Thoughtsofanidlemind's Blog

  • Is Dell about to cut TEC?

    Word is reaching me that Dell might have decided to cancel future TEC (The Experts Conference) events. If this is true, the last TEC was in Barcelona in October and it marked a series of events that was fun and full of good information, one that I only came to…

  • Exchange 2013 EAC showing some frayed edges

    Last July I wrote about the Exchange Administration Center (EAC) and how it was being introduced in Exchange 2013 to replace the creaking and slow Exchange Management Console (EMC) as featured in Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007. Now that we’ve had some time to assess the finished object, as shipped…

  • “Exchange Unwashed” November 2012 digest

    November was another busy month for the “Exchange Unwashed” blog. Here’s the digest of the articles that were published. Visio stencils released but no news of Exchange 2010 SP2 RU5 or TechNet updates (November 29). Microsoft released a very useful update of the Visio stencils that many use to create…

  • Microsoft increases prices for Office products – time to chat with your sales rep

    Microsoft customers probably didn’t enjoy reading about the new prices for Office 2013 products that are reportedly on the way from December 1. The date is important because that’s when the Office 2013 versions of applications like Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and so on are added to Microsoft’s price list and…

  • Kemp reveals LoadMaster changes after Microsoft drops TMG

    In my post that discusses the notion of creating protocol-specific namespaces for use with Exchange 2013, I wondered what the load balancing vendors would react to the changing landscape of the Exchange world. Of course, it’s not just the new slimmed-down and nearly stateless Client Access Server (CAS) that creates…

  • Announcing Exchange 2013 Inside Out: Well, we’re starting anyway…

    We are delighted to announce a new joint project: Exchange 2013 Inside Out, a two-volume set that we will write for Microsoft Press, with an anticipated publication date in Fall 2013. Tony is writing part 1, which covers the mailbox server role, the Store, DAG, compliance, modern public folders and…

  • Analyzing Exchange 2010 SP2 RU5

    Microsoft has re-released Exchange 2010 SP2 RU5 (v2) – This update should fix the DAG problem that was reported soon after the original release. However, protect yourself by making sure to test RU5 thoroughly before it goes anywhere near a production server! RU5 V2 does not include KB2748870 and it seems…

  • Exchange 2013 and the case for protocol-specific namespaces

    Perhaps the Exchange developers were unaware of the law of unintended consequences when they decided to change Exchange’s load balancing requirement from layer 7 to layer 4 of the network stack. For the most part, the change is wonderful. For some, especially those who have to manage systems that cater…

  • Three short days in Iceland

    I might just be the world’s worst tourist, especially when arrangements are made for me. But a pretty bleak choice exists if you live in Ireland and want to visit Iceland, namely, to sign up for an IcelandAir tour package or take on the hassle of making a pile of…

  • New CTO, new Linux focus for HP?

    The conspiracy theorists will have had a field day with the news that HP has spent $500,000 to upgrade their membership of the Linux Foundation to “Platinum” level. Taken together with the other recent announcement that Martin Fink has taken over as HP Chief Technology Officer and Director of HP…