Search Server Express – first impressions

We have managed to get Search Server Express installed on a test Sharepoint machine and we admit that we are a little disappointed. Why? Well, we thought that Search Server would integrate directly with Sharepoint. It doesn’t. It basically creates a seperate (Sharepoint-like) site on the machine that is used purely for searching.
 
This means that the existing Sharepoint integrated search functionality stays as is (from what we see so far). However, the Search service does search the Sharepoint content directly and you can extend it to search things like web sites, file locations and public folders. This is where the real power of the application is going to come into its own.
 
Imagine setting up Search Server to crawl not only your Sharepoint but also every data on your server automatically! This will be a godsend to finally be able to locate all those documents strewn out across server hard disks.
 
Apart from this what we like so far about Search Server is the fact that it is easy to configure, simple to add crawling locations as well as perform maintenance tasks like launching a full crawl. The Search Server admin site has plenty of information about the searching status and configuration which was alwasy something that was hidden in Sharepoint.
 
So initially we were disappointed the it didn’t integrate directly with Sharepoint but the more we use it the more we like it. Can’t wait for the RTM version now.

Sharepoint Search Server Express

One of the really cool features of Sharepoint has always been its ability to search through all the content on your site. Now Windows Sharepoint Services (ie the free edition) did a great job but not as much as the full blown Microsoft Sharepoint Server (MOSS, ie not free). The MOSS product search had far more functiinality and things like “did you mean”, “sounds like” and so on.
 
Well now Microsoft are making a version of this Enterprise Search available for FREE yes FREE. It’s called Search Server 2008 Express and you can find out more info by clicking here.
 
It looks really good and should be an excellent add on to Windows Sharepoint Services, however on the initial reading we think it may have trouble if installed with Sharepoint 3 on SBS. We will confirm this as we are currently in the process of test the Release Candidate which you can download.
 
We’ll post more information about what we find soon.

Small Business Server course starts this week

This Thursday 8th of November is the start of our 3 week Introduction to Small Business Server 2003 course to be held at Macquarie Community College.
 
It’s not to late to enrol if you are interested. For more information about the course following the link :
 
 
The course will give you all the information you need about Small Business Server as well as the basics of setting up a server and getting users and workstation connected.

Some more Facebook fiddling

Been looking at what else one can do with Facebook, especially say promoting this blog. Even though the address details are posted on my Facebook page it is unlikley that people will click.
Now there are plenty of “blogging” applications in Facebook but which one???? Interestingly I came across this post from Joel Olsen’s blog –
——————
Your Posts on Blog friends and real social networking features to promote them
Blog friends is a facebook app allows you to add your blog posts and see your friends posts and a whole lot more.  The coolest thing is when you add this app, add your blog you can see your recent blog entries, your friends blog entries, and even your friends friends posts up to a maximum of 20 (default of ~5).  The next layer of coolness is your ability to say what you’re interested in, so it then tries to pull in posts that you’re interested in.  So let’s say you add SharePoint to your list.  Now across your own network of friends 2-3 layers deep you’re getting the latest blog posts.  Then in your news feed you can see who clicks on what blog posts.  Powerful.  This is one of my favorite features.  People can then also comment on your blog posts right through facebook.  Power of social networking.  Just going to the app group I see that I have 37 friends who also have this app.  Wish it told me how many friends they have that use this app. 🙂

Some tips:

  • click on “more»” next to blog post titles to read the full post without leaving your profile
  • click at the foot of posts to share them with any of your facebook friends
  • visit your Home page to see which posts your friends are reading
  • keep your Interests up-to-date to get an even better service

