This post was written by Jeff Johnston
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 update can be downloaded free of charge. At 840MB it’s not small, but it can be used to install a fresh copy of Exchange as well as upgrade existing code. Its much-anticipated new feature is something called Standby Continuous Replication (SCR). Exchange Server 2007 SP1 fills in a lot of gaps. For example, POP3/IMAP4 server settings can now be configured from the Exchange Management Console just as before. Upgrading from an earlier version of Exchange can be problematic. The support forums are full of customers who have experienced problems.
Unless you have absolutely no need to be more productive, you want Microsoft’s Office 2007. And thanks to a larger-than-ever portfolio of Office suites at a variety of price points, you almost have no excuse for not jumping on the bandwagon. The new “ribbon”-based UI in Office 2007 is nice to look at. But Office 2007 isn’t just a pretty face. The graphics engine that powers such things as PowerPoint slides and Excel graphs has been extensively updated and modernized, and made common across all applications in the suite. It’s time for an Office revolution.
Although Microsoft’s Windows 7 won’t be available until 2010, a prebeta version is available to developers. At first glance, it appears to be a more advanced iteration of Windows Vista, as per CNET reviews. The boot process is much faster, although this hasn’t been confirmed in a lab. Restore from hibernation appears much quicker. Although it was not available in build 6801, CNET saw the new Taskbar in Windows 7 available in a more advanced build. The new Taskbar uses icons, not the names, across the bottom.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 physical design has matured with time. The noise issues that have long been an annoyance have also been lessened by including a smaller and cooler processor, which reduces fan speeds. The new update also offers the option for users to install games directly onto the hard drive, further reducing the high-pitched sound of the disc drive. Now that Blu-ray has become the pre-eminent high-definition standard for discs, the Xbox 360 has yet to support it, but it still remains an excellent game console with a superior game library and online experience.
Recently, eWEEK Labs took at look at the Microsoft’s emerging Windows security strategy of application whitelisting. The Windows feature, called Software Restriction Policies, or SRP, enables administrators to control whether applications and libraries are allowed to run on a Windows machine based on the path, digital certificate, hash or extension attributes of the executable in question. This feature in Microsoft Windows doesn’t offer the same granularity of control management capabilities as whitelisting options from third-party vendors, but there also are no extra licensing costs and it works well with Windows clients and servers.
Microsoft’s Explorer Mouse deserves attention for its BlueTrack sensor technology that lets you use it on surfaces where other mice fail. Laptop owners, or anyone else who uses a nondeskbound computer, will benefit from Microsoft’s innovative new technology. A mouse pad or a desk blotter will pose no trouble to current mouse technologies. The Explorer Mouse works fine even in a nonstandard location, a reflective kitchen countertop, for example, or on your lap in the living room.