Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 client update helps you use the new
Terminal Services features. These features are introduced in Windows
Vista and in the Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “
Longhorn" operating system from a computer that is either running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
Download the Terminal Services Client 6.0 update for Windows Server 2003 (KB925876) package now.
Download the Terminal Services Client 6.0 update for Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions (KB925876) package now.
Download the Terminal Services Client 6.0 update for Windows XP (KB925876) package now.
Download the Terminal Services Client 6.0 update for Windows XP, x64-based versions (KB925876) package now.
Windows
Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. So here is the tool for easy removal of unwanted components and bootable ISO creation in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking. This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are in their original form and protected as they would be if you install the full version only without the components you select for the removal.
It configures the installation directly, before the installation, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall.
Download:
vLite v0.6 Beta (Freeware)
Homepage:
vLite
Windows Vista includes some important changes from earlier Windows operating systems in regards to
Group Policy (GP). This article introduces you to how ADM files evolved into multi-lingual files by the use of XML (
ADMX/
ADML files) and the Central Store with all its glory.
This article covers Administrative Templates and the Central Store in Windows Vista Group Policy.
How Multiple Local Group Policy Objects (MLGPO) can make any stand-alone, or kiosk administrator happy.
When a user on a corporate network needs to access some resource off of another computer, the user usually specifies the remote system’s
NetBIOS name when establishing the connection. This technique works well on corporate networks because the Active Directory mandates the existence of a
DNS server. This means that users can attach to a remote system by using its NetBIOS name and Windows will query the DNS server in order to determine the IP addresses associated with the host record matching the computer’s name. That’s great for corporate networks, but name resolution has always been a problem for ad-hoc networks at home networks. In most cases, it is either impossible or impractical to add a DNS server to a home network or to an ad-hoc network. This makes name resolution impossible. Windows
Vista in
Longhorn Server will change this with the new technology called link local multicast name resolution.(
continue at source)
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) -
Carolyn Kepcher, who helped Donald Trump fire corporate wannabes on "The Apprentice" television show, took a new role on Tuesday -- helping Microsoft find the best small-business idea in America. "It takes a big idea to create a big business," Kepcher said. "And I've seen some ideas before."
The winner of the
Redmond, Washington-based company's "Ultimate Challenge" contest will get $100,000 in seed money, a storefront or other space in Manhattan for a year rent-free, and software to help get their business started. Kepcher and fellow judges -- maternity wear entrepreneur Liz Lange and Chris Caposella, a Microsoft vice president -- began hearing ideas on Tuesday in a computer-equipped recreational vehicle parked in Midtown Manhattan. Dozens of people waited in line for a chance to make their pitch.
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Following golden November, new Microsoft software is steadily being released to MSDN and TechNet. The latest releases include a number of the highly-anticipated Office Server products -
Office Project Server 2007, Office Groove Server 2007, and Office Forms Server 2007.
These first public releases were made available on the MSDN and TechNet servers between 6 and 7pm on the 28th of November (UTC). English, German and Japanese versions of each are immediately available. German and Japanese Language Packs for Office 2007 client applications are also now available.
Microsoft wants you to
experience the Zen of Vista & Office together. So, if you watch three webcasts each for Windows Vista and Office 2007 within 30 days of registering, 6-8 weeks later you'll get shiny new DVD cases at your front door. Only one free copy of each product per person. Microsoft created this video to explain it. Well, it doesn't really explain it. But I don't think Microsoft wanted you to see it. Or did they? I think they beat the joke to death. Anyways, there are currently a bunch more webcasts for Vista than for Office, but I expect that to change here pretty soon. Anyways, if you haven't scored a free copy from MSDN, TechNet, or Connect yet, here's your chance. The whole Zen logo is kind of a neat idea. I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't used it more often. Then again, they still haven't shown off a lot of Launch stuff yet.
UPDATE: For anyone that doesn't think it's real, a Microsoft Technical Evangelist (read: employee) sent an e-mail about it. MSDN did something very similar a while back with their MSDN webcasts series. It's legit. They promise! (more)
A blogger called Brajeshwar has posted what looks like a complete set of wallpapers from Windows Vista. Whether they're all really from Vista or not, they're all gorgeous and, if you like greens and nature themes, are well worth the download. You can
browse the set on Flickr or
download zipped packs on Brajeshwar's blog. You can go forth and decorate, or you can check out a small sampling after the jump.
