My Notes to Myself and Others...

One thing that I have found to be a nuisance in Win7 is the way it handles Messenger. In the
past messenger used to hide on the icon tray, and you could open it by double clicking on it.

Windows 7 has changed this and Messenger occupies a slot on your taskbar. Personally, I find
this uncomfortable. The solution, is to run Messenger in Vista compatibility mode. Find the
Messenger icon, right click it, and choose properties.
Choose the compatibility tab and select Windows Vista from the drop down box.

At this stage restart Messenger,and it will go back into hiding… :)

I love hi-tech toys,and I always said that it’s odd that there is no options
for my computer to sense whenever I “leave” it and lockup…Well now there is.

If you have a Bluetooth enable phone, then by using a piece of software from
Phoenix you can teach your computer to lock and unlock-handsfree…

http://www.phoenixfreeze.com/

I am not sure what is the exact sentiment that this ad is supposed to
stimulate but it made me smile…

Documenting server rooms isn’t fun, not to mention having to draw out a neat Visio
schema… Well, it seems that those days are over as Microsoft releases an add-in for
Vision that will enable you to pull information from an Excel file and build out a Visio
schema for your server room. Note that it doesn’t stop there, this add-in can pull information
from your servers (e.g. CPU utilization, RAM, IP address).

For additional details click on the following link.

This Solution Accelerator provides instructions and recommendations to help strengthen the security of computers running the Hyper-V role on Windows Server® 2008. It covers three core topics: hardening Hyper-V, delegating virtual machine management, and protecting virtual machines.

Download

There are hundreds(exaggerating here?) of such lists floating around the Net and the printed media,
so why should I add one more? Well first of all because I want to, and because,
it’s a bit odd to see that the tables have turned-when Vista was released all you could find
was posts and lists of 10 reasons to hate Vista,today the world is different.

In general the current mood of the media seems to be favorable towards Microsoft in general
and Windows 7 specifically.

I have started using Windows 7 since build 7000 (released to the general public) and
have found it to be great (now what does that mean, am I also affected by the hype?).It seems
that Windows 7 has worked out most of the quirks that affected Vista and gave it such a bad
name (which I can’t always say was justified).

So my top 10 things to like about Vista in no particular orders:

1. Speed- Not a feature yet in a world where everyone is in a hurry to get things done
   I found it very refreshing that everything in Windows 7 seems to be quicker, from the
   installation to running applications.
   
2. Control over UAC– UAC was/is a necessary evil. No one can say that UAC is a
   a good feature from a user experience perspective, on the other hand it hugely boosts
   your ability to secure your environment since it is much more than that annoying pop-up
   we have learned to hate. Instead of simply turning it off, Windows 7 provides us with
   a relatively simple tool to “tune” the UAC.
   
3. Built-in wallpaper changer- After you stop laughing,think about it for a second. Seriously,
   for how long have we been waiting for this feature? It’s not much of a productivity booster
   nor is it a huge leap in technology but it’s finally here.
   
4. BitLocker to Go- Bitlocker was introduced by Vista and it grew an got better. Instead
   of just encrypting your fixed disks (and with some gymnastics some of your removable
   disks), with Windows 7 you can encrypt your removable disks. Bitlocker protection to your
   ”mobile” drives which are at a higher risk of being stolen. Once the removable disk
   is encrypted you can connect it to any other system and access it’s data by providing some
   type of authentication:
   
   
   
5. The Taskbar- Much has been said about the new taskbar but in my opinion there is only one
   ability that turns the taskbar into a killer application:being able to receive a quick preview of your
   open windows on the desktop while browsing the thumbnails on the taskbar. This ability saves
   time and makes my life a lot easier.
   
6. HomeGroup- A simple user interface that enables Windows 7 systems to share information between
   Windows 7 computers (most likely to be used in a home). Setting up a simple home network
   between Windows 7 takes no more than a couple of clicks…
   
7. Problem steps recorder- A tool to be used by many frustrated IT support personnel and their
   relatives. This tool enables us to record a step by step scenario of something that we are trying to
   do and fails or on the other hand succeeds (to be used as a reference by the recipient). The result
   of the recording is a ZIP file that has an MHT file inside it (viewable by IE).
   
