Why would someone want to install a client OS from a thumb drive instead of a DVDROM or over the network? One reason: Performance. Installing Windows Vista from a high speed USB flash drive is in my experience the easiest & fastest way to complete a Windows Vista install. This is much faster than using a DVD, gigabit ethernet, or possibly even some external USB 2.0 hard drives, due to differences in access speed & transfer rate. To put this into perspective, y'know how installing Windows on a Virtual PC virtual machine from an .ISO CD image is really, really, really fast? Imagine something roughly just as fast, except for doing installations of the OS on to actual workstations.
People Near Me (PNM) is a new capability of the Microsoft® Windows® Peer-to-Peer Networking platform for Windows Vista™ that allows applications to discover people connected to the local subnet and easily invite them into a collaborative activity. People Near Me provides a common user experience for sending and receiving invitations and application programming interfaces (APIs) for discovering people and publishing information.
The naming of the different versions changed in Windows Mobile 6.
If you have considered running Bitlocker, Microsoft's drive encryption tool, but didn't want to bother with what it would take to setup your drives properly to support it, then you are in luck if you are running Windows Vista Ultimate edition or Enterprise edition Microsoft has made a tool just for you. The Bitlocker Drive Preparation Tool is designed to help convert your existing install of Windows Vista into a setup that supports Bitlocker drive encryption.Arneh from Winbeta describes how to easily integrate Windows Vista hotfixes and Ultimate Extra's directly into Vista's install.wim image. 
A new public milestone, Beta 2, is available for System Center Configuration Manager 2007:We are pleased to announce that Configuration Manager 2007 (SMSv4) Beta 2 is now available! You can download the build here:
https://connect.microsoft.com/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?SiteID=16&DownloadID=5509
Please be sure to review the release notes and updated documentation provided in the bundle. In addition to other pre-requisites, you will need the Release Candidate version of WSUS 3.0, available on Microsoft Connect through the Windows Server Update Service 3.0 Beta Site
Regards,
The Configuration Manager 2007 Customer Team
Now that Windows Vista is finished and is available, you have probably had a chance to experience some of the many improvements that it offers over Windows XP. What you might not realize is that the only way to take full advantage of all of Vista’s new features is to use Vista in conjunction with Longhorn Server.
It seems that the Operations Manager product team is almost finalizing RTM for System Center Operations Manager 2007. Tonight they posted an "IDS build" called build 4941 to the Microsoft Connect website for their TAP and RDP customers:
| Date | Version | Description |
| 2/20/2007 | 4941 | OpsMgr 2007 Final Pre-RTM "lab only" Build. Please use this build of OpsMgr in your test labs only unless specifically authorized by the OpsMgr product team. There is NO support for upgrade from RC2 to this IDS build. There is NO support for IDS to RTM upgrade. The only supported upgrade path is RC2 to RTM. |
The System Center Essentials team is very pleased to announce the availability of the Release Candidate 1 software on the Microsoft Connect site. With the release of SCE RC1 in conjunction with Operations Manager 2007 RC2 you can now test providing managed services to your customers. This solution provides a single entry point for remote management over the internet for customers' server and client environments, leveraging Operations Manager 2007 as the service provider console.
Techlog: Services Provider Management Pack
The System Center Essentials team is very pleased to announce the availability of the Release Candidate 1 software on the Microsoft Connect site. We encourage you to promptly download and start testing this exciting release of SCE! What's New in Essentials RC1?
System Center Essentials RC1 (Register to access the Public beta)
On Windows Vista when you map a drive under your admin account you will find that your mapped drive is not available after you switch to your full token via a RunAs or Consent dialog. This is by design because there are actually two tokens in play here. What happens is the LSA recognized that you are admin at logon and creates two logons. The first with a "filtered" token or non-admin which is used to render your desktop and the other containing your full token to be available after consent dialogs.
Because there are two separate logons there are separate logon ID's. When network shares are mapped they are linked to the current logon session for the current process token. Meaning you don't have access to the network drive from the alternate logon. This can come into play with logon scripts and a number of other areas where you may require access to a network share from both tokens.
