Exchange 2003 Exam Tested This Week

<font size="3">Exchange 2003 Exam Tested This Week</font>
Microsoft sends newest exam, 70-284, Implementing and and Managing Exchange Server 2003, to beta testing.

Microsoft today began beta tests of its new Exchange exam, 70-284, Implementing and and Managing Exchange Server 2003; candidates can register for the exam via Prometric and Vue testing centers. The testing phase ends Sept. 14. While under beta, the exam is numbered 71-284.

Exam 70-284 counts as an elective toward the Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 versions of the MCSA and MCSE titles, but it's a "prescribed" core exam for all versions of the new messaging specialist titles, MCSA: Messaging and MCSE: Messaging. Under the MCSE: Messaging for Windows 2000 title, the exam counts toward the prescribed path only if taken with 70-285, Designing an Exchange 2003 Organization,...

Payphone deal to take Cloud's hotspot tally to 10,000

<font size="3">Payphone deal to take Cloud's hotspot tally to 10,000</font>

Pub-based Wi-Fi network The Cloud is to expand its chain of 1800-odd hotspots to as many as 10,000, thanks to deal signed with payphone company NWP Spectrum.

The agreement will see The Cloud add Wi-Fi to many of NWP's 7000 payphone installations throughout the UK. That's in addition to the 3000 hotspots The Cloud plans to have in place by the end of the year.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Work will start fitting access points immediately, but the companies did not say when the roll-out process will be complete. According to a spokesman for The Cloud, implementation is being governed by demand, with the busiest sites being 'upgraded' first.

NWP provides payphone services on the High Street, and through partners - it manages London Underground's payphone installations, for example, along with those in the UK's airports,...

Plugging The Holes In Windows

<font size="3">Plugging The Holes In Windows</font>

n recent weeks, anyone running PCs or servers with Microsoft Windows has had to contend with the threat of rampaging worms that might invade their systems if they aren't careful. This week Microsoft revealed that its users had to plug no less than five security holes-one nasty, the others not so-in various versions of its software.

For the world's biggest software company, security issues are turning into the topic that never seems to quiet down. Home users are finding they have to install software patches more frequently than before. For corporate IT managers, the frequent updates mean they have to contend with the logistical challenge of ensuring that hundreds or thousands of Microsoft users are installing the right patches, and then making sure those patches don't interfere with existing software applications.

Of the five vulnerabilities...

Internet Explorer Object Data Remote Execution Vulnerability

<font size="3">IE Object Data Remote Execution Vulnerability</font>

Severity:High (Remote Code Execution)

Systems Affected:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows Server 2003

eEye Digital Security has discovered a security vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer that would allow executable code to run automatically upon rendering malicious HTML.

Dont allow your system to remain vulnerable, this is a very critical hole, and should be patched immediately. As MSBlaster shows, you can't take these kind of holes too lightly.

pHaez has created a site to test if you are open to the hole, and allow you to patch it. you can find it at: Test &amp; Fix Security Hole

View: Test and Fix Hole
Warning the above link...

Microsoft benchmarks step up Linux assault

<font size="3">Microsoft benchmarks step up Linux assault </font>
Company claims Linux on the mainframe lags behind Windows 2003 on Intel systems

Stepping up its campaign against the Linux operating system, Microsoft Corp. on Thursday released file and Web serving benchmark results that, it claims, show that Linux on the mainframe lags behind Windows 2003 on Intel Corp. systems in terms of performance for the money. Microsoft ran the benchmark tests in response to what it believes were IBM's unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of running Linux on its mainframe hardware, according to Microsoft General Manager of Platform Strategy Martin Taylor. "IBM was making some claims and customers were trying to figure some things out and didn't have the facts in front of them," he said.

Taylor, who recently became Microsoft's Linux point man, has promised to focus on facts instead of emotional arguments when...

Small Business Server Gets First Exam

<font size="3">Small Business Server Gets First Exam </font>
Microsoft will shortly be releasing the first exam for people who want to prove their expertise in Small Business Server 2003.

Exam 70-282, Designing, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for a Small- and Medium-Sized Business, is expected to go into beta testing between September 22 and September 28. The live exam will be released in December, according to David Lowe, Product Manager, Business and Product Strategy, Microsoft Learning.

The exam will be accepted as an elective for the Windows Server 2003 MCSE track. Microsoft official training will be offered in course 2395, Designing, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for a Small and Medium-Sized Business.

The objectives list for the exam, available here, encompasses a wide-ranging set of topics, including analysis of the existing environment; design of the solution;...

'Longhorn' Rollout Slips

<font size="3">'Longhorn' Rollout Slips</font>

Microsoft Corp. has once again shifted the schedule for the release of "Longhorn," the company's next major version of Windows, leaving some users up in the air about an upgrade path.

Microsoft executives from Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates on down have long described Longhorn as the Redmond, Wash., company's most revolutionary operating system to date. The product was originally expected to ship next year. Then in May of this year, officials pushed back the release date to 2005. But now executives are declining to say when they expect the software to ship.


Source: www.eweek.com

Price war looming over faster ADSL

<font size="3">Price war looming over faster ADSL </font>
UK ISPs are planning to offer 1Mbps high-speed broadband services for under £30 a month

Many UK Web users will soon be able to get a 1Mbps broadband connection for £30 a month or less. Several Internet service providers are gearing up to offer 1Mbps ADSL for no more than other ISPs are currently charging for a 512Kbps link.

Source: zdnet news

Broadband access affects property prices

<font size="3">Broadband runs like water </font>

Broadband is increasingly becoming regarded as a basic utility - such as gas, electricity and water - and could affect the value and take-up of commercial property developments.

What's more, broadband is no longer exclusive to office developments, but is being regarded as a key asset for retail and industrial premises, according to UK-based commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton.

Full story www.theregister.co.uk

New MCP Titles Highlight Exchange Expertise

<font size="3">New MCP Titles Highlight Exchange Expertise </font>
Microsoft adds two new specialist titles to its MCSA/MCSE tracks, follows up with some details on two new Exchange 2003-based exams.

Microsoft this morning announced new specialist titles, MCSA: Messaging and MCSE: Messaging, for the systems administrator and systems engineer certifications. The titles are aimed at certification candidates who seek a title that denotes skills in planning and administering a messaging system based on Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003, the company's newest messaging software system that will be officially released mid-October.

Full Story: mcpmag.com