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April 2009 - Posts
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Wow they are busy down in Redmond! Yesterday Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 was released and today Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 were completed! I’ve been doing some digging to find out what is new and noteworthy as well as what resources are available. So what’s new in SP2? First and foremost this release coincides with the expiration of the Windows Vista SP1 blocker utility. If you have this in place you will now be offered Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update. Windows Vista: - Feature Pack for Wireless, which contains support for Bluetooth v2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration. Bluetooth v2.1 is the most recent specification for Bluetooth wireless technology.
- SP2 includes ability to record data to Blu-Ray Disc media.
- SP2 includes Windows Search 4.0, which builds on Microsoft’s search technology with improved indexing and search relevance. It also helps find and preview documents, e-mail (including signed e-mail messages), music files, photos, and other items on the computer.
Windows Server 2008: - SP2 provides the Hyper-V virtualization environment as a fully integrated feature of Windows Server 2008, including one free instance with Windows Server 2008 Standard, four free instances with Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and an unlimited number of free instances with Windows Server 2008 Datacenter.
- SP2 improves backwards compatibility for Terminal Server license keys. Windows Server 2008 changed the licensing key from 512 bytes to 2,048 bytes which caused clients using older Terminal Server versions to fail. SP2 allows legacy license keys on Citrix applications to work with Windows Server 2008 Terminal Server.
- SP2 increases the authentication options for WebDAV redirector, enabling Microsoft Office users greater flexibility when authenticating custom applications using the WebDAV redirector
And in relation to both Windows Vista and Server 2008, SP2 provides an improved power management (both on the server and the desktop), which includes the ability to manage these settings via Group Policy. For more information on SP2 for Vista and Server 2008 please see: 
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Are you a Microsoft professional looking for a better career opportunity or to expand your skills? MSEmploy Canada (http://www.msemploy.ca ) - Canada's only job and training portal serving the Microsoft community - is conducting a Career Fair at the Microsoft Canada Mississauga office. When: May 6, 2009, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Microsoft Canada Head Office; 1950 Meadowvale Blvd., Mississauga, ON L5N 8L9 Interview on site with companies looking for candidates now and visit with training companies about special training packages designed with the soft economy in mind.
MSEmploy Career Fairs feature technology speakers throughout the event. These speakers will provide an overview of popular, hot Microsoft technologies, highlighting the career opportunities available. These technologies include: SharePoint, .Net, and Hyper-V. To register for the Career Fair visit http://www.msemploy.ca/EventList.aspx . If you are not in the GTA you can always visit www.msemploy.ca to find opportunities in your area! 
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Salut tout le monde,
Rick Claus, Joël Quimper et moi-même serons au Cosmos sur Grande Allée à Québec demain matin de 9:00am a 11 :30am pour un « Coffee & Code ».
Le concept du « Coffee & Code » est de promouvoir les connections avec la communauté des professionnels en Informatique. Ce, à l’aide d’un endroit public, d’une bonne tasse de café et d’un environnent agréable. Nous nous installerons dans l’entrée et nous serons disponible pour jaser de sujets quelconques.
Donc, si tu es intéressé, tu as le temps pour une pause, viens nous voir… Il me fera plaisir de te payer un café.
Les “Coffee & Code” étaient originalement réservés aux développeurs mais nous nous sommes rendus à l’évidence que le concept est bon et les résultats sont remarquables et c’est maintenant ouvert à tous. Tu veras bien.
A demain!
Pierre Roman, MCSE, ITIL| Microsoft Canada Co.| IT Pro Advisor | pierre.roman@microsoft.com
phone: 613-212-2370 | mobile: 613-715-2311
IT Pro blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn 
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 Office 2007 Service Pack 2 was released today and aside from rolling up all the hotfixes released since SP1 there are some additional changes provided by this update. There are three key changes in Office 2007 with SP2.
- Interoperability – Office 2007 SP2 adds support for read, write and save capabilities for the ODF 1.1 file format. There is a great blog post on Working with ODF in Office 2007 SP2 you should check out, as well as these resources for more specific information on what Word, Excel and PowerPoint support.
Performance – Office 2007 SP2 also adds increased performance and reliability to Office client applications and servers. Outlook 2007 SP2 as an example, includes improved calendaring reliability and performance enhancements which has been a pain for users and administrators. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in performance since I installed SP2. Converter API – Office 2007 SP2 adds a new API, called the Converter API, which will allow Office developers to include support and conversion options for the ODF 1.1 file format in their Office add-ons and applications. The Office Sustained Engineering blog has a list of all the changes to the Office client applications and servers posted on their blog but I pulled out a few I think will be of interest to most.. - Save as PDF or XPS add-in has been built in to SP2
- Outlook startup, shutdown, view rendering, and folder switching performance has been improved
- WSS and SharePoint add support for FireFox 2.x and 3.x
Office 2007 SP2 will support Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 once they are released as well. For more information on Office 2007 SP2 please see the following links: 
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 Over the past few weeks I’ve been reading a few stories on vulnerabilities found in various operating systems. You might have seen the headlines like Attack Sneaks Rootkits Into Linux Kernel or Security Team Shows Unfixable Windows 7 Hack or First Mac OS X Botnet Activated and while all are valid (both as exploits and as ultra scary headlines) they are so easily mitigated that I have to call them out.
