The Renco Lounge

test

2010-09-23T08:51:00.001-07:00



Sub ListDomains()
 Dim objNameSpace
 Dim Domain
 
 Set objNameSpace = GetObject("WinNT:")
 For Each objDomain In objNameSpace
  WScript.Echo "Name: " &  objDomain.Name
 Next
End Sub

Workarounds for the GMAIL DOWN Problem

2009-09-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in our earlier post, many people depend on GMail for their day-to-day work. So GMail going down is a big problem for them.

Here are some of the workarounds that can help during such GMAIL DOWN times:

1. Access Gmail through IMAP/POP
In addtion to the normal web access, users can access their emails in GMail through IMAP/POP. This alternative access can be useful when the web access to Gmail goes down.

For details and procedures about how to access emails in GMail through IMAP/POP, refer the help document in the below URL: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=12769

2. Access GMail through iGoogle
iGoogle is a set of widgets for personalized Google page. By adding the any one of the GMail widgets for iGoogle, users can view their emails in the iGoogle page itself.

What made the GMAIL go DOWN, this time - September 1, 2009?

2009-09-02T01:24:00.000-07:00

In the recent times, GMail service going down (Temporary Error 502) seems to be happening at least once in every two months. GMail being one of the most widely used mail service in the world today, such Service Down problems aren't simply minor ones for those who rely upon GMail for their work.

Here is a summary of the incidents, from GMail's Blog, that had affected the GMail service, recently.

GMail team made a small fraction of GMail servers down, as a part of routine maintenance.
However the team underestimated the load that would be placed to the Router Servers (that redirect requests to appropriate GMail servers) because of this maintenance activity.
During the maintenance work, few of the Router Servers were overloaded, which were later transferred onto other remaining Router Servers and thus the entire system was locked in few minutes.
Only the Web access to GMail was affected. IMAP/POP access to GMail were not affected as they don't use these router servers.
Gmail Team have solved this problem and have taken actions to avoid similar problems in future.

How to display All UNREAD Emails in GMAIL

2009-08-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

At times, we would like to display only the Unread emails in the GMail's Inbox. Here is a small tip to achieve this :

Go to GMail.com
In the Search Box at the right top of the page, type the following:

label:(unread inbox)
Click the "Search Mail" button

Now all the UNREAD Emails in the Inbox will be listed.

Vote for your favorite Windows Website

2009-08-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

The Windows Club is conducting an online contest to select the Best Windows Website for 2009. The board of Judges (11 members) have narrowed the list from 60+ nominated sites to a list of Top 10 Windows sites.

Here are the Top 10 windows sites selected for the contest:

winhelponline.com
4sysops.com
sevenforums.com
windows7center.com
msigeek.com
maximumpcguides.com
7tutorials.com
bhandler.spaces.live.com
intowindows.com
windowsvalley.com

Internet users can vote for their favorite Windows site 2009 at the below URL :

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/poll-vote-for-the-best-windows-website-2009

Google Acquires On2 Technologies

2009-08-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday August 4, 2009 the Internet Search company Google acquired On2 On2 Technologies, a video technology company, for $106.5 million. On2 Technologies creates advanced video compression technologies that power the video in leading desktop and mobile applications and devices. On2 Technologies is headquartered in Clifton Park, NY USA.

When speaking about this acuisition Google's VP of product management Mr. Sundar Pichai, said

"Today video is an essential part of the Web experience, and we believe high-quality video compression technology should be a part of the Web platform, We are committed to innovation in video quality on the Web, and we believe that On2's team and technology will help us further that goal."

Matt Frost, interim CEO of On2 have also expressed his thrill on On2 joining Google, which according to him is one of the world's most innovative company.

With this acquistion Google may be using On2's video codecs (VP6, VP7, and VP8) as alternatives to their current codecs (H.264 video) According to On2, VP8 video uses about 40% less data than H.264 video. For a high traffic site like YouTube, that serves hundreds of millions of videos per day, this bandwidth savings will be really significant.

Windows 7 family pack from Microsoft!!

2009-07-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that it has plans to offer a "family pack" for its new Windows 7 Operating System.

With this "family pack" users can install it in upto three PCs. However nothing was said about the cost of this Windows 7 Family Pack.

It is to be noted that windows users have been asking for such family pack for long time. Apple already offers a family pack for its Mac OS X since 2002, which can be installed in up to five computers.

The Hack : Twitter, GMail, Google Apps and Techcrunch and Whats Next???

2009-07-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a summary of what had happened in this incident..

An Hacker calling himself as "Hacker Croll" had successfully accessed the GMail accounts of an administrator in Twitter and few other Twitter employees, using the simple password guessing hacks.

With the access to those email accounts, he was able to access some of the confidential documents of Twitter in Google Apps - which is Google's cloud-based suite of applications for business applications. Then he sent these confidential documents to TechCrunch, a popular technology blog - which later published some of the not-so-confidential data from those hijacked documents.

Now after this incident the technology world is alarmed about the necessity of strong passwords. You blame the Twitter users or the Google Apps, a security breach is a fatal problem, especially when everyone are moving towards the SaaS.

This incident is an alarm to everyone. In addition to strong passwords some technology should come to ensure more security in the cloud and we believe that will happen...

Harmful Vulerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer

2009-07-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Today, the Microsoft have posted about a newly found harmful vulnerability in its Internet Explorer program (running in Windows XP and Windows 2003 servers Operating Systems). According to the experts, with this vulnerability, attackers can get complete access to the system and harm the computer, when the users click on any affected video links in Internet explorer.

This issue is critical, the attackers get the access privileges of the user who clicks on the link.

Though there aren't any immediate patch from Microsoft to resolve this security hole, they do have some workarounds to stop the attack. The link to the fix is HERE

South African Airways select Pink Elephant for IT Transformation Initiative

2009-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today in an announcement, Pink Elephant, the market leader in IT Management consultation and training, stated that the South African Airways have chosen Pink Elephant to implement its strategic IT transformation intiatives. Puleng Technologies and NewScale will also work with the Pink Elephant in this initiative.

The IT transformation programme includes, implementation of ITIL best practices, with focus on financial and business relationship management.

