Bamboo Nation

The Case of the Disappearing SharePoint My Site

John Anderson — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:19:00 GMT

I'm going to take a one-day break from showing off all of the new SharePoint tricks that I've recently learned so that I may share an embarrassing admission for your entertainment.

Earlier today, I had been hopping around (in separate browser tabs) between different instances of our portal, in order to accomplish various and sundry tasks. Just a few minutes ago, with the intent of demonstrating a new trick for the blog, I popped back into one of those tabs. Once in the portal, I selected the My Site link, where I intended to cast my SharePoint spells today. Imagine my horror when I encountered this:

Regular readers will recall that I've been pimping my My Site for some time now, and it shouldn't look anything like the default, SharePoint-newbie looking My Site image pictured above. Thus, my feelings of horror upon seeing this abomination.

Seasoned SharePoint users will probably have already guessed, based on my earlier clue about "different instances of our portal," what took me almost a full minute of going through various theories to realize. Before I reveal the embarrassing solution to the puzzle, however, let's revisit a few of the theories that raced through my head as I gazed at that default My Site with my name on it:

"Did I somehow unknowingly blow up my own My Site?"
"Did a server or something get reset that somehow nuked my My Site back to the stone age?"
"Is one of my colleagues having a laugh at my expense, and laying in wait (with Alan Funt?) for me to start freaking out?"

After that panic-filled minute, I regained my wits and cooly noticed that, hey, the Bamboo Portal tab isn't appearing either! And that's when it hit me: You're in your test area, dummy.

The moral of this story? Location, location, location. Not only does where you are within SharePoint have potential implications regarding your permissions, but sometimes it may even save you a panic-filled minute of wondering if you've somehow screwed up really bad, or if one of your colleagues is having you on!

Win a $500 Shopping Spree: Update & Reminder

Chris Dooley — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:56:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, Steve Gaitten, Master of all Things Community (and the guy that signs my paycheck ), blogged about the first in a series of giveaways for Bamboo Nation. In that post, he asked participants to write up a simple use case describing how you are using a Bamboo product and post it in our forums. If you don't remember, prizes include a $500 Certificate to the Bamboo store, an iPod Shuffle, Bamboo Nation T-shirts and more.

While I have received some great entries there aren't as many as I had hoped. My guess is that the idea of writing a use case has some of you more than a little intimidated. Well, as Steve said to a friend of mine last week, "Get over it!" I'm not asking you to write War and Peace. What I need is just a nice short description of how you are using a Bamboo product. You don't have to craft a laborious technical document that goes into great detail of every step that you follow. As long as you can describe the process enough to let me know what is happening, I will be happy. If you can use images in your use case as well, then you will make me even happier.

I have received a few entires that I wanted to highlight as good examples of what we are looking for. My hope is that if you see what other people are submitting, you may find inspiration and submit your own use case. The first example is an Agreements Repository Use Case, describing a scenario where SharePoint doesn’t include time-based alerts, but by setting up the Bamboo Alerts Plus Web Part helps take care of everything. The second example is The Spamminator Use Case, which describes how the Bamboo Alerts Plus Web Part can be used to provide automated announcement mail that can be scheduled in advance for holidays, time sheets, and other admin type reminders. Both examples are short, to the point, and do a good job describing the issue, and how a Bamboo product helps solve everything.

See, that doesn't look so hard, now does it? Great. Now drop everything and go write that use case. There is still plenty of time to enter and win.

SharePoint Daily for August 20, 2008

Chris Dooley — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:54:00 GMT

Top News Stories
Improve SharePoint 2007 Design and Navigation With Managed Paths (SearchWinIT)
Managed paths give Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 administrators a powerful, yet easy mechanism for building a corporation's collaboration environment. But proper planning that includes an understanding of the needs of all business groups is crucial to the execution of a successful SharePoint design and taxonomy structure. This tip explains what managed paths are, the benefits of using them, and how to define and implement managed paths in a Microsoft SharePoint 2007 portal.

Microsoft Relaxes Virtual-machine Rules (CNET)
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a change in its licensing policy to make it easier for businesses that want the ability to shift server software that is running in a virtual machine from one physical machine to another.

Bamboo Solutions Offers Free SharePoint Calculator (CMSWire)
Microsoft Licensing is confusing at the best of times. If you’ve ever looked at their SharePoint 2007 licensing spreadsheet, then you’ll understand what a headache really is. Fear not though, because Bamboo Solution’s has come out with a tool that will help you figure out how much you will pay for SharePoint licensing before you have to talk to Microsoft themselves. And that may save you a bottle of aspirin.

Virtualization Update: Microsoft Lightens Up on its Virtual Migration Rules (Virtualization)
Microsoft Tuesday liberalized its virtual machine policies, as expected, and said that starting September 1 its big customers will be able to move Microsoft virtualized server applications between servers “in a server farm” as often as they want without paying additional licensing fees. The company is overturning its existing customer-irritating “90-day reassignment rule” that has restricted virtualized Microsoft applications to the physical servers they were assigned, allowing them be moved only every three months.

