Push email ganha momentum

A Microsoft aproveitou a conferência 3GSM World Congress a decorrer em Barcelona para fazer alguns anúncios sobre a sua plataforma móvel. As novidades prendem-se sobretudo com a funcionalidade direct push e-mail disponível com o SP2 do Exchange Server 2003: a Vodafone e a T-Mobile vão passar a disponibilizar este serviço aos seus clientes.

• Vodafone and Microsoft Collaborate to Deliver Comprehensive E-Mail Solution for Business
• T-Mobile to Offer Microsoft Direct Push E-Mail Services on Windows Mobile-Based Devices in the Netherlands
• Microsoft Announces Global Partner Support for its Mobile Messaging Solutions
• Microsoft Windows Mobile-Based Smartphones to Run on Low-Cost Texas Instruments Platform

Leitura de fim-de-semana

Mais uma bela colecção de artigos e notícias. Gostava de salientar a última notícia desta lista: numa altura em que se fala muito da solução da BlackBerry e das funcionalidades de push email do SP2 do Exchange, a Dataviz lançou um produto que é baseado no protocolo ActiveSync e que garante as mesmas funcionalidades. Este produto pode ser muito interessante na medida em que está vocacionado para dispositivos Symbian, o OS de referência dos produtos Nokia.

• Hands on with Hosted Exchange
• Pros and cons of multiple Exchange Server organizations
• Outlook Group Schedules
• iSCSI and 64-bit Performance
• Exchange 2003 SP2 On the Road
• Reinstall WMI Without Interrupting Exchange Services
• Plan to Charge Businesses for E-Mail Triggers Outcry
• Aggregating RSS feeds into a public folder via a script
• Can't send mail to another server or move mailboxes...
• Provisioning Outlook Web Access 2003
• A look at the Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer (EPA) Tool
• Dataviz Brings Exchange Direct Push Features to Symbian Devices

Exchange Server SDK Documentation and Samples December 2005

Foi recentemente disponibilizada pela Microsoft uma actualização dos SDK's de Exchange 2000 e 2003.

The Exchange 2000/2003 Server SDK Documentation and Samples assist developers building applications for Exchange 2000 Server. This release of the SDK provides new and updated information and sample code to help you develop collaborative enterprise applications with Exchange. Included in this release are updates to the SDK documentation, tasks for implementing managed store event sinks, procedures for building managed event sink DLLs, and a task for getting free/busy status over HTTP.

Aqui ficam os links:

• Exchange Server 2003 SDK Documentation and Samples December 2005
• Exchange 2000 Server SDK Documentation and Samples December 2005

Sony Ericsson licencia ActiveSync

"Microsoft Corp. today announced that Sony Ericsson has licensed the Exchange ActiveSync protocol to enable more secure, wireless direct synchronization between Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Sony Ericsson’s P990 and M600 phones. This solution will help provide mobile workers with anywhere access to their complete Exchange Server 2003 information, including e-mail, calendar and contacts. For organizations that have deployed Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2, additional mobile enhancements such as Direct Push are also supported, providing instant access to newly received e-mail messages. Both of the new phones will be available in the second quarter of 2006."

Aqui está o link para a Press-Release completa.

[off-topic] Part-time job?

Aposto que isto também acontece com todos vocês ;-)
Para a próxima vez que alguém vos pedir este tipo de ajuda já sabem qual é a resposta a dar.

Leitura de fim-de-semana

Uma lista à medida dos leitores mais ocupados: pequena, mas cheia de conteúdo ;-)

• You've heard of the 'aha' moment? How about Microsoft and IBM's 'uh oh' moment?
  
• Message Hygiene -- Microsoft Style: Part II
• RIM wins UK patent case
• Windows Mobile 5 Devices and MSFP Update 2
• Exchange increased store limits
• Creating and Using Moderated Public Folders in MS Exchange Server
• How to change the POP3 / IMAP4 and SMTP banner in Exchange 2003
• PFDAVAdmin Content Report - First step to explore the ‘jungle’ of your public folders

Actualização do Hardening Guide

Não foram só algumas ferramentas que foram alvo de actualizações. O "Exchange Server 2003 Security Hardening Guide" acaba de ser revisto e está agora na versão 2.2.
É um excelente documento para quem se preocupa com as questões de segurança (quem é que não se preocupa nos dias que correm?).

