The “mini-connector” parked outside our South Lake Union office.

South Lake Union – One of the more modern offices with a killer kitchen.

Yet another Microsoft logo seen behind the reception desk in Building 115, the new home of MAE (Microsoft Academic Evangelism) and the Mac BU.

It’s the Windows Live mailbox in the cafeteria next to Building 115.

Sweet poster in Building 17 – SharePoint land.

Wanna know when a conference room is free? Just tap the wall!

I didn’t mean to take this picture, but it came out all crazy-like so I decided to keep it.

And now the money shot!

Hey, every ‘softie must have a picture in front of at least one Microsoft logo. This is mine until the summer.

Over the past week or so I’ve had many people ask what my setup at home is like so I decided to snap a few pictures of my home office. Enjoy! (please note that the server rack is in another room due to cooling issues. Pictures to come.)

 
Image 1: The All-up view

 
Image 2: My main work area. Pictured above is my Dell XPS M1530 (my primary production system) and a Dell Inspiron 518 (Intel Core 2 Q9300, 8GB DDR2 RAM) which functions as my primary test system.

Image 3: The Wall of Awesome: Pictured here is my “Wall of Awesome” where I’ve displayed some posters/flyers from various work-related events. Go ahead, try to understand the licensing poster at the far left. :)

 
Image 4: Pictured here are my twin Zune boxes (one even contains a Zune) and my unused copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate. Great display items! You can also see the laptop on which the display items are sitting, which is a Web Server. Finally, to the far left, you can see my HP 2710p Tablet and unopened bottles of limited edition Mountain Dew (yes, I’m that much of a geek.) :)

//Josh Bolling

**A couple end notes for C8’ers

1. The Screencasts you guys enjoy so much are recorded right here.

2. Take a hard look at the “Wall of Awesome”. Notice anything?

As students we’re often faced with many daunting challenges which sometimes seem insurmountable. As a result, student life inevitably becomes a delicate balancing act between work, school, and an attempt to maintain some semblance of a social life. Within the larger “pain points” of student life exist many smaller issues that contribute to the overall problem(s). At Microsoft we’re constantly working to design software, tools and information to make students lives a little bit easier through the power of technology. When we think about empowering students through technology, we see three primary areas where we can simplify students’ lives and amplify their impact on their campuses.

Studies – Making the grade

Sometimes it’s difficult for students to truly grasp the opportunities technology affords them. That’s why we’ve created resources like Channel8 and the Microsoft Student Experience which are designed to be central “landing” points for students interested in learning about Microsoft technologies and networking with like minded peers. Another pain point we’ve noted is ever increasing information overload and a need to organize that information, that’s where products like Microsoft Office OneNote and Office Live Workspace come in.

Microsoft Office OneNote is best described as the “Swiss-Army knife of Microsoft Office”. That’s to say that OneNote allows you to “organize your way” while providing features like: full tablet-PC support, audio and video recording, seamless Microsoft Office Outlook integration and the ability to kick off a live sharing session with a colleague, that allows you to begin sharing the same digital notebook, in mere seconds. True value is found in Microsoft Office OneNote (or any other piece of the Microsoft Office suite) when paired with a solution like Microsoft Office Live Workspace. Microsoft Office Live Workspace is designed to function as a central repository for all of your documents and other important data while adding support for things like: live document editing in a web browser, anywhere editing and simple collaboration, whether it be across town or across the country.

With Microsoft Office Live Workspace you’ll never lose another important document or be without a means of editing a document anywhere your travels may take you!

The final pain point we observed in relation to students studies is that often times students pursuing technical majors need professional-level software that can sometimes be very, very expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. That’s why we’ve developed Microsoft DreamSpark. DreamSpark is designed to give college and university students access to professional level software from Microsoft at NO COST! How’s that for incentivizing students to follow their dreams and create the next great software titles or make the next great technological breakthroughs!?

Life –“Work hard. Play Hard.”

