This one is for all you IT professionals out there. A lot of you are probably having discussions inside your company about when to deploy Windows Vista, or you've deployed it and want to know which of the new capabilities can have the biggest impact on your business.

To help in your evaluations we've released a new white paper, The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now. (Download the XPS or PDF.)  This document summarizes the top enterprise features, latest customer case studies, and research on the capabilities of Windows Vista all in one place.

What are the top 5 reasons? Here's a peek at what's inside the doc:

• 1. Improves the Security of PCs and Confidential Data. Windows Vista Enterprise had 20% fewer security vulnerabilities than Windows XP SP2 did in 2007-and it includes BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your confidential data.
• 2. Unlocks the Potential of Today's Mobile PCs. Windows Mobility Center helps users quickly access key mobility settings all in one place and research shows that Windows Vista can help customers save as much as $251 per mobile PC, per year.
• 3. Makes You and Your People More Productive. Find the information you need on your computer and reduce time spent searching for information by up to 42%.
• 4. Speeds ROI with Rapid Deployment and Migration. New imaging technologies and free deployment tools make the process of deploying Windows Vista easier than with any previous version.
• 5. Reduces Support and Management Costs. The costs saving can come from multiple places including reduced help desk calls, less time spent on image maintenance, or a lower energy bill.

This document is designed for you to use and share with others in your organization that may have questions about Windows Vista. You can also find this whitepaper and others on the Windows Vista Enterprise Web site.

Just a “quick note” this time!

A nice looking whitepaper is available from the Microsoft Group Policy Team… This time it’s an AGPM overview: Advanced Group Policy Management Overview

It’s exciting, fantastic, amazing, wonderful and totally cool - Microsoft has FINALLY announced what is going to happen with the PolicyMaker stuff they got when taking over DesktopStandards… It’s going to be released with Windows Server 2008 as many of us had hoped for!

This is just GREAT I can tell you - and it will available to the public with the RC1 release of Windows Server 2008, maybe even before as a separate Beta program I’m told…

Microsoft decided to call it “Group Policy Preferences” or just “GP Preferences”. So, what can we do with this you ask? Well, here’s some of it:

• Map network drives
• Set Environment variables
• Copy Files to clients
• Create and update INI files
• Modify registry settings on the clients (REG_SZ, REG_DWORD, REG_BINARY, REG_MULTI_SZ, and REG_EXPAND_SZ )
• Create Shortcuts (URL/File/Shell)
• Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
• Control Devices
• Set Folder Options
• Define File Associations
• Tweak Internet Settings
• Handle Local Users and Groups (change passwords, add/remove from groups, disable users etc.)
• Set Network Options (like VPN or Dial-Up connections)
• Configure Power Options (Windows XP)
• Map Printers (even TCP/IP printers)
• Set Regional Options
• Create Scheduled Tasks
• Set properties on Services
• Tweak the Start Menu
• and so on….

As you can see, it’s quite impressive and something that will make companies around the world turn to Windows Server 2008 ASAP… I think and hope anyway!

The client part, a necessary extension which must be installed on the client, will be ready for Windows XP/2003/Vista - and in both x86 and x64 editions. Windows Server 2008 already includes the CSE (Client Side Extension).

There’s SO much to tell, and SO little time… But, a Whitepaper is ready (a REALLY nice of the kind) thank you Microsoft!

Download the whitepaper here:
An Overview of Group Policy Preferences