November 2005 - Posts
Here are the slides for the Webcast we did this morning. I have added a couple extra decks that add some additional information for your use. If you are interested in seeing this session LIVE, check out www.technetevents.com for a live “Best Of SQL” event near you.
Cheers!
For anyone who has been tracking my progress, I am trying to work up to running a 5k (roughly 3 miles) three times a week. I have been using this program to do it. It is actually myself and my fiance’ that are doing this together and I am happy to report we are (sort of) still on schedule. We modified last weeks running (week 4 on the chart) to 3 minute run, 90 second walk for 4 repetitions. We just didn’t feel we were up to the 5 minute run yet. So we are doing week 4 starting tomorrow.
I also had some links forwarded to me for additional training beyond the 5k.
This one is for a 10k
This one is for 1/2 marathon and marathon training
This one is for marathon training
*MY* goal is to run a marathon roughly a year from now. I may even try for a Turkey Day Marathon of some sort for next year. Any way I look at it though, I am getting off the couch and getting some exercize.
Cheers!
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components — Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition (SQL Server Mobile) is the compact database for rapidly developing applications in both native mode and the .NET Compact Framework that extend enterprise data management capabilities to devices.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components installs the SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components on the IIS box. The components are required for connecting with the SQL Server Mobile database on the mobile device.
SQL Server Migration Assistant for Oracle v2.0 — SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) is a complete suite of tools that dramatically cuts the effort, cost, and risk of migrating from Oracle to SQL Server. SSMA automates almost every aspect of the migration process including assessment, schema and data migration, business logic conversion, and validation. Companies such as Motorola and Simon & Schuster have used SSMA to migrate their business-critical databases quickly, easily and accurately.
With SSMA, IT organizations now have the freedom to move to SQL Server and take advantage of SQL Server's exceptional security, scalability, developer productivity, and the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership.
Cheers!
Virtual Server 2005 R2 Release Notes — These release notes provide information about how to install and use Virtual Server R2. They include information about performing new and upgrade installations, as well as descriptions of the new features and known issues of this release. It is important to note that all information about the new features available in this version is provided in these release notes. This new information is not included in the Virtual Server Administrator’s Guide or Administration Website Help.
Virtual Machine Network Driver for Microsoft Device Emulator — The Virtual Machine Network Driver allows the Device emulator's OS (or even the Virtual PC OS, as the case may be) to emulate its own network connection. Since the physical network interface on the host machine is now "virtualized", you have a way to get two IP Addresses - one for the host PC, and one for the operating system that is running within the Device Emulator (or Virtual PC). Device Emulator users using the VMNet Driver can connect to the host machine over TCP or UDP as the alternative to the standard "Activesync over DMA" solution.
Cheers!
Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Web Update Pack — This download contains the latest ExBPA.Config.xml and ExBPA.chm files. Use this package to update your existing installation of the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer. NOTE: If Internet connectivity is available, the Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer will attempt to automatically update itself from the Internet. Where updates are being applied automatically, there is no need to download the Web Update Pack.
To find out which version of ExBPA.Config.xml is installed on your computer, click the 'About Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer' link within the tool. The upper version number refers to the core application (e.g. 2.5.7720.2), the lower version is for the configuration XML file.
Exchange Servce Management Guide — Microsoft Exchange Service Management is a top-down, business-driven approach to managing a messaging environment. It specifically addresses the strategic business value that an Exchange team generates and the need to deliver a superior messaging service.
The guidance will help you implement process and team best practices within the corresponding components of the Exchange Service Management solution: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange and Systems Management Server 2003 Desired Configuration Monitoring.
This guide, along with SLA Scorecard and Desired Configuration Monitoring, targets the most critical areas for managing computers running Microsoft Exchange Server and for performing configuration and performance management.
Cheers!
Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) – Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) is a security technology that helps protect Windows users from spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Known spyware on your PC can be detected and removed. This helps reduce negative effects caused by spyware including slow PC performance, annoying pop-up ads, unwanted changes to Internet settings, and unauthorized use of your private information. Continuous protection improves Internet browsing safety by guarding over fifty (50) ways spyware can enter your PC.
Participants in the worldwide SpyNet™ community play a key role in determining which suspicious programs are classified as spyware. Microsoft researchers quickly develop methods to counteract these threats, and updates are automatically downloaded to your PC so you stay up to date.
Note to users with expired versions of Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
Did your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) expire? Download and upgrade to the latest version of Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) today for an extension. If you are unsure of the version or when your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) will expire, you can follow these instructions on how to check the expiration date and version of your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta).
XP Embedded SP1 Security Update: Microsoft Security Bulletins MS05-041, MS05-042, MS05-044, MS05-045, MS05-046, MS05-047, MS05-048, MS05-049, MS05-051, and MS05-052 – This Microsoft Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 component update addresses ten (10) new or reissued security bulletins. After applying this package to an XP Embedded database, the following issues will be resolved:
XP Embedded SP2 Security Update: Microsoft Security Bulletins MS05-009, MS05-041, MS05-042, MS05-044, MS05-045, MS05-046, MS05-047, MS05-048, MS05-049, MS05-050, MS05-051, and MS05-052 – This Microsoft Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2 component update addresses eleven (11) new or reissued security bulletins. After applying this package to an XP Embedded database, the following issues will be resolved:
Update for Windows XP – KB894395 – Install this update to correct an issue where the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) Composition window or the IME Candidate window remains visible even after that window loses focus. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Cheers!
Microsoft Availability Reporting Management Pack for MOM 2005 — The Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Availability Reporting Management Pack collects and analyzes data from the event logs of your servers, and generates reports that you can study to improve server availability and reliability. You can identify the causes for planned and unplanned downtime and take preemptive actions to decrease downtime in the future.
MOM 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange — The Microsoft® Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange provides you with an executive dashboard to measure and trend service availability and workloads across multiple server roles in an Exchange Server messaging environment. This solution also enables you to define desired service levels and identify the cause of service outages.
With the SLA Scorecard, you can configure service level agreement (SLA) targets by server role. It uses aggregated MOM 2005 data to compare actual availability to SLA targets that you have defined. You can view the data as trends by week, month, and year. You can also export service outage details to Microsoft Office Excel® for detailed analysis.
In addition to reports, several performance and activity measures provide you with detail about messaging infrastructure activity and use. Correlating this data with availability data helps you determine the causes behind SLA targets that aren't achieved. With this information in hand, you can fine-tune your infrastructure components to more effectively achieve the SLA target. Similar to the availability metrics, each measure can be reported as a trend by week, month, or year.
Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Desired Configuration Monitoring — SMS 2003 Desired Configuration Monitoring is a powerful solution to maintain a consistent configuration across all server roles and hardware types and ensure that all servers have required software updates, service packs, and drivers installed. This solution will monitor most Microsoft Windows Server System™ applications and hardware configurations and will run on any server application where configurations can be accessed through Microsoft Active Directory, Window Management Instrumentation, metabase, file system, and registries.
Cheers!
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 Pre-Release (RC1 Refresh) – Microsoft Management Console 3.0 Pre-Release (Based on Windows Server 2003 R2 RC1).
MMC 3.0 (formerly MMC 2.1) ships as a component in Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Vista, and continues to be the host for a variety of OS and 3rd party administrative tools.
DPM Consistency Checker – Because of changes and improvements made to DPM as a result of the beta test after the DPM Beta was released, the upgrade process requires that you run this tool to ensure that replicas created with DPM Beta are compatible with DPM 2006.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
XP Embedded SP1 Security Update: Microsoft Security Bulletins MS05-041, MS05-042, MS05-044, MS05-045, MS05-046, MS05-047, MS05-048, MS05-049, MS05-051, and MS05-052 – This Microsoft Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 component update addresses ten (10) new or reissued security bulletins. After applying this package to an XP Embedded database, the following issues will be resolved:
XP Embedded SP2 Security Update: Microsoft Security Bulletins MS05-009, MS05-041, MS05-042, MS05-044, MS05-045, MS05-046, MS05-047, MS05-048, MS05-049, MS05-050, MS05-051, and MS05-052 – This Microsoft Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2 component update addresses eleven (11) new or reissued security bulletins. After applying this package to an XP Embedded database, the following issues will be resolved:
Update for Windows XP – KB894395 – Install this update to correct an issue where the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) Composition window or the IME Candidate window remains visible even after that window loses focus. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows 2000 – KB894395 – Install this update to correct an issue where the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) Composition window or the IME Candidate window remains visible even after that window loses focus. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Office 2003 SP2 for Language Interface Pack – Office 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Language Interface Pack ensures that Office 2003 performs with complete functionality when you use an Office 2003 Language Interface Pack.
Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta) – Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) is a security technology that helps protect Windows users from spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Known spyware on your PC can be detected and removed. This helps reduce negative effects caused by spyware including slow PC performance, annoying pop-up ads, unwanted changes to Internet settings, and unauthorized use of your private information. Continuous protection improves Internet browsing safety by guarding over fifty (50) ways spyware can enter your PC.
Participants in the worldwide SpyNet™ community play a key role in determining which suspicious programs are classified as spyware. Microsoft researchers quickly develop methods to counteract these threats, and updates are automatically downloaded to your PC so you stay up to date.
Note to users with expired versions of Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
Did your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) expire? Download and upgrade to the latest version of Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) today for an extension. If you are unsure of the version or when your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) will expire, you can follow these instructions on how to check the expiration date and version of your Windows AntiSpyware (Beta).
Tools and Apps –
Microsoft ActiveSync 4.1 – Worldwide English – ActiveSync® 4.1 is the latest sync software release for Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices.
Microsoft ActiveSync provides a great synchronization experience with Windows®-based PCs and Microsoft Outlook right out of the box. ActiveSync acts as the gateway between your Windows-based PC and Windows Mobile-based device, enabling the transfer of Outlook information, Office documents, pictures, music, videos and applications from your desktop to your device. In addition to synchronizing with a desktop PC, ActiveSync can synchronize directly with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 so that you can keep your e-mail, calendar data, notes and contact information updated wirelessly when you’re away from your PC.
User Profile Hive Cleanup Service – The User Profile Hive Cleanup service helps to ensure user sessions are completely terminated when a user logs off. System processes and applications occasionally maintain connections to registry keys in the user profile after a user logs off. In those cases the user session is prevented from completely ending. This can result in problems when using Roaming User Profiles in a server environment or when using locked profiles as implemented through the Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP.
Microsoft Availability Reporting Management Pack for MOM 2005 – The Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Availability Reporting Management Pack collects and analyzes data from the event logs of your servers, and generates reports that you can study to improve server availability and reliability. You can identify the causes for planned and unplanned downtime and take preemptive actions to decrease downtime in the future.
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 Trial Version – The downloads on this page include a trial version of the product. The trial version is valid for use for 180 days after you install it.
- Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager Server 2005 (Business_Scorecard_Manager_Server.exe) The server component is the core of the Business Scorecard Manager performance management system. It is comprised of a web service, a metadata database, and Web parts. The download also includes the Scorecard Manager Server Planning and Administration Guide to aid you in the installation process.
- Business Scorecard Builder (Business_Scorecard_Builder.exe) The Business Scorecard Builder is an application that you use to connect, create, and manage scorecard elements, views, and roles and to publish updates to Business Scorecard Manager Server.
Microsoft Operations manager 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange – The Microsoft® Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange provides you with an executive dashboard to measure and trend service availability and workloads across multiple server roles in an Exchange Server messaging environment. This solution also enables you to define desired service levels and identify the cause of service outages.
With the SLA Scorecard, you can configure service level agreement (SLA) targets by server role. It uses aggregated MOM 2005 data to compare actual availability to SLA targets that you have defined. You can view the data as trends by week, month, and year. You can also export service outage details to Microsoft Office Excel® for detailed analysis.
In addition to reports, several performance and activity measures provide you with detail about messaging infrastructure activity and use. Correlating this data with availability data helps you determine the causes behind SLA targets that aren't achieved. With this information in hand, you can fine-tune your infrastructure components to more effectively achieve the SLA target. Similar to the availability metrics, each measure can be reported as a trend by week, month, or year.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Live Meeting 2005 Document: Live Meeting 2005 Registration User’s Guide – Live Meeting 2005 Registration is a feature set of Live Meeting Professional Edition that allows meeting organizers to schedule meetings, create registration pages and manage the registration process for large scale marketing events, training seminars, or any Live Meeting session where an organization needs to track or control attendance.
This user's guide is designed to provide detailed instruction to users of Live Meeting who will organize and manage registered events. Users can follow instructions to create an event and registration page, to manage registrant information, and to manage event information.
Ensuring Identity Consistency at Microsoft – Learn about how Microsoft IT developed the AutoConsistency Manager application. AutoConsistency Manager moves Microsoft one step further in the long-term roadmap toward an end-to-end identity management service that is built on Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003. AutoConsistency Manager connects to multiple identity stores, including the Active Directory directory service. Based on a set of business rules and corporate security account policies, it automatically checks for, resolves, and reports discrepancies in identity information. As a result, identities are always consistent with the authoritative source. AutoConsistency Manager provides a greater oversight of identities across the enterprise and helps improve network security and regulatory compliance.
Structured Active Directory Schema Management at Microsoft – Detailed discussion of Microsoft IT’s Active Directory schema change management process. Schema changes are frequent at Microsoft, and require a structured workflow to ensure a consistent, smooth, and successful implementation. The change process that Microsoft IT institutionalized establishes clear standards, expectations, and timelines. The change process mitigates risks and helps to optimize results. The structured workflow normalizes schema changes. It provides clear responsibilities to all involved parties, eliminates schema change issues early in the process, and enables timely, optimized results.
Scorecards Provide a Foundation for Business Performance Management at Microsoft – Learn about how Microsoft IT integrates Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 into its business performance management system, making IT performance information easy to find and deliver, clearly associated with supporting contextual data, and shared across the enterprise. Using scorecards to monitor performance against objectives while facilitating accountability, Microsoft IT enhances the quality of business strategy execution and demonstrates the value of IT across the enterprise.
Software Assurance Benefits Comparison Chart – This chart explains which Software Assurance benefits apply to each Microsoft Volume Licensing program.
If you are not currently a Software Assurance customer, please visit the Microsoft Volume Licensing Web site to learn more about the many benefits of Software Assurance.
Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 Online Help – Note If the topics in this file do not appear as you expect (you see "Page cannot be displayed" or "Action canceled," for example), see the Instructions section on this page.
