Outlook Social Connector – Beta

The Outlook Social Connector  allows you to synchronize your contact data right into Outlook and obtain information about your friends and colleagues. See status updates from various networks and recently posted files.
Easily track your communication history. Use the Outlook Social Connector to display a quick view of related Outlook content when you click on an email from a contact, such as recent e-mail conversations, meetings, and shared attachments.
Developers can connect and feed social streams from line-of-business applications or integrate their solutions directly into Outlook.

System Requirements
  • Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7; Windows Vista; Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows Vista
  • Microsoft Windows 7

This download works with the following Office programs:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2010 Beta 32-bit (build 14.0.4514.1009)
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

Get the Beta Here

 

Microsoft High Performance Computing (HPC) Links

 

I have been teaching the Understanding and Administering Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 course and have created this resource for you.

Here is a group of links that can help you with Microsoft HPC Product.

Microsoft Windows HPC Server:

http://www.microsoft.com/hpc

http://resourcekit.windowshpc.net/

Download the 180-day trial and see how you can harness the power of supercomputing here

Microsoft Technet :

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/hpc/default.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc514029.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/hpc/cc511255.aspx

Community Forums and blogs:

http://windowshpc.net/

http://archives.windowshpc.net/

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowshpcitpros/threads

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windowshpc

http://blogs.technet.com/windowshpc/

http://blogs.msdn.com/hpctrekker/

Whitepapers:

"Windows HPC Server 2008 Head Node Performance Tuning" is here

"Windows HPC Server 2008 System Management Overview" is here

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The test HPC Exam 70-690 will ask questions about Power Shell, if you are new to Power Shell, I found some good tutorial exercises at this link:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/7/1/47104ec6-410d-4492-890b-2a34900c9df2/Workshops-EN.zip

The HPC specific cmdlets are documented here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc947676(WS.10).aspx

The CLI commands are documented here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc972841(WS.10).aspx

In fact, it would be a good idea to make sure you study all of the Technical Reference and Troubleshooting sections from the TechNet Library.

It would be helpful to review this article as well:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd772590(WS.10).aspx

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Some of the IB device drivers that have the Certified for Windows Server 2008 logo that are available are:

You can also download the latest device drivers that are published by the OpenFabrics Alliance (OFA), which work with most commercially available HCA cards. For more information and to download the latest device drivers that are published by the OFA, see The OpenFabrics Alliance (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=137347).

http://www.mellanox.com/content/pages.php?pg=windows_hpc

——————

HPC Server Activation Filter that Checks for License Availability is here.

 

Phone Scam Warning Area codes 809, 284, 876

If you received a call last week from the 809 area code….

The woman said ‘Hey, this is Karen . Sorry I missed you–get back to us quickly. I have something important to tell you.’ Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809  or 284, 878

They  also get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc..

DO not Respond !

In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away.  Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.
If you call from the U.S. . , you will apparently be charged $2425 per-minute.
Or, you’ll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges.  WHY IT WORKS:

The

809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic ..

The charges afterward can become a real nightmare. That’s because you did actually make the call.  If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You’ll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

AT&T link for more information is Here

Support for Group Polices in Windows

Group polices (GPs) are the easy way to configure and manage window computers. The user of GPs can do amazing things once you user stand the basics of this technology. You can same time and automate lots of things, for example control desktops, install, patch and remove software. But there more you now use power shell to expand the power. all cmdlets use the *-gp*.

You can use Windows Server 2008 Group Policy to manage configurations for groups of computers and users, including options for registry-based policy settings, security settings, software deployment, scripts, folder redirection, and preferences. Group Policy preferences, new in Windows Server 2008, are more than 20 Group Policy extensions that expand the range of configurable policy settings within a Group Policy object (GPO). In contrast to Group Policy settings, preferences are not enforced. Users can change preferences after initial deployment. For information about Group Policy Preferences, see Group Policy Preferences Overview.

Using Group Policy, you can significantly reduce an organization’s total cost of ownership. Various factors, such as the large number of policy settings available, the interaction between multiple policies, and inheritance options, can make Group Policy design complex. By carefully planning, designing, testing, and deploying a solution based on your organization’s business requirements, you can provide the standardized functionality, security, and management control that your organization needs. To learn more about using and deploying Group Policy Planning go here

To go to the Group policy blog go here

IE6 to IE8 Migration Webcast

Sign up for an IE6 to IE8 Migration Webcast Today

You are probably excited about the new Windows 7 operating system, and the Windows Internet Explorer 8 Web browser comes as part of the package. You may have seen the demos of new features and tools that are available, but you are still using Internet Explorer 6. The demos are sometimes simplified, with pages with a single issue conveniently fixed using a click of a button. But it is definitely not that easy. You could have thousands of apps, many of them packaged, or you could be prevented from accessing the code because it is part of a product you bought.  

Attend this demonstration-heavy webcast, have your questions answered by the experts and learn what IT professionals do in real-world scenarios to configure, manage, deploy, and ensure the compatibility of their Web applications with Internet Explorer 8.

Title:     Migrating from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 8
Language(s):     English.
Product(s):     Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Audience(s):     IT Generalist.
Duration:     60 Minutes

Event Overview:
Speaker: Chris Jackson, Principal Consultant and the Technical Lead of the Windows Application Experience SWAT Team, Microsoft Corporation.  Chris Jackson is a widely recognized expert in the field of Windows Application Compatibility, creating the technical documentation, training, and service offerings used inside and outside of Microsoft based on years of real-world experience with enterprise customers and independent software vendors.

