Kurt Shintaku's Blog

If you are interested in assessing your IT infrastructure and planning to migrate to:

• Windows Server 2008
• Hyper-V
• Virtual Server 2005 R2
• SQL Server
• Windows Vista
• 2007 Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Application Virtualization

…you should give this assessment and planning tool a try.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator is an agentless toolkit that will find computers on a network and perform a detailed inventory of the computers using:
– Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
– the Remote Registry Service
– the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Using this data, MAP will assess and report whether computers can run Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid). Assessments for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista also include device driver availability and recommendations for hardware upgrades that may be required.

MAP includes features for gathering performance metrics from computers you are considering for consolidation using Hyper-V in addition to Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. Using the performance metrics and a model virtual server host computer, you can generate reports that recommend placement of the physical servers in a virtual server environment.Other new reports include a Security Center Assessment for client computers, a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 inventory report as well as an enhanced virtual machine inventory report to help you assess your virtualization efforts to date.

DOWNLOAD: 
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111000

Read more about MAP: http://www.microsoft.com/MAP

View demos on Team Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/MAPBLOG

Cut Costs, Simplify Management with Virtualized Desktops
Thursday, July 24, 2008 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific Time

Description:
Virtualization offers a powerful, cost-effective alternative to traditional desktop PCs. New products also can reduce the burdens of managing and securing Windows desktop environments.

Learn how you can better secure sensitive data, simplify management, comply with green IT regulations AND slash the total cost of ownership of your Windows-based desktop infrastructure by 30%.

In this highly educational, interactive and informative session you’ll hear a top industry analyst lay out desktop management trends, followed by product expert John Keller, who will explain how the new Unisys Consolidated Desktop Solution tackles today’s biggest desktop challenges.

Find out more and register today.

• https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/prereg/register.jsp?eventid=111464&sessionid=1&key=039F835D251907F8ED646F2F9B7A2EF7&partnerref=home 

More on Unisys’ Consolidated Destkop Solution:

• http://www.unisys.com/products/solutions__infrastructure/consolidated__desktop__solution/index.htm
• http://www.unisys.com/eprise/main/admin/corporate/doc/products/
  Consolidated_Desktop_Solution_Brochure.pdf

Network Monitor 3.1 OneClick is a simple tool to quickly get a network trace – usually used to upload traces to Microsoft Product Support.  By running this tool, you are prompted to install the Network Monitor tool and start a capture.  The capture is completed once the user stops it or 2 hours has elapsed.

There are two One Click Packages. The Autorun package and the ExtractOnly
package.

• Autorun: Running this utility will install NM3.1 on your machine (if you do not already have a previous version of NM3) and begin capturing. The capture will terminate after 2 hours, or if you press the ‘x’ key on your keyboard. If you did not have NM3 on your machine previously, NM3.1 will
  subsequently be uninstalled.
• ExtractOnly: Use the ExtractOnly package if you want to save the OneClick utility to a portable device, e.g., a USB key and later run the tool on a different machine. The extract only package will extract all the necessary files needed to run One Click to a user-specified destination folder. If you
  place the files on the root of a flash drive, One Click will run automatically when you insert the drive. You can also run One Click by double clicking the file "OneClick.cmd" in the destination folder.

Additional Information

• On Windows Vista, if you have NM3 already installed and you are already in the Netmon Users group you should be able to run One Click with your user credentials without encountering problems.

  If you do not have NM3 already installed or you are not in the Netmon Users group, you will need to run One Click as an administrator, otherwise you will get an "Access Denied" error when you run the utility. To run One Click as an administrator:

  • Save the Autorun.exe file to your machine, right click on the exe and select "Run as administrator".
  • For ExtractOnly.exe, right click on the file OneClick.cmd which is extracted to your destination folder, and select "Run as administrator".
• If you have a previous version of NM3 installed on your machine, One Click will use that. Note that NM3.1 can capture at the 802.11 layer, but NM3.0 cannot, so captures taken using NM3.0 will not include 802.11 traffic.
• OneClick has configurable options. To change from defaults settings, use the ExtractOnly package to save the One Click files to a folder. Navigate to that folder from a command line window and type "OneClick.cmd -?" for a full list of the available options.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f37302e-d491-4c69-b7ce-410c8784fd0c&DisplayLang=en

BLOG ENTRY: (Describes the former beta)
http://blogs.technet.com/netmon/archive/2007/11/06/nm3-one-click-capture-tool-beta.aspx

Forrester Research wrote a very interesting piece that Computerworld commented on in an article at the end of April that I missed.

Vista ‘inevitable’ for enterprises, says Forrester analyst
XP’s being retired, Windows 7 is mostly rumor; Vista only viable choice

…"Vista is an inevitability, for a number of reasons," said Ben Gray, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. He then ticked off several, including Windows XP’s announced retirement and unsubstantiated talk about Vista’s successor, Windows 7.…

…It will become more difficult to stick with Windows XP when top-tier computer makers pull it off their operating system lists on June 30, the date Microsoft has mandated that manufacturers stop offering it on new PCs. The company will also yank XP from retail sales then.

And companies considering skipping Vista altogether by migrating from XP straight to Windows 7, may be punished, Gray added.

"To be blunt, customers know very little about Windows 7," he said, noting that with the exception of a few facts — the Vista successor will come in both consumer and business editions and versions for both 32- and 64-bit machines — "everything else is pure rumor and speculation."

