Martin Brinkmann

Server 2008 and Windows Home Server will soon be a part of Microsoft history. While Server 2008 provided many enhancements to the Server role in the Microsoft Network control system, the recent enhancements in technology, especially the Cloud, meant that the OS was behind the times in functionality. That is why the new OS will reflect the advances that are now prevalent in IT.

Server 2012 will be offered in four editions. These are Data Center, Standard, Essentials, and Foundation. A huge cut in versions when you compare it to the 12 versions that Windows Server 2008 R2 was available in. Microsoft continues its efforts to streamline its product line. The details of the four models appear below the fold.

Continue reading →

Google's Nexus 7 tablet made quite an impact at the I/O developer conference last week. The tablet is powered by Google's Android 4.1 operating system, a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, and either 8GB or 16GB of storage.

What makes the tablet interesting to a lot of people is not the fact that it is running Android 4.1, nor the hardware that it ships with, but the combination of what it packs and the price that Google is charging for it. But something is missing -- that is for people living on the Continent. That combination, the package, is missing something.

Continue reading →

Two days ago, Microsoft revealed that it would run an upgrade promotion in most markets that would allow Windows customers to buy a downloadable upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99. Joe Wilcox asks if $40 is too much to pay for Windows 8 and current results show that customer opinion is split in half. About 43 percent of all users who participated in the poll stated that they would upgrade for the price, while roughly 42 percent stated they would not.

However, respondents are missing crucial information, because the original announcement at Blogging Windows fails to address certain upgrade-related aspects that Windows customers need to make an educated decision. One requirement will shock many Windows users.

Continue reading →

File synchronization services like Dropbox have really taken off in recent time. They basically allow you to sync files between devices using cloud storage as buffer. Depending on the service, you get web access, document editing options, photo galleries, media streaming and more on top of that.

All services have in common that they encrypt the connection between your computer and the cloud host to protect the data from third parties that try to intercept or record what is being transferred. Each service has implemented its own scheme, and it is often difficult and sometimes even impossible to find out how the data is protected by the service.

Continue reading →

The Metro user interface is without doubt the most controversial feature of Microsoft's upcoming operating system Windows 8. When you dive deeper into the criticism that Metro faces, you notice that one argument stands out among the majority of critics: Metro is for tablets and touch-devices and not the desktop.

While it is possible to use Metro with a mouse and keyboard, its big buttons and controls, like the Charms menu and swiping motions, do cater to an audience that uses touch-devices. When you look closer, you will also notice that Metro does not really offer anything that desktop users can't do on the PC or on the Internet as well, oftentimes even better.

Continue reading →