SSW Update - Rules to Better Windows Vista Deployment

[ the cutting edge ]

G'Day Developers!

At SSW we buy new computers as we need them – developers choose what they like e.g. Dell, HP, IBM or even the MacBook Pro with the dual boot that makes the designers happy!

Choice is good, however it does have its drawbacks; particularly when it comes to operating system deployments. In the past, each developer has had to build their environment each time they get a new PC or format from scratch because most deployment systems (such as Norton Ghost) are hardware specific.

Depending on how much software a developer need to install, the time would range from a few hours to a couple of days.

With the latest set of administration tools deployed with Microsoft Vista we finally have a nice solution to deploying our operating environments.

Since the release of Vista to Microsoft’s Business Partners, SSW has successfully deployed Vista to 90% of our developer machines. We chose to implement Microsoft’s new Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) solution and boy it deploys Vista images quickly. The images include not just the OS, but all our standard applications.

As a result, unattended deployment time takes on average 45 mins. This includes the format! We were impressed and this *one feature* has saved us significant time and money.

We’ve learnt a lot in the process, and I’m sure you’ll find the new Rules to Better Windows Vista Deployment valuable. These rules aim to help you prepare your deployment of Microsoft Windows Vista across your small to medium sized organisation.

Note: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need Vista to get Office 2007. Several of our clients don't have machines that support Vista. We've gone ahead and installed Office 2007 directly on XP and they love it.

Best of luck for the year 2007!

Adam
SSW Chief Architect and Microsoft Regional Director, Australia

Got a comment for Adam? 6164616d636f67616e407373772e636f6d2e6175

Sydney .NET User Group -
The best place to learn .NET for free in Sydney

5 days to go!

Sydney .NET User Group
Wednesday 17th January 2007
5:45pm - 9:00pm
Microsoft, Sydney

Up and Running with Expression Web Designer

Tristan Kurniawan is SSW Graphic Designer and the person responsible for the Web 2.0 look on SSW and other sites. He will begin by explaining how Microsoft’s latest offering can integrate Web design and development teams.

Then Tristan will show how to use Expression Web through each stage of a website design and share his tips on real-world web development and modern web standards. You will see how this is a tool for creating great CSS-based, standards-compliant Web sites.

Microsoft Office Access 2007

Adam Cogan will cover Microsoft Office Access 2007 new and improved features which can help you:

Provide the ability to get you started quickly with prebuilt applications that can be modified or adapted to changing
business needs
Track and report information with ease.
Integrate Access 2007 with SharePoint
Collect information through forms in email or import data from external applications.

See You There!! | Sorry I can't make it

SSW receives a Web 2.0 makeover

We started the year 2007 by introducing a fresh new look on our homepage. The new layout is designed to make it easier to find what you are looking for on our website and provide first-time visitors with quick access to the most sought-after content.

One interesting discussion that's come up internally, is 'What makes a site Web 2.0?'.

Apparently these are distinguishing 2.0 characteristics:

Glossy
Large bright headings, with small body text.
Lots of white-space
Anything that mashes up web services
Clean use of AJAX

Another spin:

Anything that throws java script errors
Anything that copies Mac OS look & feel
Anything labelled 'Beta'

Our whole website is undergoing constant improvement and we are only at the tip of the iceberg. We look forward to bringing you more exciting changes in 2007.

More on SSW receives a Web 2.0 makeover

For feedback and suggestions, please contact 5472697374616e407373772e636f6d2e6175

Advertise with SSW

If you would like to advertise your product or service with SSW or would like to find out more about various advertising opportunities, please email your enquiry to 696e666f72407373772e636f6d2e6175
or call: +61 2 9953 3000.

January 2007

Tech Breakfast

21 days to go

What's New and Different in Office 2007?

Friday, 2nd Feb. 2007
8:00am-11:00am

This session will lead you through new Office 2007 features, including new collaboration and improved business intelligence capabilities, extensible XML-based file formats and improved XML support.

49 days to go

Visual Studio for Database Professionals (Data Dude)

Friday, 2nd Mar. 2007
8:00am-11:00am

In this session Adam will provide introduction to Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals and will cover: schema maintenance, unit testing and data generation, including a discussion on ways of extending this newly released product.

84 days to go

Extreme Programming

Friday, 6th Apr. 2007
8:00am-11:00am

This course will cover how to incorporate eXtreme Programming practices with .NET- connected technologies to create high quality, low cost software.
This hands on, realistic course explains XP in the context of Microsoft .NET Framework, Visual Studio .NET, Visual C# and more.

Tips

SSW Access Reporter:
Can users specify report arguments (e.g. Patient ID, Date ranges e.t.c)
at run time?
-answered by:
Daniel Hyles

SSW Exchange Reporter:
What happens when I have 3 Exchange Servers and want to see combined reports?
-answered by:
James Zhou

Employment

Due to the tremendous growth that our business has experienced over the last few months, we are seeking enthusiastic people to join the SSW team.

Our Company is based in Neutral Bay which is one of the most elegant and scenic areas of Sydney. SSW is an Australian owned progressive consulting firm specialising in building, implementing and maintaining Microsoft .NET software applications.

We are currently looking for:

•	.NET (and OLAP) Developer
•	IT Senior Marketing Consultant (part-time)
•	Office Manager
•	Project Manager