EMC Set to Ship Administrator Tool for Exchange

EMC Corp. announced it will ship in early October a plug-in to the Microsoft Exchange System Manager user interface aimed at simplifying management of e-mail, migration of data and managing storage area network resources, all from within the same tool. 09/29/2005

Hard Drive Washer Removes Unwanted Files

A small German company is shipping an inexpensive utility designed to aid users’ hard drive cleanup maintenance by automatically listing and removing unwanted files. 09/29/2005

Windows Branch Office Appliances on the Way

Buried in an unrelated storage announcement this week was a sign that Microsoft is making headway in encouraging a line of branch office appliances built on Windows Server 2003 R2. 09/28/2005

Office 2003 SP2 Hits the Web

Microsoft this week posted Service Pack 2 for Office 2003 to its Download Center and began distributing the service pack through its sprawling update infrastructure. 09/28/2005

Diagnostic/Repair Tool for Exchange Ships

Zenprise is shipping its management tool of the same name for real-time, automated diagnosis and resolution of Microsoft Exchange problems. 09/28/2005

Microsoft Gets REAL with Partners on SQL Server 2005

With the launch of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 coming in November, the Redmond software giant has formalized the implementation guidance and marketing support it will provide to its partners and customers. 09/28/2005

Windows SharePoint Services Updated

Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft's free team collaboration technology for Windows file servers, learns a few new tricks in a service pack posted this week. 09/28/2005

70-285: Design Exchange with Confidence!

This exam for Exchange presents a challenge that should only be taken with broad, in-depth knowledge and intense preparation. 09/28/2005

Symantec Ships Updates of Backup Exec, Recovery Suite

The same week that Microsoft shipped its System Center Data Protection Manager, Symantec, one of Microsoft’s largest competitors in that space, is shipping its own first product that embraces continuous data protection. 09/28/2005

Windows Storage Server R2 Enters Beta

Microsoft on Tuesday released a beta of Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, which will include enhancements for storage management, collaboration and branch usage. 09/27/2005

IBM Ships First Server for Small Customers

With renewed interest in attracting small business customers, IBM has begun to ship the first machines in a new line of single-processor, x86-based, low-cost servers targeted specifically to provide “enterprise class” technology to small-scale businesses. 09/27/2005

Microsoft Disk-Based Backup Product Generally Available

Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, a new disk-based backup and recovery server for Windows file servers, became generally available on Tuesday. Several partners are rolling out hardware and software based on DPM to coincide with the launch. 09/27/2005

IT Weekly Roundup, Sept. 23

From the business wires this week: learning resources for Comptia A+ and Microsoft SQL Server 2005, an IM firewall and a network traffic monitoring tool. 09/23/2005

Partner Watch, Sept. 23

IBIS and Inacom team up to offer Microsoft training in Atlanta. 09/23/2005

Improved Training Benes Under SA

Next year, Software Assurance will include a sizable increase in training vouchers. The increase can prove to be a boon to Microsoft Certified Training Partners. 09/22/2005

Password Organizer Update Ships

While the world waits for single-sign on to become a reality, 1-abc.net is shipping version 1.10 of its Password Organizer product. 09/22/2005

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

VBrick Systems is shipping a video-on-demand network appliance that supports Microsoft Windows Media (WM) video and audio formats in enterprise environments. 09/22/2005

Sim Versions of 70-293, 70-294 Exams Make Beta

With exam rollout problems apparently worked out, Microsoft has begun beta testing exams 70-293 and 70-294. 09/22/2005

IDC Global PC Sales Forecast – Going Up

Strong demand in international markets, and especially for notebooks, will likely drive worldwide sales of new PCs this year to well over 200 million units, research firm IDC said this week. 09/22/2005

Google Unveils Enterprise Partner Program

Today Google launched Google Enterprise Professional, a new partner program designed to help customers maximize the search behemoth's enterprise offerings. 09/22/2005

A Lack of Progress

Scott shares his take on Microsoft's recent Software Assurance changes and the current state of asset management. 09/21/2005

Analysts: Dell’s Departure Won’t Spoil Itanium’s Party

Dell’s recent decision to exit the Itanium-based server market may appear on the surface to be another blow to Intel’s 64-bit CPU plans, but it falls far short of putting the chip architecture out to pasture, say analysts. 09/21/2005

Virtual Server 2005 Available on MSDN

An MSDN subscription will net you a copy of Virtual Server 2005. 09/21/2005

NetIQ Adds Federal IT Support to Compliance Manager Suite

Add one more acronym to the list of security compliance laws supported by NetIQ’s Security Compliance Suite. 09/21/2005

Pondering the Partner Repercussions of Microsoft's Reorg

Microsoft's announcement that it is realigning into three business units and—probably more importantly—appointing Ray Ozzie to help it deliver more software-based services has the partner community wondering what it all might mean to their businesses. 09/21/2005

Microsoft Unveils Major Realignment

Microsoft shuffled the deck of top executives on Tuesday, consolidating its seven divisions into three and naming four presidents to report to CEO Steve Ballmer. One of the new presidents, former senior vice president Jim Allchin, will retire at the end of 2006 when Windows Vista ships. 09/20/2005

