Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Click-through Office demos
A number of click-through Office demos address various scenarios or verticals. Each is a portable, interactive demo that closely simulates the UI and functionality of an actual solution. Installs to your Start menu and includes a presenter script.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Windows Vista Product Lineup
Microsoft have announced the product lineup of its upcoming Windows Vista operating system. The Windows Vista product lineup consists of six versions, two for businesses, three for consumers, and one for emerging markets: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Starter.More
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Microsoft 'Origami'
Friday, February 24, 2006
Online Training for Business Scorecard Manager 2005
Business Scorecard Manager 2005 online training ...
Thursday, February 23, 2006
UK SharePoint User Group - March 13 meeting
The second UK SharePoint User Group meeting has been arranged for 18:30 13th March at Microsoft Campus, Thames Valley Park, Reading.
Agenda and signup
Agenda and signup
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
FlexListViewer webpart
FlexListViewer webpart - a solution for displaying lists that reside in a different WSS site. Output can be customised using XSLT.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
CPU Benchmark
My Dell laptop has been running really slow recently and this weekend I run a CPU Benchmark test which highlighted a severe problem in that it was running at fraction of the speed it should have been.
The CPU test I used was CPUBench2003. More benchmarking utilities are here.
I found the solution lurking on the Web ... it involved dismantling the fans and vacuuming out the exhausts which were badly blocked with dust causing the laptop to overheat and the CPU to stepdown. When I rerun my benchmark, i had a ten times increase in performance.
The CPU test I used was CPUBench2003. More benchmarking utilities are here.
I found the solution lurking on the Web ... it involved dismantling the fans and vacuuming out the exhausts which were badly blocked with dust causing the laptop to overheat and the CPU to stepdown. When I rerun my benchmark, i had a ten times increase in performance.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Advanced MCMS - Useful Placeholder Controls
From the book Advanced Microsoft Content Management Server Development, another free chapter has been made available ... Chapter 8 "Useful Placeholder Controls" now joins the previously available Chapter 5 "Searching MCMS with SharePoint".
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Minimal Windows XP - stop unnecessary services
Im currently having to demo Office 12 Server using a pair of cpu/memory intensive VPCs (one with O12 Server / SQL - the other with AD/Exchange/LCS) on a single laptop. To maximise the resources I wanted to stop all unnecessary XP services and found a useful batch script here which gave me a good start.
I then decided I wanted to be more brutal and stop all services / task tray applications to create a minimal OS ... so i'm now using Process Explorer to kill nearly everything.
Check Mark Russinovich blog article Running Windows with No Services to see how to run Windows XP with zero services and in particular it explains how to stop things in the correct order to avoid any blue screens.
I now can demo with just three processes:
I then decided I wanted to be more brutal and stop all services / task tray applications to create a minimal OS ... so i'm now using Process Explorer to kill nearly everything.
Check Mark Russinovich blog article Running Windows with No Services to see how to run Windows XP with zero services and in particular it explains how to stop things in the correct order to avoid any blue screens.
I now can demo with just three processes:
- Virtual PC
- NuMenu - so i can startup processes again
- csrss.exe
Friday, February 17, 2006
Windows XP Themes
Bored with the Windows XP Luna theme ... then try out some new ones from http://themes.belchfire.net .
To get the full impact you have to use an unlocked version of uxtheme.dll to enable the effects provided by the themes shellstyle.dll. Read here to get instructions how to do this.
To get the full impact you have to use an unlocked version of uxtheme.dll to enable the effects provided by the themes shellstyle.dll. Read here to get instructions how to do this.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Webcast: Preparing for Web Content Management with the Office 12 SharePoint Servers
Many organizations are currently managing their Web content with Microsoft Content Management Server 2002. The new Office 12 SharePoint Servers handle many of the capabilities previously performed by Content Management Server while taking advantage of SharePoint foundation technologies that combine both document management and Web content management. Learn in this webcast (7 March 19:30 UK time) about these new content management features and the various tools and resources that are available to help customers migrate their existing Content Management Server projects to Office 12 SharePoint Servers.
Signup
2007 Microsoft Office System Suites Comparison
New suites, servers, and services in the 2007 Microsoft Office release will deliver additional functionality and new solutions. With updated packaging options, you will have more flexibility than ever before to adopt the specific technologies and solutions that best meet your business and personal needs.
2007 Microsoft Office System Suites Comparison
2007 Microsoft Office System Suites Comparison
Microsoft Office 2007 Line-up
Microsoft today announced the lineup of its upcoming 2007 Microsoft Office system products, previously code-named Microsoft Office 12, including new and improved suites, applications, servers and services to be available by the end of 2006.The 2007 release is designed to increase individual impact, simplify collaboration, streamline business processes and content management, and improve business insight. The product and packaging lineup is grounded in a deep understanding of how customers' needs intersect with trends in the workplace. Microsoft will make available both enhanced and new packaging options to make it easier for customers to purchase the solutions that best meet their unique business needs.
