What is the name of the file you need to change to add pre- and post-build functionality into your custom package ?
Targets file.
It is located in ,
%WINDOWS%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Microsoft.Common.targets
How can i copy the files in the debug folder to some other directory automatically ?
Add the following line of code to the Post build event in the project properties,
call copy E:\projectdir\bin\Debug c:\test\
What are the options available on creating a branch?
There are 5 options available on creating a branch, they are :
1. Changeset
2. Date
3. Label
4. Latest Version
5. Workspace version
What are the new Features in Team Build 2008 ?
1. Continuous Integration
2. Build Queuing
3. Scheduled Builds
4. Build Agent Management
5. Build Definition Editing GUI
6. Better Build Management
7. Managed object model
8. Improved extensibility
How will you check whether automated build is successful and call a custom task on successful build?
You can do that by providing the following config entry in the MS Build or TFS Build config file,
Condition=" '$(IsDesktopBuild)' != 'true' ">
What are the Predefined bindings in WCF?
1. BasicHttpBinding
2. WSHttpBinding
3. WSDualHttpBinding
4. NetTcpBinding
5. NetNamedPipeBinding
6. NetMsmqBinding
What are the blocks in Enterprise Library?
1. The Caching Application Block
2. The Cryptography Application Block
3. The Data Access Application Block
4. The Exception Handling Application Block
5. The Logging Application Block
6. The Policy Injection Application Block
7. The Security Application Block
8. The Unity Application Block
9. The Validation Application Block
What will the deployment retail="true" do when set in a asp.net web.config file?
It forces the 'debug' attribute in the web.config to false, disables page output tracing, and forces the custom error page to be shown to remote users rather than the actual exception.
What is the Svcutil.exe ?
Service Model Metadata Utility Tool is used to generate the proxy from the client.
What’s the difference between authentication and authorization?
what is Authentication?
Is a process by which the system decides whether the user is valid to login to the site as a whole.
what is Authorization?
Is a process by which the system decides which are the areas and functionalities the user is allowed to access, at the component level.
What are the uses of Views?
1. Views are virtual tables (they dont store data physically) which gives a result
of data by joining tables. So you are not storing redundant data.
2. Views are used to produce reports from data
3. Views can be used to provide security to data by giving access only to views.
What is the name of the class used to read and get details of the files uploaded to asp.net?
System.Web.HttpPostedFile
What is assemblyInfo.cs file? Where can I find it? What is it for?
What
It consists of all build options for the project,including verison,company name,etc.
Where
It is located in the Properties folder.
Use
It is used to manage the build settings.
What is Serialization ? What are the Types of Serialization and their differences?
Serialization:
It is the process of converting an object to a form suitable for either making it persistent or tranportable.
Deserialization is the reverse of this and it converts the object from the serialized state to its original state.
Types:
1. Binary
2. XML
Differences:
| Sno | Binary | XML |
| 1 | It preserves type fidelity , which is useful for preserving the state of the object between transportation and invocation. | It doesnt preserves type fidelity and hence state cant be maintained. |
| 2 | As it is the open standard its widely used | Not that much compared to Binary. |
What are asynchronous callbacks in .net?
It means that a call is made from a Main Program to a .net Class’s method and the program continues execution. When the callback is made ( means the method has finished its work and returns value) , the Main program handles it.
What is web.config.? How many web.config files can be allowed to use in an application?
1.
The Web.Config file is the configuration file for
asp.net web application or a web site. prefix="o" ?>
2.
You can have as many Web.Config files as you want
, but there can be only one web.config file in a single folder.
what are the Differences between Abstract Class and Interface ?
| Sno | Abstract Class | Interface |
| 1 | Can have implemented Methods | Cant |
| 2 | A class can inherit only one abstract class | A Class can implement any number of Interfaces. |
| 3 | We go for Abstract classes on such situations where we need to give common functionality for group of related classes | We go for Interface on such situations where we need to give common functionality for group of un-related classes |
| 4 | If you add a new method, then you can provide a default implementation and so no need to make any change to existing work. | If you add a new method, then you need to change all the existing work. |
| 5 | Static and Instance constants are possible. | Only Static constants are possible. |
How to read and write from a text file using c#.net ?
See the following sample,
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
namespace ReadWriteFromTxt
{
class Program
{
static void readFile()
{
FileStream fsEmp = new FileStream("c:\\Emp.html", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
StreamReader srEmp = new StreamReader(fsEmp);
string s;
while ((s = srEmp.ReadLine()) != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
Console.Read();
}
srEmp.Close();
fsEmp.Close();
}
static void writeFile()
{
FileStream fsEmp = new FileStream("c:\\Emp.html", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Write );
StreamWriter swEmp = new StreamWriter(fsEmp );
string s="Have you seen god? Is there anything else to see";
swEmp.WriteLine(s);
swEmp.Close();
fsEmp.Close();
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
writeFile();
readFile();
}
}
}
How to download webpage using asp.net and c# ?
See the following code,
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
namespace DownloadingFile
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
WebRequest reqFile = WebRequest.Create("http://www.codecollege.net/2009/07/cloud-computing.html");
WebResponse resFile = reqFile.GetResponse();
Stream smFile = resFile.GetResponseStream();
// Output the downloaded stream to the console
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(smFile);
string line;
while ((line = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
Console.WriteLine(line);
Console.Read();
}
}
}
How to download webpage using asp.net and c# ?
See the following code,
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
namespace DownloadingFile
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
WebRequest reqFile = WebRequest.Create("http://www.codecollege.net/2009/07/cloud-computing.html");
WebResponse resFile = reqFile.GetResponse();
Stream smFile = resFile.GetResponseStream();
// Output the downloaded stream to the console
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(smFile);
string line;
while ((line = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
Console.WriteLine(line);
Console.Read();
}
}
}
How to read and write from a text file using c#.net ?
See the following sample,
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
namespace ReadWriteFromTxt
{
class Program
{
static void readFile()
{
FileStream fsEmp = new FileStream("c:\\Emp.html", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
StreamReader srEmp = new StreamReader(fsEmp);
string s;
while ((s = srEmp.ReadLine()) != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
Console.Read();
}
srEmp.Close();
fsEmp.Close();
}
static void writeFile()
{
FileStream fsEmp = new FileStream("c:\\Emp.html", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Write );
StreamWriter swEmp = new StreamWriter(fsEmp );
string s="Have you seen god? Is there anything else to see";
swEmp.WriteLine(s);
swEmp.Close();
fsEmp.Close();
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
writeFile();
readFile();
}
}
}
How can you tell the application to look for assemblies at the locations other than its installed location?
