The Windows 8 Developer Preview has introduced us to the new touch screen friendly Metro-based Windows Start Screen, which at this point appears to be slated to replace the Start Menu for both desktop/laptop and tablet form factors. For desktop and laptop users the new Start Screen is creating some challenges, such as the ability to easily locate the restart, shutdown, or log off options. These options have traditionally been found on the Start Menu, but since Windows 8 is being “reimagined” by Microsoft as a “touch first” operating system, optimized for tablets, which generally do not require shutting down or restarting, the new Metro-based Start Screen only provides options for locking the screen and logging off the current user. However, you can properly shutdown and restart your computer using a couple different methods.

Method #1

Open the Settings pane on the Start Screen by hovering your mouse pointer over the bottom left corner of the screen where the Start Button used to be, and a pseudo-looking Start Menu (called the Start Orb) will appear.

Click on Settings, and the Settings pane will appear on the right side of the screen.

Click on the Power button and select Shut down, Restart, or Sleep (if your system supports the Sleep function) from the menu that pops up.

Method #2:

From the Start Screen or an Explorer window you can press Alt+F4 and it will bring up a classic Windows shutdown screen where you can select Shut down, Restart, Sleep, or Log off.

Microsoft Exchange Service Pack 2 has been released and is available for download.

SP2 is a major update to Exchange 2010 provides the following enhancements Exchange 2010.

• Hybrid Configuration Wizard - provides customers with a streamlined process to configure a hybrid deployment between on-premises and Office 365 Exchange organizations.
• Address Book Policies - determines the global address list (GAL), offline address book (OAB), room list, and address lists that are visible to the mailbox user that is assigned the policy. Address book policies provide a simpler mechanism to accomplish GAL separation for the on-premises organization that needs to run disparate GALs.
• Cross-Site Silent Redirection for Outlook Web App - enables a silent redirection when a Client Access server receives a client request that is better serviced by a Client Access server located in another Active Directory site.
• Mini Version of Outlook Web App - a lightweight browser-based client, similar to the Outlook Mobile Access client in Exchange 2003.
• Mailbox Replication Service - parameters have been added to the New-WebServicesVirtualDirectory and Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory cmdlets so that you don’t have to perform the manual configuration: MRSProxyEnabled and MaxMRSProxyConnections.
• Mailbox Auto-Mapping - administrators can turn off the auto-mapping feature by setting the value of the new Automapping parameter to $false on the Add-MailboxPermission cmdlets.
• Multi-Valued Custom Attributes - introduces five new multi-value custom attributes that you can use to store additional information for mail recipient objects.
• Litigation Hold - you can’t disable or remove a mailbox that has been placed on litigation hold.

Last month, October 28th to be precise, Microsoft released Update Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2010 SP1.

Here are the details from the Microsoft Exchange Team blog:

This update contains a number of customer reported and internally found issues since the release of RU5. In particular we would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

• 2627769  Some time zones in OWA are not synchronized with Windows in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
• 2528854  The Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication service crashes on a computer that has Exchange Server 2010 SP1 installed
• 2544246 You receive a NRN of a meeting request 120 days later after the recipient accepted the request in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment
• 2616127  “0×80041606″ error code when you use Outlook in online mode to search for a keyword against a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 environment.
• 2549183  “There are no objects to select” message when you try to use the EMC to specify a server to connect to in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft is again offering a wide array of choices in versions of the operating system. However, if you are looking at buying Windows 7 for your business you should only really be looking at three versions, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate.

Windows 7 Professional boasts all the functionality that is needed for virtually any small to medium sized business. It offers compatibility with many programs designed for Windows, new and old. One of the big downsides to Windows Vista that prevented many businesses from upgrading was that Vista broke functionality in older programs that were not designed to work with the added security features of the operating system. If those programs have not yet been updated Windows 7 Professional can help solve that problem, and allow you to finally upgrade from Windows XP. The way that Windows 7 solves this problem is through a feature called Windows XP Mode, which uses a virtualization technology that is nearly transparent to you and your staff, which allows you to continue using your older programs without breaking them. Windows XP Mode is not available in any of the Home versions of Windows 7.

