Sunday 31 January 2010

DECODE

V&A Decode generative identity from postspectacular on Vimeo.



Just saw the Decode show at the London V&A. It was amazing to see people of different ages interacting with large kinestic computer installations. Its amazing how humans can naturally interact with a 3-D computer installation, matching this body behavior rapidly to the requirements of the machine interface. Some gave better results with wild fast movement, others with quick short burts and others with slow movement, and people were able to adjust their entire body to get the results they wanted from these innovative pieces of computer art.
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Saturday 30 January 2010

When Internet Pioneers go missing

This rather terse statement doesn't go into any further detail, so it doesn't shed any more light on what Agre has been doing in recent months, except confirming that Agre had indeed gone off the grid rather than being harmed. Nonetheless, the news should relieve Agre's family, friends and fans that he is indeed safe.
Missing Internet Pioneer Phil Agre Is Found Safe - All Tech Considered - Technology News And Culture Blog : NPR

Before Phil Agre vanished from the Internet Jorn Barger also staged a major "Grid leaving", a kind of virtual death marginal persons made famous by the Internet might engage in.

This should all not come as much of a surprise. The ritual of leaving the virtual community is a regular activity online as most long term Internet participants can tell you. In the world of the Internet the only real power an individual has in a flood of information and short attention spans is to "leave".

Barger, the erudite blogging pioneer known for his influential Robotwisdom weblog, has disappeared repeatedly over the years, each time prompting friends, family and fans to wonder what's happened to him.
Jorn Barger Has Left the Building
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Friday 29 January 2010

A better way to do SharePoint Search Scopes


Recently I posted about how to solve SharePoint scopes not turning up in drop downs. In that post I showed how to add Search Scopes to a Site Collection. In this post I am going to show you how to do it better.

The problem with site collection scopes is that they are limited to the site collection in which they are defined. Not only does this mean they can't be shared, they also can't be fixed by central admin without going in to the site collection itself. In the SSP Search you will see the scopes listed, but the ones made in site collections can only be edited in site collections.




A better way is what is shown above. Create all your scopes via a change control process. Once a scope is defined and understood why it is needed create it in the SSP under view scopes. Scopes created at the SSP level can be managed for the entire Enterprise at the SSP level, changed or deleted centrally, and they can be shared by the entire Enterprise.





Then when you wish to extend a search scope to a site collection it is made available through the Central Shared Service Provider rather than just created at the Site Collection level. The local admin would only need click it rather than define it.

In almost all cases using SSP to create scopes is the best way. But like so much in SharePoint it is actually easier to do it the "wrong way" and define scopes independent of the Enterprise view at the site collection level. This is creating just another silo, this time of search knowledge.
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Search Scopes at Site Collections

I recently had to rebuild a set of search scopes after a migration. I was a bit frustrated that they were not showing up on the drop down. I finally found a solution for SharePoint Search Scopes not showing up.

Firstly the scopes you define either in the SSP or in the Site Setting for the Site Collection must all be in the display group "Display Groups: Search Dropdown"



You can add or remove these members by clicking on the "Search Dropdown group" and clicking those scopes you want to use. Its not my fault that Dropdown is misspelled.

Also remember that scopes must first have names added and then have rules added. Its a bit confusing but the most common rule is that you want a search of an area of the site. So first you create a new scope, clicking you want it in the dropdown display group. Then once the group is added you edit the scope by right clicking on it, and in the case I was working on clicking the radio button

Web Address (http://server/site)
You then post the URL you want the search to work against in the folder. After a bit of work I found it was probably best just to wait for the to be ready rather than forcing an update in search.

I would also say that even though I had to do it this way, the best way to do these scopes is in SSP. Scopes in SSP can be shared with the entire Enterprise. These scopes should also be planned out to some extent. For example you might have a scope to search a single subsite that you share in a portal. But when you actually go to the site you can contain your search to that site by default. What precisely is the value of searching a scope for one site from another? Is this something users would find value in?

Would not scopes of definitive data, like a company wiki or the official news site be better? Scopes could also define different kinds of information. Scopes could be for "company buzz" allowing you to search blogs and discussions for topics across the Enterprise. Or searches could target groups of authors.
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Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog : December 2009 Cumulative Update Packages for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

December 2009 Cumulative Updates are available for download for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Cumulative Updates will now always be available at the Update Center
Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog : December 2009 Cumulative Update Packages for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
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BBC News - Apple's iPad to 'kickstart' tablet market

Industry watchers say Apple's long-awaited iPad tablet could reverse the fortunes of the tablet PC industry.

Microsoft introduced a tablet computer in 2001, but it failed to catch on.

However, advances in touchscreens and wireless technology mean that the market could now be right for products such as the iPad, analysts said.

"Tablets have been around for a long time and tablets have failed for a long time. This is a winning product," said analyst Van Baker of Gartner Research.


BBC News - Apple's iPad to 'kickstart' tablet market
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Thursday 28 January 2010

Apple - iPad - Price starting at $499

Apple - iPad - Price starting at $499

Apple is approaching the tablet/slate space as an extension of the phone, while Microsoft is approaching from Windows.

