This post was written by Jeff Johnston
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is an excellent tool, despite some of the issues. It really shines with .NET 3.5. There are noticeable impressive improvements in the opening projects. Unfortunately, there were still some issues with performance such as HTML paste performance, ASP.NET refactoring, SQLCE performance problems, XML comments still slow, Plain text editor and memory footprint. IntelliSense uses fairly sophisticated algorithms to show you completions and suggestions. After a while, you come to rely on it and using Notepad is painful.
Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 provides a combination of tools that will certainly cover most of the things small businesses want to do. However, it’s not cheap and it’s Windows-only, with no support for Linux desktops or servers, for example. Handheld devices and virtual machines are also invisible to SCE 2007 — functionality is available, but only in separate System Center products. Still, it’s got a lot going for it and is well worth considering if integrated systems management is what you’re after.
Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 is for right-handers only. The rear thumb button is not ideally placed, requiring you to move your hand to operate it. As far as surfaces are concerned, the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 doesn’t get along with cloth pads as the narrower base can dig into the soft surface, but on hard plastic or a desk it’s smooth as silk. At £44, it’s not exactly the cheapest rodent around, but avoiding RSI is definitely worth it, and the science behind the Natural 6000’s ergonomics appears sound in theory.
Microsoft Windows 7 is shaping up better than many were expecting and, while it’s still early days, this could be a turning point for the modern-day Microsoft. The boot up time has slightly improved for starters, and - thankfully - the hanging around once the Windows desktop appears, before you can actually do anything meaningful, has also been attacked. There are little add-ons such as the snipping tool, which allows you to take a grab of an area you select without having to battle through a graphics program to do so.
Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter received four star rating from reviewers. Its simplicity of setup and use mean you don’t need a computing degree to use it, and its size means it is an unobtrusive addition to the back of your Xbox 360 console. You can play games online, and can download game content to extend the shelf life of those expensive games. You can also download full length films and music videos as well as themes and pictures to brighten up your consoles look. But the price really is too high.
Microsoft’s platform for unified messaging Office Communications Server 2007 is relatively complicated to install. Further integration with external systems is needed to make voice calls using the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). OCS 2007 also has several rather complex dependencies that must be available on your network. For example, you will also need Internet Information Server (IIS) on servers hosting OCS 2007 and an Active Directory (AD) Domain Controller on your network. The OCS Trial package includes SQL Server 2005, but OCS 2007 does not include SQL Server, which must be bought and installed separately.