Let's face it, most problems with SBS happen when changes are made. Patches, hot fixes, service packs, migrations, upgrades. SBS PSS guys take on the topic and R2 issues in the latest Inside SBS Episode #17. They are drinking that sweet sweet Livemeeting coolade but don't let that turn you away, I'm listening to it right now and the voice quality is excellent. Download #17

Good news for the folks that are willing to spend the weekend testing a new Vista build. Get to it before everyone else brings connect.microsoft.com to a crawl.

Dear Longhorn / Windows Vista Beta Tester, We are pleased to announce the availability of Windows Vista build 5342 this afternoon. This build is a snapshot of our progress on our way to the Beta 2 milestone and will allow you to verify fixed bugs as well as check for new regressions that may have been introduced. We need your feedback quickly so it can be evaluated for inclusion into Beta 2. For this reason we ask that you download and install this build as soon as possible. This is the first build we are making available to the beta program outside the CTP so please be sure to read this message completely.

For what its worth, I have been a passionate player-hater of Vista because performance was just NOT there. I mean not even remotely bareable on even a brand new PC. This turned around with the last build, it is almost as tollerable as XP if not quite finished/ready. Thats the beta world for you, its not something that you use in production. And while I'm on the beta tangent, several clueless people on the list were suggesting to someone that was relatively new to SBS to go ahead an install a beta product. The same beta product that Microsoft offers no support for (ie, you break your system beyond recognition and you can't call for help.) The same beta product that has disclaimers, warnings, FAQ's and big red BETA warnings. Yup. So if you're an IT Pro please be a professional and do not allow people to install beta/incomplete/unfinished software on production PC's. Not everyone has the same set of skills to handle experimental software so please don't pour people a poison and tell them to go ahead and drink it if they are thirsty. Fine in a lab, fine on an expendable box… but not in production unless you're on the TAP program and you have Microsoft to hold your hand. Nino from Exchange PSS recently posted on this topic, please take a sec to read it.

Over the past few months I've been looking at the communities I am involved in and I really did not like what I saw in terms of value that those groups presented me and its members. I have lately gotten really tired of a lot of issues that I inadvertently became a spokesman for: Microsoft lack of piracy enforcement, Microsoft lack of UG support, major vendors competing with the SMB chain, supposed MCSE's mocking and disrespecting newbies in newsgroups… But then I realized why some folks chose to remain small. They choose to remain small because they think small. There is no passion. No entrepreneurial spirit. No willingness to rise above, work hard, take a long term view. It's all about today, now, immediate gratification. Thats not how things work folks! But propose the change and roaches scatter. Honestly, I probably made a mistake when I started caring and getting involved in the politics of the SBS community. I'm a CEO and an MCSE, thats where my strengths lie and I will continue to pour all I've got to help people that want to be better and greater than they are today.

I just got some very exciting news from my MVP lead — it appears that now that Exchange 12 is available to a solid amount of people in the Beta form I can talk about it — and show it — at length. I'll be meeting a ton of my fellow Exchange MVP's in about two weeks at Orlando Exchange Connections and will formulate my approach with their assistance. I am very excited, specifically because nobody talks or shows Exchange. Pardon me, but your IQ must be really low to get a thril out of a 3D notepad with alpha transparent title bar. Show me something that is actually used by kids that aren't 12! I will give you a hint: "Vlad, yea!"

As much progress as places like Gmail have made there is simply no substitute for an offline mail storage that web based solutions simply do not offer. Looks like the Live folks actually got that message and are rebranding the Outlook Express into Windows Live Mail. Still in beta, this beast is a part of the latest Windows Vista beta and integrates quick searching, offline storage, spell checking, new UI, better newsgroup integration and finally RSS! I guess someone there finally heard Scoble Whats particularly interesting is that this version actually encourages community related functions. For example, Microsoft newsgroups are programmed in (come on guys, say bundled just once!) into the software so you can ask a question and get MVP's to help you out pretty much out of the box! Good job live!

There are some indications that Microsoft will release the next release of Microsoft Virtual Server, the VS 2005 R2 Enterprise absolutly free next week. Ain't competition grand? Remember that "R2" was actually Virtual Server SP1 that Microsoft got free beta testing for then decided to make it a for-pay product. Lot's of angered customers but the guys in Redmond didn't budge: "shoulda bought SA" Fast forward a few monts. Free Xen virtualization is picking up. Vmware released a free Vmware Server which is considered a superior product by almost everyone. Not just that but it also comes without the overhead of the Microsoft Windows Server license – it can run on top of Linux, free. Incentive to use a Microsoft solution: none. So when Virtual Server R2 launches I will perhaps be the only one on earth downloading it. I realize nobody cares and I am fine with that. However, our friends in Redmond should care and care a lot. I spoke to a Microsoft friend of mine about Virtual Server 2005 R2 and how people were upset about it not being free and his comment was "Oh well, what are they going to do – use Novell and Vmware?"; See how little it takes to displace Microsoft? Hopefully they learn, quickly. Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Office 12 will require a drastic amount of re-training… and if you're throwing a ton of money to retrain the workforce, upgrade hardware for Software.Next, virtualization of servers and apps is apparently free… I wonder how many people lose sleep in Redmond thinking about Vista launch becoming as big of a non-event as Virtual Server 2005 R2? Not that wild of an idea folks, how many of you though you'd get a free $5,000 virtualization server last March?

