Hyper-V Bug In Win 8.1 Obstructs Use of Lync Test Drive

In December Microsoft released the longed-for Lynch Server 2013 Test Drive, but a serious bug in Windows 8.1 makes it impossible to import the Test Drive into Hyper-V.

Seven VHDs
The Lync Server 2013 Test Drive is a set of seven virtual hard disks that can be downloaded from Microsoft. It contains Lynch, Exchange, SharePoint and several developer tools, and it is intended for evaluation of the Microsoft platforms. I find it very useful for testing and demonstrating.

Hyper-V
Microsoft Hyper-V is needed to use the virtual hard disks, so when you have downloaded the Test Drive and installed the files on your hard drive you want to import them into your Hyper-V. You might think that this would be possible via "Import Virtual Machine" in the Hyper-V Manager, but when I wanted to do that in Windows 8.1 I discovered that it did not work.

Bug in Win 8.1
After a lot of trouble I found out that this was a bigger problem. It was not just isolated to my machine or to the Lync Server Test Drive but actually a major shortcoming in Windows 8.1. Something that has worked for a long time in Windows 8 has now stopped working in 8.1. What has happened is that Windows 8.1 no longer gives a possibility to import old virtual machines into Hyper-V.

New machine creation not allowed
The problem can be solved by creating new virtual machine in Hyper-V and attach the Test Drive or old VM hard disks  to these new machines. This can even be done quickly with a PowerShell script – but it is against the EULA. kalmstrom.com Business Solutions is a Microsoft Silver Partner, and Microsoft prohibits partners from manipulating their VMs.

Downgrading again
Since I am a Microsoft Certified Trainer I have a lot of virtual machines in the old format. They will now fail to work, so regretfully I am in the process of downgrading to Windows 8 at the moment. I want to be able to use both my old virtual machines and the new Lync Server 2013 Test Drive.

Read more
If you want to read more about the 8.1 problem or about the Lync Server 2013 Test Drive I recommend Thomas Lee's blog "Under the Stars":
http://tfl09.blogspot.se/2013/10/lync-server-test-drive-pre-configured.html
http://tfl09.blogspot.se/2013/10/starting-up-lync-test-drive-vm-farm.html
http://tfl09.blogspot.se/2013/07/windows-81-cant-import-vms-exported.html

By Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Kanban Task Manager for Outlook V2 Released

Today I am proud to announce the release of Kanban Task Manager for OutlookV2. The new version has several enhancements and new features, and I am sure that the efforts of the kalmstrom.com team will once again be rewarded by praise from subscribers and evaluators.

Drag and drop color coded tasks
With Kanban Task Manager users can cooperate on projects and tasks in a virtual kanban board in Outlook or SharePoint. The "cards" are color coded by project or responsible, and they can be dragged and dropped within or between phases. This way it is easy to get an overview and see how work proceeds,and bottlenecks are easily discovered.

Details pane
Different teams have different requests, and to make Kanban Task Manager versatile we give two different sizes for the cards on the kanban board. The smaller size make room for more tasks on the screen, but on the other hand they don't have so much space for text. Then the new reading pane comes handy.
By adding a details pane to Kanban Task Manager we give users a chance to see more of the text than what is visible on the card itself. The solution uses standard Outlook or SharePoint tasks, and the text you enter in them can be seen in a pane at the bottom of the screen when you right click a task.

Custom parameter
Besides description text and subject, the project, responsible and priority (if enabled) are shown on the Kanban Task Manager cards. Project, responsible and priority are also the default parameters to filter the tasks by. However, version 2 gives an additional possibility.

When you want to filter by another parameter than the default ones and also show the value for that parameter on the card in the kanban board, you can make use of the Extra field. Write the name of the parameter in the Extra field form in the Kanban Task Manager settings, and the add-on will create a list where you can fill out the values you need.

Now your own parameter will be shown in a task dropdown, so that users can select a value when they create or edit a task. That value will be displayed on the kanban card. There will also be an additional filter possibility on the kanban board in Outlook.

Upgrade
These are only a two of the new features in Kanban Task Manager V2. If you are already using Kanban Task Manager, please have a look at the Revisions page for a full list. Also refer to my earlier blog post about version 2 of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook.

Upgrades are included in the subscription, just like support, and I recommend current users to upgrade their installations. It is very easy. Just close Outlook, download the setup file to any folder on your computer and run it. The installer will find your earlier installation and upgrade it.

Try
Do you need a tool for keeping track of projects and tasks? In that case you are welcome to evaluate Kanban Task Manager for Outlook for 30 days without any obligations. Version 2 is easier to evaluate than the earlier versions, as it gives a possibility to create example data.

Please take a look at the introduction demo below, and if you like what you see you can find much more information on the kalmstrom.com website.



Sharing options
Kanban Task Manager data, like tasks and settings, is shared in the workgroup via a Microsoft Access database, an SQL Server database or a SharePoint site. The Access database is created by Kanban Task Manager, but to select one of the other options you need to have your own, in-house or hosted, SQL Server or SharePoint site.