Press Release
Fact Sheets:
Office SharePoint Designer 2007 and Expression Web Designer
Widely known for some time - but now its official ... FrontPage will evolve into Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 and Microsoft Expression Web Designer.
Press Release
Press Release
Webcast: Honeywell Realizes the Versatility of SharePoint Products and Technologies
In this webcast (Feb 23 2006 - 19:00 UK Time) Sam Wilson, Honeywell ACS's Intranet Program Manager will present an overview of how Honeywell has deployed SharePoint technologies to over 20,000 users to keep improving businesses process while reducing IT support costs. Scenarios covered will include Sarbanes-Oxley compliance tracking, global projects operations, content publishing, enterprise search and more.
Signup
Sam Wilson, Honeywell ACS's Intranet Program Manager will present an overview of how Honeywell has deployed SharePoint technologies to over 20,000 users to keep improving businesses process while reducing IT support costs. Scenarios covered will include Sarbanes-Oxley compliance tracking, global projects operations, content publishing, enterprise search and more.Signup
Office Live Beta
Office Live Beta is available to sign up (currently US residents only) ...
Microsoft Office Live Products :
Microsoft Office Live Products :
- Office Live Basics ... A collection of free services (advertising-supported) will provide a small business with the core requirements for establishing an online identity. Services include a company domain name; five e-mail accounts using that company domain name, each with 2 GB of storage; a Web site with 30 MB of file storage space; an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design tool for creating a compelling, professional-quality Web site; and the Microsoft Office Live Site Reports tool for monitoring and analyzing Web site traffic.
- Office Live Collaboration ... Designed for small businesses that may already have a Web site, this subscription offering provides a rich, versatile set of Internet-based business management tools that are managed and maintained by Microsoft. Based on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services technology, the Microsoft Office Live Collaboration service offers small businesses password-protected online workspaces (intranets and extranets). Capabilities include customer management, project management, sales and marketing management, employee management, and company administration, as well as password-protected internal shared sites to facilitate collaboration among employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners.
- Office Live Essentials ... A comprehensive set of business services, this subscription offering will provide customers with the resources and collaboration tools they need to establish and manage a small business online. Services include a company domain name; 50 e-mail accounts using that company domain name, each with 2 GB of storage; a Web site with 50 MB of file storage space; the same Web design tool as Microsoft Office Live Basics, plus Microsoft Office FrontPage support for advanced Web design; more advanced Web site analytics; and a rich set of Internet-based applications to help small-business owners streamline and automate daily business tasks, such as management of customers, projects and documents.
Solution Showcase for the Microsoft Office System
The Microsoft Office Solution Showcase has been updated with some new scenarios.
It highlights how leading companies are solving critical business problems using solutions built with the Microsoft Office System. These solutions are a small sample of the many ways organizations are transforming their businesses by taking advantage of the Microsoft Office products they already own and their employees use every day.
It highlights how leading companies are solving critical business problems using solutions built with the Microsoft Office System. These solutions are a small sample of the many ways organizations are transforming their businesses by taking advantage of the Microsoft Office products they already own and their employees use every day.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Windows Defender Beta 2 Download
Windows Defender (Beta 2) is now available - this is a free program that helps you stay productive by protecting your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Geographically dispersed sites with SharePoint
From Angus ...
Planning and Designing SharePoint Products and Technology Solutions for Geographically Dispersed Sites ... this white paper describes three supported deployment solutions for accommodating geographically dispersed sites with SharePoint Products and Technologies.
Included in this paper are recommendations for deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies across multiple geographic sites (based on the three supported solutions), statistics for estimating SharePoint Products and Technologies bandwidth utilization and the resulting user experience across a WAN, and information on configuring settings such as search crawls to optimize bandwidth utilization and the user experience. Finally, this paper describes the test environment and methodology that was used to develop these recommendations.
Planning and Designing SharePoint Products and Technology Solutions for Geographically Dispersed Sites ... this white paper describes three supported deployment solutions for accommodating geographically dispersed sites with SharePoint Products and Technologies.
Included in this paper are recommendations for deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies across multiple geographic sites (based on the three supported solutions), statistics for estimating SharePoint Products and Technologies bandwidth utilization and the resulting user experience across a WAN, and information on configuring settings such as search crawls to optimize bandwidth utilization and the user experience. Finally, this paper describes the test environment and methodology that was used to develop these recommendations.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
CorasWorks Complimentary Workshops
SharePoint/CorasWorks Complimentary Workplace Workshops (locations including London)
With access to a computer, live SharePoint environment and CorasWorks products, you will:
- Review design patterns for building business solutions
- Create connections between sites and custom roll-ups
- Apply filters to roll-ups to answer specific management questions
- Build a custom solution using custom lists and roll-ups
- Learn about a variety of available Web parts like SharePoint data charting, accelerators, and Outlook integration...
