Posted by: kurtsh | September 30, 2005

WHITEPAPER: Microsoft paper on Anti-Phishing

The focus of this white paper is to describe the basic workings of a new capability, the Microsoft® Phishing Filter, which will be included in the upcoming release of Internet Explorer 7, and as an add-in to the MSN Search Toolbar. The Microsoft Phishing Filter will not only help provide consumers with a dynamic system of warning and protection against potential phishing attacks, but — more important — it will also benefit legitimate ISPs and Web commerce site developers that want to try to ensure that their brands are not being “spoofed” to propagate scams and that their legitimate outreach to customers is not confusing or misinterpreted by filtering software.

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Posted in Document

Posted by: kurtsh | September 30, 2005

NEWS: Where to buy an XBox 360 from?

WOW.  Check this out…. this is VERY reasonable. 
 
XBox360 pre-sale through CostCo – $479.99
 
The only other pre-sale site that I know of that has XBox360’s still available is
The Silver Bundle for XBox360 at Gamestop.com for $799:

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/360/360_silver.asp

 
 

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Posted in Product

Posted by: kurtsh | September 29, 2005

NEWS: Why are Intel & Microsoft supporting HD-DVD over Blu-Ray

Much has been said by the peanut gallery over Intel & Microsoft’s announcement to support HD-DVD over Blu-Ray.  The comments I’ve read are mostly by supposed savants of the technology that, based on their comments appear to have done nothing but read articles and have no true practical knowledge or experience with DVD format standards.
 
There’s been an article put out on Tom’s Hardware that goes into very good detail as to why we are supporting HD-DVD:  http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050927_190208.html.  There are many reasons, including China’s recent declaration that their largest DVD player manufacturing plants will adopt the HD-DVD standard and focus production on manufacturing HD-DVD players – not Blu-Ray. 
 
However, the topic that’s on everyone’s minds is the comment that we made about "HD-DVD having a greater capacity that Blu-Ray".  This has sparked SHEER OUTRAGE by the bloggers and the aforementioned "savants" of the technology claiming that "it’s well known that Blu Ray’s capacity is 50GB and HD-DVD’s capacity is 30GB.
 
What the URL above describes however is the rationale behind this statement: 
1) HD-DVD discs are in production today in mass quantities as are the players and recorders.  They will undoubtedly be first to market providing the full 30GB capacity promised and the hardware to play/record on these discs will ship just as quickly.  There are tons of samples of these floating around and it has been demonstrated numerous times.
2) BluRay, on paper (which is what everyone’s "well known" information has come from since no one’s actually seen a mass produced BluRay disc or player or recorder) appears to have the capacity edge with 50GB.  However after you’ve read all the paper, Intel & Microsoft discovered that in reality there hasn’t been any work to mass produce 50GB BluRay discs – 50GB discs are only available in lab environments.  All the discs being created in a manner that is conducive to true mass production are 25GB in capacity.
 
This is the reason, the announcement was made that HD-DVD had a greater capacity.  And this will be EASILY provable.  Watch for the release of HD-DVD players, recorders, and discs.  Then simply hold your breath for the BluRay products to come out at 50GB capacities.
 
I wouldn’t hold my breath too long.  The fact of the matter is that this is VHS vs Betamax all over again.  VHS was cheaper to manufacture and more easily producable.  Betamax, which technically superior, was a laggard and essential resigned to a niche position in today’s market.  Will HD-DVD dominate BluRay in the same way, probably not to this extreme – however even if they manage to produce 50GB discs, it isn’t likely going to remedy any of the other issues listed at http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050927_190208.html.
—————————–
UPDATE 9/29/2005 – 3:36PM
I just got a comment from a PM from the group that wrote iHD and he confirmed that BluRay 50GB discs aren’t just vapor in terms of mass produceable consumer product, they’re THEORETICAL – as in they don’t even exist today.  The 50GB capacity is just what the disc could potentially do at some point in time… once they get the 25GB discs functional… and they get players and writers that can use them.
 
One thing he stressed was the this is NEED that the world has now.  People want high fidelity, high resolution HD video on disc and the general public (not the geeks of the world) don’t care about an extra 20GB anyway because a HD movie can be fit easily into 15-20GB using VC1 and H264 codecs.  What they care about is that the HD-capable disc they buy with their copy of Lord Of The Rings in Hi-Def is cheap and readily available in stores along with cheap HD video disc players… and eventually cheap writers as well.  People’s tendency to quibble on the "potential 20GB" that BluRay might some day deliver is simply not important compared to having a great product available that satisfies a business need today of movie publishers.
 
