Simplex-IT BizBlog

One of the questions I hear frequently from users of Office is “Why did Microsoft switch from the familiar Menu-based interface in Office 2003 and earlier to the new Ribbon User Interface in Office 2007/2010?” Well, the short answer is the Ribbon is intended to be easier to use – with fewer clicks to accomplish frequent tasks.

For some, whether Microsoft met their goal remains open to debate.

But, for me, I was curious as to how they actually arrived at and ultimately decided upon the Ribbon configuration. I’m happy to report if you have 90 minutes to spare I have located The Story of the Ribbon, documenting the entire history of how this User Interface was created. It’s a truly fascinating story and entertainingly presented.

It’s not often you get to go “behind the scenes” of the development of a product and this is truly an eye-opening experience. You may find it even helps you understand Ribbon better.

If you are still using Office 2003 or earlier, this might just motivate you to consider making the jump to Office 2010. To those I would say “Come on in, the Ribbon’s fine!”

Enjoy!

Ok, this is thanks to our bud Dan Hanson over at GreatLakesGeek.com.

Don’t know what to get that Microsoft geek who’s on your list, but you really don’t want to spend anything on?  We’ve got you covered!

It seems that Microsoft has put up 7, yup 7 free technical eBooks for downloading.

Yup, they're free!

Now, these are pretty good books.  Each of them are decent sized, and worth perusing.

And the topics cover a wide range of topics, including:

• IT Careers
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Virtualization
• Office 365
• SQL Server 2008 R2
• SQL Server “Denali” (the new version!)
• Deploying Windows 7

 Good stuff!

Click here to get your copies (oh, and check out the poster showing creating snapshots in a Hyper-V environment)

A friend of mine turned me onto this great utility for controlling remote computers that are physically next to each other, it’s called “Mouse without Borders”. My home office consists of a desktop computer, but I also keep my laptop on my desk. I would normally need a KVM or a 2nd set of keyboard/mouse to flip between the two effectively. This is rather inefficient. I then found some utilities that would allow me to move my desktop’s keyboard/mouse. The first one I tried “MaxiVista” (http://www.maxivista.com/) worked pretty good, but I couldn’t use Aero visual enhancements with it. Yes I’m being picky and spoiled. However once I was pointed towards Mouse without Borders I use this functionality all the time and can keep Aero turned on without any issues. Over 1GB ethernet I notice no lag with mouse movements or keyboard typing, and the copy/paste features really do work well. It is extremely easy to switch between machines now, it’s just like having multiple monitors how you move between them.

Here’s the link to it, I hope others find it as useful as I have!
Microsoft’s “The Garage” Mouse without Borders
http://blogs.technet.com/b/next/archive/2011/09/09/microsoft-garage-download-mouse-without-borders.aspx

Bob here. As you know, we are a Microsoft Partner. Until recently, we’ve resisted the temptation to going for the larger scale (and somewhat expensive) higher-level partnerships, not only with Microsoft but other vendors as well. In many cases, these vendor partnership programs are little more than marketing strategies, helping to get logos and implied skills out more. So you might say I’m a little jaded in terms of partnership programs.

Well, I was. Now that Simplex-IT is a Silver Partner with Microsoft, I am firmly convinced that the only way a company has a remote chance of successful IT project implementation is to use a Microsoft partner.

Okay, I have to confess. That was a bit jaded, even by my standards<g>.

So why did we finally decide to go with the deeper Microsoft partnership? The key issue with the partnership is demonstrating the competencies that go with it. In our case we chose two competencies: “Server Platform” and “Portals and Collaboration.”

When you consider competencies, at least with Microsoft, you’re really talking about two things. Knowledge and Experience.  Knowledge is determined through employment of certified individuals, and experience is determined through your customers admitting to both knowing you and engaging you in projects that fall under the competencies.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… There’s money involved too (isn’t there always?).  But honestly, that wasn’t the most important issue.

Actually, on review we found that we already had both requirements under our belts. It was simply a question of formalizing the experience by contacting customers and asking them to share with Microsoft their experiences. Thankfully, we have a lot of great customers out there, and many of them still think (for some strange reason) that we know what we’re doing<g>.

So literally it took us about two or three days to get these two competencies. And my suspicion is that before the years over will probably add a couple more under our belts as well.

Are we a different company because of this? Of course not. Are we going to hold this over everybody’s heads, pretending that this makes us somebody special? Again, of course not. Over the past several years, I’ve made the interesting transition from technician to business owner. And during this process one thing stands clear. The most effective way to communicate the quality of work and the dedication ain’t in marketing, advertising, certifications, or partner logos. It’s getting the prospective customers to talk to your existing customers.

