Friday, March 30, 2007

Windows Powershell in Action


Windows Powershell in Action

Bruce Payette

February, 2007
576 pages
ISBN: 1932394-90-7



about this book

Windows PowerShell is the next-generation shell and scripting environment created by Microsoft. It’s intended to fix the weaknesses in existing Windows command-line and scripting solutions. The driving force behind its creation was the need to address the problems in automating Windows system management. Windows lacked the ad hoc management capabilities found in many competing systems. With PowerShell’s comprehensive support for .NET, it now has broad application potential beyond the system administration space. PowerShell can be used for text processing, general scripting, build management, creating test frameworks, and so on.

This book is written by one of principal creators of PowerShell. It uses many examples, both small and large, to illustrate the features of the language and its environment and shows how to compose those features into solutions, quickly and effectively.

Because of the broad focus of the PowerShell product, the book has a commensurately broad focus. It was not designed as a cookbook of preconstructed management examples, such as how to deal with Active Directory or how to script Exchange. Instead, it provides information about the core of the PowerShell runtime and how to compose solutions in the “PowerShell Way.” After reading this book, the reader should be able to take any example written in other languages, such as C# or Visual Basic, and leverage those examples to build solutions in PowerShell. (To facilitate this, appendix A in the book includes a number of discussions about the differences between PowerShell and other languages.)

The other thing this book doesn’t cover is the PowerShell SDK. PowerShell is both a hostable (that is, it can be embedded in other applications) as well as an extensible environment. This book doesn’t address these topics. Instead, it focuses on the shell user and scripter. (Though we do explain how to load and use .NET assemblies from a PowerShell script in chapter 11.)

Who should read this book?
This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn PowerShell and use it well. Rather than being a book of recipes, this book tries to give the reader deep knowledge about how PowerShell works and how to apply it. All users of PowerShell will find this book beneficial and useful.

So, if you’re a Windows sysadmin, this book is for you. If you’re a developer and you need to get things done in a hurry, if you're interested in .NET, or just if you like to experiment with computers, PowerShell is for you—and this book is for you!

Roadmap
The book is divided into two and a half parts. The two major parts of the book are “Learning PowerShell” and “Using PowerShell,” described below. The “half” part is primarily appendix B which contains examples showing how to use PowerShell to solve system administration problems. In appendix A we provide comparisons between PowerShell and other languages. Finally, in appendix C we present the grammar for the PowerShell language.

Part 1 “Learning PowerShell” is a comprehensive tour of the PowerShell language and runtime. The goal is to introduce new PowerShell users to the language as well as to provide experienced users with deep insight into how and why things are the way they are.

In part 1, we look at all aspects of the PowerShell language, including the syntax, the type system, and so on. Along the way, we’ll present examples showing how each feature works. Since the goal of the first part of the book is to focus on the individual features of the environment, most of the examples are small and are intended to be entered in an interactive session. The second part of this book focuses on larger examples that bring the individual features together to build larger applications.

Chapter 1 begins with some history and the rationale for why PowerShell was created in the first place, followed by a quick tour of the features of the environment. The remaining chapters in part 1 cover each element of the language, starting with basic PowerShell concepts in chapter 2.

Chapter 3 introduces the PowerShell type system and its relationship to .NET. This chapter also presents the syntax for each of the PowerShell literal data types.

The discussion of operators and expressions (PowerShell has lots of these) begins in chapter 4, which covers the basic arithmetic, comparison, and assignment operators. It also covers the wildcard and regular expression pattern matching operators.

Chapter 5 continues the discussion of operators with the advanced operations for working with arrays (indexing and slicing) and objects (properties and methods). It also covers output redirection and the formatting operator, and introduces PowerShell variables.

Chapter 6 covers the PowerShell language constructs such as if statement and loops.

Chapter 7 introduces programming in PowerShell and covers functions and scripts, variable scoping, and other programming-related topics.

Chapter 8 builds on the material in chapter 7 and introduces advanced programming techniques, such as object construction and extensions. It also covers first-class functions (scriptblocks) and shows how to extend the PowerShell language using these features.

Chapter 9 completes part 1, covering the features available in PowerShell for handling errors and debugging scripts.

In part 2 of the book, we shift our focus from individual features toward combining those features into larger examples. This part of the book looks at applying PowerShell in specific technology areas and problem domains.

We begin in chapter 10, looking at how PowerShell can be used to attack the kind of text processing tasks that have been the traditional domain of languages such as Perl. This chapter begins with basic string processing, then introduces file processing (including handling binary files), and finishes up with a section on working with XML documents.

Then, in chapter 11, we look at how we can discover and apply the vast capabilities of the .NET framework from .NET. We cover locating, exploring, and instantiating types in the .NET framework, including generic types. Then we look at a number of applications using these types, including network programming and graphical programming with WinForms.

In chapter 12, we look at how to use and apply other Microsoft object technologies, specifically COM and WMI. This includes using the application automation models to script applications such as Microsoft Word using PowerShell. We look at how to use WMI from the command line and in scripts to inspect, update, and manage a Windows system. We also spend some time looking at how to interact with VBScript, Microsoft’s previous-generation scripting tool.

Finally, in chapter 13, we introduce the security features in PowerShell, along with a general discussion of security. This is an important chapter to read. Like all powerful scripting tools (Perl, Python, and so forth), PowerShell can be used to create malware such as virus and worm programs. The PowerShell runtime contains features which allow you to deploy it in a manner that minimizes these risks.

That covers two out of the two and a half parts. Since the examples in part 2 of the book, while larger, still focus on particular technology areas, we have appendix B, which presents examples where we solve some common system administration tasks using PowerShell. While it’s not a complete management cookbook, it does show what can be done with PowerShell and how to do it.

In appendix A we present comparisons of PowerShell with other programming or scripting languages, including cmd.exe, UNIX shells and VBScript. This appendix includes tips for experienced users and highlights some potential problems users of other languages may run into with PowerShell. Finally, appendix C contains the annotated grammar and tokenization rules for the PowerShell Language along with syntax examples.

About the author
Bruce Payette is one of the founding members of the Windows PowerShell team. He is co-designer of the PowerShell language along with Jim Truher, and is the principal author of the language implementation. He joined Microsoft in 2001, working on Interix—the POSIX subsystem for Windows—and then moved to help found the PowerShell project shortly thereafter. Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked at various companies including Softway (the creators of Interix) and MKS (producers of the MKS Toolkit) building UNIX tools for Windows. He lives in Bellevue, Washington, with his wife, many computers, and three extremely over-bonded and very spoiled cats.