The fight right now is iPone vs. Windows.  I would bet Windows wins.  I am still holding to my innovation wave, I see the iPad as a "cool" device by Microsoft Windows 7

Share the Point
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Google Image Result for http://www.tabletized.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/apple-table-ipad-itablet-macbook-touch9.jpg

Google Image Result for http://www.tabletized.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/apple-table-ipad-itablet-macbook-touch9.jpg
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Wednesday 27 January 2010

Apple launches iPad

Share the Point: Search results for iPod

Above is a graphic I drew to show the location of the slate. I seem to have gotten the word wrong, because when Jobs introduced the new Apple tool in this space he called it a Pad. The graphic he showed to introduce the Pad was close to this one, only showing Apple products.

BBC News - Apple to unveil new product, amid swirl of speculation

All eyes in the technology world are on Apple as it prepares to unveil its latest creation, amid a swirl of speculation it is a tablet computer.
BBC News - Apple to unveil new product, amid swirl of speculation

iSlate?  I think that is what we will see.
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Tuesday 26 January 2010

CNN confirms my prediction, 6 months later

20th of July 2009 I predicted:

I think Twitter has peaked, that is its recent growth will suddenly come to a stop.
Share the Point: Twitter future?

(CNN) -- It was the upstart rock star of the Internet in early 2009, roaring out of relative obscurity to become one of the most exposed -- some would say overexposed -- services on the Web.

But since the middle of last year, the number of Twitter users has flatlined.
Has Twitter peaked? - CNN.com

So for once I got one of these predictions right, maybe.y
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Monday 25 January 2010

Flash vs. Silverlight

Well I guess I have to be honest. I have been using Flash since the first release and have watched the product mature. I have been using Silverlight for about a year now, with my use picking up in the past few months.

How do they compare, sadly for Microsoft they don't. Silverlight, even using Expressions, requires a great deal of coding skills to get anything to work, and very quickly even a fairly simple animation or interface becomes a confused mass of XAML. The clean interface with Flash allows developers to manage vast amounts more complexity.

Just to stage a single repeating animation in Silverlight is a mind dulling piece of complexity. You keep asking yourself why they did it this way? Going from Flash, where you get an easy story board tool the drives the site and the ability to make scenes, you will find Expression confusing.

Probably a key indicator is how I learned. I learned Flash mostly by just playing around with it. Sure I got some books but really 90% of what I learned about Flash was because the interface was so obvious. And it was fun to play with and you could get results easy. And this was back in 1999 when it was not obvious what the tool was trying to do.

Silverlight Expressions on the other hand requires I keep the manual at my side constantly. This is with a full knowledge of what the final output will be.

Perhaps the worst part for me so far has been getting the animations to actually work. In Flash animations just start if you want them too, its like getting pregant if your Roman Catholic. So far in Expressions I have had to make changes to the XAML code setting a storyboard start object. This is not only confusing it then breaks the Expressions interface and makes it impossible for me to add to the existing storyboard without making the changes by hand to the XAML code. There may be an easier way to do this but I have not read that far in the manual.

Compound this with the fact that everyone has the flash plugin installed, Flash can run against Java and PHP back-ends, and Flash can be used by designers as well as programmers and Silverlight can only be used by developers; well lets say if you have existing Flash projects going keep them Flash.

I would imagine that at present SilverLight should be limited to the following:

1. Full Microsoft implementations
2. Simple user interfaces
3. Intranets and other controlled platforms.

All other situations should stick with Flash.

Sunday 24 January 2010

Brain Can't Handle More Than 150 Facebook Friends Finds Oxford Boffin - ITProPortal.com

A professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University has found out that human beings are physically limited to being able to link up and manage up to 150 friends at most, regardless of any other societal variables.

Professor Robin Dunbar's study revolves around his own theory, called Dunbar's number, which posits that the size of our neocortex - the part of our brain that is responsible for conscious thought and language - is too small to handle more than 150 active relationships
Brain Can't Handle More Than 150 Facebook Friends Finds Oxford Boffin - ITProPortal.com
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Collaboration Is the Database | Reflections on meaning in Social Networking



I have to tell the truth, Drupal is an excellent Web Content Management tool, and as and Open Source GNU product the price is right.  I can only say people should consider this product for WCM only tasks. 
Collaboration Is the Database | Reflections on meaning in Social Networking
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Sharepoint.jpg (JPEG Image, 447x270 pixels)


Sharepoint.jpg (JPEG Image, 447x270 pixels)
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Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog : Operating System Requirements of SharePoint 2010



Windows version/edition (64 bit only)

SharePoint 2010 support

Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation

No

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

Yes

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Yes

Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter

Yes

Windows Web Server 2008 R2

No

Windows HPC Server 2008

No

Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based systems

No

Windows Server 2008 Standard

Yes

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

Yes

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter

Yes

Windows Web Server 2008

No

Windows Storage Server 2008

No

Windows Small Business Server 2008

Yes*

Windows Essential Business Server 2008

Yes*

Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based systems

No

Windows Server 2008 Foundation

No

Windows Vista

Developer-only**

Windows 7

Developer-only**




Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog : Operating System Requirements of SharePoint 2010
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A graphic history of SharePoint


SharePoint_History.jpg (JPEG Image, 566x800 pixels) - Scaled (78%)
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If you get this you need a life

Baby.gif (GIF Image, 401x410 pixels)
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BBC News - Microsoft patches Internet Explorer hole

Microsoft has released a fix for a hole in Internet Explorer that was the weak link in a "sophisticated and targeted" cyber attack on Google.

Microsoft recommends that customers install the update as soon as possible or update to the latest version of the web browser for "improved security".