At least that’s work for us so far.

If your organization has been waiting for just the right time to invest in the latest Microsoft software, your wait may be over. Through the end of this year qualified purchases of many of Microsoft’s most popular products are now eligible for significant savings that will be paid out in the form of Partner Subsidies. These Partner Subsidies may then be used to pay for additional goods or services provided by your Microsoft Partner.

One of the things that is new this time around is the addition of the Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online cloud services to the list of eligible products. For the first time, when you sign up for an annual subscription of these offerings you can earn Partner Subsidies for each seat of Online Services to which you commit.

Products must be purchased by December 31, 2011 to be eligible for this promotion. For more details on the promotion and what products are included call Simplex-IT at 234.380.1277, or email John@Simplex-IT.com.

Juliet:  “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Bob here.  When we deal with objects, it’s important to know how to refer to that object. This is true in real life, and is also true in the wonderful world of IT. And when it comes to naming things, nobody does it better than Microsoft.

Sorry, what I meant to say was that nobody does it worse than Microsoft.

Sure, there have been some folks in the past who have made some great mistakes. Remember the Chevy Nova? It wasn’t until it was released in Spanish-speaking countries that Chevrolet realized that the word “Nova” translates literally to “no go.” Or when KIA was first introduced into the United States, they didn’t realize the meaning of the letters KIA.

Ah, but Microsoft? Seriously, a database program named Access? How many of us loved say the sentence “can you access your Access database using Access?” How many of us were eager to become a MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist)?  Or their Windows Update Services (“WUS”)? And SharePoint? I have to believe that Microsoft has it written in their corporate bylaws somewhere that they simply cannot release 2 subsequent versions of this product with either the same name or same versioning scheme.

Google was able to take their flagship product and turn it into a verb. If you want to get a Microsoft employee slightly unnerved, simply tell them that you were “Googling” something. Of course, they would rather you were using the Bing search engine. However, that would imply that we were “Binging” which has its own implications (at this point you can insert your own joke about working in the word “Purging” into this article.  It’s not hard at all).

Or they’ll just throw the initials at us and hope it catches on. Let’s take BPOS, for example. Business Productivity Online Services. We pronounce it “Bee-Poss.” Catchy, huh? Okay, not really. Everybody pretty much agreed that the product name, simply put, stank. Trying to teach everybody what the initials were, how to pronounce them, what they had to do with e-mail, all of these and more led folks to the undeniable conclusion that Microsoft did not do a great amount of research on the naming of this puppy.

So their new offering, which includes the ability to acquire licensing for Microsoft Office, was done differently. They simply took the word office and added the number 365 to it. Pretty cool, huh?

Well, yeah. Sort of. Unfortunately, it opens up some new issues.

So, let’s say that we have to go search something regarding Office 365. So we go ahead and Google… sorry, I mean Bing, Office 365. Now, unfortunately, both the word “office” and the number “365″ are fairly common throughout the Internet. Even if we add the word “Microsoft” to that search, the Internet is already full of materials dealing with Microsoft Office that have nothing to do with the current 365 offering.

Say what you want about the name, but if you search for “BPOS,” the odds are you’re going to find stuff about that specific system. And yes, I know there are relatively simple ways that you can search online linking the words together so that only the phrase “Microsoft office 365″ will do. But that puts the onus on the end-user to find the information and support that they’re looking for. Our job as IT service providers “and Microsoft’s as IT product providers” is to make the task as easy as possible for those very end-users.

In the end, it’s more about the product than what we call it. And so far, I gotta admit that I’m very pleased with office 365, especially the link product. But it’s a good thing that Microsoft wasn’t behind any of Shakespeare’s plays. I shudder to think would Juliet might have said if she was from Redmond:

Juliet:  “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name is now referred to as the ‘Stem Tethered Integrated Natural Carbohydrate Emitting Rose’ (or STINCER)”

Bob here.  Mike Halsey is a Microsoft MVP, which are a set of initials that I don’t have after my name (okay, okay I’m jealous I admit it). Mike is the author of a new e-book which is free, entitled “Windows 7 Power Users Guide.” It contains over 170 pages of information and is not a bad piece of work.

To get the book, click here. To actually download the e-book you need to make sure you’re clicking on the right link. Unfortunately these days it’s not unusual for download links to be overpowered by links that look like you might be getting what you want, but are actually ads for other items. As you can see in the graphics accompanying this blog entry, the good link is almost hidden behind the other links.