Believe it or not, a life does exist outside of exam schedules and mountains of homework and when students are provided the seemingly forgotten luxury of free time Microsoft is there to provide the toys and web services needed to fully enjoy the brief respite. Some of our core offerings in this space include Windows Live (including Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Photo Gallery and others), Zune, Windows Mobile, Windows Media Center and Xbox 360.

Windows Live is an all inclusive offering that provides services like Email, a hosted Blog, photo sharing and even PC protection found in Windows Live OneCare. While leveraging some or all of the aforementioned “cloud-based” services is all well and good one major caveat exists, the very nature of most use cases. Most students use more than one computing device (Desktop, Laptop, Netbook, SmartPhone, etc..) which can present a problem when thinking about accessing cloud-based services when connectivity cannot be gaurenteed, enter Windows Mobile. 9 out of 10 students carry a cell phone of some sort today* and more and more are beginning to carry SmartPhones like those based on the Windows Mobile platform which is specifically designed to seamlessly integrate with services like Office Live Workspace, Windows Live Mesh and the Windows Live services.

With Windows Mobile, you’re never far from the data and people you care about!

When it comes to digital media on the go, many companies have various offerings, but none compare the the combination of the Zune device and Zune Social which, together, form a music sharing/discovery ecosystem. The Zune Social contains over 4 million songs priced at $.99 per song with the option of purchasing a Zune Pass Subscription that allows you to download and listen to all the music you want for the flat rate of $15/month. Additionally, when using a Zune device that has been updated to the latest firmware (release 3.0) you can listen to, and flag for download, songs from the Zune Marketplace using any Wi-Fi hotspot.

An amazing community, flexible purchasing options, the ability to browse the Marketplace directly form the device…What more can you ask for in an end-to-end digital audio platform!?

As students we’re often studying for tests or exams and don’t have time to catch our favorite TV shows when the air, that’s where Windows Media Center truly shines. Windows Media Center is designed to function as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) in software to allow you to do things like: watch and record live TV, schedule recordings, and time shift recordings.

With Windows Media Center you’ll never miss a moment of your favorite TV shows again!

When not watching the 20 episodes of 24 you’ve missed or rocking out on your Zune you may want to release some stress by playing the latest shooter or live your dreams of being the world’s next great race driver in a game like Project Gotham Racing 4. Enter Xbox 360. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is a total entertainment experience delivered in one package. With the Xbox 360 you can listen to your favorite music, watch your favorite movies (either from your personal DVD collection or streaming via Netflix) and play some of the best games on the market all form a single console!

Future – Onward and Upward

While college may seem to drag on forever, it will eventually end. When it does you’ll be dropped into the real world (hopefully with some idea of what you’d like to do next – otherwise, why did you spend 4 years of your life doing?) which can sometimes be a jarring transition. At Microsoft we’ve developed a series of tutorials, templates and advice to hopefully make that transition a little easier. Check them out here.

“The Girl from Mars”

This video, set to a great track by Magneta Lane, summarizes our student/digital lifestyle story better than anything I’ve seen! Enjoy!
 

This post brought to you by:

//Josh Bolling

Microsoft and Dell are sponsoring a contest centered around the concept of the “Digital Dorm Room” to offer college students the opportunity to win $10,000 worth of sweet connected entertainment gear! Some prizes include:

• A dell XPS M1330 Laptop
• Xbox 360
• Flat-screen TV
• Zune device with Zune Pass subscription (one of the best deals in the digital media space today)
• and much more…

Another value prop of the competition is the opportunity to learn about the Zune, Zune Social and integration between the two that creates an amazing entertainment ecosystem. The Zune Social is a community of millions of music lovers who share their musical taste through the use of Zune Cards which show what they’ve been listening to as well as some of their favorite songs and artists, whether they’ve listened in the Zune software or using the device. Cool! (see below for my personal Zune Card)

(A Zune Card as seen when embedded into a Blog)

Click the image below to sign up for the Zune Social/DDR Contest now!

