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Windows 7 Release Candidate - now available via MSDN & TechNet
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Windows 7 RC1 is now available via MSDN & TechNet, I have been using it for over a week now and I can honestly say I'm very impressed with the overall stability, performance and functionality.
Go here for the announcement, here for a Neowin guide on changes and FINALLY an admission that it will be released in 2009 on Windows IT Pro !
Get downloading!
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Audio Conferencing in OCS 2007 R2
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The OCS Team have just posted a great article explaining how the new conferencing functionality works in OCS R2, personally I am over the moon that this feature has been enhanced. A number of organisations today spend big money on "meetme" style telephone conferecing, given that this functionaity is now available in R2 this alone should make an excellent business case for anyone looking to deploy this technology in today's tough times!
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Windows Vista & Server 2008 SP2 soon for MSDN & TechNet Subscribers?
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I have just been sneaking around the TechNet site and it looks as if the release of SP2 could be imminent, see here for more information.
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Exchange 2010 delivers e-mail best practice
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I have just noticed over at the MS Exchange Team Blog an excellent addition to Exchange 2010. A new feature called "MailTips" advises users on common best practice, often missed when sending out a last minute mail before you head off for the weekend!
The scenario I really liked was alerting the sender that one of the many recipients was not an employee within the company, therefore reminding that the content should be tailored for external distribution.
This functionality will be an welcome addition for organisations that have adopted "data classifications".
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Windows Vista & Server 2008 SP2 RTMs!
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Neowin has just announced here. Apparently it has already begun circulating around popular BitTorrent websites, in 32 and 64 bit versions. Microsoft is expected to announce public availability later this week.
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Office 2007 Service Pack 2 - available now!
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Just noticed that Office 2007 Service Pack 2 is now available for download here.
For an overview of improvements review article ID: 953195
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Microsoft Vine a "Twitter-like" social networking service
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Came across an interesting Mary-Jo Foley article on a new Microsoft service "Vine" about to go into trial starting today.
Head over to ZDNet to read more.
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Don't just block it, strip it and send it!
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Whilst at InfoSec we spoke to the folks at Cisco about their IronPort e-mail gateway (an acquisition in early 2007), our question was “how can we put in place a more intelligent way of quarantining e-mail embedded with images”?
You see, I work within a large financial services organisation and instead of risking reputational damage by letting through a potentially offensive photo, we quarantine it and ask that the recipient requests its release based upon the business need.
The downside here is that you get a lot of service desk requests!
Most e-mail vendors will have image scanners, these will look for flesh tones and predefined thresholds, this of course does not get round senders with embedded logos within documents or signatures etc. The recommendation? Simply strip the image from the e-mail and send it, most of the time people just want the message without logos etc. Of course the other consideration here is that the original mail is kept intact in case the image is required!
We expect a drop of 30%+ in e-mail release requests!
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Look ma, I'm at InfoSec 2009
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So today I thought I would venture down to InfoSecurity 2009 at Earl's Court and see what the security vendors were touting this year, initially I noticed two things....
- The show was bigger than ever before, usually it takes place in Olympia (a smaller venue located nearby). This is really encouraging given the state of the economy, perhaps people buy security in any climate?
- The major bombshell, no Microsoft! A real pity (they've been there every other year), I know times are hard but surely pushing more general awareness in the MS security space wouldn't hurt?
A couple of interesting finds include:
- Hitachi have stepped up biometric security a notch with "fingervein" scanning technology, essentially replacing finger print scanning with imaging of the internal finger vein structure (which I am told is more unique and more difficult to breach).
- A number of data disposal companies, let's face it, how do you know when your data is destroyed? You shred the hard drive to pieces!
- Last but not least, a DeLorean with no flux capacitor, not sure why it was there, but I liked it!
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Talking About Windows Site
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Stephen Rose "Sr Community Manager for Windows Client", just annouced a new IT Pro site for Windows 7.
Check out his article here.
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Running legacy XP applications in Windows 7
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There has been quite a bit of buzz around a Windows 7 feature called "Windows XP mode", essentially the addition of Virtual PC for 7 including a Windows XP SP3 license. This feature could really help a number of businesses who have not yet widely deployed Vista and still run a handful of older applications (I can familiarise with this!)
Head over to the TechNet Ireland IT Pro Blog for an excellent post!
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Windows 7 can burn ISOs!
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Whilst some of you may be aware Windows 7 includes ISO burning functionality (at long last!), I thought i'd recommend an excellent alternative to those still using Vista or XP. Check out ImgBurn, (free) not only will it let you write ISOs but you can create them too.
Burning ISOs in Windows 7.
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Windows 7, a big YES on backwards compatibility
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As we all know by now one of the issues with Vista (when in its infancy) was mainstream driver support. With Windows 7 this seems to be a thing of the past, a good example is Virtualisation, I remember that Virtualising Vista was almost impossible with the early betas. However as you can see below not only does Windows 7 Virtualise extremely well, it even runs in VMware Fusion on a Mac - tools installed too!
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Windows 7 RC Imminent...early for IT Pros?
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With a public release of Windows7 RC due out on May 5th more and more information is appearing on various Microsoft fansites. Earlier in the week the following was found on the MSPP website:
"We are pleased to announce that Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is available. Windows 7 RC is the prerelease version of Windows 7. Since this is not the final release, your PC will gather and send information to Microsoft engineers to help them check the fixes and changes made based on testing of Windows 7 Beta.
Test-drive Windows 7 RC today to see for yourself—and to show your colleagues and customers—how Windows 7 delivers improved management, security, reliability, and performance.
Download Windows 7 RC
Partners: If you have a subscription to MSDN or TechNet, you can download Windows 7 RC now. Otherwise, you can download Windows 7 RC starting May 5, 2009."
Yesterday the folks over a Neowin announced that the RC code had been completed and the build number is 7100.
"7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700 was compiled on Tuesday and has reportedly been handed out to OEM partners and TAP gold customers."
Either way we shall all have the release candidate in our hands soon!
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Welcome, Bienvenue, Willkommen!
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I am finally getting round to posting some things on here, for those interested in a technologist's thoughts and insights into enterprise IT then stay tuned!
If you would like to know more about me then check the about page or why not send me an e-mail?