Thanks to fellow SBSC'er Paul Dadge of PC Paramedic Solutions for making me aware of the following free Microsoft training course:-

"Exchange Unplugged in association with Lynx Technology

Language(s):
English.

Product(s):
Exchange Server.

Audience(s):
IT Professionals.

Event Overview

Reserve your front row seat at Exchange Unplugged, this is your opportunity to get the inside scoop on Exchange Server 2007,  Office Communications Server 2007 and the rest of the Unified Communications platform.  

Microsoft UK’s best and brightest Unified Communications (UC) specialists will all be there to guide you through Exchange Server 2007, Office Communications Server 2007,  Mobility and the rest of the Unified Communications stack. You’ll learn, first-hand, how Exchange 2007 has changed due to customer feedback,  how to migrate from your existing solution to a unified communications solution and how Office Communications Server 2007 can help you users communicate better and much more.

They will share with you all the inside info, including insider tips, those important “gotchas” and demos that will bring this to life.

Sessions will include:

• Exchange Server 2007 including SP1,  an architectural overview and details on how it integrates into the rest of the UC suite.

• How to migrate from your existing platform to a new UC platform.  Its not just ‘move mailbox’.  This section will cover other parts of migration including storage, public folders and hardware.

• How email and voicemail are coming together in Exchange 2007 in Unified Messaging.  Also covered in this section is how Outlook Voice Access give can give you another way in which to interact with your inbox.

• Real world experience from a partner including a customer case study (slightly changed for EPG version – to just customer)

• Mobility and how Windows Mobile,  Exchange 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007 provide secure and scalable communications such as email,  calendaring, presence and IM across an array of mobile devices.

• Office Communications Server 2007.  Communication can be seen, typed or heard.  Hear about the latest entrant into the Unified Communications stack and how it will change the way in which people will communicate forever.

This is a brilliant opportunity to hear first hand about the technologies that make up the Unified Communications stack and shouldn’t be missed."

I'm aware of two sessions, one in London next week and another (which I'll be attending) in Coventry on 2nd November. Both sessions are free - so if you're interested in Exchange 2007, get yourself registered now by visiting this web-site.

For those that don't know me too well, what I'm about to say will compound every stereotype about me being a geek and a fan-boy in an instant. Any Professional respect (yeah right!) that I have will go flying out of the window, and I can hear the teasing from clients and colleagues alike on telephone calls, site visits and user group meetings for a long time to come. But I'm going to say it anyway.

Some people follow Football in their spare time, some people collect stamps, others go to the cinema.

I read Comic Books.

You know, Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, that sort of thing.

Stop sniggering.

Anyway, one of my favorite Comic Book characters is called Quasar. He was a character created in the mid-70's, about the time I was born. He's heroic but he's polite. He's mild mannered. Not at all like all the other anti-heroes of the modern age. I've grown up reading about him and I know all about him. I've got all his comics. The fact that he's not as popular as Superman or The Flash makes being a fan of Quasar that much harder. I get teased by other Comic Book fans about being a fan of Quasar. Now if you thought collecting comics was sad, imagine being teased by other people who collect comics!!!

Last year, something terrible happened. The writers at Marvel Comics killed off Quasar. I was distraught. The GG couldn't console me. I moped around the house. Why would Marvel do this to a character so many (well, about 300 of us worldwide) cared about?

Quasar's "real name" is Wendell Vaughan. A "Bring Back Wendell" campaign was started to persuade the big-wigs at Marvel Comics to resurrect Quasar because, you know, this is comics and people can come back from the dead with some decent writing.

Anyway, the response from Marvel has been less than stellar. Who cares if a bunch of fan-boys rant and rave about a character no-one else cares about? The letters of complaint can be strewn into the bin. The e-mails pleading for Wendell's return can be deleted. It's easy to ignore people if you want to.

So the folks at the "Bring Back Wendell" campaign did something a bit different. They sent the editors at Marvel Comics a Cake!

Everybody loves cake! It's a lot harder to throw a Cake into the bin than it is a letter. It's difficult to ignore a sweet-sweet Cake like you could a Telephone call. Suddenly the Marvel big-wigs are happy to chat about Quasar, and even hint he may return in the future. Great news!

The story got me thinking about something Susanne Dansey said recently. She recommended that on your next site visit to a client, you take a bag of Doughnuts. Your clients will love you for it!

