We have moved all of our blogging to our new website at cstechcast.com. You'll see all of our technical content, from the podcast to our blog posts, all integrated into a single web site. Go check it out now: cstechcast.com.

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Come to CSTechcast.com and get the podcast for IT pros. This week, we tackle those IT projects that go over budget and past due date to see how an Agile approach can save the day with Chad Osgood, CEO of Premier Logic. Find more from Chad at http://premierlogic.com. In the news, another work-force reduction, this time at former dialup king AOL, Microsoft in court over intellectual property rights of some Chinese fonts, IBM give gives instant access to a petabyte of information in the cloud, SSL weakness shown to hack Twitter, and Google takes the first look curtain off of Chrome OS. Microsoft's ho-hum announcements at PDC get The Worst Tech Move of the Week, we take a Closer Look at what was announced at the Microsoft Developer's Conference, and we discuss how Hyper-V backs up virtual machines in The Weekly Tech Tip.

This week's episode is sponsored by: Go Daddy. Get your .com domain registered for only $7.49 with our discount code: CST3. Make sure to type in CST3 when you check out at godaddy.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

AOL to Lay Off 2,500 Employees (eWeek)
Microsoft Loses Intellectual Property Battle in Chinese Court (eWeek)
IBM Launches Business Analytics Cloud (InformationWeek)
Researcher Hacks Twittter Using SSL Vulnerability (eWeek)
Releasing the Chromium OS open source project (Google)

Thanks for tuning in every week to the show for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. Find us on our main web site CSTechcast.com, send us comments using the feedback form, and hit our social sites at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support our podcast via a great iTunes review and support our sponsors!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=98
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CSTechcast.com is where you get the podcast for IT pros. This week we take a trip up to the next generation tech conference Defrag and speak to Robert Scoble creator of Building43, Richard Nucci CTO of Boomi, and Defrag conference organizer Eric Norlin about how the social web is affecting business and the IT professional. We also have clips of presentations from Kris Loux CEO of JS-Kit and Jeff Dachis CEO of The Dachis Group. In the news, Intel settles its lawsuits with AMD for a cool $1.25 billion, the European Commission looks to block Oracle's acquisition of Sun over MySQL, a zero day flaw is discovered in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 2000 is going end of life in July, and Windows 7 quickly earns 4% OS market-share. Rupert Murdoch's threat to pull hit Internet sites from Google search gets The Worst Tech Move of the Week, and we cover some details of Image Backup for Windows 7 in The Weekly Tech Tip.

This week's episode is sponsored by: SquareSpace. Get a slick blogging platform that gives you ease of use and statistics without scripting. Get a permanent discount of 12% when you signup with code CST at SquareSpace.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
AMD, Intel Settle Legal Disputes (eWeek)
EC Objects To Oracle's Sun Acquisition (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Investigating Zero-Day Windows 7 Flaw (InformationWeek)
Windows 2000 End-of-Life (Technet Blogs)
Windows 7 Now Owns 4% of PC Market, Says Report (eWeek)
Should We Listen to Murdoch's Google Threat? (The Atlantic)
Learn more about system image backup (Technet Blogs)

Thanks for tuning in every week to the show for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. Find us on our main web site, send us comments using the feedback form, and hit our social sites at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support our podcast via a great iTunes review and support our sponsors!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=97

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Welcome to the podcast for IT pros, always available at CSTechcast.com. This week, we talk with Hutch Carpenter, Vice President of Product at Spigit, to find out how companies are adopting social networking tools inside enterprises, what the justification is for these tools, and how to be successful after the implementation. Find more info at spigit.com. In the news, AMD sues Intel over alleged payments to OEMs like Dell, Windows 7 comes out of the gate with great sales numbers, a new tool called Hook Safe provides rootkit protection using virtualization, a reported vulnerability in the secure web standard SSL, and Patch Tuesday sees six bulletins. Comcast's requirement that we "respect subscription revenue" gets The Worst Tech Move of the Week, we take "A Closer Look" at server baselining, and a particular type of 401.1 error gets some help in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Angie's List. When you need help with repairs around the house, Angie’s List members will help you decide which service companies to trust and which to avoid. Use promo code CSTECH and get 25% off your membership at Angieslist.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services. We host the show, so why not talk to us about your Windows, SQL Server, and SharePoint technology? Visit consortioservices.com.