Security is (or it should be) a concern of all businesses today. Windows 7 Professional can help your business in this area as well. Professional, unlike the Home versions, offers an Encrypting File System, which is a technology that protects your files and folders from prying eyes. Backing up data is also something that everyone should be doing, however many do not because of the hassle involved in making those backups. With the Automatic data backups functionality, data can be backed up to your network without having to remember to manually run the backup, thus taking the pain out of the process.

With Windows 7 Professional, you also have the ability to join a Windows Active Directory Domain at your business. An Active Directory Domain is a system that runs on a Windows Server and manages your staff’s network passwords and other settings. All businesses with more than 10 employees should have an Active Directory Domain. With the any of the Home versions of Windows 7 you cannot join an Active Directory Domain, and must manually manage your passwords and computer settings.

If your business requires more complex functionality Microsoft offers the Windows 7 Enterprise version. This version of Windows 7 gives your staff access to all of the functionality found in the Professional version of Windows 7 and more. One technology, not found in any of the other versions of Windows 7 is BranchCache, which if enabled with Windows 2008 R2 Servers, can limit the amount of redundant network data that is passed between remote offices and your main office or data center. This allows your remote staff to be more productive as they will not have to wait on certain network functions, such as password authentication. These network functions would be processed locally in their office instead of being sent over a slower network link.

Enterprise also offers added security through Microsoft’s Bitlocker technology, which allows you to securely encrypt the data on the hard drive of your computers. This is especially useful in the event that a computer is lost or stolen, as the data on the hard drive, including Windows itself is useless unless Bitlocker is deactivated by the user upon boot or login. Bitlocker can also be extended to protect mobile devices and usb keys through Bitlocker To Go.

Finally, Microsoft also offers the Windows 7 Ultimate edition. In Ultimate you will find virtually the same functionality as you found in Windows 7 Enterprise. Yes, they are the same, except for one main thing, you cannot buy Windows 7 Enterprise. The Enterprise version is only available to businesses that buy their Microsoft licenses though a Volume license with a Microsoft Software Assurance agreement. For everyone else there is the Ultimate version.

As you can see, there are a plethora of things to take into account when choosing the right version of Windows 7 for your business to maximize value on your investment. Luckily, there are many resources available to you to help you make the right decision. Many of these resources can be found on the Web, but you should also consider speaking with an independent IT expert or a Microsoft Licensing specialist get the right fit.

Microsoft is planning on releasing Office 2010 Starter Edition to replace their Microsoft Works product next year alongside the rest of their traditional Office 2010 lineup. Works has long been distributed on new consumer level PC’s as an entry level gateway to Microsoft Office, however it has long been maligned by users as a poor alternative to the Office suite. Works has traditionally maintained different and sometimes incompatible file formats with the rest of the Office lineup. New computer buyers dislike Works so much that some PC manufacturers have been distributing Openoffice.org on new computers in addition to Works. However, it does not look like Starter Edition is going to cut it for anyone but home users that have little use for anything that does not come from a web browser, it is definitely not designed for business users.

With Starter Edition, Microsoft is leaving out some core Office functionality, as it only includes Word & Excel. It does not include Powerpoint, Outlook, Access, and many other smaller Office component applications.

While Starter Edition is not going to include many things that hardcore Office users have grown to expect,  it is going to include one thing that the fullblown Office does not have: Ads. It is not uncommon for web-based apps to contain ads alongside the workspace, Gmail has been doing this for years, but it is a relatively new concept to include it in actual installed application on your hard drive.

The question is really where does this fit into Microsoft’s Office strategy?

Office Starter 2010 is being positioned by Microsoft to encourage new computer buyers to purchase the an upgrade to the full version of Office. In this case it will be one of Microsoft’s “Instant Upgrades”, as users will be able to purchase a CD Key online that will disable the Ads and unlock the rest of the Office goodness that it is already installed, but hidden on the computer. Microsoft is also using this as an opportunity to eliminate the Microsoft Works product of which sales have always been minescule compared to its bigger Office brother. It also allows Microsoft to make a stand against the growing tide of free Office-like suites that are emerging and being distributed on new computers.

Most new home computer buyers will not think twice about this, but Office workers will likely continue to use paid versions of the full-featured Office suite or use the upcoming web version of office.

