Essentials 2007 provides a single solution with a single console for managing your servers, clients, hardware, software, and IT services for a more unified experience. This unified user experience simplifies the complexity inherent in using multiple IT management tools or tools specifically designed for Enterprise IT environments. Also, using the same central console from which you monitor your IT environment you can assess, configure and deploy updates, plus install software to groups and computers you want to target.
Feature Bullet Summary: System Center Essentials 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) incorporates the following the improvements and major changes in functionality. For a complete list of fixes and changes that are included in Essentials 2007 SP1 please see: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110536.
• Support for managing workgroup-joined computers
• Support for monitoring SNMPv1 network devices
• Support for using multiple auto-approval rules in update management
• Support for using a remote SQL Server 2005 instance on a computer with a different architecture (x86 or x64) than that of the computer running the Essentials 2007 management server
• Support for running the Essentials 2007 management server, console and agent on computers running Windows Server 2008 within 90 days of the release of Essentials 2007 SP1. Management packs for Windows Server 2008 and its role will be available shortly after the release of Windows Server 2008.
• Improved backup and disaster recovery guidance
• Improvements in management pack quality
• Improvements in performance, usability, and supportability

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=20824f84-b98a-4e42-93a7-045a7a58e289&displaylang=en&tm

Microsoft Corp. today said its engineers were still “heads down working” on the data corruption bug that has plagued Windows Home Server since late last year, but it acknowledged that a fix won’t be released until June at the earliest.

In a post to a company blog, the WHS team said it had updated a support document to provide more information on the flaw — even as it continued to downplay the threat. “We are aware of only a very small percentage of users with confirmed instances of this issue, and we believe that most people are unlikely to be affected,” the team said.

Full Article – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9067598&source=rss_topic125

2 weeks ago during the Windows Server 2008 launch event in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to have a 10 minute talk with Bob Muglia. Bob is head of the Server & Tools devision at Microsoft.

I’m not a professional journalist, I did not record this session, nor did I write down a transcript of what was said, I just took some notes . We talked about Windows Server 2008 and its future.

Hyper-V

First of all I asked the obvious question about Hyper-V, if he would be more detailed on the release date than “after 180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008″ He smiled and just repeated “180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008″

Full Article – http://bink.nu/news/hyper-v-r2.aspx

Server Core is a minimal installation of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system that does not provide a fully integrated graphical user interface (GUI) or other components and applications that are not required for supported server roles and features. A Server Core installation helps reduce the attack surface and allows for easier installation and configuration management.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=db02ceb1-7e92-4845-889e-6177c4c7f940&displaylang=en&tm

Server Core is a minimal installation of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system that does not provide a fully integrated graphical user interface (GUI) or other components and applications that are not required for supported server roles and features. A Server Core installation helps reduce the attack surface and allows for easier installation and configuration management.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=db02ceb1-7e92-4845-889e-6177c4c7f940&displaylang=en&tm

Today the product group has released the HPC Server 2008 Community Technology Preview (CTP). This is the next major milestone on our way to RTM. As always, the software is available via Microsoft Connect.

If you are interested in the CTP build, please visit this page on Microsoft Connect. You’ll have to provide a bit of information about yourself and any intended use. As always, the team provides newsgroup support via Microsoft Connect.

For more information about Windows HPC Server 2008, please visit the Microsoft HPC homepage and use the Windows HPC Community Portal for all things technical information.

Although the deployment of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system is still in its relatively early stages, Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) has already discovered noticeable benefits in the day-to-day management and operation of its network environment as Windows Server 2008 makes its debut in data centers across the enterprise.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4752fa07-3c8e-49b0-b2e3-c75268128866&DisplayLang=en

Although the deployment of the Windows Server® 2008 operating system is still in its relatively early stages, Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) has already discovered noticeable benefits in the day-to-day management and operation of its network environment as Windows Server 2008 makes its debut in data centers across the enterprise.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4752fa07-3c8e-49b0-b2e3-c75268128866&DisplayLang=en

Mozilla today released a new beta version of Firefox 3. Beta 4 builds on the existing releases of Firefox and includes more than 900 enhancements from the Beta 3 and includes ‘drastic improvements to performance and memory use.’ It also provides other fixes based on feedback from the community.

