Windows
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Windows
I wanted to take a moment and jot down some of my initial impressions on the announcements coming from the Apple hype machine today at the keynote. Not being able to attend - largely due to it selling out in two hours - made me especially bitter that Apple would not allow the event to be streamed live. Steve said during the keynote that if they sold more tickets he didn't know where they would hold it. Considering it takes place at Moscone West, the smaller of the two centers, try moving it across...
I get this all the time in IE and it really gets frustrating. I see it for inline video using Silverlight in IE. I get the error that I need the most current version of Silverlight to see the video. When I tell it to install Silverlight it tells me the latest version is already installed. Logic loop! Anyone know how to kill this? Feel free to shout out in the comments below. Technorati Tags: IE9,Silverlight,EmbeddedVideo...
Microsoft announced at 1:40pm PST yesterday that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have officially been “Released to Manufacturing” which is to say all the bits have been finalized and signed off on. You can read announcements here, here and here. And, of course, all over the twittersphere. Bits hit TechNet +, volume licensing download sites and MSDN on August the 6th. I can now rebuild my laptop for the last time (until that Windows 8 beta is released). Congratulations Microsoft. Some critics...
I wanted to write a blog post to document how I do some day-to-day things. It helps me to keep track of my work habits, refine them and perhaps help some others who are looking for some solutions. My current rig is a Apple MacBook Pro 13” unibody. It has the 250Gb drive with 4Gb memory. I am running the latest version of OS X Leopard. I am really enjoying the 13” form factor. It is a little smaller and lighter than the previous 15” unibody which, to me, just felt heavy. I also don't notice the lost...
I have had the good fortune to test both the Palm Pre and Apple iPhone 3Gs. In my day job I am an architect with responsibilities over messaging and mobility – hence I get to try a lot of new devices in order to evaluate their applicability for our enterprise users. One thing I have come to regard as a universal truth is that ranking mobile devices is almost a waste of time. They are so subjective depending on the personal habits and preferences of the person using them. There are some things that...
Well, the annual feeding frenzy known as the WWDC keynote is now over. There was a lot of good information presented on both Snow Leopard and the iPhone. It was pretty demo-heavy as well – better if you see it in person than if you are at home waiting for the next great tidbit of information. One thing I found interesting were the OS X active users statistics shown at the opening of the keynote. Now, perhaps I missed it – feel free to correct me if I did – but they make it come off like they sold...
Ah, I love it! All of the tension of the Palm Pre vs. the Apple iPhone on one page. I wonder if this was intentional or just sheer coincidence? I will be following it live like many others. I will also be getting a Palm pre in the coming days to play with and of course, a review to follow. I will be curious to see if Apple outright calls out the Palm Pre in the keynote. Do they do a straight-up comparison a la OS X vs. Vista...
Windows Live Writer for Windows Mobile has been released in alpha on CodePlex. I am going to fire it up later on today and see how it runs. If it is even has as nice as the desktop version I am going to be psyched
Microsoft is accepting submissions for the waitlist for the Office 2010 Technical Preview. This is an especially great opportunity if you are already running Exchange 2010 in the lab and want to see how using Outlook 2010 will enhance the experience with things like mail tips, conversation view and universal inbox. The preview is slated to kick off in July. If you attended TechEd 2009 this year, you get priority seeding in to the preview. Sign up in one click at the TechEd event site with your login...
I am sitting in the auditorium waiting for the keynote to start. I am curious to see if there are any surprise announcements or if it is just a re-hash of all the recent public announcements. Rumor has it they may announce VS2010 beta 1. I am sure they will highlight Office 2010 and Exchange 2010 – but to what degree I am not sure. My hotel was a big disappointment – but I picked it and was tricked by the flashy website so I have no one to blame but myself. I feel like I am staying at a Moroccan...
I am going to be blogging the sessions I attend at TechEd 2009 in Los Angeles right here on my humble blog. They will be almost exclusively messaging and mobility related - ‘cause that’s how I roll! I will also tweet as much as I can (I only have two arms) under @ntpro. You can also follow general TechEd 2009 tweets by searching hash tags #teched and #tela09. Great blog post from the team the runs the hands on labs (HOL) at TechEd. Three days away – it is almost time. Technorati Tags: Twitter,tweet,Exchange...
The only bad thing I have noticed as a result of running the RC1 (7100) build of Windows 7 is some strangeness in the Aero UI. This is on a Dell e4300. About 3 times over the last 48 hours, my window frames go to hell. I can press where the minimize, maximize and close icons should be and they behave correctly, however the corner is a blurred mess as is the rest of the window frame. I am using the video driver which Win7 installed so I may have to try the Dell version. When I went to install it,...
So I am trying to sketch out some mailbox server scenarios for my Exchange 2010 design. I think I am leaning towards iSCSI or perhaps direct-attached SAS drives, but since I am doing virtualized Exchange servers, I don’t think I can load all the storage I need in to the ESX chassis. That leaves me with iSCSI. I am looking at three models to ‘standardize’ on for the business: Config 1: 1Gb mailboxes x 1000 mailboxes max = 1Tb database Config 2: 1Gb mailboxes x 500 mailboxes max = 500Gb database 3Gb...
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the e14 Ignite training in Dallas on the latest version of Exchange server (Exchange 2010) about to get released to beta. As I rushed from the airport to the training, I was stopped to sign the NDA which prevented me from blogging about all the great things I was sure to learn. As expected the training was phenomenal and with the official release of the beta I can now blog about the public details of the enhancements. Here are some of the ones that I am...
Microsoft may finally have a winning ad format in its PR battle with Apple. Their latest ads, to air during the NCAA Basketball Tournament, focus on the price of a PC running Windows vs. the price of an Apple computer, the only thing you can legally run the Mac OS on. In these tough economic times, I think this is a solid strategy for Microsoft if you really don't have any druthers as to which OS you use, or are torn and are looking for a tipping point to help you make up your mind. However, I know...
Then look no further than Evernote. I had heard about this app for awhile and even had it languishing on my iPhone never to be used. Then I started to look in to it as I tried to find something that would let me merge notes from my Mac and my Windows virtual machines. Not only is it cross-platform, but you can synchronize all of your notes over the internet between desktops, laptops and mobile devices. It is much more than a note taking app, with the ability to make web clippings and translate the...
There have been some reports of Windows 7 being incompatible with AV programs. This is not unusual for beta operating systems that often have bit level changes that don't please AV programs – they are tightly coupled. You may just have to run without AV for a bit while beta testing. Another reason why it is B-e-t-a. Some people just cannot wrap their heads around that. My employer currently uses McAfee v8.5 which would not install on Windows 7. However, moving up to version 8.7 fixed the issue and...
The RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) have been released in beta form for the first beta of Windows 7. These tools allow for remote administration of your Windows Servers and services (think old adminpak.msi) from your Windows 7 workstation. I applaud the Windows 7 (or Windows Server) teams for getting these out quickly. We had to wait forever to get them for Windows Vista. Tip o’ the hat to Keith’s blog...
As soon as I got my mitts on the M3 build of Windows7 at the PDC last year, the first thing I tried was to run it in Fusion on my 15 inch MacBook Pro. It ran just fine sans one little thing – I could never get it to recognize the Marvell Ethernet adapter. Wireless worked fine, but for what I do at work wireless means a constant VPN connection and that was a pain. I did some searching, found one person that had it working on an older MacBook with a different Ethernet chipset. Once the new beta 1 build...
Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is now available to Microsoft TechNet subscribers through the download website. This is the Customer Preview Program (CPP) which will roll to general availability tomorrow. Technorati Tags: Vista SP2,Windows Vista SP2,Windows Server 2008 SP2,TechNet,Microsoft...
My apologies for being tardy with the follow up post on my Nokia E71 experiences. Its amazing how work tends to take over your life at points and keep you from the things you truly love – spending time with your family or writing blog posts. Thanks for the reminder emails some sent me that I promised to pen this. Before I get started, there has been some other follow-on Nokia news. First Nokia is rumored to be working on the E75, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard version of the E71. It offers a 2.4” screen...
Went to an amazing demonstration of Windows 7 today. The UI changes are very nice. Although they still stick to the mostly tired start menu on the right > start > programs, the taskbar UI has been given a complete make over. It is hard to describe the changes in words, but once you see it, you will immediately understand. Things like new alt+tab live preview and switching (even amongst tabs in IE), hot color highlighting, aero peek, applications grouping, JumpStart and other things. Unfortunately,...
