Very interesting post by Kevin Reeuwijk here. I have been dabbling with Windows Server 2008 RTM and Exchange 2007 SP1 lately and had a single server install of Exchange on a rusty old dell laptop just for POC purposes. However, I did not run into the same issues with Outlook Anywhere that Kevin did, because I had disabled IPv6 right in the very beginning since I was trying to enhance the performance of my install on an ancient dell machine.

In other news, my Dell laptop finally managed to stop working. The NIC would misbehave and give itself a 169.XXX.XXX.XXX IP address for no reason. This led me to finally pony up the cash and sign-up for a hosted exchange account with Sherweb. So far the experience has been pretty good except for the initial setup when my domain's MX records had been configured correctly and propagated within the DNS and yet Sherweb's SMTP would refuse to accept my incoming emails with a 550 error. A quick call with tech-support resolved it in seconds ! Kudos to Sherweb !

Long Zheng over at istartedsomething.com has an excellent post about Windows ME, outlining some of the innovative features that shipped with it. He reminds us that, although we never spare Windows ME from all the ridicule, we never acknowledged the new features that shipped with it. Read the whole article here.

Amongst other news, Microsoft officially shipped SP1 for Windows Vista today. Please launch the Windows Update utility from within Windows to download and install Service Pack 1.

Update

• Download the x86 version of SP1 here
• Download the x64 version of SP1 here

Its the season of giving and Microsoft is also doing its share. What with releasing not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 service packs for the 4 flagship products !

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC
[Download]

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC
[Download]

Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
[Download]

Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 1
[Download]

Apart from the service packs, also available is the Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 1

Windows Server 2008 RC1 Enterprise
[Download]

I am sure this is one of the best times for beta testers and other geeks alike ! Merry Christmas !!!

Ok, this is the mother of all dog fooding ever. Microsoft.com is running 100% on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3. Thats a very bold statement from Microsoft, proving the reliability and robustness of Windows Server 2008. For more statistics and numbers, check out Anna Liu's blog posting.

First day of work at Shell Canada along with 95 other co-op students from all over Canada was very interesting. It was interesting to note that my University had the second highest representation after, obviously, U of C. Orientation included an introduction to Shell Canada as well as some bits of information about the recent developments at Shell Canada. This was followed by some corporate security policies session and a magic show by an employee. Yes, you read that right. My supervisor met me over lunch and thereafter she introduced me to my team and my cubicle. Oh yes, that wonderful little corner where I would be spending the rest of my summer. However, it seemed to me that work safety and work ergonomics are a huge concern for Shell. So we were informed about all the safety procedures and fire drills right on the first day. Even the office furniture are top-notch and can be adjusted just about in every way to suit our needs. Desk heights can be adjusted and the chairs are very comfortable. Keyboard and mice had pads so that repetitive strain injuries do not occur. I have a cubicle right next to a huge window overlooking the street, which is very relaxing.

A few things I noticed (being a technological freak). Windows 2000 seemed to be the OS of choice on the corporate desktops along with Office 2000. Security is a HUGE issue and a two way authentication is required for logon to desktops. The desktops themselves are locked down in every way. Software installation is only possible if approved by system admins and are available in the corporate IT catalog. Door passes are required for access to washrooms and elevators.

That’s about it for the first day. I really look forward to working for Shell for the next few months.

While one is connected to a remote machine running Windows XP or Windows Vista through Remote Desktop, the shutdown/restart dialog is unavailable. Instead, a 'Disconnect' button is available. Now, one might actually want to shutdown or restart the remote machine via remote desktop. One simple way to achieve this is by using the shutdown.exe tool available in Windows XP and Windows Vista.

• To restart your remote machine, click on Start/Run and type:
  • shutdown.exe -r -t 00
• To shutdown your remote machine, click on Start/Run and type:
  • shutdown.exe -s -t 00

(Those are zeroes, not the english alphabet 'O')

Thanks to MVP Gary Tsang for asking me this question yesterday, which prompted me to blog about it.