My information Resource (blog.mir.net)

The Security Compliance Manager provides centralized baseline management for Windows client and server operating systems, and Microsoft applications. Sign up for the upcoming Beta program and help us build a tool that best meets your needs. As a Beta participant, you’ll be able to give us your feedback on the security settings database, customization capabilities, and security baseline export flexibility.

Go Here to apply (Connect.Microsoft.com) the beta site for most Microsoft products

Get the Beta: System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard
The Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard lets you track application and operating system deployments, security updates, the health status of computers, and IT compliance. The Dashboard is a free Solution Accelerator, and fully supported by Microsoft.

Preview the Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant
Microsoft recently announced the first CTP of a SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) for MySQL v1.0, which automates aspects of the migration process to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008, including SQL Azure Database.

Download the Virtual Machines for Evaluating Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010
This set of virtual machines enables you to demonstrate and test Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 in a fully configured environment with sample data.

Starting March 1, 2010, your computer will shut down every two hours and your work will not be saved. To avoid interruption, please back up your data and perform a clean install of Windows 7 (or earlier version).

Technorati Tags: windows 7

I wanted to see what all the what all the fuss was with the Apple iPhone. So I took 3 months to try and see, here the results.

On the positive;

• Interface is fast
• Easy to navigate
• Easy to learn
• Easy to buy applications

On the negative;

• Phone Coverage stinks (put the phone next to another ATT phone and other phone has full bars iPhone show weak signal)
• Single task at a time, phone can not multitask except for music.
• Phone locks up – need to reboot
• Slow boot time (more that 30 seconds)
• Can not open and edit Office docs (need 3rd party application)
• Can not open and read calendar request
• Bad battery life
• Root password widely known – Security Issue
• Support – you must go to apple store, as ATT stores does  not support the phone, You can call 800 support, but if the phone need to be look at you need to go to an Apple store or lose phone for days.
• No way to control Bluetooth (it is on or off and you can not turn off discovery mode)
• If you are running an application like GPS navigation and the phone rings you application shuts down, so no directions.
• No way to change battery and when it goes you need to send device back to Apple or find 3rd party to replace it.
• Put speaker on mute and some applications will still play sounds
• System ask for password for login to ITunes and give options to remember but never does.
• No way to remotely wipe device if lost

So for now The iPhone is a great IPOD device, but as a PHONE it needs lots of work. I expect a phone will a make call, have a good radio, boot or turn on fast, and be stable. Sorry to say but after 3 months of trying, the iPhone does not live up to it’s hype. As a consumer device it might, but for business I give up.

Ps. I now have to return the phone to an APPLE store as it now does not boot at all. I now have  heard this is a  issue from a group of people.

Back to a Window Mobile where I can work and have a s phone that meets business needs.

Use Visual Studio 2008 and/or Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 to build a great Windows 7 application, and then post an article on The Code Project. You could win a fully loaded HP Touchsmart tx2z Notebook!

Submit a great article explaining how you built an app for Windows 7 – complete with code – and if yours is the highest rated article by both The Code Project community and our judges, you could win a fully loaded HP Touchsmart tx2z Notebook!

Requirements

• Write a great article using the regular Code Project submission guidelines
• Your article should include screen shots and code samples
• Your article must use Visual Studio 2008 and/or Visual Studio 2010 Beta
• The app should run as a Windows client, and should take advantage of Windows-specific technologies/features found in Windows 7 (such as jumplists, thumbnails, etc.)
• You’ll need to tag your article with the key words "Windows 7”
• Post your article on The Code Project to automatically be entered in the contest

What You Can Win

Codeproject.com members can vote on your article. The articles that are highest-rated by members will be rated by our judges to determine the final winner.  If your article wins, in addition to receiving one of our three great prizes, you’ll be highlighted in The Code Project’s weekly newsletter and on our contest page

Go here for more info.

Here a link to an article in IT Training Magazine online about Windows 7 in which I am quoted.

This opinion is backed up by Jay Ferron, an IT professional and trainer with a US company called Interactive Security. ‘7 can definitely run very well on older machines, which allows me to recycle them to be used again and save cost,’ he says.

While no-one should want to move from XP or Vista to Windows 7 simply because Microsoft ‘told’ them to or they liked the ads and thought the new screen looked cute, there are real technical improvements in 7, say independent commentators.

These include such features as DirectAccess, which gets rid of the need by remote workers to use things like VPNs, as it allows them to connect securely to the office and applications wherever they are; BranchCache, which saves network capacity by only downloading one set of big files to a location so local machines can access them there; and BitLocker, a probably long overdue way to encrypt and protect things like user data on a machine but also memory sticks and USBs.

To see the full article go here

Apply the Critical Security Updates for Internet Explorer Vulnerabilities

This cumulative security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. This security update is rated Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS10-002.mspx

Read how your job prospects could be affected

Research commissioned by Microsoft in December 2009 found that 79 percent of United States hiring managers and job recruiters surveyed reviewed online information about job applicants.

Most of those surveyed consider what they find online to impact their selection criteria. In fact, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study say they have rejected candidates based on what they found.

Review the results of the survey to see how online reputations impact people’s lives. The research comes from interviews with over 1,200 hiring and recruitment managers and 1,200 consumers in the United States, the U.K., Germany and France.

The results of the research reveal what you post on the Internet and what people post about you can affect your professional life. Learn what action you can take to manage your online reputation.

• Online reputation research overview PDF
• Online reputation research PowerPoint presentation

I talked a lot about how to build a windows 7 image and though I put together a list of resources for you

The best location to find information on Windows is the Springboard site here, this site will help you find resource for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows7.

Take a good look at these tools

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT 2010) provides a common console with the comprehensive tools and guidance needed to efficiently manage deployment of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is the recommended process and toolset to automate desktop and server deployment. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 provides detailed guidance and job aids for every organizational role involved with large-scale deployment projects. Learn more about Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning  (MAP) Toolkit makes it easy to assess your current IT infrastructure and determine the right Microsoft technologies for your IT needs.

MAP is a powerful inventory, assessment, and reporting tool that can securely run in small or large IT environments without requiring the installation of agent software on any computers or devices. The inventory and assessment capabilities provided by this Solution Accelerator can significantly simplify the planning process for migrating your laptops, desktops, and server computers to Windows® 7, Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista® and Microsoft Office 2007. The server virtualization scenarios help you identify underutilized resources and the hardware specifications needed to successfully consolidate your servers using Microsoft Hyper-V technology. Additionally, the toolkit can help you identify unmanaged assets, Microsoft SQL Server® components and virtual machines in your environment.

And last but not least Application Compatibility Toolkit – to building system images, migration user data and automating operating system and application installations.

If you really want to learn a lot about this topic Bing or search for Jeremy Chapman from the Windows Client product management team, he the man!

Ribbon Hero is a game for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010, designed to help you boost your Office skills and knowledge. Play games (aka "challenges"), score points, and compete with your friends while improving your productivity with Office.  As a concept test, this add-in is not supported, but is an opportunity for you to try out an idea we are working on and let us know what you think.

If you want to learn the ribbon this is a fun way to learn it

You can get it here