Web Edition

I’ve been doing some investigating into some questions I’ve had for a while around Windows Server 2008 Web Edition. Web Edition is a basic version of Windows Server that is really only designed to run web sites. It won’t allow the installation of high end database applications and also has certain memory restriction. The good thing is that it is cheaper than Windows Server Standard given it is designed for a single purpose.

I have always wondered –

Q1. Will Windows SharePoint Services run on Windows Server 2008 Web Edition?

A. Yes it can.

Q2. Will Search Server Express 2008 also run on Windows Server 2008 Web Edition?

A. Yes it can.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a screen shot of my test machine.

The top windows shows Search Server, the middle window shows Windows SharePoint and the lower window shows the system is running on Windows Server web.

My preference is normally to run Windows SharePoint and Search Server Express on a separate machine for performance and reliability reasons. That would always require an additional Windows Server license (typically Windows Server Standard). Even though both Windows SharePoint and Search Server Express are free it makes doing things this way pricey. However, now that I know you can use the Windows Server 2008 Web Edition it significantly reduces this price, making it a very viable option in my opinion.

So what you could provide is a stand alone server running Windows Server 2008 Web Edition, Windows SharePoint and Search Server Express. Not only does that give you a great intranet solution but it also provides a search solution for all the documents and public folders in your network. If you then install this configuration on a virtual machine (i.e. no hardware cost) all you are up for is the cost of Windows Server 2008 Web Edition. That’s a a lot of functionality for very little cost.

So, if you are thinking about a stand alone SharePoint / Search Server Express server you can definitely achieve that using Windows Server 2008 Web Edition.

Much better Microsoft

At last, finally a decent Microsoft ad! Strangely enough it points out the bleeding obvious (that Mac’s are more expensive than PC’s) but maybe that’s what Microsoft need to do more of.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&ifs=true&fr=msnvideo&mkt=en-US&from=writer

Sure it is controversial, but hey that’s the best way to get people to listen isn’t it?

Yawn

Microsoft has release Internet Explorer 8. Does it really matter anymore? Are many non-techie people actually going to download it? It has some improved features, especially around security but is it really a must have any more? Unless there are some killer features most people are probably going to stick with Internet Explorer 7, until they get a new PC.

Microsoft also has a pretty lame set of videos on its Internet Explorer 8 site. These are no where as good as the propaganda that Apple turns out with its ads. The difference to me really goes to heart of the problem at the moment with Microsoft, they just aren’t in tune with the market and the most likely reason is that they are trying to be everything to everyone. I suppose that is part of become a ‘middle-aged’ company. It would be much better if Microsoft stuck to a core range of products but they need to squeeze revenue out so it is easier to do this across multiple markets. So in some sense the strategy makes sense. It would make more sense if they wanted to be more like Apple to get a new advertising company because this latest video and the Seinfeld video haven’t received a very good reception at all, with which I agree.

In all honesty I don’t use Internet Explorer all that much these days as Firefox, for me, is just better. In all honestly, I think people simply use the browser that comes with their computer. If is Internet Explorer, they used that. If it was Firefox they’d use that and so on. Most people want to get access to the Internet and don’t really care how that happens. So another version of an Internet browser is going to get a decidedly ‘Yawn’ reception in my books.

Windows 7 features

I’ve been reading Jeff Alexander’s post about the different versions of Windows 7 that will become available.

I gotta admit that I am disappointed that BitLocker to Go is only available in the Enterprise edition. BitLocker is the ability to encrypt your whole hard disk. BitLocker to go allows you to encrypt a USB key. It is my understanding that once you have encrypted a USB key using BitLocker to Go it can be read by other Windows 7 machine but you can’t write back to it.

I know that Microsoft has developed these offerings after consultation with customers but I fear it is more about optimizing returns that anything else. I would think it is simpler to have 2 versions, one for home use, one for business use. I think too many versions simply confuses people and actually retards sales but I understand in this day and age where more and more of our computing is moving to the ‘cloud’ a number of ‘cheaper’ alternatives needs to be offered.

Windows 7 will sell well due to the pent up demand of people holding off going to Vista. Windows 7 has a significant positive buzz around, which hasn’t happened for a long time. It is also much quicker and appears to be less resource hungry. My guess for availability? August, September this year. I reckon we’ll see a release candidate in April and the final version in late August.

So in the meantime get familiar with the version and their contents.

Chatswood course

I forgot to let people know that I’ll also be running my networking basics course at Macquarie Community College Chatswood campus tomorrow (Tuesday 17th February). It will run over 3 consecutive Tuesday nights and give you the fundamentals of networking computers together including information about TCP/IP, routers, firewall and the like.

Information about the course, including enrolment (it is never too late) can be found here:

http://www.macquarie.nsw.edu.au/index.php?action=course&course_action=detail&code=109C103

I look forward to seeing you there.

Networking course

My Networking Basics course starts this Thursday at Macquarie Community College at Carlingford and runs over the next three weeks. This course will give you a understanding of things such as TCP, IP addressing, switches, wireless, routers, firewalls and more. It is aimed at those who little of no networking experience and want to better understand the technology of getting machines to talk to each other.

You can find more information, including enrolment details here:

http://www.macquarie.nsw.edu.au/index.php?action=course&course_action=detail&code=109M301

The course will also give you hands on experience with the technology in a computer lab and comes with a comprehensive set of course notes.

MSRT

When you do a Microsoft Update every month (I hope you do!) then you’ll find that one of the items listed is the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT for short) update. Now for months I’ve simply applied the update as a normal part of the process not even caring what it does.

So I did some research and found that Microsoft actually have a site dedicated to telling you what the MRST is all about. You’ll find it at:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

and as the site says

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks computers running Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom—and helps remove any infection found. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed.

Now, it is updated monthly to include checking for all the newest nasties. I’m not quite sure how it exactly works but it sits in the background monitoring for rogue software. If it detects any you are informed at the next login. It is my understanding that the tool actually does a scan once a month when it is updated. More technical information on the tool can be found at:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=890830

You always gotta wonder what something like this is doing sight unseen in your machine. Is it running? Is it doing anything? Well, as it turns out you can run the tool from the command line. Simply press the Start button, select the Run command from the menu and type MRT and press enter. After a few welcome screens you are able to select from a number of scan options.

Select the scan desired and press Next.

When it’s all done you should hopefully see

Now the tool doesn’t replace anti virus/anti spyware software but it is worth ensuring that you update your system every month via Microsoft Update to ensure you get this handy free utility.

Change is bad

So I’ve been looking at IE8 which comes with Windows 7. Now all this is still in beta and may be subject to change but I can’t comprehend why Microsoft has done the following.

To run Windows Update in IE7 in you went Tools | Windows update like so:

But now in IE8 Windows Update doesn’t live under the Tools menu

It live under the safety menu

I’ll tell you one thing, it is changes like these that really confuse and annoy the average user. It may make sense to the programmers in Redmond but to your average IE user it doesn’t. You would also think that to encourage people to run Windows Update you’d leave the option to do so in the same location, but no.

Sure, it may be a small thing but it makes it just that little bit harder and more frustrating for users. That is going to translate into reduced product acceptance and greater frustration, not to mention the extra support. I can just hear the support calls now – “Are you running IE8 or IE7. Ok, is Windows Update under the Tools menu? No? Oh well that means ….”

It really doesn’t make things easier in my books!