ascend slowly, breathing normally

This update resolves an issue where an IA64 computer running Windows Server 2008 generates a corrupted dump file (Knowledge Base (KB) Article KB950917).

The latest Windows SDK for developing on Windows XP is the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, released in March, 2008.  Read more about it in this Windows SDK Team blog post or download it from the links below.   The Windows SDK for Server 2008 has the content needed to develop on or for Server 2008, but also supports creating applications for or on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Vista.

I'm asked this question all the time.  If you want to install the SDK on Windows XP and create applications for XP or another operating system, use the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008.

If you want to install the SDK on Vista, Server 2003 or Server 2008 and create applications that will work on Windows XP, use the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008.

ISO Install

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F26B1AA4-741A-433A-9BE5-FA919850BDBF&displaylang=en

Web Setup

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E6E1C3DF-A74F-4207-8586-711EBE331CDC&displaylang=en

Talk about great product placement! Photosynth was used to solve a murder on “CSI: NY” last night.  If you’ve been in a cave somewhere, Photosynth was developed in Microsoft Research Live Labs and is the hot topic of many MSDN blogs. It takes a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed three-dimensional space. The CSI team pieced together photos of a crime scenario using Photosynth, creating a three dimensional simulation that solved the crime. If you missed it, you can watch online.

CSI Season 4: Episode 18: Admissions. Following a ritzy private high school dance, the body of a guidance counselor is found with his face melted off. Through the science of Photosynth, make-up and mace, the CSIs find their perpetrator. It's one of the students who attended the dance. When the team tracks him down they come upon a disturbing discovery: The youthful looking student is not eighteen, rather in his thirties.  He has been working in collusion with another predator to lure unsuspecting coeds into their lair culminating in the ultimate betrayal.  Meanwhile, Mac gets pressure from above to catch the “Cabbie Killer” as the killer starts hunting his next victim.

Version 1.3 of the Cryptographic Next Generation Software Development Kit for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is available on the Microsoft Download Center. CNG content is no longer included in the Windows SDKs. If you want to develop cryptographic applications and libraries targeting the Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 Operating Systems, this is the SDK for you. If you are using Visual Studio 2005, you will also need to install the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 or the older Windows SDK for Vista Update. If you are using Visual Studio 2008, which includes content from the Windows SDK for Vista Update, you will not need to install a standalone SDK. The CNG SDK contains documentation, code, and tools to help you learn about CNG and develop CNG applications for Vista and Server 2008, and includes a few files that were missing in the last release.

Several of the DirectShow samples in the Windows SDK require strmbase.lib, and quite a few developers have asked me where to find this file. It does not install to the default location with other libraries (C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\lib). Other folks have figured out how to build strmbasd.lib, but they need strmbase.lib.

Strmbasd.lib is not included in the SDK \lib directory.  You must build it yourself by building the Samples\Multimedia\DirectShow\baseclasses sample first.  Once you’ve built the sample, strmbasd.lib will be found in the Samples\Multimedia\DirectShow\baseclasses\debug folder.

Strmbasd.lib is created when making a debug build of the baseclasses sample.  Strmbase.lib is created when making a release build of the baseclasses. If you want to create a release build, you can do it from within Visual Studio or at the command line build environment of the Windows SDK.

Windows SDK Command Line build environment

The Windows SDK build environment opens automatically in Debug mode, and by default builds Debug builds.  You may have noticed that the font in a debug build environment is yellow, and the title of the command window includes the word "debug."

You can use setenv commands to switch to Release mode:

1. Open the Windows SDK CMD shell (Start > All Programs > Windows SDK v6.1 > SDK CMD Shell).  This will work with older versions of the Windows SDKs too.

2. Type: setenv /release

3. The CMD shell will switch from yellow text (debug) to green text (release).

4. Build your sample as you usually do:

• Build a .sln file by typing msbuild *.sln /p:platform=[win32 | X64 | IA64]
• Build a .vcproj by typing vcbuild *.vcproj /platform=[win32 | X64 | IA64]

5. Once you’ve built the sample, strmbase.lib will be found in the \Multimedia\DirectShow\baseclasses\release folder.

From within the Visual Studio IDE

Visual Studio opens by default in Debug mode, and by default builds Debug builds.  You can easily switch to Release mode.

1.      When you open your sample in Visual Studio IDE you’ll see a green arrow pointing to the right next to the word “Debug” on the tool bar. 

