Sometimes it pays to stop and think for a moment

So I was trying out some software that I’d heard about that would protect your PC from browser based attacks. I installed and rebooted and guess what? Blue Screen of Death. Damm. Now it wasn’t the end of the world but it was still a pain since I stupidly hadn’t attempted to install the software on a Virtual PC first.

So without thinking too much I booted into safe mode and attempted to uninstall the software using Add/Remove programs. No good, needs Windows installer which doesn’t run in safe mode. Next option, hack the registry and remove all references to the product I just installed. Reboot, still Blue Screen of Death. Damm. Next, take out my image recovery CD and boot to it planning to restore my boot drive from an image I made yesterday. Boot to CD, start restore program, just about to press the Start button, when my logic finally catches up with my brain.

Wouldn’t the simplest way be to boot into Safe Mode and do a System Restore? Yes, ladies and gentlemen it was and it fixed the issue but it does illustrate a point. In the world of IT we are faced with “disasters” everyday but we probably don’t have a method of effectively dealing with them. I suggest that maybe the best idea is simply to take stock of the situation and then DO NOTHING. Well, not quite nothing. I’d suggest a deep breath and some time thinking about the problem and possible solutions. It is better to survey the land than charge into a battle with the wrong plan. Patience, grasshopper, patience.

It is too easy for even an experienced hand like myself to rush into the fray “knowing” the solution. In some cases it may even make it worse. A little time to think about the issues, even write down some solutions and then develop a strategy can make all the difference. Now I generally try to implement this strategy but as I found out here, it is so easy to slip back into the “full-steam” ahead mode. Human instinct after all I suppose.

Such a situation reminds me of a good book I recently read called Deep Survival: Who lives, Who dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales. It delves extensively into what makes some people survive while others perish. The psychology behind the findings are truly amazing and I would still recommend you read it just for the incredible stories of human survival. For a complete review hop on over to Goodreads and and link to my profile (director@ciaops.com) where you’ll find my list of readings as well as reviews of the material. If you like reading, the Goodreads is a great site.

So in this world of rush, rush, rush more time actually thinking about a problem before acting can actually be a good thing and will more than likely save you time in the long run. Patience is a virtue that I need to constantly work at.

Ah ha, what I have now figured out

In my last post I mentioned how I was having some formatting issue posting updates to the blog using Windows Live Writer. Now that I have looked through the menu options on Live Writer I have solved that issue.

What you need to do under Windows Live Writer is go View | Update Weblog style. This will download a whole swag of formatting layouts and make then the default for Live Writer. Now, Live Write looks exactly like the format of the blog with the same fonts, backgrounds and what not.

So now, as you can see I have my paragraph breaks back! The bottom line is when you install the Community Kit for Sharepoint and you plan to use Windows Live Writer to post updates make sure you also Update the Weblog style in Windows Live Writer before you starting posting. All very simple when you know how eh?

Community kit for Sharepoint

Thought I’d do quick posting on what I’ve found so far about install the Community Kit for Sharepoint. To get it running all you need to do is download the source and then run the batch file that is included. When you run the batch file you will be asked for your Sharepoint server and then the blog site on the Sharepoint server. Once the batch file is complete your blog site will be automatically upgraded.

What I like

– The new look and feel is great. It really make the normal Sharepoint blog site look flash. Very much like WordPress now.

– The fact that blog postings URL’s have been changed to …\blog\archive\2008\… rather than the normal Sharepoint links. even better there is translation so that anything that has already been indexed by something like Google will remain valid and accessible to visitors

– The fact that I can still get to my Sharepoint blog admin commands which remain in Sharepoint style screens.

– It didn’t break my blog. I can still post via Windows Live Writer or manually via the blog. Also, all my existing entries remained.

– The automated trackbacks and links to del.icio.us, facebook and what not. You see it everywhere and it is now nice to have in Sharepoint blogs.

What I haven’t figured out yet

– Why my postings from Windows Live Writer and manual interaction with the blog seem to remove my paragraph breaks. This make things more difficult to read. I’m sure that it is some simple HTML or CSS thing but as yet I haven’t worked out how to get my paragraph breaks back.