South African Airways, is Africa's largest domestic and international airline operator.

How to test the download speed of your Internet connection - DownTester [Free]

2009-05-22T09:32:00.001-07:00

DownTester (v1.10) from NirSoft allows you to easily test the Internet speed in multiple locations around the world. You will have to enter the list of URLs that you want to test, and DownTester can provide the speed of Internet for all those URLs.

When the test is finished, the results can be exported to text/html/xml/csv files. This utility can run in Windows 98,Me,2000,XP,2003,2008,Vista, and Windows 7.

This tool can also be executed in command lines, which supports plenty of options and also supports few other languages. This is a free software.

For more details, refer this page.

[FREE] How to install Windows updates using command prompt? - WuInstall

2009-05-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

WuInstall (from XEOX) is command line utility to install windows update in remote computers with more control. Using this tool, Windows Administrators can use this tool to install the windows updates for users who do not want to use the automatic windows update.

Using the Windows update APIs WuInstall can search either Microsoft Update Server or the local WSUS Server for the latest updates, and install the same in the windows computer.

The sample screen of the utility is shown on the left side.

For more details about the utility, refer this page.

Software Directory

2009-05-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

In this section you will find list of Software products mainly used in the IT domain. To learn more about any of these software, kindly click on the link provided for each software.

If you are a software vendor and would like to list your software product in this page kindly contact us with details about your product.

thanks,
the Renco team

----------

Categories :

Help Desk software
Network Inventory software
Network Monitoring/Management software
Other utilities for System Administrators

Help Desk Software:

Numara Track-It
HelpSTAR
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Helpdesk Pilot

Network Inventory Software:

Software to be added soon

Network Monitoring/Management software:

Software to be added soon

Windows 7 - No More Automatic Execution of files from removable media

2009-05-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Microsoft have announced that in its latest Windows 7 RC edition, it had made some changes in the Auto Play component. Windows 7 will no longer auto play the media/executable files in its removable media like USB drives, etc.

However auto play will work fine for the CD/DVD players.

Windows Explorer Security Risk retained in Windows 7

2009-05-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

According to Mikko H. Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, the recently launched Operating System Windows 7 RC, still retains the Security Risk in Windows Explporer, which is reported from the NT era.

Windows Explorer provides a feature to hide the file's extensions and also to change the icon. Some Virus/Malicious programs make use of this feature to disguise the executable files as some text files or such formats.

i,e they would name an executable VIRUS.EXE as VIRUS.TXT.EXE, which will shown by the Windows Explorer as VIRUS.TXT

This is said to one of the long pending security issues in Windows Operating Systems. Hope Microsoft handles this security issue in its future updates.

How to download Windows 7 Release Candidate?

2009-05-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

Microsoft have officially launched the Release Candidate edition its next operating system - Microsoft Windows 7.

A quick summary about this release candidate version:

Windows 7 RC edition will be available for download till July 2009.
Users can install any number of Windows 7 RC during this trial edition.
Windows 7 RC will expire on June 1, 2010 - From March 1, 2010, the PC would start shutting down every two hours.

More details is availabe at this Microsoft Windows 7 site.

Official release of Windows 7 Operating system is likely to happen during October 2009.

Windows 7 to be officially released by October 2009???

2009-05-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

This is the new Acer Aspire Z5600 PC - new Entertainment focused PC from HP. This computer comes with a 24" touch-screen display, built-in TV tuner card, Blu-ray recorder, a 2 TB hard drive and the compact LCD display.

Above all, this PC will be loaded with Windows 7 - the new version of Operating System from the Microsoft.

According to the Acer team, this PC will be launched by October 2009 which also means Windows 7 will be officially available by then.

The release candidate version this Windows 7 operating system is expected to be launched by next week.

How to reset a Windows Vista admin password

2009-01-19T03:35:00.000-08:00

Mentioned below are few of the possible ways to reset an Admin account password in Microsoft Winidows Vista.

1. Using another Administrator account to reset password:
This is the simplest step to resolve the problem, however this approach will be useful only if you remember the credentials of another administrator account.

Log on to the computer with this known administrator account, go to "Local Users and Groups" > Users > Right Click the account > Set Password .

2. Using Password Reset Disk
If you don't remember the administrator credentials, then this is another simple solution to solve the problem. However, this solution do have some limitation - The Password Reset Disk needs to be created before the password is lost. This task can be tedious if there are many windows computers in the network with local administrator accounts.

The procedure to create Password Reset Disk is available HERE.

3. Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset
Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (MSDaRT) is a toolset from Microsoft that provides powerful and intuitive tools which help Windows System Administrators to recover PCs that have become unusable, and easily identify root causes of system issues. The Locksmith tool in MSDaRT can reset admin password very smoothly.

More details about MSDaRT is available HERE

4. Using 3rd party Password Reset Tools:
There are plenty Software Tools (both Free and Commercial) are available to Reset Administrator passwords in Windows Computers. Care should be taken before applying these tools as few of these software do not provide any warranty on its usage. As most of these software modify the SAM table in the computer, additional care needs to be taken in choosing the right tool.

Some of the popular Password Reset Tools are:

Trinity Rescue Kit : a Free Linux based recovery solution that provides recovery/repair solution for Windows computers.
NT Password & Registry Editor
Password Changer
Ophcrack

Update on Windows 7 Beta Availability

2009-01-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

From the Windows Team Blog

Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta.

We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta,

New search-by-style options for Google Image Search

2008-12-29T01:46:00.000-08:00

Google have added some new options for its Image Search. The recent enhancements, allow users to search for Clip art images only or Line Drawing images only. Sometimes back, Google provided similar optins to search only faces and photographs in Google Image search.

More details available at the Google Blog

Will Network Management Software move to SaaS???

2008-12-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

We are living in the period which is the beginning of the SaaS era. After the entry of Google into this territory, the awareness about SaaS had increased tremendously - thus increasing the market size.

Today most of the critical Business applications like CRMs, Project Management, content management,etc have moved to the cloud. When so many business applications are going SaaS, Network Management Software are not exceptions.

Some companies (though most of them are Starups, currently) are providiing Network Management/Monitoring solutions through SaaS. Companies like Service-Now and Pagalo are already looking successful in this domain.