2.      Use the drop down menu to change “Debug” to “Release.”

3.      Or you can open the configuration manager to set to “Release” from the menu bar: Project, Properties, Configuration Manager.  Use the pull down menu on the top of the configuration manager window to change your build settings to Release.

A really handy reference for those developing Win32 apps that target different operating systems is the Functions by Release topic in the MSDN Library.  If you want to know what's new in a recent OS, or what APIs you can use with older OSes, this is a great place to find out. 

The Functions by Release topics give you a list of Windows API additions grouped by operating system release.  You can also link to a list of functions in alphabetical order, and by category. I can't say if the list is 100% complete, so check the API listing by category to doublecheck for a specific API.

The Functions by Release topic covers these Microsoft operating systems:

About the shared compilers in the Windows SDK

The compiler installed with Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 support vertical integration with the all other VS SKUs that install the compilers. (A 'SKU' or 'Stock Keeping Unit' is an identification assigned to an individual product.)

Vertical integration means that a feature is shared among different SKUs.  The VC compilers feature is common to many VS SKUs.  For example, the compilers can be installed by the Visual Studio Team System SKU, the VC Express SKU, VS Pro SKU, or the Windows SDK.  Vertical integration means that no matter how many SKUs may install a feature, the feature is always installed to the location specified, or defaulted to in the case of the SDK, when the first SKU was installed. 

If you were to install the compilers first from VSTS, and then from the Windows SDK, both sets of compilers would be installed to the same location. In this case, the location would be specified when VSTS was installed, since it was installed first.  The installation of the Windows SDK would overwrite the files installed by the VSTS.  The compilers at the VSTS location on disk would then be shared, or vertically integrated, between the Windows SDK and VSTS.

This is usually a good thing for users with multiple versions of the SDK and Visual Studio installed because it reduces the number of files installed to disk, and simplifies configuration.  However, can also cause the occasional problem, as with the two issues described here.

Problem #1: Installing Windows SDK after installing VS 2008 breaks VS command line build environment

If you install the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework after installing Visual Studio 2008, you'll likely have problems using command like CSC, VBC, and MSBUILD.  VCbuild will likely still work, and the Visual Studio IDE works fine.

So what's going on?  The culprit is the VC++ compilers that install with the Windows SDK.  When the SDK is installed after VS, this compiler package improperly overwrites the file %\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat, pointing to a bad FrameworkDir location, and not specifying a .NET Framework version.  (This is a bug, will be fixed in the next SDK release.)

The best and easiest way to repair the VS 2008 command line build environment is to edit the file VCvars32.bat manually. Only a few lines need to be changed. Here's how:

1.  Close all instances of Visual Studio:

2.  Use Notepad or your favorite editor to change the file %\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat.  You'll need to change the top few lines where the variables are set, to set the correct path to the FrameworkDir.

Change these lines:

@SET VSINSTALLDIR=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0
@SET VCINSTALLDIR=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC
@SET FrameworkDir=Framework32
@SET FrameworkVersion=v2.0.50727

@if "%VSINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VSINSTALLDIR
@if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VCINSTALLDIR

to this:

@SET VSINSTALLDIR=c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0
@SET VCINSTALLDIR=c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC
@SET FrameworkDir=c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework
@SET FrameworkVersion=v2.0.50727
@SET Framework35Version=v3.5

@if "%VSINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VSINSTALLDIR
@if "%VCINSTALLDIR%"=="" goto error_no_VCINSTALLDIR

Now open the VS command line build environment and verify that you can build successfully.

Problem #2: VS2008 overwrites Windows 64-bit compilers

Another rarely noticed issue with sharing compiler components happens on 64-bit computers when Visual Studio 2008 is installed after the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5.  In this case, Visual Studio 2008 overwrites the files ADM64.VCPlatform.config and Itanium.VCPlatform.config. This will cause the SDK build environment will use the 64-bit cross compilers instead the 64-bit native compilers.  A user will likely not even notice the difference, because the desired 64-bit application is created without errors. 

Visual Studio 2008 overwrites the files ADM64.VCPlatform.config and Itaniumn.VCPlatform.config that are installed by the Windows SDK. The SDK versions of the config files point to the native compilers. The Visual Studio 2008 config file points to the cross compilers.

When using the Windows SDK, the native compilers are, by design, the primary compiler used on any given computer, and the cross compilers are installed on all three platforms so you can create an application to support any platform architecture (X86, X64 or IA64).  With Visual Studio (Retail SKUs), the primary compiler used to build 64-bit applications is, by design, the cross compilers.  Using the native X64 compiler in VS requires customization, and installing VS 2008 on IA64 is not supported.