Lets look at the first one on the Linux rootkit. There is a feature in the Linux kernel 2.4 and up that is used by developers to perform kernel debugging. This feature allows someone to mount memory as /dev/mem and read and write directly to the memory. Great feature for kernel debugging but someone could exploit this and mount memory, write to memory and insert malicious code. So what is the catch, you need to have root access. Mitigation? Let’s look a the first two rules of computer security…
Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore
Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it's not your computer anymore
I especially like the “new” and “unfixable” flaw in Windows 7. This is the same exploit, by the same researchers, demoed on Windows Vista two years ago, updated to work on Windows 7 so not really new and the unfixable part? VBootkit is a piece of code that is loaded into memory on boot and allows an attacker to take control of the machine, log keystrokes, change passwords and more. The catch? The attacker needs to have PHYSICAL access to the machine when it boots to inject the code into memory. In fact they need to have physical access each and every time the machine boots as the code is memory resident and does not survive a reboot and it cannot be done remotely. It can be mitigated with BitLocker configured in TPM mode (does that count as a fix?). Simple physical security practices also mitigate this risk reminding me of computer security rule #3…
Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore
The last one makes me laugh and actually reminds me of a few sayings; “buyer beware” and “you get what you pay for”. The OSX botnet has been made possible by injecting malicious code into downloadable copies of pirated versions of iWork ‘09 and Photoshop CS4 for OSX. A user simply has to download and install this software from a P2P site for the machine to join the botnet. While pirated software is tempting to a lot of people it reminds me of the 6th rule of computer security…
Law #6: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy
If you are installing software from untrustworthy sources there is no way you can be sure your PC is secure anymore. I met a few people on the Energize IT tour with newer builds of the Windows 7 beta that they downloaded from P2P networks and it is shocking to see. Not only are they admitting to a Microsoft employee that they downloaded and installed pirated Microsoft software (can you say DUH!), they are also oblivious to the fact that a WIM image can be mounted, edited (to lets say run a custom key logger) and then repacked into an installable format. I know someone who had their identity stolen using a pirated version of Windows Vista in which the attacker placed a small custom application that recorded all saved passwords and login information and uploaded it to an FTP site.
Security is something that will always be a concern and will always make headlines. Just remember headlines are meant to generate traffic and think about the 10 Immutable Laws of Security while reading.
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I got an email from Raphael from PCWhizKid.com the other day letting me know about some Windows 7 videos he posted. He does a great job showing off a slew of new features and functionality in Windows 7. Take a look and pass them on!
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This has been a great day. We (Rick and I) told a few IT pros in the region about it and they in turn connected with their peers and their customers to spread the word. When we arrived at the coffee shop, Johnny the barista shouted “Are you the Microsoft guys?? People have been asking about you.” “How can you tell?” said Rick. (wearing the Windows 7 shirt, with the Windows Mobile jacket, carrying the Windows Vista bag)…. The result was fantastic. About a dozen of them came in and we talked about Windows 7, deployment scenarios, application compatibility, SharePoint solutions, Exchange, online services, etc… 
These personal connections with the communities have been so much fun that we will surely do “coffee & code” events every time we can in in our travels. Just follow our blog for times and dates. The community in St-John’s is alive and well!!! Now, Rick and I have to pack up and head to Memorial University for a User Group Connection event tonight at 6:00pm. If you’re in the St-John’s area, i hope to see you there. Cheers!!
Pierre Roman, MCSE, ITIL| Microsoft Canada Co.| IT Pro Advisor | pierre.roman@microsoft.com
phone: 613-212-2370 | mobile: 613-715-2311
IT Pro blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn 
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When I first started at Microsoft in August 2006 I remember my first team planning meeting where I put up my hand and asked what the plans were to update the Flash. I’ve long been a subscriber to the Flash and saw it grow, and grow, and grow and at the same time it became more difficult to find the information I needed.
So I am very happy to introduce the totally redesigned TechNet Flash. In it you will find the latest virtual labs, webcasts, podcasts, whitepapers and more as well as links to all our Canadian blogs, the TechNet Canada web portal, industry news and more.
All within a short two page email! Sign up for the new Flash today!
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My colleague, Joey DeVilla – also known on Twitter and everywhere else as the Accordion Guy, posted this article on the Canadian Developer’s Blog, but I think it makes a lot more sense here. I felt a re-post is in order so check it out and sign up for the webcast. Damir ------------------------------------------------- 
I just got an email from the folks at O’Reilly telling me about a webcast they’re hosting this Friday, April 24th at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern): What’s New in Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory. Here’s the abstract: Bring your Active Directory questions and come learn what's new in Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 R2. Active Directory MVPs and authors Brian Desmond (Active Directory, 4th Edition) and Laura Hunter (Active Directory Cookbook, 3rd Edition) will discuss exciting new features in R2 for AD including the AD Recycle Bin, AD PowerShell, the Active Directory Administrative Center, Managed Service Accounts, and more. They will reserve half of the event time to answer questions about the presentation and Active Directory in general. You have to register to catch this webcast, but it's free-as-in-no-money-required. Space is limited, so register soon! 
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As it is Earth Day and something I’m pretty passionate about, I am pleased to share with you the release of this special online-only Green IT issue of TechNet Magazine!