8. Boot from VHD – Yes, you can actually boot up from a VHD file and you can actually mount a VHD
   file from the Disk Management  snap-in.
   
9. Default printer based on locations –Windows 7 will identify your location (office/home) and set
   the appropriate printer as the default printer.
   
10. External display support- We no longer need to rehearse extremely difficult acrobatics to make
    external displays such as projectors show our screens. Simply press Win+P and you will be provide
    with a list of options that will solve all of your external display issues.

During the compilation of this list a good feeling about Windows 7 engulfed me. It seems that this OS
is good and to some extent more importantly, it is being perceived as a good OS. So,see in you in April
with the RC installed!

Missed it,well here it is:

Microsoft has created a new FTP service that has been completely rewritten for Windows Server 2008. This new FTP service incorporates many new features that enable web authors to publish content better than before, and offers web administrators more security and deployment options. This new FTP service supports a wide range of features and improvements, and the following list contains several of the improvements in this version:

• Integration with IIS 7.0: IIS 7.0 has a brand-new administration interface and configuration store, and the new FTP service is tightly integrated with this new design. The old IIS 6 metabase is gone, and a new configuration store that is based on the .NET XML-based *.config format has taken its place. In addition, IIS 7.0 has a new administration tool, and the new FTP server plugs seamlessly into that paradigm.
  
• Support for new Internet standards: One of the most significant features in the new FTP server is support for FTP over SSL. The new FTP server also supports other Internet improvements such as UTF8, IPv6, and adaptive networking bandwidth usage.
  
• Shared hosting improvements: By fully integrating into IIS 7.0, the new FTP server makes it possible to host FTP and Web content from the same site by simply adding an FTP binding to an existing Web site. In addition, the FTP server now has virtual host name support, making it possible to host multiple FTP sites on the same IP address. The new FTP server also has improved user isolation, now making it possible to isolate users through per-user virtual directories.
  
• Extensibility and custom authentication: The new FTP server supports developer extensibility, making it possible for software vendors to write custom providers for FTP authentication. Microsoft is using this extensibility feature to implement two new methods for using non-Windows accounts for FTP authentication for IIS Managers and .NET Membership.
  
• Improved logging support: FTP logging has been enhanced to include all FTP-related traffic, unique tracking for FTP sessions, FTP sub-statuses, additional detail fields in FTP logs, and much more.
  
• New supportability features: IIS 7.0 has a new option to display detailed error messages for local users, and the FTP server supports this by providing detailed error responses when logging on locally to an FTP server. The FTP server also logs detailed information using Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), which provides additional detailed information for troubleshooting.

x64 Download

x86 Download

I always loved hotkeys in Windows,they make the user experience a more
pleasant and comfortable one.

The standard hotkeys found in Windows Vista can be found here and Brandon
Paddock posted the hotkeys that are new to Win7 here.

This is a neat trick that I encountered while browsing the web: If you need
to select a part of a text from a Word document you can simply press ALT
and drag your pointer of the part of the text you want to select…Cool.

Ok, so this isn’t a new topic. It’s been around for quite a while but I have never
encountered it, so now that I have- it’s time for a post about it.

I have installed a new PC (Windows Vista 64bit) and connected it to my home
network using a wireless NIC (Realtek RTL8168B/8111b). The wireless router I
use is an Edimax BR-6215SRg. The same network has several other PCs connected
to it wirelessly and one PC that is wired.

When copying files to/from the new PC (HTPC) it seemed to simply freeze up. Even
though I could move the mouse pointer I couldn’t really do anything else…Now keep in
mind that this is a new PC (and it’s fully patched:SP1 and everything). Since this
is a new PC I started worrying that I have a hardware issue, yet after some research
on the Internet I found others that had similar problems due to the TCP receive window
auto-tuning issue in the new TCP/IP stack.

The advice was to simply turn off the auto-tuning feature by running the following
command:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

I decided to give it a try, and not surprisingly it worked. Personally, I find it very odd that
due to a networking your whole OS freezes up. When dwelling deeper into the issue
it seems that the new TCP/IP stack tries to manage data flow in a more efficient way by constantly
tuning the receive window set by TCP. This window allows the receiver to define the amount
of data it will receive before the sender has to stop data if it hasn’t received acknowledgments.

