It's been a great year for the IT industry, the weblogs and Techlog also. We've doubled our visitors and the RSS feed has even ten times more subscribers than last year. We would like to thank you, our readers, for the great responses we have gotten. The new year will bring lots a great news and exciting products like Longhorn Server, Operations Manager 2007 and Service Desk.
These Visio diagrams are really useful and have lots of info on them. If you don't have Visio and want to look there is a Visio Viewer available.
Now this is useful - I get loads and loads of questions about this subject. If you have a Dialogic gateway and are thinking of Exchange 2007. Dialogic has rolled out it's new website here. This website focuses on Dialogic Gateways that are certified for integration with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. These gateways support popular integration options to telephone switches too.
Michael Green writes: "In the past I've mentioned slmgr.vbs. I just used it to remotely provide a key to a workstation and activate it. It was very simple. The syntax took me a couple of tries but here it is - Microsoft announced that the first Exchange 2007 Beta exam will be in beta between January 2 and January 16. This is Exam # 70-236 which is focused to technology specialists. Essentially this is someone working with and administering an Exchange 2007 server. Now is the time to make all that time you spent playing with the E2K7 beta pay off!
As Microsoft heads into 2007, the company faces a number of ongoing threats and challenges, most notably getting its large installed base to upgrade to the latest wave of products. "The larger the installed base gets, the harder it is to move, and the longer it takes to transition," told Al Gillen, vice president of research at IDC. Microsoft also needs to remain competitive against the open-source Linux operating system, on both the client and server side, as well as get its virtualization house in order so as to compete aggressively against established players like VMware.
The Microsoft Small Business Community Blog explains what licenses you need when using Windows 2003 Terminal Services. They provide examples both with and without SBS 2003. (continue at source)
| 21 Dec '06 - 07:13 | kenneth van surksum | 
no comments | news source ~ Small Business Community Blog Windows Serviceability is pleased to announce the release of RC Refresh 1 (build 2845) of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003. This build contains:Kevin Remde answers some questions about the new way of activating Windows Vista:"I was reading an article in Windows IT Pro about KMS and it mentions you need have 25 licenses of Vista or 5 Windows server licenses. Does that mean if I install Vista for only a handful of users initially that I can’t use KMS? Or do I need to get 25 users up and running to use KMS? 25 users are half of my desktop licenses and I’d rather upgrade a smaller number of systems initially."
Yes, KMS (the Key Management Service) is only available to use if you're maintaining 25 or more activations. The KMS service makes itself known in DNS (a special SRV record), and business clients automatically find this server when they start up if they need activation. After the KMS sees the first 25, it then starts activating clients (including those first 25). But not before.
So.. because clients have a 30 day grace period to get activated, you basically have that long to bring up at least 25 clients.
The alternative to KMS activation is MAK (Multiple Activation Key) activation, which activates to Microsoft rather than to a local KMS service. If you have the KMS key, you also have the MAK key. (You get one of each from the same Volume License key source.)
Chris also says...
"Also, the article mentioned I need a 'Longhorn' server to use KMS or I could use an add-on for Windows 2003, which isn’t out yet. Am I understanding this correctly, or am I missing something?"
You understand correctly. Support for the KMS isn't available yet in Windows Server 2003 or earlier. You can install it on a Windows Vista machine, or on Longhorn (which is only in beta now). But yes, you should expect to see an update for Windows Server 2003 sometime in the first quarter of 2007.
Aaron Tiensivu writes:I found the "override" reference here in the comments section.
You might be wondering why you would want to do that? Simple. Laptops with slow hard drives or desktops with slow hard drives. ReadyBoost might consider your thumbdrive to be too slow to use for ReadyBoost but you can override it if you want. It can make the difference between a usable laptop and an unusable laptop with Vista. For example, an IBM Thinkpad 600E that has had the MMC-2 CPU package replaced with a Pentium 3 CPU.
Coming from Zuneinsider:Today (Tuesday the 19th of December) we’re issuing a 22 MB update to make Zune compatible with Windows Vista. The update also improves the Zune software installation process, addressing the issues that some of the known issues users reported. Like Jason R said recently “It is plumbing stuff, but it is stuff customers will notice and appreciate.” So you should install the update, even if you’re not running Vista.
You can install it via Microsoft auto-update, or go to Zune.net to get it.
Aaron Tiensivu writes:I didn't know there was much importance in this until I came across this paragraph in a Microsoft whitepaper on driver compatibility
While Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 are virtually out the door, Microsoft continues its march towards updating its server products to match.
The Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM) is a collection of tools that enables you to prepare for migration to the Microsoft 2007 Office system. OMPM checks for, and reports on, file properties to help you analyze your environment. 
Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM)
This white paper compares the performance of the 64-bit Windows Server 2003 operating system and the 32-bit Windows Server 2003 operating system with Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Active Directory operations. It also investigates workloads for which the 64-bit version of the operating system outperforms the 32-bit version.
Active Directory Performance for 64-bit Versions of Windows Server 2003
Do you have IIS on Windows 64 bit and want to run application that is for 32 bit. No problem. From the Inetpub admin scripts run the following:
The Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Management Pack monitors events placed in the application event log. This Management Pack highlights events that might indicate possible service outages or configuration problems, so you can quickly take corrective or preventive actions. This Management Pack also provides the knowledge and expertise you need to leverage Microsoft Operations Manger (MOM) 2005 and get an immediate return on your investment. WSS 3.0 Management Pack for MOM 2005
Google Inc. has released a customized version of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) browser in which Google, not Windows Live Search, is the default search engine.
Just in case you quite fancy being able to mount (and unmount) a single file into your file sytstem and use it as a disk drive, but do NOT want to install Virtual Server 2005 R2. Download the setup file for Virtual Server R2 SP1 Beta 2 and follow these instructions (from the release notes):
Looks like Christmas has come early for those Windows Live users who haven't got an @live.com email address yet. PicturePan2, the "unofficial LiveSide correspondent for China" has just posted a new way to register the Windows Live email address of your choice, provided you have Firefox or Opera installed. (You can use the nifty portable Firefox if you don't wish to install another browser.)
Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 continues Microsoft's investment in market leading development tools. Service Pack 1 addresses issues that were found through a combination of customers and partner feedback, as well as internal testing. Download: Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite SP1 Download: Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server SP1 Download: Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions SP1 Download: Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Windows Vista Beta (currently unavailable)
Microsoft has a neat little way to prevent software piracy of their Windows operating system. “Windows Genuine Advantage" with its “Product Activation” requirement. Essentially, even with a valid product key, you still need to activate your Windows to ensure that only one computer is using that specific product key. If you can’t activate your Windows, there being many reasons for this, you are left with a 30 day grace period to change your product key to one that is fully valid or get in contact with Microsoft and plea your case. Once your grace period is up, Windows refuses to let you login anymore. You cannot access your files. You cannot go on the Internet. You cannot do anything, except the thrill of trying to activate Windows. (more) How to login to an expired Windows
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 provides built-in protection technologies to help keep the e-mail system up and running and better protected from outside threats while allowing employees to work from wherever they are using a variety of clients including Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Web Access, and mobile devices. Exchange Server 2007 makes it easier for IT to deliver these new capabilities to their organizations by making the messaging environment easier to manage and more cost efficient. To learn more about Exchange Server 2007, visit the Exchange Server 2007 home page. (more) Exchange 2007 Evaluation Software (32-bit) Exchange 2007 Evaluation Software (64-bit)
Now this is an idea that should have made its way into the as-yet underwhelming and upcoming update to Windows Mobile, version 6: a built-in secretary. BCross at the MSDN Windows Mobile blog has decided not to wait, releasing an app he simply calls The Mobile Secretary. It offers some clever features for auto-responding to missed calls with text messages, for example: if a contact calls from their home phone and you miss the call, The Mobile Secretary can respond to their mobile phone number with a custom text message, optionally attaching any calendar information as an excuse explanation for your absence. Contacts can also be added to custom groups, which in turn can receive their own custom text message replies.
production retail release. This "hack" resulted in machines that were called "Frankenbuild" machines inside of Microsoft. This build combined with a Windows Vista RC1 key would allow you to activate. 
PowerShell Community Extensions is a PowerShell Snapin that provides a number of widely useful cmdlets. PSCX is not affliated with Microsoft or the Windows PowerShell team at Microsoft. We are a few (at the moment) passionate PowerShell users who wanted more cmdlets than Micorsoft was able to deliver in v1.0. So we have taken it upon ourselves to create some of those cmdlets and make them available to the community. Research firm Gartner Inc. turned soothsayer on Wednesday by predicting that Windows Vista will be the last big release of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. The era of monolithic deployments of software releases is nearing an end and Microsoft will participate in the trend toward more flexible updates, Gartner forecast in a list of forecasts about 2007. Mary Jo Foley, writing on ZDNet Blogs, has responded to Gartner's predictions by questioning the definition of a 'big' release. "Bottom line: It seems a little premature to claim that Microsoft is done with major Windows releases. Even if the Redmondians further blur the lines between service packs and full-fledged OS updates (as they seem intent on doing), Microsoft and its hardware/software/services partners aren't going to let go of the concept of the big-bang OS update any time soon." (more)
John Hicks from Windows Vista Magazine explains how you can restore .bkf files in Windows Vista:
Windows Vista doesn't yet have a way to import backup files from Windows XP - the .bkf files created by Windows Backup. Microsoft is working on a tool that will do this for you but it's not here yet, so for now you've got to bodge it. If you've got bkf files languishing on your backup drive, you can get them in to Windows Vista thusly:
Vista may be coming out next year, but if like me you can’t afford to upgrade to Vista then why not show your current PC some love this Christmas and give it a tune up?
The Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant suite of tools was developed to help customers and Customer Service and Support (CSS) isolate issues faster. ExTRA is integrated into the toolbox in Exchange Server 2007 and is available directly from the Exchange Management Console.
Download the Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant Tools from the Microsoft Website
The filing cabinet has a procedure on how to move the Offline Files cache location in Windows Vista from the default location (c:\windows\csc) to another volume. (continue at source)
Add Internet Explorer to Windows Vista Desktop. Microsoft has removed the option to add Internet Explorer natively to Visa’s desktop. That’s why we created FxDeskie, to allow you to add the Internet Explorer icon on Vista’s Desktop. Download FxDeskie 1.2
Bill Menees posted on his Blog one of the few free must have PowerShell utilities called "PowerShell Prompt Here" for PowerShell 1.0 (PowerShellHere.Inf). It is based on the old Command Prompt Here power toy by Microsoft that also is a must have utility. PowerShell Prompt Here Download
Leon Brag writes:I have a lot of emails stored in my Outlook Express (OE). I wanted to archive these files in some common format for easy indexing and searching when I need it. The main objective is to access these files outside of any email clients (such as OE).
Since I could not find any free tool which would do it for me, I wrote a utility to do so. The purpose of this utility (see attached full Vs2005 project) is to convert .EML files to .HTML files.
Note that emails which are sent as TEXT only will only be converted to .TXT file. Next version of the utility may fix this limitation.
Download the EML to HTML utility from Leon Brag's Blog
In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, continuous replication, also known as log shipping, is the process of automating the replication of closed transaction log files from a production storage group (called the "active" storage group) to a copy of that storage group (called the "passive" storage group) that is located on a second set of disks (Local Continuous Replication, or LCR) or on another server altogether (Cluster Continuous Replication, or CCR). Once copied to the second location, the log files are then replayed into the passive copy of the database, thereby keeping the storage groups in sync with a slight time lag.(continue at source)
The Windows Server team writes:As many of you will have heard, we are on track to release our next major milestone of Windows Server "Longhorn" in the first half of 2007. Beta 3 will be feature-complete, and it will be the first *public* milestone of Windows Server "Longhorn", meaning that we'll be doing everything we can to get it into the hands of our partners and customers so that they can begin some serious testing (if they're not already). Don't miss out! Pre-register to receive notification of the availability of Beta 3 and gain access to additional technical materials and resources through the TechNet Flash newsletter.
Andrew Dugdell writes:I've just come across an awesome little tool called VMDK2VHD. VMDK2VHD converts VMware virtual hard disks (VMDK) into Microsoft VHDs. The download contains 3 files total 112K - you just run the VMDK2VHD.EXE. Anyway I've run through a conversion and it worked a treat. The VMDK was 1,986 Mb and it converted to a 2,001 Mb VHD in about 15 minutes on my aging T41p laptop. Overall with VM reboots, coffee, etc, etc the whole conversion took about 40 minutes. Everything is working nicely, I have a couple of errors in the VM eventlog - but humming along smoothly. A quick screen shot of VMDK2VHD is below.. (more)
Best guess on what it is: Fiji is "the next version of Windows" following Windows Vista and preceeding Windows "Vienna" (the version of Windows formerly code-named "Blackcomb"). Some people say Fiji will take the form of Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1. Others believe it will be a full-fledged, but relatively minor, Windows release — more of a Vista R2. Microsoft won't comment publicly on the code name at all. Meaning/context of the code name: Fiji, like a number of the code names I'm planning to feature this week, is part of Microsoft's vista (with a lower-case V) series. When Microsoft officials acknowledged the decision to change the Windows Blackcomb name to Windows Vienna, they said to expect other products to be part of the "beautiful vistas" line. Some of the "vistas" are cities; others seem to be countries. 
