Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 VHD Available for Download

A while ago I mentioned that you could download a 30-day evaluation VHD of Windows Vista.  You can now also get an evaluation VHD of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, download available here.  Note that this requires Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Btw I’ve noticed that the Windows Live Writer spell checker doesn’t recognise the word SharePoint, and suggests alternatives such as Harpoon, Hairpin, Hotpoint and Shampooing, among others…

 

UPDATE 22 July – there seems to be a CRC error with one of the files that make up the VHD and at the moment the download isn’t available.  Hopefully Microsoft will fix this soon…

Adding Memory to a Dell Latitude Laptop

I’m not an early adopter as far as operating systems are concerned, so I’ve just got around to setting up a laptop with Windows Vista Business.  Because I need to run Virtual Machines on the laptop I decided to go for a full 4GB of memory and to install this myself.

I don’t know how this compares with other laptop brands, but Dell Latitudes have two memory sockets, one underneath, which is fairly easy to get to an another under the keyboard!  so this means that to get to that one, you have to remove the hinge cover, then completely remove the keyboard, just to replace a memory module.

Some nice person has fully documented this procedure on the NotebookReview website here, and this helped a lot.  But I must say that having done this once, I’m not keen to repeat the process in a hurry. 

Oh and Dell’s documentation recommends using a plastic scribe to remove the hinge cover.  As you can see from this thread they’re not easy to come by.

Technorati tags: Dell, Laptop, Notebook

SQL Server 2008

Back in May, Microsoft made lots of announcements about SQL Server 2008, previously code named Katmai.  And you can already try out a CTP release from the Microsoft Connect site. 

It looks like the 2008 release will include a lot of new or improved Business Intelligence features, both for Reporting services and Analysis Services.  There will be new report builder and designer tools, and an easier way of defining attribute relationships when designing cubes.

Microsoft also announced various acquisitions and licensing agreements as part of what’s planned for SQL Server 2008.  They are acquiring OfficeWriter from SoftArtisans, and have also done a deal on Dundas data visualisation products (their OLAP chart and dashboard components are very nice – demo here). 

They have also purchased Stratature, which provides Master Data Management solutions.  Managing master lists of data has become a hot topic, particularly in organisations who have several line of business systems.   MSDN has a good overview on MDM called The What, Why, and How of Master Data Management.

As nice as many of these features are, I wonder how long the upgrade cycte will be for SQL Server customers.  Many of my clients are just getting around to upgrading to SQL Server 2005.  I can’t see them going for another upgrade in 2008!

Technorati tags: sql server, katmai

Would You Name Your Daughter After a Microsoft Operating System?

Believe it or not Microsoft SharePoint MVP Bill Simser has named his new daughter Vista .

MicroCharts 2 Released

BonaVista Systems just released MicroCharts 2, which has some new chart types, and supports Microsoft Access, Word and PowerPoint.  If you are using Excel 2007 it also includes support for the Ribbon UI which is nice.

Other new features and improvements:

• Excel 2007 Rich color picker & Support of the Ribbon UI
• Conversion into vector vector-based images (Enhanced Metafile Format)
• Fast calculation with Excel camera tool
• Automatic chart-fit-to-cell for line charts, bar charts and the bullet graphs
• A better security and isolation from other potential unstable Add-Ins
• A public API of VBA functions
• Two new samples (Web Analytics and Product Rating)
• Use of average for reference lines and standard deviation for normal bands

Technorati tags: excel, microcharts