WSS 3.0 SP2 and MOSS 2007 SP2

WSS 3.0 SP2 & MOSS 2007 SP2 are expected in this month end….. Along with the update for all MS Office 2007 products...

Microsoft Office team has streamlined the release of Service Packs for all the MS Office products together, but what is the use in that ? Atleast server products and clients products can go differently ?

[Source]

Sharepoint Designer is Free now

Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2007 is now a FREE download. Just register and download a copy… Sharepoint Designer is the MS Office 2007 – version of Frontpage. No more frontpage, its only SPD.

Forget not to check the Related Resources section in the download page…

Sharepoint Designer Related Resources

1. Video of SharePoint Designer 2007 FAQ (6.2MB)
2. Video of SharePoint Designer 2007 FAQ (82.9MB)
3. Video of SharePoint Designer 2007 FAQ (16.8MB)

Service pack for Sharepoint Designer is also there… Download it…

Ramp Up your skills

Ramp up your skills.

Ramp Up is a free, online, community-based learning program, with a number of different tracks that will help you build your portfolio of professional development skills. Ramp Up has a solid foundation of premium technical content from subject-matter gurus, and provides easy-to-access content in a variety of forms that guide you in learning the important skills. Join Ramp Up (it's free!) and help advance your career - click on a track now to start!

Microsoft / MSDN Team has come up with this great initiative. Even though there are lot of tools and training materials available, this look different, as it shows what to learn first, how to start. Yes, Sharepoint is also...available.....

Also there is something new for the beginners.... Microsoft Startup Zone... 

Thanks to Mr Soma and team.

Microsoft names its Cloud OS : Windows Azure

Microsoft announced Windows Azure (Cloud OS) in the PDC 2008.

The Azure™ Services Platform (Azure) is an internet-scale cloud services platform hosted in Microsoft data centers, which provides an operating system and a set of developer services that can be used individually or together. Azure’s flexible and interoperable platform can be used to build new applications to run from the cloud or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. Its open architecture gives developers the choice to build web applications, applications running on connected devices, PCs, servers, or hybrid solutions offering the best of online and on-premises.

Check the DEV.LIVE team s' blog.

Microsoft & Open Source

Microsoft's stance towards Open Source is really going good.

• Framework Code release
• Codeplex
• IIS 7 - Fast CGI for PHP
• and now joining the Apache Software Foundation for PHP etc are great timelines for M$ and the community.

I didnt find any comment from the other end GNU/GPL leads...

Silverlight inside NOKIA

Nokial has annouced to support Silverlight in its Series 60 applications.

Microsoft's Offer to Yahoo

Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6bn in cash and/or shares. "We dont have any other option" must be the answer from Bill Gates in Microsoft's Board of Directors meeting. They are offering nearly 62% more from Yahoo 's Thursday(31-Jan-2008) closing price. Just see the graph below plotted against Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Dow Jones, Nasdaq for the past 5 years.

We can very easily say that Googles' stock has increased very high than its rival(s).

Below, is the Microsoft’s letter to the board of directors at Yahoo, proposing to buy the company.

But its something similar to HP-Compaq Vs Dell - Though its not so equal in any means though. But the deal might workout like that.

.Net 3.5

The new .Net Framework is 3.5. Even it comes with Visual Studio 2008, with which can start developing applications. Still I could see people thinking .Net 3.5 is a new Framework with new Architecture(s).

Unlike .Net 2.0 & .Net 1.1, .Net 2.0, 3.0 & 3.5 are closed integrated. We can tell .Net 2.0 is a subset of .Net 3.0 which in turn is a subset of .Net 3.5!

Windows Live Ids

Get your Windows Live ID here soon!!

Live.com site is up and running for more than a year I think. Now Microsoft is giving email Ids with @live.com

The main advantage is that you can link your existing @hotmail.com or @MSN.com or @passport.com to this. Instead of having something like username1308@hotmail.com, name.2005@msn.com  etc., you can have yourname@live.com

All the service like your MSN/Hotmail Messenger, mail etc., can be linked so you will maitain only one ID that is yourID@Live.com Id

Get it sooooon here.

Open Source Initiative approves few Licences of Microsoft

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved the Microsoft Public Licence and Microsoft Reciprocal Licence, officially branding them as open source licences.

The OSI approves licences by validating compliance to 10 rules set in the Open Source Definition.

The decision was reached with an "overwhelming majority" of the votes, but not unanimously, OSI president Michael Tiemann said in a posting on the group's website.

Few weeks back news had flown out that Microsoft has planned to give out .Net Framework code under the Microsoft Reference License (MS-RL). Hope these things are great initiatives from the Software Big B.

