Determining SharePoint Foundation 2010 Version

There are times when you need to find out what version of SharePoint Foundation you are currently running. The easiest way to do this is to look in SharePoint Central Administration via the following procedure:

On the SharePoint Foundation Server select Start | Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products | SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

When the SharePoint Central Administration appears select Manage Servers in Farm from under the System Settings in the top right.

In the middle of the page locate Configuration database version and compare the number you find here with:

http://todd-carter.com/sharepoint-versions/

You’ll then know whether you are running the latest version.

An Administrator’s Guide to Windows Server 2012 Essentials

SBS MVP Boon Tee has just released a new book – An Administrator’s Guide to Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

The book takes a pictorial guide through the various components and functionality of the operating system and provides the user with a comprehensive overview of the different options available in configuring and maintaining the server. Readers with a very basic understanding of networking may find some of the concepts challenging, but not overwhelming. Ideally, the reader should have a decent understanding of computer operations, and be able to perform standard computer tasks without much reference to manuals. Advanced readers will find this book a useful reference guide.

Find more details and ordering info at – http://blog.powerbiz.net.au/about-3/an-administrators-guide-to-microsoft-windows-server-2012-essentials/

Free exam offer for 74-324 exam

Microsoft Australia have just announced a free exam offer for the 74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Business on their blog:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/auspartners/archive/2013/01/16/free-exam-offer-for-exam-74-324-administering-office-365-for-small-businesses.aspx

Here’s the body:

Great opportunity! The first 2,000 partners who take Exam 74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Businesses will be able to take it for free at an Authorized Prometric Testing Centre (terms & conditions apply). This meets one of the key requirements for the Small Business competency in the Microsoft Partner Network. Please act now, as the offer expires 6/30/13! ! Register for this exam using promo code MPNO365. (Note: code includes an upper-case “O” and not a zero.) Look for complete terms and conditions on the Training Spotlight blog, January 15^th.

Desktop to Cloud User Group resumes

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You are invited to attend:

Desktop to Cloud User Group

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 from

Stanton Library, North Sydney, 6:15 PM – 8:15 PM

Learn what the ‘cloud’ really means for you and your business. At these events you’ll find answers to questions like: What is the ‘cloud’? What can it do for my business? In the sessions you’ll hear from many experts and you’ll also get the opportunity to network with them. These events are all about giving you the most current information about the latest in desktop, mobile and cloud technologies. Each event is designed to cater to all levels from beginners to IT Professional, business owner to the tech savvy. Beyond the sessions you’ll be able to rub shoulders with industry experts and others businesses to learn how to make the cloud really work for you.

You can find updates about the group either at the Meetup site – http://www.meetup.com/desktop2cloud/ as well as group blog at http://www.ciaops.com/d2cblog.

In person

Registration: http://d2cug13.eventbrite.com.au/
Parking: Ridge St carpark. Flat rate parking after 6pm, 2 minutes walk to library.
Train: 10 minutes walk from North Sydney station

Streaming

The meeting will be streamed live via Google Hangouts as well as broadcast live on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/directorciaops). The event will also be available as a recording via the same YouTube channel once the event has completed. Using Google Hangouts you can also use what to ask questions and provide feedback to presenters.
To join the meeting live with Google Hangouts please add director@ciaops.com to you Google Plus account.

Twitter

Use the hashtag #d2cloud to stay in touch with what’s happening on the night and to ask questions and provide feedback.

Agenda

Session 1: Windows InTune
Presenters: Mark O’Shea
Title: All the latest
Door prize:

Brief: Come and learn what is new with Windows Intune

Session 2: The best mobile
Presenters: Panel
Title: What is the best phone/plan on the market today?
Door prize:
Brief: Come and help us determine what is currently the best mobile phone on the market today. Is it Windows Phone? iPhone? Android? Nokia? HTC? Find out what other have to say about the device they use. If you are planning a buy a new mobile, don’t miss this session

Stanton Library

234 Miller St

North Sydney, New South Wales 2060

Attend Event

Lync Attendee certificate error

Lync is great tool for conducting webinars. It is even better in that people who don’t have Lync can download and install the free Lync Attendee client to have the full experience. You can download the Lync Attendee software from:

Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendee – User Level Install –
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15755

For information about using the software see:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/communicator-help/quick-start-use-lync-2010-attendee-HA101832596.aspx

or get my book:

Getting Started with Lync Online

Now it is always best to check that everything works first with Lync and to do that you can use the following:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2386655

which is a bit ‘techie’ but is very comprehensive. Some other troubleshooting links for Lync in general are:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/wikis/lync/ensuring-your-network-works-with-lync-online.aspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2566790

Of course you can still get issues and if you get this one:

‘There was a problem verifying the certificate from the server’ then this article may help:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2604176

There is even a Mr Fixit button that will do the hard work for you.

Anonymous comments now enabled on blog

I saw a comment from a blog reader on the soon to be decommissioned supportweb blog website that they didn’t like the registration options to comment on the new blog site (at blogger).

In light of that I have now enabled anonymous commenting on http://blog.ciaops.com because I want to encourage people’s feedback but let me explain why it will initially be a bit of try it and see.

One of the major reasons for migrating my blog away from suppoprtweb was simply the amount of blog spam that it receives daily. You can see a small sampling below.

Checking and removing all that spam is a pain and a waste of time frankly. Thus, when I moved to Blogger I was afraid that the same issue would appear if I allowed anonymous comments, however it seems that Blogger has better spam protection so maybe having anonymous comments won’t generate too much spam after all.

So for the time being I have now allowed anonymous comments to encourage everyone to post feedback on my postings. However, I reserve the right, in the face of too much spam to turn it off again. I will however let you know if that occurs. Let’s hope not, so please feel free to comment away now.

Where did Microsoft Online Speedtest go?

For a long while you could go to:

http://speedtest.microsoftonline.com/

to run a speed test from the Microsoft Online datacentres to your location. Doing so would produce some handy results like:

and

if you try and visit the site above it comes up as not found and I haven’t found any replacement as yet?? Strange.

For the time being I suggest that the best substitute is:

http://www.testexchangeconnectivity.com

and select the Office 365 tab

as the best way to get an idea of the performance from the Office 365 data centres, although I’d prefer to see the old site back as it provides a lot more ‘techie’ info. I hope it is getting revamped in preparation for the upcoming release of the new Office 365.

SharePoint Online training bootcamp

This is reminder that my upcoming SharePoint Online bootcamp will be held on Thursday the 21st of February 2013 in Sydney. Registrations can be found at:

http://ciaops210113.eventbrite.com.au/

Use the promotional code EARLYBIRD to receive a $25 discount (8%) off entry prior to the 21st of January, 2013.

Even if you are not planning to attend every confirmed referral will earn you 8%. Please let me know directly (director@ciaops.com) whom you have referred so I can confirm their booking and make arrangements for payment with you.

The aim of this course is to provide you with the technical and business skills to confidently install, support and maintain any SharePoint Online installation with a particular focus on SharePoint provided via Office 365. The course is aimed at technology professionals who have responsibility for SharePoint within their organizations or for their customers. It is also aimed at the technology reseller who is looking to sharpen their skills and grow their knowledge into a technology that allows them to differentiate themselves from their competition.

I look forward to seeing you there.