Microsoft today released the first ever update for Windows Internet Explorer 7 since it's initial release last month. The update fixes an issue where the browser would significantly increase system CPU usage when scanning a web page with the integrated Phising Filter. This was causing the end user's systems to slow down. However, this only occurs when the web page being scanned contains multiple frames. This update was not included in today's Patch Tuesday and is not yet available on Microsoft Update. Download: IE7 Update For Windows XP X86 | X64 Download: IE7 Update for Windows Server 2003 X86 | X64 Download: IE7 Update for Windows Server 2003 Itanium
Following the availability of Release Candidate 2 of System Center Operations Manager 2007, Microsoft has announced that it will launch the next release of Operations Manager on 26 March 2007. During the Microsoft Management Summit 2007, the latest release of Microsoft's monitoring flagship will be made available. The Microsoft Management Summit is a 4-day event in San Diego with a strong focus on the System Center line of products. This year's MMS will have sessions about Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, but will also likely introduce a public available of a beta release of Code Name "Service Desk".
We are happy to announce Operations Manager RC2 is now available for download. This release marks an important milestone on the road to our March MMS launch in San Diego (www.mms2007.com). Major Improvement Over RC1: Over 10,000 customers have downloaded Ops Mgr Beta 2. Our collective goal is to make sure each of you downloads and starts using the new RC2 today.
Operations Manager 2007 RC2 (Registered Microsoft Connect Users)
Whenever I demo Vista to Partners and Customers, one of the areas I talk about is around Shadow Copies, or in other words, Previous Versions, and one of the common questions I get back is 'How much space does this consume on my machine??' Well, let me clarify, but first, let me explain what Shadow Copies are all about...(more)
Over on the Shell Blog (at Shell: Revealed) - the confusion over what is happening with “Casino” or the application previously known as Windows Live Search Center or Windows Search Preview has finally been cleared up! Check out their post. The Exchange Server 2007 Management Pack includes rules and scripts to monitor and report on performance, availability, and reliability of all Exchange 2007 server roles including Mailbox, Client Access, Hub Transport, Edge Transport and Unified Messaging. This new Exchange Management Pack no longer requires the Management Pack Configuration Wizard. Nearly all configuration is automatic and the few manual steps required are covered in the included Readme file. MOM 2005 Management Pack for Exchange 2007
If you use Microsoft ISA servers then you will be happy to know that Microsoft has posted a Firewall Client that supports Windows Vista. You can get the download at the following location. ISA Firewall Client for Windows Vista
Looking for manageable Windows updates even without an internet connection? Heise's update 3.0 script collection downloads the entire body of updates for Windows 2000, XP or Server 2003 from Microsoft's servers in one fell swoop and then uses them to create patch packages on CD, DVD or USB stick. Those in turn allow you to update as many PCs as desired. Starting December 12th, the Windows Server 2003 SP2 RC build (build 2825) will be made available via Windows Update. This is primarily to test delivery of update build packages via WU. We would like as many Technical Beta participants as possible to try installing the RC build this way.I’ve put together this screencast giving an overview of the SideShow experience including navigation, using gadgets, adding gadgets, changing UI themes and more. (more)
Aaron Parker writes: Did you know that WinZip have an MSI installer available for WinZip 10.0 and 11.0? Neither did I until I was reading through their FAQ pages today. What I don't get though is it's not the default download you get for the product, you have to go looking for it on this FAQ page: Download WinZip with 64-bit Shell Extension Support. I'd like to welcome WinZip to the 21st century – Windows Installer's only been around since 1999.. 
Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007 is hitting "private beta" in about 2,500 sites, the company said Tuesday. As it has already stated, Microsoft is adding VoIP capabilities, Web conferencing as well as incremental chat and presence improvements. Office Communications Server 2007, the successor product to Live Communications Server is due in the second quarter of 2007, said Paul Duffy, group product manager. (The "Live" moniker was dropped to avoid confusion with Microsoft's hosted Office Live and Windows Live efforts.) Microsoft introduced the first version of its Forefront Security tools for its newly released Exchange Server 2007 software on Dec. 8, saying the integrated systems defenses will help companies ward off malware programs and spam. Shipped to coincide with the release of the long-awaited update to Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007 e-mail and collaboration platform, the Forefront Security package aims to help companies better protect their critical information and control access to their underlying IT infrastructure. 
