Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Attention:

• Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 admins (MOM)
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 admins (SMS)
• Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 admins (MVS)
• Microsoft SoftGrid 4.1 admins
• Microsoft System Center Reporting Services admins
• Microsoft Active Directory & Group Policy admins
• Microsoft Desktop Deployment architects
• Windows Server Update Services users
• Microsoft Data Protection Manager admins
• Or anyone that’s interested in Powershell, SLA Scorecards, WMI, Scripting, Desired Configuration Manager, or Microsoft’s new "Service Desk" technology

…Microsoft Manageability Summit (MMS) is coming to San Diego and this event is for YOU. 

Check out the web site.  There’s no better way to learn about the many new management solutions available than to attend the Microsoft Management Summit 2007 (MMS 2007).
http://www.mms2007.com/content/home.aspx

When?  March 26-30, 2007 – San Diego
Agenda: http://www.mms2007.com/content/agenda.aspx

Why? Because MMS 2007 is the premier technical event of the year for IT professionals, covering the latest management products from Partners and Microsoft including the System Center family of management products. With next-generation products such as System Center Operations Manager 2007 and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 shipping this year, MMS 2007 is the ideal opportunity to come listen to the technical experts, try out the new products and discuss solutions with leading experts and peers in the IT industry. This year’s event is packed with knowledge and experience, both from Industry experts and Microsoft product group members, enabling you to take away key solutions and processes and apply them to your IT environment with confidence.

You are invited to an early preview of the new MSN Mobile that has been designed to showcase MSN content and provide a rich experience on a variety of mobile devices. MSN Mobile would like to invite you to join us in making our new and improved MSN.com Mobile beta first rate!

To access the mobile device portal, type the same URL into your phone’s browser:

http://beta.mobile.msn.com

What’s in the beta?
Today’s headlines and updated services with channel news and features for MSNBC News, FOX Sports, MSN Entertainment , MSN Weather, MSN Money and access to Windows Live applications.

"How to configure BitLocker and how to get BitLocker to rock in Windows Vista best-practices"

Windows Vista is here, and with Vista we get a lot of new exciting security features. One of the most exciting security features in Vista is Windows BitLocker drive encryption. BitLocker is a full-volume encryption tool that supports custom protection and authentication methods. However the user and support experience can be a mixed blessing, depending on which protection and authentication methods you choose. In this article we’ll walk you through a best-practice step-by-step approach on how to install and configure BitLocker in Windows Vista.

With BitLocker you basically have two different ways to protect the crypto key (a.k.a. Volume Encryption Key)

• A TPM chip
• Using a clear key, which is simply a normal password protection method

To learn more:
http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Best-practice-guide-how-configure-BitLocker-Part1.html

OMG!  Wanna see some really huge news?

Microsoft Hires Father of WebSphere from IBM

Microsoft has hired Don Ferguson, a prominent IBM software technologist and former chief architect of IBM’s Software Group, to work in the office of the CTO.

According to Ferguson’s bio at Microsoft—published on Jan. 8—he is now a Microsoft technical fellow in Platforms and Strategy, in the office of the chief technology officer.

At Microsoft, "Don focuses on both the evolutionary and revolutionary role of information technology in business," his executive bio said. "Understanding the trends, architecting and piloting the implications for existing and new products and evangelizing Microsoft’s vision are the key aspects of Don’s job."

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2c1895%2c2084481%2c00.asp

If you remember when Ray Ozzie came to work at Microsoft, you’ll recall that that was a really big deal.  Ray Ozzie not only was put in charge of Microsoft’s evolution to the concept of "software as a service", but also became the spiritual replacement for Bill Gates as he retires in two years.

This is just as a big:  Don Ferguson’s move to Microsoft is the same deal.

