• Read-only DCs
• Read-only DNS
• You add and remove services very explicitly now through “roles” and “functionality”
• You can now restart Active Directory services without restarting the box
• Password policies can now be applied to security groups and users (but not OUs)
• Enhanced ADFS: the ability to authorize DMZ web clients to a backend AD
• SSL-based Terminal Services
• The ability to run apps remotely over SSL-based Terminal Services.
• Much Improved Event Viewer: You can now view events based on the role of your server
• Simplified Server Management: (it just feels more organized and mature)

I’ve been running my home DC on Server 2008 for the last month or so and I’m really impressed with the release.

If you’re interested in running Server 2008 (or SQL 2008 or Exchange 2007 or ISA 2006, etc.) you can do so for only $300/year through the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription. You basically sign up, complete a few online training classes, pay your fee, and you’re sent a massive binder full of their latest software.

It’s not quite MSDN, but it’s also only $300 a year. Check it out.

I was in CompUSA the the other day and noticed quite a few people in the Apple section. I realized that this was becoming increasingly common everywhere I went. Indeed, much Apple love these days. But why now?

I mentioned to an employee in the PC section that Apple interest seemed to be getting stronger overall, and asked if he had seen the same thing there in the store. He said he’d been there for around three years and that Apple awareness was at an all-time high.

I asked him when he thought things started turning around for Apple.

–

Me: Was it the new iMacs? The iPod halo effect finally kicking in? When did you start noticing a difference? CompUSA Employee: Oh, I know exactly when it was…it was quite obvious.

Me: When?

CompUSA Employee: Around the middle of January of this year [2007].

Me: Really, what came out then that made the difference? [I was thinking Apple]

CompUSA Employee: Vista.

–

The guy was totally nonchalant about it. He didn’t even seem to care. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t smile. He wasn’t joking. He was just relaying what he saw, and he was right.

Apple didn’t give OS X the popularity it has today — Vista did.:

flickr.com

Well my Vista box is already hung. I made the mistake of closing an explorer Window when it wasn’t responding. This crashed your box in Windows 95. It crashed your box in 98. It crashed your box in ME. It crashed your box in 2000. It crashed your box in XP. It even crashes your box in Server 2003.

So now, in the new and redesigned flagship Vista operating system? It crashes your box. My machine is completely unresponsive (I don’t even have a taskbar or start menu). I’ve installed only one program — Office 2007 Enterprise. I’d blame it on VMware if this wasn’t the same exact issue that I’ve seen in every version of Windows I’ve used.

Keep in mind here — my OS is unresponsive because I clicked on a button that they offered to me as an option. They presented me with an interface which, if used, would hamstring my machine.

Nice job on Windows 95 version 7 here, guys. You make me sad.:

Normally the first thing I do on a Windows system (after installing 40,000 updates and restarting three times) is install Firefox. A number of non-Microsoft habits follow, including using Google as my search engine. Well, I’m not going to do that anymore — at least not in Windows.

From now on, when using my Windows system (Vista + Office 2007 in VMware), I’m going to use nothing but Microsoft solutions — Internet Explorer, Windows Live Search, etc. And I’m also going to experiment more with their latest products.

The idea here is to force myself to remain exposed to Microsoft’s solutions. I like Active Directory. I like Office. Microsoft has potential, and I’m doing both myself and my clients a disservice by shunning their offerings due to their spotty past.

So that’s the new rule: whenever in Windows I’m going to do everything the way that Microsoft would want me to, just to see how it goes. If I remain unimpressed by Microsoft’s offerings after honestly giving them a chance I’ll at least have gained the ability to articulately discuss their shortcomings based on current experiences.:

The rumors about Google and Apple are getting more serious. Most recently the fuel has come from a New York Magazine article:

Some of his friends say these close calls have mellowed him. “I see him around the neighborhood,” says one. “He looks different than he did a few years ago. I think he may want to do something else.” Say what? “I think that Google is going to buy Apple,” this person says. “It would be a victory for Apple; they’d get major-league partners, money, and engineers. And it would be a victory for Steve—a huge win that lets him leave the stage.”

Is this a rumor? Yes. But this is the type of rumor you should pay attention to.

Add to this the fact that a close friend of mine is a system administrator who works on Macs and gets regularly taken out by her local Apple representative. Well, a few months back this person pretty much said exactly the same thing — that Jobs was stepping down, and that it would be Google stepping in. He didn’t give details (he probably didn’t have any anyway), but that part was clear — Google in charge of Apple.

Of course, commentary from some Apple representative doesn’t make a rumor true, but there’s more. The most compelling thing about the story is the fact that it makes perfect sense.

• There have been numerous hints that Jobs may be stepping down soon — not the least of which being his numerous run-ins with cancer.
• Eric Schmidt joins Jobs on stage at MacWorld to discuss them working together extensively.
• Eric Schmidt recently joined the Apple board of directors.
• They are both Microsoft arch-enemies.
• Jobs is very paternal when it comes to his baby (Apple). It makes sense that he’d encourage the board to pick someone like Google to take over because he doesn’t trust anyone else to follow his vision.

So when you combine the recent comments made with the fact that there’s been speculation about a merger since before MacWorld, and an actual Apple rep clearly saying this was privately being discussed…uh, yeah — it’s at least worth considering as a possibility.

I can’t possibly imagine the pain in Microsoft’s collective face if this were to actually take place. It’ll be a sad day in Redmond, that’s for sure.:

So for those of you who are into blogging you’re probably all aware of Robert Scoble, a former Microsoft employee who became popular by bringing blogging to that company for the first time.

He’s famous for being highly biased towards Microsoft, but now that he’s left it seems his exposure to the “real world” has caused him to see things differently. In a blogpost titled, “I love my new Mac (list of cool utilities from Twitter)“, he says this:

I just switched my life over to a 17-inch MacBookPro. Don’t worry Microsoft fans. I still have Vista and Office 2007 loaded too.

He didn’t say he’s trying it. No. He “switched his life over” to it. And he just referred to those left behind as “Microsoft fans”. Think about it: Robert Scoble is keenly aware of all the available technologies out there — especially those from Microsoft. And if he made found the Mac to be better then there’s probably something to it, don’t you think?

Is this proof that Mac is better? No. Is it a good indication that anyone refusing to look at Mac is probably doing themselves a disservice? Yeah, I’d say so…

I’ve been known to bash Microsoft in the past, but damn if they they didn’t do some good things with Office 2007. Nice job, guys.

Has anyone else noticed this strategy by Microsoft? Their only means of defending Vista’s flopping seems to be to talk about how cool the next version of Windows will be. It’s like they’re saying:

We know Vista let everyone down, but trust us — the next version of Windows is going to be really, really, extra-super cool! Even better than Leopard, which is about to come out and make us look like fools. So remember, when Leopard does lanuch, and it makes us look completely silly…keep in mind that we have something WAY better than that coming in just two years.

Uh, yeah…I believe you.