WinClient Update, Aug. 3, 2006: Me and My PDA

Visit our sponsors, who bring you WinClient Update for free:

Liquid Machines
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/liquidmachines/rightsmgmt/?code=CLITop0803

IDC
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/microsoft/branchoffice/?code=CLIMid0803

Thawte
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/ebooks/codesigning?code=CLIHot0803

COMMENTARY
- Me and My PDA

READER CHALLENGE
- July Reader Challenge Winners
- August Reader Challenge Contest

NEWS & VIEWS
- Microsoft Details SP2 Contents for Windows Server 2003, XP x64

RESOURCES
- Tip: Installing disk defragmenter
- Featured Thread: "It's killing me--"
- Featured white paper, Web & live events, announcements

NEW AND IMPROVED
- High-Logic's MainType 2.0
- Wanted: your reviews of products you've used!

==== Sponsor: Liquid Machines

Extend Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to support enterprise requirements for information protection, including proprietary business data. http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/liquidmachines/rightsmgmt/?code=CLITop0803

==== COMMENTARY ====

by David Chernicoff, [email protected]

Me and My PDA

About a year and a half ago I wrote about my trials and tribulations with PDAs as I jumped into the fray by purchasing and using a Dell Axim v50. I found that I use the PDA primarily with the GPS add-on for navigation and with Microsoft Reader. (See "PDAs: To Buy or Not to Buy" at http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/45765/45765.html .)

I’m still using the PDA on a daily basis and have managed not to break it, thanks largely to its aluminum RhinoSkin case, which has saved the device from damage even after being dropped (unintentionally) from various heights. Although I purchased the damage replacement warranty from Dell when I bought the device, I’ve not had to use it.

After that column, I got a lot of email from users and vendors who wanted to recommend their favorite PDA application. Although I tried quite a few applications, for me, the PDA is an excellent reference device. I keep spreadsheets, documents, and PDF files on it and on the pair of 1GB Secure Digital (SD) memory cards I keep in the hard case.

When I'm at a client's site, I can access the PDA for notes and PDF versions of manuals for the client’s hardware and applications, and I can answer questions and solve problems without having to dig through stacks of paper copies. For example, I recently needed to manage a client's real estate transaction (a bit out of the ordinary from my usual services), so I kept all the details of the transaction--along with many JPG files of the properties, land maps, and survey documents--on my PDA. Having all the data easily at hand gave me a definite advantage in just about every meeting.

I don’t find the PDA platform to be a very good email device (though it's far better than trying to access email on my cell phone), but I do use the PDA's Wi-Fi capabilities to access Web-based email accounts and to stay in touch with my office and clients when traveling. Wireless hotspots are generally available, so it's not hard to find a place where I can quickly check for high-priority messages or request information.

These days, I generally leave my notebook computer in the hotel room and take the PDA instead. It's become a necessity, like my car keys and cell phone. I keep spare chargers in my cars and my notebook case and use the device, in some fashion, every day.

==== Sponsor: IDC

Branch offices need flexibility and autonomy in implementing IT solutions; corporate requirements require centralized management, security, and compliance initiatives. Learn to resolve these conflicts and reduce your operational costs for branch offices with limited IT resources. Download the free whitepaper today! http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/microsoft/branchoffice/?code=CLIMid0803

==== READER CHALLENGE

by Kathy Ivens, [email protected]

July 2006 Reader Challenge Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our July 2006 Reader Challenge. First prize, a copy of "Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition," goes to Robert Brennan, of California. Second prize, a copy of "Learning Windows Server 2003, Second Edition," goes to Kent Ifland, of Kansas. O'Reilly & Associates Publishing publishes both books.

August 2006 Reader Challenge

Solve this month's Windows Client challenge, and you might win a prize! Email your solution (don't use an attachment) to [email protected] by Aug. 10, 2006. You MUST include your full name, and street mailing address (without that information, we can't send you a prize if you win, so your answer is eliminated, even if it’s correct).

I choose winners at random from the pool of correct entries. I’m a sucker for humor and originality, and a cleverly written correct answer gets an extra chance. Because I receive so many entries each month, I can't reply to respondents, and I never respond to a request for a receipt. Look for the solutions to this month's problem at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=93023 on Aug. 14, 2006, or in this email newsletter.

