Monday, January 31, 2011

UK: No Expansionary Fiscal Contraction Yet

The UK can be seen as a kind of test case for the proposition that contractionary fiscal policy can induce an economic expansion, a proposition forwarded by most recently Alesina and Ardana (2010) [wp version] (following up earlier work by Alesina and Perroti). So far, admittedly early in the process, the evidence is not consistent with the view of expansionary contraction. Here's Gavyn Davies' view:

...The statistics were expected to show a significant slowdown in output growth, but nothing like the drop of 0.5% in real GDP (-2 per cent quarter-on-quarter annualised) which was actually announced this morning. ...

Davies provides a caveat:

...these figures seem much too bad to be true, and not just because of the weather. The underlying growth rate of private sector GDP probably remains at around +2 per cent on an annualised basis, and it would not be at all surprising to see a sharp rebound in recorded growth in the current quarter. Nevertheless, the recovery in the UK economy, while still intact, continues to run at a less impressive pace than we are seeing elsewhere in the developed world.

The UK Recovery (and Relapse?) in Perspective

Davies provides graph of UK and G7 output trends (normalized) provides some context. The graph provides the ONS's estimate of output abstracting from the severe weather in December.

uk1

Figure 1: G7 and UK GDP normalized to 100 at 2007Q4. Source: G. Davies (2010).

This is a preliminary release, akin to the "advance" release for US GDP statistics, so one should be particularly cautious about overinterpreting. Nonetheless, best estimates are for zero growth in 2010Q4. Where does the fiscal retrenchment fit in? In line with the plan to cut government overall expenditures (spending as well as transfers), the contribution of government consumption to overall GDP growth is negative.

uk2

Figure 2: Contributions to UK GDP growth (q/q) in 2010Q3 and 2010Q4. Source: Office of National Statistics, 2010Q4 preliminary GDP release.

Note, that the -0.5% q/q growth rate is equivalent to approximately -2.0 q/q annualized growth. The -0.02 ppt q/q contribution of government spending is a substantial decrease from the approximately 0.16 ppts contribution in 2010Q3. Presumably, going forward, this will shift to an even bigger negative contribution.

Looking forward, most economists appear gloomy. From The Guardian Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas observes:

...as the year progresses we expect the implementation of the government's austerity measures to bite, reinforcing the headwinds to growth. More generally, the biggest question for 2011 growth is whether or not consumer spending will grow – especially with inflation running well in excess of income growth. We expect pedestrian consumer spending growth at best, which given it accounts for around two-thirds of GDP by expenditure, will set the tone for a sluggish overall growth rate.

Overall, a terrible headline reading, probably exacerbated by the weather. Nonetheless, weak even without the weather and likely to reinforce our below-consensus growth forecast for this year.

Alasdair Reisner, Civil Engineering Contractors Association predicts:

Sadly there seems to be little in the way of confidence that there will be a turnaround in the industry's prospects in 2011, and with the full effect of public sector cuts yet to feed through, there may very well be further bad news to come in future quarters.

Mark Bolsom, Head of the UK trading desk at Travelex Global Business Payments concludeses:

We knew that snow had seriously impacted retail sales in December but this will come as a massive shock; nobody expected contraction.

It's a real disaster, given that January's VAT hike will drain even more money out of the system. And whilst there had been talk of an interest rate hike, this is surely now off the agenda. Quantitative easing is now back on the cards.

Economic contraction is a really bad way to go into a period of heavy fiscal tightening and is not what the government would have wanted at all. The chancellor may find himself having to defend his economic plans over the coming days.

The UK as a Small Open Economy

Fortunately for the UK, it has a floating exchange rate, which serves as a buffer in times of economic weakness.

uk3

Figure 3: Log real broad trade weighted value of the British pound. Gray shaded area denotes UK GDP peak to trough. Source: BIS.

The graph highlights the fact that the UK economy has already experienced a currency depreciation that has provided some relief.

Will the UK Avoid a Contraction? (i.e., is 2010Q4 a blip?)

If historical evidence is any guide, one should not expect a tremendous short run boom in response the the fiscal contraction. The last IMF World Economic Outlook (Chapter 3) assessed this issue in a systematic fashion, using a Romer and Romer (2010) narrative/action-based criterion to determine consolidation episodes, as opposed to examining changes in the cyclically adjusted primary budget balance (CAPB), used in Alesina and Ardagna (2010).

