Top News Stories
Microsoft Not Sure If SaaS Will Cut Piracy (ChannelWeb)
Microsoft has been increasing its efforts to battle software piracy using lawsuits and educational programs to bring more illegal users into the light. But as Microsoft moves toward delivering more applications as services, its anti-piracy tactics will also have to change, according to solution providers.

Create Custom Global Search Scopes in Microsoft SharePoint 2007 (SearchWinIT)
Custom global search scopes in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) allow more granular search results. Discover how to create custom global search scopes to enhance SharePoint 2007′s enterprise search functionality. You’ll also learn how to target searches to specific SharePoint content sources including Exchange public folders.

Next-Gen Office Standard Approved (Mobilitysite)
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has given Microsoft permission to publish the Office Open XML (OOXML) specification. Appeals against accepting OOXML as an international standard from four countries (Brazil, India, South Africa, and Venezuela) were rejected.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 Backup and Disaster Recovery Tutorial (SearchWinIT)
In this excerpt from “Essential SharePoint 2007,” authors Scott Jamison, Mauro Cardarelli, and Susan Hanley teach you how to prepare a thorough Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) disaster recovery operations document and best practices for its management and execution. They also explain changes that have been made to the SharePoint backup tool and show how to use MOSS 2007′s backup and restore features.

Open Office vs. MS Office – The Other Key to Windows/Linux Transition (ZDNet)
As I have been going around alternately prodding my friends and family to try Linux, or asking them if they thought it would be possible, one thing I have heard repeatedly is that a lot of people use Microsoft Office and are concerned about their Office documents on Linux. I should also mention that a lot of them are very angry that Microsoft has changed the default document format in Office 2007 (again), such that it is incompatible with previous Office versions.

Is Cloud Computing Right For You? (iTV)
With cloud computing receiving so much attention it makes you wonder that if cloud computing delivers so much why wouldn’t companies immediately jump on the cloud computing bandwagon? Well like several IT trends in the past, cloud computing too is evolving and (re)shaping every minute. Some of the challenges that an organization could face if they move to a cloud computing model include:

Around the Blogosphere
MOSS Now Supported on SQL 2008 (CodeJedi)
The SharePoint Team have announced that SharePoint is now officially supported running on SQL Server 2008 (http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/08/15/sql-server-2008-support-for-sharepoint-products-and-technologies.aspx).

August SharePoint Case Studies! (Michael Gannotti on SharePoint +)
Grab ‘em while they’re hot! (MTV Networks, Bank of America, McCann Erickson, St Jude Medical, Portuguese Futbol League, Brinks Home Security, Net IQ, Tupperware, Swisscom, Coop).

Whitepaper: Increasing SharePoint Engagement (Thor Projects)
Whether you were hearing voices in your head saying “Build it and they will come” or you simply had to find a replacement for your languishing Internet, more often than not once you get the SharePoint® platform in place you’ll find pockets of the organization where it seems like everyone is using SharePoint for everything – even things they shouldn’t — and other pockets of the organization where SharePoint is seen as some sort of contagious disease.

SQL Server 2008 Support for SharePoint Products and Technologies (Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog)
You may already be aware of the recent RTM announcement of SQL Server 2008. We are happy to announce that Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 & Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 now support SQL Server 2008. Our documentation has been updated to include support for SQL Server 2008. Please refer to:

Plugging Web Controls Into The Property Grid (Microsoft SharePoint Designer Team Blog)
When creating or modifying a web page, one of the handy new features in SharePoint Designer 2007 is the Tag Properties task pane. It not only shows you the values for properties you have set, it shows you the other available properties and for certain types, the other available values.

Press Releases
ISG Solutions Releases ISGweb Version 2.1; Deepens Integration between iMIS and SharePoint (MarketWatch)
ISG Solutions announced the release of version 2.1 of ISGweb for iMIS, its suite of data-driven web modules for associations. The new version includes four new modules that significantly extend the integration between the iMIS association management software and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS 2007), making it possible to view and update information in iMIS directly from SharePoint.

SharePoint Events
August 19, Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville SharePoint Users Group
August 19, Adelaide, Australia, Adelaide SharePoint Usergroup
August 19, Perth, Australia, Perth SharePoint Users Group
August 19, Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas, DFW SharePoint community
August 19, Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee SPEED
August 20, Houston, Texas, Houston’s SharePoint User Group
August 20, Iselin, New Jersey, NJ SharePoint User Group
August 20, Indianapolis, Indiana, SharePoint Users of Indiana
August 20, Jordan, Jordan SharePoint User Group
August 21, Columbus, Ohio, COSPUG Meeting
August 21, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty User Group
August 21, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore SharePoint Users Group
August 21, Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky Sharepoint Users Group
August 25-29, Sydney, Australia, SharePoint August Training Summit
August 26, San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio SharePoint User Group
August 26, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Office Geeks Association
August 26, Christchurch, New Zealand, Christchurch SharePoint User Group
August 26, Sydney Australia, Sydney SharePoint User Group
August 27, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland SharePoint User Group
August 27, Melbourne, Australia, MOSSIG
August 27, Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington SharePoint User Group
August 28, Phoenix, Arizona, Arizona SharePoint Pros
August 28, Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland SharePoint User Group

September 1-3, Auckland City, New Zealand, TechEd New Zealand
September 2, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Microsoft SharePoint Business Strategies Group
September 3-5, San Francisco, California, Office2.0 Conference
September 4, Washington, DC, Federal & Military SharePoint Users Group of Washington D.C.
September 4, Kansas City, Office Developer User Group of Kansas City
September 8-9, Stockholm, Sweden, SharePoint & Exchange Forum
September 11, San Francisco, California, San Fransico SharePoint Users Group
September 11, Bellevue, WA, Puget Sound SharePoint Users Group
September 12, Brisbane, Australia, Brisbane SharePoint Usergroup
September 15-17, Washington, DC (McLean, Virginia), Best Practices SharePoint Conference
September 20/21, Waltham, Massachusetts, New England Code Camp 10

October 27-30, Los Angeles, California, Microsoft Professional Developers Conference

November 3-7 and 10-14, Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft TechEd
November 10-13, Las Vegas, Nevada, SharePoint Connections Conference

* Please contact Chris Dooley (chris.dooley@bamboosolutions.com) to include your event in our listing.

Microsoft Updates
Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package: June 5, 2008 (KBAlertz)
This article describes the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 issues that are fixed in the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package that is dated June 5, 2008.

MS08-043: Description of the security update for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: August 12, 2008 (KBAlertz)
Microsoft has released security bulletin MS08-043. To view the complete security bulletin, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:

Error message when you try to create a Shared Services Provider (SSP) in Office SharePoint Server 2007: “An error occurred while translating user name “@\User1″ to a Windows account name – (DS_NAME_ERROR_NOT_FOUND)” (KBAlertz)
You have an account whose NetBIOS domain name contains an at sign (@). For example, the account is Domain@Name\User1. You use this account as the service account. If you try to create a Shared Services Provider (SSP) in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you may receive the following error message:

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