Global Catalog Placement

How the GC plays a role in Active Directory. 02/01/2004

Manage Software Licensing

First look at Desaware's Licensing System. 02/01/2004

Exchange 2003 Migration Roadmap

Safely find your way to Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003. 02/01/2004

Indigo: The Longhorn Communications Layer

Indigo is the core for communication in the next generation of Windows, code-named Longhorn. This model of its architecture gives you a good sense of what to expect from it. 02/01/2004

Get a Grip on Longhorn

The upcoming Windows version's refactored API and new graphics-presentation model, storage subsystem, and messaging services will bring development opportunities -- and challenges. 02/01/2004

Focus on the Present, Look to the Future

VSM takes an in-depth look at the next version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, but rest assured the magazine's focus remain on the practical, hands-on code and samples. 02/01/2004

The Magic of RPC over HTTP

If you have the latest and greatest from Microsoft—Windows Server 2003, Outlook 2003 and Exchange 2003—your users can get seamless remote access to e-mail. 02/01/2004

Task Scheduling Beyond Windows

ActiveBatch simplifies and fine-tunes automation of tasks. 02/01/2004

Display Label Controls Vertically

Take advantage of the GDI+ graphics library to change the orientation of the label controls in an application; also, use Word's spell check from within your .NET application. 02/01/2004

Unshackled: Wireless Administration

Admin tasks don’t end the moment IT pros step out of the office. These devices and software solutions can keep servers shining, no matter where you are. 02/01/2004

Bind Data to WinForms Controls

Display data programmatically with only a few lines of code, using the databinding features built into the .NET Framework's WinForms controls. 02/01/2004

Active Directory Cleanser

Cull unused or deleted accounts using the LDIFDE tool and some scripting trickery. 02/01/2004

Monitor Your Systems Easily

Use free tools from Microsoft to monitor your systems and make sure they are running properly 02/01/2004

Longhorn's Architecture

Longhorn is the next major version of Microsoft's Windows operating system for consumers. These architectural models show how everything fits together. 02/01/2004

WinFS: The Longhorn Data Layer

WinFS offers new ways to interact with data that redefine how the operations system offers up data. Check out what's new with a snapshot of its current architecture model. 02/01/2004

Books: .NET Impacts Existing Patterns

.NET Patterns by Christian Thilmany shows you how the .NET Framework impacts existing patterns, which are recurring solutions to software design problems. The author covers patterns in detail, focusing on exception handling and logging the most. 02/01/2004

The Prime of Life

If you think today’s PC hardware is astounding, stick around for a decade. 02/01/2004

Product Listings

Take advantage of a number of VS.NET add-ins, including one that lets you implement and manage temporary links, which are URLs that are active for a limited amount of time and are typically used in software distribution and e-mail campaigns. 02/01/2004

Build a Longhorn App

Longhorn includes significant changes that will affect developers, from how it handles graphics to how it stores data. Learn how to create a simple Longhorn app. 02/01/2004

Avalon: The Longhorn Presentation Layer

Avalon is a core part of Microsoft's presentation layer for its next major version of Windows, code-named Longhorn. Drill down on what it contains in this architecture model. 02/01/2004

Build a Simple File Watch App

Learn new features to jazz up your WinForms apps with this month's handy FileWatch utility. FileWatch monitors files and directories for changes, and runs as a task tray icon. 02/01/2004

Failover That’s Worth a Double-Take

NSI tool offers mirroring, replication and failover. 02/01/2004

Serialize Arrays and ArrayLists to XML

The XmlSerializer class provides a great way to convert objects to XML and back. However, it can be difficult to serialize collections such as Arrays and ArrayLists properly unless you know a few tricks. 02/01/2004

Distribution Patterns

Imanami’s SmartDL helps manage distribution lists. 02/01/2004

Storm Stories

It’s a truism in IT that various parts of your network—servers, hard drives, video cards, that mission-critical software program—will grind to a halt eventually. Here we present four disaster-recovery scenarios and how to recover from each. 02/01/2004

WINS-WINS Situation

In one domain where the servers seem to be missing, setting up WINS correctly may be the quick fix. 02/01/2004

Psychologically Acceptable Security

Getting user buy-in for security is critical. Using certificate autoenrollment is a way to make it pain-free. 02/01/2004

Books: Develop UIs in C#

Chris Sells shows you how to develop user interfaces in .NET in his book, Windows Forms Programming in C#. 02/01/2004

Q&A: Use Word's Spell Checker in .NET

Use Word's spell check from within your .NET application. 02/01/2004

Free Thinker

Is it time to set your own code of ethics? 02/01/2004

Score cards; Password Workout; MX Records; and the Cool Factor.

