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?Nough Said | getting close, 2009
2009-02-07 08:42:00
(courtesy of Nestor and his smartphone ) Tags: MVP Award Program MVP Summit Seattle Washington Sammamish Travels
More About: Fun , Events , Close

Windows Live Messenger on Windows7
2009-01-30 12:31:00
As far as I installed Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop (and, again, I strongly recommend to download it and install it: you still have some time before the beta closes!) one of the minor issues I experienced was with the use of the latest Windows Live Messenger (one of the product included in the Windows Live Essentials suite). As Windows 7 handles taskbar and notification area icons in a different way, the Windows Live Messenger thumbnail preview, due to compatibility requirements, shows two confusing Messenger?s windows. It?s very easy to workaround on this and show the icon in the Notification area. Close the application Go to Windows Live Messenger Properties check the ?Run this program in compatibility mode for? and select ?Windows Vista ? from the drop-down list   If you need to set this for all users, click on the ?Change settings for all user? button And then you?ll see your IM back to where it was ! Tags: Windows 7 Beta Tweaks Windows Live Link to: Wo...

Microsoft Songsmith: it?s so much fun !
2009-01-29 17:17:00
As I heard of a new version (Windows 7 compatible), and after the CES announcement, yesterday evening I took some time to download the latest version of Microsoft Songsmith. The trial time works in a very new different way, which I think it?s better than any other ever seen in the past: ?the free trial will work for six hours of actual application use. That?s not six hours from the instant you download it, it?s six hours of you really using Songsmith. If you close Songsmith, minimize Songsmith, or start working in another application, the clock stops.? The purpose of this software is simple but quite hard in reality: create a song from your lyrics. Usually, the process is totally different (I?m not a pro but I had some musician experiences in the past): you work on the lyrics side by side with the music. And then you adapt your words/phrases and the music as well to create a ?make-sense? progress. As you can see by the screenshot above, I created a song from scratch by singing ...
More About: Fun , Music , Lyrics , Chords

Interview with a Microsoft MVP: Konstantinos Pantos
2009-01-22 19:03:00
Hi there, the blog language changed, and so did the interviews This week I had the pleasure to have a chat with: Konstantinos Pantos Technical Expertise: ASP/ASP.NET MVP Profile: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile =5FBDB6C6-C8F4-42A2-ADEF-60EE3B1BB5F1 Blog: http://blog.pantos.name Occupation: Software Solutions Architect Azienda: Metadata SA 1) Hi Kostas, Let?s start by asking you what you do for a living... [Kostas] I?m currently working as a software solutions architect for a Company called Metadata, in Greece. My last projects include the design and development of a Content Management System and an E-Market solution built using .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 and ASP.NET. Before that and over the past years, I?ve worked for a number of large companies focusing on Web Development and working with the latest technology (ASP.NET, AJAX, Silverlight, WPF, Linq to SQL, Entity Framework and so on) to build wow! experiences 2) Being an MVP: what does that mean to you? [Kos...
More About: Microsoft , Interviews , Community , Greek , Interview

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (January 09)?
2009-01-20 16:19:00
...is now available Very useful, especially for the new infections like Win32/Conficker.B and Downadup: the tool can actually remove variants of Win32/Conficker and also offer other resources. Be sure to check this Microsoft KB article and this article to know more about this threat.. Tags: Virus Threats Malicious Software Windows Defender Removal Tool Link to: Download details: Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
More About: Tools , January

Software + Services in Plain English
2009-01-19 11:31:00
Video: Software + Services : Microsoft Customer Video Tags: Windows Azure Cloud Computing Online Services Live Services Web 2 .0 Windows Live
More About: Blogging

DotNetNuke Moves to CodePlex !
2009-01-15 08:00:00
The vibrant Open Source CodePlex Community now hosts one of the most popular platforms for building professional blogs and User Group frameworks: DotNetNuke ?DotNetNuke will utilize CodePlex for download infrastructure, bandwidth, and metrics reporting for its core product offerings. Until now, DotNetNuke had been leveraging services from SourceForge.Net. DotNetNuke is also currently the second most commonly downloaded project on CodePlex? Tags: User Groups .NET CodePlex Open Source Link to: DotNetNuke Moves to CodePlex - Port 25: The Open Source Community at Microsoft

