SharePoint Daily for November 18, 2008

Top News Stories
SharePoint on the Ropes Again? (Information World Review)
It's a common problem in virtually any industry. Once you become the de-facto leader, or at least somewhere near the upper echelons, then people start having a go at you. Virgin has found it out the hard way, Channel 4 is probably discovering it to a certain degree, and, um, well the less I say about JD Wetherspoons the better, probably.

Survey: SharePoint Creating Security Weak Point (ITPro)
A poll of business managers has revealed they are ignoring a myriad of SharePoint security and data risks.

Microsoft vs. Google Web-based Office Battle Heats Up Again (ZDNet)
After a few months of relative quiet, the war of words and customer wins is on again, with Microsoft and Google battling over which company will be more successful in providing office applications over the Web.

Microsoft Aims to be a Good Host (CNET)
For perhaps the first time in its history, Microsoft made the case on Monday that businesses shouldn't run its software. Instead, Microsoft argued that corporations should let it run the software for them.

Exchange and SharePoint Online Officially Released CIO)
Microsoft has announced today the general availability of their latest additions to their Online Services portfolio, hosted Exchange and Sharepoint services.

What Does ‘SharePoint in the Cloud’ Really Mean? (ZDNet)
Microsoft began shipping, starting November 17, the final version of its Exchange Online and SharePoint Online Microsoft-hosted services. Are these products full versions of Microsoft’s enterprise software running in “in the cloud”? The short answer: No.

Microsoft Releases SharePoint, Exchange As A Service (InformationWeek)
Microsoft pushed further into the software-as-a-service market on Monday by releasing multitenant versions of Exchange Online and SharePoint Online available to anyone to complement dedicated tenant versions already for sale exclusively to large companies.

Does Microsoft Need to Ship Windows 7 in 2009? (IT World)
Microsoft officially says it will ship the Windows 7 operating system within three years of the January 2007 consumer release of Windows Vista. But speculation abounds that the software giant is gunning to ship halfway through 2009 to be on machines for the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

The 64-bit question: Do Consumers Really Care? (Blorge)
The 64-bit edition of Windows Vista continues to gain in market share. However, some are questioning whether it’s really an important issue for consumers, or if it might even cause more problems than it solves. The latest figures come from Microsoft’s Mike Nash, a senior figure in the Windows division. Speaking about recently-released figures on driver compatibility problems, he told BetaNews that around 20% of Vista computers sold in the US in September ran the 64-bit edition.

Around the Blogosphere
IE8 Beta 2 - NTLM 401.1 (Not Good for SharePoint Developers) (Andrew Woodward)
Found a really annoying bug this week after upgrading one of my Windows 2003 SharePoint development Virtual Machines to IE8 Beta 2. HTTP 401.1 - Unauthorized: Logon Failed.

Getting 403 Forbidden Error When Accessing SharePoint Usage Reports?? (Jason Medero)
Just wanted to pass on a solution to a problem that I ran into today in case anyone else runs into it.  So today I had a customer who was simply trying to access their SharePoint Usage reports .  Unfortunately when they were going into site settings and selecting the link they were receiving a 403 forbidden error..  So the first thing i checked was that the application pool account had the correct rights in SQL server (dbcreator and security admin) on the content databases in which I was accessing.

Power User Toolbox: JavaScript for SharePoint - Pt3 (EndUser SharePoint)
I see four levels of JavaScript problem-solving.  Your approach will depend on some of the factors we discussed in part 1.  If we agree that JavaScript is a hammer (a very useful tool in many but not all situations), we must also determine at which strength to employ our hammer.  Hammering too hard or too fast risks damage to our nails or wood.  Likewise, wielding JavaScript with a heavy hand can have unintended consequences for site performance or user interaction.

Creating a SharePoint List From an Excel Spreadsheet (Todd Klindt)
Last week a friend of mine asked a fairly innocent question, "Can I import a spreadsheet into SharePoint?" My answer to almost all SharePoint questions is, "Of course you can, and it'll rock!" Of course this is no exception. I thought I'd write up a quick blog post to show some of the ways it rocks.

Upcoming SharePoint Weekly Webcast Series Events Calendar Through March 5th (Michael Gannotti)
Tomorrow I will posting a comprehensive update here as to some of the guest speakers coming up on the SharePoint Weekly Webcast Series but in the meantime if you have not added the events calendar to your favorites then……. you SHOULD!!! With all the technical issues solved the calendar is now locked and loaded through March 5th with a combinations of events that I will lead, events featuring other special Microsoft presenters, as well as special 3rd party presenters. You can check out the SharePoint Weekly Webcast Calendar by selecting the tab at the top of this page or by clicking here.

“Search on this Page” using jQuery (EndUser SharePoint)
This article by guest author Waldek Mastykarz, describes how to use the free javascript library, jQuery, to create specialized search capabilities on large web pages.

Entertain Me! SharePoint Videos, Screencasts, and Podcasts (SharePoint Joel)
I was trying to scour the web for the best SharePoint Videos, Podcasts, and interesting Vlogs.  I haven't found an inclusive good list of all of them anywhere.  I'm sure I'll miss some, but I promise to link to this list from my home page so we can gather a complete list via comments... Please help me find the best and don't miss my upcoming featured webinar on SharePoint and Email Myths on Nov 20, 11am EST!

Around Bamboo Nation
Create a New SharePoint Group, Part 1 of 2 (SharePoint Blank)
Friday's blog topic, detailing where to find and modify existing groups in a SharePoint site caused me to go back and review a previous entry wherein I addressed SharePoint groups.  Which, in turn, caused me to realize that I might have misspoken in that previous entry when I said, based on what we'll charitably call a not entirely accurate assumption, that SharePoint group creation wasn't likely to apply to most end users.

Bamboo Welcomes Pragma to the Partner Advantage Program (The Bamboo Team Blog)
Our newest partner, Pragma, joins us from Kristiansand, Norway.  Pragma is an IT consultancy firm which delivers projects focused on: integration, high-end system development based on .NET or Java technology, development of business portals, and content management.  Their vision is to deliver practical solutions providing high value to their clients while having a good time along the way.  We look forward to working with them.

Bamboo Solutions and TeamDirection Announce OEM Agreement to Enhance Project Management Solutions for Microsoft SharePoint (The Bamboo Team Blog)
Bamboo Solutions, a leading provider of products that enhance Microsoft SharePoint and TeamDirection, a premier provider of collaborative project solutions, today announced an OEM agreement to expand their Microsoft-based project management offerings for SharePoint.  Available today, TeamDirection is offering the Bamboo SharePoint Project Portfolio Dashboard Web Part as part of its IntelliGantt Add-in for Microsoft Project. This combined offering provides SharePoint customers who also use Microsoft Project 2007 Standard or Professional an intuitive and affordable project management solution for project managers, SharePoint users and project stakeholders.  Utilizing robust client tools, team members can work in shared workspaces that are easily accessible and convenient while stakeholders can view clear and concise progress reports in a Portfolio Dashboard.

Announcing the Release of SharePoint Navigators! (The Bamboo Team Blog)
Are your users having trouble finding their way through your SharePoint implementation?  The proliferation of sites and data in SharePoint inevitably leads to an overcrowded Quick Launch bar and a breadcrumb trail that even Hansel and Gretel would have trouble following.  Whether it’s sites, pages, or data they’re after, SharePoint can quickly become a virtual maze of links that is difficult to navigate.  That’s why we have developed SharePoint Navigators.

Microsoft Updates
Define a Workflow Lookup (Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer)
Lookups empower your workflow to display dynamic data. When a workflow runs, the lookups in that workflow can retrieve data from different data sources such as lists, libraries and the workflow data. Lookups can also create a customized end-user experience for people using the site.

Watch this: Using Search in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS))
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 offers search features that can help users find relevant content and other people across their enterprise. The search features can help locate data stored in a variety of locations on a SharePoint site including lists, document libraries, and user-profile pages.

Add RSS Feeds to Your SharePoint Site (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS))
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a widely used technology for transmitting information across the Internet and intranets. Many Web sites offer RSS Feeds you can subscribe to so you can get the latest information from the source automatically.

SharePoint Events
November 18, Adelaide, Australia, Adelaide SharePoint Usergroup
November 18, Irving, Texas, DFW SharePoint Server Community
November 18, Sydney, Australia, Sydney SharePoint User Group
November 19, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland SharePoint User Group
November 19, Iselin, New Jersey, NJ SharePoint User Group
November 19, Online, SharePoint Project Management Webinar
November 19, Online, SharePoint Administration Webinar
November 19, Roanoke, Virginia, Roanoke Valley SharePoint Users Group
November 20, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty User Group
November 20, Columbus, Ohio, Central Ohio SharePoint User Group
November 20, Evansville, Indiana, Evansville Indiana's SharePoint Group
November 20, Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville Office Geeks
November 20, Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky SharePoint Users Group
November 20, Phoenix, Arizona, Arizona SharePoint Professionals Group
November 20, Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh SharePoint Users Group
November 20, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Hampton Roads SQL Server and SharePoint User Group
November 22, Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore SharePoint User Group Code Camp
November 25, Christchurch, New Zealand, Christchurch SharePoint User Group
November 25, London, England, SharePoint User Group UK
November 25, Online, The Basics of Content Types in SharePoint 2007
November 26, Melbourne, Australia, Microsoft Office System Special Interest Group

December 2, Chicago, Illinois, The Chicago Microsoft SharePoint Business Strategies Group
December 2, Grand Rapids, Michigan, West Michigan SharePoint User Group
December 2, Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville SharePoint Users Group
December 2, San Diego, California, San Diego .NET Developers Group Meeting
December 3, Online, SharePoint Project Management Webinar
December 3, Online, SharePoint Administration Webinar
December 4, Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City Office Geeks
December 4, Online, Bamboo Recent Product Releases
December 9, Tampa, Florida, TOGA User Group Meeting
December 10, Bloomington, Minnesota, Minnesota SharePoint User Group
December 10, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs SharePoint User Group
December 10, Online, SharePoint Project Management Webinar
December 10, Online, SharePoint Administration Webinar
December 11, Puget Sound, Washington, Puget Sound SharePoint Users Group
December 11, San Francisco, California, San Francisco SharePoint Users Group
December 11, Reston, Virginia, SharePoint User Group of the District of Columbia
December 18, Online, Bamboo Recent Product Releases

January 27-29, San Francisco, California, SPTechCon

February 2-4, San Diego, California, SharePoint Best Practices Conference

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

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