MSDN
Well how about this for some cool news…..headline – “Windows bumps Unix as top server OS”. I kinda like that headline!
Cheers!
I have noted in a couple of previous blog entries that I may be relocating up to the Bellevue/Redmond area so I can work closer to the mothership. Well, this post is my first official notice that, yes, I am going to be relocating.
This is something I have wanted to do for many years. I have discussed this with several managers over time and I have just been waiting for the right opportunity. I am fortunate that I am going to be able to make a “lateral” move. One of my fellow presenters who worked and lives in the northwest moved to a new role and I jumped on the chance to be able to backfill his position. Long term this is a great career move for me while for the short term I am able to continue doing what I like to do – live presentations.
For those of you that know me from SoCal, I am going to miss you and the area. Nothing can beat the SoCal weather and I have met some great people in the last three years I have spent here. I am not leaving immediately as I have to get through my wedding in April first. But things will be moving quite rapidly for me over the next couple of months. I expect to be fully relocated to the north by Jun 1st if things go smoothly.
My blog will move with me so you can expect to see it stay in place though I do intend to make some changes. I want to be more focused on some products that I like to work with: Media Center, Small Business Server, Exchange, ISA, Vista, Windows. I know that seems pretty broad, but it much more focused than my original intent of just blogging about everything I have to work with. I am even considering splitting the blog up around those products for organizational purposes (and my own sanity!)
As for my relationships with User Groups, the Community, and other local organizations, rest assured that I will pass that torch on to whoever is brought on board and make sure they continue to be involved.
Now…..go register for the local events we have this week!
http://technetbriefings.com
Cheers!
I am delivering a webcast later this morning entitled – Microsoft Solutions to Windows Update Management. The Webcast starts at 9am Pacific Time and I expect all 23 of you to show up! :)
Cheers!
Straight from John Carmack…..
Xbox 360: 'A really sweet develoment system'
"The Xbox 360 will probably will be id's primary development platform. As it is right now, we would get the game up on the 360. When I would do major hack-and-slash architectural changes it was back on the PC, but it’s looking like the Xbox 360 will be our target. All of our tools are on the PC, and we’re maintaining the game running on the PC, but probably all of our gameplay development and testing will be done on the Xbox 360. It’s a really sweet development system."
Cheers!
I recently received an email asking – “How can I populate Internet Explorer Zones using Group Policy?”. I receive this email pretty frequently so I thought I would just blog it….
First, get into the Group Policy Object Editor then locate the Internet Explorer Security Page objects. You are looking for the Site to Zone Assignment List object.
Open that object and can enter site names you wish to push to the clients. You select the zone using a numerical value (1-4) for the zone it should go in:
1= Intranet Zone
2= Trusted Sites Zone
3= Internet Zone
4= Restricted Sites Zone
In my example, I have added my blog site to the Trusted Sites Zone –
Once the policy is created and linked to an OU (or domain or site), and the clients have refreshed, the client will have the list you set in group policy.
Downside - with the control we give the admin, we sacrifice control at the user level. This group policy will overwrite any existing settings in place at the client. In addition, the user loses the ability to add sites to the zones theselves. The user can get into the interface and add sites to zones but the will not stick. As an admin you may wish to lock out access to the page completely.
You can find more detailed information on this and other settings in this document.
Cheers!
Whew! I came home from Seattle for the weekend only to now be in Palm Beach, Florida. I am covering some Technet events for a co-worker who is working on a project. I am delivering in Palm Beach tomorrow and Tampa on Thursday. Looks like there are still spots open for registration. If you happen to be in either area this week, stop in and say hello! We will also be piloting a new customer registration system that should speed things up when you come in for the events. I would love to hear your feedback on the registration process.
I will be hopping on a plane Thursday evening to come back to SoCal.
Cheers!
Check out Stephen Toulouse information about the WMF/SetAbortProc vulnerability. I hope this puts to rest rumors about it being an intentional backdoor…
Cheers!
Robert Scoble comments on how he doesn’t care for the title of “evangelist”. He believes there is a religious connotation applied to it (and he is right about that). He goes on to explain why he doesn’t want religious customers. He details this along with a link to Guy Kawasaki’s blog entry on the Art of Evangelism which I think is a very good analogy for what we do. I think Scoble is too caught up in the religious meaning of the word which gets reinforced by Guy’s analogy.
I am also an evangelist. I am an ITPro Evangelist and I also have that on my business card. However, I started out not liking the title. I have since changed my mind to embrace it. When my title changed from “Technet Presenter” to “ITPro Evangelist” I didn’t care for it for the exact reason of its religious meaning. But as time has passed, I have realized that what I do as an ITPro Evangelist is exactly what a religious evangelist does – I speak the good word about Microsoft products and technologies to the masses in hope of educating the masses about what we have to offer. Maybe I will convert a few along the way; maybe I will turn some away. But I believe in my company and our products and think they can help a lot of people with their technical problems.
I decided to go check out Webster’s to see how they define evangelist –
Evangelist – 1) Any one of the four authors of the New Testament gospel books – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John; 2) One who practices evangelism, especially a protestant preacher or missionary.
That led me to look up –
Evangelism – 1) Zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel, as through missionary work; 2) Militant zeal for a cause
I also looked up the synonyms to see if maybe there was a better word for what we do –
Evangelist - advocate, champion, companion, converter, herald, messenger, missionary, pioneer, propagandist, proponent, proselytizer
I am all of those things for the company. However, none of those synonyms work as a job title as none of them truly convey the depth of what we do. Evangelist is a rather broad word that allows me combine all of those words to champion our products, convert the undecided and be a messenger both for the product team to the customer and for the customer back to the product teams. I think the word is perfectly appropriate in spite of the religious connection. If someone wants to spend all their time debating with me the religiousness of my job title, maybe they have some other non-technical issues I can’t likely help them with anyway.
Scoble doesn’t want “religious customers”. He wants “skeptical, educated, pragmatic” customers. I believe my role is to address the skepticism customers may have about our products, educate them about our products and give them the facts and practical information that allows them to use our products to solve their problems. I choose to do this by talking mainly about our own products where Scoble chooses to talk a lot about competitors.
I agree with Scoble that people should make educated choices about purchasing and implementing based upon a comparison of different products. I don’t think it is my job to educate people on 3rd party products though. The competition has their own evangelists. They don’t need Microsoft employees doing it for them. With so many products out there, it is very difficult for the average consumer and even the hard-core ITPro to know everything there it to know about all products. That is where I come in to make sure that MS products are being evangelized to the masses such that the features and capabilities are known. If we don’t then we become obscure. Without someone letting people know what Microsoft has to offer, we will cease to be relevant. Let the competition figure out how to be heard above the crowd while we focus on making sure we are.
Regardless, we are both evangelists and I believe the word appropriately describes what we should be doing for the company and for our customers.
So…..Hello, I am Chris Avis. I am an ITPro Evangelist for the Microsoft Corporation. What can I tell you about OUR products?
Cheers!
I will be delivering some Technet sessions in Florida next week. Jan 17th in Royal Palm Beach and Jan 19th in Tampa. We are going to be covering a rather large set of topics including – New Features of Windows 2003 R2 such as Active Directory Federation Services, better Distributed File System capabilities, and benefits provided for Branch Office deployments. We will also be discussing some new features in Exchange 2003 SP2, and some great information on how to locate resources that every ITPro should know about to help make their day go a lot smoother.
I am looking forward to heading out to Florida next week and hope some of you make it as well.
Cheers!
Ps… I am delivering these same events in SoCal in late February. No registration links have been made available yet.
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/
Extending Visual Studio 2005 Team System – Discussion on how Microsoft IT extended Visual Studio 2005 Team System to incorporate software development lifecycle methodology process by modifying the default process template. By modifying the process template developer compliance increased and external tools were eliminated.
Getting Started – Visual Basic Fusion with Visual Basic 6 and Visual Basic .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. This video is the second of a two-part presentation by Scott Swigart of Swigart Consulting.
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s…Oh My! –
Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 1.2 – Compatible with 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.
Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Language Packs – December Community Technology Preview (CTP) – The WinFX language packs contain translated text, such as error messages, for languages other than English. Installation of a language pack is not required to run WinFX resources on a non-English operating system; however, it is recommended.
Note: An English WinFX language pack is not available because all text is in English by default. To download a specific language pack, select the target language from the change language drop-down.
Pre-released WinFX Runtime Components 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.
Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Runtime Components – December Community Technology Preview (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 December CTP enables developers to continue experimenting with early builds of these technologies, get acquainted with the development experience, and provide Microsoft with feedback.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Help for Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications SDK – This help file documents all the POSIX style APIs provided by Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications.
Australian Daylight Savings changes in Microsoft Products for the year 2006 – The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held during March 2006 in Melbourne Australia. Several Australian states including New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, have changed the Daylight Savings transition end dates to the first Sunday of April 2006.
DirectX End-User Runtimes (December 2005) Full Download – This download provides the DirectX end-user multi-languaged redistributable that developers can include with their product. The redistributable license agreement covers the terms under which developers may use the Redistributable. For full details please review the DirectX SDK EULA.txt and DirectX Redist.txt files located in the license directory.
This package is localized into Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English.
DirectX End-User Runtime (December 2005) Web Installer – Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB911711 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: Datasync
Description: ActiveSync connection may fail if a user attempts to re-connect to a device after failing to enter a password.
Tools and Apps –
PlaysForSure Portable Device Test Kit – Microsoft has established the PlaysForSure program to establish compatibility between music or video device and online stores that sell digital music and video using Windows Media technologies. If you are designing or manufacturing a portable media player device, you can use the PlaysForSure Portable Device Test Kit to verify that your device is compliant with the requirements of the PlaysForSure logo program. Please note that you must have a fully executed PlaysForSure Logo License Agreement in place with Microsoft prior to using the logo on your products or marketing materials.