How to run Windows 7 on a Virtual machine
2009-01-13 11:28:00
As many of us are really excited to run & see Windows 7 in action, I found this very useful step-by-step guide made by a colleague (Brian Keller) Things to keep in mind: Install SP1 on Virtual PC 2007 Use Windows Vista as the virtual OS Dedicate half of your physical ram for your virtual machine Read the full story here & enjoy ! Tags: Windows 7 Virtual PC Beta Tweaks Link to: Brian Keller: Technical Evangelist for Team System : Installing the Windows 7 Beta with Virtual PC 2007 SP1
More About: Machine

Cut off 10 Facebook friends for a Burger?
2009-01-10 14:28:00
This is really funny (thank you Sasha for sharing this!), and a good advertisement from Burger King: Just install the WHOPPER® Sacrifice App on Facebook, ?sacrifice? 10 of your friends and you?ll get a free WHOPPER® from Burger King (just FYI, this is a US only initiative) Up to now, 121.501 friends had been bartered for food :D Tags: Food Burger King Facebook Social Media Fun Web 2 .0 Link to: Would you cut off 10 Facebook friends for a Whopper? - Network World
More About: Social Networking , Friends , Blogging

New SD standard (SDXC) coming up?
2009-01-08 16:30:00
We are technology fans, we use and get access to technology everywhere, on any device. And, as a fan of SD, I cannot ignore this: after the SD (Secure Digital) and the SDHC (High Capacity, up to 32GB), the SD Association now announced the new SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory card: ??increasing storage capacity from 32 GB up to 2 TB and increasing SD interface read/write speeds up to 104 MB per second? Get ready to change your mobile phone, camera and even your laptop next year Tags: Mobility Secure Digital Hardware SDHC SDXC Storage Link to: New SD standard will allow for 2TB cards - Network World
More About: Standard , Imaging

MVP Award Program ? January 2009
2009-01-01 21:35:00
First of all, Happy New Year everyone !! I?m honored to announce the newly awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, for the first of January 2009, in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia F.Y.R.O., Romania and Slovenia! Please join me in Congratulating the following people for their extraordinary contributions, during the last 12 months, in the online and offline communities: Name Country/Region Technical Expertise Adrian Stoian Romania System Center Configuration Manager Claudio Brotto Italy SharePoint Services George Thrasivoulou Cyprus Enterprise Security Giancarlo Sudano Italy Solutions Architect Luca Calligaris Italy Windows Embedded Roberto Nocera Italy Dynamics CRM Saso Erdeljanov Slovenia Exchange Server Ser...
More About: Community , Award , Program

Intervista ai Microsoft MVP: Luca Bianchi
2008-12-30 12:00:00
Ciao a tutti, poco prima della fine dell?anno, ho avuto il piacere di incontrare: Luca Bianchi Award in: SQL Server Profilo MVP: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile /Bianchi Blog: http://community.ugiss.org/blogs/lbianchi Professione: Database Administrator Azienda: SACE 1) Ciao Luca, Cominciamo a scaldarci chiedendoti cosa fai nella vita.... [Luca] Principalmente lavoro come DBA per la SACE, un ente che si occupa di assicurare i crediti delle imprese italiane all'estero dove, oltre alla gestione di SQL Server, mi occupo anche dell'amministrazione del dominio Active Directory. Oltre a questo collaboro con Overnet Education erogando saltuariamente corsi di formazione e facendo attività di consulenza 2) Cosa significa, per te, essere un Microsoft MVP? [Luca] Essere MVP significa far parte di un gruppo di persone premiate per la loro disponibilità ad aiutare gli altri. Persone con cui condividere esperienze tecniche ma anche, e soprattutto, esperienze di vita. Nel...
More About: Interviews , Community

Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2.0
2008-12-25 10:00:00
I?ve been in the digital photography world for many years. As a consumer, a massive consumer I would say (), and then little by little I became what they call a prosumer. I changed around 15 cameras over 8 years and but I?ve been a picture-taker for ages. And now, thanks to my job, I have the opportunity to take events and places pictures wherever I go. Now I can say I continue to change cameras every once in a while (who knows me knows it very well ) but this time I got what I was looking for: the Canon Powershot G10. I was also interested in the new Panasonic LX3 but then I opted for the Canon for several reasons that I won?t mention here (maybe in another post). What I wanted to highlight is that I discovered the RAW mode (?yeah, right, you made a big discovery!? ) Thanks to my pal Gerard (and also thanks to Davide & Andrea who helped me drilling down into many other camera features when we were in Barcelona) I installed the free Microsoft Professional Photo Tools 2. You...
More About: Imaging , Mobility

Visiting US under Visa Waiver Program
2008-12-22 11:54:00
On January 12th, 2009 the United States of America introduced the new ESTA - Electronic System for Travel Authorization that contemplates (and obliges) to register online receiving a preventive authorization for travelling to the US. Information requested are almost the same that are requested, during travel, using the I-94W Form (the little green card you get on plane). Every passenger needs to: Fill in his/her own questionnaire (for couples travelling together, they both need to do the procedure); Provide an e-mail address where to receive the confirmation and a phone number; It is suggested to do it in advance, when you already have the travel plan, and within 72 hours before the trip; During registration, you need to have: Passport, complete travel plan and hotel name and addresses where you?ll be staying This procedure is mandatory to travel but it really takes a few minutes to fill in. You?ll then receive a confirmation e-mail within few moments. So, if yo...
More About: Travels , Blogging , Visa , Program

Windows Live Essentials beta available !
2008-12-16 16:30:00
Wave 3 Build is available for download ! From the Windows Live Team blog: Enjoy (as I very much do!!!! ) Link to: Refreshing the Windows Live Essentials beta - Windows Live Tags: Announcements Amenities Windows Live Web 2 .0 Music Mobility Imaging
More About: Beta

Ti distrai un attimo e?ASP.NET 3.5 per tutti !!
2008-12-02 07:00:00
Eh sì, questa volta è proprio il caso di dirlo.. Dopo il TechEd EMEA e poi gli Open Day in Grecia, arrivo fresco fresco in ufficio e cosa mi trovo? Una bella copia del nuovo libro di Daniele Bochicchio, Cristian Civera, Riccardo Golia e Stefano Mostarda ! Il libro, suddiviso in 30 capitoli, vuole essere un vademecum per quelli che vogliono sviluppare in ambiente 3.5, ma anche 2.0 e 1.1. Come viene descritto dagli stessi autori: ?Questo nuovo libro contiene un focus maggiore sull'accesso ai dati, LINQ, la sicurezza e la creazione di componenti (custom control, HTTP Runtime), arrivando a trattare anche il Service Pack 1, con Dynamic Data Control e Entity Framework.? Il prezzo è davvero competitivo, Natale è alle porte: cosa aspettate a comprarlo ?? Link to: ASP.NET 3.5 per tutti - il nuovo libro di Daniele Bochicchio, Cristian Civera, Riccardo Golia e Stefano Mostarda | ASPItalia.com | The ASP.NET community
More About: Books , Community , Tutti

.NET: Architecting Applications for the Enterprise
2008-11-29 07:00:00
I saw it @ TechEd EMEA, I heard it was sold during the last PDC, and I didn?t mention it ?? This is not only a ?mea culpa? (well, partially ), this is to congratulate MVPs Andrea Saltarello and Dino Esposito for the release of their recent book ?Microsoft® .NET: Architecting Applications for the Enterprise ? ! It?s even more than a WOW, as Andrea said, if you think it was the best selling book during PDC ! Link to: Siiii...Puòòòòò...Faaaa-reeeeeeee!!!!
More About: Books , Community

