Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Wow.  We used to have these downloadable training courses for our products for Enterprise customers that had subscribed to Software Assurance.  Now, all of those training course have been redone and they’re now HOSTED over the Internet.

How can that be good you say?  Well, check this out:

1. AUDIO & VIDEO:  All the content is streamed to the end user in multimedia so there is plenty of attention grabbing material available to keep users from getting bored.
2. VIRTUAL LABS:  Instead of just listening to an instructor go through a bunch of Powerpoint slides, the end user actually gets to work with the products over the Internet by connecting to virtual machines hosted at Microsoft’s datacenter.  The actual installation process and configuration of those product in real environments is possible using Microsoft eLearning!
3. ROAMING NOTES:  The end user can take text notes right on the screen and have those notes follow him or her throughout the training.
4. SELF TESTS:  There are tests that the user can take to test their absorbtion of the material.
5. REPORTING:  The manager or coordinator for eLearning training for a company can get reports on how well students are doing.
6. COVERAGE:  Applications, Systems, and Server areas are covered in this series of online trainings and there appear to be several hundred courses available!
7. FREE:  …for Enterprise customers that have the respective training product on Software Assurance.  If you don’t know what that is, you don’t likely have it.

WEB:  http://www.microsoftelearning.com

Taken from this article:

From your research on both platforms, is there a winner between Mac OS X 10.4 and Vista on security?

I have found the code quality, at least in terms of security, to be much better overall in Vista than Mac OS X 10.4. It is obvious from observing affected components in security patches that Microsoft’s Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) has resulted in fewer vulnerabilities in newly-written code. I hope that more software vendors follow their lead in developing proactive software security development methodologies.

Full article: http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/04/30/daizovi/index.php

It’s a service from Microsoft that provides a listing of updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. You can use it as a one-stop location for finding Microsoft software updates, drivers, and hotfixes.

Microsoft offers important, recommended, and optional updates. Important updates provide significant benefits, such as improved security and reliability. Optional updates might include, for example, new or updated driver software for devices that you have added to your computer. The Microsoft Update Catalog now provides access to hotfixes. Hotfixes are generally provided by Microsoft Customer Service & Support.

If you are running Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0, System Center Essentials (SCE), or System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) you can import updates directly into these applications. After you’ve imported updates, you can manage them like any other updates that you obtain using WSUS, SCE or SCCM, with some exceptions:

• Many updates are already available to you using the synchronizing capability in WSUS, SCE and SCCM. Security updates, critical updates, service packs, update rollups, definition updates, and critical drivers can be configured to synchronize with your server automatically. You can still import these updates into your application by using Microsoft Update Catalog, although depending on how you configure WSUS, SCE, and SCCM, you may not need to.
• Some updates require users to accept Microsoft Software License Terms or walk through other update specific installation steps. Microsoft Update Catalog will notify you if you are importing these updates.
• Occasionally, updates are for download only. These updates might not have the necessary “applicability” logic for WSUS, SCE or SCCM to identify whether the update is applicable to client computers. Updates that are available for download only cannot be imported.

WEB:  http://test.catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx

BLOG:  http://blogs.technet.com/mu/

For those of you interested in software asset inventory, the SMS 2003 Service Pack 3 update just got posted for download which contains the AssetMetrix database technology (see underline):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3992a556-32e3-49ab-b734-6341d208c66d&displaylang=en&tm

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 with Service Pack 3 (SP3) brings full Vista support to your organization beyond just OS Deployment, which is already available through the OS Deployment Feature Pack. Now, full lifecycle support of Microsoft’s latest platform including software distribution, update services as well as inventory are available to the Vista Client. In addition, SP3 introduces X64 architecture support for your high performance platforms. SMS 2003 SP3 provides an option to augment existing SMS inventory capabilities with deeper asset intelligence, bringing knowledge driven management with over 400,000 software titles in the library.

Why am I writing about this now when it’s been out for almost a month?  Because I feel like it!  Oh yeah… and because if you’re a customer of mine working directly on Windows Vista for your corporate desktop, I managed to order a copy for you.  That’s right.  All of you.

Wheeeee!
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/9536.aspx

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The definitive resource for administering Windows Vista—direct from the experts

Get the definitive reference for deploying, configuring, and supporting Microsoft® Windows Vista™—with expert insights from Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) and the Windows Vista Team. This official Microsoft RESOURCE KIT provides more than 1,500 pages of in-depth technical guidance on automating deployment; implementing security enhancements; administering group policy, files and folders, and programs; and troubleshooting for Windows Vista. In addition, you get detailed information on Microsoft Internet Explorer® 7, Microsoft Windows® Firewall, and Windows Defender. You also get more than 150 timesaving scripts to help automate administrative tasks, additional job aids, and an eBook of the entire RESOURCE KIT on CD.

• Author: Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt with the MSWinVista Team
• Pages: 1568
• Disk: 1 DVD(s)
• Level: Int/Adv
• Published: 04/04/2007
• ISBN: 9780735622838
• ISBN-10: 0-7356-2283-3
• Price(USD): $59.99 37.79

…Are you a developer? 
…Are you lacking in bandwidth & storage?
…Are you interested in streaming up to 4GB of high quality audio & video for free?