Microsoft Domain-Specific Language (DSL) Tools – Using the Microsoft DSL tools you can create your own designer, integrated into Visual Studio, for a visual domain-specific language. The tools help you define the domain-specific language and generate the code of a graphical designer for you. The resulting designer uses the same underlying modeling technology that is used by the Class Designer and Distributed System Designers in Visual Studio 2005.
The Microsoft Tools for Domain-Specific Languages is part of the Visual Studio 2005 SDK.
SQL Server 2005 System View Map – The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 System View Map shows the key system views included in SQL Server 2005, and the relationships between them.
BizTalk Server 2004 Load Generation Tool – This tool is intended for developers and IT professionals to simulate load on a BizTalk Server. Using this tool, you can simulate load to instrument performance and stress against a BizTalk deployment. In addition, this tool may also be extended by developers to simulate load for custom transports. This tool should be used in a test environment only, and should not be used in a production environment. This tool is provided "as-is" and is not supported.
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Deploying Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Solutions using Windows Installer – This download targets developers who want to deploy a Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office solution using a Visual Studio 2005 Setup project to create a Windows Installer package.
The accompanying article provides the following discussions of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office deployment:
- An overview of the main steps required to deploy a Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office solution.
- An overview of how to deploy a Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office solution using the Visual Studio Setup project including how you can add the Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office runtime and the Microsoft Office 2003 primary interop assemblies prerequisites to your setup packages.
- The steps for granting security trust to a solution.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 – Update to the Web Project Conversion Wizard – The Web Project Conversion Wizard in Visual Studio 2005 has been updated to handle newly discovered conversion issues. This update will improve the success rate of the wizard and make it easier for developers to convert their Visual Studio .NET 2003 Web projects to the new Visual Studio 2005 Web Site project model.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Moving to SQL Server 2005 at Microsoft – Discussion on how Microsoft IT moved its line-of-business applications to SQL Server 2005. Additionally, this paper also discusses a number of details and best practices that Microsoft adopted to move its applications on SQL Server 2005 that may help other organizations successfully plan and roll out SQL Server 2005.
Upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 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.
SQL Server 2005business Intelligence Metadata Whitepaper – This white paper covers several interesting and unique methods for managing metadata in SQL Server Integration Services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services using built-in features including data lineage, business and technical metadata and impact analysis.
Related Download: The SQL Server 2005 Metadata Samples Toolkit can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=11DAA4D1-196D-4F2A-B18F-891579C364F4&displaylang=en
Cheers!
Presentations and WebCasts –
Deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies for Enterprise Collaboration – Detailed discussion about the design and deployment of the Microsoft IT hosted collaboration platform. The platform supports personal storage, team Web sites, group and division portals, and enterprise services. With server farms centralized in three regional data centers, Microsoft saves both hardware and support costs.
Moving to SQL Server 2005 at Microsoft – Discussion on how Microsoft IT moved its line-of-business applications to SQL Server 2005. Additionally, this paper also discusses a number of details and best practices that Microsoft adopted to move its applications on SQL Server 2005 that may help other organizations successfully plan and roll out SQL Server 2005.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Update for Windows XP x64 Edition – KB903651 – See Below
Update for Windows Server 2003 – KB903651 – See Below
Update for Windows 2003 for Itanium-based Systems – KB903651– See Below
Update for Windows Server x64 Edition – KB903651 – Install this update to allow more than one domain-based DFS namespace to be created on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Australian Daylight Savings changes for Microsoft products for the Year 2006 – The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held during March 2006 in Melbourne Australia. Several Australian states including New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, have changed the Daylight Savings transition end dates to the first Sunday of April 2006.
Update for Software Update Services – Run this script and follow the instructions in KB912307 to resolve an issue in Software Update Services (SUS) 1.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) in which all previously approved updates may revert to an unapproved state and the status appears as "updated". This script will reset your approval settings to their previous state. SUS 1.0 SP1 servers that were deployed on or after December 13, 2005 will not encounter this issue.
Tools and Apps –
SQL Server 2005 System View Map – The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 System View Map shows the key system views included in SQL Server 2005, and the relationships between them.
Active Directory Migration Tool v2.0 – The Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) version 2.0 provides an easy, secure, and fast way to either upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server Active Directory service or restructure Windows Server Active Directory domains between forests or within a forest. The tool migrates users, groups, and computers between domains in a way that allows users to have access to their resources and applications at all times. Version 2.0 includes new features, such as password migration, a scripting interface, and a command line interface, that make migrations easier.
Also available is the Active Directory Migration Tool v3.0, which provides an integrated toolset to facilitate migration and restructuring tasks in an Active Directory infrastructure.
BizTalk Server 2004 Load Generation Tool – This tool is intended for developers and IT professionals to simulate load on a BizTalk Server. Using this tool, you can simulate load to instrument performance and stress against a BizTalk deployment. In addition, this tool may also be extended by developers to simulate load for custom transports. This tool should be used in a test environment only, and should not be used in a production environment. This tool is provided "as-is" and is not supported.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Microsoft CRM 3.0 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 Dynamics CRM 3.0 Virtual PC Demonstration – Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 release Virtual PC Demonstration. This demo is a one computer setup with Microsoft CRM 3.0 server and Microsoft CRM 3.0 client for Outlook. This demonstartion also contains Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.
Microsoft File Server Resource Manager – The Microsoft Corporation Information Technology group uses Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 File Server Resource Manager as a centralized tool for managing file servers located in branch offices around the world. File Server Resource Manager is a suite of tools that allows administrators to understand, control, and manage the quantity and types of data stored on their servers.
Live Communications Server 2005 Document: Configuring Certificates – This document explains how Live Communications Server 2005 uses certificates and how to configure certificates for each server role using your existing certificate infrastructure.
Terminal Services Scaling and Performance on X64-based versions of Windows Server 2003 – Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Terminal Server lets users run Microsoft Windows®-based applications on a remote computer that is running one of the Windows Server 2003 family of operating systems. This white paper contains results, analyses, and sizing guidelines for Terminal Services on x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003. Hewlett Packard worked in cooperation with Microsoft to perform the initial sizing tests and data collection in the Microsoft Enterprise Engineering Center in Redmond, Washington. The tests were performed using Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1).
DirectX End-User Runtime – Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.
DFS Operations Guide: Using the DFSRAdmin Command-line Tool – The Dfsradmin.exe command line tool is new for the Distributed File System (DFS) in Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 R2. Use this tool to administer DFS replication, including creation of replication groups and replicated folders, adding members to replication groups, and managing the location of staging folders. This guide offers step-by-step instructions for performing these common tasks by using DFSRAdmin.
SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Metadata Whitepaper – This white paper covers several interesting and unique methods for managing metadata in SQL Server Integration Services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services using built-in features including data lineage, business and technical metadata and impact analysis.
Related Download: The SQL Server 2005 Metadata Samples Toolkit can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=11DAA4D1-196D-4F2A-B18F-891579C364F4&displaylang=en
Security –
Improving Security at Microsoft through Deployment of Windows XP SP2 – Overview of why and how Microsoft IT proactively deployed Windows XP Service Pack 2. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is a critical security release that addresses Internet-based security threats.
Windows Server 2003 PKI Operations Guide – How to configure and operate a Windows certificate authority, with operational scenarios, custom configuration information, sample commands, and best practices.
MBSA 2.0 Scripting Examples – Sample scripts that illustrate how to extend MBSA 2.0 for greater scalability during scanning and report rollup.
Cheers!
I am delivering Part 1 on Thursday and Part 2 on Friday. We will discuss the challenges an organization faces when dealing with multiple identities and intranet/extranet acess. We will discuss security repurcussions and using Microsoft Identity Information Server. I will update this post in a day or two with the slides I will be using.
Cheers!
There have been many requests from across the country to post the scripts we use in our SQl Demos from the “Best Of…” and SQL Launch Events. Harold Wong zipped them up and sent them to me to post here.
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/
MSDN TV: Late Binding in Visual Basic – Paul Vick and Erik Meijer discuss the role that late binding plays in Visual Basic, allowing a more dynamic style of programming than is possible in some other .NET languages. They also show some future ideas for how late binding might make programming against data such as XML radically easier.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
DirectX9.0c Redistributable (October 2005) – Multilingual – This download provides the DirectX 9.0c end-user multi-languaged redistributable that developers can include with their product. The redistributable license agreement covers the terms under which developers may use the Redistributable. For full details please review the DirectX SDK EULA.txt and DirectX Redist.txt files located in the license directory.
This package is localized into Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB910869 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: Launching applications after playing video may result in an error.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB910643 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: Playback of WMA files may consume large amount of memory.
Australian Daylight Savings Changes for Microsoft Products for the Year 2006 – The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held during March 2006 in Melbourne Australia. Several Australian states including New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, have changed the Daylight Savings transition end dates to the first Sunday of April 2006.
Daylight savings end for 2005/2006
For the Year 2006 only, the published Daylight Savings end transition dates (as at 14th September, 2005) for each of the states of Australia are:
Victoria 27/03/2006 To 2/4/2006
ACT 27/03/2006 To 2/4/2006
NSW 27/03/2006 To 2/4/2006
Tasmania 27/03/2006 To 2/4/2006
South Australia 27/03/2006 To 2/4/2006
Note: Clocks are advanced at 2am by 1 hour on start day to become Summer Time.
Clocks are wound back at 3am by 1 hour at end day to become Standard Time.
The change to Daylight Savings will affect the transition settings for the following time zone rules:
(GMT + 10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
(GMT + 10:00) Hobart
(GMT+09:30) Adelaide
Currently supported versions of products shipped by Microsoft have Daylight Savings transition dates that do not cater for the abovementioned change. These products include:
Microsoft Windows ME
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows CE / Mobile
Microsoft Exchange server 2000
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Tools and Apps –
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK – 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.