 The issue features a valuable collection of new and archived articles on energy efficient computing, including:
Interesting sidenote: The release of the magazine not only coincides with Earth Day but, perhaps more importantly, the 1st anniversary of the monthly Sustainable IT online column in the magazine. The issue also compliments a separate Green IT publication released by Microsoft earlier this year for strategic architects: The Architecture Journal – Green IT Computing.
Please feel free to share the release of the magazine with everyone and togeather we can make this planet a better place..
Respectfully,
John
John Oxley
Director Technical Audience Marketing and ICT Evangelism
Microsoft Canada | Direct (905) 363- 8589|Messenger joxley@microsoft.com | twitter:joxley
Technorati Tags: Earth day
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Typically when you hear about Green IT it is all about virtualization, power and cooling savings, reducing the carbon footprint etc… But did you know that there is a lot more you can do everyday to be more green? Since it is Earth Day I thought I’d share some of these tips I found on the http://www.microsoft.com/athome/default.mspx newsletter.
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I’ve always had the belief that in order to really understand something you have to break it and then fix it. Well maybe not break it but take it apart at least :) I really believe this when it comes to security. If you don’t know what threats are out there, how can you protect against them? If you don’t understand how hackers get through firewalls, how can you deploy one or manage it?
Have you ever wondered how hackers gain access to your computer? Are you interested in learning about some of the most threatening viruses online? Do you want to learn how to protect yourself? Join industry and Microsoft experts at Hack and Defend Workshop to get a hands-on demonstration of the most current hacking methods and practical ways to protect yourself against them. This is a great opportunity for you to network with your peers, share experiences and learn from experts. We will also give away books, software and related materials at the workshop . There is no cost to attend but seating is limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-serve basis. Choose to attend either the morning of the afternoon session.
Hack and Defend Workshop
Locations:
Vancouver: May 7th Click here to register
Calgary: May 8th Click here to register
Mississauga: May 11th Click here to register
Montreal: May 12th Click here to register
Ottawa: May 13th Click here to register
Times: 9-11:30am OR 1:30-4pm
Cost: There is no cost to attend
I for one am looking forward to taking part in this event as a participant. If you are signing up for the May 11th event in Mississauga, let me know so we can chat, just don’t put your new skills to use on my notebook :)
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Hello folks
We’ve had a wonderful time so far in Halifax. Flew in early and meet with local partners before heading to “Just Us” 1678 Barrington Street” in Halifax NS. (http://www.justuscoffee.com/barrington.aspx) for our first “Coffee and Code” in the Maritimes.
So, we’ve had a great time and meet some wonderful folks. Funny enough we’ve had more people from out-of-town than Haligonians. Steve from New Hampshire, Brent from Moncton, Pat from Halifax, and Joe from upstairs among others.... (literally… Joe works for a new media firm above the coffee shop). he came for a cup of coffee and saw our “Windows 7” branded shirts and stopped for a chat. he left with some copies of Windows 7 beta to install in their office.
Some cool conversations about design, infrastructure, Online service and Windows 7 of course.
Keep following us and come and see us the next time we hold a “Halifax Coffee & Code / Latte & Lans” in your area.
Now it’s time to pack up and head to NSCC for our Energize IT event tonight. I hope to see you there if you’re in the neighbourhood.
Cheer!
Pierre Roman, MCSE, ITIL| Microsoft Canada Co.| IT Pro Advisor | pierre.roman@microsoft.com
phone: 613-212-2370 | mobile: 613-715-2311
IT Pro blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn 
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 Hello CanITPro readers!
My name is Sasha Krsmanovic. I am the MVP Lead in Canada; you may recall my posts on this blog about the MVP program (Part 1, Part 2). Rodney has asked me to write a guest blog about a useful tool our team developed for IT Pros – the Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer. The Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer is a web site for IT Administrators to validate and diagnose end-to-end Exchange scenarios. The site simulates multiple Exchange client access and inbound service related scenarios from outside your infrastructure and reports whether the test was successful. If the test fails, the tools tells you where in the process it failed, as well and it provides troubleshooting tips on resolving the issue. Note that this tool is different from the existing tools included in Exchange 2007. These tests can only be run inside your network and effectively only test your internal network connectivity, and this tool tests it from outside your company. You can see a very short video describing the tool on TechNet Edge, or see a more detailed description at Exchange Team’s Blog. Let me know how do you like this tool and I will pass it to the folks who developed it. You can always email me, or connect with me via twitter. 
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Hello Folks As Rick mentioned in his blog post “Stay where y’re at, we’ll come where y’re to” we’re getting ready to head out east. That’s right. Monday morning, Rick, Christian and I will be boarding an early flight to Halifax. We’ll be there early and the Energize IT Event is an evening event. So we thought, “hmmm, what should we do to maximize the number of connections we can have with the folks there?” So we decided to hold a “Coffee and Code” or “Lans & Lattes” for IT Pros. some of you may not know what that is. What is "Coffee and Code"? When the first coffee shops appeared, they functioned as "third places" where writers, businessmen, philosophers, scientists and assorted deep thinkers gathered and shared ideas over a cup of joe. Four hundred years later, we're keeping the tradition alive by setting up gatherings of developers, IT pros, web designers and assorted geeks at coffee shops to get together, share ideas, support local business and build communities. So!, we’re holding a “Coffee and Code” at “Just Us” 1678 Barrington Street” in Halifax NS. (http://www.justuscoffee.com/barrington.aspx) on Monday the 20th of April, from 1:30pm to 5:00pm  
Both Dev and IT Pros are invited – heck, bring your laptop and we can help install Windows 7 as a mini-InstallFest in a coffee shop. If you do, just see keep the following in mind: - Ensure that your BIOS is at the latest revision (must be ACPI compliant). Go to your manufacturers website to download and flash your system.