This download contains information about using Microsoft Content Management Server 2002, including the following:
- What’s new with MCMS 2002, roles and responsibilities, Microsoft Technical Support contact information, and using MCMS Help
- Using the Authoring Connector with Microsoft Word 2002 or Microsoft Office Word 2003 to author and edit documents
- Sample deployment configurations, deployment checklists, and issues to consider before deploying MCMS 2002
- Concepts and architecture for MCMS 2002
- Managing site structure and workflow
- Tools and technologies to help administrators and site developers
- Troubleshooting
- Site Author Tutorial and Site Manager Tutorial
- Authoring content from the Web site using MCMS Web Author.
Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) Registry Entries – The registry entries listed in this document affect Routing and Remote Access and were introduced in the Microsoft® Longhorn operating systems.
Permission Letter for Faculty Participation in Student Select – Microsoft Academic Volume Licensing customers may now obtain Student Select software licenses for faculty and staff employees. If your institution is currently enrolled in the Student Select program in the U.S. or Canada and you would like to allow your employees to participate under your Student Select Enrollment, we are extending permission to do so through the use of an open letter agreement.
Note: This permission applies to customers that are located or reside in the United States (not including U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) and Canada only. Please check with your local Microsoft subsidiary for information regarding availability outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Using Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Job Scheduler – Microsoft® Windows® Compute Cluster Server 2003 brings high-performance computing (HPC) to industry standard, low-cost servers. Jobs—discrete activities scheduled to perform on the compute cluster—are the key to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 operation. Cluster jobs can be as simple as a single task or can include multiple tasks. In some situations, tasks are serial—running one after another; in others, they are parallel—running all at the same time. The structure of the tasks in a job is determined by the dependencies among tasks and the type of application being run. In addition, jobs and tasks can be targeted to specific processors within the cluster. Processors can be reserved exclusively for jobs or can be shared among jobs and tasks.
This paper describes the concepts behind the job lifecycle and provides information on using the Job Scheduler to effectively manage jobs in the compute cluster.
ADFS Step-by-Step Guide – This guide provides instructions for setting up Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) in a small test lab environment and should take approximately 3 hours to complete. It walks you through how to set up a claims-aware application and a Windows NT token–based application on an ADFS-enabled Web server. It also explains how to configure two federation servers that authenticate and authorize federated access to both types of application. No additional downloads are required, you can simply use the code in the document to create the claims-aware application.
IPv6 Transition Technologies – This article describes IPv6 transition technologies and how these technologies are supported by the IPv6 protocol for the Windows Server 2003 family, Windows XP with Service Pack 1, and Windows XP with Service Pack 2. This article is intended for network engineers and support professionals who are already familiar with basic networking concepts, TCP/IP, and IPv6. This article contains sections on transition mechanisms, tunneling configurations, 6to4, ISATAP, Teredo, PortProxy, migrating to IPv6, IPv6 automatic tunneling, and 6over4.
Updates to Understanding IPv6 – The Microsoft Press book "Understanding IPv6," by Joseph Davies, was published in November 2002. Since then, there have been changes to Internet standards for IPv6 and in Microsoft's support for IPv6 in Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family. This white paper describes those changes in detail, referencing chapter and page numbers where needed and providing links to additional technical information.
Understanding Mobile IPv6 – Mobile Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) allows an IPv6 node to be mobile—to arbitrarily change its location on the IPv6 Internet—and still maintain existing connections. Connection maintenance for mobile nodes is not done by modifying connection-oriented protocols such as TCP, but by handling the change of addresses at the Internet layer using Mobile IPv6 messages and options and processes that ensure the correct delivery of data regardless of the mobile node's location.
Live Meeting Document: Administrator’s Guide – This guide explains how manage your Live Meeting memberships and account preferences. The topics in this document include:
- Managing roles, members, and groups
- Setting account preferences and templates
- Managing brands
Cheers!
Update for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 – KB910393 — Microsoft has released KB910393 Update. This update is intended for systems running Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
Install this update to prevent Windows Media Player 10 setup from overwriting digital rights management (DRM) files installed by Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (KB900325).
For more information about this update, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910393. (This site may be in English.)
Cheers!
Presentations and WebCasts –
New Video & Audio based information for developers is located at these links:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/archive.aspx
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=14
http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/dotnetrocks/
Channel 9 Video Interview MSDN – November 16, 2005 – “Coding for Fun”, “Exchange ‘12’”, and More!
MSDN TV: Favorite v2.0 Features in the Base Class Libraries – Kit George and Ari Weinstein give a rundown of their favorite Base Class Libraries (BCL) features new to the .NET Framework 2.0. Some are larger items which you may have heard of. Others are smaller "hidden gold" items that may be hard to find out about in any other forum. Discussed in the episode are Generic collections, new String APIs (Split, Contains, and IsNullOrEmpty), the TryParse pattern, Console improvements, new APIs for simpler file access (File.ReadAllLines and its cousins) and the Stopwatch class. Feel free to visit the BCL blog for other hints/suggestions.
Enhancing Developer productivity by Using SQL Server 2005 – Detailed discussion on SQL Server 2005 common language runtime (CLR) support to increase developer productivity and create a flexible pricing application solution at Microsoft.
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
Microsoft Visual Studio Extensions for WinFX - November CTP – The Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for WinFX November Community Technology Preview (CTP) provides developers with support for building WinFX applications using the final released version of Visual Studio 2005. This support includes XAML Intellisense support through schema extensions for the editor, project templates for the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named “Avalon”) and the Windows Communication Foundation (formerly code named “Indigo”), and WinFX SDK documentation integration. It does not include a graphical design surface for either the Windows Presentation Foundation or the Windows Communication Foundation.
Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Runtime Components – November CTP – "Windows Presentation Foundation", "Windows Communication Foundation", and "Windows Workflow Foundation" are the names for three strategic developer technologies that Microsoft plans to ship in 2006 as part of the Windows Vista operating system. In addition, Microsoft is making these technologies available on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The WinFX Runtime Components November CTP enables developers to continue experimenting with early builds of these technologies, get acquainted with the development experience, and provide Microsoft with feedback. More details about these technologies are below.
Note: This is a pre-beta release. Therefore, do not install these builds on machines you depend on. If you have a previous version of Avalon ("Windows Presentation Foundation"), Indigo ("Windows Communication Foundation"), or pre-released versions of .NET Framework 2.0 installed you must read this before download.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 1.2 for Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Runtime Components – November CTP (who comes up with the names for this stuff?!?!?!?!?) – Windows Workflow Foundation is the programming model, engine, and tools for quickly building workflow-enabled applications on Windows. It consists of a Microsoft® WinFX® namespace (System.Workflow), an in-process workflow engine, and designers for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Windows Workflow Foundation is available (currently as Beta) for both client and server versions of Windows. Windows Workflow Foundation supports a wide range of scenarios including workflow within line-of-business applications, user interface page flow, document-centric workflow, human workflow, composite workflow for service-oriented applications, business rule-driven workflow, and workflow for systems management. The Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Runtime Components - November CTP must be installed before installing this package.
Microsoft Windows SDK for the November 2005 WinFX Runtime Components CTP – IMPORTANT: This version of the Microsoft Windows SDK is intended to support only the Microsoft® Pre-Release Software WinFX® Runtime Components - November Community Technology Preview (CTP) on Windows® XP and Windows Server® 2003 SP1 only.
While this version of the Windows SDK also contains pre-release content for Windows® Vista, the Win32-related content is not compatible with publicly available versions of Windows. This release of the Windows SDK is compatible with the RTM version of Microsoft® Visual Studio 2005.
The Windows SDK includes content for the APIs in Windows Vista, including the WinFX technologies: .NET Framework 2.0, Windows® Presentation Foundation, Windows® Communications Foundation, and Windows® Workflow Foundation. Because the Windows SDK now contains the WinFX SDK content, the WinFX SDK will no longer be released separately.
Pre-released WinFX Runtime Components Uninstall Tool – For best results, install on a computer that has not had pre-release versions of WinFX runtime Components 3.0 installed on it. If your computer has a pre-release version on it, follow the Uninstall Instructions below to uninstall these pre-release bits before installing the November CTP. You must remove them in the correct order to ensure a clean uninstall.
If you have a pre-release version of SQL Server 2005, MSDN, Visual Studio 2005, or the .NET Framework, you must uninstall them by following VS pre-RTM Uninstall Instructions.
IronPython 0.9.5 – IronPython is the codename for an alpha release of the Python programming language for the .NET platform.
It supports an interactive interpreter with fully dynamic compilation. It is well integrated with the rest of the framework and makes all .NET libraries easily available to Python programmers.
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Outlook Samples (Beta) – This “Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Tools for Microsoft Office – Outlook® Samples (Beta)” release includes five sample projects that demonstrate some of the many ways to develop Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 add-in solutions by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System, Beta 2.
Microsoft Solutions Framework for Agile Software Development – Beta – This download contains the agile process guidance that will be shipping with Visual Studio Team System. MSF for Agile Software Development is a scenario-driven, context-based, agile software development process that utilizes many of the ideas embodied in Team System. This process incorporates proven practices developed at Microsoft around requirements, design, security, performance, and testing. This new release introduces the new Team Model, Mindsets, and Principles. It also contains many clarifications of the activities.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Update for Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Development Kit 1.7 – English – The Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Software Development Kit facilitates building ink-enabled applications for Tablet PC. The combination of software and hardware in a Tablet PC enables these methods of user interaction and allows for a rich, interactive, and productive computing experience for users.
The Tablet PC platform encompasses Windows XP and its extensions that enable input and output of handwriting and speech data on a Tablet PC as well as interchange of this data with other computers. The Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Software Development Kit (SDK) enables you to build ink-enabled, pen-enabled, and speech-enabled applications and supporting hardware for the Tablet PC.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB909973 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: Compiler
Description: ARM processor only: Compiler may cause Datatype Misalignment exception.
Windows CE Platform Builder Update – KB909368 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: Video playback may hang after backwards skip.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB908026 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: TimeSVC
Description: Under certain circumstances SNTP service may set local time incorrectly.
Tools and Apps –
Microsoft Application Verifier – Application Verifier is a runtime verification tool for unmanaged code that assists in quickly finding subtle programming errors that can be extremely difficult to identify with normal application testing.
Application Verifier is designed specifically to detect and help debug memory corruptions and critical security vulnerabilities. It makes it easier to create reliable applications by monitoring an application's interaction with the Windows operating system, profiling its use of objects, the registry, the file system, and Win32 APIs (including heaps, handles, locks, and more). It also includes checks to predict how well the application will perform under Least-privileged User Account operation.
SQL 2005 Express Edition Documentation and Samples – SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is the next version of MSDE 2000. It is a free, easy-to-use, lightweight version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server Express makes it easy to develop data-driven applications that are rich in capability and fast to deploy. To download the samples and product documentation for SQL Server Express, click the links in the Files In This Download section. For the SQL Server Express site on MSDN, SQL Server discussion forums, and SQL Server 2005 product documentation, click the links in the Related Resources box.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition Server Tools – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition (SQL Server Mobile) is the compact database for rapidly developing applications in both native mode and the .NET Compact Framework that extend enterprise data management capabilities to devices.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition Server Tools installs the SQL Server Mobile Replication Components on the IIS box. The components are required for connecting the SQL Server Mobile database on a mobile device to a SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2000 SP3a, or SQL Server 2000 SP4 database.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP4 Replication Components – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition (SQL Server Mobile) is the compact database for rapidly developing applications in both native mode and the .NET Compact Framework that extend enterprise data management capabilities to devices.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP4 Replication Components installs the SQL Server 2000 SP4 Replication Components on the IIS box. The components are required for connecting with the SQL Server Mobile database on the mobile device.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition (SQL Server Mobile) is the compact database for rapidly developing applications in both native mode and the .NET Compact Framework that extend enterprise data management capabilities to devices.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components installs the SQL Server 2000 SP3a Replication Components on the IIS box. The components are required for connecting with the SQL Server Mobile database on the mobile device.
Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition – Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition is a powerful tool for content producers who want to take advantage of the many innovations in Windows Media 9 Series including high-quality multichannel sound and high-definition video quality on x64 platforms.
Windows Media Format 9.5 SDK (x64) – The Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools you need to develop applications that run on Windows. The applications you develop with this edition of the SDK can run on the x64 based versions of Windows Server 2003 SP and Windows XP x64 Pro Edition.
Feature Pack for SQL 2005 – Nov 2005 – The Feature Pack is a collection of standalone install packages that provide additional value for SQL Server 2005. It includes:
- Latest versions of redistributable components for SQL Server 2005
- Latest versions of add-on providers for SQL Server 2005
- Latest versions of backward compatibility components for SQL Server 2005
Sample Code Generator 1.4.2.1 – The Sample Code Generator (XSDObjectGen) tool takes an XSD schema as input and generates sample code showing how to mark up C# and VB.Net classes so that when serialized with the XML serializer, the resulting XML will be valid according to the original schema. This update fixes some documentation changes and corrects a problem where the wizard did not generate code in some environments.
SQL Server Migration Assistant for Oracle v2.0 – SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) is a complete suite of tools that dramatically cuts the effort, cost, and risk of migrating from Oracle to SQL Server. SSMA automates almost every aspect of the migration process including assessment, schema and data migration, business logic conversion, and validation. Companies such as Motorola and Simon & Schuster have used SSMA to migrate their business-critical databases quickly, easily and accurately.
With SSMA, IT organizations now have the freedom to move to SQL Server and take advantage of SQL Server's exceptional security, scalability, developer productivity, and the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Licensing White Paper – This white paper provides an overview of Visual Studio 2005 Team System licensing, focusing on typical configuration and deployment issues. This document will provide a general understanding of the core features, typical deployment scenarios and required licensing for the Visual Studio 2005 Team System product line.
BizTalk Server 2006 CTP: Installation Instructions and Known Issues – The installation instructions explain how to install BizTalk Server 2006 Community Technical Preview on Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003. The known issues file describes known issues about the Community Technical Preview release.
NOTE: For the Beta 1 version, click here.
BizTalk Server 2006 Beta 2 Installation and Known Issues – The installation instructions explain how to install BizTalk Server 2006 Beta 2 on Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003. The known issues file describes known issues about the Beta 2 release.
NOTE: For the Beta 1 version, click here.
For the Tech Preview version, click here.
Installing and Configuring Microsoft BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications Beta 2 – Installing and Configuring Microsoft BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications Beta 2
Visual Basic Language Specification 8.0 – The Visual Basic Language Specification provides a complete description of the Visual Basic language 8.0.
