Archive for June, 2005

Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP (Beta)

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Shared computers are commonly found in schools, libraries, Internet and gaming cafés, community centers, and other locations. Often, non-technical personnel are asked to manage shared computers in addition to their primary responsibilities. Managing shared computers can be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Without restrictions, users can change the desktop appearance, reconfigure system settings, and introduce spyware, viruses, and other harmful programs. Repairing damaged shared computers costs significant time and effort.

User privacy is also an issue. Shared computers often use shared accounts that make Internet history, saved documents, and cached Web pages available to subsequent users.

The Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP provides a simple and effective way to defend shared computers from untrusted users and malicious software, safeguard system resources, and enhance and simplify the user experience. The Toolkit runs on genuine copies of Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

Tools Summary
The Toolkit includes several command-line tools and the following graphical tools:

Getting Started.
Provides access to computer settings and utilities and helps first-time operators learn the Toolkit basics quickly.

Windows Disk Protection.
Protects the Windows partition (typically drive C) that contains the Windows operating system and other programs from being modified without administrator approval. Disk changes made are cleared with each restart unless the administrator chooses to save them.

Windows Restrictions.
Restricts user access to programs, settings, and Start menu items. The tool also allows you to lock shared local user profiles to prevent permanent changes. (This tool is specifically for use in workgroup environments that do not use Active Directory and Group Policy.)

User Profiles.
Creates and deletes user profiles. You can use this tool to create user profiles on alternative drives that will retain data and settings even though Windows Disk Protection is on. You can also use the tool to completely delete profiles that have been locked by the Windows Restrictions tool.

Accessibility.
Makes Windows accessibility options and utilities such as StickyKeys, FilterKeys, and Magnifier available to users who have been restricted from accessing Control Panel and other system settings.

Grab a copy from Microsoft

TechEd 2005 (USA) Sessions Now Available Online

Monday, June 27th, 2005

Each of the recorded sessions from Microsoft TechEd 2005 in Orlando earlier this month are now available for online viewing at http://microsoft.sitestream.com/teched2005/

Monad Beta1 Released!

Monday, June 20th, 2005

After nearly nine months, the Monad team has released Beta 1 of the
Microsoft Command Shell. Although initially promised for release at the end
of the month, the Monad team has worked hard to release Beta1 to BetaPlace
ahead of schedule!

Ineteresting Info on Persistent Storage in Windows Mobile 2005

Friday, June 17th, 2005

Here is an interesting article by Mike Calligaro from the Microsoft Windows Mobile team. It explains how windows mobile devices consume power and prevent data loss due to low battery power. It also explains why a new feature that will be present in Windows Mobile 2005 is such a good thing.

Read the article @ MSDN Blogs - Why Persistent Storage is a Good Thing

JobsDB - Microsoft is Looking for You!

Thursday, June 16th, 2005

Now is the time to stand up and be counted.

The IT legend is calling for its own.

They are concerned about where you are right now and how you are doing.

You can let them know in a few minutes. Simply update your online resume with JobsDB.com.ph and Microsoft will be updated with your professional whereabouts.

Plus! Through this partnership, JobsDB.com is giving away an International Privilege Card to MCPs who will update their online resumes. The JobsDB Privilege Card can be used to avail discounts from fantastic shops and restaurants here and abroad.

Plus! MCPs who update their resumes online on or before June 30, 2005 get a chance to win a Shangri-la Gift Certificate in our raffle draw.

Link up with the greater Microsoft community.

As an individual, you are a professional to contend with.

Together, with other MCPs, you – or WE – are simply unbeatable.

Terms and Conditions:

1. This activity is open to all existing and new members of JobsDB Philippines, Inc. who are Microsoft Certified Professionals.
2. Member must be 18 years old and above.
3. Resumes must be updated with www.jobsdb.com.ph must be updated on or before June 30, 2005.
4. More than 500 JobsDB Privilege Cards (the Card) will be given out during the promo period. Giving out of the Card is on a first come first serve basis – the earlier you update or submit your resume at www.jobsdb.com.ph, the higher the chances you will get the Card.
5. JobsDB Privilege Card (the Card) is issued by Jobs DB Philippines, Inc.(JobsDB¨) in conjunction with Onecard Philippines (One Card).
6. MCPs who have uploaded their resumes must present valid ID upon redemption.
7. The membership of the Card and this promo is open only to residents of the Philippine Republic. The granting of membership is at the sole discretion of JobsDB. Once notified by JobsDB that membership of the Card is granted, unless JobsDB is advised in writing of the rejection of the membership, it shall be deemed that membership to the Card is accepted by the grantee (the Card Holder).
8. The Card is the responsibility of the Card Holder. Loss or theft of the Card should be reported immediately to JobsDB. A replacement will be issued by written request and a fee will be charged.
9. JobsDB reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions in respect of the Card without prior notice.
10. The Card is not transferable and can only be used by the Card Holder.
11. For the purpose of obtaining the membership, certain personal information provided by the Card Holder in registering his/her resume on JobsDB’s web site will be used and/or disclosed for such purposes and to such persons and/or organizations of Onecard. The Card Holder shall be deemed to have given consent to the disclosure of such information.
12. JobsDB will not be responsible or held liable in any way if Onecard should use the Card Holder’s personal information for any use.
13. Card holders shall follow the guidelines, rules and regulations as prescribed by the concerned establishments with regards to the use of Once Card.

Macromedia Breeze Invite

Wednesday, June 15th, 2005




Find out how Breeze can address your Training and Communication needs

Breeze is an exciting new system already used by many companies such as Philips, BMW, Canon and JP Morgan Chase.

Learn how Breeze is a:

- More efficient way to educate your sales force, staff and partners on new products
- New, compelling way to engage your high-touch customers on new offerings
- Cheaper and more convenient way to communicate key strategies and objectives globally

Who should attend this seminar?

- Chief Information Officers
- Chief Technology Officers
- IT Decision Makers & Managers
- Training & HR Managers
- Content & Communications Managers

Register your seat today.

Date: Monday, 20 June 2005
Time: 2.30pm - 5.00pm
Venue: New World Hotel, Esperanza St., Cor Makati Ave., Makati City
Room: Ballroom 2, Level 2
Speaker: Titu Minhas, Senior e-Learning Consultant

To attend, kindly RSVP by 17 June to Tel : 812 76666 Ext. 138/157/225 or
Email : reign at wsiphil.com.ph or karla.umlas atwsiphil.com.ph

Brainbench: June 2005 Sponsored Certifications

Wednesday, June 15th, 2005

Just got this today ;-)

Better hurry before the promo ends ;-)

Through June 30, twenty-one Brainbench certifications are available to you at no cost through sponsorships made by our partners (including our very popular Project Management certification). Typically $49.95, these tests are available to you absolutely free. Upgrade your resume - impress your boss - show off to your friends - and it will cost you nothing but your own time investment.

To see the full list, go to:

http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/freetests.xml

June’s sponsored tests include:

* Accounts Payable Fundamentals
* Automotive Industry Knowledge (U.S.)
* Computer Fundamentals (Win XP)
* Computer Technical Support
* HTML
* Human Resources Concepts (U.S.)
* ICD-9 and CPT Coding
* Linux Administration (General)
* Math Fundamentals
* Medical Terminology
* MS Server 2003 Administration
* Network Security
* Network Technical Support
* MS Access 2000 Fundamentals
* Project Management (2000)
* RDBMS Concepts
* Typing Speed & Accuracy
* Written English

Also, for a sneak preview of upcoming certifications, you can try out our assessments that are currently in beta. Our current beta tests include new releases from MS, Oracle and Siebel.

So if you have not joined the others that have taken advantage of these offers to date, please consider doing so before July 1!

To check out the list, please click below:

http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/freetests.xml

Kind Regards,

Mike

Mike Littman
VP Marketing
Brainbench

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CODING, CRYPTOGRAPHY & COMPUTER SECURITY (IC³)

Monday, June 13th, 2005

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CODING, CRYPTOGRAPHY & COMPUTER SECURITY (IC³)

NISMED Auditorium, University of the Philippines, Diliman

July 9 and 10, 2005

The UP-Information Technology Training Center (UP-ITTC) and VCTI-IT will host the International Workshop on Coding, Cryptography and Computer Security (IC³).