Is the Enterprise Ready for Cloud Computing? (ZDNet)
There have been multiple white papers and articles written on the topic - Is Cloud Computing Ready for the Enterprise? The question is asked so many times now - Is Cloud Computing ready for the enterprise? But there is an equally relevant question: Is the enterprise ready for Cloud Computing?

Around the Blogosphere
Improving SharePoint with SQL Server 2008 (SharePoint Hosting and Development)
There is a vast array of new features in SQL Server 2008. While I would love to explore all of them, many are not relevant to the SharePoint admin since we are not allowed to modify the underlying schema. Also, keep in mind that while I did minimum testing to understand these features, no one (that I’m aware of) has any large scale perspective with SQL Server 2008 and SharePoint yet. This is not meant to be definitive guidance. That said, I will focus on the big wins for SharePoint and how to leverage them in your environment.

Viacom on SharePoint (Club Moss)
As an entertainment company, MTV Networks must continually work to ensure that its brands remain strong, vibrant, and deeply connected to the audiences they serve. The company's previous portal infrastructure wasn't helping people share information and ideas. End users could not publish their own content, collaborate effectively, nor find the information they needed.

Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint Released to CodePlex! (CodeJedi)
Today Microsoft released the source code for the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint—based on the Silverlight Beta 2 release. The Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint provide a way for developers to better understand how to integrate Silverlight applications with SharePoint. Silverlight is an incredibly popular technology and with the increase in SharePoint adoption we’re finding an increased call for integrating technologies like Silverlight with SharePoint.

Update on Licensing and Virtualization Support for SharePoint Products and Technologies (Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog)
Today we’re excited to announce support and licensing updates for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in virtual machines. This is part of a larger announcement affecting multiple Microsoft products, including Exchange Server, SQL Server and SharePoint Server.

SharePoint Findability and your Intranet: Complete Series Registration Now Available (Mastering SharePoint)
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who attended the first webinar in the SharePoint Findability series. As promised, the complete webinar series is now available below.

Press Releases
Global Collaboration Portal With Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (Product Reviews)
Microsoft Corp. today announced that HDR Inc., a leading architectural, engineering and consulting firm, has implemented an enterprisewide collaboration portal built on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to support its growth and commitment to client service.

SharePoint Events
August 20, Houston, Texas, Houston’s SharePoint User Group
August 20, Iselin, New Jersey, NJ SharePoint User Group
August 20, Indianapolis, Indiana, SharePoint Users of Indiana
August 20, Jordan, Jordan SharePoint User Group
August 21, Columbus, Ohio, COSPUG Meeting
August 21, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty User Group
August 21, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore SharePoint Users Group
August 21, Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky Sharepoint Users Group
August 25-29, Sydney, Australia, SharePoint August Training Summit
August 26, San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio SharePoint User Group
August 26, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Office Geeks Association
August 26, Christchurch, New Zealand, Christchurch SharePoint User Group
August 26, Sydney Australia, Sydney SharePoint User Group
August 27, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland SharePoint User Group
August 27, Melbourne, Australia, MOSSIG
August 27, Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington SharePoint User Group
August 28, Phoenix, Arizona, Arizona SharePoint Pros
August 28, Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland SharePoint User Group

September 1-3, Auckland City, New Zealand, TechEd New Zealand
September 2, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Microsoft SharePoint Business Strategies Group
September 3-5, San Francisco, California, Office2.0 Conference
September 4, Washington, DC, Federal & Military SharePoint Users Group of Washington D.C.
September 4, Kansas City, Office Developer User Group of Kansas City
September 8-9, Stockholm, Sweden, SharePoint & Exchange Forum
September 11, San Francisco, California, San Fransico SharePoint Users Group
September 11, Bellevue, WA, Puget Sound SharePoint Users Group
September 12, Brisbane, Australia, Brisbane SharePoint Usergroup
September 15-17, Washington, DC (McLean, Virginia), Best Practices SharePoint Conference
September 20/21, Waltham, Massachusetts, New England Code Camp 10

October 27-30, Los Angeles, California, Microsoft Professional Developers Conference

November 3-7 and 10-14, Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft TechEd
November 10-13, Las Vegas, Nevada, SharePoint Connections Conference

January 26-28, San Francisco, California, SPTechCon

* Please contact Chris Dooley (chris.dooley@bamboosolutions.com) to include your event in our listing.

Microsoft Updates
Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package: June 5, 2008 (KBAlertz)
This article describes the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 issues that are fixed in the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package that is dated June 5, 2008.

MS08-043: Description of the security update for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: August 12, 2008 (KBAlertz)
Microsoft has released security bulletin MS08-043. To view the complete security bulletin, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

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Displaying Spreadsheets in SharePoint

John Anderson — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:50:00 GMT

Contrary to the assumptions (and we all know the maxim about assumptions, right?) I made when I first experimented with the ability to import Excel spreadsheets into SharePoint, displaying them in the context of a list isn't the only manner in which they can be shown. Turns out the list view is merely the default view.

