Microsoft has announced a promotion with retailer PC Mall and Symantec for free Symantec protection to small businesses that also purchase the $183 Windows 7 Professional.
From now until December 31, small businesses that purchase Windows 7 Professional from PC Mall will receive Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition for free, after an $18 mail-in rebate; list price is $37.
The promotion is valid for businesses with at least one server and in up to 50 PCs.
Launched in the summer of 2009, Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition includes firewall, host-based Intrusion Protection System; network Intrusion Prevention System; protection against viruses, spyware, and rootkits.
"We think this is yet another great reason for small businesses to migrate to Windows 7 Professional with confidence," Microsoft group product marketing manager Sandrine Skinner wrote in a blog post.
Skinner added that the number of machines running on Windows 7 has gone up five times in the last year.
Back in October, Microsoft offered free Microsoft Security Essentials to small businesses in up to 10 PCs, but without the Windows 7 purchase condition.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
10 Hot Questions About Windows Phone 7, Answered
After years of watching its Windows Mobile operating system languish behind sexier products from archrivals Apple, Google, and Palm, Microsoft launched the Windows Phone 7 platform Monday morning. Why is it important? Does it live up to the rumors? And more to the point, what can you expect? Here are the top ten questions about the new Windows Phone 7 OS, and their answers.
1. What is Windows Phone 7? It's Microsoft's new mobile-phone operating system. A total break from the past, it focuses your smartphone life around "hubs" rather than apps – the people you talk to, the pictures they post, or the games you like to play.
2. Is it a "Zune Phone?" No, but Zune is one of the built-in "hubs." So is XBox Live. So is Bing.
3. What will the phones look like? There will be many form factors, but they all have to have capacitive, 800-by-480 or greater touch screens and have three buttons at the bottom: Home, Back and Search. They will all have four-point multi-touch displays, compasses and accelerometers. You'll see phones with and without sliding QWERTY keyboards, but no BlackBerry-style candybars or non-touch phones.
4. What carriers will they run on? All four major U.S. carriers, but AT&T will get the first crack with an as-yet unannounced phone.
5. How's the Office and e-mail support? Looking great. WP7 - that's the new official acronym - supports OneNote, Office, multiple Exchange accounts and SharePoint. But the interface is definitely more about communicating and having fun than about doing spreadsheets.
6. Can it sync with a Mac? Not initially. WP7 will require the Zune software to sync, and there's no Mac Zune software. Look for third parties like Mark/Space to fill in the gaps with a syncing solution.
7. Will it run old Windows Mobile apps? I don't think so. The interfaces are very different. Microsoft promised we'd find out more at their MIX developers' conference in mid-March.
8. Does it have multi-tasking? We can't tell, but Microsoft said you'd be able to "play music in the background".
9. How about Adobe Flash? Not at launch, but Steve Ballmer himself said that he doesn't have anything against it.
10. When's it coming? For the holidays, 2010.
1. What is Windows Phone 7? It's Microsoft's new mobile-phone operating system. A total break from the past, it focuses your smartphone life around "hubs" rather than apps – the people you talk to, the pictures they post, or the games you like to play.
2. Is it a "Zune Phone?" No, but Zune is one of the built-in "hubs." So is XBox Live. So is Bing.
3. What will the phones look like? There will be many form factors, but they all have to have capacitive, 800-by-480 or greater touch screens and have three buttons at the bottom: Home, Back and Search. They will all have four-point multi-touch displays, compasses and accelerometers. You'll see phones with and without sliding QWERTY keyboards, but no BlackBerry-style candybars or non-touch phones.
4. What carriers will they run on? All four major U.S. carriers, but AT&T will get the first crack with an as-yet unannounced phone.
5. How's the Office and e-mail support? Looking great. WP7 - that's the new official acronym - supports OneNote, Office, multiple Exchange accounts and SharePoint. But the interface is definitely more about communicating and having fun than about doing spreadsheets.
6. Can it sync with a Mac? Not initially. WP7 will require the Zune software to sync, and there's no Mac Zune software. Look for third parties like Mark/Space to fill in the gaps with a syncing solution.
7. Will it run old Windows Mobile apps? I don't think so. The interfaces are very different. Microsoft promised we'd find out more at their MIX developers' conference in mid-March.
8. Does it have multi-tasking? We can't tell, but Microsoft said you'd be able to "play music in the background".
9. How about Adobe Flash? Not at launch, but Steve Ballmer himself said that he doesn't have anything against it.
10. When's it coming? For the holidays, 2010.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Seesmic Launches On Windows Phone 7
Seesmic has added a version of its popular native Twitter client to the Windows Phone 7.
"Social addicts your passion has arrived," the company said in a recent blog post.
The mobile app, already available on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, is a native Twitter and Facebook client with a customized dashboard and support for cross-posting on multiple accounts. The app boasts over 50 available plug-ins.
"Add your Twitter and Facebook accounts, update your status on multiple Twitter accounts, access user profile, upload links, pictures, or geotag your tweets. You can organize your accounts, searches, lists and trending topics, all in a customized dashboard and navigate through it so easily and interactively," the blog entry said.
Seesmic for Windows Phone 7 includes separate navigation panes for Directories, Trending Topics, and Search. You can adjust settings to include your .bitly statistics in your Twitter feed as well.
Download the app for free at the Seesmic homepage.
In September, Seesmic updated its popular Seesmic Desktop social-networking application to Seesmic Desktop 2, a client that brings additional functionality to an already solid program. For more details, see PCMag's hands on.
In other Windows Phone 7 news, Engadget reported Friday that the official Twitter app for the Microsoft OS is now live, though a hands-on with the app produced some sign-in problems.
"Social addicts your passion has arrived," the company said in a recent blog post.
The mobile app, already available on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, is a native Twitter and Facebook client with a customized dashboard and support for cross-posting on multiple accounts. The app boasts over 50 available plug-ins.
"Add your Twitter and Facebook accounts, update your status on multiple Twitter accounts, access user profile, upload links, pictures, or geotag your tweets. You can organize your accounts, searches, lists and trending topics, all in a customized dashboard and navigate through it so easily and interactively," the blog entry said.
Seesmic for Windows Phone 7 includes separate navigation panes for Directories, Trending Topics, and Search. You can adjust settings to include your .bitly statistics in your Twitter feed as well.
Download the app for free at the Seesmic homepage.
In September, Seesmic updated its popular Seesmic Desktop social-networking application to Seesmic Desktop 2, a client that brings additional functionality to an already solid program. For more details, see PCMag's hands on.
In other Windows Phone 7 news, Engadget reported Friday that the official Twitter app for the Microsoft OS is now live, though a hands-on with the app produced some sign-in problems.
Monday, January 24, 2011
NPD: Initial Sales of Microsoft Office 2010 'Disappointing'
Initial sales of Microsoft's Office 2010 have been a bit disappointing despite the fact that they are slightly ahead of sales trends of Office 2007 so far this year, according to Tuesday data from NPD Group.
Office 2010 made its debut on June 15, and since then, "the results are mixed," Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD, wrote in a blog post.
Units and dollars are down from Office 2007's initial two weeks of sales, though they are in line and slightly ahead of sales trends for Office 2007 so far this year, according to information culled from NPD's Weekly Tracking Service.
"This fact highlights the challenges for Microsoft going forward for Office," Baker wrote. "A strong product launched into a saturated market faces considerable headwinds. Even so, sales of Office 2010 in general have to be characterized as a bit disappointing during the first two weeks."
This is likely due to the fact that the launch of Office 2007 represented a "radical new design" and was launched almost in parallel with the release of Windows Vista. Sales of Office 2007 exceeded $1.5 billion in the last 3.5 years, NPD said.
"This time Office was launched during a seasonally slow period for PC purchases which have, over time, proven to be a have a strong impact on Office sales," Baker wrote. "The combination of these factors, plus the increasingly saturated installed base likely explains most of the initial weakness in sales of Office 2010."
As a result, Microsoft is now battling the "success of its retail strategy," Baker said. Perhaps the company recognizes this, as it has "been much quieter about selling Office 2010 … without a lot of hoopla and fanfare."
What has been successful, NPD said, is the Office 2010 Product Key Card, which lets users download Office 2010 using a 25-character product key on a plastic card.
"Designed to facilitate upgrading for PC buyers, [it] has gotten off to a solid start accounting for about one-third of the unit volume," Baker wrote. "This is important because we do believe that the success of 2007 and 2003 at retail will make it very difficult for the boxed version of 2010 to generate much incremental retail sales volume above the trend line of the past 18 months or so."
Deals with retailers to sell PCs with Office 2010 pre-installed could also work to Microsoft's advantage, Baker suggested.
Baker dismissed the idea that free alternatives like to Office have impacted the product's success.
"While products like Google Docs are certainly playing a part in the overall productivity software ecosystem, it is a virtual certainty that the slower than expected initial sales of Office 2010 have nothing to do with free alternatives, be they Google Docs or Office 2010's own online version," Baker wrote.
The mainstream consumer currently has little awareness about these options, and have not embraced the cloud, he said. This may change over time, "but that time is not now."
"The real short-term question is how Microsoft is able to match promotional fervor, pricing, and sales to the long-term opportunity to sell incremental versions of Office into a saturated consumer marketplace," Baker concluded.
"We are confident in our Office 2010 line up of products and are excited that Office continues to be the number one selling dollar volume software product at retail," a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement, citing NPD statistics from June.
Office 2010 made its debut on June 15, and since then, "the results are mixed," Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD, wrote in a blog post.
Units and dollars are down from Office 2007's initial two weeks of sales, though they are in line and slightly ahead of sales trends for Office 2007 so far this year, according to information culled from NPD's Weekly Tracking Service.
"This fact highlights the challenges for Microsoft going forward for Office," Baker wrote. "A strong product launched into a saturated market faces considerable headwinds. Even so, sales of Office 2010 in general have to be characterized as a bit disappointing during the first two weeks."
This is likely due to the fact that the launch of Office 2007 represented a "radical new design" and was launched almost in parallel with the release of Windows Vista. Sales of Office 2007 exceeded $1.5 billion in the last 3.5 years, NPD said.
"This time Office was launched during a seasonally slow period for PC purchases which have, over time, proven to be a have a strong impact on Office sales," Baker wrote. "The combination of these factors, plus the increasingly saturated installed base likely explains most of the initial weakness in sales of Office 2010."
As a result, Microsoft is now battling the "success of its retail strategy," Baker said. Perhaps the company recognizes this, as it has "been much quieter about selling Office 2010 … without a lot of hoopla and fanfare."
What has been successful, NPD said, is the Office 2010 Product Key Card, which lets users download Office 2010 using a 25-character product key on a plastic card.
"Designed to facilitate upgrading for PC buyers, [it] has gotten off to a solid start accounting for about one-third of the unit volume," Baker wrote. "This is important because we do believe that the success of 2007 and 2003 at retail will make it very difficult for the boxed version of 2010 to generate much incremental retail sales volume above the trend line of the past 18 months or so."
Deals with retailers to sell PCs with Office 2010 pre-installed could also work to Microsoft's advantage, Baker suggested.
Baker dismissed the idea that free alternatives like to Office have impacted the product's success.
"While products like Google Docs are certainly playing a part in the overall productivity software ecosystem, it is a virtual certainty that the slower than expected initial sales of Office 2010 have nothing to do with free alternatives, be they Google Docs or Office 2010's own online version," Baker wrote.
The mainstream consumer currently has little awareness about these options, and have not embraced the cloud, he said. This may change over time, "but that time is not now."
"The real short-term question is how Microsoft is able to match promotional fervor, pricing, and sales to the long-term opportunity to sell incremental versions of Office into a saturated consumer marketplace," Baker concluded.
"We are confident in our Office 2010 line up of products and are excited that Office continues to be the number one selling dollar volume software product at retail," a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement, citing NPD statistics from June.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
MWC: Microsoft, Rivals Remake the Mobile World
Windows Phone 7 may have been the biggest news at Mobile World Congress this year. But the world's biggest mobile-phone trade show had something for everybody, from app stores to solar panels. Here's our take for the what you need to take away from MWC 2010.
