Submitted by Maks

AnVir Task Manager Free provides full set of Windows enhancements that help in every-day work.

Security & Performance

• Full information about processes, services, Internet connections, drivers, DLLs
• Detects Trojans with security analysis and get alerts on new startups
• Speed up boot time (Delayed Startup), balance CPU usage, optimize memory
• Run programs as services on Windows startup before user login

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My list of advantages of application virtualization did get quite long. My list of the disadvantages is shorter which doesn’t necessarily mean that the upsides outweigh the downsides.

A new complexity layer: Most Windows apps were not developed to run in a virtual environment. This might cause unforeseen problems. Whenever problems occur, you will wonder whether the app itself or the virtualized environment is the cause.

Vendor might deny support: If you tell your vendor that you are running their application in a virtual environment, they might deny support.

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It has been a while since I posted the last article in my series about software virtualization. I have been working on a German article about this topic. During my research I learned new things which I am going to share in the next posts in this series. Today’s post covers the advantages of application virtualization. Of course, there also disadvantages which I will address in the next post.

No installation required: Installing an application on hundreds or thousands of computers is prone to error. Application virtualization simplifies software deployment.

Application retirement simplified: Getting rid of an app in your whole network is much easier as well. Since virtual apps just have to be deleted, uninstalling them is usually not required.

No more application conflicts: Sometimes installing an app corrupts another app. Application virtualization helps reduce the risks of application conflicts.

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The Vista bashing campaign continues, so I can’t help myself and blog about it again. Computerworld presents new data from Forrester with an article entitled “Forrester survey: Enterprises reject Vista like ‘new Coke‘”. I will write about the same data in this post, but as you might have noticed, I used a slightly different heading. After you have read my version of the story, you will have to acknowledge that sometimes reality is a matter of perspective.

The hard facts of the Forrester survey are that 8.8% of 50,000 enterprise users are running Windows Vista on their PCs and 87.1% Windows XP. Now, I am asking where is the connection to sugar water? Did those 87.1% decide to stay with XP because Vista didn’t taste sweet enough? Or do these enterprise users just use the Windows version that their IT departments installed on their PCs?

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FlexTK Express from Flexsense is a good example of a GUI tool that allows you to perform tasks that can be done only on the command prompt by operating system means. Its file management capabilities are so sophisticated that only an absolute PowerShell geek would be able to reproduce them with scripts. However, to work with FlexTK Express you don’t have to write one line of code and you can get the job done without consulting a manual. You just have to launch the tool to automate all kinds of file management operations. This is how system administration should always be.

FlexTk Express has three main functions: Search, Orgranize and Sync.

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• Understanding and Using Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Snapshots. http://snurl.com/34dkc Good article.
• With DNS flaw now public, attack code imminent. What about your DNS server?
• SaaS vendor quits browser to boost sales http://snurl.com/34dfv In my view, the hype of browser-based apps will be over soon.
• Price for Microsoft’s Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM 2008): $1,100. Release date could be Sept. 1. http://snurl.com/33rmh
• Update for the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) User’s Guide for Windows Vista. http://snurl.com/33rnv
• Hyper-V RAM Calculator. This is an Excel sheet that helps you to plan the Hyper-V deployment. http://snurl.com/33rq6
• VMware is doing fine: http://snurl.com/33rqy even though their shares fall. ESXi embedded hypervisor will be free. http://snurl.com/33rs5

The Windows Mobile IP Utility from Enterprise Mobile runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1. For Windows Mobile 5.0 you have to install the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 first. The tool allows you to troubleshoot network connections with your Pocket PC or Smartphone. This can be useful if you have problems with a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

The tool shows the IP configuration of your device, supports ping, trace route, ping sweep, and allows you to test the speed the of your Internet connection. Unfortunately, the speed test didn’t work when I tried the utility. It launched the Internet Explorer which tried to open a web page at Enterprise Mobile, but the site only produced a runtime error. Perhaps this is only a temporary problem.

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There is an interesting article about on-demand computing at BusinessWeek. Most texts you read about this topic these days claim that cloud computing is a serious threat for traditional software vendors, because the software-as-service (SaaS) model does not allow the same high profit margins as licensed software does. The BusinessWeek article is a bit more balanced. I do not think that the profits of traditional software vendors will change just because of the Internet. For customers, this means that software will not get cheaper.

I think that one has to distinguish two different questions here. One is whether cloud computing or on-demand computing will replace traditional computing, and the other is whether software companies will earn less in the future.

The rise of on-demand computing has been predicted for many years. BusinessWeek makes clear that these things will not change as quickly as many believe. However, let us assume for a moment that someday all our apps will run somewhere in the big Internet cloud. Would this really be a problem for traditional software vendors?

