05/01/2008
May 2008 - The Multi-Core Muddle
PCs are moving to multi-core as OSes, apps and languages try to keep up. Also in this issue, VPN concentrators boost security; spring means time to clean up your AD; managing multiple SQL Server installs; SCOM 2007 is a welcome change; and much more!
In-Depth
You may not have heard of them, but VPN concentrators can help you properly secure your virtual private network.
PCs are moving to multi-core as operating systems, applications and languages struggle to keep up.
Finding a data needle in the haystack that is your hard disk requires more than just a magnifying glass and a huge dose of patience.
With its improved console, easier reporting and service-oriented health checks, SCOM 2007 is a welcome improvement over MOM 2005.
Spring is here, and it's time to clean up some of the dark corners of your Active Directory forest.
News
A touch user interface turned out to be the big surprise in Windows 7, the latest operating system being developed by Microsoft.
Sometime this summer, Microsoft plans to roll out Service Pack 1 for Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 according to a recent team blog announcement.
Microsoft's suite of online tools focused on education has been expanded to include a "hosted" Exchange service with prototype features not yet available to the public.
Senior Technical Account Manager at Microsoft New Zealand Nick MacKechnie posted on his MSDN blog that Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is coming in the "third quarter" of this year.
Windows 7, the code-name for Microsoft's upcoming operating system, will be demonstrated at "D6: All Things Digital," according to a blog note for the sold-out event.
Microsoft released an international beta of its Office Live Workspace (OLW) suite of productivity tools. The company also quietly launched an Office Live Update last week.
Microsoft has begun enlisting the support of beta testers for Windows Home Server Power Pack 1.
Microsoft released High Performance Computing Server 2008 (HPC Server 2008) Beta 2, the next-generation version of Compute Cluster Server 2003.
Microsoft Wednesday posted plans for expanding file format support in the next major revision of Office 2007.
Microsoft's announcement that it will release SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 (SP3) this summer raises the question: What's the status of SQL Server 2008?
IT auditors examine accounts just like their financial auditing counterparts. Instead of trial balances, they look at system user accounts to determine who signed on when and who did what. But what about who's logging into what account and when? More important, do these people even work here anymore?
MCP exam takers who want to participate in the program have until the end of May to register into the program and register for an exam.
Evans Data research indicates only eight percent of developers in North America are writing applications for Vista, even though the OS has been live for 15 months.
A former Microsoft employee appears to be coming to the rescue of those suffering from the XP SP3 endless reboot cycle that can happen on computers with AMD processors
Microsoft Office 2007 users will be able to get a new service pack delivered automatically via Microsoft Update as early as mid-next month.
IT pros are having a hard time balancing security, software patch management and IT auditing with a host of other duties, says a Shavlik Technologies survey.
Microsoft appealed penalty for noncompliance with an earlier European Commission antitrust ruling against the company.
A bug that caused problems when backing up files in Windows Home Server has been fixed, according to an announcement issued by Microsoft on Wednesday.
Three patches will target critical remote code execution exploits in Microsoft Office, Publisher and the Jet Database Engine.
Microsoft issued the second community technology preview of its scripting and management tool for servers using Windows operating systems.
Redmond hopes to challenge SAS Institute and SPSS for data mining and predictive analytic bragging rights.
Microsoft said that users of Windows XP can now gain access to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.
Citing a hefty price tag and other concerns, Microsoft this weekend officially scrapped its plans to acquire Yahoo.
The update introduces a few changes, but no noticeable performance improvements.
Sanbolic's chairman Bill Stevenson sees clustered file systems as a key technical piece in the virtualization puzzle.
Leaks from unnamed sources to The Wall Street Journal constitute the only "news" so far this week about Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid for Yahoo.