September 29, 1999

Microsoft(r) Windows(r) Platform News - 1999, Issue No. 37

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WHAT'S NEW: WINDOWS 2000
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WINDOWS 2000 RELEASE CANDIDATE 2 HAS ARRIVED!
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/preview/order.asp
Don't miss the last chance to get free support for your testing and pilot programs! Find out what's new in the way of improved hardware support, administration tools, updated Windows Media Services and lots more.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/server/beta/default.asp
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THE WINDOWS 2000 BETA SITE: ALL THE LATEST ON THE NEW OPERATING SYSTEM
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/server/beta/default.asp
Ask the Microsoft Windows 2000 development team questions, share tips with other users and access resources to help you evaluate Windows 2000. This week, find out what's new with RC2.
Also on the site: Every month, Nadine Kano prowls the halls of Redmond to profile the real folks behind Windows 2000 development. Sooner or later, she was bound to run into the boss, Brian Valentine, the development manager charged with getting Windows 2000 out the door. Nadine's column is at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/professional/beta/hall/99Sep08.asp

If you don't yet have the beta software, register for the Corporate Preview Program at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/preview/order.asp
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WINDOWS 2000 LOGO PROGRAM GETS MORE TEETH
http://www.gartner.com/webletter/microsoftwinserv/article2.html
A new report from the Gartner Group says the Windows logo program for Windows 2000 software is a great tool for enterprises. The independent study says enterprises that only use certified applications can reduce the cost of desktop support and downtime and ensure compatibility with IntelliMirror(tm) management technologies and other beneficial Windows 2000 technologies.
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STEP BY STEP: WINDOWS 2000 DEPLOYMENT GUIDES SHOW THE WAY
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/professional/technical/stepbystep/default.asp
Learn about deploying Windows 2000 with these new guides. "Windows 2000 Professional Configuration" outlines improvements and tools for configuring PCs. "Windows 2000 Professional Usability Improvements" describes new features for accessing and using information and accomplishing tasks. And "Deployment Cost Savings" explains how the deployment features of Windows 2000 Professional can reduce costs.
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NEED HELP? GET THE LATEST DOCUMENTATION ONLINE
http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/server/help/
http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/professional/help/
The latest Help files for Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Professional are now available on the Web. These files, on every imaginable Help topic, replace the Help files included with Windows 2000 Beta 3.
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GARTNER'S MIGRATION FINDINGS FLAWED-AND HERE'S WHY
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/professional/news/bulletins/gartner.asp
The Gartner Group recently issued a press release regarding predicted migration costs from Windows 9x and Windows NT(r) Workstation 4.0 operating systems to Windows 2000 Professional. Microsoft believes the model is flawed because it artificially inflates migration costs and fails to recognize true return on investment. Based on information in the recent Arthur Andersen study, Microsoft believes customers will see a much faster return on their investments with Windows 2000.
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WINDOWS DNA 2000 LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE WEB APPLICATIONS
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1999/Sept99/umbrellaPR.htm
Microsoft has announced Windows Distributed interNet Architecture (Windows DNA) 2000, a comprehensive and integrated platform for building and operating state-of-the-art distributed Web applications and future Internet-based Web services. These Web services will directly link applications, services and devices with one another over the Internet.
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GET SET TO INSTALL WINDOWS 2000 WITH NEW MOC COURSE
http://www.microsoft.com/train_cert/moc
A new instructor-led, hands-on course, 1557, "Installing and Configuring Microsoft Windows 2000," is available from Microsoft. Training is available through any of the 1,900 Microsoft Certified Technical Education Centers worldwide. Get the latest Microsoft Official Curriculum information for Windows 2000 and Exchange Server 5.5 by visiting the link above and to find a training center near you.
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KEEP THAT NETWORK MOVIN'...NEW TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZES NETWORK PERFORMANCE
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dailynews2/091699.htm
Microsoft and Cisco last week demonstrated a new quality of service technology that keeps mySAP.com solutions running smoothly-even if there's lots of network traffic. The technology, to be supported by Windows 2000, allows companies to manage a network's resources to optimize performance.
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GOT WORKERS AT HOME OR ON THE ROAD? WINDOWS 2000 A GREAT VPN SOLUTION
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dailynews2/091599.htm
Microsoft last week demonstrated a Windows 2000 virtual private networking (VPN) server that can handle more than 2,500 concurrent connections. That's a level of performance and scalability not yet shown by other software-based VPN solutions, making Windows 2000 a great way to provide remote access.
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OTHER NEWS
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CONTRACTOR OR CONSULTANT--HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
http://www.microsoft.com/go/windows/advantage/nt1
Thinking about bringing on contingent staff for that new IT project? Making the right choice between a contractor and a consultant can depend on a number of factors. Learn more in the latest issue of Windows NT Advantage.
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TRY A FREE MICROSOFT OFFICIAL CURRICULUM SELF-PACED COURSE
http://www.microsoft.com/train_cert/moc
Microsoft announces eight free self-paced Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) courses available through the new Microsoft.com download center at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads.
To download a free MOC HTML-based, self-paced training course from this site, click on keyword search and type in the keyword "training." Select the Windows 2000 platform and you'll find the list of available training courses.
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SPECIAL OFFERS
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EXECUTIVE SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES FRAGMENTATION PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY
http://www.executive.com
Executive Software has released its new Diskeeper 5.0 to manufacturing. The software includes the world's first fragmentation prevention technology for maintenance-free performance in critical Windows NT system files. Visit the Executive Software site to download a 30-day trial version of Diskeeper. 
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TIPS, TRICKS & SHAREWARE
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WINDOWS 2000 SERVER TIP OF THE WEEK
Every week we post a new tip submitted by IT pros who are working with the Windows 2000 Beta or by members of the Windows 2000 development team.

