A research group at the University of Cambridge has been using the advanced capabilities in Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 database software to extract information from data that was originally collected 150 years ago. The timing couldn’t be better because the information relates directly to the ideas of Charles Darwin and is being uncovered just in time for his bicentenary—celebrations for which will be centred in Cambridge in 2009 (see www.darwin2009.cam.ac.uk/).
“The mash-up of maps and data that displays the plant locations in Microsoft Virtual Earth was ready in three days at a cost of five developer days in total. The entire application, including comments, is less than 300 lines of code.”
– MARK WHITEHORN, Research Associate, University of Cambridge
Even though the software was still in beta, the researchers at Cambridge successfully developed a database that uses these spatial data types. However, it isn’t just the database that is important. The Cambridge research team wanted to visualise this data on a map. This was achieved using the Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 development system and Microsoft Virtual Earth™.
Mark Whitehorn, says: “In theory, we could have plotted the points by hand on a map, but to answer just one of our complex questions would have taken days of work. We wanted to ask questions and get the answers back in real time. The analysis we’ve already done with this software would have been impossible without the spatial data types and has already produced some very interesting findings.”
The full Case Study, including Video, can be found at the following:
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000001650
What is Test Drive?
The Test Drive is an online, virtualised SharePoint site, specifically setup to show schools, colleges and universities what SharePoint could look like – they can actually use a live SharePoint site, with attendance information, assessment info, learning resources etc just as a student/teacher/lecturer/parent would see it. To encourage customers to try it out for themselves, we’re mailing a pack to each of the relevant customers, containing info on the site and a reminder that they can win a 20 station Tablet PC network, or a ultra-mobile PC, or an invitation to the Imagine Cup in Paris.
What’s the aim of Test Drive?
The Education Test Drive is an online customer experience that aims to:
· Encourage customers to deploy software they already own (Worldwide less than 5% of educational institutions with licenses for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office Exchange have deployed the software)
· Demonstrate the value of existing investments, that will encourage customers to renew their CASA agreements
· Create new opportunities for Microsoft communications and collaboration technologies.
What’s included?
· Customers will receive a Test Drive Kit which includes information on our communication and collaboration solutions, demo software for Exchange, SharePoint and VSTS and evaluation resources for Live@edu.
· The kit has information on a Prize Draw, but the main objective is to drive customers to the Test Drive website: www.microsoft.com/uk/testdrive.
· On the website they can experience educationally relevant scenarios localised for the UK, which demonstrate the educational value of Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange.
How does this help Partners?
· The test drive is a valuable resource for you to build into conversation with customers, especially when renewing school or campus agreements.
· The materials provide a talking point which can open into opportunities around the Learning Gateway, Exchange and Microsoft Live@Edu.
· Customers can register on the site to win prizes, whilst at the same time learning about the value of our communication and collaboration offerings.
What do we want you to do?
· Try the Test Drive yourself, to see how it works.
· Tell your customers about it – e.g. include a link in your email signature.
· Let us know of your customer feedback about the TestDrive. That will help with next year’s planning (the worldwide team are planning for FY09 e.g. how to enable partners to build in their solutions)
Save the Date2008 Industry Partner Forum and the Worldwide Partner ConferenceJuly 7 – 10, Houston, TXGeorge R. Brown Convention Center
Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference provides a forum for Microsoft partners to connect with thousands of other partners —and expand business opportunities through essential partner-to-partner networking. By creating an intelligent network of shared ideas, you can gain strategic advantage, build alliances, and gain key business knowledge to position your organization for success.
1) Registration for the WPC opens on April 8th at 12:01AM. Full details will be available on the site on April 7th. We are encouraging partners to register early and make sure that they select the Industry Partner Forum as their Day 1 event.