Windows Server 2008 Beta 3

Got my Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 DVD, but due to RAM and other issues, I didnt install it, for more than a month. And last week, I got time to explore Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 is having all the cosmetics which is present in Windows Vista. I tried using AERO which was really great for my laptop with Intel 945 Graphics card, with 2GB of RAM. Though my laptop display is 12", I could really feel the nice AERO interface. Then comes our great IIS 7.0, which is why I got interested more towards the Longhorn Server.

Microsoft Surface

I was so excited to see the Multi-Point Interaction Technology implemented and working. Similarly, Microsoft has come up with something called Surface. Microsoft Surface preview is really so good and awesome. It should have now drained almost all the Microsofts' Rival CEO & Managers due to the interest that people show towards it. For sure Microsoft Surface will become so big Hit...

What is Microsoft Surface ?

Years back, Microsoft introduced / re-invented the Tablet PC which was a great success. And like that today its Microsoft Surface. Surface is some device, looks similar to your Carrom Board with touch screen on it. The touch screen is not similar to the one

Deploying & Deleting a SSIS DTS Package in SQL Server 2005

Here we are going to see the steps involved in installing/deploying a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) DTS Package.

Deploying a SSIS Package in SQL Server 2005

SQL Server Integration Services Package can be deployed in many ways in SQL Server 2005.  The best way is creating a manifest file, and running that.

1. After creating the  SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) DTS Package in Visual Studio 2005 goto the project properties, (by right-clicking the project in the solution explorer, Select : Configuration Properties -> Deployment Utility,  in the Right side pane, you have a property named : CreateDeploymentUtility which must be set to True. 

2. After that, build the project, and check for a folder called Deployment inside the projects' Bin folder.

3. All the .DTSX file(s) which was used in the project, along with the manifest file (name will be like : <Project Name>.SSISDeploymentManifest ) will be....

Read more ...

Microsoft Windows Vista in 6 Flavors

The forthcoming Microsoft Windows Vista will have 6 flavors and 2 more without Media Player for European Market, acccording to Microsoft Watch.

* For European Market

Microsoft Windows Live Messenger Beta

Screenshots

Atlast in the form of Windows Live Messenger, we can send offline messages to MSN users. As usual, the UI is great and attractive. And it can only sit on top of Windows XP.

Microsoft Windows Live Mail Beta

First I want to thank my good ole friend Suresh, for giving his Hotmail ID for me to try Windows Live Mail Beta.

For a couple of months, I was reading many blogs & news about Microsoft Windows Live Beta usage. Even I have registered for a Beta testing Live Mail, HOTMAIL didn't send any invitation till now. But I have got a invitation for Windows Live Messenger. So now Im using my friend Suresh 's Hotmail ID to have a feel on this. Since then Gmail offered its email Service in a AJAX model, Yahoo & MSN also converting their legacy web based email system to AJAX based. Not only these AJAX applications are fast, they also give a liveliness to the user. 

Like Outlook Webaccess (Exchange Server), we have Windows Live Mail in 3 Panes.

Just a single click shows the message in Last Pane, & a double click closes the Second(Middle) Pane & makes the third one bigger, which is easier to read mails with large text content.

When we request for a process (clicking a message etc.,) we can see a small box with a message (intimating us)
"Working on your request....", which is like "Loading....." in Gmail.

Rich Text Box Editor in Windows Live Mail

Unlike Gmail Rich Text Editor, Windows Live Mail Editor supports automatic spell check. There you can see kiruthik, asdasd, underlined. But note the word Suresh(which is my friends name) is not Underlined. Even in MS Word, when you register the product in some name, it won't add that name into dictionary!! But its here!! Cool na  

Listing Address Book

Right Click in Windows Live Mail

Also, the mailbox size is made to 2GB.It was previously 250MB for a US Resident, 8 times more. Im using Windows Live Custom Domains, which will captues mails to your-domain based email (mail@kiruthik.net, etc.,) & its simple to setup. Just we have to change the MX record!!

Update :

Even I have got the invitation, but I have deleted the mail without reading the subject!!! So, this will also suit in My Stupidity column.

Now, I have 40 invitations to Windows Live Mail,  which can be sent to email Ids associated with my Windows Live Custom Domain registered mails!!!

Three days back, Microsoft Launched Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 & BizTalk Server 2006 here in Chennai. As I couldn't attend the launch in Bangalore, where BillGates presided, I went to this Ready Launch Tour 2005 in Chennai. But I couldn't stay for the whole show. I was there for 2 hours. And in the registration desk they gave a stuffed paper carry bag, with Ready Lauch Tour 2005 printed on both sides.

Contents found in the bag :

1. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 professional Edition (90 Days Trial)  - CD

2. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition  (180 Days Trial)  - DVD

3. MSDN for SQL Server 2005 - DVD

Two days back only I downloaded  Express Edition of  Visual Web Developer 2005, SQL Server 2005 & Visual Basic 2005. Anyway I can use that later.

Free Exam  Voucher  for any one of the following :

70 - 431 SQL Server 2005 - Implementation & Maintenance

70 - 536 .Net Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation

70 - 551 Upgrade : MCAD Skills to MCPD Web Developer

70 - 552 Upgrade : MCAD Skills to MCPD Windows Developer

70 - 553 Upgrade : MCSD to MCPD Enterprise Application Developer

70 - 235 Developing Business Process & Integration Solution Using BizTalk Server 2006

And, as usual a dozen Pamplets from Microsoft & other supporting Third Parties.

Updated : 8 - August - 2005, 5:45pm(IST)

    Thought of reviewing Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1. But im bit busy... So I have just added the snapshots here and the remaining will come soon..

After a month Google released Google Earth, Microsoft (MSN) released its own version, MSN Virtual Earth as like it said two months back. The main difference between the two is : Google Earth is a (windows application)client application sits in your computer & access the Google's Site for the image & data, whereas this MSN Google Earth is a web based application. Secondly only basic services are offered for free by Google, here it supports many features which comes in the Google's Paid service.

Coming to MSN Earth, it has the same feature like Google, but the Map is somewhat blured/ not clear. I hope they are their way to new stuffs. But this 2-D map is very good to locate a place. when you goto VirtualEath site, its first shows USA's map, then just by double clicking or even by scrolling the mouse you can zoom in :)

I tried searching CITIBANK, NY and it opened a drop down list, with the address of all the  Citibank(branches) in NY.

I searched my company Saksoft Inc's  address and it showed the place

There is a option of finiding our current location via Wi-Fi  or thru GEO-IP. I tried with GEO-IP,  as expected it showed Chennai

If you have Wi-Fi access, then you can locate yourself in the map   A small activeX control has to be downloaded for that...

Options like Scratch Pad, PermaLink, email the location, and even you can Blog it(only for MSN bloggers).

"In a world of more to do, more to discover the desire is clarity", says Microsoft Windows Vista.

The official name for Microsoft Windows Codenamed Longhorn will be Microsoft Windows Vista. Like Windows XP, Microsoft plans to puch Windows Vista by enforcing it with a new type of clear/claritative displays. That clearness seen in XP will be more in Vista. Its feature include better search(not using this Indexing), parental controls, home networking & easy to use external connectivity, etc.,

The official release was told in 2004 once, and got delayed many times. Now they are planning to set out Beta 1 this August 3^rd. And  the full release will be in 2006 second quarter it seems. Many expected features like WinFS are not implemented, may be they are for the next release,  Windows 2010 ????!!!!!

Im waiting for August 3^rd, 

Microsoft releases Money 2006, but the trial is for US users, and not for others.  It seems, it will download the bank statements automatically, and moreover it has a support more banks worldwide. Just three months back only I started using Microsoft Money 2005, anyway Im not going to upgrade my Money 2005 to 2006, till I check it. I hope atleast this version of Money supports, the Stock Exachanges in India.

Thanks to Scott Hanselman. Once again he list all the tools & utilities he uses regularly in his blog. Im sure that you will find many useful tools, which is a must for Microsoft Platform developer. Don't miss it!!!!

“Acrylic” is the codename for a new professional design tool that brings together the richness of pixel-based painting and the flexibility of editable vector graphics for a more fluid and flexible creative workflow. With Acrylic you can create sophisticated designs and graphic elements for your on-screen, Web, and print projects.  
                                                                                                                                                              -Microsoft

Looks more like Expression, its Predecessor.

Cool one, i tried it, will be posting more later........ [Download]

Though a month back, we got a news that IE 7 will have tabbed browsing, but suddenly today Microsoft released
TABBED BROWSING for IE (v5.01 & above in Win 2k & above) through MSN Toolbar, which already has a desktop searching tool, eMail Popper, POP-up blocker, etc., and was collectively called as MSN Deskbar.

All the major browsers in the market like Opera, Netscape, Firefox was supporting tabbed browsing, but not IE. But there were third party tools like Maxthon(My IE), which solved the need. As Firefox & Netscape made this tabbed browsing successful, Opera is the first to implement it.

Have an Icon to add a new Tab to the Page, icon for opening a link in a new tab & a small downsided arrow like icon to list all the tab's page title.  And also options are there to set a default page, when we open a new tab.