  • Fiscal consolidation typically has a contractionary effect on output. A fiscal consolidation equal to 1 percent of GDP typically reduces GDP by about 0.5 percent within two years and raises the unemployment rate by about 0.3 percentage point. Domestic demand—consumption and investment—falls by about 1 percent.
  • Reductions in interest rates usually support output during episodes of fiscal consolidation. Central banks offset some of the contractionary pressures by cutting policy interest rates, and longer-term rates also typically decline, cushioning the impact on consumption and investment. For each 1 percent of GDP of fiscal consolidation, interest rates usually fall by about 20 basis points after two years. The model simulations also imply that, if interest rates are near zero, the effects of fiscal consolidation are more costly in terms of lost output.
  • A decline in the real value of the domestic currency typically plays an important cushioning role by spurring net exports and is usually due to nominal depreciation or currency devaluation. For each 1 percent of GDP of fiscal consolidation, the value of the currency usually falls by about 1.1 percent, and the contribution of net exports to GDP rises by about 0.5 percentage point. Because not all countries can increase net exports at the same time, this finding implies that fiscal contraction is likely to be more painful when many countries adjust at the same time.
  • Fiscal contraction that relies on spending cuts tends to have smaller contractionary effects than tax-based adjustments. This is partly because central banks usually provide substantially more stimulus following a spending-based contraction than following a tax-based contraction. Monetary stimulus is particularly weak following indirect tax hikes (such as the value-added tax, VAT) that raise prices.
  • Fiscal retrenchment in countries that face a higher perceived sovereign default risk tends to be less contractionary. However, even among such high-risk countries, expansionary effects are unusual.
  • Model simulations suggest that over the long term, reducing debt is likely to be beneficial. In particular, the GIMF simulations considered here suggest that lower government debt levels reduce real interest rates, which stimulates private investment. Also, the lower burden of interest payments creates fiscal room for cutting distortionary taxes. Both of these effects raise output in the long term. Overall, the simulations imply that for every 10 percentage point fall in the debt-to-GDP ratio, output rises by about 1.4 percent in the long term.

Figure 3.2 from the IMF WEO shows the impact on GDP and unemployment.

uk4

Source: From Chapter 3 of IMF WEO, October 2010.

Note that the IMF estimates include the cushioning effects of exchange rate depreciation and net export increase (as well as offsetting stimulative monetary policy, something which is circumscribed for economies already at zero interest rates).

The Specifics of the UK Fiscal Plan

Returning to the UK experience, we shouldn't be surprised, I think, to see a further negative readings in growth. Figure 2 from Mason and Walia (2010) shows the amount of planned fiscal consolidation.

uk5

Figure 2, Total Fiscal Consolidation (% of GDP), Her Majesty's Treasury, OBR, RGE, from James Mason and Parul Walia, "More Than One Way to Skin a Cat: A Review of UK Fiscal Plans," RGE Monitor (Jan 20, 2011).

They write of the government's plan ("Plan A"):

Our main criticism of Plan A is that it is unnecessarily front-loaded in terms of cash impact, as opposed to policy approval. It is inevitable that hastily cobbled together measures to cut costs quickly will have a more detrimental impact on the economy (i.e. a higher fiscal multiplier) than more considered measures aimed at reducing long-term spending. Likewise, the severe cuts to capital expenditure and government investment will have a higher fiscal multiplier than reforms to long-term health provision or pension costs.

The Impact of Fiscal Austerity on Economic Growth

Based on a review of the literature described briefly below, we assumed a fiscal multiplier of 0.5 to estimate the impact on GDP growth from the fiscal consolidation (see Figure 4). That effectively assumes that the private sector picks up half of the slack left by the government pulling back.

RGE Monitor predicts output to be 0.3 percentage points of GDP lower in 2010-11, and 1 percentage point in 2011-12.

Simulations by the IMF using GIMF find that for a small open economy like Canada, fiscal contraction at a time when the rest-of-the-world is undertaking similar fiscal austerity measures roughly doubles the output loss (relative to an already increased loss when the zero interest constraint binds). The RGE Monitor estimates are based on the multipliers cited by Ethan Ilzetzki, Enrique G. Mendoza and Carlos A. Vegh [pdf] which do not account for the zero interest bound, so there is reason to believe they are understating the negative output impacts in the short run.

Concluding thought

In any case, regressions based on samples heavy on small open economies are unlikely to lead to conclusions terribly relevant to large, relatively closed economies like the US. A front loaded fiscal contraction in a much more closed economy such as the US would likely benefit much less from offsetting export-supported growth.

Postscript 1: An interesting methodological question, with a big impact on the end-results, is highlighted in Tables 3.4 and 3.5 in the WEO Chapter 3. One finds that the action-based criterion leads to many fewer episodes, particularly in small open economies (which have the luxury of greater depreciation to induce countervailing net export growth) than found using the Alesina and Ardagna (2010) approach.

Postscript 2: The IMF analysis spends some time on the discussing the differential impact of tax increases versus spending cuts. They posit this differential effect might be due to the monetary authorities reacting differently to each type of fiscal measure. To the extent that the interest rates are stuck at zero, the differential effects should be muted for the period that ZIRP holds.

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Blog Post: February 2011 ?Technical Rollup Mail - Internet

News

SharePoint Technologies

Duet Enterprise Virtual Launch Summit

During the virtual summit you will hear Microsoft and SAP customers, partners, and executives talk about how Duet Enterprise increases productivity and business agility by enabling IT and business users to extend and consume SAP processes and data in SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise and Microsoft Office 2010.