contents


Foreword


Preface


Acknowledgments


About this book

Part 1 Learning PowerShell


1 Welcome to PowerShell

1.1 What is PowerShell?

1.2 Soul of a new language

1.3 Brushing up on objects

1.4 Dude! Where’s my code?

1.5 Summary

2 The basics

2.1 Command concepts and terminology

2.2 Parsing and PowerShell

2.3 Pipelines and commands

2.4 Formatting and output

2.5 Summary

3 Working with types

3.1 Type management in the wild, wild west

3.2 Basic types and literals

3.3 Type conversions

3.4 Summary

4 Operators and expressions

4.1 Arithmetic operators

4.2 The assignment operators

4.3 Comparison operators

4.4 The pattern matching operators

4.5 Logical and bitwise operators

4.6 Summary

5 Advanced operators and variables

5.1 Operators for working with types

5.2 The unary operators

5.3 Grouping, subexpressions, and array subexpressions

5.4 Array operators

5.5 Property and method operators

5.6 The PowerShell format operator -F

5.7 Redirection and the redirection operators

5.8 Variables

5.9 Summary

6 Flow control in scripts

6.1 Using the if/elseif/else statement

6.2 The while loop

6.3 The do/while loop

6.4 The for loop

6.5 The foreach loop

6.6 Labels, break, and continue

6.7 The PowerShell switch statement

6.8 Flow control using cmdlets

6.9 The value of statements

6.10 Summary

7 Functions and scripts

7.1 Function basics

7.2 Formal parameters and the param statement

7.3 Returning values from functions

7.4 Using functions in a pipeline

7.5 Managing functions

7.6 Scripts at long last

7.7 Summary

8 Scriptblocks and objects

8.1 Scriptblock basics

8.2 Building and manipulating objects

8.3 A closer look at the type-system plumbing

8.4 Extending the PowerShell language

8.5 Type extension

8.6 Building code at runtime

8.7 Summary

9 Errors, exceptions, and script debugging

9.1 Error handling

9.2 Dealing with errors that terminate execution

9.3 Script debugging

9.4 Nested prompts and breakpoints

9.5 Low-level tracing

9.6 The PowerShell event log

9.7 Summary

Part 2 Using PowerShell


10 Processing text, files, and XML

10.1 Processing unstructured text

10.2 File processing

10.3 XML processing

10.4 Summary

11 Getting fancy—.NET and WinForms

11.1 Using .NET from PowerShell

11.2 PowerShell and the Internet

11.3 PowerShell and graphical user interfaces

11.4 Summary

12 Windows objects: COM and WMI

12.1 Working with COM in PowerShell

12.2 Working with WMI in PowerShell

12.3 So which object model should I choose?

12.4 Summary

13 Security, security, security

13.1 Introduction to security

13.2 Security modeling

13.3 Securing the PowerShell environment

13.4 Signing scripts

13.5 Writing secure scripts

13.6 Summary



Comparing PowerShell to other languages


Admin examples


The PowerShell grammar


index






Sample Chapters




Amazon Link: Windows Powershell in Action

Configuring IIS7 to support Windows CardSpace sites

In this screencast, Rich Turner will walk you through the processes of configuring IIS7 on Windows Vista to enable a site to support Windows CardSpace:

Here is what is covered:
Configuring IIS7
Creating an SSL Certificate
Adding an HTTPS binding to the default website
Finding the cert's private key using PowerShell
Setting permissions on the private key (using ICACLS)
Adding the Simple Windows CardSpace demo site


This will hopefully make it a great deal easier for you to understand how to build dev/test/live rigs that can support Windows CardSpace.


Also check out the "Windows CardSpace Simple Demo Walkthrough", Rich Turner illustrated just how little code and effort is required to add Windows CardSpace support to an ASP.NET site.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ten SQL Server Functions That You Hardly Use But Should Use

Below are 10 SQL Server functions that are hardly used but should be used a lot more


BINARY_CHECKSUM
SIGN
COLUMNPROPERTY
DATALENGTH
ASCII, UNICODE
NULLIF
PARSENAME
STUFF
REVERSE
GETUTCDATE

You can read the article here: Ten SQL Server Functions That You Hardly Use But Should

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Intel Details Upcoming New Processor Generations

Marking the next step in Intel's "tick-tock" product strategy and cadence to deliver a new process technology with an enhanced microarchitecture or entirely new microarchitecture every year, Intel Corporation will begin producing its next-generation Penryn family of processors in the second half of this year. These new processors benefit from enhancements to the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture and also Intel's industry-leading 45nm Hi-k process technology with its hafnium-based high-K + metal gate transistor design, which results in higher performance and more energy-efficient processors.

Intel has more than 15 45nm Hi-k product designs in various stages of development, and will have two 45nm manufacturing fabs in production by the end of the year, with a total of four in production by the second half of 2008 that will deliver tens of millions of these processors. Below are many of the details of the Penryn processor family and a glimpse into some of the key features of Intel's future generation of processors, codenamed Nehalem.

PENRYN FAMILY MICROARCHITECTURE INNOVATIONS


  • A Range of Products -- Six Penryn family processors, including dual and quad-core desktop processors and a dual core mobile processor are all under the Intel Core processor brand name as well as new dual and quad-core server processors under the Intel® Xeon® processor brand name. A processor for higher-end server multiprocessing systems is also under development. As previously noted, Intel already has a total of 15 45nm products scheduled.