SharePoint version
There is also a SharePoint version of Kanban Task Manager, and if you select the SharePoint sharing option in the Outlook version you can use both versions on the same data. When a change is made in the SharePoint kanban board, this change will be reflected to the Outlook kanban board and vice versa. Both versions are included in one subscription.
By Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Bill Gates Meets Norwegian Chess Champion

In the demo below you can see Bill Gates playing a game of chess with the Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen in a Swedish TV show.

In November 2013 the Norwegian "chess prodigy" Magnus Carlsen beat the Indian world champion since 2007, Viswanathan Anand. Mr. Anand has been a very good promotor of chess, and it seems that Magnus Carlsen is eager to continue that work. Yesterday's chess game with Bill Gates was of course such a promotion event.

It took just one minute and nineteen seconds for Magnus Carlson to checkmate Bill Gates. "He was a bit unlucky and eventually fell to my tactics, but he otherwise made good healthy moves," said Carlsen according to FirstPost.Sports. "I think with a little more time, he could certainly be a pretty good player."

I will sure see the whole show when it is broadcasted tonight!



By Kate Kalmstrom
Sales
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Convert Old Office Files Into New Formats With PowerShell

In an earlier blog post I wrote about my assignment where I am moving millions of Office files to SharePoint. In that process I also convert files with the old suffixes into the modern, XML based file formats introduced with Office 2007.

I will describe my work in a series of articles, and now the first one of them has been published. In the kalmstrom.com Tips section you can find a new article and a demo on conversion of old office files into new formats, what to consider and how it can be done. The same demo is included in this blog post.

Why?
Maybe you wonder why you should bother to convert your Office files with the .doc, .xls or .ppt extensions. Can't they stay as they are? As long as new Office versions support these formats the answer is actually yes, but there are several benefits to gain from a conversion to modern file formats like .docx, .xlsx and .pptx:

• They save space, as they are automatically compressed with a .zip technique.
• They are more secure as files with the x suffix don't allow macros.
• They separate different data components from each other, so that files can be opened even if a component – for exampel a chart – is damaged.
• As they all build on Open XML you can unlock information in existing systems and use it in Office programs, and information created in Office can be used by other business applications.

Links
Conversion of old file formats into new ones have one important disadvantage: links will be broken. There is no easy way to keep links to the old files in other documents, on webpages, in e-mails and so on. You should consider this problem before you start converting old files.

PowerShell script
There are several ways to convert the files. Microsoft has given a tool for it, and you can also open each file and save it as a file with the new format. This is very time consuming, but I have created a PowerShell script that basically does exactly that.

The PowerShell script gives more control that the Microsoft tool, and another advantage is that it retains the change date of the files that are converted.

SharePoint Saturday
The information in this tutorial will be included in my speech at the SharePoint Saturday in Stockholm this week. In that speech I will give much more information, and some of that content will become additional kalmstrom.com Tips.

So, if you have been thinking about moving old Office files to SharePoint you are welcome to take advantage of everything I will share. The script I am showing in the demo can be downloaded from the Tips article about converting old Office files into new formats. I will come back with more tips and scripts later!


By Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Advertisement That Aims Higher

This Friday I will give you some beautiful photos from kite flying Indore, as a contrast to the more technical articles I have written recently. I will also tell you about a different way to advertise.

Kite flying festival
This passed week the Makara Sankranti has been celebrated in India. It is a festival that marks the end of the winter, and kite flying events have been held in many places.

So also in Indore, where people gathered in a part of the city where the houses have roof terraces. There the kite flyers could stand on the rooftops and greet the sun with their kites. It was a day of fun and laughter, and the best kite flyers earned everyone's respect.

Skilled team member
When I visited the kalmstrom.com Indore office recently, my Indian colleagues took me out kite flying. That was when I discovered that our Lead Quality Assurance Engineer, Vijayant Rimza, not only was a good manager of the QA team. Vijayant is excellent when it comes to managing a kite, and we decided to take advantage of this in a marketing event.

Kite flying sport
The kites used in India are small, unstable single line flat kites made of special light-weight paper and bamboo. The line tension alone is used for control, and an abrasive line is used to cut other kites.

To cut a competitor's kite means that you severe the strings of that kite, so that it falls to the ground or get stuck in a tree. When that happens children chase the falling kite to pick it up, and the winner shouts "katta hai" (=cut another kite) in a very loud voice.

kalmstrom.com kites
On the day of the kite flying event Vijayant had prepared two kites with the text "kalmstrom.com", and he was also dressed in a jacket with our logotype. When the event was over, "everyone" knew kalmstrom.com, because with his two kites Vijayant had cut no less than 45 other kites.

Advertising benefit
A text on a small kite cannot reach far even if it is several hundred meters up in the air, but as many people were gathered to see the kite event it still did some good. In Indore we are not primarily advertising the kalmstrom.com solutions but the company as a work place.

We are always looking for talented people for the Indore office. Maybe this event will bring some good candidates for positions in our team? Anyway Vijayant had a great time while giving kalmstrom.com some extra publicity!

Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions