• Windows 8 Consumer Preview release date: February 29 
• Windows 8 Consumer Preview release date shows that for Microsoft, it’s all about mobile 
• Building Windows 8: Improving power efficiency for applications
• Rumor: Windows 8 Consumer Preview app list revealed?
• OneNote Mobile for Android is now available worldwide

• New in Altaro Hyper-V Backup V3 
• Can Microsoft Save Windows Azure?  My view: MS shouldn’t have copied Google’s cloud model but Amazon’s
• Amazon S3 Price Reduction
• Windows 8 beta release date near, as rumors fly
• Getting touchy with Office 15, Surface 2.0 and Windows 8
• Symantec releases faster next-gen NetBackup, Backup Exec
• Microsoft drops Start button from Windows 8, reports say This is already my favorite Windows 8 feature.
• IT salaries rise, bonuses get bigger Another proof that IT matters more and more. Also read:
• Ed Bott: Get a head start on Windows 8 (and get 30% off my new book)

• Windows Phone 8 Preview – Windows Phone 8 will be based on the Windows 8 kernel 
• SQL Server 2012 online launch event (March 7)
• Saint Zuck – I don’t agree often with Nicholas Carr, but this one he got right: Btw Zuck has this nonsense from S. Jobs

• Microsoft releases PST Capture tool for Exchange 
• Top 10 Admin Console Improvements in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager 
• Microsoft ‘committed’ to Hyper-V OpenStack support 
• Is it time for Microsoft to relinquish the Evil Empire crown to Google? I guess Sergey won’t like this headline.

• Building Windows 8: Acting on file management feedback 
• Microsoft’s Office 15: To Metro or not to Metro?
• Still stuck on Microsoft’s IE 6? There’s an updated tool for that

• Hyper-V Dynamic Memory: Explanation and Recommendations 
• Microsoft Begins Office 15 Technical Preview 
• What does the Office 15 schedule say about Windows 8? 
• Cast your vote in the Windows 8 release schedule prediction pool 
• Released: Update Rollup 6 for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 3
• Microsoft Updates SQL Server Migration Assistants to v5.2
• Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) for System Center 2012 Release Candidate Documentation 
• Microsoft offers startups $60K in Windows Azure cloud services
• Windows 8 stable on ARM, going to developers soon, say sources
• Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Protocol Documentation
• Microsoft Office Protocol Documentation
• Microsoft Office File Formats Documentation
• Microsoft documentation: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Standards Support
• How Bill Gates changed Microsoft’s stance on open source

• System Center Advisor Released – Proactive Server Configuration Management 
• Microsoft Security Compliance Manager 2.5 now available for beta download 
• Windows 8 has entered its final pre-beta build
• Amazon Web Services moves backups to cloud with new appliance
• Android is catching up to IOS in the booming tablet market

• SQL Server 2012 release date: March 7 
• SQL Server 2012 Virtual Launch Event, information, resources, and much more 
• Building Windows 8: Supporting sensors in Windows 8
• Windows 8: Why the coming beta is likely to be labeled the ‘consumer preview’
• IT salary survey: Highest earners are cozy with business, hard on IT 

• Microsoft details Windows 8 Store
• Building Windows 8: Engineering Windows 8 for mobile networks
• System Center 2012 – Licensing Update  Comprehensive article

• Free Microsoft Private Cloud Training
• Microsoft Earnings: Record Overall Revenues But Slight Dip In Windows My view: MS really needs a $200 Windows 8 tablet
• World IPv6 Launch: this time it’s for real Are you prepared? Check out the 4sysops IPv6 tutorial:

• TechNet Magazine: January 2012 
• IT salary satisfaction survey shows CIO salaries dipped in 2011 
• Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Specs 
• Microsoft Enterprise Product Roadmap Webcast 
• Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Resources
• Microsoft System Center 2012 To Manage Citrix, VMware Hypervisors 

In this poll, I'd like to find out what role monitoring plays in your network and the kind of tools you are using.

I don’t want to say much more about this poll at the moment because I somehow think that I influence readers with my introductory articles. I think, the questions speak for themselves. So, be a worthy 4sysops citizen and fulfill your voting obligations.

Note that you can select more than one answer. Feel free to tell us what monitoring solution you are using in a comment below.

• System Center 2012 RC Released & New Licensing Information 
• Microsoft details new licensing plans for its cloud management suite 
• Sysinternals Updates: Autoruns v11.21, Coreinfo v3.03, PortMon v 3.03, Process Explorer v15.12 
• Download Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Software
• Windows 8 tablets priced between $599 and $999?
• Windows 8 pre-beta demoed, shows new features [Video] 
• Microsoft’s Windows 8: What we learned this week
• World’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional dies at 16
• The best ultrabooks of CES 2012
• AWS Free Usage Tier now Includes Microsoft Windows on EC2

• Rollup 1 for Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 Service Pack 2 
• Software lets Windows 8 run Android apps 
• Microsoft to Launch Real-Time Threat Intelligence Feed 
• SQL Server 2012 coming soon, are you ready? (list of on-demand training available now in the Partner Learning Center 
• Microsoft still hinting at October Windows 8 release date 
• Ultrabook PCs and Tablets Dominate 2012 CES News Cycle
• Microsoft’s Ballmer: If I had it to do all over again… Seems Ballmer has read the Steve Jobs book
• Microsoft now paid royalties on 70% of US Android smartphones

• Building Windows 8: Refresh and reset your PC
• Building Windows 8: Virtualizing storage for scale, resiliency, and efficiency 
• Microsoft to detail new private cloud and System Center strategy