Once again, I have Mindsharp to thank for expanding my SharePoint consciousness, as it was at last week's summit that I came by the following information. Since a visual representation of what I'm talking about might be helpful, let's start there. This is how the spreadsheet I'd imported a few weeks ago looked on my test site:

Which, as you can see, appears to be a standard SharePoint list. At the time, I thought it was rather handy that SharePoint allowed you to import Excel spreadsheets (and I do mean you, as I am an avowed hater when it comes to working with spreadsheets), but I did find it rather curious that you were limited to the list view. Silly me, I just wasn't aware of the Edit in Datasheet option which exists for lists in SharePoint:

As pictured in the above menu, once you're looking at a list, you may select the "Edit in Datasheet" option from that list's Actions menu. Doing so with the same list we first looked at above will render that list in the more standard (and expected) spreadsheet format:

Spreadsheet lovers rejoice!

Granted, I'm only assuming that there exists such a person as a spreadsheet lover since I personally can't conceive of such a thing. On the other hand, you'd think I'd have already learned my lesson regarding spreadsheets and assumptions, wouldn't you?

SharePoint Daily for August 19, 2008

Chris Dooley — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:17:00 GMT

Top News Stories
SharePoint Technical Conference Announced (SD Times)
It started out as a tool for collaboration. But Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Windows SharePoint Services have moved to the very heart of the enterprise, involving developers, systems administrators and executives alike in the creation and deployment of new business solutions.

An International Success (The Star Online)
Thousands of IT professionals, developers, system architects and technical decision makers attended this year’s Microsoft Tech.Ed South-East Asia show.

Software as a Service Gets a Second Chance (ComputerWeekly)
It's not often that you get a second chance in IT: a failed technology is about as enticing as fish that's passed its sell-by date. But software as a service (SaaS) seems to be the exception that proves the rule. This year, the business of providing hosted applications delivered via a web browser to users paying a monthly subscription has begun to take off.

Why Vista is 'Universally Hated' and Other Training Truths (DANIWEB)
Microsoft products have always presented a paradox for organizations. On one hand they seem to be universally derided. On the other, they remain the corporate standard. Open source, SaaS/online and other alternatives have had a hard time gaining widespread traction in large organizations. That's partly because companies would likely rather deal with the devil they know, a de facto standard, rather than something else, and partly due to institutional inertia.

Dell Loses Bid for 'Cloud Computing' Trademark (PCWorld)
Dell cannot register "cloud computing" as a trademark because the term is a generic one describing services offered by many companies, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has said in an initial ruling.

Around the Blogosphere
What is a “Best Practice”? (Bill English Blog)
In advance of our Best Practices Conference, Mark Schneider has asked the most obvious and basic question: What is a best practice? In his post, he discusses his answer to this question. It is worth reading before you come to the conference.

The Great Debate: SharePoint Designer vs. Custom Site Definitions (BinaryWave)
I often get asked about the pros and cons of using SharePoint Designer versus custom site definitions for branding purposes. There seems to be a great deal of confusion surrounding this topic so I'll offer my two cent's worth in hopes that it clears the air and helps you, the SharePoint developer or administrator, make a more informed decision on which to use and where.

The Sanity Point (SharePoint Blogs)
Welcome to the first installment of my "Share the…" series! With the advent of Microsoft Office 2007, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS), integration between client and server is even better than ever. Each article in this series will focus on some way that an Office System client works better with SharePoint. Today I'm going to talk about PowerPoint, and how the new MOSS 2007 Slide Library takes it to the next level.

Who's Leading the SharePoint Revolution? Rock stars of Course ;) (Bamboo Nation)
Back in March, Bamboo Solutions made a nice splash at the 2008 SharePoint Conference in Seattle with our SharePoint Revolution campaign. I think people understand that there truly is a revolution in progress. The social constructs of Web 2.0 are quietly infilitrating the enterprise, changing the way that people work together, providing major gains to the productivity of the average information worker. The SharePoint platform is one of the primary catalysts of this phenomenon.

SharePoint Development Best Practices - Checklist (Footprint of IT)
Today, I came across a checklist for SharePoint Custom Solution Code Acceptance. I reckon this checklist (modified if necessary) should be part of your test plans if your SharePoint Project needs custom solution bits. Code acceptance checklist outlines best practices for security, session management, validation, sensitive data, exception handling, Web parts, documentation, general software development.

Press Releases
Guidance Software Introduces Groundbreaking Search, Collection, and Processing Capabilities in Latest Release of EnCase(R) eDiscovery (MarketWatch)
Guidance Software Inc. the World Leader in Digital Investigations(TM), today announced groundbreaking in-house eDiscovery processing capabilities, new connectors for leading archiving and content management solutions and a new work-flow driven interface in version 3.1 of its industry-leading EnCase(R) eDiscovery solution.