If you set the following key it will change how SMB shares are mapped. They will be mapped to a token, which means that LSA will check to see if there is a linked token associated with the user session and add the network share to that location as well. Basically all of this means that after setting this drives will be accessible from both tokens no matter which they are mapped under.
Disclaimer: This is not supported by Microsoft and was never tested. Use at your own risk.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
EnableLinkedConnections = 1 (DWord)
Mark Russinovich writes: Last month, in the first installment of this three-part series, I looked at Windows Vista kernel enhancements in the areas of processes and I/O.
This time I'll cover advances in the way Windows Vista manages memory, as well as major improvements to system startup, shutdown, and power management (Part 1).
Welcome to the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial Web site. You can create a temporary account to experience the features of Exchange Server 2007 which will stay active for 5 days. Your account will be pre-populated with sample messages, calendar appointments and contacts to help you have a rich experience. You will be able to send and receive mail, schedule meetings, and adjust your options. You can access your account via Microsoft Outlook Web Access, Microsoft Office Outlook, or an Exchange ActiveSync compatible application. Please review your pre-populated messages for details. 
Visit the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Hosted Trial Web site
How Exchange Server 2007 can coexist with Exchange Server 2003 and their main differences.
We’ve been waiting for this one. The OMPM is finally and officialy realeased. For those who are not familiar with OMPM; it is short for Office Migration Planning Manager and is similar to what ACT (Application Compatibility Toolkit) does for Vista, only OMPM ‘does it’ for Office. It provides you with a set of tools that enables you to to scan the pc’s and file shares for document conversion issues. The purpose of this free tool is to simplify the migration to Office 2007. 
Office Migration Planning Manager
I saw an interesting discussion topic in the Operations Manager 2007 beta newsgroups and wanted to share this information with you. Pete Zerger aksed about what the Cert Import Tool does 'behind the scenes'. Doug Bradley from Microsoft answered that the tool essentially just puts the serial # of the certificate into the registry and stops/starts the HealthService:
Fibre Channel Information Tool (fcinfo) works on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 systems and is a tool for discovery of SAN resources and configuration information on your Fibre Channel SAN. The tool gathers configuration information on your Fibre Channel SAN based on the SNIA HBAAPI for management of Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters and discovery of SAN resources. For more info on HBAAPI, see: http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/hba_api Download and run the MSI. This is a command line tool, follow the instructions in the readme.txt file. This version only runs on x86. Version for IA64 and x64 will be available soon. Customers using Storport miniports in their configurations should consider using the latest Storport QFE from Microsoft. Details at: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=838894. Fibre Channel Information Tool (fcinfo)
When deploying OM 2007 you might want to use the same port as the good, old MOM 2005 (1270) instead of the default OM 2007 (5723). To do that you need to modify this regkey on your OM server: The Microsoft Volume Activation Management Tool (“VAMT”) is part of Microsoft Volume Activation 2.0 and allows organizations to manage the activation of their Windows Vista and Longhorn Server computers using Multiple Activation Key (MAK) keys. A MAK performs a one time activation of computers against Microsoft. Once the computers are activated they require no further communication with Microsoft. The number of computers that can be activated with a specific MAK is based on the type and level of the organizations's volume license agreement with Microsoft. Windows Vista Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
Virtual PC 2007 is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation, providing a safety net to maintain compatibility with legacy applications while you migrate to a new operating system. It also saves reconfiguration time, so your support, development, and training staff can work more efficiently. (more) Virtual PC 2007 (will be available shortly)
Jalasoft has release their first public beta of Xian IO for Operations Manager 2007 which adds a whole new dimension to monitorinig network devices with OpsMgr. Check it out:We wanted to thank you for subscribing to our Xian Io mail alert and for expressing your interest in being part of our beta test program. We are delighted to announce that our Xian Io beta for Ops Mgr. 07 is public as of today! You may download your evaluation version from the link below:
http://www.jalasoft.com/jalasoftweb/jsp/products/xianio
This version will allow you to monitor up to 10 network devices and is valid for a period of 50 days. In addition, we strongly suggest that you review our release notes (below) before installing Xian Io in your environment.
http://download.jalasoft.com/pub/products/xian/install/XianIo/ReleaseNotes.zip
Please note that we will do our best to answer your tech support questions in a timely and efficient manner; however, it might take slightly longer than our usual standard to receive an answer. For technical questions, refer to our tech support department at betaprogram@jalasoft.com. For Xian Io general product questions, feel free to contact your sales representative.