Windows Vista wallpapers
Arlindo Alves writes: Last week I read a blogpost on how to slow down the animations in Vista. Basically you have to add a registry key and
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\ add the Dword key
AnimationsShiftkey with value
1 and log off and log back on. Once you have logged on again you can slow down the animations by using the shift key. I recorded a screencast where you can see what the effect is of pressing the shift key:
Zune devices are packaged in Spartan, Apple-like boxes that don't utilize the Microsoft name or logo, unless you look at the small bottom side (likewise, the Zune Web site and advertisements downplay the Microsoft name in startling ways, given the company's name recognition). There was a joke video that made the rounds earlier this year, showing what iPod packaging would look like if Microsoft marketed the device (the video was made, ironically, by a Microsoft employee) and clearly the Zune team was aware of the problem. So the Zune packaging doesn't look anything like a Microsoft product. In fact, it looks exactly like an Apple product. Exactly. Like. An. Apple. Product.
In a nice (and, yes, Apple-like) touch, the Zune packaging provides a nice reveal moment via a pull-out drawer that extends out of the brown outer shell, exposing the "Welcome to the social" tagline I obviously love so much. This drawer provides access to the Zune device itself, which can be extracted with a nice (Apple-like) cloth pull-tab. On either side of the device, two small compartments flip open to reveal nicely wrapped and packaged accessories, including painfully cheap headphones (with old-school foam ear bud covers like a 2001-era iPod) and the USB sync cable (which introduces yet another proprietary dock connector on the Zune side of the equation). Aside from the 'phones, everything is pretty high quality: All the components are wrapped up nicely, and the sync cable has nice plastic protectors on either end. The vibe is one of (Apple-like) substance. You feel like someone really cared when they put the whole thing together. If you've never seen an iPod, you'll be super impressed.(
continue at source)
Did you know that you can direct the slideshow Sidebar gadget to cycle through images in those same dynamic search folders?
You can point the Slideshow
gadget at a
Search Folder. You can do this by simply putting a search folder inside of an actual folder and pointing the gadget at the actual folder.
Here are the steps:
1) Create an actual folder
2) Perform a search of pictures
3) Save search to created folder
4) Point the Slideshow gadget at the created folder
5) Make sure “Include subfolders” is checked
Obviously, the procedure for installing and configuring a
core server is different for each of the supported roles. There is no way that I have the space to walk you through deploying the various roles. Even so, I want to guide you through the process of deploying a core server up to the point that it is ready to be assigned a role.
The Setup process begins when you insert your
Longhorn Server installation CD and boot the server. Click Setup and you will be prompted as to whether you want to perform a normal installation or a core installation (I forget the exact wording that is used by Windows Setup). After doing so, you must simply enter your product key and wait for the installation to complete. You now have a core server.
When logged in, there will be two command prompt windows open. If you happen to accidentally close these windows, you can press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to access the Task Manager and then run CMD.EXE to open a new Command Prompt window.
Even though you technically have a core server when the Setup process completes, the server is absolutely useless until you do some basic configuration. For example, you must still set the Administrator’s password, set an IP address (assuming that the server needs a static IP address), join a domain, activate the server, and configure the firewall.(
continue at source)
Are you thinking of upgrading to Windows
Longhorn Server. This will give you an idea of what's involved in updating the domain and the forest in terms of the schema. If you have a domain with Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 with
Active Directory installed on it, and are planning to install a Windows "Longhorn" Server domain controller to the network domain, you will need to update the
schema on the current domain controllers before it'll work. If you are going to perform an unattended installation, you'll have to do this on the domain controllers before you actually install Windows "Longhorn" Server and Active Directory. You can do this by updating the schema on the domain controllers that either host the schema master or infrastructure master. If you are not going to install Windows "Longhorn" Server, please do not update the schema for the sake of it.(
continue at source)
LiveSide last week mentioned the naming confusion of Windows Live’s online mapping system - which was previously being called Windows Live Local. With the last update, it was listed as “Maps” in the Windows Live Search toolbar. Is it in the process of becoming the well-suggested Windows Live Maps?
Well today while visiting Microsoft.com I caught this little advertisement for “Live Search Maps”
(see picture on the right). So perhaps it won’t be simply “
Windows Live Maps” but “Windows Live Search Maps” instead? I agree with LiveSide’s assessment of the naming confusion - pick a name and go with it and stick with it. For Windows Live to be successful, its time to stop messing around with product names and what-not. By messing with the product names you only confuse your potential users who then decide to go elsewhere to a more “established” service.