Schedule of Webcasts:

Tues, Feb 16       10 am PST

Fri, Feb 19           3pm PST

Mon, Feb 22       1 pm PST

Tues, Feb 23       8 am PST

Wed, Feb 24       6 pm PST

Thurs, Feb 25     10 am PST

Fri, Feb 26           12 pm (noon) PST

Mon, Mar 1        11 am PST

Tues, Mar 2        7 pm PST

Wed, Mar 3        4 pm PST

Thurs, Mar 4       8 pm PST

Fri, Mar 5             2 pm PST

Sun, Mar 7          10 pm PST

Tues, Mar 9        6 am PST

Thurs, Mar 11    7 am PST

Sun, Mar 14        9 pm PST

Tues, Mar 16      9 am PST

Thurs, Mar 18    12 pm (noon) PST

Mon, Mar 22      1 pm PST

Tues, Mar 23      5 pm PST

Click this link to sign up for a webcast that best fits you schedule. Each session will include a 45-minute pre-recorded session, with live chat Q&A with an IE expert during the session, and 15 minutes of phone Q&A at the end.

 

WebsiteSpark Program

Here a goodie I found that may be of interest to you.

Microsoft WebsiteSpark offers professional Web developers and designers visibility, support and software, all in one place. WebsiteSpark provides new business opportunities through connections with global partners and customers, support and training, and software tools—at no upfront cost. Through WebsiteSpark, you’ll have access to:

  • Business opportunities: Connect with partners through the WebsiteSpark Marketplace and other Microsoft networks.
  • Support and training: Connect to an ecosystem of professional support on a wide range of technical and business resources from Microsoft, WebsiteSpark partners, hosting partners and developers.
  • Software and solutions: Access to Microsoft development tools and Web server production licenses at no upfront cost.

To learn more go here

HPC Debugger Add-on for MPI and Cluster-SOA

The HPC Debugger is an add-in for Visual Studio 2008 that helps launch remote debugging sessions for MPI or SOA applications running on a Microsoft HPC cluster.

The first feature integrates the ‘F5’ experience of launching the Visual Studio 2008 MPI Cluster Debugger for C++ MPI applications and your Windows HPC Server 2008 environment, for a better and more integrated debugging experience. A new tool window where you can specify the nodes that the debugging session will use is included. A project template for C/C++ MPI programs is also included.
The second feature enables a similar ‘F5’ experience for Cluster-SOA applications for debugging on the cluster. Three different debugging styles are enabled: (i) debugging all of the services simultaneously, (ii) debugging all requests made to a service on a specified machine, and (iii) debugging specific requests.
For both features, once your break points are set and the debugger settings are specified you only have to press ‘F5’ to launch the debugger. Pressing ‘F5’ deploys your application binaries and the remote debugger, and submits a job to the scheduler. When the job is scheduled the MPI or Cluster-SOA service processes start under the control of the remote debugger.

 

Get it Here

 

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IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide –download

The IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide provides an easy-to-understand method that enables you to develop threat models that can help prioritize investments in IT infrastructure security.
This Solution Accelerator consists of a release notes document Release Notes.rtf and a single compressed file, IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide.zip, which includes the following components:

  • IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide.docx. This Microsoft Word document provides guidance to help IT professionals develop and implement threat modeling processes for their IT environments. It includes the following chapters:
    • Overview
    • Chapter 1: IT Infrastructure Components
    • Chapter 2: The IT Infrastructure Threat Model Portfolio
    • Chapter 3: Applied Example – The Threat Modeling Process
  • IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide.pptx. This Microsoft PowerPoint document is designed for use in a learning or lecture environment to present the concept of IT infrastructure threat modeling.

Get it here.

Solutions for IE8 issues

Here a list of some solutions for  IE8 this should help you, troubleshooting some common issues.

You first step might be to disable all add-ons and test each applications to identify the problem add-on.

To do this

1. Go to Tools

ie1

2. Click on manage add-ons

 image

3. Then disable and test

ie add-ons

For me it was Flash the cause my problems, I uninstalled Flash and reinstalled the latest version and my problem was solved

Here a starting list of well know issues;

Internet Explorer 8 takes longer than expected to start

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969938

How to fix the Cooliris add-on and Internet Explorer 8 incompatibility

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969057

Compatibility issues with HP Smart Web Printing and Internet Explorer 8

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969227

How to fix incompatibility problems between Internet Explorer 8 and the Google Toolbar

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968136

Internet Explorer 8 may stop responding or crash when a certain version of PPLive is installed

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970961/

New tabs open slowly in Internet Explorer 8 with the Skype 4.1 add-on installed

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973818

How to fix the UPromise TurboSaver and Internet Explorer 8 incompatibility

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970900

A compatibility problem exists between Weather Channel Toolbar and Internet Explorer 8

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969226

How to fix the Drive Letter Access and Internet Explorer 8 incompatibility problem

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969228

How to fix PDFCreator Toolbar and Internet Explorer 8 incompatibility problems

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968916

Error message about the Skype 3.8 IE Plugin when you start Internet Explorer 8: "Internet Explorer 8 is in a special no-add-ons mode so that you can fix a compatibility problem with Skype 3.8 IE Plugin"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968129

You cannot sign in to Windows Live Web sites in Internet Explorer 8 after you install Windows Live Toolbar on a Windows XP-based computer

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970306/

Internet Explorer 8 crashes, hangs or restarts while opening or closing tabs

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/975685

Internet Explorer 8 may stop responding or crash when a certain version of AVG Safe Search is installed

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970962

Problems that you may experience when you use the Live Meeting 2007 Web client together with Internet Explorer 8

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959059/EN-US

Uninstalling or upgrading Windows Live Photo Gallery may cause Windows Live Mail or Internet Explorer 8 to fail

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969148

How to fix the PC Confidential 2008 and Internet Explorer 8 incompatibility

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970367

Internet Explorer stops responding, stops working, or restarts

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_intro