Microsoft has a series of posters available in .VSD (Visio), .PDF and .XPS formats for IT pros. The posters are 34×44” and

• Deployment Options for Microsoft Office 2010
  (396 KB PDF)
  Client deployment methods for Microsoft Office 2010. Deployment options include network share, Group Policy startup scripts, managed deployment, and virtualization.
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=9312
• Deploy Multilanguage Packs for Microsoft Office 2010
  (637 KB PDF)
  How to deploy multilanguage packs for Microsoft Office 2010. Elements include evaluation criteria, planning considerations, and deployment tasks.
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=2645
• 64-bit Client Installation of Microsoft Office 2010
  (254 KB PDF)
  64-bit client installation of Microsoft Office 2010. Elements include setup overview, processes, requirements, deployment considerations, and supported scenarios.
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=1183
• Application Virtualization – Delivery Methods
  (3 PDFs <1 MB)
  
  Model 1 (VirtualizationOverview) contains an architectural overview of the virtualization technology and the different models that are possible.
  Model 2 (VirtualizationDeliveryMethods) contains the delivery methods that are available by using virtualization.
  Model 3 (VirtualizationMobileUser) contains the stand-alone delivery method for mobile users of virtualized applications.
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=9157
• Volume Activation of Microsoft Office 2010
  (324 KB PDF)
  How to manage Office 2010 Volume Activation methods: Multiple Activation Key (MAK) and Key Management System (KMS).
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=18154
• Preparing Users for an Office 2010 Deployment
  (524 KB PDF)
  This poster, which is arranged according to life cycle, provides a list of steps necessary at each phase of the cycle to prepare end users for a deplopyment of Microsoft Office 2010. It contains links to resources on TechNet that provide additional information and assistance.
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=26827

Source: TechNet Office 2010 Library and @MSSpringboard on Twitter

Title: For IT Professionals: Getting Started with Office 2010
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: © March 2011 by Microsoft Corporation
Pages: 341
File size: Available in .EPUB, .MOBI, .DOC, .PDF & .XPS (1-2 MB)
Price: FREE
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

This book provides an overview of the Microsoft Office 2010 suites and information about how to get started with Office 2010. Heavy emphasis on what has changed from the previous version to help you get up to speed quickly.

Title: The Windows 7 Power Users Guide
Author: Mike Halsey
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Date Published: © 2009 Mike Halsey 
Pages: 174
File size: PDF 23.3 MB
Price: FREE
Download URL: Click here for PDF

Description:
The Windows 7 Power Users Guide, by Microsoft MVP Mike Halsey, shows you to how to get the very best out of Windows 7. It’s suitable for users of every ability, from complete novices to tech pros, and includes step-by-step guides, illustrations and diagrams on every page and quick tips throughout.

Title: Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime
Authors: Katherine Murray
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Date Published: © 2011 Katherine Murray 
ISBN: 978-0-7356-56949 
Pages: 337
File size: PDF 21.0 MB
Price: FREE
Download URL: Click here for PDF

Description:
This book shows you how you can use cloud computing—and ­specifically, ­Office 365—to get more done, collaborate more easily, and work more ­flexibly than you ever have before. From the necessary how-tos about ­creating and administering your Office 365 account and working with the various Office 365 programs to sharing files with your team, creating a team site, using Office Web Apps, and holding online meetings, you’ll discover how easy it is to work online and off, accessing and sharing your files whenever you need to.

Eight More eBooks on Microsoft Office 2010

eBook Titles:

• Best Practices for Outlook 2010
• Creating Everyday Documents That Stand Out From The Crowd
• Basic Tasks in Word 2010
• Basic Tasks in Excel 2010
• Basic Tasks in Outlook 2010
• Basic Tasks in OneNote 2010
• Basic Tasks in Visio 2010

These Office 2010 eBooks are available in both .EPUB (Nook, Sony Reader, etc.) and .MOBI (Kindle) formats.

Download URL: Click here for .EPUB or .MOBI

If you’ve heard as many Microsoft keynotes as I have, sometimes they start to run together and it’s easy to focus on soundbites while missing the overall feel. So there’s a ‘fun’ little game I like to play sometimes to take the overall temperature of a presentation or keynote. That game involves using public transcripts of keynotes and running them through Microsoft Office 2010 to look at word counts.