Windows Live SkyDrive goes 25 gigs !
2008-11-27 18:01:00
This is great news: based on the recent SkyDrive Team announced in announcement, the Windows Live SkyDrive online capacity will be increased from 5 GB to 25 GB ! But it?s not only free space talking: Download photos directly to your Windows Live Photo Gallery Download as a .zip file. Download an entire folder in one compressed file Move files between folders Copy files to multiple folders Bigger thumbnails. We've increased the display size your photos throughout the site A gorgeous online slide show. Works with any browser, but works even better if you have Microsoft Silverlight installed People tags. Tag your friends and family and even more Link to: Want 25 GB Of Free Online Storage? | Sarah In Tampa | Channel 10
More About: Beta , Mobility

TechEd (online and offline)
2008-11-24 18:57:00
I recently participated in the TechEd EMEA Developers, which took place in the beautiful Barcelona. I won?t cover the technical sessions here (which many people already did) but I?ll focus on something else. Basically I had 2 main targets in my mind: Promote the MVP Award Program Network with as many people as possible I?m very satisfied with both of them as I would say I accomplished them both. I was attending the Community Booth (which was right in between the 2 Ask The Expert Zones), being available for the customers who wanted to know more about the Program.  ?the ATE Briefing? I guess this is the first time (ever!) in which I don?t get any questions like ?Who are the MVPs?? ?What is the MVP Program?? or, even worse, ?Is that a Microsoft Certification??. It seems all the attendees visiting and/or passing through our Booth were very aware about the MVPs which is great! I also wanted to promote the Program internally among my peers, and I did that, meeting with ...
More About: Fun , Events , Travels , Interviews

MVP Open Days 2008 - Greece
2008-11-21 17:57:00
After the ITPro roundtable I mentioned yesterday, I would like to give you a short insight of what happened during the last (and the first ever held in Greece ) MVP Open Day in Athens. The Microsoft building location is a great one: up in the north of the city, located in a very wealthy (and I would say ?poshy? ) district (Kifissias). Before the event, of course it was meeting time! I had the opportunity to meet very competent and passionate colleagues willing to connect and interact with the MVPs. And finally here they are: it was so great for me to see almost all the Greek MVPs together attending their own event, to talk with us but more importantly to interact and mingle among each other. After the event, we went to this very nice restaurant called ?Meat me? (in Kefalari), not far away from Microsoft Hellas. Food was great, and the opportunity to talk with them was really worthy. Many ideas came to our minds during yesterday?s dinner, in terms of community activities and l...
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MVP Open Day ? Greece: Interval
2008-11-20 19:00:00
I?m here attending a roundtable so why am I posting? Because it?s in Greek Seriously, the event is still running, for me it is a great opportunity to meet all the MVPs living in Greece . I already had my speeches and now we split into 2 different audiences to talk about the local office interactions. There are a number of important and very impactful communities and User Groups in the Hellenic land: from Autoexec.gr to DotNetZone to StudentGuru. Right now the MVPs and Martha (local ITPro Audience Marketing Manager) are talking about an important forthcoming event: the CyberCrime Security Forum 2008 which will be held on the 29 and 30th of November in Athens ? Piraeus. Now I won?t bother them with my click-click so I?ll stop blogging
More About: Events , Community , Open , Interval

My Facebook gadget
2008-11-16 09:00:00
When you attend these great conferences, it?s not only about technical content, it is also a good opportunity to meet great people with great potential. Kostas saw me accessing Facebook almost each day (in the spare time, which was quite tiny ) and suggested me to use the application he did: it?s called myFacebook Gadget . The only things you need to do is: get the code, set the Your Notification feed and the friend feed and you?re all set. And most of the things you were doing accessing the website, you have the ability to do them through the gadget. Very useful & easy to use application: Thanks Kostas ! Coming Soon: more news from TechEd EMEA.. Link to: My Facebook gadget
More About: Social Networking , Web 2

Palm Treo 750v VS Palm Treo Pro
2008-11-02 22:00:00
As I wrote in my last post, I would like to dig into this new Palm Treo Pro that I recently bought. What I would like to do, as I?ve been a Treo 750v user for quite a long time, is a comparison between the two models (using Windows Mobile 6 in the first one and Windows Mobile 6.1 in the latest one). Some Palm Treo 750v Highlights (specs): - Very ergonomic hardware - Hardware buttons easy to use (for e-mails, text messages, etc) that you really forget you have a touch screen - Windows Mobile 6 customized by Palm And some Lowlights: - Battery life (1200 mAh) - Sync only Cable - 300 MHz Processor - Missing internal GPS and Wi-FI - No switch-off button (just standing-by) - Some issues with Active Sync through Exchange Server - Audio and calls issues Some Palm Treo Pro Highlights (specs): - Battery life (1500 mAh) - built-in GPS, HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi - 400 MHz Processor - More memory (256 + 128 MB Ram) available - microSDHC (up to 32 GB) - Windows Mobile 6.1...
More About: Reviews , Mobility

Intervista ai Microsoft MVP: Andrea Montanari
2008-10-30 06:00:00
Ciao a tutti, questa settimana facciamo quattro chiacchiere con: Andrea Montanari Award in: SQL Server Sito web: www.asql.biz Professione: Albergatore Azienda: Hotel Sole - Riccione 1) Ciao Andre, Cominciamo a scaldarci chiedendoti cosa fai nella vita.... [Andrea] Da sempre sono impegnato nella piccola azienda alberghiera di famiglia.. Come in tutte le piccole realtà aziendali non ho un ruolo preciso e definito, e quindi faccio in effetti un po' di tutto, dal curare la contabilità aziendale al seguire ed ?addolcire? il cliente, al procacciamento di nuova clientela .. sempre in quest'ambito di factotum ho iniziato, tanto tempo fa, anche ad occuparmi del programma gestionale interno, da me scritto su nostra specifica particolare, che abbraccia l'intera attività aziendale, con esclusione ovviamente della contabilità ordinaria, per la quale utilizziamo un sw esterno..sono quindi un completo outsider in questo comunita' di persone completamente devote all'ambito informati...
More About: Microsoft , Interviews , Community

I got it !
2008-10-28 17:29:00
After days and days and days of talking and rumors, what was I supposed to do? Simply talking ? Of course not ! (everyone needs to reward himself sometimes ) I found the device @ 399 ? (Vodafone branded) which is quite good, considering that in Europe, unbranded, it is sold at 100 bucks more. If you want to know more about the Palm Treo Pro, you can find specs and out-of-the-box videos everywhere. So I won?t cover those topics but expect a solid review from me shortly Link to: Treo 800w Specifications - Treonauts
More About: Hardware , Mobility

MVP Open Days, lo Stakka e l?Interoperabilità
2008-10-20 12:34:00
Anche quest?anno, e come avevo già annunciato, si sono tenuti i Microsoft MVP Open Days , questa volta in Microsoft Italia. Per me è stato un evento davvero unico, tanto per le sessioni quanto per il fatto che è ?l?occasione? per antonomasia per incontrarci tutti (o quasi) insieme. Due giorni caratterizzati da incontri, roundtable, discussioni tecniche ma anche da cene e divertimento. Vorrei ringraziare in particolar modo Microsoft Italia, che mi ha permesso di organizzare un evento così importante per me personalmente. Dall?impeccabile organizzazione di Marina Brumat, alla partecipazione dei tanti colleghi (dalla Divisione TechNet Italia a tutta la Divisione MSDN Italia) che hanno voluto scambiare quattro chiacchiere (certe volte anche più di 4 ), agli speaker quali l?Amministratore Delegato Pietro Scott Jovane al nostro Direttore Relazioni Esterne e Corporate Marketing Carlo Rossanigo ai nostri Direttori di Divisione Anders Nilsson (Developer), Matteo Mille (ITPro), Pierpaolo Boc...
More About: Events , Community , Memorabilia

Italian MVP Open Days 2008
2008-10-14 09:31:00
As you may know, the Microsoft Microsoft MVP Award Program (Most Valuable Professional) is provided to those people that, thanks to their technical skills and their willingness to help others, made the difference in the online and offline Communities. From blogs to newsgroups/forums, from webcasts/screencasts to technical workshops (just to mention a few), the MVPs provide an important contribution to the Microsoft products knowledge, to the technical issues solution and, in general, to the exchange of information through all those Communities, websites and User Groups most of you know already. Among the benefits that are provided to the MVPs, one of the is the day/days dedicated to them: the MVP Open Days. Many Countries do this ?local-touch? event in order to increase the connection with the Microsoft subsidiaries (in different forms, with different formats). I have the pleasure to announce that the 8° Edition of the Italian MVP Open Days will take place on the 17 and 18 of Oc...
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Community After Hour @ Microsoft Days 08, Italy
2008-10-08 21:51:00
My colleagues already talked about that in the Italian MSDN Blog and the Italian TechNet blog. The Microsoft Days 08 Roadshow is going to start its engines: from Florence to Rome, from Padua to Turin, from Milan to Bari, you will have the opportunity to drill down into the Microsoft technologies. The day is organized in 2 tracks: one for Developers and one for IT Pros. While you read the agenda, remember the good news: most of the local User Groups will be there! The Community After Hour is the ?ending event? in which lots of MVPs and professional speakers will be entertain the audience with great topics. The Dev Track will be covered by the After Hour organized by Visual Basic Tips & Tricks, ASPItalia.com, XeDotNet, UGISS, UGIdotNET, and DotNetSide. While the ITPRO track will see the participation of some of the leaders and UG presidents of the following Communities: UGISS, Windowsserver.it and ISAServer .it You want to register in any of these events? Yes, that?s great!...
More About: Events , Italy

Intervista ai Microsoft MVP: Cinzia Pagani
2008-10-08 07:00:00
Ciao a tutti, questa settimana facciamo quattro chiacchiere con: Cinzia Pagani Award in: Microsoft Access Profilo MVP: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile /Cinzia Blog: http://accessdaziacin.spaces.live.com/ 1) Ciao Cinzia, Cominciamo a scaldarci chiedendoti cosa fai nella vita.... [Cinzia] Parlando di lavoro, attualmente mi occupo essenzialmente di sviluppo applicativi Access ?puri? o come Front-end di Db SQL Server, di sviluppo Web, e occasionalmente  anche di sviluppo applicazioni Windows Forms 2) Cosa significa, per te, essere un Microsoft MVP? [Cinzia] Mi sono avvicinata alle Community Microsoft quando lavoravo nel mondo IT già da un sacco di anni. Il mio primo post su un Newsgroup fu una richiesta di aiuto sul NG di SQL Server: mi stavo cimentando in un porting di un database Access su SQL server e avevo un problema con i campi univoci che non ammettevano valori NULL. Se non ricordo male il buon Luca Bianchi mi indirizzò verso la soluzione. Fu per me una ...
More About: Interviews

Real Code Day 10th Birthday !!
2008-10-04 09:30:00
I? m very happy to announce the 10th Birthday of one of the most important local Community on ASP.NET we have in Italy: ASPItalia.com I wanna congratulate for their successes, their efforts, their commitment to make the community work and be successful in terms of contents and event organization. All of these ingredients need committed people, people that are busy like us but, nevertheless, they share their knowledge because of their Passion. In particular, I would like to congratulate Daniele Bochicchio who started this adventure 10 years ago and believed in the power of the communities and the Microsoft products. And, behind the scenes, people like Riccardo Golia, Cristian Civera, Marco Leoncini, Stefano Mostarda, Alessio Leoncini. All these guys (+ a lot more, I suppose ) committed in doing presentations, tips & tricks articles, reviewing technical articles from their peers, speeches, conferences, etc?Congratulations to you all ! And, believe me, maintain and make a Comm...
More About: Fun , Events , Code