- Keep in mind that if you’re doing an upgrade, the amount of data in your profile will greatly affect the length of your upgrade. (we’ve had one last over 2 and a half hours) so clean up before you show up. Delete temporary internet files, backup and move off your 10,000 song library – whatever you can do to reduce the # of files on your system. If you don’t – your upgrade process could take more time then we have scheduled for the InstallFest .
- We STRONGLY suggest you go for a clean install (wipe and replace) or Dual Boot. The majority of previous InstallFest participants went this route. Fast, clean, simple - ‘nough said.
- Bring all the needed drivers on a USB key. Check out your manufacturers site for Beta Windows 7 drivers OR bring 32 / 64 bit VISTA drivers. Not absolutely required but it’s in case your hardware is not covered by the “In-Box” drivers. This will ensure you get the best possible experience onsite.
- Bring an open mind – it about sharing, connecting with each other and HAVING FUN.
In any case, come on down and chat. we’re looking forward to see you. See you there! Thanks
Pierre Roman, MCSE, ITIL| Microsoft Canada Co.| IT Pro Advisor | pierre.roman@microsoft.com
phone: 613-212-2370 | mobile: 613-715-2311
IT Pro blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn 
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Three guys got together over pints a while ago and talked about how one of the issues facing Technical Professionals today is keeping their systems patched and up to date. This issue was brought to the forefront at a User Group meeting we were attending (Ottawa Windows Server User Group) where we were holding an “Ask the Microsoft Guy” panel discussion.
Over pints at D’Arcy McGee’s, Pierre Roman, Bruce Cowper and I decided we would try to help solve the issue of information overload regarding patching and put together a timely podcast to go live each “Patch Tuesday”.
Goals:
- Use plain English terms and every day language that any Technical professional can understand – minimize “corporate speak”.
- Breakdown each Security Bulletin with summary information first followed by more details as to the impact an IT Pro would face.
- Outline mitigation factors in case patches couldn’t be tested or applied in a timely fashion
- Keep it top 15 minutes OR LESS. this one is critical – Keep It Simple, repeatable and get out of the IT Pros way to get on with their day.
- Have fun!
Well – here is our follow up second attempt. Have a listen directly from the embedded Silverlight player OR subscribe to the specific feed and download it to your iTunes / Zune software. We’re still working out the kinks and flow – please let us know what you think and if it has been useful for you. Mail me directly with comments – rick.claus@microsoft.com
Direct Download:
Subscribe to the podcast: (so you don't miss an episode)
  
Disclaimer: This podcast was produced with the best information available to us at the time of recording. Your primary source for all things Security Bulletin related should always be the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.
Bulletins discussed for April 14th, 2009: MS09-009, MS09-010, MS09-011, MS09-012, MS09-013, MS09-014, MS09-015 and MS09-016.
Podcast Participants: Pierre Roman (IT Pro Advisor / previously a Senior Technical Account Manager), Bruce Cowper (Chief Security Advisor) and myself.
PodSafe music from PodSafe Music Network @ http://music.podshow.com. Artist: Derek K Miller, song - “You’re the Big Sky - rock guitar instrumental”  IT Pro Team Blog | IT Managers Blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn My Shared Bookmarks
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Project: Outcrypt: Email Encryption as an Add-In for Outlook 2003 & 2007 The Challenge Describe the situation, challenge or problem you or your team faced. Email is not thought of as a secure method of sending confidential information. Servers can be made secure, firewalls can be put up front, but once the email is received, it can sit on a laptop, BlackBerry, cell phone, or PDA, for anyone to see. The emails can be grabbed en-route as well. Formula1 teams have endured major fines from leaked information. Public companies incur insider trading risks when information is leaked to the wrong party. Insurance and financial companies have had losses of private information sent to the wrong party. The Solution Describe how your solution helped overcome the challenge. Tell us about the innovative ways you used technology to create this solution.