Yeah, I'm still alive. I had a little two hour talk with fellow MVP Dana Epp and we ended up talking about something completely opposite of why he called me in the first place. Long story short, I've spent past four days working on learning how C# and mono integrate on Linux. Why, do Microsoft tools servers suck that bad? Not at all. The problem is application infrastructure sticker shock – and on the SQL side only. While I have no problem paying SQL Server fees for high traffic, high fault tollerance solution there are simply sites that do not need massive scalability or business intelligence or stored procedures – but they need to be up – always. Microsoft does not differentiate on size or feature set, one size fits all. So if you want to have a cluster with a 20 meg database you'll be paying the same as the big boys. Maybe they'll recognize that soon, it surely put IBM and Oracle into obsolescence for lower-end db driven sites. I also took some time off to gather some energy for the SBS Show. We're on verge of launching #20 and our audience is so huge that there is more pressure to put on not just informative but entertaining shows. Mark Stanfill has been blogging like a mad man over at SBS PSS lately and they have two webcasts with TS2. They are brave enough to put up a live webcast and answer questions on the fly Call em up and ask for a concise solution to ActiveSync Error: 05010014. I recently had a shaming with them over this error, will blog about it soon. On the TS2 front there is a new Community Server. They even have a live blogroll aggregator to which they have added the SBS Show! Thanks Fred! Now if we could only get JJ to blog more Tonight: If you've got a $100 and want to improve your IT business please check out my presentation to Washington DC SBS group, live at 7PM EST. The presentation is free but I'm going to show you how to blow $100 on eliminating some of the points that make SMB IT shops suck.

Now I hate to do an almost fictional post back to back like this but folks… I took some time off this weekend. Katie took me to see Larry The Cable Guy's new movie "Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector". Larry is our neighbor in Orlando and we thought we'd support another local businessman We're fans of his and thoroughly enjoy redneck comedy having gone to college in the south. So it was a double break: I took a weekend off from work and from attempting to replicate Netflix's DVD library It is amazing how entertained you can be when you have your expectations set low enough. I loved the movie if not for the depth of plot and the acting skills then for the fact that the entire movie was filmed in about 3 square miles of Downtown Orlando. Go check it out, we sure have a beautiful town here.

It's Friday folks! Here is a little bit of humor for your weekend, enjoy! Eat your heart out Mary Jo Foley, you've got nothing on me! It no news that plenty of chairs have been flying around Redmond lately. These have been caused by yet another delay to Microsoft Vista, and now to Microsoft Office. Better known as "Microsoft's Cash Cows" these products literally run the business world. The announcement of delays into 2007 has affected the Microsoft stock price, knocked down Nasdaq three days in a row and consequently hurt not just Microsoft but its partners in software publishers, hardware makers, people lonely at Christmas. It has not been a good week for Microsoft. However, I just got off the phone with Steve Ballmer (we chat every friday, I ask whats new there, he asks when OWN is going to offer shell access) and he shared some info with me that he wanted to give Vladville an exclusive crack on. Wow, you are still reading this? Please tell me you get that its a joke? Ok, so here is the skinny: The recent executive changes at Microsoft are nothing more than a cleanup operation. The "new" exec reshufflings have really been high level janitorial appointments and are in process of cleaning up the offices prior execs have been in. I know, I know, they should be able to clean this place up in 10 minutes – oh no, not true. If you've ever been around a high power executive you know they are full of it. However, when required to be accountable for missed deadlines and lost money with a chair coming at their face they tend to explode. Massive cleanup. The rumor? Microsoft has hired George Broussard to run the Microsoft Platforms & Services division. According to Steve what had attracted him to Broussard was his superior management of the Duke Nukem: Forever game and he felt that Broussard gives the company that much needed PR edge. George was not immediately available for comment but did send an email reply saying "Vista will be done when its done. Vlad, STFU imo!"; Coincidentally, Bill Gates also released a press release a few minutes ago titled: "Hail to the King, baby." – apparently 90% of the subsaharan Africa and major parts of SE Asia fell to their knees. Update: Just spoke to George Broussard and we talked at length about the true reason for delays of Vista. There have been many speculations over why the delay was neccessary but George simply said it was the rendering engine behind Vista. Forget about Glass, its all about Unreal rendering technology. He estimated that roughly 60% of the code will have to be rewritten and the switch will likely be completed in six weeks. On the topic of further relases he did mention that we will see a new beta at E3. Update 2: Ok, just got off the phone with Bill (Bill Gates, we're on the first name basis you know) and he mentioned that Broussard is really just the first in the line. He is actually hiring Al Lowe to handle the release of Vista and provide management of the MicrosoftBS unit (Microsoft Dynamics) and take personal ownership of Microsoft SBA. You see, Al Lowe gained fame by claiming they lost a version of Leisure Suit Larry back in the 90's. Gates hopes the same management style can be a win-win for Microsoft who does not seem to get its act together until version 3. Al has been a Microsoft consultant for a while now, as a matter of fact he is the brilliant soul behind R2: "Guys, guys, guys. Instead of releasing a new version lets just bundle all the old crap thats already out there, throw it into a new box, and tell them its the next release?" Hey, it worked before and it worked again!

Ah, I really don't want to say this but it serves having some context. I try to avoid political posts because I feel its usually impossible to have a rational argument on politics. People tend to be too wrapped up in their own definition of morality, freedom and whatever their church/family/tv brainwashed into them as an absolute truth. One thing we can all agree on is that election and appointment of total morons is nothing new to Washington DC. However, W really takes the cake with the new chief of the fellas at the freakin' FCC. So, say goodbye to innovation on the net. Comments disabled, I don't care what your opinion on me/W/FCC/telco is. Just RTFA Or enjoy the Family Guy movie