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=961

SharePoint journeys

Have you heard? We launched a unique online video contest called SharePoint journeys, which is a platform for our customers and partners to tell us where they are on their SharePoint ?journey,? as well as the unique ways they?ve used SharePoint to enhance their organizations. http://www.sharepointjourneys.com. Through these videos, we want SharePoint professionals to share and review their work, inspire each other to think about SharePoint in new ways, and take the next step on their journey. Right now the site only allows for submissions, but as videos come in we will turn on the interactive pieces of the site that will allow for social media sharing, commenting on videos, and the ability to embed videos into personal blogs.

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=959

Updates for SharePoint 2010 Products

The new TechNet page provides resources for IT professionals who are responsible for installing software updates on SharePoint 2010 farms.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff800847.aspx

Videos: SharePoint in Education

This article showcases two sets of interviews with people who were responsible for implementing a solution using SharePoint on their school portal site. Using mostly out-of-the-box features, both solutions improved not only the user or customer experience but also the experience of those administering ongoing tasks that are part of their jobs.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/videos-sharepoint-in-education-HA102040592.aspx

New video: Use tags and notes in SharePoint Server 2010

The video takes a scenario-based approach to how you use the tagging and notes features of My Sites in SharePoint for your daily work.

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/Blogs/GetThePoint/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=442

BizTalk

Videojet - Technologies Marking-System Manufacturer Takes Charge of Service Management with Integrated Solution

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-BizTalk-Server/Videojet-Technologies/Marking-System-Manufacturer-Takes-Charge-of-Service-Management-with-Integrated-Solution/4000008992

Microsoft Internet Information Server

Web Farm Framework 2 now available for free download

The IIS Team has released the WebFarm Framework 2.0 (http://www.iis.net/download/WebFarmFramework). This free download is designed to help administrators who manage farms of servers provision content, settings and more. Check out all the benefits of this great add-on!

http://blogs.iis.net/bills/archive/2011/01/21/web-farm-framework-2-now-available-for-free-download.aspx

Great tips for Developers by Scott Guthrie

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2011/01/03/vs-2010-sp1-beta-and-iis-developer-express.aspx

Documents

SharePoint Technologies

Microsoft Press: Using Windows PowerShell to Perform and Automate Farm Administrative Tasks

This excerpt from Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrator's Companion explores the SharePoint 2010 Management Shell and how to use Windows PowerShell to accomplish some basic administrative tasks.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg550867.aspx

Microsoft cloud services help U.K. schools

Learn how Microsoft Online Services facilitates delivery of courses across seven separate schools.

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-Office-Communications-Online/Lincoln-Specialist-Schools-Group/Online-Services-Facilitates-Delivery-of-Courses-Across-Seven-Separate-Schools/4000007627

Downloads

SharePoint Technologies

Planning guide for sites and solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Part 1

Subjects include site security, governance, and enterprise content management.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=10104E47-7DFE-4AE5-A9EA-459E6AEBD34E

Planning guide for sites and solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Part 2

Subjects include business intelligence, site creation, web content management, and enterprise search.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=11a9eacd-78c9-442e-aa5a-ee66d9cd5f77

Microsoft Office Protocol Documentation

The Office protocol documentation provides technical specifications for Microsoft proprietary protocols that are implemented and used in the Microsoft Office system.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=e7a23d42-0835-440f-9400-badfe9672b21

Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Protocol Documentation

The Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies protocol documentation provides technical specifications for Microsoft proprietary protocols that are implemented and used in SharePoint Products and Technologies.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=5e94ad07-902c-422f-aadd-ff2bba9e540a

Microsoft Internet Information Server

IIS Express 7.5

This is a simple and self-contained version of IIS 7.5 that is optimized for developers. You can run IIS Express 7.5 as a non-Administrator!

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=abc59783-89de-4adc-b770-0a720bb21de

IIS DownloadCENTER

This is your single source for finding Microsoft Internet Information Services tools, samples, extensions, filters and modules created by Microsoft and the IIS community.

http://www.iis.net/downloads

Events/Webcasts

How to use Team Foundation Server to Manage the SharePoint Life Cycle

2/3/2011 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US & Canada)

SharePoint has made tremendous impact in the enterprise for several reasons ?affordability, ease of implementation, and rapid application deployment opportunities.  For these same reasons SharePoint has introduced risk in the organization because effective development practices are not viewed as necessary or useful for SharePoint deployments.  SharePoint is a powerful platform for Rapid Application Development (RAD) and often has an even shorter lifecycle than traditional RAD projects.   In this session we will discuss and demonstrate the role that TFS plays in the effective management of SharePoint implementations and custom development.  Requirements, testing, version control, and deployment of custom features for SharePoint will be demonstrated using TFS and VS 2010.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032472129&culture=en-US

How to use Team Foundation Server to Manage the SharePoint Life Cycle

2/17/2011 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US & Canada)

