Microsoft's strategy with Active Directory and Exchange

Microsoft is changing their strategic direction with Active Directory. It's no longer supposed to be the application directory and configuration repository for everything, but will focus on authentication and providing a directory for computers and printers of a network. This is a reversal of the approach Microsoft took with Exchange 2000 - extending AD with loads of Exchange-specific schemas and storing Exchange configuration data in AD. Microsoft will provide a new directory called "AD/AM" - Active Directory Application Mode, which provides an LDAP interface and allows applications to store their configuration and directory data separately from the central company directory, but can at the same time integrate with the central company directory for authentication.

This strategy change is sort of ironic, because currently Exchange 2000 is forcing us to migrate the Exchange directory to AD, and now Microsoft discovered that this might not be such a good idea and they are working on an alternative approach ... However the Exchange 2003 (Titanium) Release is still built on AD. Btw, the Titanium release will work with Win 2000 and Win .NET. Exchange 2000 does not work with Win .NET directories.

Another interesting change is coming with Exchange Titanium Release. It will support a new replication protocol with the new Outlook 11 client that puts significantly less burden on the server and should therefore allow Exchange Server consolidation!!!

Another part of Microsofts new strategy is MMS - Microsoft Metadirectory Services. This is a SQL based database and allows replication between AD forests, AD/AM directories and foreign directories like Lotus Notes. It's possible that future versions of AD will also use SQL for storage.

What Should I Do With My Life?

Great article to inspire thinking about yourself at the turn of the year.

Will 2003 be the year of Asian Linux ?

Titania

I got this lamp for my kitchen and it's just great. I put in yellow and red filters and if I put it on it looks like the sun is rising. And it looks really great :-)

Why Volkswagen is the only successful foreign car company in China

Interesting article explaining what Volkswagen is doing different in China from other car companies.

"Most of all I found that Volkswagen has a ton of credibility for being willing to play by Chinese rules. This was the story I heard often (in relation to software as often as automotive). Chinese people, I was told, are sick of foreign companies coming in, exploiting the Chinese people, and then leaving with the loot. Other companies just try to siphon off as much as possible while leaving Chinese industry hollow, but Volkswagen is willing to work as equal peers with the local manufacturing outfits. Volkswagen was willing to recycle old models for the Chinese market and sell at Chinese prices, Volkswagen was willing to play the same hustle that Chinese manufacturers play, and so on. In contrast, the people I talked to seemed to think of the Japanese automakers as arrogant and exploitative. The way I see it, the Germans are just doing a much better job of doing business with China, because they have taken the time to understand the market."

"In retrospect, Amazon and eBay made all the right moves"

Macromedia - Contribute : Product Overview

This product sounds very similar to what we have created with WebsiteCreator

DIE ZEIT: "Spart nicht so viel"

"Ökonomisch gesehen waren die alten Germanen ziemliche Dummköpfe. Zwar unternahmen sie von Zeit zu Zeit recht profitable Raubzüge auf der römischen Seite des Limes. Aber statt die erbeuteten Goldbecher gegen ein paar fette Wildschweinchen zu tauschen, bildeten sie sich ein, sie müssten vorsorgen für das Leben nach dem Tod. Weil sie nicht verarmt in Walhalla einziehen wollten, nahmen sie ihre Reichtümer mit ins Grab. Die alten Germanen wussten nicht, wie Wirtschaft funktioniert. Die neuen Germanen verstehen es auch nicht. Man sieht das an einem wenig beachteten Phänomen: Der Durchschnittsdeutsche von heute pflegt seinen Besitz - und stirbt mit einem Vermögen von 150 000 Euro. Anders gesagt, die Deutschen verhalten sich ganz ähnlich wie ihre Vorfahren vor 2000 Jahren. Sie rackern sich jahrelang ab, gehen morgens früh aus dem Haus und abends müde ins Bett, nur um einen Reichtum anzuhäufen, von dem sie zu einem großen Teil nichts haben, weil sie ihr Geld nicht ausgeben. Stattdessen helfen sie lieber den Banken und Versicherungen, den Aktien- und Immobilienfonds, den Bausparkassen und Investmenthäusern, auf deren Konten sich ihr Vermögen häuft. Warum sind die Deutschen nur so dämlich?"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das Gregor-Prinzip

"Braucht ihr Geld? Die Ähnlichkeit der Antworten ist verblüffend: Nö. Ein bisschen. Wenn ich was brauche, geh ich arbeiten. Nur für Unabhängigkeit, Freiheit und Selbstbestimmtheit. Alles Wichtige ist unkäuflich. Meine Ego-Probleme löse ich beim Sport. Verzicht schafft Freiraum. Nur eine Befragte antwortet: Ich habe mir einen hohen Lebensstandard erarbeitet und will ihn behalten. Sie kommt aus Russland."

"The Petstore" Study: .NET beats J2EE in terms of performance, scalability and developer productivity

Same functionality with 2000 LOC .NET and 12000 LOC J2EE. hmmmm.

This is a critical analysis of the benchmark written by Rickard Öberg.

Another article analyzing the benchmark at The Register.