Digital Collaboration Guide, a SharePoint Architect's view

A week ago the Emerging Business Team at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus hosted a SharePoint 2010 competition titled “SharePoint 2010 SocialFest” where seven startup companies were given one week to develop an application on SharePoint 2010. During the week long event activities such as talks from developers, SharePoint engineering and product management teams, and venture investors were done. By Friday, the contestants presented their applications to a panel of judges which included Charles Schwab & Co. and McKesson. The winner of the competition was Huddle, which was basically synching up external team sites.

The rest of the application developed are the following:

1. Calinda MindUP – presents email interactions into visual maps which help create conversations between groups enhancing collaboration.

2. Confer – is simply twitter on SharePoint 2010 for both internal and external employees.

3. Cortex Intelligence – is an intelligent RSS tools which is presented via webparts fpr discussion, sharing, etc.

4. Leverage Software – makes your email thread into on-deman social workspace for sharing with others.

Windows 7 has not yet been released but I am already reading some predictions on what Windows 8 is going to be. In Randall Kennedy’s post, he discusses the items that would most likely be included in the Windows 8 release. Pretty early, but some interesting items which include:

1. 
   
   Prediction 1: No more 32-bit


2. 
   
   Prediction 2: Mesh is big


3. 
   
   Prediction 3: App-V makes its mark


4. 
   
   Prediction 4: Windows gets fatter


5. 
   
   Prediction 5: Subscribe today

Milo’s point of view

It is too early to think about Windows 8, or about the successor of Microsoft Windows 7. The features in Windows 8 would largely depend on the success of Windows 7. If latest operating system of Microsoft fails to eclipse Windows XP, we might see a new operating system built on cloud computing sooner than we expect. If Windows 7 becomes successful and indications show that it would most likely be able to overtake Windows XP then Microsoft might hang on to this software longer than we expect.

As for the features above:

1. 
   
   Prediction 1: No more 32-bit—I don’t think Microsoft is removing the 32-bit, unless a strong deal with Intel makes this happen.


2. Prediction 2: Mesh is big—It has always been big, let’s see.


3. 
   
   Prediction 3: App-V makes its mark—I agree on this one.


4. 
   
   Prediction 4: Windows gets fatter—I don’t think so, maybe the Ultimate would be fatter but I see Microsoft pushing for thinner software that would be able to run on netbooks or smartbooks.


5. 
   
   Prediction 5: Subscribe today—It would always be a balance between subscription and packaged software. Microsoft would still push the operating system wrapped in a box.

References

Randall Kennedy’s post can be read here— Enough with Windows 7—Look Ahead to Windows 8.

Internet is buzzing that Microsoft is already done with the Windows 7 development, code freeze has been implemented and the build release is already sent to manufacturers.

Microsoft apparently is correcting these reports and Microsoft Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc issued an official status update on where they are on the build.

According to him Windows 7 build is already close but they haven’t signed off on the operating system. He emphasizes that they are signing-off on Windows 7 when they are already ready and in a previous statement they were targeting the 2nd half of July for the RTM version.

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier reports indicate that Microsoft is going to sell Microsoft Windows 7 much higher than Windows Vista, making it the highest paid consumers operating system so far.

On Wednesday, Microsoft did the opposite. They have announced the pricing for Windows 7 and it looks cheaper than Windows Vista, at least for the promo. The upgrade from either Windows XP or Windows Vista Windows 7 Home premium only cost $49, Windows 7 Professional for only $99. This promo runs starting Friday, June 26 until July 11 and only good an a certain unspecified limit.

The pricing announced by Microsoft coincides with the leaked out internal memo from Best Buy through its employees.

The upgrade promo is available through Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft’s own store, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Costco, Staples, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President Brad Brooks feels the pricing is a very good deal: “That truly is a price that we have never even come close to in terms of an operating system release. “We’ve still got a business to run.”

Brad also adds that Windows 7 is pricier than the Snow Leopard which is only charging $29, but he argues that Snow Leopard is just a Leopard upgrade—“Even their chief software architect called (Snow Leopard) an upgrade of Leopard. The way I look at it, its a service pack and we don’t charge for service packs.”

Aside from the current promos, below are the pricing for the boxed Windows 7 on October 22 for those who already own a Windows license:

1. $119 for Windows 7 Home Premium

2. $199 for Windows 7 Professional

3. $219 for Windows 7 Ultimate

Below are the pricing for the boxed Windows 7 on October 22 for those who do not own a Windows license:

1. $199 for Windows 7 Home Premium

2. $299 for Windows 7 Professional

3. $319 for Windows 7 Ultimate

The Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade is lower by $40 from the product’s original price. The Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate versions are priced similar to Microsoft Windows Vista while the Home Premium is lower by as much as $239.

To note, upgrade prices only apply to users moving from either Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7; however, clean installation is applicable from Windows Vista to Windows 7 only.

The current pricing of Windows 7 is cheap considering the upcoming promo, do you plan to avail of the upgrade discounts?

Did you know that you can map an FTP drive right from the explorer of Windows Vista? There are third party applications like Filezilla that can do this for you and provide a lot of functionalities, but if you want a quick transfer of files, the explorer of Windows Vista should do the trick.

Below are the steps to mapping an ftp drive in Windows Vista:

1. Open Windows Vista explorer

2. On the address bar, type “Computer” (see image below)

3. On the menu bar, click on “Map Network Drive” (see image below)

4. Select the drive you want to use for the FTP mapping

5. Type the ftp address in the “Folder” text box (see image below)

6. The mapped network drive should be at “Z” as chosen in the “Drive:” drop down (see image above)

This is a quickfix, but again if you want a full featured FTP application, you should use Filezilla.

New Zealand is going to be the first country to release Windows 7 on October 22 given that it’s international dateline puts it ahead compared to Europe and the United States.