SharePoint Events
August 19, Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville SharePoint Users Group
August 19, Adelaide, Australia, Adelaide SharePoint Usergroup
August 19, Perth, Australia, Perth SharePoint Users Group
August 19, Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas, DFW SharePoint community
August 19, Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee SPEED
August 20, Houston, Texas, Houston’s SharePoint User Group
August 20, Iselin, New Jersey, NJ SharePoint User Group
August 20, Indianapolis, Indiana, SharePoint Users of Indiana
August 20, Jordan, Jordan SharePoint User Group
August 21, Columbus, Ohio, COSPUG Meeting
August 21, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty User Group
August 21, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore SharePoint Users Group
August 21, Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky Sharepoint Users Group
August 25-29, Sydney, Australia, SharePoint August Training Summit
August 26, San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio SharePoint User Group
August 26, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Office Geeks Association
August 26, Christchurch, New Zealand, Christchurch SharePoint User Group
August 26, Sydney Australia, Sydney SharePoint User Group
August 27, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland SharePoint User Group
August 27, Melbourne, Australia, MOSSIG
August 27, Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington SharePoint User Group
August 28, Phoenix, Arizona, Arizona SharePoint Pros
August 28, Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland SharePoint User Group

October 27-30, Los Angeles, California, Microsoft Professional Developers Conference

November 3-7 and 10-14, Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft TechEd
November 10-13, Las Vegas, Nevada, SharePoint Connections Conference

January 26-28, San Francisco, California, SPTechCon

* Please contact Chris Dooley (chris.dooley@bamboosolutions.com) to include your event in our listing.

Now you can have SharePoint Daily delivered to your email inbox every morning.

Who's Leading the SharePoint Revolution? Rock stars of Course ;)

Steve Gaitten — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Back in March, Bamboo Solutions made a nice splash at the 2008 SharePoint Conference in Seattle with our SharePoint Revolution campaign. I think people understand that there truly is a revolution in progress. The social constructs of Web 2.0 are quietly infilitrating the enterprise, changing the way that people work together, providing major gains to the productivity of the average information worker. The SharePoint platform is one of the primary catalysts of this phenomenon.

The effect is so transformative, it reminds me of my early days at fledgling AOL. I started with that company back in January of 1995 when America Online was just 500 kids in blue jeans and t-shirts trying to do cool things with computers. I knew the world was about to change back then, and I feel it just as keenly now. One of the ways I knew things were changing back then was the star power and electric charisma of the personalities driving the revolution. Long before Steve Case was a multi-billionaire, you knew he was someone special by the way he talked about technology. Maybe that sparkle in his eyes was a vision of the future. Who can say?

One of the characteristics of the Web 1.0 world that I see echoed in the SharePoint revolution is an elite group of technologists becoming evangelists for the movement. People who understand the technology, and interpret the implications for the workplace and the global economy are becoming rock stars, true celebrities. Starting today, we're going to meet some of these individuals and see what we can learn from them. Some of these folks are the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Larry Ellison. Some will go on to fame and wealth, others will earn only virtuous footnotes in obscure pages of Wikipedia. Either way, you're going to meet some interesting people, and hear a perspective on collaborative computing that you probably haven't heard before.

Our Rock Stars of SharePoint series begins with a series of interviews, featuring three guys I admire and would love to know better: Bob Mixon of Mixon Consulting; Dux Raymond Sy, author of SharePoint for Project Management, and Bamboo's own Jonas Nilsson, architect of MashPoint, a new data integration platform for SharePoint. What do each of these individuals have in common?

A sophisticated understanding of SharePoint
A global influence on enterprise computing
Each will probably grimace and complain about being called a rock star. (Get over yourselves and deal already!)

Without further ado, I invite you to click through and read each of these profiles. The casual Q&A with Bamboo's lead blogger John Anderson is easy reading, and you really get a sense of the individual in each feature. We hope you enjoy this ongoing series, and help us celebrate the Rock Stars of SharePoint.

P.S. Think you're a SharePoint Rock Star? Would you like to nominate someone for our next spotlight? Contact john.anderson@bamboosolutions.com with your tips and inquiries

Search in SharePoint

John Anderson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:08:00 GMT

I don't think I'd given any conscious thought to the nature of search within a SharePoint environment prior to attending the first offering of Bob Mixon's Findability webinar series. In that webinar, Mixon mentioned that most users tend to search on the Internet, but resort to browsing (i.e., point and click) on intranets. Mixon went on to say that, once thousands of sites/documents exist within an intranet, however, search becomes essential in the intranet environment as well.

(By the way, if you'll kindly permit a brief promotional aside, we just launched a new Bamboo Nation property this morning called Spotlighting the Rock Stars of SharePoint, and I was pleased to interview none other than Bob Mixon for our debut feature interview in the series.)

Needless to say, there was clearly much wisdom in Mixon's observation, so I paid particular attention during the search portion of the Mindsharp Power End User training I attended last week. One of the things I learned is that the search dropdown is configurable. As you can see, the default at the top level of our corporate portal is to search the entire site (including all sub-sites, that is), but that dropdown could include each individual team's sub-site as well if such were desired.

