July, 2009

J. Peter Bruzzese - Exclusive Exchange Articles and Videos

This week I had the honor of meeting J. Peter Bruzzese- Microsoft guru and Exchange Expert. Peter writes for many different online (and offline publications). He has published hundreds of free videos and many books that you’ll find on the shelves at your local bookstore. For example, one of his books is the, just released, Exchange Server 2007 How-To.

However, those things aren’t what makes Peter so unique.

In my opinion, Peter is unique in the industry for 3 reasons:

1. Peter genuinely loves the Microsoft technologies and is very passionate about them. He doesn’t do all this just for a paycheck. He does these things because he loves to help people, like you and I, learn Microsoft technologies.
2. His has created hundreds of videos covering Exchange 2007, 2010, and many other technologies. These videos are offered for free on his website: Exchange 2007 videos.
3. Despite being such an big time expert in the industry, Peter is a genuinely nice guy who doesn’t have a drop of arrogance.

If you are interested in Exchange 2007, Exchange 2010, or other Microsoft enterprise technologies, I hope you will checkout Peter’s website:

• Exchange Server 2007
• Exchange Server 2010

And finally, the best thing about Peter is that he is joining me in working at Train Signal - where we will be creating video training for IT Professionals around the world!

How To Install Windows XP Mode (XPM) on Windows 7

I was reading Daniel Petri’s latest article over at the Petri Knowledgebase - How To Install Windows XP Mode (XPM) on Windows 7.

I was interested in this article because, honestly, I didn’t know what “Windows XP Mode (XPM)” was. Daniel says, “Windows XP Mode (or XPM for short) is a new feature of Windows 7 (available only in the Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions) that can help businesses to upgrade their computers to Windows 7. It does so by providing a virtual Windows XP environment capable of running many Windows XP-compatible business and productivity applications.”

He goes on to show how it can help you, how to install it, and how to use it. To read the full article, just checkout: How To Install Windows XP Mode (XPM) on Windows 7

When can you get Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2?

Microsoft guru, Jason Zandri, posted a great article last week about the timetable, versions, and costs of Windows 7 and Windows 2008 Server R2. There is some great stuff in this article!

Did you know that if you are a TechNet subscriber you can get Win 7 on August 6? If you are a volume license customer, you can get Win 7 on August 7. However, regular consumers won’t get Win 7 until October 22 - WOW!

There is more detail in this article about the Windows 7 release timetable, the Windows Server 2008 R2 release timetable, as well as versions and costs for both new operating systems.

Read the full article at: W00T! Window 7 and Server 2008 R2 RTM

Cisco Nexus 1000V - 3 free videos

Have you seen my 3 free videos on how to download, install, and use the Cisco Nexus 1000V distributed virtual switch? I was one of the judges that selected this as the the best new technology of VMworld in 2008. If you aren’t familiar with the Nexus 1000V (or N1KV), it is a software switch that integrates into your VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure.

To watch the 3 free videos, checkout: VMwareVideos.com - Cisco Nexus 1000V Videos

Inflight Internet Access - wifi on your airplane

I am writing this while flying on an airplane. How is that possible? I am using the new American Airlines inflight wifi and I wanted to offer up a little information on it in bullet form:

• First off - it’s FAST! IFor regular web browsing and sending email, it seems just as fast as my home cable modem (although I have not done any speed tests)
• It costs $9.99 plus tax PER FLIGHT. That means that if you are connecting to a different flight that same day or returning home tomorrow on a different flight you will have to pay another $9.99 plus tax
• The service is called GoGo (pronounced GO-GO, not “goo-goo” like a baby says) and the official website for it is GoGoInflight.com
• They ask that you not use services like VoIP or streaming video although I have doubts that they are doing anything to stop this right now. Next time maybe I will try downloading Windows 7 and watching a Netflix streaming video at the same time (ha-ha)

So, the next time you are on an American Airlines flight, look for the WiFi signs and try it out for yourself!

Also, checkout stories like:

• American Airlines will be first U.S. carrier to offer in-flight Internet access
• InformationWeek.com - American Airlines Launches In-Flight Internet Service

Meet me at the VMworld 2009 Sundy Night Extravaganza!

This year I will be attending the VMworld 2009 Sundy Night Extravaganza. What is it? Well if you are at VMworld 2009, you need to come and find out for yourself. I will be there and so will my company, Train Signal, who is ponsoring the event as we are promoting our new vSpere vi

All different types fo VMworhld attendees will be at the Thirsty Bear for the VMworld 2009 Sundy Night Extravaganza - you shoould too! Read more and RSVP at-

VMworld 2009 Sundy Night Extravaganza

Configuring Windows Remote Desktop from the command line

I think that just about everyone out there can run Windows Remote Desktop. Easy right?

But what about configuring Windows Remote Desktop from the command line? The app is mstsc.exe and there are a lot of configuration options available for it.

In a new WindowsNetworking.com article, I cover these CLI configuration options and more. Read the full article at:

Configuring Windows Remote Desktop from the command line

10 New Features of Windows 7 Networking

In my latest article, I cover what’s new in Windows 7 Networking. While there are many new features, what I did was to break it down into the 10 of the new, most important, Windows 7 Networking features. To read the full article, just visit: 10 New Features of Windows 7 Networking

PowerShell - NO FEAR

I think a lot of Admins, especially Windows Admins, seems to have reservations (okay, maybe even fear) of using command line interfaces (CLI). That’s not because they are CLI-wimps, its just because they haven’t had the opportunity to use the CLI and, because of that, they have never seen the real power of using the CLI. They haven’t seen how the CLI can make life easier and allow them to free up time to do other things (like hang out at the water cooler and talk about Twitter or whatever).

If any of this describes you or someone you know, now is the time to break out of that shell and, TRY POWERSHELL.

To get started learning about what Powershell is and how it can help you, read this article:

Don’t be Afraid of PowerShell

Free E-Books from Greg Shields

If you’ve been around Microsoft technologies long enough, likely you have heard the name Greg Shields. I was talking with Greg this week because he will be speaking at VMworld 2009 and he pointed out that he has, on the Internet a long list of free e-books. These e-books cover things like:

• Network Security
• Active Directory
• Virtualization
• Application Performance
• Windows 2008 Infrastructure

Who doesn’t love to get something free, right?

Click here to checkout Greg’s free E-Book collection