I just got a 30-day demo of the new Palm Treo Pro with Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 to test out. I will add this to my current pending reviews in the next couple of days. Any questions? Specs: Unlocked GSM device – not available from a carrier at the moment Platform Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition Processor Qualcomm® MSM7201 400MHz Display 320x320 transflective color TFT flush touchscreen Radio HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz Quad-band...
Having not ever been to the PDC before, only TechEd (x9), MEC (x2) and WWPC (x2), and I am curious to attend my first one. I have also never been to LA before so this should be a double mint of traveling pleasure. I hope I see some celebrities eating ice cream at a sidewalk cafe like in the magazines my wife always reads! :) Plus I love me some Mexican food and there has to be some good stuff in LA! I started up the TweetDeck filter for PDC and there is a lot of traffic and a good buzz going already....
I hate to rant, but what is the deal with no Outlook for Mac OS X? How hard is it to port this application over? My guess is not too hard, however, if *every* great Microsoft app was available for OS X then the reasons for running Windows would diminish quickly. I was running native OS X for awhile (no Windows BootCamp or virtual machines) but was killed by the lack of a few apps it became clear I relied quite a bit on: Microsoft Outlook 2007 Microsoft OneNote 2007 Microsoft Visio Professional 2007...
For the past three weeks I have been testing the new Nokia e71 and Apple’s iPhone 3g. Both phones are well built and deliver as promised in almost all areas. Below I will give a few tidbits about my experiences with each one. I am also at the same time working on deploying Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM). This will not come in to play with either of these devices though. Although they have licensed and support Exchange ActiveSync, SCMDM will only support devices running a...
From ZD Net Australia: in brief Citrix used its thin client technology to demonstrate an Apple iPhone running Windows XP, at the recent Citrix Application Delivery Conference in Melbourne. Windows XP, seen below running on the iPhone, was loaded using Citrix's thin client desktop software XenDesktop. Using the Citrix ICA client — a UNIX application that allows devices to access Windows sessions on a Citrix server — the presenter was able to run Windows on the iPhone via Wi-Fi. Hit the link above...
Everyone is streaming in trying to find the optimal seat. After four hours of waiting in line, I don’t care where I sit just as long as I am sitting. There are large plasmas all over the place which is good – from my vantage point, Jobs is going to be a dot. Huge applause – Al Gore is here in the audience. From my seat: More cheesy pre-show music … 10:01 AM PST Still waiting, people still streaming in. Whomever was in charge of the herd\logistics should be shot. Microsoft owns them in this regard...
Waiting in line for the keynote. Kind of a “cattle call” experience. At least we get moved around every hour or so. People started lining up last night. I woke at 5am and headed over and ended up being about 1000 back, wrapped three thirds of the way around the block. It isn't easy standing amongst the faithful either. I heard about 100 Windows jokes in the span of an hour. Every story I heard told was always punctuated with ‘well you should see when I ran it on windows’ or ‘that would bring NT to...
Skyfire is a mobile browser that delivers rich web media "real fast." You can: Watch streaming video like YouTube Listen to streaming music like last.fm and Rhapsody Access social networks like Facebook and MySpace Skyfire promises "blazing fast" page loads, as fast as your real PC. Skyfire also supports QuickTime, Java and Flash. Sign up for the beta here. Technorati Tags: Skyfire,Rich Media,Windows Mobile...
The public TechNet SCMDM (System Center Mobile Device Manager) is now open. Here are some links to some good SCMDM blogs I have come across as well (link love): Marco Neilsen: http://myitforum.com/cs2/bl... Patrick Salmon: http://patricksalmon.blogsp... Enterprise Mobile (MS Partner): http://blog.enterprisemobil... Technorati Tags: Windows Mobile,SCMDM,System Center Mobile Device Manager...
Reply to All As a person new to Windows Mobile 6 after being a corporate Blackberry user for many years, one of the first things that annoyed me was when I "replied to all" I also got a copy of the message in my Inbox. Even worse, if I was OOF, this also triggered my OOF message and I got that as well! The Blackberry doesn't do this and I was sure there was a way to fix it in Windows Mobile. Thanks to Vik for providing the info I needed. Although I am not sure why WinMo doesn't know this by default...
Here are some helpful documents, guides and planning tools for those looking to evaluate or deploy System Center Mobile Device Manager. System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 Resource Kit Tools System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 Product Documentation Microsoft TechNet Center: System Center Mobile Device Manager Download the Windows Mobile 6.1 Device Emulator Kit (allows you to test SCMDM as phones pre-loaded with WM6.1 are not yet available, nor are upgrades.) TechNet Edge: Intro to System...
Released shortly after today's MIX '08 Keynote, a more standards-friendly IE8 beta 1 is now available for download. Features include: Activities - contextual services that provide quick access to external services from any web page. Webslices - take "slices" of a web site offline or bookmark. Choice of layout engine CSS 2.1 compliance HTML improvements Improved namespace support Platform performance improvements Developer tools Improved Phishing filters Domain highlighting Technorati Tags: Internet...
So with the release of Windows Server 2008 I was really looking forward to some post or announcement from Microsoft with regards to the availability of native Active Directory management tools that can be installed on Windows Vista SP1 without any mods, kludges or scripts. You know, they just work out of the box. Like the good ‘ol days when you copied adminpak.msi from Windows Server 2003 over to Windows XP. Now that I am running Windows Server 2008 as a workstation I don't necessarily have to worry...
Mary Jo Foley has an article on bringing back creating Windows Workstation 2008 (Part I) and proposing the idea that in the past there was a “server” version of NT4 and Windows 2000 and a “workstation” version that was the same product with limits on concurrent usage when running IIS, etc. She says that since Windows Server 2008 is the best version of Windows Server ever by a wide margin, why not capitalize on that an offer a “workstation” version. Some people, especially in the consulting field...
One of the missing things from Windows Vista that most perplexed me (or frustrated the monkey cr*p out of me) was the lack of the RunAs shell extension. Following proper administrative best practices, I don't log in to my laptop with domain administrative privileges, I have a separate account for that. Running something like ADUC was never easy, and UAC in Vista often got in the way. If you turned it off, you could not get prompted to run an application under a different set of credentials. You could...
Windows Live SkyDrive today made two announcements: You've made two things clear since our first release: You want more space; and you want SkyDrive where you are. Today we're giving you both. You now have five times the space you had before — that’s 5GB of free online storage for your favorite documents, pictures, and other files. and SkyDrive is also available now in 38 countries/regions. In addition to Great Britain, India, and the U.S., we’re live in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia,...
Having trouble making that connection to the console session via RDP? If you have applied SP1 to your Windows Vista installation the switch has changed! Instead of "mstsc /console" it is now "mstsc /admin." Go figure. Personally, I would just add a "console" checkbox as one of the options in the expanded connect configuration on the client. Why do you have to go and be all mysterious Microsoft? Technorati Tags: RDP,Terminal Services,Console Session,/console,Windows Vista,Vista SP1...
Phishing attacks are nothing new and you can usually spot them in your email with half of your brain tied behind your back. You've seen them - bad grammar, syntax and spelling. The obvious links to knock-off URLs. The pleas from Nigerian-Kings-in-hiding. Today in my GMail I received a note from Hallmark that I was the recipient of a e-card. Now, Valentines Day was a week ago so this seemed suspicious, but my mother is not above sending these cute little e-cards every once in a while so I took a look....
There has been a lot of talk around the technical Microsoft blogs about the RTM of Windows Vista SP1. There has been even more chatter around the fact that even though the final, gold bits have been released, Microsoft wasn't going to give any public access to them until some time in March. I understand the reasons, but like many, railed at the logic. However much I disagree with a Microsoft decision, I like that they listen. So beginning immediately they are making it available to the technical...
I have recently been introduced to a company called PostPath. They are a new technology company that have created a Linux-based alternative to Microsoft's Exchange. Their proposition is that Microsoft Outlook is the killer application. As long as users can run Outlook and have all the features and functionality that they are used to, it shouldn't matter what is serving it up on the back end. And if that back end can run on cheaper hardware and storage with a highly-flexible open source OS, all the...