  • Technical Marvel -- 45nm next-generation Intel® Core™2 quad-core processors will have 820 million transistors. Thanks to our high-k metal transistor invention, think of 820 million more power efficient light bulbs going on and off at light-speeds. The dual-core version has a die size of 107mm2, which is 25 percent smaller than Intel's current 65nm products - and quarter of the size of the average U.S. postage stamp - and operate at the same or lower power than Intel's current dual core processors.

  • Deep Power Down for Energy Savings, Improved Battery Life -- The mobile Penryn processor has a new advanced power management state called Deep Power Down Technology that significantly reduces the power of the processor during idle periods such that internal transistor power leakage is no longer a factor. This helps extend battery life in laptops. This is a major advancement over previous generation industry leading Intel mobile processors.

  • Intel Dynamic Acceleration Technology Enhanced Performance for Single Threaded Apps -- For the mobile Penryn processor, Intel has enhanced the Intel® Dynamic Acceleration Technology available in current Intel Core 2 processors. This feature uses the power headroom freed up when a core is made inactive to boost the performance of another still active core. Imagine a shower with two powerful water shower heads, when one shower head is turned off, the other has increased water pressure (performance).

  • Speeding Up Video, Photo Imaging, and High Performance Software -- Penryn includes Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4) instructions, the largest unique instruction set addition since the original SSE Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). This extends the Intel® 64 instruction set architecture to expand the performance and capabilities of the Intel® Architecture.

  • Other Technical Features to Improve Performance


    • Microarchitecture Optimizations -- Increases the overall performance and energy efficiency of the already leading Intel Core microarchitecture to deliver more instruction executions per clock cycle, which results in more performance and quicker PC responsiveness.

    • Enhanced Intel® Virtualization Technology -- Penryn speeds up virtual machine transition (entry/exit) times by an average of 25 to 75 percent. This is all done through microarchitecture improvements and requires no virtual machine software changes. Virtualization partitions or compartmentalizes a single computer so that it can run separate operating systems and software, which can better leverage multicore processing power, increase efficiency and cut costs by letting a single machine act as many virtual "mini" computers.

    • Higher Frequencies -- Penryn family of products will deliver higher overall clock frequencies within existing power and thermal envelopes to further increase performance. Desktop and server products will introduce speeds at greater than 3GHz.

    • Fast Division of Numbers – Penryn-based processors provide fast divider performance, roughly doubling the divider speed over previous generations for computations used in nearly all applications through the inclusion of a new, faster divide technique called Radix 16. The ability to divide instructions and commands faster increases a computer's performance.

    • Larger Caches -- Penryn processors include up to a 50 percent larger L2 cache with a higher degree of associativity to further improve the hit rate and maximize its utilization. Dual-core Penryn processors will feature up to a 6MB L2 cache and quad-core processors up to a 12MB L2 cache. Cache is a memory reservoir where frequently accessed data can be stored for more rapid access. Larger and faster cache sizes speed a computer's performance and response time.

    • Unique Super Shuffle Engine -- By implementing a full-width, single-pass shuffle unit that is 128-bits wide, Penryn processors can perform full-width shuffles in a single cycle. This significantly improves performance for SSE2, SSE3 and SSE4 instructions that have shuffle-like operations such as pack, unpack and wider packed shifts. This feature will increase performance for content creation, imaging, video and high-performance computing.



NEHALEM MICROARCHITECTURE

After Penryn and the 45nm Hi-k silicon technology introduction comes Intel's next-generation microarchitecture (Nehalem) slated for initial production in 2008. By continuing to innovate at this rapid cadence, Intel will deliver enormous performance and energy efficiency gains in years to come, adding more performance features and capabilities for new and improved applications. Here are some new initial disclosures around our Nehalem microarchitecture:


  • Dynamically scalable for leadership performance on demand with energy efficiency


    • Dynamically managed cores, threads, cache, interfaces and power

    • Leverages leading 4 instruction issue Intel® Core microarchitecture technology

    • Simultaneous multi-threading (similar to Intel® Hyper-threading technology) returns to enhance performance and energy efficiency

    • Innovative new Intel® SSE4 and ATA instruction set architecture additions

    • Superior multi-level shared cache leverages Intel® Smart Cache technology

    • Leadership system and memory bandwidth

    • Performance enhanced dynamic power management


  • Design scalable for optimal price/performance/energy efficiency in each market segment