Microsoft normally issues patches monthly but the high-profile nature of the attacks led it to act more quickly.

The patch - MS10-002 - was released worldwide at 1000 PST (1800 GMT).

"It addresses the vulnerability related to recent attacks against Google and small subset of corporations, as well as several other vulnerabilities," the firm said.

"Once applied, customers are protected against the known attacks that have been widely publicised."

Microsoft has admitted that it has known about the vulnerability since "since early September" 2009 and had planned to patch it in February.


BBC News - Microsoft patches Internet Explorer hole
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Saturday 23 January 2010

BBC News - Motorola files case against Blackberry owners, RIM



Motorola has asked US regulators to ban Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm behind the Blackberry, from importing its products into the US.

The phone company claims that the Blackberry maker has been illegally using its wi-fi related technology.

A court case is already pending in the US but Motorola has accused RIM of "delaying tactics".

Motorola has lodged its complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in the hope of a quicker result.

"Motorola has no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM's continued infringement" said Motorola's legal representative, Jonathan Meyer.

The ITC typically takes about a month to decide whether to launch an investigation, which takes 12 to 14 months to complete. It can't award damages but it can stop products from being shipped into the US.

The complaint stems from the two companies failing to renew a cross-licensing agreement.

"These patented technologies are important to Motorola as they allow for more comprehensive connectivity, a better user experience and lower product costs," Motorola said in its statement.

Research In Motion declined to comment on the case.


BBC News - Motorola files case against Blackberry owners, RIM
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BBC News - Obama 'troubled' by Google cyber-attacks in China

US President Barack Obama continues to be "troubled" by alleged cyber-attacks originating in China on the internet search giant Google, officials say.
BBC News - Obama 'troubled' by Google cyber-attacks in China
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Friday 22 January 2010

China's Global Times - Google spat shows clash of cultures and values

China, as seen in the past 60 years, will move forward at its own pace toward safeguarding the public's right to know and building an open and harmonious society.
Global Times - Google spat shows clash of cultures and values

Oddly enough the concerns of internet culture in general are brought in to a starker contrast in China.  For the past 10 years most companies have working in "Web 2.0" have stressed "harmonious" social communities over open.  The main difference between the Internet of today's private companies and the public usenet of 20 years ago are the number of images and level of censorship. 

Finally in China even a company like Google's love of control and harmony has been tested in the politics of power.  Frankly its hard to see how the western firm and governments are going to win this one, after a decade of compromises at home and in China.
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BBC News - China condemns 'groundless' US criticism of web control

China has denounced US criticism of its internet controls, saying it could harm ties between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Thursday for China to lift restrictions on the internet.

Mrs Clinton also urged Beijing to investigate Google's complaints that cyber attacks had originated in China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the US should "respect the facts" and stop making "groundless accusations against China".

BBC News - China condemns 'groundless' US criticism of web control
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BBC News - Google sees revenues increase 17%



Google saw its revenues increase 17% between October and December, as its advertising earnings rose strongly.

However, its shares fell 5% in after-hours trading, as the results came in at the lower end of market targets.

The US search engine giant enjoyed revenues of $6.67bn (£4bn) during the quarter, up from $5.7bn a year earlier.

Its net profit also shot up to $1.97bn, but a comparison with a year earlier is difficult because of a one-off charge in the last three months of 2008.

A year earlier Google's profit was only $382m, due to it having to write down $1bn to cover a fall in the value of its investments in internet group AOL and wireless service provider Clearwire.


BBC News - Google sees revenues increase 17%
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Thursday 21 January 2010

India Outsourcing Companies Ramp Up Hiring As US Demand Grows

Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro expanded their global workforces by an average of 5.1 percent last quarter, together adding 16,701 employees, company documents show – an early sign that the Great Recession may ultimately benefit India as cost-conscious companies outsource more work, just as they did after the dot-com bust.
India Outsourcing Companies Ramp Up Hiring As US Demand Grows
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Wednesday 20 January 2010

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) : Security Advisory 979352 – Going out of Band

We wanted to provide a quick update on the threat landscape and announce that we will release a security update out-of-band to help protect customers from this vulnerability.

Based on our comprehensive monitoring of the threat landscape we continue to see very limited, and in some cases, targeted attacks.  To date, the only successful attacks that we are aware of have been against Internet Explorer 6.  We continue to recommend customers update to Internet Explorer 8 to benefit from the improved security protection it offers.  We also recommend customers consider deploying the workarounds and mitigations provided in  Security Advisory 979352.

Given the significant level of attention this issue has generated, confusion about what customers can do to protect themselves and the escalating threat environment Microsoft will release a security update out-of-band for this vulnerability.

We take the decision to go out-of-band very seriously given the impact to customers, but we believe releasing an update out-of-band update is the right decision at this time.  We will provide the specific timing of the release tomorrow.

As always, we’re continuing to investigate this situation, so customers should look for the latest updates here on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.

