Month: April 2010

 

FREE SOFTWARE!

Microsoft is giving away 50 copies of Windows 7 Ultimate for the first 50 Get On the Bus event attendees through the door at EVERY STOP! Don’t miss your chance to win a copy of Microsoft’s newest software offering – register today at www.thebustour.com.

Disclaimer:

*To receive your free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, be one of the first 50 people who are US residents (includes D of C) or Canada 18+ to arrive at a Microsoft Get On the Bus Tour afternoon event.  50 copies of the software title are available. Limit one gift per person.  This offer is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offer.  This offer ends on June 4, 2010 while supplies last, and is not redeemable for cash.  Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient.  There is no shipment of your gift – all gifts will be distributed onsite.

Montreal, May 21 | Boston, May 24 | New York, May 25 | Philadelphia, May 26 | Washington DC, May 27 & 28 | Richmond, June 1 | Raleigh, June 2 | Charlotte, June 3 | Atlanta, June 4 | New Orleans, June 5

www.thebustour.com

The Get On the Bus Tour is back home and Microsoft is  kicking off the  new tour with a visit to Canada! Montreal marks our first location on a 10-city North American road show en route to TechEd in New Orleans, June 7. Come spend some time with Microsoft as they tour the East Coast for a deep dive into both Windows 7 and Office 2010, along with a specific path on how to get certified. Learn why Windows 7 has received rave reviews from IT organizations and is setting records as the fastest selling operating system in history.  Find out why so many IT Pros are eagerly awaiting the release of Office 2010. We will show you both the best practices for deploying Windows 7 and how to keep it running efficiently after deployment.  Also take a tour through all of the features of Office 2010 from an IT Professional’s point of view. It’s time to join at a stop nearest you for technical training, professional networking, hands-on experiences, and real world guidance from industry experts sent to you from Redmond. Don’t miss your chance to “Get On the Bus!”

REGISTER

For your local event today!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 9:00AM – 10:00AM Pacific Time

Join the Event

Join an online live conversation with Microsoft Community Managers Matt Bernardy,  Jake Grey, and your truly Jay Ferron on May 4^th, 2010 from 9:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M. PMT. This is your opportunity to learn more about the Clubhouse, Microsoft Answers, the MVP Program, and to ask questions about all the Windows community programs.  To join, follow these simple steps:

1. Find out what time this Live Meeting is in your country/region.
2. Download Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007. We recommend you download the program several hours in advance to avoid technical difficulties during the session.
3. Enter the meeting and fill in your name.

 

 

As a long time volunteer for American Red Cross It takes a lot of leadership, coordination and different skill sets to run a successful disaster relief operation.  For all the techies out there, we have disaster services technology (DST)

.

Responding to Disasters

Since its founding, the Red Cross has provided aid and comfort to families touched by disasters all over the world.

The disaster environment now includes terrorism on a scale never before seen. As a result the Red Cross has launched a grassroots initiative that stresses prevention and readiness education to families, schools and businesses.

When a disaster strikes, the Red Cross responds immediately, without regard to cost. This requires ongoing training for employees and volunteers, sophisticated technology and equipment, and the purchase of food and shelter for families and volunteers.

In order to respond to disaster-caused needs, whenever and where ever they arise, the Red Cross must have resources in reserve. Whether those affected suffer a house fire in a Maryland neighborhood, a tornado in Arkansas or wildfires in California, they need help that is prompt and effective.

It takes a lot of leadership, coordination and different skill sets to run a successful disaster relief operation. One of the advantages of volunteering with the Red Cross is the great training. For all the techies out there, we have disaster services technology (DST).

Within hours of a disaster, a DST team goal is to set up connectivity to support the Red Cross relief effort. By using satellite technology, the team can network the operation quickly. Once the network is completed, DST will start issuing laptops and equipment such as cell phones, printers, fax machines and radios. They can set up a 100 seat office overnight.

 

All DST team members start with their local chapter. Once you become a volunteer with your local chapter, they’ll provide you with the basic disaster services training. If you express an interest in DST, you’ll get enrolled on a five-part training series called DST101.