What obstacles or roadblocks were overcome? Is the solution reusable elsewhere? Be specific! The solution is to encrypt the email at the source. We created an Outlook Add-in to encrypt email so that the only people who can read your email are the intended recipients. This Outlook 2003/2007 Add-in uses highly secure AES-256 CBC encryption technology. The key is not saved in your, or the email recipient's, computers or servers, or embedded in the software. There is a unique key for every recipient, so one recipient can not read another's email. The key is not available to any administration staff. Key retrieval is done inside an AES-256-CBC tunnel, and never stored. Notification or account usage, if appropriate, is on your Outlook 207 Email toolbar. The Results What positive impact did your solution have in the workplace, the community, or at home? The email remains encrypted until the intended recipient decrypts it, and it can be re-encrypted to protect its information, but it is never stored on some other intermediate server. This add-in negates the need for awkward VPNs, unruly hardware requirements, or any interruption in your daily business flow. The encryption process is very quick. You can set up the entire service within your environment, or simply ‘subscribe’ to the service from our environment. There simply is not a more secure way of sending & receiving email, to or from anyone, anywhere, in the world. For a quick demo, see: http://www.devantec.com/demo/ Other Information Feel free to let the community know about any interesting or humorous tidbits you feel will add to your submission. This was difficult. haha. What isn't, when the end result seems so simple? Products Used To help the community understand the scope of your project, please select the technologies utilized. Windows/Web Client, Development Platform/Tools Web Technologies, Office Productivity Security Systems, MS Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies, MS VSTO 2005 SE, Outlook 2007 Primary Interop Assemblies, Visual Studio Tools for the Office system 3.0, MS VSTO Office Interop Extension Libraries 1.0 Submission Hyperlink http://www.microsoft.com/canada/igniteit-awards/view_submissiondetails.aspx?id=339 
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Project: K-12 Network Overhaul The Challenge Describe the situation, challenge or problem you or your team faced. A private K-12 school was running on a Windows Server 2000 network with an infrastructure that had been neglected and was falling apart. Viruses, spyware, 10mb hubs, and lack of backups plagued the system. The schools data was at risk. The old server (P4 1.6 white box workstation) had bad sector and disk write errors filling the event log every 30 minutes. Users had almost full rights, and there was no internet filtering. Teacher data was accessible to students due to poor security. The school only receives partial funding from the government, and had minimal budget for IT, so I and a few others volunteered to do a comprehensive analysis on the computer systems. Recommendations turned into implementation plans and I ended up the project lead and primary implementer. The Solution Describe how your solution helped overcome the challenge. Tell us about the innovative ways you used technology to create this solution.
What obstacles or roadblocks were overcome? Is the solution reusable elsewhere? Be specific! I replaced the whole domain and file system with multiple Windows 2008 servers running virtualized on a Dell 2900. We made heavy use of GPO's, folder redirection, automation, and role based access control. Utilizing a product called USBDLM combined with software restriction policies, we were able to restrict usage of USB flash drives. Automated scripts were setup to create AD accounts, profiles, and group memberships based on user data from the enrollment system. Utilizing MDT with WDS we built HW independent desktop image (that took some digging!). Windows Server Backup was utilized along with Symantec to backup all data to one tape. A Barracuda AD integrated web filter system protects kids/teachers on the web. 150+ hours of my time later, it was done. The Results What positive impact did your solution have in the workplace, the community, or at home? The school immediately benefited from increased stability, security, and sustainability. We were pleased by very thankful teachers, administration, and school society. Some unhappy students (no more games!). Protection from spyware, malware and pornography/violence on the web ensures compliance with government policies and confident parents. A solid backup solution for servers and administration PC's has released nerves and tension about data loss. Users were very excited with Office 2007, and other software upgrades. Other Information Feel free to let the community know about any interesting or humorous tidbits you feel will add to your submission. In the analysis report, I made a note that the current server room was very dusty and that the old backup tapes were not standing upright. This got a laugh at the school board presentation, as it was a random tidbit between things like: Drive's failing, and Impending failure. While fine tuning the software restriction policies, I wanted to prevent users from storing executables in various profile locations. Not realizing that .lnk (shortcut) was in the default executable policy, I ended up with students not being able to launch Word from their start menus. Oops! The big highlight was creating a custom policy and profile for a student with visual (among other) impairments. When the student logged on the new system the first time. he was so excited, and it made all the hours feel worth it. Products Used To help the community understand the scope of your project, please select the technologies utilized. Windows/Web Client Web Technologies Collaboration Management Platform Security Systems 2008 Server, IIS7, FSRM, WDS, WSUS, MDT Submission Hyperlink http://www.microsoft.com/canada/igniteit-awards/view_submissiondetails.aspx?id=236
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Hello folks, Having been through a few InstallFests (Montreal, Calgary and Mississauga) I wanted to share some quick tips if you’re attending one of the remaining ones (Ottawa, Vancouver) tomorrow night to ensure you get the best possible experience. - Ensure that your BIOS is at the latest revision (must be ACPI compliant). Go to your manufacturers website to download and flash your system.
- Keep in mind that if you’re doing an upgrade, the amount of data in your profile will greatly affect the length of your upgrade. (we’ve had one last over 2 and a half hours) so clean up before you show up. Delete temporary internet files, backup and move off your 10,000 song library – whatever you can do to reduce the # of files on your system. If you don’t – your upgrade process could take more time then we have scheduled for the installfest.
- We STRONGLY suggest you go for a clean install (wipe and replace) or Dual Boot. The majority of previous participants went this route. Fast, clean, simple - ‘nough said.
- Bring all the needed drivers on a USB key. Check out your manufacturers site for Beta Windows 7 drivers OR bring 32 / 64 bit VISTA drivers. Not absolutely required but it’s in case your hardware is not covered by the “In-Box” drivers. This will ensure you get the best possible experience onsite.
- THERE IS NO INTERNET AVAILABLE ONSITE. Sorry about that. We wanted to, but with 150+ people in the room, the first thing Windows 7 does is try to connect with the internet and download 150 megs of updates, fixes and drivers. There just wouldn’t be enough bandwidth to accommodate everyone. As soon as you “get home” from the event – plug into the internet and ACCEPT all the downloads / patches for your system – you’ll need them.
- Bring an open mind – it about sharing, connecting with each other and HAVING FUN.