If you ever wondered where I came up with most of the words for
“SMB Buzzword Bingo”, it was by scrubbing keynotes.
(Yes, Lee, I have too much time on my hands.)

Below is an excerpt of what I gleaned from the transcript of the May 16, 2011 TechEd NA keynote. You can look at the 18,895 word transcript here: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/wahbe/05-16-11TechEd.mspx

Note: Because this is my game, I play by my rules, meaning that I delete words I find boring like “of, the, yes, etc.” or any other word that I’m not wanting to track. In other words, if you run a word count on the transcript yourself, you may find words I didn’t track, like “MSDN” (2 times) or “Tech•Ed” (8 times). My choices below are specific words I’m interested in seeing if they were mentioned at all, and if so, how many times.

Observation: I wasn’t surprised by “Cloud” (103), but “Partner” (1) did catch me off guard a bit.

Some other notables (some are a subset of the hits above):

• Visual Studio (38)
• System Center (20)
• Windows Phone / Windows Phone 7 (15)
• Office 365 (12)
• SQL (4)
• Windows 7 (3)
• TechNet (0)

At long last, you can finally get your grubby little mitts on all of the SBS 2011 download bits. (Hey, I made a rhyme!)

The whole gang is available now online:

• SBS 2011 Standard (SBS v7)
• SBS 2011 Essentials (Aurora)
• Windows Home Server 2011 (Vail)

And you can get them from several places:

• Trial Version
• TechNet
• MSDN

SBS 2011 ESSENTIALS – TRIAL VERSION

Title: Windows Small Business Server SBS 2011 Essentials Trial Version
EN-US_SBS_ESS_EVAL_InstallDVD.iso (3.98 GB)
URL: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/gg604826.aspx

Note: To download the SBS 2011 Essentials trial, you must sign in with a Windows Live ID and answer a few questions (language, business address, phone, contact preferences). Also, the downloader is Java-based, so you’ll need Java installed on the machine initiating the download.

SBS 2011 STANDARD – TRIAL VERSION

Title: Windows Small Business Server SBS 2011 Standard Version
EN-US_SBS_STD_InstallDVD.iso (6.35 GB)
URL: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/gg492833.aspx

To download the SBS 2011 Standard trial, it’s the same info requirements and Java deal as Essentials above.

TechNet SBS 2011 Essentials / Standard Download

MSDN SBS 2011 Essentials / Standard Download

The MSDN download isn’t showing up just yet, but it should be online by the time you read this.

TechNet / MSDN Windows Home Server 2011

Unfortunately, no ETA on the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS) copies of SBS 2011 Standard or Essentials yet.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• 1.4 GHz x64 processor or 1.3 GHz dual-core processor
• Up to 2 sockets (SBS 2011 Essentials) or 4 sockets (SBS 2011 Standard)
• RAM: 2GB min / 4 GB rec / 32 GB max (SBS 2011 Essentials)
  RAM: 8GB min / 10 GB rec / 32 GB max (SBS 2011 Standard)
• 160 GB min disk space (SBS 2011 Essentials)
  120 GB min disk space (SBS 2011 Standard)
• 10/100 Network Interface Card
• Source: http://www.microsoft.com/sbs/en/us/system-requirements.aspx

A little over a year ago, my beloved little Xbox 360 Elite decided to take a dirt nap. No more Netflix, no more games, no more MP3 / AVI / DVD-MS / Media Center on my big TV. Just three flashing lights, taunting my soul.
It was the fabled ‘Red Ring of Death’.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put my Xbox back in the media lineup again.  My most favorite digital possession had taken it’s last breath.

I knew it was out of warranty so I got out my screwdriver to peek inside and see what the deal was. No joy. Afterwards I heard that you can pay for an ‘out of warranty’ repair. My Xbox was over 1 year old and I had definitely voided the warranty when I opened it. So I tried to pay for an out of warranty repair though the official channels, but that didn’t work out.