Tarquel at
MSFN writes:
Yesterday, users deploying what seemed to be a newer version of IE7 with their WSUS server, ran into problems. The update, despite no indication of it being a Spanish version, was either automatically approved to be installed or ready to be approved when admin's of WSUS servers came to work after the syncronisation.
When the update went out to users - if it was being installed interactively, it would pop-up a spanish message [most likely relating to the version of windows not being in spanish]. In the situation where it would install without user interaction such as during shutdown, the user would find that when they came to their computer, it would be stuck installing this update [of course, this would be because the error message had appeared, but with no way of clicking the OK button] and the only way out would be to power down the computer.
Both the working version dated 1st Nov 06 and the new faulty version dated 21st Nov 06 have now become expired [for XP only so far - the newer 2003 version remains and I haven't personally used it as I installed the original version] so be sure to decine just the newer version if you can, as if you have already approved the update for installation and declined its predecessor [or have just declined the older version], you will have to wait for a new version to surface.
First things first - if you're running Windows XP and you've never heard of
ClearType, you need to check it out. Head to Microsoft's ClearType Tuner web page to see what it's all about, and try it for yourself. For those of you that know and love ClearType, here's a little utility to help you love it just a little bit more.
Although I find that 98% of the time I want ClearType running, there are the occasional times when I'd like to turn it off - just for a second. It's sort of a hassle, since you can either go back to the Microsoft ClearType Tuner website I pointed to before, or navigate through your system's
Display Settings to the Effects button on the Appearance tab to turn it on or off. If you find that you want to do this on a fairly regular basis, you might want to try QuickType, a little utility that sits in your system tray and allows you to turn ClearType on or off at will.
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Yep, you read right. Not sure if this was out there before, but ZDNET UK caught Bob Muglia at the TechEd IT Forum in Spain, and they talked for a bit... 64 bits to be exact.
We will ship "
Longhorn" in the second half of next year, and we will ship a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. That will be the last time we ship a 32-bit version. From that point, the next release, which will be roughly two years later, that product will only be available as 64-bit.
Muglia also revealed that the Hypervisor, codenamed "Viridian", can only be managed on 64-bit versions of "Longhorn" Server, but will be able to run 32-bit "child" partitions.
There are two distinct parts of the
Hypervisor, the management partition and the guests, The guests can be 32-bit or 64-bit, but the software it runs on will be 64-bit, so technically it will be 64-bit.
I think Microsoft enjoys the fact that they can control the adoption of 64-bit much more effectively in the server space than they can on the client. Part of the issue is memory... servers are memory hogs. Most home computers can't justify the need gor 8GB of RAM... at least not yet anyways. But servers quite often need more and more memory, and the only way around that is 64-bit. I wonder if Microsoft will take the same position with "
Vienna" ..
James Senior writes: Robert came across the new Games for Windows website - the new place to find out about all things related to Gaming on the
Windows platform. They're trying to empahsise the following reasons why playing games on Windows is the best place you can do it:
1) Quality. Games for Windows branded titles undergo extensive testing, and not just by the publisher. Microsoft also invests in quality checking each title to ensure they meet performance and reliability standards.
2) Compatibility. Games for Windows branded titles work on Windows XP and Windows Vista PCs, including both 32 and 64 bit editions. Games for Windows titles that support controllers are also compatible with the Microsoft XBOX 360 controller for Windows, including the XBOX 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows. They even support widescreen resolutions and more.
3) Safety. You can be confident that any title carrying the Games for Windows brand will support the new parental controls and family settings features in Windows Vista.
4) Easy to Play. Games for Windows branded titles are easy to install, find and remove, especially in Windows Vista. Every Games for Windows title appears in the new Windows Vista Games Explorer (no more hunting around the start menu for that game you just installed). And Games for Windows branded titles all offer some form of “easy install”, putting you in the game more quickly.
I'm really excited about the cross platform games coming in the future where you will be able to play the same game on XBox 360 and Windows Vista! The multiplayer games will be superb! If you have any doubt what can be achieved on the Windows Vista platform from a gaming perspective check out this post which shows off what the future is looking like.
When you install Exchange 2007 for the first time, you need to extend the AD schema (usually by running setup.com /PrepareSchema, or just setup /ps if you’re lazy like me). Make sure you do this in the same AD site as the schema master, otherwise you will get the following error:
Setup needs to contact the Active Directory schema master but this computer is not in the same Active Directory site as the schema master (XXX).