Microsoft’s poor track record on making release dates and crafting operating systems without discarding major features should make corporate decision-makers take pause, Gray said. "Ironically, one of Microsoft’s biggest weaknesses, the unpredictable release schedule of its desktop operating systems, will likely spur adoption of Windows Vista as a result of this lack of faith in Microsoft delivering Windows 7 on time," he said.…

LINK:  http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9080758&intsrc=news_ts_head

Check this out:  Ericom is offering a free add-on to Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services users.

Ericom’s FREE offering – PowerTerm WebConnect for Windows Server 2008 extends the power of the Windows Server 2008 platform, streamlining deployments, management and the user experience.

Now ANY organization— regardless of their size or IT environment—can benefit from application publishing enhancements, simplified configurations, monitoring and control, full integration with Active Directory, centralized management, and more – at no additional cost.

Additional benefits include:

• Simplicity in setting up and using the Windows Server 2008 environment
• Optimized IT environments for numerous users and terminal servers
• User-Friendly Application Zone and Application Portal
• Streamlined application publishing and availability for users and groups of users
• Centralized management and control of large groups of servers and users
• Improved user experience
• Enhanced security, monitoring and control, and more!

We have a web cast specifically for this product.

Extending Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services with Ericom’s No-Cost PowerTerm WebConnect Add-On (Level 300)

Terminal Services partner, Ericom Software is offering a no-cost software download with Windows Server 2008. Ericom’s PowerTerm WebConnect solution extends Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services with features including enhanced centralized administration, advanced load balancing, and two-factor authentication support. Watch this TechNet Webcast to learn more.

Download PowerTerm WebConnect for Windows Server 2008 here.
http://ericom.com/ws08.asp.

<stolen from the HPC blog>

You may now download the Windows HPC Server 2008 release candidate via http://connect.microsoft.com.

Register for the "Windows HPC Server 2008" beta program. You’ll also want to grab the corresponding SDK. Please do provide usability feedback using the "Feedback Tool" on the beta program web-site.

For technical discussions, join and participate in the Windows HPC forums accessible via the "Forums" tab on http://windowshpc.net.

http://blogs.msdn.com/philpenn/archive/2008/06/30/rc1-released.aspx

Best Practices SharePoint Conference
Sept 15th-17th, Washington, DC

(NOTE:  This is a 3rd party conference and not managed or organized by Microsoft.)

Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most useful tools in business. And the least understood in practice.

Widespread confusion about the best ways to design, deploy, organize and administer SharePoint hinders virtually every implementation.

The 2008 Best Practices Conference replaces confusion with Clarity, Direction and Confidence by establishing key principles to guide effective SharePoint decision-making in any situation.

Parallel sessions will define, explain and demonstrate real-world Best Practices for decision-makers at every level: CIOs, architects, designers, developers, administrators, taxonomists, librarians and project managers.

In this critical 3-day conference, you’ll learn the Key Principles of SharePoint governance … how to make consistent, confident decisions at every level, across your enterprise … and finally break the cycle of “avoidance • disagreement • sub-par results • ignorance” that impedes almost every SharePoint application.

Key presenters include Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft Product Team Members and other industry experts.

For the first time, you have the opportunity to learn the most practical and productive SharePoint practices, in person, from the industry’s leading authorities. If you must achieve maximum return from your SharePoint investment, this is the must-attend event of 2008.

LINK:  http://www.sharepointbestpractices.com

As part of its focus, the Microsoft U.S. National Security Team drives vertical security solutions for a wide range of industries and has produced a number of white papers that address the specific security needs of particular industries, such as the professional services and financial services industries.

DOWNLOAD: 
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4cd29b01-eed8-45f5-ab1e-ff1e1aef7b22&displaylang=en

Whitepapers available include:

• Electronic Signature Assurance and the Digital Chain-of-Evidence
• Enabling Secure Collaboration for Professional Services Firms
• Establishing the Foundation of Authenticity for Electronically Stored Information
• Information Protection Strategies For Financial Services
• Optimizing Branch Office Security and Productivity in the Financial Services Sector
• Secure Software Development for the Financial Services Industry
• Securing the Retail Store-Securing the Data

Looks like we’ve announced the pending acquisition of MobiComp, a mobile software & services company in Portugal

MobiComp’s application assists mobile operators and users in:

• Backing up personal data such as contacts and other files stored on phones
• Publishing updates to online communities
• Downloading entertainment and news content to phones

First Danger, then MobiComp.  If it’s not already apparent, we’re going huge into the mobile services sector – for Windows Mobile or otherwise.

LINK:  http://mobicomp.com

<taken from the FreeCaddie web site>

Do you have a Windows Mobile phone with GPS support? Then you need FreeCaddie!

FreeCaddie is a completely free golf rangefinder. Our software runs on your phone and uses its GPS capabilities combined with our course file data to tell your distance to the front, center and back of the green.

FreeCaddie requires a Windows Mobile Smartphone or Pocket PC device with either:

• Built-In GPS support
• Support for Bluetooth and a separate Bluetooth GPS receiver.

Just download and install the CAB file on your phone, then download a course file and you’re ready for the golf course. It’s that easy.

FreeCaddie is new but is growing rapidly. Don’t see your golf course? Create a course file for it! It’s easy and only takes a few minutes. There’s nothing to install on your computer; our Course Creator runs in your browser. Get involved! 

LINK:  http://www.freecaddie.com/