SQL 2005 Virtual Backup Device Interface Specification – The SQL Server 2005 Virtual Backup Device Interface Specification contains updated information about the Virtual Backup Device interface. Independent software vendors (ISVs) can use the Virtual Backup Device application programming interface (API) to integrate SQL Server into their products. This API is engineered to provide maximum reliability and performance, and to support the full range of SQL Server backup and restore functionality, including all hot and shadow-copy backup capabilities.
Using Microsoft Message Passing Interface – This paper describes the concepts behind the Microsoft Message Passing Interface (MPI) software (called MS MPI), a portable, flexible, vendor- and platform-independent standard for messaging on High Performance Computing (HPC) nodes. MPI is the specification, and MS MPI, MPICH2, and others are the implementations of that standard. MPI2 is an extension of the original MPI specification.
Fundamentally, MPI is the interconnection between nodes on an HPC cluster, tying nodes together. MPI provides a portable and powerful inter-process communication mechanism that simplifies some of the complexities of communication between hundreds or even thousands of processors working in parallel.
Migrating Parallel Applications – When migrating UNIX- and Linux-based HPC applications to Windows, the programmer has two choices:
• Migrating to native Windows
• Migrating to Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA)
Although not providing full access to the rich Windows application execution environment, SUA can provide a relatively easy migration of UNIX applications with little code change required. The migration of the core MPI code of an HPC application is greatly simplified by the inclusion of MS Message Passing Interface (MPI) as part of Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. MS MPI is based on and compatible with MPICH2, the most widely used MPI implementation, while providing improved security and job management capabilities.
This paper provides details on the two available migration paths.
Using the Microsoft Windows Computer Cluster 2003 Job Scheduler – Microsoft® Windows® Compute Cluster Server 2003 brings high-performance computing (HPC) to industry standard, low-cost servers. Jobs—discrete activities scheduled to perform on the compute cluster—are the key to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 operation. Cluster jobs can be as simple as a single task or can include multiple tasks. In some situations, tasks are serial—running one after another; in others, they are parallel—running all at the same time. The structure of the tasks in a job is determined by the dependencies among tasks and the type of application being run. In addition, jobs and tasks can be targeted to specific processors within the cluster. Processors can be reserved exclusively for jobs or can be shared among jobs and tasks.
Parallel Debugging Using Visual Studio 2005 – Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition and Visual Studio 2005 Team System support remote debugging of applications, including parallel applications. Visual Studio 2005 includes features that make it an effective debugging tool for Message Passing Interface (MPI) applications. You can execute the MPI applications directly from the Visual Studio session and specify the number of processors to use for the application. And when you set breakpoints in the application, you can have those breakpoints apply to all processes or only to some processes by filtering the breakpoints.
This paper describes how to use Visual Studio 2005 to directly debug parallel High Performance Computing applications on a local desktop or on a compute cluster.
Cheers!
….it isn’t what you think. Mint Source is a nifty utility for students to get the latest info about Microsoft and Microsoft technologies. In short, It is a newsreader focused on MS stuff for students. Description and download link below.
On the downside, this is geared mostly for UK students at this time. But! We have already started an email campaign internall to expand this.
Mint Source — Mint Source is the unconventional new starter kit for students that enables you to quickly get your hands on the freshest, hottest technology from Microsoft. Think of it as direct line to Microsoft information. We’ll give you samples of what you can do and the tools to do it. Get ahead. Get Mint Source… and be the first to download the latest knowledge and tools. Free ‘n’ easy just got easier.
btw…..to install Mint Source, you may need to update your version of the .NET Framework
Cheers!
Microsoft Exchange Server Mgmt Pack for MOM 2005 — Release Date: 11/02/2005
The Exchange Server Management Pack includes rules and scripts to track performance, availability, and reliability of Exchange components, such as Internet-related services, Extensible Storage Engine, System Attendant, Microsoft Exchange Information Store service, and SMTP.
This management pack not only validates the availability of communication services but also sends test e-mail to verify operations and measures actual delivery times.
The Exchange Management Pack Configuration Wizard provides a graphical user interface to configure Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003 Management Packs, including test mailboxes, message tracking, and monitoring services.
The Exchange Server Management Pack Guide for MOM 2005 explains how to use the Exchange Management Pack to monitor and maintain messaging resources. You can download the management pack guide from the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2215EEAB-41D7-423D-9F54-01F0DF4647E9).
Cheers!
Using iSCSI with Virtual Server 2005 R2 — This paper provides brief background information about iSCSI and describes ways to use iSCSI with Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.
The iSCSI protocol, which unifies the TCP/IP networking protocol with the SCSI storage protocol, defines the rules and processes for transmitting and receiving block storage data over TCP/IP networks. Support for iSCSI is provided with Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Microsoft Windows® 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP, and in Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. With iSCSI, the hardware needed for connecting servers to storage is less expensive and less complex than with the common alternative, Fibre Channel.
Virtual Server Host Clustering Step-by-Step Guide for Virtual Server 2005 R2 — This document provides an introduction to the methods and concepts of Virtual Server host clustering. With Virtual Server host clustering, you can provide a wide variety of services through a small number of physical servers and, at the same time, maintain availability of the services you provide. If one server requires scheduled or unscheduled downtime, another server is ready to quickly begin supporting services. Users experience minimal disruptions in service.
Virtual Server host clustering is a way of combining Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005 R2 with the server cluster feature in Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003. This document describes a simple configuration in which you use Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 to configure one guest operating system, and configure a server cluster that has two servers (nodes), either of which can support the guest if the other server is down. You can create this configuration and then, by carefully following the pattern of the configuration, develop a host cluster with additional guests or additional nodes.
Cheers!
Malicious Software Removal Tool – KB890830 — The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. The tool creates a log file named mrt.log in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.
This tool is not a replacement for an anti-virus product. To help protect your computer, you should use an anti-virus product.
IEEE 802.1X for Wired Networks and IPSec with Microsoft Windows — Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 and Windows® XP support both the IEEE 802.1X standard for wired networks and the Internet Protocol security (IPsec) Internet standard. The IEEE 802.1X standard for wired networks provides authentication and authorization protection at the network edge where a host attaches to the network. IPsec provides peer authentication and cryptographic protection of IP traffic from end-to-end. This white paper describes the security and capabilities of 802.1X for wired networks and IPsec based on industry standards and their support in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, and provides comparison information when evaluating deployment of these security technologies.
Update for Windows Server 2003 – KB907986 — Install this update to correct an issue in which the IIS Manager (UI) stops responding when exiting the Secure Communications dialog box in Windows Server 2003 R2. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows Server 2003 (x64) – KB907986 — Install this update to correct an issue in which the IIS Manager (UI) stops responding when exiting the Secure Communications dialog box in Windows Server 2003 R2. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Cheers!
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Update for Office 2003 – KB907417 – You can get specific information about this update in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Description of the Update for Office 2003 (KB907417).
Note: Users of Indonesian, Malay, Urdu, and Vietnamese language versions of Outlook 2003 can download and install office2003-kb904631-fullfile-enu.exe. Refer to the Instructions section below for details.
Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter – KB907492 – You can get specific information about this update in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Description of the Update for Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter (KB907492).
Note: Users of Indonesian, Malay, Urdu, and Vietnamese language versions of Outlook 2003 can download and install office2003-kb904631-fullfile-enu.exe. Refer to the Instructions section below for details.
Content Management Server 2002 SP2 – Microsoft® Content Management Server 2002 Service Pack 2 (SP2) provides the latest updates to Content Management Server 2002.
This service pack requires the following previously released update(s):
Content Management Server 2002 SP2 introduces compatibility with Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005. Service Pack 2 also introduces compatibility with x64-compatible versions of Windows in 32-bit emulation mode. You can get specific information about this update in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Description of the Content Management Server 2002 Service Pack 2.
Update for Windows Server 2003 – KB907986 – Install this update to correct an issue in which the IIS Manager (UI) stops responding when exiting the Secure Communications dialog box in Windows Server 2003 R2. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows Server 2003 (x64) – KB907986 – Install this update to correct an issue in which the IIS Manager (UI) stops responding when exiting the Secure Communications dialog box in Windows Server 2003 R2. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Tools and Apps –
Windows User State Migration Tool v2.6.1 – Microsoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6.1 migrates user files and settings during deployments of Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP. USMT 2.6.1 provides enterprise migration capabilities such as unattended migration, multi-user profile support and compression. USMT 2.6.1 is intended for administrators who are performing automated deployments.
USMT 2.6.1 includes two command-line tools named Scanstate and Loadstate. Scanstate captures an intermediate store with the user files and settings from the source computer. Loadstate restores these files and settings to the destination computer.
USMT 2.6.1 also has five default migration rule (.inf) files named Migapp.inf, Migsys.inf, Miguser.inf, Sysfiles.inf, and ArchiveApp.inf. You can alter the default .inf files and you can create customized .inf files. Depending on what you want to migrate, you can specify all or none of the default .inf files on the command line.
The entire migration process is driven by the .inf rules, which you can modify, and logic that is built-in to the tool. When using USMT for automated migration, in almost all cases you should modify the .inf files to better handle your unique situation.
Mint Source – Mint Source is the unconventional new starter kit for students that enables you to quickly get your hands on the freshest, hottest technology from Microsoft. Think of it as direct line to Microsoft information. We’ll give you samples of what you can do and the tools to do it. Get ahead. Get Mint Source… and be the first to download the latest knowledge and tools. Free ‘n’ easy just got easier.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Deploying and Managing Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 – Microsoft® Windows® Compute Cluster Server 2003 supports several different deployment scenarios based on the different system configurations the administrator selected before deployment. Deployment is simplified by the Compute Cluster Administrator, which provides a wizard interface that guides administrators through the process after deployment decisions are made.
This paper discusses each supported deployment scenario and covers the basics of post-deployment compute cluster administration.
How to Install and Configure Small Business Accounting 2006 on Windows SBS 2003 – Microsoft® Office Small Business Accounting 2006 is a comprehensive financial management program that helps small business owners and office managers handle the financial needs of their business using software that has the look and feel of Microsoft Office and offers great integration with other Microsoft Office programs. It can be installed on a standalone computer, or on a peer-to-peer network environment for multiple users. If you centralize the database to run on Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2003 server software, multiple people can use Small Business Accounting 24x7, they can remotely access Small Business Accounting and backups will be performed automatically. To properly configure Small Business Accounting 2006 to run on a Windows Small Business Server 2003 network, follow the steps in this document.
Microsoft IT Academy Program Guide for the North America Region – The Microsoft IT Academy program is a complete technology training solution for faculty and students that includes a coordinated curriculum, courseware and online collaboration tools to help people achieve certification in Microsoft technologies. When institutions become members of the Microsoft IT Academy program, they immediately gain a teaching structure, faculty training program, and marketing materials that help elevate community recognition and attract students. This program guide addresses key programmatic and administrative elements that are essential to achieving and maintaining Microsoft IT Academy status.
Beta 2 Reviewers Guide for DFS Solutions in Windows 2003 R2 – This guide provides system requirements, installation instructions, and step-by-step walkthroughs for deploying namespaces and DFS Replication using the Beta 2 release of Windows Server 2003 R2.
Research Brief: Encouraging Returnds for Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager – In May 2005, ESG surveyed more than 200 IT professionals to assess their attitudes towards Microsoft’s new System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) product. Our conclusion? Microsoft is poised to make significant inroads into the market for Windows-based data protection solutions: Close to one-half of all IT professionals surveyed would consider a Microsoft data protection solution and 100 percent of the respondents familiar with DPM believe their organization will evaluate the product. Research findings reveal that users are most interested in a Microsoft data protection solution because of the operational efficiencies they expect to gain by standardizing on Microsoft products. Specifically, users believe that a Microsoft data protection solution would have superior integration with Microsoft applications and server infrastructure compared to other vendors’ offerings, and as a result, would allow them to leverage existing Microsoft skills to more easily manage the data protection process.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Reaadme – This document provides important late breaking information about Microsoft CRM 3.0 that is supplements the Microsoft CRM documentation.
Cheers!
SQL 2005 Samples and Sample Databases – The samples download provides 103 samples for SQL Server 2005, demonstrating the following components:
- Database Engine, including administration, data access, Full-Text Search, CLR integration, Server Management Objects (SMO), Service Broker, and XML
- Analysis Services
- Integration Services
- Notification Services
- Reporting Services
- Replication
The samples databases downloads include the AdventureWorks sample online transaction processing (OLTP) database, the AdventureWorksDW sample data warehouse, and the AdventureWorksAS sample Analysis Services database. These databases are used in the samples and in the code examples in the SQL Server 2005 Books Online.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor analyzes instances of SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005. Upgrade Advisor identifies deprecated features and configuration changes that might affect your upgrade, and it provides links to documentation that describes each identified issue and how to resolve it.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is a powerful and reliable data management product that delivers rich features, data protection, and performance for embedded application clients, light Web applications, and local data stores. Designed for easy deployment and rapid prototyping, SQL Server Express is available at no cost, and you are free to redistribute it with applications. Because it is part of the Microsoft Windows Server System, SQL Server Express is designed to integrate seamlessly with your other server infrastructure investments. For more information about SQL Server Express, see the SQL Server Express page on MSDN.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Evaluation Edition – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is comprehensive, integrated data management and analysis software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information and confidently run today’s increasingly complex business applications. By providing high availability and security enhancements as well as embedded reporting and data analysis tools, SQL Server 2005 allows companies to gain greater insight from their business information and achieve faster results for a competitive advantage. And, because it is part of Windows Server System, SQL Server 2005 is designed to integrate seamlessly with your other server infrastructure investments.
This fully functional trial software will automatically expire after six months. You can obtain the fully licensed version at any time.
For information about the different editions of SQL Server 2005, see the feature comparison page.
Microsoft SQL Server Managements Studio Express – CTP Nov. 2005 —Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE) provides a graphical management tool for SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) instances. SSMSE can also manage relational engine instances created by any edition of SQL Server 2005. SSMSE cannot manage Analysis Services, Integration Services, SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition, Notification Services, Reporting Services, or SQL Server Agent.
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express - Community Technical Preview November 2005 is unsupported pre-release software.
Cheers!
New Video & Audio based information for developers is located at these links:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/archive.aspx
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=14
http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/dotnetrocks/
Presentations and WebCasts –
MSDN TV: IronPython – Pyton on the .NET Framework – IronPython is the codename for a new implementation of the Python programming language on the .NET Framework. It is fast - up to 1.8x faster than Python-2.4 on the standard pystone benchmark. It supports an interactive interpreter with fully dynamic compilation as well as static compilation to produce pre-compiled executables. It's well integrated with the rest of the Framework and makes all of the .NET libraries easily available to Python programmers. In this episode Jim Hugunin introduces IronPython with demos showing interactive exploration and GUI building from a command prompt as well as simple embedding as a scripting language in an existing Windows Presentation Foundation application.