The August 2006 Challenge:

A reader of one of my books wrote to ask for help. She administers a domain and wanted to add a new local user to one of the computers on the domain. She logged on the computer as a Domain Admin, opened the Users applet in Control Panel, and went through the New User Wizard, setting up the new user. Windows issued a failure message that told her the user didn't exist and therefore couldn't be made a user on this computer. The last line of her e-mail message asks, “Surely a Domain Admin has the right permissions to create a user, so what’s the problem”?

Can you provide an answer for “What’s the problem”?

==== NEWS & VIEWS

by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

Microsoft Details SP2 Contents for Windows Server 2003, XP x64

Microsoft has finally ended its silence about the upcoming releases of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2, which the company is developing in tandem and expects to ship by the end of the year. According to a posting to the Windows Server team blog by Ward Ralston, Microsoft will ship a single SP2 release that will cover all 32-bit and x64 versions of Windows 2003, Windows 2003 R2, and Windows 2003 for Itanium-based Systems, as well as XP x64.

"Windows Server 2003 SP2 is back to a ‘standard’ service pack from Microsoft," Ralston wrote, noting that the previous SP1 release made "some pretty big changes to the way we do security," and "introduced a cycle of application testing and some compatibility issues." Ralston noted that SP2 will include all previously released Security Bulletin Updates; roll-ups of all individual hotfixes since Microsoft first released Windows 2003; fixes to increase reliability, robustness, and security; a collection of customer-requested features; and features to support Windows Vista.

In addition, Windows 2003 SP2 will offer a few new features, including Windows Deployment Services, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) 2.0, the Scalable Networking Pack, per-port firewall authentication capabilities, and some performance improvements for Windows Virtualization. Some of these features, such as the Scalable Networking Pack and MMC 3.0, are available separately as discrete downloads.

==== EVENTS AND RESOURCES

(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows IT Pro: http://www.windowsitpro.com/events )

Cross-Platform Data Roadshow Oracle professionals will cover key concepts about Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server in enterprise database computing. This event provides invaluable information about the benefits of 64-bit computing on the Windows platform, SQL Server BI for Oracle, high-availability proof points for SQL Server and Oracle, and much more.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqloracle/?code=0802emailannc

Are you protected company-wide against spyware, keyloggers, adware, and backdoor Trojan horses? Test the state-of-the-art scanning engine that uses threat signatures from multiple sources to track down the culprits that antivirus solutions alone can't protect you against. Download your free 30-day trial of CounterSpy Enterprise today!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/download/sunbelt/counterspy/?code=0802emailannc

Did you know that wasteful processes could drive the cost of document management and output to as high as 10-15% of your company's annual revenues? Download this free white paper today and find out how you can use fax solutions to achieve cost control, security and compliance, increased workflow, and more. http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/Faxback/faxing?code=0802emailannc

Learn how to gather evidence of compliance across multiple systems and link the data to regulatory and framework control objectives. View this on-demand Web seminar today!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/bindview/multiregcompliance/?partnerref=0802emailannc

Total Cost of Ownership--TCO. It’s every executive’s favorite buzzword, but what does it really mean, and how does it affect you? In this podcast, Ben Smith explains how your organization can use virtualization technology to measurably improve TCO for servers and clients.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/podcast/hp/virtualization/?code=0802emailannc

Secure Your Online Data Transfer with SSL
Increase your customers' confidence and your business by securely collecting sensitive information online. In this free white paper, you'll learn about the various applications of SSL certificates and their appropriate deployment, along with details of how to test SSL on your Web server.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/thawte/ssl?code=0802featnl

==== TIPS AND THREADS

Tip--Installing disk defragmenter

I've noticed that some PC vendors don't fully install Windows XP on the computers they sell. While walking a client through a list of standard maintenance procedures, which includes running the disk defragmenter regularly, I noticed that the disk defragmentation application that came with the computer hadn't been installed. To install the disk defragmenter, do the following:

1. Open the C:\windows\inf folder (assuming your OS is installed on the C: drive).
2. Find the dfrg.inf file. (There will be two files named dfrg--one with the .inf extension, the other with the .PNF extension.)
3. Right-click dfrg.inf.
4. Click Install.

--contributed by David Chernicoff

Thread: "It's killing me," a reader says in the Windows XP forum. What is he talking about? Find out here:
http://forums.windowsitpro.com/web/forum/messageview.aspx?catid=36&threadid=48548&enterthread=y

==== HOT RELEASE

Thawte

Learn all you need to know about code signing technology, including the goals and benefits of code signing, how code signing works, and the underlying cryptographic and security concepts and building blocks.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/ebooks/codesigning?code=CLIHot0803

==== ANNOUNCEMENTS

(from Windows IT Pro and its partners)

Uncover Essential Windows Knowledge Through Excavator
Try out the ultimate vertical search tool--Windows Excavator. Windows Excavator gives you fast and thorough third-party information while filtering out unwanted content. Visit http://www.winexcavator.com today!

Save $40 off Windows IT Pro Magazine
Subscribe to Windows IT Pro magazine today and SAVE up to $40! Along with your 12 issues, you'll get FREE access to the entire Windows IT Pro online article archive, which houses more than 9,000 helpful IT articles. This is a limited-time offer, so order now:
https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2068uw

==== NEW AND IMPROVED

by Caroline Marwitz, [email protected]

High-Logic's MainType 2.0 is a font manager that lets you preview, install, and manage fonts and browse font collections. An Information pane shows you typographic data about a selected font at a glance, and a Groups pane lets you easily organize your font collection. MainType also shows more typographic data than the earlier version, including Unicode ranges, internal font tables, and kerning pairs, and more font export customization options. The product supports all popular font types, including TrueType, OpenType, Vector, and Raster, and offers full Unicode support. MainType runs on Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT 4.0/Me/Win98/Win95 and costs $40. To download a free trial version or obtain more information, go to http://high-logic.com.

Wanted: your reviews of products you've tested and used in production. Send your experiences and ratings of products to mailto: [email protected] and get a Best Buy gift certificate.

==== CONTACT US

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

==== BY THE WAY

Be sure to add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders and contacts. Take a look at all of our technology newsletters:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/email/

This email newsletter is by the same people who create Windows IT Pro Magazine every month. Check it out!
http://www.winnetmag.com/rd.cfm?code=00ep204xeb
http://www.windowsitpro.com/

==== MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT

You are subscribed as %%$email%%

You are receiving this email message because you subscribed to this newsletter on our Web site. To unsubscribe, click the unsubscribe link: %%UNSUB_HREF%%

View the Windows IT Pro privacy policy at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/aboutus/index.cfm?action=privacy

Windows IT Pro is a division of Penton Media Inc.
221 East 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538
Attention: Customer Service Department
Copyright 2006, Penton Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Visit our sponsors, who bring you WinClient Update for free:

Liquid Machines
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/liquidmachines/rightsmgmt/?code=CLITop0803

IDC
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/microsoft/branchoffice/?code=CLIMid0803

Thawte
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/ebooks/codesigning?code=CLIHot0803

COMMENTARY

- Me and My PDA

READER CHALLENGE

- July Reader Challenge Winners
- August Reader Challenge Contest

NEWS & VIEWS

- Microsoft Details SP2 Contents for Windows Server 2003, XP x64

RESOURCES

- Tip: Installing disk defragmenter

- Featured Thread: "It's killing me--"

- Featured white paper, Web & live events, announcements

NEW AND IMPROVED

- High-Logic's MainType 2.0

- Wanted: your reviews of products you've used!

==== Sponsor: Liquid Machines

Extend Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to support enterprise requirements for information protection, including proprietary business data. http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/liquidmachines/rightsmgmt/?code=CLITop0803

==== COMMENTARY ====

by David Chernicoff, [email protected]

Me and My PDA

About a year and a half ago I wrote about my trials and tribulations with PDAs as I jumped into the fray by purchasing and using a Dell Axim v50. I found that I use the PDA primarily with the GPS add-on for navigation and with Microsoft Reader. (See "PDAs: To Buy or Not to Buy" at http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/45765/45765.html .)

I’m still using the PDA on a daily basis and have managed not to break it, thanks largely to its aluminum RhinoSkin case, which has saved the device from damage even after being dropped (unintentionally) from various heights. Although I purchased the damage replacement warranty from Dell when I bought the device, I’ve not had to use it.

After that column, I got a lot of email from users and vendors who wanted to recommend their favorite PDA application. Although I tried quite a few applications, for me, the PDA is an excellent reference device. I keep spreadsheets, documents, and PDF files on it and on the pair of 1GB Secure Digital (SD) memory cards I keep in the hard case.