SharePoint has made tremendous impact in the enterprise for several reasons ?affordability, ease of implementation, and rapid application deployment opportunities.  For these same reasons SharePoint has introduced risk in the organization because effective development practices are not viewed as necessary or useful for SharePoint deployments.  SharePoint is a powerful platform for Rapid Application Development (RAD) and often has an even shorter lifecycle than traditional RAD projects.   In this session we will discuss and demonstrate the role that TFS plays in the effective management of SharePoint implementations and custom development.  Requirements, testing, version control, and deployment of custom features for SharePoint will be demonstrated using TFS and VS 2010.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032472130&culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Ecosystem: SharePoint 2010 Developer Overview (Level 200)

On Demand

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 has many new developer-oriented features. Developers can build collaboration applications on the platform features of SharePoint 2010, the new tools for SharePoint 2010 make developers more productive, and the new hosting options for SharePoint solutions provide more flexibility in deployment. In this webcast, we discuss SharePoint 2010 from a developer?s perspective and provide an overview and code-based demonstrations of the major new features for building user interfaces, building on the data platform, and general programmability.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032474387&CountryCode=US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Ecosystem: Integrating SharePoint with Windows Phone 7 (Level 200)

1/31/2011 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

With the release of Windows Phone 7, many developers are starting to look to Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to develop phone applications. In this webcast, you learn how to develop SharePoint applications that make it possible for a mobile workforce to collaborate on the go. You also see how to authenticate with SharePoint using Microsoft Silverlight and how to access SharePoint data using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) data services and web services.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032474388&culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Ecosystem: Integrating SharePoint with Office 2010 (Level 200)

2/2/2011 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 provides a rich platform for integrating Microsoft Office 2010 solutions of all types. In this webcast, you learn how to integrate Office 2010 and SharePoint in different ways, from no-code solutions using SharePoint Designer to rich client add-ins that access SharePoint data via the Client Object Model and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) data services. You also learn how to take advantage of Microsoft Office server-side services and the Open XML software developer kit (SDK) for document assembly and fixed-format document generation

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032474390&culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Ecosystem: Integrating SharePoint 2010 and CRM Online (Level 300)

2/22/2011 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a match made in heaven. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, Microsoft provides out-of-box document integration with Microsoft SharePoint 2010, but customers are increasingly looking for ways to integrate these two technologies further. In this developer-focused webcast, we look at how you can bring Microsoft Dynamics CRM data to SharePoint using web parts, Microsoft Business Connectivity Services (BCS), web services, and more. We also demonstrate the BCS adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and an end-to-end online application connecting Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Microsoft Silverlight, and Windows Azure. If you want to understand how to integrate SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, then you don't want to miss this webcast..

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032473318&culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: geekSpeak: Business Intelligence and SharePoint Server 2010 with Kevin Goff (Level 200)

2/9/2011 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 provides many opportunities to render data from business intelligence (BI) applications. In this episode of geekSpeak, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Kevin Goff shows examples of building BI content in SharePoint Server 2010 by using PerformancePoint Services, Microsoft Excel Services, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, and PowerPivot. By the end, we'll see an integrated dashboard in SharePoint with content from all of these tools. This geekSpeak is hosted by Glen Gordon and Rachel Appel. This series brings you industry experts in a "talk-radio" format hosted by Microsoft developer evangelists. The experts also answer your questions.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032476367&culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Architecting a Global Human Resources System Using SharePoint, Azure, and Duet (Level 300)

2/15/2011 9:30 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

In this webcast, we describe how Microsoft architected its human resources web content platform using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Windows Azure, and Duet for connecting to its SAP ERP enterprise resource planning application. The portal is an ongoing project, and we review the past and future roadmap, discuss the benefits of current technologies, and offer recommendations relevant to other enterprise-level human resource systems managers.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032474008&culture=en-US

Get a taste of the benefits of signing up to MPR?three FREE days of SharePoint 2010 development training Feb 9th to 11th

February 9-11th 2011

Take 1 minute to register today if you are UK based and work for a company that creates software products and want to dig into SharePoint 2010 development for FREE with a great UK based SME (subject matter expert).

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukisvdev/archive/2011/01/25/get-a-taste-of-the-benefits-of-signing-up-to-mpr-three-free-days-of-sharepoint-2010-development-training-feb-9th-to-11th.aspx

TechNet Webcast: Using Office and SharePoint to Take Control of Marketing Spend and ROI (Level 100)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 1:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Attend this webcast to learn how Hitachi Consulting helped a global consumer electronics company increase its total marketing spend visibility, eliminate ineffective marketing spend across all profit-and- loss divisions, and create an automated closed-loop system for better measuring marketing execution. Discover how the electronics company used its existing Microsoft Office software technology to create a robust marketing resource management solution and take control of its marketing spend and return on investment.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032473250&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Ecosystem: SharePoint Online ? Developing Solutions for the Cloud (Level 300)

