February 11th, 2009

Posted by Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft’s latest Windows deployment guidance for business users has morphed from the overly simplistic “Don’t wait for Windows 7.”

The company’s new corporate advice is more nuanced and more dependent on where users are currently in their deployment cycles. But the bottom-line message is whether you decide to go with Vista or wait for Windows 7 is less important than getting off Windows XP.

When I wrote last week about the pending arrival of the “perfect Windows storm,” some readers claimed I was complicating matters and that the choice of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 was clear-cut for business users.

This week, Microsoft officials themselves admitted that users are confused and looking for guidance as to which Windows client version they should be targeting in their near-term deployments. To try to clarify things, the company is updating its Windows guidance for business users.

In the inaugural post on February 11 on the newly cialis once a day minted “Windows for Your Business” blog, Gavriella Schuster, Senior Director for Windows Commercial Product Management, offered a more detailed check list for business customers who are planning their Windows roadmaps:

• If you are running Windows 2000 in your environment: Migrate your Windows 2000 PCs to Windows Vista as soon as possible. Extended support for Windows 2000 ends Q2 2010, and as an enterprise customer, you may soon find your business’s critical applications are unsupported.
• If you are in the process of planning or deploying Windows Vista: Continue your Windows Vista SP1 deployment. If you’re really in the early stages or just starting on Windows Vista, plan to test and deploy Windows Vista SP2 (on target to RTM Q2 2009). Moving onto Windows Vista now will allow for an easier transition to Windows 7 in the future due to the high degree of compatibility.
• If you are on Windows XP now and are undecided about which OS to move to: Make sure you taken into consideration the risk of skipping Windows Vista, which I am discussing below. And know that deploying Windows Vista now will make the future transition to Windows 7 easier.
• If you are on Windows XP now and are waiting for Windows 7: Make sure you take into consideration the risks of skipping Windows Vista, and plan on starting an early evaluation of Windows 7 for your company using the beta that’s available now. Testing and remediating applications on Windows Vista will ease your Windows 7 deployment due to the high degree of compatibility.

Given an estimated 71 percent of business PCs are still running XP, Microsoft’s advice to upgrade from XP isn’t overly surprising. The biggest competitor to Vista and/or Windows 7 isn’t Linux or Mac OS X; it’s XP.

Schuster said she has been talking to several business users every week for the last couple of months and is hearing the same questions over and over again. Is moving to Vista — with Windows 7 in the wings — futile at this point? Is Vista another “Windows Millennium” — an operating system Microsoft quickly backed and then abandoned, heading off in another direction with Windows XP? If customers already have started Vista deployments, should business customers abandon them and prep for Windows 7 instead?

“I’m not advocating Vista or 7. I’m just saying they should be getting off XP,” Schuster told me when we chatted earlier this week.

Microsoft is retiring XP SP2 support in April 2009; XP SP3 support isn’t going away until 2014. (Microsoft isn’t advising business customers to count on SP3 to extend the life of their existing operating systems. Why patch again an operating system originally introduced in 2001? Schuster quipped. I suggested containing costs might be one reason….) Plus, Schuster argued, a number of app vendors are phasing out support for their XP applications.

“Typical enterprise organizations tend to have between 500 and 5,000 different applications deployed across their environments,” Schuster said. “Users need to find out how long these apps will be supported on XP and when (ISVs) are planning to certify the new versions of these apps on Windows 7.”

In the interim, she said, business users should shell out for MDOP, Microsoft’s Desktop Optimization Pack — a collection of deployment and virtualization tools designed to make running legacy apps and migrating to new OS releases easier. (MDOP is available for purchase by Software Assurance volume licensees only.)

XP users: With IT budgets being slashed, what’s your latest upgrade game plan? Are you going to move to Vista any time soon? Wait for Win 7? Or is it XP SP3, here you come?

Here's another dose of the Opera Web browser for you! If you didn't already know, the people over at Opera recently released the new Opera 9.6 and it's cialis offer now available for download here. Opera claims to be the only browser that comes with everything you need to be productive, safe and speedy while online. Let’s take a quick look at the Speed Dial feature available in the new version. Here we go!

Speed Dial is a new method of quickly browsing to your favorite Web sites. When you hit the New Tab button, instead of the usual blank page, you'll see a 3 x 3 grid. The grid takes up the full screen and it's laid out in the fashion of a telephone dial with numbers from 1 to 9. Each number can be populated with a different URL, selected from either your existing favorites or entered manually. Now, I know you might be thinking that nine speed dials is not nearly enough. Well, lucky for you, there's an easy way to increase the number of speed dials. Let's check it out, shall we?!

1.) Open Opera and go to Help, About Opera. That will open a page that shows the version information, as well as, other useful information about Opera. Check the Paths section and copy the path for the Opera Directory.

2.) Close Opera and paste the path into the Run dialogue box. Hit OK and you'll then see the Opera profile directory.

3.) You’ll see the “speeddial.ini” file in the folder. Open the file in Notepad and add the following lines to the end of the file:

[Size]

Rows=4

Columns=5

In the above code, 4 and 5 are just examples. You can replace them with your desired numbers.

4.) Save the file and open Opera again. Now, you’ll be able to see more speed dials in Opera!

