We’ve been providing feedback to the Windows Forms and Client Data development teams at Microsoft regarding the next release of the Visual Studio IDE, named Visual Studio 2005, and codenamed “Whidbey”. From our experience with the alpha versions of Visual Studio 2005, the overall theme is definitely improving developer productivity; doing more with fewer mouse-clicks and by writing less code. The following is the first half of a “top-ten” list of features that we have found to be most compelling to our current development projects:  Read more ...

Live Communications Server allows users in your domain to collaborate using Instant Messenger. It also provides user presence information and instant event notifications. However, installing Live Communications Server requires careful planning and multiple steps, even in a small to moderately-sized enterprise.  Read more ...

There are many compelling reasons for introducing Windows Server 2003 into your organization. Perhaps you’ve heard about great new file and print service features such as Automated System Recovery (ASR), which allows for easier file backup and system recovery, or the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), that allows users to quickly recover lost files without intervention by IT personnel. Perhaps you’d like to take advantage of new features in Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 such as Worker Process Isolation Mode. Or, perhaps you’d like to deploy newer versions of applications such as Exchange Server 2003 or Office SharePoint Services that require Windows Server 2003 as the operating system. Whatever the reason, introducing Windows Server 2003 need not be a risky, time-consuming endeavor that results in downtime for your users.   Read more ...