Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part V: Desktop Icons
Once again, it's time to enhance your Windows XP operating system exactly the way you want and without paying a cent on expensive programs that do something so simple that even a kid could handle it.
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26.11.2008 Microsoft 2008: From Desktop to Data Center
Year In Review. Microsoft had a pretty good year, despite the fourth quarter's global economic crisis.
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30.12.2008 Vista SP1 Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 R2 RTM
Since the introduction of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, the Redmond company has sold in excess of 10 million units of the package of solutions, and on September 15, the R2 version of MDOP 2008 was released to manufacturing.
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16.9.2008 Longhorn Server to be christened Windows Server 2008
To next to no one's surprise, Microsoft is going to christen Longhorn Server "Windows Server 2008." And it might do so as early as next week to coincide with the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles.
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10.5.2007 New Windows Server 2008-Based Server Products Available
Windows Essential Server Solutions are basically designed as a bundle of SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008, along with additional Microsoft technologies, set up as an all-in-one IT offering for small and midsize customers.
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13.5.2008 An Introduction to Windows Server 2008 Server
Server is a new installation option that was introduced in Windows Server 2008. It provides the ability to install and configure a trimmed-down version of Windows Server 2008 which is designed to perform only certain server tasks.
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9.6.2009 Windows Server 2008 Is 45 Times Faster Than Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, is no leas than 45 times faster than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003, in terms of network transfer speeds.
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22.11.2007 Windows 7 Server vs. Windows Server 2008 SP2 Performance Comparison
Its that time again! Microsoft traditionally doesnt allow the benchmarking of its products as long as the software is still in development, but both the Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009.
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18.8.2009 Windows Server 2008: Need to Know
After many months of waiting, Microsoft finally released the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008 (previously codenamed "Longhorn"), a major milestone pre-release version of the next version of Windows Server.
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31.7.2007 SQL Server 2008 CTP3 available
Finally, another version of SQL Server 2008 has been launched and is available for download.
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29.6.2007 What will run on Windows Server 2008 and when
Now that Microsoft has released to manufacturing Windows Server 2008, the next obvious question is which applications will run on it and when?
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4.2.2008 SQL Server 2008 CTP Released
Microsoft on Monday released the first community technology preview of SQL Server 2008, the official name for what was initially codenamed "Katmai." The announcement was made here at the Microsoft TechEd Conference in Orlando.
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6.6.2007 SQL Server 2008 gets a due date
Even though Microsoft is launching SQL Server 2008, code-named “Katmai,” in February 2008,
the SQL Server 2008 code won’t be released to manufacturing until Q2 2008.
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12.7.2007 Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Download
Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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5.9.2007 Windows Server 2008 RC0 Downloads
Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility and reliability of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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26.9.2007 Users may need Vista to make most of Server 2008
Companies installing Windows Server 2008 may have to buy extra Microsoft software, such as Windows Vista, to use more advanced features, analyst firm Gartner has said.
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3.11.2007 How to Bypass Windows Server 2008 Activation
In Windows Server 2008 (and previous Microsoft operating systems) you must activate your computer in order to use it legally.
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9.3.2008 Windows Server 2008 Unleashed Promo
Thanks to dhan for posting about this in our Back Page News section. After the embarrassing Vista SP1 promo posted here earlier this week, it seems the sales team have got their act together and released a really cool promo for Windows Server 2008, called "Windows Server 2008 Unleashed".
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18.4.2008 Previewing Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft seems like the most unlikely company to ship products that really support Enterprise 2.0. After all, the company is the poster child for packaged software.
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13.6.2008 SQL Server 2008 Has Been Released to Manufacturing
SQL Server 2008 was launched on February 27, 2008 alongside Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, but the platform was only released to manufacturing on August 6, 2008, and is available for download only to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
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7.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives
What do you do with a blog post that is so messed up that you cant even go in and edit it in order to fix it? Thats my dilemma with my post from August 15 about Microsoft skipping over Windows Server 2008 R2 and proceeding direct to Windows 7 Server.
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18.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 revealed
Microsoft announced the second release of its Windows Server 2008 operating system at its Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles this week.
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31.10.2008 Windows Server 2008 Foundation Launched
Today Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Server 2008 Foundation. For small businesses with 15 or fewer users, Windows Server 2008 Foundation puts the reliability, security and manageability of the Windows Server platform within the reach of all businesses at an affordable price.
