So in previous companies we used calendar services like Google and many others.  Each of which had ways to add holidays into the the calendar, typically these included all of the major US Federal holidays and maybe some others.  I have pretty much just been using Outlook 2007 now alongside an Exchange Server.  I found the need to have my holidays again without having to enter every single one in and so forth.  So after a quick Google search I came across an Microsoft Office article that explains exactly how to add holidays into Outlook.  That link is below… however what is really astonishing and the reason I even wrote up this little post is the fact that Microsoft, being a big proponent of globalizations and localization techniques has loaded not just the US Federal Holidays, but holidays for almost all of the countries in the world.  You have the option of loading more than one holiday list onto your calendar which may not seem like a big deal but for anyone who has managed globalized teams before understands the frustration of forgetting someone else’s holiday schedule.  So when you walk through the link below it will allow you to insert multiple holidays for different countries.

Take a look: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP052429441033.aspx

-Brent

This “How To” is based on my research and simple testing and is meant to assist in the process of changing the URL of a MOSS 07 installation.  I don’t have a complex setup so it may not work for all of you but it should help:

My Scenario:

1. We have a single Front-End Web Server and a single Back-End Database Server, each is a separate physical box
2. We have two Web Applications, one for the SharePoint Central Admin Site, the other for our SharePoint Installation
3. Our Shared Services Provider resides inside our primary SharePoint installation (A small installation didn’t require separate applications)

The Dilemma:

1. We used an internal DNS (Host Header) value to setup the Web Application
2. We now want to expose the web application to the internet and utilize SSL

The Fix (Adapted from Faraz Khan’s Post):

1. Open the Central Administration Site
2. Click on the “Operations” tab
3. Under “Global Configuration” click “Alternate Access Mappings”
4. Select “Edit Public URLs”
5. Make sure to select the correct web application from the “Alternate Access Mapping Collection” drop down
6. Change the “Default” URL to point to the new domain name
7. Click Save
8. SharePoint will now do some work to update links and everything else to point to the new location, however it does not seem to update the IIS Host Headers.
9. Open the IIS Manager
10. Edit the Bindings for the Web Application to use the new Host Header
11. If it makes you feel better restart IIS

I found that this solution will correct the primary web application but has no effect on the shared services provider, when you access a My Site in MOSS it will still use the old URL.  Once I have completed testing on that portion of the change I will post an update here.

-Brent

So many times the mention of a Google datacenter is met with secrecy.  If you search the web you may find some possible locations of the data centers, however finding them is not easy, and knowing anything about them is an even deeper secret.  However maybe with the whole new notion of transparency Google is jumping on board.  Google has released a video tour of one of their datacenters.  What makes this more interesting than others is that servers are inside of racks, however racks are contained in movable shipping containers.  Take a look:

-Brent

For those who do not know, Pabst Productions, Inc. uses a virtual PBX service to handle all of the phone calls that come in to our offices.  We have been using GotVmail for a few years now and are very happy with their service.  Recently they announced a change to their branding and imaging to become “grasshopper”.  As part of that change they put together a little video that I believe is a profound statement about what entrepreneurs really are.  Take a look!

NOTE: Make sure you have speakers or a headset so you can hear the music that was written just for this video.

-Brent