So far we’ve seen a lot of happy people excited by getting their hands on our news OS offering. Windows 7 rocks!!! 
Above we have three guys that took a 4 hours round trip to come to the InstallFest in Montreal and left really happy with their experience. 
and we had folks that came to the event in Toronto armed to the teeth! Hope to see you there! Cheers Rick, Pierre and Christian – Ottawa Hosts Damir, Rodney and John – Vancouver Hosts 
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Project: Elderly (Alzheimer) mental fitness The Challenge Describe the situation, challenge or problem you or your team faced. My mother have major stroke major, leave her right side of body total unmovable. She needs total care. I see my mom can feels and think except she can't move. Then I wonder how good her consciousness? I asked neurologist how medical/psychology to measure our consciousness . She said no real magic number or chart to define our consciousness, even in if MRI couldn't tell; instead of ask her what is your name, where you are .. etc. The worst moment come, she is not using her brain and getting worst when months. no medicine yet can slow down. mental deteriorate. I felt terrible and knowing my mother can still feel and see. Now, but she just sit slowly sad and wait her brain cell slowly die away. The Solution Describe how your solution helped overcome the challenge. Tell us about the innovative ways you used technology to create this solution.
What obstacles or roadblocks were overcome? Is the solution reusable elsewhere? Be specific! (1)Neuroplascity and CTI concept, exercise/use it or loss it. (2)Get her brain exercise and find magic number(baseline)! Same concept medical professional to measure our body and and blood pressure in the hospital, they take daily measure and average out. for my mental exercise, it takes 30-40 counts or a week counts, to have Mental Cognitive Index as baseline. These magic number can be used as guideline to measure her mental performance. This mental exercise is focus on memory, attention and spatial vision in our brain, very similar Mini Mental State Exam(MMST in US), I found out later. only difference MMST takes 10-15 mins,The mental exercise take 1 week or 30-40 counts The Results What positive impact did your solution have in the workplace, the community, or at home? It gives sign of release and encouragement for caregiver when they see actual work can be done for Alzheimer or stroke patient. especially when they see patients sign of consciousness recovery and they can express their owm feeling to doctors on his own without any help. it is a pride and dignity by patient. (1)there is another version as demand for people already have mild Alzheimer, The system will shows family pictures instead. (2)Coming work: use multi-touch web cam to stimulate Alzheimer patient from old memory by touching object and rewire his/her brain. Hope in 3 months, prototype demo ready (3) Will create SharePoint WSS 3.0 version for rehab center and elderly home for management control by nurses or social worker , It is 80% done (4)Rehab center or home rehab, can also be benefit and very cost effective Other Information Feel free to let the community know about any interesting or humorous tidbits you feel will add to your submission. Hope it leads to another alternative or pre-test for people family have Alzheimer, can regularly use the system to alert abnormal change in his mental state, MRI image smallest area is one mm of brain area which contains thousands of neurons and synapses , and mental state detect those synapses respond, hope the system can detect those change and alert the user. . (this still need more research ..) (2)In addition, our body shrunk by 10%-30% after 65 years old and increase when we getting older? Can we do anything about it. as old saying, we only use 1/10 of our brain daily, 9/10 of the brain just waiting! Could neuroplascity helps, rewire our brain? At present I have 1 user who have brain tumor last year, after operation, his memory significantly loss for first 3 months. then he tried this mental exercise everyday for 2 months, his MCI gain 30%, also from the latest MRI image shows his brain have brighter color than before. Please visit www.neuroplasticitylab.com. Products Used To help the community understand the scope of your project, please select the technologies utilized. Database Management Development Platform/Tools Web Technologies Collaboration SQL 2008 express, Silverlight 2, Blend2, WCF, vs 2008 web developer Submission Hyperlink http://www.microsoft.com/canada/igniteit-awards/view_submissiondetails.aspx?id=395
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As we are in the midst of a flurry of EnergizeIT events we’ve met a lot of people who are already running the Windows 7 Beta 1, and even more are trying it out after attending the Windows 7 Install Fests. Probably the most common question we get is when is the RC (and/or RTM) version going to be released. I wish I could say, but I really don’t know, I can only read the same rumors you read online and wait. The next most common question is “Can I upgrade from Beta to RC?” and the Windows 7 Engineering team answered that with a blog post today. Engineering Windows 7 – Delivering a Quality Upgrade Experience In a nutshell the answer is sorta… Once the RC ships you will have a few options on how to get the RC installed. You can do an in-place upgrade from Windows Vista SP1 or you can do a clean install; however in-place upgrades from Beta 1 to RC will not be supported and in fact have been disabled. If you read the blog post there are some really valid reasons why this has been disabled for the time being. You’ll also find they posted a workaround that you can use in conjunction with Pierre’s post on installing from USB. You can also burn the updated ISO to a DVD. While this does work I do encourage you to follow one of the other install paths; upgrade from Vista SP1 or perform a clean install. Your feedback is crucial to making Windows 7 a success and the engineering team would not be where they are without this. I encourage you to continue you this support by following one of the scenarios they will be supporting at RTM. The more real-world scenarios that can be tested, the fewer issues that will appear when it hits store shelves. I’ll be following the clean install path and using Windows Easy Transfer to move my accounts, data, settings and configuration. While I will still have to install my applications, it won’t be that bad and I’ll be able to continue to provide feedback around real scenarios. As soon as I have the RC build I will blog about the Windows Easy Transfer method so you can see the steps involved before you jump into the process yourself so stay tuned! 
