Lloyd Ketchum - YAB, "Yet Another Blog" : Features

Hardware as a Service - Selling a Lifestyle

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:04:00 GMT

Selling a lifestyle that includes and uses personal computers, provides that computers are delivered as turn-key companions that are connected to a wide range of secure-only communications, personal and team productivity and entertainment services. Hardware as a Service [HasS] based computers are continually connected to proactive service, support and access to solutions which include specific solutions to business and personal information needs. HaaS based systems that underwrite a lifestyle that fully leverages digital technologies, sustain a connection between participants in such a lifestyle and those facilitating it - the computers and their networks simply provide the means, the points of access and the vehicles used. Windows Vista, and the ecosystem that Microsoft has built around it, provides the basis for building HaaS based computers. Apple doesn't and can't. Sun doesn't and can't. IBM doesn't and chose not to. Linux copies and may yet deliver the service.

I get asked a lot of questions and a lot of the questions I get asked are about how to grow a business where there is intense competition and little money available to communicate how a company's products and services are different. Marketing. It has a bad name and for the most part, it deserves it. So often marketing is used to share what might be, or should be rather than what is. Many companies are worried that a marketing campaign won't produce results and won't produce increased sales. Businesses are right to worry, but for the wrong reasons. The marketing isn't necessarily wrong, the products and services are. That's a tough bit of news for many companies to even begin to consider. To be fair, I asked myself the same questions about my own company and I embraced the answers about what we were doing and what follows below, is what we did to make a change - not only in our products, but across our entire approach to business in the technology sector.

Let's look at the personal computer as an example and not how to market it, but what to market - and that drives not the sale of computers, but the delivery and sale of hardware as a service [HaaS] - The Selling of a Lifestyle, which does result in the sale of computers.

For too long, the personal computer has been sold as an appliance and a commodity. The personal computer has been defined by its features, components and its price and none are apparently unique, compelling, or in any way personal. In so many cases, personal computers have evolved in negative ways - they have appeared to be less than secure - no matter what one does to secure them. They have devolved from intensely personal to intensely impersonal, ubiquitous appliances that frustrate as often as they serve.

For nearly as long, service in the context of the personal computer has been relegated to the lowest of priorities and treated as an event and cost that is best avoided and a necessary evil that leaves all involved with a bad taste in their mouths. Computer manufacturers have pushed service out and down to levels that rarely produce positive results - much less a well running computer.

Personal Computing is not about the machine - it is about the person!

The first thing we did was re-focus our attention on the person - the individual using the machine - the why of it and how they relate to others - be they people, or businesses and personal processes. We looked at every user we had. We looked at ourselves. We looked at what they did and what we did and we looked at what they needed and what caused them grief. We looked for all the friction - all the data points where there were collisions, slow-downs, and choke-points. Users, not competitor specifications, drove our products. We reasoned that if we extended the personal computer beyond its specifications and features, and into how it was used, integrated and sustained, that we'd end up producing a far better machine - regardless of what it looked like, or what features it had, or didn't.

By focusing on the person as both an individual and a member of not one, but many organizations and teams, we began to deliver not just computers, but intensely personal experiences - we had invited customers into a lifestyle where relevant information simply exists, or may be had in a few moments - we had brought customers into how we work and live. We had simply shared what we were doing and enjoying. This people centric focus opposite designing and building computers bought us time - time to develop new and more appealing products and new and more powerful services to connect them to. Profits and time were pumped back into not just systems, but the users who had joined us. The lifestyle we had invited customers into continued to grow in both richness and power. The results are computers that are companions and reflections of the people and lifestyles they are and lead. Personal computers are expressions, therefore - of the aspiring creature that owns and operates them.

People who use computers have things they want, but also things they do not want!

The lifestyle, enriched by Hardware as a Service [HaaS] has to be nearly as much about what it is not, as it is. People want email. People do not want SPAM. Period. People do want access to files. People do not want those files to be compromised or infested with mal-ware. Period. People want to freely exchange information and ideas. People do not want those ideas shared, or known to other than those of their own choosing. People want to be secure, but people do not want to feel caged, or limited or isolated. People want to feel as though they are accompanied - they do not want to feel dependent, or vulnerable.

Combining what computer users want and need with what they do not

Again, let's take a personal computer and to it we'll add what users want and take away from it what they do not want - then we'll deliver it and in the next segment, we'll define what one can do with it.

A personal computer nearly always ships with a mail client. End of story. The user is cast adrift and left to their own ends.

Let's take this one example and examine it as we deliver a HaaS based personal computer. We'll assume the computer owner is a member of a small company or organization of some kind.

A HaaS based personal computer has a mail client, too... BUT said mail client is securely connected to a hosted Exchange using Outlook Anywhere and sustains an RPC over HTTPS connection.

The user's system and email are delivered fully configured and ready for immediate use. All mail items, contacts, calendar items and tasks are exactly and fully migrated for them.

The user's email, contacts, calendar items, tasks and notes are always the same - no matter how many devices are connected and no matter where the user and said devices are located.

The user's email is always secure and only encrypted connections are ever allowed to its host network and servers.

The user's email is unlimited - no storage limits apply.

The user may have as many calendars and contacts as they wish and each of these is instantly synchronized with the user's phone.

The user's phone is set up for them and like its parent email, it is secure-only.

The user's mobile email is "Direct Push" enabled and arrives at the user's phone the moment it is received - no on and or off-line, or tethered sync'ing are ever required.

The user's mail account either never, or very rarely receives any SPAM messages at any time, and equally, the user rarely, if ever experiences a false positive.

All user anti-SPAM controls are granular and easy for the user to manage and apply personal settings.

All user email traffic is scanned and filtered for malicious traffic at least four times. No malicious traffic is allowed to reach the user's email account and or supporting systems.

After a period of approximately five (5) days, no SPAM is ever seen by the user - not even in default Junk E-Mail folders.

As new threats emerge, the user is required to take no action of any kind. Dedicated engineers and partners continually monitor and adjust systems in response to threats and threat trends.

Commercial Anti-Mal-Ware software is included with the delivered computer and is updated for the life of the computer [where EOL is assumed to be four full years from the date of purchase].

All mail items, calendars of unlimited numbers and contacts are continuously synchronized with online, secure-only Extranets.

The user, at a click, may connect and sustain a synchronized calendar created in Outlook, or an Extranet with the other.

Any calendar may be shared.

Any contacts list may be shared.

Custom Address Lists, [OL] and domains are supported.

Corresponding UCC SSL Certificates are supplied for the user and the company, or organization.

Any related document, and or document library may be shared with any other authorized user and users may be found from a common, searchable directory, which may be added to by the user.

The user's email is either, or may be [depending upon which phone system they use], fully integrated with Video, Voice and Data.

A secure-only Instant Messaging Client is included and provides immediate access to support engineers.

All of the user's email may be subject to whatever retention policies his company, or organization specifies.

All the user's email is backed up each day and may be recovered - this applies to any single item, or any group of them.

When the user needs assistance, the user may call one number and speak directly with the engineers who built the personal computer by hand and who built and support the servers delivering and sustaining mail.

The user may share the personal computer's desktop with remote engineers - regardless of network and without making adjustments to local or other firewalls.

The user may call any time of day or night and be cared for by the people who designed the computer - not some distant, or removed technician.

When the computer is delivered, the user is provided one on one training by the engineer that built and configured it.

Once deployed, the user is accompanied by the engineer throughout the life of the computer and the engineer, working with others, continues to support the user in the specific context of that user as they relate to their own needs and the needs of their company and or organization.

The above example illustrates only one HaaS based service attending a personal computer - electronic mail

As can be seen, there is quite a difference already, between a computer and a personal computer sold and supported with services baked into it - especially when the services exceed in performance and features a wide range of services users would otherwise have to find and perhaps configure on their own.

The value of a HaaS based computer is magnified when it is repeated. The value of people centric services based computers escalates dramatically when they are delivered in groups. Take a small business with twenty-five people and subject each of them to the HaaS model - benefits are immediate and profound. The value is even greater when one remembers that such a computer is sold with such services as part of its base price - there are no hidden costs.

Going beyond universal messaging

As compelling as messaging and related services are - as life and work-changing as they can be, they are not enough and they are only the beginning in a HaaS based personal computing model. Remember, we're building a personal computer that really does represent the a lifestyle - a digitally enhanced lifestyle.

A great many people would be more than happy with a personal computer delivered with the few services listed above. We weren't.

In the HaaS based computing model we began to sell, we added everything around the computer. We added the network, the managed network. We added backup and recovery services. We added applications development, integration and hosting. We added media and entertainment services. We added every single service one had asked for and then we added one more.

Deploying and Staying

So many personal computer companies hit and run. In a lifestyle company, one deploys and then stays - outside and out of sight - until they are called back into helpdo the next thing. What I mean by this is two-fold, remaining available and remaining aware. When one sells and builds products and services that support a lifestyle, one has to remain available at an instant and one has to remain aware of how businesses and people operate - how for example, a business earns its money.

So once the systems and tools are in place, the real work can begin. When technology companies and the engineers in them learn how people work and play, they can best devise solutions that support the users of their technologies. Those selling computers have to be there for their users and they have to learn how they make their money and how they spend their money. Each new need a customer has is a new opportunity - so HaaS based personal computers have to grow with the users of them.

There is a balance and it has to be maintained and often, HaaS based builders have to start slow, gain trust and respect and then be available. One can't push too hard and one does have to be simply supportive. By this I mean - leave the decision up to the user - unless the user asks you to make them.

Does Apple sell HaaS based computers?

No. Apple does market a lifestyle. If the goals were the same, Apple as a company would be judged to be smarter than mine. Apple wants users to love Apple. I want people to love the computers we make and I want the computers we make to give our users back enough time to love those that really do matter to them - their God, their families and their friends. One must say that as a marketing strategy, Apple's is amazing - it sells the perception of a lifestyle and it attaches enough service to its products to make it work. Apple's great marketing, selling the perception of a lifestyle, is brilliant and it is what is behind Apple's growth - not a bad Vista.

By the way, much of what I have written above is not possible on an Apple - the client OS, applications and tools do not exist and they cannot be scaled, or deployed easily and they cannot be managed centrally.

Vista the HaaS Versus The HaaS Not

Windows Vista and the vast ecosystem that Microsoft not only built, but shared with partners big and small [and tiny, like me], is what makes HaaS and the selling of a real lifestyle possible.

Ingredients List:

Windows Vista Ultimate
Microsoft Office 2007
Exchange 2007
Microsoft Office Communicator Client and Server
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server SharePoint Services
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
IIS 6
BrightStor ArcServe 11r
Expression Web
Visual Studio 2005
UCC SSL Certificate
Premium custom parts
Great customers
Even better team mates

Cheers!

Lloyd

Revenge of the Vista's Update 1

admin — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:22:00 GMT

UPDATED: 29 Jan, 2008

Woo Hoo! Microsoft has begun to produce some compelling material and media designed to educate business owners about the risks inherent to the use of illegal software. They have produced from very slick and informative animations designed to present different scenarios that regretfully, some businesses may find all too familiar.

My favorite so far is called: "Genuine Fact Files: Questionable Consultation"

Quoted from the "Know The Facts" site is a descripton for the animation alerting businesses about deals that are "too good to be true..." I found it especially relevant to many situations we have to compete against. I am really glad to see this kind of marterial out there - it is tough enough competing and impossible to compete with thieves where so many decisions are based upon price.

See,

"Questionable Consultation illustrates the importance of understanding how your business can be adversely impacted by the questionable practices of outside consultants acting on your behalf. If a consultant’s solution sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t be duped by bad advice – be sure you understand the appropriate software and licensing solutions for your business."

It's about time Microsoft did this and helped all of us explain why it is not only right and proper to "keep it legal" but how much more value businesses realize as a result of simply doing the right thing.

I know from my own experience that business owners are more than happy to work with legit service providers selling Genuine and properly licensed software. Not one of them that I have encountered was aware of what was going on and they should - it is their responsibility to know and the time for excuses is at an end.

Get Ready!

Balance is about to be restored to the force...

For over a year now, our industry press and bloggers have been trashing Windows Vista. Some have admitted being paid well to do so, and others have alluded to the reality that they have been offered a lot of money to disparage the new operating system.

That isn't the worst of it. Microsoft Partners, mostly smaller ones - that owe their businesses and livelihoods to Microsoft and the ecosystem that it built around its operating systems and servers, have been far worse. They have been busy trashing Vista, too and some have taken the lowest of low roads and stolen from Microsoft. Some have stolen the truth as well as property. Some have been hood-winking their customers and buying cheap PC's loaded with Windows Vista Basic, or Home Premium and ripping it off and installing less than legal copies of Windows XP Professional. These same partners have then charged the customer for the work - all the while declaring that they are "XP Only" shops, because Vista is "bad."

I've seen it with my own sad, tired eyes. I've heard it with my own ears and it makes me sick. Stealing is wrong, illegal and just as bad as lying - both are acts of thievery - one steals property and the other steals the truth.

Let me say this: "where I see it - the theft - I will act according to the rule of law." So fellow partners, where I move into markets and I can prove what I have written above, count on being called on it - count in being held to account. As necessary and with my own money, I will make our new customers legal and you can bet I will show them how to make Vista and Office 2007 a perfect part of their lives and businesses.

There is change coming and it is coming from business owners and regular people

We have a wide base of professional business users and in each of them we have been deploying Windows Vista Business and Ultimate since its business and general public launch. Windows Vista has been the most reliable and enjoyable operating system we have ever used and our customers have taken delight in using it - so much so, that they, just as we do, miss Vista each time we encounter XP, or any other OS.

Recently, we have moved into new markets - physically. In these new markets we found a mess. People, businesses and systems so under-served and so badly configured and maintained that people had lost faith in computers and digital communications entirely. We found a block of users unwilling to consider what technology can do for them and it took weeks of hard work to get them to even consider the possible benefits of modern, well maintained and integrated systems and software.

We started slowly. We followed through and followed up and in a short while began the slow, methodical march toward real productivity, security and promise - the promise that all things digital can and will deliver to businesses and people.

We built on our base of understanding - the understanding that comes from years of work and participation in the BETA and testing phases attending any new technology and the all too familiar work we invested in the years leading up to the launch of Windows Vista. For us, there were few surprises and for our customers, new and old, there were none. We made everything work.

Making everything work is the key and what a "partner" is supposed to do

Yes, of course there were and are challenges. Users need to be trained. Users need to understand how things work. That is no problem, but a huge opportunity - for the partner in us to earn our pay and earn the trust and respect of the new users we are serving. We do that. We follow up - we persist - we remain available and we train, teach, coach and encourage users to explore all the new operating system can do.

Users are the drivers

Success in this business is not just about decision makers and influence-rs. Success in IT/MIS services is about helping each user - regardless of the tasks at hand. When partners work hard to support every user in a business, they earn the trust and confidence of the user base.

New users of Windows Vista are delighted. When a partner, builder and integrator works alongside the users and delivers a finished product, Vista is allowed to shine and really demonstrate how much better it is. Our users, established and new, have each responded with delight at the new features, performance and capabilities available in the new OS. While they don't see it, I am sure they are happy with the increased security - and great security is transparent in exactly that way. Well prepared and deployed Vista systems do not present User Account Control [UAC] events to users - the systems are already fully configured.

Existing users of XP have had seven years to learn the ropes - are we at all surprised that alone, and on their own, Windows Vista would be a challenge to become as familiar to them? On one's own, of course any such change would be hard. However, with a well prepared partner at the side of the user and small business, Vista and the new Office 2007 suite can quickly emerge as being the truly better versions that they are. Windows Vista in particular, has so much power and baked in features that good partners are more important than ever.

When working with new customers that have never been fully supported, I have seen how disappointed they are that the truth and real benefits of using the new Windows have been concealed from them. Some are quite angry and want to know why the new operating system has been described as it has. I work to steer away from such things, and get the users back onto more positive tracks and get into what they can now do.

Vista Converts

Vista changes people. It changes how they think about a PC. When properly configured and supported, Vista and its users are free of a lot of the worry and concerns they once had. They stop worrying about mal-ware. They understand that "Protected Mode" in Internet Explorer and UAC will at least alert them to dangers they may encounter while working in the cloud.

Partners Matter

A lot of partners are hit and run experts, it seems. They sell and leave. Partners need to learn how to sell and stay - how to commit to the user and how to grow with them. Microsoft Partners have to learn that their users matter more than profits and that business success is a natural by-product generated by simply delivering great services and products.

Partners needed to have done all the hard work necessary to deliver the full advantage present in Windows Vista. Many didn't. Many did what was easy. Some did and do what is unthinkable - they stole. They stole the truth - from users and themselves.

The Revenge of Vista

Make no mistake about it. Great partners - big and small, are delivering great services and products based upon the new Windows and Office. The truth and reality is spreading and fast and people and businesses are ready for change - they are ready for what is next. Vista is next and those partners that have worked hard, told the truth and played by the rules are going to be the winners - right along with the users they support.

Vista isn't just good. Vista is great. It's fast, reliable and easy to use. Vista is sharp - it is so much sharper in appearance than other versions of Windows and OS X that the differences are striking. Sit an OS X user down - sit them down side by side with Vista on one had and OS X on the other - and do a few comparisons. They and you will see how cloudy and fuzzy OS X is and how crisp and sharp Windows Vista is. Show them how much clearer and better defined Vista's fonts are and how much brighter and faster Vista screens are. You and they will be surprised. Show them how much more sense the Windows Vista Explorer is as compared to OS X's "Finder" - do the same opposite XP and you'll quickly see why Vista is so much better.

When one does these few things, and takes the time to show what Vista is all about, it takes only a few minutes and the new Vista user turns on and begins to explore the new Windows. That's all it takes - just a few moments.

So get ready. Vista users are coming and in the hundreds of millions and they are going to have some tough questions for partners and our press. They are going to ask pointed questions about why it has taken so long for partners and the press to tell the truth - they are going to ask why people lied to them.

If you are a partner, be a good one. If you are a user, finding a good partner is easy - ask them what they run - if they are running Windows Vista Ultimate on a PC they built with their own hands, then that is the partner you want to work with. If they start to trash Vista and they don't know why it is better, or recommended, then move on - find a partner with a few cuts on his fingers - they'll be there because his hands will have been in a computer, or server case in the recent past and he'll keep a few nicks on his fingers as a result.

What is so "Ultimate" about Windows Vista Ultimate?

admin — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:29:00 GMT

*Updated*

By now many of you have noted that the Windows Vista Ultimate team has launched a new site: UltimatePC.com

Seems the Ultimate team has been busier than many people thought...

More than anything, the new UltimatePC site communicates that the team is determined to make good on Ultimate Extras. It also suggests that the team is going to be able to build and ship out of band and that they are now freed up to make and deliver some exciting extras and exlcusives - the new name given to offers focused on the flagship version of Windows Vista.

I'm betting that the Ultimate Team delivers and we'll see a great many extras and exclusives over the remainder of the year.

I feel bad for the Windows Vista team in general and the Ultimate team in particular. They built some terrific products that truly are innovative and I think Windows Vista Ultimate specifically, deserves another look. Before getting into what differentiates Ultimate, I want to address what this version is not - Windows Vista Ultimate is NOT about Ultimate Extras. Sadly, and because there aren't many "extras" Windows Vista Ultimate has come be defined by the lack of the extras many assess were promised to them by Microsoft. Microsoft, by failing to deliver significant extras, allowed Windows Vista Ultimate to be defined by the dearth of extras that it does not have, vice the plethora of unique features that it does.

A lot of people have been asking the question, What is so "Ultimate" about Windows Vista Ultimate?

Well, plenty and a good number of the people asking that question are the very people that should be providing the answers to it - you know who you are: IT/MIS professionals, enthusiasts and technology press, pundits and "Ploggers" or Professional Bloggers. press, pundits and ploggers, oh my... no wonder we're all in the dark and under-informed. If you know what makes Windows Vista Ultimate unique, share it - if you don't, you should know. If you should know and you don't, you suck and need to either get your heads back in the game, or get out of it entirely.

I am both none of the above and all of the above - therefore I am very likely least and occasionally, best qualified to answer the question about what is so ultimate about Windows Vista Ultimate... any other business owner will know exactly what I mean by those apparent contradictions - we are what we decide to be; what we decide to pay ourselves for at any given moment - tomorrow I may be a gardener, a poet, or a nightstand. Silly as it may sound, that last sentence says all that needs to be said about what is ultimate about Vista Ultimate - it is all things Windows and what one uses and when is largely a matter of choice - as simple, or as difficult as making a decision about what to do and when - not that many people can actually do that.

Decisions, decisions, decisions... we make them all day and in so many cases, we make decisions, because we have choices - about what to eat, what to wear, what to drive, what to do and yes, about which version of Windows we'd like to use. <not that alternatives to Windows aren't among one's choices, but let's be real, does either Linux, or OS X offer any real choice when it comes to hardware and software options when compared to the vastness of the Windows ecosystem?> Windows Vista Ultimate is about choices and it supports about any decision regarding a modern computer one might make. It best supports our own individual diversity - underwriting and facilitating a myriad of complex tasks and the multi-disciplined digital lives many of us lead.

YOU: Oh shut up and give us the list already, and spare us the wall of useless text - as if context never mattered... ME: and while I'm at it, <talking to myself as though I were talking to you... I think you'd have done a Windows Live Search on Vista Versions by now and found your own list and God forbid, actually explored the OS and made your own...>

ME: Okay, okay, I hear ya... dang, context does matter - or at least it should.

For those with Internet access, that have an inability to use an online search tool, or for those that write, ***, piss and moan about Vista Ultimate that have never actually used the new operating system, here's a list with some notes that lays out exactly what is ultimate about Windows Vista Ultimate editions. I've added links where I assess people may want, or need more information about a particular feature and in many cases, I have annotated what each is used for.

Packaging:

Windows Vista Ultimate retail boxed full and upgrade packages contain two DVDs - one for the 32 bit based version of the OS and another DVD for the 64 bit version.

Fundamentals:

SafeDocs, backup and restore
Scheduled Backups
Network Backups
Shadow Copy Client [this is instantaneous - make any change in a document and one may reverse that change by accessing previous versions] (Home Premium does not have this feature)
Encrypted File System (EFS)
Automated Migration Support
Cached Credential Support (this is not in home premium)
Local Security Policy Manager (this is not in home premium)

Productivity:

Desktop Windows Manager (DWM)
Aero Glass, animations, and visual effects [even over remote desktop connections!]
Productivity Features, rolodex, tab previews, task bar previews
Unlimited Screen Resolution Support
Fast User Switching [FUS]

Communications:

RDP/Remote Desktop (this is not in home premium)
P2P Meeting Place [ad-hoc meetings, people discovery, presentation broadcast] (this is not in home premium)
Windows Web Server [IIS 7] (this is not in home premium)
Windows Fax Client (this is not in home premium)

Digital Media and Entertainment:

DVD Video Authoring (this is not in business versions)
Direct Media Mode
Media Center [including extender support for 5 devices and games] (this is not in business versions)
Multiple Simultaneous Media Extender Support [up to five extenders] (this is not in business versions)
Movie Maker High Definition [HD] Publishing (this is not in business versions)
HDCP HD Content Support (this is not in business versions, or other operating systems like OS X)
DVD Playback without the need for third party software (this is not in business versions)
Advanced Photography Features
Premium Games
Windows Media Player and related [read CODECS] components

Networking:

Number of Supported Network Connections - 10
Domain Join Support (home premium only supports Quattro)
1:1 Network Projection
SNMP Support
Internet Connection Sharing
Remote Differential Compression
MS Rally and LLTD
IPv6 over IPv4 "TEREDO" (use Meeting Space over the Internet without changing a thing on your firewall)

Mobility:

PC-to-PC Synchronization
Mobility Center
Tablet PC Functionality
Auxiliary Display Support with Independent Resolutions
Offline Folder with Client-Side Caching (this is not in home premium)

PC Management:

Subsystem for UNIX-Based Applications [SUA] (only enterprise and Ultimate have this)
Secure Startup [cornerstone] (only enterprise and Ultimate have this)
Single Session Virtual PC (only enterprise and Ultimate have this)
Multi-Language User Interface with Localization [use more than one language at a time without separate installs] (only enterprise and Ultimate have this)
Software Inventory Module
Disable Windows Activation Services [Yes, one can] (enterprise and Ultimate only)
Startup Repair Tool (SRT)

Windows Vista Ultimate Extras:

DreamScenes [and StarDock's DeskScapes]
Premium Games [Texas Hold-em]
Bit-Locker Enhancements
Online Key Management
Language Localization Packs

As is clear to me, Windows Vista Ultimate is more about choices and the decisions based upon them than it is any one thing, or group of things. Ultimate is a premium blend of PC features, providing users with the best of all worlds - media, productivity and management - all in one place and under one operating system. Ultimate is not about extras, but it is about also having extras, many of them - all of them.

Windows Vista Ultimate Challenge

Here's a challenge for all: Find a single operating system that does all of the above [ and I do mean all of it ] out of the box and without third party software or hardware, and post a link to it here. If there is one, we'd all love to know where it is and how we can get our hands on it.

Top Ten Things I Love About Windows Vista

admin — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:18:00 GMT

In many cases the things I love about Windows Vista are not the features that others most often list - they are in many cases, the things that pundits rarely speak to, or that underwrite the operating system's functions in one or more ways. I've provided a link to more information about each item and a brief reason why I like it, or it why it is significant to users. I've also tried to cover related topics in several areas - to provide information for most types of users and engineers.

10 - Windows Vista's Integrity Mechanism Windows Vista includes an addition to the access control security mechanism of Windows that labels processes and other securable objects with an integrity level. Internet-facing programs are at higher risk for exploits than other programs because they download untrustworthy content from unknown sources. Running these programs with fewer permissions, or at a lower integrity level, than other programs reduces the ability of an exploit to modify the system or harm user data files. Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista uses the Integrity Mechanism and it is what is behind IE 7's Protected Mode. But That is only the beginning - ANY developer has access to the tools that make this possible and it gets better, any single process may be executed in this space, or any grouping of them - so the parts of an application that face the Internet should use them. Think of these as objects, or securable objects in MS speak - see, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa379557.aspx also see, http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/IETechCol/dnwebgen/ProtectedMode.asp

9 - User Interface Privilege Isolation (UIPI) prevents processes from sending selected window messages and other USER APIs to processes running with higher integrity. If UAC and Protected Mode are straight rights in Vista's security arsenal, the UIPI is one of Vista's stiff jabs. UIPI continually counters attempts to escalate processes and it keeps bad-guy-code off balance. At the same time, it provides developers with an easy way to check process escalation without burning the user experience. Go here to learn how to use it, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms644950.aspx

8 - Windows Imaging Format I can't say enough good about how Microsoft has made installing and deploying Windows Vista so easy, fast and consistent. (WIM) is a file-based disk image format. WIM files are created with a command-line tool named ImageX. It is officially available in several of Microsoft's deployment tools, such as in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), Windows OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) or in Business Desktop Deployment 2007. A set of public APIs for manipulating WIMs have also been released with Vista, included under WIMGAPI.DLL. Now, this is a big deal and very broad, but to get the best start, go here, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905068.aspx now onto 7 and a WIM related tool most users and all sys admins will love.

7 - User State Migration Tool 3.0 (USMT) If there is a PC tech or network admin out there that does not fall in love with USMT, he is either Latch, or his soul has been taken over by the devil. USMT is amazing. Admins may migrate user files and settings during large deployments of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista operating systems for sure, but for the small tech company or IT/MIS department, USMT allows one to capture and move all user data in one easy whack - to new machines, or for storage and later recovery. Our guys love USMT.

Check it out here, http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/91f62fc4-621f-4537-b311-1307df0105611033.mspx?mfr=true ***Learn to script for it and then mod your scripts and WOW the pants off of customers. USMT can make a harder job easy and look even easier!

6 - Windows Imaging Component (WIC) Yeah, I know, one can download some support for WIC in XP, but... what they don't tell people is that WIC is for everyone and it allows developers with no understanding of image file formats to access a consistent model that automates the delivery of required support, like codecs, from within an application. It allows independent shops to write their own codecs, yet access the platform in the same way well known file types can. Companies like TechSmith who produce amazing products like Camtasia and SnagIT make use on WIC in Vista. We make use of it to ship custom graphing applications and entire digital dashes. Please see, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms737408.aspx

5 - Greatly enhanced support for Non-Uniform Memory Access or Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) No, not the Numa Numa guy on Youtube... Ok, This one seems out there.... but listen up... if you have a multi-core processor, or happier still, two multi-core CPU's in the same machine, then NUMA is going to seem sexier the more you learn about what it does under Vista. Now, before we go further into NUMA, one has to understand that a great many people outside Microsoft evolved it a very long time ago - heavy hitters like, Burroughs Corp. and Unisys - some dating back to 1961 when I was still easy to look at. Under Vista, NUMA support is very smart and it helps manage, or should I say balance performance - the complex relationship between CPU, Memory and the OS systems that manage them. Under Vista, this management and exposed API's is better than ever and it is what we use to make a system run as smooth as silk - no matter what a person is doing.