The advanced search hyperlink will naturally provide you with the means to narrow down what you're searching for, even limiting to a specific language, which is a pretty cool out-of-the-box feature, I must say. In addition to the default "All Results," the "Result type" dropdown includes options for Documents, Word Documents, Excel documents, and Presentations.

In conclusion, I'll leave you with a few tips from Mindsharp on increasing the likelihood of success with your searches:

Check spelling;
Use words, phrases, and sentences;
Use similar words;
Use more words;
Use precise words;
Use quotation marks; and
Use advanced search.

Needless to say, these search tips needn't be restricted to searching on SharePoint sites!

NEW Free Tool: Estimate Your MOSS Licensing Costs

Steve Gaitten — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:07:00 GMT

Are you considering a migration from Windows SharePoint Services to Microsoft Office SharePoint Services? Perhaps you are taking a first look at adopting SharePoint as platform for collaboration, document management and data integration. Estimating your license costs for SharePoint can be a complex process.

Of course the best approach is to simply work with a Microsoft Licensing Specialist. But if you're not ready for that formal of a conversation, or you just want to do some quick ballparking, we've got an exciting new free tool you can use that will help you get a handle on costs -- the SharePoint Price Calculator.

Just plug in the total number of employees who will be accessing the system, the number of front end web servers (WFEs) you will utilize, and the number of SQL servers in your deployment, and the tool does the rest. Select or unselect optional services such as InfoPath Forms to customize this estimate based on your specific functional requirements. You can even perform "scenario" analysis to compare potential configurations.

Why did Bamboo Solutions, a provider of technologies enhancing SharePoint, create this tool? A few reasons actually:

Bamboo Solutions works with over 4,000 customers who leverage SharePoint. Outside of Microsoft, Bamboo Solutions has one of the largest footprints in the SharePoint ecosystem. Over the years, many of our customers have asked us for help with understanding Microsoft's licensing model for SharePoint. We are providing this service as a convenience to our friends and valued clients.
Many Bamboo products & technologies, perhaps most notably MashPoint -- a data integration platform for Windows SharePoint Services, are designed to extend the feature set and capabilities of WSS. By illustrating the difference in costs between MOSS & WSS, we are demonstrating one of the value propositions of Bamboo products. Whether your adoption of WSS is an exploratory introduction to SharePoint, or a stepping stone to MOSS Enterprise, Bamboo can help you make the most of your investment.
Architectural topography is never static. This tool can help you understand the cost of extending SharePoint to more employees, or of adding servers to optimize the performance of your SharePoint deployment. By providing this informational utility, we are delivering on the mission of Bamboo Nation -- to share knowledge that benefits the entire SharePoint community. If you happen to do some shopping in the Bamboo Online Store after you've played with the tool, you've helped to subsidize our noble mission.
We had fun doing it! Frankly, this was a complex and interesting research project. We hope that we've been able to save you some work by sharing out findings. Please let us know your thoughts about this tool by posting a comment in the SharePoint Price Calculator forum. If you found the tool useful, please let us know. If there is more functionality that would be helpful, tell us what you would like to see. If there are similar tools you wish Bamboo would develop, we are all ears ;)

As part of the new tool, we've cited all of our sources and pulled together a collection of articles that you may find helpful in investigating our licensing costs. Be sure not to miss these resources, they are listed at the bottom of the page, below the new calculator.

This Week in Bamboo (Aug 10th - Aug 16th)

Bamboo PM Girl — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:42:00 GMT

We released the following patches:

Mini Calendar Web Part (HW22 R2.3):

Enhancements:
Supports solution deployment install procedure

Bug Fixes:

Incorrect month displayed sometimes when using non-current month
"The Authority/Host could not be parsed" error
Regional setting for date format not followed
Improper dispose of SharePoint objects

List Search Simple Web Part (HW11A R1.4.13):

Bug Fix:
Remove debugger statements in client javascript - Users need to clear IE cache.

Spotlight on Bob Mixon

John Anderson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:48:00 GMT

With all due respect to James Brown, Bob Mixon may be bucking for the title of "the hardest working man in SharePoint." A three-time SharePoint MVP, Mixon is: the principal owner of Mixon Consulting; a much in-demand SharePoint consultant and speaker; managing editor of the SharePoint Beagle newsletter; and a member of Bamboo's Technical Advisory Board. Mixon generously took some time out of his busy schedule to sit for the debut interview in our Spotlighting the Rock Stars of SharePoint series.

You're a three-time SharePoint MVP. What's the most satisfying aspect of being a SharePoint consultant who bears the MVP title?

I thoroughly enjoy working with the community, traveling to SharePoint User Groups and speaking at conferences. There is a real sense of satisfaction when I am able to help someone with a business problem.

What's a "typical" SharePoint consulting job like for you? Do you work with both small and large organizations?