Don't Forget the Consumer

Longhorn and DRM offer a lot to digital rights holders and businesses, but what's in it for consumers, the ostensible target for the next version of the operating system? 02/01/2004

BusinessWeek: SCO Supplants Microsoft as Most Hated Company in IT

BusinessWeek Magazine, in its Feb. 2 editions, is declaring that SCO Group with its Linux lawsuits has replaced Microsoft as the most hated company in IT. 01/29/2004

MyDoom Gets Worse

The already fast-spreading MyDoom or Novarg mass-mailing virus got a boost from an effective variant that hit about two days after the original virus was discovered. 01/29/2004

Update: Quest Buys Aelita

Quest Software Inc. will buy privately-held Aelita Software for $115 million in a deal announced by the companies late Wednesday. The deal, a combination of two of the companies with the deepest sets of Active Directory and Windows-specific migration and management technologies, is expected to close this quarter. 01/29/2004

Microsoft Beefs up Online Security Offerings

Perhaps no company in the industry is working harder than Microsoft at making sure the public knows what steps to take to secure its products. 01/29/2004

Microsoft Puts Bounty on MyDoom.B Writer

Following in the footsteps of the SCO Group Inc., Microsoft on Thursday put up a $250,000 bounty for the perpetrators of MyDoom.B. 01/29/2004

Q&A: Windows Storage Server

Microsoft's Zane Adams recently discussed the growing potential for Windows Storage Server with Senior Editor Keith Ward. 01/29/2004

Longhorn Developer Details Released

Microsoft is now releasing more details on how to build Longhorn desktop applications—and pushing developers to crack open the early SDK. 01/29/2004

A 70-291 Self Assessment Manual

How well do you know Windows 2003? Enough to pass the 70-291 exam? Assess your knowledge with this book from Sybex. 01/28/2004

Microsoft Launches SQL Reporting Services

Microsoft on Tuesday launched its SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services, a technology three years in the making that has market-changing potential for business intelligence over the long term. 01/28/2004

Gates: Microsoft's Upping Security R&D Budget

More of Microsoft's $6.8 billion research budget will be directed toward making its software more secure and reliable, chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates said at a European technology conference. 01/28/2004

ISA Server 2004 Enters Broad Beta

Microsoft posted a public beta of Internet Security & Acceleration Server 2004, the second-generation version of Microsoft's enterprise firewall and Web caching product. 01/28/2004

MyDoom Targets Microsoft, Breaks Records, SCO Fires Back

In its third day of activity, the MyDoom mass-mailing virus spread chaos like ripples in a pond. 01/28/2004

70-291 Help in Excruciating Detail

Syngress' companion book/DVD is aimed at novices and experienced Windows 2003 pros who've set their sights on passing this core MCSA/MCSE exam. 01/28/2004

MyDoom Spreads Rapidly, but Corporate IT Well Prepared

A new mass-mailing virus known as MyDoom or Novarg spread at a record-setting pace this week, but its rate of success was fairly low against corporate servers already hardened against similar attacks. 01/27/2004

Microsoft Revenues Up, Profits Down

Microsoft on Thursday announced record revenues of $10.5 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001, but the company posted lower profits than it did for the year-ago period. 01/22/2004

Gartner: Windows 9.x Support Extension an Attempted Linux Deterrent

Meanwhile, the analyst house says, Windows NT 4 Workstation support, which was not extended in Microsoft's announcement last week, is a bigger problem for the enterprise. 01/22/2004

Contest! Help Desk Technicians, Be Recognized

Online contest to honor the hard work of the desktop support person. 01/22/2004

Enhanced Security Tool Posted to Microsoft.com

Microsoft posted a minor update this week of its free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) for download from its Web site. 01/22/2004