You can do that by adding the following entry in the web.config file,
What are the differences between const and readonly ?
| Sno | const | readonly |
| 1 | Can't be static. | Can be instance level or static |
| 2 | evaluated at design time | evaluated at run time |
| 3 | Initialized at declaration | Initialized at declaration and in constructor |
| 4 | must be of integral type or enumeration | In addition it can have complex types with new keyword and enumerations are not allowed |
What are the different Debugging tools which come with .NET ?
Two debugging tools come with .NET, they are :
1. CorDBG
– command-line debugger
2. DbgCLR – graphic debugger.
What are test cases you should go through in unit testing?
You need to check 3 test cases, which are the following,
1. Positive test cases (correct data, correct output)
2. Negative test cases (broken or missing data, proper handling)
3. Exception test cases (exceptions are thrown and caught properly)
what does '()' denote in the object creation statement
what does '()' denote in the object creation statement?
It denotes the constructor.
How to call a base class constructor from a derived class?
How to call a base class constructor from a derived class?
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OOPTest7
{
class A
{
public A()
{
Console.Out.Write("base A");
}
public A(string s)
{
Console.Out.Write(s);
}
}
class B : A
{
public B() : base("base cons called from Derived")
{
Console.Out.Write("B");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
B b= new B();
Console.In.Read();
}
}
}
interface ,the class which implemented it and its object, with interface in left hand side during creation
If a class IA is implementing an interface I which is having a method a, then
can is the following allowed? Will that have all the methods of IA apart from that of interface I?
I a = new IA();
Yes. always the base class or interface can contain derived class, but it will have
only those of the base. So it will not have members of IA which are not from interface I.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OOPTest6
{
interface I
{
void a();
}
class IA : I
{
public void a()
{
Console.Out.Write("a");
}
public void nonintfacemeth()
{
Console.Out.Write("nonintfacemeth");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
I i = new IA();
i.a();
}
}
}
If A is the base class and B inherits B and C inherits B and an object is created for C , whats order of constructor
If A is the base class and B inherits B and C inherits B and an object is created for C , then what will be the order of
the constructor being called?
A then B then C.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OopTest5
{
class A
{
public A()
{
Console.Out.Write("A");
}
}
class B : A
{
public B()
{
Console.Out.Write("B");
}
}
class C : B
{
public C()
{
Console.Out.Write("C");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
C c = new C();
Console.In.Read();
}
}
}
how to implement a pure virtual function in c#?
how to implement a pure virtual function in c#?
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OppTest4
{
abstract class abTest
{
public abstract void a();
}
class UsesabTest : abTest
{
public override void a()
{
Console.Out.Write("a");
}
public void x()
{
Console.Out.Write("x");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
UsesabTest mn = new UsesabTest();
mn.a();
}
}
}
Does C# (.NET) support partial implementation?
Does C# (.NET) support partial implementation?
No.
the following program will throw an error.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OPPTest3
{
interface IA
{
void x();
void y();
}
class IAClass : IA
{
public void x()
{
Console.Out.Write("test x");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IAClass m = new IAClass();
m.x();
m.y();
}
}
}
Does C# (.NET) support partial implementation?
Does C# (.NET) support partial implementation?
No.
the following program will throw an error.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OPPTest3
{
interface IA
{
void x();
void y();
}
class IAClass : IA
{
public void x()
{
Console.Out.Write("test x");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IAClass m = new IAClass();
m.x();
m.y();
}
}
}
Can we leave a virtual function in an abstract class without implementing in the derived class
Does c# support pure virtual function?
No.
Instead you can use abstract function which is also called as a pure virtual function.
abstract class abTest
{
public abstract void a();
}
Can we leave a virtual function in an abstract class without implementing in the derived class ?
No. It will throw an error.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OppTest4
{
abstract class abTest
{
public abstract void a();
}
class UsesabTest : abTest
{
//public override void a()
//{
// Console.Out.Write("a");
//}
public void x()
{
Console.Out.Write("x");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
}
}
}
Class implementing Interface
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace OppTest2
{
interface IA
{
void x();
void y();
}
class IAClass : IA
{
public void x()
{
Console.Out.Write("test x");
}
public void y()
{
Console.Out.Write("test y");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IAClass m = new IAClass();
m.x();
m.y();
}
}
}
What area the differences between Global.asax and Web.Config?
| Sno | global.asax | web.config |
| 1 | Class File | Its an XML file |
| 2 | There can be only one for an application | there can be many if under different sub-folders |
| 3 | Can have Application and Session events | Can't |
| 4 | Need to be recompiled when changes are made | No need to compile when changes are |
What are the differences between value and reference types
Sno | Value Types | Reference Types |
1 | They contain their data directly | They store a reference to their value’s memory |
2 | They are allocated for storage either in stack or inline in structure.. | They are allocated for storage in heap |
3 | can be built-in (implemented by the runtime), user-defined, or enumerations | self-describing types, pointer types, or interface types. |
Differences between Dataset and DataReader
| Sno | Dataset | DataReader |
| 1 | Disconnected Mode | Connected Mode |
| 2 | Can navigate back and forth | Can navigate forward only |
| 3 | Data is editable | Data is Readonly |
| 4 | Can contain more than one table and relationships | Can contain only one row at a time. |
| 5 | Slower as having more overhead | Faster when compared with dataset. |
What is Serialization ? What are the Types of Serialization and their differences?
Serialization:
It is the process of converting an object to a form suitable for either making it persistent or tranportable.
Deserialization is the reverse of this and it converts the object from the serialized state to its original state.
