Exchange 2003 and ISA Server Fully Operational
We have now cracked the Exchange front end servers connection to the ISA servers problems and all is going well now. It was affecting IMAP connectivity for users outside of the firewall. The ISA Servers were having trouble talking to one another and we found there was a registry key missing from one of the two servers in the array which has been replaced and has now sorted this problem out. We now have a working system with two ISA Servers, two front-end servers and two back-end servers with boot from SAN. Quite a size now!
TechEd 2004 Amsterdam
I am off to Amsterdam on Sunday for the Microsoft TechEd Conference. I am attending as a guest of Microsoft so am booked in for an inhuman amount of sessions, quite of few of which I am sure I will have to drop out of. I hope to be able to write updates while I am in Amsterdam to keep people up to date with the latest technologies.
Gmail Update
I have been using Gmail for one day now and I realise why this will give MSN and Yahoo something to worry about. The interface with its threaded conversations is very nice, and the ability to use Google to search through your emails is very powerful. When you go to delete a mail the interface asks "With 1000MB of storage space available, why bother?". Why indeed? All in all a very good first attempt at an email application, well thought out although lacking in a few frills and destined to be used quite heavily by myself.
Gmail
I finally got a gmail account today after months of patient waiting. With 1GB of free storage (which I cannot see me ever filling up even with the amount of junk that I get..) it will be interesting to see what happens. Now that I have Outlook Web Access to my Exchange system at work will I actually use it? It will all become clear over the next few months.
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby :: 2. Kon'nichi wa, Ruby: "One day I was walking down one of those busy roads covered with car dealerships (this was shortly after my wedding was called off) and I found an orphaned dog on the road. A wooly, black dog with greenish red eyes. I was kind of feeling like an orphan myself, so I took a couple balloons that were tied to a pole at the dealership and I relocated them to the dog�s collar. Then, I decided he would be my dog. I named him Bigelow.
We set off to get some Milkbones for Bigelow and, afterwards, head over to my place, where we could sit in recliners and listen to Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Oh, and we'd also need to stop by a thrift store and get Bigelow his own recliner.
But Bigelow hadn't accepted me as his master. So five minutes later, the stupid dog took a different crosswalk than I did and I never caught up. So whereas he had previously only been lost once, he was now lost twice. I slowed my pace towards the life of Milkbones and an extra recliner. I had a dog for five minutes.
Stupid Benedict Arnold of a dog. I sat on a city bench and threw pinecones at a statue of three sheep crossing a bridge. After that, I wept for hours. The tears just came. Now there's a little something poignant to get you started.
I wonder where he went with all those balloons. That crazy dog must have looked like a party with legs."
This book on programming in Ruby is just
great because it is
so wierd. Excellent! The man is completely mad.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Hotmail counters Google e-mail: "Hotmail is boosting the amount of storage space for users of both its free and paid e-mail service.
From July the basic Hotmail allowance will be boosted to 250MB and paying customers will get two gigabytes."
As a paying customer it will be nice to get 2 GB bit even 250MB is a lot more use than the old 3MB or so that it was set at! I am still waiting for my invitation to join the beta test of Gmail (hint: it's not coming) and will sign up when it goes live, even though some groups have expressed concerns about privacy. Gmail is targeted by adverts based on the text of the content, and although Google claims that this is done automatically and no human reads the mails, some groups claim that it may
contravene privacy laws.
Longhorn
There is a good video explaining how Longhorn and Avalon could be used in education, especially in the area of visualisation,
here. For best results use Media Player 9.
Oddpost
Oddpost is "an award-winning web-based email application with an astounding news aggregator built right in. Advanced spam filtering, a refreshing absence of advertising, and an unparalleled interface with the speed and ease of use of a desktop application are but a select few of the myriad pleasures enjoyed by the Oddpost subscriber."
It is also
fun, and the people who run it have a sense of humour too. Try a trial for free...50MB storage is good enough until Gmail bacomes available....
Wearable Mobile Phones
Business Week is reporting on wearable phones. I think talking underpants is entirely feasable.
BW Online | June 21, 2004 | Your Lapel Is Ringing: "Over the years, the cell phone has gone through a transformation even a chameleon would envy. In the 1970s, cell phones the size of lunch boxes seemed amazingly clever. Since then, the device has shrunk, becoming rounder and sporting every imaginable color. Now, chic designs can be sleek as roadsters or menacing as winged predators. "
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Adams' voice in radio Hitchhiker: "Adams' voice in radio Hitchhiker
Adams had been working on a film version before his sudden death
The late Douglas Adams, creator of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, will be heard in the first new radio adaptation of his work in 25 years.
He recorded the part of Agrajag in his home studio 18 months before he died in 2001, aged 49.
Digital technology will be used to include his voice in a 14-part adaptation of the final three Hitchhiker books on BBC Radio 4. "
At last!
Max Lyons Digital Image Gallery: "High Resolution Digital Images"
This is the place to go for information about creating high res digital images. There are links to software here (they do time-out eventually though) to help with creating large images.
New York
This was the view from the top of the Empire State Building (just come back off holiday from USA). Had a great time. New York was great as was Boston - which was superb. If you are ever in NY I recommend
Katz Deli for lunch on the lower east side, a great experience (bit pricey though especially as it was cheap to eat everywhere else).
TechEd 2004 Europe - Amsterdam 29 June - 2 July
I am attending
TechEd Europe starting 29th June. If you are going I will see you there! If not I will post here with feedback and comments and associated updates.
Exchange Stability Problems
We are having problems with Exchange, some stability problems. These are all definately related to Groupshield 6. We need to patch to the latest levels to see if we can cure these. Will keep posted on solutions as and when (or if) we find them.