To find your local Red Cross chapter click here

I joined the beta for Microsoft Intune a cloud based solution for small to medium business to manage computers

To learn more about this product go here

I went to the site and after applying to the beta got a email less that 4 hours later.

The step were simple to start.

I login in with the supplied credentials and changed my password, using my browser, most of the site is Silverlight (no right click).

Once there

I installed the Windows Intune Client.

This was a Small Download 8 – 11 megs bases on X86 or X64

It also install some other application in the background once the client installed

• Microsoft Online Management Policy Agent
• Microsoft Antimalware
• WINDOWS Intune
• Microsoft Policy Platform
• Microsoft Firewall Configuration Provider
• Windows Intune Malware protection
• Microsoft Easy Assist v2
• System Center Operations Manager 2007 r2 Agent

If you have other Antivirus or Antimalware software you need to remove them.

Once install i just waited till the computer show up in the Unassigned computer Console (I created additional  new group called Mobile for my remote users) and then move the computer there

Now the fun begins In the

I Went to the administration tab;

Click on Updates and her where you can chooses what kind of update you want pushed to your workstations and servers.

So now we have our patch manage strategy set up let look at other cool features.

The system will inventory the software of all your the client computers for you. here is an example

The system will inventory the hardware of your the client computers for you, here is an example

 

What really nice is that i now have all the reports i need in single 1 stop location , I cal all help user with remote issues from any where in the world where i have internet access. So that’s Day 2 report on Intune.

To learn more about this easy to use product go here

Remember this is Beta so there some bugs that may show up but boy is this going to make my life easy support users.

    On April 29th, join Microsoft Technical Fellow, Mark Russinovich, as he will be leading a discussion around the process of planning, testing, assessing and rolling out Windows 7 in an enterprise organization.

     Mark will be joined by a panel of IT professionals who are currently in the piloting and deployment process, along with Microsoft subject matter experts who can speak in depth about the technologies. The event will be broadcast live over the web at 9:00 am PDT, and will be available for on-demand viewing following the broadcast. The discussion will be open and candid, with the panel sharing insights, dispelling myths and getting down to the real story around technical adoption of Windows technologies. Specific topics will include the role of the pilot and the critical information it provides, best practices and tips & tricks for ensuring a successful effort, tools and technologies that will help automate the pilot and deployment processes, and conducting a frank post-pilot assessment. During the event, Mark will field questions coming in via the web from viewers across the globe.

     Missed a previous Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable? Gain insight, tips, and tricks from Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich, industry experts, and IT professionals from around the world from these recordings:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/dd421882.aspx

Access the VRT live at:

http://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard/

Access Springboard  for information on of planning, testing, assessing and deploying Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating Systems

The Springboard Series on TechNet – The Resource For IT Pros

This is a cross post by Microsoft

 

I stumbled across this site and thought it was a good thing to blog on. This one site has some great tool for the IT manager or It pro who need to deal with security issues.

On the site there are;

• White Papers
• Reports
• Privacy and Governance docs
• Links to security guides
• Download of security Awareness tools ad presentations that will help you create training programs for you company

To see all the content click here 

This is a cloud based solution for windows 7 clients This solutions includes a way to manage you companies computer from the cloud!

Now you will have process for working remote working via the cloud.

You be able to see system state, Malware, Av, Health of the computer from a cloud based solution.

Picture from Microsoft Site.

You be able to access what happing on you companies computers for this one portal! you can Manage pc the are remote and make sure that they meet you companies compliance and security rules.

• Add functions include
• Manage updates and service packs
• Protect computer with Forefront end point Protection and Microsoft Security Essentials.
• Provide Remote help desk where you or your users are located.
• Track hardware and software inventory
• Set Security policies
• Get Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) as well.

And here the best there is a opening for those who like to BETA Microsoft Intune

To learn more go here

To join the beta go here

 

With Office 2010 being release May 12 here a good book to download

 

You can get it here

 

This is a bible on Microsoft Virtualization Solutions, Includes desktop to server

get it here

 

Here another free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft, by Katherine Murray. The ebook contains eight chapters and an appendix describing how you can assess and build your technology-based job skills.

get it here