CLR Managed Debugger (mdbg) Sample – To build and run the CLR Managed Debugger (mdbg) sample you will need to have the .NET Framework 2.0 SDK (release build – version 2.0.50727) installed on your system. This is included with Visual Studio 2005 and the Visual Studio Express Editions. If you do not have Visual Studio 2005, you can download and install Visual C# 2005 Express Edition to build the sample. In both Visual Studio 2005 and Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, you can build mdbg using the solution file included with the mdbg source. Additionally, the sample can be built using nmake (included in the .Net Framework SDK) and the makefile script.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Microsoft CRM 3.0 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 KPIUtil.exe tool for Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 – KPIUtil.exe is a tool that allows users to connect to both a Microsoft® Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 server and a Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 Analysis Services server to do the following:
- Generate SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services key performance indicators (KPIs) from Business Scorecard Manager KPIs.
- Generate Business Scorecard Manager KPIs from SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services KPIs.
- Save a configuration file that contains parameters (including the connection information to the SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services server and the Business Scorecard Manager server) that you entered by using KPIUtil.exe. You can use the saved configuration file either to generate KPIs from a command prompt or to open the configuration file in KPIUtil.exe at a later time.
Cheers!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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 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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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/
Scripting Week 3 Sample Scripts — Sample scripts presented during the Scripting Week 3 webcast series (held October 24-28, 2005) on TechNet. All of the scripts demonstrated during the week-long series are included in this download.
MSDN TV: Introducing “Cider” – The Visual Studio Designer for WPF (Avalon) — Mark Boulter and Mike Harsh give an overview of "Cider", the visual designer for Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code-named "Avalon") that will be part of a future version of Visual Studio.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – Oct. 18th, 2005 — Channel 9 interviews Paul Yuknewicz, Eddie Churchill, Mark Boulter, Infopath team, Monad team, MSN Search, Sidebar and Gadgets team, and VSTS's Source Code Management team.
Beta’s, RC’s and CTP’s….Oh My! —
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 – KB908999 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: An exception may occur when a variable in the source filter is not initialized.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909076 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: When playing a video with subtitles, first subtitle may not render correctly.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB908955 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: There may be no sound when playing certain MP3 files.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Quarterly Update (Jul-Sep 2005) — This is a set of updates for Windows CE Platform Builder released during the period of July 1 through September 30, 2005. These Microsoft Windows CE updates are fixes for Windows CE operating system problems you run into during the development and maintenance of your custom platform. To qualify for consideration for an update, a problem needs to cause an excessive amount of work and not have a reasonable workaround.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB909204 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: MSHTML
Description: A memory leak may occur when playing audio files.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB908363 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: A video distortion may occur if the video window is hidden and then subsequently redrawn during WMV/MPEG-4 video playback.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Quarterly Update (Jul-Sep 2005) — Windows CE Sustained Engineering team has implemented a new Update packaging system based upon the Windows Installer. These changes apply to Windows CE .NET 4.2 and beyond. All update packages released after January 1, 2005 will be provided using the new installer technology. Once one of these new packages is installed, you will no longer be able to install older packages.
Note: This does not affect Windows CE .NET 4.1 or earlier. These operating systems are using our original packaging technology. This is a set of updates for Windows CE .NET Platform Builder released during the period of July 1 - September 30, 2005. These Microsoft Windows CE updates are fixes for Windows CE operating system problems you run into during the development and maintenance of your custom platform. To qualify for consideration for an update, a problem needs to cause an excessive amount of work and not have a reasonable workaround.
Windows CE .NET 4.1 Platform Builder Update – KB909257 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: RDP
Description: A memory leak may occur when redirecting a serial device via RDP.
Windows CE 3.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909148 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: NetBIOS
Description: A socket leak may occur when connecting/disconnecting to TCP port 139 without sending data.
Tools and Apps —
Extending Visual Studio 2005 Team System — Discussion on how Microsoft IT extended Visual Studio 2005 Team System to incorporate software development lifecycle methodology process by modifying the default process template. By modifying the process template developer compliance increased and external tools were eliminated.
Guides and Whitepapers —
Microsoft Application Platform Overview — Information technology and its effective use to address changing business requirements is central to an organization’s ability to compete. With the advent of new technologies and the use of the Internet to achieve tighter integration between an organization and its customers and business partners, the potential of IT has only grown. Successful organizations will be able to realize that potential by building a new generation of connected systems. Connected systems are applications that leverage the network to link the actors and systems that drive business processes. Connected systems pull together a constellation of services and devices, to more effectively meet modern day business challenges. Building connected systems requires a comprehensive enterprise software platform, but also a new service-oriented architectural approach to address the integration imperative.
ReportViewer Samples for Visual Studio — Visual Studio 2005 includes new ReportViewer controls that you can use to add rich data reporting to Windows forms and ASP.NET applications. This download provides two complete samples so that you can view the control and sample reports in a finished application.
- The RSSNewsReader sample is a Windows form application written in Visual C#. It retrieves data from live news feeds and presents that data in a report. The report demonstrates how to use parameters to filter the dataset.
- The Web Log Analyzer is a Windows form application written in Visual Basic. It analyzes log files created by Web servers, such as Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). It includes reports that show statistics on page hits, server activity, and referrals from other sites.
Presentations and WebCasts —
Network Location Awareness — Cell phones use network awareness to work seamlessly moving from point to point, but what do computer applications need to do when people move their mobile PCs from one network to another all day long? Learn how to use the existing Windows XP network management APIs. We'll show you how to build a strategy for leveraging those APIs to create great, network-aware applications for Tablet PC and mobile PCs.
Advanced Tablet PC Development Topics — Are you mastering the fundamentals of the Tablet PC Platform and eager to learn more? Are you already an expert and want a few tips and tricks? This is the session for you. Learn about features such as implementing gesture recognition, using the Clipboard, storing recognition results, and the new RealTimeStylus API.
In Depth – Ink Data Management — Do more with the Ink data that you collect on the Tablet PC Platform. This session teaches you all about managing, analyzing, and interacting with the Ink data that your Tablet PC application collects. Learn about concepts relevant to the Ink API such as hit-testing Ink, choosing different types of bounding boxes for different tasks, using Bezier Control Points, using stroke Intersections, and more.
Basic Considerations for Mobile PC Development — Become familiar with the core set of considerations for writing a Mobile PC application: power management, network awareness, display awareness, and activity awareness. We'll also provide some guidance on choosing a platform (Pocket PC, Windows XP, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition).
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: Hello, WWF! — Dharma Shukla and Don Box provide a code-centric high level walkthrough of the Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF), a programming model, engine, and tools for quickly building workflow enabled applications on Windows.
Channel 9 Interview – October 12th, 2005 — You are going to have to clikc it to find out what it is about!
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – October 10th, 2005 — Channel 9 interviews Mike Murray, Dave Treadwell, and others.
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.
Microsoft CLR Overview — The .NET Framework from Microsoft provides services to application developers that are necessary to quickly create scalable solutions that meet stringent requirements for security, manageability and productivity. This whitepaper introduces the guiding principles and thoughts behind the .NET Framework, the core features of the Common Language Runtime and its supporting Framework Base Class Libraries and how it is evolving in the next major version…
Betas and CTP’s —
Microsoft Expression “Acrylic Graphic Designer” October CTP — Microsoft Expression "Acrylic Graphic Designer" (code name) is a professional illustration, painting, and graphic design product. Visit the Acrylic Graphic Designer Features page for an overview of the main features. For more detailed information please view the videos which are also available on the Acrylic Graphic Designer site.
Acrylic Octpber 2005 CTP XAML Exporter — With the XAML export feature in Microsoft Expression "Acrylic Graphic Designer" (code name), both vector and raster elements can be exported to the XAML mark-up language used by Windows Vista's underlying Windows Presentation Foundation.
Installation of the XAML Exporter is required to use Acrylic Graphic Designer October 2005 CTP software.
Acrylic Graphic Designer CTP is a professional illustration, painting, and graphic design product. Visit the Graphic Designer Features page for an overview of the main features. For more detailed information please view the videos which are also available on the Acrylic Graphic Designer site.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Redistributable Package Release Candidate (x64) — IMPORTANT: This Release Candidate is a pre-release version of the .NET Framework v2.0 (x64) redistributable package.
The Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Release Candidate 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.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Redistributable Package Release Candidate (IA64) — IMPORTANT: This Release Candidate is a pre-release version of the .NET Framework v2.0 (IA64) redistributable package.
The Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Release Candidate 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.
Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Redistributable Package Release Candidate (x86) — IMPORTANT: This Release Candidate is a pre-release version of the .NET Framework v2.0 (x86) redistributable package.
The Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 Release Candidate 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 Release Candidate 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.
IronPython 0.9.3 — 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.
Tools and Apps —
Window XP Media Center Edition 2005 Rollup 2 SDK — The Media Center SDK is designed to help developers create applications and software components that take advantage of features provided by Windows XP Media Center Edition.
The Media Center SDK enables developers to:
•Create Media Center hosted HTML applications.
•Create Media Center hosted add-ins using managed code.
•Direct Media Center to schedule the recording of TV programs from hosted HTML applications, add-ins, and external Windows applications.
•Create device drivers and other software components that receive status information about the state of Media Center.
•Create an input method editor (IME) module that adds a localized version of the on-screen keyboard, keypad, and input method editor to Media Center.
Xinput Driver for Microsoft Common Controller (64bit) — The Microsoft Common Controller Driver is a new game input standard that is used for both the Xbox360 console and for Windows XP SP1 and above. The Xbox360 controller or any controllers that utilize this standard will enable the device to be used on Windows also. This Redistributable Package includes the driver for hardware vendors to redistribute with their hardware. For the most current APIs of the Microsoft Common Controller, please download the latest DX SDK. These APIs are called Xinput APIs.
Xinput Driver for Microsoft Common Controller (32bit) — The Microsoft Common Controller Driver is a new game input standard that is used for both the Xbox360 console and for Windows XP SP1 and above. The Xbox360 controller or any controllers that utilize this standard will enable the device to be used on Windows also. This Redistributable Package includes the driver for hardware vendors to redistribute with their hardware. For the most current APIs of the Microsoft Common Controller, please download the latest DX SDK. These APIs are called Xinput APIs.