MWC (Mobile World Congress)BARCELONA—Windows Phone 7 may have been the biggest news at Mobile World Congress this year. But the world's biggest mobile-phone trade show had something for all 49,000 attendees – cheap phones and solar base stations for African countries, free Google Nexus Ones for Android app developers, and a Duran Duran concert, for instance. Here are some of the themes I found at the show.
Windows Phone 7: Microsoft's comeback
The biggest announcement of the show, of course, was the Windows Phone 7 Series. For the past few years, Microsoft has basically been coasting in the smartphone world, letting their market share dwindle while competitors like Apple and Google innovate.
Analyst Michael Gartenberg has said many times that you should never underestimate Microsoft, because they're rich and they're patient. He's right. Microsoft totally rebooted their mobile OS with Windows Phone 7 Series, a radically new approach that Microsoft will launch with every U.S. carrier (but on AT&T first).
Instead of icons, WP7 has big words and photographs, in bold boxes. Instead of single-use apps, Microsoft uses "hubs," like Zune, Xbox or People, which give you all your gaming experiences, all your media experiences, or all your communication experiences in one place. WP7 phones will all have big, multi-touch screens and high-speed Internet, too.
WP7 doesn't work or look like Apple or BlackBerry or Android or Windows Mobile, for that matter. It looks a little like Zune, as if Windows 7 Phone had swallowed Zune. Zune is just a puzzle piece now.
Windows Phone 7 has one big problem: it's not coming out until "the holidays." (I assume Microsoft doesn't mean Easter.) WP7 looks great, but there will be a new iPhone out by "the holidays." Google Android phones will have seen several upgrades, and Android will have added Adobe Flash by then. WP7 looks great for February 2010, but will it look as fresh in November?
To try to keep people interested, Microsoft is trickling out information. Readers on the comments section of our Windows Phone 7 story have been asking things like whether the OS has multitasking, or whether you'll be able to run Windows Mobile 6 programs. Microsoft isn't saying, because "the holidays" are a long way away and, well, they'll tell us later. How do you keep a geek in suspense?
Sorry, no dumb pipes
As mobile phones become PCs, there's one big difference in their economies: unlike ISPs, wireless carriers call the shots on what we do with our phones.
That's likely to continue, if you believe MWC. Every presentation, it seemed, had a little fillip in it about how "operators" (that's the Verizons or AT&Ts of the world) could customize, exclusivize, differentiate, or own whatever new technology is discussed.
Skype is bound to Verizon's voice network. Samsung's Bada is "operator friendly" - and in fact, Samsung won't even build Bada phones if their operator partners don't like them. RIM touted how operator-friendly the company's bandwidth-sipping BlackBerrys are. Even Google's Eric Schmidt bent a little bit to try to make the operators happy, saying he's not trying to reduce them to being carriers for Google services.
At least the operators are giving us speed. T-Mobile announced its super-fast HSPA+ network at the show, and Verizon and AT&T made a critical step towards their new 4G LTE networks by settling on a common voice protocol for the new system. We're still not sure what mobile users will do with their super-fast connections (it seems to have a lot to do with streaming video) but we'll probably hear more later this year.
Whither Apple?
Apple has loomed over Mobile World Congress for the last few years – never attending, but always setting the agenda. For the past year, Apple has been all about apps – promoting the App Store, telling developers how they can make money in mobile apps, and crowing about their huge catalog and number of downloads.
So MWC went crazy about apps, too. Everyone had to have an app store. Way too many app stores. Operator app stores, manufacturer app stores, and app stores that you'll never want or need or see. An entire hall of the Barcelona convention center was dedicated to the "App Planet" of developers writing apps. Google gave away Nexus One phones at educational sessions.
This is all great. I've been saying phones are the new PCs for years, and PCs are about third-party-developed applications. Moving to a proliferation of third-party apps is just part of the evolution of phones into PCs.
Before you complain about "not being able to get a phone that only makes calls," by the way, companies like Emporia and Vodafone were showing off plenty of inexpensive, voice-only phones - they just weren't the focus of the show.
Anyway, the app-store land rush reminded me of how mobile apps have existed for years, but nobody seemed to pay attention until Apple popularized them. What will Apple do this summer - and will that change the agenda again?
Before the new iPhone comes, everyone else has one more chance to set the pace. We'll learn more at CTIA, the USA's wireless trade show, from March 23-25.
MWC (Mobile World Congress)BARCELONA—Windows Phone 7 may have been the biggest news at Mobile World Congress this year. But the world's biggest mobile-phone trade show had something for all 49,000 attendees – cheap phones and solar base stations for African countries, free Google Nexus Ones for Android app developers, and a Duran Duran concert, for instance. Here are some of the themes I found at the show.
Windows Phone 7: Microsoft's comeback
The biggest announcement of the show, of course, was the Windows Phone 7 Series. For the past few years, Microsoft has basically been coasting in the smartphone world, letting their market share dwindle while competitors like Apple and Google innovate.
Analyst Michael Gartenberg has said many times that you should never underestimate Microsoft, because they're rich and they're patient. He's right. Microsoft totally rebooted their mobile OS with Windows Phone 7 Series, a radically new approach that Microsoft will launch with every U.S. carrier (but on AT&T first).
Instead of icons, WP7 has big words and photographs, in bold boxes. Instead of single-use apps, Microsoft uses "hubs," like Zune, Xbox or People, which give you all your gaming experiences, all your media experiences, or all your communication experiences in one place. WP7 phones will all have big, multi-touch screens and high-speed Internet, too.
WP7 doesn't work or look like Apple or BlackBerry or Android or Windows Mobile, for that matter. It looks a little like Zune, as if Windows 7 Phone had swallowed Zune. Zune is just a puzzle piece now.
Windows Phone 7 has one big problem: it's not coming out until "the holidays." (I assume Microsoft doesn't mean Easter.) WP7 looks great, but there will be a new iPhone out by "the holidays." Google Android phones will have seen several upgrades, and Android will have added Adobe Flash by then. WP7 looks great for February 2010, but will it look as fresh in November?
To try to keep people interested, Microsoft is trickling out information. Readers on the comments section of our Windows Phone 7 story have been asking things like whether the OS has multitasking, or whether you'll be able to run Windows Mobile 6 programs. Microsoft isn't saying, because "the holidays" are a long way away and, well, they'll tell us later. How do you keep a geek in suspense?
Sorry, no dumb pipes
As mobile phones become PCs, there's one big difference in their economies: unlike ISPs, wireless carriers call the shots on what we do with our phones.
That's likely to continue, if you believe MWC. Every presentation, it seemed, had a little fillip in it about how "operators" (that's the Verizons or AT&Ts of the world) could customize, exclusivize, differentiate, or own whatever new technology is discussed.
Skype is bound to Verizon's voice network. Samsung's Bada is "operator friendly" - and in fact, Samsung won't even build Bada phones if their operator partners don't like them. RIM touted how operator-friendly the company's bandwidth-sipping BlackBerrys are. Even Google's Eric Schmidt bent a little bit to try to make the operators happy, saying he's not trying to reduce them to being carriers for Google services.
At least the operators are giving us speed. T-Mobile announced its super-fast HSPA+ network at the show, and Verizon and AT&T made a critical step towards their new 4G LTE networks by settling on a common voice protocol for the new system. We're still not sure what mobile users will do with their super-fast connections (it seems to have a lot to do with streaming video) but we'll probably hear more later this year.
Whither Apple?
Apple has loomed over Mobile World Congress for the last few years – never attending, but always setting the agenda. For the past year, Apple has been all about apps – promoting the App Store, telling developers how they can make money in mobile apps, and crowing about their huge catalog and number of downloads.
So MWC went crazy about apps, too. Everyone had to have an app store. Way too many app stores. Operator app stores, manufacturer app stores, and app stores that you'll never want or need or see. An entire hall of the Barcelona convention center was dedicated to the "App Planet" of developers writing apps. Google gave away Nexus One phones at educational sessions.
This is all great. I've been saying phones are the new PCs for years, and PCs are about third-party-developed applications. Moving to a proliferation of third-party apps is just part of the evolution of phones into PCs.
Before you complain about "not being able to get a phone that only makes calls," by the way, companies like Emporia and Vodafone were showing off plenty of inexpensive, voice-only phones - they just weren't the focus of the show.
Anyway, the app-store land rush reminded me of how mobile apps have existed for years, but nobody seemed to pay attention until Apple popularized them. What will Apple do this summer - and will that change the agenda again?
Before the new iPhone comes, everyone else has one more chance to set the pace. We'll learn more at CTIA, the USA's wireless trade show, from March 23-25.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Why Spiceworks' Social Marketing Works
isn't known for having a vibrant trade show floor, but that is where I found Spiceworks, the Austin-based developer of a free network administration tool.
There are lots of free admin tools online, but Spiceworks distinguishes itself by making a product that is very easy to use, and creating a community of more than 350,000 engaged business users that advertisers are desperate to reach. I asked Spiceworks co-founder and VP of marketing, Jay Hallberg, for the secrets of the company's social marketing success.
Why are you guys at SXSW? It isn't a very business focused show, after all.
Hallberg: There are a few reasons for us to be at SXSW. A lot of our advertisers—Dell, HP, Microsoft, Rackspace, etc—and agencies we work with have people at the show and it's good for us to connect with them. We are also one of the fastest growing Austin-based companies so it's great to be at a big local event like SXSW to show our support... and connect with other folks around town. We've figured out a lot on the social media front but we're always looking for new ideas. And our developers are here to sharpen their skills.
You guys give Spiceworks away for free so how do you make money?
It's essentially a media business model where we build a large, valuable audience and charge advertisers to reach them. We have a lot of options for these advertisers ranging from impression-based branding ads, to cost-per-lead offers for direct marketers, to surveys and polls for the market researchers, and events to meet the SMB IT pros in person. Over the past several months we have rolled out a number of community engagement packages that lets marketers interact with the community using social media—placing clearly marked avatars in the community, asking questions, providing content, etc. LinkedIn is an example of a successful company that has built multiple revenue streams like this.
How important the Spiceworks community of users to your business plan?
The community is incredibly important to our business, and business plan. We've been able to crowdsource much of what we do to the community from product management, to support, to IT best practices, to marketing. This helps us keep our costs low but more importantly, the community helps one another, so every person that we add increases the value of the network to each other—it's the network effect, brought to life across an IT community.
SMB vendors like Freshbooks and BatchBlue are sharing APIs, are you planning to do anything similar?
We haven't announced anything formal yet but if you go to our site you'll see you are spot on. This is public in the sense that it has been out there for a couple of months but it has been very quiet... we're emailing our users next week to tell them about the plugins and APIs. We already have 47 plugins and widgets written by Spiceworks employees and users who are using our initial set of published APIs. We have a lot more planned on this front.
There are lots of free admin tools online, but Spiceworks distinguishes itself by making a product that is very easy to use, and creating a community of more than 350,000 engaged business users that advertisers are desperate to reach. I asked Spiceworks co-founder and VP of marketing, Jay Hallberg, for the secrets of the company's social marketing success.
Why are you guys at SXSW? It isn't a very business focused show, after all.
Hallberg: There are a few reasons for us to be at SXSW. A lot of our advertisers—Dell, HP, Microsoft, Rackspace, etc—and agencies we work with have people at the show and it's good for us to connect with them. We are also one of the fastest growing Austin-based companies so it's great to be at a big local event like SXSW to show our support... and connect with other folks around town. We've figured out a lot on the social media front but we're always looking for new ideas. And our developers are here to sharpen their skills.
You guys give Spiceworks away for free so how do you make money?
It's essentially a media business model where we build a large, valuable audience and charge advertisers to reach them. We have a lot of options for these advertisers ranging from impression-based branding ads, to cost-per-lead offers for direct marketers, to surveys and polls for the market researchers, and events to meet the SMB IT pros in person. Over the past several months we have rolled out a number of community engagement packages that lets marketers interact with the community using social media—placing clearly marked avatars in the community, asking questions, providing content, etc. LinkedIn is an example of a successful company that has built multiple revenue streams like this.
