Steve's TS2 Insider

TS2 Blogs are moving!

2010-02-20T15:53:20Z

In order to keep you on your toes, we are moving the TS2 blogs to a new home next door to the other partner blogs:

http://blogs.technet.com/uspartner_TS2Team

Look to see you there

Live Meeting Audio

2010-02-18T15:10:26Z

Q: (from Gordon)

According to this chart the live meeting service has integrated PSTN and VOIP two way audio with both standard and professional editions. Does that mean the hosted live meetings can have a dial-in number for users that aren’t located at a computer and want to participate in the audio portion of the hosted conference? Or would we have to partner with a audio conference provider?

If you plan on using PSTN access, you would have to partner with a phone conference provider:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HP102357801033.aspx

More information on integrating the various audio options can be found at:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HP102356641033.aspx

Exchange 2010 Demo Environment

2010-02-13T04:23:09Z

Q: (from Stephanie)

We would like to do a March briefing around Exchange 2010’s Impact on Business E-mail. Unfortunately, we’re not fully prepared to handle demo capabilities after the fact. We’re looking for access to an Exchange 2010 environment that we can drive on our side. Is this possible?

Microsoft sponsors a free trial UC site at https://r2.uctrial.com. It covers both Exchange 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2. Accounts created are good for 60 days and allow voice and email communication with Outlook Web Apps, Outlook, Communicator, and of course the phone.

The only features are not covered deal with management. If you really want to show the management side, you will have to download and install the pre-configured virtual server images we offer at:

(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=53f7382a-3664-4de3-8303-31e514d69f02&displaylang=en)

They too, are fully functional, but without special hardware, you can’t demonstrate the voice mail capabilities.

Licensing Virtual Desktops

2010-02-12T17:54:17Z

Q: (from Josh)

Here are the questions my customer has:

Does an existing WinXP VLK work with View?
Is there an upgrade/purchase option for Win7 that works with View that does not require a subscription?
Same questions for an Office 2k3 VLK and upgrade paths.

So to answer your questions:

Does an existing WinXP VLK work with View?
No. The Windows XP volume licenses they own are only upgrades. What they currently have still requires the base license in order to run it in either a physical or a virtual environment.
Is there an upgrade/purchase option for Win7 that works with View that does not require a subscription?
No. Microsoft’s current VDI desktop OS licensing offerings are “VECD for SA” which is based on a “rich client” that already has Software Assurance or VECD which is for a “thin client” without SA. In either case Software Assurance and an annual payment model is involved. However it means that you can use Windows 7 Enterprise and you have the option to install any of our downgraded desktop operating systems because it is a volume license SKU.
Same questions for an Office 2k3 VLK and upgrade paths.
Yes. Because new Office 2007 licenses can be purchased via volume licensing, you have the downgrade rights to Office 2003.

BTW, initially I would question the choice of VM Ware View. Both because Microsoft sells our own VDI solution stack based on Hyper-V for less money and because we offer other desktop virtualization solutions like Remote Desktop Services that might address the client needs and would be significantly less complex. If you would like to know more about our offerings, please ask.

Customer Licensing Questions

2010-02-11T20:06:39Z

Q: (from Josh)

I have a customer that has some questions about upgrading to Windows 7 from XP. I was wondering if you would be able to have a quick con call with myself and my customer to clarify some questions.

If you have specific questions or know what your customer’s questions are, I would be happy to work with you. But when it comes to joint calls, you would be better served by involving your distribution partner – they offer that as part of their support services for you.

Windows 7 & Office 2010 Presentations

2010-02-11T20:04:16Z

Q: (from Mike & Lisa)

We were approached by a group of healthcare office managers that are interested in a 1hr talk at their users group meeting. They would like an overview on Windows 7 and the new Office products.

Windows 7

Ready-to-Go Campaign materials
Found at https://partner.microsoft.com under the Sales & Marketing tab
There are five campaigns that include Windows 7, but of those five the “Upgrade the Desktop” and “Optimized Desktop” probably fit your audience the best. Each campaign includes marketing, case studies, handouts, presentations, demo scripts, plus more.

