ICT Innovation from EIS

Windows XP SP2 Support Ends TODAY!

plaj01 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:14:00 GMT

Windows XP SP2 is no longer supported after today, which means you will not be able to get support or updates from Microsoft.

We recommend that you upgrade to either Windows XP SP3 or take the plunge in to Windows 7!

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packs?os=other

Windows Vista without a Service Pack is also no longer supported...not that anyone uses it - right?!

Microsoft Security Essentials

plaj01 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:47:00 GMT

Microsoft has released a new product call Microsoft Security Essentials. It is a free product that protects your pc from viruses, spyware and other malware. It is not intended to replace your current McAfee AV in schools but if you are thinking about buying a new laptop for example, you may want to thank "Popular High Street Retailer" for their kind offer of "A Virus Product for £29.99 a year" and think about installing MSE :)

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Sneak Look at the Microsoft Courier Tablet

plaj01 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Have a look at Microsoft's vision for tablet computing...

http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet

Windows 7 Home Premium Deal - finished

plaj01 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:49:00 GMT

Here is a deal for those of you wanting to run Windows 7 on your home PC, Tesco are offering Home Premium for £49.99

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.206-3928.aspx

How Strong is my Password?

plaj01 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:23:00 GMT

A handy little webpage to check how strong the passwords you use are: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx

The page also offers tips on how to create strong passwords and their importance.

British Library "Turning the Pages"

plaj01 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:38:00 GMT

I came across the website: British Library "Turning the Pages" the other day http://www.bl.uk/ttp2/ttp1.html

It is an amazing website which has digitized 15 of the Libraries most precious books. What is impressive, is the technology it uses. If you're using Windows Vista and have the "Premium" experience the plug in takes advantage of Direct X9 and all the wizzy graphics stuff. The quality of the images are outstanding and it brings the books to life! If you're unfortunate (or fortunate ) enough not to have Vista then a Silverlight version is available.

Microsoft Wave

plaj01 — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:27:00 GMT

With the recent news that Microsoft has no intentions of cutting its annual $9 billion Research and Development budget, it is no surprise to see the UK Microsoft Team putting their name to the a new innovative site, Microsoft Wave. The site showcases the latest technology that Microsoft is working on, and also the pie in the sky, I mean future stuff, which is on the horizon!

Windows 7 Important Information!

plaj01 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:18:00 GMT

With the news that Windows 7 has been Released to Manufacturing (RTM) I thought it'd be best to quickly mention a few important bits of information.

Windows 7 in the UK will not come with Internet Explorer 8, due to EU regulations. You are advised to download a web browser to a USB drive or obtain a copy on CD before installing Windows 7. The edition without a web browser is called: Windows 7 E.
As Internet Explorer is not included with Windows 7, upgrades from Windows XP or Vista is not possible and Windows 7 must be a clean install.

Read up more here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/help/installing-e

Volume licence customers will be able to purchase Professional and those with Software Assurance, Enterprise Edition.

Are You Still Using IE 6?

plaj01 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:11:00 GMT

If so, ask yourself why?!

There has been a lot of debate in the press about the future of IE 6. Whilst it is still supported for another year, websites such as You Tube will no longer be supporting the browser on its site, and is encouraging users to upgrade to Firefox, IE or Chrome.

With the news that HTML 5 will be banging on our web browsers door soon, which IE 6 will not be able to render, we are being encouraged to upgrade to the latest and greatest IE 8, Chome 2 or Firefox 3.5.

IE 6 is 2 versions out of date now as had a number of high profile vulnerabilities in the past. It was the default browser shipped with XP which is why experts seem to think its usage is still quite high.

I have no particular preference on Browsers, but just recommend you keep your browser and OS up-to-date with the latest security patches.

Windows Vista SP2 & Windows Server 2008 SP2

plaj01 — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:48:00 GMT

Microsoft have released the stand alone files for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 to the Microsoft website.

x32 Download http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a4dd31d5-f907-4406-9012-a5c3199ea2b3&DisplayLang=en
x64 Download http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=656c9d4a-55ec-4972-a0d7-b1a6fedf51a7&DisplayLang=en

An advisory for those running Vista customized using vLite has been posted here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd300591.aspx

We'd expect a release to Microsoft Update in the coming months and will blog about its release nearer the time.

Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 Due Soon

plaj01 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:47:00 GMT

Microsoft have made the announcement that they will be releasing Office 2007 SP2 this month. The update features a number of bug fixes and improvements such as built in save as ODF & PDF formats and better performance and calendaring in Outlook. We have been testing the update for a few months now and have welcomed the ODF publishing features and have found Outlook to be more stable.

