David Overton's Blog

Why Microsoft Partners should embrace S+S and still deliver on premise solutions

David Overton — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:13:39 GMT

I was at the Microsoft World Wide Partner Conference when Microsoft announced their S+S (Software plus Services) and some partners decided to throw their toys out the pram and start a whole bunch of scare mongering around the partner opportunity. I’ve decided I will cover both off here, so here are some thoughts – please note, this is not an official communication, but simply my view and response having spoken to partners and Microsoft people alike.

What are the customer options?

A customer can choose from two non-exclusive models for their IT Services – On Premise on Hosted. The reasons why someone might want to have a solution hosted are many, but can includes:

Remove IT from premises
Remove soft off of the books
Outsource the IT management
Deliver IT from the best place for their customers (eg where they have low bandwidth)
Outsource IT upgrade & delivery
Enable simple price per seat solutions

Should a customer choose to have a solution hosted then their is a choice as to who hosts the solution – Microsoft or a partner. It should be noted that just because a customer chooses to have some technology hosted does not mean that all their IT will be or can be, nor does it mean that they suddenly become able to do everything that is needed, thus removing the need for an IT partner. Hosted solutions using Microsoft technology is not new, what is new is the Microsoft hosting and much better licensing opportunities for partners to offer profitable solutions without tying customers into complex licensing schemes.

So why should a partner keep with Microsoft and S+S?

If you are a SBS 2003 aware and was there for the launch you may well remember throwing tomatoes at people like me because we said you needed to move away from relying on making money purely from the install of SBS 2003. It was the configuring, connecting, customising and enabling that was where the money was going – and the setup process was part of the reason as it got much easier in SBS 2003. This trend has continued and many partners now make very little money on this part of the operation, but have a number of value add support and enabling solutions that make the technology accessible to the customer and add business value. The

If a customer wants or needs a hosted solution then in effect the install process reduces, but they still need all the connecting, configuring, enabling services to take advantage of the solution, so the main source of revenue and profit remains. Add to that the fact that Microsoft returns 12% of the subscription to the partner for the 1st year and then 6% ongoing means that a reasonable profit line is included on top of the services to get this delivered for the customer. I think this is not only better than ANY other SaaS provider in the market, but also potentially will return a better bottom line due to reduced costs involved in enabling.

Now, lets deal with one of Vlad’s points that Microsoft “will go direct”. Microsoft takes 96% of it’s revenue via partners and this will continue. We have been selling volume licenses via partners for years, yet the process of collecting funds on a Microsoft contract without Microsoft taking the deals “direct”, so in short, get real Vlad, we don’t have the engine to “steal” customers. Microsoft has no desire to kill off the on-premise business, but CUSTOMERS want choice and so we have offered 3 solutions, all partner focused where PARTNERS still get to offer the solutions and the software is still Microsoft. If Microsoft did not offer anything in the hosted environment, others would continue to grow in this area without offering solutions that existing partners could leverage without much struggle. Vlad’s business model that has Microsoft products delivered with “more” than the Microsoft hosted solutions is not a mistake – this is ideal – we would like to see many partners hosting solutions.

Vlad see’s that the very fact that Microsoft has a solution in this emerging market as a competitive play to existing partners, but Microsoft is trying to build a way for On Premise customers to use their skills to deliver in this space and still make money on the “install” ala the connection and then continue to add all the other value added services they used to do.

The mis-conception around opportunity with hosted vs on-premise solutions

I think that some of the concern around hosted solutions (hosted by Microsoft or others) is what revenue will be available to partners. If you do more than an install and run then I think this diagram works for you:

Note that there is a need the customer has to turn “IT” into something that helps their business. I’ve called this the solution gap and partners would normally collect revenue for this up front and potentially on an ongoing service basis.

Some people feel that if some of the on-premise solution gets hosted the partner gets squeezed as below:

The above picture suggests that somehow a hosted solution closes the solution gap or that the hosting provider will fill the “direct to customer” services. Most providers will not be able to do this, so as a provider, the red “lost revenue” will not happen and instead you will see something like:

In the final diagram the way people get paid is different, but the up front purchasing costs have disappeared. Depending on the provider the purple chunk will change, but in the Microsoft solutions, you will get a straight 12% profit in the 1st year and 6% after that for the subscribers. This may well provide more revenue, especially if there is also on-promise solutions too. I think the above is well articulated by Vijay on his entry here.

