|
|
Microsoft Releases SP2 for SQL Server 2005
Microsoft announced today that they have released Service Pack 2 for SQL server 2005. This is the long awaited update that makes it Vista compatible.
Key enhancements to SQL Server SP2 include the following:
-- Data Mining Add-ins for the 2007 Microsoft Office system enable data
mining functionality from SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) to be
used directly within Excel(R) 2007 and Visio(R) 2007.
-- SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) compatibility with Microsoft
Office SharePoint(R) Server 2007 provides integration with the Report
Center in SharePoint, enabling the seamless consumption and management
of SSRS reports within SharePoint.
-- SQL Server Analysis Services improvements for Excel 2007 and Excel
Services relate to performance and functionality.
-- Data compression (varDecimal) is an important feature for data
warehousing scenarios, requiring less disk storage of decimal data and
increasing overall performance.
-- Manageability enhancements, based on customer feedback, provide
management capabilities for database administrators such as
improvements in database maintenance plans, enhanced management reports
and a new copy database wizard.
-- Management reports added to SQL Server Express Edition enable customers
to get insights into the performance of their Express Edition and SQL
Server Compact Edition databases.
-- Interoperability improvements including Oracle support in the Report
Builder feature enable customers to use its functionality on top of
Oracle data sources. Customers also have access to SQL Server Reporting
Services to build reports on top of Hyperion's Essbase cubes.
It can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/sp2.mspx
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Monday, February 19, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Simplify UNC usage in command line batch files
Many times a UNC path does not work properly in a command line bat file. This is a hold over from DOS, a compromise to ensure backward compatibility.
I have found a little known command (At least to me). Actually there are two of them. PUSHD, and POPD Call PUSHD with a UNC share as a single argument and it automatically maps the UNC share to a drive letter. (It starts at Z: and moves backward). So, if we wanted to run a few command line programs within our share we would call it like this: pushd \\server\share command1.exe command2.exe
When you are finished, and want to remove the mapping you call popd. Putting it all together we have this: pushd \\server\share command1.exe command2.exe popd
I have tested this with Windows NT 4 SP6, and it works all the way through Vista...so you are safe using it on any of these versions of Windows.
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Sunday, February 18, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Create a date and time stamp in your batch files
Here is an interesting one. I found a way to take the %date% environment variable, and turn it into a valid string for a filename - without any extra programs or scripts.
For the longest time I used a little utility I created to do this. The problem with that is the utility needs to be around if you want to send the batch file to someone.
What I didn't know that was that you can use this character combination ':~' to pull a substring out of an environment variable. That is when I realized you could use this to pull out parts of the current date (or time).
Here is how it works. Lets take the %date% variable and print it out
echo %date%
It comes back ...At least today ;) .. with
Thu 02/15/2007
Not sure if the length of the day changes. It may be always the same. To be safe we can pull the year, month and day starting from the right.
The :~ substring command works like this:
:~[START POS],[LENGTH]
If [START_POS] is positive or zero the substring will start from the left. If the number [START_POS] is negative it will start from the right. And [LENGTH] is the number of characters in the opposite direction of the starting point.
I know this might be confusing at first, but you will see what I am talking about.
If we wanted to get the current year we could start 4 from the end, and 4 in length. Like this:
echo %date:~-4,4%
For the month we start 7 from the right (Length of Year + Length of Month + 1 Slash)
echo %date:~-7,2%
For the day we start 10 from the right (Length of Year + Length of Month + Length Of Day + 2 Slashes)
echo %date:~-10,2%
Bringing it all together. Lets say I zipped up a folder every night for archival purposes, and wanted a different filename for each day (Not sure if this pkzip syntax is correct, but that is not important for our discussion here)
pkzip c:\ImportantFolder\*.* c:\TempZip.zip
ren C:\TempZip.Zip c:\TempZip_%date:~-4,4%%date:~-7,2%%date:~-10,2%.zip
Which renames our C:\TempZip.Zip to C:\TempZip_20070215.zip
Perfect. I get a date stamped file, and no special vbscript, or command line program is needed.
The same method could be used for the current time
I am still amazed this little trick works.