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1.4.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 SCONFIG
SCONFIG is a command line tool designed to streamline the work of system administrators that work with core deployments of Windows Server 2008 R2.
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8.7.2009 Windows 7 RTM Icons Pack
Here is a complete set of Windows 7 Icons extracted from Windows 7 RTM (Build 7600.16385).
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27.7.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 planned for 2009....
Microsoft is sticking to their promise of delivering a minor release after a major Windows Release.
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16.5.2007 Top 10 New Features in Windows Server 2008
There are a myriad of both subtle and fundamental differences in the basic architecture of Windows Server 2008, which could dramatically change not only the way it's used in the enterprise, but also the logical and physical structure of networks where it's the dominant OS.
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25.5.2007 Microsoft.com runs on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3!
this great story just arrived my inbox: "...were extremely proud to announce that the www.microsoft.com site is running 100% on our next generation web platform!!"
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14.6.2007 Windows Server 2008 launch set for February
Confirming what many had expected, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that the next version of its server operating system, Windows Server 2008, won't formally launch until next year.
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10.7.2007 FTP7 for Windows Server 2008 RC0 is released!
Today Microsoft released the newest version of our FTP server for Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0)!
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27.9.2007Shipping Seven: The Registry
Could the registry be replaced? Sure, in software, pretty much any change is possible.
In practice though...If you were to
replace the registry, you would end up with something that pretty much looks exactly like the registry.
Go take a look at all the
programs on your hard disk that use the registry APIs in
in advapi32.dll...
winbeta.org - 16.01.2008
Using Windows Server 2008 as a SUPER workstation OS
Vijayshinva Karnure: Windows Server 2008 is the best OS to be released till date from Microsoft's stable. And the moment I got hold of the RTM build
I could not resist installing it on my workstation. I always prefer running a Server OS on my workstation... I have been running Windows 2003
disguised as XP (with all the themes and stuff) all these days.
So here is my tale of how I went about setting up Windows Server
2008 to look and fell like its desktop counterpart Windows Vista.
winbeta.org - 12.02.2008
How to: Create custom wallpaper collections in Windows 7
Do you love customizing your Windows desktop? If you do, you'll love this trick! By default, Windows 7 includes several locations to choose
pictures and desktop backgrounds from, such as Windows Desktop Backgrounds, Pictures Library, Top Rated Photos, and Solid Colors. In this article, I
will walk you through the process of creating your own wallpaper collection through the registry, and how to customize it to your liking. This process
will help you categorize and sort your wallpapers efficiently, and allow you to use a mix of categorized wallpapers with Windows 7's new automatic
background shuffle without the need to lump everything together. Disclaimer: The steps in this article involve modifying the Windows registry.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 28.07.2009
Using Windows Server 2008 as a SUPER workstation OS (Continued)
Vijayshinva Karnure: This is a continuation of my previous post Using Windows Server 2008 as a
SUPER workstation OS
Here are a couple of things I missed in my previous post...
winbeta.org - 20.02.2008
Windows Server 2008 is 20% faster than Vista
It seems Microsoft may have a successor (or replacement) for Vista after all and it’s already been released. Windows Server 2008 isn’t
easy to configure as a desktop operating system but when done correctly can be 20% faster than Vista while retaining most of the same features.
Windows Workstation 2008 is not a product sold by Microsoft and must be configured from a copy of Windows Server 2008. It seems this version
of Windows lacks the “bloat” that is part of Vista. However, I am not sure what the author is referring to (but is likely talking about
unnecessary services). Of course this version of Windows was designed with developers in mind who covet speed above all else. Workstation 2008
includes IIS and Hyper-V for creating virtual machines.
A Microsoft
employee and third party website have created tutorials on how to
use Windows Server 2008 as a desktop operating system. This is what I’ve been referring to as Windows Workstation 2008. Keep in mind that this
will have the same driver problems as Vista does, meaning, if a Vista driver doesn’t exist for a piece of hardware you still won’t be able
to use it with Server or Workstation 2008.
neowin.net - 12.03.2008
Windows registry forensics guide: Investigating hacker activities
When analysing a compromised Windows system, investigators and system administrators can glean enormously useful information about attackers' actions
by looking through the Windows registry, a hierarchical database storing tens of thousands of settings on a modern Windows box. Whether an outside
attacker compromised the box, an inside employee engaged in nefarious activities, or malware inexplicably infected the machine, the Windows registry
contains wonderful gems of information for investigators. In this tip, we'll look at what information investigators can gather about user activity
via the registry. Next month, we'll focus on how investigators can pull useful registry information associated with the overall operating system.
winbeta.org - 06.06.2008
Insomnia-causing Hyper-V
Daniel Oxley: I am in Seattle at the moment at an internal Microsoft conference. Yesterday I attended a presentation by one of the product managers
for Hyper-V where he really stressed a point that people ask me all the time, he also explained to everyone the reasoning behind the decisions made.