(XXX being the AD site)
So how do you find out which actual server is the schema master? Well, I’m glad you asked. First make sure you have the appropriate permissions, then run the following command:
regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll
This will enable you to add a snap-in to MMC called “Active Directory Schema”. You can then right-click, view Operations Master, and either find out which server is the current Schema Master or transfer the role to another server.
Mark Williams writes:
Whenever we release a service pack or - in this case - a new operating system the FIRST question we on the Group Policy team receive is "OK, that's great but where can I get a list of all the new policy settings". Well, I am pleased to say that we have just released the
Group Policy Settings Reference Spreadsheet for Windows Vista. As has been our approach with the spreadsheet earlier versions, it includes all policy settings ever released plus the new ones (in this case, those new policy settings delivered as part of Windows Vista).
We've taken the spreadsheet still further this time around. As well as the regular list of details about each policy setting (name, explain text, registry key, etc) you will also find three new columns:
Reboot Required: A "Yes" in this column means Windows requires a restart before it applies the described policy setting
Logoff Required: A "Yes" in this column means Windows requires the user to log off and log on again before it applies the described policy setting.
Active Directory Schema or Domain Requirements: A "Yes" in this column means you extend your Active Directory Schema before deploying this policy setting
Finally, the spreadsheet goes beyond Administrative Templates policy settings and now includes security policy settings too (as implemented by the security extension).
Download:
Windows Vista Policy Settings Spreadsheet
The Windows Start Menu's new shut down default is "sleep" - however, you may want to change this for whatever reason. To change it:
Click on Start, and then click on Control Panel.
Click on "System and Maintenance".
Click on "Power Options".
Select a power management plan and then click on "Change Plan Settings".
Click on "Change advanced power settings".
In the Power Options dialog that appears, expand "Power Buttons and Lid", and then expand "Start menu power button".
Click on "Setting" and then choose the function you want the button to perform - "Sleep", "Hibernate", or "Shut down".
Click on OK.
Close the "Edit Plan Settings" Control Panel window.
If you were testing Vista on the same network with a Windows XP machiene you may have wondered why the XP computer did not show up in your “Network Map” in the Network Control Centre. Well the simple reason is that Windows XP couldn’t / wouldn’t respond to the LLTD Call made by Windows Vista over your network. (LLTD enables device discovery via the data-link layer and determines the topology of a network ((802.3 Ethernet & 802.11)).
So in reply to this Microsoft have released the
Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) responder for Windows XP computers. This in turn will allow you to see a graphical view of your network layout. To download the LLTD Responder
click HERE or visit the
KB Article. I am unsure weather the LLTD Protocol is built into Windows Server as I have not tested it. However if it is not there is not Patch for it as of yet.
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 Windows Server 2003 operating system by introducing numerous refinements in addition to supplying cumulative system updates. Deploying SP2 will help enterprises across all industries and segments enhance security, increase reliability, and simplify administration through guided attack surface reduction.
SP2 update applies to:
• Windows Server 2003 All Editions (32-bit x86)
• Windows Server 2003 Itanium-based Editions
• Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions
• Windows Server 2003 R2 Editions
• Windows Server 2003 Storage Server R2 Edition
• Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition
• Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Servers R2 Edition
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Visit the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate website (including download information)
For me one major thing missing in Windows Vista was the ability to use Nero, since yesterday Nero announced that the newest Nero 7 update will work with windows Vista
Having rapidly addressed the latest developmental changes to Microsoft's highly-anticipated new operating system through the RC1 and RC2 phases, Nero now offers its Windows Vista-ready software to consumers online at www.nero.com. Current Nero 7 customers will also be able to download this version free of charge at the company's website.
A free tool that converts Adobe/Macromedia
Flash files to
XAML
Michael Swanson writes: In my spare time, I've been working on a tool that converts Adobe/Macromedia Flash (.SWF) files to XAML. Unlike my
Adobe Illustrator to XAML export plug-in that was implemented in native code, this tool is a fully managed code application (managed code rocks!). The current version of the tool allows you to directly open a SWF file and browse through its frames one by one. When you've found a frame that you like, you can either export a XAML file or copy the XAML to the clipboard for easy pasting into your tool of choice. The conversion isn't perfect, and there are many areas for improvement. For common cases, however, it should do the trick.
Sidebar by default will use settings and gadgets that have been installed to your user profile. Many folks use multiple computers and don’t have easy methods of duplicating their user profiles between computers. Even on domain joined computers and accounts with roaming profiles, gadgets don’t roam. Additionally, some folks use shared computers with profiles that get wiped out every night. For most of these scenarios, Sidebar users typically only have access to the standard Vista gadgets and any shared gadgets the system administrator has installed. Fear not, roaming users, Sidebar does have support for carrying your gadgets and settings with you!