If you are using Microsoft SoftGrid in your company environment, You may consider the compatibility of SoftGrid Client on Windows Vista. There are many new features and security enhancements in Windows Vista. But it may conflict with SoftGrid Client. If the management board confirmed to Upgrade the Existing Windows to Windows Vista, And they also want to continue to use SoftGrid. Don’t worry. SoftGrid Client 4.1.0.56 supports It!
LiveSide writes: KB 897614, Windows Server System software not supported within a Microsoft Virtual Server environment, was updated on November 30. The line that interested me the most was: ISA Server 2006 is currently supported running within Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. A snippet of the KB is below:The following Windows Server System software is not supported within a Microsoft Virtual Server environment:
Speech Server requires telephony hardware not available in a virtualized hardware environment. Therefore, Speech Server is not supported when run within Virtual Server.
ISA Server 2000 is currently not supported running within Virtual Server.
ISA Server 2004 is currently not supported running within Virtual Server.
ISA Server 2006 is currently supported running within Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.
SharePoint Portal Server is currently not supported running within Virtual Server. Support for SharePoint Portal Server within Virtual Server is expected in a future release.
Identity Integration Server 2003 is currently not supported running within Virtual Server.
The Identity Integration Feature Pack is currently not supported running within Virtual Server.
This stencil and template provided enable you to create Visio drawings that contain Exchange Server 2007 objects. These shapes include icons for Exchange 2007 server roles, networking, telephony and Unified Messaging objects, Active Directory and directory service objects, client computers and devices, and other Exchange organization elements. Download the Microsoft Office Visio Stencil Containing Shapes for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
The Hotfix writes:According to one of our Members (Luckie), Longhorn Server 5757 has been released to TAP. The Volume Name is: wsl_5757.1.061010-1900_x86fre_server-LRMSFRE_EN_DVD.iso. And the size is: 1,762,396,160 bytes. WinBeta has also leaked this build.
Microsoft has an incredible offer on the table right now. Free domain names! Can it really be all that? Microsoft is offering free domains through its Office Live program for businesses. The free package consists of: Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) is now available for download on Microsoft Connect. BDD 2007 provides end-to-end guidance and automation for large scale deployment of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System. BDD 2007 Release Candidate 1 (Open Beta) (more)
Now that Exchange Server 2007 has been finalized and the (general) availability is nearby, the Exchange Team has announced that they have signed off the RTM code. On the Exchange 2007 Credits Page, you can meet the team members. They've also published some cool facts on the development of Exchange Server 2007:
October 13, 2006 -- Exchange Server 2007 is the next release of Microsoft Corp.'s venerable groupware solution, and there is a quite a bit of buzz in the industry about what this release brings to the table. Aside from obvious management and administrative improvements, and new Windows PowerShell-based access to the product, Microsoft introduced the idea of unified messaging and aims to transform the way organizations handle a flood of messages in a number of formats. There are also new VoIP-based requirements for the new features. Let's take a look at exactly what's new and what's needed to take advantage of this new release. In order to win the business over as to why you shuld be thinking of Microsoft Exchange Server2007, Microsoft has published a number of case studies. In particular in the UK the following two have been released: If you haven’t looked at it yet, you need to take a look at the updated Exchange site on Microsoft.com. All new content and all Exchange Server 2007! You will find: The Microsoft Exchange Team blogs:This morning, we signed off Exchange 2007 for release to you! We've bet the company on this product. Here at Microsoft, we have over 120,000 mailboxes running in production on Exchange 2007 – exceeding our SLA of 99.95% availability. Likewise, over 200 Technology Adoption Partners and Rapid Deployment Partners have over 55,000 mailboxes in production operating within their enterprise SLA’s.
In addition to taking the time to ensure this software was rock solid for you, we've invested more time in documentation and deployment guidance than we have for any other release previously. Please do check it out and let us know if we're missing something you need. Thank you for all of your support, feedback, and patience during this journey by our team. We are committed to working with you on successful deployments in the coming months and years. On behalf of the entire Exchange team, thank you for choosing Exchange.
