Windows Archive

The Users & Computers snap-in for Active Directory enables you to create Organizational Units (OUs) to set up an OUT Tree in the domain. This chapter coves setting up and managing OUs.

Microsoft will end extended support for the 8-year old OS at the end of 2004. Customers wishing support will have to sign up for a custom contract.

Mark Russinovich's guide on the mysterious NT kernel Native API has been updated to reflected changes introduced in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. This API is almost entirely hidden from view, with only a handful of its function documented in generally accessible publications.

According to WindowsForDevices, Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Group has just released the final version of Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2. The latest release of the componentized version of Windows XP -- targeting a wide range of embedded systems and devices -- is now available for free download from Microsoft's website. The free 120-day evaluation software kit comprises the entire product including binaries and tools, and can be used to develop, build, deploy, and test a target OS image in a real device.

Paul Thurrott makes claims, based on "internal documentation," that Longhorn Beta 1 will be released on February 16th 2005. However, NeoWin says that it won't be released before May 2005.

A source close to Microsoft today sent documentation about an Update Rollup for Windows 2000 that the software giant will release in 2005 in lieu of a Service Pack 5 (SP5). Also, Microsoft has announced what it hopes will be a new attack on piracy - the Redmond-based giant has decided to give away free software to those who bought machines with fake copies pre-installed.

Bugs are a common fixture with WindowsXP, but why not make the OS work when it can? See how to tap WindowsXP for sophisticated RAID functions with only a few modifications.

Although the next version of Windows is still about two years from release, Microsoft on Friday offered developers an early look at the new graphics engine that will accompany it.

In anticipation of the upcoming release of Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2, Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Group has announced a series of "Live Meeting" online broadcasts, which will be held each day from December 6 through 10 for North American developers. The broadcasts will help developers learn how they can take advantage of the capabilities of the new release in order to build more secure, manageable, and innovative embedded devices, Microsoft says.

'R2' still has yet to go to beta, but Microsoft is well on its way to finalizing the product due to ship in the latter half of 2005, according to sources.

NeoWin posted a roundup of the available Longhorn shots.

Want to reduce administration time and user frustration? Streamline your network file sharing with DFS. Jesse Smith tells you how to set up a DFS root, and you'll learn some good practices for managing one or more DFS roots on your network.

Viruses could stop you getting cash from an ATM Cash machine networks could soon be more susceptible to computer viruses, a security firm has warned. The warning is being issued because many banks are starting to use the Windows operating system in machines.

If you thought that Service Pack 2 for Windows XP was the last of the big updates, think again. Speaking yesterday at the Gartner Symposium in Orlando, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that a number of important security initiatives were underway for Windows, some of which would be part of a pre-Longhorn "Release 2" for Windows XP.