I love Thinkpads. For the Windows or Linux-based laptop IMO there isn't a better combination of performance and features around. They are rock solid and well thought out. It was with great sadness when I was forced to change from a Thinkpad Tp60 to a Dell Latitude D620 as a result of a job change. Now I have noticed that Lenovo is coming out with some consumer-oriented laptops that look absolutely stunning. If they carry over on the same performance, reliability and thoughtfulness of design they...
Ever wonder about the history of the Microsoft Exchange server? How did it progress and what were all of its various features and revisions? I remember first working with Microsoft Mail and then Exchange 5.0 that I implemented for a small college in northern Ohio. It was new and exciting to be working with this new messaging technology which at the time was going on to Windows NT Server 3.51 and 4.0. Those were the days. Barefoot in the snow, uphill, both ways! Read about the past at the always excellent...
Microsoft TechNet Magazine has released another excellent architectural diagram for one of Microsoft's "back office" systems. This time Exchange 2007 is up to bat and this diagram has all the under the covers goods like Client Access, Edge, Transports and Clustering. Download this bad boy and head on over to your local large format printer (or Kinkos). Previous versions have also come enclosed in the latest issue of TechNet Magazine. As of the last issue this one hasnt shown yet, but perhaps it will...
Nick has the details on the Windows Vista SP1 Beta release. I am downloading it now and will provide details as NDA permits
Microsoft has posted the "RC0" build of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
Read all about it. Beta coming soon. Projected release Q1 08. update: Microsoft TechNet Vista SP1 Resources page. Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Windows Vista SP1, Service Pack 1 Beta...
The Windows Live Folders team has opened its beta for new testers. I have been looking around and immediately I am taken aback by what seems like the requirement to upload your files one-by-one! As I browse around I see no options to upload a directory or folder's worth of files. This definitely needs addressing pronto Live Folders team. PS Raise the quota while you are at it. 500 MB is pitiful. I am prepared to pay. You also get the ability to create folders in which to organize your content. I...
Trika over at MCP-land has released a link to the updated stats on how many people worldwide hold which Microsoft certifications. Now I feel a tiny bit more special! Microsoft credential Certification Worldwide achievers Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Windows Server 2003 81,221 Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE): Messaging Windows Server 2003 7,431 Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) Windows Server 2003 125,221...
J.K Rowling's website has released a sidebar gadget for Windows Vista that delivers bits of news and counts down to the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Microsoft published a white paper detailing the TCO on Windows Mobile 6 devices vs. RIM's Blackberry. Surprisingly they find a 28% savings in the Wm6 devices over Blackberries. And when studying the 160 enterprise customers they found 85% of them already had the incoming ports open needed for direct push since they are the same ones used for OWA. Nice...
I read with great interest another view on the iPhone from Michael Robertson who always has an interesting angle on any system or manufacturer that is "closed." I agree with a lot of his points. I am also very disappointed in the way that Apple and AT&T control this device, its usage and its extensibility and customization. In effect, they believe the only way it can be successful is to so totally control the experience that it will be utterly the same for everyone. It will also be rock-solid...
I am in a training class all this week in Toronto at the EMC office in Burlington, ON for EmailXtender. Usually I am a well prepared traveler having consulted for many years. For some reason though I forgot my power adapter for my laptop on this trip. I sought out the local Best Buy to see what a universal charger (like the model from Kennsington) would set me back - Yikes! $125.00 CAD. I have my Blackberry so I thought I could make it through still having email and internet access from the device....
I am sitting in a Microsoft TechNet event presented by IT Pro Evangelist Matt "All my mates are at TechEd" Hester. Matt is covering the Windows Vista Startup Recovery Tool. This tool is accessed by booting off of a Windows Vista installation DVD. Any version will work as all the versions contain the same bits. The install key determines which version gets installed. Once you boot up to the install screen there is a hyperlink at the bottom to launch the Startup Recovery Tool (SRT). You are then presented...
This is a raw and unedited stream of notes from the TechEd 2007 (via Virtual TechEd) keynote by Bob Muglia. This year's theme was Back to the Future. There were a couple of funny moments ... I am watching this remotely via the web ... Optimization Models Basic, standard, rationalized and dynamic Very tangible Compare your organization vs. standardized models tremendous ROI Core Infra model infra business prod model Information worker business app model get better results more quickly come to market...
Mosey on over to Trika's blog for the link to get 40% off of your MCSE Windows 2008 upgrade exam. You must hold your MCSE Windows 2003 by June 30, 2007 to qualify. Go. Now. Run
Download the Windows Vista pre-configured virtual hard drive and get a head start on testing applications on Windows Vista
Mary Jo Foley caught a good one over at the presspass website for WinHEC 2007. Originally, listed in the link bar is a link for "Windows Server 2008 reviewer guide" which linked to the Longhorn Server Beta 3 guide. She even took a screen shot of the link bar in case Microsoft changed it after realizing the blunder. The name has not been officially announced yet. And was she ever right. I have a shot here of the new link bar in which it reads "Windows Server Codename "Longhorn" Beta 3." Nice. Technorati...
Here is an interesting story: someone switched from Mac OS X to Windows Vista and reports a faster, more pleasurable experience. Quote: "I didn’t expect it to be like this, I didn’t want Vista to be this good - I was expecting to boot back into OS X and living happily ever after, but damn, this is one fast, slick and nice operating system. If you are a Mac user try it yourself, install boot camp and Vista and it will feel like you just added another CPU and doubled your RAM - I can’t see any evidence...
As of SP2, Exchange 2003 was supported in production in a Microsoft virtual environment. Now that Exchange 2007 requires 64 bits to be supported in production and Microsoft does not have a virtualization platform that supports a 64 bit guest, Exchange 2007 is not supported in production in a virtual environment. From the Microsoft document Technical Architecture of Exchange 2007: Exchange 2007 and Virtualization Exchange 2007 is not supported in production in a virtual environment; however, as stated...
You Had Me at EHLO just posted some information on Exchange 2007 SP1. This one stood out - it will be a bit before Windows Server 2003 SP2 is implemented. Of course, it will be a bit before Exchange 2007 is implemented! Regarding the operating system, SP1 for Exchange 2007 will require Windows Server 2003 SP2. This will be a hard dependency for installation, so the operating system must be upgraded to Windows Server 2003 SP2 before you upgrade the Exchange 2007 RTM installation to Exchange 2007 SP1,...
There has been a hack and an official KB on how to run ADUC under Vista. And while not perfect, it is functional. No one I know can understand Microsoft's logic for not having this solved prior to shipping Vista. If you also want to enable the Exchange extensions in ADUC there is one more step. After you do the things mentioned here, copy these three DLL's from a Windows 2003 Server (c:\%systemroot%\system32): netui0.dll netui1.dll netui2.dll Then re-register regsvr32 \windows\system32\maildsmx....
I have been using Windows Live Writer since it was released (sorry BlogJet!) and have been generally very happy with it. I have two wishes for anyone on the product team that may be listening out in the blogosphere: Add a way to export the blog account settings. This will allow me to easily get my accounts back in when I reinstall my OS. If you can export the preferences (and all my pings) that would be great too! Add a menu entry to check for updates to the program. I hate having to depend on blog...
Download it here. The list of included fixes is here. Technorati tags: Windows Server 2003 SP2, SP2...
Hamad Darwish, a photographer, was comissioned by the Windows Vista team to take a series of photographs of which some would be used as wallpapers in the new OS. Long Zheng introduced him via some blog posts. In the interview Hamad mentioned releasing the entire set of photographs to the public. The shots are simply amazing. Here is the link to his site and the photos. He also has a Flickr page. Long's original blog post...
Please join the Southern Ohio Exchange Users Group on March 7, 2007 for a night of presentations highlighting Exchange 2007 and Windows Vista. We will be presenting several technical demonstrations on Exchange 2007 including deployment, operational efficiency and Unified Communications. We will also have some fun and informative Windows Vista technical demonstrations as well. Please register here so we have an accurate head count for food and drinks. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:30pm and...
Download here. Official website is here
Sign up for the Windows Home Server Beta 2 here. Ideal candidates will have two or more home PCs and a test box on which to install the beta. Technorati tags: Windows Home Server...
