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1. Where can I find prescriptive guidance on upgrading to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft applications support for Windows Server 2008?

• Upgrading Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
• Timeline for Microsoft server application to support Windows Server 2008
• Installing Windows Server 2008
• Installing SQL Server 2005 on Windows Server 2008
• Installing Exchange Server 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008
• Installing Microsoft Office SharePoint Services SP1 on Windows Server 2008

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/ridethe2008wave/archive/2008/02/19/windows-server-2008-customer-faqs-useful-read-for-partners.aspx

Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 is slated for widespread availability on March 1, after a gala launch on February 27. But when will it enter widespread usage? A major report released today seems to present an overly rosy picture.

With Windows Server 2008 to be widely available to everyone in March, how many businesses and other organizations are really going to migrate to the new OS, and when? Technology retailer CDW Corp. today released survey results claiming that 68% of all organizations are going to adopt the new Windows Server, with 18% already in the planning stages.

Full Article – http://www.betanews.com/article/How_soon_will_enterprises_adopt_Windows_Server_2008/1203372048

A source close to Microsoft says the company will launch new desktop software called WorldWide Telescope on February 27 at the TED Conference in Monterey, California. Our guess is that this is what Robert Scoble was talking about last week when he said he saw a new Microsoft project that brought him to tears.

The service will be accessed through a downloadable application – Windows only for now is what we hear. Users will be able to pan around the nighttime sky and zoom as far in to any one area as the data will allow. Microsoft is said to be tapping the Hubble telescope as well as ten or so earth bound telescopes around the world for data. When you find an area you like, you can switch to a number of different views, such as infrared and non-visible light.

Full Article – http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/18/microsoft-to-announce-worldwide-telescope-on-january-27/

On February 14, the company rolled out a refreshed version of Popfly which added a new data-source editor, allowing users to add their own data to mash-upsl; as well as a new search interface. The February refresh also adds other improvements, according to an entry on the Popfly blog, including Silverligt support for Popfly Web sites; a new help wiki; and new “blocks, like moving slide show.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1196

After his last foray into the “Linux guy reviews a Microsoft product” space, Jason Perlow is back — this time to take a look at Microsoft’s Hyper-V, the hypervisor-based virtualization solution built into the newly released Windows Server 2008. Although Hyper-V is still in beta and isn’t slated to ship in final form until the latter half of this year — and will be missing a few previously-promised features by the time it does arrive — it just might be the “killer app” for Windows Server, and one which will have Microsoft’s competitors scrambling to keep up, Perlow claims.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1182

After his last foray into the “Linux guy reviews a Microsoft product” space, Jason Perlow is back — this time to take a look at Microsoft’s Hyper-V, the hypervisor-based virtualization solution built into the newly released Windows Server 2008. Although Hyper-V is still in beta and isn’t slated to ship in final form until the latter half of this year — and will be missing a few previously-promised features by the time it does arrive — it just might be the “killer app” for Windows Server, and one which will have Microsoft’s competitors scrambling to keep up, Perlow claims.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1182

This article explains how NLB algorithm works internally from a technical point of view. This article only applies to Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

General rule for a NLB Cluster which applies to each host in the cluster:

1. All port rules (range) defined in a host cluster must be unique across the cluster.

2. Host priority (Default Host) must be unique across the cluster.

3. Cluster mode must be unique across the cluster: either Unicast or Multicast.

A cluster node maintains a statistical mapping of port rules with associated Virtual IP of the cluster. I will give an port rule example and then explain how it works in cluster when an incoming TCP/IP packet arrives to cluster hosts. I have configured the following port rule at one of the cluster host:

Full Article – http://msmvps.com/blogs/systmprog/archive/2008/02/14/how-network-load-balancing-algorithm-works-internally.aspx

Windows 7 Milestone 1 (build 6519) has leaked to the Internet almost a month now and one of the features that seems to be in it, caught my attention. It’s the “Homegroup” feature, that was codenamed “Castle”. Beta testers that have been around long enough remember this feature as left out of Windows Vista.