//Josh Bolling

In the last installment of this series, I introduced the SharePoint in both its’ forms and discussed some of the ways it enables collaboration and information sharing across all sorts of boundaries. In this installment we’ll discuss how to deploy and configure Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 in a native Windows Server 2003 environment. The deployment process as a whole is quite simple and can be accomplished in under an hour with ease. Let’s begin!

Prerequisite Installation

SharePoint leverages the Windows Workflow Foundation which is part of the latest release of the .NET Framework. To continue with the installation you must download and install the .NET Framework 3.5 from the Microsoft Downloads Center. Please see the image below for more information.

Figure 1.1-Setup Error Dialog

SharePoint Installation

Step 1: Download Windows SharePoint Services from the Microsoft Downloads Center.

Step 2: Locate and launch the SharePoint installation package to extract all files needed for installation to a temporary directory on the local machine.

Figure 1.2-File Extraction Dialog

Step 3: Read and agree to the EULA (End User License Agreement) and click Continue to proceed.

Figure 1.3-EULA

Step 4: Choose either basic or advanced to continue. Please see below for a detailed explanation of each installation type:

· Basic-This installation type installs components required for a SharePoint environment in which only one server will be used and is intended for small deployments.

· Advanced-This installation option allows for the installation of a Front-End server to render content pulled form backend data sources such as SQL 2005. This option provides the flexibility to add more SharePoint servers to the deployment to form a Farm.

(Note: For the purposes of this tutorial we will continue with a Single Server Deployment using the Basic installation option presented above.)

Figure 1.4-Installation Selection (1)

Figure 1.5-Installation Selection (2)

Step 5: Once you have chosen your desired installation type, the installation process will begin and present you with Status Messages like those found below:

Figure 1.6-Installaiton Status Message (1)

Figure 1.7-Installation Status Message (2)

Step 6: Once the installation process has completed, you will be presented with a Dialog telling you the installation has completed successfully! However, you may also notice the following text “To complete configuration of your server, you must run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard.” To do this, simply ensure the box next to “Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies configuration Wizard now.” Is checked and click Close to continue.

Figure 1.8-Confirmation Dialog

Step 7: Read the text presented by the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard and click Next to continue.

Figure 1.9-SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard (1)

Step 8: Take note of the Services that will be restarted by the SharePoint Products and Technologies Wizard. If you are deploying SharePoint Services on an existing Web Server, it is very important to note that Internet Information Services (IIS) will be restarted as part of the configuration. Once you have read and understand what services will be restarted and how they will impact a product environment, click yes to continue.

Figure 2.1-Service Restart Warning

Step 9: Once you have acknowledged the warning, the SharePoint Products and Technologies Wizard will begin configuring your SharePoint deployment. Please see below for example Screenshots.

Figure 2.2-SharePoint configuration (1)

Figure 2.2-SharePoint configuration (2)

Step 10: If all went well, the Configuration Wizard will have dutifully chugged through its’ assigned tasks and finally prompted you with a “Configuration Successful” dialog! Click Close to launch Internet Explorer and navigate to the default SharePoint website.

Figure 1.3-Configuration Successful

You have now completed all configuration required for a SharePoint deployment using a Single Server Topology! We will wrap up this segment of the Series by verifying the site is accessible from the local machine.

Ensuring connectivity to the Local SharePoint Site

Step 1: Internet Explorer will have launched in the final step of the Configuration process outline above and automatically navigated to the default SharePoint website that’s created as part of initial configuration. You should see the following prompt for logon credentials:

Figure 2.4-Logon Prompt

Step 2: Authenticate with the credentials you use to logon to the machine and……BOOM you will have provisioned you very first SharePoint Team Site!

Figure 2.5-SharePoint Team Site

Conclusion

As you can see, deploying a single SharePoint server is incredibly easy and takes very little time! In the next segment of the series, we will continue our SharePoint exploration by looking at different types of Site and Applications that can be created and have a look at SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.