Thank you,

George Stathakopoulos
General Manager
Trustworthy Computing Security


The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) : Security Advisory 979352 – Going out of Band
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Monday 18 January 2010

BBC News - Chinese online revenue up 30% in 2009

Online revenue generated in China surged by more than 30% to 74.3bn yuan ($10.9bn, £6.7bn) in 2009, a research firm has said.
BBC News - Chinese online revenue up 30% in 2009
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BBC News - France joins Germany warning against Internet Explorer

France has echoed calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) to protect security.
BBC News - France joins Germany warning against Internet Explorer
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Critical IE 0-Day Exploited in Google Attacks from China - A patch is coming, Microsoft promises - Softpedia

Microsoft has acknowledged that a Critical zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer was one of the vectors leveraged in the recent attacks against Google from China. The Mountain View-based search giant has reacted extremely strong in the aftermath of Chinese-based hacking attempts directed at its Gmail infrastructure and targeting the email accounts of human rights activists, by announcing that it would no longer censor results in Google.cn and considering even pulling out of China altogether. However, a host of additional U.S. companies were also attacked, including Yahoo, Symantec, Juniper Networks, Northrop Grumman, and Dow Chemical.
Critical IE 0-Day Exploited in Google Attacks from China - A patch is coming, Microsoft promises - Softpedia
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Sunday 17 January 2010

Darpa: U.S. Geek Shortage Is National Security Risk | Danger Room | Wired.com

The Pentagon’s far-out research arm Darpa is soliciting proposals for initiatives that would attract teens to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), with an emphasis on computing. According to the Computer Research Association, computer science enrollment dropped 43 percent between 2003 and 2006
Darpa: U.S. Geek Shortage Is National Security Risk | Danger Room | Wired.com
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BBC News - Will tablet PCs be adopted by consumers in the future?

BBC News - Will tablet PCs be adopted by consumers in the future?
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BBC News - Microsoft admits Explorer used in Google China hack



Microsoft has admitted that its Internet Explorer was a weak link in the recent attacks on Google's systems that originated in China.

The firm said in a blog post on Thursday that a vulnerability in the browser could allow hackers to remotely run programs on infected machines.

Following the attack, Google threatened to end its operations in China.

Microsoft has released preliminary guidance to mitigate the problem and is working on a formal software update.

So far, Microsoft "has not seen widespread customer impact, rather only targeted and limited attacks exploiting Internet Explorer 6".

"Based upon our investigations, we have determined that Internet Explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks against Google and possibly other corporate networks," said Microsoft's director of security response Mike Reavey in the post.


BBC News - Microsoft admits Explorer used in Google China hack

Again the need to somehow kill IE 6.  The reality is IE 6 like Windows XP is just here and is everywhere.
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BBC News - Yahoo criticised by Alibaba for 'reckless' China stance


Yahoo's partner in China has called the US internet giant "reckless" for supporting Google in its stand-off with Beijing over alleged cyber-attacks.

Yahoo said it was "aligned" with Google's position that the violation of internet privacy was deeply disturbing and something that had to be opposed.

But an Alibaba Group spokesman said on Saturday it did not "share this view".

Beijing has tried to play down Google's threat to pull out of China because of attacks by hackers and censorship.



BBC News - Yahoo criticised by Alibaba for 'reckless' China stance
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BBC News - German government warns against using MS Explorer



The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security.

The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems.

Microsoft rejected the warning, saying that the risk to users was low and that the browsers' increased security setting would prevent any serious risk.

However, German authorities say that even this would not make IE fully safe.


BBC News - German government warns against using MS Explorer
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Fujitsu's MH380 Stylish Mini-Netbook powered by Pine Trail Atom Processor. | Gadgetonian

Fujitsu's MH380 Stylish Mini-Netbook powered by Pine Trail Atom Processor. | Gadgetonian

The MH380 mini-netbook from Fujitsu has a stylish design with chrome-ring shell and includes a scroll-wheel next to its track pad. The netbook is powerd by a Pine Trail Atom processor, it has a 10.1-inch LED screen with a max resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, 250GB storage capacity on SATA HDD, 2GB of RAM memory and a 1.3MP camera. It also offers support for SD SDHC cards and it weigh 1.3 kg .
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Wednesday 13 January 2010

Google and China seem to be waging an information war

Internet giant Google says it may end its operations in China after hackers targeted the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
BBC News - Google 'may pull out of China after Gmail cyber attack'




Google is taking a new, hard-line approach to China, which includes a new policy where they are no longer going to censor search results on Google.cn.

UPDATE: Laszlo Thoth checked and image searches for “Tiananmen” are now showing up again on Google.cn. For instance the iconic image of a man standing in front of a row of tanks can be found on the second page of results.




Google Takes a Hard-Line Approach to China, Will Stop Censoring Google.cn Search Results
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Sunday 10 January 2010

UI Migration of sharepoint, use these batch files

http://digantakumar.com/2009/10/12/migrating-sharepoint-website-to-a-new-web-server-and-database-using-script/ Source


To migrate SharePoint website to a new web server and database server I have successfully managed two approach. In this article I have discussed doing the migration using a script. To see my other post go to Migrating Sharepoint website to a new web server and database manually.

1. Install SharePoint on the new web server you want to migrate to.

2. Run the configuration wizard to connect it to the new SQL server. If you are connecting to the same SQL server delete (I would backup first) the Admin Content and ‘MOSS_Config’ databases. The configuration wizard will recreate these.

3. Install the same updates and services packs as on the original server. I did this with SP 2007 SP2. Make sure you run the configuration updates after the service packs.

4. Backup the web application using the following script on the SharePoint web server or the server from which you are trying to migrate. Make sure you login using and account which have admin access to the web server and the database. Copy and paste the text below into a notepad and save it as backup.bat file. If the website you are trying to migrate is running on the web server on port 80 then use http://OldServerName:80 or http://OldServerName. Obviously, you will use your server name instead.