Absolutely, we do work with small and large organizations. There have been many SharePoint implementations that are in their 2^nd or 3^rd iteration. Some of these iterations are deliberate and others are as a result of companies not understanding what it takes to gain the greatest value for the business user. It's a complete paradigm shift for users to move from file shares and local drives to a document management system. Information lifecycle management, governance, security, scope and context are not something business users have had to think about in the past.

The typical SharePoint Implementation project we work on involves complete lifecycle management including strategy & planning, requirements, information assessment, enterprise information architecture, design, prototyping, development and education. This can be a monumental task for a company who has never truly implemented an Information Asset Management Solution. So, Mixon Consulting helps these companies streamline the complete implementation process and produce quick ROI.

Would you share with our readers your pre-SharePoint technical background?

Oh boy, now you're asking me to age myself! But here it goes... I have been in the technology industry for more than 25 years; starting as a developer, moving into project management then business ownership. My career started in the aerospace vertical, writing embedded system solutions for a division of NASA. Thoroughly enjoying automation, I then moved into robotics; of the industrial type. I spent about 10 years working in the automotive vertical, writing software for assembly-line robotics.

I then found my home in information management systems, building solutions of varying types -- everything from database solutions for finance/insurance management, to large Internet-facing sites. From there, I began to graduate into enterprise system architecture, design and project management. One of my notable accomplishments during this period was Monster.com, where I led the design, architecture and development team responsible for all back-end accounting systems.

Given your background, was there a particular trigger event that caused you to direct your attentions towards SharePoint?

Absolutely! I was involved in numerous solutions that were similar to what SharePoint offered using technologies such as ASP.NET, IBM WebSphere and so on. These solutions were complex, very expensive and just didn't deliver all of the features business users needed, i.e., decision support.

I started working with SharePoint in 2002, the very first version, and saw the potential right away. As with any new technology of this type, I knew it would take time to get it right but the pieces were there and it was being backed by Microsoft.

For years, long before SharePoint, we have been looking for ways of delivering feature-rich decision support systems where unstructured data played a key role. Microsoft SharePoint had that promise!

You formed Mixon Consulting a little over a year ago, and are the Principal Owner of the enterprise. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to form the company, your vision for the company, and a bit about your partners?

My vision for the company has never changed; we focus on enterprise-class information architecture and proven implementation techniques to deliver business value on the Microsoft SharePoint platform. I truly believe we have a unique model that is geared towards organizations who perceive information as an asset. We drive value by thoroughly understanding the business user's contextual needs, then implementing SharePoint solutions in such a way as to guide them into the "true" information future.

Even more recently than the formation of Mixon Consulting, you launched the Mastering SharePoint site. How does Mastering SharePoint fit into Mixon Consulting?

Our Mastering SharePoint community site is an integral part of our business model for both training and consulting services. This community differs primarily because we focus on strategy, planning, enterprise information architecture and design; which are unique in the industry. We do have administration, operations and development forums; however, these aren't areas where companies and individuals are encountering the greatest problems. It takes years of effort to truly master enterprise information architecture and the art and science of findability. This is where our community shines!

We have delivered our Mastering SharePoint series training to hundreds and hundreds of people around the world this year and we want to make sure they have a place to come when business and implementation questions arise. The same holds true for our consulting engagements - we want a place for individuals to come for answers.

Our community is monitored by all Mixon Consulting staff, and industry experts.

You recently kicked off a series of free webinars on findability in SharePoint, the first installment of which I was happy to attend. How has the feedback been so far?

It is interesting to watch the industry as the paradigm begins to shift. We have almost 300 people registered for this series from around the world and the feedback varies depending on each individual's need and perspective. If the expectation is to deliver a simple document management solution without consideration for scope, context, quality, sustainability and security, then what you learn in this webinar series may seem like overkill. However, if one values their information as an asset and truly wishes to change the way their organization uses that information for decision support, then this is definitely for you!

We have had some attendees come back and tell us, "you are out of your mind," meaning, there is no way they can take the time necessary to gain this level of information value. On the other hand, we have many others coming back and saying this is what they are really seeking.

Another interesting observation I have had is the number of companies who have already invested significant sums of budget on the technologies, rolled it out to the business and it failed. And, by failed, I mean the user (information consumer) had needs and expectations far beyond what was delivered. I refer to this as the gaping expectation chasm between what technology delivers and what the business really needs. If you are interested in more on this topic, I wrote an article last month titled Findability: Tools and Technology Alone is not the Answer - Part 1.

Do you anticipate the findability series to be the first in a series of these free webinar offerings? If so, can you share some of the topic ideas under consideration?

Yes, we now have the infrastructure and ability to deliver free webinars on a very regular basis; our initial thoughts being 2 times each month. Our primary focus is on helping organizations truly understand information as an asset, and what it takes to get there. We will be focusing on governance, functional business requirements, information consumption within the scope and context of business user needs, enterprise search and more! The best place for individuals to learn of our webinar schedule is on MixonConsulting.com.