//Josh (Wa)

Recently, the Windows Live team announced Windows Live Mesh, a product that brings together an incredible amount of features designed to keep your data synchronized among multiple devices. Mesh functions on the idea of a Device Ring where you will find all devices currently running a copy of the software as well as an option to quickly jump to an area called Live Desktop where you can see all folders you are currently sharing and all folders being shared with you. Also, you can remote desktop to any linked PC at any time, cool!

With Live Mesh, you can sync files and folders across the web and access them via a web browser or linked PC at any time. The Live Mesh experience comes in two distinct pieces, a small desktop client, which essentially replicates the cloud based experience, and the cloud based experience itself. Both of which compliment each other to make Live Mesh a great overall offering. Personally, I'm glad to see Microsoft making an effort to bring together some of their past disjointed projects. Kudos Live Mesh team, kudos!

Special thanks to Donald Adu-Poku for inviting me to the Mesh originally

//Josh (Wa)

Windows Live Mesh marketing video

That's right...After a couple hiccups in the editing process, I've finally encoded the final version of the first piece of the Windows Server 2008 puzzle, an introduction to Active Directory Domain Services! Expect Bi-Weekly releases now that I have the process down to something of a science. The accompanying article will be published soon as I still need to polish it a bit. Enjoy and please don't hesitate to provide feedback as to what I'm doing right, wrong, etc... Also, let me know what you'd like to see in other Screencasts! We don't have to limit ourselves to just Windows Server. I'd love to drill into the client side of things a bit.

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//Josh (Wa)

Viewing Options:

• Watch Now
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Article:

Deployment of Windows has long been a something of a black art. Many tools are available from various vendors to assist, but all seem to fall a bit short at one phase of the deployment or another. This can cause quite a bit of frustration for the IT Pro who is tasked with pushing Windows XP or Vista to new machines. Thankfully, Microsoft has recognized this pain point and built a very nice set of tools into Windows Server 2008 that I’ve found to be some of the best available! Installation and configuration of Windows Deployment Services is really quite simple and both the time and cost savings that can be achieved when using WDS are far and away superior to that of a competing solution. Let’s begin!

Note: Please use the written article only as a supplement to the Screen cast if planning your deployment around the information provided here.

To install and configure Windows Deployment Services please follow these simple steps:

1. Install and configure Windows Server 2008.

2. Once Windows Server 2008 is successfully installed, raise the machine from a member server to an Active Directory Domain Controller by running the dcpromo command from the Run prompt.
(NOTE: You may skip this step if you have an existing AD Infrastructure. However, if you do skip this step please be sure that the deployment server is also a DNS server as PXE clients will need a way of locating the deployment point on the network.)

3. Now that we have successfully installed the first prerequisite (Active Directory) we can move on to the second prerequisite, the DCHP server role.

4. To install the DCHP server role, please point to Start>Server Manager>Roles>Add Roles.

5. Now, from this screen you will select the checkbox next to DHCP Server and select next.
(NOTE: Before installing DCHP please ensure that at least one network interface in the machine has a static IP address.)

6. For the sake of simplicity we will leave the values entered in the fields of Parent Domain and Preferred DNS Server IPv4 Address at their default values and click Next. You would, of course, change these values depending upon the requirements of your particular environment.

7. Again, for simplicity, we will skip the setup of WINS.

8. At this screen, you will define a DCHP Scope for use by the server. For the purposes of the screen cast, we used 192.168.1.11-192.168.1.50 to avoid any interference with an existing Scope on the network. You would, of course, do the same.

9. Now you will be ask if you’d like to install and configure IPv6 on this DHCP server. For the proposes of the screen cast I skipped this step and I would imagine you will to as many enterprise environments have yet to implement IPv6.

10. You will now be presented with a summary of the choices you have made thus far and all you need to do is click install and let it work its magic.

11. Once DHCP has successfully installed, we can move on to the installation of the Windows Deployment Services role proper. To accomplish this you will jump back to the Server Manager console and enter the Roles management area. From here you will point to Add Roles as before, but this time select the Windows Deployment Services Role.