    • By the way to add bloglines or any of the other blog apps on facebook, login go to your profile click on applications in the left hand corner.  Then click browse, search for blog.  Here’s some of what you’ll find including descriptions clipped directly from facebook.
    Live Blog is simple and easy to use blog, yet introduces powerful features like setting your mood, location, and music. Supports HTML and Youtube videos. The whole entry is displayed on your profile. Works in both the left and right sides!
    Flog lets you quickly and easily integrate your existing blog into your Facebook profile. Get more exposure for your blog and share your content with friends. Join the Flogosphere!
    HotBlog is the most awesome blog app available on facebook! It looks great in both the left and right areas of your profile, and HTML is allowed! Blog with photos, stylized text, and more in just a few clicks.
    Blog Friends Find great blog posts—sociably! Blog Friends taps your interests and social network to bring you just the blog posts that *you* want to read.
    Blog Link Put a screenshot of your blog on your profile. Perfect for Xanga, Blogspot, MySpace, or any other site. Get more visitors!
    Blog RSS Feed Reader Great way to drive traffic to your personal or corporate blog from your Facebook profile. Customise the application with your own image, description, published dates and more. Also sends emails to your friends when your blog is updated.
    Feed Friend  Subscribe to your friends’ blog feeds within Facebook. You can even display them in your profile! If you write your own blog, you can include a ‘subscribe’ link under your profile picture.
    myBlog is an application that displays the contents of your blog, using an RSS Feed, on your Facebook profile. myBlog will also send updates to all your friends whenever you add a new post.
    ———————-
    So I went in and added a few of these to my Facebook page just to get some idea and I must admit that I am pretty impressed! The more I look at all this Facebook stuff the more potential I see for it. Sure it needs a bit of “business-tuning” but I’m sure that ain’t far away.
    So if you’ve got a Facebook account then look me up.

    Shadowprotect on SBS video

    We have just completed our latest YouTube video. This video looks at the process of backing up using Storagecraft’s Shadowprotect. This product takes scheduled image backups of your server that allow you to qucikly and easily restore either a whol file or a whole server much quicker than traditional methods like tapes.
     
    Click here to view the video on YouTube. This first video looks at the process of creating Shadowprotect backups. The next video will look how to restore information from these backups.
     
    We recommend Shadowprotect to all clients with server machines. Shadowprotect also has a desktop edition which will take constant image backups of desktops as well. Sure a desktop machine may not be as important as a server but it still takes a long time to run up if the hard disk fails. That is why we have implemented Shadowprotect on all our internal workstations so we can get these up and running quickly in the event of a failure.
     
    Please let us know what you think of this video (the audio is a little poor, we know) and watch for the next one coming real soon.

    Dot Net issues

    Having issues installing DotNet updates via Windows Update? Try:

    Run cleanup tool:
    http://astebner.sts.winisp.net/Tools/dotnetfx_cleanup_tool.zip

    and select remove (cleanup) .NET Framework 1.1 from the dropdown list.

    Download the .Net framework 1.1 redistributable package from here
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3

    and install it.

    Download the .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1
    https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A8F5654F-088E-40B2-BBDB-A83353618B38&displaylang=en
    and install it.

    Popularity of Facebook

    Been thinking more about the popularity of Facebook. In one of the previous posts I was proposing that the reason is the fact that it allows non-geeks to create and maintain a web site. I now also think that it goes beyond this. A big part of the appeal is that you can add “applications” to your site that allows other to interact with you.
     
    For example you could add a “game” application to your site and invite other to compete. Your web site is then updated with your gaming results. A bit like a medal of honour you could say.
     
    The foundation of Facebook’s popularity is clearly the “social” aspect. The ability to interact with people you know or have met anywhere you have internet access.
     
    Now is it such a stetch to imagine this sort of application being recast into a business networking environment? I’m sure we all understand the potential issues but for a moment let’s dwell on the possibilities. If you created a site that was your business and then invited your customers to link to your site. They could post their testimonials up there and you could interact with them directly. As they developed their own corporate site you could see if there maybe anyone else they know that could use your services.
     
    The above is just one example that springs to mind. The more you think about the application to businesses the more you see that it will only be a matter of time before something like this emerges.

    Second shot Microsoft exams

    If you want to get a Microsoft certification under your belt then if you register here, take the exam before January 30, 2008 and heaven forbid, not pass then you are entitled to retake the exam again for FREE.
     
    Having done a few Microsoft exams I know that some can be quite tricky. It generally isn’t that you don’t know the material, it is that you don’t know exactly how Microsoft wants the questions answered. My advice is that if you are unsure then try and examine the question again from Microsoft’s perspective (ie which option requires the implementation of more Microsoft software?).
     
    Now with this free double shot you should have no problems getting through, even if it takes two goes!