Dear Southern Ohio Exchange Users Group - I am pleased to announce that Microsoft MVP and all around Exchange good-guy Paul Robichaux will be speaking at the February 1st meeting in Mason, Ohio at 6:30pm (Max Technical Training Center). Paul will be addressing Unified Messaging in Exchange 2007. Paul has been actively working with Exchange and a leader in the community for as long as I can remember. Paul is a partner with 3Sharp, author of truckload of books and magazine articles (Windows IT Pro...
There is now an official Microsoft KB article that details the steps for installing the Windows Server 2003 Admin Pak (adminpak.msi) on Windows Vista. del.icio.us tags: Windows Vista, Adminpak.msi, ADUC, Windows Server 2003, 930056...
A week out of the blogosphere feels good - and a refreshing way to recharge the batteries! Of course, now I have to wade through 700+ news items. I have not removed my laptop from its bag since December 22nd. It was hard at times, but I made it. I noticed a lot of people are getting their blogs in a knot over Microsoft giving out some review laptops loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate to select bloggers. I wasnt selected so it is hard for me to be anything but envious. On the other hand, I find it...
Even though the support wizards at Zune told me it wasn't compatible, I had a hunch it had more to do with me trying to install the previous version of ZuneSetup (the one that wasn't Windows Vista compatible) than the version of Vista I was using. Sure enough, in the comments and through my own confirmation I found this to be false. I re-imaged my laptop with a fresh install of Windows Vista Enterprise and ZuneSetup 1.2.5511.0 installed like a champ. My only complaint now is that I cannot authenticate...
As I posted yesterday, Zune finally released its Windows Vista compatible client. I had called Zune support two times previously and had gotten credible support. However, this was terrible. After gleefully downloading the new update, I would launch ZuneSetup and then I would be told "No Zune Software Updates Available." I rebooted, tried it a couple of times again, always getting the same result. I am running Windows Vista RTM Enterprise edition. After totally stumping the level one technician who...
The Zune team has finally released a version of the software and marketplace that is officially compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista. I have not installed it yet so I cannot vouch for the performance but I will have it in place tonight and will let you know if any glitches turn up. Read more about it at the Zune blog here...
From on10.net comes a link to some great XBox 360 themed wallpapers for your Zune. Now, if only I could sync my damn Zune with Windows Vista. Rumor has it that internally all the Microsofties have the patch that makes the Zune software Vista compliant, but the rest of us have to wait until, oh yeah, consumer availability of Windows Vista in anothe4 45 days. Come on, wrap it in the "beta" verbiage like everything else and let us download it already!! Zune wallpapers courtesy of 360style.net; a sweet...
I was hoping this would come sooner than later! Microsoft has started to release gadgets for the Windows Vista sidebar! I am happy about this for three reasons: They work well They interoperate well and They look good! Outlook was also a logical choice for some of the first gadgets. PIM information naturally lends itself to a "dashboard" interface for easy reference. Calendar info Task Info...
Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows XP (KB925876) Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) provides a way to use any new Terminal Services features introduced in Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” from a computer running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1...
A big thank you to the presenters at the November Southern Ohio Exchange User's Group meeting! Matt Hester from Microsoft presented on Exchange 2007 and Windows Vista. It was great to get some more information on unified messaging which is possibly the most requested topic where Exchange 2007 is concerned. We also heard from Tim Brunner on Symantec's Enterprise Vault product and how it helps medium to large organizations with compliance and retention. Our next meeting will be in January and you can...
I have been running Windows Vista RTM since it was released to MSDN a little under a week ago. So far, it has been bliss. Nothing major, or even close to major has made me want to switch back to XP. I have had to make some adjustments, but most have been the fault of those who have not made their software compatible (cough Zune) or who have compatible version coming out shortly. But I digress . . . I filled up my 20 GB C: partition pretty quickly once I migrated all of my data over. And there sat...
Microsoft has finally released the RC (release candidate - read still beta and not for production) of service pack two for Windows Server 2003. From the website: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) delivers on Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative and illustrates Microsoft's commitment to continually create software products with enhanced security, increased reliability, and simplified administration. Windows Server 2003 SP2 builds upon the impressive track record of the award-winning...
Now that I have made the switch to Windows Vista full time I have had to re-think my RSS reader. I originally switched to RSS Bandit after being a long time FeedDemon user one day when FeedDemon pushed me over the edge with its activation. I work as a consultant and systems engineer and I love to beta test software and generally experiment. As such, I rebuild my laptop often. One to many times as far as FeedDemon was concerned. The first time it happened their support team was quick to clean it up....
So a lot of us ran out to Circuit City, Target, CompUSA, etc. to get our hands on Microsoft’s latest portable media offering – the super-hyped Zune. Zune has been in production, publicly, for at least the past 8 months. Even longer behind the scenes I am sure. At the same time Microsoft has also been feverishly developing and testing in preparation for release the latest incarnation of its desktop operating system – Windows Vista. Common sense would tell you that somewhere in that time span someone...
Not too long ago there was only one blogging tool that I felt great about – BlogJet. I used it for a long time and was very happy. There wasn’t anything I was especially displeased with. Then some more blogging tools made their way on to my radar. From Microsoft. Generally, I will give any product from Microsoft a shot. I use a Microsoft OS. I am a (largely) Microsoft-centric systems engineer and technical manager. The first was during the beta testing of the Microsoft Office System 2007. My favorite...
Another virtual hard disk (.vhd) image from Microsoft which contains the following: A VPC hard disk image containing a pre-activated Windows XP SP2, IE6 and the IE7 Readiness Toolkit. Personally I love this new approach and hope Microsoft keeps on going! I had to do some research and testing on ADAM (Active Directory Application Mode) yesterday and the canned Windows Server 2003 R2 image was the perfect pre-made environment in which to do this! Zero prep time was needed since I had already downloaded...
From Paul Donnelly, part of the Microsoft Vista Product Team to Windows Vista beta testers: I'm excited to announce that we have completed final testing and this morning declared build 6000.16386 as Microsoft Windows Vista. The feedback and collective voice of this community has helped shaped this version of Windows like no other. We would like to extend our thanks to all of you for your help is building the highest quality, most secure, most reliable version of Windows yet! Update: http://windowsvistablog.com...
Microsoft Download has now posted a number of virtual hard drive (.VHD) images pre-installed with Windows Server products like Exchange 2007, SQL 2005, ISA Server 2006 and Windows Server 2003 R2. This is a brilliant move IMO as it removes one of the biggest barriers to testing software in a virtual environment: the time it takes to install and set up the environment. I am curious to see the licensing and expiry around these images, but again, IMO, this is clearly a move in the right direction and...
I didn't want to announce this previously as I wasn't sure if it was intended to be publicly unleashed yet. However, seeing as how it is advertised in the latest TechNet Flash email newsletter I am sure I can share now! Here is the blurb from the newsletter: Are you interested in knowing what your peers are saying about Microsoft Office 2007? Do you want to see the feedback on the new Windows Vista license changes? Or maybe you have a new script you'd like to share with a larger group of IT pros....
I love the original Microsoft free power toy called SyncToy. It had its limitations, but as a free tool for syncing and comparing data between two sources, it was quite a gem. The latest version, v1.4 has been released and it looks like they have listened to our feedback with some obvious improvements. Go out and give it a try, you wont be sorry! The ability to type in a UNC path; Support for longer folder pair names and ability to widen the left pane to see those longer names; The ability to support...
I have finally returned from Hong Kong after another not-so-fun fifteen hour flight. At least I had a window seat this time but as bad as I thought Delta was at times, I was being spoiled in comparison to what you get on a United flight. A couple of tiny bags of snacks a tiny little cup of a drink - not even a whole can of soda or mini-bottle of water! They open a big bottle and pour out of it. The screens for the movies during the flight (what else do you have to do - there are no power adapter...
Windows Defender is finally out of (what seemed like a perpetual Google-like) beta. You can download the relased version here. From the website: Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected and minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive. Now with 2 free...
Now this rocks! I am in an organization for the first time in a long while that does not routinely give mobile devices (Blackberries or Windows Mobile) out to all IT staff members (or even us important ones). I have had to get used to not having access to my calendar and upcoming appointments when away from my desk or laptop (on the upside I am not a slave to the crackberry). Being that my memory is terrible (just ask my wife) I was close to resorting to printing out my calendar each day and carrying...