12. The first screen you will come to that bares any real meaning is the Role Services screen where you will be ask to choose which functions of the WDS feature set this server will perform. For the purposes of the screen cast, we chose to install both roles onto the same machine, but may certainly break the roles out over multiple machines if your deployment plan calls for one machine to house the images and another to push them around the network.

13. Once you have decided which roles to implement where, you will be presented with an installation summary at which you simply need to select Install.

14. With the WDS server role itself installed and configured, you have completed nearly all server side configuration tasks, but we do have a couple small things remaining. Firstly, we need to configure the deployment server. To accomplish this point to Start>Administrative Tools>Windows Deployment Services then Servers in the console you are presented with.

15. From here you will right click on the server listed (It will be the local machine) and select Configure Server.

16. The Wizard you will now step through simply ensures successful installation and configuration of all prerequisites. So, it’s as simple as reviewing the prompts and clicking next when you’re satisfied with the results.

17. All that remains is to add .WIM install and Boot Images to the Deployment Server and this is accomplished through returning to the WDS console, selecting Install Images, right clicking and selecting New Image Group then naming it whatever you desire.

18. Once you have created an Image Group, you will right click again and select Add Images. At this point you will need to insert a either a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 product DVD and point he wizard to the following path:

Boot Image: <Drive letter>:\sources\boot.wim
Install Image: <Drive letter>:\sources\install.wim

19. Once you have chosen the versions of Vista or Windows Server you’d like to have available during setup, you have completed all necessary server side setup! Congratulations!

20. Finally, you will bring another machine up on the local subnet and innate a network boot at which time a PXE boot will begin, contacting the DHCP server then the deployment server itself and begin pulling down the Boot.wim file added in the previous step. Once the Boot.wim file has been downloaded you will be required to authenticate with user credentials that have rights to add machines to the Domain.

21. That’s it! You’ve now successfully setup and configured Windows Deployment Services! Once again, congratulations!

Definition of terminology used:

1. DHCP-Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Used to propagate information like IP Address, DNS Servers, Hostname, etc to clients on the network.

2. DNS-Domain Name Service. A similar technology to that of NAT (Network Address Translation) in that it resolves IP Addresses to human readable text. An example would be the resolution of the IP Address of 72.14.207.99 to the domain name of http://www.google.com/.

3. PXE-Pre-boot Execution Environment. A technology used in concert with network boots to bring the network card on a given machine up and get an IP Address form an available DHCP server.

4. AD-An abbreviated form of the words Active Directory.

5. Active Directory-The database system first implemented in Windows Server NT 4.0 to facilitate, among other things, centralized authentication and management of clients in a Domain environment.

6. WINS-Windows Internet Naming System. The precursor to DNS.

We all know Microsoft Outlook 2007 is an incredible tool for those who want a unified solution for Calendaring, Tasks and Mail, but it can become a bit unwieldy when used in conjunction with Exchange 2007. One handy tip I've discovered is the ability to hold down the Ctrl key and right-click the Outlook icon in your System Tray. When using this combination, you are presented with two options that hadn't existed before, Connection Status and Test E-mail AutoConfiguration. These options are great to help you assure proper connectivity to the Exchange backend. Enjoy!

//Josh (Wa)

To inaugurate the launch of Windows Server 2008, I have decided to start a Springboard Series, which will consist of Screencasts and a full set of documentation, that will help you and your IT organization "spring" into action and get the most out of the new bits. This series will cover everything from Establishing an Active Directory based infrastructure to Creating reference server and client images and finally Deploying those images using multiple methods. Expect part 1 of this multi-part series as soon as Friday, April 11, 2008 if not before.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the first installment of the Springboard series will be delayed until Monday, April 14 due to new, more pressing, matters that have presented themselves. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

//Josh (Wa)

Installation Process

The installation process found in Windows Server 2008 bears much similarity to that of Windows Vista as both share the same Kernel. The installation process follows a paradigm very different from that of Windows Server 2003 and earlier in that it’s an image based install as opposed to relying on .CAB files. This new methodology both streamlines and hastens the deployment process. This results in a vast cost savings for large Enterprises. The following is a high level overview of what happens at each stage of the installation process:

Stage 1: Copying files- During this stage, the actual .WIM (Windows Image Format) image is copied, in compressed form, from the product DVD (or network share based upon your particular deployment method) to the local Hard Drive.