Full Article – http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sanderberkouwer/archive/2008/02/14/windows-7-preliminary-feature-homegroup.aspx

Major update: Microsoft has finalized Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and released it to manufacturing. This FAQ has been updated to reflect the final release, and Microsoft’s schedule for getting this code into the hands of its users.

While most Windows service packs are hardly worth discussing, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been steeped in mystery almost since before Vista itself was completed. With Vista, Microsoft has engineered a new update deployment technology that allows administrators and power users to “slipstream” service packs and other fixes into new Vista installations in a manner that is much simpler than with previous Windows versions. But the real issue with SP1 is in how Microsoft has mishandled the dissemination of information about this release. For this reason, and because there are so many silly rumors floating around, I’ve created a FAQ for Vista SP1 that will be updated as new information is released. If it’s not in this FAQ, it’s just speculation.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/vista_sp1.asp

The Yahoo board is said to believe the $44.6 billion offer undervalues the company.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc’s board believes Microsoft Corp’s unsolicited bid of $44.6 billion to acquire Yahoo “massively undervalues” the company and directors are set to reject the offer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing an unnamed source.

Microsoft’s $31 per share offer fails to take account of the risks that a merger between the world’s largest software maker and Yahoo would be rejected by regulators, the paper reported, citing “a person familiar with the situation.”

A spokeswoman for Yahoo, a diversified Internet media company, declined to comment on the proceedings of the company’s board of directors.

(Reporting by Eric Auchard and Anupreeta Das in San Francisco and Megan Davies in New York, editing by Vicki Allen)

Microsoft has said that the Internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a hosted version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant’s license regulations.

Earlier this week, the U.K.-based ISP and hosting company started selling an online version of Microsoft Office, advertised as being “streamed to your PC.” However, unlike most hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires users to download software to their client PC.

“Fasthosts’ Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the Internet,” explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts’ chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with CNET News.com sister site ZDNet UK via e-mail, Jeffries said that a “full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user’s PC.”

Full Article – http://www.news.com/Microsoft-Streaming-Office-infringes-license/2100-1012_3-6229776.html

Microsoft has said that the Internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a hosted version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant’s license regulations.

Earlier this week, the U.K.-based ISP and hosting company started selling an online version of Microsoft Office, advertised as being “streamed to your PC.” However, unlike most hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires users to download software to their client PC.

“Fasthosts’ Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the Internet,” explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts’ chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with CNET News.com sister site ZDNet UK via e-mail, Jeffries said that a “full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user’s PC.”

Full Article – http://www.news.com/Microsoft-Streaming-Office-infringes-license/2100-1012_3-6229776.html

Hi,

I just wanted to share with you that in the next few weeks we will implement a change to the TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads experience. It is about to get easier to the get to the product downloads and access the related product keys with a better organization and layout.

Take a peek at TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads and Product Keys walkthrough for a preview of the changes.

Thanks,

Kathy Dixon

TechNet Plus subscriptions

Microsoft has been promoting Vista’s SP1 as a big performance booster compared to pre-SP1 Vista, particularly when copying files. But my preliminary tests show that Vista SP1 can be as much as 20% slower than pre-SP1 when it comes to copying files. And XP’s copying speed leaves both in the dust.

I found that copying a large file — 2.49 GB — to a local folder under SP1 Vista was 20% slower than performing the same operation in pre-SP1 Vista. Copying that same file to a network folder took essentially the same amount of time in pre-SP1 and SP1 Vista. And copying a 256 MB folder full of files to a local disk and to a network folder took essentially the same amount of time in each as well.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/vista_sp1_slow

With so much ROI potential and virtualization built in, Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)’s Windows Server 2008 — just released to manufacturing and set to launch later this month — promises to change the way the channel delivers solutions.

After several weeks of testing in the CMP Channel Test Center lab, it is clear that Microsoft’s forthcoming server operating system provides levels of data center functionality never before seen in a single package. Even without considering the implications of Hyper-V—the virtualization application that will officially ship several months after Server 2008—it seems that Microsoft, once again, appears poised to steamroll over more and new (watch out, VMware) competitors.

Full Article – http://www.crn.com/software/206105296?cid=customFeed