Channel 9 Video Interview – Nov. 9, 2005 – There are a BUNCH of interviews in this download!
Hands-On Labs –
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Training: Outlook Hands-on-Labs – “Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Tools for Microsoft Office – Outlook® Hands-on Labs” step you through the process of creating and working with Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 add-in solutions by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System, Beta 2. The labs are in both Microsoft Visual C#® code and Microsoft Visual Basic® 2005 code.
Web Services Enhancements 3.0 Hands-on-Lab – Exploring Security – Learn how to secure Web services without writing code, how to author security policies, and how to leverage the WSE programming model to secure your Web services.
Web Services Enhancements 3.0 Hands-on-Lab – Exploring Messaging – Learn how to create Web services with Web Services Enhancements 3.0 which extends the .NET Framework 2.0 ASMX Web Services to provide additional messaging abilities such as hosting ASMX Web services in console applications, using MTOM to send binary data efficiently and build your own peer to peer instant messaging program.
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express November 2005 CTP – Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE) provides a graphical management tool for SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) instances. SSMSE can also manage relational engine instances created by any edition of SQL Server 2005. SSMSE cannot manage Analysis Services, Integration Services, SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition, Notification Services, Reporting Services, or SQL Server Agent.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK – Preliminary – The Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK is for developers, system customizers and report writers. It contains the following sections:
· Server Programming Guide – A guide for developers writing server side code, custom business logic, integration modules, workflow assemblies and more. This guide provides an architectural overview of Microsoft CRM, the entity model, security model, Web services, and sample code.
· Client Programming Guide – A guide for developers customizing the Web client or the Microsoft CRM client for Outlook, including scripting, integration of custom Web pages, and sample code.
· Report Writers Guide - A guide for developers writing reports for Microsoft CRM using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Report Designer.
Windows Workflow Foundation 1.2 for Office “12” (Beta 1) – Windows Workflow Foundation is the programming model, engine and tools for quickly building workflow-enabled applications on Windows. It consists of a Microsoft® WinFX® name space (System.Workflow), an in-process workflow engine, and designers for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Windows Workflow Foundation is available (currently as Beta) for both client and server versions of Windows. Windows Workflow Foundation supports a wide range of scenarios including workflow within line-of-business applications, user interface page flow, document-centric workflow, human workflow, composite workflow for service-oriented applications, business rule-driven workflow and workflow for systems management.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Windows CE .NET 4.1 Platform Builder Update – KB909084 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: MSHTML
Description: The Soft Input Panel (SIP) may not appear when focus is set to a text box.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB909250 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: MP3 files with certain metadata may not play correctly.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909476 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: Compiler
Description: ARM processor only: The adjustor thunk may reuse the r3 register without saving it. Compiler may cause Datatype Misalignment exception.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909073 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: Source filter may not work correctly. As a result, a user may not know the bitrate for the input stream.
Update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service – KB903937 – This update resolves an issue where Remote Assistance does not function under Windows Embedded for Point of Service.
Tools and Apps –
Microsoft .NET Framework SDK v2.0 Samples Download – This self-extracting Zip file contains the latest Technology and Application samples available for the .NET Framework SDK 2.0 release. The Technology and Application samples demonstrate code functionality found in version 2.0 of the .NET Framework and Visual Studio 2005.
Using these samples requires installation of the .NET Framework 2.0 redistributable and the .NET Framework SDK 2.0 , also available on Download Center.
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (x86) – The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.0 (x86) includes tools, documentation and samples developers need to write, build, test, and deploy .NET Framework applications.
You must install the .NET Framework Redistributable Package version 2.0 (x86) prior to installing the .NET Framework 2.0 SDK (x86).
Mobile Ink To-Do Starter Kit – This Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET Starter Kit is a complete Mobile PC and Tablet PC application. The starter kit contains a semi-transparent form for taking notes and keeps them synchronized through a Web Service. It also supports battery awareness and online and offline data, two key features of a great Mobile PC applications. The project comes ready to compile and run and it's easy to customize with only a little extra programming.
Word 2003 Sample: Importing XML Data to Word 2003 using Visual Studio Tools for Office – This download accompanies the MSDN article "Importing XML Data to Word 2003 Using Visual Studio Tools for Office" available from the Additional Resources box.
With this sample, you can import XML data from a database into Word documents using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2003. You will also create a document programmatically that contains a button control allowing the user to access a database.
Visual Studio Tools for Office – v2003 Sample: Building a Professional Excel Stock Allocation Application – This sample solution illustrates the process of creating a Microsoft Excel Stock Allocation application in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET using Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System, Version 2003.
The associated MSDN article discusses the implementation process used to create the application. Code snippets illustrate individual components of this Stock Allocation application.
SQL 2005 Samples and Sample Databases – The samples download provides 103 samples for SQL Server 2005, demonstrating the following components:
- Database Engine, including administration, data access, Full-Text Search, CLR integration, Server Management Objects (SMO), Service Broker, and XML
- Analysis Services
- Integration Services
- Notification Services
- Reporting Services
- Replication
The samples databases downloads include the AdventureWorks sample online transaction processing (OLTP) database, the AdventureWorksDW sample data warehouse, and the AdventureWorksAS sample Analysis Services database. These databases are used in the samples and in the code examples in the SQL Server 2005 Books Online.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor analyzes instances of SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005. Upgrade Advisor identifies deprecated features and configuration changes that might affect your upgrade, and it provides links to documentation that describes each identified issue and how to resolve it.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is a powerful and reliable data management product that delivers rich features, data protection, and performance for embedded application clients, light Web applications, and local data stores. Designed for easy deployment and rapid prototyping, SQL Server Express is available at no cost, and you are free to redistribute it with applications. Because it is part of the Microsoft Windows Server System, SQL Server Express is designed to integrate seamlessly with your other server infrastructure investments. For more information about SQL Server Express, see the SQL Server Express page on MSDN.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Evaluation Edition – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is comprehensive, integrated data management and analysis software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information and confidently run today’s increasingly complex business applications. By providing high availability and security enhancements as well as embedded reporting and data analysis tools, SQL Server 2005 allows companies to gain greater insight from their business information and achieve faster results for a competitive advantage. And, because it is part of Windows Server System, SQL Server 2005 is designed to integrate seamlessly with your other server infrastructure investments.
This fully functional trial software will automatically expire after six months. You can obtain the fully licensed version at any time.
For information about the different editions of SQL Server 2005, see the feature comparison page.
Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET Upgrade Assessment Tool – The Visual Basic 6.0 Upgrade Assessment Tool measures application upgrade effort. This tool analyzes the application components and the relationships between them from an upgrade perspective, considering elements, constructs, and features that consume resources during an upgrade. It generates a group of reports that are used for calculations related to task effort and cost. The user can specify configuration values that will override the initial estimation inputs to adapt the assessment tool to their needs.
Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0 – The Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0 release provides standards-conformant implementations of:
- XML 1.0 (DOM & SAX2 APIs)
- XML Schema (XSD) 1.0
- XPath 1.0
- XSLT 1.0
In addition, it offers client and server-safe components for XML over HTTP. MSXML6 is also the first version of MSXML to provide a 64-bit redistributable package.
Web Services Enhancements 3.0 for Microsoft .NET – WSE 3.0 simplifies the development and deployment of secure Web services. It enables developers and administrators to apply security policies to Web services running on the .NET Framework 2.0. Using WSE 3.0, Web services communication can be signed and encrypted using Kerberos tickets, X.509 certificates and other custom binary and XML-based security tokens. In addition username/password credentials can be used for authentication purposes. An enhanced security model provides a policy-driven foundation for securing Web services. WSE also supports the ability to establish a trust-issuing service for retrieval and validation of security tokens, as well as the ability to establish more efficient long-running secure communication via secure conversations.
Web Services Enhancements 3.0 for Microsoft .NET Redistributable Runtime MSI – This is the redistributable package for WSE 3.0. For an overview of WSE 3.0 see the Web Services Enhancements page.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET FMStock Upgrade Case Study: Before Upgrade – This case study showcases the process of upgrading a Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 application to a functionally equivalent Visual Basic .NET application using the Visual Basic Upgrade Assessment Tool, the Visual Basic Upgrade Wizard, and the guidance chapters using the Fitch & Mather Stocks 2000 (FMStocks 2000) application as a reference application. It describes the issues encountered while upgrading the FMStocks 2000 application to Visual Basic .NET, identifies their resolutions, and explains how these resolutions were determined. The aim of this case study is not to identify all the issues involved in upgrading to Visual Basic .NET; the aim is to demonstrate the approach taken
to identify issues and resolve them.
This case study will also serve as a starting guide for those who would like to test the assessment tool and upgrade wizard by using FMStocks 2000 as a sample application. This will give developers some familiarity with these tools and with the upgrade process before starting a real upgrade project.
Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET FMStock Upgrade Case Study: Post Upgrade – This case study showcases the process of upgrading a Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 application to a functionally equivalent Visual Basic .NET application using the Visual Basic Upgrade Assessment Tool, the Visual Basic Upgrade Wizard, and the guidance chapters using the Fitch & Mather Stocks 2000 (FMStocks 2000) application as a reference application. It describes the issues encountered while upgrading the FMStocks 2000 application to Visual Basic .NET, identifies their resolutions, and explains how these resolutions were determined. The aim of this case study is not to identify all the issues involved in upgrading to Visual Basic .NET; the aim is to demonstrate the approach taken
to identify issues and resolve them.
This case study will also serve as a starting guide for those who would like to test the assessment tool and upgrade wizard by using FMStocks 2000 as a sample application. This will give developers some familiarity with these tools and with the upgrade process before starting a real upgrade project.
Upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 Applications to Visual Basic .NET and Visual Basic 2005 – This guide is intended for software technical decision makers, solution architects, and software developers who are involved in Visual Basic 6.0 application or component development. It helps you understand the issues and risks that go along with upgrading to Visual Basic .NET. It also provides steps for preparing your applications for a successful and cost-effective upgrade. Finally, it gives ideas and pointers about how advance your application after you successfully upgrade it to Visual Basic .NET.
Cheers!
I have had many, many requests for the slide decks I was working from for the Nov 15/17 Best of SQL presentations…
Here ya go!
Cheers!
…via the Anti-Malware Engineering Team.
…and some information on disabling the ActiveX control that was later delivered by Sony that allows you to block this control.
Cheers!
I have had a couple of people ask me for the AdventureWorks trace file that I used during my SQL Database Tuning Advisor demo from yesterday’s SQL Event.
Posted Here…
Cheers!
The Anti-Malware Team has posted a blog entry annoucing the availability of the signatures to detect and remove the Sony XCP software.
Find it here….
Cheers!
Press Release!
Finally! Though I have nothing against my STB’s (they are hidden out of site anyway), I will be happy to get rid of the extra cabling needed to support them. Anytime I eliminate wiring it makes me happy.
Also, if I read the article correctly, this makes getting an XBox 360 more appealing since we will be able to stream that HD content to an XBox 360 that is acting as a Media Center Extender (MCX). For that matter the article implies we can stream the HD content to a PC!
Cheers!
One of my co-workers, Harold Wong, posted an announcement to his blog about Exchange “12” being a 64–bit only platform.
Cheers!
I wanted to get a post online by today with the results of my loading a Sony DRM enabled CD to an XP Pro System. I have been otherwise distracted by last minute prep for two large SQL Presentations this week. So I am pushing this yet again. I am not going to set a date this time though as I would rather not set expectations agin and miss…..again.
Suffice it to say it may be Friday before I get around to posting again as I will be doing some local travel for events.
Cheers!
I wanted to put up a post last night with my findings on my test system. Well…..I didn’t get in till late last night and didn’t have time to get to it. So it is on my plate for this weekend.
I did pick up one of the CD’s that is impacted by this – Our Lady Peace – “Healthy in Paranoid Times”
So look for the post before Monday!
Cheers!
Very cool information on how you can log on as a local admin but drop your rights while cruising the web to a lower permissioned account. While this is cool, I would still, as a rul, recommend that anyone only log in as an admin if they have to do admin functions. If all you need to do is read email or cruise the web, the admin should use a seperate, less powerful account.
Cheers!
If you have never had the pleasure of reading Rory’s blog, clear 3–5 minutes of your day and read this post……it will make you smile……
Breakthrough
Cheers!
Sony has been hit with it’s first lawsuit (class action even!) regarding it’s DRM rootkit technology….
Mark Russonovich’s blog on how he found it on his system….
Short list of affected CD’s…
Washington Post article…
Slashdot info on the lawsuit…
**Update** – Link to Sony’s “Service Pack” to disable the DRM rootkit (make a backup of your system BEFORE running this. I have read reports that trying to remove thr DRM kit can cause problems. I have not confirmed myself)
The Nun and I buy a LOT of music CD’s which go directly into our Media Center PC. When I first caught wind of of this, I ran RootKitRevealer on my Media Center and thankfully didn’t have anything unusual listed. But that didn’t make me feel any better about it. Especially since I don’t know what it would look like even if I was affected by this.
So today I am going to head out and find one of the CD’s, build a sandbox system, “infect” it with music, and then run the test again.
I will blog about this with screen shots later this evening.
Cheers!
Presentations and WebCasts –
ISV Chalk Talk – Vista user Account Protection – A technical discussion at PDC 2005 on what’s new in Windows Vista User Account Protection
Tools and Apps –
Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: Employee Activities – The Employee Activities Site application for Windows SharePoint Services is a central site for communicating information to employees about company clubs, teams, and events. With this application, employees can sign up for activities, access contact and schedule information, participate in discussions and surveys, and view activity photos. Now companies can more easily keep employees up to date on activities in which they may participate, and employees can quickly access the information they need to get involved.
User Profile Hive Cleanup Service – On Windows 2000 the service deals with application event log event 1000 from source Userenv where the message indicates that the profile is not unloading and the error is "Access is denied". On Windows XP and Windows 2003 the equivalent events are 1517 and 1524 from source Userenv.
To accomplish this the service monitors for logged off users that still have hives loaded. When that happens the service determines which applications have handles opened to the hives and releases them. It logs the application name and what registry keys where left open. After this the system finishes unloading the profile.