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I must admit I am really surprised by the result of this poll. Two-thirds of my readers prefer Vista x64 to Vista x86. More than 1000 of you took part in this poll. If you believe in the validity of this data, you must come to the conclusion that the transition to 64 Bit is already underway on desktops. However, it is a matter of fact that 4sysops readers are not typical computer users. Obviously, the majority of my readers are more tech savvy than the average computer user, and therefore more open to technological changes.

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• Top 6 Replacements for Windows Notepad http://snurl.com/2zz6w I tried to replace Notepad alredy several times, but I never succeeded somehow #
• Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and Application Virtualization 4.5 in Q4 2008 http://snurl.com/2zz8k VMM 2008 beta works fine. #
• VMware: Windows will be killed by virtual appliances. http://snurl.com/2zz9j Did anyone count how often Windows has been killed already? #
• Vista SP1 available on WSUS. WSUS team blog discusses the different packages. http://snurl.com/2zzb6 #
• Ready or Not, VMware, Here Comes Hyper-V. Nice review about Hyper-V on eWeek. http://snurl.com/2zzcn #
• Spammers Choose GMail. Google’s CAPTCHA system has been cracked. http://snurl.com/2zzd8 Expect more SPAM on your servers. #

The post entitled “Five Reasons Why VMware Virtualization is Better than Microsoft Hyper-V” on DABCC is already more than two weeks old. Perhaps I misunderstood some of the assertions in the article, but it seems to me that there are quite a few mistakes in it. I googled the topic to see if I had missed some essential news about Hyper-V; however, I wasn’t able to find anything that contradicts my view. So I decided to blog about it now because I am quite puzzled by the article’s arguments. Maybe you can tell me what I misunderstood.

I will reproduce the heading of DABCC article and sometimes a quote from Douglas Brown’s arguments, and add my comments afterwards.

1. Hyper-V is marketed as free but really isn’t.

Yeah it’s $28 bucks but that’s on top of a Windows 2008 License paid in full.

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Submitted by Jacob Beneke – Blog: OS Fanatic

From the project website.

UBCD4Win is a bootable recovery CD that contains software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem. Our goal is to be the most complete and easy to use free computer diagnostic tool. Almost all software included in UBCD4Win are freeware utilities for Windows®. Some of the tools inlcuded are “free for personal use” copies so users need to respect these licenses. A few of the tools included in UBCD4Win are paid for and licensed software owned by UBCD4win. On occasion we work with software companies/authors for permission to include their software in our download or have requested their software better support PE.

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The Windows Server 2003 and Server 2008 Shutdown Event Tracker is a little like the UAC prompts. It gets on my nerves with a prompt whenever I have to reboot a server. What comment do you usually enter in the Shutdown Event Tracker? My favorite comment is “a” because it is the first character in the alphabet. You can disable this prompt easily with Group Policy or locally with gpedit.msc.

Shortly after this feature was first introduced, I always tried to think of a reasonable comment. But I have never needed to look up the reason why a server had to be rebooted. The problem is that Windows servers have to be rebooted so often, that it doesn’t matter anyway. However, I am sure this feature makes sense in some environments.

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Submitted by Darren Mar-Elia – Blog: The GPOGuy Group Policy Blog

SDM Group Policy Refresh Cmdlet is the PowerShell version of my Group Policy remote refresh utility. The PowerShell version has many of its options, but leverages PowerShell to trigger remote Group Policy refreshes on systems on your network. It allows you to send options like /force and /sync and also lets you provide alternate credentials when connecting to the remote system. And because it is based on PowerShell you can easily pass a list of computer names through an import of a CSV file.

GP Refresh PowerShell Cmdlet

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• Microsoft Active Directory Migration Tool version 3.1 is availabe for download. http://snurl.com/2wv4d #
• Save Windows 3.11. Ed Bott is right. It is not bloated and fast too. http://snurl.com/2waft #
• Cloud computing: 12 reasons to love it or leave it http://snurl.com/2wake #
• Microsoft Announces Software-Plus-Services Adoption on the Rise With Assistance From Hosting Providers http://snurl.com/2wam5 #
• Sysinternals Process Monitor v1.35 is ready for download. It seems this update only brings App-V support. http://snurl.com/2vnqw #
• Windows XP SP3 is on Windows Update. Use Windows Service Pack Blocker Kit if you don’t want it on your machines. http://snurl.com/2vnsy #
• Is Diane Greene leaving the sinking ship or was she fired? Former Microsoft exec becomes new VMware CEO http://snurl.com/2vo0h #
• TrueCrypt 6.0a is out: faster, create encrypted hidden operating system, system drive encryption on Vista and more. http://snurl.com/2vo4s #