Clive Eastwood at the OpsMgr, SCM and MOM blog is reporting that some new management packs are now available for Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007. I’m looking forward to having the full compliment of Windows Server 2008 roles covered but that is going to take a little more time. The Hyper-V MP is still cooking. Windows Server 2008 Application Server (6.0.6278.22) Windows Server 2008 Base OS (6.0.6278.22) Terminal Services (6.0.6278.22) Exchange Server 2007 (6.0.6363.0) Key Management

A whole bunch of guides were released over the past few days so here’s a nice little list for your download consideration. Windows Essential Business Server Product Overview – get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=01a0a2ec-18dc-4217-9591-ade0a1d7ae08&DisplayLang=en . Windows Essential Business Server Installation Guide – get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=11c34b73-a9aa-4beb-940d-2ab93b167fdc&DisplayLang=en . Migrating the DNS Role

I’ve been listening to our customers a lot lately.  I get a lot of good feedback here, but it’s no substitute for the direct frank conversations we’ve had at the live events, launch events and conferences like MMS or TechEd. One of the complaints I’ve been hearing more and more is centered around our content.  The crux of the complaint is that we aren’t real world in the demos we do on webcasts, screencasts, live events, hands on labs, etc. As much as I’d like a raised floor data center

So you have that fancy new terabyte drive all dressed up and no dance partner, right?  Well, our server folks have been busy making plans on how to fill some space.  In fact, here's some killer (yet massive) downloads you should consider: Exchange Server 2007 SP1 VHD - 1.8GB download SQL Server 2008 November CTP VHD - 2.2GB download ForeFront and System Center Demo Toolkit - 1.8GB download System Center Essentials 2007 - 2.6GB download

As you can see at http://edge.technet.com , we are launching a new online portal for IT Pros. Expect to see lots of content in the form of podcasts, screencasts and videos. I have some interesting stuff coming. My EDGE id is KingCobra. Head on over and register if you want a cool name, before all of the cool names are taken. I used my Live ID for the registration process and recommend you do the same. The official launch is next week so be patient while some of the features are enabled this weekend.

I feel like a treasure hunter. In my quest to find you valuable nuggets, I unearthed the mother lode on Exchange Server 2007. The Technical Architecture of Exchange Server 2007 is almost 600 pages of pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about the product. The shocking thing is that the download is only 5.5meg. If you decide to print this, make sure to print duplex on a really good printer. Download @ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b34fa7cc-8f13-4e21-ae87-eb824728ddd1&DisplayLang=e

Join members of the daylight saving time team who will be online to chat with you about your specific questions February 24 - March 13: 06:00 A.M. – 06:00 P.M. Pacific Time. Join the chatroom at: http://www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions/chatroom.aspx . I logged in a little while ago and it appears to be a very lively chat area right now (for some reason). There are lots of Microsoft support personnel helping to answer your questions so check it out!!!

Virtual PC 2007 is a great virtual machine execution environment. John Howard, Virtual Machine PM blogs that we have released it to the web and it's currently propagating across the microsoft.com cluster complex. This is the core tool I use for my job and I think you'll find we have added some great new features to this release. What is Virtual PC 2007? Use Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 to run multiple operating systems at the same time on the same physical computer. Switch between virtual machines with

One of the most common questions that comes up after our live events is, " Where do I get the slide decks? " Well, the slides and a bunch of other relevant materials are organized at http://www.launchtour2007.com/popup_ITPro.html . The slides I am using for the IT Pro Track are listed in the Microsoft Across America Events section.

I was looking around at my team's blogs and I see Matt Hester has posted some questions and their answers from the Launch 2007 events we did. Being the efficient (lazy) person that I am, I'll just link you right to "Matt's Most Excellent Answers" . Now I can play more Xbox360 and a cerrtain game that will not be spoken. :)