How important the Spiceworks community of users to your business plan?
The community is incredibly important to our business, and business plan. We've been able to crowdsource much of what we do to the community from product management, to support, to IT best practices, to marketing. This helps us keep our costs low but more importantly, the community helps one another, so every person that we add increases the value of the network to each other—it's the network effect, brought to life across an IT community.
SMB vendors like Freshbooks and BatchBlue are sharing APIs, are you planning to do anything similar?
We haven't announced anything formal yet but if you go to our site you'll see you are spot on. This is public in the sense that it has been out there for a couple of months but it has been very quiet... we're emailing our users next week to tell them about the plugins and APIs. We already have 47 plugins and widgets written by Spiceworks employees and users who are using our initial set of published APIs. We have a lot more planned on this front.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bits & Bytes (v22n16)
Ignoring the Tide
Even as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) faces off with online music-swapping sites, two-thirds of the 2,515 Americans surveyed who trade music online say they don't care whether the music is copyrighted, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Through July, according to the study, the RIAA had issued almost 1,000 subpoenas requesting information from ISPs to identify music swappers.
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Lost and Found
Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak and his company Wheels of Zeus have developed wireless location-monitoring technology for tracking children, pets, and objects. The electronic tags use GPS and radio technology and should come to market next year. They will be able to issue alerts by phone or e-mail when, for example, a child arrives at school or a dog wanders beyond a gated area.
The Next Napster?
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents seven major movie studios, has unveiled a series of antipiracy spots for release on television and as previews in movie theaters. The spots ask Internet users not to download copyrighted movies that they may find online. The spots include celebrities (such as Ben Affleck), studio security guards, and theater workers.
Even as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) faces off with online music-swapping sites, two-thirds of the 2,515 Americans surveyed who trade music online say they don't care whether the music is copyrighted, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Through July, according to the study, the RIAA had issued almost 1,000 subpoenas requesting information from ISPs to identify music swappers.
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingLost and Found
Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak and his company Wheels of Zeus have developed wireless location-monitoring technology for tracking children, pets, and objects. The electronic tags use GPS and radio technology and should come to market next year. They will be able to issue alerts by phone or e-mail when, for example, a child arrives at school or a dog wanders beyond a gated area.
The Next Napster?
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents seven major movie studios, has unveiled a series of antipiracy spots for release on television and as previews in movie theaters. The spots ask Internet users not to download copyrighted movies that they may find online. The spots include celebrities (such as Ben Affleck), studio security guards, and theater workers.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Is Microsoft Behind Google's Italy Woes?
Microsoft is up to its old tricks again. Google is under all sorts of attacks right now—all somehow related to Microsoft. There are a slew of stories about how Microsoft managed to get Google into anti-trust trouble with the EU. This proxy fight may also have had something to do with the situation in Italy, in which Google executives were indicted for allowing some dopey video to be uploaded in that country.
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I see Microsoft lurking around the Google/EU situation in much the same way Sun and others did while Microsoft was being beat down by that same body. The situation not only makes Google miserable, it also gets at Eric Schmidt, Sun's former CTO. The irony here is that, while Microsoft was employing unfair business practices, the only thing unfair about Google is the fact that it offers superior search results. The company isn't forcing people to use it. But Microsoft knows that the EU is against anything made in America, and the company keeps pointing to Google as a big American company.
Thanks to the EU, Microsoft must offer consumers a checklist of alternatives to Internet Explorer on new machines. Personally, I side with Microsoft on this. Why should a company be forced to do this sort of thing? If users are not complaining about Microsoft's defaults, then so what?
Microsoft also seems to have buddied up to Rupert Murdoch, confirming his belief that Google's search needs to be destroyed, because there is some underlying illegality lurking about. This curious copyright battle has been going on since the first Web crawler hit the Internet.
In the strictest sense, there is a case to be made that some sort of copyright violation occurs when you use a search engine. A lot of material is typically lifted and presented to the user for the purposes of identification. But I call this fair use. It's a one-time snapshot used for the purposes of discovery. Once discovered, the user proceeds to the site where said information can be found. Who or what is this process actually violating? How is this really bad?
The way Murdoch sees it, the whole thing is a violation of copyright law, and that's that. Besides the fact that this sort of absolutist thinking is a menace to society, I'm absolutely stunned that the company would side with Murdoch on this. It's seriously sickening. If Microsoft was a stand up company, it would be straightening Murdoch out. But no.
It's as if Microsoft has pushed Google out a plane and is jumping out after it, without a parachute—just to make sure. In that scenario, both companies plummet to their death. Oh, and in the process, the public be damned.
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingI see Microsoft lurking around the Google/EU situation in much the same way Sun and others did while Microsoft was being beat down by that same body. The situation not only makes Google miserable, it also gets at Eric Schmidt, Sun's former CTO. The irony here is that, while Microsoft was employing unfair business practices, the only thing unfair about Google is the fact that it offers superior search results. The company isn't forcing people to use it. But Microsoft knows that the EU is against anything made in America, and the company keeps pointing to Google as a big American company.
Thanks to the EU, Microsoft must offer consumers a checklist of alternatives to Internet Explorer on new machines. Personally, I side with Microsoft on this. Why should a company be forced to do this sort of thing? If users are not complaining about Microsoft's defaults, then so what?
Microsoft also seems to have buddied up to Rupert Murdoch, confirming his belief that Google's search needs to be destroyed, because there is some underlying illegality lurking about. This curious copyright battle has been going on since the first Web crawler hit the Internet.
In the strictest sense, there is a case to be made that some sort of copyright violation occurs when you use a search engine. A lot of material is typically lifted and presented to the user for the purposes of identification. But I call this fair use. It's a one-time snapshot used for the purposes of discovery. Once discovered, the user proceeds to the site where said information can be found. Who or what is this process actually violating? How is this really bad?
The way Murdoch sees it, the whole thing is a violation of copyright law, and that's that. Besides the fact that this sort of absolutist thinking is a menace to society, I'm absolutely stunned that the company would side with Murdoch on this. It's seriously sickening. If Microsoft was a stand up company, it would be straightening Murdoch out. But no.
It's as if Microsoft has pushed Google out a plane and is jumping out after it, without a parachute—just to make sure. In that scenario, both companies plummet to their death. Oh, and in the process, the public be damned.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Passware Warns of Microsoft Risk
Password-recovery experts at Passware warned Friday that the security of Microsoft's Bitlocker whole-disk encryption is seriously compromised on a computer configured to use sleep mode. The same is true of the open-source TrueCrypt whole-disk encryption tool.
The company's Passware Kit Forensic 1.03 can "decrypt hard disks encrypted with BitLocker or TrueCrypt in a matter of minutes if the target computer is running". If the computer is powered off decryption can still be accomplished by analyzing the file hiberfil.sys, which is created by Windows when the system enters sleep mode. According to the company, any computer that has hibernated even once with a mounted TrueCrypt or BitLocker hard drive is vulnerable, as their product can "instantly decrypt the hard disk even if the computer is no longer running".
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It's worth noting that BitLocker Drive Encryption is only present in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, not in any earlier edition. And only the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of those platforms include BitLocker support. ZoneAlarm DataLock, a third-party whole-disk encryption product, supports all current versions of Windows including Windows XP. During the initial encryption stage DataLock disables hibernation. Afterward it interacts with the hibernation feature so that the encryption password is required on waking from hibernation.
If you do use BitLocker or TrueCrypt, you need to configure the encrypted system so it doesn't accidentally go into sleep mode. Using the Power Options applet in control panel, set "Put the computer to sleep" to "Never". If the computer has a sleep button, set "When I press the sleep button" to "Do nothing". And be very sure you never choose "Sleep" from the options menu for the shutdown button.
The company's Passware Kit Forensic 1.03 can "decrypt hard disks encrypted with BitLocker or TrueCrypt in a matter of minutes if the target computer is running". If the computer is powered off decryption can still be accomplished by analyzing the file hiberfil.sys, which is created by Windows when the system enters sleep mode. According to the company, any computer that has hibernated even once with a mounted TrueCrypt or BitLocker hard drive is vulnerable, as their product can "instantly decrypt the hard disk even if the computer is no longer running".
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingIt's worth noting that BitLocker Drive Encryption is only present in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, not in any earlier edition. And only the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of those platforms include BitLocker support. ZoneAlarm DataLock, a third-party whole-disk encryption product, supports all current versions of Windows including Windows XP. During the initial encryption stage DataLock disables hibernation. Afterward it interacts with the hibernation feature so that the encryption password is required on waking from hibernation.
If you do use BitLocker or TrueCrypt, you need to configure the encrypted system so it doesn't accidentally go into sleep mode. Using the Power Options applet in control panel, set "Put the computer to sleep" to "Never". If the computer has a sleep button, set "When I press the sleep button" to "Do nothing". And be very sure you never choose "Sleep" from the options menu for the shutdown button.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Microsoft Reports Record Revenue
Microsoft reported record fiscal first-quarter revenues on Thursday, with strong demand for Office, Windows 7, and the Xbox driving a 51 percent increase in profits.
Microsoft reported net income of $5.41 billion on revenue of $16.20 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That represented a 51 percent increase in profits, and a 25 percent jump in revenue from the same period a year ago. Microsoft said its year-ago results included the deferral of $1.47 billion of revenue due to its Windows 7 upgrade option.
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Sales to small- and medium-business customers were up over 30 percent, partially aided by a 15 percent boost in the number of customers selling Microsoft products.
"We see customers of all sizes leveraging cloud services from Microsoft," chief financial officer Peter Klein said on the call, reiterating the cloud focus that Microsoft had emphasized at its Professional Developers' Conference.
The company said that Office 2010 revenue was up 15 percent over previous Office revenue in its first full quarter of sales. Xbox sales grew by 38 percent to 2.8 million units, and Bing also continued its market-share expansion.
More importantly, the company said that it "continues to see a healthy and sustaining business PC refresh cycle," a contrast to a gloomy outlook for the PC microprocessor market, which could have a negative impact on PC sales.
Microsoft saw PC sales grow at between 9 and 11 percent, with business PC growth in the mid-teens. PC growth in emerging markets, unsurprisingly, was stronger than in mature markets.
"This was an exceptional quarter, combining solid enterprise growth and continued strong consumer demand for Office 2010, Windows 7, and Xbox 360 consoles and games," said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft, in a statement. "Our ability to grow revenue while continuing to control costs allowed us to deliver another quarter of year-over-year margin expansion."
Microsoft reported revenue of $4.79 billion for the Windows and Windows Live division, versus $4.35 billion for the same period a year ago, with the Windows 7 deferral revenue factored in. Without it, Microsoft reported $2.88 billion for the period. The business reported $3.3 billion in operating income, more than double that of a year ago.
Microsoft said it sold over 240 million Windows 7 licenses to date.
Microsoft's Server and Tools business reported $1.63 billion in operating income on $3.96 billion in revenue.
Microsoft's Business Division reported $3.9 billion in operating income versus $5.13 billion in revenue, a 14 percent jump in revenue, with double-digit growth for SharePoint, Lync, Dynamics CRM, and Exchange. And Microsoft's Online Services Division reported $530 million in revenue, an 8 percent increase. However, Online Services reported an operating loss of $560 million, versus an operating loss of $477 million a year ago.
Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, the home of the Xbox, reported $1.80 billion in revenue, up 27 percent from a year ago. The division reported $382 million in operating income, and "Halo:Reach generated $350 million in revenue.
Microsoft's outlook for its Windows business is to be in line with PC market growth excluding the Windows 7 launch spike of about $600 million, the company said; for its business division, Microsoft expects non-annuity revenue in line with PC market growth, and multi-year license revenue to grow in the mid- to high single digits.