    • New system architecture for next-generation Intel processors and platforms

    • Scalable performance: 1 to 16+ threads, 1 to 8+ cores, scalable cache sizes

    • Scalable and configurable system interconnects and integrated memory controllers

    • High performance integrated graphics engine for client



Click here to download this fact sheet as in PDF format. [PDF, 48KB]

SQL Server 2005 Whitepapers List

Here is a list of the top SQL Server 2005 Whitepapers

Advantages of a 64-bit Environment
Batch Compilation, Recompilation, and Plan Caching Issues in SQL Server 2005
Connectivity and SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
Database Administrator’s Guide to SQL Server Database Engine .NET CLR Environment
Database Engine Tuning Advisor (DTA) in SQL Server 2005
Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005
Database Mirroring: Alerting on Database Mirroring Events
Database Mirroring: Best Practices and Performance Considerations
Enterprise Strategy Group Information Security Brief: SQL Server Runs the Security Table
How SQL Server 2005 Enables Service-Oriented Database Architectures
Improving Performance with SQL Server 2005 Indexed Views
Online Indexing Operations in SQL Server 2005
Partitioned Tables and Indexes in SQL Server 2005
Performance Tuning Using Waits and Queues
Physical Database Storage Design
Scalability: Internals, Troubleshooting, and Best Practices for use of Scaleout Technologies in SQL Server 2005
Scalability: Planning, Implementing, and Administering Scaleout Solutions with SQL Server 2005
Scalability: Solutions for Highly Scalable Database Applications: An analysis of architectures and technologies
SQL Server 2005 Failover Clustering White Paper
SQL Server 2005 for Oracle Professionals
SQL Server 2005 Management Tools Overview
SQL Server 2005 Security Best Practices - Operational and Administrative Tasks
SQL Server 2005 Snapshot Isolation
SQL Server I/O Basics
SQL Server I/O Basics, Chapter 2
Statistics Used by the Query Optimizer in Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Strategies for Partitioning Relational Data Warehouses in Microsoft SQL Server
Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005
Working with Tempdb in SQL Server 2005

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Ruby.NET Video With Dr. Wayne Kelly:

Dr. Wayne Kelly is a Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. He also owns and maintains the Ruby.NET project at QUT. Nick Hodge managed to score some of Wayne’s time and interview him on Ruby, Ruby.NET, and the current state of the project.

Video Length: 14 minutes and 48 seconds
Get the video here: http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=295197#295197

The link to the Ruby.NET blog is here: http://plas.fit.qut.edu.au/Ruby.NET/

Sunday, March 25, 2007

A Perfect Example Of How Not To Do Search Engine Optimization

Here is a perfect example of how NOT to do Search Engine Optimization. Just ask Alex Chiu, this is what he wrote:

" Google controls 50% of the world's searches. This famous website is so controversial that it has been banned by the most popular search engine in the world 'Google'. That's right. You cannot find alexchiu.com in Google system. Some very important people don't want you to know about Alex Chiu. Alex Chiu is on more than 30 TV interviews, 250 radio interviews, and in business ever since 1996. Yet AlexChiu.com cannot show up on Google? "

Why is that? Very simple, take a look at his site http://alexchiu.com/
At the bottom of the page you will find a text area with over a thousand keywords, some of these keywords are:
System Heart Aorta Arteries Arterioles Capillaries Venules Veins Vena cava Pulmonaryarteries Lungs veins Blood Digestive Mouth Pharynx Esophagus Stomach Pancreas Gallbladder

This list goes on and on.

What does Google say?
Quality guidelines - specific guidelines

Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.
Don't send automated queries to Google.
Don't load pages with irrelevant words.

That is what he did and the end result is: Banned by Google.

Programming WCF Services

Programming WCF Services By Juval Löwy
First Edition February 2007
Pages: 634
ISBN 10: 0-596-52699-7
ISBN 13: 9780596526993

Written by Microsoft software legend Juval Lowy, Programming WCF Services is the authoritative introduction to Microsoft's new, and some say revolutionary, unified platform for developing service-oriented applications (SOA) on Windows. Relentlessly practical, the book delivers insight, not documentation, to teach developers what they need to know to build the next generation of SOAs.