Brian, who runs the excellent Blogcast Repository, recently shared with me how he could not use a host computer's wireless NIC with a guest OS when running Virtual PC when Windows Vista is the host OS. I even tried it on my laptop and sure enough, no luck. It just doesn't appear as an option under settings > network. After doing some digging in the readme that came with Virtual PC 2007 I stumbled upon: Virtual PC fails to open the network services driver after an upgrade of Windows Vista. It didn't...
Grab it here while you can! Read more about it here. Features include: Support for hardware virtualization (Intel and AMD) Support for Windows Vista as a host operating system Support for Windows Vista as a guest operating system Note: No support for Aero Glass though - just Aero Basic Support for 64-bit host operating systems Note: Virtual machines are 32-bit only Improved performance Technorati tags: Virtualization, VirtualPC, VirtualPC2007...
Everyone out there that has been using and beta testing both Windows Live One Care and Windows Vista rejoice! One Care is now Vista (build 5500 or later, RC1 recommended) compatible. Version 1.5 has all the goods and the details can be found here. Technorati tags: Windows Live, One Care, Vista, Windows Live One Care...
Windows Vista RC2 (build 5744-16384) has been released to Technical Beta testers
The Infrastructure Architecture blog at the Microsoft sponsored SkyScrapr website has finally put up another post (<rant> the first since 6/9/06 - what is it with Microsoft blogs? One post per 90 days ... I thought the Tablet PC blog was on a roll and then nothing ... </rant>) this time highlighting a tool called the Windows Server System Reference Architecture. A prescriptive guide to knitting together all the bits and bobs that make up the plumbing of an infrastructure. The cool part...
The You Had Me at EHLO Exchange blog has a great article on how with Exchange 2007 you no longer do recipient-based tasks from within ADUC (Active Directory Users and Computers) but from within the Exchange 2007 Management Console (or PowerShell). This is great news for a large enterprise where the AD and Exchange engineers may be on seperate teams and not so great for smaller shops where one or more engineers do both roles...
If you download the latest Windows Live Writer update (build 141) be aware that it will replace your defaultstyle.css with a new one. If any customizations have been made, back this file up and replace it after the upgrade
The Windows Vista Team Blog has a post up detailing an email sent to testers by Paul Donnelly wherein he mapped beta tester locations in MapPoint. There are some really great views that show the concentrations of testers in typical places like North America and Europe. However, in drilling down you see some funny things: In the US, North and South Dakota are woefully under represented. Why is that always the case? Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is not all that much better off. There are more testers in...
I have had trouble in the past when installing the Exchange System Manager (ESM) on my laptop so I can modify email information about a user in Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC). I get conflicts with Outlook (some shared or overwritten DLLs I imagine) or in the case of Outlook 2007 Beta 2, outright consistent crashes. I found this article by Jim McBee on how to copy just the needed DLLs from an Exchange server to the workstation in question. The page isn't available on his site for some...
Microsoft has launched a new Windows Vista Tips and Tricks site. Aimed at the non-technical end user, this site will provide useful information as well as webcasts delivering information to prepare interested users for Windows Vista. Information is power
Since the technical refresh to Beta 2 was released thousands have downloaded the new bits. I was a bit disappointed that the link the beta team posted brought me to the public site where Microsoft tried to charge me $4.50 to download the updates. I am also disappointed that the people who have been beta testing this for over a year and a half don't get some advanced lead on downloading the updates, but rather have to wait in quite the crowded queue with the general public. Thanks for the appreciation...
Here's a screenshot of Windows Vista rc1 running on my Dell D620. Everything is working very well despite a few bugs. IE7 continues to give me some minor fits I cannot explain: 1. I cannot change my homepage and make it stick. 2. I cannot add URL's to the trusted sites zone or the intranet zone. On other fronts: 1. I have to launch the sidebar manually - although some think this is a good thing. 2. Expanding my monitor still is with its problems - the behavior isn't consistent. On the up side: 1....
I have been using Windows Live Writer more and more for my blog postings. I have been impressed by the community that has instantly sprung up around it to provide tools, support and plug-ins. One plug in that is a favorite of mine is the Live Writer OnScreen plug-in. There is also a repository of plug-ins here. Mike Torres also has an excellent blog post on his favorite plug-ins that is a good read. I only wish I had the programming chops and skillz to add to the plug-in community!! tags: WindowsLiveWriter,...
Windows Vista RC1 (RC1 v5600-16384) was released to technical beta testers yesterday. It will also be in wide public release soon through the Microsoft website and in the mail from various other testing programs. tags: WindowsVista, Vista, RC1 Update: More information here...
I was very glad to read a post today from James O'Neill's blog on Virtual PC 2007. Coincidentally enough, I had just loaded Virtual PC 2004 on Windows Vista build 5536 and was wondering to myself if a new version was ever going to see the light of day. Well fear not! While there is no news on the beta or a release date (other than the "2007" moniker) there is documentation. This gives me hope! Improvements are: · Optimized for Windows Vista. The virtualization architecture has been optimized for...
I installed Windows Vista build 5536 on Friday and I have been blown away. I know everyone's experience, like mileage, varies. However - having installed all the previous builds this is the first one that has me thinking they may make their projected ship date. Here is a report after kicking the tires for four days: The speed is very nice. I have not yet had an instance of Vista just "taking a break" and spinning its wheels for a couple of minutes. Everything I have thrown at it has executed crisply...
Technical beta testers have just been given access to Pre-RC1 build 5536.16385 Windows Vista on Microsoft Connect. Downloading from the Asian and European mirrors nets you the best performance
Microsoft has put up a website where you can pre-order copies of Vista RC1 for evaluation. There is a $9.95 charge for shipping and handling. Register for your copy of the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) Evaluation and Resource Kit With the Windows Vista RC1 Kit, you will not only get the refreshed versions of the same great experiences you had with the Windows Vista Beta 2 Evaluation and Resource Kit, you will also get some new features, tools and resources to evaluate including: Software...
From the IEBlog: This morning we released our first public release candidate, IE7 RC1, for Windows XP. You can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/ie. The RC1 build includes improvements in performance, stability, security, and application compatibility. You may not notice many visible changes from the Beta 3 release; all we did was listen to your feedback, fix bugs that you reported, and make final adjustments to our CSS support. I do want to call attention to two changes in particular...
An update to the Windows Desktop Search has just been released and I am happy to say it has a lot of welcome fixes. Dubbed version 3.0 beta 2 it is available here. Since beta testing Office 2007, I was forced to install an interim update to Windows Desktop Search so it would work with Office and also index Outlook and OneNote 2007. One of the undesirable side-effects was that it removed the GUI interface from the desktop or task bar that allowed me to search for files. I could only do it from within...
Come and see the always excellent Matt Hester in Columbus, Ohio on August 24th at the AMC Easton Town Centre 30. He will be presenting on Windows Vista, Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007. I have seen Matt present several times and he never fails to entertain and present some very in-depth and informational subject matter. And he's an Ohio State fan. He's not perfect however - he likes the Cleveland Browns - a team that cannot buy a center ... see all the details here...
SUS 1.0 will no longer synchronize or provide new updates after December 6, 2006. Link to Software Update Services
I read with great interest today some specs on the new Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2. Anyone who administers an Exchange messaging system knows the value of something called "Single Instance Storage." Simply put, if I send an email to 50 people, there is not 50 copies of the email taking up space in the mail store. There is one copy with pointers to it from all the other mailboxes. Now imagine applying this principle to file servers. Those 50 people that got that email save the attachment...
I decided to give Windows Live Writer a try after hearing reading some good things about it. I have been using BlogJet for awhile and am very happy with it. In fact, Dmitry was a little upset that a bunch of Live Writer's features had seemed to have been pulled from BlogJet. And I can see why he is upset. I think his tool was just beginning to gain traction and take off and now Microsoft has released a free tool that is - for the most part - comparable to BlogJet. I would be upset if I was him as...
Rod Trent wrote today “Charles Cooper Shows He Simply Writes for Page Views.” He asked readers to read the latest CC post and provide their views. I did. And I agree. How easy is it to write an inflammatory article about Microsoft’s record with vulnerabilities and patch release schedule? I can only imagine the article he would right if no patch had been released. I love this quote especially: “Defenders will argue that it's unfair to demand perfection from Microsoft; that...