DID YOU KNOW… Microsoft has our own drive imaging tools?
For those that aren’t aware of how to use our workstation/server imaging tools…

MICROSOFT’S DRIVE IMAGING HISTORY 101:

• ADS Release: Microsoft has had its own commercially available drive imaging software since 2003 when we introduced "Automated Deployment Services" as an OOB release to Windows Server 2003, designed to automate the hardware provisioning & building of Windows Servers from bare metal to complete application service install. ADS was special because it enabled multicast imaging to multiple servers at the same time while also automating processes like configuring drive partitions and processor affinity.
• OSD Release: Microsoft leveraged the same tools, albeit different versions, for the "OS Deployment Services Feature Pack" for SMS2003, allowing customers to remotely image workstations over the network by backing up configurations and PXE booting to full. OSD is still in use today and is a key component of the "Business Desktop Deployment 2007 Zero Touch Deployment".
• Vista Release: Microsoft made Windows Vista’s installation "image-based", configurable using yet another version of the ImageX tools. This is the secret sauce that enables Windows Vista to be installed in an average of 20 minutes as opposed to the average 1 hour+ that’s required for Windows XP. It is configurable using a set of deployment tools available for Windows Vista.

(It should be noted that for the most part, none of the image files from any of these releases are compatible with each other. Recently, OSD was updated using a Service Pack for it to support Windows Vista’s version of the imaging tools, but that’s about it.)

WHY A NEW IMAGE FORMAT?

• Image mounting & editing
  ImageX creates files with the .WIM extension and unlike other imaging tools, you can mount .WIM and link them to directory structures. You can even make edits to the images and "commit them".
• Compression
  WIM files are automatically compressed using .ZIP technology.
• Injectable Hotfixes
  WIM files can be patched of hotfixed without "imaging a test workstation, hotfixing, & recreating the image file" saving customers a lot of time.
• Free
  Customers like free and our imaging tools are free…. err… I mean value-added technologies that come as part of Windows Vista licensing.

WHERE DO I GET IT?

• DOWNLOAD: ImageX.exe, the primary tool used in imaging systems, is a component of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) which is downloadable here: (It is 829MB in size and is a .IMG/.ISO file that needs to be burned to disc)
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7d4bc6d-15f3-4284-9123-679830d629f2&DisplayLang=en
• DOCS: The WAIK User’s Guide:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=993C567D-F12C-4676-917F-05D9DE73ADA4&displaylang=en
• DOCS: The WAIK Readme
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=EBA01479-BA0F-49B5-BD7F-62080B0231E2&displaylang=en
• TRAINING: If you’d like some training on how to use it, why not try our virtual lab for Imaging?
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5247639

For more infomation, visit our Image Web site at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/desktopdeployment/imaging/default.mspx

