For those of you eagerly awaiting the RTM version of Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 virtualization software, Hyper-V, the wait is over! Offered as a Windows Update here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F3AB3D4B-63C8-4424-A738-BADED34D24ED&displaylang=en for the 64bit Server 2008 system.

The download will appear under Optional Components in Windows Update in just under 2 weeks time...

Up until the 30th April, http://www.microsoft-press.co.uk/scripts/bookofthemonth.asp?id=theultimatesteal

According to sources, Vista SP1 will be heading its way to WU and Microsoft Downloads next week.

We have had the RTM version for about a month now and are running it on a few machines. We have encountered a few issues so please make sure you test it thoroughly before deploying!

 There is no news on when it will be added to Automatic Updates.

We are finding that more and more people are upgrading to Office 2007. Whilst this is great, a lot of users still have older versions and a common complaint we hear is "I keep saving Word files as *.docx. - I want to save them by default to *.doc"

To do this, click the Office Button in Microsoft Word and open Word Options. Click the Save option on the left hand bar and change the "Save files in this format:" option to "Word 97-2003 document (*.doc)"

We have decided to move the KLZ related news, information etc to it's own blog at: http://www.clusterweb.org.uk/CS/community/klz

This blog will remain for technology updates, general news etc.

The first service pack for the Microsoft Office suite of products has now been released

Office: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9EC51594-992C-4165-A997-25DA01F388F5&displaylang=en

Visio: http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=DC102486301033&Origin=HH102511011033&CTT=5

Project: http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=DC102486311033&Origin=HH102511011033&CTT=5

And if you use the Office Compatability Pack then you can update that too! http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9A1822C5-49C6-47BD-8BEC-0D68693CA564&displaylang=en&hurl=8D700ECFF53982A1D633F4CBDF143D22&QueryID=HFaCkZvTE&respos=5&rt=2&pid=CD102041601033

All other updates are here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/results.aspx?qu=2007+service+pack+1

Happy days - we have lots of updating to do!!!!!!

The BBC have responded to complaints regarding the recent BBC Panorama Programme...

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2204855/panorama-report-wi-misleading

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/news/2007/11/30/51156.shtml

We received notification today that the anticipated update to Microsoft Exchange (The product we use for the KLZ E-Mail provision) Service Pack 1 has been released. We will be thoroughly testing this update in our development environment before deploying into production. The new update offers increased functionality in OWA and makes administration for EIS a lot easier!

We will announce shortly when this update will be applied.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=44c66ad6-f185-4a1d-a9ab-473c1188954c

A cool feature we have recently found in Outlook 2007 is something called "natural text."

When you are making a meeting request or appointment, in the Start Time or End Time dialog box, enter something like "next friday" or "today + 6 days." Things like "day 25 of next month" also work. Speech marks are not necessary :)

Firstly, sorry for not posting for a very long time!

Microsoft has posted up a neat feature comparison matrix for the differences between OWA, Outlook 2007, 2003 etc.

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/featurecomparison.mspx

We currently run Exchange 2007 without SP1. When SP1 is released near to Christmas we will be evaluating it then placing the update into production.

A few people have had a play with the Nokia Internet Tablet and found it to be a reasonable device.

I know the Nokia 770 is the older version and the new Nokia 800 is out, but for £74 inc. VAT I think it might just be a bargain.

http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=141019

Just a quick update on the Kent Learning Zone (KLZ)

The new infrastructure is currently being installed at the EIS Data Centre and we envisage this will be complete in the next week.

We are also holding 2 supplier briefing meetings at the EIS ICT Conference in Ashford on Thursday for those of you after an in-depth overview on the KLZ, so please do pop in at 11:00 in the Romney Room or 13:45 in the Chartwell Room. The meetings are free.

We will of course be demonstrating the KLZ on the EIS stand.

Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday 5th July at the Ashford International Hotel!!

http://www.eiskent.co.uk/default.cfm?id=77&pid=10

During an office discussion on Friday, it seems that I keep all the handy tips to myself! You can use the Windows key to carry out some very handy shortcuts. I have compiled a list with, what I think, are the best at the top...

For example, to easily lock your Windows XP workstation, simply hold the Windows key and press the L key.

To open the Run command, hold the Windows key and press the R key.