In older versions of Windows, the window size was set once (not tuning) which causes data flow
to be less efficient. Once I disabled the feature, I could see that my copying speed has dropped from
4.5 to 3.7. On the other hand it no longer froze my system…

I am not sure who is at blame here, my gateway, the NICs driver or the favorite target of the last few
years:Vista…

Everybody is talking about it, doesn’t really matter where I turn
it stares me in the face:Win7.

The hype seems to be huge and the reviews are warm so I guess I
should be glad-but wait,I’m not…Why, you may ask?
Well,with every piece of beta software released I battle with the age old
dilemma: To install or not to install?

Personally, I don’t like installing beta software. The problem is that as
opposed to the past where a beta was usually limited and details about the
product were scarce, Win7 is everywhere…so, my better judgment is starting
to cave in and the little voice in my head saying “I want one!” is getting louder
and louder…

Anyways,enough about the voices in my head, based on the rumors Win7 is
very customizable visually. Microsoft even has a website dedicated to themes
and customization of Win7 at:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/Windows7/Personalize

Check it out, and what’s up with that fish and it’s bubbles?

I find it somewhat funny to see how tides are turning. Apple used to be the medias
darling,it was touted as innovative and cool while Microsoft was old and boring…These days,
it seems that tides are starting to turn as all of a sudden Apple is no longer treated
as nicely as it used to be. Take a look at the following video by the Onion:

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Will this eventually also affect consumer perception?

You really can’t avoid Windows 7. Doesn’t really matter where you look you
simply can’t avoid it. Considering Vista and Windows 7 it looks like that the
hype Windows 7 is creating is very positive.

Since literally “everyone” has installed it, you might be interested in knowing that
a version of Remotes Server Administration Tools (aka RSAT) has been released
for it.

Click Here, for the download page.

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on remote computers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2 (and, for some roles and features, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003) from a remote computer that is running Windows 7. It includes support for remote management of computers that are running either the Server Core or full installation options of Windows Server 2008 R2, and for some roles and features, Windows Server 2008. Some roles and features on Windows Server 2003 can be managed remotely by using Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7, although the Server Core installation option is not available with the Windows Server 2003 operating system.
This feature is comparable in functionality to the Windows Server 2003 Administrative Tools Pack and Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1).

One of the main advantages in virtualization is having the ability to quickly recover
failed systems. By turning a system into a virtual system you are actually turning
it into a file that can be used on any system that has Hyper-V installed on it thus
enabling quick recovery of a failed system.

The main problem is that to be able to backup a VHD file you need to stop the
virtual machine. Now obviously, on mission critical systems you can’t stop a system
every time you want to back it up. To overcome this issues, you can us the Volume
Shadow Service (VSS) mechanism to take a snapshot of the volume that stores
the VHD files and then copy the relevant files to external storage.

Taking a snapshot of a VHD file is possible since Windows 2008 has a built-in Hyper-V
VSS Writer that brings the virtual machine’s hard drive (the VHD file) to a consistent
state.

Once the snapshot is taken, you can manually mount the snapshot and back it up.

To do this, you should use a tool included with Windows 2008 called ‘diskshadow.exe’.
Diskshadow is an interactive interface to VSS. It has a vast list of commands but if we
concentrate on our specific issue you need to issue the following commands:

set context persistent
[You can set it to volatile if you would like to have the snapshot deleted once you exit
the diskshadow.exe application]

add volume <driveletter> alias <alias_you_choose>
(for example add volume t: alias VHDBackup)

set verbose on

create

Once you complete this set of command you have a snapshot stored.You can view
the stored snapshots by executing the following command:

list shadows all

Once you are ready to back the VHD up, expose the snapshot you would like to use by
using the following command:

expose <ShadowID> <Drive:>

Now you can access the data as you would any drive on your system. To hide the snapshot
execute the following command:

unexpose t:

The major advantage of this feature is that you don’t need to stop a virtual machine
to back it up. From my experience the process of taking a snapshot is relatively quick
and it does not tax a system but I would advise that you do it during afterhours.
One more point to consider is disk space,monitor it closely and delete unused snapshots.

This has always bugged me. When using Exchange you have a limit on how many rules
you can create for your mailbox. At first sight you might say,what is the big deal-you almost
never hit the limit. The problem is that once one of your users does actually hit the limit
you have no compelling explanation as to why the limit for Exchange servers up to 2007
was 32KB (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886616).