2) The award submission deadline is April 8th as well, and we encourage partners to nominate themselves for an award. Here’s a link to the external awards nomination page: https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/40051582
3) Please go to: https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/wwpartnerconference to learn more about the conference
The Industry Partner Forum (IPF) at the 2008 Worldwide Partner Conference
IPF is a full day event hosted by the Worldwide Communications Sector, Commercial Sector and Public sector groups in Microsoft. The forum is focused on connecting partner executives and business decision makers, to provide the opportunity to partner with Microsoft in these industries
IPF also offers an opportunity for you to assess your current business goals and learn ways to leverage Microsoft’s industry marketing, sales and technology solutions to achieve them. As a decision maker you will have a unique opportunity to meet and network with Microsoft Executives and Key Partners from around the globe engaged in these industries.
Industry Partner Forum Agenda:The event will start with keynote addresses by Microsoft’s Industry Executives. This will be followed by Industry breakout sessions covering a broad range of industry topics. The industries covered include: Education, Government, Financial Services, Health, Hosting, Manufacturing, Media and Entertainment, Professional Services, Retail and Hospitality, and Telecommunications. We will wrap this up with a partner panel discussion covering best practices learned through their Microsoft partnership.
Come and see Microsoft’s Industry vision, learn about the value, engage in discussions, and prepare to build your business with the Worldwide Microsoft Industry teams.
For more information go to: https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/wwpartnerconference. Registration opens April 8th.
There are new EMEA specific licensing guides now available for:
Contents of the guides include the following and more:
We encourage all resellers to download these guides and distribute them amongst their licensing teams. They can be obtained from:
http://cid-2fbbe67743d5177d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Licensing?uc=2
If you have any more queries, please feel free to contact the licensing alias at: edulic@microsoft.com
10th Apr, Chicago 1, TVP
Registration url: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032373283&Culture=en-GB
24th Apr, The Lowry, Manchester
Registration url: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032373286&Culture=en-GB
Both events will run from 09.30 – 14.00 (lunch 13.00 to 14.00)
The target attendee should be business and/or technology decision maker from PME/unmanaged partners interested in learning more about the Microsoft technology roadmap, strategy direction, and accelerating sales.
Please find the agenda below (also included on attached doc with more detail):
09.30 - 10.00 Registration & coffee
10.00 – 10.15 Welcome & Introduction
Deliver Innovative Solutions
10.15 – 10.45 Microsoft strategy direction
10.45 – 11.30 Microsoft technology roadmap
11.30 – 11.50 Coffee break
Increase your opportunities
11.50 – 12.15 Marketing & sales initiatives
Close more sales
12.15 – 12.30 Services & licensing for sales acceleration
Support your Customers
12.30 – 12.45 Technical support resources
12.45 – 13.00 Wrap up with Q&A
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch & networking
One popular question is 'Where can I get training for SharePoint?' The link below provides access to a wealth of resources from end-user training to classroom courses, virtual labs and certification:
http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/learning/default.mspx
The end-user SharePoint training can be found at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA102488011033.aspx
There is a SCORM version of the SharePoint Training Kit available for use with the SLK at: SharePoint Training Kit. This means that training can be embedded into a Learning Platform solution as an assignable resource. Details of how to obtain the training kit are as follows:
To get the SharePoint Learning Kit version of the training (which needs Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to use), go to the Web site: http://connect.Microsoft.com. You'll need to sign in with a Windows Live ID and register on MSConnect. Once you have registered, click Available Connections on the left navigation. You'll come to a page with a long list of programs. Either scroll down to see the Connections, or click Available Connections at the top of the page to navigate to the beginning of the Connection list. Scroll down until you see the listing for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Training. Click on the title. The Install Guide is in the Articles section. I suggest you read that first. The User Guide is on the site under Articles and also included in the download.
Have you taken a look at: https://www.microsoftelearning.com/
Official Microsoft E-Learning products provide a thorough learning experience by incorporating features designed to improve your product proficiency and boost your productivity. Assessments, hands-on virtual labs, expert advice, and an interactive, non-linear approach all contribute to make Microsoft E-Learning an engaging and flexible learning experience.
