Microsoft have a lot going on in the public arena at the moment. Small Business Server 2003 R2 has gone RTM and Windows Live Messenger is only days away from being the new standard.

Just released to Public Beta are MS Office 2007, Windows Sharepoint Service 2007, Vista, and a few that have been out a little longer IE 7 and Media Player 11.

SBS 2003 R2 has finally brought together all the great advances since SBS 2003 was first released, all the Service Packs that take so much time to get a new server up  to date are now all in one place as well as including tight integration with WSUS,  and with the new Extended CALs options, it makes Branch Offices more accessible for Small Businesses.

But, and there is always a but, is it worth the upgrade cost from SBS 2003 to SBS 2003 R2, in my opinion I cannot justify it for existing SBS 2003 server installs, but for new servers going out the product is now Mature and very capable with many new options  of extra Value Added Services that you can offer to your clients as they develop their business.

Windows Live Messenger – I have been using it now for the last few months and can hardly live without it and the new features that it brings. The ability to send messages to offline contacts is a big plus, as soon as your contact signs in they a conversation window pops up and your message is delivered whether  you are online or not. The other big thing is the Shared Folders feature, saves sending files individually.

MS Office 2007 – You will either like it or hate it, it is a big change on the GUI, a lot of new features too, at present it is my primary Office suit.  I have found that the programs integrate more efficiently, especially with the new Business Contact Manager, which will make a very good first step before upgrading to a CRM product.

ISA 2006 – I have not had much chance to get into too much detail with the new Beta, just to let you know it is available as a public beta.

Windows Sharepoint Services 2007 – At present I have not had a chance to install it, but have only heard praise from those that have, so my next project will be to put it through its paces and post my findings to the site. Keep watching.

Vista – Long awaited and heavy on resources.  I’m currently awaiting the latest beta disk to try out the 64 bit and 32 bit versions, again all details will be posted to the site.

On a lighter note IE 7, taking some of the freat features from other browsers such as Mozilla and Firefox but leaving you still able to use Remote Web Workplace and other Active X controls. One thing worth noting the RSS feeder in both IE and Outlook 2007 are tightly integrated and worth the look.

Windows Media Player 11, very big improvement on the GUI, and for those of you that have MP3 player and subscriptions to Online Music Providers, these areas are really coming together in this release. I have found it not to be as CPU intensive as previous versions and the features flow together nicely.

As new betas become available and products get tested, new posts will be added, so please keep checking back in.

David