After you have created a *.wim image file using ImageX you may want to take advantage of the tools ability to mount the image file. Since the image file format is file-based (and not bit-based like Symantec’s Ghost) you can mount it as read-only or read-write. Files can easily be extracted from it or added to it. No more needing to image a workstation, modify it, and then re-image it back when you want to make a change. New driver? Add it. new DLL? Add it. Simple as that. However, before you...
I guess it was only a matter of time before the Apple clue-less train started to pound on Vista at the annual gathering of the faithful in San Francisco. The Moscone center will be the venue again for the annual gathering of Apple fanboys hanging on Steve Job’s every keynote word. I can only imagine what the nearby Apple Store will look like post keynote! Taken from Engadget, here are some of the banners from the conference – taking a swipe at Microsoft’s Vista. Apple is always...
From the Microsoft TechNet Flash: End of Support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 <http://go.microsoft.com... Effective October 10, 2006, assisted support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) will end. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support or security updates. To enhance the security of your computer and to continue receiving updates, we recommend upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). To learn more about upgrading to Windows XP SP2 and the...
So far it has been a solid week with build 5472 of Vista. All previous builds had not lasted this long – the previous record being held by beta two of two days before frustrations drove me to yank it out and replace it with XP SP2. There are still some minor inconveniences, but all in all it is running fabulously. There is quite an improvement in overall speed of responsiveness in the OS in general as well as in IE7. More programs work well with it, although my iPod cannot get its firmware...
I am going to install tonight and try to have my mini-review up shortly. In the meantime, here is another mini-review with some good screen shots. Unlike Andre, I do really like the new Bliss wallpaper. Very serene and peaceful … I was getting tired of the Midwest pasture
Some screen shots have been posted of tweaks made to the UI of Office 2007 as well as the addition of a “silver” theme to the current roster of “black” and “blue.” The changes are expected to be finalized over the next week. Read more about it here and here. Personally I like the changes. I like the move to the rounded borders originally – they were fresh and new – but once I saw the UI with the traditional squared off corners we know and love in a...
Much like it has for Vista, SQL and other technologies Microsoft TechNet has recently launched a community-style forum for Exchange Server 2007. However, at the moment it is short on volume and guidance. Every topic had more posts on Windows Vista issues than Exchange. I don't know what people are thinking, but hopefully a site admin will step up to clean out the discussion areas from off-topic posters and monitor how things progress. Please don't throw it out there and then abandon it. The power...
I was reading a post at the SunBelt Blog about Agnitum’s review of Microsoft’s Windows OneCare. Other than to say that the Agnitum crew is highly respected, Alex was basically passing on their findings. It should be noted that both SunBelt and Agnitum make firewall products of their own. This obviously gives them expertise in the space, however, I cannot quite help but read into the comments knowing they sell a competing product. Does this mean that the competition shouldn’t review...
I got this curious option when installing the latest beta for Windows Media Player 11. Apparently I have the option to blank. I thought it was funny so I submitted it for your amusement. Note to the WMP 11 beta team – you have a bug … I also find it performs sluggishly in comparison to WMP 10. Accessing the URGE music service via WMP 11 I also find hit and miss. I will get a lot of hangs and freezes as well as issues signing in with my passport. ...
I noticed this little gem over at the IW Center; a Microsoft blog for the information worker focusing on Office 2007 information. If you work in OneNote 2007 a lot like I do, then you almost always have it in front of you. In a meeting and need to do a little on-the-fly calculation? You could pull up Windows Calculator or even Excel, but instead just type the math in to OneNote 2007 and let it spit out the answer for you! For example I simply typed in 24+59*78= and then hit ENTER and viola! The answer...
I have blogged in the past about how much I hate the current implementation of UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista. It has been the first thing I have turned off each time I have installed the beta. Guilty as charged! However, Jesper, in his blog makes a good case for leaving UAC turned on throughout the beta process. However will we make it better? And when Jesper speaks, most people concerned with security usually have good reason to listen. I don't like UAC in its current form - it is...
I have finally squeezed out a blogcast (done during my lunch break so it is rough – be kind please) and have it posted here. I plan on ramping up in the next one to two weeks, especially with some Exchange 2007 content. Below are some links to the content I reference in the blogcast. Enjoy. Ask the Experts: Windows Vista Disk Imaging with ImageX and Windows Imaging Format (WIM) Windows Vista deployment is based on disk imaging, and the operating system will come with a built-in disk-imaging...
Technical beta testers can now download Vista June CTP build 5456 from connect.Microsoft.com. Read more here. The next public beta is rumored to be in August and known as RC1
Message to Robert Scoble: Can you please do me a favor? As a fellow TabletPC fan, employee (for the moment) of Microsoft and all-around blogging pro – please go over to the TabletPC team, program manager, whomever and whack them in the head for me. When it was launched I was very happy to see the TabletPC team start blogging. The thought of news and views from the horse’s mouth really had me excited. Then – nothing. Three posts in six months? Wow. I know they are busy – so...
Okay, I am a lot less concerned about Windows Vista after seeing this build than I was with build 5308. The “fit and finish” of this build is way beyond what 5308 was. All of my device drivers for a Thinkpad R52 were automagically detected and installed. I haven't had a chance to see if the Thinkpad-specific software works yet or not; I hope to try that tomorrow. The widgets work nicely. LUA still blows; and I am not going to re-hash the arguments. However, it presents itself in a much...
From Microsoft Research comes PHLAT … a new interface for Windows Desktop Search. From the site:PHLAT is a new interface for Windows Desktop Search (enabling search through a user's own email, files, and viewed web pages). PHLAT lets you easily specify queries and filters, attempting to integrate search and browse in one intuitive interface. In addition, Phlat supports a unified tagging (labeling) scheme for organizing personal content across storage systems (files, email, etc.)...
I have never had a soft spot in my heart for print journalists, or most conventional news outlets (When did you stop beating your wife Mr. Smith?). And even though I blog I would hardly consider myself such – even in the most liberal sense. So I had to just laugh when I saw this post from Mary Jo Foley. While she and every other professional tech watcher\writer crucify Microsoft for its latest announcement delaying the release of Vista to consumers, she asks “But what about a delivery...
From MSN MoneyCentral: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday rolled out a software patch that enables its Intel-based Macintosh computers to install and run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system. Apple said that the new software, called "Boot Camp" is available as a download beginning today
Microsoft has released some information on its enterprise-level protection suite Microsoft Client Protection as well as started up the beta program. More will be released as NDA permits. You can get plenty of information from the website as it stands right now
I have some Windows Live Mail invites available, first come, first serve. You must have a HotMail account (natch) to join
Day one at Office Dev Con 2006 was full of information. On the non-technical side, the people are great, the wifi is pervasive, the food is decent and plentiful and the fabled Microsoft coolers full of pop, juice and other beverages are always magically full. Perhaps they employ gnomes or house elfs? If I had one complaint is was distributing the Office 2007 beta 1 refresh to us via BetaPlace. We are on day two and we still don’t have our welcome emails so we can access the builds. For me,...
I recently blogged about problems I was having getting Office Communicator installed in the latest build of Vista. After a couple more things went south on me ( a lot in part to trying to get the Cisco VPN Client to work) I went back to Windows XP SP2. If you can believe it (I have never seen this happen before) installing Virtual PC SP1 totally hosed my wireless networking adapter. I tried everything including removing the device, re-detecting it, re-installing the driver, etc. Finally I decided...
I just got off of the phone with Verizon Wireless technical support. I was braced for the worst, especially hearing the horror stories when trying to get technical information on Treos and different mobile offerings. Boy was I surprised! The gentleman that helped me was knowledgeable, friendly and got me turned around in a short amount of time. I had trouble getting their PC Card software, VZ Access, to work under the latest build of Windows Vista (February CTP 5308). As it turns out, the software...
The Tech*Ed website is now accepting submissions for the Birds of a Feather discussion sessions. If you have not experienced these before, they are a great time! Once all the submissions are in, attendees are encouraged to vote for their favorite sessions. These are not presentations, but “moderated” discussions in front of a white board where you are free to discuss whatever the group would like to that is relevant to the topic of that session. I hosted two BoF talks at last year’s...
