Mark Harrison

SharePoint Best Practices Series

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:39:00 +0000

From Arpan ...

Today, I'm happy to announce the SharePoint Best Practices Series. These consumable and actionable guidelines are based on real-world experience from Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) and the product team. They are aimed to help our SharePoint customers and partners avoid some of the common SharePoint deployment pitfalls and keep their SharePoint environments available and performing well. The SharePoint Customer Team, part of the core product team dedicated to providing real-world feedback inwardly and outwardly, has put this guidance together working with a number of teams within Microsoft.

The SharePoint Best Practices Resource Center on TechNet highlights the different best practices for IT Professionals and Developers and helps you navigate through the resources. IT Professional topics include Operational Excellence, Team Collaboration Sites, Publishing Portals, Search and My Sites. Developer topics include Common Coding Issues, Using Disposable Objects, Search SQL Syntax Queries and Customization Best Practices. We will continue updating and publishing new Best Practices based on real-world experience.

Introducing the Citizen Service Platform

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:33:00 +0000

Microsoft's Citizen Service Platform enables government organisations to transform their delivery of services through greater use of ICT more quickly and cost-effectively. Many governments worldwide at all levels - local, regional and national - are facing challenges in modernizing their services as citizen expectations increase and service delivery demands become more complex.

The Platform provides Microsoft partners and customers with an easier way to build and deploy modern solutions by providing "building block" templates that are designed to meet many government application needs. Microsoft partners can provide many more compatible applications which integrate easily with the Citizen Service Platform to meet more specialised, complex or country-specific requirements.

Microsoft's Citizen Service Platform

MOSS SDK 1.4 / WSS SDK 1.4 Download

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:17:00 +0000

Latest updates to the SDKs for both MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.

SharePoint Server 2007 SDK: Software Development Kit

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Software Development Kit

Microsoft AutoCollage 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:50:00 +0000

Microsoft Research presents AutoCollage, an advanced computer vision and image processing program which automatically create collages of your pictures.

AutoCollage

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 download

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:34:00 +0000

From IEBlog ...

We're excited to release IE8 Beta 2 today for public download. You can find it at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8. Please try it out!

More

Download

SharePoint and SQL Server 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:53:00 +0000

Support for SharePoint with SQL Server 2008 has been annouced.

Photosynth Live

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:59:00 +0000

From Photosynth blog ...

We’re pleased to announce the first full release of Photosynth, available now at photosynth.com. Photosynth takes a collection of regular photographs and reconstructs the scene or object in a 3-D environment

More

Office Labs

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:45:00 +0000

Check out Microsoft Office Labs ... the site is a proving ground for prototype implementations of various ideas the Office team is testing for viability.

Current projects:

Email Prioritizer ... manage email overload
pptPlex ... presentations using a zoomable canvas
Speed Launch ... quick access to all the documents, files, and websites
Search Commands ... find the ribbon button instantly.

Update on Licensing and Virtualization Support for SharePoint Products and Technologies

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:45:00 +0000

From SharePoint blog ...

Today we’re excited to announce support and licensing updates for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in virtual machines. This is part of a larger announcement affecting multiple Microsoft products, including Exchange Server, SQL Server and SharePoint Server.

As of today, we formally support SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running under Hyper-V through our normal support channels.

In addition, we now offer support for SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in 3rd party virtualization software that is certified through our Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). The SVVP is an opt-in program that non-Microsoft virtualization providers can choose to participate in. A list of participating vendors is here.

More

Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 / .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 download

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:34:00 +0000

The update for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 in a single install.

Combined Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

The update for just the .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1, it does not include updates for Visual Studio 2008.

.NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1

Embed (Flash, Silverlight, iFrames, etc.) to the SharePoint Rich Text Editor

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:01:00 +0000

From Mike Gannotti ....

Windows Live FrameIt - photo feeds

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Windows Live FrameIt ... extends the functionality of digital photo frame devices, allowing users to customise the content delivery from multiple sources.

PDC Agenda

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:07:00 +0000

Agenda for the PDC is available ... highlights that Microsoft will provide a clearer view into how developers can build APIs to leverage Live Mesh ( "cloud services and client platform") to connect applications and services across various devices.

PDC Agenda

TechEd Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:49:00 +0000

IT Professionals: www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itpro/
Developers: www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/developer/

Earlybird closes on 26 Sept 08

Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:12:00 +0000

Microsoft have announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company's acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform.

This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications.