Microsoft IntelliSense XML Files for Visual Studio Tools — Adds summary descriptions of types, members, and parameters to IntelliSense ToolTips in code and in the Object Browser for Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, and Microsoft Office 2003 Shared PIAs in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Visual Studio 2005.
Microsoft Character Code Conversion Routines for HKSCS-2004 — The Microsoft Character Code Conversion Routines for HKSCS-2004 contains two conversion/trans-coding functions. Use the functions to write applications to transform, trans-code, and migrate HKSCS character data encoded with old encodings to character data with new Unicode 4.1 encodings.
Hotfixes, Patches Updates, Service Packs —
Windows CE 3.0 Platform Builder Update – KB909012 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: EDBG
Description: Under certain circumstances EDBG may infinitely retransmit network frames. As a result the device appears to hang and the network connection to ESHELL is lost.
Windows CE 3.0 Platform Builder Update – KB 908379 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: MsgQue
Description: MsgWaitForMultipleObjects may not handle tick-count roll-over correctly.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB908362 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: TCP/IP
Description: A device when set up as a server can be attacked by a client device.This security update addresses this issue.
DirectX 9.0 SDK Update – October 2005 — This DirectX SDK release contains updates to tools, utilities, samples, Documentation, and runtime debug files for x64 and x86 platforms. This release also include a public pre-release of Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation tool and Managed Direct Code for Beta 2 (2.0 CLR).
Microsoft.Ink.dll CLR2.0 Update – KB900722 — ompatibility issues (events not firing, classes being disfunctional) with CLR2.0 have been found in Windows XP SP1/SP2 versions of Microsoft.Ink.dll on Tablet PCs. Because this DLL is a system file on these configurations, they require update through Windows Update.
Update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service – KB903089 — This update resolves an issue where IIS's FTP functionality is not functioning properly on Windows Embedded for Point of Service.
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.
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/
Channel 9 MSDN Videos — October 3, 2005 — Channel 9 talks with a bunch of teams and gets a tour of the Computer History Museum.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904259 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: GDI
Description: This update addresses the issue of Font linking via AddFontResource not working correctly.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904258 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: FATFS
Description: An error may occur when flushing to a file.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904524 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: Regcomp.exe
Description: DCOM may not work correctly with hive base registry.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB9044241 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: This update addresses some thread synchronization issues.
Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP1 Beta — Download Service Pack 1 public beta for Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0. There is no expiration date for the SP1 beta of Visual FoxPro 9.0 beta, and release of the final version of SP1 is scheduled for sometime around the end of 2005. Because this is a pre-release build of SP1 for Visual FoxPro (VFP) 9.0, the quality of it will not be of the same caliber as that of the final release.
Presentations —
Advances in Creating Tablet Enabled Applications — Learn how ink integrates into the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly codename "Avalon") and what the new and improved recognition APIs can do. When using the Windows Presentation Foundation, the stylus is a premier input device adjacent to the keyboard and mouse, ink is a core data type, and several ink controls are built in. The ink analysis API unifies layout analysis (e.g., distinction of drawing, words, paragraphs, etc.) and ink to text recognition under a single API, in addition to improvements in accuracy and supported structures (e.g., bulleted lists and call outs). The combination of these advances and the expansion into touch digitizers enables new scenarios.
Developing Power-Aware Applications — Learn how to take advantage of the updates to the power APIs, the new sleep/wake states and other improvements in Windows Vista to ride the wave of mobile PC computing. In this session, we cover power management best practices, including how to integrate your application with system power policy and behaviors. We show you how to register for and properly respond to common power management events, such as monitor on/off and user presence.
Auxilliary Devices: Reaching Your Users When Their Machine is Off — Auxiliary Display is new to Windows Vista and provides users quick access to data even when their PC is turned off. It targets many classes of devices including laptop lid displays, front panel displays and connected devices. A set of APIs are provided that allow applications to easily send data to Auxiliary Display devices. This session demonstrates the basics of creating an application that sends data to auxiliary displays using these APIs and tools available in the Windows Vista Platform SDK.
Anywhere Access to Data — Explore strategies for accessing data on the Windows Mobile platform when users are sometimes connected and sometimes not including strategies for synchronizing, caching, and other important behaviors.
Centralizing Data Synchronizationwith the bew Sync Center — This session focuses on Microsoft's plans around data synchronization. The new Sync Center in Windows Vista will become the hub for all data synchronization between the PC and applications, services, devices and other computers. We take a closer look at the development framework as well as the end user experience that Sync Center helps create.
Hands On Labs —
Hands on Lab: Building Energy Smart Applications (C#, Windows Vista) — You will learn to tell when the computer suspends and then resumes activity. The lab introduces how Windows Vista provides power management notification messages and how you can use those notifications. Finally, you will explore the new power plan features in Windows Vista. The lab will explain how your application should take advantage of the active power plan.
Hands On Lab: Getting Started with the Tablet PC Platform (C#, Windows Vista) — The first objective is to introduce you to the features and benefits of Tablet PC's and to describe the benefits of developing applications for Tablet PC form factor. The second objective is to introduce basic concepts of working with the Tablet PC platform.
Hands on Lab: Getting Started with the Tablet PC (VB, Windows Vista) — The first objective is to introduce you to the features and benefits of Tablet PC's and to describe the benefits of developing applications for Tablet PC form factor. The second objective is to introduce basic concepts of working with the Tablet PC platform.
Hands On Lab: RalTimeStylus (C#, Windows Vista) — 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.
Tools and Apps —
Web Services Enhancements 3.0 October CTP 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, 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 October CTP 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.
DirectX 9.0 SDK (October 2005) — This DirectX SDK release contains updates to tools, utilities, samples, Documentation, and runtime debug files for x64 and x86 platforms. This release also include a public pre-release of Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation tool and Managed Direct Code for Beta 2 (2.0 CLR).
DirectX 9.0c Redistributable (October 2005) – Multilingual — This download provides the DirectX 9.0c end-user multi-languaged redistributable that developers can include with their product. The redistributable license agreement covers the terms under which developers may use the Redistributable. For full details please review the DirectX SDK EULA.txt and DirectX Redist.txt files located in the license directory.
This package is localized into Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English.
DirectX 9.0 SDK (October 2005) Symbol Files — This download contains all the symbol files for the DirectX 9.0c release for Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. The Windows XP Service Pack 2 symbol files are located in the Platform SDK.
InkListBox Control — InkListBox is a custom control for managed Windows Forms application running on a Tablet PC. The control extends the ListBox class with ink functionality. The control provides pen-enabled navigation, including navigation through gestures as well as ink input for navigation through long lists. The download includes sample code, written in C#.
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.
Sample Code Generator 1.4.2.0 — 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.
Windows “Monad” Shell Beta 2 Documentation Pack — The documents included are:
- The "Getting Started" guide, an 80-page introduction to using the shell and the MSH language supported by the Windows "Monad" Shell (GettingStarted.doc).
- A single-page summary of the MSH language, formatted as a tri-fold (LanguageQuickReferenceTriFold.doc).
- A quick-start guide to tracing in the Windows "Monad" Shell (TracingQuickStart.doc).
- The three Hands-On Labs from the 2005 Professional Developers Conference: "Monad Scripting" (MonadScripting-HandsOnLab.doc), "Building Monad Cmdlets" (BuildingMonadCmdlets-HandsOnLab.doc) and "Creating Monad Providers" (CreatingMonadProviders-HandsOnLab.doc).
Project 2003 Tool: Scrum Solution Starter — Scrum is an Agile project management practice that employs short iterations and continuous improvement. The Scrum solution starter extends Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 or Project Standard 2003 and enables project managers to perform basic Scrum work. The Scrum solution starter includes a Project template that is set up for a product backlog or a sprint backlog, and a COM add-in that exports the project data to Microsoft Office Excel and generates burn-down graphs and cumulative flow diagrams.
ILMerge — ILMerge is a utility that can be used to merge multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly. ILMerge takes a set of input assemblies and merges them into one target assembly. The first assembly in the list of input assemblies is the primary assembly. When the primary assembly is an executable, then the target assembly is created as an executable with the same entry point as the primary assembly. Also, if the primary assembly has a strong name, and a .snk file is provided, then the target assembly is re-signed with the specified key so that it also has a strong name.
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/
Visual Studio 2005 Team System Foundation Installation Guide — were made to the guide since shipping.
Note: On computers with security update 896358 installed, downloaded Compiled Help Module (CHM) files cannot be opened. For more information, see KB902225.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904253 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: Integration
Description: This update allows Platform Builder 5.0 to interpret a debug symbol format in PDB files that is also used by Visual Studio tools.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB898069 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: TimeSVC
Description: A leak may occur when DST notification gets added into the notification database when the device is soft booted.
Office Small Business Accounting 2006 SDK 1.3 — The Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting Software Development Kit (SDK) includes everything developers need to write, build, and deploy Microsoft Small Business Accounting integrated applications – documentation and samples.
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/
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – September 19th, 2005 — Channel 9 talks with a bunch of teams. Hotmail, MSN, Watson, Aux Displays, VB, Crypto
Visual FoxPro 9.0 SP1 (Beta) — Download Service Pack 1 public beta for Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0. There is no expiration date for the SP1 beta of Visual FoxPro 9.0 beta, and release of the final version of SP1 is scheduled for sometime around the end of 2005. Because this is a pre-release build of SP1 for Visual FoxPro (VFP) 9.0, the quality of it will not be of the same caliber as that of the final release.
Live Meeting 2005 Web Parts — The Live Meeting 2005 Web Parts integrate Live Meeting with Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server to aggregate information together within a single portal so that teams can interact more effectively.
By integrating with Live Meeting Portal, users can seamlessly view their upcoming Live Meetings or recently made recordings without having to log-in or remember any passwords. Not only do the web parts provide a view into Live Meeting from SharePoint, but they also allow a user to conveniently publish meetings and recording into a shared event calendar, so that team members can interact more effectively by having everything in one place.
Live Meeting 2005 Document: Live Meeting Web Parts Administrator’s Guide — The Live Meeting Web Parts Administrator's Guide provides information to help administrators install, configure, and troubleshoot the Live Meeting Web Parts.