Windows Demo Toolkit
https://partner.microsoft.com/US/productssolutions/windows/40103571
If you need a demonstration Windows 7 image with Office installed, the WDT is made by Microsoft, used by our staff, and is fully configured for both business and consumer demos. It also includes scripts for demonstrating the various Windows 7 features.

Office 2010

Ready-to-Go Campaign materials
For this, I would recommend the “Office 2010 Sneak Peek” or the “Upgrade the Desktop”. There is also a campaign I’ve not looked into which might be a great fit: “Health Electronic Medical Records”

Windows Demo Toolkit
Since it already has the beta of Office 2010 installed

Windows XP File Compression

2010-01-11T14:03:55Z

Q: (from Cynthia)

In Microsoft Word 2003 the name of a file turns from black to blue once it has reached a certain age, if it is not being regularly updated. After that, whether you update it or even change its name, it remains a blue font. Is there any way to control this?

I believe this is a characteristic of Windows XP rather than Word 2003. It appears that the drive being used to store the documents supports compression and that after a document is unused for ?? it is automatically compressed (and the filename is colored blue). If you want to change this, you can either decompress the entire drive or decompress the file in question (which will restore the filename color to black).

To decompress the entire drive:

Right-click the volume to decompress
Choose Properties
De-select the “Compress drive” check box
Click OK to close the Properties dialog box (this will take several minutes to complete)

To decompress the file in question:

Right-click the file in question
Choose Properties
Click the Advanced button
De-select the “Compress contents” check box
Click OK to close the Advanced Attributes dialog box
Click OK to close the Properties dialog box

Or you could leave the compression alone, but stop changing the file color:

Double-click Folder Options in the Control Panel
Select the View tab
De-select the “Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color” check box
Click OK to close the Folder Options dialog box

Windows Server Volume Activation

2009-12-30T17:13:57Z

Q: (from Barry)

My client’s server needs to be activated but it errors saying it needs the key management service.

As the error message states, it appears that you need to setup and activate the KMS service on your volume licensed Windows Server. There are instructions found at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd772269.aspx

but I also found this video that goes through the process in a few minutes:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbf2eb61-2b30-4f2d-bccd-df53e220b8e9&displaylang=en

Training Discounts

2009-12-04T05:35:55Z

Q: (from Deana)

Do you know of any partner discounts for the courses noted below?

Collection 80011: Development I in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80038: What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80148: Product Builder II in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80147: Product Builder I in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80015: Enterprise Portal Development in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80149: Administration in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80144: Environmental Sustainability Dashboard in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009
Collection 80020: Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

Sorry – it doesn’t look there are any programmatic discounts available right now.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/special-offers.aspx

More Productive with Office 2007

2009-12-01T14:13:26Z

Q: (from Mike)

How does Office 2007 make my employee's more productive? What studies can you sight for me to drive this home to customers?

Here are some case studies that I think match the criteria:

Systematech

Video Language Interpretation Firm Doubles Sales with Latest Desktop Software

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000003497

Inu Treats

Pet Treat Company Boosts Efficiency by 30 Percent, Enables Growth with New Software

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000002840

Elite Payroll Services

Financial Services Firm Saves Time, Improves Professional Image with Latest Software

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000002187

Nibblers Catering

Caterer Integrates Business Software, Yields Time Savings Worth Nearly $10,000

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000001855

You can find more case studies at:

www.microsoft.com/casestudies

Use the advanced search options to filter the list. I filtered on “Microsoft Office 2007 Suite” and “Small Business” to find 36 results including the four above

32 bit vs. 64 bit Windows 7

2009-11-20T19:35:40Z

Q: (from Steve)

If you have a machine with a lot of RAM and a huge hard drive, are there any issues with running the 32 bit version of W7? Is the issue that you’re basically forgoing the opportunity to run a richer version of the OS since your machine could support it, or on big machines, do you need to run the 64 bit?

This question opens up the bigger question of performance and compatibility of 32 bit applications on a 64 bit platform:

You don’t HAVE to run Windows 7 on a “big” machine, but you might not be able to access all of the RAM. The 32 bit version of any Microsoft OS is only able to access 4GB of RAM; the 64 bit version can access more. Even if you are only running 32 bit apps, a 64 bit OS will let EACH app access up to 4GB of RAM (read better performance) while a 32 bit OS makes all of the apps share the same 4GB.

