SharePoint Daily for October 1, 2008

Top News Stories
So You've Decided to Skip Vista... (RedmondMag)
You're not alone -- Microsoft's latest operating system still isn't making much headway in terms of enterprise adoption. Here's what you need to know about keeping XP alive.

Five Tips to Improve SharePoint Doc Management (SearchWinIt)
Although many large corporations have complex and expensive document management software, IT shops in small to medium-sized businesses are considering using SharePoint to get similar capabilities.

Avoid the Top Ten Microsoft Exchange Migration Headaches (TMCnet)
A tidal wave of new technology has taken the workplace by storm and is changing the way we do business. Before long, end users in all industries will demand that their messaging and voice communication devices and applications be integrated, secure and easy-to-use.

Making the Most of Mobility (CRN)
The combination of powerful smartphones and cheap mobile data is creating new opportunities for channel players.

Microsoft To Open Search R&D Center In Norway (ChannelWeb)
Microsoft on Tuesday revealed plans to set up a research and development center for enterprise search in Oslo, Norway, in a move that will boost the Scandinavian nation's growing reputation as a search technology hotbed.

Microsoft Unveils Next Version of Visual Studio and .NET Framework 4.0 (Tone)
Microsoft has provided the first look at the next version of its developer tools and platform, which will be named Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0.

Microsoft: Spatial Computing the Future (SearchCIO)
In perhaps a sign of what's at stake for Microsoft as business and consumers increasingly look to the "cloud" for their computing infrastructure, the software giant sent one of its top guns, research chief Craig Mundie, to last week's EmTech08 conference at MIT to talk about its profile in this paradigm shift.

Fixing Microsoft: A How-To Guide (NewsFactor)
Enhanced privacy controls on IE8 Beta are a first step. But these controls are hardly more than opaque and confusing Band-Aids. Microsoft should redesign its software to allow anonymous surfing by default. It should make passwords secure, perhaps by offering physical devices that sit on a key ring or reside as software in a cell phone.

Private Browsing’s False Sense of Security (GCN)
They call it private browsing. Microsoft recently released a beta version of Internet Explorer 8 that offers it. You’ll find it in Mozilla’s Firefox and the new Google Chrome. Apple’s Safari has offered the feature for some time. But what vendors call private browsing, others call porn mode.

Around the Blogosphere
SharePoint and Google Chrome: Reality Check (SharePoint Joel's SharePoint Land)
I don't know that I'd go as far as to say that "SharePoint" is Microsoft's answer to Google Chrome, but I would say I am a fan of a couple of features of the infant browser. I'd even say these features actually help my *User Experience* with SharePoint. Let me put down the awesome Kool Aid (Kool Aid Robot Chicken Video (a can't miss)) for a second and share some cool UX stuff I found..

What Makes a SharePoint Developer? (PointBridge)
A couple of years ago, when I was first starting to work with SharePoint, I overheard a conversation in the hall at my company. Will was talking to a few other people and asked this question: "What's the difference between a developer who knows SharePoint and a SharePoint developer?"

Blogger and Windows Live Writer (SharePoint Branding & Design)
After a long time I finally decided to start blogging (Little help from Fox, Paul, and Natalya). I was first looking for a nice free SharePoint blog site (Wanted to eat my own dog food), but I really could not find one. So I decided to go with Blogger. I figured that I would simply edit my posts in Word 2007 and publish it to blogger… Umm yea it works but not completely. Since Blogger is owned by Google it uses Picasa web as its native Image repository engine. So, low and behold Word does not integrate with Picasa web, and I could not use Word 2007 to post images. So I needed to find another solution.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Best Practices (Becky Bertram)
I am in the process of reading the Microsoft Press book by Ben Curry and Bill English, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Best Practices. While there are numerous books on the market explaining how to technically carry out a SharePoint implementation, this book does a great of summarizing the various business and project management issues surrounding the construction of a good SharePoint solution.

Around Bamboo Nation
Customizing SharePoint with Web Parts: Web Part Appearance (SharePoint Blank)
While writing about how to modify a shared Web Part yesterday, I showed an example of the Web Part properties task pane.  There are three humble, yet key components of every Web Part that are represented in its properties task pane, and they are:  Appearance, Layout, and Advanced:

Admit it, You're Just Too Lazy to Read About Web Parts (The Bamboo Team Blog)
You don't have to pretend. I explain, in painful, word-based detail, the ins and outs (no pun intended) of our new Web Parts, even throwing in the occassional picture to keep you interested, but at the end of the day, there's just so... much... reading.

Announcing the Bamboo Stock Quote Web Part (The Bamboo Team Blog)
Everyone is keeping a close eye on the markets these days (albeit often with a half-squinted, "I-don't-want-to-see-but-I-can't-look-away" eye). While some people's first instinct may be hide out and wait for some kind of economic "all's clear" signal, I can't help but recall some sagelike wisdom I gleaned from a certain 1980s cartoon, "Knowing is half the battle". However turbulent they may be, it always helps to be aware of your surroundings. If you are up-to-date on what the markets are doing, you can make informed decisions. Is it time to sell some stocks, or ride out the storm? Should you scoop up a bargain or double-down on some value stocks while prices are depressed? Wouldn't it be great if you could give your users a quick and easy way to get the market information they want, without them ever leaving your site? Well, now you can.

SharePoint Events
October 2, Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City Office Geeks
October 7, Chicago, Illinois, The Chicago Microsoft SharePoint Business Strategies Group October Meetup
October 7, Grand Rapids, Michigan, West Michigan SharePoint User Group
October 8, Bloomington, Minnesota, Minnesota SharePoint User Group
October 8, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs SharePoint User Group
October 9-10, Tulsa Oklahoma, Tulsa TechFest
October 9, Puget Sound, Washington, Puget Sound SharePoint Users Group
October 9, San Francisco, California, San Fransico SharePoint Users Group
October 14, Southfield, Michigan, Southeastern Michigan SharePoint User's Group
October 14, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philly Office Geeks
October 15, Iselin, New Jersey, NJ SharePoint User Group
October 16, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty User Group
October 16, Columbus, Ohio, Central Ohio SharePoint User Group
October 16, Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky SharePoint Users Group
October 21, Adelaide, Australia, Adelaide SharePoint Usergroup
October 21, Irving, Texas, DFW SharePoint Server Community
October 21, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Office Geeks Association
October 22, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland SharePoint User Group
October 22, Melbourne, Australia, Microsoft Office System Special Interest Group
October 22, Roanoke, Virginia, Roanoke Valley SharePoint Users Group
October 23, Phoenix, Arizona, Arizona SharePoint Professionals Group
October 23, Richmond, Virginia, Richmond SharePoint User Group
October 25, Puget Sound, Washington, Puget Sound SharePoint Users Group
October 25-26, Los Angeles, California, SoCal Code Camp
October 25, Orlando, Florida, MOSSmosis Orlando
October 25, Puget Sound, Washington, Puget Sound SharePoint Users 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
November 13, Atlanta, Georgia, MOSSmosis Atlanta

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 SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package: August 26, 2008 (KBAlertz)
This article describes the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 issues that are fixed in the Office SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package that is dated August 26, 2008.

Next step, a roadmap to BI (Shared Points for SharePoint...)
A little follow up on Stian’s post about “Where did the good stuff go?”.

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