Suit Puts Spotlight on Dell-Intel Relationship (eWeek)
Windows 7 sales outshine Vista (CNet)
Countering Kernel Rootkits with Lightweight Hook Protection (NCSU)
New tool seeks to block rootkits by protecting their targets (Ars technica)
Major vulnerability in SSL authentication (Help Net Security)
Microsoft Patch Tuesday for November 2009: six bulletins (Ars technica)
Comcast Exec: We Need To Change Customer Behavior, Not Our Business Model (TechDirt)
Ten Tips and Tricks for Server Baselines (TechNet Blogs)
Automatic FixIt: You receive error 401.1 when you browse a Web site that uses Integrated Authentication and is hosted on IIS 5.1 or a later version (TechNet Blogs)

Please visit CSTechcast.com and leave your feedback. Also find us all week on the social sites Twitter.com/cstechcast, Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast Fan Page on Facebook. Support our sponsors and come back every week for more of the podcast for IT Pros.

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Another episode is ready at CSTechcast.com, where you find the podcast for IT pros. This week we discuss how cloud applications can contribute to your business, how to deal with data protection, and how to extend your firewall into the cloud with Raju Vegesna, evangelist for web app company Zoho. Find more information at zoho.com. In the news, the EU may block Oracle's acquisition of Sun over MySQL, the DoD lets up a little on its USB flash drive ban, localized scripts give new possibilities for domain names, Intel SSD drives suffer from bad firmware again, and malware is seeing more short but massive outbreaks not blocked by anti-virus. The Windows 7 upgrade that blocks a clean installation gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Windows 7's XP Mode, and the problems with Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2 gets fleshed out in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: EastBay.com where you can find the best in athletic apparel and get a 15% discount using our code AFCTECH1 or get 20% of an order more than $75 using code AFCTECH2. 

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology. Go to http://consortioservices.com.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
EU Strategist Claims an Oracle-Owned MySQL Cannot Be Competitive (eWeek)
Banned USB Drives May Get Thumbs Up (DefenseNews)
ICANN Moves Ahead with Multilingual Domains (eWeek)
Intel Pulls SSD Firmware Update (InformationWeek)
Virus Writers Perfecting Hit-and-Run Tactics (MCPmag.com)
Windows 7 install trick saves up to $100 (ComputerWorld)

Get a hold of use through our feedback form at cstechcast.com, as well as twitter.com/cstechcast, friendfeed.com/cstechcast, and our Facebook fan page. A nice review for our show on iTunes is always appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=95
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com brings you another podcast for IT pros. This week we get into social networking in business, for business, and about business with well know blogger Louis Gray, managing director of new media for Paladin Advisors Group. Find his insight at the ever popular louisgray.com. This week, the Chinese have apparently been setting up elaborate hacking into US government systems, citizen developers will account for 25% of enterprise applications in 2014, Sun plans to layoff 3,000 employees, Bing gets a small bump in traffic, and Windows 7 finally launches. The blogosphere's obsession with killing Friendfeed gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Windows 7 deployment tools, and Exchange Server virtual memory fragmentation gets some attention in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Go Daddy. Get your .com domain registered for only $7.49 with our discount code: CST3. Make sure to type in CST3 when you check out at godaddy.com.
Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.
Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Evidence Points To China In Cyber Attacks (InformationWeek)
Gartner: ‘Citizen Developers` to Deliver 25% of Apps by 2014 (eWeek)
Beleaguered Sun Forced to Lay Off 3,000 More Employees (eWeek)
Microsoft Bing Continues Growth in September, But So Does Google (eWeek)
Microsoft CEO Ballmer Launches Windows 7 In New York (eWeek)
Friendfeed lives! Co-founder says it’s in “chrysalis stage” (VentureBeat)
Deployment TechCenter (Microsoft)
How to troubleshoot virtual memory fragmentation in Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server (Microsoft)

As always, support the podcast by giving us your glowing reviews on iTunes and other podcast destinations. Let us know how we are doing. Contact us by using the feedback form at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=94
-Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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The source of the podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. This week, we take on the challenge of keeping great tech talent in a hostile employment environment with Jack Phillips, CEO of research firm IANS. Find more info at http://ianetsec.com. In the news, IDC predicts IT job growth at 3%, adding 5.8 million job by 2013, PC sales are up 2.3% with Acer overtaking Dell at #2, IBM showed strong quarterly with profits up 14%, Google is now 6% of all Internet traffic, and Office 2010 Starter will be pre-installed and ad supported. Danger's Sidekick storage loss of massive outage and loss of data gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at social networking in the enterprise, and we tell you how to get those IIS web apps started fast on "The Weekly Tech Tip".

