Murray Gordon

I have always been a fan of Dolly Parton. I love it when pop culture and technology come together. If you love Dolly Parton and IE8, here’s some great things to check out.

Check out how Dolly Parton promotes Microsoft, IE8 and Web slices!!!

The Story

One of the most-honored female country performers of all time, the ageless Dolly Parton is an international music icon.  In conjunction with today’s international release of Dolly’s new CD/DVD set, Live From London, Dolly has added a Silverlight-based IE8 web slice to her web site, www.dollypartonmusic.net.

Be sure to check out the web slice and let us know what you think!  This is a 3 tab web slice with the options of:

• Video Diary – see Dolly’s latest thoughts on video, with the beauty of Silverlight
• News – see the latest news, fan club announcements, and Dollyisms (like "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap”)
• Buy Now – view the latest deal from Dolly’s online store, Trinkets & Treasures

Also, Dolly has created a YouTube video about IE8 web slices.  This is a must see!!  Her southern charm comes through with warm and light hearted comments about Microsoft, IE8, and web slices. There will be several new Dollyism’s that come from this video. We’d love to quote some of this, but we don’t want to spoil your upcoming laugh.

Check it out

• Install the web slice for your demo’s, either from the Dolly page in the IE8 gallery or www.dollypartonmusic.net.
• Visit the gallery and submit a rating on Dolly’s web slice.
• Point your friends to follow @IE, where there are related trivia contests

Other Dolly facts (from Dolly’s Wikipedia page):

• The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record.
• She has had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist.
• She has 42 career-top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years.
• All inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during Parton's career have reportedly topped 100 million records around the world.^[50]
• She has received seven Grammy Awards and a total of 42 Grammy Award nominations.
• At the American Music Awards she has won three awards, but has received 18 nominations.
• At the Country Music Association, she has received 10 awards and 42 nominations.
• At the Academy of Country Music, she has won seven awards and 39 nominations.
• She is one of only five female artists (including Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Shania Twain and Loretta Lynn), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978).
• She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award.

Other references promoting the Dolly / IE8 video and web slice:

• www.dollypartonmusic.net
• http://ieaddons.com/en/details/music/Dolly_Parton_News_and_Video_Diary/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iH4fl0iZQo
• www.facebook.com/dollyparton
• www.myspace.com/dollyparton
• www.youtube.com/dollypartonmusic
• www.bebo.com/dollyparton
• www.ilike.com/artist/Dolly+Parton/

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Rob Bagby has started a new series (blog posts and screencasts) on Patterns-Based Development with Silverlight.  The series illustrates various design patterns while building a sample application (see screenshot below).  The patterns covered include the Repository, the Pipeline, the Service Agent and Model View ViewModel.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Researchers continue to challenge Apple’s security by obscurity position and highlights that Windows Vista and Windows 7 are more secure than the recently released Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

I always love perspectives like these from top researchers that are not in the tank for Microsoft.

Check out these articles:

Apple missed security boat with Snow Leopard, says researcher

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137992/Apple_missed_security_boat_with_Snow_Leopard_says_researcher?taxonomyId=17&pageNumber=1

Vista, Windows 7 Are More Secure than Snow Leopard

http://www.pcworld.com/article/172197/vista_windows_7_are_more_secure_than_snow_leopard.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r29:c0.013546:b27795694:z0

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

With several successful Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Weeks (Win7 Boston, Win7 Reston, CRM Reston, CRM Boston, Win 7 Irvine, Mobility Mountain View,), we are pleased to announce Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure at Atlanta, GA during week of 9^th Nov’09.

The current economic downturn is putting many entrepreneurs under increasing pressure, making it critical to find new resources and ways to reduce costs and inefficiencies. Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure is designed to offer following assistance to entrepreneurs.

· Learning and building new applications in the cloud or use interoperable services that run on Microsoft infrastructure to extend and enhance your existing applications with help of on-site advisors and off-shore development team

· Getting entrepreneurs coaching from guest speakers and a panel of industry experts

· Generating marketing buzz for your brand

· Creating opportunity to be highlighted at upcoming launch

We are inviting nominations from BizSpark Startups interested in Windows Azure Platform that target one or more of the following:

• Windows Azure
• Microsoft .Net Services
• Microsoft SQL Azure
• Live Services
• Microsoft SharePoint Services
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Services

The Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure will be held at Microsoft Technology Center, Atlanta, GA from Mon 11/09/2009 to Fri 11/13/2009. This event consists of ½ day of training, 3 ½ days of active prototype/development time, and a final day for packaging/finishing and reporting out to a panel of judges for various prizes.