After explaining the advantages of service-orientation for application design and teaching the basics of how to develop SOAs using WCF, the book shows how you can take advantage of built-in features such as service hosting, instance management, asynchronous calls, synchronization, reliability, transaction management, disconnected queued calls and security to build best in class applications. Programming WCF Services focuses on the rationale behind particular design decisions, often shedding light on poorly-documented and little-understood aspects of SOA development. Developers and architects will learn not only the "how" of WCF programming, but also relevant design guidelines, best practices, and pitfalls. Original techniques and utilities provided by the author throughout the book go well beyond anything that can be found in conventional sources.



Table of Contents



Foreword

Preface

1. WCF Essentials

What Is WCF?

Services

Addresses

Contracts

Hosting

Bindings

Endpoints

Metadata Exchange

Client-Side Programming

Programmatic Versus Administrative Configuration

WCF Architecture

Working with Channels

Reliability

2. Service Contracts

Operation Overloading

Contract Inheritance

Service Contracts Factoring and Design

Contract Queries

3. Data Contracts

Serialization

Data Contract Attributes

Data Contract Hierarchy

Data Contract Equivalence

Versioning

Enumerations

Delegates and Data Contracts

Data Sets and Tables

Generics

Collections

4. Instance Management

Behaviors

Per-Call Services

Per-Session Services

Singleton Service

Demarcating Operations

Instance Deactivation

Throttling

5. Operations

Request-Reply Operations

One-Way Operations

Callback Operations

Events

Streaming

6. Faults

Errors and Exceptions

Fault Contracts

Error-Handling Extensions

7. Transactions

The Recovery Challenge

Transactions

Transaction Propagation

Transaction Protocols and Managers

The Transaction Class

Transactional Service Programming

Explicit Transaction Programming

Service State Management

Instance Management and Transactions

Callbacks

8. Concurrency Management

Instance Management and Concurrency

Service Concurrency Mode

Instances and Concurrent Access

Resources and Services

Resource Synchronization Context

Service Synchronization Context

Custom Service Synchronization Context

Callbacks and Client Safety

Callbacks and Synchronization Context

Asynchronous Calls

9. Queued Services

Disconnected Services and Clients

Queued Calls

Transactions

Instance Management

Concurrency Management

Delivery Failures

Playback Failures

Queued Versus Connected Calls

Response Service

HTTP Bridge

10. Security

Authentication

Authorization

Transfer Security

Identity Management

Overall Policy

Scenario-Driven Approach

Intranet Application

Internet Application

Business-to-Business Application

Anonymous Application

No Security

Scenarios Summary

Declarative Security Framework

Security Auditing

A. Introduction to Service-Orientation

B. Publish-Subscribe Service

C. WCF Coding Standard

Index



Sample Chapter: Chapter 1: WCF Essentials (PDF Format)

Amazon Link: Programming WCF Services

Three Part Screen Cast Series: Web Parts Made Easy

This step by step tutorial is focused on the creation of webparts.

Part 1 of this multipart webcast is on setting up the application and security. This webcast is 4 minutes in length and 9 mb


Part 2 of this multipart webcast is on setting up the membership, authorization and security. This webcast is 3 minutes in length and 6 mb


Part 3 of this multipart webcast is on setting setting up the web part zones the web part manager and the web part catalogues. This webcast is 6 minutes in length and 11 mb

Friday, March 23, 2007

Visual Studio Orcas - Sync Designer, going N Tier w/WCF

Here is part two of the screen cast: Visual Studio Orcas - Sync Designer, going N Tier w/WCF

In part 2, Steve Lasker takes the cached lookup tables and split up the client and server sync components using WCF to glue them together.
For more info about the Occasionally Connected Services scenarios, and Sync Services for ADO.NET, you can use the following links:
Sync Services CTP
Sync Services Forum

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Podcast: Michele Leroux Bustamante On Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

.NetRocks has posted their latest podcast. Michele Leroux Bustamante checks in with Carl and Richard on the state of Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).