@echo off
echo ===============================================================
echo Backup Web Application onto “D:\backup\SharePoint80.Dat”
echo ===============================================================
@echo off

::*****Change Directory to the 12 Hives*****
c:
cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN

::*****ReadOnly access to the http://OldServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://OldServerName -lock readonly

::*****Back up the farm*****
:: REM stsadm.exe -o backup -directory “\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm” -backupmethod full

::*****Back up web application, ‘SharePoint – 80′ is the name of the backup website *****
stsadm.exe -o backup -directory “\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm” -backupmethod full -item “SharePoint – 80″

::*****Remove lock on Limit access to the http://OldServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://OldServerName -lock none

echo completed

5. Restore your SSP (these are the other two databases you restored earlier). Central Admin -> App Management -> Manage this farm’s shared services (Click in the Shared Services link on the left!). Select Restore SSP. Name the SSP (Can use the same name as before SharedServices1 or change it. I would leave it so it matches the DB name) Make sure you select your SSPadmin and MySite web applications your created earlier and your restored database names. Do I have to mention again to make sure the names are exact! Select the index server (it is now available since you started the service). You will get a warning stating you are changing the association of the existing web applications. Click OK.

6. Copy the Farm folder created after backup (\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm) to the new web server (\\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm).

7. Login to the new web server and open command prompt. Run “cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN”
and execute “stsadm.exe -o backuphistory -directory \\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm”. This will give you a backup history ID.

8. Restore the web application using the following script on the new SharePoint web server or the server to which you are trying to migrate. Make sure you login using and account which have admin access to the web server and the database. Copy and paste the text below into a notepad and save it as restore.bat file. Delete any web application with same name it exist using “stsadm.exe –o deletesite –url http://NewServerName”. Use the backupid you got from step 7 while restoring.

@echo off
echo ===============================================================
echo Restore Sharepoint Site Collection from file “D:\backup\restore.dat”
echo ===============================================================
@echo off

:: REM *****Change Directory to the 12 Hives*****
c:
cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN

:: REM *****Limit access to the http://NewServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://NewServerName -lock readonly

:: REM *****Restore the http://NewServerName site collection, ‘SharePoint – 80′ is the name of the restore website *****
stsadm.exe -o restore -directory \\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm -backupid db2a5773-627a-4687-8b2f-dd12f152c5da -item “SharePoint – 80″ -restoremethod new -newdatabaseserver “NewDatabaseServer”.

:: REM *****Remove lock on Limit access to the http://NewServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://NewServerName -lock none

echo completed

9. Install any 3rd party web parts or custom ASPX pages before you try and open the site so it does not mess with any formatting. In my case I to reconfigure AKS Toolkit and aRTE on the server. Install IFilter for PDF icon. Migrate all web.config changes manually. For e.g default proxy settings.

10. Open your SSP website and user import and then start a full crawl. You should notice that all your SSP settings are still there.

11. Since you did not restore the Sharepoint_AdminContent database you will have recreate things like smtp server names. These are all easy things that can be found off the main Central Admin Page. You should even go through the steps they list and complete each one.
You should now have a fully functioning SharePoint site on a new server with a new sql server.

Reference

http://www.endusersharepoint.com/STP/topic/restore-an-entire-farm-in-to-a-new-set-up

Back up and restore SSPs (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Back up and restore an entire farm (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Back up and restore Web applications by using built-in tools (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Restore: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server)

www.tzunami.com

UI Migration of sharepoint, use these batch files

http://digantakumar.com/2009/10/12/migrating-sharepoint-website-to-a-new-web-server-and-database-using-script/ Source


To migrate SharePoint website to a new web server and database server I have successfully managed two approach. In this article I have discussed doing the migration using a script. To see my other post go to Migrating Sharepoint website to a new web server and database manually.

1. Install SharePoint on the new web server you want to migrate to.

2. Run the configuration wizard to connect it to the new SQL server. If you are connecting to the same SQL server delete (I would backup first) the Admin Content and ‘MOSS_Config’ databases. The configuration wizard will recreate these.

3. Install the same updates and services packs as on the original server. I did this with SP 2007 SP2. Make sure you run the configuration updates after the service packs.

4. Backup the web application using the following script on the SharePoint web server or the server from which you are trying to migrate. Make sure you login using and account which have admin access to the web server and the database. Copy and paste the text below into a notepad and save it as backup.bat file. If the website you are trying to migrate is running on the web server on port 80 then use http://OldServerName:80 or http://OldServerName. Obviously, you will use your server name instead.

@echo off
echo ===============================================================
echo Backup Web Application onto “D:\backup\SharePoint80.Dat”
echo ===============================================================
@echo off

::*****Change Directory to the 12 Hives*****
c:
cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN

::*****ReadOnly access to the http://OldServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://OldServerName -lock readonly

::*****Back up the farm*****
:: REM stsadm.exe -o backup -directory “\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm” -backupmethod full

::*****Back up web application, ‘SharePoint – 80′ is the name of the backup website *****
stsadm.exe -o backup -directory “\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm” -backupmethod full -item “SharePoint – 80″

::*****Remove lock on Limit access to the http://OldServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://OldServerName -lock none

echo completed

5. Restore your SSP (these are the other two databases you restored earlier). Central Admin -> App Management -> Manage this farm’s shared services (Click in the Shared Services link on the left!). Select Restore SSP. Name the SSP (Can use the same name as before SharedServices1 or change it. I would leave it so it matches the DB name) Make sure you select your SSPadmin and MySite web applications your created earlier and your restored database names. Do I have to mention again to make sure the names are exact! Select the index server (it is now available since you started the service). You will get a warning stating you are changing the association of the existing web applications. Click OK.