Also, since we are on the topic of free webinars, I wanted to let you know about another series we will be starting next month. K2 will soon be releasing a new BPM/workflow product specifically targeted to "no-code" workflow on the SharePoint platform. This product is named K2 blackpoint and is available for beta download here. If you look towards the bottom of the K2 blackpoint site, you will see that Mixon Consulting has been named the premier partner for delivering K2 blackpoint training. Part of this training model will include free bimonthly webinars. You will also find this event schedule on MixonConsulting.com.

This week you're kicking off your first Mastering SharePoint Virtually Live workshops, a comprehensive four-day workshop on SharePoint planning, architecture and design. Tell us a little about this inaugural series, and about future topics for the Virtually Live workshops.

Actually, this next week (August 12^th through 15^th) will be the second time we are delivering our Mastering SharePoint: Planning, Architecture and Design workshop online. Isn't it fantastic to have the technology that allows us to deliver this using a model that allows individuals to attend from anywhere in world they wish? During the past 18 months, we have only been delivering this workshop in a public training facility setting and our customers told us some couldn't do it. So we listened, and now deliver it both ways, i.e., live and virtually live.

Backing up a little, let's talk about the SharePoint Beagle newsletter. How did that come about, and how did you go about seeking out your regular contributors?

The SharePoint Beagle newsletter came about as the result of my wanting to share with the community in another way that lends itself to certain needs. The industry has taught me people have different needs. Meaning, some like to surf the Web and others like to have information delivered to their doorstep.

Another concern I had when I started the Beagle was the amount of pure e-mail spam individuals were receiving. I wanted to deliver a newsletter that was informative and of value to the SharePoint community. We try our best to deliver "value-add" SharePoint-specific articles and information in every issue. To be honest, that model has been very successful; we publish the newsletter once or twice each month to thousands and thousands around the world.

The second part of your questions was "how do I come about contributors"? For the most part, people come to me with articles. There are many out there in SharePoint-land that have a lot to say and want it published; the SharePoint Beagle is a great medium for that. So, here is my shameless SharePoint Beagle sales-pitch for the day; if you would like to be published, shoot me an e-mail and let's talk about it; I'd love to hear from you... Bob@MixonConsulting.com.

Let's wrap up with a few questions that we like to ask of all SharePoint experts that we talk to, beginning with what's your favorite feature/functionality of SharePoint?

I like working with the new version of SharePoint, MOSS 2007, because it is a platform for building scalable, feature rich, information asset management solutions. There isn't another platform on the market that we can deliver such rich functionality to small, medium and large organizations alike.

Conversely, what do you feel is SharePoint's biggest weakness/drawback?

That would have to be the limited social features such as content ratings, personal tagging and commenting.

What is your vision of collaborative computing five years from now?

I believe we are seeing a completely new way of working with information; truly viewing it as an asset. Maybe even the most important asset an organization has. The future brings to the consumer, the ability to make informed, intelligent, accurate and proactive business decisions based on a holistic view of both structured and unstructured information.

On your Linkedin page, you list your interests as: Development, SharePoint, New Technology, Strategic Planning, Architecture, Information Architecture, Taxonomy, Harley-Davidson, management. One of these things is not like the others ... other than Harleys, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy indulging in when you're not immersed in the SharePoint ecosystem?

Well, I must say, jumping on my scooter and riding is the best way for me to forget about computers and get back in touch with my freedom and Mother Nature! When I'm not working or riding, I thoroughly enjoy travel and music. I am an avid guitar player, started when I was 5 years old, and love music of all types.

One thing many don't know about me is my love for aviation. Since I have never been able to afford a real airplane, I fly radio-controlled airplanes. I started flying when I was very young and have advanced to what is called Pylon Racing. The intricate details, new compound materials, engines and fuel systems rocket the racers 200+ MPH and it's a blast to be a part of!

SharePoint Daily for August 18, 2008

Chris Dooley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:21:00 GMT

Top News Stories
Microsoft Not Sure If SaaS Will Cut Piracy (ChannelWeb)
Microsoft has been increasing its efforts to battle software piracy using lawsuits and educational programs to bring more illegal users into the light. But as Microsoft moves toward delivering more applications as services, its anti-piracy tactics will also have to change, according to solution providers.

Create Custom Global Search Scopes in Microsoft SharePoint 2007 (SearchWinIT)
Custom global search scopes in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) allow more granular search results. Discover how to create custom global search scopes to enhance SharePoint 2007's enterprise search functionality. You'll also learn how to target searches to specific SharePoint content sources including Exchange public folders.

Next-Gen Office Standard Approved (Mobilitysite)
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has given Microsoft permission to publish the Office Open XML (OOXML) specification. Appeals against accepting OOXML as an international standard from four countries (Brazil, India, South Africa, and Venezuela) were rejected.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 Backup and Disaster Recovery Tutorial (SearchWinIT)
In this excerpt from "Essential SharePoint 2007," authors Scott Jamison, Mauro Cardarelli, and Susan Hanley teach you how to prepare a thorough Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) disaster recovery operations document and best practices for its management and execution. They also explain changes that have been made to the SharePoint backup tool and show how to use MOSS 2007's backup and restore features.

