Outlook notifications

By default Outlook will notify you via a variety of means that a new email has arrived. This can be very distracting and greatly reduce your productivity as I have eluded to many time here before. As such I have created a new You Tube video that shows you how to disable these notifications.

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fe64vxAC4UY/UQElnebkFnI/AAAAAAAAH5Y/UVUoarzbxD8/videof6eafbb20b48%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('70d48fdd-87d3-4525-89fa-ced812a0cbf5'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/rM5jnI-ik8c?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM5jnI-ik8c

Watch out for some more tips and tricks to increasing your productivity with Outlook. As usual I’d love to hear any feedback you may have or suggestions of what you’d like to see covered.

EasyJet video

Here’s a nice short video about how EasyJet are using SharePoint Server 2007 as their intranet.

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lDZ_ZiKGjNI/UQEhYey8VTI/AAAAAAAAH4M/tQK7_W9InwE/videoae6930731e59%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('72092486-0d2d-4151-b267-4606824985e4'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/SV65OjSoOG8?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

Their model is not only for customers to serve themselves but also for employees to serve themselves and this is what SharePoint is great for.

Two hundred thousand views

Well it took about 9 months to get to the first 100,000 views but it has only taken just over 6 months to get to 200,000 views. What am I talking about? I’m talking about my online videos on YouTube.

I am constantly amazed that people actually watch my videos and also find them helpful. So to everyone out there that has watched on of my videos I say thanks. To everyone that has taken the time to comment on the videos I also say thanks. An especial thanks goes out to those who have actually emailed me directly about the videos. It helps to know that people are getting something from what I create.

Initially, I established my videos while at Saturn Alliance but since then have returned to running CIAOPS. As such, I have also created a new video area where all recent videos now appear. So if you have subscribed to my initial Saturn Alliance videos don’t forget to take a look at http://www.youtube.com/directorciaops for my new video creations.

As always if you have any comments or feedback on my videos please contact me (director@ciaops.com) I’m always happy to hear what people say – good or bad.

Thanks for watching and stay tuned for more.

Get well Steve

For those that don’t know, Steve Jobs of Apple fame is taking a leave of absence due to health reasons.

He’s an inspiration guy who has endured many reincarnations, trials and tribulations.

If you haven’t heard the speech he gave at Stanford University a few years ago then I’d suggest you have a look here:

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lhEiPD2kGRM/UQBuA4HeNGI/AAAAAAAAH3A/QGpuDyxHhcs/video50e07fd189db%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('d25eab41-6593-4786-903d-a02a94503acc'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/D1R-jKKp3NA?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

No matter whether you love or hate the guy, you have to admit that the IT industry would all the poorer without a personality like Steve Jobs. He has given us so many IT icons, from the Apple II, to the Mac, to the iPod and iPhone and more. I think any serious observer has to admire what he has created and his ability to create innovative products that appeal to masses.

Steve Jobs has faced adversity before and overcome. He faced serious issues before and overcome. I wish him all the best in this latest battle and compel everyone else to do the same because a world in which Steve Jobs is not an active player is a world a more ‘innovation-poor’.

All the best Steve and get well soon!

Security videos

Have a look at these security videos from Watchguard. Down the bottom of the page you’ll also find some videos that may help ‘non-IT’ people understand some simple security principles.

The good thing is that you can download the videos and use them offline.

SharePoint subsite basics video

You’ll find a new video at http://www.youtube.com/user/directorciaops. This one give you an overview of the basics of SharePoint subsites.

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cyOTWvfO6pg/URYvTHCWhvI/AAAAAAAAIYw/tKtkdgg2LFI/videob01ed5557f06%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('092d8097-7add-440d-9615-315e0a5a426c'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/wQlJBE-3RHM?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQlJBE-3RHM&hl=en&fs=1

Subsites are basically just normal SharePoint sites that live underneath the original SharePoint home site. They can be created using an existing template (40 of these are free from Microsoft) so that you don’t have to start completely from scratch. SharePoint sites also have the ability to have unique permissions and navigation if desired.

As always I welcome feedback on what’s been created.

Two more online videos available

I’ve done two more videos. The first is based on my recent post about locating documents in SharePoint.

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7M6WgyBlaOc/URYoc-FnO7I/AAAAAAAAIYI/kUr5nwO36Ak/video43398931b2f3%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('7197b3e2-9c7c-4ee2-bedc-635c9f73c629'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/ulzMFRyroW8?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulzMFRyroW8

and the second one is on adding a workstation to a SBS 2008 network.

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-teUdzisBuEM/URYodZydUBI/AAAAAAAAIYQ/6mvHEBevAO4/videoc380ad796409%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('8bf30b48-9edc-4b75-9d21-0b8cf51817e3'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/2sJRAdrSKX4?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJRAdrSKX4
The reason for two so close together is that I discovered the Camtasia transition effects just after I completed the SBS 2008 video, so I couldn’t resist seeing what they looked like. By all means let me know what you think.

Remember you’ll find all my videos going forward at http://www.youtube.com/directorciaops and all the old ones at http://www.youtube.com/saturnalliance.

Basic user operations in SBS 2008 video

Here’s a new video I’ve created that steps you through some of the basics for working with users in SBS 2008.

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fJ-otwSzZ1k/UROe333wadI/AAAAAAAAIUo/8w-76cLaA2M/video8aae4b8b8dba%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('87cfe076-1b54-4474-b248-9564d2f1d51a'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "

http://www.youtube.com/v/LG9njO97ivo?hl=en&hd=1“;” alt=””>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG9njO97iv

I appreciate that it is very simple but I wanted to give people who haven’t yet seen SBS 2008 a quick overview of how easy it is. Going forward I plan to create more SBS 2008 videos and start to dive deeper into the capabilities of the product. Till then enjoy