The Live Meeting Web Parts make it possible for users of Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Portal Server to seamlessly view their upcoming Live Meetings or recent recordings without having to log in or remember any passwords.
In addition to providing a view into Live Meeting from SharePoint, the Web Parts also allow a user to conveniently publish meetings and recordings into a shared event calendar, so that team members can interact more effectively by being able to access everything from a single portal.
Media Transfer Protocol Enhanced Specification — This specification is intended to define the transport-independent portion of MTP in a way that is agnostic to both device type and OS. Additional specification on how this protocol is defined over a particular transport is required to fully implement this protocol, and will be provided either in an appendix or in a separate document. Certain operating systems or device classes may require a particular subset of MTP to enable their minimal scenarios; it is strongly suggested that implementers investigate the intended usage scenarios to determine if any such requirements exist.
Office “12” XML Schema Reference – PDC 2005 Preview — This download contains DRAFT documentation for XML schemas used in Microsoft Office "12" including Microsoft Office "12" Word, Microsoft Office "12" Excel® and Microsoft Office "12" PowerPoint® schemas.
Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit — The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) for Windows XP, including Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2003 contains the tools and documentation you need to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying on these platforms. Tools include the latest versions of the Microsoft Application Analyzer that simplifies application inventory and compatibility reporting, the Internet Explorer Compatibility Evaluator that assists testers in locating compatibility issues with Internet Explorer on Windows XP Service Pack 2, and the Compatibility Administrator that provides access to the necessary compatibility fixes to support legacy applications in Windows.
IronPython 0.9.2 — 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 CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update (KB908073) — Fixes made in this update:
Component: Core GWES
Description: Multiple calls to SendMessageTimeout may cause an exception.
Systems management Server 2003 SP1 Advanced Client for Windows XP Embedded — With the SMS 2003 SP1 Advanced Client for Windows XP Embedded, you can use SMS 2003 to manage hardware devices that are running the Windows XP Embedded operating system. These devices include, but are not restricted to, point of sale (POS) terminals, automated teller machines (ATMs) and Windows-based thin clients.
Microsoft Character Code Conversion Routines for HKSCS-2004 — The Microsoft Character Code Conversion Routines for HKSCS-2004 contains two conversion/trans-coding functions. Use the functions to write applications to transform, trans-code, and migrate HKSCS character data encoded with old encodings to character data with new Unicode 4.1 encodings.
ISV Chalk Talk — IIS 7.0 with Chris Adams — A technical discussion at PDC 2005 on what’s new in the upcoming IIS 7.0
ISV Chalk Talk — Team System Training — A discussion with a Microsoft partner on Visual Studio Team System Training options
ISV Chalk Talk — Shanku discusses Microsoft Atlas — Shanku discusses the new Microsoft Atlas tools and technologies
ISV Chalk Talk — Partnering with Microsoft with Rob Bernard — A discussion with the GM of the Microsoft Global ISV partnering group
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.
ILMerge — ILMerge is a utility that can be used to merge multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly. ILMerge takes a set of input assemblies and merges them into one target assembly. The first assembly in the list of input assemblies is the primary assembly. When the primary assembly is an executable, then the target assembly is created as an executable with the same entry point as the primary assembly. Also, if the primary assembly has a strong name, and a .snk file is provided, then the target assembly is re-signed with the specified key so that it also has a strong name.
ASP.NET Technical Overview — This paper will provide a technical overview of ASP.NET, including a discussion in greater detail of how ASP.NET delivers value to developers, administrators, and users today: Along the way the paper will also describe:
• how ASP.NET fits into existing, heterogeneous enterprise environments
• the innovative control-based ASP.NET model that powers the productivity boost
• how ASP.NET makes web services easy
• and finally, how the next version of ASP.NET will advance the state of the art even further
Cheers!
You would think i would have gotten enough SQL in the past few months. I am attending the SQL PASS Conference in Grapevine, Tx this week. Nice to be back home for a week, get some more SQL training and see some friends and family……
Will provide reports on the conference as days go on…..
Now…..I need to find the closet Pancho’s and a Schlotsky’s!
Cheers!
So you want to know when the next Live Technet Briefing is going to be in your area. You could go to http://www.technetbriefings.com and look it up. Or you could open your Feed Aggregator and get it there……what?!?!?!……Events as feeds?!?!?!?…….NO WAY!?!?!?!?
Way….
Technet and MSDN have RSS feeds for upcoming events that can be narrowed down by state. Unfortunately (especially for those in Texas and California) that can be a pretty big geographical area so I am going to raise a ruckus internally to see if we can narrow the focus a little.
For now, sign up for the feed for your states and don’t worry about missing another event email…
Cheers!
Windows Vista UX Guidelines — Use this page to download a preliminary draft of the Microsoft Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines (or “UX Guide” for short). These guidelines contain information on What’s New in Windows Vista, design principles, guidelines for controls, text, windows, and aesthetics. They will help designers and developers create high quality, consistent Windows Vista applications.
Cheers!
SQL Server 2005 September CTP: Books Online — Download Books Online for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 CTP September 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.
SQL Server 2005 September CTP: 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.
SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor - Community Technology Preview September 2005 is unsupported pre-release software.
SQL Server 2005 September CTP —
SQL Server 2005 drives better decision-making with enterprise-grade reporting and data analysis. A highly reliable database platform for critical applications, SQL Server 2005 delivers high levels of availability, performance, and security.
SQL Server September 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) is the second version of SQL Server 2005 made available for general testing. The previous CTP was available only in English and Japanese. SQL Server 2005 September Community Technical Preview Developer Edition and Express Edition are each available in nine languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. All other editions are available in English and Japanese. Not all languages are currently available; they will be added to the Download Center as they are completed
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/
Channel 9 Interview – September 13, 2005 — Have to click the link to find out the interviews!
Channel 9 Interview – September 14, 2005 — Have to click the link to find out the interviews!
Channel 9 Interview – September 15, 2005 — Have to click the link to find out the interviews!
Microsoft Codename Max — Microsoft® Codename Max is not like any other product. That's because it's not a product—it's your opportunity to try an exciting new user experience from Microsoft. Today Max lets you make lists of your photos and turn them into beautiful slide shows to share with your family and friends. Tomorrow...who knows?
*Note: This is a Preview release. Therefore, do not install this on machines you depend on. Microsoft Codename Max requires the WinFX September CTP in order to function properly. Max will install this for you. However, if you have a previous version of WinFX Runtime Components, Avalon ("Windows Presentation Foundation"), Indigo ("Windows Communication Foundation"), or Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed, please uninstall before installing Max.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB905911 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: USB Function
Description: This update addresses the following issues on ARMV4i platform:
o The USB serial device may not get enumerated correctly by Windows XP host.
o A failure may occur when attempting to copy a large file over ActiveSync 3.7 to the device.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904643 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: USB 2.0
Description: A memory leak may occur when a USB 2.0 device is inserted/removed multiple times.
AVICode .NET Mgmt Pack for MOM 2005 — Targeted to systems operators responsible for monitoring system health, AVIcode’s .NET management pack operations edition for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 provides a consolidated view of all applications featuring simple health status indicators within MOM 2005 Operator Console.
It also provides quick identification of faulty application components and performance hotspots, as well as manual and automatic routing of alert notifications to the appropriate application support team. Performance hotspots are identified by resource type for monitoring response times. Exception and performance events are consolidated by root cause facilitating quick resolution.
SQL Server 2005 September CTP 2005: Book Online — Download Books Online for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 CTP September 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.
SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor September CTP 2005 — 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.
SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor - Community Technology Preview September 2005 is unsupported pre-release software.
SQL Server 2005 September CTP — SQL Server 2005 drives better decision-making with enterprise-grade reporting and data analysis. A highly reliable database platform for critical applications, SQL Server 2005 delivers high levels of availability, performance, and security.
SQL Server September 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) is the second version of SQL Server 2005 made available for general testing. The previous CTP was available only in English and Japanese. SQL Server 2005 September Community Technical Preview Developer Edition and Express Edition are each available in nine languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. All other editions are available in English and Japanese. Not all languages are currently available; they will be added to the Download Center as they are completed
Windows Vista UX Guidelines — Use this page to download a preliminary draft of the Microsoft Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines (or “UX Guide” for short). These guidelines contain information on What’s New in Windows Vista, design principles, guidelines for controls, text, windows, and aesthetics. They will help designers and developers create high quality, consistent Windows Vista applications.
Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation — 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) in both client and server versions of Windows and it includes support for both system workflow and human workflow. 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.
Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 1 – Hands-on Labs — Windows Workflow Foundation is the programming model, engine and tools for quickly building workflow enabled applications on Windows. This download is a set of 12 Hands-on Labs for Beta 1 of Windows Workflow Foundation. Each lab is approximately 60 minutes of work. The download is a self-extracting archive that includes lab manuals for each lab, pre-requisite files for the labs and sample completed solutions for each exercise in the labs. MSDN has more information about Windows Workflow Foundation.
Microsoft Pre-Release Software – WinFX Runtime Components – September 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 September CTP enables developers to continue experimenting with early builds of these technologies, get acquainted with the development experience, and provide Microsoft with feedback.
Visual Studio Extensions for WinFX September CTP — The Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for WinFX September Customer Technical Preview (CTP) provides developers with support for building WinFX applications using Beta 2 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 WinFX SDK for WinFX Runtime Components – September CTP — The Microsoft WinFX® SDK contains documentation, samples, and tools designed to help you develop managed applications and libraries using WinFX, which is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft.
This release of the SDK includes content supporting the .NET Framework 2.0, the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named "Avalon"), the Windows Communications Foundation (formerly code named "Indigo"), and the Windows Workflow Foundation (formerly code named "WinOE").
MSN Search SDK Beta — The MSN Search SDK provides documentation that describes the core concepts, requirements, development guidelines, and class library for the MSN Search Web Service. The SDK also contains sample code that demonstrates application development techniques using the MSN Search Web Service.