But 32 bit applications running under a 64 bit OS may take a slight performance hit because the processor is forced to switch from 64 bit mode to 32 bit mode each time the application talks to the OS.

The bottom line:

If you are using standard, desktop applications, you probably won’t notice the performance gain or hit – you can choose either OS.
If you are using “big” 32 bit photo a movie editing applications, the extra memory of 64 bit might provide some extra performance.
But until all of the parts: the OS, the device drivers, and the applications are 64 bit, we will not see the full potential of 64 bit hardware realized. The good news is the that Windows is 64 bit now; many drivers are; and the next version of Office 2010 will be available in a 64 bit edition.

Outlook PST Error

2009-11-20T19:24:01Z

Q: (from John)

Have just reinstalled Office 2007, when I click on Outlook I get a message saying my previous backup is corrupt and needs repairing using Scanpst.exe then closes, it does not allow me access the outlook screen at all to select an option or even open it another backup file in another location.Am using Windows 7, went onto it a couple of weeks ago and the program had been running fine but had to reinstall Office.Am totally confused as I have never had this problem in the past, can anyone please help by telling me how to proceed please and get my Outlook working once more.Very many thanks in hope and anticipation.

I don’t have many technical skills, but this is something I’ve dealt with before…

Have you tried to repair the PST in question using SCANPST? It's on your Office disk.

If you don't have time for that, you could go to your Outlook email profile and remove the PST from your default profile until you have time to fix the file. Go to the Control Panel, Mail (32-bit) and select Show Profiles. Highlight your default profile (there is probably only one) and click the Properties button. Click the Data Files... button and remove the PST file that is giving you problems. It will still be on the disk, just not associated with this profile and you should be able to get into Outlook, just not save messages to that PST.

No Windows 7 SteadyState (yet?)

2009-11-13T21:02:15Z

Q: (from Sid)

We bought 4 HP Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit towers for our Computer Club Computer Room and now have been told that SteadyState does not exist for Window 7 64 bit systems. Is that correct? If it is, Microsoft has once again figured how to shoot itself in the foot....public use machines (libraries, schools, computer rooms, kiosks, etc.) need SteadyState to protect against users who visit malicious Web sites.

Still no word on the updated version of SteadyState. During the Windows 7 beta, it looked like SteadyState functionality was going to be embedded in the OS (under the beta names of PC Safeguard or Guest Mode), but it was pulled before the RC. I’m guessing that has delayed the delivery of a Windows 7 SteadyState because it was potentially going to be embedded in the product. BTW, it didn’t launch with Windows XP or Windows Vista either, so we will have to wait and keep watching the SteadyState website.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Seamless Execution under Windows XP Mode

2009-11-06T15:28:15Z

Q: (from Jim)

I have win7 up and running including, the win xp mode. My question is: Where does the program icon go to open the xin xp app straight from the win7 desktop?

As a good network administrator, I didn’t read the documentation when I first installed Windows XP Mode and the seamless execution feature didn’t work for me either. Fortunately the solution is two very easy steps:

1) From the Windows XP Mode Settings screen, make sure that Auto Publish is enabled:

After installing the application in the Windows XP virtual PC, a shortcut needs to be placed into the Start, All Programs menu under Windows XP. That shortcut will automatically be replicated to the Start, All Programs, Windows Virtual PC, Windows XP Mode Applications menu under Windows 7. Here are some screen shots that might help:

Windows XP Mode:

Windows 7 Host:

Windows 7 Promotional Material

2009-11-02T17:24:38Z

Q: (from William)

How can I obtain some Windows 7 launch signs and flyers to put in my retail store location?

There are several sources of Microsoft branded promotional material:

Unfortunately, banners and branded material from the retail team has already been distributed.

From the OEM team, you can purchase Microsoft branded banners, shirts, and other give-away items: www.oemsalescenter.com

If you are looking for handouts and flyers; again, we have very limited supplies of pre-printed material, but you can print your own by downloading the document masters from www.oemsalescenter.com or the Ready-to-Go Campaign material found at https://partner.microsoft.com.