The Advantages of E-Learning from Microsoft
Regardless of your type of organization, skill levels, or learning styles; Microsoft E-Learning can provide access to just the right software training—anytime and anywhere—for IT Professional, developers, and home and office workers.Microsoft E-Learning content is created by Microsoft experts, so the training comes straight from the source.
Learn More about E-Learning from Microsoft
Learn more about how to use Microsoft E-Learning to accomplish your goal, whether it is to update your skills, prepare for a certification exam, or get ready for a specific project.
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On this page:
The Partner Readiness Team is happy to announce the release of Virtualisation Training for Partners.
Currently there are three dates available:
Date
Course
Location
Start Time
10th/11th April 2008
Virtualisation – Implementation and Migrating to Hyper V
London
9am
28th/29th April 2008
6th/7th May 2008
Wokingham
Draft Agenda for the Courses:
Day 1
Day 2
09:00 Introduction
09:15 Module 1 – Virtualisation Concepts
09:45 Module 2 – Hyper-V Architecture
10:30 Break
11:00 Module 3 – Identifying Virtualisation Opportunities
11:45 Module 4 – Deploying Hyper-V Parent Partitions
12:30 Lunch Break
13:30 Lab 1 – Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Installation
14:30 Module 5 – Deploying Hyper-V Child Partitions
15:15 Break
15:45 Lab 2 – Utilising Hyper-V
16:45 Day 1 End
09:00 Module 6 – High Availability with Hyper-V
09:45 Lab 3 – Failover Clustering and Hyper-V
11:00 Module 7 – Managing Virtualised Workloads
11:45 Lab 4 – Automating Child Partitions with Scripts
13:30 Module 8 – Migrating to Hyper-V
14:15 Lab 5 – Migrating to Hyper-V
15:00 Break
15:30 Module 9 – Common Virtualisation Scenarios
16:15 Module 10 – Implementation Planning
16:45 Workshop Review & Close
Event registration can be accessed at:
https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=00c4b1a7-2909-4850-8271-c5049e765b43&site=UK&lang=en-uk
Asustek Computer, the world's top maker of computer motherboards, said nearly two-thirds of its Eee PCs shipped this year will be Windows-based as consumers embrace the company's low-cost laptop models.
The new models with Microsoft's Windows XP will be priced around $390 to $400.
"About 60 percent of (the Eee PCs) will have Windows XP operating system," Asustek Chairman Jonney Shih said at a news conference.
For the full article go to: http://www.news.com/Asustek-Two-thirds-of-Eee-PCs-will-have-Windows-XP/2100-1005_3-6234255.html?tag=cd.top
"A Windows Eee PC is more attractive to buyers because people are just not used to using Linux-based computers," said Alvin Kwock, analyst at JP Morgan.
Registration
Registration opens on the 8th April for partners. Please note the change from the previously advertised date of 2nd April. Please book early to get the best hotels.
Dates
WPC 08 will run from Tuesday 8th-Thursday 10th July with many pre-conference activities occurring on Monday 7th July. A full agenda will be published by the 8th April.
This year we head to hot Houston, Texas to the George R. Brown Convention Centre. Direct flights go from Heathrow and Gatwick daily.
***Worldwide Partner Conference Awards****
Submissions for 2008 must be received no later than midnight Tuesday April 8th.
Nominating your solution using the web-based Award submission tool is a simple process. There is no charge and no customer release is needed, Only a few questions about your solution need to be answered, but if you should win or become a finalist the benefit to your business and the visibility you will gain is significant.
You can find full details of the awards available, the rules, and a link to the submission tool here.
(https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/40051582)
Interested in what makes a winning entry? Find hints from the judges here.
(https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/40055370)
If you have any questions about the WPC Awards please contact us at WPCAward@microsoft.com. We look forward to receiving your entry very soon!
Price: The conference price this year for partners is $1795 with a discount available for partners who attended last year of $1395. Please note this early bird discount is only available to partners who book between 8th April and the 28th April and who attended WPC 07 in Denver. There will also be a discount for partner who send multiple attendees – full details still to be released.