Windows & .NET Magazine UPDATE--June 17, 2003

1. Commentary: Charting the Needs of Small Businesses

2. Hot Off the Press
- SCO Revokes IBM's UNIX License, Requests Injunction

3. Keeping Up with Win2K and NT
- Defragment Access Violation
- IDE Drivers Get a Major Tune-Up

4. Announcements
- Fight Spam and Viruses, and Secure Exchange 2003!
- Get the eBook That Will Help You Get Certified!

5. Inside Windows Scripting Solutions
- July 2003 Issue
- Focus: System Inventories

6. Instant Poll
- Results of Previous Poll: SCO UNIX Lawsuit
- New Instant Poll: Linux

7. Resource
- Tip: How Can I Reset the "Always ask before opening this type of file" Functionality in Microsoft Outlook for a Particular File Type?

8. Event
- Security 2003 Road Show 9. New and Improved
- Discover Devices
- Assess Patch Compliance
- Submit Top Product Ideas

10. Contact Us
- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.

==== Sponsor: NetIQ ====
CIO eBook for Managing and Securing the Enterprise - Need in-depth best practices for systems and security management? Register now for the FREE ebook, "From Chaos to Control: The CIO's Executive Guide to Managing and Securing the Enterprise," brought to you by NetIQ and Realtimepublishers.com. Topics covered include: Top 10 Corporate Manageability Policies; Top 10 Overlooked Vulnerabilities; Top 10 Corporate Security Breaches. Take your enterprise systems and applications from chaos to control now.
http://www.netiq.com/f/form/form.asp?id=2258&origin=NSWinnetmag_update_061703

==== 1. Commentary: Charting the Needs of Small Businesses ====
by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [email protected]

Later this year, Microsoft will release a dramatically improved Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 (code-named Bobcat) family of products to satisfy the needs of small businesses that have no inhouse IT staff. As with earlier versions, SBS 2003 will provide all-inclusive Microsoft server solutions that work out of the box and that you can upgrade and expand to standalone Microsoft servers as the business grows. But SBS 2003 isn't a Fisher-Price version of the Windows Server System, as some have charged. Indeed, with this release, small businesses looking at Microsoft technology will have much greater flexibility and capabilities than the standalone products that make up the suite provide.

In addition to the great front-end management tools that the company has always offered in SBS, Microsoft will ship this version of the suite in two different editions--one with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and one without. The reason for this approach is that many small businesses don't need a database server. However, most small businesses do need email, and SBS 2003 will include Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. The suite will also ship with Windows Server 2003 (which includes Microsoft Internet Information Services--IIS--6.0 and support for Windows SharePoint Services), Internet Server and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000, and shared fax and modem services. Microsoft defines small businesses as companies with less than 75 PCs, a not-so-subtle change from previous versions, which assumed 50 or fewer PCs.

As with earlier versions, SBS 2003 will include simple, centralized Web-like management consoles that wrap the functionality of various tools in Windows and the other server products, providing administrators with one place of management. This approach will let tech-savvy employees at small firms manage their servers if necessary or, even better, let service providers more effectively monitor the servers and services at multiple clients. Better outsourcing is a key goal of SBS 2003, because in many cases, companies simply don't have the internal resources to maintain these types of server products.

For end users, SBS 2003 will include a new simple front end for accessing the services that the bundled products provide. In SBS 2003, users will be able to log on to a central Web page that provides a list of English choices, not technical gobbledygook. For example, you won't see an option for Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA), but rather a choice that reads "Check your email." Likewise, for remotely accessing your PC while you're on the road, the front end will provide a simple menu choice that, again, hides the underlying technology. What a concept.

I'll have more information about SBS 2003 as Microsoft begins to finalize the release. I'm told that the product is essentially completed but waiting on Exchange 2003, which is waiting on Microsoft Office 2003 ... the pain of integration, one might say. Currently, Microsoft expects SBS 2003 to ship in late summer or early fall.