The 'issue' people have is regarding typical laptop functionality that is lost when you enable Hyper-V on a laptop with Windows Server 2008
installed. Basically, when you enable Hyper-V on a laptop you lose the Sleep and Hibernate power features that you had before enabling Hyper-V. These
features completely disappear when you install the role and you cannot re-enable them, nor hack the registry in order to get them back; Windows
Server 2008 is pretty much just told to forget all about these power-saving features. So, when you close the lid of your laptop nothing happens.
When you battery runs out of power the machine will shutdown or turn off, there is no gracefully power down into hibernation mode saving your desktop
session and everything else that you were doing at the time.
winbeta.org - 13.02.2008
Add-In: AutoExit 2008 R2 for Windows Home Server Beta
Asoft are seeking beta testers for a limited beta release of AutoExit 2008 R2 for Windows Home Server Beta.
AutoExit is a very
popular, highly rated add-in for Windows Home Server which allows remote administration (Shutdown, reboot, message or open a Remote Desktop session)
of any home computer attached to your home server from within the Windows Home Server Console, as well as Wake on LAN functionality.
winbeta.org - 28.05.2008
Microsoft: Server version of Windows 7 this year
Ina Fried: Windows Server boss Bill Laing said in an interview Friday that the server version of Windows 7 will ship this calendar year.
Using a little bit of deduction, I'd say that means Windows 7 continues to be tracking ahead of schedule. Although Laing's comments referred to
Windows Server 2008 R2 and not to the desktop version, server products traditionally ship after desktop operating systems based on the same code base,
owing to greater testing needs.
winbeta.org - 04.04.2009
Server 2008: The Windows Workstation we always wanted
Mary Jo Foley: As discontent over Windows Vista (with or without Service Pack 1) continues to
swirl, Microsoft is gearing up to launch on February 27 the “other” Windows: Windows Server 2008. Even though it is built from the same
core as Vista, Windows Server is different from Vista in a number of ways, from its role-based configuration options, to its built-in hypervisor.
Guest blogger Jason Perlow (of asbestos-underwear fame) has been an
advocate for Microsoft making Windows Server 2008 available as in workstation/desktop form. Like the old Windows NT and Windows 2000 Workstation
products, a Windows Server 2008 Workstation would be a form factor for power users who don’t need all the Vista desktop eye candy, but care more
about manageability and performance.
winbeta.org - 26.02.2008
VeriSign Raises .com, .net Registry Fees
VeriSign said late Thursday
that it would raise the
registry fees on both .com and
.net domains October 15 by as
much as 10 percent. The
increase is the first in eight
years, the company says...
betanews.com - 06.04.2007
Intel: Desktops won't overpower servers
Although desktop PCs equipped
with quad-core processors can
now handle certain workloads
such as digital animation,
previously carried out on
server farms, they will not
replace server farms.
Patrick Liew, Intel's
country manager for Singapore,
told ZDNet Asia that while the
performance gap between server
farms and desktop PCs is
narrowing due to stronger
computing ability of
"mainstream" quad-core
processors, desktop PCs will
not replace the need to build
server farms.
Server
farms or clusters are
typically built to handle bulk
computing for certain
applications or tasks that
cannot be handled by one
machine, such as Web hosting
and high-volume data churning.
..
winbeta.org - 25.07.2007
Will Vista and Windows Server 2008 really be better together?
Microsoft doesnt trot out its old Better Together marketing campaign much any more. But Better Together will be one of the messages Microsoft will
be playing up in February, as it marches towards its big-bang Windows Server
2008 launch.
Microsofts premise is that the combination of Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 on the desktop and Windows Server 2008
on the back-end will be preferable to running either product by itself.
As James Senior, a Microsoft Technical Specialist, noted
on his blog recently, Microsoft is emphasizing that Vista and Server 2008 came from the same core. Senior points to a Windows Server 2008 Overview
article that explains the shared heritage of the pair...
winbeta.org - 30.01.2008
How to uninstall VS 2008 Beta 2 before installing the final version of VS 2008
Buck Hodges: There have been a few questions about how to correctly uninstall all of VS 2008 Beta 2 in order to install the final version of VS 2008.
