KWSupport : Song of the Week

2009-08-04 He's a Real Nowhere Man

kwsupport — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:32:00 GMT

Ok, so it's been a long time between songs. Life does stay busy, doesn't it? That's why this song seems very appropriate. It was inspired by a recent post on Virtual PC and Windows 7. With a tip of the hat to Dana!

He's a real virtual man,

Sitting in his virtual land,

Connecting to his virtual lans

For nobody.

Doesn't have a physical view,

Knows not where he's loaded to,

Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Virtual man, please listen,

You're not real, just emulatin',

Virtual man, the world is at your command.

He's a guest, as you can see,

He just runs on a host PC,

Virtual man, can you see me at all?

Doesn't have a master view,

He's a slave, just passing through,

Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Virtual man, don't worry,

Take your time, don't hurry,

Just keep running till somebody else

Lends you a hand.

He's a real virtual man,

Sitting in his virtual land,

Making all his virtual plans

For nobody.

Microsoft Karaoke Server???

kwsupport — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:24:00 GMT

I just stumbled across a new software product from Microsoft called SongSmith. I can see it now: WHS + SongSmith = Microsoft Karaoke Server!!!

Frank McCallister - In Memoriam

kwsupport — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:03:00 GMT

Frank McCallister passed away this week. Frank was an SBS MVP. He loved to say he was the oldest MVP. But more importantly he was a real friend. His stories would hold your attention, but the real story was Frank. He called himself "the Old Fart". But that name does not describe all that he did and would do for people. Frank, we will miss you.

In tribute to Frank, I've reworked the lyrics of the song "The Gambler", made famous by Kenny Rogers (YouTube video).

The Old Fart (aka The Gambler)
Dedicated to Frank McCallister

On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for ‘Bama,
I met up with the old fart; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's emails,
And knowin' what their logs showed, by the way they signed their names.
And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you’re out of disk space.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to defrag, know when to format,
Know when to reinstall, ‘cause I’m the old fart.
You never say you’re thirsty when you're sittin' at the console.
There'll be time enough for drinkin' when the (MVP) party starts

Ev'ry old fart knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' emails to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry email's a winner and ev'ry email's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the old fart, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

-kw

SBS2008 - Get on the Bandwagon!

kwsupport — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:10:00 GMT

I arrived home last night at 9pm after attending a week long in-depth training session on the new Windows SBS 2008 Server platform. My interest level in SBS 2008 might have been described as lukewarm, at best, prior to this week. But now I can't wait to get some customers on board with this latest version of SBS.

As I write this post, I'm thinking of the scene in The Music Man, where all the town folk are lined up along the side of the street in anticipation of the Wells Fargo Wagon arriving bringing the brand new band instruments. And the anticipation builds and builds!

I see this SBS 2008 release in a similar light to convincing the people in the town of River City, Iowa to invest in the purchase of band instruments for their children. SBS 2008 may look like just another server release without a lost of sizzle and "wow" factors on the outside. But once you touch it, hold it, and start working with it, there are many things that will catch your interest, and perhaps say, "Wow, this is exactly what my customer has been asking for!".

What are some of those "Wow" factors?

Well, you're going to have to stay tuned for further posts from me this week to see my list of "Wow" factors. Meanwhile, you can start humming along: "Oh, oh, the Wells Fargo wagon is a-coming down the street..."

O Microsoft!

kwsupport — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:27:00 GMT

O Microsoft!

View Video
Format: ???
Duration: 1:36

SBS 2008 Song & Dance?

kwsupport — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:32:00 GMT

SBS2008 is quickly rolling through its beta testing and the official release has been set for Nov 12, 2008. So, i thought it would only be appropriate to get people fired up by putting together a small tribute to the past versions of SBS, and a look forward to SBS2008 (with kudo's to the Canadian national anthem). Enjoy!

First, you will want to display or print out the words and music: O Microsoft Lyrics and Songsheet (PDF file)
Then, click on this link to hear the full recording: SBS 2008's O Microsoft! (WMV 9Mb)

P.S. It works best if you sing VERY LOUDLY so as to drown out my voice!

SBS Rocks!
-kw

2008-02-06 "You're No Good"

kwsupport — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:05:00 GMT

Wed Feb-6-2008 is known as Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent for most Christian denominations. This is a period of 40 days of fasting and praying, and is symbolic of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert and the 40 years the Israelites spent looking for the Promised Land.

After all the food and desserts I ate over the holidays, I certainly need to do some fasting. And when dealing with computer errors (whether dumb errors or critical show stopping errors), we sometimes say things we shouldn't - possibly under our breath, possibly not! And when it comes to Vista, I feel like I've been in the desert waiting for Service Pack 1 to be released.

So ... I'm in one of those holly, jolly depressed moods as I'm working on three systems all down at the same time (different clients). I said to myself, "Myself, let's find a suitable song for today". So, here we go -- Linda Ronstadt's version of "You're No Good, Baby You're No Good"!

I found a video of Linda singing her hit song.

It's No Good
(aka You're No Good)

Feeling better now that I'm through
Feeling better 'cause I'm done with you
I learned my lesson, with Vista so far
Now I see how you really are

It's no good, it's no good, it's no good
Vista, you're no good

I'm gonna say it again
It's no good, it's no good, it's no good
Vista, you're no good

I crashed my drive, lost my files, too
Well I crashed my drive thinking Vista would do
I'm telling Microsoft I'll wait for SP2
I wouldn't blame them if they said to me

It's not bad, it's not bad, it's not bad
Vista's not so bad

They're gonna say it again
It's not bad, it's not bad, it's not bad
Vista's not so bad

I'm telling you now Vista and I'm going my way
Forget about you Vista 'cause XP's here to stay

It's no good, it's no good, it's no good
Vista, you're no good

I'm gonna say it again
It's no good, it's no good, it's no good
Vista, you're no good

P.S. These song parodies are done in good humor. In all fairness, my Vista PC has been running great since July 2007.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/kwsupport/archive/2007/07/02/vista-sbs2003-and-the-4th-of-july.aspx

2007-12-25 "Mary, Did You Know?"

kwsupport — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:25:00 GMT

First, I wish everyone a very safe, joyous and wonderful Christmas holiday. Thanks for everyone's words of encouragement to me this past year as I suffered through several physical problems and illnesses. On my road to recovery, I decided to step...(read more)

2007-12-24 "O Come All Ye Faithful"

kwsupport — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:14:00 GMT

Well, here it is ... Christmas eve! And whether or not you celebrate Christmas, it's still a wonderful time of the year to reflect on all the good things that people have done for us this past year. The movie Pay It Forward from a few years ago showed...(read more)

2007-12-23 "A Baby Just Like You"

kwsupport — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 15:29:00 GMT

I love finding non-traditional Christmas songs that include a universal message of joy and peace, no matter what your particular religious or spiritual slant may be. We have just a short time on this earth, and we should strive to make it a better place...(read more)

2007-12-22 "Let It Snow!"

kwsupport — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:08:00 GMT

Well as I check the weather this morning, here's what I see for the forecast highs today: Seattle 38F , Sacramento 29F , Omaha 24F , Dallas 56F , New York 36F , New Orleans 63F , and Tampa 57F . And for our non-US readers, we have: London 46F/7C ...(read more)

2007-12-21 "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

kwsupport — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:53:00 GMT

I just finished watching "The Polar Express" with my daughter tonight. It's become a family tradition to make some hot chocolate and drink it while watching Tom Hanks sing the "Hot, Hot, Hot Chocolate" song in the movie. We all...(read more)

2007-12-20 "Christmas in Killarney"

kwsupport — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:41:00 GMT

One of my top three Christmas albums of all times is Bing Crosby's White Christmas , first released in 1945. If you want to know my other top two Christmas albums, keep reading past the song lyrics. Bing and the Andrews Sisters, a cup of hot chocalate...(read more)

2007-12-19 "Deck The Halls"

kwsupport — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:51:00 GMT

Although the words to Deck the Halls, as we know it, were written in the 19th century, the melody is a Welsh tune from the 1700's. It is truly amazing how universal music is, and can be. Hopefully, it does bring us closer together, and perhaps the...(read more)

2007-12-18 "What Child Is This"

kwsupport — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:20:00 GMT

What do you want for Christmas this year --- more presents? or more patches from Microsoft? For children of all ages, Christmas can be a time of excitement and wonder. For Christians, Christmas celebrates the birth of the Son of God. For computer geeks...(read more)

2007-12-17 "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

kwsupport — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:12:00 GMT

Here in Florida, we had a cold front come through last night ... dropping the temperature from the 90's(F) to the 30's (F) yesterday. Now, we're ready to start talking Christmas and fireplaces and roasted chesnuts. And, along with all the...(read more)

2007-12-15 "Santa Claus is Coming To Town"

kwsupport — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:40:00 GMT

Oh, boy ... only 10 more shopping days 'til Christmas! Generally, I wait until Dec 23rd to start my shopping. The way I see it, by waiting until the end, then all the shelves are fairly empty, which makes selecting a gift that much easier :-) So,...(read more)

2007-12-08 "I'll Have a Blue Christmas"

kwsupport — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:58:00 GMT

OK, we're going to give you a break from my bad Christmas parodies. Chris Pirillo has his own selection of Christmas song parodies. He one-ups me by doing it bt creating his own MP3 recording. The song I selected is his take of the Eliv Presley's...(read more)

2007-12-07 "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"

kwsupport — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:26:00 GMT

The streets and stores are already busy with holiday shoppers. Some stores had Christmas decorations up even before Thanksgiving. Can you believe that it was a year ago when many wanted to know when Vista would be released? So, today's song is dedicated...(read more)

2007-12-06 "White Christmas"

kwsupport — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:34:00 GMT

Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas", from the movie of the same name, is a traditional favorite of mine. It reminds me to not take for granted the blessings that we enjoy each and every day. And for this holiday, perhaps a new Windows Home...(read more)