Stage 2: Expanding files- During this stage, the aforementioned .WIM image is expanded onto the local Hard Drive.

Stage 3: Installing features- During this stage, the files found within the expanded .WIM image are installed.

Stage 4: Installing updates- During this stage, installation of features and upgrades continues.

Stage 5: Completing installation- During this stage of the installation, the OS is prepared to run for the first time then booted.

Step-by-Step Installation tutorial

(Special note: The following tutorial assumes you are installing from the product DVD.)

Step 0- Enter your BIOS and ensure the target machine is set to boot from the optical drive first in the boot order.

Step 1- Insert the Windows Server 2008 Product DVD into the optical drive of the target machine and reboot.

Step 2- Choose the Language, Time format, and Keyboard layout appropriate for your particular region and click next to continue

Figure 1-1: Windows Server 2008 welcome screen
(Click to enlarge)

Step 3- Click the Install Now button to begin the installation.

Figure 1-2: Windows Server 2009 welcome screen (2)
(Click to enlarge)

Step 4- Read and agree to the EULA and License agreement.

Figure 1-3: EULA and License
(Click to enlarge)

Step 5- Choose the version of Windows Server 2008 for which you have a valid license and choose next to continue. Note that you may also install the Core version of the chosen Windows Server 2008 SKU. Server core is best used for single purpose deployments, some example of which include Domain controllers, DNS servers and Print servers.

Step 6- Choose Custom (advanced) to continue.

(Special note: To perform an in-place upgrade of the current OS, please start the installation from within an existing install of Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP.)

Figure 1-4: Installation method screen
(Click to enlarge)

Step 7- Choose the location (physical hard disk) where you would like to install Windows Server 2008 and click next to continue.
(Special note: You may also choose to partition the physical drive that you will be installing to by choosing Drive options (advanced) located in the bottom right corner of the UI.)

Figure 1-5: Drive options
(Click to enlarge)

Step 8- Now that the installation process has collected all required information (less a product key) it will begin to install the base OS and present you with screens like those below:

Figure 1-6: Installation screen
(Click to enlarge)

Figure 1-7: Install screen (2)
(Click to enlarge)

Figure 1-8: Installation screen (3
(Click to enlarge)

Step 9- By this point you’re machine will have restarted at least once, installed the base OS and prepared it to run for the first time. Now you should be presented with a screen like what you see below asking you to change the administrator password.

 
Figure 1-9: Password challenge
(Click to enlarge)

One notable omission from the installation process was product key entry. You may have noticed that you weren’t ask at any point during the installation to provide a valid key. This was implemented to expedite enterprise deployment of the OS, but do bear in mind that an unlicensed copy of the OS will deactivate itself within 60 days of installation if a valid product key is not entered.

And finally.....

Figure 1-10: Windows Server 2008 desktop
(Click to enlarge)

A brand new Windows Server 2008 desktop showing configuration tasks!

Conclusion

Windows Server 2008 is one of the quickest deployments in the history of Windows Server based OS's clocking in at a little under 11 minutes when installing into an empty Virtual Machine. Server Core takes an average of 4 minutes in the same environment. The combination of speedy deployment, incredible new features and simplified administration through the unified server manger console make Windows Server 2008 one hell of a contender and my personal choice for my production network!