I want to be clear. I’m not suggesting that the other links are malware, evil, or will take you to bad places. Not at all, I’m just saying it’s not what a majority of people are going to the site for.

It’s getting to be that time of year again – specifically, the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year, June 30. Typically, that’s when they roll out a number of incentives designed to do a number of things:

1 – Help you upgrade your organization to the latest, most productive and efficient versions of Microsoft software
2 – Save you some significant money in the process
3 – Maximize Microsoft’s 4th quarter financial numbers

In other words, there is likely no better time to consider bringing your company up to speed with the latest and greatest in today’s productivity software! Following is a synopsis of the offerings that are available.

The Big Easy 2011

The Big Easy Offer 2011 allows customers to choose from a variety of popular Microsoft products and solutions – Windows Server, SQL Server, and others – while earning money on qualifying purchases that can be used towards additional software, hardware or services from their Microsoft Reseller Partner.

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 Open Value Subscription (OVS)

Customers who sign a new Microsoft Open Value Subscription or Microsoft Open Value Subscription for Government agreement and are acquiring Office Professional Plus 2010 up-to-date (UTD) subscription license and Software Assurance packs can receive up to a 50% discount in the first year of the subscription agreement.

Business Productivity Online Services customer Rewards Offer

Bob already mentioned this promotion in his previous post on our blog. Please refer to that for more details on how you can save money while moving your company’s communication and collaboration solutions to the Microsoft cloud.

Windows 7 Professional Upgrade promotion

Windows® 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise provide increased stability, security, flexibility, and control. Now your organization can realize the benefits of enhanced collaboration, anywhere access and productivity without blowing your IT budget. Through June 30, 2011, you can save 20% if you upgrade your agreement with Software Assurance to Windows 7.

Small-Medium Businesses who deploy Windows 7 receive the following benefits:
• Windows 7 contributes an average ROI of 375%, with an average payback period of seven months.
• Customers who move to Windows 7 increase productivity on average 43 hours per PC per year and realize an average of ~US$1400 savings per PC.

Windows XP is now over 10 years old (time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?). If you’ve been waiting for an extra reason to get current on your Operating System, here it is!

The Simplify & Save Offer

Better track, manage and budget single or multiple volume license agreements with Microsoft’s Simplify and Save Offer when you renew and/or consolidate into a single Open Value agreement!

Take action between October 18, 2010 and June 30, 2011, and you can receive up to:
• 15% discount off Software Assurance for the entire duration (all three years) of an Open Value agreement, for all Open Value products and benefits on the order (Software Assurance renewals only).
• 15% discount off Software Assurance for the entire duration (all three years) of an Open Value Company-wide agreement in addition to the company-wide built-in discount.

Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure Kick Start Promotion

Interested in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure? Kick start your VDI implementation today and save 50% off the estimated retail price on Microsoft VDI Standard Suite and Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition. This means you can get started on as little as $7K!

Eligibility
Customers with Microsoft Core CAL or Enterprise CAL suites with Software Assurance through Enterprise and Select family of agreements are eligible for this offer. In addition, Open Value & Campus Agreement and School Agreement (CASA) family of agreements are also eligible starting July 1, 2010. Discount is limited up to 20% of Core CAL or Enterprise CAL covered desktops or 250 devices, whichever is less.

Discount
Eligible customers will receive a 70% discount off the estimated retail price on Microsoft VDI Standard Suite subscription license and a 50% discount on Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition annual license from their reseller of choice.

Wow!

There is something here for just about anyone who is concerned about keeping up with the improvements in today’s software. Of course, I understand if it’s not always easy to understand and navigate all the terms and ins and outs of Microsoft Licensing. That’s why we’re here!

Simplex-IT is always ready, willing and able to explain the choices and help you pick the best licensing alternatives for your organization. We can also help you implement those choices, if you desire. So give us a call at 234.380.1277 or send me an email at John@Simplex-IT.com and we’ll help you get your company to where you want to be – with the greatest savings and in the most efficient manner possible!

Extended now through May 31st, 2011 Microsoft is offering an incentive to new subscribers of their Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) that is quite compelling. If your organization has been considering moving to the cloud for Hosted Exchange email, SharePoint Online, Live Meeting or Office Communications, you definitely want to listen to this. Here’s how the promotion works:

For every seat for which a new BPOS client signs up Microsoft will issue a check payable to the Partner assisting in the implementation (that would be us) for a percentage of the first annual subscription fee, up to a total of $1,500! Wow!

These Partner Subsidy funds, as they are called, can be used by the client to pay for any services they wish to obtain from Simplex-IT. Most often, they are directly applied to the costs of setup, configuration and migration of emails, contacts and calendar appointments from your previous service. In most cases, these Partner Subsidies will serve to bring your cost of moving to the BPOS solution down to zero (0!) in terms of setup and migration costs.

