Top line – We are now “officially” supporting SQL Server in virtualized environments (hyper-v, vmware).
Details - Go to http://support.microsoft.com/?id=956893 for the details. Good place to send customers to as well. For licensing questions please direct customers to http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx
Want to see what Microsoft is doing in Education? Stop by here http://www.educationwebcasts.com/ and take a look at some great webcast’s…..
· Microsoft will be ending support for the Antigen for Exchange 8.0 and Antigen for SMTP Gateways 8.0 products on December 31, 2008. After that time, all engine updating services will cease to operate, and the products will no longer provide up-to-date protection against the latest threats. As soon as possible, we encourage you to take the opportunity to upgrade to Microsoft Antigen for Exchange 9.0 or Microsoft Antigen for SMTP Gateways 9.0. In addition to completing Microsoft’s Secure Development Lifecycle review for secure code development and incorporating all the latest product updates and service release, the new Antigen 9.0 versions include:
o Added protection through inclusion of Microsoft Anti-malware engine – an additional engine to use in your overall protection mix
o Enhanced cluster support to ensure both active and passive nodes have the latest signature updates
o Distributed quarantine management and log file retrieval for easier management
o Microsoft-signed signature updates for added protection against signature tampering
The Microsoft Higher Education Team is organizing a Higher Education Business Intelligence Panel and Summit to be held in conjunction with the Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference 2008.
Microsoft BI Conference 2008
The Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference will be held in Seattle, WA from October 6-8, 2008. At this conference, you will be able to see first the latest technologies being released for Business Intelligence. Click here to register for the conference.
Microsoft BI Panel and Summit
At the same time, we are planning an afternoon dedicated to Higher Education on October 7th. We plan to have an interactive session where you can network with your peers and share best practices. You will also have an opportunity to talk with Business Intelligence
software vendors who have built Higher Education solutions on Microsoft PerformancePoint Server for Scorecards, Key Performance Indicators, Trending and Online Analytic Processing (OLAP) views.
Finally, we will also discuss how institutions have been integrating with ERP Systems such as PeopleSoft, Sungard Higher Education Banner and DataTel to produce Business Intelligence for their campuses.
BI Panel and Summit Agenda
1:00-2:00pm, Mining ERP Data for Higher Education Analytics and Intelligence
Speaker: Dan Venedam, iStrategy – Vice President Sales & Marketing
iStrategy has collaborated with Higher Education for over 6 years. iStrategy transforms the raw data buried in data sources across campus into actionable information. They have built out analytics, dashboards and scorecards for the following areas:
· Admission
· Enrollment Management
· Retention
· Faculty information
· Building Utilization
· Student Financials
· Human Resources
· Financials
· Contributors Relations and/or Advancement
· Financial Aid (in development)
iStrategy has an out of the box application specifically designed for Higher Education institutions trying to meet new information demands.
This session will discuss how schools can leverage the collective wisdom of other institutions with a Business Intelligence platform that delivers pre-built integration into existing PeopleSoft, Banner and Datatel ERP systems, while providing a multi-dimensional interface that allows non-technical users to interact with the platform without engaging technical resources.
2:00-3:00pm, Implementing Dashboards and Scorecards in Higher Education
Speaker: Nils Rasmussen, Solver, Inc. - Principal
The performance management wave has hit higher education and CIO's, CFO's and budget managers are looking to drive and measure actionable strategies throughout their institutions. In this session, we will look at how you can use Microsoft PerformancePoint Server, SharePoint and Microsoft SQL Server to implement a complete business intelligence solution from data warehouse, to key performance indicators and dashboards and scorecards. We will also show you how to simple data mining on your student information data, to find simple answers to complex questions and to predict future trends.
3:00-4:00pm, Performance Management 101, Consolidations, planning & information delivery with Microsoft BI and PerformancePoint Server for Higher Education
Speaker: Trevor Walker, Perfiniti - Principal
In this session attendees will see how Microsoft PerformancePoint Server and BI can handle the key challenges faced by colleges and universities. It will demonstrate the core fundamentals of fund accounting in PerformancePoint Server and how to leverage this for best practices in financial management. Attendees will see how to run regular consolidations, annual budgeting cycles, planning cycles like CapEx and Salary planning and get a handle on their fund and expense tracking. Particular attention will be paid to the common issues of expense management and variance reporting against actual, budget and committed fund expenses for visibility into the true fund balances with drill downs into programs, projects, vendors and other details necessary for better expense management. Understanding how to link this performance management system to common higher education operational systems like PeopleSoft will also be covered. This session will include actual materials used during selection and implementation, PowerPoint presentations to convey key concepts, aspects and learning’s, and a live demo of performance management scenarios for higher education.