Back in the day when I was an IT Contractor it could be real easy for the permanent employees (the "permies") I worked with to be resentful of me for getting paid more, not having to work overtime, etc. etc. How did I keep those "permies" happy? I provided a constant stream of Doughnuts, Cream Cakes and Chocolate Biscuits. It worked - I got on with them just fine and even made a few good friends!

Since I worked for myself, I've never bought cakes for my clients. But I will do now. People are happy to talk to people who offer them cakes - it may improve my relationship with my clients!

And who knows? The good karma of my cake buying may help to bring Wendell Vaughan aka Quasar, back from the dead. Fingers crossed, true believers.

I attended the Microsoft Partner Roadshow in Nottingham yesterday. It was a really useful day, with some great presentations and just as importantly - providing the opportunity to network and chat with your peers and the folk at Microsoft and other vendors.

It was really good to have a couple of nice people who I'd never met before come up to me and ask me for my experiences in building a business as a "one-man-band". Stay in touch guys, and let me know how you are getting on.

Andy and Vijay have already posted really good write-ups of the event in their own blogs, so I'll spare you my report, but to say that two things really struck me at the event.

The first was that when standing back and people watching as to who was doing the networking - meeting new people, making the effort to greet others warmly, who was asking the questions of the presenters during their presentations, who's hand went up with presenters asked "Who's using this technology/methodology/facility", and yes, I'll admit - who was being a bit noisy and having some fun... it was the Microsoft Small Business Specialist partners and in particular, members of the Midlands User Group.

Just my opinion, but actively involved members of the SBSC wanted to get a lot out of the day - so they put a lot in.

The second thing, and I'll admit this really made me bristle at the time, was during the SBSC-only sessions. Vijay Riyait gave a great presentation on the benefits of being a part of the Community and then asked the question "Of those SBSC members here who are not part of a regional user group - what's stopping you from getting involved". One answer made me tense up - "I haven't got enough time".

Grrr.

We're all busy. Small Business owners more-so than most. But let me share something I've learnt with you. Whatever problems you experience, day-to-day, be they technology related or business related - odds are somebody else experienced those problems before you did.

What's more, odds are that the very same person who can help you out with your problem is a member of your local user group.

That's just one benefit of getting involved. I won't expand too much upon the many other benefits, such as the fact you'll get to hear directly from your peers as to which vendors and good, and which are bad - saving you time finding out for yourself. Or which products and technologies are exciting and need your attention now, saving you time wading through that mountain of magazines and articles you keep meaning to read. Or the soft benefit that regularly associating with successful motivated people in the same field as you brings, helping you raise your game and making you more productive.

So the next time your local user group meeting is due, and it's the end of a long day and you've got the choice between breaking your usual routine and actually attending, or sticking with the tried and tested method of putting something else (the invoicing, the user issues you're currently dealing with, dinner and television?) first - just question yourself. Are you not attending because you've really not got the time, as you keep telling yourself, or are you not attending because it's difficult for you to do something different.

You can contact Vijay Riyait to find out the details of your closest Small Business Specialist user group and when they are next meeting.

In closing, I highly recommend that if you're SBSC qualified and not actively participating within the Community because you're too busy that you make the time to read this book (or if you're too busy, buy the Audio version and listen to it!).

Trust me when I say you'll find it useful! :-)

Microsoft have announced the second of their "Business Bites" Webinars - aimed at helping Microsoft Partners to get to grips with various aspects of running their business.

I missed their first event as it was over-subscribed - so if you're interested I would suggest registering as quickly as you can!

"Business Bites Live Meeting

Managing risk in your business: the role of insurance; Monday 29^th October, 11:00 – 12:30

We are pleased to announce that the second edition of the Business Bites series hosted by Bill Wells will take place on Monday 29^th October from 11am.   

It is important to recognise that being in business is about managing risk. Clients, Cash flow, Technology solutions, Staff, and every other facet of your business has an element of risk attached.  Quite often we accept the risk, and turn a blind eye to it, this series of presentations shows how we can minimise and manage risk.

Jonathan Cox of Pavey Group, a specialist in risk management and insurance will explain how an insurance underwriter should help a business understand what mechanisms exist for managing risk; Jonathon is an expert in the IT business, and specifically in the risks faced by small and medium sized companies.  Jonathon will also give an insight into the style of relationship that can be expected from an insurance broker , it’s so much more than telling you which underwriter can supply the cheapest insurance!

