April 2008 - Posts
I see that my pal Arno is the featured MVP on the MSDN portal. Nice one!
I was asked, but declined, as I knew that my amazing good looks would scare other geeks away.
For the past few days, my house has been having power problems…. Lights turning off and on, power tripping out in the office and the like. I called the Irish power providers (the E.S.B.) on Sunday night to complain with a couple of beers in tow… it seemed to work, because a nice fellow from the E.S.B turned up on my doorstep an hour later at 10pm!
Now that’s good service!
Finally we managed to get the problem to reproduce itself at about midnight after many tests. My previous explanation of “my house looks like it has a poltergeist” did not cut it… I was never so happy to have a fault in my life; the poor guy honestly thought I was making it all up.
They spent the entire day disabling all the neighbours’ power supplies to finally figure out that “because I have the best power supply in the area, I am the earth for everyone”.
Brilliant.
So… where the hell was I going with this post…? Oh yes… I wanted to put you all in the direction of Hal’s post. It cheered me up to no end after these few days of power outage hell.
Microsoft have opened the ESP Team blog
hereThis is great news, and I look forward to seeing how that team progress over the coming years. It is a
very exciting project.
I just hope they change the blog skin
For those with MSDN Subscriptions, you can now get the standalone download from
this link!Hey, what do you mean….. Your still running XP! ;)
Over the summit I met a good few of the product teams, including the guys at Windows Home Server.
Now, I am under NDA, so I have to be careful what I say here, but as a few people know there has been a Windows Home Server corruption bug issue floating around for the past few months. Some pundits have, of course, slated the team over at Microsoft for this issue and the lack of updates from the team.
You see, that is the problem… they are pundits that simply want a story… They do not give the whole picture and “human factor” of the Microsoft team behind the product.
Data corruption is taken very seriously by the team, but the reality is that the problem has only affected a few people. Also… and this is where I am pushing the boundaries a bit… there are top people working on the issue, and a fix will be forthcoming (along with the new Power pack features). The team, from conversations I had with them, are passionate about getting the right fix to everyone along with the new features of the Power pack. Since the fix is at the kernel level of the OS, they are spending some extra time testing it... which I am sure that nobody, in their right mind, would complain about.
Once again, I was amazed at how much the Small Business Server team shared with us at this years summit. I must quickly mention that a lot of that is to do with Kevin Beares, so thanks man!
A lot of what we heard is still very much NDA, but there are a lot of things that the press have already released so I thought it would be a good thing to give out a “you may not know this about SBS2008” list:
- There is some really cool backup stuff coming – I cannot say more than that!
- There is going to be a Windows Live Onecare especially for Small Business Server 2008.
- There will be (excellent) Office Live integration to get your company a web presence right out of the box. <<< I would like to point out that this is VERY cool.
- There are massively improved migration tools.
- You will be able to have a USB key to run the “Connect Computer” client on PC’s instead of having to go to the website.
- WSUS can be removed from the server and everything, including reports will function perfectly. Not a “feature” per say, but something that R2 users will especially appreciate.
There are some other REALLY cool things that I cannot talk about, but I am sure that info will be available over the coming months…
Edit: I just read this post again… Did I say “cool” enough?
About 30 seconds ago, I posted the first ESP MSDN forum question
I am sure that potential developers on the ESP platform will find this to be a helpful resource. This forum, along with fsdeveloper.com (although that is more the Flight Simulator side of things) should be a helpful place for developers worldwide!
I am testing this friendfeed thing on my Facebook account. Agh… I cannot get it to work! Hopefully this will show up on it!
I see that Owen just posted this. So as not to crosspost the same info, I am simply going to link you to that post as there is no point doubling up on the same info.
That last picture is funny!
When I get a moment, I will put up some more ESP information. Meeting Dale “Snort” Snodgrass was the highlight for me (Sorry Hal). The community are going to LOVE the stuff he is doing with the team.
In my recent post on the summit I mentioned the guys at wegotserved.co.uk and made a slight mistake and only mentioned that link. (Terry’s site)
Of course, Andy Edney’s blog is on his own site here.
Andy is the author of The Windows Home Server User’s guide. I suggest you get a copy here!
Now, how about that for a blatant plug :)
This dude rocks.
If only for getting me drunk enough to do this:
Yeah! 
When I originally started writing this post I had just arrived in Seattle, now as I go to post it I am already on my return journey… this summit has been THAT packed full of good content, good people, good drink.
Of course, it would not be a Nick Whittome trip extravaganza without some screw up… this time it was nothing to do with the journey itself, but more to do with my complete lack of being able to deal with timezones.
About a month or so ago, I sent out an invite to people that I consider friends that are either in, or near, Seattle. This invite was to the SBS MVP “Welcome Party” that we hold every summit. The invites went out to the likes of Microsoft ACES team members, MVP’s, friends… well, you get it… At the party, I was mildly disappointed to only see a couple of the people I invited out of the 15 or so that the mail went to. The next day I caught a couple of them on instant messenger and asked why they did not arrive. It turns out that my invite was sent from outlook in my timezone…. hence the day before! Doh…. (slaps forehead). So, to those that I invited, and turned up… I am so sorry!
I met the guys from wegotserved.co.uk whom are new Windows Home Server MVP’s. Terry (A marketing God… or so he told me) and Andy Edney are really great guys.. you should check out the site and get on the WHS bandwagon. I will follow up with a post on some cool new WHS news soon myself as well, they are doing some great stuff on that team!