If you try to set the current directory of a command prompt, you get the error message "CMD does not support UNC paths as current directories." What's going on here?The guys from the Filing Cabinet, a blog about file services and storage features in Windows Server, Windows XP, and Windows Vista have made a File Backup in Windows Vista FAQ which answers most of your questions about file backup in Windows Vista. Visit the File Backup in Windows Vista FAQ
Push email has always been a matter of pride for the road warriors. Having email delivered to your mobile device the instant it lands on your mail server - that's like ultimate nirvana! RIM had the first popular commercial implementation with their BlackBerry enterprise server and BlackBerry devices. Windows Mobile introduced it with WM5 MSFP (Messaging and Security Feature Pack) which works with Exchange 2003 SP2 and (now) Exchange 2007. Steve Jobs announced push email using Yahoo for the iPhone which was probably the first announcement of push-email for non-enterprise (and free) email provider.A challenge for customers in OSD feature pack was having the correct drivers available for the hardware being imaged - both during the Windows PE phase and after the image was deployed and the new operating system booted. Further, customers were limited to only being able import NIC and Mass Storage device drivers. With SCCM 2007 the process gets much easier. Now, there is a 'drivers' node in the console that allow drivers of all sorts to be imported - resulting in a driver catalog. These drivers may be arranged into driver packages and easily imported into the Windows PE images being used or used with an image being deployed - which is where we see the power of the driver catalog.
Restartable Active Directory, it is one of the new cool features of Active Directory Services in Windows Longhorn Server. With Beta 3 due mid March (but only to a closed group) and the final release due for the final quarter of 2007 this is one feature that administrators have been waiting for.
Ed Holloway writes on his blog: This is more a personal reference than anything, but hopefully someone else will find it useful too. In Vista you can navigate to many of the system folders, such as the "Send To" folder by typing shell:(eg shell:sendto) in the Start/Search(aka Run) text box (See screen shot). This sure beats typing C:\Users\[UserID]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo\ to do the same thing. For a complete list go to the source link.
Julian, who has a blog on Technet, writes about a procedure that a Microsoft GTSC employee wrote on configuring Exchange 2007 Continuous Clustering Replication in a virtual environment: Ian Blyth writes: There are some short videos showing some parts of System Center Operations Manager 2007. This is a good way to get a quick look at the new application without having to install RC2. Tom Keane, Lead Program Manager, does an overview of the new Operations Console. 3:30 minutes. When you're using the email notification feature in System Center Operations Manager 2007, which allows you to configure an email recipient to receive email messages for certain types of alerts (can be set at a very granular level), you might have noticed that there is a link at the bottom of the message. However, out of the box it displays an incomplete string:
Alert view link: http://mgmtserver.corp.local:51908/$Target/Property[Type="Notification!Microsoft.SystemCenter.AlertNotificationSubscriptionServer"]/WebConsoleUrl$?DisplayMode=Pivot&AlertID=$Data/Context/DataItem/AlertId$
One of the most exciting aspects of Windows Home Server, to me, is the ability to have access to your files at home from almost any remote location. I do a lot of traveling and also a lot of forgetting of files I find myself needing when I'm on the road. Windows Home Server fixes this problem and does a fantastic job fixing it at that. 