Guides and Whitepapers –
ASP.NET 2.0 Hosting Deployment Guide – The ASP.NET 2.0 Deployment Guide is a reference for web hosters who are interested in adding ASP.NET 2.0 to their existing Windows hosting service. Besides improving developer productivity, ASP.NET 2.0 also provides benefits for hosted environments, including support for shutting down inactive applications and locking down rogue applications. Enhanced health monitoring configuration can be used to set thresholds and severity levels for monitoring the health of ASP.NET.
Application Platform (SQL Server, Visual Studio, and BizTalk Server) White Paper – This paper outlines the Microsoft application platform—the confluence of servers, clients, and devices that can help connect people with business-critical information across the enterprise, thus driving overall business success. This paper focuses on Microsoft’s latest investments in business intelligence, integration, and developer productivity with updated releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, respectively.
Microsoft CRM Implementation Guide – This Implementation Guide provides the information required for a successful Microsoft CRM implementation into your business. This guide addresses the planning, installing (both hardware and software), pre-deployment testing, and operating tasks for the maintenance of the Microsoft CRM system.
This guide is written for the computer system administrator. This guide also assumes that any organization implementing Microsoft CRM software will have the services of an independent software vendor (ISV) or value-added reseller who is partnered with Microsoft and will help you with the entire process of implementing and maintaining your Microsoft CRM installation. Because of this assumption, there are references in this guide to these "partners" who are expected to provide various services to you.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Customization Planning Forms – This download includes one file for each customizable entity in Microsoft CRM. Each file includes default forms, views, attributes, and reports for the entity, with tables to add information on what you want to change. These files are designed to be printed and brought to meetings where managers and employees determine how to customize Microsoft CRM for their specific business needs.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Online Help – This download contains the concepts and procedures from Microsoft CRM 3.0 online Help. You can use this download to view Microsoft CRM 3.0 online Help on a computer that does not have Microsoft CRM installed. The help files are the same as those included in the product.
Because these help files are not being viewed in the context of Microsoft CRM, the form on each topic for sending documentation feedback does not work. To send documentation feedback, e-mail mscrmdf@microsoft.com.
IDC Mission Critical Tracker 2005 (Long Version) – During the spring and summer of 2005, IDC conducted a worldwide survey of the Mission Critical Market for Microsoft. Using their proven, rigorous survey methodology, IDC asked large Enterprises around the world what their Mission Critical IT applications looked like. Questions covered Operating Systems, Application Platforms, Application Servers, Portals, Message Queuing and more. 1918 responses were gathered from 9 Countries, in order to put together a comprehesive picture of the Mission Critical Application Software Market. This document contains the results of that survey.
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 Technical White Papers – Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 empowers users to optimize business performance through strategic decision making. These downloads include white papers for developers.
- Installing and Managing Alerts Using Business Scorecard Manager (Business_Scorecard_Manager_Alerts_WP.doc) This white paper explains the detailed steps required to install and manage alerts using Business Scorecard Manager 2005.
- Building Custom Report Views for Microsoft Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (Business_Scorecard_Builder_Custom_Report_WP.doc) This white paper provides information for building custom report views, by creating a sample custom report view, then developing a configuration component and a Web component.
- Using MSMQ Triggers with Business Scorecard Manager (Business_Scorecard_Manager_MSMQ_WP.doc) This white paper describes how to use Microsoft® Message Queuing Services (MSMQ) 3.0 with Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005. Readers should be familiar with MSMQ.
- Passing Parameters in Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (Business_Scorecard_Manager_Passing_Parameters_WP.doc) This white paper is intended for developers who want to create custom views for scorecards by sending data from page filters, row slices and column slices from a scorecard view through a query string to an Office Report View Web Part.
Introduction to Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 – This roadmap describes the documentation available for Microsoft® Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003 and Identity Integration Feature Pack (IIFP) for Microsoft® Windows Server™ Active Directory. The first section, Common Tasks, allows you to search MIIS 2003 resources for specific information about a task you might want to do.
The second section, Documentation Summary, provides a complete list of the MIIS 2003 documentation sets with a brief summary of each document. The documentation summary is divided into five categories: technical reference, design and planning, walkthroughs, operations, and Resource Tool Kit to make it easier to locate specific documentation.
Step-by-Step Guide for Setting up a PPTP based Site-to-Site VPN Connection in a Test Lab – This guide describes the configuration of a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)-based site-to-site virtual private network (VPN) connection using five computers in a test lab. The VPN connection described in this guide enables you to simulate and observe Microsoft® Windows® Server™ 2003 site-to-site VPN functionality. The VPN connection described in this guide is for testing purposes only, and cannot be used in a production environment.
This guide assumes familiarity with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), IP routing, and the capabilities of the Windows Server 2003 Routing and Remote Access service.
Step-by-Step Guide for Setting Up VPN based Remote Access in a Test Lab – This step-by-step guide includes updates to the original guide due to security enhancements in the release of Windows Server 2003 with SP1 and Windows XP Professional with SP2.
This guide provides detailed information about how you can use five computers to create a test lab with which to configure and test virtual private network (VPN) remote access with the Windows XP Professional with Service SP2 and the 32-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 with SP1 operating systems. These instructions are designed to take you step-by-step through the configuration required for a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) connection, a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) with Internet Protocol security (L2TP/IPsec) connection, and a VPN connection that uses certificate-based Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Level Security (EAP-TLS) authentication.
Creating a Systemized Approach to Regulatory Compliance at Microsoft – Detailed discussion of some of the processes and tools that the Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) group currently uses to systemize the approach of supporting regulatory compliance activities at Microsoft. Increased governmental oversight in recent years has resulted in new texts and requirements that affect organizations in a wide range of industries. To reduce the overhead of remaining compliant in the constantly evolving regulatory landscape, Microsoft is creating a holistic approach to regulatory compliance. This approach uses a framework of common security controls, unique tools for monitoring, and IT tools for tracking and reporting compliance.
Cheers!
Just a couple of new items this week —
Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB904714) — Install this update to enable client computers to use the Windows Indexing Service when searching for a network-shared file on a Windows Server 2003-based computer. This update resolves an issue in which the Windows Indexing Service cannot not be used if the index is not 100 percent up-to-date. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB904714) — Install this update to enable client computers to use the Windows Indexing Service when searching for a network-shared file on a Windows Server 2003-based computer. This update resolves an issue in which the Windows Indexing Service cannot not be used if the index is not 100 percent up-to-date. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Windows XP Language Interface Pack — Microsoft Windows XP Language Interface Pack (LIP) is a high-quality, localized "skin" for emerging or minority language markets, such as Catalan, Lithuanian, and Thai. Based on MUI technology, LIP provides the desktop user with an approximately 80% localized user experience by translating a reduced set of user interface elements. LIP is installed on a licensed copy of Windows and a fixed base language.
Synchronizing Images and Files in Windows XP using Microsft SyncToy — Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to move files from one place to another; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications of one sort or another to provide this functionality for them.
Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet for Windows XP — The Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet adds a new 'Color' item to the Windows control panel, providing a single place to view and edit color management settings in Windows XP. Using it, you can install and uninstall color profiles, change color profile associations for displays, printers and scanners, view detailed properties for color profiles (including a 3D rendering of the color space gamut), and rename color profiles, keeping the filenames and "internal" names consistent.
This tool also enables Windows to automatically adjust the gamut curve of the display when a color profile containing gamut table information is set as the default profile for the display. Typically, such profiles are created by custom monitor calibration tools, such as those available from ColorVision, GretagMacbeth, and X-Rite. If a color profile has this information, it is shown with an asterisk (*) in the user interface.
Using the Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet, you can:
- Install and uninstall ICC color profiles
- Inspect, rename, and compare two different color profiles
- View a 3D graphics plot of color profile color gamuts
- Associate color profiles with devices such as printers, monitors, and scanners
- Apply custom color gamut adjustments to one or more displays “on the fly”
- Set up display calibration reminders at intervals you specify
Cheers!
This is the Tweak MCE Power Tool for those that have loaded the Rollup 2 Patch.
Tweak MCE PowerToy — Tweak MCE gives you access to systems settings and options not normally exposed in the Windows XP Media Center Edition user interface, including remote control settings, Skip and Replay time customizations, user interface options, and more. It also helps you to optimize Media Center Extender for plasma and non-CRT displays.
I had some problems with mine as I had the old version loaded already BEFORE I installed the Rollup 2 Patch. I could not get the new one loaded till I removed the old one.
When trying to remove the old version, I received a message asking me to provide the path to the original TweakMCE.msi file from which I loaded the PowerToy. Well that file had long since been deleted so I grabbed the old version again (here), dropped it on the desktop of my MCE box, did a right-click on TweakMCE.msi, selected repair, let it finish. I then went back to Add/Remove and I was able to successfully remove the old version and subsequently install the new version.
I have not yet had a chance to play with all the settings so look for a write up later on the new version.
Cheers!
Not much new this week for System Management…..
MOM 2005 Summary Reporting Pack — The MOM 2005 Summary Reporting Pack extends the MOM data warehouse to provide long term reports on performance metrics and alerts based on weekly and daily summarization of data. Key reports include Exchange resource and protocol utilization, AD disk utilization and replication latency, OS performance, and generic summary reports for performance counter analysis, alert counts, and alert resolution times. The Summary Reporting Pack increases the performance and reduces the storage resources required for long term reporting with the MOM data warehouse.
Cheers!
Presentations and WebCasts –
ISV Chalk Talk – Vista user Account Protection – A technical discussion at PDC 2005 on what’s new in Windows Vista User Account Protection
Tools and Apps –
Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: Employee Activities – The Employee Activities Site application for Windows SharePoint Services is a central site for communicating information to employees about company clubs, teams, and events. With this application, employees can sign up for activities, access contact and schedule information, participate in discussions and surveys, and view activity photos. Now companies can more easily keep employees up to date on activities in which they may participate, and employees can quickly access the information they need to get involved.
User Profile Hive Cleanup Service – On Windows 2000 the service deals with application event log event 1000 from source Userenv where the message indicates that the profile is not unloading and the error is "Access is denied". On Windows XP and Windows 2003 the equivalent events are 1517 and 1524 from source Userenv.
To accomplish this the service monitors for logged off users that still have hives loaded. When that happens the service determines which applications have handles opened to the hives and releases them. It logs the application name and what registry keys where left open. After this the system finishes unloading the profile.
Guides and Whitepapers –
ASP.NET 2.0 Hosting Deployment Guide – The ASP.NET 2.0 Deployment Guide is a reference for web hosters who are interested in adding ASP.NET 2.0 to their existing Windows hosting service. Besides improving developer productivity, ASP.NET 2.0 also provides benefits for hosted environments, including support for shutting down inactive applications and locking down rogue applications. Enhanced health monitoring configuration can be used to set thresholds and severity levels for monitoring the health of ASP.NET.
Application Platform (SQL Server, Visual Studio, and BizTalk Server) White Paper – This paper outlines the Microsoft application platform—the confluence of servers, clients, and devices that can help connect people with business-critical information across the enterprise, thus driving overall business success. This paper focuses on Microsoft’s latest investments in business intelligence, integration, and developer productivity with updated releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, respectively.
Microsoft CRM Implementation Guide – This Implementation Guide provides the information required for a successful Microsoft CRM implementation into your business. This guide addresses the planning, installing (both hardware and software), pre-deployment testing, and operating tasks for the maintenance of the Microsoft CRM system.
This guide is written for the computer system administrator. This guide also assumes that any organization implementing Microsoft CRM software will have the services of an independent software vendor (ISV) or value-added reseller who is partnered with Microsoft and will help you with the entire process of implementing and maintaining your Microsoft CRM installation. Because of this assumption, there are references in this guide to these "partners" who are expected to provide various services to you.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Customization Planning Forms – This download includes one file for each customizable entity in Microsoft CRM. Each file includes default forms, views, attributes, and reports for the entity, with tables to add information on what you want to change. These files are designed to be printed and brought to meetings where managers and employees determine how to customize Microsoft CRM for their specific business needs.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Online Help – This download contains the concepts and procedures from Microsoft CRM 3.0 online Help. You can use this download to view Microsoft CRM 3.0 online Help on a computer that does not have Microsoft CRM installed. The help files are the same as those included in the product.
Because these help files are not being viewed in the context of Microsoft CRM, the form on each topic for sending documentation feedback does not work. To send documentation feedback, e-mail mscrmdf@microsoft.com.
IDC Mission Critical Tracker 2005 (Long Version) – During the spring and summer of 2005, IDC conducted a worldwide survey of the Mission Critical Market for Microsoft. Using their proven, rigorous survey methodology, IDC asked large Enterprises around the world what their Mission Critical IT applications looked like. Questions covered Operating Systems, Application Platforms, Application Servers, Portals, Message Queuing and more. 1918 responses were gathered from 9 Countries, in order to put together a comprehesive picture of the Mission Critical Application Software Market. This document contains the results of that survey.
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 Technical White Papers – Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 empowers users to optimize business performance through strategic decision making. These downloads include white papers for developers.
- Installing and Managing Alerts Using Business Scorecard Manager (Business_Scorecard_Manager_Alerts_WP.doc) This white paper explains the detailed steps required to install and manage alerts using Business Scorecard Manager 2005.
- Building Custom Report Views for Microsoft Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (Business_Scorecard_Builder_Custom_Report_WP.doc) This white paper provides information for building custom report views, by creating a sample custom report view, then developing a configuration component and a Web component.
- Using MSMQ Triggers with Business Scorecard Manager (Business_Scorecard_Manager_MSMQ_WP.doc) This white paper describes how to use Microsoft® Message Queuing Services (MSMQ) 3.0 with Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005. Readers should be familiar with MSMQ.
- Passing Parameters in Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (Business_Scorecard_Manager_Passing_Parameters_WP.doc) This white paper is intended for developers who want to create custom views for scorecards by sending data from page filters, row slices and column slices from a scorecard view through a query string to an Office Report View Web Part.
Introduction to Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 – This roadmap describes the documentation available for Microsoft® Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003 and Identity Integration Feature Pack (IIFP) for Microsoft® Windows Server™ Active Directory. The first section, Common Tasks, allows you to search MIIS 2003 resources for specific information about a task you might want to do.
The second section, Documentation Summary, provides a complete list of the MIIS 2003 documentation sets with a brief summary of each document. The documentation summary is divided into five categories: technical reference, design and planning, walkthroughs, operations, and Resource Tool Kit to make it easier to locate specific documentation.