This event is a no-fee event (plan your own travel expenses) and each team can bring 3 participants (1 business and 1-2 technical). To nominate your team, please submit the following details to Murray Gordon (preferably via your BizSpark Sponsor). Nominations will be judged according to the strength of the founding team, originality and creativity of the idea, and ability to leverage Windows Azure Scenarios.

You may want to enroll into Microsoft BizSpark, an exciting new offering that enables software startups to leverage Microsoft development and platform technologies to deliver next generation web and Software + Services applications. For details see here.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Windows 7 has broken the Amazon UK pre-order volume record, ousting Harry Potter.

Just read this post from Vladislav Savov on engadget.com. Here’s what they said:

“Take it from us, your London-based sleuths, when anything sells faster than Harry Potter books or DVDs in the UK, it's scorching hot. Case in point is Microsoft's Vista successor, which has sold so well that it has beaten the Amazon UK pre-order record previously held by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, Windows 7 was able to tally up more sales in the first 8 hours of pre-order availability than Vista was able to collect altogether. Now that's what we call an upgrade.”

I love the picture that went with the post. Steve Ballmer is the reflection in Harry’s glasses. Classic.

Check out the original post at http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/21/windows-7-breaks-amazon-uk-pre-order-volume-record-ousts-harry/

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

The October Service Update for Microsoft Online Services includes several new features and enhancements designed to improve the service experience for both administrators and users. The Service Update is currently being deployed into production data centers.

Many of these service enhancements are the result of customer and partner feedback. The following features and capabilities are included in the October Service Update:

Bulk Activation of Users

PowerShell commandlets will be added to streamline the activation process, enabling administrators to easily automate the activation of a set of users. Most commonly, these commandlets will be used to activate a set of users that have been migrated from an Active Directory forest to Microsoft Online Services via the Directory Synchronization Tool. Previously, administrators were required to activate users one-by-one with the User Administration tools in the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.
Commandlets added in this Service Update are:

• Enable-MSOnlineUser
• Get-MSOnlineSubscription
• Set-MSOnlineUserPassword

A new version of the Microsoft Online Services Transporter Tool supporting these commandlets will be available for download at the Microsoft Download Center upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions.

POP Mail Clients

Supported e-mail clients for Exchange Online are being expanded to include POP-based clients. Previously, Exchange Online supported only Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and 2007.

To enable POP e-mail client support for your organization, have your administrator contact Microsoft Online Services Technical Support to open a Service Request.

Please note: Service Requests for POP enablement will be accepted upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions. Please reference the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for deployment updates.

Support for 30,000 Users

The Microsoft Online Services Administration Center will support as many as 30,000 users, improving management and administration for larger organizations. Previously, Microsoft Online Services supported up to 10,000 users.

Please note that SharePoint Online will retain previously established limits (e.g., 20 sites per site collection, 50 gigabytes (GB) per site, and 1 terabyte (TB) per company).

Enhanced Support for Mac OS

The October Service Update includes several enhancements that will provide a more efficient communication and collaboration experience for organizations with Mac users.

A new Sign-In Client for the Mac OS provides a single sign-in experience and auto-configuration of Office for Mac applications and the Safari browser for use with Microsoft Online Services.

Other Mac features in this Service Update include:

• Support for Entourage 2008 Exchange Web Services (EWS), including Global Address List (GAL), Calendar Free/Busy Lookup, and Out-of-Office notifications
• Global Address List support for Entourage 2004 and 2008 when using the Sign-In Client for Mac
• SharePoint Online support for Document Connection for Mac to improve the collaboration experience for users
• Improved Firefox and Safari support for My Company Portal

The Sign-In Client for Mac will be available for download at the Microsoft Download Center upon completion of the deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers for all regions. Please reference the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for updates on the availability of the Sign-In Client for Mac.

Timeline

Deployment of the October Service Update into production data centers has started, with deployment to all regions anticipated to be complete by mid-October.

The deployment schedule is subject to change. Updates to the deployment schedule will be announced via the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog as well as the RSS Feed from the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

Additional Information
All service upgrades in the October Service Update will be performed on your behalf. These changes are a mandatory upgrade for all users, so it is important that you are aware of them and understand how they may impact you.

If you have additional questions, there are several resources at your disposal. Click here for information about how to contact Microsoft Online Services Support. You can also read the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog for the latest news about the October Service Update, or participate in technical discussions on the Microsoft Online Services TechNet Forums.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Thanks John Wiese for pointing me to this blog. I thought it was hilarious. The pictures tells it all. The blog is supposedly excerpts from Steve Jobs secret diary. Classic…

Sounds like there’s some real pain with the upgrade to Snow Leopard for a lot of folks.