Home Server: Welcome | Shared Folders | Computers
After you install Ops Manager 2007 RC2 you might experience an issue with recording a browser session through IE (for HTTP/HTTPS monitoring). The buttons are just grayed out:
Jim McBee writes: "I came across this on Josh Maher's blog. Danilo Bordini of Microsoft Brasil has posted some early plans for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1. Keep in mind that these are "plans" and may not reflect reality. The availability is "sometime after Longhorn" releases. So, don't hold your breath. Here are some high-points, at least based on what I could read and get translated from Portuguese." The OpsMgr team is pleased to announce the availability of an update to the Client OS Management Pack and the addition of the Information Worker Management Packs. The Client Operating System and Information Worker Management Packs enable System Center Operations Manager 2007 to monitor the health, reliability, and performance of Windows Client Desktops and Information Worker Applications. Client OS and Information Worker Management Packs
System Center Operations Manager 2007 introduces a feature called the Gateway Server. The gateway server allows you to manage an untrusted domain (or even Workgroup computers), in for instance an DMZ scenario and providing the same kind of control that you would have with a regular agent-managed computer. Secure communication between the gateway server and the management server is provided using certificates and a big advantage is that all communication flows through the gateway, thereby only needing one open port (TCP 5723) on your firewall.
Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.GatewayApprovalTool.exe
/ManagementServerName=RMS.TESTLAB.LOCAL
/GatewayName=GTW.DMZLAB.LOCAL
Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.GatewayApprovalTool
Copyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The approval of server GTW.DMZLAB.LOCAL completed successfully
When you buy a retail copy of Windows Vista, the most important part of your purchase is the product key that comes with it. That 25-character key determines which Vista edition you're allowed to install and activate, and it also tells the Setup program whether you've purchased a full or upgrade license. 
On the blog of Blake Handler you can find some lists pointing you to free software from Microsoft. For the first time since Windows NT, Microsoft has dramatically improved how users, enterprises, PC makers, and OEMs configure, install, and deploy Windows. New capabilities, such as offline servicing and the ability to create just one install image for multiple hardware configurations, make Windows deployment easier than ever. But if you're an IT administrator who'll need to deploy Windows Vista either now or in the future, you've got a lot to learn.(more)
Aaron Stebner points us to a post on How to share recorded TV with other Media Centers / Domain Version.
The Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 Release Candidate Public Beta Program is open. Registered WSUS 3.0 beta participants will be able to download the Release Candidate beta build from the download page. WSUS 3.0 is the next generation of WSUS with new feature and design investments dedicated to making deployment and update management simple yet powerful. Key areas and features investments in the new WSUS 3.0 include: WSUS 3.0 Release Candidate
See the difference for yourself. We created this site so you can experience the Windows Vista difference firsthand. Go ahead and dive in. You have everything you need to get started. Visit the Windows Vista Innovation Cafe Website
The Learning Network Manager (LNM) offers a standard way of setting up and configuring computer labs, while reducing support and training requirements. It provides a controllable infrastructure that can be customised to meet the needs of individual institutions, ensuring that they can build on existing investments. Implemented as a layer on top of Microsoft Windows Server™2003, Learning Network Manager makes it easy to create and manage end users, computer groups, new PCs, and Internet access. Once installed, it automates many common tasks including software upgrades and enhances security, stability, and privacy of information. Learning Network Manager prolongs system life and makes it easier to recycle old machines for reuse in modern, efficient networks. Learning Network Manager also supports the teaching process by supporting e-learning across most network topologies. And because only basic IT skills are required, busy IT teams or even teachers can set up a network with only a few keystrokes. Visit the Learning Network Manager website on Codeplex
The Windows Vista BootScreen is pointless, but Microsoft decided to hide a more visually appealing boot screen that can easily be enabled with very little trouble. I’m not sure why they didn’t make the boot screen better.
Microsoft Live Search for Mobile (Access from a PocketPC!)
This is from a larger post on Scott Schnoll's blog. A lot of people are asking about Exchange 2007 and virtualization support. Right now, it is not supported. Here is Scott's posting on that topic:Exchange 2007 and Virtualization
Speaking of virtual environments and production environments be aware that it will be quite some time before Exchange 2007 is supported in production in a virtual environment. Virtual server support for Exchange Server 2007 is only supported in production using the 64-bit version, and neither Microsoft Virtual Server nor Microsoft Virtual PC support 64-bit guest systems. Our first 64-bit guest support will come with Hypervisor, which is coming for Longhorn within 180 days of Longhorn's release (note that is within 180 days, meaning, it could ship the same day as Longhorn, or it could ship 180 days after Longhorn ships). Exchange 2007 does not yet support Longhorn server (nor does it support Longhorn directory servers, so AD sites with Longhorn directory servers need to be isolated from AD sites that include Exchange 2007 servers). Support for Longhorn will arrive in a service pack (most likely SP1) for Exchange 2007. In summary, there won't be virtualization support for Exchange 2007 in production for some time.