Microsoft announced Silverlight Streaming at MIX07 today, a free service in Alpha right now that will allow Microsoft Silverlight developers to deliver multimedia through their applications without worrying about storage or bandwidth scalability or cost.

• The Silverlight plugin, a 1.1MB piece of downloadable software, will allow the developer to present multimedia content to both Macintosh & Windows users.
• The Silverlight streaming service will provide up to 4GB of multimedia in 10 minute increments at 300kbps in the alpha, and will provide 1 million minutes of free streaming at 700kbps per site/per month in the release.
• Additionally, developers can download the Silverlight Streaming SDK to get started on building not just great rich media applications but fully-interactive applications embracing media
• The Expression Suite of development & media tools are available to use to manage & edit your media content.  Downloads are available of:
• Expression Web – Web site design & development tool for professionals
• Expression Blend – User experience/web-connected UI design tool for professionals
• Expression Design – Illustration & graphics design tool for both the web & desktop
• Expression Media – Complete professional asset mgmt tool for processing & organizing media
• Expression Media Reader – Playback tool for client-side review of Expression Media content
• Expression Media Encoder – Professional editor & encoding application for Silverlight content

More details are available here: 
http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2007/04/30/microsoft-to-launch-silverlight-streaming-by-windows-live.aspx

Wanna add the original Office 2003 toolbar interface back into Office 2007?  Here are a few solutions as noted by ComputerWorld.  (Product descriptions are lifted from their respective product sites.)  Personally, I haven’t tried any of these yet, although Ribbon Customizer looks very promising.

• The first thing I noticed is the price differences.  See below.
• Classic Menu
• 2007 Ribbon Tab – similar but not exactly the same as the original Office 2003 interface.
• Keyboard shortcuts are there, but don’t map to the original Office 2003 shortcuts
• ToolbarToggle
• No Powerpoint toolbar
• No keyboard shortcuts
• Ribbon Customizer
• FREE version to add Word’s 2003 toolbar called "Classic UI for Word 2007"
  (Excel & Powerpoint coming)
• Extremely customizable.  Kinda scary actually.  Almost a bit complicated but I could be wrong.
• Patrick Schmid seems to actually be a fan of the Ribbon. 
  He gives several reasons why here:
1. Keyboard shortcuts to open menus (e.g. Alt-F) cannot be used with a Classic UI, because Office intercepts those shortcuts and either offers a 2007 feature triggered by it, or lets you enter a complete 2003 menu shortcut in order to trigger the command it would ordinarily have triggered in 2003. A Classic UI in 2007 is therefore mainly going to be controlled by the mouse.
2. Where do you put new features of Office 2007? A major reason that Microsoft decided to do the Ribbon is that they did not really know where to put all the new 2007 features in the menus and toolbars. A Classic UI will therefore always have difficulties with new features.
3. The Ribbon has contextual tabs that appear once a user inserts or activates an object. That means, that whatever tab holds the Classic UI will no longer be in the foreground. Alternatively, as done by ToolbarToogle, you can have a Classic UI in a task pane and therefore visible independent of whatever tab the Ribbon is showing currently, but you have to sacrifice additional screen real estate for that.
4. A Classic UI lets one defer learning the Office 2007 Ribbon. Considering the investment Microsoft made into the Ribbon, it can be expected that all future Office versions will have the Ribbon as UI. Menus and toolbars will not return to Microsoft Office. If one defers learning the Ribbon, one will eventually be simply behind.

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Classic Menu for Office 2007 – $29.95
Show classic menus and toolbars on the ribbon of Microsoft Office 2007. Bring back the Office 2003 menus and toolbars to your copy of Microsoft® Office® 2007. Frustrated by endless searches for features on the Ribbon? Download and install this software and easily use the familiar main menu, the standard toolbar and formatting toolbar in Office 2007, as you did in Office 2003. All new features items of Microsoft Office 2007 have been added into the main menu and toolbars. Supports all languages that are supported by Microsoft Office 2007: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Chinese… Add the menus and toolbars to Quick Access Toolbar, then you can minimize the Ribbon and finish all operations without Ribbon.
http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/

Toolbar Toggle – $19.95 (Volume discounting available)
Lost without your toolbar?  Miss the simplicity?  ToolbarToggle brings it back for you.  Microsoft Office 2007 is a powerful new program that helps you do all sorts of things better.  But it doesn’t have a toolbar!  ToolbarToggle puts the toolbar into Office 2007 without removing the Ribbon.  Work with the toolbar and the Ribbon side-by-side on your desktop or you can hide the Ribbon and work with the toolbar alone, just as you always have.  With ToolbarToggle,it’s your choice.  Whether you’re a power-user who can’t live without completel customization of your menus and toolbars or an everyday user who isn’t ready to change, ToolbarToggle is a great way to transition to Office 2007 without losing productivity.
http://www.toolbartoggle.com/