“You have no idea what it's like around here right now. Every day it's something new. Now they say it's eating people's data. Jesus! I take six months off to get a new liver, and the whole place goes to shit.

Honestly, you should see my inbox. I'm getting bombarded with messages from people who really think that I personally can do something about their non-operative Macs. People, do me a favor. There's a number you can call for this. It's called tech support. Have you heard of it? Or go to the store. That's why we have them. Make an appointment with a genius. But please, for the love of all things holy, don't keep writing to me. Okay?

The latest news is that Snow Leopard is eating people's data. Something about a mix-up with guest accounts, and when you log in you lose your home folder. According to this article on CNET it's not even our fault, it's your fault, because you did something wrong when you upgraded, but anyway it's fixable. Or maybe not. Depends. I think. Look, I'm not a tech support person. Okay?
Truth is, I don't know any more about these goddamn machines than you do. All I do is make them look cool. The other stuff, all that code and shit? That's done by others. Others who, in a few short minutes, are about to feel my teeth in their butts. Not literally. I'll have Katie bite them for me. But you get the idea.

As soon as that's done we have a meeting with our PR staff to work on the script they can use if reporters start calling. Right now we're liking some version of this:

Apple always listens to customers, and we are committed to producing the best products possible. Thank you.

In response to follow-up question:

Apple always listens to customers, and we are committed to producing the best products possible. Thank you.

Repeat as necessary, and after six times, hang up.”

View article...

Sounds like Apple is poised to feel some of the pain we went through with Vista.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

I thought this was hilarious, so I had to share…

So the hacks are all up in arms about some blogger's claim that when you upgrade to Snow Leopard we downgrade your version of the Adobe Flash player. Now stories are popping up all over, like here on PC World and here on ZDnet and here on Gizmodo and here on eWeek and -- well, you get the idea. We're getting so many calls on this, and there's so much bad information flying around that Katie (above) has taken the extraordinary step of taking time away from other more pressing duties to work up an official statement, which we are distributing here.

Goes like this: "Your information is incorrect. What you are saying is not true. You know not whereof you speak. No, we will not tell you which part of what you said is not true. Your statement is not true. Snow Leopard is the most advanced operating system on the planet, and we are very happy with the robust reception that it is getting in the marketplace."

Got that? Please also keep in mind that no other company would ever be this accommodating when it comes to dealing with rumors and speculation. Now leave us alone so we can get back to work, and stop trying to ruin everyone's sense of childlike wonder. Okay? The negativity is really upsetting. Thank you.

View article...

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Jared Bienz (blog & Ch9), one of Microsoft’s ISV Architect Evangelists based out of Houston, created this basic guide to help ISV’s get compatible with Windows 7.

ISV Trend - So many ISV’s are worried that their customers will dump them for a competitor application that is compatible with Windows 7. To help mitigate the challenge, here’s some basic steps for supporting Windows 7.

Overview - These steps are intended to fit within your regular routine, and we hope that any extra effort would only require about 30 to 60 minutes of your time.

One of the biggest consumers of time will actually be spent creating a Windows 7 machine for your QA department (though Windows 7 only takes about 30 minutes to install and it can be virtual). Microsoft has tools to test your solution (part of the Logo Toolkit), but that step is entirely optional and it’s only offered to increase your testing coverage. If you would like to leverage it, it takes about 30 minutes to run after it’s been downloaded.

Small list of incompatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7 - Here is a list of incompatibilities between Windows Vista and Windows 7. This list was a bit hard to locate since we have not seen any major incompatibilities in ISV’s applications. The one issue we have seen a few times is too narrow a version check in an installer, but the full list of differences can be found on MSDN under General Compatibility. Here’s a hyperlinked table of contents:

• Operating System Versioning
• Removal of Windows Mail
• Removal of Windows Movie Maker
• NLS Sorting Changes
• Internet Explorer 8 - User Agent String
• Additional Windows Resource Protection on Registry Keys
• Removal of Microsoft Agent
• AppInit_DLLs in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
• Removal of Windows Registry Reflection
• Removal of WPDUSB.SYS Driver for Windows Portable Devices
• Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) - SHA-2 Is the Default Hash Algorithm

Steps to get compatible with Windows 7

Step 1: Get Windows 7

There are several ways to get a copy of Windows 7, and MSDN and TechNet customers can download the RTM bits today. If you don’t have MSDN or TechNet you can start with the Release Candidate and Windows 7 will be on store shelves in October.

Step 2: Test on Windows 7 in Your Next QA Pass

This part is easy. Windows 7 installs in less than 45 minutes and runs great in virtual environments. Just install your application, run your tests and uninstall your application the same as you would on Windows Vista. And if you want to increase your testing coverage, why not grab the free testing tool available in the Windows 7 Logo Toolkit? If your application passes these tests, you’ve already met most of the requirements for logo compatibility!