Types:
1. Binary
2. XML
Differences:
| Sno | Binary | XML |
| 1 | It preserves type fidelity , which is useful for preserving the state of the object between transportation and invocation. | It doesnt preserves type fidelity and hence state cant be maintained. |
| 2 | As it is the open standard its widely used | Not that much compared to Binary. |
What is the difference between CCW and RCW ?
| Sno | CCW | RCW |
1 | COM to .NET communication happens through COM Callable Wrapper | .NET to COM Communication happens through Remote Callable Wrappter |
What is the difference between a custom control and a user control ?
| Sno | User Control | Custom Control |
1 | Is a file with the .ascx extension | Is a file with the .dll extension |
2 | Can be only used with the application | Can be used in any number of applications |
3 | Language dependent. | They are language independent, a control created in c# can be used in vb.net |
4 | Can’t be added to Visual studio Toolbox | Can be added to Visual studio Toolbox |
5 | Inherits from Server controls and easy to create. | You have to develop from scratch , so comparatively difficult. |
6 | Generally used for static content | Used when dynamic content is required |
What are the differences between Trace and Debug?
| Sno | Trace | Debug |
1 | Works in both Debug and Release mode | Works only in Debug mode. |
2 | Trace is enabled by default in visual studio | Debug is not enabled. You can manually do that. |
What are the differences between machine.config and web.config files?
Sno | Web.config | Machine.config |
1 | It is a config file for a single application. | It is a config file which is common for all the applications in a machine |
2 | It will be available in the application folder. | It is available in the Microsoft.NET\Framework\{version}\CONFIG Folder. |
3 | The settings in the web.config overrides that of Machine.config | Cant do. |
4 | Automatically installed when visual studio .net is installed | This is automatically created when you create an asp.ne website |
What are the differences between value and reference types
Sno | Value Types | Reference Types |
1 | They contain their data directly | They store a reference to their value’s memory |
2 | They are allocated for storage either in stack or inline in structure.. | They are allocated for storage in heap |
3 | can be built-in (implemented by the runtime), user-defined, or enumerations | self-describing types, pointer types, or interface types. |
What are the Differences between Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect ?
Difference between Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect
| Sno | Server.Transfer | Response.Redirect |
| 1 | The navigation happens on the server-side ,so client history is not updated | The navigation happens on the client-side ,so client history is updated |
| 2 | Data can be persist accros the pages using Context.Item collection | Context.Items loses the persisitance. |
| 3 | No Round-trips | Makes a Round-trip |
| 4 | Has Good encapsulation | No |
Active Directory Domain Migration Checklist
Before beginning an Active Directory migration, a number of mandatory requirements are needed to be in place in order to complete the migration successfully. These requirements are standards to meet both the requirements for Microsoft Windows migration and the Winzero Active Directory Migrator.
Download the Domain Migration Checklist
Windows 7 Application Compatibility Document
“Understand the impact of application compatibility on your environment and how you can address application compatibility concerns. This document can help you understand the impact of application compatibility on your environment and how you can address application compatibility concerns.”
Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
As you may have noticed, I’ve been doing some lab work on Windows 7 deployment recently. Last night I upgraded the MDT 2010 build to an RC. Within 15 minutes I was in a position where I was able to deploy a clean build Windows 7 machine and do an upgrade from XP to Windows 7 while conserving the user’s state on the machine. Ben Armstrong (the Virtual PC Guy) blogged overnight about his experience with WDS on Windows Server 2008 R2. That was my next step: I want to get the LiteTouch.ISO mounted on there so I can run it on the network. My MDT lab is 4 virtual machines running on Windows Server 2008 R2: I loaded WDS (Windows Deployment Services) onto MDT-SVR in Server Manager. It’s pretty simple from there: No using DISM or command prompt yet. Now I booted up a VM with PXE Boot (F12). I changed the boot order of the VM to get that working reliably. Wait .. PXE in Hyper-V? Yes, you CAN do it. Next thing you know, the VM has loaded the pre-boot environment discovered via BOOTP/DHCP. I picked a boot image and deployed Windows 7. Time taken? 10 minutes. OK, I had already extracted the drivers and I knew WDS from W2008/W2003. But it was pretty easy! EDIT #1: I’d say it was less than 15 minutes later before I could log into the new Windows 7 VM running on Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V.
Some Useful Online Content For OS Deployment
Johan Arwidmark (deployment MVP) has some online content you might want to check out:
Windows 7 Language Packs Available
This was posted by MS yesterday. Note that you need software assurance on the desktop to avail of Windows 7 Enterprise Edition.
“As of this morning, August 25th, the following language packs are available for download from Windows Update. Please note Traditional Chinese –Taiwan will be released at a later date.
These language packs are available to our enterprise customers running Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate RTM versions only. Customers on the Windows 7 Release Candidate are not eligible for these language packs.
For information on the general availability of Windows 7 Ultimate and all other version, please refer to Brandon’s post here.
Languages:
- Arabic
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Bulgarian
- Chinese – Simplified
- Chinese – Traditional – Hong Kong
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- Estonian
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Lithuanian
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian Latin
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian”
How To Deploy VPN/RAS Connections Using Scripting and GPO
This download documents how to use PowerShell and Group Policy to configure RAS/VPN connections on Windows clients if you are using the native technologies for RAS/VPN.
“This article describes how to use Group Policy, Powershell and the Remote Access Service (RAS) application programming interfaces (APIs) to configure and deploy VPN connection settings to client computers ready for use by users. The solution also describes how the Task Scheduler service can be used to configure scripts or programs that are run whenever a VPN connection is made to the VPN server. The advantage of this solution is that it is not platform specific, and can be used on all of the currently supported versions of Windows.”
RDP 7.0 Coming To Vista and XP
Microsoft announced that they will release the RDP 7.0 client in Q4. This will mean those legacy clients can take advantage of new features like media streaming.
Windows 7 Enterprise Edition 90 Day Trial
Stephen Rose has announced a highly desired trial program where you can get your hands on a 90 day evaluation copy of Windows 7 Enterprise. This means you can check out the really uber-cool features that are only found in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions. Enterprise is only available to those who have software assurance for the desktop (or MSDN/TechNet) so it’s been a bit of a chicken and egg situation on getting to play with it. Thanks to Springboard, you get it for free and can use that trial in your decision making process on Software Assurance. And it’s going to be really handy for anyone doing certification who doesn’t have TechNet or MSDN. Please read the full post by Stephen. There will be only so many downloads. The eval lasts for 90 days. You will have to wipe the system at the end of the 90 days. Please only use this eval in a lab environment.