This international event is in cooperation with Center International de Mathematiques Pures et Appliquees (CIMPA Le Dubellay, 4 avenue Joachim - Bât. B, 06100 Nice France), UNESCO, University of the Philippines, Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP) and Information Systems Security Society of the Philippines (ISSSP).

The IC³ Workshop aims to discuss recent advances in Information Communication Theory and Computer Security.

Speakers for IC³ include the following:
Professor Tor Helleseth, Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Norway
Dr. Susan Pancho, Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department, University of the Philippines
Professor Patrick Solé, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
Dr. Fidel Nemenzo, Math Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman
Professor Harald Niederreiter, Math Department, National University of Singapore
Professor Philippe Langevin, Universite de Toulon et du Var
Professor Philip Cassanova, Assistant Professor, College of Computer Studies, Dela Salle, University
Professor Shinya Nishizaki, Tokyo Institute of Technology

(more…)

SQL Server June 2005 CTP Available for Download

Monday, June 13th, 2005

SQL Server June 2005 Community Technology Preview 32-bit and 64-bit versions are now available for download.

Go to: SQL Server June 2005 Community Technology Preview

See Exchange 2003 SP2 mobility features in action

Monday, June 13th, 2005

This is from the SteveB keynote at Tech-Ed and shows off some of the kickass new mobility features in Exchange 2003 SP2, Direct Push and Remote Wipe

300kb version
2mb version
5mb version

June 13, 2005 - Declared Special Non-working Holiday

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

Thursday, June 9, 2005, 7:30 PM GMT+8

Manila, Philippines - Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita signed Proclamation No. 856 declaring June 13, 2005 a special non-working holiday throughout the country in observance of Independence Day.
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KNOPPIX Version 3.9 Released

Wednesday, June 8th, 2005

KNOPPIX Version 3.9 is now available on the mirrors and via BitTorrent from http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/. Changes vs. 3.8:
OpenOffice 2.0 BETA (german and english)
KDE 3.4
Kernel 2.6.11 update
dist-upgrade (all software packages from current Debian/sid)

This will be probably be the last “single CD” version of KNOPPIX. Starting from Version 4.0 (coming soon), the project will be split into a “Light” CD version, and a “Maxi” DVD release. Stay tuned for more news at a later time on the KNOPPIX page.

IT Service Management Foundation Workshop

Tuesday, June 7th, 2005

HP Education Services invites you to attend the next IT Service Management Foundation Workshop scheduled this coming July 11-13 , 2005 at the 34F Robinsons Summit Center , 6783 Ayala Avenue Makati City from 9am to 5pm. Training fee is at US$1,100 per pax (10% vat included).

Back to back with ITSM foundation is the Incident Management course scheduled July 14-15 , 2005 with same time and same venue. Training Fee is at US$ 850.00 per pax (10% vat included).

For early bird registration on or before June 25, 2005 they offer a 10% discount from the above fee.

ITSM Foundation certification is required for the Incident Management course.

Exam fee is already included on the above rate.

More info about ITIL @ ITIL.org

IT Service Management Foundation Workshop Course Outline
Incident Management Course Outline

Interested parties may get in touch with:
Shay Talavera
HP Education Services Coordinator
Tel# 8307478
Fax# 8307590

www.education.hp.com

ISO 27001 Coming Out Soon

Tuesday, June 7th, 2005

BS7799 Part 2 will become ISO 27001, probably towards the end of this year or early next. In the short term, it will continue to refer to the current version of ISO 17799:2000 so the two standards will be a little out-of-synch for a while.

ISO 17799:2005 is due for publication in the next month or so. The new version includes:

    - Security of external service delivery and the provisioning of outsourcing
    - Patch management and other current issues
    - Security prior to, during and at termination of employment
    - More information on risk management and a whole extra section on incident management
    - Mobile, remote and distributed communications and information processing.

Formatting changes are intended to help clarify the differences between control objectives, implementation guidance and other information. ISO17799 will eventually be renamed ISO 27002.

More info @ ISO 27001 Security
ISO 27001 Security by John Simons

NIST announce Withdrawal of DES

Tuesday, June 7th, 2005

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Announcing Approval of the Withdrawal of Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 46–3, Data Encryption Standard (DES); FIPS 74, Guidelines for Implementing and Using the NBS Data Encryption Standard; and FIPS 81, DES Modes of Operation

See full details @ NIST