I recently blogged about how Windows Defender updates itself in a different manner from the previous beta (Windows AntiSpy). It seems to use the traditional Windows Update mechanism instead of updating itself through its own interface. And then it dawned on me that this is part of getting Windows Defender “ready for the enterprise.” For it to mature in to an enterprise-ready application it needs to update itself in a manner that can be leveraged by Microsoft’s stable of management...
Another funny thing I have noticed while running Windows Defender Beta 2:It does not seem to update itself via its own “shell” for lack of a better technical term. What I mean is, when it is ready to get a definitions update, I get the traditional yellow security center icon in my systray — the same as if I had any other Windows Update patch to apply. The previous version – Windows AntiSpy Beta 1 update itself from within its own interface. The thing I don't like in this new...
I would love to see Tech-Ed offer an install-fest for Windows Vista, with the latest build available at the time of the show. Perhaps Office 2007 as well
I have been running Windows Defender Beta 2 for a couple of days now and I have noticed one strange behavior . . . it does not appear in the systray when running. I have looked for it continuously, and I don't see an option in its preferences for hiding\showing it in the systray. The Windows Defender service is running so I know it is on! Now, heaven knows, we already have a ton of things running in the systray and we certainly don't need another – but being it there gives you the little reassuring...
Available for download for 32–bit and 64–bit editions of Windows. From the website: Windows Defender (Beta 2) is a free program that helps you stay productive by protecting your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. A redesigned and simplified user interface – Incorporating feedback from our customers, the Windows Defender UI has been redesigned to make common tasks easier to accomplish with a warning...
I was passed on this Microsoft announcement today of the release of WSSRA Virtual Environment for Development and Test. This set of documents and prescriptive guidelines shows you how to build an accurate emulation of a corporate enterprise data center. “By building with Microsoft Virtual Server and implementing only the IT services relevant for development and test, this instantiation is compact, requires far less hardware, and is easier to build and maintain.” The WSSRA-VE package contains...
From Kevin Remde’s blog: We’re releasing early select customer betas of both Microsoft Client Protection and Microsoft Antigen for Exchange. Microsoft Client Protection is business-class antispyware, anti virus, and attack protection, with an integrated management console that provides centralized management and reporting. The Antigen suite are the Sybari products we acquired when we purchased Sybari last year. Now we are coming out with updated, Microsoft-Branded versions of the Antigen...
CNet.com is reporting that VMWare may announce that it is going to give licenses to GSX Server for free in order to combat a market share challenge from the low-priced Windows Virtual Server 2005 R2. I just love competition in the marketplace! This caught my eye at Vlad’s excellent SBS blog
I am soon to be switching over to the Tablet PC platform with a Toshiba M200. I am excited as this is another useful tool in my arsenal as I work to support and foster the Information Worker competency as a Microsoft Partner. I have an excellent foundation in Messaging and Collaboration but lack more in-depth experience with mobile tools and development. I am hoping to shore up this area day-in-day-out use of my Tablet PC and Treo 700w. It will also go a long way in helping me be more efficient in...
I don't have an Intel iMac and wont anytime soon, so I cannot personally verify this, but here are instructions for dual booting an Intel Mac with Windows XP! Thank God there are hackers out there that find a way for us to do what we want to with the hardware we buy. You can try to protect your brand all you want to, but once I buy it, it is mine . .
Windows Desktop Search has been released in an “Enterprise” version that allows for increased management, deployment, configuration and customization in a large environment. Windows Desktop Search – enabled for the enterprise The latest version of Windows Desktop Search (WDS) is optimized with features that help the enterprise IT manager easily customize, deploy and manage the installation of desktop search across all users and computers in their organization. IT managers can expect...
I am installing a Windows Vista CTP build 5270 as we speak in a dual-boot configuration on my Thinkpad R52. This means I won’t get the nice Aero Glass effects (Damn you integrated Intel graphics chip!) but will be able to evaluate all the other aspects of Vista in the latest semi-public build. Cross your fingers. I loaded the ISO image via Alcohol and it is currently in what I assume is the “copying setup files to your hard drive” portion of the installation. I see a definite downside...
USMT 2.61 has been Released to WebMicrosoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6.1 migrates user files and settings during large deployments of Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP. USMT captures desktop, network and application settings as well as a user files, and then migrates them to a new Windows installation...
After two days with the Treo 700w I am a very happy camper. The complaints are minor and mostly stem from my lack of familiarity with the device and not a device shortcoming itself. One minor nit: for $400 cant you throw in a case to carry this around in? Despite my initial disappointment in hearing the screen was 240 x 240, it looks gorgeous and I don't find it overly cluttered. The screen on my Samsung i730 was a lot bigger, but then again, so was the device itself. I use the Treo for phone calls...
I am counting down to see when the first modder has a dual boot iMac (Intel version) dual booting with Windows Vista or XP …
MS06-001 Title: Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution (912919) Microsoft has released the patch to the WMF vulnerability. Please go to Microsoft Update to patch your systems. More information on this vulnerability is available at: http://www.Microsoft.com/te... From Microsoft: Microsoft announced that it would release a security update to help protect customers from exploitations of a vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF)...
Registration is now open for MMS 2006, to be held in San Diego this year in April. Click here to access the registration site. This is the premier Microsoft conference for management applications like MOM and SMS but I expect there will also be a heavy focus on the new System Center, Data Protection Manager and Capacity Planner as well...
The latest version of the Lotus Notes Mail Migration Wizard has been released. This is part of a new wave of products from the Notes compete team at Microsoft to make Notes to Exchange migrations complete with more fidelity. Supports Notes R5 and R6 with Exchange Server 2003 SP2. Download the mail migration wizard here. Download the Connector for Lotus Notes here. Download the Calendar Connector here. More information can be found here as well. The Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Migration Wizard...
Following in the footsteps of the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer Tool, Microsoft has released a tool for ISA Server 2004. I like this trend and would like to see the same tool rolled out for SQL, SMS, MOM and AD. This is a simple and fairly prescriptive way to do some basic analyzing of your platform architecture based on Microsoft Product Team’s best practices. ISA Server especially can get complex fast if you haven't well thought out your architecture, networks and rule sets. Download it...
http://www.microsoft.com/wi... Come join the fun. Webcasts, demos and tons of information
A co-worker of mine recently asked me if I knew a way to simulate a certain speed link or network connection between two virtual machines in either Virtual PC or Virtual Server. I must say, off of the top of my head I could not think of a way to restrict all traffic, so as to say, simulate a 64 kbps WAN link. I could think of ways to restrict web traffic using IIS’ bandwidth throttling features … but not all network traffic. Anyone know of a way...
This is the best roundup I have seen of the new features in Windows Vista that appeal to the IT Professional
This was too funny to pass up as I left the Moscone Center West yesterday during the SQL 2005 launch. Microsoft had a fleet of “London style” taxi cabs adorned top to bottom with SQL 2005 Launch graphics parked in front of the center and circling it for much of the day. Whether they actually gave rides or not, I don't know. Parked behind them, too coincidentally to be sure, were 10 taxi cabs with cheap little tents on top that read: #1 On Windows – Oracle Database 10g...
Finally Microsoft has developed a “house call” type online security scanning service. As long as it is free, comprehensive and easy to use it will go a long way to help keep the consumer desktop more secure. And thats a good thing . . . of course, at this point I think I am developing an “overly secure” configuration as all of Microsoft’s various tools battle each other. To use the security center I have to add it to the exception list on my MSN toolbar pop-up blocker....
Windows Live was announced today by Microsoft along with Office Live and the new XBox Live. You can read more about it at Microsoft's Press Pass website. Windows Live™ is a set of personal Internet services and software designed to bring together in one place all of the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with more safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. Microsoft demonstrated early versions of several new Windows Live offerings, some...
Microsoft has released an add-in for the MSN tool bar called the Microsoft® Phishing Filter Add-in for MSN® Search Tool bar (Beta). You need to have Windows XP SP2 and the latest version of the MSN Tool bar. You receive a visual notification when you browse to what is suspected of being a phishing website. Up next: watch out for Pharming! Scanning websites you visit and warning you if they are potentially suspicious. Dynamically checking the web sites you visit with up to the hour online...