Download the podcast here: http://dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showID=225

Visual Studio Orcas Sync Designer for Caching Data in SQL Server Compact Edition Screen Cast

Channel 9 has a screen cast about caching data in SQL Server Compact Edition.
In this screen cast Steve Lasker demonstrates the new Sync Designer for caching data locally in SQL Server Compact Edition. This is part 1 showing the basics. In the next screencast Steve Lasker will demonstrate how to split the code from client to server using WCF to synchronize data across internet protocols.

The link is below.
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=293600#293600

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide


Title: Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide
Author: William R. Stanek
First Edition: February 2007
ISBN 10: 0-596-52800-0
ISBN 13: 9780596528003
Pages: 942




Whether you're a beginner, power user, or seasoned professional, Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide has everything you need to customize the operating system, master your digital media, manage your data, and maintain your computer -- regardless of which Windows Vista edition you're using.

Why this book and not some other resource? Bestselling author and Windows expert William Stanek doesn't just teach you the steps you need to follow, he also tells you how features work, why they work, and how you can customize them to meet your needs. You'll learn how to squeeze out every last bit of power out of Windows Vista, and how to make the most out of its features and programs, including how to:

  • Set up, customize and tune Windows Vista - Optimize its appearance and performance; install, configure and maintain software; customize your hardware; and install printers, scanners and faxes

  • Manage your files - Search your computer more efficiently; secure your files and data; share and collaborate; and get the most out of accessories such as the Mobility Center

  • Master your digital media - Create media libraries with Media Player; manage digital pictures and videos with Photo Gallery; make DVDs with DVD Maker; and create movies with Movie Maker

  • Get connected and start networking - Set up a home or small-office network; learn to use Windows Mail, Calendar, and Meeting Space; conquer Internet Explorer 7; and master on-the-go networking

  • Protect your computer - Keep your family safe while on the Internet; set up parental controls and content ratings; navigate the computer security maze; configure Windows Vista's security features

  • Manage and support Windows Vista systems - Deal with user accounts, disks and drives; handle routine maintenance and troubleshooting; and resolve advanced support and recovery issues

  • Learn advanced tips & techniques - Manage the Windows boot environment, explore Group Policy, discover keyboard shortcuts, and much more




Table of Contents



Preface
Part I. Setting Up, Customizing, and Tuning Windows Vista
1. Getting Started with Windows Vista
Getting to Know Windows Vista
Navigating Windows Vista Editions
Starting and Using Windows Vista
Working with Windows Vista
Logging On, Switching, Locking, Logging Off, and Shutting Down

2. Optimizing Windows Vista's Interface
Customizing Windows Vista's Desktop
Using Gadgets and Windows Sidebar
Customizing Menus and the Control Panel

3. Fine-Tuning Windows Vista's Appearance and Performance
Balancing Appearance and Performance
Understanding User Account Control and Its Impact on Performance
Understanding Windows Vista Personalization
Personalizing Windows Vista
Optimizing Performance

4. Installing, Configuring, and Maintaining Software
Software Installation: What's Changed
Software Installation: What You Need to Know
Installing and Running Your Software
Managing Software Once It's Installed

5. Customizing Your Computer's Hardware Devices
Hardware Installation: What's Changed
Hardware Installation: What You Need to Know
Learning About Your Computer's Hardware Devices
Customizing Your Computer's Input Devices, Regional Settings, and Date/Time
Installing and Managing Hardware

Part II. Mastering Your Data and Digital Media
6. Mastering Windows Explorer and Searching Your Computer

Windows Explorer: What's Changed
Navigating Your Computer with the Address Bar
Searching Your Computer
Indexing Your Computer for Faster Searches

7. Navigating the Web with Internet Explorer 7
Getting Started with Internet Explorer 7
Getting Around the Web and Using Internet Explorer 7
Protecting Your Computer While Browsing

8. Creating Your Media Library with Windows Media Player
Getting into Your Multimedia
Playing Your Media
Building Your Media Library