Long story short, I want the world to know a few key things about getting the Xbox 360 repaired if it dies on you. Things I didn’t know back then. Things that Microsoft, in my opinion, is still not making clear on their website or on their phone support.

Note: This is not intended to be a rant, and I’m not trying to get Microsoft to change their policy on anything. I care about you, dear reader, and about the fine folks who work at Microsoft. And because I care, I’m trying to get the Xbox repair facts out there. Facts that may not be readily (or even remotely) clear or available on their website.

First – If your precious goes blinky-blinky, there is a handy troubleshooter to determine what the flashing lights mean.

Second – Stay AWAY from all of the eBay, Youtube, and mom & pop ‘Xbox repair’ offers.

Third – If your Xbox 360 has 3 flashing lights (probably an E74 error), here’s what you need to know:

• If your Xbox is < 1 year old – the box should be under warranty.
  Request a repair online
• If your Xbox is > 1 year old and your warranty is expired – You may still be covered for an E74 error. Don’t throw the Xbox away.
  Request a repair online
• For a non-E73/E74 error you usually can pay for an ‘out of warranty’ repair for about $99.99-$119.99 + shipping.

Fourth – And MOST IMPORTANT – NEVER open your Xbox 360. Microsoft will never repair it (any any price) if the case has been opened. Even if you request to pay for an ‘out of warranty’ repair (listed above) if the case has been opened, they will return it to you and refuse to repair it.

That point is pretty much the crux of this blog post. The web pages for Request a repair, Warranty FAQ and Repair FAQ pages do not make this point clear.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “Oh well, it’s out of warranty. I’m a smart computer guy/gal and I always wondered what these look like inside. I’ll open it up, see if something’s loose, and if I can’t figure it out I’ll just pay for them to fix it. After all, $99.99 is still cheaper than a new Xbox”. 

I thought that, and I was dead wrong. I’m now the proud owner of a $399 Xbox 360 Elite paperweight, which is not as cool as it sounds.

Logically, if you own a car that’s out of warranty and needs repairs (even if you broke it yourself trying to repair it or crashed it into a wall) you can always take it to the car dealer and pay to have it fixed. It’s gonna cost you some cash, but you’ll drive away with a lighter wallet and you’ll have a functioning car.

However, where Microsoft is concerned, an “out of warranty” Xbox repair is only possible on a pristine Xbox that has never been opened or modified. Period. I hate to beat this dead horse, but if you open it, you might as well have just crushed it with a steamroller. It’s a dumb policy, but it is what it is.

If it’s too late and you already did open your Xbox, your only recourse is to surf eBay / YouTube / local Xbox-fixer-guy and have them take a crack at it. I guess it can’t hurt at this point.

I can vouch for multiple ‘easy fixes’ that didn’t work for me:

• Towel trick
• Q-tip trick
• Penny trick
• Washer trick / X-clamp replacement trick

None of them worked for more than a few minutes to a few hours. You’re probably just better off saving the time and frustration and just buy a new Xbox. Unless you have a lot of time to kill. Personally, staring at this paperweight is bugging me, and on the next rainy day I’m probably going to try the heat gun trick.

One sunny day while mowing the yard with the old John Deere I thought, “How cool would it be if I could mount a Small Business Server on this lawn tractor?"

The answer (as you already know) is “not very cool”. Nobody wants to see a lawn mower running Exchange and SharePoint.

Obviously, I need to drink more fluids when mowing the yard in the hot sun, but that’s neither here nor there. The proverbial wheels were turning, and I started brainstorming for something much faster and infinitely cooler than a green and yellow tractor…

Enter Matthew Snoddy – Microsoft Small Business Specialist and owner of Network Therapists in Lexington, Kentucky.

a.k.a. “The Stig” (nobody knows for sure)

Not only is Matthew a fantastic network engineer and wheelman, he’s got some beautiful muscle cars,
like this supercharged 2008 SRT8 Dodge Challenger:

 
A Challenger is much cooler than a John Deere, but it gets even better!

Recently, Matthew expanded his stable with the addition of a rare (one of only 20 ever made) 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR convertible. A street-legal race car.

(More pics of Matthew Snoddy’s Viper ACR here)

VIPER SRT10 ACR SPECS – BONE STOCK

• 8.4-liter aluminum V10 engine
• 600 horsepower
• 560 lb. ft. of torque
• 0-60 in 3.4 seconds
• Top speed 184 MPH (202 MPH w/o the rear wing, but you’ll die)

If you’re a gearhead, you know all about the ACR. Matthew’s red ACR is a convertible model of the car that broke the Nürburgring track record.

 
This video of a white hardtop ACR on the twisting Virginia City Hill Climb
(Nevada State Route 341) is pretty terrifying.

 
Suffice it to say, the word ‘awesome’ does not even begin to describe this car.

So one night Matthew and I discussed the viability of mounting a Microsoft Windows Small Business Server in the Viper, and “Project Daffy” was born.

“Why a goofy name like Project Daffy” you say? Check out what happens when you invert the Viper ACR logo:

Can you see Daffy Duck on the right? Thought so.

We took some measurements of the ACR and (shocker) it’s not really designed to hold a standard server like an HP ProLiant ML370 G6, or even a smaller one like the HP ML110 or ML150.

The trunk is so small, there’s not even a spare tire – just an air pump (left).

Enter Greg Starks – SMB Solutions Program Manager at Hewlett-Packard. Greg has been with HP and Compaq for over 20 years, has presented at over 10 SMB Nation events, and he really knows his stuff.

a.k.a. “Mr. Awesome” (of that we *are* sure)

We needed something that had enough horsepower to run a server OS, but not so big that it wouldn’t fit in the Viper. With limited space, heat and power requirements, it was a tall order. Greg hooked up Project Daffy with the brand new HP ProLiant MicroServer and got it to us in time to make it to the racetrack!

HP MICROSERVER SPECS:

• AMD Athlon II NEO N36L processor 1.3 GHz
• Supports up to 8 GB PC3 DDR3 RAM
• Embedded NC107i PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter
• OCZ Vertex 2 200GB solid state SATA II drive*
• Cold boot to SBS 2011 login – 2 minutes 45 seconds
• Shut down – 14 seconds
• Operating System – Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard

*We took out the stock 160 GB LFF SATA drive and used the SSD instead to mitigate vibration from the car. (The SSD isn’t a factory option.)

The HP MicroServer is physically small enough (10.5" x 8.3" x 10.2") to fit perfectly in the Viper trunk with room to spare. The MicroServer doesn’t come with a DVD drive, so we took an ISO of SBS 2011 Standard Edition and made a bootable flash drive and installed SBS 2011 that way – no problem.

After the OS installation, we did some testing with the UPS to estimate battery life (about 55 minutes). SBS 2011 runs on that SSD like a scalded dog!

The next step was powering it and mounting it in the car.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT:

• APC Smart-UPS 1500VA battery backup
• Buffalo WHR-HP-G300N 802.11b/g/n wireless router with DD-WRT
• TP-LINK TL-WN722N USB wireless n adapter w/ SMA connector
• External 6” 2.4 GHz omni-directional magnetic mount antenna
• 2.4 GHz Yagi 20 dBi WiFi antenna w/ SMA connector
• Acer Aspire One ZG5 netbook (Windows 7)
• “The Boom” – inverted DirecTV dish mounting hardware for Yagi mast
• “The Surfboard” – various mounting hardware from Home Depot

Due to the irregular shape of the Viper trunk, we used a spare piece of cardboard as a template to map out the shape, and then transferred that outline onto a plank of 3/4” plywood (“The Surfboard”). After some lengthy trial and error moving things around, appropriate measurements were laid out to make sure that there was sufficient room for the equipment, padding, cabling, and tie-down equipment.

HEADING TO THE TRACK:

It’s a pretty long drive from Louisville out to the Mt. Park Dragway in Clay City, Kentucky (about 120 miles). When we got there it was so cold out that the grass in the shadows was still frosted even though the sun had been up for a few hours. Sadly, that morning one of Matthew’s friends lost control of his Corvette on the track and put it into the wall! Fortunately he’s OK, but the same can’t be said for the Vette. Even with safety equipment, racing is still a dangerous occupation.