RibbonCustomizer Professional V1.1 – $29.95
RibbonCustomizer is an add-in for Microsoft® Access™, Excel®, Outlook®, PowerPoint® and Word 2007. It allows you to customize the Ribbon User Interface with only a few mouse clicks.  Microsoft did not include that ability in Office 2007, but with this add-in you are no longer stuck with a static User Interface!
http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/index.php

Wanna see an interesting Silverlight demonstration?
DEMO:  http://labs.microsoft.com/japan/xbap/dominoken.xbap

(To install Silverlight’s client component, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E63992D3-CCF5-40B9-B98A-D16BCA57467C&displaylang=en )

Honestly, this was just passed on to me and I thought it was pretty interesting.  I don’t really know the ins-and-outs of its creation other than… well… it’s interesting.  Probably more interesting to me being that I’m Japanese and lunch counters in Japan are just like this.

Well… without the dominos of course. <grin>

Interested in a video presentation and demonstration on one of the available components of the Desktop Optimization Pack?  They’re all right here, except for the Asset Management Service which is not yet released.

• Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance (10 minutes)
  Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management gives you greater control over Group Policy Objects through change management, versioning, and rollbacks. In this video demonstration, see how you can more easily control the desktop and ensure less downtime from conflicting or improperly configured GPOs.
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/videos/mdop.asx
• Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (24 minutes)
  Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management gives you greater control over Group Policy Objects through change management, versioning, and rollbacks. In this video demonstration, see how you can more easily control the desktop and ensure less downtime from conflicting or improperly configured GPOs.
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/videos/agpm.asx
• Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (23 minutes)
  The Microsoft Diagnostics Recovery Toolset repairs any unbootable or lock-out desktop systems that have crashed. By manipulating components on the offline system, it helps you return the PC to service, recover lost data, and prevent future downtime. This video explains how you can recover failed systems with minimal manual effort—and with much less time than is required when restoring PCs from backup or reinstalling operating systems.
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/videos/drt.asx
• Microsoft SoftGrid® Application Virtualization (1 hour, 3 minutes)
  With Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization, you can turn Windows applications into centrally managed, virtual services that are never installed, and can be instantly streamed to any desktop or laptop. In this one-hour video, learn how SoftGrid’s virtualization technology can simplify desktop administration by automating processes for deploying, patching, updating, and terminating applications. It is now easier—and requires fewer IT resources—to address complex critical business projects such as OS and application migrations, security refreshes, and disaster recovery plans.
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/videos/sg.asx

Looks like we finally got around to releasing the 30 day eval version of the Diagnostics & Recovery Toolset.

The Microsoft Diagnostics & Recovery Toolset (DART) is a powerful set of tools that we acquired from our acquisition of Winternals a.k.a. Mark Russonovich & company.  It allows administrators to recover PCs that have become unusable, and easily identify root causes of system issues.

It enables Windows desktop & server admins to:

• Recover an installation of the Windows OS, instead of "reinstalling" when safe mode won’t work.
• Undelete files that have been removed.
• Recover local passwords
• Manage services, boot time software, drivers, etc.
• Monitor Active Directory queries to debug authentication issues between a client and a domain controller

Here is a list of actual tools in the DART:

• Windows Shell 
• Command Line Regedit 
• Unzip
• ERD Commander 
• ERD Help 
• LockSmith 
• Chkdsk 
• Crash Analyzer 
• File Explorer 
• File Search 
• Notepad 
• File Restore 
• System File Scan 
• System Restore 
• Disk Commander 
• Computer Management 
• Map Network Drive 
• Hotfix Uninstall 
• DiskWipe

OVERVIEW & DEMONSTRATION:
A complete overview of the Diagnostics & Recovery Toolset is available here (XPS Viewer required)
A demonstration & presentation in a demonstration video is available here.

LICENSING:
DART is only available to our volume-licensed customers.  You must be either a corporate customer with an Enterprise Agreement (site license) or a customer who’s purchased the Windows Desktop OS for their workstations under Software Assurance (a multiyear contractual agreement) in order to license DART. 

For these licensees:  DART is available as one part of a 4 component software package called the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack which is licensed at pricing anywhere from $7-$10 per desktop/year.  For more information on the other 3 components of the Desktop Optimization pack, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/default.mspx?tab=Microsoft%20Desktop%20Optimization%20Pack

DOWNLOAD:
The download is an .ISO file meaning that you’ll need to burn it to a disc using a tool like our free CDBURN.EXE which is available in our Windows Server 2003 Support Toolkit.

DOWNLOAD CDBURN.EXE (WINDOWS SERVER 2003 SUPPORT TOOLKIT):
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/e/c/8ec3a7d8-05b4-440a-a71e-ca3ee25fe057/rktools.exe

DOWNLOAD DART 30-DAY EVAL OF DART: 
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5d600369-0554-4595-8ab4-c34b2860e087&displaylang=en&tm

Simply run the .MSI that you download above, and burn the .ISO file using the CDBURN.EXE tool from the Windows Server 2003 Support Toolkit by using the following command:

cdburn.exe d: c:dart.iso