Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 - SP2 out now!

Microsoft have recently released (Apr 28, 2009) Service Pack 2 for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, available for download through the Microsoft Download Center.

Highlights of SP2

• It is an all inclusive (SP1 + new SP2) that contains several enhancements targetted to improve server-farm performance, availability and stability.
• A new stsadm operation has been added to help customers prepare for the upgrade to the next version of SharePoint.
• Reliability improvements in Indexing and Index Corpus
• Security Improvements
• New STSADM Commands including some to fix corruption and relationships (orphaning)

It is highly recommend to install the new service pack for its variety of benefits, including improved performance and availability, improved interoperability, broader support for browsers (apart from MS) and preparation for the next version of SharePoint.

For a detailed explanation on SP2 and its benefits, go to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=148551

Full details on SP2, including upgrade guides, KB articles, downloads and install steps can be found at the link below (MS SharePoint Team Blog):
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/04/28/announcing-service-pack-2-for-office-sharepoint-server-2007-and-windows-sharepoint-services-3-0.aspx

Implementing SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services with SharePoint 2007 - Dashboards (Part I)

One of the very handy ways to get your dashboards running on SharePoint is to use the friendly SQL Server reporting services engine provided with SQL Server 2005. It is important that you have the following prerequisities before you attempt the game!

You need to have:

• MS SQL Server 2005 with SP2 (mandatory) [installed]
• MS Office SharePoint Server 2007 [installed]
• MS SQL Server Reporting Services Web Parts for SharePoint downloadable here

Step I: Installing SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services

1. Insert the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 product CD into the CD Drive.
2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
4. In Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and then click Change.
5. On the Component Selection page, expand SQL Server 2005 instances, select MSSQLSERVER, and then click Next.
6. On the Feature Maintenance page, select Reporting Services, and then click Next.
7. The Microsoft SQL Server Installation Wizard starts.
8. On the Welcome to the Microsoft SQL Server Installation Wizard page, click Next.
9. On the System Configuration Check page, click Next.
10. On the Change or Remove Instance page, click Change Installed Components.
11. On the Feature Selection page, make sure that Reporting Services will be installed on the local hard disk drive, and then click Next.
12. On the Ready to Update page, click Install.
13. On the Setup Progress page, click Next.
14. On the Completing Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Setup page, click Finish.

Part II coming soon...!

Building Data-Driven Applications using SilverLight 3

The limited capabilities offered by Silverlight 1 & 2 shall be fixed in Silverlight 3 - on limited support for data binding and validation for complex data using your LOB applications!

Now Silverlight is leveraging not just it's capability to deliver Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) but also letting coders to talk and connect to line-of-business (LOB) applications based on the new DataForm control and enhanced support for data-driven applications.

Remember the prerequisites- a Silverlight-enabled Web browser. Read more... on the VS Mag Online!

That's all for now with the news...!

Windows 7 RC1: Download available from May 5th, 2009

The Windows 7 official website says, "The Windows 7 RC will be available May 5, and you'll be able to download it from this site through July. "
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

For developers looking to toss around a few lines of code on the Windows 7 platform, click http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx

*I have got mine through the partner community, wait for yours; couple of days more to go...!

MS SharePoint Server 2010 - the new SharePoint with no Office!

Microsoft took the name ”OFFICE” out of its currently named product, "Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS)" for it's next version release to avoid confusion amongst customers.

The new "official" name of Sharepoint (14) will be MICROSOFT SHAREPOINT SERVER 2010

Click to read more from the SharePoint Team Blog

Microsoft SharePoint Administration Toolkit v3.0 x86 - Facts & Features!

The SharePoint Administration Toolkit available as a downloadable .exe from MS contains functionality to help administrate and manage MOSS and WSS 3.0 servers.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=412A9EF1-3358-4420-B820-0CA3F4641651&displaylang=en

The toolkit contains functionality to diagnose performance issues, perform bulk operations on site collections, an Stsadm operation to update alert e-mails after the URL for a Web application has been changed, and a User Profile Replication Engine tool.