——————————
UPDATE 9/30/2005 – 5:40PM
There’s an analysis of this news highlighting consumer choice around the topic of DVD formats:
There’s also an article the goes over the issue of next gen DVD media durability and the economics of disk protection which frankly makes one wonder why there is even a discussion:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/next-gen-dvd.ars
 
 

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Posted in Computers and Internet

Posted by: kurtsh | September 29, 2005

RELEASE: MSN Messenger 7.5.306

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Posted in Release

Posted by: kurtsh | September 28, 2005

DOWNLOAD: Free X Server for Windows from StarNet

Starnet Communications Offers a Free X Server Download
X-Win32 LX is designed to complement Microsoft Services for UNIX 3.5 platform of interoperability solutions by enabling the display of X Windows applications running locally on the Windows workstation or server.

 

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Posted in Product

Posted by: kurtsh | September 27, 2005

WEBCAST: Introduction to Windows Server 2003 R2

Microsoft Webcast: Introduction to Windows Server 2003 R2

Tuesday, October 04, 2005 – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Julius Sinkevicius, Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Eric Kidd, Director Windows Server Business, Microsoft Corporation

Are you ready for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2? This webcast takes you on a tour of the new Windows Server 2003 R2, covering the Windows Server release cycle, product roadmap, and business benefits of Windows Server 2003 R2. The discussion includes a look at the new Windows Server 2003 R2 scenarios: branch management, identity access and management, and storage management.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032281976&Culture=en-US

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Posted in Training

Posted by: kurtsh | September 27, 2005

TRAINING: IT Governance & Strategic Planning

Strategic IT Governance: Transforming IT Portfolios to Better Support the Business

You are invited to attend a complimentary IT Governance executive breakfast hosted by Microsoft, Pcubed and ProSight on Thursday, October 27th in Irvine, CA. Attendance will be limited. The 2-hour program will feature:
• Brief presentations by Microsoft, Pcubed and ProSight
• Demonstration of IT Governance Solution

Register Now! – space is limited
http://www.prosight.com/events/itgov/20051027irvine.asp

—————————————————
Join Us And Discover How Your Organization Can:

• Effectively prioritize and select applications and projects based on business needs, objectives and value
• Transform the business through an enterprise program management strategy that leverages portfolio management processes and tools
• Continually govern your business and technology investments by incorporating integrated portfolio and project management

How You Will Benefit:

• Learn how Portfolio Management is transforming the way organizations/IT departments/project management offices strategically manage their business and technology investments
• Hear customer case studies of application and project portfolios being transformed for greater business value
• Leverage your investment in MS Project and EPM to incorporate best practices in portfolio management
• See a demonstration of a solution that helps you managing your IT application portfolio to provide the optimum return on investment

Who Should Attend:
• CIO/CTO/CFO/CXO
• Vice-President and Director
• IT Manager
• Program/Project Manager
—————————————————
Event Details:

   Irvine, CA
   Thursday, October 27th
   9:00am – 11:30am

   Microsoft Corporation
   Three Park Plaza, Suite 1800
   Irvine, CA 92614
   949.263.3000
   Get Directions Here:
   http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/info/usaoffices/southernca/orangecounty.mspx#EAAA

—————————————————         
Agenda At-A-Glance:

8:30 AM
Registration/Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM
Welcome & Introductions

Enterprise Project Managemet
   * Generate Business Value through Strategic Alignment
   * Standardize Project Management Processes Across the Organization
   * Manage Projects as a Collective Portfolio for Better Decision-Making

Strategic IT Governance Perspective
   * Aligning IT Investments to Business Needs
   * Deploying Transparent Processes Effectively
   * Understanding Application Rationalization
   * Application and Project Portfolio Management

Demonstration of ProSight Portfolios integrated with MS Project Server 2003

Demonstration of ProSight Portfolios Fast Track for Application Rationalization

11:30 AM
Discussion / Q & A

Register Now! – space is limited
http://www.prosight.com/events/itgov/20051027irvine.asp

 

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Posted in Training

Posted by: kurtsh | September 27, 2005

NEWS: Itagaki-san on XBox360 in Japan

Tomonobu Itagaki, the creator of XBox’s #1 hand-to-hand combat fighter, "Dead of Alive" and famed Japanese game maker, reviewed that he believed that the XBox 360 will triumph over what he calls the "complicated" Playstation 3.
 