Step-by-Step Guide for Setting up a PPTP based Site-to-Site VPN Connection in a Test Lab – This guide describes the configuration of a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)-based site-to-site virtual private network (VPN) connection using five computers in a test lab. The VPN connection described in this guide enables you to simulate and observe Microsoft® Windows® Server™ 2003 site-to-site VPN functionality. The VPN connection described in this guide is for testing purposes only, and cannot be used in a production environment.
This guide assumes familiarity with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), IP routing, and the capabilities of the Windows Server 2003 Routing and Remote Access service.
Step-by-Step Guide for Setting Up VPN based Remote Access in a Test Lab – This step-by-step guide includes updates to the original guide due to security enhancements in the release of Windows Server 2003 with SP1 and Windows XP Professional with SP2.
This guide provides detailed information about how you can use five computers to create a test lab with which to configure and test virtual private network (VPN) remote access with the Windows XP Professional with Service SP2 and the 32-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 with SP1 operating systems. These instructions are designed to take you step-by-step through the configuration required for a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) connection, a Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) with Internet Protocol security (L2TP/IPsec) connection, and a VPN connection that uses certificate-based Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Level Security (EAP-TLS) authentication.
Creating a Systemized Approach to Regulatory Compliance at Microsoft – Detailed discussion of some of the processes and tools that the Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) group currently uses to systemize the approach of supporting regulatory compliance activities at Microsoft. Increased governmental oversight in recent years has resulted in new texts and requirements that affect organizations in a wide range of industries. To reduce the overhead of remaining compliant in the constantly evolving regulatory landscape, Microsoft is creating a holistic approach to regulatory compliance. This approach uses a framework of common security controls, unique tools for monitoring, and IT tools for tracking and reporting compliance.
Cheers!
SQL 2005 Launched this week and with it we also have some great new tools and documents for your SQL implementations! Enjoy!
Don’t forget to check out a Best Of SQL Event in your area!
Finally, look for a SQL Launch Event coming to your part of the world soon!
SQL Server Express Utility – SSEUtil.exe is a tool that lets you easily interact with SQL Server. Among other things, it allows you to:
• Connect to the main instance or user-instance of SQL Server.
• Create, attach, detach, and list databases on the server.
• Upgrade database files to match the version of the server.
• Execute SQL statements via the console (similar to SQLCMD).
• Retrieve the version of SQL Server running.
• Enable and disable trace flags (for example, to trace SQL statements sent to the server by any client application)
• List the instances of SQL Server on the local machine or on remote machines.
• Checkpoint and shrink a database
• Measure the performance of executing specific queries.
• Create and playback lists of SQL commands for the server to execute.
• Log all input and output.
SQL Server Health and History Tool (SQLH2) – This version of SQLH2 supports SQL Server 2005 RTM collection. SQLH2 collects four main types of information:
1. Feature Usage – What services/features are installed, running and level of workload on the service.
2. Configuration Settings – Machine, OS and SQL configuration settings, SQL instance and database metadata.
3. Uptime of the SQL Server service
4. Performance Counters (optional) – Used to determine performance trends
Application Platform (SQL Server, Visual Studio, and BizTalk Server) White Paper – This paper outlines the Microsoft application platform—the confluence of servers, clients, and devices that can help connect people with business-critical information across the enterprise, thus driving overall business success. This paper focuses on Microsoft’s latest investments in business intelligence, integration, and developer productivity with updated releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, respectively.
SQL Server 2005 Books Online – Download Books Online for Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Books Online is the primary documentation set for SQL Server 2005. It includes the following:
- Setup and upgrade instructions.
- Information about new features and backward compatibility.
- Conceptual descriptions of the technologies and features in SQL Server 2005.
- Procedural topics describing how to use the various features in SQL Server 2005.
- Tutorials that guide you through common tasks.
- Reference documentation for the graphical tools, command prompt utilities, programming languages, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are supported by SQL Server 2005.
- Descriptions of the sample databases and applications included with SQL Server 2005.
Using SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) in a Scalable Business Intelligence Solution – Discussion on how Microsoft IT used SQL Server 2005 Integration Services to create a flexible and scalable business intelligence solution. By using SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, Microsoft IT was able to reduce data processing time by 80 percent.
SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Documentation and Samples – SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is the next version of MSDE 2000. It is a free, easy-to-use, lightweight version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server Express makes it easy to develop data-driven applications that are rich in capability and fast to deploy. To download the samples and product documentation for SQL Server Express, click the links in the Files In This Download section. For the SQL Server Express site on MSDN, SQL Server discussion forums, and SQL Server 2005 product documentation, click the links in the Related Resources box.
AdventureWorks OLTP Database Diagram – Download a diagram of the AdventureWorks sample OLTP database. The AdventureWorks sample OLTP database is used in samples for SQL Server 2005 and product documentation for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. The diagram is available in both HTML and Visio 2003 format.
Cheers!
Lots of new stuff for Exchange this week!
Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool v2.5 — The Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer programmatically collects settings and values from data repositories such as Active Directory, registry, metabase and performance monitor. Once collected, a set of comprehensive ‘best practice’ rules are applied to the topology. Administrators running this tool will get a detailed report listing the recommendations that can be made to the environment to achieve greater performance, scalability and uptime.
Microsoft Exchange Server Exchange Profile Redirector — Updates Outlook profiles after moving mailboxes across Exchange organizations or administrative groups.
Microsoft Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool v1.0 — The Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer programmatically collects configuration data and header information from databases and transaction log files. The tool analyzes all headers and creates a detailed list of instructions explaining what the problem is, and how to resolve it.
Microsoft Exchange Server Performance Troubleshooting Analyzer Tool v1.0 — The Exchange Server Performance Troubleshooting Analyzer programmatically collects configuration data, performance counters and live tracing information from an Exchange server. The tool analyzes each subsystem to determine individual bottlenecks, then aggregates the information to provide root cause analysis.
Microsoft Exchange Server JetStress Tool — Use Jetstress to verify the performance and stability of a disk subsystem prior to putting an Exchange server into production. Jetstress helps verify disk performance by simulating Exchange disk Input/Output (I/O) load. Specifically, Jetstress simulates the Exchange database and log file loads produced by a specific number of users. You use Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, and ESEUTIL in conjunction with Jetstress to verify that your disk subsystem meets or exceeds the performance criteria you establish. After a successful completion of the Jetstress Disk Performance and Stress Tests in a non-production environment, you will have ensured that your Exchange 2003 disk subsystem is adequately sized (in terms of performance criteria you establish) for the user count and user profiles you have established. It is highly recommended that the Jetstress user read through the tool documentation before using the tool.
Note Jetstress is only supported when running with Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003 or newer versions of ESE.DLL. Also, due to this support limitation, Jetstress is only supported on Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Advanced Server, Datacenter and newer Windows OS platforms (Windows NT 4.0 and older builds are not supported).
Microsoft Exchange Server Management Pack Configuration Wizard — Provides a graphical user interface to configure Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003 Management Pack, including test mailboxes, message tracking, and monitoring services.
Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration Tool — Use the Exchange Server Public Folder Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV)-based Administration tool (PFDAVAdmin) to perform various management tasks related to public folders and mailboxes. The tool checks the permissions status of each public and mailbox folder and corrects any problems found. The ability to bulk export/import the permissions and replica lists make this tool invaluable in achieving greater productivity in managing public folders. The program can also reports content information of each public folder and mailbox folder such as the number of items in each folder, size of folder and most recent modification date of any item in the folder.
Microsoft Exchange Server Management Pack for MOM 2005 — Release Date: 11/02/2005
The Exchange Server Management Pack includes rules and scripts to track performance, availability, and reliability of Exchange components, such as Internet-related services, Extensible Storage Engine, System Attendant, Microsoft Exchange Information Store service, and SMTP.
This management pack not only validates the availability of communication services but also sends test e-mail to verify operations and measures actual delivery times. The Exchange Management Pack Configuration Wizard provides a graphical user interface to configure Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003 Management Packs, including test mailboxes, message tracking, and monitoring services. The Exchange Server Management Pack Guide for MOM 2005 explains how to use the Exchange Management Pack to monitor and maintain messaging resources. You can download the management pack guide from the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2215EEAB-41D7-423D-9F54-01F0DF4647E9).
Cheers!
New Video & Audio based information for developers is located at these links:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/archive.aspx
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=14
http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/dotnetrocks/
Presentations and WebCasts –
The .NET Show: WinFX SDK (Live! From PDC05 – 300k) – In this special episode that was recorded LIVE at PDC05 we meet with Steven Goulet, Christine Kleinke, and Brent Rector to discuss the WinFX SDK documentation and development tools.
ISV Chalk Talk – Windows Vista SDKs with Steven Goulet – A discussion at PDC 2005 with Eddie Amos who runs a team of architects geared towards ISVs
ISV Chalk Talk – Vista User Account Protection – A technical discussion at PDC 2005 on what’s new in Windows Vista User Account Protection
Hands On Labs –
Power Management (Hands-on Lab, C#) – In this lab you will create a simple application that displays the power source of the computer and battery information. The application then uses this information to adjust its functionality. In Exercise 1 you will write the code to discover information about the current power source. In Exercise 2 you will build a notification event that will be raised when the power source changes. In Exercise 3 you will add a class that adjusts its behavior based on the current power source. Exercise 4 extends the solution further by showing you how to prevent the system from shutting the screen down if the application is using it. All sample code is in C#.
Tablet PC: Advanced Development with Stylus Input APIs (Hands-on Lab, C#) – The objective of this lab is to familiarize you with using the Tablet PC RealTimeStylus (RTS) APIs. To do so, you will create a pair of RTS plug-ins. The first plug-in is a packet filtering plug-in that demonstrates packet modification by constraining all (x,y) packet data within a rectangular area. The second plug-in is a simple custom dynamic renderer plug-in that renders stylus input by drawing a small circle around each (x,y) point. You will then use your plug-ins in a sample application that is provided for you. All sample code is in C#.
Working with Windows Synchronization Manager on Mobile Computers running Windows XP – In this Lab you will create a class library that you can register with the Windows Synchronization Manager to synchronize files from a server directory to a client directory. The objectives of this lab are: To learn how to use the Windows Synchronization Manager Interfaces. To create a C# class library that can synchronize files. To understand how to display properties for the items being synchronized.
Getting Started with Developing for the Tablet PC (Hands-On Lab, VB.NET) – This lab introduces the features and benefits of Tablet PC and describes the benefits of developing applications for Tablet PC form factor. The lab also introduces basic concepts of working with the Tablet PC platform. You create a Windows Form application that is a physician's prescription pad. The application demonstrates manipulating basic ink properties, collecting ink, rendering ink, and exposing handwriting recognition functionality. All samples are in Visual Basic .NET.
Getting Started with Developing for the Tablet PC (Hands-on Lab, C#) – This lab introduces the features and benefits of Tablet PC and describes the benefits of developing applications for Tablet PC form factor. The lab also introduces basic concepts of working with the Tablet PC platform. You create a Windows Form application that is a physician's prescription pad. The application demonstrates manipulating basic ink properties, collecting ink, rendering ink, and exposing handwriting recognition functionality. All samples are in C#.
MSDN TV: CLR Method Dispatch Internals – From Static to Dynamic – Joe Duffy and Joel Pobar walk through the various flavors of method dispatch the Common Language Runtime (CLR) has to offer, from static to dynamic. The discussion focuses on the under-the-hood details and performance characteristics of the spectrum, and offers insight and guidance into which style might be appropriate for your application or compiler.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – October 31, 2005 – A variety of videos from Channel 9
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – November 3, 2005 – Yet more videos from Channel 9!
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
BizTalk Server 2006 CTP: Installation Instructions and Known Issues – The installation instructions explain how to install BizTalk Server 2006 Community Technical Preview on Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003. The known issues file describes known issues about the Community Technical Preview release.
NOTE: For the Beta 1 version, click here.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB908958 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DHCP
Description: DHCP release packet may contain an invalid client ID.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB903076 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: This update addresses an issue with the stream bandwidth controller and a possible out-of-memory condition when buffering.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB909483 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: Filesys
Description: Repeated creation of a file may exhaust system memory.
Windows CE .NET 4.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909364 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: RDP
Description: A memory leak may occur when redirecting a serial device via RDP.
Tools and Apps –
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (IA64) – The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.0 (IA64) includes tools, documentation and samples developers need to write, build, test, and deploy .NET Framework applications on IA64 platforms.
You must install the .NET Framework Redistributable Package version 2.0 (IA64) prior to installing the .NET Framework SDK (IA64).
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Excel Invoice Application – This sample solution introduces Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System by demonstrating an Excel Invoice solution. The sample code covers the following topics:
- New Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office design time experience
- New Named Range and List Object host controls
- New managed actions pane
- Windows Forms controls embedded in the Excel worksheet
The associated MSDN article discusses the implementation process used to create the solution. C# and Visual Basic code snippets illustrate individual components of this Invoice application.
IronPython 0.9.4 – IronPython is the codename for an alpha release of the Python programming language for the .NET platform.
It supports an interactive interpreter with fully dynamic compilation. It is well integrated with the rest of the framework and makes all .NET libraries easily available to Python programmers.
Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: Employee Activities – The Employee Activities Site application for Windows SharePoint Services is a central site for communicating information to employees about company clubs, teams, and events. With this application, employees can sign up for activities, access contact and schedule information, participate in discussions and surveys, and view activity photos. Now companies can more easily keep employees up to date on activities in which they may participate, and employees can quickly access the information they need to get involved.
SharePoint Products and Technologies SDK – Note: For the most current version of this SDK documentation, see MSDN Online.
Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies uses a common set of Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 services named Windows® SharePoint Services, to take advantage of the performance, stability, and security features of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Use Windows SharePoint Services to create and maintain team sites. Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, a server product, is built on Windows SharePoint Services, and adds features used to build and manage integrated, large-scale portal solutions.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Redistributable Package (x86) – The Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run applications developed to target the .NET Framework v2.0.
The .NET Framework version 2.0 improves scalability and performance of applications with improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services. For more information on the .NET Framework 2.0, click here.
SQL Server Express Utility – SSEUtil.exe is a tool that lets you easily interact with SQL Server. Among other things, it allows you to:
• Connect to the main instance or user-instance of SQL Server.
• Create, attach, detach, and list databases on the server.
• Upgrade database files to match the version of the server.
• Execute SQL statements via the console (similar to SQLCMD).
• Retrieve the version of SQL Server running.
• Enable and disable trace flags (for example, to trace SQL statements sent to the server by any client application)
• List the instances of SQL Server on the local machine or on remote machines.
• Checkpoint and shrink a database
• Measure the performance of executing specific queries.