Press Release

Live Mesh Preview - available in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:22:00 +0000

A new Live Mesh update (0.9.3103.9) has been made available along with news of expanded availability: you can sign up directly, with no waiting list, if your country/region is the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand.

www.mesh.com

Commerce Server 'Mojave'

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:43:00 +0000

From Tom Schultz ...

The Microsoft Commerce Server Product Team is very excited to inform you about our upcoming release of a new multi-channel retail accelerator to Commerce Server 2007, code-named 'Mojave', which is being designed specifically to meet the e-commerce needs of enterprise & midsize businesses.

Mojave address these following core themes -

Multi-channel is here now :

Out of the box integrated consumer centric multi-channel capabilities over multiple mediums, brands, and locales.
3 out of the box channels ready to go: Web, Mobile, Live Services
New channels require configuration and not customization.

Out-of-the-box shopping experiences :

Out of the box ASP.NET 2.0+ web part shopping features.
Web 2.0 social networking paradigms via SharePoint and Live integration.
E-commerce web features easily added by business users, skin-able by designers (Expression), extendable by developers (Visual Studio).

Tools to empower Merchandisers and Marketers :

Centralize day to day marketing and merchandizing tasks in a single portal.
WYSIWYG content editing with preview.
Content management capabilities: workflow, approval, auditing and publishing.
Leverage familiar Office tools to minimize the learning curve

More plus information on Technology Adoption Program

Using Wireless with Hyper-V

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Wireless networks are not supported with Hyper-V.

John Paul Cook explains how to implement a workaround by bridging network connections.

Virtual PC Guy clarifies how the Hyper-V networking works.

SharePoint Infrastructure Update download

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:00:00 +0000

Three new important updates have been released that affect SharePoint Server 2007, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Project Server 2007, Search Server 2008, Search Server 2008 Express and Project Professional 2007.

The Infrastructure Update contains the new Enterprise Search features that were shipped in Search Server 2008 and Search Server 2008 Express that were are not already in SharePoint Server 2007; this includes Federated Search capability, a unified administration dashboard and several Search core platform performance updates.

Also includes Content Deployment updates and significant platform performance improvements.

The updates can be downloaded from the links below:

Installation instructions

XBOX @ E3 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:39:00 +0000

Lots of new announcements at the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo

Keep up with the news at XBOX @ E3 2008

Windows 2008 Workstation and Hyper-V

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Spent this morning rebuilding my laptop with Windows Server 2008 so I can run Hyper-V

Michael O'Donovan has demonstrated that SharePoint performance on Hyper-V is greatly improved over that achieved with Virtual Server 2005. Generally 100% faster - and search queries 200% faster under Hyper-V.

SharePoint under Hyper-V versus Virtual Server 2005 R2

I also learnt today that my US colleagues are using solid state disk drives and getting a further 2 to 3 times performance improvement.

Useful article on how to turn a Windows Server machine to have workstation characteristics

And Spence solved my problem of unknown Bluetooth devices on Windows Server 2008.

Enabling Bluetooth on Windows Server 2008

ReMIX UK 08

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:03:00 +0000

ReMix UK 08 takes you to the frontier of today's web. With boundaries continuing to blur between developers and designers, consumers and producers, and TVs, PCs and mobile devices, ReMix UK 08 asks 'where next for the web?'

Over 30 top flight speakers from around the world will be talking about the latest in technology, creative trends, and the new web.

Come and join the conversation

Accessibility and MOSS - TechNet white papers

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Downloadable TechNet white papers:

Delivering Accessible Solutions using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Mark Harrison - Microsoft Corporation
Henny Swan - Royal National Institute of Blind People

Abstract

This white paper provides information and guidelines about the issues that organizations face when delivering Web solutions, including those built by using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 that are accessible to people with disabilities.

Best practices for developing accessible Web sites with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Abstract

Waldek Mastykarz

This white paper provides information about designing and developing accessible Web sites in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. This document is intended for users who are familiar with Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft ASP.NET, and Microsoft .NET development.

Powerset joins Live Search

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 +0000

From the Live Search team ...

We're excited to announce that we've reached an agreement to acquire Powerset, a San Francisco-based search and natural language company.

Powerset will join our core Search Relevance team, remaining intact in San Francisco. Powerset brings with it natural language technology that nicely complements other natural language processing technologies we have in Microsoft Research. More importantly, Powerset brings to Live Search a set of talented engineers and computational linguists.

More

Powerset blog

MVP awards - Vince and Chris

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Congratulations to Chris O'Brien and Vincent Rothwell from the UK SharePoint Architects community that won MVP awards today - very well deserved !