In Exchange 2007 this changes, and the limit can be changed to either 64KB, 128KB or
256KB. This can be done by using a cmdlet called set-mailbox.

Set-Mailbox <mailbox> -RulesQuota:<size>

The specific attribute being changed is called appropriately: RulesQuota .

While reading my favorite blogs, I have found the following video that Long Zheng
took at the Microsoft’s visitor center. The video is of a sphere that has information
projected on it (3D).

http://vimeo.com/2434792

Lately, we have been messing around with Hyper-V (by saying we,I actually mean
mean myself and the person that won’t tell me his Kazakh name…).

The technology itself is very cool, but as always it has it’s quirks. Oddly enough,
after we ironed out most of the issues a blog post appeared on the ‘Ask the Core
Team’ blog describing the top issues that they have encountered.

The post is very useful (and would have been really great a couple of month ago… :)).

Click here for the post.

Now what does the ‘ds’ stand for?

You might have guessed it: Dual Screen.

Looks like a monster, with a 17” screen you actually get an extension in the form of
a dual screen…

It has been an odd week. First off, it has been a very long time since
I last wrote, and I missed it. I can’t really say what it is about being able to write
without really knowing if someone actually reads it but I do have to admit it’s
fun.

Second, it has been a week or rumors in Israel: it seems that someone from a
certain software company, has decided to send an e-mail to all the employees
of that company (actually only to the local branch) saying that a specific snack causes
death in infants. This e-mail spread like fire during dry season to a point that
it has caused the stock of the company that manufactures the snack to drop…

The company turned to the health ministry which issued a communiqué saying that
the snack is perfectly safe…yet the damage has been done,to some extent.

It seems that the company decided not to give up and it might actually sue the panic
e-mail initiator…

For the local media coverage (Hebrew):

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3640798,00.html

The second rumor of the week (ok,of the last month or so) started out as an e-mail
about a pizza parlor, whose owner (and sole operator) is infamous for his
rude behavior toward clients (but he’s pizza is so damn good!!!) that has refused to serve an
autistic child. This e-mail has caused a consumer boycott, creation of Facebook groups
and a few violent reactions towards the owner.

Oddly enough (or maybe not), no one bothered to actually ask the owner what actually
happened. A month after this started, a journalist from Globes decided to publish his
story…and as it turns out that every story has three sides:mine,yours
and the truth. According to the owner, the mother (that started the e-mail) brought
in not one, but three autistic children and told him that she wants him to teach them how to order
pizza. Now considering the fact that this guy is infamous for his “behavior”, and considering
the fact that his pizza parlor is nothing but a shabby “hole in the wall” where he sells
extremely cheap pizza (albeit,very tasty pizza) I think that something stinks here…

The guy is an easy target, he doesn’t have a huge conglomerate behind him to protect him,
he has one broken-down place where he sells good pizza and insults his client(Dr. House style).
You don’t like it,leave.

For the local media coverage:

http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000407644&fid=821

Now why am I writing about this?

Well,to be honest, because I like the guy’s pizza, I sat there quite a few times and his insults
are always well put and provoked by “there are no stupid questions, only stupid people”. In both
cases mentioned above an irresponsible e-mail has caused catastrophe. In the first case,
since we are dealing with a large company, I am sure that they will survive. In the second case,
on the other hand, this guy may lose his livelihood because someone decided to write something about
him (unless it was a stroke of genius and it was a ploy to draw attention to his place).

In both cases,we as a crowd, accepted these e-mails and never questioned whether it’s content has
any shred of truth in it. The Internet has become a very dangerous and effective weapon. We should
treat the information coming from the Internet with some caution. I love Wikipedia, but is it 100% accurate?
When I run a search about fixing a BitLocker issue am I be sure that a blog post that I find
will not instruct me to kill the data instead of recovering it???

Anyways,one more rumor for this week:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/18/dell-adamo-ultrathin-laptop-rumors-surface/

Oddly enough,as I have mentioned in the past, it seems that the tide is turning.

Microsoft, from being perceived as a stagnant giant is currently being looked at
as an innovator by the media.

As an example, take a look at the the following article:

http://www.cio.com.au/article/269325/10_microsoft_research_projects?pp=1