So here is my first impression of Longhorn along with a somewhat attractive screenshot:

Other interesting stuff? There seems to be a built-in, easy to use Windows Backup which is very good. IE 7 by default looks a lot less cluttered which in my opinion is a good thing.

On the bad end, Control Panel looks very cluttered, to the point that it takes a lot of reading to find anything. It is still filled with jargon so its not like its going to help deal ol’ grandma find what she is looking for.

Second, when you click on All Programs in the start bar the results are showed inline. This is not that good of an idea, I’ve looked a lot of non-IT Pro folks use their systems and unless something significant happens on the screen they miss it. Inlining this on the start menu will confuse a lot of folks.

Still playing with it, will keep you updated.

If you missed the Small Business Specialist webcast yesterday, the TS2 presentation is now available online. I saw a good part of the presentation and it was quite specific, informative and even motivational. If you are still on the fence about this exam, now is the time to click on the link below and find out whats in it for you!

Click here to view the webcast.

Windows Vista (aka, Longhorn) has entered the beta stage. I am on a 2 hour wait till the 2.4 Gb DVD ISO image has completely downloaded to my system so I can being playing with it. It is only available to official beta testers and Microsoft Certified Partners with MSDN access. If you are not in that bunch enjoy this:

Check out other screenshots

Thursday Update: I have finished the installation on the demo system and inside the Virtual PC. It took roughly 12 hours for the VPC installation to happen on a 3 GHz system, but it looks extremely nice.

For about a year now Microsoft has been testing the Genuine Advantage program that checks if the license of your Windows system is valid or if it is a pirated copy. This system has been in place for some premium downloads on the Microsoft site and has been used simply to get the idea of which copies are pirated and crack down on companies distributing illegal software.

This system, Windows Geniune Advantage (WGA), is now integrated into the Windows Update site and you will not be allowed to download security patches for your operating system if it is not licensed properly. If you are using a stolen/pirated copy of Windows the system will prevent you from accessing the upgrades and give you two choices:

1. Fill out a piracy report, provide a proof of purchase / receipt, where or from whom you purchased the copy of Windows and you will get a free copy of Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional.

2. If you only fill out the piracy report (and provide no information leading to how you acquired this illegal software) you will get a 50% discount on the copy of Microsoft Windows XP you are currently using.

“Microsoft has created a program that is fair to customers and reseller partners,” said Michael Cherry, lead analyst, Windows and Mobile, at Directions on Microsoft, an independent firm that provides analysis of Microsoft products and strategies. “While Microsoft is requiring customers to validate, they’re putting their best foot forward to help customers out, in terms of simplifying the process, creating software incentives and offering to help customers replace counterfeit software they acquired unwittingly.” The WGA validation process is designed to be quick and simple. On their first visit to the Microsoft Download Center, Windows Update or Microsoft Update, customers will be asked to participate in WGA. They will be prompted to download an ActiveX® control that checks the authenticity of their Windows software and, if Windows is validated, stores a special download key on the PC for future verification. The validation process does not collect any information that can be used by Microsoft to identify or contact the user.

How many unsolicited messages do you get each day? The man that lost his life recently was probably responsible for at least some of the clutter in your inbox… and when he was killed there was an outpour of emotion over how this barbaric thing could happen in the modern world.

Trouble is, most of the spammers are criminals. They obtain data and addresses through criminal means, behave in clear and conscious vilation of international laws and use mafia / organized crime connections to further their operation. In turn, organized crime resorts to bribery and distributed denial of service attacks on corporate networks to bring in revenue.

Original Story

After a long process of going to the next version of Windows (Codename: Longhorn) Microsoft has found the official name for it: Windows Vista.

Press Announcement

Let the domain squatting begin. Check out the Press Announcement for the video of the first commercial.

Now a screen saver by itself usually does not warrant a mention, but this screen saver is special for two interesting reason.

The good: MSN Screen Saver integrates news, picture album slideshows, videos and a lot of other interesting information that can be collected on the web. It shows up as the background and includes many other MSN services such as the unread messages, desktop or web search, access to email all without launching a separate application. Does this sound familiar? If not, do words “Active Desktop” come to mind? Yup, more than 7 years later one of the core technologies of Windows 98 is coming back as a screen saver. Talk about progress. The coolest part of the screen saver is that it downloads RSS content as well which makes it a very cool thing to run in the waiting room on a spare TV. If you can’t get cable in your office you’ll agree this is very important.

The bad: This screen saver is beta. Yes, beta as in broken. For the love of god, what does this say about Microsoft’s developer talent if they cannot even release a stable screen saver these days.

If you’re interested, please download it directly from Microsoft.

It has been a quiet few days in the IT land lately and I’ve been working quite hard to figure out just what motivates people to attend IT Professonal user groups. This is a multi-dimensional survey that not only attempts to determine users motivation to network with others on technical merits, but also to see what level of it is business-growth motivated. Considering a large portion of the surveyed identify themselves as business owners, what motivates them to share information with their competitors and how much do they trust their vendors?

So far the results are fairly typical:
- Members are fairly customer-focused
- Members are motivated to grow their technical expertise
- Members are interested in small business technology

What is somewhat surprising (but by no means unwarranted) is the:
- Inherent distrust for software / hardware vendors
- Although Microsoft focused, very interested in competitive solutions
- Not interested in reliance on Microsoft

These points are somewhat interesting and seem to show a high desire to get information about Microsoft from an independent source. If you take a look at the popular Microsoft Professional site, Redmond Magazine, at least 25% of the content seems to be Linux based. Now why would people that have spent money, time and effort to become certified in Microsoft technology show any interest in Linux? Why do people that gather to discuss SBS and whose livelihood depends on SBS want to know more about the technology that directly competes with everything Microsoft Windows stands for, especially from software use rights?

Interesting questions, I hope the survey answers those in due time. Check back in a week when I hope to disect the final results.

Another great series of webcasts. I’m generally the first line of support for many of you and everyone always asks where I learn all that I know. Part of it is from hitting the wall in the lab and production with these tools, but a big part of it comes directly from these webcasts. I know a lot of people that pay a ton of money for certification classes and still don’t learn 10% of whats available in these free, yes, $0, online webcasts.

TechNet Webcast: Modifying the SMS_DEF.MOF for Advanced Clients (Level 300)
Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 11:30:00 AM - 1:00:00 PM Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Migration from Software Update Services to Windows Server Update Services (Level 300)
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 11:30:00 AM - 1:00:00 PM Pacific Time

Momentum Webcast: The Value of Manageability and Windows Server System (Level 100)
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Momentum Webcast: An Introduction to Software Asset Management: Optimize, Secure and Build (Level 100)
Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Security Update Management with Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0 and Systems Management Server (Level 300)
Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Another great series of webcasts. I’m generally the first line of support for many of you and everyone always asks where I learn all that I know. Part of it is from hitting the wall in the lab and production with these tools, but a big part of it comes directly from these webcasts. I know a lot of people that pay a ton of money for certification classes and still don’t learn 10% of whats available in these free, yes, $0, online webcasts.

TechNet Webcast: Modifying the SMS_DEF.MOF for Advanced Clients (Level 300)
Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 11:30:00 AM - 1:00:00 PM Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Migration from Software Update Services to Windows Server Update Services (Level 300)
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - 11:30:00 AM - 1:00:00 PM Pacific Time

Momentum Webcast: The Value of Manageability and Windows Server System (Level 100)
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Momentum Webcast: An Introduction to Software Asset Management: Optimize, Secure and Build (Level 100)
Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Security Update Management with Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0 and Systems Management Server (Level 300)
Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time