Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Q:  Tired of having to unlock your device after every 15 minutes – even when you’re on the phone?

One of our user group members, Cassio Goldschmidt, wrote a program that keeps you from having to enter your 4 digit password for a predetermined amount of time like an hour.  It doesn’t bypass anything on the system nor does it hack your registry.  It’s a little program that’s has a Today screen entry, is available for either Smartphone or for Pocket PC, and costs $4.99 at Handango.

• LockMeNot – Pocket PC
  http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&osId=992&jid=XXF67CB43555ADD4F5131FD8D9AFE58F
  &platformId=2&N=4294911038&Ntt=lockmenot&R=225032&
  productId=225032
• LockMeNot – Smartphone
  http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&osId=992&jid=XXF67CB43555ADD4F5131FD8D9AFE58F
  &platformId=2&N=4294911038&Ntt=lockmenot&R=224968&
  productId=224968&viewAnyWay=1

Apparently, we’ve made Sudoku v2.0 a free download off of the Total Access site for Windows Mobile.

Not since Tetris© and the Rubik Cube© has there been anything like it.

Simply enter the digits 1 to 9 in the grid without repeating in rows, columns or boxes. Easy. How hard can it be?

We promise you that after just one go you will be hooked on this fantastic 200 year old Japanese conundrum.

DOWNLOAD: 
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/software/sudoku.mspx

Here are a few things that seriously caught my attention at E3 today.

1. FALLOUT 3 WILL HAVE XBOX-EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT!
   Fallout 3… produced by Bethesda Softworks… was announced to have, just as with earlier title, Elder Scrolls Oblivion: Shivering Isles, ’substantial exclusive downloadable content’…
   …only available on Xbox 360.  (And Games for Windows!)
   
2. PORTAL:  STILL ALIVE… XBOX-EXCLUSIVE!
   Portal:  Still Alive, the hit game from the Orange Box (The 5 title game set from Valve containing Half Life 2/Intro, Half Life 2/Episode 1, Half Life 2/Episode 2, & Team Fortress) will be coming this fall…
   …only available on Xbox 360.
   
3. FINAL FANTASY XIII COMING TO XBOX 360 AT RELEASE
   WOW.  This was a doozy.  Final Fantasy XIII, after being a Sony exclusive for 13 iterations, will be released on the Xbox 360 the same day that it’s released on the Playstation 3.  God bless Hironobu Sakaguchi.
   
4. NEW SYSTEM CONSOLE CAN RIP OF GAME DISCS TO HARD DRIVE FOR FASTER PLAY
   This was actually on Major Nelson’s blog – not the E3 announcement.  There’s a feature in the new system console update coming this fall that will allow game discs to be copied to the hard drive for much faster load times and playback.  You will STILL need to have the game disc in the system however game data will be loaded off the hard drive for high performance load times.
   
5. XBOX 360 HAS MORE UNITS SOLD IN THE US THAN WII OR PS3
   SVP Don Matrick, "When it comes to hardware, we’re in fantastic shape. According to NPD, we’re leading the market with the largest install base in the US, more than 5m ahead of PS3; in software, ahead as well, 2.7b in the last 12 months.

   In the last year 3rd party revenue outpaced the Wii and PS3 combined. I’m willing to declare here, today, that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide than PS3 and Wii. We’ll offer an array of consoles with prices for everyone. …A year ago, 6m people were connected to Xbox live, and it’s doubled, a new member joining every 5 seconds."
   

6. 5 PLAYER COOP ON GEARS OF WAR 2
   Gears of War 2, available November 7th, will have a special 5 player coop mode called Horde where you basically fight off waves and waves of enemies.
   
7. XBOX PRIMETIME “1 VS 100”
   Endemol & Microsoft will partner to bring a massively multiplayer online version of “1 vs 100” featuring real prizes.
   
8. XBOX LIVE TITLES
   Geometry Wars
   UNO rush
   Galaga Legions
   (Note:  This is a true sequel to the original Galaga by Midway.  This looks really GOOD!)
   