Microsoft reported net income of $5.41 billion on revenue of $16.20 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That represented a 51 percent increase in profits, and a 25 percent jump in revenue from the same period a year ago. Microsoft said its year-ago results included the deferral of $1.47 billion of revenue due to its Windows 7 upgrade option.
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingSales to small- and medium-business customers were up over 30 percent, partially aided by a 15 percent boost in the number of customers selling Microsoft products.
"We see customers of all sizes leveraging cloud services from Microsoft," chief financial officer Peter Klein said on the call, reiterating the cloud focus that Microsoft had emphasized at its Professional Developers' Conference.
The company said that Office 2010 revenue was up 15 percent over previous Office revenue in its first full quarter of sales. Xbox sales grew by 38 percent to 2.8 million units, and Bing also continued its market-share expansion.
More importantly, the company said that it "continues to see a healthy and sustaining business PC refresh cycle," a contrast to a gloomy outlook for the PC microprocessor market, which could have a negative impact on PC sales.
Microsoft saw PC sales grow at between 9 and 11 percent, with business PC growth in the mid-teens. PC growth in emerging markets, unsurprisingly, was stronger than in mature markets.
"This was an exceptional quarter, combining solid enterprise growth and continued strong consumer demand for Office 2010, Windows 7, and Xbox 360 consoles and games," said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft, in a statement. "Our ability to grow revenue while continuing to control costs allowed us to deliver another quarter of year-over-year margin expansion."
Microsoft reported revenue of $4.79 billion for the Windows and Windows Live division, versus $4.35 billion for the same period a year ago, with the Windows 7 deferral revenue factored in. Without it, Microsoft reported $2.88 billion for the period. The business reported $3.3 billion in operating income, more than double that of a year ago.
Microsoft said it sold over 240 million Windows 7 licenses to date.
Microsoft's Server and Tools business reported $1.63 billion in operating income on $3.96 billion in revenue.
Microsoft's Business Division reported $3.9 billion in operating income versus $5.13 billion in revenue, a 14 percent jump in revenue, with double-digit growth for SharePoint, Lync, Dynamics CRM, and Exchange. And Microsoft's Online Services Division reported $530 million in revenue, an 8 percent increase. However, Online Services reported an operating loss of $560 million, versus an operating loss of $477 million a year ago.
Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, the home of the Xbox, reported $1.80 billion in revenue, up 27 percent from a year ago. The division reported $382 million in operating income, and "Halo:Reach generated $350 million in revenue.
Microsoft's outlook for its Windows business is to be in line with PC market growth excluding the Windows 7 launch spike of about $600 million, the company said; for its business division, Microsoft expects non-annuity revenue in line with PC market growth, and multi-year license revenue to grow in the mid- to high single digits.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Microsoft OneNote 2003
Microsoft isn't known for getting its products right on the first release. But Microsoft OneNote 2003, the company's new note-taking program, is one of the best Microsoft debuts we've seen. This handy application provides a single interface for taking notes, which can include formatted text, outlines, graphics, snippets of Web pages, and even drawings. OneNote is very simple to use for entering information and—most important—finding it later on.
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Notes are organized into Pages and Subpages. Subpages appear as tabs down the right side of the screen, and Pages appear as tabs at the top of the screen. For one more level of structure, you can store multiple Sections in Folders.
OneNote is a good solution for creating rich-text outlines. Simply place the cursor anywhere on a page and you can start a new outline. If you have multiple outlines on a page, you can easily drag and drop items among them. You may have to play with the width of each outline section, however, to make things fit properly.
You can easily add pictures to your notes. And if you have a Tablet PC, you can also add handwritten notes, which OneNote can either convert to typed text or simply recognize for searching. Additionally, you can paste pieces of Web pages into OneNote, and the program will automatically generate links to the source.
OneNote includes an interesting if not yet perfected audio-recording feature. You can record meetings to an audio file, and the application automatically synchronizes the sound with your notes. You can then click the audio icon next to any part of your notes to play back what was recorded at that time. Unfortunately, when we simultaneously recorded a meeting and took notes on our laptop, the recording consisted mostly of the sound of typing on our keyboard.
Searching is generally very easy. Enter a search word and the program looks through all your notes and lists results, showing the pages in which the item was found.
Double-clicking on the OneNote icon in the system tray lets you add a Side Note, which looks like a sticky note on a piece of paper but is really a miniaturized version of the complete program. If you enlarge the Side Note window beyond a certain point, the whole application appears.
OneNote is not included in the Office 2003 suite. Like Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Visio, and some other Office-related programs, it is sold separately. The program is available for $99 direct, after a $100 rebate.
We'd like to see some security options in OneNote—such as password protection and encryption—as well as true integration with Outlook. While OneNote makes sharing notes via e-mail or SharePoint posting easy, it would be useful if OneNote were used as Outlook's native note format. Similarly, although you can easily create to-do lists within OneNote or turn bits of notes into Outlook Tasks, Microsoft needs to integrate these two concepts.
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingNotes are organized into Pages and Subpages. Subpages appear as tabs down the right side of the screen, and Pages appear as tabs at the top of the screen. For one more level of structure, you can store multiple Sections in Folders.
OneNote is a good solution for creating rich-text outlines. Simply place the cursor anywhere on a page and you can start a new outline. If you have multiple outlines on a page, you can easily drag and drop items among them. You may have to play with the width of each outline section, however, to make things fit properly.
You can easily add pictures to your notes. And if you have a Tablet PC, you can also add handwritten notes, which OneNote can either convert to typed text or simply recognize for searching. Additionally, you can paste pieces of Web pages into OneNote, and the program will automatically generate links to the source.
OneNote includes an interesting if not yet perfected audio-recording feature. You can record meetings to an audio file, and the application automatically synchronizes the sound with your notes. You can then click the audio icon next to any part of your notes to play back what was recorded at that time. Unfortunately, when we simultaneously recorded a meeting and took notes on our laptop, the recording consisted mostly of the sound of typing on our keyboard.
Searching is generally very easy. Enter a search word and the program looks through all your notes and lists results, showing the pages in which the item was found.
Double-clicking on the OneNote icon in the system tray lets you add a Side Note, which looks like a sticky note on a piece of paper but is really a miniaturized version of the complete program. If you enlarge the Side Note window beyond a certain point, the whole application appears.
OneNote is not included in the Office 2003 suite. Like Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Visio, and some other Office-related programs, it is sold separately. The program is available for $99 direct, after a $100 rebate.
We'd like to see some security options in OneNote—such as password protection and encryption—as well as true integration with Outlook. While OneNote makes sharing notes via e-mail or SharePoint posting easy, it would be useful if OneNote were used as Outlook's native note format. Similarly, although you can easily create to-do lists within OneNote or turn bits of notes into Outlook Tasks, Microsoft needs to integrate these two concepts.
XML in Action in Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2003 lets people use the products they're familiar with to write data to and read data from external data sources using XML and Web Services. This example shows how a user familiar with Excel can complete an expense report. The data can be written directly to a back-end expense-tracking database rather than lying captive inside an XLS file. Another Excel user (with the appropriate rights) can then tap into the database to analyze the expense data.
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Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingLife Without Office
Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations dominate the business world; they've become de facto standards. It seems you can't escape Office even if you're unhappy with its price, its product activation scheme, or Microsoft in general. Fear not, there are numerous less expensive alternatives. While not quite as feature-rich as Office 2003, they handle all common tasks, including reading and writing Office files.
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Two major contenders are Sun Microsystems' StarOffice 7.0 Office Suite ($75.95 direct download, www.sun.com/staroffice; ) and Corel's WordPerfect Office 11 (Standard, $299.99; Professional, $342, www.corel.com; ). Both are powerful equivalents of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. WordPerfect Professional adds Paradox, a database program.
Microsoft Office users will find switching to StarOffice relatively painless, though they'll need to learn new names for some features. Switching to WordPerfect Office will take more adjustment, as the applications in this suite have had years to evolve their own user interface styles. But unique features like WordPerfect's Reveal Codes and real-time formatting preview can make the switch worth the effort.
StarOffice shares a source code base with the free OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org), which frequently offers newer versions of the applications. Sun tests the applications thoroughly before release, provides support, and also adds useful non-open-source utilities. Businesses will prefer this stability to living on the bleeding edge. And mixed-platform companies will appreciate StarOffice's support for Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
Both programs warn of possible data loss when saving in a Microsoft format—a problem we observed first-hand. After several rounds of editing this article in Word, WordPerfect, and StarOffice, we found that StarOffice's spell-checker marked every word as misspelled, and Word would not open it at all. We recommend saving files in your application's native format and exporting to the corresponding Office format only when needed.
Other alternatives include Gobe Corp.'s gobeProductive 3.0 ($99.95, www.gobe.com), an all-in-one application that provides the functions of a suite, and E-press's EasyOffice (free for personal use, www.e-press.com), which includes 19 distinct applications. For more on these and other choices, see "The Office Alternatives" (March 18, 2002).
Best online Microsoft MCTS Training, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com - Free MCTS TrainingTwo major contenders are Sun Microsystems' StarOffice 7.0 Office Suite ($75.95 direct download, www.sun.com/staroffice; ) and Corel's WordPerfect Office 11 (Standard, $299.99; Professional, $342, www.corel.com; ). Both are powerful equivalents of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. WordPerfect Professional adds Paradox, a database program.
Microsoft Office users will find switching to StarOffice relatively painless, though they'll need to learn new names for some features. Switching to WordPerfect Office will take more adjustment, as the applications in this suite have had years to evolve their own user interface styles. But unique features like WordPerfect's Reveal Codes and real-time formatting preview can make the switch worth the effort.
StarOffice shares a source code base with the free OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org), which frequently offers newer versions of the applications. Sun tests the applications thoroughly before release, provides support, and also adds useful non-open-source utilities. Businesses will prefer this stability to living on the bleeding edge. And mixed-platform companies will appreciate StarOffice's support for Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
Both programs warn of possible data loss when saving in a Microsoft format—a problem we observed first-hand. After several rounds of editing this article in Word, WordPerfect, and StarOffice, we found that StarOffice's spell-checker marked every word as misspelled, and Word would not open it at all. We recommend saving files in your application's native format and exporting to the corresponding Office format only when needed.
Other alternatives include Gobe Corp.'s gobeProductive 3.0 ($99.95, www.gobe.com), an all-in-one application that provides the functions of a suite, and E-press's EasyOffice (free for personal use, www.e-press.com), which includes 19 distinct applications. For more on these and other choices, see "The Office Alternatives" (March 18, 2002).
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Alacritech Launches New NAS Accelerator Appliance
The ANX 1500 appliance moves data faster in network storage systems without needing modifications to filers. And it just plugs right in.
With data stores continuing to get out of hand in terms of management control, the ability to move loads quickly and efficiently within system and time limitations is paramount for data centers.
A growing number of companies are coming out with products specifically for that purpose. A prominent one is San Jose, Calif.-based Alacritech, which has a lot of IP in application acceleration and is now using it to speed up file service in network storage.
To this end, Alacritech unveiled the ANX 1500 appliance on Jan. 12, which moves data faster in network storage systems without needing modifications to filers. It just plugs right in, discovers what it needs in the system and works, Vice President of Marketing Doug Rainbolt told eWEEK.
"Isn't that what appliances are supposed to do?" Rainbolt asked, rhetorically.
The appliances, which also feature TCP/IP offload engines, can work natively with most NFS-based NAS filers, including those from EMC/Isilon, NetApp and BlueArc.
The 3U version of the ANX 1500 can take up to 20 solid-state drives; it comes in capacities of 2TB or 4TB. Both machines carry a whopping 48GB of DRAM.
Rainbolt said the ANX 1500 can perform up to 120,000 operations per second using 4TB of solid-state disk drive capacity and 48GB of DRAM.
Pricing starts at $70,000 for an appliance with 2TB of SSD capacity. A 4TB system starts at $100,000. They are available now.
With data stores continuing to get out of hand in terms of management control, the ability to move loads quickly and efficiently within system and time limitations is paramount for data centers.