Challenges ahead...
Some of the biggest challenges that are faced in moving the Network Management/Monitoring Software to SaaS model are :

Data Security :
If the Critical network infrastructure data moved outside the organization in the cloud, is hacked , it could severely affect the organization. The service providers offerinig IT Management software as SaaS, will have to ensure high security and reliabiltiy.

Device Discovery/Connectivity :
Most of the netowork monitoring software require 24x7 connection with the devices especially the servers. Opening the critical servers to the cloud can also be risky.

Installation of a probe in the network can solve this problem to some extent.

SMB's will adapt first...
The biggest advantage of moving to SaaS is Low Cost. No additional budget needs to allocated for installation and maintanance. In this times of economic downturn, SaaS can be a boon for the SMBs.

The SMB's who will have to increase their hardware resources, but cannot increase the human resources to manage them, will move quickly to the SaaS model of IT management. Hence in initial stages, SMBs will constitute majority of the IT Management SaaS market and when this trend grows, even big organizations will be moving to the this model

More innovations to happen in SaaS with IT Management....
A recent research report from Forrester on "How Big Is SaaS In IT Management Software?" says currently (in 2008) only 1% of the Network Management Software market is served by SaaS and forecasts that by 2013, it would grow to 10% of the $18 billion IT management software market.

When the market size grows, more and more software vendors (including the well established vendors) will be providing their IT Management Solution under SaaS and more innovations are sure to happen in SaaS, when the IT Management Software goes SaaS

Interesting time ahead....

Free community edition of Jaguar SX from ByteSphere Technologies

2008-12-24T11:53:00.000-08:00

ByteSphere Technologies has announced a free community edition of Jaguar SX . Jaguar SX is a wildly popular network fault monitoring software system.

This free Jaguar Community Edition will support up to 2,500 monitors complete with discovery, polling, reporting, charting, alarming, and lot more.

Regarding the free edition, ByteSphere's president Nick Saparoff says they wanted to provide the IT community the best solution at low cost during this time of economic crisis.

Links : ByteSphere Technologies

Jon Oltsik's Security Trends for 2009

2008-12-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

Jon Oltsik, a senior analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, have written about his top 10 list of technologies and trends for the next year, in CNET

1. The evolving definition of endpoint security: Some analysts have declared that, antivirus software is dead. I disagree and submit that endpoint security is simply evolving as a function of the changing threat landscape. This is the primary reason why Sophos (a legacy antivirus company) bought Utimaco (a data security company) in 2008. Look for traditional antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewall software to merge with endpoint operations, data loss prevention, and full-disk encryption in 2009.
2. More emphasis on cybersecurity: This year began with the establishment of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI), an effort to strengthen government networks. While well-intended, CNCI has received minimal funding and support. In December, a Center for Strategic and International Studies report, further described the sorry state of cybersecurity and called for drastic improvements. Look for President-elect Barack Obama to get behind this effort in a big way with funding, a real public/private partnership, and cooperative intelligence and law enforcement with a growing list of foreign nations.
3. Increasingly stringent privacy legislation: Privacy advocates like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology are hopeful that the change in administration will finally lead to more comprehensive national privacy legislation in 2009 and beyond. This momentum should persuade the Senate to finally push the Personal and Data Privacy Act of 2007 (S.495), which has been dormant since May. In the meantime, look for states like Michigan and Washington to follow the lead of Massachusetts and Nevada in mandating data encryption.
4. Security in the cloud: While "cloud" has turned into a vague industry security blanket term, I do believe that 2009 will be a strong year for managed security services. Many organizations simply don't have the capital budget dollars or security skills to take on the increasingly sophisticated bad guys themselves--good news for IBM and Symantec. Additionally, companies like Blue Coat, Cisco, and Trend Micro will supplement on-site security equipment with scalable reputation and update services in the cloud.
5. Virtualization security: As server and desktop virtualization continues to proliferate, we will need better security tools for things like role-based access control, virtual server identity management, virtual network security, and reporting/auditing. Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware will lead this effort with partnering support from others like IBM (Project Phantom), McAfee, and Q1 Labs.
6. Secure software development: In 2008, the majority of malicious code attacks targeted applications, not operating systems. This fact combined with growing focus on cybersecurity will force software companies to embrace secure software development efforts such as the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) or the SANS Software Security Institute. Ironically, Microsoft and its Pro Network partners like Security Innovation are best positioned to bring secure software development best practices to the masses.
7. Information-centric security: The recent Microsoft/RSA announcement is a sign of things to come. Organizations large and small need to be able to discover and classify sensitive information, apply security policies, and then enforce these policies throughout the network. This will continue to become a reality in 2009 as documents and file systems are integrated with data loss prevention and enterprise rights management systems. Look for further progress like the introduction of PKI in the mix along with discussions about metadata standards for data classification and security rules enforcement.
8. Ubiquitous encryption: Encryption technologies are more often becoming "baked in" rather than "bolted on." Tape drives now contain cryptographic processors as do hard drives from Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Seagate. And Intel will ship a version of its vPro chip set in 2009 that also supports on-board encryption. In 2009, we will start to see multiple layers of encryption technologies running on top of each other. Good for data confidentiality and integrity but this will also highlight the need for enterprise-class encryption key management--another technology on the 2009 "watch list."
9. Entitlement management: Authentication gets you in the network door, while entitlement management governs what you can and can't do. Entitlement management is currently done on an application-by-application basis but this doesn't scale, is ripe for human error, and is nearly impossible to audit for compliance. Enter centralized entitlement management brought to you by Cisco, IBM/Tivoli, Rohati, and RSA Security. Look for lots of buzz as well as pilot projects by the summer. By the end of 2009, IT professionals should be intimately familiar with XACML (XML Access Control Markup Language).
10. Business process security: Securing all IT assets across the enterprise is a daunting task--too big for risk-averse business managers. Rather than rely on IT reports and security point tools alone, line-of-business executives will want more visibility and oversight into their exclusive domains with detailed and succinct portals, reports, and auditing systems. Ultimately, CEOs will support this effort as it forces individual business units to build security into their P&Ls. This trend favors big services vendors like Accenture, CSC, and HP with vertical industry tools, business process expertise, and executive relationships.