Microsoft Deployment Tool Kit 2010 Released
MDT 2010 has been released overnight. This is the free OS image deployment product that will find its way onto a lot of networks to help people migrate to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. You can also deploy older operating systems. It uses task sequences to allow you to graphically program the process of not only deploying an operating system but also drivers, patches, applications, etc. Out of the box, the sequence templates are very powerful, e.g. you can migrate from XP to Windows 7 while restoring data, you can do clean builds and you can capture sysprepped builds. I’ve done some documentation on MDT 2010 to help you get started. According to the Springboard blog: “Michael Niehaus did a great series of blog posts on most of the new features of MDT 2010. You can review those posts here. Please make sure you review the release notes for instructions on how to upgrade from MDT 2008 or one of the beta releases of MDT 2010 here”.
Microsoft Ireland Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 Launch Events
Microsoft Ireland has announced the launch events for Windows 7 and W2008 R2. Like with the TechDays tour earlier this year, there will be events in Galway, Cork, Belfast and Dublin. The day is split into two events: a technical session aimed at the business during the afternoon and an event in the evening aimed at using Windows 7 at home. You have to register for each event if you want to go to both.
Each attendee will receive a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. It’s a legit copy you’ll be able to use. Seats are limited and demand will be great. That’s why Microsoft has set up a lottery for the tickets instead of the usual first-come, first-served approach. Anyone who is already a member of the Windows user Group in Ireland will have gotten a special registration code in their mail in the last few minutes. That will give them a better chance to get a seat because community members have a reserved allocation of seats.
I’ve been a part of the planning of the events. I can promise that the focus is demo, demo, demo. No one will die from allergic shock to PowerPoint. There is a huge effort to squeeze as much as possible into the events as possible. The Windows User Group will be trying to follow up these events in the coming months to add more detail and to cover functionality that couldn’t get squeezed into the time available at the launch events.
Here is the communication from Microsoft:
“Join us at the Windows 7 Technical Community Launch and be part of Windows history! Windows 7 is launching all over the world in the coming weeks and Microsoft Ireland are offering IT Professionals and Developers in your area, a chance to see the operating system uncovered.
Click the links below to go the event page, where you can *register your interest.
Windows 7 Technical Community – General Launch Session
Galway 28th September
Cork 30th September
Belfast 13th October
Dublin 15th October
Microsoft @ Home with Windows 7
Galway 28th September
Cork 30th September
Belfast 13th October
Dublin 15th October
*Places allocated on lottery basis one week before each event.”
I have to add that Wilbour, Dave, Enda and Ronnie and a huge crowd of others are busting their butts to make this an amazing event. They deserve a lot of credit.
Want Your Staff To Learn About Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2?
I got an interesting email from a major software publisher the other day. They develop, sell and support solutions that run on the Windows platform. Their integration with Microsoft is pretty tight and it’s important for their support staff to know about Windows Server Active Directory.
The Irish Windows User Group is running a session on Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory on September 25th at 09:30GMT. The presenter is Microsoft Ireland’s Wilbour Craddock. We’ll be running it as an in-person event but there will also be a live webcast.
The leader of this company’s EMEA support team asked if it would be OK to set our LiveMeeting webcast on a projector and speakers. He had a team of 30+ staff that he wanted to attend the session so they could start learning about the new functionality. He also said he was thinking of getting other support teams in other regions to do the same thing. What an absolutely brilliant idea! He asked if this was OK? Absolutely. If one person on his site managed the keyboard to ask questions our moderator would read them out to the presenter so they could be answered. Now this company’s support staff could virtually attend the session without a massive road trip and abandoning the office.
So if you want to do something similar:
- Set up a PC with LiveMeeting installed on it in a meeting room and tune into the web cast.
- Set up a projector and decent external speakers for the PC.
- Assign one person to locally moderate questions and type them into the LiveMeeting client.
It’s a simple and cheap way to start the education process for your staff.
How do you measure big? How do you measure footprint?
I’ve presented a number of sessions on Hyper-V and there are always people in the groups that have had more exposure to VMware than Hyper-V; so I usually end up drawing parallels between VMware and Hyper-V. I’m OK with that because I’m one of those people that learn better when I can relate new content to something I already know. My discussions are actually fairly predictable at this point because for some people, virtualization has become religion. I learned a long time ago that as soon as you start a discussion around religion, people become very polarized and set in their ways. In fact, once I realize that we’re having a religious discussion, I just remind myself that people are still killed for their religious beliefs, so I try to back off a bit on the competitive part of the discussion and focus more on the facts.
The majority of the people attending my sessions want to learn about other virtualization options, they want to learn about the competition and if the “other guy” can do a better job, or save them money. Some people in my sessions just try to find a sound bite or two that they can take out of context to prove the “other guy” is better. I’ve had the opportunity to stand in front of large and small audiences and I always try to take questions. The one thing about questions is that while you can predict the majority of the questions you receive, sometimes a question or two catches you by surprise. A while back someone asked me “How could Hyper-V be more secure if it’s almost 3 GB in size?”. I asked for more detail on the question and come to find out, VMware had posted an article that talked about the fact that EXSi is only 32MB in size and the disk footprint of Server 2008 with Hyper-V was almost 3 GB in size.
Hmmm… I’m pretty good at thinking on my feet, so we were able to have a good discussion, but I felt like the topic needed some additional research. Along comes Jeff Woolsey and the “additional research”. I don’t point you to many blog postings, I don’t want to just regurgitate the same information again, but Jeff did a bang up job in clearing the air and I wanted to make sure you had a chance to give it a look. Please check out part 1 of Jeff’s series on the disk footprint.
Hypervisor Footprint Debate Part 1: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 & VMware ESXi 3.5
We’ll talk more about this over the next few months, if you have any questions, feel free to send them my way.
Zune HD is on its way…
So it will be here in a little over a month from now and I’m looking forward to it! I still have an original Zune and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m on my second battery, so I’m looking forward to upgrading to the latest model.
The HD stands for the HD radio that is included in the device. I’ve been surprised at how often I’ve used the radio in my Zune, so I’m looking forward to the new radio. I haven’t experimented with HD radio at all… yet.
I’ve got the 30 GB Zune, so I’ll probably go with the 32 GB device, but I’d love to know if / when we’ll release a 64 GB model.
There are a lot of reviews out there on the device, but I’m the kind of guy that learns more by taking things apart than reading the manual; thank you FCC!
