Cool Free Apps from Microsoft (April 2010)
SQL Server Express 2008 -- provides the essential SQL database features needed for supporting client applications and building Web sites and apps. It comes in three versions: Express, Express with Tools, and Express with Advanced Services. Based on the same database engine as SQL Server, this is an excellent option for SOHO and development. This is an excellent compliment to Access deployments, AND, it is easy purported to be easy to learn and use.

Paint.NET -- an easy to use image and photo editing program that provides the essential image editing features and even includes layers and special effects, plus it supports a wide range of image formats. 

XML Notepad 2007 -- Are you customizing the Ribbon? Perhaps you’re customizing some web apps. If so, you may find that XML Notepad 2007 fulfills your needs. The UI is a tree view pane on the left that provides a color-coded view of classes, tags, and values. This controls the color coded text editor which opens on the right -- and the colors and choose fonts are customizable. It provides user friendly features such as drag and drop, find and replace, incremental search, instant XML schema validation, a built-in XML Diff tool. Check out MSDN for more details and download the free program from

Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition. A powerful, intuitive program for quickly creating Web sites or small applications geared for home users and intermediate-level developers. It’s a remarkable package that provides professional-level features --- your project can range from using basic HTML to advanced ASP.NET pages and even incorporate SQL Server databases. The introductory video gives you a quick tutorial of the main features and some of the most common tasks. Download it and let me know what you think! 

SyncToy 2.0  -- a synchronization tool to help us maintain duplicate copies of files - such as on a laptop, a desktop, network server, and external backup drives. The intuitive UI opens to a screen that prompts you to select a pair of folders which are then designated as the Left Folder and the Right Folder -- talk about user friendly! It offers five synchronization methods, and it can be used as a handy backup tool - you just have to remember to use it!

ZoomIt v4.1 -- a zoom and annotation tool that can be customized to work with YOUR style of doing presentations and working with applications. And, it works with all versions Windows. To learn more or download the files

 Paste as Text -- Free Customizable Tool (April  2010)
PureText, developed by Steve Miller, removes rich formatting from text, including the font and paragraph formatting. It does not modify the actual text, remove or fix new-lines, carriage returns, tabs, or other white-space. It is not intended to fix word-wrap or clean up your paragraphs. It is an easy tool to install and to use it just switch from CTRL+V to Windows+V.  For more information and the download, please visit http://SteveMiller.net/PureText

Microsoft Releases Free SCCM Dashboard (April  2010)
If you use System Center Configuration Manager, you may find a significant benefit in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard, now available as a free download. The graphical UI provides easy access to information, is easily customized, and can present data in numerous formats, including charts, graphs and tables. The filters allow quick drill down from high level summaries to specific details. For more information and to download the file 

Virtualization and Hyper-V --- a “green” light for saving time, SPACE, money and more
This is a collection of links to training, information and other resources related to virtualization.

Ever which you could replicate a desktop or other platform to test before deploying at a client’s? That’s just one of the scenarios that can be quickly and easily be solved using Hyper-V. Once you’ve tried it, you may become a bigger Hyper-V advocate than IT!

Data Encryption on the Fly with TrueCrypt  (April  2010)
Free open-source encryption software that is easy to use to provide real-time, transparent data encryption. To learn more and download the documentation and software, visit TrueCrypt.org.

Microsoft Virtualization Training Portal
You can download the server for free, read the white papers, take some tutorials, and put it to work.
Training and exams on virtualization, even free e-learning options
TechNet Videos and other How To's
Go Green AND Save Money with Virtualization
Learn about saving energy and resources with the Hyper-V “Green” Toolbox
FREE Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008

News books and more about Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions

VIRTUAL HARD DRIVES ...
Microsoft's center for learning, downloads and other resources related to VHD
WINDOWS SERVER 2008 R2
Learn about the features, power, BENEFITS and system requirements. Get the FREE downloads!

Windows 7 --- Learn, Use, Download, Resources
Fast, Simple, Powerful --- an intuitive operating system may sound too good to be true. You owe it to yourself to learn more. This may become your starting point to find all the resources you need to learn, compare, and get ready to install.

SQL Server 2008 SP1

Windows OneCare
All-in-one protection available 24/7. Now that's a package. The system includes protection from viruses and spyware, as well as a firewall, back-up and recovery, system maintenance and performance enhancements. Download a 90 day free trial from Microsoft or purchase locally.

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007
Learn about VPC, watch the demos, download the files. Get Virtual Hard Disks with preconfigured software.

Free Ebook -  First Look Microsoft Office 2010 (Feb 2010)
14 chapters that introduce some of the new features and benefits of Office 2010. Available in PDF and XPS formats.

Oregon SQL Developers Professional Association
The Oregon SQL Developers (OSQL-d) Professional Association provides opportunities for SQL Server developers, .NET developers, and SQL Server administrators to meet and discuss SQL Server technologies that are of specific interest for developers. Visit their website to learn more.

Regular Expressions  ... parse and manipulate text
Regular expressions help you find a character or pattern and then perform a function. You can use it to edit, replace, extract, or build a string. You can even vary the function based on the value. Microsoft has provided a series of free webcasts view webcasts You might also want to visit RegExLib.com, a site with over 2,200 expressions.

Bumper Cars or Homebound??     Seattle 2008/2009
Training for winter driving conditions could not equip drivers to maintain control of vehicles on streets of ice.  True to my reputation for being conservative <g>, my car stayed parked for 8 days  ...  (save me ...save me, she cried ...)
Seattle chose to use RUBBER BLADES on snow plows and to NOT use salt to melt the ice. This video is just one example of the results -- as shown on King 5 news. It's like using cars in a combination of bowling, curling and pool.

Top 10 Reasons to use Access WITH Excel (July 2008)
This article explains how to have the best of both worlds and includes demo files and scenarios that make it real in YOUR world.

What's so great about Office Excel PivotTable reports? (August 2008)
Learn about the powerful Microsoft Office Excel 2003 PivotTable(r) feature, which organizes, summarizes, and analyzes your data to reveal its meanings.

SQL Server 2008 Today Trial Software
Download a free, fully functional 180-day trial version of SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack today. To help make the most of your evaluation, you will receive five e-mails during your evaluation period that, depending on which download option you select, contain resources specifically designed for IT professionals and developers. Before downloading and installing SQL Server 2008 be sure to use the link to evaluate the system requirements – avoid undue complications with your configuration.     

Download SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack
The SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack is a separate download from SQL Server software. This collection of stand-alone install packages is designed to provide additional licensed functionality for SQL Server 2008. It contains 17 new redistributable and backward compatibility components and add-on providers.

Browsing with More of What you Want and Need
Internet Explorer 8 offers better protection, connects to more services, and gives you more options and control. See how IE 8 can improve your experience.

Run IT on a Virtual Hard Disk
Using the power of virtualization, you can now quickly evaluate Microsoft and partner solutions through a series of pre-configured Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs). The Microsoft Virtual Software experience gives you full access to a number of server products on a pre-configured virtual machine. You can download the VHDs and evaluate them for free in your own environment without the need for dedicated servers or complex installations. Download the application of your choice and start evaluating the software for your environment immediately, for free.  

Windows Live SkyDrive - Online File Storage
Microsoft is now offering 5 GB of FREE, password protected, online file storage! Store your photos and other files so that you can retrieve them from anywhere, share them with friends, or share them with the world. Check out your options at

Windows Live Search
Microsoft has launched a new promotion that enables you to get cash back when you shop online using the Live Search Cashback  site. Simply go to the Live Search Cashback site and search for the products you want. When you purchase one of the Cashback items, you receive an e-mail notification that the purchase has been added to your Cashback total. The total earned is then paid out in cash to you when a minimum balance is reached.

101 Fabulous Freebies (August 2008)
We'd thought we'd throw in something else just for fun. MSN Tech & Gadgets has posted a fun article, listing 101 free finds on the Web right now. Click here to check out the list:

Make a World of Difference with Search and Give (August 2008)
Search and Give is a free and easy way to give back to any cause that is important to you. Whether the organization close to your heart is a local church, school, food bank, wildlife protection group or an organization searching for a cure-your gift is your choice. You can choose from over 800,000 non-profit organizations and 100,000 U.S. public, private, and parochial K-12 schools. The more you search, the more you give.

Here's how it works. Sign up at www.searchandgive.com and then you can start donating one cent for every search you perform using Windows Live Search. If you've earned tickets playing games on Microsoft's Live Search Club, you can also convert those tickets into donations. Who says playing games doesn't pay?

Product Key – Lost and Found (Sept 2008)
Finally, we have guidance on how to minimize the pain and frustration from loosing a product key. If you’ve lost a produce key in the past, you may have begrudgingly purchased a replacement program. Well, that doesn’t need to be the case, in fact, Microsoft has provided instructions on how to get a replacement key, in KB811224
 
MSDN – Virtual Labs to Test-drive Code samples (Sept 2008)
How many times have you seen a code sample but didn’t try it out because you didn’t have the software configuration or you didn’t want to risk unexpected impact to your system? Now there’s a simple and convenient solution. MSDN provides virtual labs so that you can try out many of the code samples. Better yet, there’s a split window so that people can read the MSDN article in one pane and use a second pane to contain the test environment!

PrimoPDF – The World’s #1 free PDF Creator ... (at least according to them) (Sept 2008)
PrimoPDF offers both a free and professional version that will work with Windows 98 through Windows Vista and can work with over 300 file types. Willie really likes PrimoPDF for client installations because it is remarkably simple and leaves a VERY SMALL footprint. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Recommended by some of our members ;~)

Tips & Tricks – Webcasts and Podcasts from the Experts
Microsoft Webcast Home provides links to valuable resources from the experts. These webcasts and podcasts include great tips, lessons, recommendations and other invaluable tidbits -- and ... it’s FREE!

Access 2003 Solution Center  (July 2008)       
Find the materials and answers that you need for Access 2003. Downloads, articles, tutorials and other reference materials are conveniently listed in an easy to search fashion.

SQL Server, Visual Studio, BizTalk Server