One thing I don’t get about Vlad and Vijay’s later response is how partners choosing a hosted solution, based on Microsoft, from someone like Vlad is bad? The customer has the choice, as does the partner – providing they add value to the customer then the customer will buy a solution – the one they want. Partners do need to evolve, but the death of the mainframe is still not here, after 2-3 business model changes and the internet revolution is still in it’s infancy. I would like people to see this for what it is, an offering from Microsoft for those customers that want to go that way, not an announcement of the demise of the on-premise solution!

Also, if you want a counter opinion, have a look at http://blogs.msdn.com/stevecla01/archive/2008/07/08/microsoft-partners-hunger-is-addressed.aspx from Steve.

I hope this makes sense, but if not, please feel free to contact me, or Vlad has a “build a bridge” blog post too.

Thanks

David

Technorati Tags: S+S, SaaS, Software as a Service, Software plus Service, Microsoft, Partner, SBSC, Community, Business

SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 and the Action Pack

David Overton — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:58:13 GMT

I’ve been asked many, many times “Will Small Business Server 2008 or Essential Business Server 2008” be in the Action Pack. The simple answer is “YES”. As to when, well that depends on the RTM of the actual products, however, we’re trying to get them in as early as possible.

Thanks

David

Technorati Tags: Action Pack, SBSC, Microsoft, SBS 2008, EBS 2008, Partners, Support and Tools

New SQL 2008 training for UK partners

David Overton — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:51:10 GMT

Hi,

I know I’ve been away a lot recently (closing the year end and then doing some travelling for work), but while cleaning my inbox (ohh, 2500 mails processed, replied too, filed and actioned – yee har!) I came across this and it is bang up to date. SQL 2008 is going to be the hot, hot, hot product for a few months, along with how it sits with other BI solutions, such as SharePoint and PerformancePoint. To help you get started, here are some training opportunities :

SQL Server 2008 Database Infrastructure and Scalability
This three-day training course will help database administrators understand how to exploit the new performance, scalability, manageability and high-availability enhancements introduced in SQL Server 2008. They will also learn how to exploit these capabilities, ensure application scalability and how to manage a database using the new features. Click here
Introduction to SQL Server 2008 BI Solution Development
This three day course is designed to give developers the confidence to tackle a BI project, and the content is equally relevant to SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008. This should be attended by developers who are new to the Microsoft BI platform, not those who are familiar with BI development but wish to update their knowledge to SQL Server 2008. Click here
Essential SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence for Developers
This two day course is targeted at experienced BI developers (or those who have completed the Introduction to SQL Server 2008 BI Solution Development course above) and wish to learn how to exploit the new features of SQL Server 2008 in their BI applications. Click here

Enjoy

David

Technorati Tags: SQL 2008, Microsoft, Partners, BI, Business Intelligence, Developers, Training

How to migrate from SBS 2003 to Small Business Server 2008 (SBS 2008)

David Overton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:06:00 GMT

I’ve spoken about migration several times now for SBS 2008. The short answer is that migration from one box to another is vital. If a customer wants to do migration on the same box, then this is either expensive (and a very long process) or something that requires moving the server temporarily to another system, or as I prefer, virtualising it. Of course, SBS 2003 is not necessarily supported in a virtual environment, but since all we want to do is migrate from it, not “run it”, this should help you get over this.

The details of the process can be found in the Windows Small Business Server 2008 technical library. One of the MOST IMPORTANT things to understand is to create the answer file. This is covered in the migration help below:

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Migration Help (Download)

Provides step-by-step instructions for migrating from Windows SBS 2003 or 2008 to Windows SBS 2008. Last Updated on June 30, 2008

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Product Help (Download)

Provides step-by-step instructions for using the Windows SBS 2008 server software. Last Updated on June 30, 2008

Downloadable documentation for Windows Small Business Server 2008

Before you start – what you need to remember

SBS 2008 is a 64-bit solution requiring x64 capable hardware
There is NO 32-bit to 64-bit “in-place” upgrade solution
SBS 2008 Standard is a single server solution, while SBS 2008 Premium includes the license and software for a 2nd Windows Server system (as part of the domain)
SBS 2008 Premium edition does NOT have ISA as part of the solution.