If VS 2008 has overwritten the Windows SDK and switched your build environment to the corss-compilers, you can switch back to the native 64-bit compilers fairly easily:

On an x64 computer, modify the file c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\amd64\AMD64.VCPlatform.config.

Replace:

Path="$(VCInstallDir)bin\x86_amd64;$(VCInstallDir)bin;$(WindowsSdkDir)\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\Tools\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\ide;$(ProgramFiles)\HTML Help Workshop;$(FrameworkSDKDir)bin;$(FrameworkSDKDir)lib\win64;$(FrameworkDir)$(FrameworkVersion);$(FxCopDir);$(PATH)"

With:

Path="$(VCInstallDir)bin\amd64;$(VCInstallDir)bin;$(WindowsSdkDir)\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\Tools\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\ide;$(ProgramFiles)\HTML Help Workshop;$(FrameworkSDKDir)bin;$(FrameworkSDKDir)lib\win64;$(FrameworkDir)$(FrameworkVersion);$(FxCopDir);$(PATH)"

On an IA64 computer, modify file c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\bin\ia64\Itanium.VCPlatform.config.

Replace:

Path="$(VCInstallDir)bin\x86_ia64;$(VCInstallDir)bin;$(WindowsSdkDir)\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\Tools\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\ide;$(ProgramFiles)\HTML Help Workshop;$(FrameworkSDKDir)bin;$(FrameworkSDKDir)lib\win64;$(FrameworkDir)$(FrameworkVersion);$(FxCopDir);$(PATH)"

With:

Path="$(VCInstallDir)bin\ia64;$(VCInstallDir)bin;$(WindowsSdkDir)\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\Tools\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\ide;$(ProgramFiles)\HTML Help Workshop;$(FrameworkSDKDir)bin;$(FrameworkSDKDir)lib\win64;$(FrameworkDir)$(FrameworkVersion);$(FxCopDir);$(PATH)"

Uninstalling shared compilers

Uninstalling shared components like the VC compilers requires a little extra thought.  When you uninstall the Windows SDK, most of the SDK will be uninstalled automatically. However, a few components (like the compilers, FxCop and the MS Document Explorer) will need to be uninstalled separately. This is so that you don't break another application that depends on those shared components.  If the shared compilers were uninstalled automatically when you uninstalled an SDK, any Visual Studio SKUs depending on those compilers would be broken.  Read more about this in my blog post, Uninstalling SDK components.

Late breaking issues

Up-to-date Release Notes that discuss issues found after the SDK shipped are available on the MSDN Windows SDK Development Center.

If you're a WPF developer anywhere near the east coast of the US, you should put this on your calendar.  On Saturday, 17 May 2008, the Enterprise Developers Guild will have their spring Code Camp.  Code Camps are a great way to network and pick up new skills for free, and have a blast.  Two of my favorite WPF hotshots will be there, teaching how to design and develop WPF business applications.

Karl Shifflett and Josh Smith, both Microsoft MVPs and Code Project MVPs, know their way around WPF, as you can see from their great blogs and articles. 

What will you learn?

• WPF UI Architecture
• Data Binding
• WPF-Friendly Business Objects
• Advanced Data Binding
• WPF Tools & Performance Testing
• MVC and Unit Testing
• Materials & Handouts

Directions and registration will be posted on the Enterprise Developers Guild site soon.

I've heard from a couple of developers lately that want to be able to XCOPY the Windows SDK, the .NET Framework SDK, and all of the tools. These users want the tools used to build their product to be checked into the source repository along with the code, so that the build tools can be versioned with the source.

Users note that more and more products, such as the Windows SDK and the .NET Framework SDK, are moving away from the ability to be xcopy installed. Although apparently the WDK (Windows Driver Kit, previously known as the DDK), supports xcopy install, I haven't tried this myself.

Some developers modify the Windows SDK file SetEnv.cmd file to create their own custom build environment. This file sets the appropriate environment variables for the Windows SDK build environment with respect to OS and platform type. It sets the library, headers and tools paths. It determines which registry keys to look at based on architecture type, to find or set the values for VC and VS root for the compilers, and sets the path for the .NET Framework. Do you use SetEnv.cmd as a template for creating a custom build environment? Shoot me an email; I want to know more about how and why you do that!