For the record, we did a LOT of stuff to fix our situation in Japan.  Yes, we failed pretty badly in Japan, but then again, we didn’t understand the market well.  The 360 is practically designed with the Japanese market in mind.  For example:
  • XBOX LOGO:  Did you know we changed the logo for the Japanese?  The old "X" logo was changed to a globe with a diminished "x" in it.  Why?  It turns out that in Japan, the symbol "X" is the equivalent of "not" or "negative"… in other words, "bad".  This is akin to Chevrolet naming a car "Nova" and trying to sell it in Mexico.  The "O" in Japan is considered a positive symbol – this is one of the reasons the primary button on the Playstation 2 is the "O".
  • XBOX SIZE:   Yeah, yeah… we know, we know.  The damned box is too big.  They were basically more interested in making a cheaper, reliably manufactured box in the first rev than they were a "thin sleek" box.  It was commented by Itagaki-san earlier that he believed that Microsoft would have cleaned up their image drastically had they invested in slimming down the XBox in Japan much like they did with the Controller-S.  The Japanese HATE big bulky heavy objects, not just because of their fascination with miniatureization, but more importantly because Japanese homes are VERY SMALL, NARROW, and EXTREMELY CRAMPED. 

    Folks – I’m not talking about a 250 sqft Studio apt mind you… think SMALLER.  If you’ve never lived in Japan, you can’t possibly understand – but let me try to illustrate:  Imagine needing to crawl over your dining table to get to the exit from your kitchen.  Imagine climbing a ladder to get to the second floor, and there are rarely steps.  Imagine your dining room being your living room, your family room, your study, and your guest bedroom all in one.  Now imagine a dining table in the middle of the room that occupies 3/4s of the space of the room – no joke.  Now imagine there not being enough room for a bathroom so the commode is located outside.

    For effect, imagine this:  When I walk around Tokyo, I, Kurt Shintaku, am one of the taller, bigger individuals in the crowds and I can see over people.  Get the picture?

  • XBOX GAMES:  We just didn’t have the right games for the Japanese market.  We signed up a few very powerful creators like Tecmo with Itagaki-san and Namco… but there just weren’t enough Japanese titles.  We FIXED this situation for XBox 360 and signed EVERY MAJOR JAPANESE DEVELOPER.  Every Japanese developer with credentials will be producing an Xbox 360 title.  For the record, not even Sony or Nintendo have done this.

I’ll leave Itagaki-san’s final comments to close this entry:

"I think Xbox 360 is the best game console on the earth. It’s better than PlayStation 3. PS3 has too complicated architecture."

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Posted in News and politics

Posted by: kurtsh | September 27, 2005

NEWS: Palm to use Microsoft Windows Mobile software in Palm Treo 700

Ahhhh.  The secret is finally out.  Palm is going to be using Windows Mobile 5.0 in their upcoming Palm Treo 700.
 
This is a project that’s been underwraps for over a year and a half and keeping the lid on it was quite difficult.  What’s funny was that this actually leaked once but everyone thought it was so preposterous that they didn’t believe the leak.
 
Net net:  Palm has CEASED development on the PalmOS (Don’t believe me?  Check their press release announcements prior to this announcement) and they will be concentrating on building great form factors and Windows Mobile applications (and possibly MobileLinux based devices as well).
 

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Posted in Computers and Internet

Posted by: kurtsh | September 27, 2005

TRAINING: Microsoft Security Training Onsites, Santa Monica & Irvine

You’re invited to a FREE 2-day training session that will provide information about what we can do to better protect our IT infrastructure and applications against security threats — both today and in the future.

This seminar will be led by one of Microsoft’s top security consulting partners, so I’m confident that this in-depth technical training event will be well worth your time. This course will cover topics critical to enterprise security, including: security patch management, server security on Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, network and perimeter security, client security on Windows 2000 and Windows XP, application and data security, and more. Plus, there will also be live demonstrations designed to illustrate how we can help address real-world security problems with Microsoft security solutions. Here is the agenda for the training:

Day 1:

·           9:00 AM – 11:30 AM – Security Risk Management

·         12:30 PM –   2:30 PM – Exchange Server Security

·           2:45 PM –   4:45 PM – Threat Mitigation for Legacy Clients and Servers

Day 2:

·           9:00 AM – 11:00 AM – Identity and Access Management

·         12:00 PM –   2:00 PM – Network Isolation Using Group Policy and IPSec

·           2:15 PM –   4:15 PM – Defense in Depth Against Malicious Software

 

To register for this event, please click the link below:
www.asentus.net/event_registration/microsoft/securityonsite
and enter the course code for your selected session, below.

SANTA MONICA
October 20-21, 2005
(Thursday and Friday)
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
Microsoft Corporation,
Santa Monica, CA
2700 Colorado Ave., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA  90404  92614
310.449.7300
Enter course code: 57kjiRTGLC
IRVINE
October 27-28, 2005
(Thursday and Friday)
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
Microsoft Corporation,
Irvine, CA
3 Park Plaza, Suite 1800
Irvine, CA  92614
949.263.3000
Enter course code: C9MkbBwej9
 

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Posted in Training

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