Scott Guthrie posted the steps for doing this earlier today. A subset of this list
would apply if you have installed Team Foundation Team Explorer 2008 Beta 2, rather than the full VS 2008 with Team Explorer.
At
the end he recommends rebooting after removing everything and before installing VS 2008. From my experience, that's good advice. The only thing
additionally I've typically done after uninstalling a non-RTM build is to delete the VS 9.0 registry hives (HKLM and HKCU) and the VS 9.0 directory
under "Program Files." Of course, there are no guarantees with this, editing the registry may render your machine nonfunctional, etc., so be
careful and back up your data.
winbeta.org - 21.11.2007
New Server and Tools Products Mark a Milestone on the Road to Dynamic IT
Q&A: Microsoft Senior Vice President Bob Muglia talks about todays launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008, and some of
the key trends that will shape datacenters in the next five years...
microsoft.com/presspass - 27.02.2008
What is the WINSXS directory in Windows 2008 and Windows Vista and why is it so large?
Joseph Conway: A commonly asked question among people looking at a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 installation is why is the WinSxS folder so
big?! To answer that question I need to first describe componentization, and how components are managed in Windows Vista.
One
of the largest changes between previous versions of Windows and Windows Vista was a move from an INF described OS to componentization. A component in
Windows is one or more binaries, a catalog file, and an XML file that describes everything about how the files should be installed. From associated
registry keys and services to what kind security permissions the files should have. Components are grouped into logical units, and these units are
used to build the different Windows editions...
winbeta.org - 17.09.2008
Windows "Workstation" 2008 Clobbers Vista in Benchmark Testing
Randall Kennedy: Just when you think you've got it all figured out, along comes another curve ball to keep you guessing. This time around it's a set
of new benchmark test results from our old
friends at the exo.performance.network. Apparently, these guys heard about the brouhaha surrounding some Microsoft's
engineer's blog post about using Server 2008 as a "Super Workstation OS" and decided to put the concept to the test. They loaded each
OS onto identical hardware, tweaking the Server implementation to make it look and act like Vista. Then they tested them under a variety of
productivity and multitasking scenarios.
The net result: Windows "Workstation" 2008 (i.e the tweaked Server 2008
installation) trashed Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, outscoring its desktop sibling by as much as 17%.
You can read all the
gory details over at the exo.blog site. Suffice to say that there's a new option for
power users who are fed-up with Vista's sluggishness: Windows Server 2008, or as I'm now calling it, "Windows NT 6.1 Workstation."
winbeta.org - 06.03.2008
Group Policy Settings Reference Windows Server 2008
This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the Administrative template files (.admx/.adml) delivered
with Windows Server 2008. The policy settings included in this spreadsheet cover Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
Professional, and Windows 2000. You can configure these policy settings when you edit Group Policy objects (GPOs).
In addition,
this spreadsheet includes the following categories of security policy settings:
- Account Policies (Password Policy, Account
Lockout Policy, and Kerberos Policy)
- Local Policies (Audit Policy, User Rights Assignment, and Security Options)
- Event Log
- Restricted Groups
- System Services
- Registry
- File System policy settings.
Note: This
does not include security settings that exist outside of the Security Settings extension (scecli.dll), such as Wireless Network extension, Public Key
Policies, or Software Restriction Policies.
winbeta.org - 06.02.2008
SQL Server 2008 to be Released Months After Launch
Microsoft is taking a new
approach to product launches
it seems, announcing it would
release SQL Server 2008 to
manufacturing in the second
quarter of 2008, months after
the product is supposed to
officially "launch"
alongside Windows Server 2008
and Visual Studio 2008 on
February 27...
betanews.com - 13.07.2007
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Web Edition Overview
With the launch of SQL Server 2008, a new SQL Server 2008 Web Edition SKU is being launched in SPLA and other Volume Licensing programs
(Open/Select/EA)
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Web Edition is specifically designed for highly available Internet facing web serving
environments for the next generation Windows Server 2008. With more robust capabilities than previous versions of SQL Server, SQL Server 2008 Web
Edition provides what you need to help support low cost, large scale highly available web applications or hosting solutions to your customers.
winbeta.org - 11.07.2008