Microsoft posted Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 to the Web on Wednesday. http://www.microsoft.com/ex... PS Exchange 2003 SP2 requires Windows Server 2003 SP1 Besides all the excellent features around mobility, push email and Windows Mobile 2005, service pack 2 also introduces: · Disable all PF replication in the organization to curb replication storms by right-clicking at the org level. · Public folder deletion logging – event viewer reports...
When it rains it pours! Microsoft has also made available its website dedicated to “gadgets” that will work in the Windows Vista sidebar as well as start.com and Windows SidesShow
Exchange Server 2003 SP2 will require Windows Server 2003 SP1 . .
I just love Konfabulator. I love the widgets. It is rock solid and runs like a champ on my Windows XP SP2 laptop. Of course, it gets a bit slow when I have, like, 30 widgets running. But that is my own damn fault. I especially love the traffic widgets. I can have three little windows sitting on my desktops (okay, four if I get homesick and want to see the traffic in Miami, Florida.) showing me live cameras of the traffic flow in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio. Not to mention the weather,...
From the You Had Me At EHLO Exchange blog (who knew?): Why should you use Diskpar (Diskpart in W2003 SP1)? Exchange Server can benefit from having basic disk partitions track-aligned. Diskpar.exe is used for aligning a partition at the storage level, which, if used to create the partition, can have a significant positive performance impact on the storage and is highly recommended. Before I go into the details of how to do this, I’ll give some basic definitions. A partition is the container...
I have been giving Windows Vista the rundown since it was released and I have to say there is one thing I hate about it: the icons. The rest of the UI is pretty stunning. But who thought of the little tipped-on-their-side Manila file folders? That and the icons in the new Start menu (Games, My Computer, etc. — and oh yes, that crummy “glass” recycle bin) are all driving me nuts. Perhaps they will grow on me – perhaps looking at “Fisher-Price” for two+ years has...
Microsoft’s MSN Spaces team yesterday released a slew of “power toys” that allows for the continued customisation of MSN Spaces for users as well as adding functionality like streaming audio and video from your “space.” See these links from Mike Torres blog: Mobile Spaces Beta Tweak UI Power Toy Windows Media Player Power Toy HTML Module (Power Toy)...
Ben has a great post in his blog about running Windows Vista on Virtual PC. Myself and others wondered why we couldn't get the VM to mount the ISO for installation. Although many of us found a workaround Ben enlightens us as to why it happened. Apparently there is a 2.2GB limit on the size of a mountable ISO in Virtual PC. If you run a lot of Virtual PC, his blog is a great one to subscribe to...
I went and installed Windows Vista Beta 1 in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP Professional. The bootloader now shows: Microsoft Windows LonghornLegacy (Pre-Longhorn) Windows Operating System How quickly you go from current to legacy
Took me a while to figure this one out . . . but in the process of trying to upgrade an NT 4 domain to Windows Server 2003, the only CD available to me at the time was the Dell OEM CD that came with the new server. Every time I launched setup I was presented with the error: “Windows Setup does not support upgrading from Microsoft Windows NT Server to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.” I read and read and read the release notes and sure enough it states that you can upgrade...
Download and read more about it here Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) offers the latest security enhancements and features, including: • Broader OS and database support, including Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SQL 2000 SP4, which enables you to leverage the latest Windows Server System software. • Support for x64 platforms which allows MOM 2005 to run on and monitor the latest high performance hardware. • License usage alerting which enables you to receive...
.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; } .flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Install Longhorn B1 1, originally uploaded by chris.haaker. I have just started to test installing Windows Longhorn Beta 1 in a Virtual PC environment. You will need to have your VHD pre-formatted (I suggest using the Windows XP install CD) before beginning the Longhorn installation. Once the Windows XP setup...
(Channelling Homer Simpson – think beeeeeeer) Windows Vista, ooooohhhh, Beta 1. Read here. And here
Rod Trent posted over on his blog some thoughts on running a domain controller as a VM (virtual machine). I can think of two places I would do this. Disaster recovery and as part of a "swing" upgrade to active directory from an NT4 domain. In most instances you are building a new destination DC on new hardware, and have an NT4 domain controller on older hardware. Build the new Windows 2003 Server and then build an NT4 server on it as a VM. Promote it to be the PDC. Upgrade it to be the new AD domain’s...
I have been going back and forth between using XPlay and Windows Media Player or iTunes to manage my tunes and iPod. When I contemplated switching back to iTunes (XPlay was giving me numerous errors when syncing to the iPod) I was disappointed as I thought I would lose the “What I am Listening To” functionality in MSN Messenger. But lo and behold it integrates with iTunes as well to show what you are listening to. I like that. Microsoft could have left out that functionality out of spite...
And here is the official web page . .
Apparently, Windows Longhorn has now been officially christened, er, marketed as “Windows Vista.” Read more here. IMO it could be worse. For me, this will take some getting used to. I have been saying and thinking Longhorn for so long, I had forgotten that was just a “code name.” BTW, someone has already pointed out that Vista means some strange things in other languages, like chicken, for example...
I promised a couple of weeks ago I would blog a review of my new cell phone, the Samsung SCH-i730 from Verizon Wireless. So far, my experiences have been positive. The minor annoyances I have had have been more a result of using a RIM Blackberry for the past four years and making the transition to a new form factor and Windows Mobile 2003 2nd Edition. The highlights are a great data service, wifi (which I can enable and disable as needed – it is a battery drainer) and a slide-out qwerty-style...
From Paul Thurrott, the long awaited Longhorn beta invites are in the mail
Scripting MOM - Part 1 - The Basics This is a four-part series of articles on writing scripts in MOM (Microsoft Operations Manager) 2005. This series focuses on comparing WSH (Windows Scripting Host) scripts with those for MOM so the collection of already compiled WSH scripts can be leveraged for use in MOM
I got the specs on my new cell phone today – the Samsung SCH-i730 from Verizon. I have been using a Blackberry in its various incarnations over the past four years, my current model being the 7250 with Bluetooth which is a very nice unit. I am curious to see how the Windows Mobile experience compares. Unfortunately it comes stock with Windows Mobile 2003 instead of Mobile 2005. Hopefully it will be upgradeable. There is also a debate looming on the forums if it has its wi-fi disabled or only...
Here is another good post from John Howard’s blog (can you tell I like it?) discussing the upcoming filter for ISA Server 2004 that will cache patches downloaded from Windows Update so each user is not hitting your WAN connection for the request. This is especially useful in a shop that hasn't (or isn't going to) deployed WSUS yet...
Microsoft has a BOIS Link detailing their Branch Office Infrastructure Strategy (BOIS). This is a set of guides for architecting a remote office infrastructure. The guides include strategies and which Microsoft technologies best leverage those ideas. Like the branch office-friendly options built in to the new R2 version of Windows Server 2003 and ISA Server 2004. There is also a write up of it on John Howard’s excellent blog which I highly recommend subscribing to if you are an IT Pro...
From the Bink.nu web site: At this time, participation in the Windows OneCare Live Beta is limited to invitation only. Throughout the next few months, however, we'll be expanding the beta to include more and more participants. If you are interested in becoming a beta participant, please visit the Microsoft Beta site and fill out the Windows OneCare beta nomination form. When prompted for a Guest ID, type in OneCare (case sensitive)...
And I almost completely overlooked the final bits for WSUS that was sitting on my seat prior to the start of the keynote. This is another item I am eager to get on my virtual servers and put through its paces. Microsoft also announced today that the latest version of Windows Update is also live. ...
So I got my swag-filled bag yesterday ... some people catalog all the swag on their blog, but for me there was too much and not enough time. :) There were several CD's (about 10) including Windows Server 2003 EE x64, Beta 2 of VS 2005 and a beta of the System Center Data Protection Manager. I want to fire that up on a VM. I think it has some really great features and will make managing my tape-farm\backups much easier. The bag itself is okay. I was hoping for a messenger bag or backpack. This type...
Download a really cool skin for WMP10 here. There is also a cool Middle Earth LOTR skin I hadn't seen as well . .
I caught my plane out of Cincinnati at 1PM today and arrived in Orlando greeted by a thunderstorm. There is nothing like coming in from above the clouds expecting palm trees and sunshine and instead getting dark thunderclouds and pounding rain … and here I thought I might work on my tan too. I made my way to the hotel (I am at the Wyndham) and checked in. I then went over and caught the bus to the OCCC. I haven't been here since the last Tech*Ed. I think the convention is in an entirely different...