• Create and playback lists of SQL commands for the server to execute.
• Log all input and output.
Mobile Ink To-Do Starter Kit – This Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET Starter Kit is a complete Mobile PC and Tablet PC application. The starter kit contains a semi-transparent form for taking notes and keeps them synchronized through a Web Service. It also supports battery awareness and online and offline data, two key features of a great Mobile PC applications. The project comes ready to compile and run and it's easy to customize with only a little extra programming.
SQL Server Health and History Tool (SQLH2) – This version of SQLH2 supports SQL Server 2005 RTM collection. SQLH2 collects four main types of information:
1. Feature Usage – What services/features are installed, running and level of workload on the service.
2. Configuration Settings – Machine, OS and SQL configuration settings, SQL instance and database metadata.
3. Uptime of the SQL Server service
4. Performance Counters (optional) – Used to determine performance trends
Media Transfer Protocol Porting Kit – MTP was first shipped as part of the Windows Media Device Manager 10 SDK. This porting kit includes the complete MTP specification, updated design documentation, updated sample source code, software to implement a PC-based MTP simulator, and MTP test tools.
Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar – The Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar provides several features for exploring and understanding Web pages. These features enable you to:
-- Explore and modify the document object model (DOM) of a Web page.
-- Locate and select specific elements on a Web page through a variety of techniques.
-- Selectively disable Internet Explorer settings.
-- View HTML object class names, ID's, and details such as link paths, tab index values, and access keys.
-- Outline tables, table cells, images, or selected tags.
-- Validate HTML, CSS, WAI, and RSS Web feed links.
-- Display image dimensions, file sizes, path information, and alternate (ALT) text.
-- Immediately resize the browser window to a new resolution.
-- Selectively clear the browser cache and saved cookies. Choose from all objects or those associated with a given domain.
-- Choose direct links to W3C specification references, the Internet Explorer team weblog (blog), and other resources.
-- Display a fully featured design ruler to help accurately align objects on your pages.
Guides and Whitepapers –
ASP.NET 2.0 Hosting Deployment Guide – The ASP.NET 2.0 Deployment Guide is a reference for web hosters who are interested in adding ASP.NET 2.0 to their existing Windows hosting service. Besides improving developer productivity, ASP.NET 2.0 also provides benefits for hosted environments, including support for shutting down inactive applications and locking down rogue applications. Enhanced health monitoring configuration can be used to set thresholds and severity levels for monitoring the health of ASP.NET.
Application Platform (SQL Server, Visual Studio, and BizTalk Server) White Paper – This paper outlines the Microsoft application platform—the confluence of servers, clients, and devices that can help connect people with business-critical information across the enterprise, thus driving overall business success. This paper focuses on Microsoft’s latest investments in business intelligence, integration, and developer productivity with updated releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, respectively.
Microsoft CRM Implementation Guide – This Implementation Guide provides the information required for a successful Microsoft CRM implementation into your business. This guide addresses the planning, installing (both hardware and software), pre-deployment testing, and operating tasks for the maintenance of the Microsoft CRM system.
This guide is written for the computer system administrator. This guide also assumes that any organization implementing Microsoft CRM software will have the services of an independent software vendor (ISV) or value-added reseller who is partnered with Microsoft and will help you with the entire process of implementing and maintaining your Microsoft CRM installation. Because of this assumption, there are references in this guide to these "partners" who are expected to provide various services to you.
SQL Server 2005 Books Online – Download Books Online for Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Books Online is the primary documentation set for SQL Server 2005. It includes the following:
- Setup and upgrade instructions.
- Information about new features and backward compatibility.
- Conceptual descriptions of the technologies and features in SQL Server 2005.
- Procedural topics describing how to use the various features in SQL Server 2005.
- Tutorials that guide you through common tasks.
- Reference documentation for the graphical tools, command prompt utilities, programming languages, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are supported by SQL Server 2005.
- Descriptions of the sample databases and applications included with SQL Server 2005.
Using SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) in a Scalable Business Intelligence Solution – Discussion on how Microsoft IT used SQL Server 2005 Integration Services to create a flexible and scalable business intelligence solution. By using SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, Microsoft IT was able to reduce data processing time by 80 percent.
SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Documentation and Samples – SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is the next version of MSDE 2000. It is a free, easy-to-use, lightweight version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server Express makes it easy to develop data-driven applications that are rich in capability and fast to deploy. To download the samples and product documentation for SQL Server Express, click the links in the Files In This Download section. For the SQL Server Express site on MSDN, SQL Server discussion forums, and SQL Server 2005 product documentation, click the links in the Related Resources box.
Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Licensing White Paper – This white paper provides an overview of Visual Studio 2005 Team System licensing, focusing on typical configuration and deployment issues. This document will provide a general understanding of the core features, typical deployment scenarios and required licensing for the Visual Studio 2005 Team System product line.
AdventureWorks OLTP Database Diagram – Download a diagram of the AdventureWorks sample OLTP database. The AdventureWorks sample OLTP database is used in samples for SQL Server 2005 and product documentation for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. The diagram is available in both HTML and Visio 2003 format.
IDC Mission Critical Tracker 2005 (Long Version) – During the spring and summer of 2005, IDC conducted a worldwide survey of the Mission Critical Market for Microsoft. Using their proven, rigorous survey methodology, IDC asked large Enterprises around the world what their Mission Critical IT applications looked like. Questions covered Operating Systems, Application Platforms, Application Servers, Portals, Message Queuing and more. 1918 responses were gathered from 9 Countries, in order to put together a comprehesive picture of the Mission Critical Application Software Market. This document contains the results of that survey.
Cheers!
I was recently notified I won a contest (that I didn’t know existed!) for most blog post hits for the month of October. Dean Andrew, a manager in our Technet Webcasts group, posted about my winnings.
The great thing about that particular post is that it was a post to help advertise a webcast for another team member.
Everybody Wins!
Cheers!
c|net reported yesterday on our new name for our anti-spyware efforts. My buddy Kevin reported as well on his blog.
While I don’t want to be negative (I think the product kicks ass), I have never understood how Microsoft comes up with the names for our products. With a name like “Windows Defender”, it damn sure better defend my Windows install, and my Office install, and all my 3rd party apps, and anything else on my PC or it doesn’t do what it’s name implies. That is also the perception I think the public will have – even though the name is WINDOWS defender, the public will see it as MY-ENTIRE-COMPUTER Defender.
To be clear – I love the product but I don’t like the name. I have been using the Anti-Spyware beta (formerly Giant Anti-Spyware) since just after the acquisition. It is a solid product and will benefit millions of users in it’s final form. But that name basically states, “I am a product that will defend (read this as ‘protect’) your system from harm”. If there is ever an issue with this app and some damage is done, the press (read this as ‘bloggers’) will have a hey day with us based on the name alone.
But, even though I don’t like the name, I don’t there will be a major (bad) event as a result of a breakdown in Windows Defender. There will be growing pains, there will be some issues, but the product rocks. I think we have raised the bar for the bad guys. They will of course start taking jumps at that bar and someone will clear it eventually. Then the collective “we” of good guys across the industry will roll out some new protection app/mechanism and the race starts again.
If you haven’t loaded up the Anti-Spyware Beta/Windows Defender, go check it out. I run it side-by-side with SpyBot Search and Destroy and between the two of them my system (heavily used all over the web) has been spyware free since doing so months and months and months ago.
Cheers!
Although you don’t get to see nearly as much of the car as I would like, this video still shows a nice modified Scion xA with three XBox 360’s installed to it. The car is very well tricked out though you won’t be driving it anywhere with funky weather…..
Cheers!
….well……if you can call 5 minutes of brisk walking and then alternating 90 seconds jogging with 120 seconds walking for 20 minutes a run. The best part of it is that my fiance, Jeanne (The Nun), is doing the routine with me. She doesn’t have the marathon goal that I have but she supports me in that goal. She just wants to be able to do the 3 miles after 2 months and maintain that going forward.
There will be some problems as we go to longer distances though. I am 6’3” and she is 5’4”. My stride is significantly longer than hers. I have to hold back now for her to maintain pace and I am sure she is pushing herself a little harder so I don’t have to hold back as much. She is getting the better workout I am sure.
I am going to talk to the Nun about puttiing up some before and after pictures. If she agrees, you may see thosed later this evening.
Cheers!
My co-worker and friend Michael Murphy is debuting the first of his Internet Radio series today with an interview with Bill Zack, co-author of Programming SQL 2005 (due out from MSPress early 2006).
From MJ’s site — “In keeping with that theme here is a 20 minute interview with Bill Zack, one of the co-authors of Programming SQL 2005 due out from MS Press early 2006. We spend the first five minutes discussing Bill's many other projects including his software architects User Group in Manhattan and get into a discussion of SQL 2005 at about the 4:45 mark.”
Chek it out!
Cheers!
Some weeks ago I posted a challenge where if the Anaheim launch event had the highest attendance of all the US launch events I would let an attendee at one of my SoCal events shave my head. I want to assure you that I did not have the event closed to save my hair. The response to the SQL launch has been phenominal across the country. This is the not only event that is closed (or will close) because we hit maximum capacity at the associated venue. I imagine MOST of the events will close as we get closer to event days so if you are interested in attending in your part of the US, you better register now.
Cheers!
Whew! The Nun and I made it through Day 3 of the first week of running. Week Two has us increasing the time/distance we run while also increasing walk time between jogs. It is a subtle increase (tell my legs that!) so I don’t think it will make things too much more difficult.
I am just stoked that I did the 3 days. One of the most difficult things for me in this process will be not skipping days or cheating the program by stopping earlier or short of a goal. It is pretty easy to just just stop running when the body seems like it can’t go on (I have hardly been at that point yet, but I am going from practically no regular exercise to jog/walking 3 times a weeks and it *is* a change for me). I did the first 3 days, now on to the next 3.
So tomorrow starts Week 2!
Cheers!
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 Pre-Release (RC0) – NOTE: This RC0 Pre-Release is provided for participants of specific partner beta programs. If the beta program you are participating in does not specifically require RC0, you should use the most recent MMC 3.0 packages available here.
Microsoft Management Console 3.0 Pre-Release (Based on Windows Server 2003 R2 RC0).
MMC 3.0 (formerly MMC 2.1) ships as a component in Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Vista, and continues to be the host for a variety of OS and 3rd party admin tools.
Windows SharePoint Services Language Template Pack SP2 – Windows SharePoint Services Language Template Pack Service Pack 2 (SP2) ensures that Windows SharePoint Services performs with complete functionality when you use a Language Template Pack. This is the first service pack for Windows SharePoint Services Language Template Pack. Service Pack 2 adds support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and for x64-compatible 64-bit processors. Version 2 of this download adds support for the Hindi locale.
MIIS Capacity Planning – This document presents server configuration recommendations for a server hosting Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003. The recommendations presented here are based on tests designed to determine the most effective use of central processing units (CPUs), memory capacity, disk access, and disk capacity on a server hosting MIIS 2003. Other factors, such as database performance and the impact of the network, are also included.
Updates to Understanding IPv6 – The Microsoft Press book "Understanding IPv6," by Joseph Davies, was published in November 2002. Since then, there have been changes to Internet standards for IPv6 and in Microsoft's support for IPv6 in Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family. This white paper describes those changes in detail, referencing chapter and page numbers where needed and providing links to additional technical information.
System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (Beta Refresh) – Microsoft System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (BETA Refresh) delivers state of the art easy-to-use modeling technology to bring unprecedented functionality and flexibility to the process of performance analysis and planning of system deployments of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Operations Manager 2005. Microsoft System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (BETA Refresh) provides the IT professional with the tools and guidance required to architect a deployment in the most efficient manner, while facilitating future planning by allowing for "what-if" analysis.
System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (Beta Refresh) provides the following benefits:
- Proactive Performance Planning
- Infrastructure Planning and Optimization
- Performance Analysis and Predictive Reporting
- Cost Analysis and Justification
Cheers!
Step-by-Step Guide for Secure Wireless Deployment for Small Office/Home Office or Small Organization Networks – This whitepaper presents two deployment methods for secure wireless access, one for small office/home office (SOHO) networks and one for small organization that are domain-based networks, built using Windows Server 2003 technologies. This paper contains information you can be use to determine the preferred method for deploying secure wireless access in existing SOHO networks or small organization networks. The topic also provides step-by-step instructions for setting up secure wireless connections, after the preferred deployment method has been determined. Additionally, if you are planning a new network with wireless access or considering changing to a different type of network with wireless access, this paper provides information that can assist you in determining which type of deployment best suits your needs.
Update for Windows Server 2003 for Itanium based Systems – KB904639 – Install this update to address an issue that will keep some applications from running in a 64-bit environment. When you try to run a 64-bit application that uses an Interface Remoting component of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8, you may receive an "access violation" error message, or the dllhost.exe process may display 100% CPU utilization when viewed with Task Manager. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows Server 2003 (x64) – KB904639 – Install this update to address an issue that will keep some applications from running in a 64-bit environment. When you try to run a 64-bit application that uses an Interface Remoting component of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8, you may receive an "access violation" error message, or the dllhost.exe process may display 100% CPU utilization when viewed with Task Manager. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Update for Windows Server 2003 (32bit x86) – KB905639 – Install this update to address an issue that will keep some applications from running in a 64-bit environment. When you try to run a 64-bit application that uses an Interface Remoting component of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8, you may receive an "access violation" error message, or the dllhost.exe process may display 100% CPU utilization when viewed with Task Manager. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Cheers!
New Video & Audio based information for developers is located at these links:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/archive.aspx
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=14
http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/dotnetrocks/
MSDN TV: Web Service Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 and Secure Web Services -- Web Service Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 will be released as part of the Visual Studio 2005 wave of technologies bringing with it an easy to use toolkit for building secure Web services. Built on the latest versions of the Web Service protocols such as WS-Security, WSE 3.0 is ideal for building secure, distributed applications using open standards to achieve interoperability. Mark Fussell discusses the driving goals for the WSE 3.0 release, how security best practices have been incorporated by introducing "turnkey security scenarios" and the relationship between WSE 3.0 and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), the future Web Services platform from Microsoft.
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
Windows “Monad” Shell Beta 2 (for .NET Framework 2.0 RC/RTM) x64 — Windows "Monad" Shell is a new interactive command-line and task-based scripting technology in Windows that enables administrators to more efficiently and securely automate and control system management tasks on both desktops and servers. "Monad" Shell provides powerful task-based control (via built-in command line tools and utilities) and a powerful scripting language that enables comprehensive scripted control of the Windows operating system and applications.