On Demand

Microsoft SharePoint Online moves Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to the cloud. With that move, SharePoint developers are now empowered to build collaboration solutions that run in the cloud using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, Microsoft Silverlight 4, JavaScript, and Workflow using the SharePoint platform they know and love. In this webcast, you learn how SharePoint Online development is the same as developing for SharePoint 2010 and where the key differences lie. When discussing the differences, we cover common solution patterns for developing solutions to work within the differences while still building powerful solutions. We also discuss how to build SharePoint Online solutions using Sandbox Solutions so your code is ready to run in the cloud from the start.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032473277&CountryCode=US

New KB's

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

SharePoint Publishing feature does not support "Save Site as Template" option

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2492356

Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010

"List from Spreadsheet" using SharePoint Designer 2010 throws "An unexpected error has occurred"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2492798

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010

The SharePoint 2010-supported sandboxed environment does not support the export of Web Parts that are developed in that environment

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2393956

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

SharePoint 2010 Ratings Synchronization Timer Job errors in Publishing/Consuming MultiFarm Configuration

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2494058

You cannot render a page of a binary large object file that contains CSS styles in a SharePoint Server 2010 site

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2466049

Event ID 8306 is logged on the SharePoint Server 2010 front-end Web server

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2465996

The values in a multi-valued string property are missing in the EditProfile.aspx page in SharePoint Server 2010

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2456870

The search results page throws an exception when a name in a document metadata column contains "&", "<", or ">" characters in SharePoint Server 2010

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2464368

The search scope is displayed in English instead of the localized language in a SharePoint Server 2010 non-English tenant site

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2464348

The search crawler does not use the crawl target WFEs to crawl the host header site collections when the crawl target feature is enabled in SharePoint Server 2010

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2466018

"Ambiguous attribute flow from multi-value to single" error message on certain user profiles when you perform a full synchronization against AD DS in SharePoint Server 2010

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2458470

Vwa.VwaPage.getPosition returns the same value regardless of the position of the page in the viewport

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2414992

BizTalk

TechNet Webcast: 4th February 2011. Talk TechNet with Keith Combs and Matt Hester ? Episode 4: Dan Rosanova on Biztalk (Level 200)

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032476340&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

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InterfaceLift for webOS makes finding awesome wallpapers easy

If you own a Palm Pre or Pixi and you like to change your wallpaper on a regular basis, InterfaceLift for webOS is a must-have app. It's a slick mobile interface to the uber-popular eye candy site InterfaceLift.com, which boasts thousands of gorgeous background images.

You can browse or search images by creator or tag, or just flip through all the available images sorted by date, downloads, or rating. The app can also access your InterfaceLift favorites. Once you find an image you like, just tap it to go full-screen -- where you can then set it as your wallpaper.

InterfaceLift for webOS is a free download from the App Catalog.

InterfaceLift for webOS makes finding awesome wallpapers easy originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blog Post: Monday at the Lync Server PowerShell blog

In case you haven't stopped by to visit us here at the Lync Server PowerShell blog lately, we just wanted to let you know that we're usually pretty busy Monday mornings. For example, here’s how things went this morning:

 

The Lync Server PowerShell blog writers got into work bright and early (early anyway, maybe not so bright) and sat down to eat donuts. (Hey, first things first.)

 

After making sure they had their energy up, Writer A (we’ll call him “Greg”) and Writer B (we’ll call her “Writer B”) then went straight to work. “On what?” you ask. (We know, you didn’t ask, but we’re sure you were just being polite.) They went to work on the weekly One of These Things is Not Like the Others Challenge.

 

Don’t be shy, go ahead and ask: “What does that involve?” Well, it involves things like, oh, actually writing up a new Challenge; looking through the Challenge entries from the past week and updating the Challenge Scores; writing updates for the Un-Blog Home Page, the Challenge Home Page, and the Challenge Archive; and, last but not least, writing the Challenge Answer.

 

When all that’s done they can sit back and relax…

 

Oops, hang on. Now we have to write the Daily Haiku

 

And so it goes. Now, was this story written to impress you with how busy we are every Monday morning? No. (We know this is a tough crowd.) What we really want you to know is that every Monday morning this is what you’ll find here:

 

Daily Haiku (this is actually here every day, thus the “Daily” part of “Daily Haiku”)

New Weekly Challenge

Answer to Last Week’s Challenge

 

So if you haven’t been stopping by at least once a week (and in the case of the haiku, at least once per day) you’re missing out. (Can you believe you’ve been missing something every single day? Maybe that’s what that eerie feeling is you’ve been experiencing.)

 

And yes, there’s even more here than haikus and challenges. But if you show up for those you’ll also see all the new scripts and articles we have for you. See, even more reason to stop by.

 

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How to share files using a homegroup on Windows 7

This week we're running a series of posts that tackle common Windows networking issues, and some tips and tricks that might speed up or improve your network stability. You can find more tech tips in our Tips index.

One slick new feature Windows 7 introduced was the homegroup, a simple yet powerful way to share files and printers among users on your home network. If you created a homegroup during the Windows 7 setup process, you can simply right click any folder and choose share with and then grant read-only access (which lets other view and play files) or read-write access (which lets them edit, delete, and add new files).

