2nd Shot is Back

Posted: 10:37 pm
February 15, 2006
Deals
7 Comments

Just like Jesus, the free MCP exam retake is back from the dead and many are happy to see it. Basically, you sign up for an exam and if you flunk it you get to take it over again except you don't have to pay $125 again.

Microsoft's free exam retake offer is back by popular demand! Simply complete your exam(s) at any Pearson VUE Authorized Center by June 30, 2006 and retake the exam(s) for free if you do not pass on the first attempt. Initial (paid) exam(s) must be completed by June 30, 2006; second shot (free) exam(s) must be completed by July 31, 2006. This offer is valid for all Microsoft exams worldwide. Any means of payment, including promotion codes and vouchers, may be used on the paid exam(s). You must pre-register for this offer with Microsoft. For complete details, visit www.PearsonVUE.com/ms/2ndShot.

Simple enough, get to studying. Unlike other worthless occupations, computer science and engineering requires constant re-education and re-certification , so if you've made a choice to be in IT you should get to working.

Microsoft Patchday: Porn or Valentines?

Posted: 1:14 pm
February 14, 2006
Security
7 Comments

Yes ladies and gentlemen it is the 14th of February, the day fond in the hearts of System Administrators everywhere as the Microsoft Patchday. The advisories are up so get to testing and patching. Now in addition to it being patchday, it is also Valentines day. I guarantee that your significant other won't understand that you need to patch your network so just hold of on all this stuff until tomorrow. If you're still using Internet Explorer (you really shoud not). If you're concerned about the exploit in the Media Player… well, its valentines day… you can live a day without porn, can't you? Critical Bulletins: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (910620) Vulnerability in Windows Media Player Could Allow Remote Code Execution (911565) Important Bulletins: Vulnerability in Windows Media Player Plug-in with Non-Microsoft Internet Browsers Could Allow Remote Code Execution (911564) Vulnerability in TCP/IP Could Allow Denial of Service (913446) Vulnerability in Web Client Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (911927) Vulnerability in the Korean Input Method Editor Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (901190) Vulnerability in PowerPoint 2000 Could Allow Information Disclosure (889167) Seriously. The bug in Korean method editor will be just fine patched on Wednesday. Go spend the day with your sweetheart. Otherwise you'll be sleeping on the floor tomorrow and that Windows Media player bug will be very prevalent as your media needs will literally explode when your spouse turns the cold shoulder.

Inside SBS Podcasts Are Back: Mobility

Posted: 12:49 am
February 13, 2006
Mobility, Podcast
1 Comment

Las Colinas PSS guys are back. Last week when you were spending an extra hour with your favorite Indian they got a chance to record an awesome podcast on mobility with WM5, SBS, IIS, ActiveSync and everything involved. The sound quality is superb, it is beyond compare to the previous shows so go and give it a listen. MP3: Download the podcast RSS: Subscribe to the feed

Big Vladville Changes

Posted: 9:01 pm
February 12, 2006
Vladville
5 Comments

Big changes are afoot at Vladville. As most of you know, I maintain this blog to keep my list of partners, VARs, and resellers up to date on everything in IT so they can grow their businesses. The more informed they are, the bigger their business gets, the more people they sell OWN, ExchangeDefender and TheOfficeServer. Makes sense right? Well, turns out many people just do not read blogs. Last week as a matter of fact the second largest ITPRO group in Florida just found out about OneCare and Live.com. This is bad. Now as much as I'd love to write about all these things and inform people, well, truth be told I find most of those things so boring I couldn't be forced to write about them. Thankfully a lot more people read my newsletter and just want to have a quick summary of things that are going on so I've put together QuickVlad blog. So add it to your aggregator. Software, hardware, technology and pop: XML http://www.vladville.com/quickvlad/quickvlad.xml

Longhorn and Vista in Virtual PC

Posted: 12:20 pm
February 12, 2006
OS
1 Comment

If you're having trouble installing Windows Vista or Longhorn in the Virtual PC environment here are a few tips I found over on the Virtual PC Guy's Weblog:

  1. Create a new virtual machine with a 16GB (or larger) virtual hard disk and at least 512mb RAM
  2. Boot off of the install media (note: most ISOs for the December CTP are under 2.2GB in size – which means that you can boot off the ISO directly under Virtual PC)
  3. On the first page select 'Install now'
  4. On the next page, hit 'Shift-F10' – this will bring up a command prompt window
  5. Type in:
    1. DISKPART
    2. SELECT DISK 0
    3. CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
    4. EXIT
    5. EXIT

Now you will need to reset the virtual machine (hit host-key + 'R') and boot off of the install media again. You should now be able to go through with the default installation of Windows Vista. When you are finished you should be able to log in and install the Virtual Machine Additions.