Office “12” XML Schema Reference – PDC 2005 Preview — This download contains DRAFT documentation for XML schemas used in Microsoft Office "12" including Microsoft Office "12" Word, Microsoft Office "12" Excel® and Microsoft Office "12" PowerPoint® schemas.
Integrated Software Development at Microsoft using Visual Studio 2005 Team System — Discussion on how the eBusiness Integration Services IT development group used Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System to tightly integrate the Software Development Life Cycle process within its team environment.
Microsoft Domain-Specific Language (DSL) Tools — Using the Microsoft DSL tools you can create your own designer, integrated into Visual Studio, for a visual domain-specific language. The tools help you define the domain-specific language and generate the code of a graphical designer for you. The resulting designer uses the same underlying modeling technology that is used by the Class Designer and Distributed System Designers in Visual Studio 2005.
The Art of Building a Reusable Class Library — In these slides, Brad Abrams and Krzysztof Cwalina present and discuss the merits of designing and creating the best class libraries. Krzys and Brad leverage real examples from the .NET framework libraries (or even day to day life!) to help give a background and firm infrastructure for the basis of these guidelines, and how you can use them to make your own coding experience more productive.
Internet Explorer Developer Toolbat Beta — The IE Developer Toolbar provides several features for deeply exploring and understanding Web pages.
-- 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 800x600 or a custom size.
-- 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.
The Developer Toolbar can be pinned to the Internet Explorer browser window or floated separately.
Cheers!
SQl Server Migration Assitant 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.
Licensing
SSMA is a FREE download, and is available for use by any customer or partner with no charge or any obligations. However, the product requires a license key for activation. The key can be obtained after quick and simple registration. Microsoft reserves the right to use an e-mail address or phone number provided during registration in order to contact a customer regarding his/her SSMA experience.
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/
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – September 7th — Channel 9 talks with Google's Blogger Team, gets a tour of the Cambridge Research Lab, Scott Guthrie demos ASP.NET, and we visit Amazon to get a tour of their Web Services.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – September 9th — Channel 9 talks with WMI team, VSTS team, CLR Security Team, Virtual Earth team, Women of PDC, Windows Mobile, Neil Roodyn, and others
Movile Vista Introduction — Just what it says!
Windows “Monad” Shell Beta 2 (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.
Windows “Monad” Shell Beta 2 (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 Vista UX Guidelines (preliminary) — Use this page to download a preliminary draft of the Microsoft Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines (or “UX Guide” for short). These guidelines contain information on What’s New in Windows Vista, design principles, guidelines for controls, text, windows, and aesthetics. They will help designers and developers create high quality, consistent Windows Vista applications.
MapPoint Web Service SDK, v4.0 for VS.NET 2003 — The MapPoint Web Service SDK contains documentation that describes the core concepts, requirements, development guidelines, and class library for MapPoint Web Service. The SDK also contains sample code, both in C# and Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, demonstrating a variety of application development scenarios using MapPoint Web Service.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update (KB904257) — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: New key frames may not render correctly when scanning through a paused video clip.
Utilities and SDK for UNIX-based Applications — Utilities and SDK for UNIX-Based Applications is an add-on to the Subsystem for UNIX-Based Applications (referred to as SUA, hence forth) component that shipped with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2. This consists of the following components:
- Base Utilities
- SVR-5 Utilities
- Base SDK
- GNU SDK
- GNU Utilities
- UNIX Perl
- Visual Studio Debugger Add-in
In addition to the features provided in Windows Services For UNIX 3.5, this release enables 64-bit application development for SUA. This release also enables development and porting of custom UNIX applications using the Windows OCI (Oracle Call Interface) and Windows ODBC libraries (collectively referred to as ‘Mixed Mode’ in the rest of the document).
MSN Messenger Activity SDK — Get state-of-the-art information about building applications for MSN Messenger. The MSN Messenger Activity API gives you innovative tools to build applications that integrate with MSN Messenger and reach millions of users worldwide.
VS 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 Sample: Redesigning an Excel VBA Soultion for .NET — This sample solution teaches how to redesign an Excel VBA solution for .NET using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System Beta 2. The solution is written in Microsoft Visual Basic.
The associated MSDN article discusses the process used to redesign the VBA solution to Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office. Code snippets illustrate individual components of the migration.
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 2005 Mobile Edition Tool Beta 1 for IIS and SQL 2005 Beta 2 (USA) — SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition (SQL 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.
Companies and users of SQL Mobile that plan to synchronize to SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 databases will need to install this Server Tools release on their servers running Internet Information Services (IIS).
Cheers!
I had my largest attended SQL presentation yesterday in Irvine, Ca. Crowd of 300 showed up in spite of PDC being around the corner in LA. (my event was FREE…..well…..almost….had to pay for parking). If you couldn’t make it to Irvine, we are repeating it in San Diego tomorrow (Thursday).
While my content is ITPro focused, I had at least 100 developers in the room which demonstrates to me the overwhelming desire for knowledge around what can be done with SQL once it is in place. No doubt in my mind that SQL is the back-bone of many an organization’s data storage. These companies need to know what SQL can do for them. They need to know how to use SQL to do their bidding.
I think we need some seminars on how to get data in and out of SQL, how to analyze that data, how to leverage Visual Studio to create awesome applications for SQL, and how to make sure the data in the server is avaialable all the time. Let me know what you think…
I am linking back to some previous posts which points out some excellent resources for SQL 2005. Make sure to check the main SQL 2005 site for the latest SQL product, and launch information.
In addition, Kevin Remde has noted some important changes that have been announced for the release of SQL 2005.
Paul Flessner (a Senior VP at MS) talks about why we are making these changes.
Finally, the new SQL 2005 September CTP is available for download now!
Cheers!
I woke up this morning, made coffee, showered, shaved, started reading some blog news, and unltimately got smacked in the face with an awesome wake-up call.
I was reading Rory’s latest posting about a blog called Mini-Microsoft. Rory says it is the most important Microsoft blog there is. I am not going to follow that line until I have read a bunch more MS related blogs. Mini-MS *is* the most interesting and thought provoking read so far though.
Mini-Microsoft stirs up some emotional issues regarding employee morale, review compensation and broken processes. All things a bunch (not all ,unfortunately…) of us at Microsoft think about but rarely voice.
I am not going to go on and on and on singing the praises of the 6 or 7 most recent posts I read. I want you to read and make your own decision on how good they are and how important they are. I will only say one thing about it because this is a hot-spot for me…..
The posts are anonymous. I understand why. Being opinionated and being a blogger doesn’t always mix very well. We all need the freedom to be critical (not malicious), and honest (though tempered) about our work places. Most of us choose to work somewhere for a reason. For those of us that have chosen to work somewhere because of the mission of the company, we should be allowed to provide input and direction if we think the company is beginning to stray from that mission. We should not be afraid being smacked down for offering up honest opinions and thoughful resolutions to problems we see. We should be able to do this whether we are a shipping clerk or a public figure without fear of unemployment.
Someday….
Cheers!
We now have registration cities and dates available for the Big Launch……
Here is a challenge to my faithful blog readers (now up to 7!)……
I want the largest attendance of any of the nationwide events. For the SoCal area it will be in Anaheim, CA on Dec. 6th. I wish I could offer some sort of prize to everyone if Anaheim has the largest attendance but sadly, my budget is about $1 dollar……and that has to cover my T&E for the next 10 months.
Fortunately, EVERYONE that attends will recieve a copy of SQL Server 2005 AND a copy of Visual Studio 2005. I think that is a darn good incentive to go……considering the event is FREE. Of course there is some legal mumbo jumbo that applies to this so let’s break away from our regularly scheduled program to get that over with…..
*Offer only good to registered launch event attendees. Must be present at event to receive software packages or vouchers for software redemption. Limit: one offer per person, while supplies last. The software may not be resold and is not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient*
(I read that as – register, show up, get it, don’t try to sell it afterwards…..but I am not a lawyer)
So……for my SoCal SQL people (and you Dev types and Biztalkers)….tell your boss know you need a paid day off to learn cool stuff. Tell your friends, tell your User Groups, tell your grandma and grandpa, put in for a day of vacation if your boss won’t pay ya to learn. Link to my blog, post to your blogs, chat about it, get a tattoo with the regostration link……well……a temporary tattoo. Make the Anaheim event the largest of the events in the states. Get your free stuff, meet the SQL/VS/Biztalk Gurus and yes…..I will even be there.
I just had a fabulous idea……(”The Nun” won’t like it……but she isn’t home to stop me…..)
If, after the counting is all done (sometime after the January 11th event), Anaheim has the largest attendance in the states, I will let one of my attendees shave my head at one of my Live Technet briefings in SoCal……I will even let my hair grow out till then for a more dramatic shave if it happens….
I better post this……she is pulling into the driveway…..
Cheers!
*update* - I just realized the Anaheim event could be the most attended event without this post. We do have a pretty darn good marketing machine at MS. Since there is no easy way to know for sure and I am committed, I am just gonna run with it. I would like to see how much impact this challenge generates though. My request to you is to post your comments here if you will be attending, and make an effort to come see me at the event. When I have the details, I will post what I will be doing at the launch event and where I will be. My goal is to meet you, get you the information you want, and take your feedback into the product groups. So post your comments (Thank you Sylvia!), email me, come see me at the event!
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/
http://www.devradio.com/ <——-Go here…..AWESOME!
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – Auhust 29, 2005 — Channel 9 talks with Iain McDonald about Server R2 and with the WinFS team about WinFS beta 1.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – November 2, 2005 (I don’t understand the date, but the page says…) — Channel 9 talks with Jeffrey Richter, Bill Staples, Steven Woodward, the CLR Security Team, Mike Burrows, Brent Hill, Ben Riga, Scott Guthrie.
MSDN TV: Data Access in ASP.NET 2.0 — In this episode, Bradley Millington shows how to build a data-driven Web site in ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. Learn how to build a database from scratch using Visual Studio built-in support for SQL Server 2005 Express, then retrieve and render the database contents using the new data controls in ASP.NET. You will also learn how to sort, page, modify, and filter the data, and build a master-details relationship between controls without writing any code. Finally, you will learn how Visual Studio 2005 makes it easy to encapsulate data access logic into custom typed DataSets and business components.
Device Profile for Web Services — This profile defines a minimal set of implementation constraints to enable secure Web service messaging, discovery, description, and eventing on resource-constrained endpoints.
Applied Integration Baseline (Whidbey Preview) — The Applied Integration Baseline Reference Implementation illustrates how to use a pattern-driven approach to create a baseline architecture for a complex integration scenario. As an alternative to building applications in silos, learn how to integrate enterprise applications using BizTalk Server, Active Directory, Host Integration Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio .NET.
Enabling an Adaptable, Aligned, and Agile Supply Chain with Biztalk and RosettaNet — Overview of how Microsoft IT used BizTalk Server and RosettaNet Accelerator to manage its supply chain. As a result, Microsoft IT expects a 126 percent return on investment and 50 percent reduction in development time.
Applied Integration Baseline Reference Implementation — The Applied Integration Baseline Reference Implementation illustrates how to use a pattern-driven approach to create a baseline architecture for a complex integration scenario. As an alternative to building applications in silos, learn how to integrate enterprise applications using BizTalk Server, Active Directory, Host Integration Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio .NET.
Update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service – KB903897 — This update resolves an issue where some strings are not localized in the Explorer Shell even when the appropriate MUI language packs are installed.
Update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service – KB905876 — This update resolves an issue where .hlp files cannot be opened on Windows Embedded for Point-of-Service devices.
DTCPing.exe — This tool is designed to assist with troubleshooting Microsoft DTC Firewall Issues.
Acrylic August 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) — "Acrylic" (code name) is the professional design program that brings together the richness of pixel-based painting and the performance of editable vector graphics for a more fluid and flexible creative workflow. Create sophisticated designs and graphic elements for your on-screen, Web, and print projects.
Recommendations for VPN Client Coexistence with IPSec Implementation in Windows — This white paper describes the coexistence issues commonly found between third-party virtual private network (VPN) client products and the Internet Protocol security (IPsec) implementation built into Microsoft Windows and provides guidance for achieving coexistence. This paper is intended for independent software vendors that create VPN client and gateway products.
Money Partner Tools and Documents — This page contains specs, training, and tools for financial instituions or OFX solution providers who want to connect with MSN Money OFX clients.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Paltform Builder Update – KB906212 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: FATFS
Description: An attempt to rename a file while it is open and being written to may result in lost clusters.
Control Spy 2.0 — With Control Spy, you can see instantly how different styles affect the behavior and appearance of each control, and also how you can change the state of each control by sending messages. Two versions of Control Spy are available, one for Comctl32.dll version 5.x and one for Comctl32.dll version 6.0 and later. ControlSpyV6.exe has an application manifest built in so that it uses the newer, themed controls, whereas ControlSpyV5.exe does not and therefore defaults to the older version.
Windows CE 5.0 Platfomr Builder Update – KB902444 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: This update addresses the issue of video playback being repositioned to near beginning of the clip when fast forwarding. The Start menu may appear with slight delay after viewing a video.
FrontPage 2003 Sample: Creating an RSS Feed — The FrontPage 2003 code sample "Creating an RSS Feed" provides a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) solution that you can use to to programmatically generate an RSS feed for your FrontPage 2003 Web site. It also contains an XSLT file that you can use for displaying the RSS XML file in a browser.
Cheers!
I am delivering two Rock Solid SQL 2005 sessions next week in SoCal….
September 13th — Irvine, Ca – 8am-12noon
September 15th — San Diego (Mira Mesa), Ca – 8am-12noon
Rock Solid SQL: Strengthen your SQL Servers with SQL Server 2005
SQL Server databases provide the foundation for your business solutions, so don’t you want to build the finest groundwork possible? The new SQL Server 2005 will enhance security, reliability, and performance to give you a solid, dependable base. Think about your current SQL system: Can you still access your database if the server goes down? How fast can you failover? What is your Maintenance Plan? Who is Locking and who is Blocking? In this session, we’ll upgrade an existing SQL Server database to SQL Server 2005 and show you how to maintain a more secure, reliable database solution for your business.
We will look at:
- How to exploit the new security features to tighten controls on your existing systems.
- How the new Database Mirroring technology can provide faster, automatic failover.
- How simple and easy it is to configure automatic maintenance plans and alerts.
- How the new Dynamic Management Views provide greater insight into your database performance with simple, yet powerful reports.
- How to quickly tune the database with the Database Tuning Advisor.
- How you can reduce locking contention with new optimistic concurrency controls.
- How to enhance performance and reliability by partitioning tables on the disk.
Cheers!
I will be at the Microsoft booth for the SQL 2005 Roadshow in LA this Thursday, Sept. 8th. You can also meet some of the local Technology Specialists and others from the SoCal district. Put a face on an email address and let us know what you think about the new SQL 2005 product.
Cheers!
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – August 22, 2005 — Channel 9 videos about internships and ASP.NET testing
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – August 23, 2005 — Channel 9 videos about the .NET CLR with lead program manager on the CLR team, Brad Abrams. He also talks about his talk at the PDC.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – August 25, 2005 — Channel 9 talks with Jeff Richter about C#, Bill Staples about IIS 7, Arik Cohen about Windows Presentation Foundation (aka Avalon), gets a tour of the .NET CLR team, and discusses a Channel 9 site redesign.
MSDN TV: Reliable Messaging in Windows Communication Foundation (Indigo) — In this episode, Shy Cohen reviews and demonstrates direct and queued reliable messaging in Windows Communication Foundation (formerly code-named "Indigo").
Group Alerts for Microsoft Office Live Meeting Server 2005 — The group alerts sample application provides a simple user interface for sending instant messages to the online members of an Active Directory group or distribution list and its subgroups. The names of available groups for alerting are stored in a configuration file between application sessions. The user may also type the name of a group to add an existing Active Directory group to the list. The sample application uses Active Directory as its catalog, but application developers can easily modify the application to use any catalog that suits their organization.
ADMHost Sample Application — This sample demonstrates how to use the managed hosting infrastructure in the .NET Framework 2.0. It is split into two portions, the unmanaged host (ADMHost.exe) and the managed host contained in ManagedHost.dll. The unmanaged host binds to the CLR, and loads it into the process. It then relies on services provided by the managed host to actually perform its work.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB900092 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: COMM
Description: Winsock connections may get blocked after 256 connect/shutdown cycles.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB901021 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: MSHTML
Description: An exception may occur when browsing certain web sites.
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB905202 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: Software Mixer
Description: When two or more threads use the mixer system resources, one may get blocked by others and time out. This may result in software mixer deadlock.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904242 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: When a video is paused, pressing and holding FF/REW button may cause the display to go black.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB905405 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DirectX
Description: Windows Media Player may not be able to play ASX files.
Update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service – KB903896 — This update resolves an issue where crash dumps and the hibernation functionality are not working when Windows Embedded for Point of Service is running on some SCSI or SATA drives.
BizTalk Server 2004 Load Generation Tool — This tool is intended for developers and IT professionals to simulate load on a BizTalk Server. Using this tool, you can simulate load to instrument performance and stress against a BizTalk deployment. In addition, this tool may also be extended by developers to simulate load for custom transports. This tool should be used in a test environment only, and should not be used in a production environment. This tool is provided "as-is" and is not supported.
Windows Media Player Code Samples – The two Windows Media Player Mobile code samples included in this package demonstrate how to embed Windows Media Player 10 Mobile in an HTML page and in a C++ application. The samples are named Web App and CEWMPHostML.
The purpose of the Web App sample is to show you what events are being fired when a media item is played back by displaying WMPPlayState enumeration values in a text box. These enumeration values correspond to various states such as buffering, stopping, playing, and so on. For more information about these enumeration values, see the Windows Media Player 10 SDK.
AVICode .NET Mgmt Pack for MOM 2005 — Targeted to systems’ operators responsible for monitoring system health, AVIcode’s .NET management pack operations edition for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 provides a consolidated view of all applications featuring simple health status indicators with MOM 2005 Operator Console.
It also provides quick identification of faulty application components and performance hotspots, as well as manual and automatic routing of alert notifications to the appropriate application support team. Performance hotspots are identified by resource type for monitoring response times. Exception and performance events are consolidated by root cause facilitating quick resolution.
Developer’s Introduction to Web Parts: Sample Code — This is a sample Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET solution containing two custom Web Parts, written in C#. The first Web Part enables users to select a customer and see configurable information about the customer. The second Web Part displays the orders for a single customer. A user can add these Web Parts to a Web Part Page and connect them to each other, so that the second Web Part displays orders for the customer selected in the first Web Part.
Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 Beta 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, 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 (WSE) 3.0 Beta 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.
IronPython 0.9.1 — 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.
ILMerge — ILMerge is a utility that can be used to merge multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly. ILMerge takes a set of input assemblies and merges them into one target assembly. The first assembly in the list of input assemblies is the primary assembly. When the primary assembly is an executable, then the target assembly is created as an executable with the same entry point as the primary assembly. Also, if the primary assembly has a strong name, and a .snk file is provided, then the target assembly is re-signed with the specified key so that it also has a strong name.
Money Partner Tools and Documents — This page contains specs, training, and tools for financial instituions or OFX solution providers who want to connect with MSN Money OFX clients.
Cheers!
<first…….go grab yourself a 6 pack….this is a long one>
<beer 1>
I admit it…..I am a SQL n00b…..So I am taking a SQL 2072 course next week in Oklahoma City.
Go ahead…..I know you want to…..have your chuckle about how Oklahoma sucks and you know it does cuz that is the only thing that keeps Texas from falling into the Gulf of Mexico.
I like that joke btw…..BUT!
The fact is, I will be learning more about SQL in one week…..in Oklahoma…...than I have in the past 10 years.