This solution works for some, but others want the SDK to support xcopy install. That way, if they have to go back and support an old piece of code, they can just access their source repository through a label, comment or date. If they used the standard SDK with Windows Installer, the developer has to remember exactly which versions of which SDKs were installed on the build machine. It's especially thorny with the .NET Framework SDK because it uses the GAC too, essential for building managed targets.

Another complaint is that custom install locations for the Windows SDK don't behave entirely as expected. Not all components install to the specified custom location. SDK compilers are the same VC++ compiler MSI package that ships with Visual Studio, and behaves in the same way, installing to a Visual Studio Path under Program Files and not to the standard SDK directory. Other 'external' MSIs in the SDK follow suit: the Compact Framework, VC Redist, Document Explorer, etc.

Here are some of the benefits developer Trey Nash believes would come from an XCOPY install for the Windows/.NET Framework SDK. (Read Trey’s post on the MSDN Windows SDK Forum.)

1. The tools used to build the product are checked into the source depot along with the code so that the build tools are labeled/tagged along with the source. It's a concept that makes perfect sense and a concept that is employed with razzle.

2. This is very important for build reproducibility reasons. Any machine can become a build machine by simply installing the SCM client software. In other words, the build machine config is checked into the depot as well. Stepping back in time is trivial.

3. A corollary to point 2 is that each developer's machine matches the build machine config, because the config comes from the depot. A beautiful system indeed. ;-)

4. Without xcopy install of SDKs, if one need's to step back in time, instead of just being able to suck code from the depot based on some label or date, one has to remember exactly which versions of which SDKs were installed on the build machine. And if enough time has passed, one has to worry about whether one can even find them easily if at all!

5. Updating the build machine can be done at any location rather than just at the build machine. That's because the build machine's environment comes entirely from the depot.

6. The build environment is "sandboxed" into a subdirectory that is built from the contents of the source depot. Therefore, the configuration outside of the "sandbox" is irrelevant. For example, it does not matter what version of the same SDKs a developer may have on their machine if at all. All that matters is what is in the sandbox. In this scenario, a developer would be able to build a .NET 3.5 targeted binary without ever having installed the .NET 3.5 runtime or the .NET 3.5 SDK. Or a developer could build a .NET 1.1 targeted binary even if the developer's machine only has .NET 3.5 installed via Windows Installer. I'm assuming that there is some sort of SetEnv.cmd sort of thing that sets up the environment variables properly just as razzle does.

7. Build automation becomes much simpler because any tool used for the purposes of automation can be placed into the depot and versioned along with everything else, assuming it can be xcopy installed.

8. Getting a new developer (or tester that needs to build the code) up and running on the team involves simply deploying the SCM client to the machine and the rest comes down from the SCM depot. Nothing else is required to be installed first.

What are your thoughts?

Brand new MVP and WPF, VB, and Mole for VS guru Karl Shifflett has posted another great article and Silverlight video for his continuing WPF Business Application Series. This one covers Business Object Declarative Programming; How To Implement Object Validation & Logging. You can find the in-depth article and video on Code Project. (Karl also has a WPF Sample Series on his blog, and posts several WPF Sample Applications each month.)

Here Karl covers declarative programming in the business layer, in nice detail and broken down into digestible chunks.  This library allows for codeless validation of business object, codeless character text case correction and entity log entry creation.  His Silverlight video demonstrates the features of the UI.

After reading and watching, you’ll quickly be able to validate business entity objects and report in a unified manner all form exceptions and entity broken validation rules. Karl again shows some of WPF's potential for writing great business applications.

Previous articles in this series

• Part 1 Application Structure, Skinning & Custom ToolBar Button Control
• Part 2 Form Notification Control That Binds To IDataErrorInfo.Error Property

In this article, Part 3 Business Object Declarative Programming; How To Implement Object Validation & Logging

• Introduction
• Series Goal
• Background
• ToolBar Buttons & Data Layer
• BusinessEntityBase
• Declarative Object Validation
• BusinessEntityBase.SetPropertyValue Method
• Business Form Binding to Business Entity Objects
• Reporting of Business Entity Validation Errors and Business Form Exceptions
• Form TextBox Binding Statement
• PartThree.xaml and PartThree.xaml.vb
• Declarative Logging
• Code Generation Requirements
• Close

What’s coming up next

• Part 4 Business Object Declarative Programming; How The Business Entity Base Class Works
• Part 5 Business Object Declarative Programming; Dynamic Form Control
• Part 6 Exception Handling and Logging
• Part 7 Loading Menus & ToolBar From Object Source & Application Security
• Part 8 Business Application MDI
• Part 9 Displaying SQL Server Reporting Services Reports In WPF
• Part 10 Complete Layered WPF Business Application
• Part 11 Complete Layered ASP.NET Business Application

Congratulations to Karl on his recent MVP award! The MVP award represents the ultimate recognition for Karl’s exceptional contributions to technical communities around the world.