Microsoft Works to Sharpen its Small Business Focus

Microsoft has always tried to nab every sale it can, but it hasn’t always been great about servicing the SMB channels, particularly channels for small businesses. That’s changing, according to senior Microsoft officials, or at the least, the company is renewing its emphasis on those smaller customers. 09/20/2005

Microsoft Buys Alacris

Microsoft this week acquired certificate management and identity assurance software provider, Alacris Inc. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. 09/20/2005

IT Weekly Roundup, Sept. 16

From the business wires this week: a beta desktop virtualization software, an e-mail storage software suite and a KVM-over-IP device for remote management of servers. 09/16/2005

Database Mirroring Not Ready for Production When SQL Server 2005 Ships

Report: Microsoft in Talks to Buy Stake in AOL

Microsoft is in talks with Time Warner about buying a stake in the media giant's AOL unit, according to reports in the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal Thursday. 09/15/2005

Six Benefits Enhanced or Added to Software Assurance

Microsoft volume licensing customers who sign up for Software Assurance will get Windows "Eiger," Virtual PC Express and Windows Vista Enterprise Edition among other new benefits. Most of the benefits start in March. 09/15/2005

Windows Sidebar Makes a Comeback

Microsoft's on-again, off-again Windows Sidebar feature, a prominent new interface element that could make it into the Windows Vista desktop, is definitely on again. 09/14/2005

Partners Step Up for Katrina Relief Effort

Microsoft has been pushing the idea of partners helping other partners for some time now, as has the IAMCP. 09/14/2005

Version 2 Posted of Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4

Microsoft on Tuesday posted version 2 of the Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 less than three months after originally releasing the security-focused update. The new version addresses four serious problems with the original Update Rollup but does not fix several issues with prominent third-party software. 09/14/2005

Microsoft, Google Both Claim Victory with Judge’s Ruling

Tuesday’s highly-anticipated ruling by the judge hearing Microsoft’s ongoing lawsuit against Google was a bittersweet irony with both sides declaring victory. The suit itself will grind on until trial early next year, however. 09/14/2005

NuView Aims to Speed File Restores

NuView will ship in the next month a new product aimed at providing fast, on-demand file restoration following a failure or for routine maintenance. 09/14/2005

Database Mirroring Not Ready for Production When SQL Server 2005 Ships

When SQL Server 2005 is released to manufacturing in the next few months, Microsoft will take the exceptional step of designating one of its high-profile features as being intended for evaluation only. 09/14/2005

'Monad' Beta Widely Available

Microsoft posted a second beta of its "Monad" shell, the interactive command-line and task-based scripting technology that appears to be on a separate timetable from the Windows Vista release. 09/14/2005

Microsoft Handing Out Vista CTP at PDC, More CTPs on the Way

Microsoft is distributing a Community Technology Preview of Windows Vista to attendees at its Professional Developers Conference 2005 in Los Angeles this week. The September Vista CTP, loaded with new features, comes fast on the heels of Windows Vista Beta 1. 09/13/2005

Office 12 to Sport a New UI

Microsoft showed off Office 12 publicly for the first time on Tuesday, featuring user interface changes that the company describes as the "biggest, most visible change to the way the core Office applications work since the introduction of the toolbar in 1997." 09/13/2005

Sun to Ship New x86 Servers

Sun Microsystems introduced three new AMD Opteron x64-based servers this week – servers it says begin a new generation of 64-bit x86, multi-core systems. To round out the offering, the company announced four new storage products as well. 09/13/2005

Microsoft Cancels Only Security Patch Planned for September

Due to quality concerns, Microsoft cancelled the release of a critical security bulletin for Windows that was supposed to be posted on Tuesday. 09/13/2005

Develop a Security Plan Now

The best place to start the secure enterprise is with a comprehensive security plan that works as you do. 09/13/2005

Microsoft's Near-Term Storage Strategy

When it comes to storage, Microsoft has several important enhancements in its product lineup. One is the Windows Server 2003 R2 release, which will bring a number of new storage features to the server OS. The other is a brand new product for backup and restore that launches at the end of this month. 09/12/2005

WinFS' Groove Factor

Whenever Microsoft talked about WinFS in the past, the emphasis was on the technology's usefulness for search and file navigation. 09/12/2005

Microsoft Still Quiet on Server Piece of WinFS

After acknowledging the need for a server-side piece of WinFS a year ago, Microsoft is quiet about it for now. 09/12/2005

WinFS Fleshed Out

Microsoft's WinFS, or Windows Future Storage, is the descendent of several abandoned projects dating back to Cairo to overhaul the way Windows handles storage. With the delivery of a beta release of WinFS last month, Microsoft brought chairman Bill Gates' long-standing dream of unified storage one large step closer to reality. 09/12/2005

CompTIA Exams Now Eligible for G.I. Reimbursement

CipherTrust Ships New, Improved Secure E-mail Appliances

Secure e-mail vendor CipherTrust released one new model and one significantly upgraded model in its line of reputation-based secure e-mail appliances. 09/08/2005