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Project: The Community Caregiver Portal Solution by Navantis - Social Networking in Action The Challenge Describe the situation, challenge or problem you or your team faced. Have you ever had a family member or loved one with a chronic disease or an acute condition that relied on you as the main source of constant care? If you have, you may understand the difficulties that a caregiver faces. Caregivers have great difficulty finding services to assist them, finding people that understand their experience, and finding resources to help them better understand what their family member or loved is experiencing. VON understood these difficulties caregivers face and selected Navantis to build an online solution that would alleviate these issues. Navantis faced a difficult challenge: We needed to create a bilingual, collaborative, user-friendly, and informative social networking platform to serve 3 million caregivers across Canada. The portal needed to provide caregivers with valuable resources and a network of support. The Solution Describe how your solution helped overcome the challenge. Tell us about the innovative ways you used technology to create this solution.
What obstacles or roadblocks were overcome? Is the solution reusable elsewhere? Be specific! Navantis built a bilingual social networking platform using MOSS 2007. The platform allowed the Canadian caregiver community to: •Connect with other caregivers across Canada, for information sharing and moral support •Create highly customizable features specific to the caregiver and make a profile visible to other users •Quickly and easily update the portal with information on new diseases and condition-related content •Ask health questions to a team of experts •Access features to create an eHealth record based on the caregiver’s observations and understanding of a patient’s conditions •Communicate a patient’s health conditions directly to doctors and nurses through the discussion board and other Web 2.0 features •Experience a sense of belonging through collaboration and support The goal of Caregiver Connect was to enhance autonomy, independence, and quality of life for caregivers and their patients. This goal was achieved thanks to the dedicated Navantis team. The Results What positive impact did your solution have in the workplace, the community, or at home? It is estimated that caregivers provide over $5 billion in savings on healthcare costs every year. As such, they are essential to the Canadian healthcare system. However, caregivers often feel isolated due to the sustained challenges of caring for a loved one with an illness or disability over a long duration. Our solution has addressed this problem by providing an interactive link between caregivers and patients, doctors, and nurses. Our portal gives these caregivers a voice, and alleviates their burden by providing a network of support. Now over three million caregivers across Canada have access to a site that allows direct communication with doctors, nurses, and patients. The portal is fully bilingual, and provides access to information and resources that caregivers need to care for themselves, to provide better quality care to their family members and/or friends, and to connect and share with other caregivers through a virtual discussion forum. Other Information Feel free to let the community know about any interesting or humorous tidbits you feel will add to your submission. VON is a not-for-profit, national health care organization and registered charity offering a wide range of community health care solutions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Navantis was commissioned to build an integrated health services web-based caregiver community portal, using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, to provide a medium where communication between doctors, nurses, and patients is possible. The portal was needed to improve access and provide caregivers with up-to-date, accessible, community specific health information. To access the Community Caregiver Portal, visit www.caregiver-connect.ca. Products Used To help the community understand the scope of your project, please select the technologies utilized. Development Platform/Tools Web Technologies Collaboration Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Submission Hyperlink http://www.microsoft.com/canada/igniteit-awards/view_submissiondetails.aspx?id=332
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We held a Windows 7 Installfest yesterday as part of the cross-Canada EnergizeIT tour. The idea is pretty simple: invite developers, IT pros and early adopters of all stripes to the Microsoft Canada Headquarters in Mississauga, provide them with DVDs of the Windows 7 beta, walk them through the installation process and show them what the upcoming operating system can do! 
We held two sessions on Saturday, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Both sessions were hosted by IT Pro Evangelist extraordinare Rick Claus, who with his signature Tilley hat and friendly delivery style ran them with great fanfare and high praise from many participants. Rick gave a quick presentation walking the crowd through the basics of the installation process, demonstrated a number of Windows 7 features and covered other topics such as creating a bootable USB stick with a Windows 7 installer. 
The event wouldn’t have been possible without the able assistance of our proctors. They were volunteers from the local IT community who believed in Windows 7 so much that they were willing to spend a Saturday morning and afternoon helping people install a beta version on their computers. Thanks, guys – without your help, we would’ve been swamped! 
I was also there for both sessions, helping Rick out as well as doing my own demonstrations showing all kinds of software than ran “right out of the box” on Windows 7, from Visual Studio 2008 and XNA (I showed them my incredibly simple and incredibly dumb prototype for a game based on the move Zardoz), to Far Cry 2 to the music synthesizer/production app FL Studio, which I used to build a hip-hop backbeat on the fly. 
Also present was IT Pro Evangelist Damir Bersinic, who along with Anne Murakami and Cristina Ferreira from our partner company Maritz Canada, made sure that everything ran smoothly, from making sure that the room was set up to signing in the attendees to getting not just enough mini-burgers to feed the crowd, but also enough to haunt Rick’s dreams for the next week. 
Most of the people who came brought laptop computers. A couple brought netbooks. Some people who really wanted Windows 7 brought desktop systems, and they weren’t tiny ones, either! Here’s one that got brought in, complete with a decent-sized monitor and webcam! The system was so new that it still had all the feature stickers on it. 