AT&T says it will start using Microsoft's Surface tabletop computers, like the one unveiled last year. Surface computers will be used in retail stores starting this month to help mobile phone customers learn more about features, accessories, and rate plans. The first AT&T stores to use Surfaces will be near San Francisco, San Antonio, Atlanta and New York City.

 Andy Baio at Waxy.org is creating digitized version of old VHS tapes.  Internet Power! brings back memories of technology weirdness long forgotten, back when less than 40 million people were online.  It’s fun to see Windows 3.1, AIR Mosaic, and 14.4 modems shown as cutting edge technology, with Microsoft’s Bret Arsenault (now a GM at Microsoft) explaining the hot new superhighway of information.   

Here are the ‘futuristic’ Web sites visited in the film (at the 27 minute mark):

The Smithsonian, http://www.si.edu/
The Discovery Channel Online, http://www.discovery.com
The Weatherman, http://pixi.com/~gattoga/index.html
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Online, http://rockhall.com
Hollywood Online, http://www.hollywood.com
America Online, http://www.aol.com
Yahoo!, http://www.yahoo.com
The Internet Mall, http://www.mecklerweb.com:80/imall
The Toystore, http://www.toystore.com
Nintendo of America Online, http://www.nintendo.com
Happy Puppy Game Site, http://www.happypuppy.com
3D Riddler, http://cvs.anu.edu.au/andy/rid/riddle.html
CBS, http://www.cbs.com
NBC, http://www.nbc.com
PBS, http://www.pbs.com
ESPN, http://www.espnet.sportszone.com
Hotwired, http://www.hotwired.com
Time, http://www.timeinc.com
Price Costco Online, http://www.pricecostco.com

Are you looking for a visual debugger for MsBuild? It seems like lots of folks are. Looking at the results of the  feature poll on the MSBuild blog, I see that a debugger for MSBuild projects is the number one vNext request from users.  Well, wait no more. Partho Das, a developer in Visual Studio land, put together a Visual Debugger for MSBuild Projects, and it’s available on CodePlex (with instructions) so you can start using it right away.

v1 Features:

• Load project and arbitrary target files
• Set/View build environment
• Step-Into tasks and targets (F11), Run (F5), Break execution, Step into imported projects, step into CallTarget & MSBuild tasks, task & target batching
• Set breakpoints on tasks and targets, delete/view breakpoints, locate breakpoints in code
• View call stacks (esp. useful for stepping into CallTargets & MSBuild tasks), locate stack frame in code
• View debugger messages, MSBuild traces in Output window
• RO View of evaluated Items and Properties in break mode
• Handles out-of-box VS2008 projects and complex Microsoft's Developer Divisions's MSBuild based builds
• Requires only .NET Framework 3.5 RTM (no VS2008 required)

Read what the press is saying about Windows Server 2008.  Wow!

Product review: Windows Server 2008 is the host with the most, and the perfect guest by Tom Yager of InfoWorld.   

Microsoft's slimmer and stronger server OS, bolstered by virtualization, networking, and security advances, is an upgrade that IT can't refuse, a 200-pound gorilla that eats commercial Linux.

Windows Server 2008 Review by Paul Thurrott of Windows SuperSite

Windows Server 2008 is a solid and impressive upgrade that should meet the needs of virtually any business customer. I see no serious downsides to this product at all. Highly recommended.

Windows Server 2008 – The Real Deal by Mario Morejon of CRN

With so much ROI potential and virtualization built in, Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)’s Windows Server 2008 – just released to manufacturing and set to launch later this month – promises to change the way channel delivers solutions.

Review: Microsoft’s Hyper-V puts VMware and Linux on Notice by Jason Perlow of ZDNet

Overall, and for what is currently a beta of a 1.0 release, I think Microsoft did a great job with the Hyper-V manager – console access to the VMs is nice and fast and VM performance is excellent, and the provisioning and setup process is wizard-based and straightforward. I’d currently say that from a polish and maturity standpoint, its management capabilities are definitely better than what is in Citrix XenServer 4.x, and way ahead of what currently exists in Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SuSE Linux Enterprise Server.

