TechNet Webcast: Automating Internet Information Services 7.0 (Level 300)--UPDATE

The event I posted here has been changed from October 25th, to November 28th.

The new details are:

Start Time:
Date: 11/28/2007
Time: 01:00 PM-02:30 PM
U.S. Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8 hours)

TechNet Webcast: Automating Internet Information Services 7.0 (Level 300)

Start Time:
Thursday, October 25, 2007 9:30 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Event Overview

Tired of spending long nights doing the same tasks over and over? Join this webcast to learn how you can save time and get your life back though automation. We take a look at all the new ways you can automate tasks within Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 7.0 by using Windows Powershell, our revamped Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider, the appcmd.exe command-line tool, and the new managed code administration API, all from the command line! We demonstrate how to use the command line by automating common tasks to complex configurations. Attend this session to see how to complete unattended installations of IIS 7.0, set up thousands of sites in a matter of minutes, and manage installations of IIS on Server Core. This is a must-see webcast for any administrator!

Sign Up:

https://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/r.aspx?r=1292762890&c=en-US&t=4

Language(s):
English.

Product(s):
Windows Server.

Audience(s):
IT Professionals.

Duration:
90 Minutes

Presenter: Ruslan Yakushev, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation

PowerShell SDK book - February 2008

Wrox just recently put up a link to "Professional Windows PowerShell Programming: Snapins, Cmdlets, Hosts and Providers" (current link here).

This book was previously on Amazon for several months, and the due date has changed a few times and is now February.

This is another book I'm really looking forward to.  I've written a few cmdlets, and would now like to get into writing providers just to go through the exercise.

I am writing for TechNet Magazine

I've submitted an article to Microsoft's TechNet Magazine, and they have agreed to publish it! 

It will only be published some time in 2008.

I am not going to release the subject of the article at this time, but will say it will be PowerShell-related.

Windows PowerShell Virtual User Group video--ONLINE!

OK, I had all kinds of problems getting the video from a recent PowerShell user group I started.  Our first meeting was October 3rd.

The raw video had to be edited, and I have problems editing the video.  PapaJohn helped me out a lot with figuring out how to edit a Live Meeting 2007 recorded session.  The final product was 100MB video file (raw was 15MB)!

I was finally able to get a place to put it: SkyDrive.  My upload sessions would time out if the file was over 30MB, so I had a lot of splitting to do.

(If I find a spot to put the entire 100MB file as one single file, I'll post an update here.)

Here's the resulting files, which I've split up by presenter (each is roughly 15-25MB).

• Marco Shaw's introduction

I introduce myself, the user group.  I talk about the agenda, thank Microsoft and PowerGadgets for sponsoring this meeting, do some quick polls, then introduce each speaker.

• Keith Hill's presentation on PowerShell Community Extensions

Keith talks about the PowerShell Community Extensions.  He talks about how many cmdlets there are per version, how the versions have grown in the number of lines, and where PSCX is heading.  Very good overview.

 

• PowerGadgets' presenting their snap-in

Ivan from PowerGadgets gives a demo of their cmdlets.  PowerGadgets is very useful in providing a visual representations of their data.  It was a very strong demo of their snap-in.

 

• Marc van Orsouw's presentation on PowerTab

Marc provides an overview of his PowerTab tab expansion extension to Windows PowerShell.  Definitely worth watching if you want to do stuff quicker in PowerShell.

 

• Marco Shaw's closing

I close, thanking everyone, then open a Q & A to everyone.

 

• Marc van Orsouw's closing discussion mostly on WMI

Marc shows his website, then we talk about his WMI explorer, and he shows a demo of it.

 

I definitely could have continued editing these files to get them almost perfect, but decided that it was time to finally release them, as there's no such thing as perfect...

I hope this all works.  Please leave a comment if I missed something or made an error.  I did want to put these up as a Flash presentation, but that didn't seem to be supported by SkyDrive.

Looking for PowerShell training?

Sapien is offering a 5 day PowerShell calls in  Las Vegas from March 17th to 21st, 2008. 

Check out the details here.  This class will take you all the way from an introduction to PowerShell to more advanced concepts.

If you're looking for an excellent training and need to get up-to-speed fast, this is a great opportunity.

If you use the referral code USERPOD, you will receive a free 4GB color iPod Nano**! 

(**The offer may be withdrawn at any time, though - so interested folks should register as soon as possible. The offer will definitely be withdrawn prior to the end of 2008.)

Windows PowerShell: TFM - 2nd edition due out in November

An eagerly awaited update to Sapien's Windows PowerShell: TFM book is due out in November.

I will definitely get it when it comes out! I highly recommend Sapien's books to anyone using Windows PowerShell.

See their announcement here.

PowerShell Screencast #1: JAMS application

I've just blogged on the new PowerShell Community site about a screencast I've just done on JAMS.

The post is here.

If you'd like to see a screencast on anything else related to PowerShell, leave me a comment.

Cool application/service: SkyDrive

Well, it seems since last week, Canadians now seem to have access to using SkyDrive.  I've heard there's a 50MB limit on file sizes.

When I have vidoes larger than that, I'll have to split them up into smaller chunks.  Hopefully, I won't have any more issues with the Live Meeting recordings like I've previously mentioned.

