Since it's October 1st, I thought this may be a timely post. Not-so-coincidentally, I'm one of the authors in this issue. :-)  (please forgive the shameless self-promotion)

Virtualization: An Introduction to Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008

The introduction of Hyper-V makes virtualization an even more compelling solution for IT environments. Get an overview of today’s virtualization market and see how Hyper-V improves the manageability, reliability, and security of virtualization Rajiv Arunkundram

Virtualization: Manage Your Virtual Environments with VMM 2008

System Center Virtual Machine Manager provides a consolidated interface for managing your virtual infrastructure. The latest version adds support for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, as well as for VMware virtual machines. Explore the new features and get an overview of using VMM to centralize your management tasks. Edwin Yuen

Virtualization: Getting Started with Microsoft Application Virtualization

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) allows you to deliver virtualized desktops to client systems throughout your organization. This simplifies system management and liberates employees from their desktops. Take a close look at how App-V works and discover how you can deploy it in your organization. Anthony Kinney

Virtualization: Achieving High Availability for Hyper-V

Consolidating servers onto fewer physical machines has many advantages, but it is extremely important that you plan for your systems to be highly available. Here’s a guide to using Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering to bring high availability to your Hyper-V virtual machines. Steven Ekren

Virtualization: Backup and Disaster Recovery for Server Virtualization

Virtualization brings significant changes to disaster recovery. Here’s an introduction to how the Microsoft virtualization platform factors into your disaster recovery plan, as well as a deeper look into backup and restore options and considerations for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Adam Fazio

Virtualization: Essential Tools for Planning Your Virtual Infrastructure

Is your infrastructure ready for virtualization? The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, a network-wide infrastructure assessment tool, can help you better understand your IT infrastructure and determine whether your systems are ready for upgrade or migration to a variety of technologies, including virtualization. Jay Sauls and Baldwin Ng
Columns
From the Editor: It’s a Virtual(ized) World
Joshua Hoffman
Letters: Readers Speak Out
Toolbox: New Products for IT Pros
Greg Steen
SQL Q&A: Large Transaction Logs, When to Use Repair, and More
In this installment, Paul Randal answers questions about backing up and restoring, looks at the differences between log shipping and database mirroring, and explains why the Repair function should only be used as a last resort. Paul S. Randal
Utility Spotlight: Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool
Virtual machines that are stored offline don’t automatically receive the necessary updates to keep them safe and compliant. This, in turn, can pose a risk to your entire IT environment. Find out how the free Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool lets you automate the process of updating virtual machines. Peter Skjøtt Larsen and Suveen Kumar Reddy Vuppala
Windows PowerShell: The Power of Profiles
Ever wish Windows PowerShell would launch with a work environment tailored to your needs? Don Jones demonstrates how you can use profiles to customize the Windows PowerShell shell. Don Jones
Hey, Scripting Guy!: Famous Last Words
The Scripting Guys discuss Socrates and revisit the topic of querying an XML file . This time, however, the XML file is structured so that rather than using child nodes, additional property values are configured as attributes. The Microsoft Scripting Guys
The Desktop Files: Customizing Windows Deployment Services
Wes Miller delves into Windows Deployment Services, showing you how you can customize and configure WDS to meet the needs of your organization. Wes Miller
Security Watch: Revisiting the 10 Immutable Laws of Security, Part 1
It's been about 8 years since "The 10 Immutable Laws of Security" were first published, and a lot has changed since then. This month, Jesper Johansson kicks off a three-part series in which he analyzes the laws from today's perspective to see if they still hold true. Jesper M. Johansson
Field Notes: High-Capacity Color Bar Code
Gavin Jancke has developed a new bar code, using colors and triangles, that has much higher data capacity than traditional black and white bar codes. Take a closer look at these high-capacity color barcodes. Gavin Jancke
Windows Confidential: Work Harder, Not Smarter
Raymond Chen looks at the skewed relationship bugs have to errors, and explains why it's important that programmers suffer as well as give results. Raymond Chen