SBS 2003 Premium customers with Software Assurance will be able to “make good” their ISA licenses for a limited amount of time after SBS 2008 is released.

SBS 2008 Premium edition has the option to use SQL 2008 Standard edition on either server.
SQL 2008 can be downgraded

Migration options at high level

Add a new server to existing SBS 2003 domain and either

Remove old SBS 2003 server
Purchase SBS 2008 Premium edition and make old server 2nd server using the license as part of SBS 2008 Premium edition

Using the rights of Software Assurance / Full Packaged Product, move physical SBS 2003 to an virtual machine and migrate from it to the existing x64 capable hardware

Note that SBS 2003 running in a Virtual Machine is not supported!

Load onto existing server, reloading all data and rejoining all PCs to the domain

Option 1 - Process to add new server

Backup up SBS 2003 server

Tidy up the SBS 2003 system

Remove unwanted software, files, users etc

Install the new SBS 2008 system

Create the answer file and install the new hardware with SBS 2008

The answer file tool looks like this:

Complete the setup

Set up web site information, security and so on
Be aware that the migration process is an interactive process, not a click and go process

Turn off old server

Confirm all client applications, printers, shares etc work

If you have SBS 2008 Premium edition, rebuild old server

Windows Server 2008 Standard or downgrade to Windows Server 2003 Standard for application compatibility reasons (x86 or x64 server)

Finally, share how to use SBS 2008

Option 2 – Move from physical to virtual to do 1 box migration

You need to do this part before you go to the steps above, starting at step 3

Purchase P2V (Physical to Virtual) software, such as SCVMM or PlateSpin solution
Backup SBS 2003 server
Tidy up SBS 2003 server as before and remove all unnecessary files
Run P2V software
Turn off SBS 2003 system and re-start SBS 2003 virtual machine
Continue migration process as if installing a new server

Option 3 – Blow away existing server and rebuild all PCs

Just don’t do this unless you really need to pretend you or your customer never had a network before!

I hope this makes sense.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008, Microsoft, Partners, Community, SBSC, Small Business, Small Business Server 2008

Vote for me in the ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08

David Overton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:28:09 GMT

Hi,

so I made it – thank-you to those who nominated me – now it’s time to vote for me!! If you like what I do, help me to show Microsoft that my blogging and style is the “right” style. Click on the picture and vote for me in the Company Blog shortlist.

Click the picture above, or go to Company blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08 | 30 Jun 2008 | ComputerWeekly.com

thanks

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, personal

Microsoft wants to know what you want for the UK SBS 2008 Launch? Time to stop saying you want it better and time to start saying what you actually want and would use!!

David Overton — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:38:26 GMT

One thing I have never been accused of is holding back my opinion and on the Yahoo Groups recently there has been some discussions around what Microsoft has done for partners. As part of the discussion this blog post from Sonal, the UK Product Manager for SBS 2008 and EBS 2008, came up with a question around what do partners want to see in a UK launch. I thought people who read this blog might like to pop over to Sonal's blog and give a voice to their wants. I've seen suggestions from free beer, which was a Joke I was later told, to license pricing, features and benefits, how to up-sell/cross-sell.

The problem with the later items is that they are simply personal to the business doing the selling - why have an upsell to mobile devices if your business can't facilitate it?

What do you want to see at the UK SBS 2008 Launch?

In May 2006 we had a server event for guys (and gals) who sell server - specifically Small Business Server. We split the event into two - the morning event was for those who were new to selling SBS and the afternoon track was for those who already have a great deal of experience in selling SBS. Both sessions went down a storm where we covered off all sorts from market analytics to Windows Mobile with SBS. With the learnings from that event and feedback from YOU, we're hoping to do it again - but better.
So, while James tries to uncover how you want your content delivered, I'm keen to understand what exactly it is that you need from us. And it may seem obvious to you. But tell me anyway. As we plan the UK launch event for around the September/October timeframe, it would be really helpful to hear from you on what you need from us - either at the potential launch event, or before that via webcasts.
<snipped - contact details on Sonal's blog>

SBS stuff and then some... : What do you want to see at the UK SBS 2008 Launch?