Web Help Desk announces Free Help Desk Software

2008-12-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

Web Help Desk, a leading Help Desk Software solution, has released a Free Edition of its web-based incident management software. This free software will be suitable for small business, K-12 Institutions and small government organizations.

The Free edition is completely free from ads and also gets all software upgrades for one full year.

Few of the Key features in thi Free Help Desk Software are:

Cross-Platform Technology : Installations available for Windows/Linux/Mac
Web Portal
Email to Ticket conversations
Ticket History and Audit Trails
SLA Email Alerts and Reminders
Knowledge Base
LDAP/Active Directory Integration

Links : Web Help Desk | Free Edition | Online Demo

Whats New in Google Blog Gadget 2.0?

2008-12-19T05:03:00.000-08:00

Google have released the next version of their Blog Gadget - Google Blog Gadget 2.0 The new version helps the users to translates blog posts into 34 supported languages.

By default, the gadget translates the posts into the browser's language. The users can also choose any of the supported languages.

More details available at Google Blog.

Socialmedian acquired by XING

2008-12-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

European Business Social Network XING have acquired Socialmedian for approximately US $ 7.5 millions.

Socialmedian’s founding CEO Jason Goldberg will join XING as Vice President Applications Platform, and the entire socialmedian team will be integrated into the company.

Socialmedian is a personalized news filter that integrates well with other social networking services. It aggregates news articles from around the web, blogosphere and social services like Digg, Delicious, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, Google Reader, FriendFeed, etc. which are then filtered by topic.

With this acquisition XING want to add more business news functionality into the network.

More detaila about the story is available at TechCrunch

Free Microsoft Software for startups

2008-12-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

Start-ups can now freely use Microsoft software. Buying original software is one of the biggest expense for start-ups. This is the reason that most of the software start-ups go for open source software. Inorder to tackle the growing popularity of open source software among the startup companies, Software Giant Microsoft have started a new program - "Microsoft BizSpare"

Microsoft BizSpare allows small start-ups to use most of its software freely for 3 years. However after the first 3 years, the companies will have to pay for the usage.

Eligibility Criteria for the program:

should be involved in software development
privately held
should not be in business for more than 3 years
annual revenue should be less than US $ 1 million

Software that can be freely used:

All the software included in the Microsoft® Visual Studio® Team System Team Suite (VSTS) with MSDN® Premium subscription
Expression® Studio Version 2
VSTS Team Foundation Server (standard edition)

Startups providing "Software as a service" can avail the following hosting solutions freely

Microsoft Windows Server® (all editions up to and including Enterprise)
Microsoft SQL Server® (all editions)
Microsoft Office SharePoint® Portal Server
Microsoft System Center
Microsoft BizTalk® Server
Microsoft Dynamics® CRM (coming soon)

more information available @ http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark

Microsoft releases patch for critical IE security flaw

2008-12-18T01:47:00.000-08:00

Microsoft have released a critical security patch on Wednesday to fix the recent Security Flaw in found Internet Explorer.

The patch will prevent the attckers from downloading malicious programs into user's computers, if they visit malicious web sites or a legitimate site which is infected.

More information about the update is available HERE

Security flaw in Internet Explorer

2008-12-18T01:39:00.001-08:00

A New Security Flaw has been identified in the Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer Browser.

The flaw lets criminals take over victims' machines merely by tricking them into visiting websites tainted with malicious programming code.

According to the anti-virus software maker Trend Micro Inc. as many as 10,000 sites have been compromised since last week to exploit this browser flaw.

Microsoft said, it is working on the flaw and is planning to fix the problem through an emergency software update. Currently they are also providing some complex workarounds to minimize the threat.

Twitter + Blogging = Twitblogs

2008-12-16T04:05:00.000-08:00

Twitblogs is a blogging service, targetted towards the Twitter users, who want to express their thoughts in more than 140 characters or want to embed images in their posts.

Users can use their existing Twitter Accounts to make posts through Twitblogs. Twitblogs uses the Twiiter APIs for authentication.

Twitblogs is a new venture from Sam Sethi - former UK editor of TechCrunch and also was the CEO of BlogNation.

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch calls Twitblogs a feature-poor but usability-rich blogging service.

How to Easily Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts - twhirl

2008-12-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

twhirl is a free desktop client for twitter (works for friendfeed also)
twhirl is built over the Adobe AIR platform

It can run on both Windows (XP/Vista) and Mac OSX.

Some of twhirl’s features:

* runs on both Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX
* connects to multiple Twitter, laconi.ca, Friendfeed and seesmic accounts
* notifications on new messages
* shorten long URLs (using snurl, twurl or is.gd)
* cross-post twitter updates to Pownce and Jaiku
* post images to TwitPic
* search tweets using Twitter Search and TweetScan
* timeline filtering
* color schemes
* automatically check for new versions

LINKS : twihrl Page | Download Page

Google adds new features to Google Maps for Mobiles

2008-09-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today Google have added few new features to Google Maps for Mobiles that enable the users to search for a location, check what other people say about a place, learn how to get to an address on foot and lot more - conveniently with an mobile phone (BlackBerry or any java enabled mobile phone)

Street views of Google Maps are also available through Mobile Phones. Here is an interesting video on the new features.

More details on the new feature availabe at Google Blog and Google Mobile Blog

How to search within Video/Audio

2008-09-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

Google Labs are working on an experiment project to index the spoken contents of video and thus enabling the users to search within the video. This is named as GAudi.

Currently they have indexed all speeches for the presidential campaigns. This tool will be much helpful to search for what the future presidents have spoken about Tax, Outsourcing, current financial crisis and other issues.

More details about the story is available @ Google Blog.

Bad times for Indian IT companies

2008-09-15T21:53:00.001-07:00

First it started with TCS. Then followed Yahoo, IBM and Patni Computer.

Few weeks back, even Wipro Technologies (which is considered to be a safe place to work in India) cut off nearly 2500 jobs.

Now its pink slips time at Satyam Technologies.

News circulate that nearly 4500 of Satyam Employees are put under performance revival process and some news say that nearly 2500 of them might get the pink slips.