Speaking of the upcoming Web version of Office, would Office Starter not have been better distributed as a web app with Google Gears-like functionality?

Microsoft Outlook has a neat feature that will help you fill in email addresses as you type. The addresses come from a type-ahead list that is populated as you send emails to people. After a while most people come to depend on this list, so much so that they often stop adding contacts to their address book. Then the shock comes when they get a new computer or have to reload their existing one, and the addresses are all gone. These addresses are not stored in your Outlook PST file and as such will not make move with the file.

But alas, there is an easy way to move your type-ahead list to another computer. The list is stored in a NK2 file stored in an obscure directory in your profile.

In Windows XP, Server 2003 & 2008 the file can be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

In Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 the file can be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Simply locate all of the files with the extension “NK2″ and copy them to your new computer or back them up before you reload.

When the economy takes a turn for the worse most business try and make swift budget cuts to give themselves a better financial runway. Usually these cuts impact Marketing and IT with great severity, when ideally these are the two areas you should be at the very least maintaining budgets. With that in mind over the next couple weeks we will be highlighting 8 areas where you can make relatively minor investments in technology to help your business Small or Medium sized business dominate in the recession by doing more with less to gain competitive advantages.

The 8 Technology areas that we will be highlighting:

1. Communications
2. Data Deduplication
3. Cloud Computing
4. Learning how to use the tech that you already have
5. Electronic Document Storage
6. Virtualization
7. Hardware Upgrades
8. Going Mobile

It is often the case that companies use their external domain (i.e. enirtia.com) for their internal Active Directory domain, and this is completely fine, except when you want to access your website which is hosted on an external server.

Active Directory automatically sets up an internal DNS server for use on your network, and assumes that it is the Authorative server for the domain you used, which in our case here is “example.com”. When clients on your internal network ask your Active Directory DNS server for a lookup on example.com it is going to direct them to one of your domain controllers. If you request”www.enirtia.com” and you happen to have IIS running on one of those domain controllers you will see whatever the default website that is running on that server.

To get around this we need to add a redirect to your IIS server, a Host record to your internal DNS server, and a delegation to your DNS server, all of which are simple to do. These changes are based on the assumption that your external website is setup on external DNS servers with an “A” record pointing”www.enirtia.com” to the IP address of the server that is hosting your website, and that example.com without the “www” is setup with a CNAME record pointing at”www.enirtia.com”. If it is setup in the opposite manner this will not work.

Host Record:

First find out what the IP address is of the external web server if you do not already know it. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > DNS and locate example.com. Right-click and choose “New Host (A or AAAA)”. Type “www” into the name field, and the IP address of your external web server into the IP Address field. Click the “Add Host” button to save.

IIS Redirect:

To redirect “http://enirtia.com” to “http://www.enirtia.com we need to create a redirect in your IIS server. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services and locate the Default Web Site. Right-Click on the default web site, and choose Properties. Go to the Directory tab and setup a redirect to point to”www.enirtia.com”.

DNS Delegation:

To create a DNS Delegation you must know the names of external name servers servicing your domain name. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > DNS and locate example.com. Right-Click and choose “New Delegation”. Type www into the Delegated Domain field, click next and provide it with external authorative name servers for your domain name.

Recently I have come to the conclusion that Big IT Services, Software, & hardware vendors do not understand small-medium sized companies. Most IT vendors seem to fall into one of two categories, the first is Big Enterprise Vendors that think you are or want you to be larger than you are, and fast. The second type is the Small Time Vendors that do not understand what business goals are and how they impact IT, and are quite fine fixing your desktop computer when it breaks, which is fine for the very small company, but they do not scale well. Rarely have I seen a company that can fit comfortably in the middle.

You may be asking yourself, “What constitutes a Big IT Vendor?” These are the companies that you would expect that make hardware or software such as Cisco, HP, and EMC. Big IT Vendors are also the “Value Added Resellers” such as Insight and CDW, as well as your local/regional “Enterprise Consultants/Vendors” that resell hardware & software, in addition to offering consulting services.