Enjoy it, my friends!

Did you know you can choose to use multiple slide design templates within the same MS PowerPoint presentation?

As I've observed people using PowerPoint, I've noticed they always seem to apply a slide design template to the master, with the assumption it's their one and only chance to make that decision.

But cialis normal dose what if you have a long presentation with some very definite sections and you're thinking that changing the design template might be a good idea? You know, a visual clue that the subject is changing. I know we don't want to go crazy and make each slide different, but do they all have to be the same?

We all would like to think that PowerPoint isn't forcing us into anything, so I'd hope we have some control over the matter as well!

As it turns out, we do have control, so whatever your reason for wanting a design template switch, the big question now is how can you make it happen?

Fortunately, this one is probably easier to accomplish than you may think!

If you're using an older version of PowerPoint, you need the Normal View from the View menu. Now, open the Slide Design Task Pane (the Format menu, Slide Design choice will work).

For all you PowerPoint 2007 users, you're looking for the View tab on the ribbon, Normal choice. To get to your slide design choices, you need the Themes section under the Design tab on the ribbon.

With all of that accomplished, everyone needs to use the Slides tab on the left hand side of the program window to select the slide(s) that will have the Design Template. You can select a single slide or multiple slides with the Shift/Ctrl keys.

Q:
I just set up a wireless network in my home and while I love it, I'm still a little concerned about others being able to use my signal or even hack into my computer. I was told that hiding my SSID will take care of the problem, but I'm not sold on that idea. I'm not even sure what an SSID is or how to hide it. Can you please help me? Thanks!

A:
First of all, I want to welcome you to the world of wireless! I've been using a wireless connection in my home for a few years now and I absolutely love it. I'm sure you will too! And it's very impressive that you're already concerned about your safety when it comes to using your wireless network. A lot of people don't start worrying about that until it's too late, so it's great you're already so far ahead of the game. I think your question will help a lot of other readers out there who are using wireless networks as well. I just love that!

As we all know, when you use a wireless router, there's always a chance that other computers will be able to pick up your signal and use it, without you ever knowing a thing about it. Even more than that, there's always the risk of your computer being hacked into as well. So, what can you do to keep yourself safe when using your wireless connection? Well, the person who asked today's question mentioned hiding their SSID and while that helps, it's not always the best solution. Let's take a look at your options!

To begin, wireless routers are set up to send out a beacon called the Service Set IDentifier (SSID), which is what helps your wireless devices (laptop, etc.) connect to the Internet. The main purpose of the SSID is to broadcast wireless signals and invite available devices within range to connect to them. Now, if a device doesn't know a network's SSID, it will not be able to connect. So, if you change your SSID settings, only the people who know the SSID will be able to connect to your wireless network. That can help keep some of the "outsiders" away.

Now, while hiding your SSID keeps casual users at bay, you could still have trouble with hackers. Unfortunately, a hacker who is determined enough to get into your network will find a way. If they have the right kind of software, they will be able to easily gain access to your computer. Plus, changing your SSID can result in a slower performance and it could take you longer to connect to the Internet. Who wants that?! Luckily, there are a few other things you can do to keep your wireless network as secure as possible. Let's check them out!

For starters, you can change your router's login and password to be different from the default settings. If you're still using the login and password that came with your router, anyone could connect to it, change your settings and even lock you out. You should also change your SSID to something a little more unique. Most routers come with a name of "default," which is very easy for hackers to figure out. You should change it to something a little more meaningful to yourself. Lastly, you should turn on your encryption. If you do that, your router will not give access to any wireless devices unless they can provide the password you specify. It will also encrypt any communication between your computer and your router so that no one will be able to see what goes on. Note: If your router supports WPA encryption, you should use that over WEP, which is an older version.

Doing the three things I discussed above are your best bets for secure wireless networking, but if you still want to hide your SSID, you can do so by following cialis no prescription the directions in your user manual. Every router is different, so your manual should give you detailed directions on how to get the job done. If that doesn't work, you can always contact your ISP for help as well. Either way, it's very important to keep your wireless network as safe as possible. Hopefully one of the above suggestions is just what you've been looking for. Test them out today!

According to Google, a knol is "a unit of knowledge, an authoritative article about a specific topic." The Google Knol service just reached 100,000 articles and it's finally being recognized as a potential cialis news competitor to Wikipedia. If you'd like to learn more, here’s how you can get started reading and contributing to Google Knol!

Reading It

Reading a Knol is simple! All you have to do is point your Web browser to http://knol.google.com and search for whatever you'd like to read about. The search is powered by Google, so you know it’s good!

As you can see, there are a lot of Knols (774) about Barack Obama, ranging from his foreign policies to buying cheap Obama memorabilia. Knols can be written by anyone, so the content varies quite a bit.

Writing Your Own Knol

To write a Knol of your own, go to http://knol.google.com again and click on Write a Knol.

Sign in to your Google account (if you don't have one, you'll need to sign up first).

Click on the Write a Knol button again. You’ll then see the basic structure for writing a Knol. You can choose your license as well, which I think is great! Pick from three Creative Commons licenses (saying that people can use it, but with conditions) or All Rights Reserved (only under limited circumstances can people use it).

Happy Knolling, my friends!