//Josh (Wa)

Microsoft has, in a very unusual move, chosen to keep this new Ultimate Extra under the tightest secrecy. It's being developed by the Microsoft equivalent of an uber-secret, black-ops team in a sub-basement somewhere on the Redmond Campus. Keep in mind it's not officially available to the public, but I can offer a small preview of what's to come. If you're running under Vista Ultimate, be sure to keep your eye on Windows Update in the coming weeks for this as well as other rumored Ultimate Extras.

Click here to download a sneak preview! (ZIP format, 674 kb)

//Josh (Wa)

Special thanks to Long Zheng for surfacing this story.

Today, I finally got around to deploying Windows XP SP3 into a test Virtual Machine and thought I'd take some screens to share with my readers. Enjoy!
(Click each image below for the full size version.)

The Welcome dialogue presented by the installer. I noticed it was quite similar, if not identical to, that of Service Pack 2.

The EULA. Quite standard really if you care to read it.

The first, and only, dialogue with options of any kind presented by the installer. Also, the last chance to back out of the install before it begins.

The first of two important steps during the installation: complete file backup

The actual installation of files.

Awesome! We're done! Or are we?

Oh, no! There's more...Well,  not much more.

The final step. See,  that wasn't that difficult now was it?

//Josh (Wa)

Microsoft has long been a player in Enterprise security with products like Forefront and others, but until late 2005 hadn’t offered an all-in-one desktop security solution for home users. Enter Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft’s first foray into the realm of desktop security. When looking at OneCare, you might notice that the console looks much like that of Windows Defender, but what makes OneCare different from other products like Defender is that instead of providing only one service like Spyware protection it offers features like Anti Virus, Anti Maiware and many PC maintenance features like backup and disk defragmentation that would usually be centrally administered by an IT Department in a corporate environment. Two important things to note in regard to OneCare are that it is a subscription based service at $50 per year –which stands in stark contrast to other Windows Live offerings which are largely free or ad-driven in nature-- and that the anti-spyware features of OneCare loosely leverage the Windows Defender scanning engine.

Installing and configuring Windows Live OneCare

The installation of Windows Live OneCare is quite straight forward in that you simply download and run the installer from the Windows Live OneCare website then let it download and install any necessary files. As the installation is internet based, the time to successfully install the product will vary based upon available bandwidth. Once you have installed OneCare, you will be prompted to reboot so that you may complete the installation. You’re initial reboot will likely be somewhat time consuming while OneCare sorts itself out. Also, if you have any internet enabled applications that start at boot like Windows Live Messenger, be ready for some prompts asking you to approve their access to the network. I have noticed, however, the number of prompts or “Toasts” presented by OneCare is comparatively low when examined alongside a product from a vendor like Symantec or Zone Alarm. Now that OneCare is installed, you’ll be presented with the ever helpful “starter dialog” to get you started in configuring OneCare. This dialog will walk you through steps like scheduling scan and tune up times, defining a backup location, which can be a network share, external hard drive or CD/DVD, as well as setting some other miscellaneous options. Once you’ve endured the arduous process of installing and configuring OneCare, it becomes quite the “hands-off” affair in terms of day to day maintenance.

Windows Live OneCare console

Windows Live OneCare features

OneCare offers a very comprehensive feature set. When compared to offerings from other vendors like Symantec or Zone Alarm, OneCare stacks up quite well while going the extra mile and offering features designed to keep your PC running smoothly- A great idea!

Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware

The anti-virus and anti-malware capabilities of OneCare exist in two main “silos”. The first is called Anti-Virus Monitoring which runs in active RAM to ensure your system is always protected from Malware, plus it’s constantly analyzing programs on your system to look for any kind of “suspicious activity” that may denote a virus or other form of bad software. The second silo of protection offered by OneCare is the familiar virus scanning engine that will scan a given drive for viruses. If OneCare finds a potentially unwanted piece of software it will prompt you with the option to either immediately delete the offending program or attempt to clean the infected files. As for virus definitions, they’re kept up to date by utilizing the familiar Windows Update mechanism. The anti-malware feature of OneCare function in much the same way as the anti-virus, but leverage the scanning engine built into Windows Defender.

Windows Live OneCare options dialog

Firewall

OneCare includes a firewall that is far superior that that found in Windows XP SP2 in that it is bi-directional. That is to say that it filters traffic both incoming and outgoing. Configuration of the firewall from the tab located in the Options dialog of the OneCare is pretty basic in that it offers multiple levels of protection with the default set to Auto which allows all known applications to access the internet and prompt for unknown applications. The level of protection as well as other things can be tweaked to whatever the user desires to ensure compatibility with any new applications the user may install.

PC Performance

OneCare provides a nice feature termed “System tune-up” that runs a list of the most common tasks to improve PC Performance like:

· Hard Disk Defragmentation-This runs the disk defragmentation utility built into Windows which reorganizes the file “chunks” on your hard disk to achieve optimal file access times and read/write speed.

· Virus Scan-This is the implementation of the second silo of protection mentioned earlier to run a virus scan against the files on your PC.

· Backup-During this step, OneCare backs up any files the user specified to an indicted location or physical media like a CD or DVD.

· Auto Updates-OneCare automatically checks for any high priority updates from Windows Update and notifies the user.

· Remove unnecessary files-OneCare goes as far as removing any files it finds that may not be needed like temporary internet files.

By default, OneCare runs the PC tune-up every four weeks at 1:00 A.M, but I’d recommend a weekly schedule.

Conclusion

Windows Live OneCare is one of those applications that leaves the user with a “warm and cozy feeling” while knowing their important data and pictures are being backed up while their PC is being protected from the latest worm, virus or Trojan designed to cause wide spread loss of both data and productivity. Even though it may not be as robust as the security one would see when functioning in a well managed IT environment, I feel this application is absolutely necessary for some who aren’t quite as educated about he perils of PC security as others. Even with a $50 price tag I still give OneCare my highest recommendation! One less call to tech support makes for happy users and happy tech support agents.

//Josh (Wa)

After a long and rich history of providing information primarily targeted at Students who wanted to become software developers, Channel 8 has now begun offering technical information similar to that of TechNet Edge, but with a decided student skew. The best news? I'll be on of the many talented students leading the new program to what I hope will be great success! The program is in its' infancy currently, but you can see some of the first motions at Channel 8 now! Look forward to GREAT things!

//Josh (Wa)

Recently, Microsoft has expanded their Online Services product suite to small businesses (those with less than 5,000 seats) as part of their continued Software+Services iniative. Microsoft Online Services consists of three Tier-1 hosted solutions, Exchange 2007, SharePoint 2007 and Live Meeting 2007. These applications, which are typically hosted on intranet servers, can become difficult to manage for those IT Shops with limited resources or personnel. Microsoft recognized this and incorporated a singe, secure administration console into the product which enables simple user provisioning and AD (Active Directory) migration as well as an option to migrate a portion of your global AD Schema so that you may "Dog Food" a certain set of users on the service and then roll it out to all users at a later time. Have a look at this video for more information. Look for a full review soon.....

Note-If you're interested in signing up for the limited Beta version of MOS, please click here.

+Josh (Wa)

Over the past month or so I've noticed a steady upshot in my readership which has prompted me to make some changes to the Blog! Firstly, I've purchased a new domain name that will serve a DNS (Domain Name Service) redirect so instead of remembering a long, convoluted URL like http://wordofwa.spaces.live.com/ you can simply type http://wordofwa.net/ into your address bar and get to my Blog far quicker. Also, you'll notice that you no longer see large, blinking banner ads! Isn't that great?

+Josh (Wa)

It made Scobble cry so it's has to be pretty dang cool, right? Yes, yes it is! I speak, of course, of the latest product to emerge from Microsoft Research, World Wide Telescope! This product has to be one the coolest things I've seen from Microsoft since Vista and Windows Server 2008. I'm especially fond of the promised ability to create your own tours of the universe then share them with friends. Microsoft has slated World Wide Telescope for release in Spring 2008. Have a look at the video for more!

+Josh (Wa)