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Official Launch of sbspodcast.com

Today Susanne Dansey and Susan Bradley announced  my new pet project, affectionately known as www.sbspodcast.com

This is not another SBS podcast (as the name may imply).  Rather, it’s a central point to find all podcasts pertaining to SBS & the SMB space. 

Some of these podcasts are IT Pro focused, some are consumer-focused, others deal with business, the community, and geek humor.  But the underlying theme (as a whole) tends to be security, because honestly, it’s not easy staying sharp – especially when it comes to security.

Each podcast entry on the site includes:

  • Podcast name
  • Host or hosts
  • Description
  • Website URL
  • RSS Feed URL (if available)

The current list of SBS / SMB podcasts includes:

Visitors to the site are encouraged to submit future SBS podcasts to the list. 

For the sake of convenience, all podcasts with RSS feeds are rolled up into a single OPML feed (available at the top of the page on the site).

Hopefully this project will give folks a chance to learn about podcasts they’ve never heard of and lower the barrier & learning curve to getting started listening to podcasts.   

If you’ve got feedback regarding the site or the project, feel free to post coments on this blog entry.

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Cougar Beta 1 DVD is Here

The friendly DHL guy stopped by today, and he always brings the good stuff.

Today he delivered the Windows Server Code Name “Cougar” Beta 1 DVD.  

Windows Server Code Name "Cougar" Beta 1 May 2007

And no, I’m not leaking any news – CRN announced Cougar back in January.  But I am posting the info here to thank Kevin Beares and the Microsoft Windows Server team for listening to feedback and really working with the SMB community.  You guys rock!!

And if you haven’t done so already, you can thank the team yourself by filling out the SBS WW Community Survey – the deadline has been extended.  It takes 2 minutes to fill it out and they really appreciate the feedback.

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You Can Blog with Microsoft Word 2007

Did you know that you can blog with Microsoft Word 2007? I’m sure I heard this at a launch event or something, but it must have slipped my mind.

I ‘discovered’ this feature today when I right-clicked a tab in Microsoft OneNote and saw the phrase “Blog this”.

I clicked it, and here I am – voila!

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Pregnant Women Firing Model Rockets

Today in Madison, Wisconsin USA I saw half a dozen pregnant women firing off model rockets in a field….

I think I will call this picture, “Rocket Moms“

(c) 2007 Tim Barrett, All Rights Reserved

Warning: You have now reached the end of the Internet.

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Geek Squad Employee Busted

Usually, technology and convergence of digital devices are wonderful things.  But when a Best Buy Geek Squad employee abuses technology to *allegedly* use his cell phone to video record a female customer showering in their own home, that’s disgusting.  Just imagine if that was your wife or sister – it’s unbelievable!

Best Buy does background & credit history checks before they hire people.  Yet with over 90,000 employees, there are obviously some rotten apples in the bunch.  How many other bad apples are out there (at GS & other companies).  Have you done background checks on your employees?

I’ve got to wonder what the backlash and ramifications for everyone in the SMB market will be.  It seems like industry regulations for IT can’t be far behind.

One thing is for sure, this dude will never be a “Sleeper“, and that’s a good thing.

Source:  Gizmodo

(I use the word ‘allegedly’ for legal purposes.)

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Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

Many friends have already heard the inside scoop, and yes, the rumors are true.  Today I’m making an official public announcement. 

March 15, 2007 – I’m excited to report that I’ve accepted a position working at Applied Tech Solutions – www.appliedtech.us

Applied Tech is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner located in Madison, Wisconsin USA.  They’re a Managed Services Provider that focuses on SMB networking, Microsoft CRM & Great Plains, VoIP, and their Microsoft specializations include:

  • Advanced Infrastructure Solutions
  • Networking Infrastructure Solutions
  • Information Worker Solutions
  • Microsoft Business Solutions

Kurt Sippel founded the company in 1999, and I first met him in 2004.  His team is made up of absolutely amazing, talented & brilliant folks.  In 2005 they opened a branch office in Stevens Point, WI.  Over the last several years I’ve watched Applied Tech grow and Kurt and I have periodically talked about working together in the future.  Well, the future is now. 🙂

Leaving my position at Rehab Designs wasn’t an easy decision.  I was Rehab Designs’ first employee in 1992 and have spent nearly 15 years helping build the company from the ground up.  I will really miss working with them.  Still, from a career standpoint, the opportunity to work with Applied Tech was one I couldn’t pass up. 

My first public appearance for Applied Tech will be as one of the speakers at their March 27 Vista event.  

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Oops, Cisco Did it Again

So far, 2007 has not been a very good year for Cisco.  Yesterday they announced two more vulnerabilites in their Internetwork Operating System (IOS) – that’s 5 this year if my count is correct.  And today they announced vulnerabilites in some PIX and ASA appliances:

This month:

Last month:

The point is, just because you know about Patch Tuesday that’s not enough.  Ron Popeil doesn’t make IT security – you can’t just ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ after the Microsoft patches are rolled out.  If you’re a good SBSer you should (and probably already do) read Susan Bradley, Dana Epp and the SANS blog.  Security is a constant battle, and here are some more weapons to add to your utility belt.

Best Practices: 

  • If you ARE sporting Cisco gear on your networks, check out the Cisco Security Advisories website or subscribe to the RSS feed.
  • If you AREN’T running Cisco gear, be aware that everybody else on the internet is, and you may get support calls on internet connectivity issues if gear out in the cloud is affected.
  • Also, check out the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) Technical Cyber Security Alerts website or their RSS feed to stay on ahead of the security curve.
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70-282 Exam Prep Webcast PDFs

Quite a few people have asked where they can get a PDF copy of the slide decks for all 5 days of the 70-282 Exam Prep Series with Ron Grattopp and Bea Mulzer (Jan 8 – Jan 12, 2007). 

Here you go! 🙂

Thanks so much to Bea, Ron, Kevin Clarke & the Microsoft TS2 Team for providing this webcast series for the SMB community!

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SBS Show 2.0

Unless you’ve been living on planet Marklar, you’ve no doubt heard of the SBS Show.  And if you’re smart, you’ve listened to some, if not all of the over 2 dozen episodes of SMB goodness!

Well, the beat goes on and the SBS Show is now in 2.0 mode.   For unbeatable price of exactly ‘zero dollars’ you can get your SMB learn on at the new www.sbsshow.com website, sign up for the newsletter, download current and past episodes, and subscribe to the RSS feed to get it while it’s hot!

So be sure and join Vlad, Susanne and their guests as the SBS Show jaugernaught rolls into 2007!

P.S. Also, be sure to check out the Vladfire video podcasts and our good buddy Chris Rue!

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Your 2 Cents About Microsoft Community Support

The Windows Server Product Team would like to hear from you about User Group Community support.

This is a direct anonymous survey, with the goal to improve services targeted towards User Groups. Microsoft wants to know what your experiences are with the community resources and information that is available to you today as a member of the User Group Community. They also want to know what you think could be done to improve your Community Experience.

This is your chance to make your voice heard, so please take a couple of minutes to provide your candid feedback via the survey so they can provide the most effective experience possible.

Link to the survey: User Group Community Survey.

Thanking you in advance,

The Windows Server Community Team

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