TechNet Webcast: Achieving High Availability with Windows Server “Longhorn” Clustering (Level 200)
Thursday, February 01, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Manish Kalra, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Elden Christensen, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032325410&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Labcast Series (Part 1 of 8): Installing Exchange Server 2007 (Level 200)
Friday, February 02, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322628&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: User Account Control in Windows Vista (Level 200)
Friday, February 02, 2007 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324662&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Technical Overview of Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 (Level 200)
Monday, February 05, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324665&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 05 of 24): Transitioning and Migrating to Exchange Server 2007 (Level 200)
Monday, February 05, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322095&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Manages the World’s Largest Windows SharePoint Services Deployment (Level 300)
Tuesday, February 06, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Scott St. Jean, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324073&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 06 of 24): Configuring Exchange Server Introduction (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 07, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322488&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Architectural Best Practices for Virtual Server (Level 300)
Thursday, February 08, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Rajiv Arunkundram, Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Jim Ni, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Arun Jayendran, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324428&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 07 of 24): Configuring Exchange Server Conclusion (Level 200)
Friday, February 09, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322490&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Securing Applications with Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 (Level 200)
Monday, February 12, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Chris Avis, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324685&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Exchange Server 2007 Guided Labcast Series (Part 2 of 8): Analysis Tools in Exchange Server 2007 (Level 200)
Monday, February 12, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323267&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Planning the Deployment of Enterprise Search Solutions (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Karl Kuhnhausen, Practice Director of Collaborative Solutions, Allin Consulting
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032325453&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft February Security Bulletins (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Christopher Budd, CCE, CISA, CISM, CISSP, ISSMP Security Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Mike Reavey, Lead Security Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323262&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 08 of 24): Introduction to Windows PowerShell (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322492&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Achieving Higher Scalability with SQL Server on Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (Level 300)
Thursday, February 15, 2007 – 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Jaime Basilico, Technology Architect, Microsoft Corporation
Mike Shelton, Senior Product Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323380&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Automating a Test Lab Using Virtual Server (Level 300)
Thursday, February 15, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Rajiv Arunkundram, Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Jim Ni, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Arun Jayendran, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324432&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Getting Started with Group Policy in Windows Vista (Level 200)
Friday, February 16, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Blain Barton, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323384&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Group Policy in Windows Vista (Level 200)
Friday, February 16, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Blain Barton, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324688&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 09 of 24): Using PowerShell for Exchange Management (Level 200)
Friday, February 16, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322846&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Why Deploy Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)? (Level 200)
Monday, February 19, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Matthew Hester, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324690&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Exchange Server 2007 Guided Labcast Series (Part 3 of 8): Compliance and Retention (Level 200)
Monday, February 19, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322848&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: How to Define and Configure Endpoint Security Policies with the Intelligent Application Gateway (Level 300)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Uri Lichtenfeld, Whale-Director, Whale Communications, Inc.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324177&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: The Windows PowerShell Scripting Crash Course (Level 200)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Don Jones, Scripting Guru, Author, SAPIEN Technology
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032321617&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Overview of Microsoft Edge Secure Access Technologies (Level 300)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Uri Lichtenfeld, Whale-Director, Whale Communications, Inc.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324187&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Security, Performance, and Compliance Considerations for Planning the Deployment of Enterprise Search Solutions (Level 300)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Karl Kuhnhausen, Practice Director of Collaborative Solutions, Allin Consulting
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032325455&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 10 of 24): Recipient Management, Policies, and Permissions (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323274&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Deploying Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System Using Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time
Chris Henley, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324692&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Securing Remote Access to SharePoint Products and Technologies, Exchange Server, and Microsoft Dynamics (Level 300)
Thursday, February 22, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Uri Lichtenfeld, Whale-Director, Whale Communications, Inc.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324191&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Protecting Your Exchange Server with Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) (Level 300)
Thursday, February 22, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Jason Buffington, Technical Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322917&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: The Road to Virtualized Branch Office Servers (Level 300)
Thursday, February 22, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Rajiv Arunkundram, Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Jim Ni, Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Arun Jayendran, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324435&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Providing Comprehensive Partner and Remote Worker Access with Secure Extranets (Level 300)
Friday, February 23, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Uri Lichtenfeld, Whale-Director, Whale Communications, Inc.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032324195&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of Exchange Server 2007 (Part 11 of 24): Messaging Policies and Compliance (Level 200)
Friday, February 23, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323313&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Exchange Server 2007 Guided Labcast Series (Part 4 of 8): Using Management Console and Shell (Level 200)
Monday, February 26, 2007 – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Harold Wong, Senior Technology Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032323389&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Planning for and Deploying Search in SharePoint Server 2007 (Level 300)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Karl Kuhnhausen, Practice Director of Collaborative Solutions, Allin Consulting
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032325458&Culture=en-US

We’re trying to make the  Windows Vista licensing, upgrade and purchase experience simpler for everyone with a few new announcements:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jan07/01-17ConsumerOptionsPR.mspx

"Windows Anytime Upgrade"

• A new way for customers to more easily advance to a higher-grade edition of Windows Vista. 
• Allows a customer to purchase and download a digital key for the premium editions of Windows Vista they want to use, and then insert a Windows Vista DVD that came with their PC or with their retail purchase of Windows Vista to complete the upgrade process. 
• Available in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan
• WEBSITE:  http://www.windowsanytimeupgrade.com/

"Windows Marketplace"

• Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office will be available for direct download via Windows Marketplace.
• Windows Marketplace makes it fast, easy and safe to download large programs like Windows Vista through its digital locker technology.
• Available in the US and Canada
• WEBSITE:  http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/

"Windows Vista Family Discount"