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Hummingbird Gains Microsoft ECM Integration
Hummingbird have announced a strategic relationship with Microsoft to deliver enhanced integration and high value enterprise content management lifecycle solutions on the Microsoft platform. They will offer out-of-the-box links into Microsoft Office XP / Office 12 plus the SharePoint collaboration server software.Press Release
Video
SharePoint & Hummingbird PDF
Pandora ... Music via SharePoint
Time To Discuss WSRP
From Fitz ...
I thought I'd start this next wave of postings with the subject I've avoided the longest - WSRP. This one will be a little long ...
More
I thought I'd start this next wave of postings with the subject I've avoided the longest - WSRP. This one will be a little long ...
More
Monday, February 06, 2006
Retention Server - Webcast Recording
Recording of the Retention Server Webcast can be found here:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=RetentionSvr&pw=markharrison
Update - Slides are here:
http://www.80-20.com/retentionserver/downloads/Product_Webcast.ppt
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=RetentionSvr&pw=markharrison
Update - Slides are here:
http://www.80-20.com/retentionserver/downloads/Product_Webcast.ppt
Sunday, February 05, 2006
The SharePoint Show
The SharePoint Show has been launched as an independent podcast and audio program. It will feature news, interviews and tips of interest to anyone who uses, supports or is interested in Windows SharePoint Services and the Sharepoint Portal Server.Find out in show 1 about the minor disaster that was occuring during the Retention Server webcast that 80-20 and I hosted last week.
Friday, February 03, 2006
CMS.RAPID v2 and Office 12 Server
Ive just been in the CMS.RAPID R&D labs and seen the first cut at a RAPID v1 (MCMS2002) to RAPID v2 (Office 12 Server) migration utility. This enabled us to demonstrate the the RAPID example starter solution site RapidOrange converted and running under Office 12 Server.The conversion took the MCMS content and RAPID metadata across to Office 12 Server. It also converted the RAPID xml templates to master pages / page layouts (check here) with the RAPID panel definitions being translated to web part zones. The RAPID components are now derived from web parts and so can be placed into the appropriate web part zones.
With MCMS2002 - page templates required Visual Studio.NET developers to create simple ASP.NET pages. Whilst Visual Studio made this very easy for a developer - it wasnt ideal. RAPID v1 shipped with an alternative template creation tool - the RAPID Definer which was aimed at enabling power users (rather than developers) to define templates.
The new approach for Office 12 Server page layout (think MCMS templates) development is for the developer to use Visual Studio.NET for encapsulating complex functionality into web parts and for the power user to use the new SharePoint Designer to assemble the page layout.
With the Office 12 Server support for the power user, the reasons for the RAPID Definer are no longer needed. RAPID v2 will drop the RAPID Definer and instead will embrace / extend on the SharePoint Designer functionality for defining the RAPID page layouts.
The DotNet Factory demo center
The DotNet Factory demo center currently hosts two Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services servers designed to allow you to experience AD WebManager and SharePoint Explorer hands-on in a live environment.Active Directory WebManager Enterprise Edition is a web-based tool allowing granular delegation of user and group administration.
SharePoint Explorer Server Edition is a client-free global navigation pane providing end-users the richest possible SharePoint usage and navigation experience.
The logon credentials for both demos: username = DEMO\demouser / the password is superpowers.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Digi-link Revelation Plus
Ive mentioned Digi-link Revelation before - this is an easy-to-use software program that lets mobile users synchronize off-line data with SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Windows SharePoint Services.
Now they have released Revelation Plus which enables Microsoft Outlook 2003 users to open linked SharePoint documents in an email even when they are off-line.
Press Release
Now they have released Revelation Plus which enables Microsoft Outlook 2003 users to open linked SharePoint documents in an email even when they are off-line.
Press Release
Mondosoft Acquires Taxonomy Software Provider Navigo Systems
Mondosoft, a pioneer in Enterprise Search and Behavior Analytics, today announced that it has acquired Navigo Systems A/S, a privately held search and taxonomy software provider specialized in optimizing Microsoft SharePoint solutions.
Press Release.
Press Release.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Web Part Templates for VS2005
Jan has published some code snippets to kick start developing web parts with Visual Studio 2005.
More
More
Internet Explorer 7 - beta 2 preview download
Download and evaluate the Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview - and explore the improvements in security, user interface, and development platform.