What should the people of New Zealand expect? Party? Laptop giveaways? Nah, Microsoft spokesman already confirmed that the the launch would be interesting and exciting but it wouldn’t be extravagant, as Microsoft wants to be appropriate to the times.

The release of Windows Vista was accompanied with huge marketing budget that saw Microsoft converting the home of Khandallah businessman Shaan Stevens into a Microsoft Windows Vista showroom. The company served champagne for breakfast and had given out notebook computers to selected bloggers.

Despite the modest preparation for the launch of Windows 7, the power and effectiveness of the software should encourage people to buy the operating system. As I have previously said, Microsoft is keeping a low profile and letting the features and the stability of Windows 7 do the talking.

Bill Veghte, senior executive vice-president of Microsoft Windows business predicts that Windows 7 is going to start slow. He notes—In the short run, these [Windows] product releases impact PC growth rates very, very modestly,”. The comment was made during the UBS Global Technology and Services conference yesterday.

There wouldn’t be any question on the consumers willingness to buy Windows 7. Given that the operating system will be pre-loaded on PCs and the hardware sales are going up during the holiday season.

Bill did not answer questions about the Windows 7 pricing however; he said that there would be three editions of Windows 7. The Windows 7 Starter Edition is branded as “good”, the Windows 7 Home Premium is called “better” and the Windows 7 Professional is branded as “best”.

The enterprise aren’t likely to jump out the gate and begin implementing Windows 7. It would take between 6 months to 1 year after the launch of the new operating system before we can see momentum in this area.

Microsoft is being humble on the launch of Windows 7 contrary to their marketing strategy for Windows Vista where they went out roaring. When problems were encountered on the operating system, the market closed down on them.

Image from Microsoft press pass.

When an application hangs up and the close button does not respond, we can simply close the application via the task manager. Aside from the task manager, we can close the application via the console application.

Below are the steps in closing applications via the console:

1. Click on the Start orb button

2. Type “cmd” in the Start search

3. Run “cmd” and provide the necessary access privileges (only if UAC is enabled on your Windows Vista box)

4. Type “taskkill /f /im app.exe”. Replace app.exe with the process name of the application

The image below shows a successful operation on closing the app via the Windows Vista console.

Microsoft has officially decided to rapidly push Windows 7 and as such, the launch date is set on October 22 of this year. The release of Windows 7 comes just over two years after the release of Windows Vista, compares to Vista coming out after five years from XP launch.

The base code of Windows 7 is Vista and the gap between the two releases is just over 2 years which led to favorable comments from it’s release candidate users.

Microsoft does not want to push consumers buying PCs before the launch of Windows 7 and they have announced that they are offering free upgrades to Windows 7 for Vista Premium and higher edition owners who buy their licenses before the launch. The cut-off for the purchase of Vista editions who get a free Windows 7 has not yet been determined.

High definition video is choppy on Windows 7 and this is because of it’s native DTV/DVD Decoder files.

Below are the steps to change the DTV/DVD Decoder file in Windows 7:

1. Open Windows Registry

2. Go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftDirectShowPreferred”

3. Right click on “Preferred” folder and click on “Permissions”

4. Click on “Advanced”, then “Owner”, “Administrators”

Microsoft is providing free Windows 7 support for it’s release candidate for their Microsoft partners. The Release Candidate of Windows 7 Build 7100 started shipping on May 5, 2009 and the support is not available to other participants like the Windows 7 Customer Preview Program.

Microsoft partners have a “Partner Online Technical Community” where they get free, unlimited support from over 50 Microsoft technologists.

I am not actually thrilled with the ability of these Microsoft technologists running the Partner Online Technical Community; although for most partners, they should be valuable freebies from Microsoft.

Has the Windows 7 branding changed? In a post at Aurum3, a new logo of Windows 7 was spotted in China, see image above. Have you spotted a different branding?

Windows 7 operating system is burning hot and most users would like to know whether their machine can run the OS before actually formatting and installing Microsoft Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (still in beta) is described as follows—Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC’s system, programs and devices to check if it’s able to run Windows 7. After a few minutes, the report will let you know if your PC meets the system requirements, if there are any known compatibility issues with your programs and devices, and will also provide guidance on your upgrade options to Windows 7.

The tool is supported on various operating systems—Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 2.

It also requires .NET framework 2.0 or higher when running in XP.

Make sure you run the upgrade advisor even if it’s still in beta, before making any decision. This should minimize the risk on your part.

Go ahead and download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta.

This should make your Windows Vista box open up faster.

Video description: tips to make vista faster at start up and everywhere else, defrag and do virus and spyware checks as well as these tips to have a speedy computer.——-PAUSE to read everything——-, i didnt want to guess how fast people can read and also i figured you would pause to do these steps anyways so it wouldve been pointless me making this video 5 minutes long and for you to skip around. have fun!!

Asus has announced their latest version of their revolutionary netbooks, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. The current introductory prices is at $399 USD.

As of their press release:

Asus Eee PC 1000HE are devices to support Lenovo S10.

AQUA mCover® HARD CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA 1005PE

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1h 43m

NEW Car Charger for Asus EEE PC 900 901 1000HE S101 UK

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BLACK mCover® HARD CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA 1005PE

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2GB PC2-5300 DDR2-667 ASUS Eee PC 4G RAM Memory 2G

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8h 30m

BLUE mCover® SLEEVE SHELL CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA

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3h 43m

CLEAR mCover® HARD SHELL CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA

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4h 43m

New Car Charger for Asus EEE PC 1000H/1000HE/1000

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9h 24m

GREEN mCover® SHELL CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA 1005PE

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ORANGE mCover® SLEEVE HARD CASE for Asus Eee PC 1005HA

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