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Windows Essential Server Family Training Webcasts

Starting September 4, Microsoft will be offering an 8–part series of 1 hour webcasts covering Essential Business Server 2008, their new offering for mid-sized businesses.

If you’d like to attend live, here’s a list of registration links for each webcast…

WES10PAL: 5W/50 Series - Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 1 of 8: Introduction September 04, 2008 from 10-11AM (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES11PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 2 of 8: Planning, Design & Install September 04, 2008 from 12-1pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES12PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 3 of 8: Migration September 05, 2008 from 10-11am (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES13PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 4 of 8: EBS Mgmt, Health & Mgmt September 05, 2008 from 12-1pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES14PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 5 of 8: Security, Group Policy, & Backup Sept 08, 2008 from 10-11am (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES15PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 6 of 8: Messaging & Remote Access September 08, 2008 from 12-1pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES16PAL: Windows Essential Bus Svr 2008, Part 7 of 8: LOB Suppt, Extensibility & Troubleshootg Sept 10, 2008 from 10-11am (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES17PAL: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Part 8 of 8: Virtualization September 10, 2008 from 12-1pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

The EBS series will be similar to the current webcast series for Small Business Server 2008 that started last week. Here are those links if you want to jump on the SBS train as well. The first half of the SBS series was already delivered this past Thursday and Friday. Those four webcasts were recorded and are now (or will be very soon) available on-demand at the following links…

WES02PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 1 of 8: Introduction

WES03PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 2 of 8: Planning & Installation

WES04PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 3 of 8: Migration August 22, 2008 from 10-11am (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

WES05PAL: Academy Live - Windows SBS 2008 Core Tech Training, Part 4 of 8: Mgmt, Health, & Security August 22, 2008 from 12-1pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

The second half of the SBS series picks back up live on Monday, before finally wrapping up on September 10. You can register to attend using the following links…

WES06PAL: Academy Live - Windows SBS 2008 Core Tech Trng, Part 5 of 8: Messaging & Collab Mgt August 25, 2008 from 10-11am Pacific Time (GMT-07:00)

WES07PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 6 of 8: Remote Access & Computer Mgmt August 25, 2008 from 12-1pm Pacific Time (GMT-07:00)

WES08PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 7 of 8: LOB Support & Troubleshooting August 26, 2008 from 10-11am Pacific Time (GMT-07:00)

WES09PAL: Windows SBS 2008 Core Technical Training, Part 8 of 8: Virtualization September 10, 2008 from 2-3pm (US & Canada) (GMT-07:00)

|| posted by chris under biz, it pro, webcast || comments (0) || ||

Are You Going To WPC?

I am. And I hope to see you there!

Man, is this my shortest post ever, or what?

|| posted by chris under biz, mobility, travel, webcast || comments (2) || ||

Mobility Session Survey Available Now for NOLA Attendees

Sorry for the long long delay in getting this info posted up here.

I know that I announced to all the attendees at the NOLA conference that the survey would be posted by EOD. Unfortunately, some unforeseen logistical snafus kept me from getting this posted during the conference itself.

Here’s the dealio…

I cooked up a short survey about the Mobility talk I delivered at the SBSmigration.com conference in New Orleans this week. It would REALLY help in some key ways (which I’ll talk about later in this post) for EVERYONE who attended the Mobility session to please please PLEASE fill this out.

It should be quick quick quick. As in, it should take you less than a minute or 2 to fill out.

It’s available on the demo SharePoint site I used in my Mobility talk. So, as an added bonus, you get to see yet another example of a kickass way you can use SharePoint for and with your customers.

You can start the survey by clicking on this…

Mobility Survey

And yes, you will quickly notice the survey’s got that Chris Rue kinda flavor, just like the session had. Being a semi-professional smart aleck isn’t something you can just turn on and off.

Check out the screenshot…

Couple of things…

• Please fill out the survey completely.
• 10 is a GREAT number. Feel free to use that one liberally
• Please please please take just a moment or 2 and put some actual words in the final comment section. If you thought the Mobility session rocked, please say something to that effect. If you’d like to see more stuff on Mobility at other conferences, please SAY that as well.
• Be SURE to click FINISH, or your feedback answers won’t be recorded.

