Microsoft Office 2000/XP to Microsoft Office 2003 Migration Issues (Apr 25)
This paper explains the basic differences between Microsoft Office 2000/XP and Microsoft Office 2003 at a cursory level. It describes the obvious changes a user might see in the menu bar user interface and what a user might perceive as a bug, depending on his or her advanced usage of the various Office applications. This paper also provides a summary of the most likely issues an administrator might encounter during and after a migration of Office 2000/XP to Office 2003. Included is information about several design changes that affect programmatic access to Office application objects, which may also affect custom applications.
Download: Microsoft Office 2000 to Microsoft Office 2003 Migration Issues
Download: Microsoft Office XP to Microsoft Office 2003 Migration Issues
Exchange Server 2003 Client Access Guide (Apr 25)
This guide provides information about working with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 and client access. It describes the new features for Exchange 2003 and Office Outlook® 2003, in addition to improvements in Outlook Web Access 2003. It contains configuration information, such as how to secure your messaging environment, deploy the server architecture, and configure Exchange servers for your supported client access methods. This guide also describes how to manage protocols, Exchange Virtual Server, Outlook Web Access, Exchange ActiveSync®, and Outlook Mobile Access.
Download: Exchange Server 2003 Client Access Guide
Spam showing little sign of abating (Apr 25)
Two factors are combining to ensure that combating spam will continue to be a near-impossible task – the fact that companies are happy to continue flouting anti-spam legislation and the fact that a lack of education among end users is set to keep aggravating the issue.
However, blame for the latter issue can hardly be laid at the feet of employees when 57 per cent of companies are failing to communicate their policy relating to unsolicited email, according to mail-filtering firm Clearswift.
To give some idea of the extent of the problem – spammers, who require a response rate of about one in one million emails, appear to be striking a chord with less tech-savvy UK workers.
Alyn Hockey, director of research at Clearswift, said: “The recent MyDoom email virus confirmed for the security industry the lack of awareness about opening spam email attachments, with too many people being tricked into opening the virus.”
View full article: Spam showing little sign of abating
MSN Messenger 6.2 out (Apr 22)
Microsoft have released version 6.2 of their popular messaging software, MSN messenger.
Download: MSN Messenger 6.2 out
View: MSN Messenger 6.2 out
Sex spam has to be clearly labelled (Apr 22)
FROM MAY 19, spam containing sexual content will have to be specifically marked, according to a new US law.
The FTC has ordered that the phrase ‘sexually explicit’ should be placed in the headers of all spam mail containing sexual content and forbidden spammers from putting graphic pictures in the bodies of messages.
They say that this will remove the old ‘brown paper bag’ type of sex spam in which the reader has not got a clue what they are seeing until it is opened.
According to a study by the Federal Trade Commission, 17 per cent of pornographic email offers contain images of nudity people are forced to see. The law should make it easier for spam filters to work better, however some think that the new law lacks teeth.
Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore told WRIC TV that the law makes the assumption that criminals will obey the law, which was always a bit silly.
View: Sex spam has to be clearly labelled
Preview: Managing Free/Busy Folders (Apr 22)
This chapter describes how Microsoft Exchange clients generate and retrieve free/busy data, and how Exchange stores the data. It recommends three basic ways to deploy free/busy servers for maximum efficiency. It describes the behavior of free/busy folders when you replicate free/busy data between Exchange organizations or between an Exchange organization and a messaging system other than Exchange. Finally, this chapter also provides some recommendations for cleaning up free/busy data.
Download: Preview: Managing Free/Busy Folders
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator’s Guide (Apr 21)
This download contains information about managing Microsoft® Office SharePoint™ Portal Server 2003, including:
Planning
Deployment Scenarios
Installation
Security
Configuration
Administration
Backup and Restore
Maintenance
Customization
Troubleshooting
Reference
Download: Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator’s Guide (version 2)
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Help (Apr 21)
This download contains information about using Microsoft® Office SharePoint™ Portal Server 2003, including:
Startup and Settings
Customizing the Portal Site
Personalizing the Portal Site
Working with Alerts
Searching the Portal Site
Working with Areas
Working with the Site Directory
Working with Backward-Compatible Document Libraries
Managing the Portal Site
Working with Windows® SharePoint Services
Download: Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Help
AOL opens its doors on e-mail (Apr 21)
America Online this week is expected to announce a new feature that will let subscribers access their e-mail through third-party applications such as Eudora and Microsoft’s Outlook, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Called Open Mail Access, the feature can be used on any e-mail software that supports Internet Message Access Protocol, which lets applications access e-mail off other servers.
The launch of the tool, expected Thursday, is the latest step in AOL’s attempts to ramp up its service in the face of dial-up subscriber losses and an uncertain future for its broadband product. AOL hopes that added offerings will make its service more appealing to existing subscribers and potential new ones.
The new feature could also mark a new direction in the company’s strategy. For most of its lifespan, AOL has prided itself on its exclusive content and services. But with the recent rebound in online advertising and the surge in paid search, the company has become more willing to push its propriety content and services outside its walls.
