Maher K. Al-Jendasi aka ArcadianPassion

Problem

When you try to connect to a Windows Server 2003 box using Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc), you get an error message that you can not connect; because the number of connection exceeded the limits.

The number of available connection sessions through Remote Desktop Connection are limited to two (active or disconnected), and inorder to connect an empty session must be available to you. One of the mistakes is to exist the Remote Desktop Connection tool by clicking the X at the top right corner; this will disconnect the session, however it will not terminate it. So be sure to exit the RDC by using the log off command.

Solution

Run the Remote Desktop Connection tool with the /console switch. This will allow you to connect to Session 0 (Console). Please note that the documentation incorrectly state that you can use the /console switch with Windows Server 2000 boxes, this is incorrect and it's only valid with Windows 2003 Server boxes (KB#311926).

Example: mstsc /console

Typically after you login using the /console switch, you would terminate the idle sessions, you can do this using the Terminal Services Manager.

Our company Safat Enterprise Solution (http://www.safates.com) have several job openings for .NET professionals:

.NET Senior Software Developer (Ref# Dev-NET-SSD-01)

• 4 years experience in Microsoft .NET Platform (v1.1, v2.0, v3.0 is plus).
• Experience implementing business solutions using one or more .NET Servers (BizTalk 2004 or later, SharePoint Portal 2003 or later and Commerce Server).
• Experience on SQL Server 2000 or later.
• MCP is a must.
• Exposure to code analysis, unit testing, test-driven, code profiler tools is advantage

.NET Software Developer (Ref# Dev-NET-SD-01)

• 2 years experience in Microsoft .NET Platform (v1.1, v2.0).
• Experience in SQL Server 2000 or later.
• Very good in implementing UI.
• Experience in one or more of the .NET Server (BizTalk 2004 or later, SharePoint Portal 2003 or later and Commerce Server) is a definite plus.
• MCP is a plus.

All Candidates must have:

• Bachelor degree in Computer Science or Computer Information Systems or Computer related field.
• HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript  and related standards.
• Hands-on experience in Object-Oriented Analysis and Design.
• Knowledge in UML/Design Patterns.
• Understanding Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Must be a team player, result-oriented and thinking out-of-the-box.
• Certificate related to the position applied is a plus.
• Very good English (Read/Write/Spoke).

The successful applicants will have a great opportunity to join a well established company working with high profile clients.

To apply please send your updated resume to: DOTNET @ SAFATES.(REMOVE-THIS).COM. Quote job reference number in the subject line.

On a white paper entitled (Which database is more secure? Oracle vs. Microsoft) published on November 21, 2006, security researcher David Litchfield of NGS Software compare the security holes targeting two RDBMSs: Oracle (v8, v9 and v10) and Microsoft SQL Server (7, 2000 and 2005). The comparison based on externally reported flows.

The report shows that Microsoft has patched 59 security hole in its SQL Server 7, 2000, and 2005 during the period from 2000 to 2006, while Oracle has patched 233 security hole in its Oracle 8, 0 and 10 on the same period.

You can download and read the details in the whitepaper, or in NGS Software site

When you upgrade your site to use the ASP.NET AJAX Beta 2, you must add a new HttpHandler in the web.config file. Under the <httpHandler> element in the web.config, add the following handler:

<add verb="GET" 
  path="ScriptResource.axd" 
  type="Microsoft.Web.Handlers.ScriptResourceHandler" 
  validate="false"/>

Otherwise you may receive 'Sys' is undefined error message

I have upgraded an Ajax-enabled ASP.NET site that I'm working on to use the latest ASP.NET AJAX Extenstion Beta 2. My site use external javascript files that is being registered with the ScriptManager, like:

<asp:ScriptManager runat="server" ID="ScriptManager1">
    <Scripts>
        <asp:ScriptReference Path="~/scripts/script_file1.js" />
        <asp:ScriptReference Path="~/scripts/script_file2.js" />
    </Scripts>
</asp:ScriptManager>

After upgrading to Beta 2, any functionality that needs to use functions inside those files, was giving errors?!

After reading the "Changes between the ASP.NET AJAX (“Atlas”) CTP and the Beta 2 and RTM Releases", I come to know that every external Javascript files that being referenced from ScriptManager must have a call to Sys.Application.notifyScriptLoader; this will notify the Sys.Application that the script files has been downloaded to the client computer, so for each external .js file add the following snippet:

if(typeof(Sys) !== "undefined")
  Sys.Application.notifyScriptLoaded();

Another solution that Alessandro Gallo has blog it is to add the following snippet to the end of each .js file:

if(Sys && Sys.Application) {     
    Sys.Application.notifyScriptLoaded();
}

To promote it's upcoming device ZUNE, Microsoft has released a new theme for Windows XP.

The new theme is black theme, and ships with two wallpapers, normal one and widescreen wallapaper.

You can download the new theme from here

Source: Windows Vista Team Blog

Please, click on the images to get the full size version, even if it says "The Photo is Currently Unavailable"

Windows Vista Home Basic

Windows Vista Home Premium

Windows Vista Business

Windows Vista Ultimate

Office 2007 System - Home and Student

Office 2007 System - Professional

Windows Live Mail have been updated for selected users to M8. Some of the new features in this release:

• Improved UI: New icons and polished interface.
• Tooltips: Tooltips to guide users of the UI features. Tooltips can be turned on and off.
• New contact import wizard.
• Users now can use up to five alternate email addresses to send email using them. The recipient will see the following information “From: your_original_email on behalf of your_alternate_email.”. This feature can be accessed from the From combo of the compose new email screen. When you add an alternate email address, you must first verify that you own this email (By following the instructions on the Verification Email that is sent to that email) before you can use it to send email.
• Improved Email Signature: You can now create formatted email signatures, for example by applying various styles and colors.

 Users can also preview the M8 release http://by117w.bay117.mail.live.com.

Here are some screenshots:

Windows Vista release candidate 2, Build 5744, available now for download, in both 32-bit and 64-bit. The new build can be downloaded from http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm

The download size 2.49GB (2552.57MB) for 32-bit edition and 3.52GB (3609.21MB) for 64-bit edition.