Mounting the server and network equipment in the Viper trunk went surprisingly smooth. All of the planning and measuring paid off and it fit like a glove. We powered up the server and the router and ran some connectivity tests while Matthew drove around the track. As long as we kept the Yagi antenna (attached to the netbook in our makeshift pits) pointed at the Viper, we never lost a single ping. That’s pretty impressive considering that the antenna was INSIDE the trunk. The car body is fiberglass (except for the carbon fiber rear spoiler) so there was nothing externally on which to stick the antenna.

Side note: One of the coolest parts of the whole project was seeing the looks when people walked around to the back of the car to see what was in the trunk.

The phrase of the day was, “You put a *server* in a Viper!?”

Everybody thought it was cool! So did we. My face hurts from grinning.

Using the netbook back at the pits, we logged into the HP MicroServer via RDP and ran System Information for Windows (SIW) to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the CPU and SSD drive with the trunk closed. Since it was such cool day, all the temps stayed nice and chilly in the server. In fact, the only moving parts in the entire trunk were one cooling fan in the server and another one in the UPS. The rig doesn’t build up much heat anyway.

By design, the Viper ACR doesn’t have electronic traction control. On a cold day with cold tires, the lack of traction control meant that Matthew couldn’t safely punch the pedal to the floor without risking having the Viper suffer the same fate as the Vette. We know what the car can do in warmer weather, so there’s no doubt that that we truly have The World’s Fastest Small Business Server on our hands.

PICTURES OF THE COMPLETED PROJECT:

A view of the Viper SRT10 ACR 8.4 liter 10-cylinder engine.	The blue tape keeps hot tire rubber from sticking to the paint.
Left – HP ProLiant MicroServer Right – APC Smart-UPS	Behold! The World’s Fastest Small Business Server.
Close-up – You can see Buffalo wireless B/G/N router in the front and the “Surfboard” underneath. The APC and all other equipment is mounted rock solid and can’t move even 1/4”.	This is what happens when you burn too much rubber – they have to literally scrape it off the track! I think they’ve been saving this for a while at the track, but I’m not sure how long.

If you’ve got questions about the project, please feel free to post them in the comments below.

PICTURES – You can see the rest of the pictures on Flickr (test fit before tie-down and different views of the car, etc.)

VIDEO – Matt Hester (IT Pro Evangelist for Microsoft) shot some video of Project Daffy today, so you may see it on his blog soon. If he does, we’ll link to it here.

THANKS – Super-special thanks go to Matthew Snoddy (Network Therapists) and Greg Starks (Hewlett-Packard) for making this dream a reality. Props to Andrew McIntosh too for the UPS, and to Lauren for assistance in the pits.
You guys absolutely rock!!

Microsoft TechNet Event
Primary Target Audience: IT Generalist / Implementer / Manager
Start: Thu 11/18/2010 8:30 AM Eastern
End: Thu 11/18/2010 12:30 PM Eastern

Presenter: Matt Hester (Microsoft TechNet)
Venue: Kentucky Intl. Convention Center
Address: 2210 Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40202
Registration: Free

Agenda:
Session 1 – Can We Bust This Myth? "It’s impossible to upgrade a Windows XP computer to Windows 7"
Session 2 – Free Quick and Dirty Deployment Tools
Session 3 – Automate your Windows 7 deployment using the MDT 2010

Registration URL: https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032461965&Culture=en-US

Unless you’ve been living in a cave this week, you probably heard that at Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 Microsoft announced previews of two new products in the SBS family code named “Aurora” and SBS “7”.

If you didn’t make it to WPC, check out both videos from Microsoft Senior Program Manager Lead, Becky Ochs:

Windows Server Code Name “Aurora”

• Built on Windows Server 2008 R2
• Supports up to 25 users
• Remote Web Access
• Server and Client backup

Windows Small Business Server “7”

• Built on Windows Server 2008 R2
• Supports up to 75 users
• Remote Web Access
• Exchange Server 2010 SP1
• SharePoint 2010 Foundation
• Windows Software Update Services 3.0
• SQL Server 2008 R2 (Premium)

You can find out more about the preview products here:
http://www.microsoft.com/sbs/en/us/beta.aspx