Now, it may just be me, but is this cheaper than it used to be? Amazon lists Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 for $289

The Windows Vista Ultimate without SP1 lists for $319, formerly $399.95.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t follow pricing that terribly closely, but this does seem to be cheaper than it was in the past. Anyone?

Posted in Vista, Microsoft, Windows 9 Comments »

I tell you, I don’t know where I’ve been lately, but I came pretty close to missing out on this one. Today is the launch date for Windows Server 2008!

Also included in this launch is SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. Microsoft is hosting launch events all over the World, and I’ve heard they usually give out some decent swag there too.

If, like me, you just can’t get away for one of these events, you can visit the launch web site, titled “Heroes happen {here}”. They have a “Virtual Launch Experience site, where you can see key notes and other neat things.

I’ll have to admit that, like Vista, I wasn’t really waiting for Server 2008 to come out. I didn’t have a whole lot of anticipation built up, and although I’ve installed it a couple of times, mostly release candidates, I just haven’t had much time to play with it. It doesn’t help Server 2008’s cause that I’m really a big fan of Windows Server 2003, and to be honest, it works extremely well. So I’m in no hurry to replace it.

Wait a Second, did I mention the Virtual Launch experience?

Yes, I sure did (third paragraph), but that was before I took a look at it. Holy Cow did Microsoft go to a lot of trouble to set the Virtual Launch Experience site up. Not only is the site really slick looking, almost like a virtual tour, all of the sessions are viewable from the site, including the keynote. You can bookmark sites, and even put content into your “BackPack”, which you can then download later. Pretty neat!

Does this mean anything for Microsoft Certifications?

If you are one of those types who goes chasing certifications, then this is also a milestone for you, since the products that will enable you to get the new Microsoft certifications are now available. Now you can get some hands on experience with them.

If you already hold a Microsoft Certification on Server 2003, then you can upgrade, or keep going with other certifications, but in my book, this is a good time for those who don’t currently hold any Microsoft Certifications.

Once you take and pass one of Microsoft’s tests, the clock starts ticking. When the product you are certified on goes away, you have to take an upgrade test, or take a totally new test. Either way, that means you have to start studying again.

With 2008 just being released, then that should mean you have a bit of time before you have to worry about it. Since Microsoft has re-structured their certifications, I was waiting for Server 2008 to finally be released until I considered doing anything.

As with any product release, I’m really curious to see what the word is about compatibility, and if anyone runs into issues with it.

Posted in Server 2003, Server 2008, Development, Certifications, Microsoft, Windows No Comments »

After you’ve shared your calendar with other user’s in Microsoft Outlook 2003, you’ll want to tell others how to open it. Here’s how you do it.

Using the Navigation Pane:

Step 1: Click on the Calendar Shortcut button

In Outlook, Click on the Calendar Button in the Navigation Pane. The button may look like this:

Or if the shortcut bar is not expanded, it may look like this:

Step 2: Click the Open a Shared Calendar Link

Scroll down to the Bottom of the pane, and there is a link titled “Open a Shared Calendar”.

Note: The “Open a Shared Calendar” Option only shows up if you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server.

After Clicking the link, the “Open Shared Calendar Dialog Box page will appear. Pressing “Name” will open up the Address book, and you will be able to select a specific user from the list.

After opening a user’s calendar once, their name should appear under the “Other Calendars” section of the Navigation Pane.

Posted in Groupware, Calendars, Office 2003, Outlook, Microsoft 3 Comments »

If Outlook is set up to use a Microsoft Exchange Server, then you can use Shared Calendars, a handy little feature.

Note: Sharing your calendar gives other users access to the details of you appointments, subject, location, etc. You do not have to share your calendar if all you want to do is let other user’s know when you are available, that is already done using the Free / Busy Information.

Using the Navigation Pane:

Step 1: Click on the Calendar Shortcut button

In Outlook, Click on the Calendar Button in the Navigation Pane. The button may look like this:

Or if the shortcut bar is not expanded, it may look like this:

Step 2: Click the Share My Calendar Link

Scroll down to the Bottom of the pane, and there is a link titled “Share my Calendar”.

Note: The “Share my Calendar” Option only shows up if you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server.

After Clicking the link, the Calendar Properties page will come up, and you can assign specific permissions.

Step 3: Use the Calendar Properties Page to Assign Users the Appropriate Permissions

Below you’ll see a picture of the Calendar Properties Page

The “Default” entry is used to set the permissions that you want all of the users in your organization to have.

If you only want specific users in your organization to have access, leave the default permissions in place, and use the “Add” button to add users from the Address book.

Once you have added users, you can assign them permissions by highlighting the appropriate user, and check or uncheck the check boxes corresponding to the permissions you want to grant or deny.

Shortcut

The quickest way to set permissions is to use the “Permission Level” Drop Down. The Reviewer role gives the user selected read only access to your calendar. You can also use these to quickly give a user some basic permissions, and then make the specific changes that you want.

I also have a post that shows you how to open other user’s shared calendars in Outlook 2003.

Posted in Groupware, Calendars, Office 2003, Outlook, Microsoft 3 Comments »

This isn’t recently breaking news, but I hadn’t posted about it yet.

Microsoft is offering their “Express” version of Visual Studio for free, just go to the Visual Studio Express Home, and download it. You do have to register with them to get a product key, but that still seems pretty painless.

The fact that Microsoft is offering a development platform for free was surprising to me, but what was really shocking was that although this version is aimed at hobbyists and students, there is no licensing restrictions, so you can sell your code commercially without worrying about lawyers breathing down your neck.

There are a couple of different versions, depending on what you are interested it, there is a web developer suite, as well as C#, C++, VB, and J#.

Now that you have your Development platform, what next? Well they also have a “Beginner Developer Learning Center” to help get you coding, and a “Coding for Fun” website to give you something to play around with.

Originally the plan was to offer the express editions free for 1 year, but on April 19th, 2006, they decided to make them available permanently for free.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that Microsoft was offering the Robotics Studio for free as well, but you can’t use it for commercial products without buying a runtime license. But you can learn to program Lego MindStorms in your free time. There is no need to go out and buy a robot though, because you can even work with virtual robots.

References:

Visual Studio Express Home - Microsoft

Beginner Developer Learning Center - Microsoft

Coding for Fun - Microsoft

Robotics Development Studio - Microsoft

Introduction to Programming Lego Mindstorms - Coding4Fun (Microsoft)

Posted in Robots, Development, free stuff, Microsoft 2 Comments »