Invalid file URIs are among the most common illegal URIs that we were forced to accommodate in IE7. As I mentioned in a previous blog post there is much confusion over how to handle file URIs. The standard for the file scheme doesn’t give specific instructions on how to convert a file system path for a specific operating system into a file URI. While the standard defines the syntax of the file scheme, it leaves the conversion from file system path to file URI up to the implementers. In this post, I describe the conversion we use in IE, and I have a list of best-practices to use when constructing or manipulating file URIs.If you are used to the old style logon screen from Windows 2000 and Windows XP (where you typed in your user name and password), you may be a little shell-shocked to find that you cannot disable the Welcome Screen in Windows Vista, which also means you cannot revert to the older style of logon screen, and the only way to achieve this functionality was to be joined to a domain... until now. (continue at source)
If you are running Windows Vista on a computer that is Windows Vista Capable, but find that the performance of Windows Aero is sluggish there are a few things which you can do to increase performance without having to use the Windows Vista Basic theme.Powershell Analyzer is a rich interactive environment for Windows Powershell. Its goal is to be the powershell host of choice for IT professionals and system administrators. It has all the typical editor and IDE functionality that you would expect when working on a modern language, but it focuses on the real time interactive experience as if you were at the console, helping you compose the commands you want to use, and also giving you rich graphical visualization of the results. Powershell may seem to just return text like the average Unix shell, but in reality, it is returning rich self describing Dotnet objects. Powershell Analyzer not only helps you with the INPUT, but also with the output. It shows you the properties of the rich objects that the commands return, as well as specific visualizers to help you interact with output such as XML, HTML, charts, tables, and hierarchical data structures. Download the Powershell Analyzer from the Powershell Analyzer Website
Now that Adobe Reader 8 has been released and the setup routine has changed slightly, we'll have to jump through hoops again to get this new version deployed. Here are a few things that I've found in regards to deployment in a corporate environment:
Although Internet Explorer 7 has been out for several weeks now, users of the Microsoft Web browser have yet to see all its new features. That's because the version of IE 7 included with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system has a few capabilities that aren't found in the version that runs on Windows XP.Our Microsoft Exchange Server tools team has been busy working with existing tools to have them able to run in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 environment. This can be a relatively straightforward task such as adding new files to the build, or a complete overhaul, as in the case with the previous Load Simulator (LoadSim) tool, which has emerged as the new and improved Exchange Server Load Generator.
Today we launched a new Windows storage platform: Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 (WUDDS.) This new product – available now within Dell’s new PowerVault NX1950 hardware and through other OEMs later – represents a big milestone for Microsoft storage technology. By bringing together Windows Storage Server file server capabilities, Windows iSCSI target and initiator software, and new storage management features, WUDSS will be an ideal mid-range solution for customers looking to more easily store and manage file and block (email, database, line of business applications) data. (read more) Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003
Not only Microsoft is disappointing users big time, by not releasing Live Messenger for Windows Mobile, but here comes another debacle: Microsoft's own Office 2007 will produce files that will not be readable with Office Mobile that is pre-installed in Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC edition! Apparently Microsoft has just confirmed, rather unofficially, that support for Office 2007 files will be provided in windows Mobile in the middle of 2007, what coincides with a time when first devices powered by windows Mobile Crossbow will go on sale! Interestingly Windows Mobile Crossbow offers Office Mobile also in MS Smartphone version of Windows Mobile, not just in Pocket PC version, so the support for new Office 2007 files may be provided in these both Windows Mobile platforms.
Device redirection over Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has been enhanced in Windows Vista and Windows Server codename “Longhorn” with the introduction of the new Plug and Play Device Redirection Framework. This new feature is aligned with Terminal Server vision of providing rich remote experiences and provides the ability to redirect certain types of PnP devices using Remote Desktop or Remote Programs. The goal is to let applications access Plug and Play devices seamlessly regardless of whether they run locally or remotely. | 06 Dec '06 - 07:32 | kenneth van surksum | no comments | news source ~ Terminal Services Team Blog Jim Allchin Writes: (continue at source)Anyone who has called a customer support number recently has most likely heard the recorded message "To help us improve our quality of service this call may be recorded or monitored." When you call Microsoft Customer Support, one of the reasons that you hear such a message is that we have this really cool system that lets folks in the product group listen to support calls. This lets us hear first-hand the issues that users are having with our products. While I love this system, I am often humbled by what I hear. Of all of the calls that I monitor, the one that I find most frustrating (remember, I am in listen-only mode) is the call where the customer's PC just won’t boot. While I know I might be able to fix the PC if I had direct access to it, I know how hard it is for the user to follow a complex set of directions from even the most talented support engineer as they try to diagnose and correct the problem together. I also know that it's even more frustrating for the customer.
