David Overton's Blog

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• Are you a “Wizard bigot”? So you think that SBS is a poor quality, cut down version of Windows Server? Do you think that SBS admins are small in capability?

  Unfortunately there are people who answer yes to the questions above, so lets get some things straight – if you think that: SBS is bad. There were dark days in the SBS 4.5 and 2000 time (to a small extent) when people thought SBS did not work, did not perform and was clobbered down with stuff that made people hate it. Now Days SBS 2003 is amazing and is built on top of Windows Server 2003 with lots of good stuff extra too. SBS is insecure . SBS is not only as secure as Windows Server 2003, but since most of... Posted Mar 26 2008, 03:12 PM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: SBS 2003, Windows Server 2003, Fun, SBSC, Microsoft, SBS 2003 R2, Marketing

• Making peace between web designers and developers - watch the movie

  This is a nice simple cheeky movie: ";" galleryimg="no" mce_src="http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/WindowsLiveWriter/Makingpeacebetweenwebdesignersanddevelop_E257/videofe25ed816e48.jpg"> It is all about and the finding some . Enjoy David Technorati Tags: Developer , Designer , Harmony , Web-harmony , XAML , Expression Posted Mar 19 2008, 04:32 PM by David Overton with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Developer, Fun, Internet and Web, Expression

• PhotoZoom using Silverlight and DeepZoom (aka SeaDragon) technology - mine is on Star Wars, but we could create a SBSC one

  The above technology is built using Silverlight 2.0 beta that was announced at MIX08. You can upload photos or import via an RSS feed. I did the later, bit it occurred to me that we should start something like this for SBSC and ISV partners. To see the effect, go to http://photozoom.mslivelabs.com/Album.aspx?alias=Doverton&album=1 and then zoom in and out using the +/- in the top left corner or the scroll wheel on your mouse. It is quite amazing! Hat tip to Steve for this one ttfn David Technorati Tags:... Posted Mar 11 2008, 02:13 PM by David Overton with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Developer, Live, Fun, beta, Microsoft, Silverlight, ISV

• We say that Heroes happen with the '2008 products - see what has been registered by heros so far

  I found this great web site where you can see 150 case studies that are presented in the form of a book with stories in it. Some are a bit slim on detail and others are good. You might enjoy reading it - http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/portraitgallery/start.aspx ttfn David Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2008 , Visual Studio 2008 , SQL Server 2008 , heroes Posted Feb 28 2008, 09:15 AM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Windows Longhorn, SQL Server, Fun, Microsoft, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio

• Life at Microsoft - another comical parody of life in the big machine!

  I saw this and thought I had to share. While not as funny as some, still worth watching. For the record, no-one has ever thrown money at me! Look for the Jedi master mind tricks (failing) at about 4 mins. Life At Microsoft - The Truth Revealed Life At Microsoft - The Truth Revealed People often stop me in the streets to ask "Hey Tina, what's life "really" like at Microsoft? Sometimes I can't even walk outside my house without somebody standing there with a giant neon sign that blinks "What... Posted Feb 18 2008, 07:42 PM by David Overton with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Fun, Personal, Microsoft, Star Wars

• Microsoft and Yahoo merger with Google cartoons

  I saw these and laughed lots: Pavel Constantin, Romania Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com Enjoy :-) Please do not copy the images as they are (c) the artists and I have paid a royalty to share them. If you like them, please point people to this post ttfn David Technorati Tags: Microsoft , Yahoo , Google Posted Feb 05 2008, 04:33 PM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Business, Fun, Microsoft, Competition

• Read between the lines of the recent Google/Yahoo/Microsoft announcements

  I saw this and had to share ... just a little too much truth in them I think :-) The Google Strategy Will Backfire We forget that Google is still a very young company. But they just reminded us ... Continue Parsing Yahoo!: What Makes You Think We're Desperate? Given its grim outlook as a stand-alone company, Yahoo! suppresses its glee as it steps into play ... Continue Parsing Google: Don't Trust the Old Bully, Just the New One Parsing Google: Only benevolent giants like us should be able to buys things... Posted Feb 04 2008, 10:39 PM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Fun, Microsoft, Marketing, Competition

• Have you been on a conference call with Microsoft - ever wondered why you are on hold waiting for the conference leader ... the secrets revealed

  Hi, Saw this - very much noticed the behaviour, the music and then realised "this is not a stunt... this is what we do". Enjoy ttfn David Technorati Tags: Microsoft , Conference Call , Fun Posted Feb 01 2008, 08:12 AM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Fun, Microsoft