  This week's episode is sponsored by: SquareSpace. Get a slick blogging platform that gives you ease of use and statistics without scripting. Get a permanent discount of 12% when you signup with code CST at SquareSpace.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
IT Jobs Will Expand Globally by Nearly 6 Million in 4 Years (eWeek)
PC Shipments Are Up: Acer a Big Winner (PC World)
IBM Profits Rise 14% in Third Quarter (eWeek)
Google Accounts for 6% of All Internet Traffic (ReadWriteWeb)
Microsoft Offering Ad-Supported Office 2010 'Starter,' Pre-Installed Version (eWeek)
T-Mobile: we probably lost all your Sidekick data (Engadget)
Now Available: The IIS 7.5 Application Warm-Up Module (IIS.net)

Thanks for tuning in every week to the show for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. Find us on our main web site, send us comments using the feedback form, and hit our social sites at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support our podcast via a great iTunes review and support our sponsors!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=92
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com is the source of the podcast for IT pros. This week we talk with Dennis Hurst, Senior Security Engineer, HP Software & Solutions about security in the cloud, how it is affecting adoption at the enterprise level, what types of data should live there, and what standard we can expect from cloud vendors. Find more info from HP at http://www.hp.com/go/stophackers and visit http://cloudsecurityalliance.org to take the cloud security survey. In the news, NVidia can't make chipsets for Intel CPUs, tech job loses are confirmed to have risen again, a study shows enterprise overwhelmingly will invest in social networks this year, FBI Director Robert Mueller almost fell victim to a phishing scam, and Microsoft Patch Tuesday sets a record with 13 bulletins covering 34 vulnerabilities. Larry Ellison sticking his head in the sand about cloud computing gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the virtualized networks in virtual machines, and we cover how to deploy BitLocker whole disk encryption on more than your C: drive in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Angie's List. Get quality recommendations on local professionals from roofers to doctors and everything in between. Use our code CSTECH and get a 25% discount when you signup at Angieslist.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Nvidia Stops Chip Set Development as Intel Dispute Continues (eWeek)
Technology Unemployment Rises in Q3 (eWeek)
Study: 94% of Enterprises Will Invest in Social Media Despite Recession (eWeek)
FBI Director Nearly Hooked in Phishing Scam, Swears Off Online Banking (eWeek)
Microsoft to Plug Windows Security Holes on Patch Tuesday (eWeek)
Larry Ellison Hates Cloud Computing (Enterprise 2.0 Blog)
How to configure BitLocker on additional drives in a MDT 2010 deployment (TechNet Blogs)

Communicate by using our feedback form on cstechcast.com, or find us at the socials twitter.com/cstechcast, at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. It'd be super nice of you to support our sponsors as well as leaving a nice review on iTunes for our show. Thanks all.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=92
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Welcome back to the podcast for IT pros at CStechcast.com. This week David Taber, CEO of SalesLogistix, joins us to discuss the ins and outs of Salesforce.com implementations and how cloud CRM is taking over. Find more info at SalesLogistix.com. In the news, the trend of offshoring stays flat in big business but smaller businesses see offshoring growth, SQL Server is big in emerging markets but MySQL is right behind it, PeopleSoft human resources software gets a new version, payroll company PayChoice gets hacked for personal data, and a federal order prohibits texting during driving by federal employees operating government vehicles. The disappointing Google Wave beta launch gets The Worst Tech Move of the Week, we take "A Closer Look" at Windows 7 features that work only with Windows Server 2008 R2, and we tell you how to implement two different power profiles in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

The week's episode is brought to you by: EastBay.com where you can find the best in athletic apparel and get a 15% discount using our code AFCTECH1 or get 20% of an order more than $75 using code AFCTECH2.  

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Offshore Outsourcing on Rise for Small and Midsize Companies in 2009 (eWeek)
Survey: Microsoft SQL Server Tops All Databases in Emerging Markets (eWeek)
Oracle Releases New Version of PeopleSoft Enterprise (eWeek)
Large online payroll service hacked (ComputerWorld)
Federal Workers Banned From Texting While Driving (InformationWeek)
Google Wave crashes on beach of overhype (scobleizer.com)
Google Wave Hits Shore. Flash Flood Warning In Effect. (LouisGray.com)

Thanks for sticking with us. A lightening strike did a number on our equipment so we were down for a couple of weeks. Anyway, as usual, communicate by using our feedback form on cstechcast.com, or find us at the socials twitter.com/cstechcast, at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. It's be super nice of you to support our sponsors as well as leaving a nice review on iTunes for our show. Thanks all.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=91
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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I'd like to let you know about my latest white paper in The Essential Series for Realtime Publishers, available here: http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/esbpv.php. Please download the paper and support the series. Thanks.

Synopsis:

Virtualization has disrupted the IT department and put network administrators in a position to service the technology without full reach into all of the networking components. The virtualization software, which is layered with networks in every virtual machine, puts an uncontrolled piece of network equipment into each host. In The Essentials Series: Best Practices for Virtual Network Management, Eric Beehler offers a strong understanding of virtualization so that IT departments may create a consensus for managing the virtual network.