Full Article – http://apcmag.com/8416/firefox_3_beta_4_hits_the_streets

The rapid growth of mobile broadband is set to make Wi-Fi hotspots irrelevant, according to an Ericsson executive.

“Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era,” claimed Ericsson’s chief marketing officer Johan Bergendahl, speaking to delegates at the European Computer Audit, Control and Security Conference in Stockholm.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/176220/ericsson-predicts-swift-end-for-wifi-hotspots.html

Microsfot employees have enjoyed the benefits of Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 since long before it was shipped. See how in the webcast: How Microsoft IT Deployed Windows Terminal Services 2008 and Terminal Server Gateway Technologies, scheduled Tuesday, March 18, 2008. You can also read the white paper:

How MSIT Uses Terminal Services as a Scalable Remote Access Solution

This white paper discusses how Microsoft IT used Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services to create a scalable remote access solution that is accessible by using HTTPS connections from any location worldwide.

Link – http://blogs.technet.com/tonyso/archive/2008/03/07/how-miscosoft-it-uses-windows-sever-2008-terminal-services.aspx

Information for Windows Ultimate users.

http://ultimatepc.com/

Vista SP1 really the shot in the arm your Vista system needs? We’ve spent many hours strapped to our benchmarking system in a caffeine and pizza fuelled haze to uncover these very interesting results.

We tested Vista:

• as it comes out of the box (RTM — or “release to manufacturing”)
• as it comes out of the box, with all Windows Update patches applied (“RTM patched)
• with the final SP1 service pack applied

Full Article – http://apcmag.com/8373/vista_sp1_up_to_86_faster

Empower your people to find and act on information.
As an IT professional, you need a search solution that allows you to deliver the simple, easy-to-use experience your users expect, while helping to meet the security and manageability requirements your IT environment demands. Microsoft® Search Server 2008 offers an enterprise-ready search solution that empowers your people to find the information they need.
Product Highlights
Find and act on your information

• Empower your users to quickly find the information they need through a familiar Search Center interface
• Deploy a search capability optimized for business data to deliver highly relevant results across intranet and public-facing Web site content
• Pinpoint the most relevant information you need with recommended best bets, authoritative sources, term definitions, hit highlighting, duplicate collapsing, search alerts, and query correction
• Build upon a familiar user interface and application platform that lets you customize your search experience and the actions you can take on your search results

Grow and extend your search solution

• Index common information sources with Indexing Connectors for file servers, Web sites, Microsoft SharePoint® sites, Microsoft Exchange Server public folders, as well as EMC Documentum, IBM FileNet, and Lotus Notes repositories
• Federate your searches to indexes in other data repositories, applications, and services using the Open Search standard
• Scale your deployment to meet your needs with no preset document limits and continuous index propagation

Help secure and manage your search deployment

• Review common administrative tasks, search status, and settings in a single view
• Manage content sources and search scopes, authoritative sources, key words, best bets, and other configurable relevancy settings through a powerful, easy-to-use management console
• Maintain high availability and load balancing using a variety of topologies; configure multiple Web, query, and clustered database servers
• Monitor search performance and improve search relevance with query and results reporting
• Help ensure that only the right people can find information with a search engine that utilizes your user authentication infrastructure for security

For more information on Microsoft enterprise search products, please visit www.microsoft.com/enterprisesearch
D2KBC-9JQ6T-4P6C2-F7BFF-BB96D
Dont lose this product key!
You must use it to install this software. If you misplace this Product Key, visit the Microsoft Download Center.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5de047e1-0289-4e8e-81de-56bf74ecc89e&DisplayLang=en

The Windows Server 2008 Developer Story introduces users to new features of the Windows Server 2008 operating system by providing a cohesive story about how the features fit together to make a compelling platform for developers. The Developer Story topics explain how to take advantage of a new feature or solve a problem using the new Windows technologies. The topics include conceptual information for context and technical specifications for practical application of each scenario.
This download contains the Windows Server 2008 Developer Story (ServerDevStory.chm).

Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=056bb5f7-65ff-4c42-bdae-65754d96b021&DisplayLang=en