Ferramentas de Exchange: novas & actualizadas

A Microsoft acaba de disponibilizar ferramentas para o Exchange Server, algumas são novas, outras sofreram pequenas actualizações:

• Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration Tool (v06.05.7775)
• Microsoft Exchange Server Profile Analyzer (06.05.7775)
• Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Certificate-Based Authentication Tool (v06.05.7775)
• Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool (v06.05.7775)
• Microsoft Exchange Server Jetstress Tool (v06.05.7775)
• Add Root Certficate Utility for Sprint iDEN Windows Mobile SmartPhones
• Working with Active Directory Permissions in Microsoft Exchange 2003

Microsoft junta equipas de Exchange e RTC

A Microsoft anunciou ontem num comunicado que as equipas de Exchange e de Real-Time Collaboration (RTC) serão fundidas, dando lugar ao Unified Communications Group (UCG).
Segundo o gigante informático, esta fusão não terá qualquer impacto nos produtos presentemente em desenvolvimento, nomeadamente o Exchange "12".
Links relacionados:

• Microsoft Forms Unified Communications Group to Deliver Innovative Communications Solutions
• Microsoft Merges RTC, Exchange Teams
• Microsoft Unifies Its Unified Communications Group
• Microsoft Reorganizes to Unify RTC, Exchange
• Exchange and LCS Together Again??

Leitura de fim-de-semana

Mais uma semana, mais um exame feito (o 70-298, que me conferiu a especialização MCSE:Security), mais uma lista:

• IBM Fans Flock to Lotusphere
• Top 10 Exchange Server tips of 2005
• Collaboration systems are key to Lotus future
• Have you got plans if your email goes down?
• Public Folder Replication Troubleshooting – Part 3: Troubleshooting Replica Deletion and Common Problems
• Minimum permissions necessary to access mailbox data
• Understanding the LegacyExchangeDN
• Why 64-Bit Is Good For E12
• Script to Check an Exchange 2003 Server against the OVAL vulnerabilities definitions file
• Setting the SmtpIpRestrictionFlag to allow anonymous connections in Exchange
• Exchange 2003 and WINS
• Webcast: Exchange Server 2003 Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts - Q&A Log

Os 12 prevaricadores de 2005

Os Estados Unidos voltam a liderar a lista dos países responsáveis pelo envio da maior quantidade de correio não solicitado, apesar de terem baixado significativamente a sua quota (no ano passado era cerca de 42%). Eis a lista completa da "dirty dozen", segundo um relatório da SOPHOS:

United States China (incl Hong Kong) South Korea France Canada Brazil Spain Austria Taiwan Poland Japan Germany	24,5% 22,3% 9,7% 5,0% 3,0% 2,6% 2,5% 2,4% 2,1% 2,0% 2,0% 1,8%
Others	20,3%

Leitura de fim-de-semana

Nota pessoal: realizei hoje o exame da Microsoft 70-299 e passei :-)
E agora, a lista, desta vez a tempo e horas:

• Message Hygiene -- Microsoft Style
• Get the 64-bit Advantage
• Are Political Concerns Derailing Your Deployment Plans?
• Exchange Connection Problems? Check This Registry Key
• Exchange Server EKG
• Archiving, overload, and mobility, oh my!
• Defendant in spam case pleads guilty
• Public Folder Replication Troubleshooting – Part 2: Troubleshooting the Replication of Existing Data
• Booking Resources with Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook System 2003
• MAPI errors when moving mailboxes
• Good performance question
• Exchange 2003 SP2: Direct Push, Windows Mobile 5 and MSFP

Webcasts de messaging em Fevereiro

Aqui vos deixo um re-post da informação recolhida no blog da Eileen Brown:

TechNet Webcast: Planning a Migration from Lotus Domino to the Microsoft Collaboration Platform (Level 300)
Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time
Edward Wu, Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
This webcast presents a technical strategy for planning a migration from the IBM Lotus Domino application to the Microsoft collaboration platform. We present the latest information and demonstrate the new Microsoft Application Analyzer 2006 for Lotus Domino. Join us to get new guidance, including information about application categorization, migration and coexistence options, and pre-migration steps that can help your migration go more smoothly.

TechNet Webcast: Exchange 2003 Disaster Recovery Processes: Strategies and Considerations (Level 200)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Brett Johnson, Technical Specialist, Messaging, Microsoft Corporation
What would happen if a hardware failure destroyed all of your vital data? Is your current recovery plan and knowledge of disaster recovery processes strong enough to recover the lost data? To make sure you are ready, join this webcast to review or establish a disaster recovery strategy for your Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 organization. Learn about ideal server configuration and best management practices. We also take a close look at disaster recovery for Microsoft Active Directory.