Microsoft is offering this promotion to encourage potential customers who may be waiting for the new Office 365 to stop waiting and make the jump to cloud services NOW! As Office 365 does become available later in 2011, current BPOS customers will be moved seamlessly to the new service. Automatically. At no additional costs!

Of course, you may have questions. Like how soon can I get started? That’s why Simplex-IT is here…don’t hesitate to call! Just dial 234.380.1277, or you can email John at John@Simplex-IT.com. Let’s take the first step to claiming your place in the cloud today!

There may not be a better time!!

(and yes, this is fairly lifted from the earlier blog post where we said you had to act before April 1st.  Then it was April 18th.  Now it’s May 31st.  But since Office 365 is slated for release in June, we think this one’s actually pretty solid<g>).

Those of us who have used Microsoft software before are numerous. Those of us who’ve been involved in Microsoft’s licensing before are equally numerous, however, with few exceptions, they require some form of counseling and possibly pharmaceuticals.

Take Microsoft Office, for example. You would think that the question would simply be “what is the easiest way that my company can actually purchase and legally use the software?” Sorry, friends and neighbors, it’s tougher than that. OEM software, retail software, Open License, Open Value, Open Value subscription, Office 365, Office Web apps, Office with Lemon (okay, I’m making that one up).

You get the idea.

It’s fairly routine for us, when working with a new customer, to discover that they have several versions of Office throughout their organization. We refer to these situations as “geological digs.” What ends up happening in these environments is you have people throughout the organization each with their own user experience and user environment. Some might be able to use the new Office document formats, some might only be able to use the new formats, some wouldn’t understand the new format if it bit them in the nose.

On top of all this, consider the support. When someone calls and says “I have trouble with Word” to support we give that person differs dramatically on the version that they’re currently using. So support costs are increased.

At this point in time the flagship products for the stock generation are Office 2003 and Microsoft Windows XP. The problem is, these things work. They work very well. However, these things are also well past their prime. So we’re faced with a dilemma.

The web is full of articles and sites that are aimed at tell you why you should upgrade. They do a much better job than we ever will with that discussion and argument. The question we also run into is WHEN should we upgrade?  Are there certain times where it’s more advantageous than others to invest in new software for the organization?”

The answer there is a lot simpler. The answer is “yes.” And here’s why.

Microsoft, as many of you might know, runs on a fiscal year ending June 30. And like every other public company out there, they want to look good when June 30^th rolls around. How do they do this? Simple, they do this through sales.  Yep, Microsoft wants you to buy more stuff before June 30^th.

Also they want you to buy their newest stuff. No surprise here, when you think about it. This is why I tell people whenever a new version of a product or new product comes out there’s going to be about a three-month honeymoon period, where Microsoft will create and have incentives for you, the customer, to purchase the stuff.

The simplest way to know about these is, of course the web. Microsoft maintains a site www.Microsoftincentives.com.  This shows you the latest incentive program that Microsoft has for organizations purchasing Microsoft software, and it’s updated every month. Microsoft seems to become most aggressive for the software sales during the months of May and June. There are also additional programs usually in the November-December time frame for everybody else’s end of year.

Home Page for Microsoft Incentives Site

This doesn’t mean that Microsoft doesn’t have programs or special deals or the like throughout the rest of the year. There’s always something up on the web from Microsoft. Usually it deals with license programs for new releases. But that’s not always the case.

So how do you keep track of all this? Simple, you don’t. That’s where working with the Microsoft Partner (such as Yours Truly) works to your advantage. Part of our job, part of our livelihood in fact, comes from our relationship with Microsoft. Part of our value to our customers is knowing what our customers are looking to do in the next six months and then developing the best strategy moving forward taking advantage of these incentives and programs. And of course, it’s not just Microsoft. Other vendors, Cisco, SonicWall, others have incentives and programs as well. But from our experience, Microsoft seems to lead the pack in terms of peculiar licensing and peculiar promotions. And, since licensing on the level of your desktop in sheer numbers is greater than most others, special deals and promotions can have a greater impact on your organization’s bottom line.

So here’s the question: if your company has been using the same version of Office and Windows for the last X number of years, and are warm and happy, should you look to upgrade? Again, look to your Microsoft Partner. If they’re worth their salt, the discussion should be based around what the new software and the new licensing can bring to your organization in terms of savings and efficiency. If it sounds like a sales pitch, perhaps you’ve got the wrong partner.