Step 3: Fix any Incompatibilities

Don’t worry! The vast majority of applications compatible with Windows Vista area already compatible with Windows 7. If you run on Vista, chances are your tests will pass with flying colors. And if not, we’re here to help. The Microsoft Front Runner program has engineers standing by to help resolve problems via phone and e-mail. We even have a field response team ready if the issue can’t be resolved remotely. Best of all, each of these resources are free to use!

Step 4: State Your Compatibility in Front Runner

Congratulations, you’re compatible! Now it’s time to share the good news with your customers and get some marketing benefits along the way. Just log into Front Runner and add or update your product information. When you mark your solution as compatible, your product will be added to the Compatibility Center and your marketing benefits will become available.

Step 5: Relax, and Enjoy the Benefits

You’ve earned it! Put those marketing dollars to good use. And while you’re at it, why not show you’re an early adopter by displaying the Front Runner logo?

Finally, relax! We’ll be here to assist you long after you’ve stated your support. If anything happens in the wild, we’ll be standing by to help.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Today, October 8th, I read on Giles Turnball’s blog, Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg declared that Windows 7 to be a match for OSX and said it it is the best Windows Microsoft has ever produced.

People listen to what Walt says, so this I thought this was huge.

Here’s the link to Giles Turnbull’s “Cult of Mac” blog - http://www.cultofmac.com/windows-7-a-rival-worth-waiting-for/18103

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Here’s a great HOW TO video on Windows 7 Taskbar from Gunther Lenz, an ISV Architect Evangelist on my team.

Title - Update: Windows 7 Taskbar in 5 Minutes

URL - http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/GLenz/Update-Windows-7-Taskbar-in-5-Minutes/

This is the first part of his updated ScreenCast series on implementing the Windows 7 Taskbar features in less than 5 minutes . The short video shows how to leverage the Windows 7 Taskbar Icon Overlay feature for your application. He is using the WindowsAPICodePack which you can download here to leverage a managed API warpper for the native Win32 APIs.

Icon Overlay:
In this part I show you how to implement custom Icon Overlays in the taskbar indicating status in the taskbar of your application. In your applications you can use this to

1. Can indicate the status of your application or provide other useful information (such as online/offline, sign in status, status of your application).
2. Dynamically change the icon.

The source code is available here.

With the general availability of Windows 7 just around the corner this is your chance to get the following exclusive and free benefits from Microsoft for your Company within less than 10 minutes for showing Windows 7 compatibility:

• A copy of Windows 7 BEFORE it launches to the general public on October 22^nd
• Exposure through the Microsoft Channels
• Marketing material for Co-Marketing
• Microsoft Partner Network Points
• Use of the Microsoft Frontrunner logo

Let me know if you would like to know more on how to receive these benefits.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.

Check out his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/glenz .

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

NEW MSDN and TechNet Firestarter session recordings are now available on demand!

• Download the Silverlight Firestarter technical sessions - With Scott Guthrie leading the roster of presenters, learn what's new and noteworthy in the latest releases of Silverlight and Expression® 3 along with a rundown on .NET RIA services, toolkit, and more.
  
• Download the Windows Firestarter technical sessions - This Windows Firestarter introduces and deep dives into DirectAccess, Group Policy and PowerShell, Internet Explorer® 8, BitLocker™, AppLocker and User Account Control Features. We dive into how easy it is to deploy Windows 7 – even if you are migrating from XP!

These are great for getting up to speed with Silverlight and Windows 7 development.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

The Microsoft Patterns & Practices team announced a NEW Project in CodePlex: A Guide for Claims Based Identity & Access Control

This new Guide introduces developers to the world of claims based authentication and access control. With the introduction and soon general availability of Windows Identity Foundation and ADFS V2, claims based identity architectures are far more accessible.

The Guide uses a case-study approach to analyze commonly occurring scenarios such as WebSSO, Federation, consuming cloud applications, etc. Early drafts of the book and companion sample code are available here: http://claimsid.codeplex.com

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

Microsoft Security Essentials has been released.

Check out the formal press release from Microsoft here - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/sep09/09-28securityessentialspr.mspx

Check out the post on Network World - http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/092809-microsoft-security-essentials-ships.html?hpg1=bn

You can download software from the Microsoft Security Essentials website at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Now you can get antivirus for your new copy of Windows 7 for FREE.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog

I watched one of Russ Fustino’s demo’s on SketchFlow recently and found it to be very helpful.

If you are interested in SketchFlow, it’s worth a look. Your can download the demo script is posted at http://code.msdn.com/toolshed  for Episode 3.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog