Posted on May 4th, 2007 by Ron Bertino
If you use Windows Server 2003, then you may or may not be aware that there are various free downloads (tools and feature packs) that are available to you, which can provide very useful services to your users.
One of these is Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) v3.
WSS allows you to easily create an intranet/extranet or even various pre-built web applications for you to use.
And let me repeat once again, that this is absolutely free. So there’s no good reason to not give it a go.
Here are some videos that will introduce you to the technology and features available. Note that these videos are from mid-2006, prior to WSS v3 being released; so the people on the videos will say that “the product will be released soon”, etc. You can safely ignore that, since the product is fully available today.
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Filed under: Microsoft, Office, Sharepoint |
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Posted on May 2nd, 2007 by Ron Bertino
During the development phase of Office 2007, Microsoft approached many users and asked them what features they would like to see added to the various Office products.
It turns out that approximately 95% of the “new” features requested were already within Office 2003.
This meant that the majority of the features in Office 2003 were buried so deep within the various menus, that it resulted in users never discovering that these features were available in the first place.
In order to combat this big problem, Microsoft decided to totally redesign the Office user interface, and came up with the Office ribbon. The main purpose of this new user interface is to expose as many features of the software as possible to the user, while still maintaining a relatively simple look and feel.
That all sounds well and good. The problem was that they also decided to force people into using this new interface, and therefore removed almost all traces of traditional application menus.
This left many users frustrated, since they no longer knew how to access the features that they were used to using in Office 2003. This was especially so for power users which were aware of the more advanced features of the various programs.
Well, some smart Chinese programmer has listened to these user complaints and decided to do something about it. He has released an add-on to Office 2007 which installs an application menu interface so you can keep accessing the features in the way that you were used to doing in Office 2003.
The nice thing is that you get the best of both worlds: the ribbon plus the old menu structure. This will allow you to slowly phase into using the new ribbon rather than being dropped in the deep end of the pool and left to fend for yourself.
There is a 15 day trial available, and the product costs US$30.
Filed under: Microsoft, tools, Office |
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Posted on March 29th, 2007 by Ron Bertino
Microsoft have just released the first public beta of Office Communications Server (OCS). Documentation for the product has also been made available.
Office Communications Server 2007 will be the replacement of Live Communications Server 2005.
This product is a major step forward in terms of enabling Unified Communications within your environment. The deep level of integration between Office Communications Server, Exchange, Sharepoint, Office applications, etc, is very impressive.
OCS allows you to integrate: presence information, instant messaging, email, calendars, contacts, voice calls, web conferencing, voice conferencing, video conferencing, file transfers, sharing applications, sharing your desktop, communications with conventional (PSTN) phones, and integration with your traditional PBX phone systems.
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Posted on March 14th, 2007 by Ron Bertino
Microsoft Australia has launched a test to see if they can successfully convince university students to legally purchase licenses of Microsoft Office. In order to do so, they’ve had to make the price extremely attractive.
Microsoft Australia are allowing Australian university students to purchase a copy of Office 2007 Ultimate for AU$25/year or AU$75 outright.
Students need to validate their student status online in conjunction with their university, and can purchase the software directly from Microsoft. They can then download the software online directly from Microsoft.
This offer expires at the end of May 2007, so if this seems of interest to you, then I would suggest purchasing a copy while you can. If this trial is successful, Microsoft may decide to extend/expand the offer…..but then again, the offer may simply vanish after May.
Head on over to http://www.itsnotcheating.com.au and get your copy today.
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