• How to do mapping on a mobile device or laptop without GPS, earn money while contributing to the project and mapping the world using GPS, mobile cell and WiFi access points (Navizon Peer-to-Peer Wireless Positioning system is the product)

  I've started looking at this application and found it better than I had hoped. It is simple - it triangulates your position using Wifi and phone cells and emulates a GPS should you need it for another application. It also uses GPS to capture the settings from the other two items and give them a more accurate placement, so learning information about masts, power etc. So, I've been using this to map my common routes and earn points (*which has just changed as a process), but in a week I've earn't... Posted Jan 24 2008, 10:23 AM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Windows Mobile, Fun, Personal, mobile

• How to get DRM protected media on one PC to play on another (eg stored on a Windows Home Server, playing on a Xbox or another PC)

  This question was asked internally and I was told this is the answer - I've not been able to test it fully, but it appears to be heading in the right direction!! Q. Why can't I play files that are shared by one computer but located on different computer? A. You can use Windows Media Player 11 to share media files that are located on other computers on your home network. However, additional steps are required so that these remote files will play on the devices you are sharing them with. On the remote... Posted Jan 22 2008, 09:17 AM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Windows Home Server, Fun

• Cool and useful Windows Home Server Disk Management add-in

  if Heineken did Home Server Web sites then We Got Served would be their site. I love reading the information that Terry puts on there and what is really good too is the fact that it is a UK site. Not that I object to anyone being successful in any country, but it is nice to have one on home turf too. Anyway, the latest little ditty is the Disk Management add-in from Sam Wood which shows you the status of your disks (capacity used) and where they are in the box (you have to configure this) Add-In: Windows Home... Posted Jan 22 2008, 08:18 AM by David Overton with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Windows Home Server, Fun

• How they said "Happy Holidays!" to Star Wars fans in 1977

  Well, it is now over 30 years since Star Wars made me realise that there is more to life and that doing the right thing was something to fight for. However, just as a bit of nostalgia, here is a little posting from the Community Pages sharing how Happy Christmas (non-PC version) was done 30 years ago "Happy Holidays!" Love, 1977 December 21, 2007 Thirty years ago next week, 20th Century Fox began running a newspaper ad for the 1977 holiday season which offered seasons greetings from several Star Wars... Posted Jan 13 2008, 09:21 PM by David Overton with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Fun, Personal, Star Wars

• Kids TV Quiz, Original artwork and Times Online. Take the 15 question Quick and see who you are - I was Dangermouse and there is also the ability to win some Dangermouse original artwork!!

  I was invited by Russell Singler of the The Animation Art Gallery to go look at TimesOnline for a quiz and competition to win some of his artwork . I found a discount code for the next ten days that gives 10% off of his work and this fun quiz ( www.timesonline.co.uk/kidstv ) Good grief! You really are Dangermouse Have you been known to loiter around a particular post box in Mayfair? Your character bears a striking resemblance to DM himself, the Chief, the greatest super hero in the world, that most debonair... Posted Jan 12 2008, 08:30 PM by David Overton with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Fun, Personal, Star Wars

• Windows Server 2003 is beginning to feel left behind with the arrival of Windows Server 2008 inside the Microsoft datacenter - fun videos to watch and learn a few reasons why to use Windows Server 2008

  I saw these and they just made me laugh while sharing a few things about WS2008 vs 2003. Unlike some "new and improved" washing powders, Windows Server 2003 is a good product, but some key areas have been improved to meet people's new and different needs, such as more security, sharing of information, web based applications, minimal systems and virtualisation. The blog entry (which was obviously written before RC1 appeared, but posted afterwards) can be found at Windows Server Division WebLog ... Posted Jan 10 2008, 04:29 PM by David Overton with | with no comments Filed under: Windows Longhorn, Virtualisation, Security, Windows Server 2003, Fun, Windows Server 2008, IIS

• From CES 2008: British Telecom (BT) Vision to use Xbox 360 consoles as set-top boxes

  If you have BT broadband then their IPTV solution will be coming to your Xbox 360 too (and BT don't charge for the service either) CES 2008: BT Vision to use Xbox 360 consoles as set-top boxes One exciting snippet of news from Bill Gates's keynotes speech last night, once again concerning us Brits, was that they're partnering with BT to offer the Xbox 360 as their Vision set-top box. This is yet another collaboration between the two giants, with Microsoft's Mediaroom already actually powering... Posted Jan 08 2008, 11:25 PM by David Overton with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Fun, Gaming, IPTV