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, SBS 2008, SBS, Small Business, Small Business Server 2008, Marketing, Community, SBSC, Partners

Small Business Server 2008 downgrade rights questions and answers

David Overton — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:57:26 GMT

Last night I was at the Merseyside Partner group in Liverpool and once question that got asked again (and was in TPV and London too) was around downgrade rights from SBS 2008 to SBS 2003, so I dug for about 30 seconds and found these items on the Licensing FAQ site Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008:

Q: What are downgrade rights? How do I exercise them?
A:Downgrade rights, in general, means that you can use an earlier version of the software acquired. For Windows Small Business Server, this means you are allowed to install and use Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Premium Edition instead of Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition, which is what you purchased. You can also install and use Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition instead of Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition. At any time, you can install the software you purchased and cease to use the earlier version.
If you obtained your server with Windows Small Business Server preinstalled from a partner or OEM, in order to exercise your downgrade rights you must already have the earlier versions of Windows Small Business Server media available. If you purchased Open Licensing, Volume Licensing, Software Assurance, or the full retail product of Windows Small Business Server 2008, contact Microsoft fulfillment services in your region.
Q:Are my Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 CALs valid to use to access my Windows Small Business Server 2008 network?
A:No. You must have the CAL version that matches the version of the server software you are running. That is, if you have a Windows Small Business Server 2008 domain, you must have Windows Small Business Server 2008 CALs. Note: If you choose to run an earlier version of the server software (by way of using downgrade rights), you would still be in compliance with your license by acquiring Windows Small Business Server 2008 CALs.
Q:How do I obtain CALs for earlier versions of Windows Small Business Server when they are discontinued?
A:You will need to purchase Windows Small Business Server 2008 CALs and use your downgrade rights
Q:How are my licenses activated?
A:The Windows Small Business Server 2008 server license is activated over the Internet. If you do not have an Internet connection, you can follow the instructions in the Windows Activation wizard for calling a telephone number to activate. Windows Small Business Server CALs no longer have to be activated. Note that if you are running Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition, the second copy of Windows Server 2008 technologies will require similar activation.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008, Licensing, Microsoft, SBS 2003, SBS 2003 R2, Small Business, SBSC

Performance monitoring tools to go with Windows Vista Magazine article

David Overton — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:11:16 GMT

In my latest article for Windows Vista Magazine I spoke about performance tuning a system and more importantly how to diagnose performance issues. One of the tools I recommend using to do this is the Windows Performance Tools kit. This can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/perftools.mspx. It includes a getting started document. The tools are described as:

The Windows Performance Tools (WPT) Kit contains performance analysis tools that are new to the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5. The WPT Kit is useful to a broad audience, including system builders, hardware manufacturers, driver developers, and general application developers. These tools are designed for measuring and analyzing system and application performance on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later.
The tools currently include an xperf trace capture tool, an xperfview visualization tool (also known as Performance Analyzer), and an xbootmgr boot trace capture tool. The tools are designed for the analysis of a wide range of performance problems including application start times, boot issues, deferred procedure calls and interrupt activity (DPCs and ISRs), system responsiveness issues, application resource usage, and interrupt storms. The MSIs containing these tools are available in the SDK bin directory (one per architecture).

The tools are built on top of the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) infrastructure. ETW enables Windows and applications to efficiently generate events. Events can be enabled and disabled at any time without requiring system or process restarts. ETW collects requested kernel events and saves them to one or more files that are referred to as "trace files" or "traces."
These kernel events provide extensive details about the operation of the system. Some of the most important and useful kernel events that are available for capture and analysis are context switches, interrupts, DPCs, process and thread creation and destruction, disk I/Os, hard faults, processor P-state transitions, registry operations, and many others.

<snipped>

What's new in Version 4.1.1
This version is an update to WPT Kit v.4.1.0, which was released as part of the Windows Server 2008 SDK. Version 4.1.1 contains a fix for the following issue:

Windows Performance Analyzer does not perform power state transition analysis.

