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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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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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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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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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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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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CSTechcast.com has the podcast for IT pros. This week we talk with about the future of the Windows Server platform on VMWare and how to get a virtualized infrastructure right with Darren Duke, founder of Simplified Technology Solutions. Find more on Darren and his company at http://simplified-tech.com/ and the blog http://blog.darrenduke.net/. In the news; Bing sees some success overtaking the number 2 search spot, IBM challenges Microsoft over a website claiming love of Windows from Websphere, HP goes after those loyal to their mainframes, Verizon brings its own computing as a service offering, and Windows 7 gets a release date. Hulu's thought that they can play for pay gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at why small and medium business should consider monitoring and automation, and slow IE8 tabs may not be the fault of the browser; find out how to investigate with "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:

Microsoft's Bing Overtakes Yahoo for Now, Report Says (eWeek)

IBM Declines Challenge, Asks Microsoft to Kill Anti-IBM Website (eWeek)

websphereloveswindows.com (Microsoft.com)

HP Makes Pitch to IBM Mainframe Users (eWeek)
Verizon Business Unveils 'Computing As A Service' (InformationWeek)

Windows 7 To Ship Oct. 22, Microsoft Confirms (InformationWeek)
Soon, you'll have to pay for Hulu (DailyFinance)

Give us feedback from the main site at http://cstechcast.com. You can also find us at Twitter.com/cstechcast, Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, and on Facebook. Spread the word, you are all we have. Thanks for supporting the show and keep coming back for more.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=78
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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The place for the IT professional's podcast, CSTechcast.com. This week, the effect of the economy on open source and how you could help your IT organization by going open. We get the answers and the approach from Ned Lilly, president and CEO of xTuples and an open source ERP guru. Find information on Ned at nedscape.com and his company at xtuple.com. In the news; the US Department of Interior admits a major security breach reporting 18% of computers missing, IBM announces new incentives to stay on old mainframes, Dell takes a big hit in revenues for the quarter, EMC buys up Configursoft, and Microsoft gets a new look and a new name: Bing! Newspapers planning to charge for online content race to the grave in "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", the hard to explain Google Wave gets "A Closer Look", and Terminal Server gets a quick security sweep in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Department of Interior Computers Missing, Report Finds (eWeek)
IBM Entices Sun, HP Customers onto Linux Mainframes (eWeek)
Dell Reports Drop in First-Quarter Revenue (eWeek)
EMC to acquire software maker Configuresoft (ComputerWorld)
http://www.bing.com/
Shhhh. Newspaper Publishers Are Quietly Holding a Very, Very Important Conclave Today. Will You Soon Be Paying for Online Content? (The Atlantic)
Google Wave Preview (Wave.google.com)

Give us feedback from the main site at http://cstechcast.com. You can also find us at Twitter.com/cstechcast, Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, and on Facebook. Spread the word, you are all we have. Thanks for supporting the show and keep coming back for more.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=77
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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The podcast for IT professionals, and CIOs, is new every week at CSTechcast.com. This week we cover information technology in health care with Ron Lindsay of Emtec about what the future holds as health care enters an era of change. Find more information at http://emtecinc.com. In the news, all those still running Office 2000 have hit the end of the line for support, HP announces anther drop in revenue as well as more job cuts, Microsoft begins support of SQL Server clusters on virtual machines, Intel delays the release of it’s newest Itanium process until next year, and Microsoft is set to debut their updated "Kumo" search engine this week. Apple's refusal to admit it has a security problem gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at how business laptops are different, and we tell you how to access virtual hard drive files directly from Windows 7 without starting the virtual machine in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Office 2000 and Office Update Site to Retire (TechNet)
HP To Cut More Than 6,000 Jobs (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Changes Stance on Virtualized SQL Server Failover Clusters (eWeek)
Intel Again Delays 'Tukwila' Itanium Release (eWeek)
Microsoft to Unveil 'Kumo,' a New Search Engine (eWeek)
Apple Leaves Major Java Security Hole Open for Mac Users (eWeek)

As usual, we are needy and want your attention, so give us feedback from the main site at http://cstechcast.com. You can also find us at Twitter.com/cstechcast, Friendfeed.com/cstechcast, and on Facebook. Please subscribe, get your friends to subscribe, and talk us up to your friends at dinner parties. Good karma will come your way. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=76
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Welcome to the podcast for IT pros, available at CStechcast.com. This week, we talk about the realities of managing an IT organization from the top in this battered economy with Christopher Reichert, Executive Chair of the 6th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. Find additional information at mitcio.com. In the news; HP issues a major battery recall, a group of Sun shareholders try to block its sale to Oracle, a Google outage of some services raises questions about the cloud, new research reveals major malware on many web sites, and Microsoft announces support and tools for PHP on the Windows Azure cloud services platform. A best of "Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at new software coming from the Microsoft TechEd conference, and a little help to get a lock down on security for your Sharepoint servers in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
HP Recalling 70,000 Laptop Batteries Due to Fire Concerns (eWeek)
HP Notebook PC Battery Pack Replacement Program (HP)
Sun Shareholders File Suit to Block Sale to Oracle (PC World)
Gmail, Google News 3.5-Hour Outage Blamed on System Error (eWeek)
New script outstrips all other drive-by download risks (The Register)
…And We Have A Winner! (Sophos Labs)
Microsoft Launches PHP Tools for Windows Azure (eWeek)
The 10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Past Decade (Time Magazine)

Thanks for downloading and listening to CS Techcast. We say congratulations to Eric Johnson on his family's new arrival. Please send us your thoughts with the feedback form at cstechcast.com and on the social networks: Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Tell your friends about CS Techcast and give us a review on iTunes if you're feeling generous. Remember to make sure you are subscribed to the podcast for IT pros!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=75
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Welcome to CStechcast.com, the podcast for IT professionals. ITIL is the standard for IT governance, but challenges of implementation and understanding still remain. We talk to Matthew Schvimmer, the head of products for IT Service Management and Project Portfolio Management at HP, to discuss what ITIL version 3 brings to the table, how it's not a magic bullet, and the work it takes to realize the benefits. For more information, go to hp.com. In the news, Polycom adds to the small business VoIP mix with a new PBX and wireless phones, Sun's StorageTek reports big sales of the high end 17 petabyte capable system, Oracle's Larry Ellison states that they will retail Sun's storage division, and Microsoft offers up Azure cloud computing solutions to government. Microsoft's rename of the very annoying Windows Genuine Advantage to Windows Activation Technologies is just lipstick on the pig of "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the good and the bad of the Windows 7 release candidate, and "The Weekly Tech Tip" is for SQL Server admin with advice on getting that data fitting into your query results inside SQL Server Management Studio.

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Polycom Debuts Wireless Office in a Box (eWeek)
Sun Drives 'Amber Road' to Record Sales (eWeek)
Oracle Won't Divest Sun's Hardware Business (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Offers Cloud-Based Public Data Hosting With Azure (InformationWeek)
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Scans Your System for Win7 Compatibility (LifeHacker)
Competitors Grouse Over IE8 Default Setting in Windows 7 (PC World)
Windows 7 To Boost SSD Performance (TechNet Blogs)
Microsoft, Intel goof up Windows 7's "XP Mode" (ArsTechnica)
Microsoft outlines Windows 7 anti-piracy measures (PC Authority)

Thanks for downloading and listening to CS Techcast. Please send us your thoughts with the feedback form at cstechcast.com and on the social networks: Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Tell your friends about CS Techcast and give us a review on iTunes if you're feeling generous. Remember to make sure you are subscribed to the podcast for IT pros!

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=74
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com, the source of the podcast for IT pros. This week we discuss the utter lack of visibility into virtualized infrastructure with Charles Thompson, product manager for Network Instruments, who discusses a new survey that shows 75% of organizations lack tools to monitor their virtual environments. Find The State of the Network Global Study at http://www.networkinstruments.com. In the news, Twitter gets hacked again giving us pause when envisioning private business use in a professional model, Seagate announces Replica to easily backup computers, Sun releases the latest update to Solaris the week after the Oracle takeover of Sun was announced, Windows 7 gets it’s Release Candidate released, and Office 2007 Service Pack 2 adds ODF edit and PDF save support. Minnesota's hops into the slippery slope with its requirement of ISP’s to filter gambling web sites to earn "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the Kindle as a replacement for your tech library, and a quick way to get a desktop moved with all of user’s documents and settings is "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed in the show:
Twitter Confirms Hacker Gained Access (eWeek)
New Seagate Desktop Drive Plugs in, Backs Up (eWeek)
Sun Updates Solaris 10 with Focus on Virtualization, Security (eWeek)
Microsoft Windows 7 Release Candidate Arrives for Some – Most Must Wait (eWeek)
Microsoft Releases Office 2007 SP2 (InformationWeek)
Minnesota asks ISPs to block gambling sites (USA Today)

Send in any comments you have on the show through our feedback form at CStechcast.com or visit us on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Do us a favor a post a review on iTunes. Tell your friends to check it out. As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=73
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com, the home of the podcast for IT professionals released every week. This week we talk to Stephen Wynkoop, founder and editor of SSWUG.org, about virtualized conferences and how it can get your tech skills sharp. Find more info at www.vconferenceonline.com/upcoming.asp. In the news, more mess for Microsoft from the DOJ, Sun gets Nehalemized with new Intel Xeon processors and a network switch addition much like Cisco's new server solution, IBM aims to have 28-nanometer chip manufacturing next year, Intel dips its profits but sees a bottom, and Verizon Business Security reports security breaches of 285 million records last year and the problem is still most common from servers and applications. Twitter's spotlight on Entertainment Tonight gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the new Exchange 2010 beta, and we give you some tools for your malware tool belt in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Feds Want Eyes On Microsoft For Another 18 Months (InformationWeek)
Sun Strikes Back At Cisco (InformationWeek)
IBM Alliance Looks To Top Intel With 28-Nm Chips (InformationWeek)
Intel Faces Roadblocks Despite Hope In PC Sales (InformationWeek)
More Data Breached In 2008 Than In Previous Four Years Combined (InformationWeek)
Oprah's on Twitter, Twitter's on Oprah, and Everyone's So Excited! (Gawker)

Send in any comments you have on the show through our feedback form at CStechcast.com or visit us on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Do us a favor a post a review on iTunes. Tell your friends to check it out. As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=71
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com is your source to get the podcast for IT professionals. This week we talk to Toby J. Velte, author of Green IT: Reduce Your Information System's Environmental Impact While Adding to the Bottom Line, about the hard facts you can use to get buy-in to green your data centers. Find more info at Velte.com. In the news, the Confiker worm continues it's appetite for destruction by charging you for fake anti-virus software, Microsoft says Happy Easter with a basket-full of new patches, Google gives up some detail on data center efficiencies they have developed, spies are apparently successfully hacking US infrastructure interests, and Sun wins a big contract from the US Health and Human Services to build open source apps for health care. The media's reporting of recent technology trends gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at our experience implementing open source solutions, and we give you some group policy goodness with Windows 7's AppLocker which you can use to control programs in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Updated Conficker Ropes Victims into Rogue Anti-virus Scam (eWeek)
Microsoft warns of monster patch day next week (ComputerWorld)
Google Data Center Secrets Now Showing On YouTube (InformationWeek)
Google container data center tour (YouTube)
Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies (The Wall Street Journal)
Before Grid Hack Reports, NERC Advises Industry on Cyber Assets (eWeek)
Feds Tap Sun For Healthcare IT Despite Uncertain Future (InformationWeek)

We send congratulations to Dana and her family on her new baby. Send in your good wishes or any comments you have on the show through our feedback form at CStechcast.com or visit us on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast. Tell your friends to check it out.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=70
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Welcome to the podcast for IT pros, available at CStechcast.com. This week we talk to Avinoam Nowogrodski, co-founder and CEO of Clarizen, about collaboration using SaaS applications and what benefit the SaaS platform serves a business over traditional internal applications. Find more information at clarizen.com. In the news, the Conficker worm comes in with a whimper on April 1st but is still considered a threat, all major server manufacturers get online with the latest Intel Nehalem-based Xeon processors, Intel keeps taking share away from AMD, IBM is getting closer to swallowing Sun, and Microsoft debuts Windows Server 2008 Foundation for small business. Mac fans who can't leave that Microsoft price commercial alone make "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at spear phishing, and a little application called PRTG Network Monitor helps you monitor and report on network devices, workstations, and servers in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Is Conficker Finally History? (PC World)
Fresh Crop Of Intel Nehalem Servers On Way (InformationWeek)
Intel's Share Of Chip Market Rises, AMD's Falls (InformationWeek)
IBM-Sun Deal 'In Final Stages' (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Offers Server For Tiny Businesses (InformationWeek)
Microsoft's "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person" ad tries to kick Apple where it hurts (ZDNet)
Give me a break. Microsoft isn’t cheaper than Apple. Dell might be, but Microsoft isn’t! (Macgasm.net)
PRTG Network Monitor (Paessler.com)

After we finished the recording of this week's episode, our lovely co-host Dana gave birth to her brand new baby boy Jaden. We send congratulations to her and her family and I hope you do too. Send in your good wishes or any comments on our feedback for at CStechcast.com or visit us on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=69
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CStechcast.com brings you another podcast for IT pros. This week we talk about innovations in the server space and what to consider for the modern data center and cash strapped businesses with HP Vice-President of Industry Standard Servers, Paul Gottsegan. Find more info at hp.com. In the news, Conficker is ticking down to April 1st, HP releases an analysis tool for Adobe Flash code to look for security holes, Sun releases it's latest Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Software 3, and Red Hat beats Wall Street expectation giving good news to the tech economy and open source. Complexity on network equipment updates to protect against security holes gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the need for standards in the cloud, and we show you some tricks to get Linux setup in Hyper-V in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Conficker Worm Worries Exaggerated (InformationWeek)
Questions and Answers: Conficker and April 1st (F-Secure)
Malware probes find a China angle (CNet)
Sun Brings Storage Management To Desktop Virtualization (InformationWeek)
Red Hat Profit Beats Forecasts, Shares Rise (InformationWeek)
Linux on Hyper-V (TechNet)

As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast. Keep us going by spreading the word about CS Techcast and writing a review at your favorite podcast service, like in iTunes or at Podcastalley.com. As always, find us all week on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Please also send us feedback; link at CSTechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=68
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Once again, CSTechcast.com brings you another podcast for IT pros. This week we talk to Marc Borbas, Vice President at INETCO, about how the approach to measuring and monitoring real-time applications that often leave your sphere of control. Find more information at INETCO.com. In the news, Internet Explorer 8 is officially release and gets a cool reception, IBM is looking to swoop in on Sun with a takeover bid, the FTC looking into privacy concerns around Google cloud applications like Apps and GMail, EMC pushing bigger and faster solid state drive technology into the data center, and Microsoft aims to make it easier to find bugs in your code with Crash Analyzer. Quick hacks at a contest of the top 3 browser's security gets "The Worst tech Move of the Week", small and mid-size business security options gets "A Closer Look", and new features of DHCP server in Windows Server 2008 R2 and a new tool are covered in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Explorer 8: Bugs, Crashes, Glitches, Oh My! (InformationWeek)
IBM-Sun Rivalry May Finally Reach An Accord (InformationWeek)
Feds To Shut Down Google Apps? (InformationWeek)
EMC Offers Larger-Capacity Flash Drives For Symmetrix Systems (InformationWeek)
Microsoft to Unveil Open-Source Security Analyzer for Application Developers (eWeek)
DHCP Server Events Tool (TechNet Blogs)
A grim day for browser security at hacker contest (The Register)

As always, thanks for subscribing to our podcast. Keep us going by spreading the word about CS Techcast and writing a review at your favorite podcast service, like in iTunes or at Podcastalley.com. As always, find us all week on the social networks at the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Please also send us feedback; link at CSTechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=67
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Announcing another podcast for IT pros, straight from CSTechcast.com. This week we talk about what approach you should take to application testing and the tools to help you get there with HP Senior Director of Products Mark Sarbiewski. Find complete information at hp.com. In the news, IE8 will get a sort of on-off switch in Windows 7, new critical updates for Microsoft Patch Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is forced to defend Windows Mobile at the CIO Summit, virtualization and cloud service continue to gain acceptance in business, and the general economy continues to dive but IT consulting jobs are trending up. Tech companies sitting on cash instead of investing for the future get "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at alternative tech training, and understand network teaming in Hyper-V with "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Windows 7 Will Have IE 8 On-Off Switch (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Patch Day Won't Fix Excel Vulnerability (InformationWeek)
Microsoft CEO Gets Earful About iPhones In IT (InformationWeek)
Survey: Virtualization Takes Off, Cloud Computing on the Rise (eWeek)
Employment Situation Summary (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Technology firms sitting on mountains of cash (MarketWatch)

Catch us on the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast being social. We also have a feedback form off the main page if you have anything you'd like to say. Plus, catch us when we're recording live at our UStream page CS Techcast – Behind The Scenes. Thanks for listening and make sure you're subscribed so you can catch us every week.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=65

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you the podcast for IT Pros; a "Top 10" according to CIO Insight. This week we talk hacking and vulnerabilities with Joel Scambray, CISSP, co-founder and CEO of Consciere, and co-author of Hacking Exposed. Find more info from Joel at http://webhackingexposed.com. This week, Microsoft stays steady on custom support pricing, HP earnings result in job cuts, Sun likes its encryption open source, IBM wants in on the broadband stimulus money, and Microsoft gets cozy with Red Hat with an interoperability pact. Facebook's ToS meltdown gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at some utility cloud options, and DHCP migration to Server 2008 is "The Weekly Tech Tip.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Microsoft Holds the Line on Custom Support Pricing (Redmond Channel Partner Online)
HP earnings dip nearly 10%, will cut salaries (CNet)
Sun Releases First Protocol for Encryption Key Interoperability (eWeek)
IBM Eyes Stimulus Funds for Broadband Project (eWeek)
Red Hat, Microsoft Sign Virtualization Interoperability Pact (eWeek)

Catch us on the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast being social. We also have a feedback form off the main page if you have anything you'd like to say. Plus, catch us when we're recording live at our UStream page CS Techcast – Behind The Scenes. Thanks for listening and make sure you're subscribed so you can catch us every week.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=64

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you the podcast for IT Pros; a "Top 10" according to CIO Insight. This week we talk with Jim Thor, network engineer for Wild Packets, about VoIP in the enterprise and how to identify the pitfalls and get a successful system in place. Find more on their solutions at WildPackets.com. In the news, IT sees a slight uptick in jobs, Ruby is becoming the programming language of choice for techies in emerging markets, not all is well at the Sun acquired MySQL with David Axmark and Michael Widenius resigning, IBM will be providing core IBM software such as DB2 and WebSphere from Amazon's Web Services cloud platform, and Microsoft puts a $250,000 bounty on the head of the Conficker Worm's author. A Canadian court's ruling that ISP logs are fair game for authorities gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at hiring a consultant versus hiring an employee, and we help you protect against the Conficker Worm in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Some IT Jobs Defy Employment Downturn (InformationWeek)
Ruby Shines in Emerging Markets (eWeek)
MySQL Exits May Open Sun Customers To Other Databases (InformationWeek)
IBM To Deliver Software Via Amazon's Cloud (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Offers $250,000 Bounty For Worm Authors (InformationWeek)
Canadian judge: No warrant needed to see ISP logs (Ars Technica)
Virus alert about the Win32/Conficker.B worm (Microsoft.com)

Catch us on the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast being social. We also have a feedback form off the main page if you have anything you'd like to say. Plus, catch us when we're recording live at our UStream page CS Techcast – Behind The Scenes. Thanks for listening and make sure you come back again.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=62

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com, where you can find the podcast for IT professionals. This week we have Chris Poelker, VP of Enterprise Solutions at FalconStor and author of “Storage Area Networks for Dummies", to talk about data de-duplication as a solution for greening your data center. Find more on the topic at his blog http://blog.falconstor.com/ChrisPoelker/. In the news, the downturn in the global economy has NEC possibly pulling out of PC market in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Lenovo replaces their CEO after a bad quarter, Oracle is still making acquisitions with it's purchase of mValent, VMWare adds a free open-source virtualization client, and MS Patch Tuesday comes to us with 2 critical and 2 important updates. Human error in IT by those who don't really care gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", worst practices in insecure code get the wrath of "The IT Pet Peeve", and find out how to get your Windows 2008 Servers network load balancing working outside of a domain in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
NEC Says May Withdraw From PC Business In Europe (InformationWeek)
Lenovo CEO Resignation Tied to Company Performance (eWeek)
Oracle Acquires Leader in Application Configuration Management (eWeek)
VMware Announces First Open Source Virtual Desktop Client, Enabling Partners to Optimize Devices for VMware View and Provide Low-Cost Desktop Solutions (VMWare)
Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for February 2009 (Microsoft TechNet)

Make sure your subscribed to the podcast so you don't miss an episode. Find out how at cstechcast.com. You can also catch us on the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and at friendfeed.com/cstechcast being social. We also have a feedback form off the main page if you have anything you'd like to say. Plus, catch us when we're recording live at our UStream page CS Techcast – Behind The Scenes. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=62

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you the podcast for IT pros. This week we talk with Adam Swidler of Google's Enterprise Division about their new report on the state of spam. Find the report at http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com and more information on the products at www.google.com/a/security. In the news, Intel drops chip prices up to 40%, Qualcomm buys AMD's mobile chip division, top web site spread malware, Seagate post a fix for a hard drive problem that just causes more problems, and despite the economy tech paychecks take a tick up. The White House's state of tech shines a light on out of date government systems in "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we discuss the need for high-ranking official to carries devices like a Blackberry in "Point/CounterPoint", and we give you an old school tip on email troubleshooting in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:

Intel Drops Desktop, Server Chip Prices As Much As 40% (InformationWeek)
Qualcomm buys AMD’s handset division, technology for $65 million (ZDNet)
70 Of Top 100 Web Sites Spread Malware (InformationWeek)
Seagate Posts Hard Drive Fix (InformationWeek)
Tech Paychecks Grew Last Year Despite Economic Gloom (InformationWeek)

We'd like to thank the Google folks for talking to our audience about this new report. If you'd like to be in the loop every week, subscribe at cstechcast.com. You can also catch us on the Facebook fan page, at twitter.com/cstechcast, and friendfeed.com/cstechcast where we are sharing all week. We also have a feedback form off the main page if you have anything you'd like to say. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=60

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast has yet another information filled podcast for IT pros. This week we consult Alex Scoble, a CISSP certified security consultant and risk analyst, about the common security threats to your network and what you can do about it. Find Alex's blog at itmanager.blogs.com. In the news Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence from Apple CEO duties, 1TB Seagate drives are seeing an abnormal level of failures, The “Downadup” virus infected about 6.5 million PCs in 4 days, the inauguration may prove challenging to Internet bandwidth, and United Airlines offers up Wi-Fi on some planes with some limitations, of course. The lack of hard nose reporting from the traditional media on Steve Jobs over the past few weeks has garnered "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the common problem of weak passwords, and multi-monitor support comes to Remote Desktop Connections in Windows 7 and we show you how to get at it in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs (Apple.com)
On eve of Macworld, Jobs talks health (CNet)
Seagate customers swamped by Barracuda drive failures (The Register)
'Amazing' worm attack infects 9 million PCs (ComputerWorld)
Unprecedented live streaming video during inaugural will tax Internet (ComputerWorld)
United Airlines To Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi (InformationWeek)

If you want more you can find us on the socials. Be a fan at the CS Techcast Facebook Fan Page and leave something on our wall or find the UStream channel where we stream video live during our recording every week. Also, seek us our on the other socials at twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast or join the Friendfeed room. Send us feedback and keep coming back. In fact, encourage your friend to subscribe and join in the fun. Thanks for joining us.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=59

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you the weekly podcast for IT pros. This week we talk about the challenges of delivering as an IT pro to the small and mid-sized business with Art Hollingsworth and Mike Scott of the Two Guys Tech podcast. Find them at Twoguystech.com. In the news: MacWorld excitement comes not from Apple hardware but from third party software, Palm tries to makes a comeback with the Pre smartphone, HP reports six hour battery life for their new netbook, and Windows 7 beta is brought to the public with much fanfare. The bungled digital TV transition gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we talk about the common security breaches made by employees in "A Closer Look", and we get you going dual-booting Windows 7 in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Macworld: New Software Puts Macs To Work (InformationWeek)
Palm's Comeback Starts With Pre, WebOS (InformationWeek)
HP Boosts Netbook Battery Life (PC World)
Ballmer to CES: Windows 7 Beta Off and Running (Internetnews.com)
The 4 Security Rules Employees Love to Break (PC World)

Check out the CS Techcast Facebook Fan Page and leave something on our wall or find the UStream channel where we stream video live during our recording. Also, find us on the socials twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Join the Friendfeed room to share and discuss all things geeky. As usual, find ways to send us feedback at CSTechcast.com. Keep coming back, thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=58

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CSTechcast.com brings you the weekly podcast for IT pros. This week we talk about technology communities and SQL Server in particular with Andy Warren, President of End to End Training. Find him blogging at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/andy_warren/. In the news, we cover the coming USB 3.0 devices, Microsoft tries to patent pay as you go computing, Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager gets an update with service pack 1, SSL certificates gets compromised by a bunch of PS3s game consoles, and Windows experiences the largest usage drop in 4 years. The cable box method of pay as you go computing gets “The Worst Tech Move of the Week”, we take “A Closer Look” at the most in demand skills for the new year, and when you migrate an Outlook user make sure they get their nicknames in “The Weekly Tech Tip”.

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Prepped For Storage (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Seeks Pay-As-You-Go Computing Patent (InformationWeek)
What's New in DPM 2007 Service Pack 1 (Microsoft.com)
Theoretical attacks yield practical attacks on SSL, PKI (ArsTechnica)
Windows market share dives again as Mac nears 10% (ComputerWorld)
Microsoft Patents Pay-As-You-Go PC Computing (PC Magazine)

There are new ways to get your fix of CS Techcast. Check out the new CS Techcast Facebook Fan Page and leave something on our wall or find the UStream channel where we stream video live during our recording. Also, find us on the socials twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Join the Friendfeed room to share and discuss all things geeky. As usual, find ways to send us feedback at CSTechcast.com. All the best, and keep coming back for more tech goodness.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=57

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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3, 2, 1, CSTechcast.com for IT pro podcasts in the new year! This week we discuss encryption solutions, why it matters and separate the press hype and reality with John Callas, CTO of PGP Inc. Find their solutions at PGP.com. In the news we discuss the effect the economy is having on data centers, Microsoft working on a fix for a SQL vulnerability since April, notebook sales steadily outstripping desktops, and Citrix is giving you a way to get Windows on your iPhone, sort of. Michael Arrington trying to police how Robert Scoble uses the Internet gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take the bandwagon on a left turn and give you the top 5 tech predictions for 2010, and we give you a couple points of note when using Windows authentication for your websites in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:

Credit crunch takes toll on datacenter spending (InfoWorld)
Microsoft confirms it's been working on SQL bug since April (Infoworld)
Notebook Sales Outpace Desktop Sales (eWeek)
What's the coolest app that doesn't work on the iPhone .... yet ? (The Citrix Blogs)
I’m Sorry Robert, But It’s Time For A Friendfeed Intervention (Techcrunch via Friendfeed)
How to troubleshoot Kerberos-related issues in IIS (Microsoft Knowledge Base)

Thanks for supporting us in 2008. Be ready for more great content in 2009, where we will cover the topics that matter to IT professionals. Contact us from the home page CSTechcast.com or hit us up on twitter.com/cstechcast or friendfeed.com/cstechcast and get social. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and don't forget to come back.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=56

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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I’ve observed a curious phenomenon on the web. From tech blogs to social networks, people seem to be willing to give Windows 7 a chance. This from the crowd that has, in the past few years, called out Microsoft every chance they got. From the days of the Netscape trials to the recent filleting Vista received, chopped and diced in so many blog reviews that still linger today in the collective geek consciousness, one wonders why anyone would want to give Microsoft another chance with their desktop.

When it comes down to it, geeks still want Windows. Some converted to Macs, some converted to Linux, but for the most part Macintosh is too expensive and limiting and Linux was just too hardcore, needing a real intimate familiarity with configuration files just to upgrade a video driver. They want what they know, but they want it better. Some have begrudgingly accepted Vista onto their desktop, claiming it’s just “not that bad”, while others cling to Windows XP like it’s the last stop before the abyss of blue screens and misbehaving applications.

What we’ve seen of Windows 7 is exactly what we wanted to see, proof that it addresses the criticisms of the recent past. The OS installs faster, loads faster, comes back from standby on your laptop faster, and will run with less resources, like a demonstration where it ran on a netbook with a simple processor. The bloatware from built-in applications is gone, although calling these programs bloatware was debatable, and things that gave the appearance of annoyance, like the multiplying icons in the System Tray, have been paired down to necessity only. In fact, they have made the Taskbar so simple looking, it’s almost Apple sleek. It’s proof that the geek community still has a voice with the software empire.

But what about the calls to have Microsoft completely rebuild Windows from the ground up and all the opinions that the basis on which Windows was based was too broken to fix? The common wisdom was Microsoft needed a reboot similar to the Mac OS when they debuted X, something that broke legacy apps and built something modern. MinWin was often sighted as a possible replacement, a version of Windows that was so small as to be trivial to run on basic hardware. The components you wanted would attach and run what you need, not that much unlike Linux and Unix.

None of those opinions became this new operating system. Windows 7 is really Windows Vista tweaked. Windows 7 is the same basic kernel and does the same basic things. Like the Six Million Dollar Man they’ve made it better, faster, stronger. Why stick with the old code that turned so many off? Simple, it actually worked, just not as well as it could. The biggest problems, UAC security and incompatible drivers, have mostly been addressed. Programmers now know they will encounter the security features of UAC and, therefore, write better programs with better security standards. The driver issue, so prevalent when Vista launched, is now a distant memory. All new hardware has a Vista driver and older peripherals are either no-longer in use or had a proper driver written for them.

Windows can only be Windows, with it’s decade of compatibility with hundreds of thousands of programs and required GUI. It can’t break with the past and most of us would have a problem with that in one way or another. It can’t be Mac, because the choices in hardware and software afforded us by the former WINTEL alliance has built the PC generation and we would still have to run Boot Camp to get what we needed. Linux, with all its goodwill and improvements is still a text-based operating system at its core and most people, even geeks, can’t get their arms around that kind of required fuss on their desktops. We want Windows to be Windows, but we want them to do it right.

Geek blogs are singing the praises of recent trade show demonstrations of Windows 7, even if they can’t figure out the reason for the name. Early adopters are installing the beta and trying to get their hands on it by any means necessary, back channels and all. The posts we’ve seen from the formerly grumpy blogosphere about Windows 7 have been so positive. In fact, the glowing requires sun glasses. It seems like they’ve finally gotten it right after two years of bad blood with their users. Make it a good one Microsoft, it may be your last chance to impress us all.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com welcomes you to another episode of the podcast for IT pros. Today we talk the trends in the database space with Billy Bosworth, SQL Server VP & GM of Quest Software. Find their solutions at Quest.com. In the news Cisco announces a full rack solution for the data center including a complete set of servers, Toshiba announces their 512GB flash-based SSD drive for notebooks, the SEC requires ZBRL on financial documents as soon as mid next year, Sun’s open source VirtualBox VM solution gets popular, and IE7 gets a shiny new out-of-band patch for the holiday. The hoopla over breaking embargos by the need-to-be-first blogger set gets “The Worst Tech Move of the Week”, we take “A Closer Look” at netbooks for the corporate folks, and we give some advice when you encounter the Cannot Open User Default Database SQL Server error in “The Weekly Tech Tip”.

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Cisco Preps Server-Switch As HP Prepares Flank Attack(InformationWeek)
Toshiba Unveils 512-GB Notebook SSD (InformationWeek)
SEC Requiring Big Companies Use XBRL By Mid-2009 (InformationWeek)
Sun Updates VirtualBox 2.1 Again (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Releases Critical Internet Explorer Patch (InformationWeek)

If you're getting a shiny new audio player, don't forget to visit CSTechcast.com to subscribe to the podcast on your shiny new hotness. Visit us throughout the week on twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Otherwise, hit the home page and give us your feedback. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to our fans. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=55

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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The weather outside is frightful, so if you’ve no place to go, download the latest podcast from CSTechcast.com. This week we talk the open source option and why it makes sense for your operations with Curt Finch, CEO of JourneyX and author of All Your Money Won't Another Minute Buy: Valuing Time as a Business Resource. In the news, IE8 is winning the war to have the least bugs, new patches for critical vulnerabilities released after Patch Tuesday, the .tel domain aims to make it easy to share contact information, Sun retires Network.com and launches a new cloud initiative, and version 5.1 of MySQL is released debuting several new features. Sony and Facebook get dissed for their collection of private data in “The Worst Tech Move of the Week”, people who put desktop in service as servers get the wrath of “The IT Pet Peeve”, and a little tip to help get your Hyper-V machines shut down cleanly in “The Weekly Tech Tip”.

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Internet Explorer Has Fewer Software Bugs Than Firefox, Chrome (InformationWeek)
Zero-Day Microsoft Vulnerabilities Being Exploited (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Security Advisory (960906) (Microsoft.com)
.Tel Them Where to Find You (New York Times)
Sun Discloses Plans To Enter Cloud Computing (InformationWeek)
Sun MySQL 5.1 Upgrades Partitioning, Replication (InformationWeek)
Sony Violates Children's Privacy Act (Washington Post)

Keep the holiday cheer coming, with feedback at our website and interaction on Twitter and Friendfeed. Don't forget us, get us a present by getting your friends to CSTechcast.com for the podcast for IT pros by IT pros.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=54

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you good cheer in another podcast for IT pros. This week we talk about your online brand and why it's important with the co-founder and editor of sqlservercentral.com Steve Jones. In the news, IBM unveils the Open Collaboration Client open source desktop system, Microsoft and RSA get cozy with security integration, Amazon announces a free tier of access to SimpleDB, Windows 7 beta gets an official date, and patch tuesday plays the Grinch with six critical updates to keep you up late. The irrational logic that keep people hanging onto Windows XP, making some a tidy profit, gets "The Worst Tech of of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at what to do with the firesale deals caused by the bad economy on enterprise tech equipment, and "The Weekly Tech Tip" is a simple quick fix to SQL Server database orphaned users.

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
IBM Launches Microsoft-Free Linux PCs (InformationWeek)
Microsoft, EMC's RSA Partner To Protect Data (InformationWeek)
Amazon Opens SimpleDB To Unlimited Public Beta (InformationWeek)
I know where you can get Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD's... shhhhh (Technet Keith Combs' Blahg)
Patch Tuesday will have eight bulletins (CNet)
Hate Vista? Dell Now Charging $150 Extra for Windows XP (Sillicon Alley Insider)

Thanks for catching our podcast. Submit feedback at our main page CSTechcast.com and follow our updates and randomness throughout the week on twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Let your friends know where they can find us so they can get in on the info and fun.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=53

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com is the source for our weekly podcast for tech pros. This week we discuss ways to keep your job in a bad economy with Bruce Culbert, CEO of iSymmetry and myCRMcareer. In the news Microsoft takes Exchange and SharePoint to the cloud, CA aims to help manage cloud services, OOXML gets finalized but the controversy remains, USB devices threaten network security, and Internet Explorer 8 gets a ship date, or at least a ship quarter. Seagate's being incommunicado about hard drive problems while pushing themselves on the chattiest services in social networking gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at remote desktop tools, and we bring you tips on handling the bandwidth issues of WSUS in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Microsoft on the cloud: Sharepoint and Exchange go Online (Ars Technica)
CA Unveils Cloud Management Strategy, SaaS Unit (InformationWeek)
ISO publishes Office Open XML specification (InfoWorld)
Symantec Sees Rise in USB-Based Malware as Reports of U.S. Army Ban Surface (eWeek)
IE8 Update: Browser to Ship in 2009 (eWeek)
Anyone here own a 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11? (ZDNet)

The podcast is full of information we feel is relevant to you. Let us know what you need to know by contacting us; find the contact information at CSTechcast.com. Keep tuning in and turn your friends on to our podcast. Thanks for listening and keep coming back for more episodes every week.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=51

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Download the podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. This week Barry Phillips, Vice President and Group Manager at Citrix, talks about the continued convergence of voice and data and what that means for IT. In the news Citrix gets serious on the iPhone with Xen, Office makes a push onto the web with support for Mac and Linux, AMD tries to mount a comeback with it's quad-core Shanghai processors, Sun and others get layoff fever, and spammer centric ISP's get taken down. AVG's crippling false positive gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we talk about the next four years of technology and government in "A Closer Look", and we provide some Group Policy troubleshooting pointers in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Citrix developing XenApps and XenDesktop for the iPhone (InfoWorld)
Microsoft: Mac, Linux systems can access Office Web (InfoWorld)
Dell, IBM, Microway Unveil AMD Shanghai Servers (InformationWeek)
Sun To Cut 18% Of Jobs, Reorganize Software Business (InformationWeek)
ICANN Shutting Down EstDomains Nov. 24 (InformationWeek)
Update: Flawed AVG antivirus update cripples Windows XP PCs (ComputerWorld)

We'd like to thank our sponsor iTripoli for helping us bring you CS Techcast. Drop us a line or send us feedback all at the web site CSTechcast.com. Also find us during the week at twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=50

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com has the latest podcast for IT professionals. This week Tableau CEO Christian Chabot talks to us about techniques for exploring new and unfamiliar data using business intelligence tools. Find out more about Tableau at tableausoftware.com. In the news, Microsoft's PDC show saw the unveiling of Windows 7 and Azure cloud services, Sony recalls another 100,000 laptop batteries, Linux is getting popular as a utility OS when you don't want to wait for Windows to boot, Informatica and Salesforce.com team to sync data between internal apps and SaaS software, and the Google-Yahoo deal sees scrutiny from the US Department of Justice. Shortchanging a tech policy debate by a certain presidential candidate's policy wonk gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Windows 7, and we tell you how to find a successful DFS sync in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Microsoft launches Windows Azure (CNet)
Sony Recalls Notebook Computer Batteries Due to Previous Fires (CSPC)
HP, Toshiba Recall Sony Laptop Batteries (InformationWeek)
Linux Headed For More PCs Than Windows (InformationWeek)
In Age of Impatience, Cutting PC Start Time (New York Times)
Linux to Ship on More Desktops than Windows (Linux-foundation.org)
Informatica To Offer Salesforce.com Integration Service (InformationWeek)
Yahoo, Google May Walk Away From Search Deal - Report (InformationWeek)
Obama tech advisor sounds cautious notes at one-man "debate" (Ars Technica)

Your continued support for CS Techcast is appreciated. Thanks for posting reviews to the podcast directories like iTunes, Podcast Alley, and TechPodcasts.com. Give your feedback and let us know what your thinking. If you have show ideas, let us know. All our contact information is available on CSTechcast.com. Support our sponsors, who help cover the costs of doing this show every week. Check us out on the social networks at Twitter.com/cstechcast and Friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=49

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Azure was just announced at the PDC keynote and it is the future of cloud computing from Microsoft. Not only is this the platform for development of new applications, it’s also an offering of Microsoft’s enterprise applications online. Apparently this means ALL enterprise applications from Dynamics CRM to Exchange services. New AD based authentication services, .NET plug-ins, and Windows service connectors aim to make it easy to take what you have and move into the cloud. Microsoft described the big issue as enterprise IT department’s inability to provide robust enough uptime. Is this really true? It’s apparently now all about services, not servers.

The real question for the system administrator is; what will it mean for our current role as the sysadmin, the operations master to these applications? We have been working for years under the assumption that business will always need the IT department to maintain the infrastructure of what has become the lifeblood of most businesses, large and small. Business doesn’t move without data, without services like email, and without databases. For me, it’s still an unanswered question. Will system administrators be cast aside in favor of developers only while the great cloud manages all the services and the related issues we face today or will our role simply change because the cloud will need to be managed as well? Will we be taking a modified role maintaining networks, monitoring our cloud services, and possibly moving our troubleshooting into the cloud? It’s uncertain at this point, but this is certainly one of those disruptive technologies Gartner is always making list’s about. We’ll keep an eye out as PDC rolls on and give opinion in the next episode of CS Techcast.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Welcome to another episode of the podcast for IT professionals always available at CSTechcast.com. This week we talk what it takes to be a tech book author, the publishing game, and what it's like to go independent with Julie Yack, editor of the new book CRM as a Rapid Development Platform. Find more info at thecrmbook.com and use discount code "cstechcast" for 10% off the purchase price of the book. The news bring an out of cycle Microsoft patch for Windows, Intel announces next-gen cooling for laptops, Amazon's EC2 goes production for virtualization in the cloud, new service packs announced for Vista and Office, and HP brings the thin-client back, again. Tech companies getting scarred and laying off top talent instead of using them to innovate gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we argue employers using social networking to hire and fire in "Point/Counterpoint", and "The Weekly Tech Tip" shows you how to track down your domain on email blacklists.

Our sponsor this week: Admin Script Editor by iTripoli.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Microsoft Preps Emergency Windows Patch (PCMag.com)
Intel unveils new cooling tech for ultrathin laptops (CNet)
Amazon's Linux cloud computing out of beta, joined by Windows (CNet)
Office, Vista getting new service packs (CNet)
HP Unveils Thin Client, Blade Workstation (InformationWeek)
The Weekly Tech Tip Link - email blacklist search (MXToolbox.com)

Thanks to everyone for continuing to support CS Techcast by spreading the word about our show. You can also support us by visiting our sponsors. You can call us, email us, comment on this blog, or interact on the social networks twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Keep pointing your browser to CSTechcast.com for all the latest. Thanks.

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A new full-length podcast for IT pros is ready for consumption at CSTechcast.com. This week we talk about the bandwidth hog that is web-based video and how network admins can control it with E-telemetry's CTO Alan Schunemann. Find more information about his company at etelemetry.com. The news brings a mess of Microsoft patches, also word that UAC is being refashioned in Windows 7, AMD spinning off The Foundry Company for chip manufacturing, Oracle acquiring Primavera, and IBM furthers its cloud computing ambitions with Bluehouse. Telecom companies trying to stop widespread municipal Internet get "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we talk physical to virtual migration tools in "A Closer Look", and when you get a HAL mismatch migrating server to a virtual world we give you some relief in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Sponsors this week:
Admin Script Editor by iTripoli <http://www.itripoli.com>

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:

11 Microsoft security updates due next week (InfoWorld) <http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/09/11_Microsoft_security_updates_due_next_week_1.html>

User Account Control (Windows 7 Blog) <http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/10/08/user-account-control.aspx>

So much for that idea: Tech stocks have fallen from 1999 to 2008 (CNet) <http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10064100-92.html>

AMD deal triggers Intel license warning (CNet) <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10062097-64.html>

City-owned fiber network a go as judge tosses telco lawsuit (Ars Technica) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081009-city-owned-fiber-network-a-go-as-judge-tosses-telco-lawsuit.html>

We'd like to thank you for tuning into CS Techcast <http://cstechcast.com> . Please send us feedback and tell everyone through a great review in your favorite podcast directory.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=46

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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The newest episode is available at CSTechcast.com, a full podcast for IT professionals. This week, CEO of Brighttalk.com Paul Heald talks about how webcasts are helping business reach other businesses and the technology behind it. In the news Microsoft is set to release the cloud computing OS Red Dog, the Windows XP downgrade gets six more months of life, web sites get their credentials ripped off, AMD swings at Intel with the Shanghai server CPUs, and Steve Jobs IS alive even after a rumored health crisis. Credit card companies lack of concern for bad wireless security gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the fork in the road upgrading to Windows Vista or Windows 7, and the new Hyper-V Server's HVCONFIG is detailed in  "The Weekly Tech Tip". This episode of CS Techcast is sponsored by: vConferenceOnline. Use the discount code CSTECH at vConferenceOnline.com for a 10% discount  on a virtual conference. Don't miss the SSWUG Ultimate Virtual Conference coming up soon.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Microsoft will float cloud OS this month (InfoWorld)
Windows XP gets another lifeline (CNet)
Researcher finds evidence of massive site compromise (ComputerWorld)
AMD Says Shanghai Won't Be Another Barcelona (PC World)
Apple stock tumbles nearly 11% on false report of Jobs' heart attack (CompuerWorld)

As always, thanks for listening and hit the CSTechcast.com website for ways to get a hold of us. Also, check us out at friendfeed.com/cstechcast and twitter.com/cstechcast for our opinions on tech throughout the week.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=45

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Check out another podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. This week John Kembel, CEO of HiveLive, gets us familiar with the ins and outs of getting a business to engage with customers through new social networks. Find more information on them at HiveLive.com. The news brings us a read on IT jobs during an uncertain economy, the hacking of Sarah Palin's e-mail, Apple finally addressing the DNS vulnerability, VMWare Virtual Center coming to the iPhone, and announcements from VMWorld on how to extend virtualization beyond the operating system. Investment bank's lack of real information in a world of technology gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", those who undervalue their IT staff get ripped six ways from Sunday in "The IT Pet Peeve", and "The Weekly Tech Tip" reviews the snapshot feature in Hyper-V.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Wall Street turmoil unlikely to KO IT industry (NetworkWorld)
Report: Legislator's son at center of Palin hack talk (InfoWorld)
Apple update finally fixes important DNS bug (InfoWorld)
VMware's VirtualCenter coming to Linux, iPhone (InfoWorld)
VMware chief says the OS is history (InfoWorld)

If you'd like to support CS Techcast, vote for us in the Podcast Awards. They are taking nominations until the end of the month, so get your vote in. We'd like any feedback you'd be willing to give. Contact information is up on the home page. This week we took some pictures, so those will be showing up on the web site as well. I hope you enjoy the show and keep coming back to CSTechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=43

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Another fine podcast for IT professionals found here at CSTechcast.com. This week we talk enterprise 2.0 with Ross Mayfield, social networking extraordinaire and Chairman, President, and co-founder of Socialtext. Find Ross' blog at ross.typepad.com and SocialText's offerings at Socialtext.com. In the news, possible privacy issues with the IE8 beta phoning home, Dell's pushing into the VM space with new blade servers and storage, the DOJ is questioning the Google-Yahoo ad deal, HP's building an OS of their own, and the LHC gets hacked. Apple's new BSOD causing iTunes 8 gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Yammer and the benefits and drawbacks of micro-blogging in the enterprise, and "The Weekly Tech Tip" talks about Core Config, a new utility for Windows Server 2008 Server Core configuration.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
MS defends IE 'phone home' feature, clarifies privacy policy (InfoWorld)
Dell unwraps products designed for virtualization (InfoWorld)
Sandy Litvack, a dogged trustbuster in pursuit of Google (CNet)
Hackers deface LHC site, came close to turning off particle detector (ZDNet)
iTunes 8 causes Windows Vista problems (ZDNet)
TechCrunch50: Yammer Wins TechCrunch50 (PC Magazine)
Core Config Utility (Codeplex)

We're not just a podcast, check out our ramblings about random thoughts on the social sites twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. We always welcome your feedback, so hit the voicemail, feedback page, or blog. All are available at CSTechcast.com. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=42

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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A new interview, tech news, and insight from the podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. This week we talk about smartphone and mobile device security with Dan Dearing, Vice President of marketing at Trust Digital. Find out more about Trust Digital at trustdigital.com. In the news, we discuss a kaleidoscope of a patch from Microsoft, social networking for G Men, Dell shutting down factories of their once high-flying made-to-order operations, a six-core server chip from Intel, and a recall of overheating Sony Vaio laptops. Comcast's FCC countersuit gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", Chrome, Firefox, and IE8 start up the browser wars once again when we take "A Closer Look", and "The Weekly Tech Tip" delves into the NETSH command.

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Upcoming Microsoft patch lineup could be 'massive,' says researcher (ComputerWorld)
CIA, FBI push 'Facebook for spies' (CNN)
Dell Plans to Sell Factories In Effort to Cut Costs (Wall Street Journal)
Intel ready to announce six-core chip (CNet)
Sony recalls 440,000 Vaio laptops (ZDNet)

Thanks for listening and remember to give us feedback at the blog, at the voicemail box, and at our email. All of these are available at our home page: CSTechcast.com. Keep coming back and bring your friends too. If you'd like to support our show, post a review on iTunes or on your favorite podcast directory.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=41

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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A new podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com is ready for you to download. Anil Desai, respected author, Microsoft MVP, and consultant, talks about the journey of being an independent technology consultant and the lessons learned. Find more on his web site anildesai.net. In the news, we talk the IT disaster recovery efforts in effect prompted by Hurricane Gustav, what jobs are more at risk to being outsourced, Google Apps are not getting much adoption in the enterprise, we discuss the new Cellular Seizure Investigation Stick, and the latest beta of Internet Explorer 8. Comcast's bit cap gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", hit the buzzer for our less than 5 minute game show "Know Your Tech", and check out SharePoint wiki permissions in "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
New Orleans IT departments brace for Gustav (ComputerWorld)
IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds (ComputerWorld)
Google's tough sell to Corporate America (Fortune)
CSI Stick grabs data from cell phones (CNet)
Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 (ZDNet)

Keep up with CS Techcast on the social nets at twitter.com/cstechcast and friendfeed.com/cstechcast. Help us out by writing a review where you subscribe to our podcast, either on iTunes or your favorite podcast directory. We look forward to brining you more great podcasts at CSTechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=40

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com has a great show available for subscription and download this week. We interview Ken Ledeen, author of Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion, about the current status of privacy in the digital domain and how you can steer your IT organization around these new privacy pitfalls. The news brings stats of Vista service pack 1 adoption, a new massive Microsoft data center, a lawsuit for Apple and their 3G iPhone, DNS continues to be exposed, and Apache Tomcat faces a new security vulnerability. ISPs who haven't patched their DNS servers get "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we argue the confusion around SSL certificates in "Point/Counterpoint", and Active Directory logon problems give fodder for "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
Vista users rush for SP1; XP owners dawdle on SP3 (ComputerWorld)
Microsoft's $500M Iowa data center to use shipping containers (ComputerWorld)
iPhone 3G owner sues Apple over dropped calls, slow speeds (ComputerWorld)
Security expert: DNS attacks are happening (CNet)
Exploit code published for Apache Tomcat flaw (ZDNet)

We have awarded our prize for feedback, but don't let that stop you. Submit feedback at our web site CSTechcast.com, at our blog ConsortioServices.com/blog, or at our Twitter.com/cstechcast and Friendfeed.com/cstechcast social networking locations. Let us know what you think and thanks for listening to CS Techcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=39

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CSTechcast.com brings you another episode of the podcast for IT professionals. Today, we talk about the future of IPv6 for business with Fred Wettling, author of Global IPv6 Strategies from Cisco Press. In the news, solid state drives are looking to replace spinning disks for enterprise applications, AMD is introducing new processors, a court ruling on model trains impacts free software, Windows 7 starts to get real, and iPhone gets Gartner's nod for use in business. VMWare's servers have fallen and they can't get up in "The Worst tech Move of the Week", greening servers gets "A Closer Look", and a quick FTP server setup is "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories and sites discussed during the show:
IT managers opting for solid-state drives over hard disks (ComputerWorld)
AMD targets business with new desktop chips (ComputerWorld)
Legal milestone for open source (BBC)
Engineering Windows 7 (MSDN Blogs)
Windows 7 Details In October, Microsoft Says (InformationWeek)
iPhone 3G Available Online For Business Customers (InformationWeek)
VMware bug causes worldwide disruption (ZDNet)

This is the last week to get your feedback in for a chance to win a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate. Tell us what you think. Links to all the ways to give your opinion on the home page. Thanks for listening and, as always, get the latest podcasts at CSTechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=38

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Let's do it again, another IT pro podcast posted at CSTechcast.com. This week we talk phishing threats and how to keep your users safe with Rohyt Belani, CEO of Intrepidus Group. See their new technology online at phishme.com. The news brings twelve new Microsoft updates for patch Tuesday, but Microsoft also tries harder with three new security programs, security concerns around the march towards virtualization, cloud entries from AT&T, others bring forth virtualization for small business, and economic woes hit IT jobs hard. Apple's iPhone kill switch gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the forthcoming Microsoft Essential Business Server 2008, and a strange hibernation feature in Windows Server 2008 brings us "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to stories discussed during the show:

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for August 2008: 12 bulletins (ArsTechnica)
Microsoft further commits to security, unveils 3 programs (Arstechnica)
Black Hat conference spotlights virtualization, DNS issues (InfoWorld)
AT&T Jumps Into Cloud Computing With Synaptic Hosting (InformationWeek)
Warily, Small Businesses Look To Cloud Computing (InformationWeek)
No Answers From Apple On iPhone 'Kill Switch' (InformationWeek)

We still want to give you a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate. All you have to do is submit some feedback. Drop by our home page, CSTechcast.com, for multiple ways to drop us a line. Keep your podcatcher pointed at CSTechcast.com for the best independent podcast for IT professionals.  Thanks to everyone for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=37

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Welcome to the podcast for IT pros at CSTechcast.com. This week we look at the coming trends for the SQL Server database platform with our friend Paul Nielsen, author of SQL Server 2005 Bible. Find Paul and his books at sqlserverbible.com. In the news; Apple's DNS patch fails to randomize ports plus other DNS patches show new flaws, IBM commits to the cloud with a heavy investment in data centers, Microsoft is set to deliver Small Business Server 2008 for mom and pops and Essential Business Server 2008 for the mid-market this year, the Storm worm pops back onto the radar with an FBI spoof, and Sun debuts JavaFX to compete with Adobe. Plus, Apple's culture of secrecy gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", and we put mobile security in our crosshairs for "A Closer Look".

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Apple's patch fails to fix DNS flaw, researchers claim (ComputerWorld)
DNS patches cause problems, developers admit (InfoWorld)
IBM Brings Cloud Computing To Earth With Massive New Data Centers (InformationWeek)
Windows Small/Essential Business Server RC1s arrive (Ars Technica)
FBI warns of new Storm worm attacks (ComputerWorld)
Jobs entrusts a NYT columnist with the truth about his health, even before he tells Apple shareholders (VentureBeat)
Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border (Washington Post)

We apologize for the late post of our podcast, but system problems prevented a timely post. This is the first time we have missed the release mark. Anyway, we hope everything is back on track hardware wise. The drawing for an Amazon.com gift certificate is just a few weeks away, so visit CSTechcast.com to submit your feedback to enter. We'd like to thank those who have submitted the wonderful, constructive feedback so far and look forward to more from our listeners. Please subscribe and write a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast site. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=36

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Hello again from CSTechcast.com, the latest in our weekly podcast series for IT professionals is online. This week we discuss the unifying potential of Office Communication Server with Ron Barrett, author of How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007. Find Ron at http://www.networkworld.com/community/barrett. The news brings us Intel launching the Centrino 2 laptop chipset with vPro features for enterprise management, an insider admin locked out the San Francisco network with a password change, a major spike in malware due mainly to SQL injection attacks, new terabyte tape backup capacity, and some users get locked out of validating their Office installations. Big media going after moms gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", IT managers strike a nerve in "The IT Pet Peeve", and "The Weekly Tech Tip" gets you straight when accessing JET with 64-bit SSIS.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Intel vPro: What is New for IT (eWeek)
Insider threat looms large as San Francisco's network crisis plays out (Network World)
Huge rise in malware this year (InfoWorld)
IBM and Sun each claim to develop 'first' 1TB tape drive (Network World)
Users reporting failed Windows and Office validations (ArsTechnica)

Don't forget to submit feedback at CSTechcast.com to be entered to win an Amazon.com gift certificate. Allow us a little shine by blogging about us or writing a review at your favorite podcast directory and iTunes. Join us every week for a new episode of CS Techcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=34

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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If you haven't already heard, Microsoft is upping the ante in the certification arena by introducing a new line of certs called the Microsoft Certified Master Program. The gist of it is that these are certifications (currently only for SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, and Windows Server 2008) that represent the highest skill level in building solutions based on the specific product. A much more detailed blog post from the program owner HERE.It's a lengthy post, be sure you have a minute to digest all of that information.

Here's the rub: many people already feel that certifications, particularly MS certs, aren't all that valuable in the real world, because the certs can be obtained by anyone patient enough to read the study materials and take the test, without having any actual, useable, real world experience. And on top of that, with the changes in recent certifications from MS, many managers and HR reps don't even know what the certs represent. So, how can adding a higher level cert be helpful in any way?

Well, personally speaking, I think they've got a good deal with this one, with one caveat I'll speak to in a minute. This particular certification, much like the Microsoft Certified Architect, requires (as in MANDATORY) classroom training. For the SQL Server Masters Cert, they are going to require that you already hold the MCTS:2005 cert, as well as both the MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Pro) SQL Server certs for DBA and Developer. And, they will need an application, as well as a resume to see if they will accept you into the program in the first place. All of which seems to, in my opinion, make the cert a little more "weighty" than it's predecessors. Primarily because this will make it hard for the cert to become watered-down by literally hundreds of thousands of people holding it. Plus,once accepted to the program, you have to pass 3 written exams AND a lab based exam (similar to the Cisco CCIE).Again, I think that's a huge plus. The idea behind all of this is that if you encounter someone that holds the MCM for a given product, you should be able to reasonably assume that they know, very well, what they are talking about. This increases their value to a company, as well as value in their career.

 However.

The blog post says (and it may be an early report, but I don't imagine it's too far off), that the program fee, IF you are accepted, will be in the neighborhood of $18,500USD. This includes the mandatory 3 WEEK course and ONE round of exams. If you fail any exam, retakes are extra: $250 for written tests and $1500 for the lab exam. In other words, this is not likely to be a cert you can afford on your own. In fact, just to meet the pre-requisites, you or your company has already forked over at least $225-$250 in exam fees for the earlier exams, not to mention training. Not only would an individual find this expensive, even a small or medium business might find this to be too much to fork over. The argument, of course, is that a business that employs someone that holds a cert of this level has not only a strong technical resource, but a good marketing tool (particularly those companies that are MS Partners). So the question is not only "Am I good enough?", but "Who's going to pay for this?".

I would love to acheive this cert. I currently have the MCITP:DBA, but never pushed on for the Dev MCITP (or any others) because I felt like it was pointless. I really felt that if you've spent more than 6 months with SQL Server, you could probably pass the test(s). And if you've already built up a healthy resume of experience, the MCITP cert doesn't really impress anyone as much as your background and references will. However, I think the MCM would be a much more difficult certification to earn, not only requiring you to demonstrate expertise but probably deepen it during the training courses.

If nothing else, think of it this way: Many experts in our field (think Kalen Delaney, Kimberly Tripp, Itzik Ben-Gan) have made careers out of sharing their deep knowledge, and don't generally advertise or glorify certifications (I don't know if they do or don't hold any MS certs, but they certainly don't advertise it if they do). Their body of work shows what they know. But, for those of use somewhere in between "Senior DBA at XYZ Corp." and "SQL Server Community Guru", a cert like this might help us get that slightly higher paying job or even help us branch out on our own as consultants, authors, and trainers.

I'm curious to hear if anyone else out there has any thoughts. Please feel free to respond, thanks for stopping by!

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No need to wait in line for our newest podcast; all the week's tech news and insight for IT Pros is here at CSTechcast.com. We explore the latest in delivering applications to remote and global networks with Zach Seils, author of Deploying Cisco Wide Area Application Services. This week, Microsoft lobs another offer at Yahoo, DNS gets patched across all vendors, NVidia slowly reveals more about their overheating laptop chips, cloud apps have downtime woes, SQL Server will be out in August, and a new Microsoft push for software plus services. Overreacting tech bloggers make "The Worst tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the new Microsoft Certified Master program, and "The Weekly Tech Tip" covers WSUS troubleshooting.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

Yahoo Rejects Joint Microsoft/Icahn Deal But Open To $33 Per Share All-Microsoft Sale (Search Engine Land)
Patch domain name servers now (ComputerWorld)
Report: NVIDIA issues cover all G84 and G86 GPUs (ZDNet)
Rackspace Downtime: A Reminder That All Are Vulnerable (TechCrunchIT)
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Due in August (eWeek)
Oracle, Salesforce.com Jump on iPhone Bandwagon (eWeek)
Microsoft still pushing Vista compatibility story (CNet)
iPhone 3G disaster (Scobleizer's Recent Qik Videos)
Microsoft Certified Master Program (Microsoft)
More on the Certified Master programs from me, Per, the program owner... (Technet Blogs)
Troubleshooting WSUS downloads (Technet Blogs)

Thanks for listening and give Dana a warm welcome. She will be helping us out with the news and shaking up the format a bit. We hope you like her as much as we do. Don't forget our give away. Enter at CSTechcast.com for your chance to win and take our money in the form of an Amazon.com gift certificate.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=33

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Come and get it, CSTechcast.com has the latest podcast for IT professionals posted for download. This week we get an IT compliance education with Don Jones. Find Don's vast expertise at his website concentratedtech.com. The news brings enhanced search for Adobe Flash on the web, no critical Microsoft patches this Tuesday, the VLC Player has buffer overflow security problem, Google gives away Rat Proxy to check for security on your websites, the Coreflood Trojan is waiting for an admin to logon, NVidia has heat problems with laptop chips, and Microsoft gets serious with a new yearly subscription model for Office. Twitter downtime gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at cloud computing security, and "The Weekly Tech Tip" is all about SQL auditing.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Adobe, Google, Yahoo Team for Flash Search (eWeek)
Four Microsoft Patches Due Tuesday; Not Rated Critical (PC World)
Critical vulnerability found in VLC Media Player (InfoWorld)
Google gives away free Web app security scanner (InfoWorld)
Trojan lurks, waiting to steal admin passwords (InfoWorld)
Nvidia reports problem with laptop chips (InfoWorld)
Microsoft Hopes Office Subscription Plan Will Counter Free Software (InformationWeek)

Get on the bandwagon, tweet us on Twitter @cstechcast or friend us at FriendFeed, friendfeed.com/cstechcast. As always, give us a call, post on the blog, or send us some feedback on the main website cstechcast.com. Stay tuned for some changes and enhancements coming soon to CS Techcast. If you like us, post a review on your favorite podcast directory or blog about it. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=32

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Get informed and entertained, the CSTechcast.com podcast is up and online. Today we see why the little Vista Gadget can be so useful with Rajesh Lal, author of Creating Vista Gadgets. You can find him and his gadgets at www.innovatewithgadgets.com. The news brings the latest release of Oracle Retail version 13, deduplication features added to  HP SANs, security issues with Mac, Firefox 3, and the Microsoft Bluetooth patch, but a fix for Safari on Windows, an update for Google Trends, and we are all apparently guilty of using our admin power for the evils of spying. The Associated Press puts the screws to bloggers for "The Worst Tech Move of the Week" and we take "A Closer Look" at social networking inside the company.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Oracle Offers Insight-Driven Retailing (eWeek)
HP to Join 'Data Dedupe' Crowd (eWeek)
Mac OS X Security Threat Discovered (InformationWeek)
Firefox 3 vulnerability found (LinuxWorld)
Apple Fixes Security Flaw In Windows Version Of Safari (InformationWeek)
Microsoft admits XP's Bluetooth patch didn't work (Computerworld)
Google Trends now works for Web sites too (Webware)
AP takedown fallout (Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard)
The A.P. Asserts Tough (and Still Secret) View of Copyright on Blogs (The New York Times Bits Blog)

Thanks to everyone for supporting our podcast. Come to CSTechcast.com to refer a friend or tell us what you think. Post your review of our podcast at iTunes or on your favorite podcast directory.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=30

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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We even podcast on vacation, bringing you the latest tech information for IT professionals at CStechcast.com from fabulous Las Vegas. This week, we delve into Vista with the authors of Using Microsoft Windows Vista Robert Cowart and Brian Knittel. In the news, Firefox gets it's 3.0 on while Microsoft previews more IE8 features, the new iPhone gets some enterprise functionality while hopefully not tarnishing its cool factor, Oracle adds social networking to CRM, Microhoo finally break up (could Bradgalena be next?) while Yahoo gets on the rebound with Google, and PC shipments stay healthy in Asia. Short sighted middle management gets our "Worst Tech Move of the Week" and "The Weekly Tech Tip" presents the incredible, shrinking partition.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Mozilla to release Firefox 3 on June 17 (InfoWorld)
Next Internet Explorer 8 beta targets IT pros (PC Advisor)
Coming To The iPhone: Enterprise Apps (Information Week)
Oracle Touts Social Networks For Salespeople (Information Week)
Yahoo `Damaged Goods' After Yang Fails to Revive Deal (Bloomberg)
IDC Calls for PC Market to Grow 15 Percent (eWeek)

We bring you CS Techcast even when on vacation, and we will keep bringing you more shows you can use to stay informed every week. Help us out by putting your review of our show on your preferred podcast directory and especially on iTunes. Help us grow the show and keep in contact with us, all our contact information is on the web site CStechcast.com. Thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=29

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Six months of weekly podcasts all for the IT professional and we continue our march forward at CStechcast.com. This week we explore VMware ESX virtualization with Edward L. Haletky, author of VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise. Find information from the author at http://astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization. In the news; Microsoft announces support for ODF and PDF in an upcoming Office service pack, Citrix debuts its Branch Repeater for remote office support over the WAN, Google gives us the Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool to check web sites for malware, jobs openings involving virtualization skills are up 40 percent, and some companies look to allow employees to use their own laptops on the corporate network. Microsoft gets rid of their academic search tools for the "Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at how to get started with virtualization, and a quick "Weekly Tech Tip" on how to make a shortcut in Vista with admin privs to help save you some time.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
All eyes on how Microsoft pulls off ODF support (InfoWorld)
Google's Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool (Search Engine Land)
Microsoft, Citrix Unveil 'Swiss Army Knife' Remote System (Information Week)
Virtualization Job Openings Jump 40% (eWeek)
Microsoft embraces 'Bring Your Own Laptop' model (CNet News.com)
Microsoft Shuts Down Book Search (PC World)

For those looking for the Google Browsing Diagnostic Tool, just use the following URL and put the URL for your web site at the end: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=

As I mentioned above, CS Techcast is celebrating six months of expert interviews, news for IT pros, segments that can help you out and give you more insight, and having fun just by having an outlet to express our personalities. We've brought you technical leaders and industry expertise such as Bill Inmon, John C. Dvorak, Kalen Delaney, and Greg Shields just to name a few. We've also brought you extras such as our special video episode from SQL PASS Camp. We would love for you, a member of our loyal audience, to spread the word about our show so we can continue to bring you everything we have and more. You can help us by writing a review in your favorite podcast directory, filling out our listener survey, blogging about us, and telling your friends to subscribe. Thanks for listening and we will continue to bring you more at CStechcast.com. 

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=26

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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IT professionals get another great podcast; a weekly dose of great content at CStechcast.com. We get into the latest enterprise management tools with Kerrie Meyler, author of System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed. She can be found at the blogs: ops-mgr.spaces.live.com and www.networkworld.com/community/meyler/. The news brings more undying news from Yahoo and Microsoft, an HP buyout of EDS, another standard arriving soon for financial data, the rollout of updated rich media platforms from Sun JavaFX and Adobe Flash, and an ongoing SSL threat to Paypal. Constant bickering over Open XML formats gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we give our "Point/Counterpoint" on Web 2.0 in the enterprise, and we put out another great "Weekly Tech Tip" on SQL tools.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Microsoft quietly watching as Ichan raids Yahoo (Seattle Times)
Microsoft pursuing new deal with Yahoo (Seattle Times)
HP buys EDS for $13.9 billion (InfoWorld)
SEC to Propose XBRL Mandate (eWeek)
JavaOne: Sun rolls out JavaFX (CNet News.com)
Adobe refreshes Flash Player (InfoWorld)
PayPal XSS vulnerability affects EV SSL (CNet News.com)
ISO calls for end to Open XML 'personal attacks (CNet News.com)

We have hit episode 25 and we are still going strong. Help us keep it going by referring our podcast and writing a quick review on your favorite podcast directory or on your blog! Post comments on our blog or email or call us. We look forward to hearing from you and keep coming back to cstechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=25

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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IT pros get another podcast chock full of information and irreverence, at CStechcast.com. This week we put the focus back onto the brand new Windows Server 2008 operating system with Rand Morimoto, author of Windows Server 2008 Unleashed. Tech news sees the demise of the MicroHoo merger, Windows XP Service Pack 3 gets PCs to go on endless reboots, a new security bulletin on a new Trojan infecting half a million PCs, patch Tuesday sees 4 new patches, Office 2007 SP1 is coming to automatic updates, Google sets up a new enterprise hosted security service, and we take a peek at the 10 worst workplaces in tech. A continuing trend of knocking a good app developed with Microsoft tools gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", fanboys get a freestyle rant in the "IT Pet Peeve", and the "Weekly Tech Tip" helps you hack the Vista experience index.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
The MicroHoo Fallout (eWeek)
Trojan Infects More Than 500,000 PCs (eWeek)
Continuous Reboots Plague Windows XP SP3 Users (PC Magazine)
Four Patches Coming in May (ENT News)
Google gains on Microsoft with hosted security offering (C|Net News.com)
The 10 Worst Workspaces in Tech (ValleyWag)
Building a web app the Microsoft way (ThinkVitamin.com)
Maybe Microsoft isn't completely useless on the web, after all (C|Net Blogs)

Thanks everyone for downloading and listening to the CS Techcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=24

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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This week's new podcast, available at CStechcast.com, gives IT pros another dose of news and expert information. Microsoft Office 2007 Servers is the topic with J. Peter Bruzzese, author of Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers and regular contributor to Infoworld.com, among his many endeavors. Find him on the web at cliptraining.com. In the news; Microsoft floods us with bad news on desktops, the Yahoo merger, and it's database share, but hey Live Mesh is cool along with Yahoo! announcing a redesign at the Web 2.0 Conference, SQL injection attacks are on the rise, and IT pay takes a depressing dip. You would think a non-profit charity like One Laptop Per Child could steer clear of making "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", the "Weekly Tech Tip" gives us a refresher about DNS on Windows with some useful tricks, and we get the "Point / Counterpoint" on system administrators specializing in more than one OS.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Microsoft Windows Sales Plunge 24% Amid Rising Competition (Information Week)
Microsoft Flexible On Windows XP End Date, Ballmer Says (Information Week)
In Database Market, Oracle Gets Bigger, Others Hang On (Information Week)
Microsoft Demos Live Mesh (eWeek)
Yahoo plans makeover with elements of social network (Washington Post)
The Web 2.0 economy hangs in limbo (C|Net News.com)
Microsoft: Web at the center, not PC (C|Net News.com)
SQL attack hits 500,000 websites (vnunet.com)
SQL Infection Hits Over 500K Webpages, Infiltrates DHS And UN (mashable.com)
Walter Bender Resigned from One Laptop Per Child!! (olpcnews.com)
OLPC CTO founds own company, aims at $75 laptop (Ars Technica)
Average Info Tech Pay Drops To $105,000 For Managers, $78,000 For Staff, Our Survey Finds (Information Week)

For those looking for additional information on the SQL Injection attacks plaguing vulnerable Internet pages, please follow this link to the SANS posts: http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=4331. For anyone interested in viewing some of J. Peter Bruzzese video training material, point your browser to youtube.com/cliptraining.

For anyone who enjoys our podcast through iTunes, please write up a nice note in their reviews section or on your favorite podcast directory. If you like what you hear, share it with a friend; send them to CStechcast.com. Thanks everyone for listening and, please, give us your feedback. Keep tuning in every week for a new episode of CS Techcast.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=22

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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After tons of feedback from the community, MS has decided to release another Service Pack for SQL Server 2005. More information on the Data Platform Insider Blog. Of course, there's not much detail about what will be IN the SP, but I think this is a huge step in maintaining good standing with customers. While many people jumped at the chance to go from SQL Server 2000 to 2005, the jump to 2008 will be a little more hesitant, mostly because of the difficulty in moving database platforms in production environments. Hopefully, this SP will give people a "longer life" in SQL 2005, while giving them the opportunity to more carefully evaluate SQL Server 2008.

--Josh

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As I mentioned in the podcast this week, we presented a cape and a signed poster to Steve Ballmer at the MVP Summit and someone took a video of the whole thing. Check it out.

http://www.objectsharp.com/devlounge/videos/playvideo.aspx?movie=ef789e34-f309-48ab-961e-9397ced8f59e

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The latest CS Techcast podcast is here with news, views, and interviews for IT professionals at cstechcast.com. This week we discuss Microsoft Expression Web and the approach of these tools in a Web 2.0 world with Jim Cheshire, author of Using Microsoft Expression Web 2. Find Jim at www.jimcobooks.com. The news brings new web mashup design and an updated Live Maps from Microsoft's Live platform, Forrester is going against conventional wisdom with Vista in business, Citrix turns up the heat on the competition with smooth delivery of applications via virtualization on their XenDesktop beta, and an increasing zero day worry as a Microsoft vulnerability exploit is in the wild two days after the patch release. Blog aggregating gets aggravating for "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", virtual Josh gives us advice on Windows and how to avoid getting tripped up by service principle names in "The Weekly Tech Tip", and we take "A Closer Look" at the Microsoft MVP Summit.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

Ozzie's Mesh Mashup (eWeek Microsoft Watch)
Hands on: new Microsoft Live Maps improvements impressive (Ars Technica)
Don't Skip Vista, Forrester Study Says (PC World)
Citrix`s Smooth New XenDesktop (eWeek)
MS08-021: A Must-Patch Vulnerability (eWeek)
For Sale: 3 Blogs, Barely Used; Seller Highly Motivated (TechNewsWorld)

CS Techcast is proud to bring you a quality podcast every week, without fail. If you enjoy it, share it with your friends and point them to cstechcast.com. As always, thanks for listening.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=21

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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This week's podcast at cstechcast.com concentrates on technology trends that matter to IT pros. We have an extended interview with long time industry expert, PC Magazine and MarketWatch columnist, and Cranky Geeks host John C. Dvorak where we discuss Google's platform as a service, Dell's shrinking relevance, and Microsoft's apparent soft opening for Windows Server 2008. Find John C. Dvorak at dvorak.org/blog. The news brings us Gartner's top disruptive technology trends that may mean upgrades to your internal apps for multi-core and a further move towards mashup development, Gartner also stirs the pot by declaring that Windows is collapsing in the face of code bloat and web apps, and we also put forth a whole series of security updates from Oracle, Adobe, and post warning about malware on USB keys from HP that hold software for Proliant servers. Gartner's report on the untenable state of Windows is declared "The Worst Tech Move of the Week". We also give away Quest Software's Change Director for SQL Server to a lucky listener.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

Gartner: Multicore, Clouds, Social Nets Top Disruptive List (PC World)
Google Hosts Web Applications By Outside Software Developers (Wall Street Journal)
Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn (ComputerWorld)
Oracle Warns of Critical DB Server Vulnerabilities (eWeek)
Adobe Issues Critical Flash Player Update (eWeek)
HP ships USB sticks with malware (C|Net News.com)
What happened at Dell? (MarketWatch)

We dropped a couple regular segments this week to bring you all the goodness of the Dvorak interview, but we will be back with those segments next week, including an update from the Microsoft MVP summit. After our interview with John C. Dvorak this week, we were mentioned on Dvorak's Tech 5 podcast Thursday, April 10th, 2008 entitled "Yahoo and Google both Freaked", available at tech5.podshow.com, on the discussion we had about the lack of real press and marketing surrounding the release of Windows Server 2008. We are expecting a full blown article from Dvorak based on our discussion of the subject soon. Thank you to Quest Software for providing valuable software to our listeners. Visit quest.com for information on their full suite of management products for applications, databases, and Windows. Tell your friends to visit cstechcast.com. Thanks.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=20

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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After Microsoft’s Windows Vista went RTM last year I quickly installed in onto my desktop and then my laptop. Both were manufactured before the release of Vista. My desktop was a bit more than a year and a half old and my laptop about 8 months old and came with the ubiquitous Windows Vista Capable sticker. On the desktop, I did an upgrade, followed about a month later by a fresh install to the same partition. Recently, I bought a brand spanking new laptop for my wife, who needed to have her 8 year old Compaq laptop replaced because every time the virus signature update initiates, it locks up the whole machine. It was just getting too slow and its battery was certainly out of juice. I’m not throwing it out, but it’s just not that pleasant an experience if you need to do more than surf the web and check e-mail. So, I went high end with the processor, an HP 2700 Special Edition series Intel Penryn class 2.5 GHz beast, a nice 2GB of RAM, 120 GB hard disk, DVD writer, 14.1” Brite View screen, discrete NVidia 8400 graphics, extended life battery, HDMI port, fingerprint reader; it has the works for an everyday machine. It should last just as long as the last one did. And, it came pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium, my first machine pre-loaded with the OS. The interface was smooth and functionality was without issue. The only problem I ran into was my network printer driver for the HP color laser printer 2605dtn, so I had to download the full CD. HP doesn’t provide the small driver for the network version of this printer. I noted a problem with IE after the installation of the CD where the HP Web Clips feature add on was crashing IE so I disabled it. The experience was so nice that I decided it was time to re-install Windows Vista on my other computers.

My first candidate was my laptop, an HP DV 5190. It’s an early dual core Intel processor T2400. It’s sold as a budget processor today, but it was one of the best at the time. I know a reinstall won’t fix everything. It definitely runs hotter than the new model, a given with the Penryn’s advances in power consumption and my bigger 15.4” screen. It’s also been dropped once or twice going through airports, car rental buses, and sitting on hotel beds, so some cosmetic damage has been done. My biggest problems were around my upgrade path for the machine. I chose an in place upgrade to Vista at the time because of all the pre-installed software. From what I could tell, HP put many things on the machine that worked against proprietary features such as the TV tuner, DVD, function buttons, etc. and they were not available for download at the time either. The Vista driver list was very small, just a card reader driver I think. On top of that, I really didn’t have time to get my system right after a full install. I was in the middle of writing a book for goodness sakes. So, after the upgrade I had multiple conflicts with said vendor software. I ran MSconfig and disabled a bunch of startup programs, which seemed to work for some stuff, but MSconfig is not supposed to be a permanent solution so it would pop up to tell me some programs were not started. OK, so then I would go and uninstall a bunch of these programs, but some HP core program kept popping up a C++ error whenever I would resume from sleep or a reboot. It was annoying and the system just seemed slow. Other problems I had was video from DVD being jerky and the inability to run a SD card as a ReadyBoost drive, even though I bought a faster Ultra II series card.

This weekend I ran a file backup using the built in File Backup in Vista to an external hard drive. I didn't want a whole image, just the important stuff. After a couple hours and a quick safety backup of some pictures to a USB key, I was ready. I popped the DVD into the drive and rebooted. No problemo. I told Vista setup to install and went to the advanced link for disk management. I deleted two partitions, one of which was the HP partition that was eating 12GB of my hard drive space. That wasn't ever a cool decision by HP in my opinion. I setup a new, single partition. I didn’t format the drive, but just told setup to proceed with the install. Vista handled the rest with no further prompting from me. After a reboot I did the regular things, such as account and time zone setup. After another reboot I was in business. A fresh install, which is the fastest this thing will ever boot with Vista. Next, I setup wireless networking by clicking on the network icon on the taskbar and entered the passphrase for my network. I connected and got an IP address, but it wouldn’t connect to the Internet. I opened the Network and Sharing Center and the graphical network map showed a disconnect to the Internet. After a click on “Diagnose and Repair” an automated repair of the network initiated, first tried an IP address refresh, but it ultimately disabled and reenabled the network adapter. I was now able to browse the web.

The first order of business was a download of Vista Service Pack 1. It’s not showing in Windows Update yet, so I downloaded it manually without a pass through the 45 patches Windows Update identified as critical and important. Service Pack 1 took another 30 minutes more or less to install. No problems with the service pack, which I’m sure is an easy result on a machine with nothing else installed, including security software. Windows Update only needed to install a couple things after the service pack, along with optional software like my “Vista Ultimate” copy of Texas Hold’em Poker and a couple of hardware drivers. Then I went for anti-virus software. Having more than 3 computers in the house means two buys of Norton Internet Security every year. It may not be the geek's preference for AV, but it keeps all the family computers safe and secure. The only other issue was my integrated card reader. Vista didn’t have the right driver for the TI chipset, so I went over to HP’s web site, downloaded the right driver, and installed. Problem gone, but HP could have provided this driver to Microsoft for availability in Windows Update. Next were my network printers and, to my surprise, the HP Color Laser installed with no need for an external driver download which was required on the other, new laptop. I guess it was added with SP1. This keeps me away from the bloatware like HP Web Clips.

Rebuilding your box is kind of like spring cleaning. When you’re done it makes you say ahhhh. All the quirky little problems seem to be cleared up, but some things still needed to be resolved. One is the video driver. Vista still installs the old WDDM version of the NVidia driver that came on the original DVD, which is a very poor performer and has major problems with video from my experience. Since NVidia laptop chipsets are considered OEM, NVidia wants you to download the driver from the manufacturer. The problem is HP hasn’t updated the driver for my laptop since March 2007 and it sucks too. I used the excellent laptopvideo2go.com package, a free download, which plugs in the OEM files to the driver so you can run the latest and greatest. Trust me, you want newer than last year’s drivers because video drivers from all the major chipset vendors were notoriously bad when Vista debuted. You also realize after a fresh install that you are missing certain programs that you don’t even think about until you realize they are gone. For me these are Nero Burning ROM, PowerISO, SnagIt, iTunes, Virtual PC, and Firefox. Microsoft Office 2007 went on too. I’m going to try to stay away from the crapware that tends to bog down your system in the first place. Vista freshly installed with SP1 on my old machine makes it feel like new, its a nice feeling.

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The title, a play on translated Japanese advertising; the cstechcast.com podcast, real information for IT professionals. Get ready for the newly released Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating system with our interview of Greg Shields, frequent TechMentor presenter, Redmond Magazine contributing editor, and author of the new book: Windows Server 2008: What’s New/What’s Changed. Check out the details and a free sample chapter at sapienpress.com. The news hails the coming of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 along with lingering problems and updated Microsoft Deployment tools; FireFox 3, Safari for Windows, and IE 8 are bringing back the 90's; it's Browser Wars 2: Attack of the Clones,  Hyper-V may break the Microsoft release pattern with an EARLY release, and reality show "The Office" proves itself to be a self fulfilling prophecy. Comcast gets all up in the grill of the FCC for the "Worst Tech Move of the Week", the "Weekly Tech Tip" is presented by our SharePoint Zen master, and we discuss the book The Rational Guide to Building Technical User Communities in our rip off segment of Oprah's book club with "What We're Reading". Thank's to Quest Software for sponsoring the software giveaway, enter at cstechcast.com.  Find them at quest.com.

Links to stories discussed during the show:
Vista SP1 Goes Live (ENT Mag)
Windows Vista SP1 Wreaks Havoc On Some PCs, Users Complain (Information Week)
Microsoft deployment tools ready as Windows Server 2008 arrives (TechTarget)
Mozilla says Firefox 3 ready for prime-time (Reuters)
Battle of the betas: Firefox 3 beats IE8 (Computer World)
Apple launches Safari for Windows (ZD Net)
Court Notes That Empty 'The Office'-Style Workplace Concepts Not Subject To Copyright (TechDirt)
Comcast Says FCC Has No Authority To Stop Traffic Shaping (TechDirt)

We metioned author Greg Low, author of The Rational Guide to Building Technical User Communities. We also wanted to provide a link to his SQL Server podcast at sqldownunder.com. Thanks Greg for keeping the spirit of real life technology communities alive.

Giveaway!

Don't miss our big giveaway of Quest Software's Change Director for SQL Server. Change Director for SQL Server provides a powerful automated solution for managing change to SQL Server databases. We appreciate your listenership, so take advantage of this attempt at buying your love. This is a great package and your chances of winning are pretty good, so don't forget to enter at cstechcast.com.

Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=17

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CStechcast.com brings another podcast episode to the starting line with guest Kalen Delaney. This SQL Server expert and authoritative author of the Inside SQL Server series gives us her take on SQL Server 2008.  Find the latest from Kalen Delaney at insidesqlserver.com and SQLCommunity.com. In the news; 10,000 legitimate sites were hit by a SQL injection to deliver malware, Microsoft get their Dynamics apps revved up for the enterprise, Apple makes the iPhone business savvy, and the NCAA gets set to dunk on your network bandwidth. The "Worst Tech Move of the Week" is pre-installed with viruses courtesy of bad Q.C. at Chinese factories, we reach back in our storied histories for our favorite "Data Center Disasters", and the "Tech Tip" exposes easy to use shortcut keys in SQL Server Management Studio.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

Hackers Look to Steal Online Gaming Passwords
Anatomy of a SQL Injection Incident
Anatomy of a SQL Injection Incident, Part 2
A Glimpse of Microsoft's Enterprise Goals
Apple releases iPhone SDK, announces push e-mail, Exchange support
How to Not Bring the Network to Its Knees During March Madness

Shout out to the "Couple of Admins" podcast at mindofroot.com, Steve Jones at the Voice of the DBA podcast and SQLserverCentral.com, and Peter Varhol at the Redmond Report for giving us props. Don't forget to leave your comments here on this blog, refer-a-friend to our podcast from the link on our homepage, leave your feedback, and keep tuning into cstechcast.com.

Link to CS Techcast Episode 16 podcast: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=16

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Just a quick note today. Our buddy, SQL Server MVP and author Paul Nielson has decided to throw some code out there (two stored procedures) in the wild that will help DBAs understand and utilize the new data compression feature in SQL Server 2008. Head over to his site, www.sqlserverbible.com, to get the details (I don't want to steal his thunder here)! Thanks Paul!

--Josh

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A special episode at cstechcast.com this week as we record our podcast live from PASS Camp. This keynote address features an expert panel to explore the upcoming SQL Server 2008 database release with questions on features, technology, and strategy for our panel. Featured on our panel are Paul Nielsen - Microsoft SQL Server MVP and author of the “SQL Server Bible” book series (SqlServerBible.com), Kevin Cox – member of the SQL Server Product Group in the Customer Advisory Team at Microsoft (sqlcat.com), and Ben Hoelting - a .NET developer with Colorado Technology Consultants (benhblog.com). Of course, we also have our own co-hosts contribute; Eric Johnson, Microsoft SQL Server MVP, and Josh Jones, published author on many SQL topics. Author and co-host of the podcast Eric Beehler moderates the discussion. We are offering a video version of this episode as well; check it out at cstechcast.com.

Detailed topics include the delay of the official launch and it's effect on the market and its supporters. We also discuss SQL Server 2008 in the enterprise and how it takes on its biggest competitors, IBM and Oracle. On the flip side, we discuss perhaps the smallest competitor, mySQL, and what SQL Server is doing to stay small business friendly. Attendees bring up questions on horizontal scalability and data modeling tools. We get into it with new developer feature LINQ and the possible consequences to proper database management. We also get a read on the panelist's favorite new features of SQL 2008.

We would like to thank Quest Software for allowing us to bring you this event through their sponsorship of this episode. Find out how they can help you with their suite of database management solutions at quest.com.

Don't forget our drive to find new listeners through our Amazon.com gift certificate giveaway. Go to cstechcast.com and "refer-a-friend". Leave your comments at this blog post and thanks for listening.

Link to CS Techcast Episode 15 podcast: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=15

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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CStechcast.com brings you the expertise of Michael Stiefel, a Microsoft MVP in Connected Systems Development, to explain the concepts behind Software as a Service (SaaS). Michael can be found at reliablesoftware.com. News on deck: Windows Vista takes price cuts and more lumps from Dell, Google says to Microsoft "Do you want a piece of me?" and releases Google Sites, sliding skills found in the security field, and the Cobra language goes open source. In our segments; Network Solutions steals our domain so we can't register "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take a trip down memory lane with "This Month in Tech History", and we talk about SQL Server 2005 and the BUILTIN\administrators group in the "Weekly Tech Tip".

Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:

Microsoft Cuts Vista Prices to Urge Upgrades
Dell Pointed Out Vista Mistakes, Internal Documents Show
Google Takes Aim at SharePoint
IT Security Skills Falling Short
Cobra Language Slithers into Open Source

All comments can be left at this blog post. Click our listener survey at cstechcast.com to provide us feedback and enter our Amazon gift certificate giveaway when you refer-a-friend. It's not spam and we don't want the e-mail address, we just want to bring more tech to the world. Don't forget about the live event next week and, if your in the Denver area, come check out the Colorado PASS Camp a free two day event on SQL Server and related technologies.

Download the Episode Here

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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The latest podcast available at cstechcast.com is now offering free stuff, check it out. This week we discuss the methods behind debugging the Windows operating system with Mario Hewardt and Daniel Pravat. Read the book Advanced Windows Debugging for all the in-depth information and check out advancedwindowsdebugging.com. News brings us a drop in spending, a potpourri of security issues, Blackberry leaves executives stranded on the island, and Starbucks is hooking us up with free Wi-Fi. The Microsoft-Yahoo merger gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week" and not why you think, our "Tech Tip" imparts experience about SQL Server I/O performance, and we take "A Closer Look" at Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

Show Notes

Links to stories discussed in the show:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Infrastructure/IDC-Reports-Finds-Less-IT-Spending-in-08/
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206401778&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206504526&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206504526&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9872415-57.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142574-pg,1/article.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/142438/service_outage_gives_blackberry_a_black_eye.html
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWMyD27h1rk_SBZVXkqf4e6lHcVQD8UOAEC80

Please leave your comments at this blog post and refer a friend via ctechcast.com and get entered to win a cool prize. Check us out every single week for new, fresh news and views. Thanks for listening.

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We're moving our podcast to an earlier Monday release to make sure our information is super fresh, available at cstechcast.com. This week, the second part of our chat with the authors of The Craft of System Security, Sean Smith and John Marchesini. The news gives us Google Apps for enterprise, malware slips into popular sites, a roadblock from Yahoo for Microsoft, security patches from MS and Apple, and Vista SP1 is RTM, but no one can find it. Plus the RIAA gets a nod for "Worst Tech Move of the Week", the "Weekly Tech Tip" helps out you SharePoint administrators, and we "Tech It Old School".

Show Notes

Links to stories discussed in the show:
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/02/google_lets_ent.html
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573E70076F8A2.html?ref=technology
http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9521#1
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Apple-Plugs-QuickTime-Malware-Installation-Hole/
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Windows-Users-Brace-for-MS-Patch-Tuesday-Barrage/
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9061838&intsrc=hm_list
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=3184
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/02/08/riaa_wants_filters_for_end_users/

Thanks for listening. Do us a favor and fill out the listener survey, available on the cstechcast.com homepage. Spread the word about CS TechCast and leave specific show comments at this blog post. Thanks.

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We turn the big 1-0 with our latest podcast, available at CStechcast.com. This week we talk to the authors of The Craft of System Security, Sean Smith and John Marchesini, the first of a 2 part interview. The news brings the ginormous Yahoo-Microsoft merger, cable cuts in the Med makes the Internet vulnerable, Cisco manages the data center from the switch, VMWare moves beyond the hypervisor, and your boss is prepping for a recession. Plus, "The Worst Tech Move of the Week" and  "A Closer Look" at tech certifications.

Show Notes

Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:
http://www.news.com/Microsoft-bids-44.6-billion-for-Yahoo/2100-1014_3-6228705.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/01/ciscos_new_data.html
http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9470#6
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Careers/Economic-Worries-Hitting-IT-Pros/

If you enjoy the podcast, please fill out our survey at cstechcast.com (click the listener survey button). Its free and would help us immensely. Plus, tell everyone you know to listen to CS Techcast. Leave your comments at this blog post. Thanks!

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Hitting our stride with a new episode of CS Techcast. We bring you a discussion on Silverlight technology with Microsoft MVP Shawn Wildermuth. Find him at the adoguy.com blog and the silverlight-tour.com web site. In the news; Microsoft on a virtualization kick, tech earnings show a little light, Vista actually sells, and offshoring not all that in smaller companies. Also, find out the "Worst Tech Move of the Week", get a "Weekly Tech Tip", "Meet You Local User Group", and we share our "Helpdesk Horror" stories.

Show Notes

Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:
http://www.news.com/Microsoft-targets-VMware-with-new-strategy/2100-7339_3-6227023.html?tag=cd.top
http://www.news.com/Sun-reports-increased-quarterly-profit/2100-1010_3-6227625.html?tag=st.nl
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsoft-earnings-earn-praise-shares/story.aspx?guid=%7B4C394111-041A-4830-B91D-E8B3CF325BB5%7D
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/windows_seven_enough_already.html
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205917099&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/movie-industry-admits-it-overstated-piracy-on-campus/?hp

Featured User Group

The front range has SQL expertise. This week, the Denver SQL User Group, contributors to PASS Camp, meet in the Mile High City. Visit the web site for more information at www.denversql.org.

As always thanks for listening. Post your comments here, Digg it if you like it, and post a review out on iTunes or your favorite podcasting site.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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We have extra segments on SQL from our author interview on SQL queries to our own, real life experts on MS SQL 2008 features, available at cstechcast.com as a MP3 download or a RSS subscription. Whether you do SQL everyday or just need some insight, this is a good episode. This week we chat with John Viescas, one of the authors of "SQL Queries for Mere Mortals". You can find more information from John Viescas at www.viescas.com. In the news, new chips from Intel, Microsoft SMB leases, SkyDrive being used by spammers, a new-old MBR threat, and the end of the IT department? Plus, "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", "Meet your Local User Group", "A Closer Look", and "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Show Notes

Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141300-pg,1/article.html
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=142884
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsoft-to-Launch-New-Licensing-Option-for-SMBs/
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Intel-Makes-Enterprise-Pitch-at-CES/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/010708-carr-it-dead.html

Featured User Group

The featured group this week, in keeping with our SQL theme, is the Colorado PASS camp. This is a joint effort with the three SQL user's groups on the front range to create an intense, two day workshop every year. Hit the web site and get the details at www.coloradopasscamp.org. 

Please come back again and tell all your friends to download the CS Techcast.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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We may not have the smooth vocal sounds of Tay Zonday, but we do have a great, new techcast that fits in a tidy half hour of your day available at cstechcast.com. This week we chat with Michael Miller, author of "Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource". In the news, a new Microsoft Security Blog, security breaches are up, and a bad Santa virus. Plus, "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", "Meet your Local User Group", and "The Weekly Tech Tip".

Show Notes - Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=141991
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=141264
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2241465,00.asp

Here is the new Microsoft Security Vulnerability Research & Defense security blog discussed in our news segment: blogs.technet.com/swi/

Our featured user group is the Queensland SQL Servers User Group in Australia found online at www.qssug.org. Visit and network with your fellow tech heads in person.

Leave your comments at this blog. Happy new year and thanks to all for listening.

-Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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The latest podcast episode with information for IT pros is posted at www.cstechcast.com, also available at iTunes and Podcastalley. This week we chat with the authors of "Virtual Honeypots", Niels Provos and Thorsten Holz, about using honeypots to help learn more about Internet attackers. In the news, going off the Rails, exploiting the JET engine, and the early release of Hyper-V. Plus, "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", "Meet your Local User Group", and "The Tech Tip of the Week". After you listen to the interview, get the book: Virtual Honeypots: From Botnet Tracking to Intrusion Detection. Also, catch the latest information at their blog; honeyblog.org. The web site www.honeyd.org documents the Honeyd project.

Show Notes - Links to the stories discussed in our podcast:
http://www.cio.com.au/index.php/id;899402599
http://www.news.com/U.K.-survey-IT-managers-blamed-for-staff-malaise/2100-1022_3-6222631.html?tag=cd.top
http://www.news.com/Survey-People-skills-valued-over-those-for-IT/2100-1022_3-6222828.html?tag=cd.top
http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2007/12/13/microsoft-virtualization-closer-markets-equity-cx_cg_1213markets41.html
http://entmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=9340
http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9325#10
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140493-page,1/article.html
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2231718,00.asp
http://techdirt.com/articles/20071212/171816.shtml

This week, our featured technology user group is the Australian SQL Server Users Group. You can find them on the web at www.sqlserver.org.au. Its worth a view, even if you don't live down under, because they have a news, articles, and podcasts available. Get out in the real world and get involved with your local user group.

Thanks for those who listen and who keep coming back. We do this with no sponsorship and just an interest in bringing you our take on technology. Tune in every week and leave your comments at this blog post. Merry Christmas.

-Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Episode 2 of CS TechCast is posted and ready for your consumption at www.cstechcast.com. Here you will find notes and links on the topics discussed in CS TechCast # 2. This week we talk with Bill Inmon, the Father of Data Warehousing, about his now book "Tapping into Unstructured Data". In the news, new stuff from Microsoft, a new old DNS flaw, Sun goes virtual, compliance audits, and IT spending. Plus, "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", "IT Shout Out", and "The Tech Tip of the Week".

Please visit Bill Inmon's web site at www.inmoncif.com. In addition, pick up the latest book from this definitive authority, Tapping into Unstructured Data: Integrating Unstructured Data and Textual Analytics into Business Intelligence, due out in a couple weeks.

Show Notes

Here are link to stories discussed during our news and other segments:

http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9308#10

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2228177,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000610

http://www.eweek.com/slideshow/0,1206,a=220909,00.asp

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2228717,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9307#5

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/140340/global_tech_spending_growth_to_slow_in_2008.html

http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,2228885,00.asp

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2227513,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140268-pg,1/article.html

It looks like the DNS flaw we discussed has not been addressed in the latest round of patches. For now, all you can do to protect yourself is to disable Auto-discovery in Internet Explorer or other browsers that use this feature, but see the full Microsoft Advisory 945713. The complete list of December patches can be found at the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2007.

Our user group spotlight this week is Pacific IT Professionals at https://owa.consortioservices.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.pacitpros.org. Get involved with your local technology community and learn from each other!

Leave your comments about our podcast at this blog post. Thanks for listening.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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Episode 1 of CS TechCast is posted and ready for your listening pleasure at cstechcast.com. This week our guest is Anil Desai, who we talk with about virtualization best practices. In the news, detecting wireless intruders, HP buys up more companies, Quicktime exploit, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, and how to keep your IT staff happy. Plus, “The Worst Tech Move of the Week”, “IT Pet Peeve”, and “The Tech Tip of the Week”.

Here are the show notes.

Links to stories discussed during the show:

http://www.news.com/No-slowdown-in-HPs-software-expansion-quest/2100-1014_3-6220699.html?part=rss&edId=3&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1359088162;fp;16;fpid;1

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140137-pg,1/article.html

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2224485,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

http://entmag.com/news/rss.asp?editorialsid=9284#6

http://www.news.com/U.K.-governments-lost-data-worth-billions-to-criminals/2100-1029_3-6220725.html?part=rss&edId=3&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news

Thanks again to Anil Desai for being our guest. Find his web site at http://anildesai.net and learn more. Be sure to check out one of the many books he has authored.

Post your comments on our podcast at this blog post. Hope to hear from you and look forward to bringing you a new episode every week.

- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)

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