The “Flashy Chassis” award goes to this guy, whose pimped-out enclosure got a lot of oohs and ahhs. Speaking as a guy who walks around town and tech conferences with an accordion on his back, I applaud personal expression of all kinds and salute this gentleman with a filet mignon on a flaming sword! I plan to build a gamer/music studio PC rig at some point, and you’d better believe it’s going to be at least this decked out: 
Ages ago, a full two years before The Empire hired me, they sent me an Acer Ferrari 1000 as part of program to get prominent Canadian bloggers interested in Vista. I still have it… 
…but it no longer has Vista. Under Windows 7, it feels a little snappier. I plan to use the machine, which is now a couple of years old and whose specs are a bit lower than than developer-grade laptops that The Empire provides me, as a “reality check” device, where I’ll test applications that both Microsoft and I develop. 
I never thought I’d see the day when people would get jazzed about an upcoming Windows operating system, never mind sign up in droves to get their hands on a pre-release version, but that’s just what happened. The room was filled with geek love and techno-lust for Windows 7. 
It was also great to meet new people and make new connections with the tech community at large, and they in turned seemed quite happy to meet some of the actual human faces that make up Microsoft. When we asked the audience if they’d like to see more Saturday events like this, they responded with a resounding “YES!”, and we’re keeping that in mind as we plan events for 2009 and beyond. All in all, the Toronto Area Windows 7 Installfest was a lot of fun, and from where I stand, it was a great success! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped out! 
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Project: Welaptega Reborn The Challenge Describe the situation, challenge or problem you or your team faced. This client based in Halifax was facing enormous challenges trying to keep their infrastructure system up and running. I found out about their issues when I visit their CEO at his cottage and he couldn't even connected remotely to his own email/shared folders. They had 1 x server (SBS 2003) and 2 x server (win 2003) that were totally unbalanced. The SBS server had almost 1 Terabytes of data on it without having any functional backup. Their hard drives were almost full 95% used. However, another server had only 5% used. They did not have any maintenance contract with any IT firm, only Time & Material. Also, everyone had the domain administrator password handy in case they were having issues. The Solution Describe how your solution helped overcome the challenge. Tell us about the innovative ways you used technology to create this solution.
What obstacles or roadblocks were overcome? Is the solution reusable elsewhere? Be specific! We sat down and presented a full scale solution by running SBS 2008 and Hyper-V combined with OCS technologies. Their servers count went from 3 to 6 physicals and 2 virtuals. We even throw on top DPM and SharePoint solutions for keeping documents in one location and secured. I have also added a Blackberry server with OCS functionality on their desktops/notebooks and on their Blackberries as well. I have also removed the Symantec Anti-Virus that wasn't updated anymore for the total Forefront solution (Servers, Clients, SharePoint, OCS and Exchange). The Results What positive impact did your solution have in the workplace, the community, or at home? Today, the client is pleased with the results; in fact they never had any issues since the system is up and running couple weeks before XMAS 2008. We still have some little bits of configuration to complete before presenting them with a maintenance contract for 3 years. We have been helping them since the installation at no charge. Other Information Feel free to let the community know about any interesting or humorous tidbits you feel will add to your submission. We strongly believed that Microsoft came up with brilliant solutions for the Small and Medium businesses (SBS 2008, OCS, SharePoint v3, Forefront, DPM) and they work perfectly all together. Products Used To help the community understand the scope of your project, please select the technologies utilized. Windows/Web Client Virtualization Office Productivity Unified Communication Management Platform Security Systems, Network Infrastructure Systems, SharePoint Submission Hyperlink http://www.microsoft.com/canada/igniteit-awards/view_submissiondetails.aspx?id=112 
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Today John Bristowe, Qixing Zheng and myself are at the lovely Hotel Arts in Calgary for EnergizeIT. It has been a busy few days so far that started with a visit with some students at SAIT on Tuesday afternoon. It was great to talk to the students and faculty about some of the new technologies such as Windows 7 and Azure as well as the ICT job landscape in Canada and tools and programs available to help them be successful when they graduate.
We followed this up with a stop at the Calgary IT Pro Community last night for a user group session covering Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. There was a lot of great discussion around IPv6, Branch Cache and general excitement over Windows 7.
Today Qixing and I hoped in a cab and camped out at the Hotel Arts, which is aptly named with its collection of art pieces prominently displayed throughout the premises including this incredible blown glass display hanging from the ceiling.
We were a little embarrassed at taking a cab when we found out it was only 5 blocks from our hotel!
During the afternoon Craig Gibson and John Bristowe delivered the Architecting Flexibility portion of Energize IT and they did a great job!
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Once they were done it was time for us to setup for the evening session “From the Client to the Cloud” where we covered a broad range of topics related to S+S, or Software + Services, which is Microsoft’s approach to cloud computing.
Qixing wowed people with some great demos on Windows 7 and right now I am posting this blog entry live from EnergizeIT Calgary as an example of a consumer S+S solution, Windows Live Writer and Community Server (the platform for blogs.technet.com) after editing the photos I took in Windows Live Photo Gallery!
You’ll see the rest of the photos from the day in the EnergizeIT pool on Flickr! and get the informational PowerPoint here. 
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(This is part 4 of a 4 part series, you can read the first post here) Here is the final part of my discussion with Shane Schick on the Myths & Realities of the IT Skills & Talent landscape in Canada. This part is titled “Myth 4 – Certifications Aren’t Worth It”. 
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