If you haven't created a homegroup already, it's easy enough to do. Before you start, head to the Network and Sharing Center (hit the Windows key, type sharing, then hit enter). Beneath your active networks, check your current network type. If it's not Home network, click the text (which should say Work or Public) to switch. Only computers on a Home network can join a homegroup -- makes sense, right?

Once you make this change, Windows will search your network for an existing group and ask you to join if it finds one. If not, you'll be asked to create a new one. Choose what kinds of files you want to share, and make sure you jot down the random password Windows creates -- or set your own, more-memorable password.

On your other computers, you only need to join your homegroup. Click the Windows key and type homegroup, then press enter. Windows will detect your homegroup, and you can click the Join now button to connect. Set your sharing options and click next, then enter your password. Now you can right-click and share folders on your other computers as well!

Can't remember your homegroup password? Open the homegroup screen on your other computer(s) and click the link at the bottom of the window to view or print the homegroup password. Once you've entered it on the new system, Windows will begin scanning your network for homegroup-accessible libraries, folders, and printers.

Continue reading How to share files using a homegroup on Windows 7

How to share files using a homegroup on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We?re Now Watching The ?You? News Network

Back in November, Reuters published an article titled "Twitter co-founder hopes to create news network" where Biz Stone mulled over the idea that Twitter could create a social news firehose based on verticals. While the erroneous headline ended up being debunked by Twitter, some hypothesized that this could work if news organizations were given access to all tweets on a given topic as well as the power to curate the stream.

Back then my colleague MG Siegler said there was clearly something to this idea. MG is right (sigh) namely because it is already happening. Humans are functioning as defacto news aggregators using the publication tools already available. This, while not a novel idea, really hit home in the past two weeks with the two subsequent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

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Egyptians Find New Ways To Get Online

angry tapir writes "Groups like We Rebuild have scrambled to keep Egypt connected to the outside world, turning to landline telephones, fax machines and even ham radio to keep information flowing in and out of the country. Although one Internet service provider — Noor Group — remains in operation, Egypt's government abruptly ordered the rest of the country's ISPs to shut down their services just after midnight local time Thursday. Mobile networks have also been turned off in some areas."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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Blog Post: Avanade, partenaire platinum des Microsoft TechDays 2011

Logo Avanade

A propos d?Avanade

Soci�t� de conseil en informatique d�di�e � la plateforme Microsoft, Avanade aide les entreprises � augmenter leurs revenus, � r�duire leurs co�ts et � r�investir dans l?innovation afin de les rendre plus concurrentielles.

Les consultants Avanade d�veloppent des solutions et apportent des r�ponses aux besoins de leurs clients, tant en termes de qualit�, de d�lai, que de budget. Pour mener � bien ces missions, ils combinent innovation et efficacit�. Avanade, dont l?actionnaire majoritaire est Accenture, fut fond�e en 2000 par Accenture et Microsoft Corp., Avanade compte d�sormais plus de 9 100 personnes au service de clients r�partis dans 20 pays du monde.

Consulter le site Internet

Avanade aux TechDays 2011 :

Windows Phone 7 sync application sur Azure � : cr�ation d?une application WP7 avec support d'un mode offline en utilisant le Sync framework et un stockage Azure (le mardi 8 f�vrier de 11h � 12h), � Elastic Datacenter � vision du Datacenter Elastique d'Avanade, entre cloud priv� et cloud public, int�grant la gestion unifi�e du service infrastructure ou applicatif, ainsi que la refacturation (le mercredi 9 f�vrier de 11h � 12h), � L'Application Lifecycle Management avec Visual Studio 2010� :  fonctionnalit�s essentielles de la nouvelle version de la plateforme ALM bas�e sur Team Foundation Server 2010 et Visual Studio 2010 (mardi 8 f�vrier de 14h30 � 15h30), � Architecture voix et planification de la Haute Disponibilit� avec Lync Server 2010   l'offre de Survivable Branch Appliance pour la r�silience des agences (branch office), les nouvelles fonctionnalit�s de bascule multi-site et les architectures intra-site permettant d'assurer la haute disponibilit� de la solution ( jeudi 10 f�vrier 14h30 � 15h30).

Antoine Emond

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A few more details on Sprint's new 'premium data add-on'

Sprint premium data

Not too much new here, but Sprint's giving its employees a few more instructions regarding the upcoming $10 increase to all smartphone plans. The main thing to take out of this is that if you're currently under contract, the tax "premium data add-on" won't go into effect just yet. But you will be subject to it if you:

  • Swap to another smartphone
  • Upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone
  • Add a new line with a smartphone
  • Reactivate a smartphone

Sprint considers Android, Palm, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile to be smartphones, of course, along with its Samsung Instinct line.

Nobody likes seeing rate increases, of course. But if that's what Sprint has to do to keep the lights on, then so be it. But we'd rather Sprint swallow the pill and price its "Simply Everything" plan at $110, and not continue to artificially advertise it at $99 instead, with the "Premium data add-on" hiding the real cost. Thanks, Lovo!