TechNet Webcast: Using InfoPath with Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino (Level 200)
Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Gary Devendorf, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
Using Microsoft Office InfoPath, information workers can collect, present, edit, and publish data. XML is at the heart of InfoPath and gives it versatility. What you may not know is that many of the features of InfoPath enable it to work with IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Domino interfaces. Some methods for getting InfoPath to work with these Lotus products require no code, while others require a little. Join this webcast to learn how InfoPath works with Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino.

MSDN Webcast: Get Started with Visual Studio 2005 for the Lotus Notes Developer (Level 200)
Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Gary Devendorf, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
Join this webcast to learn how to perform basic tasks in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2005, the newest version of the Microsoft .NET development system. Like IBM Lotus Domino Designer, Visual Studio .NET 2005 is a development system for IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Domino. We will compare how to perform basic tasks in each product. If you have ever written LotusScript, then you will be ready to write Microsoft Visual Basic .NET by the end of this webcast.

MSDN Webcast: Using ADO.NET with Your Lotus Notes Applications (Level 400)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Gary Devendorf, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
ADO.NET is the standard method for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET applications to interact with data sources such as Microsoft SQL Server, the IBM DB2 Universal Database, and Oracle. Did you know that you can use the same standard method to access IBM Lotus Notes data? By separating the data interface from the data, you can change your data source without rewriting your client applications. In this webcast, we demonstrate this technique using a code example of ADO.NET and Lotus Notes.

Momentum Webcast: Secure Messaging: Defense in Depth (Level 100)
Thursday, February 16, 2006 – 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Pacific Time
Forrest Hobbs, Director of Sales & Market Development, Microsoft Corporation
Join this webcast to learn about the new Microsoft multilayered strategy for secure e-mail. The recent acquisition of both Sybari and FrontBridge demonstrate the Microsoft commitment to bringing greater security to your e-mail environment and ensuring that you have a choice in how these solutions are delivered. By using the managed services of FrontBridge with Sybari and Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, you can have multilayered, secure e-mail, protecting inboxes from spam and viruses. This webcast covers three main topics: network edge protection, firewall protection, and internal antivirus protection against both external and internal threats.

Momentum Webcast: Information Management Features in Office Professional 2003 (Level 100)
Monday, February 20, 2006 – 9:00:00 AM-10:00:00 AM Pacific Time
Matt Berg, solutions specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Companies often collect a huge amount of potentially useful data, but without effective tools and processes, it can be tough to capitalize on the information buried deep within documents and databases. In this webcast, we explore the information management tools built into Microsoft Office 2003, including Microsoft Office InfoPath, XML, and information rights management (IRM). Tune in to find out how these tools and technologies can help improve the way your organization gathers, organizes, re-uses and protects its critical business information.

Push email com o SP2? Ainda não...

Com o lançamento recente do Service Pack 2 para o Exchange Server 2003, foi anunciado com toda a pompa e circunstância a nova funcionalidade de push email, ou seja, a sincronização automática dos dispositivos móveis com o servidor de correio electrónico. Na realidade o Exchange Server 2003 já disponibilizava esta funcionalidade, através do mecanismo Always-Up-To-Date (AUTD). Só que esta tecnologia tem alguns problemas e funciona através de um esquema complexo que utiliza mensagens SMS.
A Blackberry desde há algum tempo que já disponibiliza aos seus clientes um esquema eficiente de envio de mail para dispositivos móveis. Terá sido inclusivamente esta uma das razões para a Microsoft incluir o direct push email no SP2 e anunciá-lo tão efusivamente.
Só que para funcionar completamente, falta ainda uma peça do puzzle: o Messaging & Security Feature Pack. Resumindo, os requisitos são:

• Exchange Server 2003 SP2
• Dispositivos com o Windows Mobile 5.0
• Dispositivos com o Messaging & Security Feature Pack

O problema é que este Feature Pack não se encontra ainda disponível e só será distribuído exclusivamente pelos fabricantes de telemóveis e PDA's. Chegará, com certeza, muito em breve às nossas mãos, mas por enquanto o direct push email da Microsoft é ainda uma miragem (mas acreditem que quando chegar, vai valer bem a pena).