Next, you may be asking yourself  “What constitutes a small-medium sized organization?” This one is a little harder to pin down, as it is not always dependent on a headcount of staff. I know of several smaller companies that have only a few employees but require networks and systems on par with companies that have 60 employees, due to the nature of their businesses. In general I would say these are your non-tech based companies that have less than 150 employees, but more than 15. Most companies in this category are happy with their infrastructure as it stands, no matter how broken and inefficient it is, because they do not know any better. They do not have IT Goals, they usually have a loose idea of what they want or where they would like to be, but those ideas are always at the mercy of what else is going on in the organization.

Most Big IT Vendors are fundamentally sales organizations, or at least the departments that you will get to interface with. This is true even with companies that “make” hardware and software, you usually only get to deal with the sales dept. rarely get to talk to anyone that is technical in nature, or if they are they are a Sales Engineer. A Sales Engineer is essentially a sales person that has a better understanding of the technology, but is still fundamentally a sales person. This is bad because sales people are typically paid on commission, so they are usually more interested in pushing units than finding the best solution for your company.

Without sounding like Jeff Foxworthy, you can tell that you are dealing with a Big IT Vendor that does not understand small-medium sized businesses when you starting hearing them say things like:

• What is your annual IT budget? – What they are really asking is “how much money can I try and get from your company?” This is a way for sales people to size your organization up. Again this is something that most small-medium sized companies do not have formally established (but arguably should).

• What is your budget for this project? – This is essentially the same as the previous one. Most small-medium companies would answer this with “what is it going to cost us? If we like the number that is our budget”

• What projects are you working on that we may be able to assist with? – This is question that goes along with the IT Goals question; rarely does an organization in this category take on large long-term projects. Projects that would normally be considered a large undertaking for bigger companies, such as deploying a new IP Phone system or Exchange Server, are fairly short-term projects simply due to the size of the organization.

• We will get a quote put together for this. – This one is a pet peeve of mine. If these companies would just publish a standard price list and not sell their products as a million different components there would be no need for formal quotes. Personally, I am fine working with rough ballpark numbers until I am ready to commit to buying the products. This is a classic way for Sales people to maintain contact with you to try and push you into committing to buy the product or service.

Furthermore Big IT Vendors tend to push Microsoft & Cisco, with some RedHat or Novell Linux peppered in, centric solutions.  They believe that everyone needs a SAN, a web filtering system, a full Unified Communications Solution, and they look at you funny when you say you allow your users to use *GASP* Macs.
These Big IT Vendors have their place in the world, which is servicing large Enterprises. However, with the economy in the toilet shareholders pushing for ever larger market share these vendors have no choice but to try and convince small-medium sized companies that they need to have the latest and greatest enterprise-level technology to make their business run more efficiently. The fact is that most small-medium sized companies do not need an excessively complex IT Infrastructure to run their business, the need a simple, stable, inexpensive environment.

Unfortunately, without Big IT Vendors, that leaves many smaller companies to deal with the small-time IT Vendors previously mentioned, which is often not a better situation.

On the MSDN Windows 7 Engineering blog, Jack Mayo – Program Manager for Windows Docs & Printing group – has an interesting post about how the forthcoming Windows 7 Public Release Candidate will feature an “On-Off” switch for many Microsoft applications that have traditionally been bundled with previous Windows releases. One of these applications is Internet Explorer 8.

Unlike the traditional Add/Remove Windows Components functionality, the switches will not fully remove the applications do to internal Windows and developer dependencies on components of the applications. Instead it merely deletes the “.exe” and any shortcuts for the applications. Should the user decide that they actually need the applications they can flip the switch back and regain full functionality.

The other applications & services that can be switched off are: Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows DVD Maker, Windows Search services, Handwriting recognition, Windows gadgets, fax and scan, and the XPS viewer and some other misc services.

This move is most likely to appease those examining Microsoft for Antitrust issues in the EU. Microsoft has long maintained that they are unable to extract the browser from the OS due to the way it is built, which was one of the sticking points in their US Antitrust case nearly a decade ago. While I do not agree with those that are claiming the bundling of IE with Windows is anti competitive, I do applaud Microsoft for giving users a choice, for a change. I think that it is their product and they should be able to do anything they want with it, short of putting technical roadblocks for 3rd parties developers to make their applications run on the OS. Users are fully capable of installing alternative products if they choose to do so.