A growing number of companies are coming out with products specifically for that purpose. A prominent one is San Jose, Calif.-based Alacritech, which has a lot of IP in application acceleration and is now using it to speed up file service in network storage.
To this end, Alacritech unveiled the ANX 1500 appliance on Jan. 12, which moves data faster in network storage systems without needing modifications to filers. It just plugs right in, discovers what it needs in the system and works, Vice President of Marketing Doug Rainbolt told eWEEK.
"Isn't that what appliances are supposed to do?" Rainbolt asked, rhetorically.
The appliances, which also feature TCP/IP offload engines, can work natively with most NFS-based NAS filers, including those from EMC/Isilon, NetApp and BlueArc.
The 3U version of the ANX 1500 can take up to 20 solid-state drives; it comes in capacities of 2TB or 4TB. Both machines carry a whopping 48GB of DRAM.
Rainbolt said the ANX 1500 can perform up to 120,000 operations per second using 4TB of solid-state disk drive capacity and 48GB of DRAM.
Pricing starts at $70,000 for an appliance with 2TB of SSD capacity. A 4TB system starts at $100,000. They are available now.
Intel Sees Benefits, Challenges in Tablets, Smartphones
Intel has yet to play a major role in the exploding tablet and smartphone spaces, but the Web traffic generated by these devices is fueling strong growth in its enterprise server business.
Intel is yet to be much of a player in the booming tablet and smartphone spaces, a concern for industry observers in the long term. However, for now the burgeoning markets are helping drive demand in some of Intel's traditional businesses, and company executives continue to promise a strong presence in both device segments as 2011 rolls on.
During a Jan. 13 conference call with analysts and journalists announcing the chip maker's record fourth-quarter and full-year numbers, CEO Paul Otellini said Intel will become a much larger player in both tablets and smartphones. In tablets, Otellini said he expects a host of Intel-powered devices to hit the market this year.
A key differentiator for Intel over rivals who use ARM or MIPS designs is that Intel's Atom platform can run Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, Google's Android and MeeGo, jointly developed by Intel and Nokia.
"By designing Atom-based tablets, [OEMs] have the opportunity to run multiple operating systems on it, which I think is unique to Intel," he said.
Otellini also reiterated that he expects smartphone designs powered by Intel technology to hit the markets this year.
Intel had a record fourth quarter that topped off a very strong 2010 that saw it bounce back from the global recession thanks in large part to its enterprise business, which helped buffer it against weakening consumer PC demand. In the fourth quarter, revenue came in at $11.5 billion—up 8 percent over the same period in 2009—with net income hitting $3.4 billion, a 48 percent jump.
For the year, Intel's revenue came in at $43.6 billion—the first year the company has generated more than $40 billion in revenue—a 24 percent increase over recession-ravaged 2009. Net income was $11.7 billion, 167 percent over the previous year.
Still, the bulk of that came from Intel's traditional PC and server businesses, and executives are anxious for the company to become a larger player in rapidly expanding markets like mobile and embedded devices. Though the dominant chip maker in the world, with more than 80 percent market share, Intel still has made few inroads into these areas that currently are the domain of ARM Holdings, whose designs are used by such vendors as Qualcomm and Samsung.
Intel has looked to expand into these areas through internal development—particularly of its Atom platform—and external acquisitions, such as its proposed $1.4 billion purchase of Infineon's wireless business, which Otellini and CFO Stacy Smith said should close this quarter.
However, while Intel makes its push into the mobile space, the rise of such devices as tablets and smartphones is helping fuel the company's strong server chip business, Otellini said. In 2010, about 245 exabytes of traffic crossed the Internet, he said. Over the next five years, 1 billion more people will get online and 15 billion more connected devices—from smart TVs to smartphones to tablets and PCs—will link into the Web, with traffic growing to more than 1,000 exabytes.
This is all driving the need for more servers to handle the traffic, Otellini said, pointing out that the company's data center group saw quarterly revenue rising 15 percent over the third quarter, and yearly revenue jumping 35 percent over 2009.
"The world of PCs plus new emerging computing devices is increasing the demand for servers of all types," he said.
Greg Richardson, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said the trend will continue to help Intel.
"Mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, are leading to an explosion in data and volume, resulting in growing demand for cloud and virtualized infrastructures," Richardson said in a research note. "Intel capitalized on the increased demand."
Intel's enterprise business will reap benefits from the tablet space, he said. The chip maker will be able to use its commercial presence in both servers and PCs to "establish a toehold in the business tablet space," Richardson said. Intel's server and storage businesses also will capitalize on the skyrocketing Internet traffic, particularly in such areas as virtualized and cloud-ready servers.
However, he warned that Intel is missing out by not being a larger player directly in the tablet space, which was revived by Apple and its iPad last year. Since April 2010, more than 10 million consumers worldwide have bought a tablet.
"The rub: To this point, these devices have been built on architectures that don't belong to Intel," Richardson said.
Intel will try to gain traction in the space with its upcoming "Oak Trail" Atom platform, but the company also must be able to quickly learn to play in such a lower-priced consumer device space, which is a different market from traditional servers and PCs, he said.
Intel is yet to be much of a player in the booming tablet and smartphone spaces, a concern for industry observers in the long term. However, for now the burgeoning markets are helping drive demand in some of Intel's traditional businesses, and company executives continue to promise a strong presence in both device segments as 2011 rolls on.
During a Jan. 13 conference call with analysts and journalists announcing the chip maker's record fourth-quarter and full-year numbers, CEO Paul Otellini said Intel will become a much larger player in both tablets and smartphones. In tablets, Otellini said he expects a host of Intel-powered devices to hit the market this year.
A key differentiator for Intel over rivals who use ARM or MIPS designs is that Intel's Atom platform can run Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, Google's Android and MeeGo, jointly developed by Intel and Nokia.
"By designing Atom-based tablets, [OEMs] have the opportunity to run multiple operating systems on it, which I think is unique to Intel," he said.
Otellini also reiterated that he expects smartphone designs powered by Intel technology to hit the markets this year.
Intel had a record fourth quarter that topped off a very strong 2010 that saw it bounce back from the global recession thanks in large part to its enterprise business, which helped buffer it against weakening consumer PC demand. In the fourth quarter, revenue came in at $11.5 billion—up 8 percent over the same period in 2009—with net income hitting $3.4 billion, a 48 percent jump.
For the year, Intel's revenue came in at $43.6 billion—the first year the company has generated more than $40 billion in revenue—a 24 percent increase over recession-ravaged 2009. Net income was $11.7 billion, 167 percent over the previous year.
Still, the bulk of that came from Intel's traditional PC and server businesses, and executives are anxious for the company to become a larger player in rapidly expanding markets like mobile and embedded devices. Though the dominant chip maker in the world, with more than 80 percent market share, Intel still has made few inroads into these areas that currently are the domain of ARM Holdings, whose designs are used by such vendors as Qualcomm and Samsung.
Intel has looked to expand into these areas through internal development—particularly of its Atom platform—and external acquisitions, such as its proposed $1.4 billion purchase of Infineon's wireless business, which Otellini and CFO Stacy Smith said should close this quarter.
However, while Intel makes its push into the mobile space, the rise of such devices as tablets and smartphones is helping fuel the company's strong server chip business, Otellini said. In 2010, about 245 exabytes of traffic crossed the Internet, he said. Over the next five years, 1 billion more people will get online and 15 billion more connected devices—from smart TVs to smartphones to tablets and PCs—will link into the Web, with traffic growing to more than 1,000 exabytes.
This is all driving the need for more servers to handle the traffic, Otellini said, pointing out that the company's data center group saw quarterly revenue rising 15 percent over the third quarter, and yearly revenue jumping 35 percent over 2009.
"The world of PCs plus new emerging computing devices is increasing the demand for servers of all types," he said.
Greg Richardson, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said the trend will continue to help Intel.
"Mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, are leading to an explosion in data and volume, resulting in growing demand for cloud and virtualized infrastructures," Richardson said in a research note. "Intel capitalized on the increased demand."
Intel's enterprise business will reap benefits from the tablet space, he said. The chip maker will be able to use its commercial presence in both servers and PCs to "establish a toehold in the business tablet space," Richardson said. Intel's server and storage businesses also will capitalize on the skyrocketing Internet traffic, particularly in such areas as virtualized and cloud-ready servers.
However, he warned that Intel is missing out by not being a larger player directly in the tablet space, which was revived by Apple and its iPad last year. Since April 2010, more than 10 million consumers worldwide have bought a tablet.
"The rub: To this point, these devices have been built on architectures that don't belong to Intel," Richardson said.
Intel will try to gain traction in the space with its upcoming "Oak Trail" Atom platform, but the company also must be able to quickly learn to play in such a lower-priced consumer device space, which is a different market from traditional servers and PCs, he said.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Microsoft's 70-270 Test
Microsoft's 70-270 test is all about gauging your aptitude in implementing, administering, and troubleshooting Windows XP Professional like a desktop operating system in whichever network setting, mainly, middle to very big computing environments. Once you pass this exam you will grow to be a MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional). This test is also like a gateway to the MCSA 2003 & MCSE 2003 certifications.
Why you need the Windows XP Professional 70-270 test?
By passing this exam, you get qualified for various high tech job roles, such as network administrator, systems engineer, information systems administrator, systems administrator, tech support engineers, network analysts, technical consultants and systems analysts. For more info about this test you can visit Microsoft's website.
This MCP certification is suitable for those who are interested in working in a complex and high tech computing setting of medium and large scale organizations. And although you don't have to pass any prerequisites for taking part, it is still advised that you gather no less than one year's experience in installing and managing desktop operating systems in a network setting.
The number of questions you have to attempt is approximately 50 in 120 minutes. The passing score is 700. This exam usually comprises of Hot Area, Multiple Choice, Drag and Drop, Build a Tree, build list and reorder type questions. Although there are no case studies here, you should be ready to face unexpected simulation questions.
You can prepare for this exam using 70-270 sample tests and training available on the web. Also, the study materials for the 70-270 Exam are now available at highly affordable costs in various websites that offer certification exam resources. Moreover, these courses are also available as e-learning courses that you can attend online.
Given the length of this exam, you'll need to be well versed in every facet of Windows XP Professional. I'm going to break exam 70-270 down into several broad categories, including installation, basic administration, hardware devices and drivers, monitoring and optimizing, configuring the desktop environment, network configuration, and security free Cisco practice tests. I'll cover each of these categories in depth in the following sections.
Why you need the Windows XP Professional 70-270 test?
By passing this exam, you get qualified for various high tech job roles, such as network administrator, systems engineer, information systems administrator, systems administrator, tech support engineers, network analysts, technical consultants and systems analysts. For more info about this test you can visit Microsoft's website.
This MCP certification is suitable for those who are interested in working in a complex and high tech computing setting of medium and large scale organizations. And although you don't have to pass any prerequisites for taking part, it is still advised that you gather no less than one year's experience in installing and managing desktop operating systems in a network setting.
The number of questions you have to attempt is approximately 50 in 120 minutes. The passing score is 700. This exam usually comprises of Hot Area, Multiple Choice, Drag and Drop, Build a Tree, build list and reorder type questions. Although there are no case studies here, you should be ready to face unexpected simulation questions.
You can prepare for this exam using 70-270 sample tests and training available on the web. Also, the study materials for the 70-270 Exam are now available at highly affordable costs in various websites that offer certification exam resources. Moreover, these courses are also available as e-learning courses that you can attend online.
Given the length of this exam, you'll need to be well versed in every facet of Windows XP Professional. I'm going to break exam 70-270 down into several broad categories, including installation, basic administration, hardware devices and drivers, monitoring and optimizing, configuring the desktop environment, network configuration, and security free Cisco practice tests. I'll cover each of these categories in depth in the following sections.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Microsoft releases three critical bulletins but ignores Word flaws
For the first Patch Tuesday of 2007, Microsoft released four security bulletins, three of which it's rated critical. (The remaining update addresses an important threat.) But critical doesn't necessarily mean critical this month—in fact, Redmond left its most critical threats unpatched for the second month in a row.