NEW POWERSHELL FORUM

Don Jones just announced a new PowerShell forum at www.powershellcommunity.org.  I am going to start participating mainly on that site going forward.  I will still have PowerShell information here, but will start doing the technical stuff on the new community site.

I hope to see you there!

Cool application/service: Xdrive

Since doing my first virtual PowerShell user group meeting, I now have a 100MB (higher quality,edited) video that needs a home.  I recently heard of Microsoft's  SkyDrive.  I tried signing up, but it does not appear to be available to Canadians.

Went out for a search, and came across Xdrive which I'd never heard of before.  This is a service provided by AOL (remember them?), and provides 5GB of free online storage!

I'm trying it out now for sharing the 100MB video online.  I'll report back in the next few days hopefully.

PowerShell Virtual User Group: video from meeting #1--VIDEO ONLINE

I'm still having minor issues with the video from the first PowerShell virtual user group. I'm continuing to work on things, but for now, I'm going to put up the "raw footage".

Download:

**Edit October 31st: See this newer post for the videos:

http://marcoshaw.blogspot.com/2007/10/windows-powershell-virtual-user-group.html**

[Remainder of original post removed.]

PowerShell Virtual User Group: video from meeting #1--UPDATE

I'm still trying to piece together the video from meeting one.  I've hit this issue explained in this Microsoft KB:

When you use Movie Maker in Windows Vista to try to publish a video file of a recorded screen capture, the publishing process never finishes

I've had to get Windows Media Encoder to re-encode the original files.  Unfortunately, I still have some minor issues with using the resulting files in Windows Movie Maker to make a few minor edits.

For those checking-in for the video,  give me until around Wednesday to either put up the raw footage, or have all my problems solved.

PowerShell Virtual User Group: chat log from meeting #1

Here's the Q & A chat log from the first virtual user group meeting.

Update on the video:  I have the video, and want to edit it, to cut out some of the pauses.  I seem to be having some issues with the Live Meeting 2007 WMV files though.  I've tried 2 different video editing apps, and they are both having similar issues with the original files.  I'll either fix them up next week, or post them as-is.

Check out realDEVELOPMENT_07 coming to Halifax next week

 The Real Development tour is coming to Halifax on October 11th.  To register, go the the above address.  There are also sessions in QUEBEC CITY, WATERLOO, VANCOUVER, MONTREAL, OTTAWA, CALGARY, EDMONTON, REGINA and TORONTO (the dates and times for those other locations may be different).

Quick details:

SESSION 1: Developing Web Applications Today
In this session, you will learn about what's happening in the Web development industry in Canada and around the world. You'll then hear some real success stories, and where different Web technologies such as HTML and JavaScript are headed. We'll talk about established standards, browser compatibility and much more.

SESSION 2: Building a Better Website
To be an effective Web developer, you need the right skills. As you build out more complex Websites, factors such as security, data access, globalization, personalization and performance come into play. In this session, you'll learn how to use design patterns to take the right approach. We'll show you tips and tricks and established best practices to help build a better Website. We’ll also look at the essential tools to help you along the way.

Local .NET user group presentation next week

I'll be doing a talk on Windows Server administration using PowerShell at the newly named local .NET user group.  The group has been renamed to Dev East and includes the previous Moncton and Halifax .NET user groups into one.

Special thanks to the Department of Computer Science at Université de Moncton for sponsoring the event.

PowerShell Virtual User Group: general update from meeting #1

Today's Windows PowerShell Virtual User Group Meeting went very well.  Unfortunately, I lost the chat log (forgot to save before the meeting ended).  There was a couple of questions that came up, and I will put that up here in a day or so.

124 people had signed up for the session, and I think at one point, we had a maximum of 64 people online.

Special thanks to Keith Hill (MVP), Marc van Orsouw (MVP), Ivan Giugni from PowerGadgets, and Rodney Buike from Microsoft for making this happen.

Next meeting is tentatively planned for December 4th at noon EST again.  I'm trying to get to present:

• Jeffrey Snover: Microsoft PowerShell Architect
• Don Jones (MVP) and possibly Jefferey Hicks (MVP): Sapien
• Dmitry Sotnikov (MVP): Quest
• Oisin Grehan: Nivot Ink

Hope to see you there!  Updates to follow.

IMPORTANT: Virtual PowerShell User Group update

I forgot to add the passcode required to call-in when I announced today's Virtual PowerShell User Group meeting.

Here it is:

Participant Code:  6551308 (after calling in)
USA/CANADA          1-866-500-6738 (toll free)

.NET Framework 2.0 hotfix that might affect PowerShell

I just noticed this Microsoft KB article:

FIX: You may notice that the memory load is very high when you run an application that is built on the .NET Framework 2.0

I've not checked how this might affect PowerShell, but this information might be useful to others.

Microsoft MVP award

I have received my first Microsoft MVP award.  I have received the award under the Windows Server - Admin Frameworks category for my community efforts around Windows PowerShell.

I want to thank Microsoft for recognizing my community efforts and providing me with the chance to expand my horizons using the MVP logo.

Virtual PowerShell user group meeting... 100 people have signed up!

The virtual PowerShell user group I announced  here has 100 people signed up!  I'm so excited.  I hope everyone will enjoy it, and be excited about future meetings I'm already starting to plan.