9. AND EVERYTHING ELSE
   1. Netflix Partnership
      Partnership with NetFlix will make Netflix movies streamable to the console
   2. New system console & avatars
      New System Console will feature a 3D look and provide avatars… more on this later.  This is SERIOUSLY going to rock.  The people doing this console work really have been silently working on good stuff.
   3. NBC Universal partnership
      NBC Universal will be providing content to Xbox Live including movies & TV shows
   4. GTA4 XBOX-EXCLUSIVE content
      Grand Theft Auto 4’s XBox 360-exclusive content is still coming this fall, in case you forgot
   5. New Game:  SCENEIT?  BOX OFFICE SMASH
      A new version of the Big Button game and it will use the avatars of the new System Console.
   6. New Game:  YOU’RE IN THE MOVIES
      Featuring the Xbox Live Camera which records scenes, digitally synthesizes items on you, and puts you in prescripted movies.
   7. New Game:  LIPS 
      Karaoke Game feature microphone and sing-along gaming with point matching people that hit the appropriate pitch.

The System Center product group produced a video on how to install the Service Level Dashboard, import the necessary management pack, and configure the necessary service level parameters.

(For more on the Service Level Dashboard for SCOM2007, go to http://blogs.technet.com/smsandmom/archive/2008/07/08/service-level-dashboard-for-system-center-operations-manager-2007.aspx)

The video is about 12 minutes long and is obviously mostly done within the Operations Manager operator’s console.  It’s not complex but there’s quite a bit involved in configuring the management pack for doing service level monitoring for a given app to a decent depth.  Check it out:
http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/archive/2008/07/07/service-level-dashboard-video-overview.aspx

<taken from the PowerShell team blog>
Jeffery Snover of the PowerShell team blog wrote a rather interesting article highlighting how to drastically improve the performance of PowerShell v1.0’s startup times.

• http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2008/07/11/speeding-up-powershell-startup.aspx
• http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2007/11/08/update-gac-ps1.aspx

WHAT IS THIS?
The net of it is that he runs the following script and the result is much improved startup times for anything initially executed in PowerShell. 

Note that you will need administrator access to run the script below.

Set-Alias ngen @(
dir (join-path ${env:windir} "Microsoft.NETFramework") ngen.exe -recurse |
sort -descending lastwritetime
)[0].fullName
[appdomain]::currentdomain.getassemblies() | %{ngen $_.location}

WHAT ABOUT x64?
The script is just a little different for x64 with “Microsoft.NETFramework” being replaced by “Microsoft.NETFramework64”.

WHAT ABOUT POWERSHELL v2.0?
The problem will be fixed in Powershell 2.0 so this is specific to v1.0.

<taken from the Biztalk Product team Blog>

This  virtual .NET Developer conference will feature loads of great content and speakers including RD’s, MVP’s, and more!  Hosted by  SSWUG.org at  http://www.vconferenceonline.com/dotnet/.

To see more details and RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=18189163425

[These webcasts are being delivered by Microsoft Partner “Neudesic LLC"]

Microsoft Partner Neudesic presents:
Online Webinar: Office Canvas: Enterprise Mash-Ups for SharePoint
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific Time

Description: As the volume of data increases, so have the demands on IT to build custom solutions that make sense of all this data. Providing tools that empower users to create views that pull in multiple sources of data is an important first step to ensure these needs are being met.

Using Office Canvas, a user has the ability to create sophisticated enterprise mash-ups that pull in various forms of data into a cohesive view. In this webinar, you will see how to leverage SharePoint as your enterprise mash-up server.

Find out more and register today.
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=127842

Business Intelligence 2.0: Bringing All Pieces Together for Full Customer View
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:00-11:00 AM Pacific Time

Description: Your customer, whether internal or external to your organization, is your most valuable commodity. Do you have the visibility you need to keep them loyal? Are you meeting all of their expectations or are you exceeding them?

Learn how to get a 360-degree view of the customer utilizing CRM and Business Intelligence on the Microsoft Platform. Attend and gain insight into tools you need to collect data and use it to effectively drive satisfaction and profit for your organization.

Find out more and register today.
http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=129687

“You Did That with SQL Server Reporting Services?”
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific Time

Description: During this fun session, Mark Breen will demonstrate some of the unusual ways that SSRS has been used to solve actual business needs … from coordinating on-demand data loads; very precise fact sheets; letter generation; database updates for match-merge routines; to storing specific user profiles on how they want to see their customized report filters.

See the presentation ranked “number 1 at the Denver MSDN Microsoft Master Series. The best scores and presenters at this particular event to date!  ~Senior Architect Evangelist at a Global Software Company

Find out more and register today.
http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=129104

BI 2.0: Solve the ERP Data Intelligence Puzzle
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 1:00-2:00 PM Pacific Time

Description: With the plethora of data available in your ERP system, are you able to sift through it and gain valuable insight needed to make key decisions? Are you managing your resources effectively? Do you have key financial metrics available at your fingertips to respond appropriately to changing markets and strategically plan?