All these are the effects of Global Economy downturn. Indian Software industry, which focus mainly on the service domain, is facing such big impact.

Definitely not a good sign for the Indian Software Industry. Tough times ahead.

Cuil's VP Product leaves the company

2008-09-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Recently launched internet search service Cuil's VP product, Louis Monier have resigned from his post, last week. This is happening one after the launch of this new internet search service. Cuil was created by some of the ex-employees of Google.

Prior to Cuil, Louis Monier have worked for Google, eBay and AltaVista. He was the cofounder of AltaVista was widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of Internet search.

However, Louis Monier will continue to remain in the board as consultant, continueing to contribute and advise Cuil.

Auctioning Google Chrome Comic Book

2008-09-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

One day prior to the launch of Google's Browser Google Chrome, they published an interesting comic series, explaining the Browser and its architecture. This comic series was created by Scott McCloud. Only very few physical copies of this comic book was made.

One of these copies was recently auctioned in eBay and was sold for apprx. US$ 363.00

and TechCrunch is also auctioning another copy. The money, according to Michael Arrington, will be used for charity. As of current status, the highest bid is around US$ 1500.00

Auction will end on Monday (15th September, 2008)

Complete detail HERE

How to run a VB Script as Administrator

2008-09-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, there will be a requirement to run certain VB Scripts as Administrators in remote workstations (say scripts to make changes in system registry, etc)

For such requirements, following options can be used:

1. Configure the VB Script as Start-up Script in the Domain Group Policy. System Start-up scripts will be executed under the Local Computer account, which normally has the Administrator privileges.

2. Use PsExec (from SysInternals) or similar tools that can execute a given command in the remote computer. Save the script in a Network share and provide the UNC of the script file as input to the PsExec utility.

Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates - New Family (Uncut Version)

2008-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is the uncut version of second Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates advertisements from the Microsoft Corporation. The modified TV version (normally runs for 30 seconds to 1 minutes) might appeal interesting.

Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates - Shoe Circus

2008-09-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

This is the first one from the series of Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates ads from the Microsoft corporation.

How to follow your favorite blogs?

2008-09-11T02:01:00.000-07:00

Google Blogger have launched a new feature that lets bloggers and readers to easily follow their favorite blogs. In other ways, this feature helps in forming communities around blogs - something like a fan club for blogs.

To follow a blog with the Followers' Gadget, simply click the “Follow This Blog” link. Updates in the marked blogs, can be seen in a separate section of Google Reader.

The user can easily check who are following a particular blog and what blogs other fans are writing/following.

This feature is currently available only in English language, however will be available in more languages soon.

Google also have plans to integrate Google Friend Connect with blogger so a blogger can give their readers more engaging social features.

Details about this feature is available @ the below URLs:

More details available @ Google Blog and Blogger Buzz

Newspaper Archive Search from Google

2008-09-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

Google will be providing a new web service to search old newspaper archives. Partnering with popular newspaper puplishers, Google will be digitizing millions of newspaper.

The articles are scanned and by optical character recognition Google will be distinguishing between headlines and text - thus enabling search through scanned data. (This is an extension of the already used technology in Google Books search)

This search will be available at Google News Archive or through timeline search feature in Google News. Using this service the users will be able to search the newspapers and also browser through them exactly as they were printed - i,e. with the headlines, photographs, advertisements and all..

Google’s Marissa Mayer is going to demo the News Archive onstage @ TechCrunch50.

Punit Soni, a Product Manager @ Google, says in their blog that

This effort is just the beginning. As we work with more and more publishers, we'll move closer towards our goal of making those billions of pages of newsprint from around the world searchable, discoverable, and accessible online.

Google explain their TOS

2008-09-08T02:26:00.000-07:00

After the recent debates on Google's Terms of Service (TOS) and their modification of Google Chrome TOS, Google have again given more detailed clarifications on its Unviersal Terms of Service.

In short they say:

The contents belong to the users who have created them. Google will not claim ownership over the contents.
What Google asks in only a license (in simple words the permission from the owner/user) to display, share, collaborate with the wider world.

Mike Yang, a Senior Product Counsel at Google says,

We'll continue to look at our terms of service to make them as clear and user-friendly as possible, because at the end of the day if you're not comfortable, our products won't succeed -- and we know it.

More information is available at Google Blog.

Open Websites in Google Chrome from Firefox

2008-09-08T01:55:00.000-07:00

Google Chrome is faster than Mozilla Firefox browser in rendering web pages - few services like gmail, etc work extremely faster in Chrome. However Chrome doesn't have the rich set of browser extensions that are available in Firfox. Currently Chrome will not replace the Firfox browsing experience.

So How nice it would be to open such pages in Chrome when browsing in firefox?

Digital Inspiration have provided a firfox plugin for this. You can find the complete article here.

Google updates its TOS for Chrome

2008-09-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

Google's Browser Chrome, which was launched a couple of days back has created a buzz all around the world. We have already discussed few of the cool features in Google Chrome, earlier.

More that the features in Google Chrome, a particular section of its Terms of Service made a huge discussion among the people.When Google Chrome was launched, Google used their Universal Terms of Service. The Section 11.1 of that TOS was:

11. Content licence from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This licence is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

By this clause all contents sent through any of their services can be displayed/distributed by Google (!!!) According to Google, they need this right to display (say a Blog Post) to the world.

However they have missed to check this clause for Google Chrome. So now they have modified the TOS for Google Chrome, which has only the first part of this section 11.

11. Content license from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.

Google have made a blog post about this in their Official Blog and wants to end the argument.

Few Cool Features in Google Chrome

2008-09-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

For sometimes, we have been playing with Google Chrome and here are some of the coolest features in Google Chrome. Most of these features are not available in other browsers, but might be added in future.

1. Smart Address Bar
In the beginning this can be annoying, but after getting used to it, this can be powerful feature. FireFox 3 also has a similar address bar.

2. Informative First Page
The first page shows the previews of recently visited web pages, with a google search box. The bookmarks and recently closed pages are also listed.

3. Task Manager for pages

This is something very new. At any point of time, user can check the resource usage for the web pages in this Task Manager of Google Chrome and close problematic pages.