6. Copy the Farm folder created after backup (\\OldServerName\D$\backup\Farm) to the new web server (\\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm).

7. Login to the new web server and open command prompt. Run “cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN”
and execute “stsadm.exe -o backuphistory -directory \\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm”. This will give you a backup history ID.

8. Restore the web application using the following script on the new SharePoint web server or the server to which you are trying to migrate. Make sure you login using and account which have admin access to the web server and the database. Copy and paste the text below into a notepad and save it as restore.bat file. Delete any web application with same name it exist using “stsadm.exe –o deletesite –url http://NewServerName”. Use the backupid you got from step 7 while restoring.

@echo off
echo ===============================================================
echo Restore Sharepoint Site Collection from file “D:\backup\restore.dat”
echo ===============================================================
@echo off

:: REM *****Change Directory to the 12 Hives*****
c:
cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN

:: REM *****Limit access to the http://NewServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://NewServerName -lock readonly

:: REM *****Restore the http://NewServerName site collection, ‘SharePoint – 80′ is the name of the restore website *****
stsadm.exe -o restore -directory \\NewServerName\D$\backup\Farm -backupid db2a5773-627a-4687-8b2f-dd12f152c5da -item “SharePoint – 80″ -restoremethod new -newdatabaseserver “NewDatabaseServer”.

:: REM *****Remove lock on Limit access to the http://NewServerName site collection during backup*****
stsadm.exe -o setsitelock -url http://NewServerName -lock none

echo completed

9. Install any 3rd party web parts or custom ASPX pages before you try and open the site so it does not mess with any formatting. In my case I to reconfigure AKS Toolkit and aRTE on the server. Install IFilter for PDF icon. Migrate all web.config changes manually. For e.g default proxy settings.

10. Open your SSP website and user import and then start a full crawl. You should notice that all your SSP settings are still there.

11. Since you did not restore the Sharepoint_AdminContent database you will have recreate things like smtp server names. These are all easy things that can be found off the main Central Admin Page. You should even go through the steps they list and complete each one.
You should now have a fully functioning SharePoint site on a new server with a new sql server.

Reference

http://www.endusersharepoint.com/STP/topic/restore-an-entire-farm-in-to-a-new-set-up

Back up and restore SSPs (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Back up and restore an entire farm (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Back up and restore Web applications by using built-in tools (Office SharePoint Server 2007)

Restore: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server)

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Friday 8 January 2010

Innovation Wave

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The Innovation Wave by Robert Hooker



This is my idea about how new ideas come in to being and become products we all can use and take for granted.

You start with imagination, just science fiction really. Things in Star Trek or movies or in novels that only a few nerds are interested in.

Then somebody gets hold of some money and starts a new company to release the product. These new small companies are extremely mortal, but they introduce almost all the really new stuff. The firms that have been around for more than 10 years become static and just take other people's ideas. For example, RIM and not Apple or Microsoft made the first mass used smart phone.

These companies are very likely to die off or fade. When you look at some of the companies on my list of "New and Nerdy" innovators you will be worried for the future of RIM and Red Hat.

Once a concept is somewhat established with a geeky crowd one of the "cool" companies takes it up moving it to a "hot buzz" phase. For example RIM's Blackberry was for suits, then the iPhone made the smart phone cool. Ubuntu has made Linux cool. Probably Apple is the king of this space.

But in time the buzz fades and the established crowd of big companies like Microsoft, IBM, Novell, Sony, HP, Dell, Fujitsu, and all the others produce established versions.

Think of the path of the PC. Starting as geeky toys made by Sinclair, Atari, and Commodore. Wang then made a PC workstation companies could use. But Apple's Mac really showed what a PC could be, with a "Window"s based OS. In time Microsoft finally got it right with Windows 2000 and now we just have Windows XP everywhere.

Notice though I have not stressed the role of time in this wave. Though normally you can think of products evolving in this wave it is more complex than this. Different user groups will be at different levels. For example I might be an established Linux user with Novell SUSE on servers for years, but someone else might be discovering it as something cool with Ubuntu. I could be a mature SmartPhone user and find people going on about iPhones as wasting money on toys. Sometimes all three events could be happening at once. With the smart phone we will soon have RIM, Apple and Microsoft all with mature offerings on the market at the same time. Slowly though the population becomes used to the item and starts buying on price rather than coolness, and the established large vendors can sell at massive volumes, and they take the industry.

It is also worth noticing that some people get stuck in certain parts of the process. Some people love innovation and want the newest thing before it is cool. I am probably in this group. I built my own netbook 3 years ago, I have been using smart phones for 7 years now. Some people are in to Apple, consuming technology only when Apple decides its time to make it. Most people are in the Microsoft space, buying a computer or laptop when someone tells them they need it and always buying Microsoft.

