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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Recently, I stumbled upon a sentence in a Microsoft blog that made me wonder if there is a paradigmatic change happening in Redmond. Ned Pyle discussed the Windows Server 2003 adminpak tool RepImon (Active Directory Replication Monitor utility) as a replacement for the Windows Server 2008, Repadmin (Replication Diagnostics Tool). Both tools allow you to view the Active Directory replication status and to force synchronization between domain controllers. What is interesting here is that RepImon has a graphical user interface, whereas Repadmin is a command line tool.

To some extent, the article reads as if Repadmin is a new tool, yet both tools have already been introduced in Windows 2000. Therefore, Microsoft dropped a GUI tool in favor of the command line version. This is in contradiction to Microsoft’s official policy, i.e., that command line and graphical admin tools are supported in the same manner. It has occurred to me several times, however, that this is really no longer the case. Ned Pyle indicates why:

Windows administrators are much more comfortable with the command-line, and that’s great…

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It is time to discuss the poll results of the new Windows 7 taskbar (aka Superbar). As I write this, more than 1,300 4sysops readers have submitted their votes. It is somewhat surprising to me that 63% of the respondents said they like the Superbar, only 18% said they dislike it and 19% are undecided.

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I suppose many of you are now trying Windows 7 and Windows Sever 2008 R2. The first thing that will catch your eye is the new taskbar, the so-called Superbar. The video below demonstrates how it works and what you can do with it. I have been playing with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for a couple of days now and I am not yet decided if I like or dislike the Superbar. It appears to be an improvement for the average computer user, but I am not sure if this change is really helpful for IT pros. But before I share my thoughts about the new taskbar, I would like to know your opinion.

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For the time being, this article may be the last one in my series about email archiving. Perhaps I will add a few notes about GFI MailArchiver at a later date, because I will review this product for a German magazine. Even though I didn’t review an email archiving tool in this series, I think that the benefits of email archiving were clear.

Since I probably influenced many with this series, I don’t expect this poll to be representative. However, I think that the results could still be interesting. I already was planning to introduce an email archiving solution in my organization, mostly because I didn’t like the fact that our email backups only lasted for a relatively short time period. For most organizations compliance is probably the most important reason for introducing an email archiving software. But since, I have looked at the features of email archiving tools, and it has become clear that the technical benefits are most interesting from an administrator’s point of view.

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The results of my last poll are somewhat surprising. I asked if you plan to introduce an application virtualization solution in your organization. 69% of you responded with “yes.” It appears that more admins than expected know about the benefits of application virtualization. However, one should know that the participation was lower than in my other polls.

I admit that I only had a vague idea of application virtualization before I actually started testing different products. It was only when I saw how easy it is to virtualize applications that I became more interested in this technology. I suppose the relatively low poll participation can be explained by the fact that many admins don’t really know what application virtualization is. Thus, they just ignored this poll when they stumbled across it. Perhaps if I had added a third possible answer like “I don’t know,” participation would have been higher.

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It seems that this was the longest series I ever wrote in this blog. The more I learned about this relatively new technology the more I was fascinated about it. By the way, German speaking readers might be interested in my new article about “Applikationsvirtualisierung” at Computerwoche. This post is probably the last one about software virtualization for the moment, although I might review another product sometime later. There might also be an article about the results of this poll.

I don’t want to influence your decision too much, thus I will keep this post short. I just want to add one further note. The funny thing about application virtualization is that it brings us back to the pre-Windows period. Do you remember the good old DOS times when applications were residing on a Novel Netware server? No installation was required on desktop computers, the term “registry” was only associated with public authorities, and administrators (called supervisors at the time) didn’t have the slightest idea that, only a few years later, Microsoft would send them to “DLL hell!”

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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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Okay, this is the last post in my series about the 32-bit or 64-bit question. I don’t expect this poll to be generally valid since 4sysops readers are probably more adventurous when it comes to adopting new technologies. IT pros are used to fighting with computer-related problems all day. So they are not that much frightened of theoretical troubles that a new operating might pose.

Usually, that also applies to me. I am still a bit hesitant to make the 64-bit move, though. I will buy a new laptop soon and I am considering of equipping it with 4GB because I want to run VMware Workstation on it. So I am curious to know your view. You might have read my posts on Vista x64 or have made up your mind already. Perhaps, you even have experiences of your own. Some of you already shared your opinion in my original post about that issue.

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As I write this, more than 1500 have taken part in my poll about Vista deployment. It is no secret that Vista isn’t really a success among corporate customers. However, I must admit, I am a bit surprised by the results of this poll.

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This has been a very popular topic for some months now. There were many studies and reports claiming that Vista adoption is much slower than Microsoft had hoped for. I am curious to know how the situation in your respective organization is.

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The results of my poll about Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) are quite impressive. More than 2000 4sysops readers voted so far. 67% have disabled UAC altogether, 5% disabled the elevation prompts, 3% changed other UAC settings and only 24% use the default UAC settings.

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Most of the more tech savvy Vista users I talked to disabled UAC (User Account Control) or at least its confirmation prompts. I didn’t like UAC right from the beginning, but I was curious enough to see if it would really increase security and how it would affect my work. So I kept its default settings. But I wonder how many of you weren’t so patient and disabled it.

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Thanks to everyone who took part in my KMS (Key Management Service) vs. MAK (Multiple Key Management) survey. 270 voted so far for one of the four options, I offered in this poll. You could choose among four options to activate Vista in a corporate environment: KMS, MAK, MAK and KMS, and OEM/retail. The fifth option is for those of you, who still have to make that choice.

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After summarizing all pros and cons for MAK and KMS activation, I am still undecided as to which option is better. I am curious to know which solution you would prefer. I would also like to know why you decided for one or the other solution. You can leave your thoughts as a comment in this post. If you don’t have the time for this, you can just take part in the opinion poll. If you’re unsure, then one of two these posts might be of help:

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