On/Off Transition Performance Analyzer

Using this tools you can get a huge amount of information, but at the same time, it can be very confusing. I got plenty of my useful information from these articles from Pigs Can Fly : XPerf Articles:

Xperf, a new tool in the Windows SDK
The SDK team just shipped the latest version of the Windows SDK which supports Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1. The SDK now includes an important new tool; the Windows Performance Tool Kit from the Windows performance team (we call them the xperf tools for short...)
Xperf Tools Landing Page and Update
The WHDC folks now have web page setup for the Windows Performance Toolkit (aka the 'xperf tools'). The page includes downloads for updates to the versions that ship in the SDK. In the near future, this page will include pointers to updated documentation, and discussion forums.
Using Xperf to take a Trace (updated)
Lets get to it! Here is how to take a basic trace then look at CPU and disk utilization. Its really simple, just three commands to turn on tracing, turn it off, and then view the trace.
Xperf support for XP
"Do the xperf tools support XP or Windows Server 2003?" is a frequently ask question. The answer is no mostly, and yes for a few things.
Using the Windows Sample Profiler with Xperf
Using the xperf tools, ETW, and the kernel sample profile interrupt all together provides a very effective and easy to use sample profiler for the analysis of both application and system wide performance. At each sample interrupt, the ETW sub-system captures the instruction pointer and the stack. This data is lazily and efficiently logged to an ETL file. Once the data is saved, it can be analyzed with Performance Analyzer.
So just what is in a trace? Using the xperf trace dumper
There is a lot of information in a typical kernel trace. While the Performance Analyzer tool is quite powerful and makes it easy to view a trace graphically, sometimes you just need to see what is in the trace directly. Xperf makes this easy.

Besides these, I can recommend the articles at Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT)

Trace Capture, Processing, and Command-Line Analysis tool
Xperf.exe
Captures traces, post-processes them for use on any machine, and supports command-line (action-based) trace analysis.

Visual Trace Analysis tool
Xperfview.exe
Presents trace content in the form of interactive graphs and summary tables.

On/Off Transition Trace Capture tool
Xbootmgr.exe
Automates on/off state transitions and captures traces during these transitions.
This documentation introduces procedures that guide you to use these tools to capture and analyze traces. It contains a complete reference of the commands that are used in the command-line environment to perform various tasks. It also covers the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) subsystem.

I hope this helps, but if not, let me know.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Windows Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Performance, Windows XP, Performance Tuning, Microsoft

Moving SBS 2003 to new hardware or performing a migration – Update (QFE) to give you longer to do it (21 days up from the 7 days)

David Overton — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:46:41 GMT

From The Official SBS Blog : Small Business Server 2003 Migration Update 943494 Released, a slightly old post, but something work highlighting – how to have 2 SBS boxes on the same network for 21 days.

Small Business Server 2003 Migration Update 943494 Released

[Today's post comes to us courtesy of Justin Crosby]
The software license terms for Windows SBS enforce a limitation that permits the presence of only one Windows SBS server in the domain. However, there is a grace period where you can have a second SBS server in “join domain” type migration scenarios. This grace period is 7 days. In some situations, this grace period may not be long enough to properly complete the migration.
This software update extends the allowable grace period for the supported scenarios from 7 days to 21 days. Please plan accordingly, aim to complete your migration within 7 days and only use this update for situations where it is needed. Remember, if you hit the 21 day limit there is nothing that can be done to extend the limit any further.
Important: We strongly recommend that you complete all migration tasks before you demote the Windows SBS domain controller to a member server. Once you demote the Windows SBS domain controller to a member server, the grace period is reset back to 7 days or whatever is left from the 21 days (whichever is less).
The update is available at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=64903D3C-3264-418D-9199-2963A599E268
The KB is available at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;943494
For more information on migrating Windows Small Business Server 2003 to new hardware please see: http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServerSolutions/SBS/en/library/62e2094e-ad4e-4227-b20e-97a716ed7c861033.mspx

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2003, SBS 2008, Small Business, Microsoft, SBSC, Updates, Tips

SBS 2008 systems limitations and functions are the same as Windows Server 2008

David Overton — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:00:02 GMT

With SBS 2003 R2, some of the Windows Server 2003 R2 features were not included. I asked today where we were with SBS 2008 and the CPU, Memory and feature lists are, so I am told, the same.