– How to edit the theme and perhaps ad my own graphics and text. Now, I’m sure there is a reall simply way but you need time to sit down and fiddle with all this. Was really impressed with what has been done over at http://www.wssdemo.com/blog with moving icons and what not. Somewhere, I’m sure there is way to do that but as yet I haven’t found it.

Gotcha’s

– The only one so far is the fact that with the kit installed you can’t easily roll back to the way the blog used to be just in Sharepoint. Now, I’m sure you could remove the kit files from Sharepoint and that would fix the issue but it would still be nice to be able to revert back to the original Sharepoint blog look and feel quickly.

Summary

So all in all I am pretty happy with the ease with which the kit can be installed and the “make over” it gives standard Sharepoint blogs. Sure there is still stuff I’d like to do to make the kit more personalized to my blog as well as few minor issues to resolve (which take time), but generally I think that the creators deserve a hearty pat on the back for an excellent effort and making it available for free. Well Done.

Threats from "new" devices

I’ve now seen a few stories about new IT devices containing viruses and malware. Here’s an article from the LA Times that gives bit more details about how much more wide spread it is becoming. You would think that buying something as simple a new digital picture frame wouldn’t mean you’d have to scan it for suspect software, but you do. Seems like the best idea with all these things is simply to reformat them and reload before you use them. What a pain!

Doing a new installation of Sharepoint?

Before you do make sure you download Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with Service Pack 1 rather than having to apply the service pack after installation.

Rethinking managed services

This is my reply to a posting by Robbie Upcroft on getting into managed services.

You are right in saying that managed services are the way to go but I content that perhaps the time is too late. Why do I say that? If you haven’t read the book the World is Flat then you should because it details how all this sort of work is going to be done from places like India. To get an idea of what they charge have a look at : http://www.supportresort.com/. As the site says “We hire out quality IT staff by the month for an hourly rate as low as US$3.36.”

Problem with managed services is that they are so easy to replicate. If you have the cash go out and buy something like Kaysea and you’re away. Sure you’ll be able to convince most existing customers to come on board, not because of what managed services offer but more likely because they’ll do what you tell them. Fine. Now what about new customers?

Why would I pay for you to manage a workstation? Will what they’ll ask. I don’t care if it is defragged, etc and if it fails I just use another temporarily. Sure, I’ll take managed services on a server but on the desktops? No thanks too expensive. Is typically the response we have received.

Most clients in the SMB market space are looking to save IT costs and most won’t pay a per month charge greater than say $10 because it doesn’t make sense. If you have invested all that money in backend infrastructure like servers and Kaysea are you really going to a see a return on investment? Only if you get all client machines, including workstations onboard. As I said previously I think you are going to struggle to get any new clients on board with this.

Finally, what happens when people like HP and DELL enter the market by offering managed services on every PC they sell for LIFE (which they will)? These guys will be able to drive the costs right down simply because of their size. Even the best customer at some point will look at a cheaper prices (for essentially the same thing) and tell you, sorry but I’m going elsewhere.

So, in summary, yes managed service is an opportunity but it is not a saviour for a bad business model. You need to look at the setup and on going costs and license fees and ensure that you are going to get the numbers on board to cover these and make money. This is going to get harder and harder everyday as more people enter the market for “managed services” and drive the price down. I think it is too hard to differentiate yourself enough with a managed services product these days and there are not many barriers to entry. It is basically a volume business and SMB resellers really don’t have the volume to make this work long term in books.

Only my opinion.

Almost famous

I’d like to thank Wayne Small who have given me a bit of plug in his blog. Appreciate that Wayne. He was mentioning how I have applied the Community Blog kit to my Sharepoint blog and how different it now looks (for the better). I am preparing a detailed post about my experiences with this update and how simple it is and some observations I have come across. I just wanted to wait a while to everything works as expected before I comment too much. However, since Wayne has now graciously given me a plug I better hurry on and do it eh?