Windows 7 Means Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Reveals
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft cleared up some confusion this week about the next version of Windows--and undoubtedly created some new confusion of its own--when it revealed that the next major version of the operating system, or Windows 7, will be released to the server market as a minor update to the current operating system, or Windows Server 2008 Release 2 (R2), and not as an entirely new version, which many had expected. More details of Windows 7 will be revealed at conferences in October, according to senior engineers in charge of Windows 7. READ MORE >

Free Range Apps Can Roam the Farm, Microsoft Says
by Alex Woodie

Windows shops that want to move their virtualized applications among different physical servers in their server farm will be able to do so as often as they like with no licensing penalty starting next month, Microsoft announced yesterday. The changes are part of a revision in licensing policy that Microsoft hopes will boost the adoption of virtualization software--hopefully its recently introduced Hyper-V product--by eliminating the need for users of virtualized applications to pay twice for free-range privileges. READ MORE >

It's Black Tuesday for Microsoft, with 26 Flaws Patched
by Alex Woodie

In what some have taken to calling Black Tuesday, Microsoft last week issued 11 patches for 26 separate security flaws in its products. The software giant addressed four zero-day flaws that hackers are already exploiting in the wild, which should get the attention of systems administrators. It was the largest one-day issuance of patches in 18 months for Microsoft, and raises questions about whether the company is headed in the right direction with its security program. READ MORE >

Why Blade Servers Still Don't Cut It, and How They Might
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Sometimes, a good idea just doesn't take off. OK, this is information technology, not philosophy, so let me rephrase that more accurately. Sometimes, ideas and habits that were once laudable have an immense inertia that prevents a new and perhaps better idea from building momentum in the market; sometimes, a standard however begrudgingly adopted by IT vendors can overcome that inertia. Such is the case with the wonderful idea of blade servers. READ MORE >