The Soul of Windows Server 2008: Server Core and Hyper-V by Karen Forster of Windows IT pro

Server 2008 debuts a new roles-based management paradigm enabled by componentization of the OS; but the features this release will be notable for are Server Core and native virtualization, Hyper-V.

Preview: The Big Launch by Michael Desmond of Redmond Developer News

Eric Rezabek, product manager in the Windows Server Division at Microsoft, says the shipping version of Windows Server today includes a beta version of Hyper-V, installable as a standard server role, for customers to work with. “The key to that hypervisor architecture is just having it sit right on the bare metal, having access to the resources, so the child machines run much quicker," he says.

You Must move to Windows Server 2008 by Peter Bruzzese of InfoWorld

Windows Server 2008 is absolutely awesome. There, I've said it. Now let me tell you why. First off, it is based on the same architecture as Windows Vista (also an awesome product from an architectural perspective).

Test Center Tracker: Windows Server 2008 a “Must-upgrade” OS by Ted Samson of InfoWorld

Microsoft has made great strides with the latest version of the OS, including the addition of "fine-grained, modular configurability [that] lets you shrink the OS footprint down to virtualization guest-friendly size, and Server Core drops the Windows GUI to dramatically reduce the memory requirements of a virtualized guest.

Product Review: Windows Server 2008 is upgrade IT can't refuse by Tom Sullivan of InfoWorld

Thanks in no small part to a smaller resource footprint that brings a host of capabilities, including virtualization, enhanced security and better networking, Microsoft’s 64-bit OS, Windows Server 2008, is what Tom Yager calls an upgrade that IT can't refuse.

First Look: Windows Server 2008 by Tom Henderson of PC World (and Network World)

In Network World testing of Windows Server 2008 gold code -- the product officially launches on Wednesday -- we found that Microsoft has made a number of improvements to its flagship server operating system.

Reader Review: Windows Server 2008: So Far, So Good by Joanne Cummings of Redmond Magazine

Enhanced administration, security, IIS updates and virtualization promise to make moving Microsoft’s new server OS worthwhile.

What Does the Upgrade Landscape Look like for Windows Server 2008 by Frank Ohlhorst of eWEEK Channel Insider

The whole idea here is to ease the customer's pain, while offering the advanced capabilities offered by Windows Server 2008.  So, by eliminating complex in-place upgrade and migration scenarios, templates and wizards, Microsoft has done the channel a favor by forcing adopters to focus on the new features and not be hampered by legacy workarounds.

Secrets of Windows Server 2008 by Sean McCown of InfoWorld

Microsoft has made me very happy with its enhancements to NTFS. In Longhorn, NTFS is no longer just a file system. Instead, it's an active part of the server and its integrity.

Server 2008: The Windows Workstation we always wanted by Jason Perlow (guest reviewer) with Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet

Guest blogger Jason Perlow (of asbestos-underwear fame) has been an advocate for Microsoft making Windows Server 2008 available as in workstation/desktop form. Like the old Windows NT and Windows 2000 Workstation products, a Windows Server 2008 Workstation would be a form factor for power users who don’t need all the Vista desktop eye candy, but care more about manageability and performance.

Inside Windows Server 2008 by Oliver Rist of PC Magazine

Microsoft's virtualization package is going to give expensive platforms like VMware a run for their money. SMBs will be able to deploy more servers with fewer headaches, less hardware, and lower costs.

Microsoft unveils Windows Server 2008 by Oliver Rist of PC Magazine

Another cool feature—which allows virtual servers to participate in the same cluster as straight hardware servers—will come out with Hyper-V.

Bob Visse, Microsoft's senior director of marketing for Windows Server 2008, said that the company has gone to extreme lengths to make the platform highly reliable out of the gate.

Windows Server 2008: Redmond's new server OS hits pay dirt by Tom Yager of InfoWorld

WS08 is loaded with Microsoft's good ideas.

Microsoft’s high hopes for Windows Server 2008 by Tom Sullivan of InfoWorld

Microsoft today is officially launching what was once Longhorn and is now known as Windows Server 2008 (WS08) -- and doing so with high hopes for the OS.

Image Gallery: Much to Like in Windows Server 2008 by Jonathan Hassell of Computer World

First Look: Windows Server 2008 by Mario Morejon of CRN

Windows Server 2008 Slideshow by Oliver Rist or PC Magazine

Five things we love about Windows 2008 Server Edition by Tom Henderson of Network World

Heroes Happen Here Launch Event Pictures by Paul Thurrott of Windows SuperSite