When I'm at a client's site, I can access the PDA for notes and PDF versions of manuals for the client’s hardware and applications, and I can answer questions and solve problems without having to dig through stacks of paper copies. For example, I recently needed to manage a client's real estate transaction (a bit out of the ordinary from my usual services), so I kept all the details of the transaction--along with many JPG files of the properties, land maps, and survey documents--on my PDA. Having all the data easily at hand gave me a definite advantage in just about every meeting.

I don’t find the PDA platform to be a very good email device (though it's far better than trying to access email on my cell phone), but I do use the PDA's Wi-Fi capabilities to access Web-based email accounts and to stay in touch with my office and clients when traveling. Wireless hotspots are generally available, so it's not hard to find a place where I can quickly check for high-priority messages or request information.

These days, I generally leave my notebook computer in the hotel room and take the PDA instead. It's become a necessity, like my car keys and cell phone. I keep spare chargers in my cars and my notebook case and use the device, in some fashion, every day.

Branch offices need flexibility and autonomy in implementing IT solutions; corporate requirements require centralized management, security, and compliance initiatives. Learn to resolve these conflicts and reduce your operational costs for branch offices with limited IT resources. Download the free whitepaper today! http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/microsoft/branchoffice/?code=CLIMid0803

==== READER CHALLENGE

by Kathy Ivens, [email protected]

July 2006 Reader Challenge Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our July 2006 Reader Challenge. First prize, a copy of "Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition," goes to Robert Brennan, of California. Second prize, a copy of "Learning Windows Server 2003, Second Edition," goes to Kent Ifland, of Kansas. O'Reilly & Associates Publishing publishes both books.

August 2006 Reader Challenge

Solve this month's Windows Client challenge, and you might win a prize! Email your solution (don't use an attachment) to [email protected] by Aug. 10, 2006. You MUST include your full name, and street mailing address (without that information, we can't send you a prize if you win, so your answer is eliminated, even if it’s correct).

I choose winners at random from the pool of correct entries. I’m a sucker for humor and originality, and a cleverly written correct answer gets an extra chance. Because I receive so many entries each month, I can't reply to respondents, and I never respond to a request for a receipt. Look for the solutions to this month's problem at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=93023 on Aug. 14, 2006, or in this email newsletter.

The August 2006 Challenge:

A reader of one of my books wrote to ask for help. She administers a domain and wanted to add a new local user to one of the computers on the domain. She logged on the computer as a Domain Admin, opened the Users applet in Control Panel, and went through the New User Wizard, setting up the new user. Windows issued a failure message that told her the user didn't exist and therefore couldn't be made a user on this computer. The last line of her e-mail message asks, “Surely a Domain Admin has the right permissions to create a user, so what’s the problem”?

Can you provide an answer for “What’s the problem”?

==== NEWS & VIEWS

by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

Microsoft Details SP2 Contents for Windows Server 2003, XP x64

Microsoft has finally ended its silence about the upcoming releases of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2, which the company is developing in tandem and expects to ship by the end of the year. According to a posting to the Windows Server team blog by Ward Ralston, Microsoft will ship a single SP2 release that will cover all 32-bit and x64 versions of Windows 2003, Windows 2003 R2, and Windows 2003 for Itanium-based Systems, as well as XP x64.

"Windows Server 2003 SP2 is back to a ‘standard’ service pack from Microsoft," Ralston wrote, noting that the previous SP1 release made "some pretty big changes to the way we do security," and "introduced a cycle of application testing and some compatibility issues." Ralston noted that SP2 will include all previously released Security Bulletin Updates; roll-ups of all individual hotfixes since Microsoft first released Windows 2003; fixes to increase reliability, robustness, and security; a collection of customer-requested features; and features to support Windows Vista.

In addition, Windows 2003 SP2 will offer a few new features, including Windows Deployment Services, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) 2.0, the Scalable Networking Pack, per-port firewall authentication capabilities, and some performance improvements for Windows Virtualization. Some of these features, such as the Scalable Networking Pack and MMC 3.0, are available separately as discrete downloads.