Learn how to arm key decision makers throughout your organization with the visibility into their operations that they need to be effective and proactive. Over-utilize your resources; make your ERP data work for you.

Find out more and register today.
http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=129688

Description: SharePoint and MOSS have changed the way workers share information and collaborate. In today’s very competitive world, leveraging existing investments to increase productivity is the most rapid path to a return on your investment.

Join us on September 16^th as we discuss the top 10 reasons SharePoint projects fail, and how you can ensure your portal doesn’t go down in flames.

Find out more and register today.
http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=129648

OMG!  The Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade appears to be available for the Samsung i760.

• https://techtrain.samsungwireless.com/tekweb/techpage/Support/Downloads/vzw_i760/SCH-i760_WM_6_1_Upgrade_Tool_For_Vista.zip
• https://techtrain.samsungwireless.com/tekweb/techpage/Support/Downloads/vzw_i760/SCH-i760_WM_6_1_Upgrade_Tool_For_XP.zip

(as found on PDAPhoneHome at http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/743198-post275.html)

What’s New: (as per the forums of 7/14/08)

We officially agreed to acquire Zoomix, a company that focuses on “data quality technology”. 

Data quality is the concept of automating the process of ensuring data stored in repositories across multiple locations is accurate to allow for quality decision making.

Zoomix makes a product called Zoomix Acceleartor that combines semantic & linguistic analysis with machine learning to “classify, match and standardize complex corporate data”.

Microsoft’s plan to add automated data-quality technology to its database product, especially to the data-entry workflow, could greatly help the overall quality of data and reduce errors and inconsistencies, Ptak said. "You want to correct it as early in the stream as you can," he said. 

Zoomix’s development team will join the SQL Server team at Microsoft’s research and development center in Israel, according to Zoomix.

Read more at Zoomix’s web site:
http://www.zoomix.com/pressreleases_article.asp?id=26

There’s a rather ancient tool out there called “Thread Compressor” for Outlook that allows you to automatically select a folder and rifle through all the running conversation threads, deleting all the middle discussion messages while keeping only the last response that contains the content of all the other previous replies.

DOWNLOAD:  http://www.exchange-mail.org/threadc4.zip

There’s an old article about it here:
http://windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=25119&DisplayTab=Article

The author was Ewan Dalton. He’s a friend of mine from the old days when I did Mobility and he’s got an explanation on how to make it work with Outlook 2007.
http://blogs.technet.com/ewan/archive/2007/04/23/thread-compressor-for-outlook-do-you-want-it.aspx

—————————–
“Functionally, the v4 version does pretty much everything the v5 one does (except for UI tidy up and the likes), as long as you make sure you’ve got the required VB6 controls installed on your machine, and have downloaded CDO 1.21 to install into Office (since CDO is no longer part of the Office setup).”

• Collaboration Data Objects, version 1.2.1
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2714320d-c997-4de1-986f-24f081725d36&DisplayLang=en
• Visual Basic 6.0 SP5: Run-Time Redistribution Pack (vbrun60sp5.exe)
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bf9a24f9-b5c5-48f4-8edd-cdf2d29a79d5&DisplayLang=en

The instructions for installing the DLL are pretty easy:

• Right-click on this link and choose Save… then copy the DLL to your PC, under some directory where you can easily find it again and somewhere it won’t get easily deleted (ie don’t just put it on your desktop). I’d suggest C:Documents and SettingsusernameApplication DataMicrosoftAddins (that’s assuming you’re using Windows 2000 and it’s installed on your C: drive…). This is the default folder where Outlook expects Addins to be, so it’s as good a place as any.
• In Outlook, go to Tools, Options, click Other, then Advanced Options and then press the COM Addins button.
• Now select Add, and browse for the DLL you put on your machine and select it… bingo, you should have the Addin now loaded.

System Requirements
There are a few basic requirements:

• You must be running Outlook 2000, 2002, Office Outlook 2003, 2007
• You must have Collaboration Data Objects installed on your machine – if you get an error when you try to use the Addin saying that it couldn’t create an ActiveX object, you don’t have CDO installed.
• To install CDO, run the Office 200x setup, choose Add or Remove Features, and look under Microsoft Outlook for Windows. Check that Collaboration Data Objects is set to run from this computer… the installation default is "Not Available".
• There are various controls used in this new version which might not already be on your machine:
• TABCTL32.OCX
• COMDLG32.OCX
• MSFLXGRD.OCX