Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are the 2 latest versions of Microsoft's Client and Server Operating Systems.
Here you'll find the tricks, tips and how to's to get both of these Operating Systems working in your environment.
A single repository for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 information.
Windows Powershell is a new command-line shell and scripting language designed for system administration and automation. Built on the .NET Framework, Windows PowerShell enables IT professionals and developers to control and automate the administration of Windows and applications.
Windows PowerShell includes:
One hundred and twenty-nine command-line tools (called "cmdlets") for performing common system administration tasks, such as managing services, processes, event logs, certificates, the registry, and using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
Command-line tools are easy to learn and easy to use with standard naming conventions and common parameters, and simple tools for sorting, filtering, and formatting data and objects.
Support for existing scripting languages and existing command-line tools, and multiple versions of Windows, including Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server code name "Longhorn".
Feature that allows users to navigate data stores, like the registry and certificate stores, as if they were a file system.
Standard utilities for managing Windows data in different stores and formats, including Active Directory (ADSI), Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Component Object Model (COM) objects, Active X Data Objects (ADO), HTML and XML.
Sophisticated expression parsing and .NET object manipulation at the command line, including pipelining of objects, make IT professionals more efficient and productive.
Extensible interface that allows independent software vendors and enterprise developers to build custom cmdlets to meet their unique application and system administration requirements.
Supported Operating Systems:
Windows Vista Business; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Ultimate.
You can get it here: Windows PowerShell for 32 bit Vista or Windows PowerShell for 64 bit Vista.
If you're looking for a one-stop security solution then Windows Live OneCare should be on your shortlist. Windows Live OneCare is a Microsoft solution that packages Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, a Firewall, a Backup program and a program that Tunes Up your pc so it runs the best it can run.
At $50 a year for a 3 Computer license theres quite frankly nothing else available that can touch this offering as far as value goes.
You can download a 90 day trial here.
If you're looking for training on OneCare, Winstructor have Windows Vista Training available soon.
Now we dont normally expect to be writing about non-pc hardware on this website. But since this device is halfway towards being a PC anyway I thought I'd share my brief experiences.
The Nokia N95 is a multimedia phone based on the Symbian S60 Operating System and in all honesty, I've hated Nokia phones for a long time. My last Nokia was the N70, which I kept for about 2 hours and went back to Sony Ericsson, my personal favorite.
The biggest issues I've had with Nokia in the past in comparison to Sony Ericsson is that the battery life of Nokia is not as good as Sony, the call clarity and reception are nowhere as good and the phones are normally larger.
Sure, Nokia's have lots of features, most of them will never be used anyway, but my biggest complaint was that the software was slow and moving around the phone menus always lagged.
So based on the hype alone, I dropped around $1200 on a new Nokia N95 and I must say that my 2 days with the phone has been very good.
The issues I've just mentioned seem to be non-existent (yet I am looking for a reason to bash the Nokia - I just can't find one)
The call clarity reminds me of the Sony Ericsson, reception hasn't dropped out once. I wont comment on the battery as I've only had it 2 days, but no complaints so far in that department either.
The GPS worked great. I took the N95 with me to an event I was to attend, set the destination and off I went. It was accurate and easy to follow so I had no complaints there. The only downside is that I now have to shell out for the voice navigation function, but you cant have everything I guess.
I was talking with one of the technical guys over at Winstructor yesterday and he kindly sent me a prerelease .mp4 of one of their Computer Based Training Videos. So I bluetoothed it over to the N95 and watched it. I have to say both the training, and the phones display and audio was magnificent. Sure the display is a little small for this type of training, but it would be great as a travelling study resource. The N95 has 2 speakers and is far louder and clearer that any Sony Ericsson I have ever owned.
As far as the Nokia software goes, I did have some issues with editing my Contacts List using the provided Nokia PC Suite from the CD that came with the phone (I of course am using Windows Vista - the 32bit version), however the software detected there was an upgrade available, so I installed that and the software worked fine.
All in all, it looks like I might be sitting amongst the Nokia camp now. Since Sony dropped the Flashlight feature of their phones, it doesnt matter what phone I have now (hey, I really liked the flashlight) and since the Nokia seems to do pretty much everything and with such pizzaz, I just had to tell the world about it.
I handed it around the table at a family dinner yesterday and it was a big hit, even more so when I recorded about 20 seconds of video (about 7Mb), zapped it over to my notebook and the resulting file was better quality than my old DV video camera. The screen is also top notch, better than anything else on the market, as is the camera. 5 Megapixels in a phone? Cool!
If I have to drop a negative on this phone it would be the keypad on top of the phone. It feels a tad flimsy and may not go the distance, but since this is my 2nd day with the phone I cant say for sure whether it will stand the test of time.
Go and take a look at the phone though, I think you will be impressed.
One of the biggest complaints that I have with Vista, is that compared to Windows XP, browsing File Shares is often painfully slow. Here's how to speed it up.
Open up a command prompt in administrator mode. To do this, click Start, type "cmd" and hold down Control and Shift on your keyboard and hit Enter. If you have User Account Control running you'll need to click continue. Now you should see a command window open with the word "Administrator" in the title bar.
Now enter in this command.
netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
You'll need to reboot your system, but you should now find that browsing remote file shares is much, much quicker.
To use the Windows Task Switcher, press ALT + TAB.
If you have Aero enabled, this will also show the live thumbnail preview of applications that are open and is updated in real time.
To use Flip 3D press the Windows Key+TAB.
This requires Aero to be enabled and running. This will also show the live thumbnail preview of applications that are open and is updated in real time, however Flip 3D gives you the cascading 3 Dimensional preview of your open windows.
You can scroll through these windows with the Up and Down arrow keys, the Tab key, or the Scroll wheel on your mouse. To bring a window to the front, hit enter on the current window or click it with your mouse.
If you want to learn more about Windows Vista, Winstructor has released their Windows Vista Video Training Series. It contains 20 videos, covering practically all of the key areas of Windows Vista, so go ahead and check it out.
If you want to learn more about Windows Vista, Winstructor has released their Windows Vista Video Training Series. It contains 20 videos, covering practically all of the key areas of Windows Vista, so go ahead and check it out.
By default, not all files are indexed in the new Vista Indexing System. To add a new file type to be indexed, follow these steps.
Click Start and type index and hit enter.
In the Indexing Options window, click on the Advanced button:
Then type in the new extension and click "Add new extension"
If you want the file contents to be indexed as well, find the file type in the list and make sure you select the "Index Properties and File Contents" radio button.
This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Windows Configuration in the Windows Vista category. They are listed from oldest to newest.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