Microsoft® Windows Vista™ and Windows Server® Code Name “Longhorn” now support Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) over Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) links in the built-in remote access client and Routing and Remote Access. This new capability allows remote access clients and demand-dial routers to send native IPv6 traffic over a PPP link such as a dial-up or virtual private network (VPN) connection. Exchange Server 2007 offers numerous end-user features, including improved support for calendaring, unified messaging, and regulatory compliance. Office Outlook 2007, the premier desktop client for Exchange Server 2007, offers superb support for these new Exchange Server features. Outlook Web Access 2007, a built-in component of the Exchange Server 2007 system, also offers rich support for many of Exchange Server’s capabilities in a Web-based client. Outlook 2003 is also supported by, and can benefit from Exchange Server 2007, but takes advantage of fewer of these new capabilities. View the comparison chart at Microsoft
Wireless access is a key feature in Windows Vista, and it needs to work as reliably as possible for users. In the final version of Windows Vista, the default power setting for 802.11 wireless adapters was changed to “Maximum Performance” to offer seamless wireless access experience and solve connectivity issues with certain access points. Users and OEMs can change the setting value to deliver additional power savings, if they want to further extend the battery life.Microsoft is looking to have its Windows operating system run on the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) notebook computers, OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte said at the Netevents conference in Hong Kong on Saturday.The first two official Office gadgets went live on gallery.microsoft.com! If you’re running Windows Vista and Outlook 2007 then go out and download the gadgets and get the experience of the Outlook To Do bar from the Windows SideBar.Managed agents (or "Transport Agents") have replaced transport event sinks and EDK Gateways in Exchange Server 2007. Exchange 2007 transport rules are very flexible, so why bother writing a transport agent? There are still some configuration options not covered by rules. Actually, transport rules are really just built-in transport agents. Both Edge and Hub Transport servers have these built-in agents. Custom agents give you almost unlimited options when mail passes through the transport pipeline. (continue at source)
Long Zheng writes: "The covers are off on the new Microsoft Expression design suite. Everything we’ve known so far regarding Expression Blend as well as the new sub-domain names has been right, even Robert McLaws was nearly dead-on with his speculation on Expression Media. But even so, several new and exciting mini-announcements emerged." New York Times Reader - Beta (free NYT account required)
David Hunter writes; “2.0″ seems to be the new black:This week at ITU Telecom World 2006, Microsoft Corp. is showcasing for the first time its full portfolio of solutions and services developed specifically for the global telecommunications industry. In its exhibit presence and participation in ITU Telecom World, Microsoft is highlighting the broad range of voice, video, data and mobile solutions it delivers to leading service providers today, as well as unveiling new products and initiatives designed to help operators create revenue-generating offerings for businesses and consumers, now and in the future.
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A new model known as Telco 2.0 is emerging as the telecommunications industry embraces the principles of Web 2.0 and technologies and services from the Internet world. In the Telco 2.0 era, operators will be able to offer hundreds of services that bring together numerous applications and types of content from a variety of sources to form composite services; in this world, the combinations of potential new services are nearly limitless. Microsoft provides the operating platform, technologies, applications and partner ecosystem that will help make Telco 2.0 a reality.
I've heard a few people actually say ImageX.exe is included with Vista. That's not technically accurate. ImageX is most certainly a value add to Vista but it is packaged separately in a download called "WAIK" or Windows Automated Installation Kit. So let's say you want to use ImageX but don't want to run the full WAIK install. You copy imagex to a separate machine and run it. Works, but certain things fail, why? There are a number of other files you'll want to copy in addition to the EXE. To mount a WIM read/write and do other interesting things copy these files (everything in the same folder). Combine their total size is 1.01 MB. (more)
Josh over at WindowsConnected is reporting that an illegal Key Management Service (KMS) server has popped up on the Internet. KMS, which stands for Key Management Service, is part of the Volume Activation 2.0 scheme to protect Windows Vista and Longhorn Server from piracy. As part of your license agreement with Microsoft you agree to not bring up a KMS server on the public internet. This server is a clear violation of that agreement, which I doubt they had.Dave Northey mentions a nice feature to set a screensaver on your desktop background. Here is an example: Brian Keller, Technical Evangelist for Microsoft Visual Studio Team System writes:The trick is to open the Device Manager and then right-click on the root node of the device tree (which should correspond to your machine name). Then select "Add legacy hardware."Recently I've been trying to figure out how to install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter on Windows Vista since I couldn't find an "Add New Hardware" option for manually installing devices like there was in Windows XP and other legacy versions of Windows. Windows Vista caters to the plug-and-play world which will be great for most users, but it leaves those of us who need to do things like install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter scratching our heads. I finally figured it out, so I wanted to share my learnings here.
Mike Smuga, Program Manager for Windows Live Mobile announced. the availability of Windows Live Messenger for mobile browsers. They are rolling out the application on Mobile.Live.com, but it hasn't gone out to everyone yet, so if it's not there for you, you can catch it at http://mobile.live.com/wlm/imsi.aspx.
