ronaldg's ramblings

Great Media Player Tip for watching On-demand webcasts

I'm guessing that a lot of you watch our TS2 (and other) webcasts on demand.   I'm also guessing that a lot of you probably used to use the speed adjust feature on previous editions of WMP to speed up the playback, but (like me) had not found it in the more recent versions of WMP.  I just found out a similar feature is in Windows Media Player 11 -- it's called Play Speed Settings.  And, even better than the older versions which only allowed you to adjust the playback speed in set, faster intervals, this one allows much more flexibility including the ability to adjust the speed slower!  This could be huge for those webcasts that include demos that are hard to follow or ones that you want to take notes on - this really beats pausing and re-starting.  To find the Play Speed Settings tab, open Windows Media Player, then click the drop down for "Now Playing", then "Enhancements" and select "Play Speed Settings".   Enjoy --  I know I will...

Two new tools released to protect Office 2003 and 2007 files from attacks.

Two new tools are now available that help protect computers from Office 2003 files containing malicious software code.  The tools are designed to help defend against Office "zero-day" attacks.

One tool, called Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE), protects users running Office 2003 and 2007 Office (but can't be used with previous versions) by converting Office 2003 binary files to the Office Open XML format blocking out malicious code in the process.   Moreover, the conversion takes place inside an "isolated environment," which prevents malicious code from running on the computer.

The other tool, called File Block Functionality for Microsoft Office 2003 and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, gives system administrators the ability to define which file types can and cannot be opened by users incorporating the ability to block access to certain files when a specific threat arises.

Both tools are detailed in a security advisory (link below) which includes more information and links to the files as well as installation instructions. 

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/937696.mspx

NEW - Partnercast links on TS2Seminars.com

Hey everyone, in case you weren't already aware, there is a direct link to MSReadiness partnercasts on TS2Seminars.com, but I'm also including it here: http://ts2seminars.com/main.aspx?cat=events&p=partnerCasts

Among other things there are partnercasts on: MS GearUp, Action Pack (what's changing and why), Vista IT features, and Infrastructure Optimization, as well as a Business Value of Competency series.  Check these out and Enjoy!

SCE support forum and webcast info

System Center Essentials (SCE) has RTM'd!! 

System Center Essentials already has a managed support forum on TechNet.  Among other things you can find links to webcasts on SCE.  http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1558&SiteID=17

Don't forget we did a TS2-sponsored partner-focused SCE webcast for MSReadiness in Jan which can find at: http://msreadiness.com/WS_abstract.asp?eid=15005013

Great site for Windows SharePoint Services info

As many of you know, the TS2 events in Q4 (APR-JUN) are focusing on Windows SharePoint Products and Technologies (primarily the Windows SharePoint Services v3.0).   I just found out about a great site with loads of information about SharePoint and I thought I'd share it with you.  I hope all of you are figuring out that SharePoint is a great way to add value to your customer solutions based on Windows Server or SBS.   Here it is:

http://www.wssdemo.com

there's plenty of links on this site to other SharePoint Technology resources as well.