The FCC took the device apart and CNet was nice enough to post the photos. Check it out.
Zune HD hits FCC in 16GB and 32GB
I’ll keep waiting patiently until it ships, but did you know you could pre-order it?
Pre-order here.
What happened to Terminal Services? What’s Remote Desktop Services??
Remember Terminal Server? And then Terminal Services? We’ve now 
renamed it to Remote Desktop Services (RDS). The core functionality of Terminal Services is now included in the new RDS functionality. We renamed it because it now encompasses more than just Terminal Services. It now also supports VDI and our Remote Applications (RemoteApp) functionality. Not only have we enhanced the feature set, but we also improved the fidelity of the remote desktop experience. Our Remote Desktop sessions now support Aero graphics and even VOIP.
I think one of the biggest things we added in R2 to RDS is the Desktop Gateway Services. Desktop Gateway Services allow access to not only the traditional Terminal Servers, but they also allow connections to VDI solutions. This is cool because you can connect to multiple solutions via a unified gateway interface.
We need start to start with Getting Started with Remote Desktop Services this will give you a good overview of what’s new and how to get the most out of RDS.
How do you set this stuff up? We have a number of step-by-step guides. The first one talks about how to setup the initial infrastructure.
Installing Remote Desktop Session Host Step-by-Step Guide
Once we get the Remote Desktop Session Hosts configured, we can then look at the Remote Desktop Gateway Services. This allows us to securely publish our Remote Desktop Services to anyone that has an internet connection.
Deploying Remote Desktop Gateway Step-by-Step Guide
Before you can take this solution into production, you need to be sure to get the licensing server setup. Here’s the licensing server setup guide:
Deploying Remote Desktop Licensing Step-by-Step Guide
So I’ve told you about the technical solution, but how do you license it properly?? What if you already own Terminal Server CALs? Do they have to be upgraded to R2? NO! Check out the overview below, but the great part is that existing TS CALs will work for the new Remote Desktop Services in R2. Please check out the overview below for the important details.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Licensing Overview
I’m going to spend more time with the new Remote Desktop Services and I’ll share more as I build it out.
Tags: Terminal Services,Terminal Server,Remote Desktop Services,Windows Server 2008 R2
An Overview of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2
I wanted to continue my discussion on Hyper-V so I decided to show you some of the additional tools that will help with your Hyper-V deployments. First up is my overview of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (SCVMM R2).
If the Video Playback window does not appear below, you will need to install Microsoft Silverlight.
This session is one part of a series of screen casts around Hyper-V, you can go this link to access the whole series.
Tags: Screen cast,System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2,Hyper-VMware,Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Paths
I ran across this article today while I was looking for something else :) and thought I would share it with you.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Paths
A couple things to note. You cannot upgrade from a Server 2008 Core installation to a Server 2008 R2 full install. Core to Core upgrades only.
Moving from Server 2003 requires SP2 for 2003.
Upgrading from x86 to x64 is not supported. No surprise here, but just a reminder.
I’ve upgraded some of my Server 2008 servers to Server 2008 R2 without issue, it took considerably longer than a fresh installation, but I did get to keep my configuration settings by doing the upgrade.
One last thing to keep in mind: Server 2008 R2 is only 64 bit, so none of your 32 bit installations have an upgrade path to R2. If you have a 32 bit installation on 64 bit hardware, you’ll still need to do a fresh install.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade path,Windows Server 2008 Upgrade,Windows Server 2003 Upgrade
What is CLUSTER-INVARIANT??
I’ve been using SCVMM for a couple of years now and I really appreciate all of the time and effort it has saved me, but it has this annoying quirk and it recently annoyed me enough that I started looking for answers. What has really gotten under my skin is the fact that SCVMM adds #CLUSTER-INVARIANT# to the notes field in each of my VMs. You can’t see this addition within SCVMM, but if you look at the settings of a VM within Hyper-V manager, you can see it and it just annoys me. Why do they need to mess with my notes?
Below is a screen shot from Hyper-V manager.
Here is a screen shot from SCVMM 2008 R2. It’s nice enough to hide the #CLUSTER-INVARIANT# from my view.
I bing’d this situation and found the following blog from the virtualization team.
It makes sense to me because I’m able to make changes to my virtual machines from within SCVMM and outside of SCVMM via Hyper-V manager and even PowerShell. SCVMM has to have a way of keeping up with changes that are made by these other tools. I like the fact that I don’t have to use SCVMM to manage my VMs, but I love what SCVMM gives me.
I think I’ll let them continue to modify the notes section of my VMs, it’s a small price to pay (and hidden in SCVMM) for the power and flexibility SCVMM provides.
Tags: CLUSTER-INVARIANT,Scvmm 2008 R2,Hyper-V manager
SCVMM 2008 R2 and the Power of Templates
As you’ve read, I’ve been using SCVMM for a while and I still learn new things about it. I mentioned templates in my first screen cast and told you that I would talk more about them, so here they are. Templates let you create a standard virtual machine image and store it in your SCVMM library. The cool part about the template is that during the template process, the virtual machine is sysprepped so it’s ready to quickly be deployed to your environment. I’ve created a short screen cast to walk through the process. I start with my standard image, including my anti-virus and other server customizations, I then ensure the machine is fully patched from Windows Update, and then I start the template process. Once I have the template created, I then walk through deploying a new virtual machine based upon the template.
If the Video Playback window does not appear below, you will need to install Microsoft Silverlight.
This session is one part of a series of screen casts around Hyper-V, you can go to this link to access the whole series.
Here’s the home page for SCVMM 2008 R2.
Here’s the link to the Eval copy of SCVMM 2008 R2 (rtm).
Tags: System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2,Creating a SCVMM template,quick provisioning
What is the Windows Server 2008 R2 / Windows 7 System Reserved Partition?
When you install Server 2008 R2 (or Windows 7) to a fresh partition, sometimes you’ll receive the following message:
Then, after installation, when you inspect the disk configuration in Disk Management, you see this partition named System Reserved. It’s 100MB in size and it doesn’t have a drive letter. This 100MB partition is where the Windows boot loader resides. This is needed if you’re going to implement Bitlocker. Installation now by default, prepares the installation for Bitlocker. This has changed from the Windows Vista / Server 2008 configuration where you have to prepare a drive to support Bitlocker. The installation does not install Bitlocker, it just configures the server in the event you want to enable Bitlocker. This is a much better plan than before.