==== EVENTS AND RESOURCES

(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows IT Pro: http://www.windowsitpro.com/events )

Cross-Platform Data Roadshow Oracle professionals will cover key concepts about Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server in enterprise database computing. This event provides invaluable information about the benefits of 64-bit computing on the Windows platform, SQL Server BI for Oracle, high-availability proof points for SQL Server and Oracle, and much more.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqloracle/?code=0802emailannc

Are you protected company-wide against spyware, keyloggers, adware, and backdoor Trojan horses? Test the state-of-the-art scanning engine that uses threat signatures from multiple sources to track down the culprits that antivirus solutions alone can't protect you against. Download your free 30-day trial of CounterSpy Enterprise today!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/download/sunbelt/counterspy/?code=0802emailannc

Did you know that wasteful processes could drive the cost of document management and output to as high as 10-15% of your company's annual revenues? Download this free white paper today and find out how you can use fax solutions to achieve cost control, security and compliance, increased workflow, and more. http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/Faxback/faxing?code=0802emailannc

Learn how to gather evidence of compliance across multiple systems and link the data to regulatory and framework control objectives. View this on-demand Web seminar today!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/bindview/multiregcompliance/?partnerref=0802emailannc

Total Cost of Ownership--TCO. It’s every executive’s favorite buzzword, but what does it really mean, and how does it affect you? In this podcast, Ben Smith explains how your organization can use virtualization technology to measurably improve TCO for servers and clients.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/podcast/hp/virtualization/?code=0802emailannc

Secure Your Online Data Transfer with SSL
Increase your customers' confidence and your business by securely collecting sensitive information online. In this free white paper, you'll learn about the various applications of SSL certificates and their appropriate deployment, along with details of how to test SSL on your Web server.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/thawte/ssl?code=0802featnl

==== TIPS AND THREADS

Tip--Installing disk defragmenter

I've noticed that some PC vendors don't fully install Windows XP on the computers they sell. While walking a client through a list of standard maintenance procedures, which includes running the disk defragmenter regularly, I noticed that the disk defragmentation application that came with the computer hadn't been installed. To install the disk defragmenter, do the following:

1. Open the C:\windows\inf folder (assuming your OS is installed on the C: drive).
2. Find the dfrg.inf file. (There will be two files named dfrg--one with the .inf extension, the other with the .PNF extension.)
3. Right-click dfrg.inf.
4. Click Install.

--contributed by David Chernicoff

Thread: "It's killing me," a reader says in the Windows XP forum. What is he talking about? Find out here:
http://forums.windowsitpro.com/web/forum/messageview.aspx?catid=36&threadid=48548&enterthread=y

==== HOT RELEASE

Thawte

Learn all you need to know about code signing technology, including the goals and benefits of code signing, how code signing works, and the underlying cryptographic and security concepts and building blocks.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/ebooks/codesigning?code=CLIHot0803

==== ANNOUNCEMENTS

(from Windows IT Pro and its partners)

Uncover Essential Windows Knowledge Through Excavator
Try out the ultimate vertical search tool--Windows Excavator. Windows Excavator gives you fast and thorough third-party information while filtering out unwanted content. Visit http://www.winexcavator.com today!

Save $40 off Windows IT Pro Magazine
Subscribe to Windows IT Pro magazine today and SAVE up to $40! Along with your 12 issues, you'll get FREE access to the entire Windows IT Pro online article archive, which houses more than 9,000 helpful IT articles. This is a limited-time offer, so order now:
https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2068uw

==== NEW AND IMPROVED

by Caroline Marwitz, [email protected]

High-Logic's MainType 2.0 is a font manager that lets you preview, install, and manage fonts and browse font collections. An Information pane shows you typographic data about a selected font at a glance, and a Groups pane lets you easily organize your font collection. MainType also shows more typographic data than the earlier version, including Unicode ranges, internal font tables, and kerning pairs, and more font export customization options. The product supports all popular font types, including TrueType, OpenType, Vector, and Raster, and offers full Unicode support. MainType runs on Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT 4.0/Me/Win98/Win95 and costs $40. To download a free trial version or obtain more information, go to http://high-logic.com.

Wanted: your reviews of products you've tested and used in production. Send your experiences and ratings of products to mailto: [email protected] and get a Best Buy gift certificate.

==== CONTACT US

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

==== BY THE WAY

Be sure to add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders and contacts. Take a look at all of our technology newsletters:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/email/

This email newsletter is by the same people who create Windows IT Pro Magazine every month. Check it out!
http://www.winnetmag.com/rd.cfm?code=00ep204xeb
http://www.windowsitpro.com/

==== MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT

You are subscribed as %%$email%%

You are receiving this email message because you subscribed to this newsletter on our Web site. To unsubscribe, click the unsubscribe link: %%UNSUB_HREF%%

View the Windows IT Pro privacy policy at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/aboutus/index.cfm?action=privacy