Internet Explorer 8 Release to Automatic Updates

plaj01 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:25:00 GMT

We are expecting Microsoft to release IE 8 to Automatic Updates, as High Priority, within the next week. Whilst the update will not automatically install, it will offer you the choice to "Ask Me Later", "Install" or "Don't Install", as you would get when installing IE 7 via Automatic Updates.

If you wish to block IE 8 from installing on your network, the blocker toolkit is available from this URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=21687628-5806-4ba6-9e4e-8e224ec6dd8c&displaylang=en

Microsoft have said that IE 8 will appear in WSUS around July 2009.

Making Fun Music Easily with Microsoft Songsmith

plaj01 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:13:00 GMT

Microsoft have created a neat new software package for creating music. It works cleverly by matching music to your vocals! All you need to do is sing (or try :)) into the microphone and Songsmith will do some magic in the background and add music to it. Its great fun for creating jingles or even lullabies!

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/index.html

Its free for the first 6 hours of use and then £25 for a full copy.

How to Use The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

plaj01 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:48:00 GMT

Have you ever done a Windows Update and seen that you have downloaded the latest version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool? If so, you may have wondered how to run the tool? Simply go to Start > Run and type in mrt.exe and the tool will scan your PC for any malicious software. If you don't have it, you can download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

Microsoft Dreamspark - Free Microsoft Software for Students

plaj01 — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:08:00 GMT

Check out http://www.dreamspark.com/ for free Microsoft software for Students. Most of the software is developer tools but there are few interesting things such as Windows Server 2008 and free MS IT Academy training.

Communicator Gadget for Vista Sidebar

plaj01 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Here is a handy little gadget if you use the Vista sidebar and OCS. It displays all open communications and makes it easier to manage conversations.

http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=2701d34d-ec6a-48ec-9ce2-a3932345f3a8

Microsoft Office Website for Education Resources

plaj01 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:31:00 GMT

Microsoft have updated their Office Website with a new education subsite. It contains how to guides, smart templates and a host of other useful stuff: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/school/FX102781621033.aspx

Important Microsoft Updates for August

plaj01 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:07:00 GMT

Microsoft have released a number of security updates for their Office and Operating System products. Please make sure you visit Microsoft Update and Windows Update to keep your pc's up to date.

EIS ICT Conference & Exhibition this Thursday!

plaj01 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:50:00 GMT

Just a gentle reminder that the annual EIS ICT Conference and Exhibition takes place this Thursday at the Ashford International Hotel. Come along and have a look at the latest technology and chat with the suppliers exhibiting in the main hall. There are still places to book yourself onto the conference (chargeable) and get some real insights into all things ICT related. Link to EIS Website

Microsoft Hyper-V is Finally Here

plaj01 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:24:00 GMT

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...

Cheap MS Office Books Offer...

plaj01 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:17:00 GMT

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

Vista SP1 Coming to Windows Update (WU) Soon!

plaj01 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:11:00 GMT

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.

Making Word 2007 Save Documents in the Old 2003 Format...

plaj01 — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:45:00 GMT

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)"

Windows Mobile Training Website

plaj01 — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:33:00 GMT

Check out the Microsoft Windows Mobile Training site http://www.windowsmobiletraining.com. After a short registration using your Windows Live ID you can view best practices, how to guides on push pull e-mail, the benefits of WM 6 and so on.

New KLZ Blog

plaj01 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:25:00 GMT

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.

Office 2007 Service Pack 1 Released

plaj01 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:20:00 GMT

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!!!!!!

Remember the BBC Panorama Programme on Wireless...

plaj01 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:49:00 GMT

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

Outlook 2007 Gadgets for Windows Vista Sidebar

plaj01 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:13:00 GMT

Microsoft have released 2 Outlook 2007 gadgets for Windows Vista. They are the Outlook Upcoming Appointments (http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=ed840437-7d13-4755-8d0a-0ba2cbbf38e6&l=1) which displays 3 to 5 upcoming appointments and Outlook Tasks which shows your tasks (http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=ef27c368-814f-49d5-8167-603dfec628cd&bt=1&pl=1.)

Exchange 2007 SP1 Released!

plaj01 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:02:00 GMT

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

Using Natural Text to Update Outlook 2007 Appointments

plaj01 — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:52:00 GMT

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 :)