The guidance for Vista, Windows Server 2008 was to create a 1.5GB drive to support the boot loader. In Windows 7 and R2, this drive now only needs to be 100MB. Please do not mess with this partition unless you know what your doing (really). Messing this up will render your OS unbootable. The good news is that the repair tools in the install media can usually detect when the System Reserved partition has been damaged and will repair it. If you’re not going to use Bitlocker, don’t worry, it’s only 100MB, and it is still beneficial in separating the boot loader from the OS.
Did you notice how warning during setup says Windows might create additional partitions? If you’re not installing Server 2008 R2 (or Windows 7) on the boot partition, the install will probably not create the 100MB partition, it will probably put the boot loader on the boot partition. Say you are setting up a dual boot between Windows Server 2003 and Server 2008 R2. If Server 2003 is installed on Disk 0 of your server and you’re going to install R2 on Disk 1 of the machine, R2 will install the boot loader on the Server 2003 partition and setup a dual boot scenario during the install process.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,System Reserved,To ensure that all Windows features work correctly,Windows might create additional partitions for system files
The Hyper-V NIC teaming debate
I’ve seen a lot of back and forth on the NIC teaming discussion and I decided to check it first hand. We have this stated policy here, but seeing is believing so I decided to take a look. I have two dual port Intel NICs so I slapped them both into the same machine, installed the driver and gave it a whirl.
If the Video Playback window does not appear below, you will need to install Microsoft Silverlight.
This session is one part of a series of screen casts around Hyper-V, you can go to this link to access the whole series.
My host Machine is my Dell Precision 490 running Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V. I know my video isn’t that long, setting up NIC teaming is not that hard. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,Virtualization,NIC teaming,Hyper-V,screen cast
Aero Glass on Remote Desktop Services?
we’ve renamed Terminal Services to Remote Desktop Services (RDS) in Windows Server 2008 R2. RDS also gives us the ability to leverage Aero Glass from a Remote Desktop Connection. This is a multi-step process, but there are really two phases. Phase I is enabling the Desktop Experience functionality on a Server 2008 R2. Phase II is enabling the Remote Desktop Services functionality on the server. While an Administrator is able to have one RDP connection to a server, Aero functionality is not enabled until the Remote Desktop Host role is enabled. I’ve provided a lot of screen shots and narrative as I walk through the process of enabling RDS and the Aero Glass functionality.
Phase I
Install the desktop experience by adding the Desktop Experience feature.
As you go through this wizard, when you choose the Desktop Experience it will ask you to confirm the installation of the Ink and Handwriting Services as well. This is required, just choose Add Required Features and move on.
During the installation of the Desktop Experience feature, the server will require a reboot. Once the server is rebooted and you log back in, you’ll be presented with the Installation Results screen.
Now that you’ve installed the Desktop Experience feature, you need to enable the Themes service. Go into your services and now this Themes service shows up, but it’s disabled. Set it to Automatic and then go ahead and start the service.
At this stage, you’ll have the Windows Desktop experience installed on the server. To take advantage of it from a Remote Desktop Connection, you need to ensure that you’ve enabled 32 bit colors and the Desktop Experience functionality in your RDP connection, as shown below.
Under Colors, choose Highest Quality (32 bit)
Take note that Aero over RDP is bandwidth intensive, so I’d suggest that you not try to use this functionality over a WAN.
Phase II – Enabling Remote Desktop Service Role (RDS).
You have to enable RDS on your server anyway if your providing Remote Desktop Services to your users. You also need RDS to be installed if you want to use Aero Glass.
Install the Remote Desktop Services Role
Now you get to choose the detailed functionality in RDS that you want to leverage.
You need to enable Remote Desktop Session Host if you want Aero Glass, and then we will configure the additional services to be delivered, including the Client Experience. This is where we get to define the detail of the client experience.
Once everything is configured you can confirm that Aero Glass is now enabled on your server in a few different ways. The first is the obvious, check out the transparent windows in your Remote Desktop connection. The second way is that the Windows Color screen on the Personalization menu is now “different” than it was prior to the installation of the client experience.
Here’s a shot of the new Windows Color screen that now includes the Enable transparency check box.
Below is a shot of the old screen, before Aero Glass is enabled. Take note: this “old screen” is still available after the Aero installation, it’s accessed by choosing Advanced appearance settings… from the Windows Color and Appearance window (above).
Now that we have everything enabled, let me show you a screen shot of the Windows Server 2008 R2 desktop with Aero Glass enabled.
Here’s a shot of Aero Peek on the same Server 2008 R2 server.
I hope this helps you setup your remote desktop connections with the same desktop experience as a Windows 7 Desktop. Remember that with Aero over a Remote Desktop connection, bandwidth is critical. A LAN connection will provide a much better experience than a WAN connection.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Licensing
We have a good page that discusses the licensing 
updates we made for Windows Server 2008 R2 here. Here are the high points:
- If you have Software Assurance (SA) on your Windows Server 2008 servers, you already own R2
- If you don’t have SA on your Servers, you must purchase a new R2 Server License, but you don’t have to buy new CALs (check out item 3).
- There are no new CALs required for R2. If you have Server 2008 CALs, you already have CALs for R2 too !
- Terminal Services has been renamed to Remote Desktop Services, but you do not have to upgrade your TS CALs. Your TS CALs cover the new RDS services in R2.
- Virtual Use rights have not changed for R2. I just had to throw this one in
.
The CALs: Most of the people I’ve talked to say that the CALs are the most expensive part of the upgrade, the good news with R2 is that you don’t have to upgrade your CALs.
Like always, these items are subject to change, please consult the Microsoft Licensing site if you have any questions or confusion.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,Windows Server 2008 R2 Licensing,Software Assurance
Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Supported Guest OS
We have a page that lists our supported OS’ under Hyper-V here. This is where I need to explain the difference between supported and Yes it works. Supported means that we will help troubleshoot and maybe even provide fixes if there are issues with a guest OS on Hyper-V. While Operating Systems like Windows NT Server 4.0 are no longer supported, they still run just fine on Hyper-V. Yes I’ve installed NT 4.0 Server on my Hyper-V server just to prove it still works. While it works, it is not supported in the sense that Microsoft will provide a fix to NT 4.0 or Hyper-V, if there is an issue identified with NT 4.0 is running on Hyper-V.
