Hi,

I’m Jeremy Chapman and I try to make the lives of IT staff and management easier by creating free Solution Accelerator tools and guidance for challenging IT projects and services. We’ve just released the another piece in a great lineup of Solution Accelerator offerings for Windows Vista, the Windows Vista Service Life-Cycle Management guide. This is the newest addition to our Windows Vista accelerators, including the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007, Windows Vista Security Guide and the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs.  

In my consulting days before joining Microsoft, I used to help companies achieve ISO certifications and what I always preferred was seeing actual service and management recommendations and sample deliverables required to achieve the certification, as opposed to a list of requirements. This guide is great because it makes all the concepts you read about in the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF), ITIL and ISO real for your daily operations. Instead of just describing theories about how things ought to be run, it gives you implementer guidance according to roles in the IT department and gives you samples to use (see below)

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Hi, I’m Jeremy Chapman and I try to make the lives of IT staff and management easier by creating free Solution Accelerator tools and guidance for challenging IT projects and services. We’ve just released the another piece in a great lineup of Solution Read More……(read more)

I found this article that will give you a short intro to this exciting feature;

“I love Active Directory! I have loved it since it was introduced to the Microsoft world with Windows 2000 Server. Active Directory provides so many opportunities to the network administrator. The control features of Group Policy are so encompassing and emporwering! There is one question that I hear over and over again.

‘So Chris Henley, How do I set up more than one password policy for my domain?’

Ouch! With Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 there was a single password policy that was part of the domain policy and there were no other policies. The implications of this were that if you wanted to run a single domain with multiple levels of password policy you were simply out of luck.

Guess What? In Windows Server 2008 Microsoft has introduced a new object called the password settings object. You guessed it! The password settings object can be linked to active directory structures to provide multiple password policies for a single domain.

‘So how exactly do you set up a password policy object?’

It…

I do need a new computer in the office; mine is a slow eight-year-old Gateway 600 MHz, with upgraded memory, disk, and operating system. It’s time for a new one that can grow with the times. Here are some specifications:

• Quieter than my old Gateway tower, which itself really isn’t too bad but is the noisiest thing in the room when the TV is off.
• Speedy (modern) but not “extreme”. The idea is to have a computer that will last a while and be upgradable for a while. We’re talking dual processor for sure, but maybe not quad.
• It doesn’t have to be small - it sits on the floor next to the desk.
• At least 2 Gb RAM, 800 MHz or more.
• At least 250 Gb hard disk, 3 Gb/sec.
• Windows XP Professional (preferred), Windows Vista Business otherwise.
• Vista Business compatible for sure. I don’t even know what that means yet.
• CD/DVD read and write dual layer.
• Floppy (yes, I really do want a floppy, even if I never use it).
• PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports (I like my existing keyboard & mouse).
• Vanilla audio and graphics. This machine means business, not games or entertainment.
• Modem. Occasionally we need dialup when DSL fails.
• Serial port.
• Lifetime

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Daniel Will-Harris explains the background of several Windows fonts ,
including the story of where the names for some of the fonts came from.
Do you know which Windows font is named after a tabloid headline
about aliens? On the topic of font history, Read More……(read more)

Taskbar thumbnail preview in Windows Vista is a great new feature that allows you to quickly see a window without having to fully open it from the taskbar. Instead, you can just hover your mouse over the taskbar item and a small preview window will be displayed.

I have been asked many times if it is possible customize the size of the preview thumbnails. Many have expressed the desire to have larger previews so they can better see the window. Finally, I have found a way.

Using a free utility written by Andreas Verhoeven called Thumbnail Sizer, it is very easy to customize the preview size.

Let’s get started:

1. Visit Ave’s Vista Apps and download a free copy of Thumbnail Sizer.

2. Once you have the software extracted, run AveThumbnailSizer.exe to get started.

3. Move the sliders to adjust the preview window size. The changes are instant. Move your mouse over a minimized window to see the results of your change.

4. Check the box if you want to turn on fade-in animation and adjust the slider.

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