Article 1: Correctly Managing Virtual Switches

Understanding the core features of virtual switches is essential to planning and managing them properly. In many ways, they are unique devices and need to be handled differently than traditional switches. Learn those key differences to determine your best path to proper management of the vSwitch.

Article 2:  Addressing the Complexities of Virtual Network Devices

Network operations needs to address virtualization to understand where it is disrupting existing processes. The technology has the potential to bring greater efficiencies to the network if managed properly, but without an eye towards change the technology can actually cause problems in provisioning, management, and troubleshooting. Learn the approach to these areas of concern to enable virtualization as a true advancement in your data center.

Article 3:  Integrating Daily Network Management into Virtualization

How does the network engineer approach the daily needs of a virtual host? The typical provisioning and escalation of issues will typically center around specific features and configurations in a vSwitch. See what knowledge you need to interact with system administrators to successfully provision and troubleshoot virtual servers.

Eric Beehler (http://consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you the weekly podcast for IT Pros. Cloud development expert John Barnes of Model Metrics tells us all about the realities of cloud dev, what to expect, how it differs from traditional server platforms, and how to address the mobile platforms. Find more info at modelmetrics.com. In the news, the DoJ is set to review the Yahoo Microsoft deal, Friendfeed releases their real time Tornado web server as open source, Oracle seems to be serious about selling Sun hardware, and Microsoft admits to a zero day exploit in SMB2. Microsoft CEO Ballmer virtual iPhone stomp gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 and what it brings to the deployment table, and then we talk about tips to get upgraded to Windows 7 in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

The week's episode is brought to you by: GoDaddy.com. Use our discount code CST3 and get a.com domain name for only $7.49.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Microsoft, Yahoo Search Deal Under Justice Department Scrutiny (eWeek)
Microsoft Hit Again by i4i in Word Patent-Infringement Case (eWeek)
Facebook Open-Sources FriendFeed Real-Time Web Server (eWeek)
Microsoft Warns of New Windows Bug, Advises Users to Take Precautions (eWeek)
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LXII: Steve Ballmer publicly ridicules Microsoft employee with iPhone, threatens to smash it (Engadget)
Microsoft Delivers Final Versions of Free Deployment Tools for Windows Vista (Microsoft)

The way to communication and happiness is at our web site's feedback link at CSTechcast.com or on the social networks at twitter.com/cstechcast, at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support us by posting a glowing review on iTunes or wherever you find great podcast directories that include us of course, and don't forget to support our sponsors. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=90
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com is the podcast for IT Pros. This weeks we discuss secure code, where it's lacking, and what can be done about it with Rob Cheyne, CEO of Safelight Security Advisors. Find more information about Rob at http://www.securityadvisors.com.  In the news, Microsoft gets hit with vulnerabilities in SQL Server which can steal passwords from memory and a hit on IIS's FTP service that's open for a DDoS attack, Microsoft also gives us the regular Patch Tuesday with six critical updates for the week, Microsoft gets a little good news when the US Court of Appeals allowed them to keep selling Word 2007 despite a patent ruling against MS, and tech job hires are reportedly picking up in the NorthEast and Atlantic regions. Google's GMail outage puts some doubt into the cloud with "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at open source CRM options, and we tell you how to automate your VPN connections in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

The week's episode is brought to you by: Eastbay.com. Use our discount code AFCTECH1 and get 15% off any order of quality, name brand sporting apparel. Get the gear to get fit at Eastbay.com with 15% off savings code AFCTECH1.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Microsoft Downplays SQL Server Database Vulnerability (eWeek)
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, October 2008 (Microsoft)
Microsoft warns of IIS FTP vulnerability (ITWire)
Microsoft Readies 5 Critical Windows Updates for Patch Tuesday (eWeek)
Microsoft Can Keep Selling Word, Says Appeals Court (eWeek)
Conservative Technology Hiring Expected in Fourth Quarter of 2009 (eWeek)
Gmail Gfails, Internet Survives Again (InfoWorld)
Deploying VPN Connections by Using Windows Powershell and Group Policy (Microsoft TechNet)

The way to communication and happiness is at our web site's feedback link at CSTechcast.com or on the social networks at twitter.com/cstechcast, at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support us by posting a glowing review on iTunes or wherever you find great podcast directories that include us of course, and don't forget to support our sponsors. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=89
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com is the podcast for IT pros. This week we go back and forth about Windows 7 with Paul McFedries, author of Microsoft Windows 7 Unleashed, and get into some of the features that don't get discussed as much. Find more info from Paul at mcfedries.com. In the news, Amazon introduces the Virtual Private Cloud, Apple releases OSX Snow Leopard with some nifty business features, Microsoft gets deeper into data warehousing with Project Madison, Cisco access points get Skyjacked with a new vulnerability, and good news from Intel points to an economic recovery for the tech sector. AT&T's broken promises for iPhone MMS gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at managing Hyper-V with Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, and we tell you how to move Windows Firewall settings around in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Angie's List. Avoid lousy service. Get quality recommendations on local professionals from roofers to doctors and everything in between. Get a discount of 25% when you signup with the code CSTECH at Angieslist.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Amazon Bridges Corporate IT with the Cloud via New Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Service (eWeek)
10 Reasons Snow Leopard Is Ready For Business (PC World)
Apple Snow Leopard Is Not the Mac's Ticket to the Enterprise (eWeek)
Microsoft Debuts Project Madison CTP for Data Warehouses (eWeek)
Database: First Look at Microsoft's SQL Azure Database CTP (eWeek)
Newly Discovered Vulnerability Could Threaten Cisco Wireless LAN (Dark Reading)
IBM Slashed More than 10K Jobs in 2009, Says Group (eWeek)
Intel Raises Third-Quarter Revenue and Gross Margin Expectations (Intel)
Dell's numbers show PC industry staggering back (Washington Post)
Article ID: 974576 (Microsoft TechNet)
Apple, AT&T Sued For Misleading MMS Marketing (InformationWeek)

The get back is at our web site CSTechcast.com or on the social networks at twitter.com/cstechcast, at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Support us by posting a glowing review on iTunes or wherever you find great podcast directories that include us of course, and don't forget to support our sponsors. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=88
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com is the podcast for IT Pros. This week we bring in Tom Beck from Teo to discuss the unified communication model, how it can make us more productive, and how to avoid the pitfalls of implementation and acceptance. Find more info at Teotech.com. In the news, Internet Explorer takes a surprising win over it's competitors when blocking infected web sites, new Fibre Channel Over Ethernet implementations hit the scene from NetApp and QLogic working together, botnet researchers build a 1 million kernel test farm, Google buys On2 but a lawsuit may block the buy, and Microsoft Word is affected by a patent lawsuit from i4i blocking it's XML formats. FriendFeed makes frienemies of its user base with its bow to Facebook's buyout in "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the software control feature AppLocker in Windows 7, and we tell you what you can do when CPU utilization hits 100% in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: SquareSpace. Get a slick blogging platform that gives you ease of use and statistics without scripting. Get a discount of 12% when you signup with code CST at SquareSpace.com.

Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology, SQL Servers, and Windows infrastructure.

Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
IE 8 Tops Firefox, Google Chrome, Others in Browser Security Smackdown (eWeek)
NetApp, QLogic Combine for FCOE Storage Configuration (eWeek)
Researchers Boot Million Linux Kernels to Help Botnet Research (eWeek)
Google Must Fight Lawsuits to Win On2's Hand in Marriage (eWeek)
Microsoft, Open-Source Community Could Both Avoid Lawsuit Damage (eWeek)
Patent Ruling Against Microsoft Hinges on Meaning of Custom XML (eWeek)
FriendFeed Updates Status: Married to Facebook (New York Times)
Microsoft Windows Enterprise: Windows 7 Features (Microsoft)

As always, support the podcast by giving us your glowing reviews on iTunes and other podcast destinations. Let us know how we are doing. Contact us by using the feedback form at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=87
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com gives you the podcast for IT pros. This week we take business performance management, where it applies, and what it takes to get to the data with Gary Cokins, global product marketing manager at SAS. Find more info at from Gary's blog at blogs.sas.com/cokins. In the news Microsoft let's Windows 7 out to select groups, Apple releases 18 security fixes for OS X, DNS BIND 9 is vulnerable to a zero-day attack, Microsoft's Patch Tuesday gives us five rated critical, and a survey shows most organizations have no patch management solution. Cloud services recent outages, broken promises and data loss gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Web 2.0 apps acceptance in the enterprise, and we give you a quick overview of the Windows 7 Problem Step Recorder in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Go Daddy. Get your .com domain registered for only $7.49 with our discount code: CST3. Make sure to type in CST3 when you check out at godaddy.com.
Also brought to you by Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.
Explore other discount offers from CS Techcast: http://offers.mevio.com/show/cstechcast.html.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Microsoft Opens Windows 7 RTM for Downloading (eWeek)
Apple Mac OS X Update Plugs 18 Security Vulnerabilities (eWeek)
Bind9 FTP Site (isc.org)
New DNS Vulnerability Has Organizations Scrambling (MCPmag)
Microsoft to Fix Windows, Office Bugs in Critical Updates (eWeek)
Nearly Half Of Companies Lack A Formal Patch Management Process (Dark Reading)
Project Quant: Patch Management Process Survey (SurveyMonkey)
Twitter Continues to Battle DDoS Attack (PC World)
Microsoft backtracks on free Office Live domains (CNet)

As always, support the podcast by giving us your glowing reviews on iTunes and other podcast destinations. Let us know how we are doing. Contact us by using the feedback for at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=86
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Here is a little SQL Script I wrote that gives you file and filegroup size details for all databases on SQL Server 2005 or 2008. This returns all the vital information I am looking for when I look at database sizes and growth such as file size, space used, free space, and the physical filename. There is also a second result set with details rolled up to the filegroup. If you were so inclined, you could capture this information on a regular basis and do some trending. Script attached.

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Welcome to CSTechcast.com, the podcast for IT pros. This week we have an enlightening discussion about data mining, why it's important, and some common pitfalls with industry pro John Elder. Find more info at datamininglab.com. In the news, Microsoft and Yahoo finally come to an understanding, Microsoft announces the location of its first retail stores, hard drive vendors up the ante to a terabyte in notebooks and servers, Google open sources parts of Wave, and a survey shows 40% of midmarket companies have no online presence. Apple flubs one by denying the Google Voice app making "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Windows 7 and if it will help enterprises warm up to an upgrade, and some pointers on a successful Hyper-V P2V conversion in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:

Microsoft Bing to Power Yahoo Search in 10-Year Deal Aimed at Google (eWeek)
Microsoft to Open First Retail Stores in Arizona, California (eWeek)
Toshiba 640GB, 1TB Hard Drives Offer Encryption, Data Backup (eWeek)
Samsung Launches 1TB HDD for Servers, Desktop PCs (eWeek)
Google Open Sources Heart and Soul of Google Wave Code (eWeek)
Two Out of Five SMBs Don't Exist Online, Survey Finds (eWeek)
Apple blocks Google Voice app for iPhone (CNet)

Full interaction with CS Techcast on Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, Twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. As always, hit us up at our feedback form on the CSTechcast.com main page. See you next week!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=85
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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The podcast for IT pros, CSTechcast.com. This week the focus is on disaster recovery; the planning, the technology, and what you should be doing with  Don Norbeck, Technology Officer of Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Product Strategy at SunGuard. Find more information at www.availability.sungard.com. In the news we discuss Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 going RTM, Yahoo's further discussion about some sort of Microsoft deal, IT is shown to be failing in 25% of small businesses, and a zero-day vulnerabilities found in Adobe's Flash player. The EU's strange requirement of a menu of browsers for Windows 7 gets "The Worst Tech of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Hyper-V 2.0, and a pointer about Remote Desktop Protocol getting cutoff during a Forefront installation in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Windows 7 Release May Put the Brakes on Apple Enterprise Growth (eWeek)
Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 Released to Manufacturing (eWeek)
Yahoo Board Meets About Microsoft, Fears Google Treatment (eWeek)
IT Failing 1 in 4 Small Businesses, Says Effectiveness Index Survey (eWeek)
Adobe Vulnerability Targeted in Drive-by Attacks (eWeek)
EU says Microsoft to offer browser options (BizJournal)

Full interaction with CS Techcast on Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, Twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. As always, hit us up at our feedback form on the CSTechcast.com main page. See you next week!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=84
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Welcome to CSTechcast.com, the source of the podcast for IT pros. This week we are talking small business technology and the unique issues they face of limited budgets and expertise with Brett Jaffe, CEO of IT4. Find more info about Brett’s company go to http://it4yourbusiness.com. In the news, Cisco hands the pink slip to 700 employees, a new cloud services monitoring tool is released by Paessler, Steve Ballmer questions the viability of the Chrome OS, and Microsoft’s Kevin Turner announces plans to open Microsoft shops right next to Apple stores. The Twitter internal document leak scandal earns Michael Arrington "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at open source network management and monitoring tools, and we give you some SQL Server TempDB configuration magic in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your small and medium business technology.

Cisco Lays Off Hundreds Of Workers (InformationWeek)
CloudClimate Website Monitors Cloud Service Performance (eWeek)
Microsoft's Ballmer Dismisses Chrome (InformationWeek)
Microsoft to Open Retail Stores Near Apple Stores (eWeek)
Twitter and TechCrunch Joust Over Stolen Documents (New York Times)

Full interaction with CS Techcast on Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, Twitter.com/cstechcast, and the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. As always, hit us up at our feedback form on the CSTechcast.com main page. See you next week!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=83
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com is the podcast for IT pros. This week we have Zee Kane, Principal at WeDoCreative and Editor in Chief at The Next Web, who joins us from UK to talk about proper site design and what companies should be thinking about to move their web designs forward. Find more from Zee's web design and marketing company at WeDoCreative.com. In the news, Software as a Service sees reluctant adoption, IBM gets patents for image based data masking, Microsoft registers C# and Common Language Infrastructure specifications under their “Community Promise”, new remote-code execution flaw in the Microsoft Video Active-X control causes concern, and Google Apps and other Google projects gets their beta tag removed. Comcast's unwanted DNS redirection gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the newly announced Google Chrome OS, and we explore firewall settings for Windows 7 in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your IT.

Enterprise Not in Love with Software as a Service, Gartner Finds (eWeek)
IBM To Patent Data Mask (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Opens Up C# and CLI Specs (eWeek)
Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerability in Microsoft Video ActiveX control could allow remote code execution (Microsoft.com)
Microsoft Vulnerability Targeted in New Drive-by Attack (eWeek)
Google Apps Finally Exits Beta (InformationWeek)
Comcast Finally Launches DNS Redirection (DSLReports.com)
Introducing the Google Chrome OS (Google Blog)

As always, support the podcast by giving us your glowing reviews on iTunes and other podcast destinations. Let us know how we are doing. Contact us by using the feedback for at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=82
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Welcome to another episode of the podcast for IT Pros, only at CStechcast.com. This week we are exploring privileged account management and how to reduce the attack surface of that powerful access with Phil Lieberman, President and CEO of Lieberman Software. Find more information at http://www.liebsoft.com. In the news Google Apps continues to add features useful for business environments with a new API for contacts, Cisco and VMWare find better ways to VMotion a VM across data centers, AMD's newest Opteron makes it's debut in new HP servers and workstations, Adobe's employees gets an involuntary week off, and new evidence that IT spending may be on an uptick. Facebook's attempt to get you comfy and open up to the world gets "The Worst Tech move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the challenges of backing up virtualized servers, and we review the gotchas of upgrading Small Business Server in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your IT.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:

Google Apps Opens Up Contacts to Socialize the Enterprise (eWeek)
Cisco, VMware Look to Move VMs Between Data Centers (eWeek)
AMD Rolls Out Latest Quad-Core Opteron (eWeek)
Adobe Shutters Operations for a Week to Cut Costs (eWeek)
Global IT Spending To Drop 10.6%: Forrester (InformationWeek)
A Closer Look at Facebook's New Privacy Options (ReadWriteWeb)
The Essentials Series: New Techniques for Creating Better Backups (RealTimePublishers)

Keep coming back every week as we bring on leaders in IT and people in the trenches who know how to get things done. Contact us by using the feedback for at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. If you like the show, please subscribe and help keep us going. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=81
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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SSIS is a pretty useful tool for designing ETL processes. One of the transformations I was disappointed with in 2005 was the lookup. I found it a little better than the lookup functionality in DTS, but not too much better. Well, Microsoft must have read my mind because SQL Server 2008 has a new shiny Lookup transformation that is, in my opinion, much improved.

In 2005, the lookup had cache options, but they were really heavy handed. And you could deal with a lookup not finding a match by using the error output, but then how would you know the difference between a non-match and a real error? Let's start with the cache. There are now three cache options and two choices for your cache source.



• Full Cache - This will load the entire reference dataset into memory before the first lookup is performed. This can be very efficient for small tables, but think what would happen if your lookup table was a few GB in size….that's a lot to load into cache.
• Partial Cache - This is probably what most people think of when they conceptualize lookup cache in their head. At first, the cache is empty and each time a row matches or doesn't match for that matter, the row, or the fact that the lookup didn't find a row, is cached. Subsequent rows with the same lookup fields will find their data, or lack thereof, in cache.
• No Cache - The lookup will generate the reference dataset each time the transformation runs.

As for data sources for your cache, you can still go to the database, but now you can also set up your own custom cache connection. This gives you the ability to build your cache in a separate step and then reference it with your lookup. This is a little involved so I won't go into more detail here, but keep your eyes open for another blog entry... ;) Furthermore, if you use the partial cache, you can manage your cache size on the Advanced page of the Lookup's properties.

So I like the changes to caching, but I like the output options even more. You can now specify that rows with no match be redirected to their own output, or be ignored all together. This now gives you three outputs to work with; one for a match, one for no match, and another for errors. I put together a small sample package and added a screen shot below, you can see that I am using all three outputs. In this case, when an e-mail address is not found in the lookup, I use a derived column to put "NA" into the email address column before I load. I then union this data with the rows that found a match and do an insert into my destination table.

In the end, this new lookup is much cleaner and easier to use than its 2005 predecessor. Plus the addition of the Cache Connection Manager is a big win…..more on that coming soon.



 

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We are back with another episode of the podcast for IT pros at CStechcast.com.  This week the topic is open source infrastructure and how it applies in the enterprise with Frank Wiles of Revolution Systems. Find more information on Frank and his company at revsys.com. In the news, Microsoft announces pricing for Windows 7, Intel puts out updated compilers, bad hiring is losing money, and Bing still can't compete with Google. MySpace takes the social out of their business with their treatment of layed-off employees making "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at how you can bridge into the cloud from traditional applications, and get guidance on which Windows Perfmon counters to use when troubleshooting memory problems with "The Weekly Tech Tip".

This week's episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services, a quality partner that can help you manage your IT.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:

Microsoft Windows 7 Push Includes Price Cuts, Additional Vista Upgrades (eWeek)
Intel Ships New Compilers (eWeek)
Businesses Losing Money on Bad Hiring Practices, Survey Finds (eWeek)
Microsoft Bing Beats Google But Users Stay Loyal to Google (eWeek)

Adding Insult To Injury: MySpace Botches Layoffs (TechCrunch)

Keep coming back every week as we bring on leaders in IT and people in the trenches who know how to get things done. Contact us by using the feedback for at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. If you like the show, please subscribe and help keep us going. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=80
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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I had the pleasure of writing the latest in The Essential Series for Realtime Publishing, a free set of publications for IT professionals and executives.  This allowed me to speak to the system administrator that is facing the challenge of new technologies putting strain on old backup solutions. How can you adapt and address the needs of virtualized servers putting backup jobs into overtime? What about the new requirements for encryption on sensitive data? How can data deduplication help conserve backup resources and even green your data center? Read the paper to find out.

Link to The Essential Series, New Techniques for Creating Better Backups: http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/esntcbb.php#

Synopsis

The world of backups is an essential piece of an IT infrastructure. With new technologies coming online and new issues around data security, the question becomes whether your backups are keeping up. Virtualization presents new challenges to the old agent based network backup, data breaches force you to take a second look at security, and the sheer volume of data puts backup solutions at their breaking points. The Essentials Series: New Techniques for Creating Better Backups takes a fresh look at backup technologies that address these challenges of virtualized servers, options and management of backup encryption, and the benefits of data deduplication for efficient use of backup resources.

Article 1: How Virtualization Changes the Standard Approach to Backups

Virtualization is the technology that brings consolidation, but that is exactly why existing backup techniques can run into trouble. Learn the various methods for successful backup of a virtualized server environment and understand why one size does not fit all.

Article 2: Avoid Making Headlines by Securing Your Backups

Very public announcements of lost backups that cause breaches of personal data have put IT departments into panic mode. Don't be the next company on the news for lost data. Find out what options for encryption are available and how to implement the technology successfully.

Article 3: Reducing Backups with Data Deduplication

Data storage keeps growing at an exponential rate. With that comes longer backup times and the expense of running expensive tape libraries. Reign in cost and need for resources by utilizing data deduplication to find the redundancy in the vast amount of data being stored. Get familiar with the options and the way it makes you change the way you think about the backup window.

Link to the paper: http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/esntcbb.php#

- Eric Beehler (http://consortioservices.com/blog)
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Welcome to the podcast for IT pros at CStechcast.com. This week we are with Robert Scoble, Rob La Gesse, and Rocky Barbanica of Rackspace at the launch of Building43 to discover why business needs to pay attention to The 2010 Web and how IT professionals need to approach the cloud. Find more information at http://building43.com. In the news; Microsoft gets set to launch a free anti-virus program, Symbian unveils it's developer site to the public for it's open source phone OS, Juniper Networks shows off a 100GB Ethernet adapter, and many admit in a new survey to abusing privileged accounts to gain access to private information. AT&T's lack of support for the new iPhone 3Gs features and the charges for upgrades to loyal Apple fans gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we riff on the interview and talk about getting started with the cloud for small and medium business in "A Closer Look", and "The Weekly Tech Tip" covers multi-server queries and the Object Explorer in SQL Server 2008.

This episode is sponsored by: Consortio Services (http://consortioservices.com)

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Microsoft's Free Anti-virus Software 'Morro' Coming Soon (eWeek)
Symbian Foundation Launches Developer Site Beta (eWeek)
Juniper Unveils 100G Ethernet Adapter (eWeek)
IT Staff Increasingly Spying on Colleagues, Report Says (eWeek)
AT&T Tight-Lipped on iPhone 3GS's Lack of MMS and Tethering (PC World)
Apple iPhone Users Cry Foul Over AT&T Upgrade Policy (InformationWeek)
Building43 (Rackspace)

IT was great to have such leaders in the cloud and social media space on our show. Keep coming back every week as we bring on leaders in IT and people in the trenches who know how to get things done. Contact us by using the feedback for at cstechcast.com, track us down on Twitter at twitter.com/cstechcast, friend us on Friendfeed at friendfeed.com/cstechcast, or hit the CS Techcast fan page on Facebook. If you like the show, please subscribe and help keep us going. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=79
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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