Details
Microsoft began the year's patching cycle with a rather inauspicious start when it announced that it would issue only half of the security bulletins originally planned. However, some of the bulletins cover a number of vulnerabilities.
While the number of threats certainly looks bad on the surface, it turns out that only a few threats addressed in this month's updates are actually critical—and only for a few platforms. Here's a closer look at each update, in order of risk.
MS07-004
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-004, "Vulnerability in Vector Markup Language Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses the VML Buffer Overrun Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0024). I consider this the most significant update because attackers are already exploiting the vulnerability.
This is a critical threat for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, all versions of Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003; it is a moderate threat for Windows Server 2003 SP1. This update doesn't affect Windows Vista.
This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-055 for all affected platforms. Microsoft has already updated MS07-004 to version 1.1 to reflect a change in the restart requirement.
MS07-002
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-002, "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses five separate vulnerabilities:
* Excel Malformed IMDATA Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0027)
* Excel Malformed Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0028)
* Excel Malformed String Vulnerability (CVE 2007-0029)
* Excel Malformed Column Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0030)
* Excel Malformed Palette Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0031)
With the exception of Excel 2007 and Microsoft Works Suite 2006, this update affects all other currently supported versions of Excel, including Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel Viewer 2003. This is a critical threat for Excel 2000; it is an important threat for all other affected versions.
These are newly discovered vulnerabilities, and there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. You can check the security bulletin for an extensive list of mitigating factors and suggested workarounds, but they boil down to the commonsense best practice of being careful when opening Excel files.
MS07-003
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-003, "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses three separate vulnerabilities:
* Microsoft Outlook VEVENT Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0033)
* Microsoft Outlook Denial of Service Vulnerability (CVE-2006-1305)
* Microsoft Outlook Advanced Find Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0034)
With the exception of Outlook 2007, this update affects all currently supported versions of Outlook, including Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003. The Advanced Find Vulnerability is a critical threat for Outlook 2000 and an important threat for other affected versions, as is the VEVENT Vulnerability. The Denial of Service Vulnerability is a moderate threat for all affected platforms.
This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-003 for Outlook 2003 only. See the security bulletin for mitigating factors and workarounds.
While the Denial of Service Vulnerability was a publicly known threat, there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. The other two threats are newly discovered vulnerabilities, and there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.
MS07-001
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-001, "Vulnerability is Microsoft Office 2003 Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses the Office 2003 Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker Vulnerability (CVE-2006-5574). This is a publicly disclosed threat, but there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. However, Microsoft has reported seeing proof-of-concept code.
This update only affects the Brazilian Portuguese version of Office 2003 SP2, Office Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, Project Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, Visio Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, and Office Proofing Tools 2003 SP2. It is an important threat for all affected platforms.
UNIX
A new Mac OS X integer overflow vulnerability, UFS ffs_mountfs(), has surfaced, which can allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on version 10.4.8 and possibly other versions of the Mac OS X operating system.
In other news, Secunia reports that SuSE has updated multiple versions to fix a string vulnerability in w3m 0.5.1 (CVE-2006-6772.)
Final word
You'll notice that I've added a new UNIX category to the article, a feature requested by several readers. Let me know if you find it useful.
Keep in mind that it's difficult to cover UNIX platforms because there are so many versions and vendors. However, many of the threats extend across a number of platforms, so I'll do my best to provide updates for the most popular platforms or the most dangerous threats.
Details
Microsoft began the year's patching cycle with a rather inauspicious start when it announced that it would issue only half of the security bulletins originally planned. However, some of the bulletins cover a number of vulnerabilities.
While the number of threats certainly looks bad on the surface, it turns out that only a few threats addressed in this month's updates are actually critical—and only for a few platforms. Here's a closer look at each update, in order of risk.
MS07-004
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-004, "Vulnerability in Vector Markup Language Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses the VML Buffer Overrun Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0024). I consider this the most significant update because attackers are already exploiting the vulnerability.
This is a critical threat for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, all versions of Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003; it is a moderate threat for Windows Server 2003 SP1. This update doesn't affect Windows Vista.
This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-055 for all affected platforms. Microsoft has already updated MS07-004 to version 1.1 to reflect a change in the restart requirement.
MS07-002
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-002, "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses five separate vulnerabilities:
* Excel Malformed IMDATA Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0027)
* Excel Malformed Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0028)
* Excel Malformed String Vulnerability (CVE 2007-0029)
* Excel Malformed Column Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0030)
* Excel Malformed Palette Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0031)
With the exception of Excel 2007 and Microsoft Works Suite 2006, this update affects all other currently supported versions of Excel, including Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel Viewer 2003. This is a critical threat for Excel 2000; it is an important threat for all other affected versions.
These are newly discovered vulnerabilities, and there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. You can check the security bulletin for an extensive list of mitigating factors and suggested workarounds, but they boil down to the commonsense best practice of being careful when opening Excel files.
MS07-003
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-003, "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses three separate vulnerabilities:
* Microsoft Outlook VEVENT Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0033)
* Microsoft Outlook Denial of Service Vulnerability (CVE-2006-1305)
* Microsoft Outlook Advanced Find Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0034)
With the exception of Outlook 2007, this update affects all currently supported versions of Outlook, including Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003. The Advanced Find Vulnerability is a critical threat for Outlook 2000 and an important threat for other affected versions, as is the VEVENT Vulnerability. The Denial of Service Vulnerability is a moderate threat for all affected platforms.
This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-003 for Outlook 2003 only. See the security bulletin for mitigating factors and workarounds.
While the Denial of Service Vulnerability was a publicly known threat, there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. The other two threats are newly discovered vulnerabilities, and there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.
MS07-001
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-001, "Vulnerability is Microsoft Office 2003 Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker Could Allow Remote Code Execution," addresses the Office 2003 Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Checker Vulnerability (CVE-2006-5574). This is a publicly disclosed threat, but there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. However, Microsoft has reported seeing proof-of-concept code.
This update only affects the Brazilian Portuguese version of Office 2003 SP2, Office Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, Project Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, Visio Multilingual User Interface 2003 SP2, and Office Proofing Tools 2003 SP2. It is an important threat for all affected platforms.
UNIX
A new Mac OS X integer overflow vulnerability, UFS ffs_mountfs(), has surfaced, which can allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on version 10.4.8 and possibly other versions of the Mac OS X operating system.
In other news, Secunia reports that SuSE has updated multiple versions to fix a string vulnerability in w3m 0.5.1 (CVE-2006-6772.)
Final word
You'll notice that I've added a new UNIX category to the article, a feature requested by several readers. Let me know if you find it useful.
Keep in mind that it's difficult to cover UNIX platforms because there are so many versions and vendors. However, many of the threats extend across a number of platforms, so I'll do my best to provide updates for the most popular platforms or the most dangerous threats.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Exam 70-291:Managing and Maintaining a WIndows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
Firstly, in my opinion, the key to pass MS exam is to make a study plan for your preparation 70-291. Of course, it is also important to get best materials or some useful advice from those who had passed your exams for us to prepare 70-291.
Secondly, you should do much practice to know what your disadvantage is or you should reinforce. If you can achieve both above points, you absolutely pass your MCSE 2003 70-291. For all this, I just want to make it clear what is my key point in my experience or the most useful advice in my opinion I can give you to prepare MCSA 70-291. En, I did pass my exam in about 2 months. In my opinion, MS Press Book 70-291, MS Readiness Review Suite. Besides, I used MS Virtual PC 2007. And you want to know the detailed information, please read my detailed plan.
I did a job at a local school, en I could not spare much time for MS 70-291 exam. Generally Speaking, I just could study for approximately 2 hours per day weekdays, about 4 hours per day at the weekends. Although I did not have much time to study 70-291 Exam, I could concentrate my attention on books or practice when I wanted to study.
1. Firstly, I started reading the MS Press book for the first time and made notes on relevant points that I could either forget or need to reinforce. I managed to get the MS Press book down to around 150 pages of A4 note paper.
2. Then at the end of each Chapter, I would then install and use whatever I had learnt from the MS Press book, configuring it to mimic my working environment.
3. Then I rebuilt my whole entire Lab, to reinforce everything that I had learnt.
4. Then I kept going over my Notes on a daily basis at work, during lunch, in the evening. Just a brief flick threw. Don't ignore this. It could help us a lot.
5. The last of all I took the MS Readiness Review tests on a daily basis. Normally did around one a day for three days before the exam as not to get to many questions repeated. Also in my limited experience so far, the MS Readiness Review free Microsoft practice IT questions has always been a lot harder than the exam.
6. Take the exam and just believe in yourself!
Secondly, you should do much practice to know what your disadvantage is or you should reinforce. If you can achieve both above points, you absolutely pass your MCSE 2003 70-291. For all this, I just want to make it clear what is my key point in my experience or the most useful advice in my opinion I can give you to prepare MCSA 70-291. En, I did pass my exam in about 2 months. In my opinion, MS Press Book 70-291, MS Readiness Review Suite. Besides, I used MS Virtual PC 2007. And you want to know the detailed information, please read my detailed plan.
I did a job at a local school, en I could not spare much time for MS 70-291 exam. Generally Speaking, I just could study for approximately 2 hours per day weekdays, about 4 hours per day at the weekends. Although I did not have much time to study 70-291 Exam, I could concentrate my attention on books or practice when I wanted to study.
1. Firstly, I started reading the MS Press book for the first time and made notes on relevant points that I could either forget or need to reinforce. I managed to get the MS Press book down to around 150 pages of A4 note paper.
2. Then at the end of each Chapter, I would then install and use whatever I had learnt from the MS Press book, configuring it to mimic my working environment.
3. Then I rebuilt my whole entire Lab, to reinforce everything that I had learnt.
4. Then I kept going over my Notes on a daily basis at work, during lunch, in the evening. Just a brief flick threw. Don't ignore this. It could help us a lot.
5. The last of all I took the MS Readiness Review tests on a daily basis. Normally did around one a day for three days before the exam as not to get to many questions repeated. Also in my limited experience so far, the MS Readiness Review free Microsoft practice IT questions has always been a lot harder than the exam.
6. Take the exam and just believe in yourself!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Build Your Skills: Must-know info for Microsoft's 70-222 exam
How is 70-222 different from other tests?
The format of exam 70-222 differs quite a bit from previous tests. The test is half case-study-based and half multiple choice questions. Many questions require you to "build a tree and reorder" when answering them, which means when given the scenario, you must choose actions or items from one window, move them to another window, and arrange them in the correct order to complete the task. So knowing the exact order of migration actions is critical to passing the test.
For an example of a "build a tree and reorder" question, you can download a Case Study-Based Test Demo from Microsoft. Before you tackle the test material, remember that Microsoft expects the average tester to have had at least one year of experience with a network operating system (NOS), including installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, remote access, routing issues and problems, and connectivity issues.
Developing the migration strategy
Your first study task should be to learn how to develop an NT to Windows 2000 migration strategy. According to the Microsoft Training and Certification site, the three types of migration strategies are:
1. Domain upgrade
2. Domain upgrade and restructure
3. Domain restructure
Knowing how to choose the correct migration strategy is essential when performing an actual migration and/or passing the 70-222 exam. Here are a few suggestions I'll pass along to help you know how to develop a migration strategy:
* Make sure you understand network infrastructure.
* Prepare for potential problems and know which programs are available to resolve these problems. One person said that knowing the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) helped him pass the exam more than anything else. The ADMT is a free supplement available from Microsoft. You can find out more about ADMT by visiting the Microsoft Support site.
* I can't emphasize enough the importance of planning. Many of the questions on the 70-222 exam are designed to verify how well you plan for events that occur during a migration process.
* Know your Windows NT 4.0 models: single domains, single master domains, multiple master domains, and complete trust domains. Also know how each relates to a Windows 2000 domain upgrade.
* Study about groups in NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.
* Understand structures, organizational units (OUs), and their features, such as the delegation of administration rights.
Microsoft's site lists the information you should also know for developing a migration strategy as:
* The current hardware configuration.
* Security—including rights and privileges, group memberships, certificate services, SID (Security Identification), and post-migration security risks.
* The need to develop a plan for seamless user access during and after the migration procedure.
* The current network infrastructure.
* Software compatibility with Windows 2000—this includes third-party apps, such as line of business (LOB) applications, Web servers, BackOffice, etc.
* The current domain design.
* The organization's technical needs.
* Existing network services—this includes remote access functionality, network protocols used, DHCP, LAN Manager Replication, WINS, Windows 2000 DNS Server, NetBIOS, and the existing DNS service.
The best preparation for developing a migration strategy is studying for Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) 2010: Designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Migration Strategy. Many people who've tested for 70-222 said that the best test preparation they had was having studied MOC 2010.
Preparing for the migration upgrade
Next, learn what to do prior to a domain upgrade. When preparing for a migration upgrade, you must plan for potential disasters. Know when the migration will disrupt the least number of users and ensure that your backup plans are adequate and comprehensive. Understand in which order the computers will be backed up and be familiar with all the tools you'll use in the actual migration. People who've taken the exam recommend practicing in a lab prior to taking the test.
Microsoft's Training and Certification site also recommends you study the following:
* Developing a strategy to prepare the upgrade-target environment
* Choosing which computers will be upgraded and in what order
* Preparing the source environment for the upgrade process—this process includes creating a pristine environment and installing the Windows 2000 DNS service or configure the existing DNS implementation (whichever is appropriate)
* Developing and implementing a recovery plan that takes into account the implications for Security Account Manger (SAM), WINS, DHCP, Windows 2000 DNS server, and the existing DNS service
Planning and deploying a domain upgrade
The first type of migration strategy you'll need to understand is the domain upgrade. This strategy calls for upgrading the operating system straight from NT 4.0 to 2000. Microsoft's site suggests you understand the following:
* Study how to plan and review your upgrade strategy.
* Understand how to plan an upgrade path that takes into account the current operating system version and any service packs that have been applied.
* Know that you should first upgrade the PDCs, which must be upgraded before the BDCs. Implement lbridge.cmd to ensure that the NT 4.0 BDCs are up to date with the most current logon scripts and system policy files stored on the Win2K domain controller. Then, upgrade the BDCs. You must know which of the BDCs will be the last one to be upgraded, configure it as the source server for replication of logon scripts and system policies, and then configure it so that other BDCs will use it as the source. Upgrade the application servers, DNS servers, and RRAS servers. In an environment with one PDC, you would need to create a BDC and then take it offline to have in case of an emergency.
* Study how to configure the necessary network protocols, DHCP, LAN Manager replication, WINS, NetBIOS, Windows 2000 DNS Server service, and the existing DNS service.
* Know about implementing group policies.
* Understand how to implement any file replication bridges.
* Study how to convert all domains to native mode, and know what native mode and mixed mode are, and understand the differences in NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 domain modes.
* Know about performing a test deployment of the domain upgrade.
* Understand how to implement disaster recovery plans if needed, including how to restore the pre-migration environment and/or roll back the implementation to a specific point.
* Study how to perform any post-migration tasks, including backing up domains and checking the functions of the network service(s).
Planning and deploying an intraforest domain restructure and an interforest domain restructure
The domain restructure strategy is a main focus of the 70-222 exam. There are two types of migrations that can be done: the intraforest domain restructure, which consolidates multiple Windows 2000 domains into a single forest, and an interforest restructure, which consolidates Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 domains into one or more Windows 2000 domains in a different forest.
The tools you use to perform these restructuring jobs are Active Directory Management Tool (ADMT), CloneTree, ClonePrincipal, MoveTree, and NETDOM. ADMT is a GUI wizard program that can be used for both interforest and intraforest restructures. CloneTree is a visual basic, script-based program that performs several interforest migration procedures. ClonePrincipal consists of DSUtils. It is a COM object supporting three methods: AddSidHistory, CopyDownlevelUserProperties, and Connect. MoveTree is a command-line tool program that helps with intraforest migration.
NETDOM is also command-line-based and is used to view and manage trust relationships in NT 4.0 and in Windows 2000. NETDOM can join a Windows 2000 computer to a Windows NT or Windows 2000 domain with the options to specify the OU for the computer account, to generate a random computer password for the initial join, and to manage computer accounts for domain member clients and member servers. You also use NETDOM to establish and manipulate one- or two-way trust relationships between domains.
You must be familiar with these tools and how they work in all settings to perform well on this section of the exam. On its Training and Certification site, Microsoft recommends the following areas of study:
* Development of a domain restructure strategy
* Creating or configuring Windows 2000 target domain or domains—this involves creating the needed trusts, creating the OUs, implementing the site design, implementing all group policies, configuring remote access functionality, networking protocols, DHCP, LAN Manager Replication, WINS, NetBIOS, Windows 2000 DNS Server Service, and an existing DNS service
* The appropriate usage of migration tools including: ADMT, ClonePrincipal, MoveTree, NETDOM, and the Windows 2000 Resource Kit tools
* Migrating global groups and user accounts
* Migrating local groups and computer accounts
* Performing test deployments of both intraforest and interforest migrations
* Implementing disaster recovery plans, which include restoring the pre-migration environment and rolling back the implementation to a specific point
* Performing post-migration tasks, such as redefining DACLS, backing up source domains, decommissioning source domains, redeploying domain controllers, verifying the success of object migrations, verifying the functionality of network services, and removing SID history from objects
Troubleshooting
There are almost always difficulties with domain restructuring. Although good planning will help you avoid many problems, even the best-laid plans can't guarantee a trouble-free migration. The 70-222 exam tests your knowledge of potential problems and their solutions. The exam also tests your knowledge of backing up domains and networking services, so know all the tools you would need and have a plan for a complete backup. The exam contains questions on taking a partially migrated environment back to its original pre-migration status. Other troubleshooting issues that the Microsoft Training and Certification site suggests you be familiar with include:
* Troubleshooting a failed domain upgrade, which includes resolving hardware failures, resolving third-party issues, resolving issues associated with rights necessary for upgrade, and resolving domain name issues.
* Troubleshooting account issues for all types of migrations, including: resolving system policy translation failures, resolving logon script failures, resolving issues associated with duplicated accounts that have different SIDs, and resolving issues associated with user rights.
* Troubleshooting access issues for all types of migrations, including resolving client computer connectivity issues, resolving permission issues involving NTFS, resolving issues associated with the inaccessibility and absence of shared resources, resolving authentication issues, resolving trust relationships, and inappropriate access issues.
* Troubleshooting network services problems for all types of migrations, including resolving name resolution issues; resolving remote access permission failures and logon failures; resolving file and directory replication issues; resolving network service issues, including DHCP, WINS, and DNS.
* Troubleshooting application failures for all types of migrations, including resolving incompatibility issues and resolving issues associated with hard-coded account information in third-party applications.
* Troubleshooting tool issues for domain restructures, including ADMT, ClonePrincipal, NETDOM, MoveTree, and Windows 2000 Resource Kit tools.
Get IT Done: Installing Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 SP3 before Exchange 2000
If your organization is running Microsoft Mail or Exchange Server 4.0 or 5.0 and you are looking at migrating to Exchange 2000, there’s something you need to know. Before upgrading your servers to Exchange 2000, you have to upgrade them to Exchange 5.5 with Service Pack 3 (SP3). There’s no extra cost, since Microsoft includes the Exchange 5.5 upgrade media and licenses with the Exchange 2000 upgrade. However, the larger issue is whether you want to make that big a leap at one time.
My organization had been living with the antiquated Microsoft Mail 3.5 for several years. During that time, it fulfilled our minimum needs for e-mail, but it was very slow and not very configurable, so we decided to upgrade. However, we did not make the two-hop leap to Exchange 5.5 and then to Exchange 2000. Instead, we chose to upgrade to Exchange 5.5 and to put off upgrading to Exchange 2000 until the future. This article is a look at our Exchange migration and installation process.
Investigation of alternatives
We spent some time looking at alternate systems, including Novell GroupWise and Lotus Notes, but our local reseller suggested that we use Exchange. This was what he used, and he recommended it very highly.
We decided on Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 for a number of reasons:
* Reliability—We wanted a system that would have as close to 100 percent uptime as possible. We have some 250 users and a lot of them rely on e-mail for interdepartmental communications.
* High message throughput—We have a number of managers who send upwards of 100 messages per day, so we cannot afford for the system to get bogged down.
* Ease of installation—We have a small IT staff at our facility and could not afford to put a lot of time into the implementation.
* Ease of configuration—We wanted to pretty much be able to drop in the system and have it go live as fast as possible.
Aim of the project
We sought to migrate all 200-plus users to Microsoft Exchange Server prior to Jan. 1, 2000, because of Y2K issues with Microsoft Mail. This included users who accessed our current network across a T1 WAN connection.
We began by carrying out the following tasks:
1. We went into MS Mail Admin’ (a DOS utility) and printed out all of our existing MS Mail accounts.
2. We used MS Mail Admin’ to list and print all of our MS Mail distribution lists.
3. We used User Manager For Domains to make approximately 150 NT user accounts.
4. We used Exchange Admin’ to create a matching amount of Exchange accounts (once the server was set up!) one by one.
5. We purchased a server.
Starting out
We started by loading Windows NT 4.0 SP5 (later upgraded to SP6) on our new server. We took our local reseller’s advice on the specification of the machine and ended up with a 750-MHz processor, 128-MB RAM (upgraded to 256 MB before we went live), and 9.5-GB SCSI hard drives in a RAID array. We then started to load Exchange 5.5 on our new server.
Server installation and configuration
Installing Exchange was not quite as straightforward as we thought it would be, and we ran into some problems. Our reseller supplied us with a CD containing the software, and we tried everything we could think of to get NT to recognize the disk with no luck. We took the disk to another server, and that one wouldn’t read it either, so we returned it and had it replaced. Happily, the second disk worked fine.
The server already had an Internet Protocol (IP) address and “supposedly” had network connectivity, but when we tried to browse the domain, we couldn’t see any other servers. We rebooted and tried to log in to the domain—no luck! We removed the network card and replaced it, and we were back in business.
After sorting out these initial problems, we were able to proceed. Before inserting the installation CD, we had to decide on the following items:
* An organization name
* Exchange Server site name
* An NT Server Administrator account name and password
* The name of the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrators Group
We created the Service Account that Exchange would use and created an Exchange Server Administrators Global Group in NT using User Manager For Domains.
Now we were finally ready to get the software installed. We inserted the CD and located and changed directories to the Setup directory. Then, we located and changed directories to the correct computer type—ours was an Intel-based server, so we chose the i386folder.
We executed SETUP.EXE, clicked OK to dismiss the Welcome screen, and selected the Typical install from the Server Setup dialog box, shown in Figure A.
Figure A
The Server Setup dialog box
When the Licensing Mode dialog box appeared, we chose Per Server Licensing and then entered the Organization Name and Site Name in the dialog box shown in Figure B.
Figure B
The Organization And Site dialog box
We answered yes to the prompt Are You Sure You Want To Create A New Site? Next, the Site Service Account box appeared, asking us to choose the Service Account. We entered the Service Account name and password we had created earlier. Microsoft Exchange Server Setup copied the Microsoft Exchange Server files to the hard drive and installed the services that Exchange requires to run.
The next screen asked us to which Windows NT Program Group the Microsoft Exchange Servers application icons should be installed. The default is Microsoft Exchange Server, and we saw no reason to change this. Once the installation was finished, the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer dialog box appeared, as shown in Figure C.
Figure C
The Performance Optimizer Wizard
We clicked Next to launch the Performance Optimizer Wizard, and then we selected Run Optimizer to have the wizard analyze our hardware configuration and arrange files on the Microsoft Windows NT Server for optimum performance. We had been advised that running the Optimizer was critical to the efficient operation of Microsoft Exchange Server. (You don’t have to run the Performance Optimizer Wizard during install, but you should run it before the Microsoft Exchange Server goes into production.)