SBS Show #16 – SMBTN Partner Groups

Posted: 11:41 pm
February 11, 2006
SBS Show
5 Comments

Joining us for SBS Show #16 are few leaders of SMBTN groups: Jim Locke, Roger Otterson and Andy Goodman. They discuss the concept of partner groups and going beyond the networking/technology discussions and towards actually doing business. Every partner in the small business community should listen to this show, especially if you work on your own: 06:00 What is SMBTN, why did you get together? 09:55 What does SMBTN offer people/groups that join? 14:55 What benefits do SMBTN members get from major software/hardware vendors? 19:08 Joining SMBTN from the SBS group leaders perspective? 20:45 SBS group benefits under the SMBTN umbrella 22:35 What is SMBTN really all about? 29:47 What benefits do members realize from SMBTN? 39:22 How does one go about joining SMBTN? 44:10 SMBTN conference? Download the SBS Show #16 http://www.vladville.com/sbsshow/sbsshow-episode16.mp3 SMBTN Annual Conference is at Buena Park, CA from Mar 30 – Apr 1. If you're curious where the SBS Show #15 went, Chris was put in charge of editing the SBS Show on Managed Server because we couldn't hear one of our guests. Look for it this week! In the meantime, the Inside SBS crew will be making its trumphant return with a talk on Mobility. Look for it early next week.

I bet Ballmer would throw the chair at this video too!

Posted: 11:21 pm
February 11, 2006
IT Culture
4 Comments

Ok, this just made my month folks. The screencap to the right is Microsoft's CEO Steven Ballmer on a TV commercial selling Microsoft Windows 1.0; Now thats what I call funny. It is nice to know that he has passed the chair (or torch, whichever metaphor works for you). Check out the video, absolutely amazing but might need IE.

ISA 2006 Public Beta Open

Posted: 12:36 am
February 10, 2006
Security
3 Comments

It feels like ISA 2004 just launched! Well, time to drop that stable firewall and caching proxy you're enjoying and check out ISA 2006. The public beta for this product was announced today and both Standard and Enterprise edition are available for download:

Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 is an integrated edge security gateway that helps businesses secure their Microsoft application infrastructure, streamline their network and safeguard their IT environment. ISA Server 2006 Beta is available for download in both Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition.

Something To Get, Something To Avoid

Posted: 10:59 pm
February 9, 2006
Web 2.0
4 Comments

On the subject of getting stuff, Skype 2.0 is out. Skype, for those of you under a rock, is a VoIP network that allows callers to do video and audio chat, including conference calling. Unfortunately, it has had its fair share of criticism from paranoid security experts that do not understand peer-to-peer technology. Chris has a great writeup on the irrational fears that people have toward Skype. Anotherwords, get it. Now what to avoid: Google Desktop. This is perhaps the best piece of Google software ever released (yes, better than Gmail) but the new version has "Search Accross Desktops" feature which apparently mirrors documents on Google's servers:

Google today announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password. – EFF

I don't care about the do no evil, this crushes all boundaries of reasonable privacy compromise to make your personal information more discoverable. As a card-carrying member of EFF I urge you to avoid this one.

Advice on Spreading Product Launch News

Posted: 10:34 pm
February 9, 2006
IT Culture
5 Comments

Key word being: spreading. Fabio is back:

"I'm happy to be back, spreading the news about the new, great tasting I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!," Fabio announced recently. "My romance with I Can't Believe Its Not Butter! never really ended so it is fitting that the love affair is out in the open again through an exciting new advertising campaign."

How does this matter to you? Well, the key lesson here is that there is no shame in promoting oneself. Be it your role in IT or your IT business, you cannot be ashamed about what you do to the point that you cease to promote it. If you're not proud of it, improve it.