4:00-5:00pm, Q&A and Networking
Consistent with our efforts to promote further interoperability across the Web, Microsoft will be releasing Internet Explorer 8 to render content in its most standards-compliant way by default. Giving top priority to Web standards interoperability allows us to help web developers and designers drive toward the ideal of “write once, run anywhere”, freeing up more time to innovate rather than modify content for different browsers. This commitment also addresses several development and design pain points from previous Internet Explorer releases.
Here are some great links that will provide additional information you may find useful:
· Internet Explorer 8 main site: http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie8
· Internet Explorer Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/ie
· Internet Explorer Developer Center: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/default.aspx
· Internet Explorer 8 Readiness Toolkit (for web designers and developers): http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/default.htm
· Microsoft Interoperability Principles: http://www.microsoft.com/interop/principles/default.mspx
How are you doing with your Core Infrastructure? Want to find out what you can do to improve it and as a bonus lower your TCO and get some ROI on that new project... Go here and find out...
http://www.microsoft.com/infrastructure/default.mspx
As many of you know, the much-anticipated Hyper-V hypervisor feature was just released last week. Many of the IT professionals like you have now began to use Hyper-V server virtualization technology to take back the control of your datacenter. With energy costs going sky high and the demand for IT services increasing, no wonder many of you are now looking to consolidate the physical servers using virtualization.
With server consolidation being the direction to go, we are pleased to announce the RTM of Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 for Hyper-V.
What is the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1?
The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 (or MAP) is a network-wide agent-less tool that can help you quickly find out where your desktops and servers are as well as auto-generate upgrade recommendations for multiple products and technologies including server, desktop and virtualization migration scenarios covering:
· Hyper-V virtualization candidates assessment (New in MAP 3.1)
· SQL server discovery and assessment (New in MAP 3.1)
· Desktop Security Center assessment (New in MAP 3.1)
· Windows Server 2008 hardware and device compatibility assessment including server discovery
· Windows Vista hardware and device compatibility assessment including PC discovery
· Office 2007 hardware compatibility assessment
· Microsoft Application Virtualization hardware compatibility assessment
· SNMP inventory reporting
Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 (updated to include Hyper-V)
This guide describes important tuning parameters and settings that can result in improved performance for the Windows Server 2008 operating system. Each setting and its potential effect are described to help you make an informed judgment about its relevance to your system, workload, and performance goals.
This information applies for the Windows Server 2008 operating system.
What's New:
| • |
Added "Power Guidelines" under Server Hardware section and added "Performance Tuning for Virtualization Servers" section. |
View details and download here
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/
Well, we are very pleased to say, "Yes!" and "Yes!" to both questions by announcing the Podcasting Kit for SharePoint (PKS), available as an open source project at http://www.CodePlex.com/PKS. The PKS is an accelerator for social media, using podcasting and social networks to deliver the next generation knowledge management solution. Built on top of SharePoint Server 2007 and using Silverlight 2, the PKS delivers an integrated experience with a wide variety of devices including iPod, Zune, Windows Mobile phones, and other podcast capable devices. The PKS follows the same model and approach to open source community contributions and support as the Community Kit for SharePoint.
While the PKS is being implemented as a major upgrade to Academy Mobile within Microsoft, the following partners are ready to implement PKS-based commercially supported social media solutions for our customers.
- 3Sharp, as the primary developer of the Podcasting Kit for SharePoint, has very deep technical knowledge of the Kit and can effectively leverage it to quickly implement custom social media applications for the enterprise. 3Sharp's specialty is to build and implement business solutions that help customers get more out SharePoint and Office.
- Accenture, the global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company, participated in the PKS pilot program along with several of our clients including British Telecom. Accenture is leveraging and extending SharePoint and the PKS to offer Enterprise 2.0 style learning and collaboration solutions to its clients. In addition to technology implementation, Accenture helps its clients drive measurable business value by addressing the strategy, people, and process components that are necessary to achieve high performance. For more info, contact thomas.w.hoglund [at] accenture.com.