On completion of the install, we were prompted to reboot our server, which we did. Although the initial install was now complete, we still had to take care of some configuration work.
In order for the Microsoft Exchange Server to be administered, permissions had to be granted to the Administrators Group. Here are the steps we followed:
1. We ran Exchange Administrator.
2. We connected to our new Microsoft Exchange Server.
3. We pulled down the File menu and selected Properties.
4. We chose the Permissions tab. A list of Microsoft Windows NT user accounts in our domain appeared, and we selected all the Domain Admins in our domain.
This completed the configuration that we handled in-house; our local reseller (who has a lot of Exchange experience) then came in and carried out the following procedures:
* Directory Service site configuration
* Site addressing
* Server configuration
* Directory service configuration
* Directory synchronization
* System Attendant configuration
Setting up mailboxes and users
This left us to start setting up users. We made the biggest mistake of the entire project at this point. Being unfamiliar with the workings of Exchange Server, we figured that we would set up user containers by department, such as Human Resources, Admissions, Cardiac Rehab, and so forth.
This appeared at the time to be the best way to set up the users, as it would present them by the department that they belonged to. We set out creating the user containers and then populated them with our users accounts. Only after creating some 200 users did we find out from a TechNet article that you can’t move user mailboxes between containers on which they’re set up! This represented a big problem, as staff members at our organization frequently change departments. We understood from TechNet that the best way would have been to create Address Book views instead, which is a far more flexible way of setting up users.
At this point, we decided to bite the bullet and keep it the way we had it for now. We were ready to hit the desktops via the SneakerNet!
We already had a plan of attack on how to tackle the user configuration as follows:
1. Install Exchange Client 5.1. This was done by visiting each user’s desk and installing the client from a CD.
2. Log in as the user and set up the Exchange service in his or her profile.
3. Copy all the user’s folders and messages from the PST into the new Exchange mailbox and remove the old PST file.
4. Remove the MS Mail service from the user’s profile.
Conclusion
The big gotcha in this project was setting up the mailboxes in departmental containers. That was a major mistake, but sometime in the future, we hope to correct it. The only other real surprise was the speed of e-mail delivery once we had installed Exchange. Now we truly had real-time messaging! During the migration and after, we found that Exchange Server met and exceeded our expectations on all counts, and we have now been on it for almost a year and a half with few problems.
The release of Exchange 2000 doesn’t mean that Exchange 5.5 can’t be a good interim solution before moving to Exchange 2000, which requires a solid Windows 2000 and Active Directory infrastructure before being implemented. You can purchase Exchange 2000 and use the included Exchange 5.5 with SP3 to upgrade your current mail servers and then roll out Exchange 2000 after you have Windows 2000 and ADS firmly in place.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Talking Shop: Sort through FUD on Microsoft product activation
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Through the years, Microsoft's rivals have accused the company of using FUD as a way to stifle competition. Now, ironically, those same tactics are being turned against the Redmond giant. Its reported plans to require "activation" of Windows XP as an antipiracy tactic have TechRepublic members up in arms, as evidenced by the response to my most recent Microsoft Challenge and another, similar discussion elsewhere on TechRepublic's boards.
IT professionals are among the best informed and most sophisticated of all Microsoft's customers. So it's especially disturbing to see what a terrible job the company has done in explaining how this new policy will affect its customers—at home and in corporations. You can read Microsoft's official Product Activation Fact Sheet and Product Activation Q&A, but most people won't. And you can expect a huge number of misinformed reporters to repeat the myths and misunderstandings expressed by fearful users.
In three consecutive columns, I plan to tackle the product activation issue head-on. This week, I'll look at some of the unjustified fears engendered by this new policy. Next week, I'll focus on the legitimate concerns and unanswered questions raised by this policy. Finally, in two weeks, I'll use your suggestions to tell Microsoft how they ought to run this scheme.
First, here’s an overview of how product activation is supposed to work. When you install Windows XP or Office XP from a retail CD, you'll have 30 days to contact Microsoft to get an activation code. For most users with an Internet connection, this will happen automatically. The activation process generates a "fingerprint" based on the hardware in your system and associates that with your 25-character Product ID. If you reinstall the software on the same system, you can reactivate it automatically. If you try to install the software on another machine with substantially different hardware, however, you may have to call Microsoft to get a new activation code.
Here are a few of the fears, uncertainties, and doubts that cropped up in responses to this week's Challenge:
* Every time you reinstall Windows, you'll need a new code. R. Kinner is already prepared to join a class action lawsuit against Microsoft: "If I, as a home user, am forced over the course of a year to reinstall XP five times, and MS refuses me a sixth code, they are the ones breaking the commerce contract that was begun when I purchased the software." Call off the lawyers! You can reinstall Windows or Office XP an unlimited number of times on the same hardware. The activation will be automatic.
* You'll need to call MS for permission every time you replace a piece of hardware. Member PRT wrote, "It could be a nightmare if each install on the hardware generates a different key, requiring a new activation. Microsoft never pins down what a 'significant hardware change' is that would require a new activation. I'm sure upgrading your system board will require a new activation, but how about doubling your RAM, adding or replacing a hard drive, updating your BIOS?" We won't know until the software is finally released, but a Microsoft spokesman assured me that none of these garden-variety upgrades will be an issue. Microsoft says the algorithm that generates the hardware fingerprint won't force a reactivation until you've essentially rebuilt the computer.
* It's a violation of privacy. A member who prefers to remain anonymous wrote, "I think it is an invasion of privacy. I don't send in registration cards, because I don't want companies having my personal data." Another nonissue. Activation requires no personal information at all. As with all Microsoft products, users will have the option to register Office XP and Windows XP, but the only required data point on the product activation screen is the country you're in.
* Every individual in a corporation will be forced to get a unique license code. Repeatedly, TechRepublic members expressed concerns like this one from Blaine Moore: "Imagine having a thousand people from one company trying to get codes at the same time, or one admin needing a thousand codes for different machines?" Another member, with the colorful handle skkzarg_death, explained why this shouldn't be a problem for most organizations: "Those with MSDN, Select, or other subscription plans will have a 'blank license' allowing them to install and use one 'copy' for multiple installs. Rolling out XP for me thus won't be an issue, except the beta I have isn't worth the CD it's pressed onto!"
* Pirates will crack it in no time. Two TechRepublic members, in fact, helpfully posted detailed instructions for bypassing the activation requirement in current beta copies. Microsoft tells me those backdoors will be removed from the final shipping code; they're only there to facilitate the testing process. And that argument misses the point, anyway: Of course pirates will crack this protection scheme. The point of activation is to prevent casual copying by home users and crooked resellers. Microsoft has an army of lawyers to do battle with pirates who work on a larger scale.
Next week: The problems Microsoft hasn't addressed yet.
Here's Ed's new Challenge
TechRepublic members have made it clear that Microsoft is risking a public relations nightmare with its insistence on requiring product activation for Windows XP and Office XP. But the company responds that it has to do something to prevent piracy, especially in the home market. Some users are getting ripped off by crooked resellers who preload bootleg copies of Windows and Office, they say, and others are turning into criminals by using CD burners to press illegal copies of Windows disks for family and friends.
OK, if product activation isn't the answer, then what is? Imagine you're running the Windows or Office business at Microsoft—how do you keep your product from being stolen without inconveniencing your customers or holding their PCs hostage? I'll take the best suggestions and pass them along to Microsoft. If you think you’ve got the answers, click here to tackle this week's Microsoft Challenge. I'll print the best responses two weeks from today.
If you'd like to share your opinion, start a discussion below or send the editor an e-mail.
IT professionals are among the best informed and most sophisticated of all Microsoft's customers. So it's especially disturbing to see what a terrible job the company has done in explaining how this new policy will affect its customers—at home and in corporations. You can read Microsoft's official Product Activation Fact Sheet and Product Activation Q&A, but most people won't. And you can expect a huge number of misinformed reporters to repeat the myths and misunderstandings expressed by fearful users.
In three consecutive columns, I plan to tackle the product activation issue head-on. This week, I'll look at some of the unjustified fears engendered by this new policy. Next week, I'll focus on the legitimate concerns and unanswered questions raised by this policy. Finally, in two weeks, I'll use your suggestions to tell Microsoft how they ought to run this scheme.
First, here’s an overview of how product activation is supposed to work. When you install Windows XP or Office XP from a retail CD, you'll have 30 days to contact Microsoft to get an activation code. For most users with an Internet connection, this will happen automatically. The activation process generates a "fingerprint" based on the hardware in your system and associates that with your 25-character Product ID. If you reinstall the software on the same system, you can reactivate it automatically. If you try to install the software on another machine with substantially different hardware, however, you may have to call Microsoft to get a new activation code.
Here are a few of the fears, uncertainties, and doubts that cropped up in responses to this week's Challenge:
* Every time you reinstall Windows, you'll need a new code. R. Kinner is already prepared to join a class action lawsuit against Microsoft: "If I, as a home user, am forced over the course of a year to reinstall XP five times, and MS refuses me a sixth code, they are the ones breaking the commerce contract that was begun when I purchased the software." Call off the lawyers! You can reinstall Windows or Office XP an unlimited number of times on the same hardware. The activation will be automatic.
* You'll need to call MS for permission every time you replace a piece of hardware. Member PRT wrote, "It could be a nightmare if each install on the hardware generates a different key, requiring a new activation. Microsoft never pins down what a 'significant hardware change' is that would require a new activation. I'm sure upgrading your system board will require a new activation, but how about doubling your RAM, adding or replacing a hard drive, updating your BIOS?" We won't know until the software is finally released, but a Microsoft spokesman assured me that none of these garden-variety upgrades will be an issue. Microsoft says the algorithm that generates the hardware fingerprint won't force a reactivation until you've essentially rebuilt the computer.
* It's a violation of privacy. A member who prefers to remain anonymous wrote, "I think it is an invasion of privacy. I don't send in registration cards, because I don't want companies having my personal data." Another nonissue. Activation requires no personal information at all. As with all Microsoft products, users will have the option to register Office XP and Windows XP, but the only required data point on the product activation screen is the country you're in.
* Every individual in a corporation will be forced to get a unique license code. Repeatedly, TechRepublic members expressed concerns like this one from Blaine Moore: "Imagine having a thousand people from one company trying to get codes at the same time, or one admin needing a thousand codes for different machines?" Another member, with the colorful handle skkzarg_death, explained why this shouldn't be a problem for most organizations: "Those with MSDN, Select, or other subscription plans will have a 'blank license' allowing them to install and use one 'copy' for multiple installs. Rolling out XP for me thus won't be an issue, except the beta I have isn't worth the CD it's pressed onto!"
* Pirates will crack it in no time. Two TechRepublic members, in fact, helpfully posted detailed instructions for bypassing the activation requirement in current beta copies. Microsoft tells me those backdoors will be removed from the final shipping code; they're only there to facilitate the testing process. And that argument misses the point, anyway: Of course pirates will crack this protection scheme. The point of activation is to prevent casual copying by home users and crooked resellers. Microsoft has an army of lawyers to do battle with pirates who work on a larger scale.
Next week: The problems Microsoft hasn't addressed yet.
Here's Ed's new Challenge
TechRepublic members have made it clear that Microsoft is risking a public relations nightmare with its insistence on requiring product activation for Windows XP and Office XP. But the company responds that it has to do something to prevent piracy, especially in the home market. Some users are getting ripped off by crooked resellers who preload bootleg copies of Windows and Office, they say, and others are turning into criminals by using CD burners to press illegal copies of Windows disks for family and friends.
OK, if product activation isn't the answer, then what is? Imagine you're running the Windows or Office business at Microsoft—how do you keep your product from being stolen without inconveniencing your customers or holding their PCs hostage? I'll take the best suggestions and pass them along to Microsoft. If you think you’ve got the answers, click here to tackle this week's Microsoft Challenge. I'll print the best responses two weeks from today.
If you'd like to share your opinion, start a discussion below or send the editor an e-mail.
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