On the page http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/compare-specs.aspx it talks about the max number of procs, memory etc for Windows Server 2008 Standard. You should use these to represent SBS 2008, however, note SBS 2008 has it’s own minimum requirements. See below for the important points

KEY: = Not Available = Available

Specification	Standard	Enterprise
X64 Sockets	4	8
X64 RAM	32 GB	2 TB
Failover Cluster Nodes (Nodes)		16
Fault Tolerant Memory Sync
Cross-File Replication (DFS-R)
Network Access Connections (RRAS)	250	Unlimited
Network Access Connections (IAS)	50	Unlimited
Terminal Services Gateway	250	Unlimited
Virtual Image Use Rights	1	4

The features of Windows Server 2008 that are in Standard Edition can be found here - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/differentiated-features.aspx which should also be a list of what is in SBS 2008. Bear in mind that the product has not released yet, but it appears to be going this direction.

ttfn
David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008, Small Business Server 2008, Small Business, Limitations, Windows Server 2008, SBSC, Microsoft

System Center Essentials 2007 on Windows Server 2008

David Overton — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:05:26 GMT

I got a question the other day asking in SCE was available on Windows Server 2008. From the System Center Essentials 2007 hope page I noticed that is states that with SP1 Windows Server 2008 is supported.

Service Pack 1 Is Now Available!
System Center Essentials just got better and faster: The new improvements include up to 70% less memory consumption, faster console, support for workgroup joined computers, SNMP v1 devices, improved setup, new update approvals rules, enhanced third-party update experience, and support for Windows Server 2008. Download the trial or update your existing Essentials server. For more information on what’s included, visit the SP1 Resource Page.

Now, I’ve not installed this on Server 2008, but apparently there are a few tricks that you need to learn – I’d suggest that you have a look at Permanent Link to Installation Guide for System Center Essentials SP1 on Windows Server 2008 (x8 and Permanent Link to Reinstalling System Center Essentials 2007.

Thanks

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Management, Windows Server 2008, System Center Essentials, SCE, System Center Essentials 2007, SP1, Service Pack 1

Update for Media Center for Windows Vista available for download

David Overton — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:27:49 GMT

I saw over on Aaron’s blog that Microsoft has posted an update for Media Center. I’ve loaded this on the machine under the TV, but there again, I was not seeing issues, except those caused by network congestion as all our PCs and extenders connect via a wireless network.

June 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista available for download

A new cumulative update package for Windows Vista Media Center has been released this week. This update is called the June 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista and is also known as KB950126. It is available for download in x86 and x64 versions. It can be installed on systems running the original version of Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Editions and the SP1 version of Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Editions.
The June 2008 Cumulative Update includes the following fixes:

All of the fixes previously included in the February 2008 Cumulative Update
Improvements to the TV recording experience on systems that use analog tuners, do not have a set-top box and do not have any digital tuners installed.
Blank screen that can occur when you switch between full-screen mode and windowed mode while playing a video.
Empty removable media devices may be displayed in galleries (this issue was introduced in Windows Vista SP1 and only affects those systems).
Client ID may not be set correctly if you use the Express setup option when launching Windows Vista Media Center.
Memory leak in extender sessions.
Updated frequency table for China.
Channel names in Simplified Chinese are shown as unrecognizable characters.

Downloads on Aaron’s site

Aaron Stebner's WebLog : June 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista available for download

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Media Center, MCE, Windows Vista, Vista, Microsoft, System Update

Proof that SBSC partners can grow from 1-man businesses into Microsoft Certified Partners – and still be good for small business – congrats Richard Tubb

David Overton — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:07:00 GMT

I remember the name Richard Tubb being mentioned a few times over the last 2 year and remember him on some of the Live Meetings I delivered and then he launched his blog. One thing that was apparent from his questions, contacts and especially his blog is that this is a man that “got it”. Now there are a few others that I believe live and breathe this attitude and to name some and miss others would be bad, so I wont name any (if you want to know if your on my “I love you man” list, drop me an e-mail, but I’ve probably told you or made time for you, which is a good hint), but one thing about living your life by certain principles is that you still have to live your life. By got it, I mean:

is solution, not product oriented
Is value sensitive, not price sensitive
Believes in the value of the community
Is prepared to stand up and be counted for his opinion – which is his, not others
Will tell you when he things you are talking… erm… rubbish!!
Believes in good processes (eg service plans, documentation etc)

If you look at his blog, you will see the above, so it is nice to see the business grow and achieve an amazing milestone. Richard is still a great SBSC partner, but now he is ALSO a Microsoft Certified Partner. Well done -

TubbBlog: Netlink IT achieves Microsoft Certified Partner Status

I'm chuffed to announce that Netlink IT achieved Microsoft Certified Partner Status this past month gone.

