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In this issue:

• It's Issue 10... Wow.. the big 10 !
• GPanswers.com Growth Spurt
• Moskowitz, inc. Technology Takeaway®
  • Three juicy tips and tricks
• Upcoming conferences, appearances, and classes
• Get a signed copy of Group Policy, Profiles and IntelliMirror
• Subscribe, unsubscribe, and usage information

Moskowitz, inc. and www.GPanswers.com -- Issue 10

I love it when new people come to my class and they say ..."I think I'm on your newsletter list, but I've never seen one."

Well, the idea is that this newsletter comes out "Whenever I feel like it."

And I feel like it again!

As always, you can forward this newsletter to your friends -- but please do so in one whole piece (please don't just cut and paste).

GPanswers.com Growth Spurt

Here's a little collection of updates and facts about GPanswers.com:

• We have 606 Community Forum Members
• We have 1,966 newsletter recipients
• We have seven sponsors and freeware vendors in the Group Policy Solutions Guide. There's more tools than ever in the "GP Solutions Guide." So, be sure to click on the GP Solutions Guide off the main page to check it out!
• I now have a "Jeremy's GP Resources" section of the website. It's a collection of all articles I've ever published on Group Policy and related bits.
• I've installed Google Adsense in the forum. Before you throw rotten eggs, and think I sold out to "The Man" this turns out to be a huge benefit. Adsense is sometimes smart enough to actually advertise solutions to problems people are actually having. So, please view this as a service while inside the forums. If you end up hating this, do let me know. (Though I do think it looks pretty unobtrusive.)
• New "SUGGEST YOUR OWN CITY" service. Simply click on the workshop page, find the link to SUGGEST YOUR OWN CITY. Or, go directly to www.GPanswers.com/suggest Once we get 5-7 interested people in the same city, we've got a class! This is still in beta, but hopefully will help us all out !
  
   

Technology Takeaway (r), a service of Moskowitz, inc.

Here's what's on people's minds recently...

Three juicy tips and tricks

TIP 1

Q. Can I disable the Startup Splash Screen in Adobe Acrobat Reader 7?

A. Yes you can. We've just added a custom adm file in our Tips section at GPAnswers.com. Thanks to Dan Thomson and Neil Toepfer for your help and support.

TIP 2

Q. I just added a custom ADM file (from GPanswers.com or from elsewhere), but I when I edit the GPO, I can't actually *SEE* any of the settings. What's going on?

A. Chances are the ADM settings are _Preferences_ not _Policies_. You will know this for sure if the icon before the setting has a red dot on it, and not a blue dot. In the Group Policy Object Editor you need to click the view menu, and choose Filtering. In the Filteringdialog box, you'll need to clear the last checkbox, which says Only show policy settings that can be full managed. And there you go! Your settings automagically appear!

Unfortunately the filtering setting is not saved when you close out the Group Policy Object Editor, so you need to un-select it every time.

If anyone has figured out a way around this, please let Ron, our tip guy know !

TIP 3

Q. Can I copy the settings from a GPO to another GPO? (From our FAQ)

A. The easiest way to do this is to make a copy of the original GPO, and rename it. Then you will have a new GPO with all of the settings of the original. To do this, open the GPMC and drill down to the Group Policy Objects node. Right-click over the GPO you want to use, and select Copy. Then, immediately select Paste. It will create a new GPO named "Copy of {oldname}". Simply rename it what you wish, and you're in business!

Upcoming Conferences, Appearances, and Classes

On www.moskowitz-inc.com (or www.GPanswers.com)

I have a neat-o calendar that I'm always updating with any public (and private) appearances.

So, check it out any time for up-to-date information!  

Not free... but worth it! Upcoming classes!

I'd love to see you in one of the two-dayGroup Policy intensive training and workshop classes. These two-day classes get you up to speed, working with Group Policy, Security settings, ADM templates, and just about all you need to know to hit the ground running -- Fast!

Or ... if you think you might want your own in-house training of the course (with all the personalizedattention that affords), I'd love to join you on-site!If you have even a handful of in-house people interested in the training, the course pays for itself (as you don't need to ship people offsite!). I'll even travel overseas to the U.K., other parts of Europe, or Japan -- or wherever! Have passport, will travel!

Again, while the training course isn't officially _endorsed_ by Microsoft, the class does the have distinction of being a suggested avenue for intense Group Policy training by members of the Group Policy team at Microsoft.

At the MMS 2004 and TechEd 2004 conferences, Mark Williams from the Group Policy team encouraged the throngs of attendees to check out the new Group Policy book and the training!In fact, he dedicated a whole slide to the book, the training,and GPanswers.com for each of his sessions!

Wow! Thanks again, Microsoft!

How do attendees feel about the class? Here are some of my favorite feedback comments:

• "Fantastic Presentation !"
• "Can't wait to go back to share the wealth !"
• "Would recommend to other IT people in my company."
• "I had a foot in the GPO door, and now I can hold it open."
• "Easily the best training about AD I've had in the last 5 years !!"

And my favorite of pack is from Joey P, who works for a major retailer writes:

"If you have folks that are even going to SNIFF Active Directory, they *MUST* take this class!"

I don't really know what Joey means, but I'll take it as a compliment.

Thanks, Joey -- and to ALL my students !

For a public class, sign up online.
For a private class, just contact me at [email protected] or call me at 302-351-8408 (note the new phone number.)  

Get a signed copy of Group Policy, Profiles and IntelliMirror for Windows 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000

We've had dozens of people order books directly from GPanswers.com. If you'd like a copy, it's easy to order, and I'll sign the book to you, free!

Please note that I'm not set up to accept credit cards directly; however, you can enjoy the security of ordering through your PayPal account (and they take credit cards, including AMEX just fine.) Thanks for understanding!

Order your signed copy today by clicking here.

Oh, and if you own the book, and want to say nice things on Amazon, please do so! That would be great. Thanks! You can do so here.

HIDDEN EASTER EGG PART OF THE NEWSLETTER

You made it to the end of the newsletter... So, goodies await you!

WS03/SP1 Blocker Tool Available

In the same way that XP/SP2 could be blocked from Automatic Updates, so too can WS03/SP1. If you want to roll out WS03/SP1 on YOUR SCHEDULE, and not automatically accept it via Automatic Updates, I highly suggest you read this FAQ. The link to download the actual tool is found in the little gray box on the page on the right.

Another Group Policy Perspective

My pal Mark Russinovich had an interesting thought or two on Group Policy recently. A very interesting read..It echoes a similar statement I make all the time..if your users are local administrators, you could be in for a world of hurt.  

Subscribe and Unsubscribe Information

• subscribe to this newsletter
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How did you get this newsletter? It's very likely you got it because you handed me (Jeremy Moskowitz) a business card at an event at some kind. And, consequently, I signed you up for my newsletter.

Or, possibly, you've received this message as a forward from a friend, or are reading it online in the archives, you can sign up for your own newsletter subscription.

Also, if you want to unsubscribe, you can do that too (but we'll be sad to see you go).

For all Subscription and Unsubscription information, we have a one-stop-shop page at the following address: https://www.gpanswers.com/newsletter

.If you need personalized attention in any way, just email me: [email protected] I endeavor to respond to everyone who emails.

Thanks for reading!

Jeremy Moskowitz
Author, Instructor, Infrastructure Architect
Moskowitz, inc.
[email protected]
Learn more about Group Policy at GPanswers.com !