Also, if you didn’t get a chance to get or let me know that you wanted either the Windows Mobile Enterprise Resource Kit (ERK) and/or Developers Resource Kit (DRK) discs I had at the conference, please indicate your preference at the end of the survey. Also please put your e-mail address (this is required if you want to receive discs). I promise not to spam you, or share that info with anyone else. 

One goofy caveat: Yes, I know the session was all about Mobility and mobile device stuff and how much SharePoint kicks ass with Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, you must use a PC to fill out this survey, as surveys in SharePoint3 do not support mobile views. Another feature request for the dev team, obviously.

Thanks in advance for your patience, and for taking just a couple of moments to fill out the survey.

|| posted by chris under biz, community, freebie, it pro, mobility, opinion, shoutout, thumbs up, webcast || comments (2) || ||

So, How Was The NOLA Conference For You?

This weekend’s conference in New Orleans really seemed to go well for a lot of folks, both from the perspective of having fun and getting valuable info. And I’m glad, because the best way to get value out of any conference is when said conference is both fun, and eye-opening.

I was involved as a presenter in 2 sessions. The first was a panel discussion on data storage called Business Data Placement: The New Paradigms, which discussed both the current file system paradigms and the incomprehensibly slow march to SharePoint.

Honestly, we prolly should have just called it Why SharePoint Matters (to SMB)

I got to work with the ever-amazing Amy Babinchak, my MVP Summit roommate Kevin “The Human Alarm Clock” Weilbacher, Chuck Traywick, and our fantastic moderator Eriq Neale. That session really came together in some ways I don’t think any of us were fully aware would happen, which rocked.

The second session I did was called Why Mobile Matters (for SMB).

The response I received to that session has, quite literally, blown me away! I was nearly mobbed throughout the rest of the conference by folks eager to do more with Windows Mobile for the benefit of their customers and their own businesses.

So super big HUGE thanks to everyone (and there sure were a LOT of you) who attended my session on Mobility. Most heartening to me were all the people who said things like…

You’ve really given me a lot to think about.

I’ve already mapped out changes I’m planning to make when I get back.

I never felt like I could make it work, but you’ve given me a starting place to rethink that.

I even got a congratulatory text message from a certain outspoken Floridian not even in attendance who heard how smashingly it went.

Believe me, it’s a good good feeling knowing that so many folks got some much motivation toward rethinking and reshaping the way they are delivering services to their customers from hearing my session.

|| posted by chris under biz, community, hardware, it pro, migration, mobility, rx, thumbs up, travel, webcast || comments (1) || ||

What’s In Response Point Service Pack 1?

Why…a whole heaping heap of sugary goodness, that’s what!

Kinda like a pinata, except without a stick being swung wildly by a blindfolded kid like a crack addict beating a wino.

First and foremost, SP1 adds the long-awaited SIP trunking to Response Point. You will be able to configure VoIP based services for outgoing calls, in addition to the analog line support that has always been available with RP. The Response Point team has been working with a handful of VoIP service providers to assure a smooth configuration process.

Analog and VoIP services will each use a different dialing prefix, so users can easily specify which kind of connection they want to use for a given call.

Direct Inbound Dialing comes with SP1 too, adding the ability to send all calls to a particular number directly to a specific user or group. For Running Antelope, this feature will be like manna from Heaven, as it will be a key addition to the system here at the Funcave.

Some call reporting arrives in SP1 as well, which is an excellent feature for billing, tracking, troubleshooting, or just seeing if your employees are wasting time calling their boyfriends or girlfriends. It’s said to be pretty basic, but should do the trick.

Response Point Assistant also gets some sweet sweet lovin’ with SP1, adding both the ability to see the call status of all users on the RP system and to dial another RP user through an RP handset by clicking in the Assistant window. The click-dial feature stops short of being a true softphone, however.

According to the team, Service Pack 1 should arrive in an easy-to-use installer package, which is slated to drop later this summer. And easy is a good thing, right?

If you want more information, Richard Sprague from the Response Point team will be discussing RP and SP1 during the last third of the 10 o’clock hour tomorrow morning as part of Microsoft’s Small Business Summit-a-palooza.

|| posted by chris under beta, biz, freebie, hardware, migration, rx, unified comm, virtualization, webcast || comments (0) || ||