A few more details on Sprint's new 'premium data add-on' posted originally by Android Central

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90% of Y Combinator Startups Have Already Accepted The $150k Start Fund Offer

Late last night the 43 startups in the most recent Y Combinator class got quite a surprise. Start Fund, a new fund created by DST's Yuri Milner as an individual and SV Angel, offered each of the companies a $150,000 investment in the form of a convertible note with no cap and no discount. Most of these companies are still in stealth mode, and Start Fund hasn't seen them. They made the offer based on the Y Combinator stamp of approval. The startups are jumping on board. 36 of the 43 startups in the class had signed the paperwork to take the loan before the event was even over last night, says David Lee, a managing partner at SV Angel who's also managing the Start Fund. "As of 3 pm today we've received 39 confirmed signature pages, and we believe the rest are awaiting approval from their attorneys."

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Team Lidstrom defeates Team Staal, 11-10, in the NHL All-Star Game. Chicago's Patrick Sharp took home MVP honors wit...

Team Lidstrom defeates Team Staal, 11-10, in the NHL All-Star Game. Chicago's Patrick Sharp took home MVP honors with a goal and two assists. Lidstrom was +7.

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Google To Give A Better Taste Of Honeycomb Next Week At Press Event And On YouTube

About an hour ago, Ina Fried over at Mobilized posted that Google would be hosting an event next week to show off the latest version of Android, codenamed "Honeycomb" a bit more. Sure enough, an invite has just landed in our inbox. The invite reads:

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Sunday, January 30, 2011

How to pin documents directly to the Windows 7 taskbar

You may have tried to pin a document or file you work on frequently to your Windows 7 taskbar, only to learn that it's too smart for that. Instead, you wind up with a pinned item for the program associated with the file's type, with your file pinned to the jump list. After reading a writeup at Lifehacker earlier today, I couldn't help thinking there was an easier solution than what they proposed -- which requires setting up a task using the Windows Scheduler. As it turns out, there is a much simpler way.

First, locate your file -- mine is C:\Users\Server\Desktop\foo.txt. Next, right click on your desktop and New > Shortcut. In the target, specify the program you want to execute and its path in quotes -- "C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe". Add a space, and input the location of your file (again enclosed in quotes). The full target looks like this:
"C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe" "C:\Users\Server\Desktop\foo.txt"
Now, give your shortcut a name -- this text will appear when you hover over your pinned taskbar icon. Before pinning, you can also right-click and choose properties if you'd like to choose a different icon for your shortcut. Once you're all done, left-click and drag the shortcut to the taskbar. That's it!

I've used notepad for this example and tested with Paint and Paint.NET, but this will work for other files and programs as well. As long as you know the path to your file and the program you want it to open in, you should have no problem pinning items to your taskbar.

How to pin documents directly to the Windows 7 taskbar originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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InterfaceLift for webOS makes finding awesome wallpapers easy

If you own a Palm Pre or Pixi and you like to change your wallpaper on a regular basis, InterfaceLift for webOS is a must-have app. It's a slick mobile interface to the uber-popular eye candy site InterfaceLift.com, which boasts thousands of gorgeous background images.

You can browse or search images by creator or tag, or just flip through all the available images sorted by date, downloads, or rating. The app can also access your InterfaceLift favorites. Once you find an image you like, just tap it to go full-screen -- where you can then set it as your wallpaper.

InterfaceLift for webOS is a free download from the App Catalog.

InterfaceLift for webOS makes finding awesome wallpapers easy originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Run Android 2.3 Gingerbread on your x86 computer

Sure, Android is designed to run on ARM devices, but that doesn't mean it can't run on an x86 system. Older versions of Android were ported, so it's no surprise to see that an enterprising developer has managed to put together a working version of Gingerbread which you can install on your desktop or laptop.

You'll need a 64-bit build environment and the Java 1.6 to get the ball rolling, and you shouldn't expect all your hardware to work. At the moment, only wireless and audio are working -- but that's certainly enough to let you play around with Gingerbread and enjoy the experience a little. Head on over to developer cwhuang's site [machine translated] for more details, as well as the Git repo link you'll need to pull down his Gingerbread x86 code.

Run Android 2.3 Gingerbread on your x86 computer originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and News Corp. announce February 2 event to unveil The Daily

Apple and News Corp. sent out invitations to a February 2 event to unveil The Daily. The press event will include News Corps. Chairman & CEO Rupert Murdoch and Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of Internet Services. The duo are expected to provide all the juicy details on the iPad-based newspaper and confirm the product's 99-cent weekly pricing.

Attendees may also get a close-up look at the first application to use Apple's subscription-based pricing and new delivery mechanism, which sends content to your iOS device on a regular interval. Both of these features are expected to debut in the next version of iOS.