- Nintex is an innovative provider of SharePoint value added tools and solutions. Nintex will leverage the PKS as the foundation for their next generation Podcast Server product.
General Information:
Windows Server 2008 Technologies – http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/technologies.aspx
Learn about the technologies behind Windows Server 2008, and get specifics on how each area can support your organization's needs
System Center Operations Manager 2007 goes CROSS Platform - http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenter/archive/2008/04/29/operations-manager-2007-goes-cross-platform.aspx
Here is the System Center Team’s Blog that will fill you in on all the details
Microsoft Identity and Access Management Home Page - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/idm/default.mspx
Microsoft's Identity and Access solutions are a set of platform technologies and products that are designed to help organizations manage user identities and associated access privileges.
NEW! Microsoft Education Specialist Team Unit (STU) Blog - http://blogs.technet.com/edtech/default.aspx
For Developers:
The Windows Server 2008 Developer Training Kit includes a set of hands-on-labs and presentations for technologies such as Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7), Management, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows CardSpace, Windows PowerShell, Virtualization , and the Transactional File System (TxF).
Whether you are building Web applications or writing core server-based system services, the following top 7 ways provide the basis for leveraging the new and enhanced features of Windows Server® 2008. The listed features are explored in the Windows Server 2008 Developer Story.
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Technology Center - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/tfs2008/default.aspx
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server is an integrated collaboration server for Visual Studio Team System. It combines team portal, version control, work item tracking, build management, process guidance, and business intelligence into a unified server. It allows everyone on the team to collaborate more effectively and deliver better quality software.
The IIS 7.0 software development kit (SDK) is a resource for developers who want to customize the functionality of Internet Information Services (IIS), create applications to assist in managing IIS, or create applications that run on IIS. IIS 7.0 also enables the extensibility of configuration, scripting, event logging, and administration tools, providing software developers with a complete server platform on which to build Web server extensions.
For IT Pros:
Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9893F83E-C8A5-4475-B025-66C6B38B46E3&displaylang=en
Technical documentation for planning, deployment, and operations of Volume Activation 2.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Includes the Volume Activation 2.0 Overview Guide, Planning Guide, Deployment Guide, Operations Guide, Resources, FAQ and Technical Attributes. Included is the Volume Activation 2.0 Changes for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1.doc
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68C48DAD-BC34-40BE-8D85-6BB4F56F5110&displaylang=en
Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system. This white paper summarizes what is new in Windows XP SP3.
Windows Server 2008 Technical Library for Hyper-V - http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/5341cb70-0508-4201-a6da-dcac1a65fd351033.mspx
Hyper-V™ provides software infrastructure and basic management tools in Windows Server® 2008 that you can use to create and manage a virtualized server computing environment.
Beta of Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Is Available - http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/scvmm/downloadbeta.mspx
Microsoft has announced the formal name and beta availability of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008—a member of the System Center suite of server management products. The announcements came at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, which showcased the beta of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM) managing both Hyper-V and VMware virtual infrastructure.
Webcasts and More:
Step into a New Windows Server 2008 Virtual Lab for Free - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/2008/bb512925.aspx
Come experience the next major release of Windows Server! In these Virtual Labs, you'll have the opportunity to test-drive new and improved features and functionality in the upcoming Windows Server 2008 release, including management, network protection and improvements to Terminal Services.
Windows Server 2008 Webcasts - http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/windowsserver2008.aspx?tab=webcasts
Prepare yourself for the next release of Microsoft’s server operating system—Windows Server 2008. Tune in and learn how you can leverage the new features to improve your organization's networking infrastructure and security, server performance and reliability, remote resource access, and client deployment. Subject matter experts break down what these upgrades mean for your environment and how to take advantage of them.
TechNet Virtual Lab: Softgrid Application Virtualization - Sequencing (basics) - http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032366074&culture=en-us
After completing this lab, you will be better able to publish an application in the SoftGrid environment, stream and test the application, and perform an active upgrade of the application.
TechNet Virtual Lab: Softgrid Application Virtualization - Publishing
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032366076&culture=en-us
After completing this lab, you will be better able to publish an application in the SoftGrid environment, stream and test the application, and perform an active upgrade of the application.
TechNet Virtual Lab: Softgrid Application Virtualization - Advanced Sequencing
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032366075&culture=en-us
After completing this lab, you will be better able to perform a Virtual File System (VFS) installation of an application and sequence a web-based plug-in.
TechNet Virtual Lab: Introduction to Windows PowerShell - http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032314395&culture=en-us
In this lab you will learn to use Windows PowerShell to carry out system administration tasks as well as take advantage of the capabilities built into the Windows PowerShell console.
We are pleased to announce that the beta version of Producer for PowerPoint 2007 is now available to customers on Microsoft’s Connect site!
We are releasing this add-in because of the vocal requests we’ve been getting from customers deploying Office 2007. They wanted an updated version of Producer 2003 which is compatible with PowerPoint 2007, Windows Vista, and IE7.
Read on for additional information about Producer and the beta…
What is Producer 2007?
Producer 2007 is a free add-in which enables PowerPoint 2007 users to capture, synchronize, and publish audio, video, slides, and images to create engaging rich media presentations that can be viewed in a web browser.
How long is the beta? What happens after that?
We are planning to close the beta on June 30. After that we will work on packaging and publishing the final version to the Office Download Center in the July/August timeframe.
Where can I learn more about Producer 2007?
The Producer 2007 installer download, FAQs, and help resources are available on the Connect site for the Producer 2007 beta.
How can I access the Producer 2007 beta site on Connect?
To access the beta site on Connect, follow these instructions:
- Click here to jump to the Connect site or type http://www.connect.microsoft.com in your web browser.
- Click Sign In. Enter your Windows Live ID and password, and click Sign In again.
- If you don’t have a Windows Live ID, click here to sign up for one.
- If you have not used the Connect site before, a registration screen will display. Click any of the Register links and enter the requested details.
- Choose one of these options and follow the steps:
- If this is your first time accessing the Connect site:
o Click the Connection Directory tab, and then click Office in the Categories list in the left-hand navigation pane.
o Scroll through the list of available Connections and locate the Producer for PowerPoint 2007 Beta. You may want to change the Sort By criteria to list by Connection Name (A-Z) to locate it more quickly.
o When you have found the link for the Producer beta, click the Apply Now link on the right. Clicking this link will jump to the Producer 2007 beta site.
· If you are returning to the Connect site:
o Click the Your Dashboard tab, locate the link for the Producer for PowerPoint 2007 Beta site, and click it.
- In the Producer for PowerPoint 2007 Beta site:
- Review the FAQs and Links on the site for helpful information about Producer and this beta.
- Click the Downloads link in the left-hand navigation pane to download and install Producer 2007.
- Click the Feedback link in the left-hand navigation pane to report any issues and provide feedback to Microsoft.
Messenger for Mac has been released on Tuesday, April 29th. Messenger for Mac includes new features for both the corporate service (works with Office Communications Server) and personal services (works with the Windows Live service).
Price: Free
Delivery Method: Download from: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/
Primary Audience: Enterprise
The key features for both Corporate and Personal are:
Corporate Features:
• For corporate Mac users, increased support for Office Communications Server 2007 make it easy to search a corporate address book from within Messenger and quickly find internal contacts.
• Corporate Mac users with Office Communications Server and Messenger for Mac 7 installed on their corporate network can participate in face-to-face meetings with co-workers.
• New features and “presence” enhancements in Messenger for Mac 7 include the ability to add a personal message to corporate Mac users contact information.
• With an improved connection to an organization’s Global Address List, users can search the corporate address book from Messenger for Mac 7 to quickly find internal contacts.
• Take advantage Mac OS X Bonjour instant networking technology to let you see which contacts are available to connect on your local network.
Personal Features:
• Conveniently and instantly share files and gather feedback.
• Messenger for Mac 7 takes advantage Mac OS X Bonjour instant networking technology to let users see any available contacts located on their local network.
• Find a contact, just search, click and connect using the new contact search tool.
• Keep track contacts by assigning nicknames even as friend/family members are changing their screen names.
Another feature is Bonjour support in Messenger, available in both personal and corporate services. Messenger for Mac 7 includes the ability to detect other Messenger for Mac users that are nearby, on the same local network, through the Mac OS X Bonjour technology. If you would like to check who else on your network is around, Bonjour has the ability to show you.
Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available for download for MSDN and Technet subscribers. You will find the Service Pack download listed under New Subscriber Downloads in MSDN and New Content in Subscriber Downloads in Technet Plus. Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will be available through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center on April29th.
Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. Windows XP SP3 also includes Network Access Protection (NAP) functionality to help organizations that use Windows XP take advantage of new features in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system.