To open the Find Window, hold the Windows key and press the F key.

To minimize all Windows, hold the Windows key and press the M key. To restore your windows hold the Windows key, shift and press the M key.

For Windows Explorer, hold the Windows key and press the E key.

To minimize all Windows and show the desktop hold the Windows key and press the D key. Do this again to restore what you had.

For Systems Properties, hold the Windows key and press the Break key.

To show the Windows Vista scrolling desktop hold the Windows key and press Tab. (Very cool if you have Vista Aero graphics...) in Windows XP this changes between your open programs on your task bar.

To open Help hold the Windows key and press the F1 key...

Also, did you know you can right click using your keyboard by pressing the application key? This key is situated between the Alt Gr key and the Ctrl key on the right of the space bar...

We had a query today on how to Telnet when using Vista. It turns out that Telnet and a host of other features such as SNMP, TFTP are hidden away in the Control Panel. If you need to enable Telnet to Telnet into a Switch for example, chose the Client option - definitely not the Server!

Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows Features on or off

and look through the list!

The EIS website has been updated today with more current information as to where we are with the Kent Learning Zone.

Check the update here: www.eiskent.co.uk?learningzone

Firstly, apologies for going quiet recently!

Anyway, an interesting question came up from a school which found its screen / desktop rotated by 90 degrees. This is a new(-ish) feature built into Intel Graphic Chipset / Drivers which can be useful for presentations etc, but also really annoying if you find your screen rotated! To get your screen back simply hold the CTRL and ALT key and press the up arrow key. Press the right arrow key to rotate 90 degress to the right, down arrow key for 180 degress etc. Look at the Intel software for information on disabling hot keys if it is a problem.

EIS had a very interesting meeting with Dell on Friday and I was fortunate to be present!

I have been given permission to blog (announce?) that Dell will be producing a Tablet PC called the Dell Tablet XT. It will be a clam shell design as opposed to a slate. As Kent has a very large user base of tablet PC's we welcome this announcement from Dell and look forward to evaluating it! We hope to see a pre-production model in July sometime and there is a tentative release date of September.

Specs will include 802.11n wireless, 5 hour battery life with a 10 hour extended battery (great for the classroom) and an innovative design that is only 1" thick and weighs about 1.5kg!

Dell also presented on the new AMD processors for desktop / notebook and servers. They are touting the new processors at very competitve prices so we will be taking a look at these in the next couple of weeks. One feature I particlary liked on the AMD desktop machines was the "no power consumption on idle."

Microsoft have released the latest version of Virtual PC today for free!

http://www.microsoft.com:80/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx

Microsoft have published how to extend the amount of time that Vista will ask to be activated. This is handy if you have recently installed Vista and wish to change hardware or for testing whether Vista will actually work with your current system.

The steps below will reset the grace period of activation by 30 days. This is know as a "rearm" and can be used upto 3 times.

1. Open a command prompt as an administrator (right click run as administrator)
2. In the Command Prompt, type: slmgr -rearm or sysprep /generalize
3. Reboot
4. Carry out this process when the Activation timer reaches 0 days.

The above will not work on Windows Vista Enterprise.

We came across this the other day where Microsoft do not support using PST over a LAN / WAN. For example, you may have your PST on your home directory so you know it is backed up every night.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/297019/

It seems that the PST files are not designed to be accessed over a network and are therefore slow. Microsoft suggest using OST files.

Something to bare in mind...

If you are deciding what version of Office 2007 to use, Microsoft have designed a handy picture to show what is included in the different versions.

We recommend schools understand the implications of moving to Office 2007. Capita are as of yet not recommending using SIMS with Office 2007 products. Another implication we have come across so far is Outlook 2007 being incompatible with Exchange Server 5.5.

Schools wishing to use the future instant messaging (IM) features of the Kent Learning Zone should choose Office 2007 Professional Plus or Enterprise, which includes Office Communicator 2007 to take advantage of our Live Communications Server.

A neat little feature in Microsoft Outlook to view weeks, months etc:

Hello and welcome to the new EIS Innovation blog!

We will be blogging about new and exciting things happening within EIS and the IT World in general.

This blog will also be used to publish the latest news on our Kent Learning Zone Portal.