9. Capturing and Managing Your Digital Pictures and Videos
Getting Started with Windows Photo Gallery
Organizing Your Gallery
Building Your Photo and Video Gallery
Sharing Your Photo and Video Gallery

10. Making Video DVDs and Movies
Creating Video DVDs with Windows DVD Maker
Creating Movies with Windows Movie Maker

11. Securing and Sharing Your Data
Securing Your Data
Controlling Access to Your Data
Sharing Your Data

12. Setting Up Printers, Scanners, and Fax Machines
Installing Printers, Scanners, and Fax Machines
Sharing Printers, Scanners, and Fax Machines
Configuring Printer, Scanner, and Fax Machine Properties
Managing Print, Fax, and Scan Jobs

13. Making the Most of Your Computer's Accessories
Capturing Screens and Windows with the Snipping Tool
Getting Your Computer to Listen
Using Laptop and Tablet PC Extras
Making Your Computer More Accessible

Part III. Connecting and Networking
14. Setting Up Your Network
Understanding Home and Small-Business Networks
Mapping Your Networking Infrastructure
Networking with TCP/IP
Advanced Networking Concepts
Troubleshooting Common Problems on Small Networks

15. Protecting Your Computer with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
Navigating the Computer Security Maze
Introducing the Windows Security Center
Using Windows Defender
Working with the Windows Firewall

16. Using Windows Mail, Calendars, and Contacts
Using Windows Mail
Using Windows Contacts
Using Windows Calendar
Using Windows Meeting Space

17. Mastering Dial-Up, Broadband, and On-the-Go Networking
Configuring Dial-Up, Broadband, and On-the-Go Networking
Wireless Networking

Part IV. Managing and Supporting Windows Vista
18. Managing User Accounts and Parental Controls
Managing Access to Your Computer
Managing Your User Account
Managing Access Permissions with Group Accounts
Keeping Your Family Safe While Using Your Computer

19. Managing Disks and Drives
Configuring Disks and Drives
Preparing Disks for Use
Using Compression and Encryption

20. Handling Routine Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Maintaining Your System Configuration
General Maintenance Tools
Scheduling Maintenance Tasks

21. Getting Help and Handling Advanced Support Issues
Detecting and Resolving Computer Problems
Creating Backups and Preparing for Problems
Recovering After a Crash or Other Problem
Getting Help and Giving Others Assistance
Troubleshooting Windows Vista Programs and Features

Part V. Advanced Tips and Techniques
22. Installing and Running Windows Vista
Comparing Windows Vista Features and Versions
Installing Windows Vista
Upgrading Your Windows Vista Edition

23. Exploring the Windows Boot Environment
Introducing the Windows Vista Boot Environment
Working with Boot Configuration Data
Managing the BCD Data Store
Managing the Boot Sector for Hard Disk Partitions

24. Understanding Windows Vista Security Changes
Identifying Password Policy Changes
Identifying User Rights Assignment Changes
Identifying Security Options Changes

25. Mastering Windows Media Center
Understanding Windows Media Center Requirements
Selecting the Correct Hardware for Windows Media Center
Installing and Configuring Windows Media Center Using the Wizard
Navigating Windows Media Center
Fine-Tuning the Settings for Windows Media Center
Troubleshooting Problems with Windows Media Center

26. Using Group Policy with Windows Vista
Exploring Group Policy in Windows Vista
Working with Multiple Local Group Policy Objects
Updating Active Directory Group Policy Objects for Windows Vista

27. Navigating Windows Vista Policy Changes
Navigating Windows Vista Policy Changes

28. Navigating Internet Explorer 7 Policies
Getting Started with Internet Explorer 7 Policy Settings
Using Internet Explorer 7 Policy Settings

29. Desktop Tips and Tricks with Keyboard Shortcuts
Using and Creating Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Vista
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Explorer and Windows Sidebar
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Photo Gallery
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Media Center
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Media Player
Keyboard Shortcuts for Internet Explorer 7
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Movie Maker

Index

Sample Chapter 4: Installing, Configuring, and Maintaining Software

Amazon Link: Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide

Friday, March 2, 2007

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