Apple and News Corp. announce February 2 event to unveil The Daily originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blog Post: BING SNOWBOARD SWEEPSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES

BING SNOWBOARD SWEEPSTAKES

OFFICIAL RULES

 

 

Give your best guess to our daily question and enter to win a Bing snowboard.

 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

 

COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:

These are the official rules that govern how the Bing snowboard sweepstakes promotion will operate.  This promotion will be simply referred to as the “Sweepstakes” throughout the rest of these rules. 

In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of the Sweepstakes. “You” refers to an eligible Sweepstakes entrant. 

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

 

This Sweepstakes starts at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) on 1/24, and ends at 9:00 p.m. PT on 1/28 2011 (“Entry Period”).  The Entry Period consists of five separate Daily Prize Periods.  Entries must be received within each Daily Prize Period, 8:00 a.m. PT – 9:00 p.m. PT, to be eligible for each drawing.

CAN I ENTER?

 

You are eligible to enter this Sweepstakes if you meet the following requirements at time of entry:

 

·         You are a legal resident of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, and are 18 years of age or older.

 

o   If you are 18 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Sweepstakes; and

 

·         You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary.

 

·         You are NOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Sweepstakes; and

 

·         You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Sweepstakes.

 

This Sweepstakes is void outside of the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.

 

HOW DO I ENTER?

 

To enter, you must do all of the following:

 

Sign in to your Twitter account. If you do not have an account, visit www.twitter.com to create one. Twitter accounts are free.  Once logged into your Twitter account, follow the links and instructions to become a follower of Bing at http://twitter.com/Bing.  Each day a different film-related question will be posted on http://twitter.com/Bing.  You have until the end of each Daily Prize Period to tweet from your own account with an answer to our daily question to @Bing.

 

Your Tweet must include the “hashtag” #Decisions and include a mention of @Bing to be eligible for entry.

 

So for example, if the daily question is  Which actor do you think will have a comeback year in 2011?   "Kevin Costner. @Bing #Decisions” would be an eligible Tweet.   All terms and conditions of Twitter.com apply.

 

By posting this tweet, you will automatically receive one (1) entry into the Daily Prize Period in which it was received.   Non-winning entries will not be carried over into subsequent Daily Prize Periods.  You must enter each day.   You must remain a follower until Feb. 11, 2011 to be contacted if you win.

We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

·         Any incomplete or illegible entry; and

·         Any entries that we receive from you that are in excess of the entry limit described above.

·         Any entry that contains profanity and/or is deemed defamatory

 

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Twitter. We will contact you only to inform you that you are a potential winner.

 

WINNER SELECTION AND PRIZES

 

On or around the close of the Entry Period, we will randomly select one (1) winner from among all eligible entries received for each Daily Prize Period, for a total of five (5) winners. 

 

Each winner will receive a Bing  branded Sentury Snowboard.  Winner will receive their choice of model:

M Corporate; F Jealously.  Approximate Retail Value (ARV $300.00).   Snowboards will be provided (as available) in size requested by winner.

 

A random drawing will occur on or around the close of the Entry Period.  If you are a potential winner, we will notify you via Direct Message on Twitter to the account provided at time of entry within seven (7) days following the random drawing.  You must remain a follower until Feb. 11, 2011 to be contacted if you win.

If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason within 5 business days of the drawing, we may award the prize to an alternate, randomly selected winner.  Winners will be required to provide an active email address in order to be contacted by Microsoft for prizing notification.

We will only award one (1) prize per person during the Entry Period. If you have won or been gifted a Bing Snowboard in a Bing Snowboard promotion within the last 6 months, you are not eligible to win this Sweepstakes. 

If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the account used to enter the Sweepstakes. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification.  If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf.  If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select an alternate, randomly selected winner.

If you are confirmed as a winner of this Sweepstakes:

 

  • You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services.  However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and

 

  • You may not designate someone else as the winner.  If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we will award it to an alternate potential winner; and

 

  • If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and

 

  • If you are otherwise eligible for this Sweepstakes, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and

 

  • Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions. 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING?

 

Your odds of winning this Sweepstakes depend on the number of eligible entries we receive.

 

WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS ARE YOU AGREEING TO BY ENTERING THIS SWEEPSTAKES?

 

By entering this Sweepstakes you agree:

 

·         To abide by these Official Rules; and

 

·         To release and hold harmless Microsoft, and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Sweepstakes or any prize won; and

 

·         That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Sweepstakes; and

 

·         That by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Sweepstakes, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.

 

WHAT LAWS GOVERN THE WAY THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?

This Sweepstakes will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Sweepstakes.  

WHAT IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE SWEEPSTAKES CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?

If cheating, a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Sweepstakes, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Sweepstakes.  This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Sweepstakes, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Sweepstakes.

 

If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Sweepstakes by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Sweepstakes, so please play fairly.

 

WHO WON?

 

Winners will be posted online at www.bing.com/community for approximately 30 days following winner(s) confirmation. 

 

WHO IS SPONSORING THIS SWEEPSTAKES?

 

Microsoft  Corporation

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052

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