a community technology preview of the ESB Guidance 2.0, which delivers updated prescriptive guidance for applying ESB usage patterns with improved itinerary processing, itinerary modeling using a visual domain-specific language (DSL) tools approach, a pluggable resolver-adapter pack and an enhanced ESB management portal.

BizTalk RFID Mobile is available at no cost to all BizTalk Server customers with Microsoft Software Assurance as well as new BizTalk Server customers who purchase an edition of BizTalk with Software Assurance. When BizTalk Server 2009 becomes generally available, customers will be able to acquire BizTalk RFID Mobile as part of the software license.

What new functionally will be delivered in BizTalk Server 2009?
BizTalk Server 2009 supports the latest Microsoft platform technologies, including Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 SP1, SQL Server 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. These platform updates enable greater scalability and reliability, and many advances in the latest developer tools.

This BizTalk Server release will also deliver additional customer-requested capabilities around enterprise connectivity, including:

• New web service registry capabilities with support for UDDI (Universal Description Discovery and Integration) version 3.0
• Enhanced service enablement of applications (through new and enhanced adapters for LOB applications, databases, and legacy/host systems)
• Enhanced service enablement of “edge” devices through BizTalk RFID Mobile
• Enhanced interoperability and connectivity support for industry protocols (like SWIFT, EDI, etc)
• SOA patterns and best practices guidance to assist our customer’s implementations

You can find more details about BizTalk Server 2009 at http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/roadmap.aspx

BETA LINK:
https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=218

UPDATED ESB GUIDANCE:
http://codeplex.com/esb

Wow.  Talk about an announcement storm for Massive!
(Massive for those of you who don’t know, is a company we acquired a few years back that provides in GAME advertising – as in video games.  While a player is playing a video game such as a racer like Project Gotham Racing 4, they might see some in game advertising on billboards in the game and those ads might change depending on what PGR4 downloaded for ads that day.)

• Massive is exclusive in-game ad provider for 18 Activision titles on Xbox and the PC, including “Guitar Hero.”
  http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/dec08/12-03ActivisionMassivePR.mspx
  
• Massive teams with Blizzard Entertainment for ads on its Web sites and Battle.net online game service.
  http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/dec08/12-03MassiveBlizzardPR.mspx
  
• THQ names Massive as exclusive in-game ad provider in global, multiyear, multi-title deal.
  http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-24THQGameAdsPR.mspx

This package contains the Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager "2" (ILM "2") Release Candidate client and server components. ILM "2" offers a comprehensive solution for managing identities, credentials, and identity-based access policies across heterogeneous environments.

Users can create their own security and email distribution groups and decide who to include in those groups. They can reset their passwords without calling their help desk.

IT Pros can use ILM "2" to manage certificates and smart cards. ILM “2” also embeds self-help tools in Office so users can manage routine aspects of identity and access, gives IT professionals’ rich administrative tools and enhanced automation, and delivers .NET and Web Services–based extensibility for developers. For additional information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver/ilm2 – See also:

• ILM "2" RC Demo Hyper-V VHD
• ILM 2 Datasheet

Here’s a really interesting break down of SMB 2.0 and why it matters.

• SMB2, a complete redesign of the main remote file protocol for Windows
  http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2008/12/05/smb2-a-complete-redesign-of-the-main-remote-file-protocol-for-windows.aspx

The Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool was developed independently by ex-Gartner TCO/ROI experts at leading ROI tool developer Alinean, Inc.

This ROI tool helps partners and customers examine current production server, development / QA lab, desktop and application virtualization opportunities, quantifying the potential savings, service level and agility benefits, investment and ROI for implementing Microsoft Integrated Virtualization solutions.

The tool collects specific information about current infrastructure costs and opportunities for improvement, then uses research by Alinean to project potential costs and benefits for various optimization strategies using the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization solutions. All research was collected from the Alinean ValueBase(tm) of IT spending metrics, and Microsoft product and pricing experts to reflect typical costs and savings for similar company type and size.

LINK:
https://roianalyst.alinean.com/microsoft/virtualization/

Built by BrainStorm, Inc®.

Are you interested in deploying Microsoft® Office® 2007 client? Do you want to know proven best practices?

You can find them in the free “Stages to Microsoft Office 2007 Deployment” Quick Start Card! This Quick Start Card highlights all the key deployment resources and tools from planning through to deployment day. Behind the overview page, this card folds out into 6 pages to provide more details on the best practices. The stages consist of:

• Prepare IT Staff for Deployment
• Prepare Technical Tools
• Assemble Learning Resources for Users
• Deployment Day

This model is based on a timeline that has been used for many successful deployments. Since it’s a general model, you can map these stages to a longer or shorter timeline depending on the size of your company.

To get a free copy of your BrainStorm Deployment Quick Start Card, go to http://deploy.brainstorminc.com. On this site you can also find links to many of the resources listed in the card.

BrainStorm, Inc®., the leading industry provider of enterprise-level training, has successfully trained millions of corporate users for organizations like General Dynamics, Cotton, Inc., The Motley Fool, Aviva, and Stanford University.  With a complete line of customizable training solutions including Quick Start cards, eLearning modules, and on-site, instructor-led training, BrainStorm has a resource designed to meet the needs and budget of every organization.

The Office Open XML format specification has been approved as a free and open Ecma International standard. A newer improved version is approved as an ISO/IEC standard.

The OpenXML Document Viewer project is an outcome of the feedback from participants of a series of Document Interoperability Initiative workshops. The main goal of the OpenXML Document Viewer project is to create software tools, plus guidance, showing how documents created using Open XML Format can be translated to HTML. As a result, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Solutions Integrators & Mobile Solution providers can use these tools to enable their customers view Open XML documents on heterogeneous platforms and browser applications. The OpenXML Viewer is available under the open source Microsoft Public License (MS-PL), which allows anyone to use the tools, submit bugs and feedback, or contribute to the project. We have chosen to use an Open Source development model that allows developers from all around the world to participate and contribute to the project.

We encourage you to view video demonstrations of the translation engine and the FireFox browser plug-ins.

LINK:
http://www.codeplex.com/OpenXMLViewer

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