It will be interesting to see how Open Source plays in to this wave. It is my bet that Open Source will increase the rise of "toys" making more and more new and nerdy products, but the advantage and power of the big players is so that they will almost always take technologies spaces and hold them. Look at Windows, Microsoft's Vista was perhaps the greatest failure in IT history, and still they hold the PC OS space against Linux and Mac OS X, despite having a shit product that was desperately out of date until Windows 7.
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Microsoft already setting a high expectation bar for Mobile World Congress | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

I’m betting Microsoft is going to show off more than just the Windows Mobile platform in Barcelona, based on what the company did last year at the MWC show. I’m thinking the Softies might also be ready to talk about the next version of its My Phone service, which stores Windows Mobile phone data to the cloud.
Microsoft already setting a high expectation bar for Mobile World Congress | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com
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BBC News - How online life distorts privacy rights for all


People who post intimate details about their lives on the internet undermine everybody else's right to privacy, claims an academic.

Dr Kieron O'Hara has called for people to be more aware of the impact on society of what they publish online.

"If you look at privacy in law, one important concept is a reasonable expectation of privacy," he said.

"As more private lives are exported online, reasonable expectations are diminishing."

The rise of social networking has blurred the boundaries of what can be considered private, he believes - making it less of a defence by law.

We live in an era that he terms "intimacy 2.0" - where people routinely share extremely personal information online.

"When our reasonable expectations diminish, as they have, by necessity our legal protection diminishes."



BBC News - How online life distorts privacy rights for all
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BBC News - 3D TV is being billed as possible industry saviour

3D TV is being billed as a possible saviour for recession hit manufacturers looking to boost sales.

On the opening day of the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Las Vegas, all the big names unveiled 3D TV's.

Industry experts said the picture looks promising with a survey showing around 3.4m 3D TV sets will be sold in the US this year.

"It's a challenging market. We need something to kick us out of this," said Panasonic's Elsuke Tsuyuzaki.

"To me, the thing that's going to get us there is 3D," added the firm's chief technology officer.

"2009 is a year none of us want to repeat," said Gary Shapiro the president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) which hosts the annual tech gathering.

The association has predicted that for the coming year the whole consumer electronics industry should eke out a slight revenue increase of 0.3%. The rise of $440m (£280m) will take expected revenues to $165.3bn (£105bn)

However Mr Shapiro noted that lower average selling prices for TVs will be a drag. CEA expects TV revenues to decline 2% in this sector to $22.1bn (£14bn) even though unit sales will go up 5% to 37.7m (£24m)


BBC News - 3D TV is being billed as possible industry saviour
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BBC News - Microsoft and HP show off 'slate' PC

Market boost

This is not Microsoft's first attempt to introduce a tablet or slate-like computer.

Back in 2002, the company introduced a tablet PC version of Windows XP, which failed to take off.

Analysts however believe these new entries should give the middling $950m (£597m) US market for tablets a much needed jolt.

"Apple could do for the tablet market what it did for smartphones with the iPhone," analyst David Daoud of IDC told USA Today.

Other industry watchers fear that consumers might be a little wary with so many companies all rushing at once to bring out new devices.

"With this market awash in products, customer confusion is what we have for certain," said Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

In his address, Mr Ballmer also focused on new PCs, software and the success of Windows 7 which was released last October.

"The biggest hit of the year was Windows 7," said Mr Ballmer.

"Windows 7 is by far the fastest selling operating system in history."

The software boss cited figures from the market analysis firm NPD that said that since the launch of Windows 7, sales of consumer PCs in the US over the latest holiday period were up more than 50% from the year before.

BBC News - Microsoft and HP show off 'slate' PC

Just wondering if any economist could calculate how much of the current economic problems were caused entirely by Vista?  I know I put off buying a new improved computer that I probably needed in 2007 until 2010 because I already had XP machines but refused to go to Vista.  Certainly PC sales are up on Windows 7 but how far down did they go because of Vista.

I have been using Windows 7 now since New Years.  Not only is it an amazing OS on level with the latest Mac OSX or Linux releases, but it wipes the slate clean of the Vista failure IMHO.  The interesting thing about Vista is that Microsoft utterly blew one of the most anticipated Windows releases in its history and screwed the hardware producers who were forced to milk XP way beyond the point anyone had imagined it would go.  I used Windows XP for 7 years!!!!  I upgrade my Linux machines every year.  And yet still Microsoft can come out on top, all it needed to do was get it right, produce an OS which just uses concepts that Linux and Apple had already proven.  Sweet deal if you ask me. 
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Thursday 7 January 2010

An amazing ride


Alice in Wonderland Dark Ride - Welcome to Wonderland

This combines a classic haunted house like ride with the artistic creativity and joy of Alice in Wonderland. It takes some time to figure it out, you have to rez a car to sit in and then touch a clock to get going. And you can't have an IM while watching the ride, which for me is kind of a problem since I always seem to have an IM or 2 going. But the ride is a wonderful example of the kind of new art that Second Life has made possible.



Description: Admission is free, but tips are requested. Enter the world of Lewis Carroll, with the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Jabberwocky, and Alice in Wonderland herself. Part of the Black Pearl Pleasure Beach Amusement Park.

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What a strange trip its been


Alice in Wonderland Dark Ride - Welcome to Wonderland

This SIM really struck me, the strange beauty and random almost ugly chaos that is just emerging all over Second Life, and the Wonderland Ride is an amazing piece of art.
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A fun house



Black Pearl Pleasure Beach Amusement Park Carnival Circus

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More 3D video, this technologies time has come.