Edmund Probert of Foot Anstey Solicitors will also be on hand to answer your legal questions as they relate to this topic.

To register your attendance at this event please visit http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032356971&Culture=en-GB. "

Using Windows XP on a machine with more than 1GB memory and get the error "Insufficient System Resources Exist to Complete the API" when you try to Hibernate? Go and take a look at the Microsoft Knowledgebase Article KB909905 which provides a downloadable patch to address this issue.

This week I've come across two separate and newly built laptops that suffered with this issue (yes, there is still a strong market for XP - Windows Vista is still making few inroads in the SMB area in my experience...) so I thought it was worth posting this old fix.

Like many of you, my day-to-day "To Do" list is always chock-a-block. I generally divide my list into a number of different areas including "Client Work", "Business Development", "Technical Development", "Personal" and "Netlink Administration". But in keeping with good GTD practice, there's another category on that list - one called "Someday".

"Someday" includes all those things I'd like to do... someday! It's there as a reminder to me of some of the bigger life goals or experiences that can easily get forgotten when you're focusing on the short-term.

One of the items on that "Someday" list was "Fly an Aeroplane" - and thanks to a generous Christmas present from my family, I took to the Skies for the first time earlier this year!

The location of my first flight was Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport. Just visiting small Airports like Halfpenny Green is an experience in itself! Whilst I was there, all manner of small 'planes and Helicopters came and went - exciting stuff for a 30-year old kid like me!

The morning began by meeting my Flight Instructor, Bob, who sat me down and explained how the 'plane we'd be going up in worked. The concept of flight seemed so basic - and yet so complicated all at the same time! The most interesting (or scary, depending on how you look at it) aspect of this theory lesson was the comment from Bob - "well, we're really not quite sure how flying actually works". What Bob went on to explain was that there are a number of competing scientific theories of how the 'plane actually gets off the ground - and once I'd got over my shock at this statement, the theory started to make sense.

My first lesson would involve flying in a dual-control Cessna C-152 Aeroplane. Bob gave me a tour of the 'plane, and it struck me how few electronics were involved in the unit itself (and all the other small 'planes I viewed whilst at the Airport). Virtually everything was basically mechanical in nature which was very interesting bearing in mind the age of the microchip we live in.

Then it was time to get into the Cockpit and get off the ground. I was expecting the engine to be a lot louder than it was, but holding a normal conversation wasn't so difficult at all.

The controls of the 'plane were easy to get used to, but I kept finding myself doing the most odd "car" related habits - such as checking the wing mirrors when changing direction. What was I expecting to find, a Jumbo Jet coming up behind me?!

Once we'd taken off and reached 2500 feet above ground, I must admit that I actually felt a twang of heart-wrenching emotion! It was just so calm and beautiful up there and almost put your existence amongst so many others on the ground into perspective. In an attempt to curb these fluffy emotions <grin> I whipped out my Mobile 'Phone to answer one of those little questions I've always had. Do you get a good signal 2500 feet up. The answer? A resounding yes! It's a bit of a stretch to go 2500 feet up in a 'plane just to get a good mobile signal - but there you go.

Whilst in the air a couple of things struck me. The first was that in the hour or so I was in the air, I must have only spotted one or two other planes nearby. A stark contrast from driving a car shared with thousands others on the M6! Bob explained that Commercial Flights generally climb to 30,000 feet - and that things were a little more crowded up at those heights, but down at these levels the sky was usually very clear. The second thought that then occurred to me was - why hasn't "personal" aviation technology moved on in the same way as say, the Motorcar. Aircraft fuel isn't much more expensive than Motor fuel, and there are plenty of small airports around. Perhaps I'm not aware of the many other factors involved - or perhaps I just yearn for Star Wars-esque views of the future, with lots of one-man flying cars around! :-)

We then headed back, and to my surprise Bob asked if I was comfortable landing the plane! Horrific thoughts of Krypton-Factor like crashes (as I've experienced a few times in Microsoft Flight Simulator!) came into my head - but with Bob's help I landed calmly and without problem.

Once on the ground I couldn't stop smiling! I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself and wanted my next lesson straight away! I've a feeling my next flight may spend less time in awe of my surroundings and more time concentrating on learning the controls.

