Archive for the ‘Windows Vista’ Category
- In: -- | Guide | InformationWeek | SP1 | Survival | Vista | Windows | Windows Vista
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Here’s how to get ready for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, due from Microsoft in March, with its much needed performance enhancements, security upgrades, and compatibility revisions.
After a little more than a year in the wild, it’s high time for Windows Vista to receive the service pack it deserves. While Service Pack 1 won’t change the way Windows Vista looks or feels, for the most part, it will improve many things about the way it runs, based on both Microsoft’s internal testing and the feedback of tens of thousands of users.
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SP1 has been both heavily anticipated and badly needed. While the gold release of Vista was for the most part solid enough to use as a production system, there were still many frustrating rough edges.
In the light of these problems, one of the most commonly repeated canards about using Vista was, “I’ll just wait until SP1 comes out.” Well, SP1 is now almost out. A release candidate, which is the version we tested, was made available towards the end of last year. More recently, Microsoft officially released SP1 to manufacturing in February to TechNet and MSDN customers. The actual, wide public release to users at large is expected sometime in March.
What’s In The Box?
Vista Service Pack 1 is a cumulative collection of all the fixes — performance enhancements, security updates, and compatibility revisions — published or created for Vista since its release. As with an artist’s greatest-hits collection, some of it is “previously released material” — but that absolutely doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply SP1. Otherwise you won’t get the full benefit of all the changes made.
Keep in mind that SP1 will be large — quite necessarily so. The standalone installer for SP1 will weigh in at anywhere from 450 Mbytes (for the five-language edition) to 550 Mbytes (the all-language edition), and you’ll need at least 5 Gbytes of temporary space on your system to perform the install. Most PCs capable of running Vista right now should not have a problem sparing that much room, but if you do, then a cleanup — or maybe even a new hard drive, if it’s already time for one — is in order. (Note that there are ways to ameliorate both the storage and download requirements; see “Express” on page 3 for details.)
- In: IEEE | LAN | Microsoft | Security | Technologies | Windows Vista | Wireless
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Benefits of Wireless LANs
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless LAN networking provides the following benefits:
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Wireless connections can extend or replace a wired infrastructure in situations where it is costly, inconvenient, or impossible to lay cables. This benefit includes the following:
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To connect the networks in two buildings separated by a physical, legal, or financial obstacle, you can either use a link provided by a telecommunications vendor (for a fixed installation cost and ongoing recurring costs) or you can create a point-to-point wireless link using wireless LAN technology (for a fixed installation cost, but no recurring costs). Eliminating recurring telecommunications charges can provide significant cost savings to organizations.
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Wireless LAN technologies can be used to create a temporary network, which is in place for only a specific amount of time. For example, the network needed at a convention or trade show can be a wireless network, rather than deploying the physical cabling required for a traditional Ethernet network.
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Some types of buildings, such as historical buildings, might be governed by building codes that prohibit the use of wiring, making wireless networking an important alternative.
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The wiring-free aspect of wireless LAN networking is also very attractive to homeowners who want to connect the various computers in their home together without having to drill holes and pull network cables through walls and ceilings.
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Increased productivity for the mobile employee. This benefit includes the following:
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The mobile user whose primary computer is a laptop or notebook computer can change location and always remain connected to the network. This enables the mobile user to travel to various places—meeting rooms, hallways, lobbies, cafeterias, classrooms, and so forth—and still have access to networked data. Without wireless access, the user has to carry cabling and is restricted to working near a network jack.
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Wireless LAN networking is a perfect technology for environments where movement is required. For example, retail environments can benefit when employees use a wireless laptop or palmtop computer to enter inventory information directly into the store database from the sales floor.
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Even if no wireless infrastructure is present, wireless laptop computers can still form their own ad hoc networks to communicate and share data with each other.
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Easy access to the Internet in public places.
Benefits of Wireless LANs
Support for IEEE 802.11 Standards
Support for IEEE 802.11 Security Standards
Checklists and Resources
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