<beer 2…..you know you chugged the first one right after you saw “Oklahoma” and “Texas”>
On a personal level, I have had zero use for SQL. For that matter I have had zero use for databases of any kind for the last 10 years or so. I used to have an Access (95) DB years ago. The only reason I had that one was to make an attempt at moving my fantasy football league over from AppleWorks and my Apple //gs to my brand spanking new AMD 486–120 (I still have that machine and I still use it now and then….it posts and boots to a Win95 OSR2 desktop faster than most of my gHz boxes get to WinXP) ((I also have my Apple //gs still which comes in handy for playing Wizardry!))
Wow…..I feel like I just jumped into the way-back machine with my pet boy, Sherman…..but I digress….
I tried to port my fantasy football league over from AppleWorks (which I loved) to Access (which I hated). I didn’t know I hated it until after trying to figure it out. I never did get comfortable with Access but I blame the simplicity of using AppleWorks on that.
Now I find myself in the position of having to learn SQL for my job….which isn’t a bad thing. It’s not like I haven’t been in a similar position about every two weeks for the last 8 years with the monstrous number of products and technologies we churn out. I believe anyone at Microsoft will tell you “If you don’t like learning new stuff, you work at the wrong company”.
I have just never had a use for or had to learn SQL…..till now.
In 1994, I never imagined that a database application – one that could essentially run on a home PC – would be capable of storing and querying the massive amounts of data that SQL can today. Of course, in 1994 I never imagined that I would need more than 200 megs of hard drive space or that my 5 1/4 floppy would be useless in just a couple of years. Back then, it would take my Apple //gs (which had an Applied Engineering TransWarp GS Accelerator) 30 minutes to parse the AppleWorks database and create the scoring report for my 10 team fantasy football league. It took well over an hour if I turned the TransWarp “off”. That database only held a few hundred players with weekly – not cumulative – stats in it. Today www.fanball.com supports hundreds of individual leagues, each determining their own scoring method, players rosters, play off schedules and ALL with the ability to provide immediate scoring information.
And that is just the football portion of their site. They also do baseball.
All that accessibility……all of those stats…….all of that FOOTBALL!!!!!….because of a database….
<beer 3…..come on…..we have a football related topic here>
*Note* – I don’t know what database Fanball uses…..for all I know they have linked a couple thousand TransWarped Apple //gs machines together and have Wozniak on the payroll….The point I am trying to make it how far we have come……
Now…..I was semi–advanced back then. On my Apple //gs I actually had two 5 1/4 floppies AND two 3.5 floppies. I even had two SCSI hard drives but I used most of the hard drive space for my BBS. The fantasy football stuff was pretty small and I wanted to make use of the 5 1/4’s as long as I could so I ran AppleWorks from the 3.5’s and stored the football stats on the 5 1/4’s. I learned a few tricks in those days…..you could notch the floppy disks with a $5 disk notcher (or a pocket knife if you were lazy) and use both sides. This allowed me to use both sides of the floppy – doubling storage capacity – AND it saved me money which I desperately needed for beer. But it always seemed to reduce the reliability of the floppy disks. It certainly shortened their life spans. But even on an un-notched disk, sneeze the wrong way and those old floppies would scramble data faster than a Waffle House cook does eggs. That meant manually backing up data to another floppy. I usually made yet another copy just in case (I almost always sneeze in pairs…) THAT was how I backed up my data and guaranteed it was accessible when I needed it.
Now, with SQL 2005, we have things like log shipping and peer-to-peer replication. Magical, wondrous, computer voodoo to someone who manually made 3 copies of their data just in case it was allergy season.
But my favorite way to guarantee that SQL 2005 guarantees data is protected (and ALWAYS available!) is - mirroring with automatic failover.
If, like me, you are new to SQL/Databases (or just haven’t been exposed to SQL 2005 yet), let me offer a very simplified explanation of what is involved.
For database mirroring with automatic failover to work, you need….take a deep breathe…..relax……<grab your beer so you don’t commit alcohol abuse>…….three (3) SQL Servers……
<finish beer 4, grab beer 5 but don’t open yet…..>
….I know you winced. You may have blown beer out your nose. Some of you may have even decided to quit your job as a SQL DBA and (gasp!) become a SQL Developer…..
Let me finish and then I will tell you a little secret that may save you some beer money…..
….breathe……relax…..
<bathroom break>
<beer 5……nurse it>
Server 1 is the “primary” or “principal” database server. It is the machine you want up 24/7. It is the “all the eggs in one basket” machine. It is online and active and is the DB server that all of your applications are writing to and reading from. The apps have no concept of any additional servers in the mix.
Server 2 is the “backup” or “mirror” database server. It *must* start off with an exact copy of the primary database data. Simplest thing is to just restore a backup of the primary to this machine. There is some planning involved here to make sure this DB has the exact same data as the primary….but I only had you grab a 6 pack. For the 12 pack version come to a Live Technet briefing or find a local SQL 2005 Roadshow or SQL Launch Event or read this.
As our applications are reading and writing data on Server 1, we will commit the transactions at both servers at the same time (technically we don’t commit to the primary until we can commit to both at the same time). This can introduce some latency so monitor your network especially if you have bandwidth concerns. The trade off is availability and redundancy.
Server 3 is called a “witness” server. The witness server is essentially the innocent by-stander at the scene of the server failure crime. It’s purpose is to just keep an eye on both servers and determine if one or the other goes offline. if one goes off line it notifies the other that it is now the primary. If the original primary comes back it notifies the servers and we can switch roles again after data is back in sync.
So you decide to implement this solution. You go purchase a SQL 2005 Enterprise license. Cough of the same amount for the Backup server license, Then you grab SQL 2005 Express edition as a witness server.
<waitadamnminute….. beer muffs must have distorted my hearing>
Did I just say you could use SQL 2005 Express Edition as the witness server to a SQL 2005 Enterprise mirror?
Yes I did.
No need to have an Enterprise class server twiddling it’s thumbs and keeping an eye on two other servers. Use it’s little brother to do that job…..you can even fudge things a little and have a second instance on the primary or backup server act as a witness but if that dual-role server goes offline you won’t be failing over automagically. Just so ya know….ANY version of SQL 2005 can act as a witness.
How far have we come in just 10 years…..
<beer 6>
Enjoy at your leisure……
Cheers!
The SQL 2005 Roadshow hits LA on Sept 8th.
$99 if you register online now……$150 if you walk-in.
Get the facts about migrating to SQL Server™ 2005 in one information-packed day in a city near you! SQL Server experts from Scalability Experts, Solid Quality Learning, and Hitachi Consulting will present practical, real-world information in three tracks—administration, development, and business intelligence. You can find answers to specific questions in the Ask the Experts session. You'll come away from the Get Ready for SQL Server 2005 Roadshow with a clear understanding of how to implement a best-practices migration to SQL Server 2005 and how to use SQL Server 2005's new capabilities to improve your database computing environment.
Cheers!
I have received a number of requests for the slide decks from our Rock Solid SQL 2005 session so I have decided to post them here and refer people to the blog instead of flodding the MS Mail servers with a buch of decks.
Cheers!
The .NET Show: Windows XP Media Center Edition — In this episode John Canning, Charlie Owen, and Michael Creasy share with us some details about Windows XP Media Center Edition and how it provides an integrated home audio and video experience.
Cheers!
MSXML Parser 3.0 SDK — The MSXML 3 SDK includes documentation for server-safe HTTP access, XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations)/XPath (XML Path Language), and SAX2 (Simple API for XML).
MSXML 3.0 SP7 – The Microsoft® XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 SP7 release offers a number of bug fixes and security fixes over the previous MSXML 3.0 SP releases. All MSXML 3.0 releases provide:
- Server-safe HTTP access
- Complete implementation of XSL Transformations (XSLT) and XML Path Language (XPath)
- Changes to the Simple API for XML (SAX2) implementation, including new SAX2 helper classes with even higher conformance with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards and the OASIS Test Suite.
Channel 9 MSDN Videos – Channel 9 videos about SQL Server, VS Core, Hospital Tech, Tablet PC Education Pack
Windows CE Platform Builder Update – KB904937 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: Automation
Description: OLEAUT32 may create a hidden window which is unable to receive or process messages. This may result in a hang of the broadcast messages sent directly to OLEAUT32.
Windows CE Platform Builder Update — KB904770 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: pIE
Description: An error may occur when pIE window is closed after viewing certain web sites.
Windows CE.NET 4.2 Platform Builder Update – KB900465 — Fixes made in this update:
Component: DHCP
Description: DHCP client may overwrite DhcpSendOptions value set in the registry.
This update corrects the issue and preserves user specified registry option.
Windows CE.NET 4.2 Platfrom Builder Update – KB904558 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: RDP
Description: A memory leak may occur when redirecting a serial device via RDP.
Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder Update – KB904255 – Fixes made in this update:
Component: FilySys
Description: This update allows Windows CE 5.0 to access certain storage media configured with non-standard FAT formatting tools.
Money Partner Tools and Documents — This page contains specs, training, and tools for financial instituions or OFX solution providers who want to connect with MSN Money OFX clients.
WinFX SDK for Longhorn Beta 1 – Web Setup — The Microsoft® WinFX™ SDK contains documentation, samples and tools designed to help you develop managed applications and libraries using WinFX, which is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft. This release includes documentation about using the .NET Framework 2.0, the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named “Avalon”), and the Windows Communications Foundation (formerly code named “Indigo”).
WinFX SDH for Longhorn Beta 1 – Image Version
CLR Managed Debugger (mdbg) Sample — The CLR Managed Debugger sample illustrates how to build a managed debugger.
Visual Studio Tools for Office Beta 2 Sample – Learn how to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System to turn a Microsoft Office Excel 2003 spreadsheet into a complex capital budgeting application. The associated MSDN article discusses the process used to transform an Excel 2003 spreadsheet into an powerful application that becomes part of a complex business process extending far beyond the functionality of the original workbook. The associated code sample is provided in Microsoft Visual Basic and C#.
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/
Cheers!