Links relacionados:

• Windows Mobile 5.0 Messaging & Security Feature Pack
• Where is the Messaging and Security Feature Pack?

Ferramentas de migração de Lotus/Domino

No seguimento da estratégia para ganhar clientes ao seu arqui-inimigo IBM, a Microsoft anunciou hoje um pacote de novas ferramentas de migração do ambiente aplicacional Lotus Notes/Domino para a plataforma colaborativa da Microsoft. Neste conjunto de ferramentas que estará disponível para download, incluem-se as seguintes:

• Microsoft Application Analyzer 2006 for Lotus Domino
• Microsoft Data Migrator 2006 for Lotus Domino
• Novos Templates de Windows SharePoint Services
• Actualizações de Ferramentas de Messaging e Coexistência

Links relacionados:

• Microsoft Announces New Application and Messaging Migration Tools for Lotus Notes/Domino Customers
• Resources for Moving to the Microsoft Collaboration Platform

Leitura de fim-de-semana

Apesar dos dias de atraso (mea culpa), aqui fica a lista de fim-de-semana

• Microsoft Extends Exchange 5.0, 5.5 Support To Patch Critical Bug
• BlackBerry Gets Google Local & Google Talk Due in Spring
• BlackBerry users face security threat
• Rivals at door as BlackBerry is tied up with legal dispute
• Exchange 2003 SP2 Server ActiveSync - Direct Push not working?
• Exchange 2003 Cross forest mailbox moves
• RPC/HTTP in Small Business Server
• Adding the Creator of Calendar appointments to appointments that already exist in a public calendar
• Creating Summary Emails for Inbox, Sub or Public Folders
• Rights Management Service and Exchange 2003 (Part 3)
• In-depth look at the Public Folder Improvements in Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2
• Using REMonitor tool in Injection Mode
• BlackBerry and GoodLink users may be unable to send messages after applying latest Exchange 2003 store hotfixes
• New Weapons in the Fight Against Spam
• Stop Spam from the Inside by Locking Down SMTP
• Stay Better Connected with Exchange ActiveSync
• Tune Up Exchange Server with the Best Practices Analyzer

System Center Capacity Planner 2006 já disponível

System Center Capacity Planner 2006 é uma ferramenta muito útil que ajuda a planear uma arquitectura de Exchange Server 2003 ou MOM 2005 e está finalmente disponível através das subscrições TechNet.

"System Center Capacity Planner 2006 employs state of the art modeling technology to bring unprecedented functionality and flexibility to the process of performance analysis and planning of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 deployments."

Num artigo recentemente publicado no site MSExchange.org, eu mencionei esta ferramenta:

• The Art and Science of Sizing Exchange 2003 (Part 3)

Nova Beta do Exchange 12 em Março

De acordo com uma notícia avançada no blog do Harold Wong, uma nova versão Beta do Exchange 12 deverá vir incluída na subscrição de Março do TechNet Plus. Ainda de acordo com a mesma fonte, esta versão não será disponibilizada ao público em geral.

"Monad" Shell Beta 3

A Microsoft disponibilizou hoje a versão Beta 3 do Microsoft Shell, também conhecido por Monad ou MSH, que pretende ser a próxima geração de command-line e scripting do mundo Microsoft.
Esta versão está disponível para os ambientes x86 e x64 e tem como requisito a instalação do Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 (x86, x64).
A versão definitiva deverá acompanhar o lançamento da próxima versão do Exchange, nome de código Exchange 12, o que deverá acontecer lá para o final deste ano ou início do próximo.
Aqui ficam alguns links sobre o tema:

• Scripting with the Microsoft Shell
• Monad Technology Blog
• Monad Information Center

Actualizações de segurança para Exchange e Outlook

A Microsoft disponibilizou hoje vários updates de segurança, entre os quais alguns para Exchange (5.0, 5.5 e 2000) e Outlook (2000, 2002 e 2003).
Estes patches pretendem corrigir uma vulnerabilidade descrita no buletim de segurança MS06-003: Vulnerability in TNEF Decoding in Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Could Allow Remote Code Execution (902412). Aqui ficam os links para os downloads:

• Security Update for Exchange 5.0 Server (KB894689)
• Security Update for Exchange 5.5 Server (KB894689)
• Security Update for Exchange 2000 Server (KB894689)
• Security Update for Outlook 2000 (KB892842)
• Security Update for Outlook 2002 (KB892841)
• Security Update for Outlook 2003 (KB892843)