In my last post I described how you can configure jobs with VisualCron. Today, I will introduce the tool’s user interface and some of its special features.

You can install the frontend (the documentation calls it the client) and the backend (server) separately. The frontend can be used to manage jobs remotely for one or multiple servers. Of course, you can also install the client and the server on the same machine.

VisualCron’s product name fits very well because its graphical user interface makes it easy for you to track all of your jobs. The user interface resembles the ribbon interface used in some Office 2007 applications. Microsoft introduced the ribbon in Office because the features had become too numerous for the menus and toolbars of the old interface style to handle without being cumbersome. I suppose this was also the reason why VisualCron chose a ribbon-style interface type.

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IZArc claims to be “the best freeware ZIP utility” available. And indeed it is one of the most versatile ZIP applications out there. A screenshot of the application’s window doesn’t reveal anything spectacular but it’s nice to see the GUI without the need of installing the program. So I’ve included one.

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In the first post of this series I outlined some of VisualCron’s general advantages over the Windows Task Scheduler. When you read today’s post, you will notice that the tool has quite a few additional interesting features.

Before we dive into the details, let us have a look at how VisualCron works. The diagram below shows how a job has to be configured with VisualCron. For most jobs you have to configure one or more tasks (the actions you want to perform), triggers (defined circumstances that will initiate the task), and optional conditions (states that can prevent a task from being launched even if a trigger is present). As you can see in the diagram, VisualCron supports many more task types than the Windows Task Scheduler supports. Once the task has been launched, VisualCron can notify administrators by several means.

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VisualCron is raffling three licenses for 4sysops readers. The winner will receive a 5-Server license worth 717 US dollars and the two runners-up will each receive a 1-Server license worth 197 US dollars. More information about the contest can be found at the end of the article.

VisualCron is the most sophisticated task scheduling tool I have ever tried. I was already quite impressed with the Task Scheduler in Vista and Server 2008, but VisualCron comes with far more advanced features. The ability to manage task scheduling on multiple machines from a central location, in particular, makes the tool an interesting alternative for large organizations. VisualCron targets task scheduling for server environments, but you can also use the tool on desktops.

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Have you ever run out of storage and desperately needed a place to temporarily store large amounts of data? If so, then you should have a look at the Amazon S3 storage service. Of course, the service is not free, but prices are moderate. If you only need the space to overcome a temporary storage shortage, then the storage costs won’t really hurt your organization. The advantage over those free online storage services is that the amount of data you can store at S3 is more or less unlimited.

There are different ways to use S3; today, I will just discuss the possibility of copying files from your servers or desktop to Amazon’s online storage service. Amazon offers a simple web-based S3 file manager, but this is only something to use if you are on the run and want to access your S3 storage from an Internet cafe or so (if you dare). There are quite a few free Windows tools that allow you to upload and download files to S3. For this article, I tried three free S3 explorers: Amazon S3 Firefox Organizer(S3Fox) 0.4.7, S3 Browser 1.9.7 and Cloudberry S3 Explorer 1.6.3.

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When Windows 7 was still in beta, I asked 4sysops readers about their opinion of the new taskbar in Windows 7, a.k.a. Superbar. When I wrote the article at that time I was not really convinced of the value of this new feature, but I needed more experience. Using such a feature on test systems is quite different from working with it in a productive environment. I have been using Windows 7 on my laptop for a while, and my final verdict about the Superbar stands now. I also want to share how I use the Windows 7 taskbar.

I think this is an important topic, especially for IT pros, because we usually work with many applications simultaneously and switch between tools all day. Hence, finding the best method to switch tasks can increase your productivity significantly, even if the time needed to change from one tool another is only a second. These seconds add up over a long work day. Even more important is the fact that switching quickly between applications is essential for keeping your focus. If you need two seconds or more to switch between apps, then this will certainly have a negative effect on your concentration and will tire you out quickly.

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More than 1,100 4sysops readers took part in this poll. I asked whether a graphical user interface (GUI) or a command line interface (CLI) was preferred when it comes to Windows administration. The results are quite clear: 66% prefer a GUI tool, 17% prefer the command line, and for another 17%, it doesn’t make a difference.

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Many things have been said about Windows 7 and its benefits. However, the talk rarely covered the topic of IPv6. Surely it isn’t a new feature: Vista was fully Ipv6 enabled and an IPv6 network stack exists for Windows XP. But in my opinion IPv6 is worth mentioning when talking about Windows 7.

Most networks today are still based on IPv4 because the Clients are not IPv6 capable. A lot of companies hesitated to migrate to Vista and still run Windows XP without the IPv6 stack. However, this circumstance will change with the release and deployment of Windows 7. Might IPv6, which technically is an old story, become more attention when Windows 7 is deployed en masse?

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