View full article: AOL opens its doors on e-mail
Word 2003: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification (Apr 21)
The Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification provides a format for text and graphics interchange that can be used with different output devices, operating environments, and operating systems. Version 1.8 of the specification contains the latest updates introduced by Microsoft Office Word 2003. RTF uses the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), PC-8, Macintosh, or IBM PC character set to control the representation and formatting of a document, both on the screen and in print. With the RTF Specification, documents created under different operating systems and with different software applications can be transferred between those operating systems and applications.
Download: Word 2003: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.8
Exchange Patches (Apr 21)
This patch resolves problems that were found in the Exchange 2003 Store since Exchange 2003 was released.
Download: Exchange 2003 Store Patch 6980.72
Download: Exchange 2000 Post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) Rollup Patch 6556.4
OneNote 2003 Service Pack 1 Preview (Apr 20)
Responding to enthusiastic feedback from OneNote (TM) users, Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of Microsoft® Office OneNote 2003 Service Pack 1 (OneNote SP1) Preview, a software update that delivers technical updates and feature enhancements requested by customers to help them better capture, organize and share their notes and information. Customer feedback from newsgroups, surveys, focus groups and customer visits directly impacted 90 percent of the new SP1 features, including increased integration with Microsoft Office 2003 Editions, the ability to copy notes from a Pocket PC into OneNote, and the ability to password-protect notes.
“A strong measure of OneNote’s success in meeting the needs of information workers is the enthusiastic feedback we’ve received from early customers. These customers are telling us that OneNote is helping them be more productive, and that they are engaged in the product’s future development,” said Peter Pathe, corporate vice president of Office Authoring Services at Microsoft. “The OneNote product team’s responsiveness to requests for feature enhancements in OneNote SP1 is a great example of Microsoft’s commitment to delivering valuable innovation to our customers.”
OneNote 2003 is a groundbreaking application for desktop, laptop and Tablet PC users. Since its release in October 2003, it has been applauded for improving productivity for individuals and teams by allowing them to capture and use their notes more effectively. While research from Microsoft shows that over 90 percent of adults in the United States take notes, few products have been developed specifically to aid in the process of capturing and managing this information. OneNote provides users with an easy and intuitive way to capture thoughts and ideas, which often serve as the basis for further documents such as presentations, memos, papers or speeches. Furthermore, the integration of OneNote with Microsoft Office 2003 Editions and Microsoft Windows® SharePoint (TM) Services enables users to easily share their notes and collaborate with team members.
View full Press Release: From Wish List to Check List- Customer Input Drives Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 Service Pack 1
Download: OneNote 2003 Service Pack 1 Preview
View: What’s New in the Service Pack 1 Preview
Spam slips though the maintenance gap (Apr 19)
Even though most organisations know that they are not tackling spam adequately, many are still failing to take the elementary steps necessary to protect themselves.
Security company Clearswift found in its global 2004 Spam Monitor survey that, while more than 72 per cent of organisations have some form of spam defences in place, 55 per cent believe these to be inadequate.
Clearswift’s research showed that these firms have reason to be concerned because it found significant and serious gaps in anti-spam technology defences deployed by businesses.
Security threats include companies having their mail servers hijacked by spammers to send out spam.
Some 24 per cent of organisations admitted that they had been used as an ‘open relay’ to send junk mail, and a worrying 34 per cent did not know whether they had been infiltrated in such a way.
View full article: Spam slips though the maintenance gap
Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2003 Performance (Apr 19)
Having one or more subsystems that are underperforming alters the responses and behaviors of a server. Usually, this means that the server becomes unresponsive or falls below what is considered acceptable operational behavior. This diminished performance puts the service level agreement (SLA) at risk, which ultimately means the organization itself can suffer.
This technical article provides administrators of Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 with information about how to isolate performance degradations and how to use existing tools and products, such as Performance, Load Simulator, Exchange Stress and Performance 2003, Network Monitor, and Filemon, for this purpose. The information in this article can also be used to ensure that a server is not degrading over time because of hardware issues or malfunctions.
Download: Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2003 Performance
Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Sarbanes-Oxley (Apr 19)
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 radically changes corporate governance and reporting obligations of publicly traded companies, and significantly increases personal accountability for organizations’ officers, auditors, securities analysts and legal counsel.
The Office Solution Accelerator for Sarbanes-Oxley can help organizations facilitate compliance initiatives related to sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The accelerator combines software components and templates, enabling customers and partners to implement solutions that enhance visibility over financial processes and internal controls.
Benefits for Businesses
The Office Solution Accelerator for Sarbanes-Oxley helps companies manage their financial processes and controls, not just collect data. The business benefits include the following:
• Increased visibility into processes, risks, controls and other documents
• An easier and accelerated compliance process
• A flexible foundation that is adaptable to customers’ evolving needs and longer-term compliance initiatives
Download: Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Sarbanes-Oxley