Clicking "Stats for Nerds" in the Task Manager or typing "about: memory" in the address box, additional information about memory usage (also about other browsers) can be seen.

4. Importing Settings/Bookmarks from other browsers
This option to import browser settings (like stored passwords, proxy server settings, bookmarks, etc) can imported with very few clicks of mouse.

5. Good Download manager
The download manager in Google Chrome doesn't open in a pop-up as in FireFox. The downloaded file is listed at the bottom (an arrow symbol shows the completion of download). The downloaded file can be opened by clicking or can also be copied into some folder just by dragging.

There are also several other intersting features like Secured Mode browsing, Drag/New Window for each tabs, No Cache Browsing, etc. We will be analyzing them very soon.

Picasa 3.0

2008-09-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Google have released the beta version of its photo management software Google Picasa 3.0. There are significant new features in its online web album too.

Some of the interesting new features are :

1. Name Tags in Picasa Web Album: Now users can tag persons in the photos and organize, view, share the photos with these tags.

2. Enhanced look: Picasa Web Album now has more fresh, clean look that makes the photos look great.

3. New Explore Page: In this page, the most interesting public contents can be browsed. Also has a "Recent Photos" section.

4. Sync to Web Alum in Picasa allows users to sync specific albums in the PC to the web. If a photo is added/edited to the album, those changes will be automatically reflected in the Picasa Web Albums.

5. Powerful Editing Tools: Picasa 3.0 provides a rich set of editing tools to retouch/restore photos, automatically detect and fix red-eye, add text to images, etc.

More details about the features and release is available at the Goolge Picasa Blog and the Google Blog.

Google Picasa 3.0 is available for download HERE

Google Chrome is live NOW!!!

2008-09-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

Finally the much rumored Google Browser, called as Google Chrome is launched today. The official news from Google blog is available HERE. The software can be downloaded from this page.

Here are few of the first cut observations:

1. Attractive UI. Very simple and catchy. Also the tool bar is removed by which there is atleast 5% of extra space.

2. Speed. Google Chrome is faster than FireFox and IE. The pages are loading much much quicker.

3. The Process management (seperate process for each tabs) is interesting - which means if there is a problem in loading the page in any one of the tab, the browser (i,e other tabs) will not hang as it frequently happens in FF.

4. Currently there are no plugins/extensions for Chrome. However they are in the pipeline. It will be interesting if Ad Block like plugin comes for Goolge Chrome ;-)

Anyways, this is only the beginning. Google Chrome has a long way to go.

ITIL vs ITSM (in Google Kewords CPC)

2008-08-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

The IT Skeptic blog has an interesting point about the cost per click for the keywords ITIL and ITSM in Google adwords/adsense. The point is that CPC for ITIL keyword is only about 20c - $ 1.20, whereas the same for ITSM(F) is about $5.

Is the term ITSM gaining more popularity than ITIL ? - well the reply is Yes.

the acronym IT Service Management appears more professional than the IT Infrasturcture Library. Though both are very much similar.

In simple ITIL is only a specification, i,e. a set of best practices for the smooth running of IT in the organization, and ITSM is the the discipline for managing IT systems (ofcourse adhearing with the ITIL specifications)

confusing uh? Yes both are similar but not really [:-)]

IT Skeptic URL: http://www.itskeptic.org/node/1073

Flickr : Creative Commons Search utility

2008-08-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

You can search for Creative Commons images in the Advanced Search page of Flickr.

The form provided in that advanced search page is sometimes too complex for very simple queries. In such cases the search provided below will be simple to use:

--------------------------------------------------------
Flickr : Creative Commons Search utility

Search for

search Creative Commons images only in flickr

--------------------------------------------------------

NOTE:
This is simple tool written by us. We are in no way associated with flickr or any of its allied services.
If this utility, violates any legal terms, kindly drop a comment in this post, we shall take necessary actions.

thanks,
the Renco Team

How to hide Drives in Windows XP

2008-08-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, there will be some requirement to hide all/specific drives to users. This post will illustrate the procedure to hide specific or all drives in Microsoft Windows XP computers. Using this we can hide both local drives and network drives.

1. Start > Run > Type "regedit" > Click OK. This will open the System Registry Editor.

2. Navigate to the following registry node:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. Right Click on "Explorer" > Select "New" > Select " DWORD Value"

4. Name this value as "NoDrives"

5. Double click on "NoDrives" on the right pane

6. In the "Edit DWORD value" window, Enter "4" (to hide Drive C) and select "Decimal". To find the value for each drive, kindly refer the table below.

7. Click OK to save the changes.

8. Log Off and Log on to the computer to find the changes.

DRIVE-VALUE TABLE:

DRIVE	VALUE
A	1
B	2
C	4
D	8
E	16
F	32
G	64
H	128
I	256
J	512
K	1024
L	2048
M	4096
N	8192
O	16384
P	32768
Q	65536
R	131072
S	262144
T	524288
U	1048576
V	2097152
W	4194304
X	8388608
Y	16777216
Z	33554432
All Drives	67108863

To get the value, to hide two or more drives, add the values of specific drives.
i,e. to Hide D and E >> 8+16 >> 34

How to convert PDF documents to SWF flash movies?

2008-08-16T04:47:00.000-07:00

www.pdfmenot.com is a free web service that helps users to convert PDF document files into SWF flash movies. using the service, both the documents in the internet and the documents in local computers (need to upload the file) can be converted to SWF flash movie.

Such conversion tool is very useful when the the converted SWF movie can be embedded in the web pages.

[VIDEO] ITIL Service Catalog

2008-08-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is good video clip explaining the IT Service Catalog and its necessity. Service Catalog is an important component in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Framework.

ABOUT ITIL:
ITIL is a set of best practice guidance and documentation that enterprises can follow to ensure efficient service management procedures. ITIL is just a guidance framework and is not a legal requirement for firms.

GMail Service Down - Temporary Error 502

2008-08-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Very often, a subset of Gmail Users face a strange problem, when they try to access the GMail Service. The Screen simply says: "Temporary Error 502".

Given below is the Error message shown by Google.

--------
Temporary Error (502)

We’re sorry, but your Gmail account is currently experiencing errors. You won’t be able to use your account while these errors last, but don’t worry, your account data and messages are safe. Our engineers are working to resolve this issue.

