Recently, I wrote an article regarding the idea of Skipping Windows Vista.

Since then, what was once one of many possible ideas has built momentum toward becoming the plan dictated by conventional wisdom.

While this bandwagon may have already gained too many passengers and too much speed to stop now, one can’t help but wonder exactly what the problem is with Vista. Ask around and you will get the same answer over and over.

"People hate Vista."

As someone who continues to analyze the question of Vista in the context of the value of doing a workstation OS migration along with a server OS migration (XP to Vista and Server 03 to 08), I know that the success of any project is often determined by the reactions of users. So, what is it exactly, that people hate about Vista. Here are the Top 10 things people hate about Microsoft’s Windows Vista.

Top 10 Things People Hate About Vista

1. We Fear Change

A great deal of the griping about Vista comes from the simple fact that it is different. Users complained bitterly about “losing” files which were simply placed in a different location. Let’s face it, putting anything and everything inside My Documents was starting to wear out its welcome, and while power users may have been well aware that My Documents was under the Documents and Settings folder, not everyone really ever grasped that. The new file locations make sense once you are willing to learn something new.

As we learned last week, NAS provides hard disk space that attaches to a data network and works as a file server

We took a closer look at FreeNAS — a free open source NAS software that supports CIFS/SB, FTP, NFS, RSYNC SSH, AFP, Unison, UPnP, ISCSI, local and Microsoft Active Directory authentication, SoftRAID, disk encryption, and has a WebGUI interface.

If you haven’t already, check out what FreeNAS is all about and learn how to install it in Part 1 of Build Your Own Open Source NAS Device Using FreeNAS.

Now let’s get to the good stuff!

Setup Disks in FreeNAS

Now that the installation is complete and we have the general server settings done, we need to get disks setup so our NAS can fulfill its primary purpose in life.

1. Select Disks and then Management from the top menu.

With the New Year upon us, I’ve decided to start a new tradition on TST — Friday Link Love.

Everybody’s doing it, so why not us?

Today I only have a few good links for you that I happened to stumble upon in the past few days (it’s been kind of busy with the holidays and all), but I promise next time I will have more.

Feel free to share your own good finds, as long as they’re IT or certification related, in the comments.

Friday January 2nd 2009 Link Love

• Petri IT Knowledge Base has posted a handy article on how to use the free Outlook Inbox repair tool called “scanpst.exe” to repair corrupted or damaged personal folder files. You can check it out here: Repair PST files with scanpst.exe




• This How-To Geek post isn’t new, but when I saw what an amazing resource it was I couldn’t pass it up — so here it is: all the Vista how-tos you’ll ever need including tips on desktop customization, managing files and folders, network, internet, security, system administration, and many other tips and tricks.




• For all the XP fans and those of you who aren’t ready to move on to Vista just yet, I’ve got some good news Windows XP just got another life extension. Check it out.




• Since we’re getting ready to release our first SQL server training I wanted to give you all a heads up. Take a look at the 31 best blog posts on SQLBlog for 2008

And now let’s move on to our best blog posts of 2008!

Office Live Workspace may not be the online version of the Office applications that you and your clients might be looking for, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t substantial value there.

As a small business owner, writer and consultant, I spend a lot of time inside Microsoft Word. Depending upon the client, I may never set foot on site, may spend a great deal of time on-site, or may switch on and off between working at the client location and working at home, and recently, work both on-site at multiple locations. Either way, I need to be able to access my documents anywhere, anytime, and so do most of my clients.

While there are several ways to accomplish such accessibility, one method that has been gaining traction lately is storing those documents out on the Internet somewhere. This is often referred to as “the cloud.” Windows Live Workspace is one of the cloud based solutions. Unlike other cloud based solutions, however, this one ties right into the applications you already use.

At first glance, it appears that Office Live Workspace is nothing more than yet another way to store and share your documents online. That is true, unless you download and install the Office Live add-in. Then, things change dramatically. The Office Live add-in is a free extension for your Microsoft Office suite that you have installed on your computer. What it does, is integrate the Office Live Workspace into your MS Office software. For example, on my desktop computer, I have Office 2007 Professional installed.

Part 2: Microsoft Certified Professionals – still relevant after all these years

In this multipart series of articles, I review the recent history of the Microsoft Certification Program from the NT4 days right through to its current revamp with the releases of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Additionally, we’ll review some of the corporate and political atmosphere in which the certifications both flourished and were hamstrung at the same time.

Part 1 – The Microsoft Certified Professional – from humble beginnings took a look at some of the back history of the MCP program up to the changes around the time when the Windows 2000 track released.

Part 2 – Microsoft Certified Professionals – still relevant after all these years will take a look at some of the changes made to the Microsoft Certification program with the release of the Windows 2000 track of certifications.

Additionally, it is probably important to note that I do not have any particular insight into the certification programs at Microsoft beyond personal experience and deep understanding of some of the workings as I studied out and took the exams. I would say however that as an up and coming certification candidate at the times of these sweeping changes and over an extended period of time from 1998 steadily though 2004 that I was acutely aware of the radically changing landscape around me.