4 - Transactional NTFS I could have made a list made up of the top ten things I love about Windows Vista's I/O performance, but that might not excite a large number of people - so I picked the one I like the most and the one people will likely notice more than all I/O related Vista goodness. When one says, Transactional NTFS, think Atomicity. This is like the atomic transaction processor which monitors whether database operations all complete, or none complete - in other words, and as a simple example, did a write operation complete? This is very important in Vista as such transactions have been extended to NTFS and it allows devs to monitor whether transactions have been completed. This is leveraged in Vista to allow multiple, simultaneous file transfers to be monitored and managed independently - no more Explorer.exe death in the event one or more transfers dies. Definitely read this blog, http://blogs.msdn.com/because_we_can/

3 - Windows CardSpace (formerly "InfoCard") In Windows Vista, this is the component that provides the consistent user experience required by the identity metasystem. It is specifically hardened against tampering and spoofing to protect the end user's digital identities and maintain end-user control. It is leveraged in so many ways I can hardly count them, but some make using Vista and writing for it not only safe, but a dream for dev and sys admin alike. CardSpace and all that is related in Vista is a big part of how virtual folders are supported and tied to a user, or name space - in fact, all user folders are virtual and they can be moved all over the place and replication set up on them. For a practical way to use what this is all about now, go here and look into Windows Vista Folder Re-Direction http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2007/03/01/ie7-in-vista-folder-redirection-for-favorites-on-the-same-machine.aspx While it does appear that way, "Identities" and how they are managed is behind both CardSpace and things as seemingly unrelated as who owns what folder and where is it, or may it be moved to.

2 - Remote Differential Compression (RDC) I know, it doesn't sound very sexy, but it is. Now, we'll have to go into FRS and DFRS some, but not a lot to get why RDC is so hot. Distributed File Replication and FRS came into near perfection with W2K3 Server R2 - which truly virtualized the name space. So now what to do with it? Anything, from any place - really fast. That is where RDC is so amazing. With it and Vista, one can roam a profile like never before and even the largest of profiles can be managed and only what you need, accessed right now. Spin up your propellers a bit and you'll catch a glimpse of how and why Microsoft's hybrid desktop and cloud based services are going to kick Google in the private parts. With Vista it is possible to roam all over - not just a network, but a planet. See, http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/f77670d4-3bad-4f88-98c8-e9df5f88fee81033.mspx?mfr=true

1 - The Number One Thing I Love About Windows Vista - Microsoft Built It!

I'll explain why this is number one with two words - audio and Video. Audio and Video in Windows Vista are treated in completely new ways. I know there has been a lot of noise about driver coverage in these areas, but perhaps this explanation will help people understand why and where we are headed - but before I get into these two areas as they are enhanced by Vista, let me explain that audio and video are not just features supported in Vista - they are passions shared by Microsoft engineers, executives and their families. I know this to be true because I see it in everything they have ever done and most especially what they did in Vista. Microsoft engineers are just like us - they share the same passions for the same technologies.

Vista Audio - Microsoft kicked off the Universal Audio Architecture in 2002. It didn't begin to materialize in any way as desired until Vista was shipped. The UAA provides a standardized interface which audio devices can follow, ensuring that the device's capabilities will be recognized and used effectively by Windows, without the need for additional drivers or custom control panels - think of what this means... device manufacturers and CE manufacturers of all types, now have an agnostic set of interfaces which will not require new drivers from separate suppliers. This is huge, but I suspect we will not see just how huge until Windows Vista is deployed more widely. Please see, http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/audio/default.mspx

Vista Video - early Nvidia drivers aside, and slow to ship AMD R6xx based AMD 2000 Series Cards excused, video under Vista is more than exciting - it is stunning and will only get better. We can *** about its support for protected content paths - but at least it has such paths! How loud would the complaints be shouted if Vista did not support HDCP Compliant HD Video? Vista does and we use it all the time and it is nothing short of amazing to look at. ***If anyone brings up Apple or the Quartz Compositor, I wouldn't - I'll counter any comparison - so be prepared to get deep into it. There is so much in this one area that no link I can provide here even starts one off well. I'll add some in a later post.

Ok, so there it is, my personal 10 things I love about Windows Vista and why - with Microsoft heading the list - for their passion for all things PC and all that we do with them and with one another. That is the best part for me - knowing that they'll continue to add to it and improve upon it as much for themselves as they do to help their company succeed.

Steve Jobs described Apple as a products company.

Microsoft describes itself as a people centric company and to me that explains why Microsoft's platform is so successful. Steve Jobs focuses on products and how they reflect an image - of himself and his user base. Microsoft focuses on people and building a platform to allow them to do and be their best.