Back from leave of absence and vacation

I am back from a leave of absence and vacation. My apologies for bein off the grid. I will have more news later this week. Partners, I know we are looking forward to seeing you at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

Virtual Convergence is LIVE (with EBS sessions)

New in 2009, Virtual Convergence is your online resource for all post-conference materials – and helps us deliver post-conference videos and information to you faster than ever before. Keynote presentations, general sessions and concurrent sessions are all available for viewing online in Windows Media video (WMV) format, so that you can revisit sessions you attended or view them for the first time. In addition, in case you missed any of the sponsors or exhibitors at Convergence Expo, all of their contact information and downloadable information is available within Virtual Convergence.

To begin your online experience:

1. Click here. The initial screen loading of Virtual Convergence may take a few minutes to complete.
2. To enter Virtual Convergence, choose the “Enter” button. This unsecured area provides access to keynotes, general sessions and the virtual Expo experience.
3. To view all concurrent session Windows Media files, select the “Convergence 2009 Attendees” button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. You will be prompted to login to this secured area; please use your Convergence 2009 registration credentials. (If you’ve forgotten your credentials, go here and use the Forgot Username or Password links. Your credentials will be sent to the email address provided in your registration.
   
4. Use that same button in the lower left hand corner of the screen to navigate between the secured and unsecure areas of Virtual Convergence.

You’ll have access to Virtual Convergence for one year. Be sure to maximize the value of attending by leveraging all the content and contacts available to you as a Convergence attendee.

Now that Convergence 2009 is Over – What Are Your Next Steps?

We want to once again thank you for attending Convergence 2009 and hope you enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about your Microsoft Dynamics solution. Throughout the thousands of networking opportunities at Convergence, surely there were hundreds of conversations taking place about new opportunities – new modules, new technology, new services, new editions. Convergence provided you the perfect opportunity to investigate everything in person.

We wanted to remind you that time is running out for the two great offers that are in place exclusively for Convergence 2009 attendees:

The Microsoft Dynamics Convergence Attendee Sales Offer expires May 21, 2009 - Receive up to 20% off. This offer is open to all Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics AX attendees, and provides a 20% discount off the purchase of additional users, additional modules or granules, transitions to new product editions or Licensing Models or upgrades to higher service plans.

Don’t delay in taking advantage of this offer now – contact your Microsoft Dynamics partner or visit http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/neworleans09/about_salesoffer.aspx for more details.

The Convergence Attendee Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Sales Offer expires May 1, 2009 – Receive up to 75% off

Microsoft Dynamics prospects and customers who attended Convergence 2009 are eligible to receive up to 20 users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for 6 months at $9.99/user/month.

SIGN UP NOW: http://offers.crmchoice.com/convergence09
For more information regarding Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, visit http://crm.dynamics.com/ or call 1-877-CRM-CHOICE.

Note: donotreply@eventpoint.com is an unmonitored alias. EventPoint, Inc. is the official Convergence CommNet vendor.

Free IT Network Health tool

Preparation Wizard is great free tool that was developed by Microsoft Essential Business Server team (http://www.microsoft.com/ebs/en/us/overview.aspx ) that scans your network,  identifies various networking problems (DNS, AD replication, AD configuration, configuration of network adapters, etc.) and provides links to knowledge based articles that explain how to correct these issues. 
The tool is not just for customers with Essential Business Server or those who are planning to deploy this solution in their environments. Preparation Wizard is for anyone with Active Directory in their network who would like to verify the health of their environment. The tool runs over 100 different checks which are based on most common issues resolved by Microsoft Customer Support Services over the past 10 years!
The tool is specifically designed for mid-sized networks (25-300 PCs). Preparation Wizard does not change any settings in your network, so it is safe to run at any time.  Unlike many other known tools which simply dump large amounts of networking data collected from a single source (such as event logs, for instance), Preparation Wizard is able to gather data from many different areas( Active Directory, DNS, SYSVOL, event logs, etc.), cross reference that data, and make conclusions about the overall health of the network.
Go get it – it’s FREE!
http://www.microsoft.com/ebs/en/us/preparation.aspx

Microsoft discloses ambitious security strategy

Combo of identity, data/access protection at heart of Microsoft plan

By John Fontana , Network World , 04/16/2009

"Microsoft Thursday began detailing a security strategy that will see it combine its identity management efforts with its Forefront security products built for clients, servers and the network edge.

The company plans to integrate its security and identity products under the Forefront brand, offer software-as-a-service versions and present it all as a layered defense of access and control for its corporate infrastructure software..."

Read more here at

OS X less secure than Windows? Hmmm.

I am not posting this because I see Mac as a major competitor for Windows EBS, but I am tired of Mac fanatic friends that blindly believe that Macs are designed to be more secure than Windows.  I thought this was an interesting article from the New York Times.

April 10, 2009, 5:13 pm

Mac Security Part II: It’s a Numbers Game

By Riva Richmond

Macs were more secure than Windows machines, but the tables have turned. Macs are safer than PCs because they aren’t targeted as much, but the latest versions of OS X are “inherently less secure than the latest versions of Windows,” says Rich Mogull, the Mac security expert who provided tips this week.

Read the entire article here.

Free E-Learning available for EBS

Free E-Learning course published here on April 7th, 2009.  This module is only 1-hour.  There are a several demos, including the Preparation Wizard.

Introduction

This one-hour clinic introduces the features of Windows EBS 2008. It also describes the installation and configuration of Windows EBS 2008.  
This clinic covers the following topics.

• Introduction to Windows EBS 2008
• Features of Windows EBS 2008
• Deploying Windows EBS 2008

IT professionals taking this clinic should have at least one year of experience deploying and managing a network that has:

• Up to 300 users
• Internet connectivity
• Remote users or user groups
• Messaging (Internet and Microsoft Exchange)
• Antispam and antivirus protection (Microsoft Forefront)

Technical consultants taking this clinic should be familiar with Windows SBS 2003 Standard and Premium editions or the following.

• Exchange Server 2003 or later
• SQL Server 2000 or later
• Windows Server 2003 or later, including Active Directory, DNS, and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
• Windows SharePoint Services 2.0

Objectives

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the purpose and key benefits of Windows EBS 2008.
• Identify the features provided by Windows EBS 2008.
• Explain how to deploy Windows EBS 2008.

Check out the course here: https://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=115794&offerPriceId=246843&tab=details.

New Entry-Level Server Platform

Microsoft expanded its Windows Server family with Windows Server 2008 Foundation, designed and priced for small businesses with 15 or fewer employees. To see if Windows Server 2008 Foundation makes sense for your organization, check out the Compare Features, the Compare Server Roles, and the Differentiated Features charts.
Speaking of Windows Server, April is Windows Server 2008 month for TechNet Magazine’s daily tips. Here are some of the Windows Server tips you’ll find:

•Commands and Tools for Managing Windows Server 2008 Server Core

•Quickly Filter Event Logs in Windows Server 2008

•Create System Startup / Shutdown and User Logon / Logoff Scripts

For tips on other products, including Windows Vista and Windows 7, check out the TechNet Magazine Tips library.