Windows Server

Fresh off the BUILD conference, I joined Windows Server Lead Architect Jeffrey Snover and Computerworld's Jon Hassell for an impromptu conversation about Microsoft’s Cloud OS offerings. In this video, we discuss the latest enhancements made to the server and datacenter family as well as how these changes will impact IT pros....More

In a recent article, I described how it’s actually possible to configure PCs to connect to Windows Server 2012 Essentials without adding them to the domain. This raised a number of questions, however, around what a domain is, and whether such a thing would be useful in a home office or very small business. So let’s step back for a moment and take a look at these issues....More

Microsoft announced this week that its User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) tool has hit the near-final Release Candidate (RC) milestone. The firm also revealed that the final version of UE-V will be delivered in Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2012 by the end of the year....More

When Microsoft announced that Windows Server 2012 had reached the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) milestone on August 1, it wasn’t clear if that meant just the mainstream Server versions—Standard and Datacenter—or also the small business focused Essentials and Foundation versions. Now we know: Essentials, at least, will trail other Windows Server 2012 versions somewhat. And this week, Windows Server Essentials 2012 reached the Release Candidate (RC) milestone....More

When I write about funneling everything through SkyDrive and its associated Microsoft account—now still called a Windows Live ID—I get a couple of predictable questions. First, does Microsoft offer two-factor authentication, like Google? And second, is SkyDrive protected with some form of encryption and cloud-based document versioning?...More