COMMAND PERFORMANCE: THE COMMAND PROMPT KEYS
A beta user from Guadalajara, Mexico, offers a handy list of the F1-F9 key commands in the Command Prompt.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/server/beta/tips/default.asp
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WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL TIP OF THE WEEK
Every week we post a new tip submitted by IT pros who are working with the Windows 2000 Beta or by members of the Windows 2000 development team.

PICTURE PERFECT: FOCUS ON YOUR MY PICTURES FOLDER
A Beta user and shutterbug in Plantation, Florida, explains what develops when you take advantage of the My Pictures folder in Windows 2000.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/professional/beta/tips/default.asp
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WUGNET SHAREWARE TIP OF THE WEEK
http://www.wugnet.com/shareware/99/nt_week136
Each week WUGNET(r) and Microsoft feature a shareware pick demonstrating the highest standards available today in shareware for Windows NT.

MemTurbo is a safe, easy and effective way to increase your system performance. Get that "just-booted" feeling with a single keystroke! The program defragments physical RAM, recovers RAM from the operating system and applications, recovers leaked memory and fine-tunes file caching to your specific usage scenarios.
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TECHREPUBLIC TIP OF THE WEEK
This tip courtesy of TechRepublic, the IT Community Hub. To get your free TechRepublic Passport, please visit
http://www.techrepublic.com/ad_click_in.jhtml?id=197

SAVING A FILE IN NOTEPAD
To save a file in Notepad without the .txt extension, put the file name in double quotes (e.g. "computer.bat"). This will save the file without the .txt extension.
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UPDATE WINDOWS NT TIP OF THE WEEK
This Windows NT tip is brought to you by Update, the free e-mail newsletter from Windows NT Magazine that delivers relevant and timely Windows NT information once a week--right to your desktop. To subscribe, go to
http://www.winntmag.com/sub.cfm?code=UP99INXWTP

CREATE RIGHT-CLICK OPTION TO OPEN COMMAND PROMPT WINDOW
If you're from the old school and still use the command prompt regularly, then this tip is for you. You can create a new right-click option to open a command prompt window from the directory you're currently working in. Open your Registry using RegEdit (not RegEdit32), and find the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell. Create a new subkey called "CommandPrompt" as in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\CommandPrompt.

Change the value of default within the key to equal the text you would like on the right-click menu, for example 'Open Command Prompt....' Create another new subkey under the key you just created, and name this subkey "command" as in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\CommandPrompt\command.

Change the value of default within this key depending on your OS to equal either:
Windows 9x
command.com /k cd "%1"
or
Windows NT
cmd.exe /k cd "%1"

Now right-click a folder, and the new option of "Open Command Prompt..." should be available.
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EXPLORING WINDOWS NT TIP OF THE WEEK
Brought to you by Exploring Windows NT, a monthly publication of ZD Journals. For a free issue, go to
https://secure.zdjournals.com/ewn/cbvyeu.htm

CONFIGURING WINDOWS NT TO ENABLE NUMLOCK KEY
By default, Windows NT doesn't enable the [NumLock] key when a user first logs on to a Windows NT-based computer-and even if the user turns on [NumLock], Windows NT turns it off again whenever the user logs off if that user is not a member of Administrators. You can make the [NumLock] key stay on for non-administrative users by editing the Registry. Note: You must either log on as the user or have the user log on and edit their Registry remotely.

To turn on the [NumLock] key, set the following Registry value to 2:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators

By default, Windows NT sets the InitialKeyboardIndicators value to 0 (which turns the [NumLock] key off). You can turn on the [NumLock] key in the default profile so that all new users who log in to a computer have NumLock enabled by setting the following Registry value to 2:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
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For in-depth information about our products, visit our Web sites:

Windows NT Server
   http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/Default.asp

Windows 2000 Server
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/server

Windows NT Workstation
   http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/

Windows 2000 Professional
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/professional

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Windows Update has add-ons, updates and trial software
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/default.asp

For Windows NT Server comparisons, migration and interoperability issues, go to
   http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/openhouse/default.asp

Microsoft Daily News
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dailynews!/

For information on local events and promotions in your area go to
   http://microsoft.com/usa/

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