This will allow the Out of Office Assistant (OOF) to work when it is enabled from within the Options section of Outlook Web Access for Exchange 2003. The following is disabled by default.

1. Start the Exchange System Manager.
2. Click on Global Settings, and then “Internet Message Formats.”
3. In the right-hand pane, right-click and select Properties for “Internet message formats.”
4. Click on the Advanced tab, select “Allow out of Office Responses.” Below is a list of all the options available:

Allow out of office responses
Allow automatic replies
Allow automatic forward
Allow delivery reports
Allow non-delivery reports
Preserve sender’s display name on message

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Here are the Dell MD1000 Direct Attached Storage Benchmarks I had promised earlier. The performance is great. I’m trying to squeeze some more MB/s out of the read performance. I’ve also included performance / disk. Looks as though 4x and 8x disks in RAID10 have the best performance per disk. All the disks are 73 GB Seagate 15K SAS.

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I’ve found there is neither rhyme nor reason for Outlook having difficulty connecting to Exchange over RPC. Many times the same configuration will result in errors or unpredictable behavior. It is frustrating to say the least. There is a decent work-around that alleviates most connection problems, especially the dreaded first attempted connection error. Below are the various errors that you may receive, and the fix.

1. Open the registry editor (at the run box type: regedit).
2. Locate or create the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\RPC
3. On the Edit menu, click New and DWORD value.
4. Type DefConnectOpts and press ENTER.
5. Right-click on DefConnectOpts and set the value to 0 if it isn’t already.
6. Exit the registry editor and Outlook should connect to the Exchange folders now.

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Below is an excerpt from an interview with Mike Sievert in December 2007 concerning WGA in Vista that involves changes in SP1. See the full interview here.

The jist of it is if you have a “pirated” version of Vista you may be stuck. It will roll back the BIOS hacks and grace period hacks. The good news is that the behaviour of a non-genuine copy has changed. No longer does Vista go into a reduced functionality mode – it simply nags you much like your significant other (or the XP counterfeit nag). Windows Server 2008 will now require activation!

What are the latest piracy threats that you see today to Windows Vista, and what are you doing about it?

We know that Windows Vista is a lot harder to counterfeit than Windows XP, but we also know that pirates will keep trying. We currently see two primary types of exploits pirates often use to generate counterfeit versions of Windows Vista. One is known as the OEM Bios exploit, which involves modifying system files and the BIOS of the motherboard to mimic a type of product activation performed on copies of Windows that are pre-installed by OEMs in the factory. Another is called the Grace Timer exploit. This exploit attempts to reset the “grace time” limit between installation and activation to something like the year 2099 in some cases. Implementing exploits involves extreme alterations to key system components and can seriously affect system stability.

So we are taking action. SP1 will include updates that will target those exploits and disable them.

What will happen to systems which have those exploits?

Although our overall strategy remains the same, with SP1 we’re adjusting the customer experience that differentiates genuine from non-genuine systems in Windows Vista and later in Windows Server. Users whose systems are identified as counterfeit will be presented with clear and recurring notices about the status of their system and how to get genuine. They won’t lose access to functionality or features, but it will be very clear to them that their copy of Window Vista is not genuine and they need to take action.

This is a change in tactics from our current approach for Windows Vista, and it is based on great feedback from customers and partners. With the original release-to-manufacturers version of Windows Vista we released in November 2006, counterfeit systems can go into a state called reduced functionality mode, which essentially suspends a number of features of the system until the user takes action to get genuine.

Our new tactic, which takes effect with SP1 for Windows Vista and also will be part of Windows Server 2008, due out next year, is a proven and effective way to combat piracy. Customers want to know the status of their systems, and how to take action if it turns out they were victimized.

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Microsoft released the final version of Vista Service Pack 1 yesterday. I’ve been testing it for a number of months and the final release seems quite polished. It hasn’t been released on Windows Update as of writing but I imagine it will by the end of the day.

For those Network Administrators that wish to prevent SP1 from being automatically installed via Windows Update onto their networked PCs, you can download the Service Pack Blocker Tool from Microsoft. Very handy if you haven’t had time to test your industry specific applications against the changes and improvements. Download the full Service Pack 1 here.

Here are some of the more notable improvements (see all of them here):

1. Improves reliability by preventing data-loss while ejecting NTFS-formatted removable-media. I am very excited about this. Our network has many USB devices and almost all have experienced some form of data loss with Vista.
2. Improves Windows Vista’s built-in file backup solution to include EFS encrypted files in the backup. This is great for network backups. Nothing like restoring a backup that doesn’t have ALL the files needed.
3. SP1 reduces the number of UAC (User Account Control) prompts from 4 to 1 when creating or renaming a folder at a protected location. Home users will LOVE this. I always turn off UAC, but it is a good security feature for the less experienced. Many people DO need to be asked if they are sure about something. Reducing the prompts should allow it to be taken more seriously instead of a user always clicking YES.
4. Users are now required to enter a password hint during the initial setup of Windows Vista SP1. This change was made based on feedback from top PC manufactures that many customers frequently do not remember their password and because the administrator account is turned off by default on Windows Vista, these users do not have a way to access to their PCs. A password hint helps avoid this frustrating scenario. Many instances where I have been required to crack the Administrator login of a VIP’s computer.
5. Improves OS deployment by enabling 64-bit versions of Windows Vista to be installed from a 32-bit OS. This will allow IT professionals to maintain just a single WinPE image. Not really important, but does save time when doing multiple installs across a network.
6. Allows an administrator to configure properties of a network, such as the name, and deploy it network-wide via a Group Policy snap-in. Good stuff to say the least.
7. Improves network connection scenarios by updating the logic that auto selects which network interface to use (e.g., should a laptop use wireless or wired networking when both are available). This is great for myself and other people that have laptops that connect to multiple networks via different methods. I connect through wired, wireless, and cell methods. What I would like to see is a much more powerful network configuration tool that assigns multiple IP addresses per network. I have about 15 different IP addresses on 7 networks that I regularly connect to.
8. Improves performance over Windows Vista’s current performance across the following scenarios:
   25% faster when copying files locally on the same disk on the same machine
   45% faster when copying files from a remote non-Windows Vista system to a SP1 system
   50% faster when copying files from a remote SP1 system to a local SP1 system
9. Improves the performance of browsing network file shares by consuming less bandwidth. Great for small businesses and even some larger businesses that still use “simple” file sharing.

Overall the changes will help the bad press Vista has received over the course of the last year. When installed and configured properly Vista is a very pleasant operating system to use. People tend to forget how poor Windows XP was when it was first released. Only after SP2 was XP a solid OS.

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