Open Office vs. MS Office - The Other Key to Windows/Linux Transition (ZDNet)
As I have been going around alternately prodding my friends and family to try Linux, or asking them if they thought it would be possible, one thing I have heard repeatedly is that a lot of people use Microsoft Office and are concerned about their Office documents on Linux. I should also mention that a lot of them are very angry that Microsoft has changed the default document format in Office 2007 (again), such that it is incompatible with previous Office versions.

Is Cloud Computing Right For You? (iTV)
With cloud computing receiving so much attention it makes you wonder that if cloud computing delivers so much why wouldn’t companies immediately jump on the cloud computing bandwagon? Well like several IT trends in the past, cloud computing too is evolving and (re)shaping every minute. Some of the challenges that an organization could face if they move to a cloud computing model include:

Around the Blogosphere
MOSS Now Supported on SQL 2008 (CodeJedi)
The SharePoint Team have announced that SharePoint is now officially supported running on SQL Server 2008 (http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/08/15/sql-server-2008-support-for-sharepoint-products-and-technologies.aspx).

August SharePoint Case Studies! (Michael Gannotti on SharePoint +)
Grab 'em while they're hot! (MTV Networks, Bank of America, McCann Erickson, St Jude Medical, Portuguese Futbol League, Brinks Home Security, Net IQ, Tupperware, Swisscom, Coop).

Whitepaper: Increasing SharePoint Engagement (Thor Projects)
Whether you were hearing voices in your head saying "Build it and they will come" or you simply had to find a replacement for your languishing Internet, more often than not once you get the SharePoint® platform in place you'll find pockets of the organization where it seems like everyone is using SharePoint for everything – even things they shouldn't -- and other pockets of the organization where SharePoint is seen as some sort of contagious disease.

SQL Server 2008 Support for SharePoint Products and Technologies (Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog)
You may already be aware of the recent RTM announcement of SQL Server 2008. We are happy to announce that Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 & Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 now support SQL Server 2008. Our documentation has been updated to include support for SQL Server 2008. Please refer to:

Plugging Web Controls Into The Property Grid (Microsoft SharePoint Designer Team Blog)
When creating or modifying a web page, one of the handy new features in SharePoint Designer 2007 is the Tag Properties task pane. It not only shows you the values for properties you have set, it shows you the other available properties and for certain types, the other available values.

Press Releases
ISG Solutions Releases ISGweb Version 2.1; Deepens Integration between iMIS and SharePoint (MarketWatch)
ISG Solutions announced the release of version 2.1 of ISGweb for iMIS, its suite of data-driven web modules for associations. The new version includes four new modules that significantly extend the integration between the iMIS association management software and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS 2007), making it possible to view and update information in iMIS directly from SharePoint.

October 27-30, Los Angeles, California, Microsoft Professional Developers Conference

November 3-7 and 10-14, Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft TechEd
November 10-13, Las Vegas, Nevada, SharePoint Connections Conference

* Please contact Chris Dooley (chris.dooley@bamboosolutions.com) to include your event in our listing.

Error message when you try to create a Shared Services Provider (SSP) in Office SharePoint Server 2007: "An error occurred while translating user name "@\User1" to a Windows account name - (DS_NAME_ERROR_NOT_FOUND)" (KBAlertz)
You have an account whose NetBIOS domain name contains an at sign (@). For example, the account is Domain@Name\User1. You use this account as the service account. If you try to create a Shared Services Provider (SSP) in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you may receive the following error message:

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Personalize your Portal Pages in SharePoint

John Anderson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:40:00 GMT

As I blog the expansion of my SharePoint consciousness (powered by Mindsharp, if you will), I should note that I will be delivering information nuggets of varying size, in terms of both scope and complexity. As I learned early in my SharePoint education, sometimes even the tasks that are the simplest to accomplish can have wide-ranging, and very pleasing results. And so I hope that the bite-size chunks of learning will be appreciated as much as will be the, shall we say, family-size helpings.

It's gone 5:30 on a Friday now, so it's going to be a decidedly bite-size nugget today, and that nugget has to do with the personalization of portal pages. I don't think I had ever even clicked on the dropdown associated with the "Welcome" message that appears at the top of our SharePoint portal before. Lo and behold, as I learned early on the first day of the Mindsharp summit, there are several menu options available there, and one of them is the nifty "Personalize this Page":

This is probably one of those areas I'd have been concerned about affecting (read: breaking) the portal experience of other users if I'd gone in there blindly, but I'd have been concerned for naught. Utilizing the "personalize" link will allow you to customize the look and feel of the portal experience for you, and you alone. Trust me, you won't break anything. Feel free to move items around on the page, apply a new theme, even remove Web Parts ... doing so will only affect how the portal appears for you, and everyone else entering the portal will continue to experience it as the default view (unless they have customized their own experience, of course). So be bold, and spice up your portal's look and feel!