| Volume 10, Issue 21: October 15, 2008 | Note from the Editor | | | Greetings and Welcome to TechNet Flash, First up, we'll bring you up to speed on several of the new offerings around Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows Client. You'll be hearing more about Windows 7 later this month, especially if you're attending the Professional Developers Conference, where the pre-beta bits will be distributed. In the meantime, bookmark the Engineering Windows 7 Blog, where the engineering team discusses the thinking that went into a range of features. For those of you interested in what's ahead for Windows Vista speech recognition capabilities, sign up for the Windows Speech Recognition Macros Technical Preview 2 and see how you can create powerful macros that are triggered by voice command to interact with applications. Also just released, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.2 Beta Program is now open, with new assessment scenarios such as SQL Server 2008 migration inventory, Microsoft Online Services inventory and migration surveys, virtualization infrastructure reporting of host-guest relationship, and readiness assessment for Microsoft Forefront Client Security and Network Access Protection. The popular Windows Vista Hardware Assessment readiness tool has now been replaced by this platform. And if you're looking for tips on addressing Windows Vista performance issues, common misconfigurations and how to fix them, you won't want to miss Mark Russinovich hosting the Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable: Windows Vista Performance... Need Answers?Got BI? Microsoft recently unveiled new managed self-service analysis capabilities (code-named "Project Gemini") and self-service reporting in the next release of Microsoft SQL Server focused on BI — code-named "Kilimanjaro." Read more about what's coming up for pervasive business intelligence, and check out the Network World article " Next Version of SQL Server to Redefine BI." Tell Us How We're Doing We're working hard to continually improve your TechNet Flash experience with better customization options, and we're looking to roll out more changes in the coming months. In the meantime, let us know how we're doing, and tell us how we can make the Flash newsletter more useful for you, with this very short survey. Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash | Your Featured Content | | Let us know what interests you and we'll deliver your featured content here in the next edition of TechNet Flash. |
IT Management | | November 6, 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
The goal of Platform Solution Blueprints is to help IT managers plan their technology investments by focusing on reusable capabilities such as next-generation Web, business intelligence (BI), service-oriented architecture (SOA), virtualization, security, and others that are critical to the success of their business. |
Evaluation Center Updates Scripting for IT Pros Hey Scripting Guy...
Support and Troubleshooting How-to Articles Hotfixes Knowledge Base Articles See a selection of new Knowledge Base articles on the TechNet Web site. KB articles feature an Article Translations box in the right column. You can select a language from the drop-down list and read the article in the selected language. Also available via RSS 
What's New for TechNet Plus Subscribers TechNet Plus Single User subscribers receive SQL Server 2008 Enterprise, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 with Service Pack 1, and System Center Operations Manager 2007 with Service Pack 1 with October DVD shipment. Get Windows Small Business Server 2008 RTM Today Windows Small Business Server 2008 and the new Essential Business Server 2008 are the solutions that work for small and medium-sized business. Both these solutions don't officially launch until November, and until then only the public preview will be available. But TechNet Plus subscribers can find the RTM version of Small Business Server 2008 on TechNet Plus today through the subscriber-only downloads portal. Not a subscriber yet? Check out what TechNet Plus can do for you.
Upcoming Webcasts | | October 22, 11:00 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we describe the elements of the Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 solution (Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, Application Server, and Microsoft SQL Server), and we cover data flow components and key areas for scalability. | | | November 6, 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
The goal of Platform Solution Blueprints is to help IT managers plan their technology investments by focusing on reusable capabilities, such as next-generation Web, business intelligence (BI), service-oriented architecture (SOA), virtualization, and security. If you are taking a "best-of-breed" approach to your IT strategy, you do not want to miss the information presented in this introduction. |
Security | | Are your PCs using Security Center? Do they have anti-virus or anti-malware software already installed? If not, wouldn't you want to know? Download the free Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit and it will report the Security Center assessments to you in just hours. | | | After completing this lab, you will be able to explore the user interface of ISA Server, explore how ISA Server uses multiple networks and a single list of firewall rules, as well as how ISA Server uses monitoring. | | | Download the October security updates, including updates for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. |
On Demand | | Learn how to effectively use the new group policy objects in Windows Vista to improve manageability and strengthen security with this podcast by Derek Melber, author, IT consultant and Microsoft MVP for Group Policy. | | | In this webcast, we describe the elements of the Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 solution (Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, Application Server, and Microsoft SQL Server), and we cover data flow components and key areas for scalability. This webcast is part of a webcast series targeted at IT professionals. |
Virtual Labs | | After completing this lab you will be better able to provide hands-on experience with Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM) "2," provision new users within ILM "2" and see the user data flow out to Active Directory. Additionally, you will be able to use the ILM "2" self-service password reset facility, and use the ILM "2" self-service group management features integrated into Microsoft Office 2007. | | | This lab has a laundry list of new features in Active Directory. It is intended to demonstrate some of the ways that Active Directory management and operations have been improved in Windows Server 2008. It addresses all scenarios that Active Directory is used in, including management, security, and remote infrastructure. |
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| |  | | | | National and Global Events WINCONNECTIONS: The Premier Event for IT Professionals November 10 - 13 Las Vegas, NV More than 250 in-depth sessions on Microsoft Exchange, Windows, SQL Server, SharePoint and .NET. Exciting content and panels delivered by 150 Microsoft architects and industry experts. Every attendee receives SQL Server 2008 standard with 1 CAL. This event sold out last fall; be sure to register today. Register for PDC2008 October 27 - 30 Los Angeles Convention Center Pre-cons October 26, 2008 This year's Professional Developers Conference is the place to see the coolest new technology and get your hands on the latest pre-beta bits (including Windows 7). Attendees will also receive a 160-GB drive loaded with all PDC bits. Microsoft Tech·Ed EMEA 2008 IT Professionals November 3 - 7 Barcelona, Spain An opportunity to learn the latest technologies, meet and connect with the best - get the edge. | | TechNet Plus Direct | • | Full library of Microsoft software for evaluation without limits | | • | Immediate access through subscriber downloads | | • | Two Professional Support incidents | | • | Access to beta software before public beta releases | | • | Exclusive tools and utilities | | | | | | | | Personalize Your Flash Let us know your technology interests. When you personalize your Flash experience, additional content for your selected topics can be found in every edition in Your Featured Content. | | | © 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Expression, Forefront, Hyper-V, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Silverlight, SoftGrid, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. To cancel your subscription to this newsletter, reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line. You can also unsubscribe at the Microsoft.com Web site. You can manage all your Microsoft.com communication preferences at this site. Legal Information. This newsletter was sent by the Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington, USA 98052 | | | | |