But VMWare says they support Windows NT on ESX… Right? Well they say NT 4.0 will run, but I took this statement directly from their site:
Operating Systems That the Operating System Vendor No Longer Supports
For operating systems listed in this guide that the operating system vendor no longer supports, VMware may, at its sole discretion, provide support and fixes to VMware products to address problems that are exposed by running such operating systems on a VMware virtual machine. VMware is not responsible for resolving problems with, or providing support or fixes to, the operating system itself.
To me, this reads like they may fix their hypervisor if there’s some bug identified, but no guarantees. The reality at this point though is that there shouldn’t really be any new bugs discovered around NT 4.0 SP6a, which is the version VMware says it supports. And yes, we feel you should be running NT 4.0 SP61 on Hyper-V as well. While I hope you still don’t have to run NT 4.0 in your environment, if you are running it, moving it to a virtual environment will probably make it run a whole lot faster, and give you the ability to run the NT 4.0 workload on a current generation server.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,Hyper-V,NT 4.0 on Hyper-V
Windows Server 2008 R2 Schema Extensions
Windows Server 2008 R2 includes new features that require a schema upgrade. You do not have to upgrade your schema if you want to run Windows Server 2008 R2 in your environment, but you do need to upgrade your schema if you want to leverage the new functionality included in 2008 R2. What new features do you get when you upgrade your schema?
Here is a great article that talks about the features available at each domain and forest functional level. Note that once you upgrade a domain functional level you cannot roll back. There is one exception and the article discusses it, but just plan on each upgrade being a one way trip… OK?
Take note that there are actually multiple steps to the schema upgrade process. The first step is to upgrade each domain in your forest to the new functional level. Once your domain is upgraded to 2008 R2, you will now be able to leverage the following feature for the upgraded domain.
Authentication mechanism assurance, which packages information about the type of logon method (smart card or user name/password) that is used to authenticate domain users inside each user’s Kerberos token. When this feature is enabled in a network environment that has deployed a federated identity management infrastructure, such as Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS), the information in the token can then be extracted whenever a user attempts to access any claims-aware application that has been developed to determine authorization based on a user’s logon method.
OK, I’m not that impressed with this domain feature, but once you upgrade the forest to 2008 R2, you get the AD Recycle Bin! To me, the AD Recycle Bin is worth its weight in gold!
Once all of your domains are upgraded to 2008 R2, we can upgrade the forest to 2008 R2. Remember I said this is a multi-step process? All of your domains have to be upgraded to Server 2008 R2 before you can upgrade the forest.
Once we get our forest upgrade to 2008 R2, will are now able to take advantage of the new Active Directory Recycle Bin. Here’s what it does for you:
Active Directory Recycle Bin, which provides the ability to restore deleted objects in their entirety while Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is running. Here’s more detail on what the recycle bin gives you.
So how do you upgrade each domain and then the forest to 2008 R2? This article will walk you through the upgrade process.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,Schema Upgrade,Domain Functional Level,Forest Functional Level,adprep,domainprep,forestprep,gpprep
How long does it take your customer to deploy a new server based business application?
As you know, I really like Hyper-V, but that’s technical. Where’s the value to our customers?
Back to my original question: “How long does it take your customer to deploy a new server based business application?”. Think about it, two or three years ago when your customer would say, how long would it take to deploy a new application to my infrastructure, you’d start with the following list of items you had to accomplish first:
- Let’s size the hardware needed to support the new server based application?
- Now that we know what we need, let’s get it ordered.
- Wait a week or two until the new hardware arrives.
- Rack the new hardware and get it physically setup to connect to the networking infrastructure.
- Install the OS and other IT specific applications like management, monitoring, and AV.
- Now install the new business application on the new server.
I agree that this is a simple list, it can get a lot more detailed, but you get my point. How long would this typically take? I’ve heard a number of partners tell me that it would take two weeks if you’re lucky and usually closer to a month to deploy the solution.
Let’s look at the same scenario in a well planned virtual environment:
- How many servers are needed to support your business application?
- Use SCVMM to leverage your standard server template to deploy these images to your Hyper-V farm. Remember:
- SCVMM can deploy the image to your Hyper-V servers, add the machine name and even join them to the domain.
- Your template can automatically be kept up to date with any pertinent patches between the initial creation of the template and the deployment to your Hyper-V hosts.
- Install the new business application on your running images.
How long does it take to make all this happen in a virtual environment? The deployment of your template to your Hyper-V servers can be started right after you decide on the server requirements, and the deployment can be completed with an hour or two. Yes, I said hours not days! Of course it depends on the size of your image, but if you're using gigabit networks, even a 20 GB VM will take less than an hour to deploy to a Hyper-V server.
While we can all talk about the value of virtualization when we look at server consolidation, even in conjunction with disaster recovery, have you considered the value the agility truly gives you? Being able to deploy a business solution in a matter of days instead of weeks, may make a huge impact on on the business’ ability to quickly respond to new opportunities.
Next time you have to wait on the purchase of new hardware, ask yourself if a virtual environment could improve your agility.
Tags: Windows Server 2008 R2,Hyper-V,Business Agility,SCVMM 2008 R2
Active Directory Management Gateway Service
Microsoft has released the AD Management Gateway Service AKA the Active Directory Web Service for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.
Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a new role called the Active Directory Web Service. This is an interface for MS native PowerShell based tools to it interact with and manage Active Directory, i.e. Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC) and the PowerShell module for Active Directory. Obviously you need to locate installations of this service close to your AD administrators. What if they are running legacy domain controllers? What’s where the Active Directory Management Gateway Service comes in. Here’s what MS says in the download page:
“The Active Directory® Management Gateway Service provides a Web service interface to Active Directory domains and instances of Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) or Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) that are running on the same server as the Active Directory Management Gateway Service.
You can download and install the Active Directory Management Gateway Service on servers and domain controllers running the following operating systems:
- Windows Server® 2003 R2 with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
- Windows Server 2003 SP2
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2008 SP2
Note: You can install the Active Directory Management Gateway Service on writable domain controllers as well as Read-only domain controllers that are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 SP2.