Windows “Monad” Shell Beta 2 (for .NET Framework 2.0 RC/RTM) x86 — Windows "Monad" Shell is a new interactive command-line and task-based scripting technology in Windows that enables administrators to more efficiently and securely automate and control system management tasks on both desktops and servers. "Monad" Shell provides powerful task-based control (via built-in command line tools and utilities) and a powerful scripting language that enables comprehensive scripted control of the Windows operating system and applications.
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0 Pre-Release (RC0) – NOTE: This RC0 Pre-Release is provided for participants of specific partner beta programs. If the beta program you are participating in does not specifically require RC0, you should use the most recent MMC 3.0 packages available here.
Microsoft Management Console 3.0 Pre-Release (Based on Windows Server 2003 R2 RC0).
MMC 3.0 (formerly MMC 2.1) ships as a component in Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Vista, and continues to be the host for a variety of OS and 3rd party admin tools.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK – Preliminary – The Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK is for developers, system customizers and report writers. It contains the following sections:
· Server Programming Guide – A guide for developers writing server side code, custom business logic, integration modules, workflow assemblies and more. This guide provides an architectural overview of Microsoft CRM, the entity model, security model, Web services, and sample code.
· Client Programming Guide – A guide for developers customizing the Web client or the Microsoft CRM client for Outlook, including scripting, integration of custom Web pages, and sample code.
· Report Writers Guide - A guide for developers writing reports for Microsoft CRM using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Report Designer.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904260 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: .NET CF v2.0
Description: Integration of .NET Compact Framework v2.0 into Windows CE 5.0.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904775 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: This update addresses the issue with new keyframes not rendering correctly when scanning through a paused video clip.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904256 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: MP3 files with certain metadata may not play correctly.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB908788 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DHCP
Description: DHCP release packet may contain an invalid client ID.
Tools and Apps –
Windows SharePoint Services: IntelliSense XML File -- This download includes an update of the Microsoft.SharePoint.xml file used to produce IntelliSense information about the Windows SharePoint Services managed object model within the context of the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment.
SharePoint Portal Server 2003: IntelliSense XML Files -- This download includes updates for the following XML files used to produce IntelliSense information about the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Windows SharePoint Services managed object models within the context of the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE):
- Microsoft.SharePoint.xml
- Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.xml
- Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.SingleSignon.xml
- Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.SingleSignon.Security.xml
- Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.Admin.Search.xml
.NET Compact Framework 2.0 Redistributable – The Microsoft® .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Redistributable contains the common language runtime and class libraries built for the .NET Compact Framework. In addition to supporting version 2.0, it also supports applications developed for version 1.0 and service pack releases before version 2.0.
Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2005 – Microsoft Report Viewer control enables applications that run on the .NET Framework to display reports designed using Microsoft reporting technology. This redistributable package contains Windows Forms and ASP.NET Web server control versions of the Report Viewer. For more information about Microsoft reporting technology, click here
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System Redistributable Package (x86) – Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System is the technology that brings the power and productivity of Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework to business solutions built on Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Outlook 2003, Microsoft Excel 2003 or Microsoft InfoPath 2003.
Microsoft Visual J# v2.0 Redistributable Package – The Visual J# Redistributable Package is not intended to run applications written with other Java-language development tools. Applications and services built with Visual J# will run only on the .NET Framework and will not run on any Java Virtual Machine. Visual J# has been independently developed by Microsoft and is not endorsed or approved by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (IA64) – The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.0 (IA64) includes tools, documentation and samples developers need to write, build, test, and deploy .NET Framework applications on IA64 platforms.
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (x64) – The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.0 (x64) includes everything developers need to write, build, test, and deploy .NET Framework applications—documentation, samples, tools and compilers.
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (x86) – The Microsoft .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.0 (x64) includes everything developers need to write, build, test, and deploy .NET Framework applications—documentation, samples, tools and compilers.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2./0 Redistributable Package (x64) – The Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 (x64) redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run 64-bit applications developed to target the .NET Framework v2.0.
The .NET Framework version 2.0 (x64) improves scalability and performance with improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services and 64-bit support. For more information on the .NET Framework 2.0 click here.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Redistributable Package (IA64) – The Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 (IA64) redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run 64-bit applications developed to target the .NET Framework v2.0.
The .NET Framework version 2.0 (IA64) improves scalability and performance, improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services and 64-bit support. For more information on the .NET Framework 2.0, click here.
Guides and Whitepapers –
Application Integration and Process Intelligence using BixTalk Server 2004 – Discussion on how BizTalk Server 2004 and BizTalk Adapter v2.0 for mySAP Business Suite provides Microsoft a framework to create a business integration and intelligence solution that improved application integration and document processing visibility.
Visual Studio Team Foundation Installation Guide – This is the most current version of the Installation Guide for Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server. It contains any changes that were made to the guide since shipping.
Presentations and WebCasts –
Visual Basic – Debugging VB6 and VB.NET – In this demonstration, you will see how debugging works when you have an application that uses both Visual Basic 6 and Visual Basic .NET. This video is presented by Scott Swigart of Swigart Consulting.
Getting Started – Visual Basic Fusion with VB 6 and VB.NET – This presentation walks you through the Visual Basic Fusion articles and shows how Microsoft Visual Basic 6 applications can be extended with the Microsoft .NET framework. Two videos presented by Scott Swigart of Swigart Consulting are provided with this download.
Tablet PC Development Overview – New to Tablet PC Development? Learn how to use the Tablet PC Platform API to extend existing applications or create applications specifically targeted to take advantage of the power of pen and ink in computing.
Cheers!
SQl Server Migration Assistant for Oracle v2.0 Beta — SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) is a complete suite of tools that dramatically cuts the effort, cost, and risk of migrating from Oracle to SQL Server. SSMA automates almost every aspect of the migration process including assessment, schema and data migration, business logic conversion, and validation. Companies such as Motorola and Simon & Schuster have used SSMA to migrate their business-critical databases quickly, easily and accurately.
With SSMA, IT organizations now have the freedom to move to SQL Server and take advantage of SQL Server's exceptional security, scalability, developer productivity, and the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership.
SQl Server Health and History Tool (SQLH2) Performance Collector — The SQLH2 Performance Collector is a stand-alone service of Microsoft Windows that collects and stores performance counter data from selected servers. You should install this optional component if you are interested in collecting performance counters along with system information. The SQLH2 Collector gathers the data that this service collects and stores this data in the repository when you run the SQLH2 Collector. To obtain the SQLH2 Collector, search the Microsoft download site and search for "SQLH2".
Improving Data Securoty by using SQL Server 2005 — Detailed discussion describing how Microsoft IT uses SQL Server 2005 to improve data security for its line of business applications. SQL Server 2005 enabled Microsoft IT to implement column-level encryption together with a robust, and yet easy-to-use encryption key management framework.
Cheers!
…..and we realized we were short by one “leg” on the first day. Feeling great after the exercise though and looking forward to being able to run 3 miles non-stop a little over 8 weeks from now. I read through the full schedule of runs/walks I am using and while the gradual increase of running over walking seems simple enough, by the end of today’s jaunt I was wishing I never committed myself by blogging about it. Of course here it is now 45 mins later and I feel great and I am blogging about it again. Funny how that works.
From my comments –
“You know Chris, I have never thought of you as overweight. I'm surprised that you feel like you are.”
Well SMHyrd, it isn’t so much that I feel I am overweight right now. (for the record….my doctor has suggested I “lose some weight, eat a healthy diet and exercise”…..but never gives any more detail than that) The fact is I weigh more now that I did 5 years ago. I know that if I continue to do nothing about it then 5 years from now I would weigh more and 5 years later even more. I don’t want to be 50 yrs old, bitchin’ about how much I weigh when I knew I could have done something about it 10 years earlier. Plus, if I am going to accomplish my goal of running a marathon someday, losing weight is just part of that process. Just makes sense that it would be easier to lug 210 lbs for 26 miles than it would 240.
So Day 2 is done. Eight weeks and a run away from 3 miles….
Cheers!
SteveB, BillG and Ray Ozzie showed off some of our new “Live” offerings today in San Francisco.
Some of the buzz items to check out….
Microsoft Live – On the surface appears to be the same as www.start.com
Microsoft Gadgets – “gadgets” (read this as plug-ins) for Windows Live
Live Ideas which links to some other VERY cool items….
Windows Live Safety Center – on demand virus scan/clean and general PC health check
Windows Live Mail – I call this Hotmail 2.0 though the Hotmail people may not like that
Windows Live Favorites – gonna love this! I keep my favorites on a thumb drive. No More!
Windows Live Messenger – Next generation web based Messenger
Windows OneCare Live – an advanced version of the Sfety center that performs backups, AV scanning, Malware scanning and more
Windows Live Mobile – New Mobile search specifically formatted for small footprint devices. Search for, get maps to, and call whatever you are looking for!
More on these later as I get a chance to play with them!
Cheers!
Life is full of key dates and turning points - the birth of a child, the death of a grandparent, the date you get hired at your dream job, the day you get married, the day you get divorced (if you are unfortunate enough to get divorced). There have been all kinds of turning points in my life. Heck, I missed several of the turns all together. For this post I am going to focus on a few key points that deal with one specific aspect of my life – My Weight.
The Starting Point - In October of 1987 I was about to get married for the first time (Yeah, yeah, yeah…..getting married should be listed as a Turning Point but it also happens to be the point at which I started noticing what I weighed and when), I was roughly half as old as I am now, I worked at a grocery store and thought I would be there for the rest of my life, and I weighed a sparse 163 lbs. Sounds like a fine number to some until my height comes into play…..6’3”….so you could say I was a little thin. I weighed in on my wedding day for no particular reason at all. I didn’t expect to gain weight and certainly had no plans on losing any. I just weighed in for the hell of it.
Turning Point One (not so much a turning point as much as a temporary resting place) -- Exactly one year later I weighed in again – 228 lbs. In one year I gained a hefty 65 lbs. There were two primary reasons for the weight gain – 1) I stopped using some rather nasty illicit substances that were wreaking havoc on my body and 2) Switching from “single, no sleep, party, party, party!” mode to “married, child (no sleep of a different kind), work, work, work!” mode is a pretty drastic lifestyle change. In the latter mode I actually ate regular meals on a regular schedule instead of just eating whenever.
I never complained too much about the gain. I am a big guy…. 6’3” and 228lbs is hardly obese. In fact I looked a hell of a lot better at 228 than I did at 163. But over time that weight built up a little more and a little more until about 6 years ago when (Turning Point Two) I peaked at 264, saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit and realized I had to get it under control. I didn’t do anything drastic. I just modified my diet, ate a little better, ate a little less, and within a year I was under 240. I was happy under 240 and never wanted to go over that point again.
Turning Point Three – In the past 5 years I have never (knowingly!) weighed more than 240 lbs. Any time I jumped on the scale I was happy to see I was between 230 and 240. But two weeks ago I got on the scale and I was at 244. The most I had weighed in 5 years. I was disappointed but not surprised. I have been traveling (a lot!), not eating well, practically zero exercise for several months and….oh yeah….I am about to be 40 (I was going to make that Turning Point Four but it is still a little over a month away…..let’s stretch that out as long as we can).
Going over 240 is an issue for me for a few reasons…..
I have never weighed over 240 since meeting my wonderful fiancé (The Nun). We are to be married in April of next year and I would like to be in good health and look well for that occasion. She deserves it as much as I do.
240 was an unseen line I had not crossed in 5 years and didn’t want to. I had made a promise to myself to not go over that point and I broke it. If I let 240 be okay……would 250 be next? Then 260? Then ??? Time to fix it.
Finally……There were two things I didn’t want to become. First, for long time acquaintances, I didn’t want to be “That Guy…”. You know……”That Guy….who started gaining weight and never stopped”. Second, for new acquaintances I didn’t want to become the “Whoa!” guy……as in “Whoa! That was you?” when they see an old picture of you.
But even as I knew I wanted to do something about it, I wasn’t motivating myself to do anything. I needed a push…..
Nudge One….
Also about two weeks ago (just a couple days after my fateful 240+ weigh-in), my group had a team meeting in Dallas, Tx. There are roughly 55 of us on the team that are “remote employees” – we work out of our homes instead of an office. That means 55 people who are scattered across the US come together for a few days at a time 4 times a year where we notice someone grew their hair out or got it cut. Someone dresses differently. Someone has a tan (or NEEDS one). In my case, I shaved off my goatee of 5 years and I heard a bunch of, “You look different…but I don’t know what it is” comments.
Brian LaMee had taken it a step further though….
Brian has a blog where he is detailing his path to two goals: Meeting a weight loss goal and entering a bicycle tour. I want you read the blog because I think it is inspirational so I won’t give away too much here. Suffice it to say that when I saw Brian two weeks ago it was not the same Brian I saw at our March team meeting. There was no fumbling for “Did you cut your hair?......Did you Shave?.......Did you get a Pedicure?” to try to figure out what was different about him. His weight loss to date is obvious and inspirational. Read his blog.
Nudge Two…..
Two other team mates of mine just completed a marathon together – John Baker and Matt Hester. For those of you who know that a marathon is a looooooooong run, but don’t know exactly how long, that is 26 miles. For perspective, grab a map, find where you live and then map out something that is a 13 mile drive from your place. Now run to and from that place in about 5-6 hours. I couldn’t do that now if my life depended on it. John runs a couple of marathons a year just because he wants to. Go figure.
That brings me to Turning Point 4 – I am almost 40, I am over 240 lbs, and I have been inspired by Brian, Matt, and John to make some changes in my health.
So this morning, The Nun and I started an exercise regimen. The plan was actually forwarded to me by Brian. It sets a goal of going from no exercise at all to running 5k (~3 miles) in two months. Like Brian, I want to set some goals for myself. So…..
Goal #1 – Look and feel better than I do now on my wedding day (roughly 6 months form now…)
Goal #2 – Down to 210 lbs – Why 210? I haven’t been below 220 in 18 years. Most weight charts say I should be right about 200. I will start with 210 and then shoot for 200 if my doc thinks it is a good idea.
Goal #3 – Run a Marathon. John has been bugging me about this for a couple of years now so why not?
I have a couple other goals I would like to hit, but I will shoot for these three first. Goals 1 and 2 have an April time frame. The Marathon….well...check my blog one year from today for an update. If you are interested in tracking my progress seperately from the rest of my posts, I have created a category feed for Fitness. I will be updating regularly as a means of keeping myself on track.
Wish Me Luck!
Cheers!