I skipped some of the open sessions on the first day to pop over to see Adrian Woods (AKA Torgo3000) as he may not have been around on the day I put aside to go over and see the Games Studio guys. (As it turned out, he was… but anyway). He brought me out for lunch in what can only be described as a scary Vietnamese food experience….. At one point we heard a dog howl and then yelp…. Sounded like it came from the kitchen… LOL! Not what you want to hear. Apart from the usual banter, the important fact of this meeting is that Adrian gave me his unedited video of IK animation techniques for gates in FSX, which I am going to edit and get posted once and for all. Finally some of you scenery designers will start implementing better gate systems in your scenery.
More soon….
So, I will be posting much more useful information from the Summit soon, but for the moment…
Those of you on my facebook will already have seen the photo of the Dalai Lama that is staying the same hotel. Here is that photo… very cool to be that close to such a man, even though I am not a religious person.
But that is not the best bit…
This morning, returning from breakfast, I look up and see a familiar face, Desmond Tutu! Walking along, chatting, hardly any security around. Marina tells me the best quote of the day so far…
“So, I am standing in the lift with Desmond Tutu, he says”…
“Yes, this week, I am the side-kick of the Dalai Lama”.
Classic.
I wanted to post up a quick comment regarding SBS2008 and the Demo I showed at IMTC.
I have been getting a few comments on the blog, and via email, asking why and how I was allowed to show such detail of the new product even though it is under NDA. Well, let me assure you all that it was done with the approval of Microsoft, so keep yer knickers on!
If you were not able to see my presentation on the product, I am told it will be hosted on a website somewhere… soon. When I have the details I will post them here!
Oh man, is it so wrong?
Yes, you have just entered the deep inner workings of the Naked MVP and there is no turning back.
I have no idea what it is, but I found myself “oogling” at the telly the other night watching Enchanted. I am not sure if it is the cute voice, the white dress, or the fact that she can clean a house really quickly…
Whatever… she’s a cracker…
Well, last week the latest update to the DigiLinX “Firmware” was released.
I have said it before, and I will say it again, I love the fact that a home control / audio streaming system can be upgraded just like any other network device.
Here are some of the new items in version 2.2!
TheaterLinX (TH100) support: DigiLinX Dealer Setup 2.2 now supports NetStreams’ newest hardware product, TheaterLinX. TheaterLinX is a bridge designed to simplify the integration between a Home Theater and a DigiLinX system. In addition to TheaterLinX hardware support, DigiLinX Dealer Setup 2.2 also includes:
New Home Theater Control GUI: A new GUI is available that simplifies the control of a Home Theater by making macro buttons and common source transport controls available on one screen.
Marantz AVR Drivers: TheaterLinX supports the full line of current Marantz AVRs with RS-232 control.
Denon AVR Drivers: TheaterLinX support the full line of current Denon AVRs with RS-232 control.
SpeakerLinX (SL254) support: New support for the upcoming SpeakerLinX model, which will drive Polk IP Ready speakers.
Enhanced SpeakerLinX (SL250) Equalization: The equalization parameters and settings for the SpeakerLinX (SL250) have been redesigned to provide better dynamic range, sound quality, and SPL. Added support for the SL250 to drive Polk IP Ready speakers.
Sirius Satellite Radio support: New support for Sirius satellite radio including models SCH2P and SCH1.
Marantz CD Changer (CC4001) support: New support for RS-232 control of the Marantz CC4001 CD Changer using a MediaLinX (MLA101).
Marantz iPod Dock (IS201) support: New support for RS-232 control of the Marantz IS201 iPod dock using a MediaLinX (MLA101).
Marantz Tuner (ST7001) support: New support for RS-232 control of the Marantz ST7001 AM/FM/XM tuner using a MediaLinX (MLA101).
Updates to Tuner GUI: The GUI interface for tuners has been updated to unify the AM/FM and Satellite tuner GUIs with full metadata. Cover art from satellite systems is available in “full screen” mode, which appears 7.5 seconds after the user selects a channel.
Sharp Display support: New support for RS-232 control of the Sharp Plasma PN-455RU, LCD LC-26DA5U, and LC-32DA5U displays.
Widescreen Signaling: The MediaLinX A/V (MLAV300) and ViewLinX (VL100) now pass widescreen signaling information over the component video connection.
Closed Captioning: The MediaLinX A/V (MLAV300) and ViewLinX (VL100) now pass closed captioning text through the NetStreams network to the display.
VUDU support: New support for the VUDU box from VUDU.
That is an impressive list of new features. I can also say that this is the first time that I have updated my own demo system without a single hitch or hang which is really great to see! Long may it continue!
I meant to post this the other day – when the news was fresh. No doubt a bazillion other FS bloggers have already mentioned it already, but there you go…. it seems that I can no longer be the person with the “exclusive” to FS news!
Anyway, the news is that it only took Hal Bryan one whole year two write the first FSInsider.com newsletter.
Expect issue two in 2009….
but be sure to subscribe NOW
Something that came up at one of the IMTC Keynotes –
Martha Rotter showed Virtual Earth and its new coverage of Ireland with the birds eye view.
I didn’t know, so I am guessing others don’t either.
Go take a look in Galway, Limerick, and others. (Not Dublin right now, they have much more restrictive fly zones).