• The opportunity to upgrade additional home PCs to Windows Vista Home Premium at a great value that saves money and time
• Family Discount addresses the Windows Vista super enthusiasts, which is a key segment of the Windows Vista market.
• A customer that purchases a retail boxed software package of Windows Vista Ultimate may purchase up to two additional licenses to install the Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade product for $49.99 USD ($59.99 CAD) per upgrade license, a discount of over 60% off the estimated retail price of $159 USD for the boxed retail upgrade software package. From January 30, 2007 through June 30, 2007, the offer will be available online to customers in the U.S. and Canada.
• WEBSITE:  http://www.windowsvista.com/FamilyOffer

————–

Q&A
Windows Anytime Upgrade

Q: What is Windows Anytime Upgrade in Windows Vista?
A: Microsoft is always looking for new ways to provide convenience to customers and is committed to constantly improving upon the user experience. With the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature in Windows Vista, customers with Windows Vista pre-installed on new PCs are enabled to more easily upgrade a higher edition of Windows Vista by purchasing a digital license online.

Q: What is the idea behind Windows Anytime Upgrade?
A: The idea is to provide customers with the convenience of upgrading their PCs at anytime to a higher edition of Windows Vista.

Q: How does the upgrade work?
A: To use Windows Anytime Upgrade, the customer simply clicks on the Windows Anytime Upgrade option in the Start Menu to select their desired upgrade edition, downloads a new digital key and then uses the new key to enable the premium edition functionality. Customers may be prompted to insert the Windows Anytime Upgrade disc to complete the upgrade process if the bits were not pre-installed of their hard-drive by the OEM.

Q: What will it cost to upgrade using Windows Anytime Upgrade?
A: The MSRP cost to upgrade to more premium editions of Windows Vista are as follows: Home Basic to Home Premium – $79; Home Basic to Ultimate – $199; Home Premium to Ultimate – $159; and Business to Ultimate – $139.

Q: What are the system requirements for each SKU?
A: Consumers can run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor on individual machines to learn which version of Windows Vista can successfully be installed on the computer. Upgrade Advisor will also report if the hardware is not sufficient to run any version of Windows Vista.

Q: What happens to my settings, programs, and files when I upgrade?
A: With the exception of Windows Vista N Editions, all other editions will preserve your settings, programs and files during the upgrade process; however, best practices recommend all customers backup their computer before upgrading.

Q: Will all the versions of Windows Vista be included on every Windows Vista disc, no matter the SKU?
A: Yes, all the versions of Windows Vista will be on one DVD. The edition of Windows Vista that the customer chooses will then be activated by her product key. For instance, if a customer buys Windows Vista Home Premium from a retail store, the full version of Windows Vista will be included on the DVD, but because the customer chose and paid for Home Premium, the product key he or she receives will activate the Home Premium edition and its features and functionality.
With Windows Anytime Upgrade, the idea is to provide customers with the most convenient user experience possible by enabling them to more easily and directly upgrade to a higher edition of Windows Vista from within their current edition.

Q: What editions of Windows Vista will have Windows Anytime Upgrade? Will both consumer and business editions provide this experience?
A: Yes, customers with consumer as well as business editions of Vista will be able to use Windows Anytime Upgrade with the exception of Windows Vista Ultimate, which is the highest SKU edition.

Q: Are system builders able to participate in this program?
A: There are plans to offer system builders the ability to participate in the program as referral partners sometime in 2007.

Q: When will Windows Anytime Upgrade be implemented by channel partners?
A: Windows Anytime Upgrade is intended to launch at the Windows Vista launch on January 30, 2007 in North America (including US and Canada), Western Europe (including the EU, Norway and Switzerland), and Japan. Additional countries will be added roughly six months after the launch of Windows Vista.

Q: Are partners on board to sell Windows Vista licenses as part of the Windows Anytime Upgrade, and if so, which partners?
A: Yes, all major retailers and covered OEMs in North America, the European Union and Japan are signed up to offer licenses to Windows Vista upgrades.

Windows Marketplace

Q: What is the Windows Marketplace?
A: Windows Marketplace is the largest online destination for buying software that runs on Windows PCs or mobile devices. Consumers go to Windows Marketplace to discover, evaluate and buy the software that suits their lifestyles and helps their businesses.

Q: How do customers find Windows Marketplace?
A: Customers can access Windows Marketplace from the Windows Vista Start Menu, Windows XP Start Menu, Internet Explorer and many other Microsoft and partner web sites.

