leedesmond’s blog

I have put together (more) contents for one of my favorite past time. Besides the blog posts on this subject, you will find a page dedicated to recreational scuba diving with sub pages or sections. These focus mainly on a variety of topics that are typically longer in terms of contents. The goal is to share and exchange ideas with anyone interested in this sport on the various tips and tricks I have picked up from diving peers around the world (which I met or have dive with).

You may also find selections of interesting underwater photographs at the different dive sites I visited, the most recent being the Maldives. With almost complete disconnect with the urban world without a television, radio, Internet or mobile phone access, it can be very relaxing and certainly helps to recharge your batteries. Give it a try and experience it yourself first hand!

I should have photographs of other diving expeditions I did as well. I may post some of them once I get around sorting them out. My dive certification profile may also find its way on this (sub)page.

So lift your fingers, start pounding the keyboard and let me know your thoughts. I am always looking for dive buddies - new or experienced - so please do not hesitate to contact me (post a comment with your contact details)*.

Tip: bookmark this blog and subscribe to the syndicate (live RSS feeds) to keep up to date.

* moderated so your detail information will remain private

Technorati tags: Scuba Diving, Diving

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Designed to integrate seamlessly into a corporate environment with Office Communications Server 2007, you can deploy Messenger for Mac 7 to securely communicate and collaborate with your Windows peers and federated contacts. In addition to the favorite instant messaging feature, new enhancements include multi-party audio and video conferencing, ability to search the company’s address book and maintain presence information (Bonjour service).

You will need to have Mac OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger) or higher running on a PowerPC- or Intel-based Mac. Stay with Messenger for Mac 6.x if your corporate is still on Live Communications Server 2005. More information and download here.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS , Unified Communications

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Curious to learn how to provide secure, enterprise services such as Instant Messaging, telephony (VoIP) or web conferencing without breaking your already tight IT budget? Come learn the essentials of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 editions, server roles and deployment scenarios to extend your Windows environment with these exciting features and more.

I shall be delivering this free session (Level 200++) with live demos next week in Zurich …

Subject: Unified Communications & Collaboration
Topic: Office Communications Server 2007 Deployment
Language: English (and/or German)

Tuesday - 6 May 2008
17:45 - 21:00 hr (17.45 - 18.15 hr registration & apéro)

Click on the UCC banner above for more information and registration.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS , Unified Communications

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A recent hotfix KB946164 for Office Communicator 2007 was released this month that addresses 8 particular issues. This cumulative hotfix supersedes the previous KB943083 update released on 17 Dec 2007. No computer restart is necessary after you apply this fix to bring OC up to v2.0.6362.64.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS , Unified Communications

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Do not miss to be part of the exciting Security Day 2008 event happening next week Tue 29 Apr 2008 in Zürich! Keep up to date with the latest hot topics that matter whether you are an IT professional, developer, engineer or manager (IT related or not). Not forgetting the great networking opportunity with your peers in the industry!

I hope to see you (again) at this event and hear me speak on the topic “Virtualization and Security”. More information and registration here.

( search for Security Day 2008 on this blog for more info )

Technorati tags: Security, Windows Security, Virtualization, VMware, Windows Server Virtualization, HyperV

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Announced in the TechNet Forum and elsewhere, Windows XP SP3 has just been RTM. Generally, a service pack includes all previous hotfixes and updates right up to the point of release. This tradition continues with the addition of new features to bring the aging but popular operating system in line with the latest client (Windows Vista) and server OS (Windows Server 2008). Availability is expected to start on Tue 29 Apr 2008 (PST) on the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update, follow by download on TechNet and MSDN.

Deployment of Network Access Protection (NAP) client is a typical question I got at the Windows Server 2008 awareness and readiness campaign I did recently in the gulf region. You will be pleased to know that the NAP client is officially released as part of Windows XP SP3. Look out for other goodies such as the updated Windows Installer 3.1 (KB893803) and Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (KB907265) that ship with this SP release as well.

Best practice: make sure you run extensive tests before considering mass deployment in your environment.

Read more at source here and here.

Technorati tags: Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, Security

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You can use PowerShell commands to query AD to learn more about your Exchange organization. Instead of hard-coding parameters, you can dynamically build your query statements and administer your messaging systems more efficiently.

This is an abstract of my brand new feature article in Exchange & Outlook Pro VIP magazine (15 Apr 2008). You can read the full article “More About Using PowerShell to Manage Exchange Server 2003″ on-line here (member subscription needed).

Technorati tags: PowerShell, Exchange Server

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It is possible to deploy PowerShell in the management of Internet Information Server 7.0 through the new IIS WMI Provider. I have written a number of examples using this mechanism before (do a search on IIS on this blog). This is not as intuitive as having a native PS (namespace) Provider or set of cmdlets that expose the underlying richness and functionality in IIS … until now.

iis.net has announced the PowerShell Tech Preview 1 for IIS 7.0 for x86 and x64. The IIS PowerShell Management Console will allow you to use new and familiar commands, aliases as well as cmdlets to administer your web farm - dir, cd, md, New-Item, Set-WebconfigurationProperty, to name a few.

Go download, test and give your feedback to help make IIS 7.0 PowerShell Provider better!

Technorati tags: IIS, Windows Server 2008, PowerShell

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Disappointed for not being able to run Hyper-V on your machine? Or are you in a situation where one or more of the following pre-requisites cannot be met (Intel/AMD):

- x64 hardware platform
- hardware-assisted virtualization
- data-execution protection (DEP) on hardware
- Windows Server 2008 x64 edition

Fear not! Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 installs and runs beautifully on machines setup with Windows Server 2008, with or without Hyper-V edition. Especially when you have only x86 (32-bit) hardware, you continue to have access to an secure, enterprise and dependable virtualization solution in Virtual Server.

You only need to select the Web Server (IIS) server role using Server Manager and accept the proposed required features (Windows Process Activation Service, Process Model, Configuration APIs). When you run setup for Virtual Server, it will prompt you to activate IIS (6) support in order to use the Administration Website. In the background, additional services such as IIS 6 Management Compatibility (with all 4 sub-role services), Application Development (CGI) and Security (Windows Authentication) will be automatically enabled.

Technorati tags: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server Virtualization, Hyper-V

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Stirling is the code name for the next generation security management infrastructure in the Microsoft Forefront product family. Together with Forefront Security for Exchange Server (2007) and Forefront Security for SharePoint (2007), it is designed to provide an intelligent and comprehensive solution that covers the desktop (Forefront client) right up to an organization’s network edge (Forefront Threat Management Gateway, TMG, formally ISA Server).

The most exciting news is the new integrated PowerShell support exposed in the Forefront Management Shell, similar to Exchange Management Shell in Exchange Server 2007. Besides being tremendously useful for configuring typical system settings, security management dealing with incident logs and quarantine data will be less error-prone and enhanced through the use of the command-line interface (CLI).

Read more at source.

Technorati tags: Security, Forefront, Exchange Server

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