I'll believe it when I see it, but Microsoft is planning a late 2009 release date for the next version of Windows, codenamed Vienna. That would be just two and a half years after the launch of Vista, which in turn was released more than 5 years after Windows XP. The Microsoft Cluster Configuration Validation Wizard, a.k.a. "ClusPrep", is a validation tool that does a complete system inventory and runs focused tests on servers that are configured and ready for Microsoft Server Cluster installation (in other words, before the servers are a cluster). ClusPrep will also run the inventory and many of these same tests after clustering is installed, however, because of their potentially disruptive nature, most storage tests are not run if the servers are already a cluster. ClusPrep will validate that your system is configured properly by taking inventory of your system configuration and highlighting discrepancies in service pack levels, driver versions, etc.; evaluating and testing your network and storage configuration. Microsoft Cluster Configuration Validation Wizard
With the upcoming new versions of the major System Center products like Operations Manager and Configuration Manager (formerly SMS), Microsoft has been driving our expectations when certain development milestones like beta releases, release candidates en final code (Release To Manufacturing or RTM builds) will appear. Last week, during the System Center Airlift, several program managers talked about dates for their products. We have assembled all that information, plus the codenames and names that have been mentioned during those presentations and have put that in a Roadmap picture: Techlog: System Center Roadmap As mentioned in my Keynote article last week, Microsoft is spending $30 million on a campaign called "Designed for BIG" to promote the System Center brand of products. The campaign starts today, and the first thing that is ready is the website: http://www.designedforbig.com. Major customer names like Dell, EDS, HSBC and Nissan are referenced for current System Center product solutions. From the website:Microsoft System Center is a family of IT management solutions (including Operations Manager and Systems Management Server) designed to help you manage your mission-critical enterprise systems and applications. See how these enterprise companies are using System Center solutions today.
The Windows Vista Test Drive website is up:The Windows Vista Test Drive allows you to try the latest operating system from Microsoft without having to install it on your PC. Simply log in to our test environment using your webbrowser and you will be able to experience Windows Vista first hand.
Windows Vista Test Drive
We blogged about it last week from the Airlift, but Microsoft has officially confirmed it now:Feb. 1, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the general availability of Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007. IAG 2007 combines the secure sockets layer virtual private networking (SSL VPN) and Web application firewall product obtained in the acquisition of Whale Communications in July 2006, with the Microsoft® Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server), integrated to provide a single, consolidated appliance for network perimeter defense, remote access, endpoint security management and application-layer protection. More information about ISA Server and Whale Communications can be found here. (more)
The Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center enables data synchronization between Windows Mobile-powered devices and Windows Vista.
Download Mobile Device Center Driver for Windows Vista (x86) Download Mobile Device Center Driver for Windows Vista (AMD64)
SnipIT can be used to email the selected text in Internet Explorer using the user's email client of choice. The add-on currently supports Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Gmail and default installed MailTo client in Internet Explorer as email client options. Yahoo Mail Beta is not currently supported. Download Snip IT
Quality of Service (QoS) encompasses a set of technologies for managing network traffic in a cost-effective manner to enhance user experiences in home and enterprise environments. QoS technologies allow you to measure bandwidth, detect changing network conditions (such as congestion or availability of bandwidth), and prioritize or throttle traffic. For example, QoS can be applied to prioritize the delivery of latency-sensitive traffic (such as voice or video applications) and to control the impact of latency-insensitive traffic such as bulk data transfers. Providing prioritized delivery for TCP/IP traffic requires support from hosts and network infrastructure devices. This column describes the methods for using QoS with Microsoft® Windows®-based hosts.(more)
