Microsoft’s Plan for Unified Communications

Good ol’ Billy Gates is at it again (did he ever stop?). This time, however, it’s phones.  Well, not just phones, but communications – Unified Communications, specifically.  Anyhow, there appears to be quite a bit of momentum behind the initiative and you know, if Microsoft pushes we all feel it.  So I thought it would be good to see exactly what Mr. Gates plans.  Pretty interesting stuff…

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=559&tag=nl.e101

CRM Software & Law Firms

Here’s an interesting article I found about how Contact Resource Managment (CRM) software can increase a firm’s continuity and lead to greater profits.  Not registering a “10″ on your interest scale?  Okay, fair enough.  But if you’re not using some kind of CRM software at your firm it’s probably worth reading. The author makes a number of good points on how CRM software can be a boon to profitability for law firms and that’s probably of interest to many.  The ironic thing I found about this article is that for all the good points the author makes in relating CRM software to profitability, almost every practice managment program today contains A LOT more than CRM functionality.  So if you find the article compelling, take a look at some of the practice management programs today. The case for those is even more compelling…  

http://lawfirminc.law.com/display.php/file=/texts/0907/squeeze

Shadow Copy in Vista

Okay, I have to admit shadow copy is my friend.  As an IT professional I always urge people to save as they go along and for the most part I’m pretty good at taking my own advice.  But I think everyone has gotten deep into a document at some time or another and forgot to hit the save button.  Of course that’s the time something happens and you lose the last 2 hours of work.  Yeah, I hate that Murphy guy, too.  Anyhow, newer Vista users may want to take a peek at an article I found that shows you how to configure the service in Vista.  Keep in mind, however, that shadow copy may have a place within your firm’s backup strategy, but it isn’t a substitution for a good backup/disaster recovery policy. 

http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10877_11-168297.html?tag=nl.e101

Windows Home Server rollout

Microsoft’s long awaited “Windows Home Server” has finally been released – at least as an OEM software product.  It is now available for purchase from a number of online retailers.  This means that the full systems shouldn’t be far behind (Windows Home Server pre-installed on various systems, including the HP MediaSmart Home Server).

The product was announced back in January of 2007, but has been in development for a couple years.  The platform is Microsoft’s attempt to develop an easy-to-use media server and backup system for home networks.  The initial offerings from HP include two systems with the pre-installed software – one with 500 gigabytes of storage, the other with 1 terabyte.

At its core, Windows Home Server is a shared network device that may be accessed on a home network, as well as over the Internet.  This allows users to store video, pictures, music, etc. in a centralized location.  In addition, it provides centralized management for remote desktop access (similar in some ways to Small Business Server).  Microsoft has attempted to make the setup for sharing data over the Internet easy using its recently launched Windows Live service.

The other major selling point is the built-in backup.  Although the technical documentation is not available online yet, Microsoft indicates that that the backup will be automated (to run daily by default), and will allow quick restoration of individual files and even entire systems for connected computers.

Much more information is available on Microsoft’s website at the link referenced above.