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Thursday, February 15, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Verify Install of Windows Daylight Saving Patch
We have just added a new feature to Network Administrator. It allows you to audit and verify that the Daylight Saving patch (For USA and Canada) has been installed. This works for our patch, and Microsoft's. (It will even tell you when you have the older, incorrect version of the MS patch)
In addition we have added the Dynamic DST settings that Microsoft has recently published, and fixes to the Newfoundland timezone. These Dynamic Settings allow your system to know that prior to 2007 daylight saving time was different. What is it for? Lets say you have a file that was created in 2006 between the new dst and the old dst - your computer would show its time stamp off by an hour (Without it). For most people this is trivial, but it could mean trouble for some applications.
At the same time we have released a new version of our free daylight saving patch for Windows NT, 2000, 2003, and XP.
One thing to note, if you are using the MS patch 928388 you will need to get 931836 to get the proper updates (Or just use ours). Patch 928388 has incorrect changes for the Newfoundland timezone.
The new patch now shows you progress during the patch, and will only install if Microsoft's, or our patch has not been installed.
If you have purchased Network Administrator, this 2.5 release is a free update - and we will be emailing all customers shortly about it.
And to answer the most common question about our patch - Yes it can co-exist with the Microsoft patch, no it won't hurt a machine to apply both.
See our previous article on the subject for more information
To get your hands on the free patch, or Network Administrator - Visit our download page
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Sunday, February 11, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Windows 98, ME DST Patch
I would have never thought we would have gotten so many emails for a Windows 98 DST Patch.
If you missed it, we have created an unofficial patch for Windows 2000 that updates it to the new Daylight Saving Time enacted here in the United States. Microsoft is not providing one since Windows 2000 is no longer supported.
Well, over the last week we have received over 500 emails asking for a Windows 98 patch. Many people are still using 98 as a fax server, print server, or just a simple workstation. So...we figured why not make a patch? Testing on Windows ME gave me the willies, but other than that it is not much different than Win NT/XP/2003
The registry keys are a little different. For example, a simple one is \Windows\ is used instead of \Windows NT\
They also shortened the name of the time zones, in Win9x, so "Central Standard Time" is only "Central".
Daylight saving time is simply broken in Windows 95, so I wouldn't even bother trying to apply the patch to these systems.
The patch can be called from the command line with these parameters (That way you can put it in a logon script):
/QINSTALL - Silent Install
/QUNINSTALL - Silent Uninstall
 To get your hands on it, visit our downloads sectionFor those that are interested, here is the source for the registry changes - In Delphi Object Pascal
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
New vulnerability discovered in Excel
Seems like we see a new one of these every day. The unfortunate fact is that you can't really trust any attachment you get in your email these days.
Microsoft has released security advisory 932553.
It allows an attacker to execute code on your PC if they can get you to open a specially crafted Excel file. It can be used to attack all Office products, so be aware that an embedded excel file in your word document can be a problem too.
Some info on the problem:
-The vulnerability cannot be exploited on Office 2007 or on Works 2004, 2005, or 2006.
-An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.
-In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains a Office file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a malicious Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade them to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site.
-The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through e-mail. For an attack to be successful a user must open an attachment that is sent in an e-mail message.
-Users who have installed and are using the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool for Office 2000 will be prompted with Open, Save, or Cancel before opening a document.
No patch has been released yet. Until then Microsoft suggests this workaround:
Do not open or save Office files that you receive from un-trusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a specially crafted Office file.
:)
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Sunday, February 04, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Active Sync Released For Vista
ActiveSync, the software used by millions to backup and synchronize their Pocket PCs is now available for Windows Vista. It has been renamed 'Windows Mobile Device Center'. It contains a load of new features, and is a great improvement over previous versions.
The feature I like most is the new picture wizard that allows you to easily tag and upload your photos to the Windows Photo Gallery.
List of features:
* Streamlined setup - A simplified new partnership wizard and improved partnership management.
* Robust synchronization - Synchronization of business-critical data such as e-mail, calendars, contacts, tasks, favorites, and files.
* Enhanced user interface - A simple and compelling user interface helps you to quickly access critical tasks and configure your device.
* File browsing - A new device browsing experience enables you more quickly browse files and folders and open documents on your device directly from your PC.
* Photo management – Picture management helps you detect new photos on your Windows Mobile powered device, tag and import them to the Windows Vista Photo Gallery.
* Media synchronization - Use Microsoft Windows Media Player to synchronize and shuffle music files on your device.
Remember, this is only for Vista, so XP users - don't even try to install it.
Here are the download links:
32 Bit Windows Mobile Device Center
64 Bit Windows Mobile Device Center
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Friday, February 02, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
|
 |