Flying lessons aren't cheap - generally £100+ per hour - with over 30 hours required before you're allowed to start thinking about going up on your own. It's definitely something I want to do more of though, time and funds permitting and I already know a couple of people who are doing semi-regular lessons towards their Private Pilots License.

In the meantime I've grabbed the latest copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator to placate my aero-ambitions, and have started accumulating brochures for Hot Air Balloon flights, something else I fancy doing so I can enjoy another taste of life in the air!

November 29th will see the first (of what will hopefully be many) Small Business Forums taking place at Microsoft Thames Valley Park in Reading, organised by the ever enthusiastic Susanne Dansey of Westcoast.

The Registration web-site for the event is now available and I'd suggest signing up quickly as judging by the quality of the speakers involved those 250 places are likely to go fast!

I've only been a Microsoft Small Business Specialist for the past twelve months, but it's had a significant positive impact on my business - due in large part to one benefit of membership, participation within the Small Business Specialist "Community". I can think of three specific examples of this - the first was hearing Gareth Brown of Sytec present on Managed Services - a presentation that changed my view of how I should be approaching IT Support for my clients. The second was Susanne Dansey contacting me about a frustrating Vendor issue I had blogged on, which through Susanne sharing her contacts with me resulted in a much more positive relationship with said Vendor. The third was chatting to Vijay Riyait of iQubed and subsequently attending the AMITPRO Midlands SBSC User Group and all the benefits that chatting to your geographically local peers can bring.

As Gareth, Susanne and Vijay are all presenting at the November 29th event - that should be proof enough for you to make sure you register now and are there on the day!

That's not to mention all the indirect and direct advice, ideas bouncing and technical support that I've shared through chatting to (and mostly listening to!) people such as Tim Long, Andy Parkes, Mark Taylor, Harry Brelsford, Paul Dadge, Steve Wright, Vlad Mazek, James Cash and Karl Palachuk - none of which I can be sure I would have come across had it not been for being an active part of the SBSC Community.

There's a saying "You are who you associate with" which I fully agree with. Associating with productive, successful and enthusiastic people helps you up your game. That benefit alone makes participating in the Small Business Specialist Community worthwhile.

If you're a SBSC member, passed the exam and got the Action Pack but done nothing more - you're missing out. Why not make the effort to attend the event on November 29th, get to know a few of your peers and even <gasp> your so called "competitors" (although trust me, there's plenty of clients for all of us...) and see what you are missing out on!

See you there. :-)

A vulnerability has been found in BT's "Home Hub" that enables an attacker to gain control over the Router and, amongst other horrors, change the Router's DNS settings so as to re-direct the unsuspecting end-user to all manner of dodgy sites - so reports The Register.

As with all such vulnerabilities, the chances of coming across a real-world exploit are extremely slim (in my experience) and it's very likely BT will patch this loophole shortly. Therefore if you're a BT customer there's no need to get paranoid and go throwing your Home Hub out of the window just yet.

That said, I happen to have spent some time helping a couple of clients (who wanted to work from home) and a friend configure their BT Home Hubs in recent weeks, and boy, does that Router's Web Administration interface suck! Give me a decent Router any day of the week!

Ruth Cavin over at The Telegraph has written a superb article entitled "Do You Facebook?" which is both an easy answer to refer any luddites who ask you "What is Facebook" to, and a surprisingly refreshing reminder to those of us who use Facebook as to what the hell we are doing using the site every day!

My obsession with reaching the top of my respective friends (friends? old school chums? loose acquaintances? cyber-stalkers?) Zombie/Werewolf/Vampire battle lists has already claimed a regular five minutes of my time everyday, and that's without those odd "boredom breaks" logging in to see what has been happening!

I'll have to keep that worryingly bad habit in check - or else I'll end up forcing myself to leave Facebook like others already have!

PC Pro are reporting that Wireless Internet access provider The Cloud will shortly be offering Unlimited Wi-Fi Access for only £3.99 a month... but only to Apple iPod Touch owners!

Now regular readers of this blog will be expecting one of my rants at this stage, where I scream blue murder about the ridiculous price of Wireless Internet access in the U.K, and how The Cloud's offer is a step in the right direction but wholly unfair by being restricted to iPod Touch owners.

Yes - you might expect that, but as I ordered my iPod Touch from the Apple Store last week and am currently awaiting it's arrival... I'm simply selfishly going to say... "Thank-you The Cloud" :-)