Contrary to earlier reports of a clunky looking squared Windows Vista Media Center remote showcased at Digital Life 2006 by Neowin.net, the official Windows Vista Product Guide, recently updated for RTM, showcases a much newer and aesthetically pleasing design for the remote. Could this be the real one?
Exchange Server 2007 is going to be serviced by Microsoft in a unique, new way that will be a substantial improvement for customers in terms of system reliability, release predictability, and overall quality of software patches. Our goal with servicing Exchange 2007 is to respond to mission critical problems as quickly as possible with high quality fixes, and here’s how we are going to do it:
The Windows® Experience Index is a new feature built into Windows Vista™. It is designed to help consumers understand how well Windows Vista and the software running on it will perform on a specific PC. The index achieves this by assessing the performance of the PC and assigning a score to it. The higher the score, the better the PC will perform.Many of you have asked how to run IE6 and IE7 in a side by side environment. As Chris Wilson blogged about early this year, it’s unfortunately not so easy to do. There are workarounds, but they are unsupported and don’t necessarily work the same way as IE6 or IE7 would work when installed properly. As Chris said, the best way to use multiple versions of IE on one machine is via virtualization. Microsoft has recently made Virtual PC 2004 a free download; we’ve taken advantage of that by releasing a VPC virtual machine image containing a pre-activated Windows XP SP2, IE6 and the IE7 Readiness Toolkit to help facilitate your testing and development. The image is time bombed and will no longer function after April 1, 2007. We hope to continue to provide these images in the future as a service to web developers. Download the Internet Explorer 6 Testing VPC Image
That's right, after weeks of waiting, Microsoft just made the next version of its Office 2007 productivity suite available in limited trial versions, along with trials of all additional products available alongside the suite, such as OneNote, Groove, Publisher, Project, Accounting and Visio. Microsoft Office Trials Download Page
It's Friday afternoon and I'm just getting ready to stop working for the day, but first I have to ask: Has anyone else seen the new icon for Exchange 2007? (on the left) Ah well, who can blame Microsoft for wanting the subliminal association with such a good brand? The only problem is that after a few months no one will remember that our logo (on the right) came first (by almost two years), and I'll bet people will start accusing us of ripping off Microsoft's logo! Hmm.. maybe we can license it to them?
As Ina Fried reports, Microsoft's free Vista & Office giveaway at PowerTogether.com is over. Apparently, 30,000 copies was the limit. And Microsoft outdid themselves this time. With the average retail price being $399 (Vista Biz @ $299 + Office Pro @ $499 / 2), Microsoft just gave away almost $12M in software! The Hotfix writes: "I thought I understood Microsoft’s plan of record for Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1, until I heard CEO Steve Ballmer’s Vista business-launch keynote on November 30, that is." In response to a press question about SP1, Ballmer told attendees of the “New Day for Business” Vista/Office 2007 launch in New York that Microsoft has “no current schedule” for SP1, because the company is awaiting customer feedback before crafting it.
Access New Windows Vista Native APIs
Just came across these interesting case studies on search featuring Windows Desktop Search and also a comparison of Sharepoint Server 2007 vs Google Mini / IBM OmniFind, called "Search Comparison: SharePoint Server 2007 Beta 2 vs Google Mini, IBM OmniFind 8.3, and ISYS:Desktop 8". In this Technology and Business review, Sharepoint Server 2007 search goes up against the new Google Mini, IBM and Isys. Search Comparison: SharePoint Server 2007 Beta 2 vs Google Mini
Business 2.0 asked 50 people "how to succeed in 2007". Two of the key people at Google talked about company's intentions and plans for the year to come. The key words seem to be: simplicity, integration and personalization."Simplicity is an important trend we are focused on. Technology has this way of becoming overly complex, but simplicity was one of the reasons that people gravitated to Google initially. This complexity is an issue that has to be solved for online technologies, for devices, for computers, and it's very difficult. Success will come from simplicity. Look at Apple, the success they have had, and what they are doing. (more)
I've been using Windows Live Search for Mobile for a few days now and this application ROCKS. It's waay better than Google Mobile Maps, the previous killer app for a smartphone/pda phone. If you have a phone with Windows Mobile or a J2ME capable device (most modern phones) then you should kick the tires on this app.
By now you've probably noticed that Exchange Server 2007 has a brand spankin' new icon. Gone is the familiar "Globe and Mail" icon of Exchange versions past, replaced with a new, dynamic and somewhat abstract "X." So how did we come up with this icon? 