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3d flowers, if you don't have a pair of 3d glasses its time to get them

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Courier: First Details of Microsoft's Secret Tablet - Microsoft courier tablet - Gizmodo

Courier: First Details of Microsoft's Secret Tablet - Microsoft courier tablet - Gizmodo
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The war for the Slate Space



I drew up a quick picture to try and show how I see the Slate fitting in to the bigger war in the IT space.

Presently the world of information technology is dominated by 2 giants: Google and Microsoft. Google has been long established as the king of the Cloud, but Microsoft Bing is making a try to fight for the title, and frankly Google's monopoly in the Cloud was not good for content producers and Microsoft should have no trouble taking a piece of the Cloud. But only a piece. Google is too big and too good and is to the Cloud what Microsoft is to the desktop.

Google has recently finally left just the Cloud to sell a real thing: the Droid mobile device. This places them competition with the established iPhone. Microsoft owns the desktop and laptop space.

So you have these three players. I don't take the current eReaders seriously and assume they will drop out. The Slate is the real space for devices in the future. Laptop and desktops are too clunky and mobile devices are too small. The Slate computer is the surface for Web 3.0. Slates will combine the excellent power of current desktops with the mobility and Geo sense of iPhones.

The question is who will get there first and then who will hold it. I don't know but these are the things to keep in mind:

1. Google has lots of money and lots of motivation but no established record in making hardware.
2. Apple is best at bringing out these new designs but has a history of falling off. But the iPod held up since 2001 only to be unseated by the iPhone. Maybe apple has found a space it can hold for good? Maybe that place includes the iSlate?
3. Microsoft has a shit record in going small, and the first Microsoft slates presentations were real dull. But it has an established record of taking over computing space.

Taking this in to consideration this is my prediction:

1. Apple opens with iSlate and takes the market.
2. Microsoft fights like crazy to get this space as it sees more and more slates taking the place of laptops. Microsoft has an army of hardware makers in Asia and the US who will throw massive R&D at getting this right. Either Sony or Samsung will finally produce the proper device.
3. Google will produce an Android Slate in 2010 or 2011, but it lack of hardware deployment and its bitter fight for the mobile will limit its penetration.

So my prediction: 2011 winner is the Mac iSlate, 2015 with will be the Windows 9 Slate or Courier 2, I can never make sense out of Microsoft's naming conventions.
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BBC News - Microsoft and HP show off 'slate' PC



Muted reaction

Reaction to the as yet unnamed device was somewhat subdued.

"What we saw confirmed my worst suspicions that this is your standard Microsoft software in a slate form," Paul Miller, senior associate editor of technology website Engadget, told BBC News.

"It's an interesting product in itself but Microsoft could have gone further. It's not anything new in terms of software and that is what you really need to make a device like this make people want to buy it."

However, technology blogger Devin Connors of Tom's Hardware did not agree.

"It looked really good given the short amount of time we saw it for and it has Windows 7. Everyone loves Windows 7 and putting it in a device the size of an e-reader is probably going to be a winning combination."

The lack of enthusiasm for the product was in part due to speculation about what - if anything - Apple may launch.

Rumours of a Apple slate - dubbed the iSlate - has dominated the blogosphere in recent weeks, although there has been no formal announcement by the Cupertino-based company.

"Apple tends to change the game and this Microsoft/HP tablet didn't blow them out of the water," said Dean Takahashi of tech blog VentureBeat.com.


BBC News - Microsoft and HP show off 'slate' PC

Myself, I love my Windows 7 Touch computer, and I will probably be getting an iSlate later this year.  In this area its simple, Apple though expensive creates new gadgets better than anyone else.   In 4 years a Windows or Google Slate will take Apples place.
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Microsoft Office 2010 Pricing Revealed




Here’s a list of the four retail editions of Office 2010, which applications they will include, and how much they will cost.


Office Professional Academic


Priced at $99, this edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access and Office Web Apps. It’s basically a cheaper version of the business-aimed Professional edition, but it’s reserved for “qualified students and educators.” It will be sold through campus bookstores and retailers.


Office Home and Student


This one will set you back $149 for the boxed version and $119 for the Product Key Card. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Office Web Apps. It will be the most basic retail edition, separated from its peers primarily by its lack of the Outlook e-mail application. It will also be available in a Family Pack that will include licenses for three computers in your home, but Microsoft hasn’t officially announced the pack’s price.


Office Home and Business


The price: $279 for the box, $199 for the Product Key Card. For that, you’ll get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Office Web Apps. Yep, compare it to Office Home and Student and you’ll find that Outlook alone will cost you either $130 or $80 depending on whether you buy the disc or the key.


Office Professional


At $499 boxed or $349 for a key, Office Professional will give you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access and Office Web Apps — the same as the much-cheaper Office Professional Academic version. This is the full suite for small businesses; apps like Access aren’t necessary for most home users.


Microsoft Office 2010 Pricing Revealed
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Transparent Laptop Lets You Spy on People As You Type

Transparent Laptop Lets You Spy on People As You Type
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Samsung unveils e-reader, partnering with Google




South Korean electronics giant Samsung jumped into the increasingly crowded electronic book reader market Wednesday, unveiling its first devices and a partnership with Google Books.
Samsung unveils e-reader, partnering with Google
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