For MOSS'ers since 1820 :) here are the new features:
The SharePoint Diagnostics tool provides administrators with a unified interface for troubleshooting SharePoint Server performance issues. Use the tool to collect data from performance counters, ULS log files, IIS log files, event logs, and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation), and then display and analyze the data in snapshots and custom reports.

The setup program is updated to work gracefully with User Access Control
ps: You no longer need to manually run as administrator :)

MS SharePoint Designer 2007 - Now Free!

To all MOSS'ers, Great News!!!

MS SharePoint Designer 2007 is now available free-of-cost downloadable at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=baa3ad86-bfc1-4bd4-9812-d9e710d44f42&displaylang=en

For all those who don't know, "Office SharePoint Designer 2007 provides the powerful tools you need to deliver compelling and attractive SharePoint sites and quickly build workflow-enabled applications and reporting tools on the SharePoint platform, all in an IT-managed environment"

Signing Out...

MOSS SP1 Update / Installation crashes IIS mmc or it does not appear!

All MOSS'ers! Did you recently face this issue following an installation/update of MOSS 2007 with SP1: "The IIS manager or well known as the inetmgr mmc does not show up or is blank". This issue might have occured if you have recently patched up the MOSS WF, APP with updates or can occur abrubtly. You may also notice that it takes a fairly longer time for the IIS administration to show up - but it's blank!

Investigation:
Upon investigation, you may see a repeated error in the Application log event viewer on the SharePoint WF servers. These errors usually include one of the following three events:
- Event ID 6398
- Event ID 6482
- Event ID 7076

Resolution:
From the word go, you can start rectifying the issue by stopping and restarting the OWSTimer ["Windows SharePoint Timer Service"] that runs on any of your servers in the farm or on your single server installation. You do not necessarily need to restart your server or any other service if you need to do this. I will post more on this issue if needed.

However, Microsoft now has a hotfix to rectify this problem! You can click here to download it...
Though you wouldn't be much impressed with it!

Let me know if it worked for you?

Adding AJAX Toolkit Components to your Visual Studio ToolBox

Adding AJAX Toolkit Components to your Visual Studio ToolBox
I would prefer to categorize this post as 'AJAX' for beginners. First, let's begin with some background. In my early years of development with VS 2003, I would prefer to use components that give you control, GUI flexibility and the desired user experience.

ATLAS walked in with open hands to welcome this idea and added flexibility to create applications with the 'I like to use it' user experience. AJAX, backed by the giants, endorsed the fact that application development could be 'fun'.

Now, let's get back to business. There are mainly two ways to add the AJAX Extensions onto your development studio toolbox. You can choose as you please!

The new & simple pattern:
1] Create a tab on your toolbox > right-click > "Add Tab > name it "AJAX Extensions"
2] Browse to the location where you unpacked the AJAX toolkit (download here) and navigate to the "SampleWebSite\Bin" directory.
3] Drag "AjaxControlToolkit.dll" onto the new tab "AJAX Extensions".
Vola, all available extensions will be automatically added to the new tab, Mission Accomplished!

The traditional pattern:
1] Create a tab on your toolbox > right-click > "Add Tab > name it "AJAX Extensions"
2] Right-click on the tab > Select 'Choose Items...' > opens a window 'Choose ToolBox Items'
3] Browse to the location where you unpacked the AJAX toolkit (download here) and navigate to the "SampleWebSite\Bin" directory.
4] Select the file "AjaxControlToolkit.dll" > say 'Open' on the browse box and Vola again! All Extensions will be automatically added to the new tab, Mission Accomplished!

Happy Coding!

Cruzer U3 Compatible USB Micro Stick

Data backup and recovery for personal use have become an idea of the past! Just a few days ago, my pal Arif caught up with me on the guy talk 'aka' the new gadgets in the market. And I discovered that SanDisk an entirely new generation of Mobility device is out in the market! It goes beyond the typical use of memory devices, U3 smart drives now gives you the power to take your favorite programs wherever you go! And of course, in addition to storing music, photos, and documents plus you could store and run software programs and carry your emails, calendar, personal preferences and the programs that interact with them.

A must see technology, go pick one today!
http://u3.sandisk.com/home.asp