Q: What is digital locker?
A: The digital locker is what makes Windows Marketplace the safest place to purchase downloadable software. When a software purchase is made, the digital locker stores the software and license keys, manages the download, and streamlines the installation process. It automatically resumes downloads that are interrupted, and it also assists users in making backup copies of their purchases. Digital Locker marries the best of both worlds: the immediacy of software download with the security of owning a CD.

Q: What are your plans for international?
A: We have not yet released our international plans.

Q: Are you going to offer all Microsoft products through the digital locker?
A: We plan to offer all Microsoft products via the digital locker but will do it in a phased approach starting with Windows Vista and Office 2007.

Q: Is this the future of software distribution?
A: Yes. According to IDC, the ESD market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 34 percent through 2009. A recent Gartner report forecasts that by the year 2008, 80 percent of all consumer software and 50 percent of all enterprise software will be delivered via ESD.

Family Discount

Q: What is the Windows Vista Family Discount?
A: For customers in North America that purchase a retail boxed software package of Windows Vista Ultimate, the Windows Vista Family Discount provides the opportunity to upgrade additional home PCs to Windows Vista Home Premium at a great value that saves money and time – so families can enjoy the security, performance, and entertainment capabilities of Windows Vista throughout the home.

Q: What is the objective of the Windows Vista Family Discount?
A: The objective of the Windows Vista Family Discount is to make it easier and more affordable to upgrade more than one PC in the home to Windows Vista. By offering a great value that saves time and money, families can enjoy the security, performance, and entertainment capabilities of Windows Vista throughout the home.

Q: How does the program work? How much does it cost the customer?
A: A customer that purchases a retail boxed software package of Windows Vista Ultimate may purchase up to two additional licenses to install the Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade product for $49.99 USD ($59.99 CAD) per upgrade license, a discount of over 60% off the estimated retail price of $159 USD for the boxed retail upgrade software package. From January 30, 2007 through June 30, 2007, the offer will be available online to customers in the U.S. and Canada at http://www.windowsvista.com/FamilyOffer (or, for French-speaking customers, at http://www.windowsvista.com/OffreFamily).

Q: Is the Windows Vista Family Discount a permanent program?
A: The program is time-limited, running from General Availability of Windows Vista (January 30, 2007) through June 30, 2007. As the program progresses, Microsoft will evaluate the results and determine whether to continue or modify the program.

Q: Can a customer who purchased a Windows Vista Ultimate-based PC qualify for the Windows Vista Family Discount?
A: No. To qualify for the Windows Vista Family Discount, a customer must have purchased a Windows Vista Ultimate retail boxed package – both full licenses and upgrade licenses qualify. Other types of licenses, such as OEM preinstall, Volume Licensing, MSDN, Technet, and Evaluation, do not qualify.

Q: Why is the program limited to the retail boxed software package of Windows Vista Ultimate? Why are PCs preloaded with Windows Vista Ultimate excluded from this promotion?
A: Not all OEM PCs ship with media. Under the Windows Vista Family Discount, media is required to install Windows Vista on the additional PCs. At this point, since this requirement could be confusing to the customers that have been targeted, the Windows Vista Family Discount is limited to boxed retail software product. The Windows Vista Family Discount is a time-limited offer, running from General Availability of Windows Vista (January 30, 2007) through June 30, 2007. As the program progresses, Microsoft will evaluate the results and determine whether to continue or modify the program, including the qualifying products.

Q: Why is Electronic Software Download of Windows Vista Ultimate via Windows Marketplace not eligible?
A: Electronic Software Download is a new channel of distribution for Windows in which the customer can download Windows Vista and install from their hard drive; the customer then receives media at a later date. Under the Windows Vista Family Discount, media is required to install Windows Vista on the additional PCs. At this point, since this requirement could be confusing to the customers that have been targeted, the Windows Vista Family Discount is not enabled for purchases made via Electronic Software Download. The Windows Vista Family Discount is a time-limited offer, running from General Availability of Windows Vista (January 30, 2007) through June 30, 2007. As the program progresses, Microsoft will evaluate the results and determine whether to continue or modify the program, including the qualifying products.