USB storage keys are pretty cheap these days, and they have plenty of room for storing
gadgets. We can copy our gadgets and settings to this USB key, edit the settings file to make it drive-letter independent, and use a simple batch file to execute Sidebar in such a way that our gadgets and settings are loaded from the USB key instead of from the user profile.(
continue at source)
Sean Alexander writes:
A friend in the Windows Vista team sent me pictures of a cool new PC for
Windows Vista they just did with Dell for a promotion.
This hot-rod took the fastest Dell Media Center PC on the planet, then added a tricked out paint job by mondo paint mod shop Colorware to commemorate Windows Vista release to manufacturing. As the picture hints at, the finished result is top-notch automotive-quality paint that appears lit from within.
Henrik Walther has written a series of postings on MsExchange.org on how to Install, Configure and Test an
Exchange 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) Based Mailbox Server.
You benefit from several advantages when you choose to install the Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server role in a
Cluster Continuous Replication setup in your organization. The primary reason here is that you no longer have a single point of failure, when talking about the Mailbox/Public Folder databases. Should the database on one node crash, an automatic fail over to the other node containing the secondary database is completed. This also means you no longer need to use a shared storage system in the CCR setup, as is the case with Exchange 2007 Single Copy Clusters as well as cluster setup in previous versions of Exchange.
Policies in Exchange are designed to enable flexible administration of large numbers of Exchange objects. A policy is a collection of configuration settings that can be applied to one or more Exchange objects of the same class. This blog post gives an overview of
Exchange 2007 policies: E-mail Address Policy (EAP), Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy, Unified Messaging (UM) mailbox policy, and managed folder mailbox policy. Policies available in
Exchange 2003 that are removed or changed in Exchange 2007 are also covered.(
continue at source)
Some of you might have noticed that after installing the Windows 2003 Administrator pack on Windows Vista RTM some of the tools won't work correctly. The reason is that though
Microsoft added a shim to make the install proceed without needing to modify the MSI anymore the install fails to register several DLL's (adprop.dll and dsadmin.dll) to correct this do the following:
1. Close any of the snap-ins you tried to use.
2. Copy all text between [start copy here] and [end copy here] and save as FIXADMINPACK.CMD
3. Run the script with elevated credentials to register all ADMINPACK DLLs. No restart required.
4. Restart the previously failing ADMINPACK snap-ins and they should behave normally.
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The releases just keep coming... today it's Network Monitor (
NetMon) 3.0. NetMon is a much needed upgrade over the version included with Windows, and even the 'enhanced' version that has shipped with Microsoft Systems Management Server (
SMS) for quite some time. The final version number is 3.0.372 and weighs in at 2.5MB. Head on over to Connect and grab your copy - or wait for it to show up on the regular downloads site soon. And, yes - it works on Vista RTM! Here's a screen shot of NetMon 3.0 using a capture filter (shows DNS queries only):
Microsoft released a bunch documentation on the UI licensing. Gist of the news: Third parties can use portions of the Office 2007 user interface, the "ribbon," in their own products. Microsoft has lots to gain from the
licensing program. The more software that looks and feels like Office 2007, the better for Microsoft and its customers. The company and its development partners have invested loads of money and resources around the familiarity of the Office interface. Office 2007 sports a new interface, and it's an ugly duckling. The new UI is sure to be a swan some day, when people get used to the changes and see the benefits of the task-oriented approach.
For now, Office 2007 and its ribbon means change, and change isn't often welcomed by risk-adverse IT organizations. Too bad, because I'm a huge fan of the ribbon. Microsoft should incorporate the ribbon in more products, starting with Windows.
Office 2007 and Windows Vista UIs are defined by their incongruities, rather than their synergies. Products that look and feel like Office will help Microsoft spur version 2007 adoption and build out a broader development ecosystem. The latter is important to all kinds of developers, although Microsoft has its favorites (everybody has some)--typically third-parties building applications on top of Office and those working within IT organizations.
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Mobile Review has a review of the upcoming new version of Windows Mobile:
Today we are getting our readers to know the new mobile operating system by Microsoft codenamed “Windows Mobile Crossbow”. The most probable title for the commercial edition, though, is “Windows Mobile 6.0”, but it is the thing to remain veiled until an official announcement is made. Beginning from the previous version of Windows Mobile, the company has put into practice a new a