After striving to reach the level this Certification demanded for quite some time, the achievement of reaching the goal-post almost got lost in the business that taking on new staff, moving into a new office and re-organising the business brought on!
It was March 2006 that Netlink IT became a Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner - and two years on I think that the SBSC certification, and in particular the benefits of working with the community that surrounds the "blue badge" from that certification, have significantly helped me to grow the company to the stage it's at now.
I'm hoping that Microsoft Certified Partner Status helps me grow the business further still.

I’m always happy to shout about great partners, so if you have something to shout about, let me know and either myself and / or Microsoft will shout too.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Partner, Certified Partner, SBSC, Community, SBS 2003, Small Business, Business

Upgrade Windows Search to Version 4.0 and improve your PC (for Windows Vista, XP, Server 2003 and 2008)

David Overton — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:41:52 GMT

If you have have Office 2007 or a Windows Vista or Windows Desktop Search (WDS) then you probably have V2.6 or V3 of this fantastic search product. Version 4 has a wealth of updates, but most importantly, is more stable and faster. One of the things I love about this is that if you put this on a client and server, and then search a network share, if the contents are indexed on the server then WDS uses the remote index to search, making it super fast. It can even be used with SBS 2003 / 2008 to speed up access to the shares there too.

Description of Windows Search 4.0 and the Multilingual User Interface Pack for Windows Search 4.0

Windows Search 4.0
Windows Search 4.0 lets you perform an instant search of your computer. Windows Search 4.0 helps you find and preview documents, e-mail messages, music files, photos, and other items on the computer.
The search engine in Windows Search 4.0 is a Microsoft Windows service that is also used by programs such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Office OneNote 2007. You can use this search engine to index a program's content and to obtain instant results when you search in a particular program.
Windows Search 4.0 includes the following improvements:

Support for indexing encrypted documents of local file systems
Reduced affect on Microsoft Exchange when you index e-mail in online mode, and there is no local cache (.ost)
Support for indexing online delegate mailboxes
Support for client-to-client remote query to shared indexed locations
Improved indexing performance
Faster previewer updates for Windows XP
Per-user Group Policy settings
Windows software updates for Watson errors
Support for the following new enterprise Group Policy objects:

Computer policies

Prevent adding Universal Naming Convention (UNC) locations to index from Control Panel
Prevent customizing indexed locations in Control Panel
Prevent automatically adding shared folders to the index
Allow for indexing of encrypted files
Disable indexer back-off
Prevent clients from querying the index remotely
Allow for indexing of online delegate mailboxes
Prevent adding user
Specified locations to the All Locations menu
Enable throttling for online mail indexing

Per-user policies

Prevent adding UNC locations to the index from Control Panel
Prevent customizing indexed locations in Control Panel
Prevent indexing certain paths
Default indexed paths
Default excluded paths

Windows Search 4.0 Administrator's Guide
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/f98696ed-6e3e-47b7-ab38-511439bce7ae1033.mspx?mfr=true
Windows Search 4.0 Troubleshooting Guide
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/84c1c305-baaa-4352-b55a-45daaebf18df1033.mspx?mfr=true
The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the 32-bit Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 package now.

Download the 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 package now.

Download the 32-bit Windows XP package now.

Download the x64-based Windows XP package now.

Download the 32-bit Windows Server 2003 and Windows Home Server package now.

Download the x64-based Windows Server 2003 package now.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Windows Client, Windows XP, Windows, Windows Server, Windows Home Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Desktop Search, Search, Windows Desktop Search, Support and Tools, Microsoft

Do you like my blog? If so, why not nominate me for the Computer Weekly IT Blog awards?

David Overton — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:11:00 GMT

[update - I missed the nomination deadline, so don't vote for me!!

double update - I've been accepted - so DO vote]

I was browsing Steve Clayton’s blog today and noticed these awards. While I’m not one to play copy-cat, I’d like to think my blog posts are useful (well, enough people read them).

So, there appears to be a bit of a competition – if you like what read hear, consider nominating me :-) You can read more about this at http://www.computerweekly.com/blogawards.htm.

Nominate me in
Company Blogs

Thanks

David

Technorati Tags: Personal, If you only read one post today, blog