Solution Accelerators Newsletter: Tools for Microsoft On-line services

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November 2008 In this Issue: New Solution Accelerator Releases Additional Solution Accelerators to check out Help us improve Solution Accelerators for you! New Beta: Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios Download and home page link summary Help us improve Solution Accelerators for you! We want to hear what you think about Solution Accelerators so we can improve our products and build better ones. If you've used a Solution Accelerator within your company or organization, please tell us about it by completing this short survey (less than ten minutes). • Take the survey Are you a Microsoft Partner? Grow your business with Solution Accelerators for Microsoft Online Services. Launched Live: Solution Accelerators for Microsoft Online Services Microsoft Online Services combine software with the power of Internet services, helping you quickly and easily add or extend the capabilities of your organization -- without straining your resources. Microsoft recognizes that you require valuable, flexible, cost-effective technology for your online services deployment. On Nov 17th, Solution Accelerators co-launched 3 accelerators that automate discovery, assess requirements for migration, and provide you with the prescriptive guidance and operations framework to migrate and deploy new services faster and more efficiently. • Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit for Exchange Online: This automated toolkit helps you better understand your IT environment's readiness for an Exchange Online migration through a network-wide discovery of machines and survey-based assessment. • Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Series "Exchange Online-Evaluating Software-plus-Services": This guide helps you make the best infrastructure design decisions when it comes to migration from on-premise messaging to over the cloud using Exchange Online. • Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) Companion Guide *BETA*: This guide helps you determine what kind of Online Services offerings are right for your IT organization, and how to determine your technical requirements for Exchange Online. Sign up and join the Beta at Microsoft Connect. Learn more • Visit the Solution Accelerators for Microsoft Online Services home page • Visit the Microsoft Online Services home page New Solution Accelerator Releases Exchange Online: Evaluating Software-plus-Services The Exchange Online: Evaluating Software-plus-Services Guide is part of the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide series, and provides a clear comparison of e-mail technologies including on-premises, standard hosting, and dedicated hosting scenarios. You can use it as a framework for evaluating the technical feasibility of using Microsoft Exchange Online for your organization. • Download the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide • Visit the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide home page Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) 3.2 Toolkit The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit v3.2 has been released and adds a whole slew of new features to the already powerful MAP toolkit. In addition to evaluating and reporting on the upgrade and virtualization readiness of the computers in your network, this new version of MAP now includes a Microsoft Online Services Needs Assessment and Survey. Additional new MAP features include: • SQL Server Database Instance Discovery • Forefront Client Security/NAP Readiness Assessment • Power Savings Calculator • Virtualization Infrastructure Assessment (e.g. reporting the mapping of hosts by guests) • Download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit • Visit the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit home page Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 This popular Solution Accelerator for Virtual Machine Servicing has been updated to support Hyper-V and the latest versions of Virtual Machine Manager, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and System Center Configuration Manager. This solution (which is backwards-compatible with version 1.0 of the accelerator), automates patching of virtual machines which may have become vulnerable or non compliant from being offline for an extended period. • Download the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 • Visit the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 home page Additional Solution Accelerators to check out The IT Compliance Management Guide The IT Compliance Management guide can help you shift your governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) efforts from people to technology. Use its configuration guidance to help you efficiently address your organization's GRC objectives. • Download the IT Compliance Guide • Visit the IT Compliance Guide home page Help us improve Solution Accelerators for you! We want to hear what you think about Solution Accelerators so we can improve our products and build better ones. If you've used a Solution Accelerator within your company or organization, please tell us about it by completing this short survey (less than ten minutes). • Take the survey New Beta: Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios New desktop virtualization technologies from Microsoft offer more choices to optimize desktop flexibility, richness, and cost-effectiveness. To help you make the best technology choices for your desktop users, Microsoft has classified user needs into five different scenarios based on user profiles: Office workers, Mobile workers, Task workers, Contract or offshore workers, and Access from home workers. This new BETA accelerator helps you choose the right scenario for your organization which can be optimally met by different combinations of desktop technologies. • Try out the beta at Microsoft Connect Download and home page link summary Download Links • Download the Microsoft Operations Framework • Download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit • Download the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide • Download the IT Compliance Management Guide • Download the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 Home page links • Visit the Solution Accelerators for Microsoft Online Services home page • Visit the Microsoft Online Services home page • Visit the Microsoft Operations Framework home page • Visit the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit home page • Visit the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide home page • Visit the IT Compliance Management Guide home page • Visit the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 home page © Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, BitLocker, SharePoint, Windows, 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 Sign up for other newsletters | Unsubscribe | Update your profile © 2007 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement

Daily Tips and Tricks Special Delivery

Sign up for other newsletters | Unsubscribe | Update your profile Collaborate with Windows Meeting Space Do you need to connect with a colleague to share ad hoc, real-time work? By using Windows Meeting Space, you can share handouts and work together on applications. You can join or start a meeting where everyone participates or just watches, and it can be done immediately as long as you are all on the same network. Here's how to get started: 1. Click Start. 2. Click All Programs. 3. Click Windows Meeting Space. Notice that passwords are required to offer a degree of security. Change Your Default Chart Type To quickly create a chart on its own sheet in a Microsoft Office Excel workbook, select the chart data, and then press the F11 key. This action generates a chart using your default chart type, which is originally set to be a clustered column chart. To change your default chart type, on the Insert tab, at the bottom-right corner of the Charts section, click the dialog box launch icon to open the Insert Chart dialog box. Select your preferred chart type, and then click Set as Default Chart. You can then click Cancel to close the dialog box without generating a chart. Though nothing appears to have changed, the next time you generate a chart by using the F11 key, you'll automatically get your new default chart type. Note: Keep in mind that after you've created a chart, you can still change the chart type. To change chart type for just the active chart, on the Chart Tools Design tab, in the Type section, click Change Chart Type. • Tips and Tricks Web site • Microsoft Office Online • Help Privacy note: Microsoft respects your privacy and that of your friends. Please do not use the Tell a Friend button to send mail to more than 10 people. Microsoft cannot collect any data about the people you send mail to unless they sign up for Tips and Tricks Special Delivery. 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 Profile Center. You can manage all your Microsoft.com communication preferences at this site. Legal information Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 Sign up for other newsletters | Unsubscribe | Update your profile © 2008 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement

Daily Tips and Tricks Special Delivery

Sign up for other newsletters | Unsubscribe | Update your profile Find Tooltips for Keyboard Shortcuts If you press and hold the ALT key, tooltips appear above the commands at the top of the page. You can then press the appropriate letter for a simple keyboard shortcut. 2003 to 2007 Group Schedule Checking schedule availability for your team in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 means opening a fake meeting request, entering everyone's names, and then navigating the blue bars for an open slot of time. In Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, you can create group schedules to view availability for multiple people and resources, like conference rooms. 1. Click the Actions menu, and then click View Group Schedules. 2. Click New, and then type a name for the new schedule. 3. Enter the names of the people and resources whose schedules you want to view. 4. Click Save and Close. 5. To schedule a meeting or send an e-mail message to the group or an individual, open the group schedule, and then click the Make Meeting list. • Tips and Tricks Web site • Microsoft Office Online • Help Privacy note: Microsoft respects your privacy and that of your friends. Please do not use the Tell a Friend button to send mail to more than 10 people. Microsoft cannot collect any data about the people you send mail to unless they sign up for Tips and Tricks Special Delivery. 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 Profile Center. You can manage all your Microsoft.com communication preferences at this site. Legal information Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 Sign up for other newsletters | Unsubscribe | Update your profile © 2008 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement