November 2004 - Posts
Austin, Texas – November 2004
To address customer questions and concerns about the recently released Operating System Deployment Feature Pack for SMS 2003, Collective Technologies has developed a packaged service offering that allows prospective users of the feature pack an opportunity to learn more about its features and functionality through a week-long onsite engagement with one of Collective’s subject matter experts.
During the course of the engagement, customers will learn:
· How to properly install and configure the feature pack
· How to capture desktop and/or server images
· How to deploy the capture images
· What options exist for bare-metal, in-place, side-by-side installations
· How to add addition applications to the build process
· How to make use of custom actions during the build process to improve automation efficiency
· Best practices for OSD usage within SMS
To learn more, please contact me today!
Breathe more life into your favorite memories with Photo Story 3 for Windows® by adding motion, effects, music, and more to your digital photos.
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/offers/default.aspx?displaylang=en
Because Microsoft believes a forthcoming Update Rollup will meet the needs of customers better than a new service pack, there will be no Service Pack 5 (SP5) for Windows 2000.
Full Story: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/rollup.asp
Microsoft's product groups are becoming ever more involved in the user community to make their products more usable. The latest testament to this fact is the recently opened Windows Server feedback site available at:
https://www.windowsserverfeedback.com/
All feedback submitted to the site will be sent to the Windows Server Development Team for review and analysis. Your ideas can impact Windows Server in many ways, and might even be incorporated into new Service Packs, Feature Packs, or the next Windows Server release.
After completing this page, you can opt to participate in a variety of activities such as online surveys about Longhorn Server and volunteering for beta testing.
Here's a tip a community member shared to make Adobe Acrobat Reader open up INSTANTLY!
Look in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader
Create a new folder called "Optional" if it does not already exist, but it probably already does....
Go to: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\plug_ins
Move/drag the plug_ins folder into C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\Optional
Done. If Adobe Reader really needs a plug-in it will find it by itself in the Optional folder without issue. But it no longer will take forever loading every plug-in by default, saving an amazing amount of time.
Thanks to Timothy O'Brennen for this tip!
In response to the discovery of high quality counterfeit versions of Windows XP, Microsoft has launched its Windows XP Counterfeit Project. Anyone who is unsure of the legitimacy of their Windows XP software may submit their product to Microsoft for analysis. The project will allow Microsoft to collate intelligence quickly and work with the authorities to act decisively against illegal traders.
More Information: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/piracy/xpreplacementoffer
The Microsoft Windows default logon screensaver is reported prone to a local privilege escalation vulnerability. It is reported that the screensaver is started with SYSTEM privileges on Microsoft Windows NT, 2000 and XP computers.
Full story: http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/11711/discussion/
Thanks Donna for the report.
Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer's recent call for the creation of a $100 PC to help emerging markets has been met with a response by a company called SolarPC with a new Linux-based personal computer.
Full story: http://www.datamonitor.com/~5e19311b824f4e37993d9fe52f033eed~/industries/news/article/?pid=F9B51937-4CD3-4910-8D67-18887FF5B090&type=NewsWire
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a "professional."
Scroll down for each answer.
The questions are NOT that difficult. But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2 . How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, "Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?"
Wrong Answer.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator; t! ake out the giraffe put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend...except one.
Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.
Okay even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across.
Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This test! s whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year old.
Thanks for passing this along, Joe!
OK, so with all the banter about SMS' 10th anniversary, I thought it might be nice to give a brief background into my experience with SMS and how I got here.
It all started on about 10PM on a Friday night while I was still at First American National Bank (now AmSouth) with a co-worker, John Watts. John and I had this great notion that we could better manage our highly distributed banking environment by using this new thing we got in our TechNet subscription: SMS 1.2 (beta). So, we slapped the CD in the tray and off we went proving our case.
Before long the economy was in it's upswing and I thought I'd see what was out there. Having done some SMS stuff at FANB, I decided to include it on my resume. Next thing you know, I'm a consultant at CNA Insurance as the lead SMS engineer.
I spent about 6 months at CNA. And, let me tell you... it wasn't easy. CNA was a very unique environment. They had ZAK'ed all the NT 4.0 workstations and because of this 'bastardized' Novell client they used I couldn't make use of the PCM as a Service for SMS 1.2. Result: no elivated privileges during software distributions to ZAK'ed workstations. Nice, uh? Well, it wouldn't have been so bad, had I not had to deal with at least 1-2 software distros a week. Arg!
In between software packaging and custom Crystal Reports writing, I paid a LOT of attention to the Swynk.com SMS mail list. I actually played a game with myself; as each new question would come across the list, I would see if I could find the answer before it was posted to the list. What happened though is that each time I looked for the answer to one thing, I found 3 other things that I didn't know about SMS. This, combined with the unique challenges of CNA is what led me to become an 'expert' in the product.
One of the greatest things that came from the Swynk.com SMS mail list was the formation of the SMS Users Conference. Which is now known as the Microsoft Management Summit. I was proud to be a part of its formation and a presenter at the first conference in Newport Beach, CA. It was small, but it was 'ours'.
Well, I moved on from CNA and actually relocated to Winston-Salem, NC to manage an SMS 1.2 site and the ensuing SMS 2.0 implementation for Wachovia Bank. While there I had formed a Scripting mail list to help share information with others that needed help with SMS Installer and other software scripting programs. It was a very successful endevor with over 1,000 subscribers.
My contract with Wachovia was for one-year and when the year was up, I returned to Nashville. But, before I went I had already set the foothold for what would be the next 4 years of my life and one of the biggest challenges I've faced: running my own company.
When I returned to Nashville, instead of looking for full-time employment, I decided to go into independent consultancy. And, so CompTrends was born. The main thrust of this company was in a an application that I had developed while still in North Carolina. It was called PowerMIF and allowed for data gathering from end users that would be transferred to the SMS database by way of a custom MIF file. The other offering was a 2-day SMS Installer course that I had developed in response to Microsoft's lack of resources for this software repackaging application. Little did I know that the class would be my main source of revenue for the next two years.
I travelled a lot during those years. The class took me everywhere from Seattle, to San Deigo, to Tampa to Boston and eventually even to Europe on several occassions. In short, people began to associate CompTrends will SMS Installer. The mail list helped. The class led me to consulting engagements for companies needing assistance with Software Packaging needs, which in turn led to consulting engagements for SMS design and implementation.
What came next, nobody was prepared for. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was attacked and America was rocked to it's knees. The economy quickly went on a downward spiral. Though I hung on as long as I could, the outlook was grim. So, swallowing my pride, I joined Altiris as a Field Systems Engineer in hopes that I could use my technical expertise to help companies augment their SMS environments with add-on functionality provided in the Altiris product line. However, I quickly discovered that was not the sales model that Altiris wanted. Being disheartened by my decision, I left the company within several months.
After a short stint at a local Architectural Engineering firm in Nashville, I finally found what I had been looking for in the form of Collective Technologies. Since joining Collective in August of 2003 I've been actively involved in the planning, design and implementation of a dozen or so SMS 2.0 and 2003 sites.
My proudest moment though came in the form of an email dated Jan. 26th, 2003. The subject line of the email read:
“Congratulations! You have been given the Microsoft MVP award!“
As you can probably imagine. I sat there in awe for quite a while. The years of effort all seemed worth while from a 4K message from John Buscher, Server MVP Lead.
So, what do I do now? I'm still an SMS consultant. But, I'm now the Practice Technical Manager for Collective's Systems Management group. I'm privileged to work with folks like Brian Rogers (fellow MVP), Steve Ognibene and Kerry Vinson. Together we make one hell of a team.
I also continue to pubish articles, give talks at users groups and present at various conferences and summits througout the country. My latest challenge is being a technical editor for an upcoming book on Microsoft management technologies.
What comes next? Your guess is as good as mine. Until then...
-DUNCAN
The US Air Force has had enough of Microsoft's security problems. But rather than switch to an alternative, it has struck a deal with CEO Steve Ballmer for a specially configured version of Windows to be used by all its 525,000 personnel and civilian support staff.
Full story: http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2666
Infosys and Microsoft are investing $8 million in a new joint venture, which also involves Wipro. Microsoft plans to hire hundreds more people in India in the coming months, according to CEO Steve Ballmer.
Full story: http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?&story_id=28408
A refresh of its predecessor, SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 now contains 22 downloadable tools to help you deploy and troubleshoot SMS 2003. The following link provides more information about each tool in the toolkit.
http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/downloads/2003/tools/toolkit.asp
The Associated Press reports that Microsoft Corp. and Dell Inc. have won a more than $500 million contract to supply software and maintenance to the U.S. Air Force over the next six years. The agreement calls for Microsoft to provide server software, maintenance and support for upgrades. As a reseller, Dell, the personal computer maker based in Round Rock, Texas, will provide more than 525,000 licenses for Microsoft's Windows operating system and Office business software.
Full story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Microsoft%20Air%20Force
Dell and Microsoft are offering a new server toolkit that brings together Dell's OpenManage 4 server management software and Microsoft SMS 2003, used to configure and upgrade servers running Windows. The new product will enable a systems manager to update thousands of servers in less than an hour.
Complete story: http://enterprise-windows-it.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Microsoft--Dell-Team-on-Server-Software&story_id=28407&category=winserv#story-start
Learn to fully automate your desktop deployment. Get guidance on using the latest versions of Microsoft® Systems Management Server and Microsoft® BizTalk® to automate deployment and provisioning. This webcast introduces the Microsoft® Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) Enterprise Edition which offers complete guidance for Zero Touch Provisioning using Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2004. Zero Touch Provisioning provides a base to reliably provision enterprise or hosted commercial services and applications, resulting in reduced administrator intervention during the provisioning phase.
More Information: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032261574&Culture=en-US
A privilege escalation flaw in AClient Service for Windows leads to command prompt access with SYSTEM privileges. Read more about the vulnerability at: http://www.securiteam.com/windowsntfocus/6E00O0KBPS.html
An anonymous Microsoft blue badge has confirmed the company's plans for sending Pro and Premier PSS calls to India. Check out his revealing post here: http://msmvps.com/lduncan/archive/2004/11/08/18274.aspx#19890
I'm still waiting for Microsoft's 'official' response to this debate.
”Microsoft's director of product security has said that he wants to eliminate patching of Windows altogether, but in the short-term wants to extend the patch cycle to six months” reports ZDNet UK's Munir Kotadia.
View Munir's article and Microsoft's justification for such a drawn out delay between patch release cycles at: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39174244,00.htm
In a recently released FAQ list, Microsoft preemptively addresses community questions about System Center 2005 like:
- What is System Center Reporting Server 2005?
- How will SMS 2003, MOM 2005, System Center Reporting Server 2005, and System Center 2005 be integrated?
- Will the System Center Reporting Server 2005 schema be published?
- How will System Center 2005 be licensed?
- If I have MOM or SMS today, will I be forced to upgrade to System Center in the future?
Find the answers to these and many more questions about System Center at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/systemcenter/evaluation/FAQ/default.mspx
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