Generally, I use this space to talk about some aspect of terminal services technology or news—or to rant about something that Microsoft or Citrix has done that annoys me. This time, however, I must call your attention to some changes in store for one of my newsletters, Terminal Services UPDATE.
As some of you know, I'm also the news editor of Application Service Provider UPDATE, a biweekly newsletter like this one for people interested in application service providers (ASPs). In January, I'm combining Application Service Provider UPDATE and Terminal Services UPDATE into one weekly newsletter. The new format will remain pretty close to what current subscribers of each biweekly newsletter see now. One week, I'll focus on the practical and technical aspects of server-based computing—what you get now in Terminal Services UPDATE; the next week, I'll focus on the strategic aspects of the outsourced server-based computing market—what Application Service Provider UPDATE readers see. The only change that I anticipate is that I'll post my Keeping Up with Terminal Services column to the Windows 2000 Magazine Network Web site and provide a link to it in the newsletter.
Why the change? Natural association of ideas. Although some issues are unique to inhouse support for terminal services or to outsourced server-based-computing, the two models face many similar challenges. How do you support printers and other client-side devices from a centrally managed server, and how do these devices affect bandwidth needs? What licenses do your users need? What does the client side require in a server-based computing environment? What can you do to improve the client-side experience? Where the two server-based computing models have unique issues, I'll continue to address them. The newsletters are coming together under one name and one concept—application service provision, whether it's for inhouse or external customers.
That said, one important piece of housekeeping remains. You must subscribe to Application Service Provider UPDATE to continue to receive the same content that you get now, uninterrupted. I can't automatically sign you up, lest some of you think that I'm spamming you with a newsletter you didn't ask for. Nor can I do it for you, even if you ask nicely—40,000 people are reading this newsletter! So go to email newsletter subscription page and check the box for Application Service Provider UPDATE, and life will go on as before.
The new format won't change my reliance on your feedback. Since we started publishing a year and a half ago, I've enjoyed hearing from you—the questions, the suggestions, and the conversations that we've had about how to make terminal services work have been invaluable. Nothing makes my day more than hearing that something you read in Terminal Services UPDATE saved you time or made your life easier in some way. Your suggestions drive this newsletter—please keep them coming.