After it is installed on any of these operating systems, the Active Directory Management Gateway Service runs as the Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) service and provides the same functionality. For more information about ADWS, see What's New in AD DS: Active Directory Web Services.
Note: The Active Directory Management Gateway Service does not support instances of the Active Directory Database Mounting Tool running on Windows Server 2008–based servers.
The Active Directory Management Gateway Service enables administrators to use the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell and the Active Directory Administrative Center running on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 to access or manage directory service instances that are running on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 operating systems in the previous list.
Note: Installing the Active Directory Management Gateway Service on your Windows Server 2008–based or Windows Server 2003–based servers does not make it possible for you to install the Active Directory module or the Active Directory Administrative Center (which is available only on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 operating systems) on these servers.
If the Active Directory Management Gateway Service on your Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 server is stopped or disabled, client applications, such as the Active Directory module or the Active Directory Administrative Center will not be able to access or manage any directory service instances that are running on this server.”
The invention of the computer keyboard
The invention of the modern computer keyboard began with the invention of the typewriter. Christopher Latham Sholes patented the typewriter that we commonly use today in 1868. The Remington Company mass marketed the first typewriters starting in 1877.
New Keyboard
Old Keyboard
Inventions Leading to the Computer Keyboard
A few key technological developments created the transition of the typewriter into the computer keyboard. The teletype machine, introduced in the 1930s, combined the technology of the typewriter (used as an input and a printing device) with the telegraph. Elsewhere, punched card systems were combined with typewriters to create what was called keypunches. Keypunches were the basis of early adding machines and IBM was selling over one million dollars worth of adding machines in 1931.
Early computer keyboards were first adapted from the punch card and teletype technologies. In 1946, the Eniac computer used a punched card reader as its input and output device. In 1948, the Binac computer used an electromechanically controlled typewriter to both input data directly onto magnetic tape (for feeding the computer data) and to print results. The emerging electric typewriter further improved the technological marriage between the typewriter and the computer.
Video Display Terminals
By 1964, MIT, Bell Laboratories and General Electric had collaborated to create a computer system called Multics; a time sharing, multi-user system. Multics encouraged the development of a new user interface, the video display terminal. The video display terminals (VDT) combined the technology of the cathode ray tube used in televisions and electric typewriters. Computer users could now see what text they were typing on their display screens making text easier to create, edit and delete, and computers easier to program and use.
Computer Keyboards Send Direct Electronic Impulses
Earlier computer keyboards had been based either on teletype machines or keypunches. There were many electromechanical steps in transmitting data between the keyboard and the computer that slowed things down. With VDT technology and electric keyboards, the keyboard's keys could now send electronic impulses directly to the computer and save time. By the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, all computers used electronic keyboards and VDTs. Nevertheless, the layout of the computer keyboard still owes its origin to the inventor of the first typewriter, Christopher Latham Sholes who also invented the QWERTY layout. However, the computer keyboard does have a few extra function keys.
Computer Mouse
Years before personal computers and desktop information processing became commonplace or even practicable, Douglas Engelbart had invented a number of interactive, user-friendly information access systems that we take for granted today: the computer mouse was one of his inventions. At the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco in 1968, Engelbart astonished his colleagues by demonstrating the aforementioned systems---using an utterly primitive 192 kilobyte mainframe computer located 25 miles away! Engelbart has earned nearly two dozen patents, the most memorable being perhaps for his "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System": the prototype of the computer "mouse" whose convenience has revolutionized personal computing.
Old Mouse
New Blue Track Technology Mouse
Mouse (computer), a common pointing device, popularized by its inclusion as standard equipment with the Apple Macintosh. With the rise in popularity of graphical user interfaces in MS-DOS; UNIX, and OS/2, use of mice is growing throughout the personal computer and workstation worlds. The basic features of a mouse are a casing with a flat bottom, designed to be gripped by one hand; one or more buttons on the top; a multidirectional detection device (usually a ball) on the bottom; and a cable connecting the mouse to the computer. By moving the mouse on a surface (such as a desk), the user typically controls an on-screen cursor. A mouse is a relative pointing device because there are no defined limits to the mouse's movement and because its placement on a surface does not map directly to a specific screen location. To select items or choose commands on the screen, the user presses one of the mouse's buttons, producing a "mouse click."
Mouse Connectors
Mouse Patent # 3,541,541 issued 11/17/70 for X-Y Position Indicator For A Display System
Douglas Engelbart's patent for the mouse is only a representation of his pioneering work in the design of modern interactive computer environments.
Computer Monitor - Visual Display Unit
A visual display unit, often called simply a monitor or display, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays images generated from the video output of devices such as computers, without producing a permanent record. Most newer monitors typically consist of a TFT LCD, with older monitors based around a cathode ray tube (CRT). The monitor comprises the display device, simple circuitry to generate and format a picture from video sent by the signals source, and usually an enclosure. Within the signal source, either as an integral section or a modular component, there is a display adapter to generate video in a format compatible with the monitor.
Mono Monitor
Imaging technologies
19" inch (48.3 cm tube, 45.9 cm viewable) ViewSonic CRT computer monitor.
As with television, many different hardware technologies exist for displaying computer-generated output:
* Liquid crystal display (LCD). TFT LCDs are the most popular display device for new computers.
o Passive LCDs produce poor contrast, slow response, and other image defects. These were used in most laptops until the mid 1990s.
o Thin Film Transistor LCDs give much better picture quality in several respects. Nearly all modern LCD monitors are TFT.
Latest TFT Monitors :
* Cathode ray tube (CRT)
o Raster scan computer monitors, which produce images using pixels. These were the most popular display device for older computers.
o Vector displays, as used on the Vectrex, many scientific and radar applications, and several early arcade machines (notably Asteroids) - always implemented using CRT displays due to requirement for a deflection system, though can be emulated on any raster-based display.
o Television sets were used by most early personal and home computers, connecting composite video to the television set using a modulator. Resolution and image quality were strongly limited by the display capabilities of television.
* Plasma display
* Video projectors use CRT, LCD, DLP, LCoS or many other technologies to send light through the air to a projection screen. Front projectors use screens as reflectors to send light back, while rear projectors use screens as diffusers to refract light forward. Rear projectors are often integrated into the same case as their screen.
* Surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED)
* Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display
* Penetron military aircraft displays
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