Today the beta version of SMS 2003 SP3 is being released to Microsoft Connect. SP3 provides a number of enhancements to SMS, not just the usual bug fixes. Specifically, SP3 enables full Windows Vista manageability support as well as integration of functionality provided by the acquisition of AssetMetrix Corp. Key scenarios enabled by the addition of the AssetMetrix library include:

• License Management: Compare applications installed with licenses purchased as well as how those titles were obtained (volume licensing, retail, OEM, etc.) for better optimization of software use across the organization and fewer unutilized applications.
• Software Consolidation: Categorize applications to better see how many different applications with similar functions and versions are deployed in the organization and consolidations. The result is accelerated application standardization, a more streamlined support structure, and the ability to maximize volume discounts from software vendors.
• Upgrade Planning: Identify core and non-core applications in order to understand what applications require migration. Software consolidation aids upgrade planning by reducing the number of applications that need compatibility testing. Identify hardware assets that need upgrading based on comparisons to published operating system hardware requirements. The result is more efficient planning and streamlined execution in upgrading users to Windows XP and Vista.

REGISTER:  http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/evaluation/2003/sp3.mspx

ARCHIVING OUTLOOK EMAIL USING TECHHIT "MESSAGESAVE"
Those of you interested in offline archival of email into storage other than .PSTs may be interested in this tool from TechHit for your personal use.  It can archive, not just one message, but entire folders of email in your online inbox to a folder on your hard drive as .MSG files, which can be indexed and searched using Windows Live Desktop Search.  Each .MSG file contains both the content, the formatting as well as attachments with 100% fidelity.  Obviously you can save space by using NTFS compression on the folder.

Additionally, if you’d like to archive messages to file folders using Rules (in the same way some of you may move messages to a client-side .PST folder) you can do so using the Rules Wizard and a custom rule script.

DOWNLOAD:  http://www.techhit.com/messagesave/  ($29/user)

[snapshot of archival of all Outlook email messages from Inbox to a file folder on the Windows client]

Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 is THE best practice set of comprehensive guidance and tools from Microsoft to optimally deploy Windows VistaT and the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. BDD 2007 has undergone many changes to significantly ease the deployment of Windows Vista, including new out-of-the-box imaging technologies, XML-based migration scripts, new tools for image engineering (ImageX and System Image Manager), and new unattend XML format. Another huge breakthrough with Windows Vista is Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) independence and language neutrality; this means that organizations can get to a minimal number of standard images across multiple hardware types.

As with any advancement in technologies, getting the maximum benefit requires understanding the tools and technologies, and BDD 2007 provides the depth of guidance and tooling to make the Windows Vista and 2007 Office system deployment process predictable and scalable. BDD 2007 includes guidance based on every stakeholder role involved with desktop deployment, from business decision makers to end users. Tasks are divided into logical groupings and comprehensive job aids are included to support the entire deployment process. BDD 2007 provides the layer of project management knowledge and tool integration to make the complex desktop deployment process seamless and predictable, while reducing or eliminating deployment-related service disruptions and help desk calls. Many of the tools and guides within BDD 2007 can even be used throughout the desktop management life cycle to provision new users, maintain images, and centrally manage drivers and applications.

BDD 2007 also introduces the new Deployment Workbench, which enables users to build and manage multiple OS configurations, define network deployment points and network shares, inject drivers, attach language packs, and chain applications. It even helps generate ISO and WIM images using Windows PE that can be deployed in a networked environment or using DVDs offline. BDD 2007 also alleviates much of the scripting requirements of previous deployment practices by incorporating a stand-alone task sequencer derived from System Center Configuration Manager 2007. BDD continues to offer the flexibility for Zero Touch Installation with Systems Management Server 2003 and Lite Touch Installation with minimal infrastructure requirements.

The BDD team would like to thank all of the BDD 2007 Beta and Release Candidate Program participants. We appreciate your input throughout the process and incorporated several improvements based on your feedback. We are currently in the process of developing Windows Server "Longhorn" deployment content and tools based on BDD 2007 and encourage you to participate in the upcoming Beta program.

To download the release version of BDD 2007, visit the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=62043.