The only Cons, people can say is, it is integrated with MSN Toolbar, so without the toolbar, we can't use the Tabbed Feature.
So the heading goes like, The new MSN Toolbar, adds TABBED Browsing to IE.

Main Enhancements to-do:

                When we close a window with 2 or more tabbed window open, abruptly the window goes away. So a warning/alert message is better saying that there are these many tabbed windows opened.

                Other one is, when we shift from one tab to another, we can see the whole IE window shakes(flicks like anything), which looks odd. You can download from here.

Microsoft Chairman BillGates announced MSN Virtual Earth, Microsoft's Satellite/Geo Mapping & Local Search service, on 3D conference in California. It lets the user to zoom in on a local area and get information about the restaurants, cafes, hotels, dry cleaners, coffee shops & so on. The first release of it will be available in the summer, sometime between June & September.

Google, Yahoo & other search engine giants have this Local Search service running already.


Features include :

· Imagery -- satellite maps and a unique 45-degree-angle view of buildings and neighborhoods, Eagle Eye view.

· Hybrid Maps -- street maps overlaid over satellite maps

· Full-bleed Map Views – a nearly full screen map that users interact with

"High-fidelity images captured by a fleet of small planes will be added to the service in the fall", said Stephen Lawler, General Manager Microsoft's MapPoint business.

The aerial images are provided by Pictometry, the worldwide leader in Digital Aerial Photography.

MSN coming late but with Latest.

For more than a month im using Microsoft Money 2005. Its pretty good. Its basic features include  Spending By Category, Payee, then Monthly Income, Expense etc., in Reports and to say more, its having options for Investment Planning, Credit Card(even Bonus Point option is there), Loans, etc., Its having all the day-to-day activity categories. Reports in the form of Graphs are also possible(supports Bar & Pie Graphs). Actually its a web based application. And accessing the data stored in a flat file. And another advantage is  many of the indian banks like ICICI, CITI Bank etc., supports Money File Format, means we can download the account statement in Money File Format. Thats very useful, since you can't type all the bank transactions.

As I said before, it supports heavily for Stocks, Shares, Mutual Funds etc., It has a option of getting the latest Share/Stock value. But unfortunately Indian Stock Markets are not there in the list. Hopefully we can expect soon.  So as of now manually we can update it.

Even graphs for the stocks are also displayed with many tailored set of attributes. If you are using any other Personel Financial Package, you can sure try this. A 90 day free-trial is available for download.

I was previously using a PHP based personal accounting software.

http://kiruthik.com/PermaLink,guid,3789392e-7259-4959-ab31-6e1bd47a00cb.aspx

 But now a days I felt like having more features. So I tried many software, but I didn't feel those good. So for the past one week I tried   Microsoft Money, its pretty good. And moreover it lists most of the banks in India too....... And also a option for my investments in STOCKs...

Software giant's free mail service HOTMAIL is to increase the size from 2MB to 250MB(125 times????). Yahoo already increased its size to 100MB. Reason behind this is : Google's Gmail. The 1GB event happened on 1st April, this year.

I used download all the old mails to my mail client and rip it in a CD,  so that i won't delete my mails, due to space problem. But everything have changed now... Few files, I have uploaded in my yahoo mailbox so that it i won't misplace it!!!!!!

Anyway thank google  for making this free web-mail industry a competitive one.

/**************Just  for S.E.A.R.C.H. E.N.G.I.N.E OPTIMIZATION****LEAVE THIS PART***************/

How to Increase Hotmail Account size from 2 MB to 25 MB to 250 MB How to Increase Hotmail Account size to 2MB to 25MB to 250MB How to get more space for Hotmail mailbox , email, Account, Increase Hotmail Account increase hotmail mai box mailbox, hotmail msn mail mail box, from  2 MB to  250 MB from  25 MB to  250 MB hotmail msn mail microsoft

/*********************************END**********************************************/

Update :

This service is available to US people only. So, its done by changing our Country to US in the hotmail Profile. After getting 25MB you can change your country back.......

Follow the steps..!!

Steps

Login ur hotmail account and go to options.
Go to "Personal"
Click "My Profile"
Change Country to "United States"
Wait for browser to load United states settings.
Change the state to "Florida" and zip code "33332"  // it can be any state in US & its corresponding ZIP code
Click "update"
Click "Continue"
Go to "Language" and make sure its "English"
Paste this link in the same browser.
http://by17fd.bay17.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/Accountclose
Wait until the Screen says you're Hotmail is Closed and ready to be deleted.
Click "Close Account".
Go back to login page and relogin to ur hotmail account..!!

Your account size will now increase to 25 MB which  after 60 days, becomes 250 MB.
Good Luck..!!