Please try accessing your account again in a few minutes.
--------

Though Google says Data is safe or the problem is only temporary, from a Users' point of view, not being able to access the Mail service will definitely have a big impact. It might even affect the business.

Searching in Google's Help section, takes to this page, where they say the Problem will be solved in few minutes. There is nothing much informative about this 502 Error in their site.

Searching the internet, we found:

The problem solved in few hours for all users (from 2 hours to even 12 hours)
Few Users faced the problem only with Firefox. They were able to access from other browsers (!!!)
For few users clearing the Browser cache/cookies have solved the problem (!!!)

Google, which has many intelligent engineers and thousands of powerful servers, really seems to suffer a lot because of this 502 Error.

UPDATE: (August 12, 2008)

On August 11, 2008 Google officially mentioned the cause of this problem:

..the issue was caused by a temporary outage in our contacts system that was preventing Gmail from loading properly.

more details HERE

How To disable Shutdown Event Tracker in Windows Server 2003

2008-07-30T01:34:00.000-07:00

"Shutdown Event Tracker" is a special feature in Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, that would consistently track the reasons for system restart/shutdown. The idea behind the shutdown event tracker is that a server isn’t meant to be restarted or shutdown regularly.

However this feature can sometimes be quite annoying, if the system is used as a client computer. In such cases, this "Shutdown Event Tracker" can be disabled in Windows through Group Policy Editor.

To disable Shutdown Event Tracker perform the following:

1. Go to Start > Run > Type gpedit.msc and press OK.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System
3. In the right hand pane, select the “Display Shutdown Event Tracker” setting.
4. Double Click this setting to open the Properties page.
5. Select Disabled.
6. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

The changes will be updated on next restart of computer. If the configuration needs to be applied immediately, refresh the GPO by running the below command in a Command Prompt

C:\> gpupdate /force

System Administrator Appreciation Day

2008-07-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

Today, July 25 2008 (Last Friday of July Month) is the System Administrator Appreciation Day.

System Administrators (aka IT Team) are the real backbone in any organization. Normally we realize their value, only when something goes wrong. In reality, not only during such gray days, even during when the IT is running normally, a System Administrator will be giving his best.

Lets all Thank our friends on this special day.

Thank You Dear System Administrators!!!

On this special day, here we dedicate a special song from YouTube to our Dear System Administrators

EMC on IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

2008-07-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

In the recent times, ITIL has become enormously popular as a definition of best practices for IT operations, due to the increased need for operational discipline in IT.

In the below video Glenn O'Donnell, EMC principal product marketing manager, offers some practical, well-informed guidance on achieving a successful IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) implementation.

The video will be helpful to find how your organization can benefit from ITIL.

For more information about EMC's ITIL solution visit : http://www.emc.com

ABOUT ITIL:
ITIL is a set of best practice guidance and documentation that enterprises can follow to ensure efficient service management procedures. ITIL is just a guidance framework and is not a legal requirement for firms.

Managed Objects adds FaceBook into CMDB

2008-07-16T02:08:00.000-07:00

Managed Objects has introduced a CMDB solution named "Managed Objects myCMDB" that integrates Social Networking and other Web 2.0 concepts into CMDB.

myCMDB supports role based communities, where users can more easily and effectively view and interact with CMDB data -- and other CMDB users as well. myCMDB combines Facebook interactivity, Wikipedia information quality management, and Google search-model capabilities to the normal CMDB operations.

myCMDB Glance:

Easy to define user communities provide meaningful views of CMDB data
Role-based user profiles personalize the community experience
Intelligent, refine-able, and repeatable search to quickly retrieve CMDB information
Enhanced data input through pre-defined templates and forms
Integrated CIM (Common Information Model) and policies enforce governance
Pre-defined, community specific reporting and analytics – or add your own
Modeling environment for impact and dependency analysis
Integrates easily with existing change control systems
A common platform for ready communication with other community members

When talking about myCMDB, Manage Object says:

"By combining Facebook interactivity, Wikipedia information quality management, and Google search-model capabilities -- the CMDB is transformed into a more valuable, user-friendly environment which, in turn, drives greater usage across the enterprise. And when more users contribute to the CMDB, it naturally becomes a more accurate representation of the actual IT infrastructure."

About Managed Objects:
Managed Objects is a Business Service Management Company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The Company provides solutions to monitor, manage and report on the availability and performance of online trading, customer relationship management, corporate e-mail and many other services. Website: http://managedobjects.com/

NUMERA : Many firms struggle to implement ITIL

2008-07-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

Numara Software's recent survey reports that many firms are not following ITIL guides, despite its benefits. According to Numera, one of the resons for this is that the firms are struggling to Implement ITIL.

To help such firms understand how and why they should benefit from ITIL, Numera has released an ITIL guide, based upon the company's two years research. The copy of the guide can be downloaded from the Numera website: www.numarasoftware.co.uk.

ABOUT ITIL:
ITIL is a set of best practice guidance and documentation that enterprises can follow to ensure efficient service management procedures. ITIL is just a guidance framework and is not a legal requirement for firms.

GARTNER: BladeLogic is the Fastest-Growing ITOM Software

2008-07-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

BladeLogic, Data Center Automation solution provider, has been named as the fastest-growing IT Operations Management (ITOM) software vendor, according to a recent industry report by Gartner. It is to be noted that BladeLogic was earlier acquired by BMC in April 2008.

In recent times Server Provisioning, Configuration and Compliance Management all have became key priorities for Organizations seeking to introduce automation in their data centers. Also many organizations continue to adopt best practices such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) for efficient IT operations.

All Software solutions serving to this trend have had tremendous growth in the recent times.

According to Gartner's findings, the ITOM software market will continue to be one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry. It will experience double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year.

Additionally, the report also found that BMC extended its leadership position in the IT service desk and help desk market for the fifth consecutive year. BMC Software is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to automate their IT and align it to the needs of the business.

Microsoft still interested in Yahoo!

2008-07-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

This might take some more time, but there are signs of the Microsoft would eventually buy the whole company in future.

Earlier, Carl Icahn, one of the bigger shareholders in Yahoo, had stated that Microsoft is still interested to bid for Yahoo. Carl Icahn, who was unhappy with the current Management Board of Yahoo, for not accepting the Microsoft deal, thinks if there is a change in Yahoo's Management Board, the deal could still take place.

Today the Microsoft have confirmed this in their latest press release to their investors, which states:

Microsoft Statement Regarding Carl Icahn Letter

In the past week we have had the opportunity to discuss with Carl Icahn the prospects for a possible agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo!. Despite working since January 31 of this year, as well as in the early part of last year, we have never been able to reach an agreement in a timely way on acceptable terms with the current management and Board of Directors at Yahoo!. We have concluded that we cannot reach an agreement with them.

We confirm, however, that after the shareholder election Microsoft would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo!, such as either a transaction to purchase the “Search” function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company.

As Mr. Icahn notes in his statement today, it would be premature to discuss at this time important details such as the price or other terms of a possible transaction. We respect the right of Yahoo!’s shareholders to determine the destiny of their company, and we do not intend to engage in ongoing commentary on these issues in advance of Yahoo!’s shareholder meeting.

As we explained on June 12 when Yahoo! announced an agreement with Google, we believe that our proposed search acquisition and partnership would have delivered superior value to Yahoo!’s shareholders and the marketplace as a whole. We have not changed our position, even as we continue to move forward with our own online search and advertising offerings.

We therefore welcome interest by Mr. Icahn in pursuing this and other discussions. While of course there can be no assurance of a future transaction, we will be prepared to enter into discussions immediately after Yahoo!’s shareholder meeting if a new board is elected.

source:
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/jul08/07-07statement.mspx

Related Links:
Microsoft, Yahoo, Microsoft Yahoo Buyout News

Windows XP to be supported until April 2014

2008-06-26T06:39:00.001-07:00

Though Microsoft claim its new operating system Windows Vista is much more efficient than its previous Windows XP, the people are not prepared enough to move from Windows XP . They still want to continue with Windows XP.

The software giant, who had earlier planned to stop supporting Windows XP after launching Windows Vista, have now understood the customer response. The company has decided to offer technical support for Windows XP with updates and security patches for an extended period until April 2014.

However, they will not come down their decision to stop distributing Windows XP after June 30, 2008. This applies to both stand-alone product and the OEM versions for popular PC manufactures . PC manufactures like Dell, HP and Lennova have already started distributing Windows Vista with their laptops and desktops.

Interestingly, Microsoft will still continue to distribute Windows XP with certain ULCPCs (Ultra Low Cost PCs) till 2009 for simple reasons - low foot prints in XP and also to avoid the mass intrusion of Linux into this segment.

Lenovo's ThinkPad SL series for SMBs

2008-06-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

China's largest Personal computer maker Lenovo has confirmed that they are going to launch the new SL series of their ThinkPad laptops that would be targeted at the small and medium-size businesses.

These laptops would be priced between USD 699 to 1,199. These laptops would come bundled with Online backup facilities and LoJack technology. The LoJack technology is useful if the laptop is stolen or lost. It helps in tracking down the devices.
The company said that these notebooks would be targeted at companies with less than 100 employees who cannot afford to have an IT staff to manage the laptops.

Lenovo also added that these laptops were designed considering the budget constraints of the SMBs without sacrificing the computing performance and user-friendly aspects. These new machines will not come with the proprietary docking stations but would include a USB-based port replication system.

Microsoft and Yahoo talks Back On

2008-06-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

TechCrunch reports Microsoft and Yahoo officials are back on their talks. No they aren't going to talk about the Search-Only deal, but this time about the full buyout of Yahoo shares. Though none of the two companies have commented on this, TechCrunch says reliable sources have confirmed this.

Interestingly, this time Microsoft have offered a price less than US$ 33 - the amount they were ready to pay during their last talks in May 2008.

Interesting time ahead!!!

SMB Apps market will worth $80+ bn by 2012

2008-06-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

IDC forecasts that the small and medium-sized business (SMB) enterprise applications market will grow to $80.3 billion by the end of 2012.

Additionally, IDC also finds that:

* The growing needs of SMBs to automate their business processes and meeting regulatary compliance will widen the oppurtunities in this market.

* When searching for such solutions , the SMBs will prefer those that have simple UI (having non-technical users in mind) which require no or minimum training, low installation/maintenance costs and provide immediate value.

* In this extremely competitive market, the software vendors who provide industry-specific solution with localization can address the global needs and thus can profit most.

* For success in this segment the vendors will have to ensure efficient solutions within the budget constraints of the SMBs and and also deliver to support concerns of the SMB's.

* Both In-House installation products and On-Demand supscription programs will have their equal oppurtunities.

ABOUT IDC:
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.
IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy.

Active Directory Reporter

2008-06-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Even though the Microsoft Active Directory provides plenty of functionalities in an Windows Based Enterprise Networks, generating reports from an AD has always been a complex task for the System Administrators.

Active Directory Reporter (ADR) from JiJi Technologies overcomes such complexities and enables the IT organizations to extract vital reports from Active Directory.

Few of the specialties of this software are:

The UI of the software is very simple.
Nearly 100+ out-of-box reports can be easily generated through ADR.
The reports generated through ADR are in compliance with the SOX/PCI standards

The software provides following features:

Search any specific Active Directory Object quickly and accurately.
Print Active Directory Reports
Export Reports as PDF, CSV, Excel, etc.
Perform various actions on AD Objects (delete, move, disable, enable and reset based on the reports in bulk)
Customizable report columns.
PowerShell Scripting Support to automate Reports generations.
Scope - The report generation can be limited to Organizational Units (OU) in a domain, facilitating an OU based administration.
Sort – Users can sort the columns of their interest.

Price of the software : US $ 99.00

More Information about the product is available in their Product Page.

You might have come to this page searching for:
Microsoft Active Directory, Active Directory Reports, AD Reports, Active Directory Software, Active Directory Management

Welcome....

2007-06-16T08:31:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Greetings!

Welcome to our IT Lounge!!!

We would like to share our little knowledge in the IT segment through this blog.

Hope to provide the best experience to our viewers

thanks,
the Renco team

image from : Flickr