Even a product as comprehensive as SBS 2003 can't answer all a small business's needs, however, and many companies might still need help in some areas. I'd like to examine some of these areas in the coming months, and I'm interested in any feedback readers have about ways in which developers can meet the needs of small business. Some of the topics I've begun investigating include storage and Network Attached Storage (NAS); mobility solutions that extend the capabilities in Exchange and portable, non-PC devices such as Pocket PC and Palm OS handheld devices; and services that let small companies automate their systems electronically and work with their partners and customers over the Internet in ways that match the capabilities of much bigger corporations. Today, small businesses constitute one of the largest and, arguably, the fastest growing IT segments. If you're working for such a company or provide services for small businesses, please contact me and let me know what you think.

Sponsor: Raxco Software ====
New! PerfectDisk V6.0 Defragger from Raxco Software
It's here -- PerfectDisk(R) V6.0, the ultimate defragger for large enterprises and small businesses. PerfectDisk provides full integration with Active Directory Group Policy for incredibly easy enterprise management. No other defrag solution provides this level of AD integration -- none. No other defragger is certified for Windows 2000 -- none. You also get free space consolidation and optimization to reduce refragmentation, and much more. Microsoft, Boeing, EDS, IBM, and thousands of others use PerfectDisk. Last month, over 100 organizations switched to PerfectDisk. Today it's your turn.
Free evaluation and more at http://www.raxco.com/winnetmag

==== 2. Hot Off the Press ====
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

SCO Revokes IBM's UNIX License, Requests Injunction
In a widely predicted move, UNIX copyright owner The SCO Group terminated the UNIX license for IBM, makers of AIX. The company also filed a request with the US District Court of Utah for a permanent injunction requiring IBM to cease and desist all use and distribution of AIX and to destroy or return all copies of UNIX System V source code to SCO. The company says it's exercising its "right of termination" granted under the original UNIX software and sublicensing agreements between IBM and AT&T, which date back to 1985; SCO is now the owner of the UNIX copyrights described in that agreement. For the complete story, visit the following URL:
http://www.wininformant.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=39319

==== 3. Keeping Up with Win2K and NT ====
by Paula Sharick, [email protected]

Defragment Access Violation
In some undocumented circumstances, you might see an access violation from the Windows 2000 Disk Defragmenter utility after you run either an analysis or a defragment operation. The access violation occurs when you exit the utility. Although Microsoft doesn't explain why the application failure occurs, the company has issued a patch that eliminates this nonfatal problem. Call Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) and ask for the new version of dfrgui.dll with a file release date of May 5; use the Microsoft article "'Access Violation (0xC0000005)' Error Message Occurs When You Quit Disk Defragmenter" ( http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=818888 ) as a reference. The replacement file suggests that the problem is in the GUI, rather than in the utility's analysis or disk-reorganization code. This fix is tagged as pre-Service Pack 5 (SP5), and you can install it only on Win2K SP3 and later versions.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE: The following item is posted on the Windows & .NET Magazine Web site. For the complete story, use the following link and scroll to the appropriate article.
http://www.winnetmag.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=39323

IDE Drivers Get a Major Tune-Up

==== 4. Announcements ====
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

Fight Spam and Viruses, and Secure Exchange 2003!
Check out our June Web events, and get expert advice that will help you fight spam and viruses and also help you assess the security risks of Exchange 2003. There's no charge for any of these eye-opening, educational events, but space is limited so sign up now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars

Get the eBook That Will Help You Get Certified!
The "Insider's Guide to IT Certification," from the Windows & .NET Magazine Network, has one goal: to help you save time and money on your quest for certification. Find out how to choose the best study guides, save hundreds of dollars, and be successful as an IT professional. The amount of time you spend reading this book will be more than made up by the time you save preparing for your certification exams. Order your copy today!
http://winnet.bookaisle.com/ebookcover.asp?ebookid=13475

~~~~ Hot Release: AutoProf ~~~~

Free whitepaper discusses methods for deploying settings in desktop deployment projects. Learn how to: - transform settings deployment from a haphazard, decentralized process to a managed, centralized one - easily replace traditional desktop configuration tools, including default user profiles and logon scripts - extend Group Policy http://www.AutoProf.com/Update_Main_HotR_2003_06_17.html

5. ==== Inside Windows Scripting Solutions ====

Windows Scripting Solutions is a monthly paid print newsletter loaded with news and tips to help you manage, optimize, and secure your Web-enabled enterprise. NONSUBSCRIBERS can access all the newsletter content in the online article archive from the premiere issue of Windows Scripting Solutions (December 1998) through the print issue released 1 year ago.

In addition to receiving the monthly print newsletter, SUBSCRIBERS can access all the newsletter content, including the most recent issue, at the Windows Scripting Solutions Web site ( http://www.winscriptingsolutions.com ). Subscribe today and access all the 2003 issues online!
http://secure.duke.com/nt/win32scripting/index.cfm?action=sub&code=wi26xhm

July 2003 Issue
To access this issue of Windows Scripting Solutions, go to the following URL:
http://www.winscriptingsolutions.com/articles/index.cfm?action=usprint&issueid=650

Focus: System Inventories
This month, learn how to create a hardware-inventory report, use ADSI to read in updated values from Excel, troubleshoot Robocopy, and programmatically access disk quota information.

Home-Brewed Hardware Inventory
Use this two-pronged solution to create rich, verbose hardware inventory reports.
--Ethan Wilansky
http://www.winscriptingsolutions.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=39111

==== 6. Instant Poll ====

Results of Previous Poll: SCO UNIX Lawsuit
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "What do you believe will be the implications of SCO's lawsuit against IBM?" Here are the results from the 79 votes:
- 46% The lawsuit will have far-reaching effects on the Linux community
- 10% The lawsuit will affect IBM, but not the entire Linux community
- 34% The lawsuit will be thrown out
- 10% I don't know

New Instant Poll: Linux
The next Instant Poll question is, "Do you run any Linux machines in your organization?" Go to the Windows & .NET Magazine home page and submit your vote for a) Yes, b) No, or c) I don't know.
http://www.winnetmag.com/magazine

==== 7. Resource ====

Tip: How Can I Reset the "Always ask before opening this type of file" Functionality in Microsoft Outlook for a Particular File Type?
by John Savill, http://www.windows2000faq.com

When you open attachments, Outlook displays a dialog box that prompts you to either "Open it" or "Save it to disk." The dialog box also includes an "Always ask before opening this type of file" check box. If you clear this check box, Outlook will in the future always open that file type without prompting you. To reset the default behavior so that Outlook will prompt you to open or save the file type, perform the following steps:
1. Open the Control Panel Folder Options applet.
2. Select the File Types tab.
3. Scroll down to the extension type that you want to reset.
4. Select the extension type, then click Advanced.
5. Check the "Confirm open after download" check box, then click OK.
6. Click Close to close the Folder Options dialog box.

Outlook will now prompt you every time you open that particular file type.

==== 8. Event ====
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine)

Security 2003 Road Show
Join Mark Minasi and Paul Thurrott as they deliver sound security advice at our popular Security 2003 Road Show event.
http://www.winnetmag.com/roadshows/security2003

==== 9. New and Improved ====
by Carolyn Mader, [email protected]

Discover Devices
Ecora announced Ecora NetExplorer, a device-discovery and port-scanning utility that can scan for port usage to determine vulnerabilities associated with rogue devices and unauthorized open ports. You can also use NetExplorer to keep an inventory of your IT infrastructure. The utility is free, and you can download it at the following link:
https://www.ecora.com/ecora/register/netexplorer.asp

Assess Patch Compliance
PatchLink announced PatchLink Update 5.0, patch-management software that supports Windows Server 2003. The software provides role-based administration functionality and customizable graphical reporting capability based on the Windows .NET Framework and powered by Crystal Reports. You can use the software to assess patch compliance by groups of computers, applications, and severity. For pricing, contact PatchLink at 480-970-1025 or [email protected].
http://www.patchlink.com

Submit Top Product Ideas
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Do you know of a terrific product that others should know about? Tell us! We want to write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions to [email protected].

==== Sponsored Links ====

FaxBack
Integrate FAX into Exchange/Outlook (Whitepaper, ROI, Trial)
http://www.faxback.com/w2ksponorlink

==== 10. Contact Us ====

About the newsletter -- [email protected] About technical questions -- http://www.winnetmag.com/forums About product news -- [email protected] About your subscription -- [email protected] About sponsoring UPDATE -- [email protected]