Windows Tip: WMIC and non-admins

By Mitch Tulloch, Microsoft MVP

More on Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC), a powerful tool that lets you query Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) providers directly from the command line or using batch files, and if you're an administrator then it's well worth your while exploring its capabilities. ...continue reading 'Windows Tip: WMIC and non-admins'

SQL Server Backup Help

SQL Server Backup Help
By James Gaskin, ITworld

Pity the poor modern DBA, now that SQL Server gets attacked by some of the same scripts that PCs do. Pity the poor modern DBA who has to keep building Microsoft SQL Servers because some idiot vice president up the line bought the Microsoft party line and stopped all higher-end database purchase. Yes, that's the same idiot vice president who won't allow MySQL servers in the building because they're not "secure" enough. ...continue reading 'SQL Server Backup Help'

Unix Tip: Shuffling file systems with rsync

By Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld

I recently found myself needing to move several very large file systems into roomier data quarters on a disk array and began thinking about the most efficient and reliable way to get the job done. ...continue reading 'Unix Tip: Shuffling file systems with rsync'

Information security is everyone's job

Paula W. Hamm, Symantec Corp

The effectiveness of even the best technology and processes put in place by IT personnel is frequently undermined if employees do not understand both the value of the organization's information assets and their role in securing these assets. With proper education and training, employees can become an organization's strongest line of defense and its most valuable security asset. ...continue reading 'Information security is everyone's job'

Use WMIC to track down all services running on a Windows server

Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

In one of my recent tips I showed how the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) is a powerful tool that enables you to query WMI information directly from the command line instead of using a script. This week, I'll show you how to use WMIC to get detailed information concerning all the services currently running on a Windows server. ...continue reading 'Use WMIC to track down all services running on a Windows server'

Spot the warning signs in configuration file design

Sean McGrath, ITworld.com

Say you have identified a set of parameters for your application and you are now looking at how to store them, edit them, read them in and so on. You could start with a simple ini or you might be inclined to XML-ize. I like to use Python syntax for parameterization from the get-go. If I need to, I will write a parser for whatever subset of Python my application ends up using in the real world. But I wait for real-world experience using the application to tell me what that subset is. I don't try to second-guess it. ...continue reading 'Spot the warning signs in configuration file design'

23 XML fallacies to watch out for

By Sean McGrath

XML is truly wonderful stuff, but there are some major fallacies that are worth bearing in mind in order to maximize the very considerable return on investment that you can get from XML. Here are some of my favorites, including Fallacy #7 that XML tags do not cost money and Fallacy #17 that it is only a matter of time before structure-controlled XML editors become as easy to use as word processors. ...continue reading '23 XML fallacies to watch out for'

Making power management pay off

Chris Hamlin, Intel

With rising energy costs and growing awareness of the environmental costs of power production, companies of all sizes are increasingly interested in implementing power management and today's PCs make it easier than ever to get work done in a more energy-efficient manner. So why isn't everyone implementing power management? Because understanding the available settings and standards is only half the battle. ...continue reading 'Making power management pay off'

Career Tip: Making the Best of a Missed Promotion

Katherine Spencer Lee, Robert Half Technology

Getting passed over for a promotion may not carry the same sting as being laid off, but it can definitely throw your career off track. By following a few important steps, you can turn this minor setback into a new start toward a more satisfying career. ...continue reading 'Making the Best of a Missed Promotion'

Unix Tip: Local message processing with syslog

By Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld

The syslog deamon (syslogd) on Unix systems provides message logging for other services so that each service doesn't have to duplicate the same basic functionality to manage logging for itself. The messages issued and their severity level depends on the applications, but where these messages are logged and how they are filtered when using the services of syslogd depends on how syslog is configured. The basic format of a line in syslog's configuration file specifies a message type and how messages matching the type will be handled. ...continue reading 'Local message processing with syslog'

Use YouTube for knowledge management? You bet!

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

Next time you need to de-brief (yourself or someone else) after a big project, consider capturing your brain dump on video. ...continue reading 'Use YouTube for knowledge management? You bet!'

Windows Tip: Migrating Office documents

By Mitch Tulloch, Microsoft MVP

Companies that have tons of documents, spreadsheets, and other filessaved in Microsoft Office 2003 and earlier formats face a couple of interesting issues when considering whether to upgrade to the 2007 Office family of products. Here are a couple of places to get help. ...continue reading 'Windows Tip: Migrating Office documents'

Five steps to evaluating business continuity services

Stacy Collett, CSO

Companies are stepping up their use of hosted business continuity and availability services--not just for those acts of nature, but also for everyday occurrences that might interfere with stringent uptime requirements. Here are some points to consider when evaluating business continuity and availability services and software. ...continue reading 'Five steps to evaluating business continuity services'

How to choose the right application development technologies

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

Application design can involve dizzying oscillations as a result of the power of the available technologies. Should you start with a C# application and embed bits of XSLT as required? Or, alternatively, should you start with XSLT and step out into C# if/when required? ...continue reading 'How to choose the right application development technologies'

Windows Tip: Five ways to expand a virtual hard drive

By Mitch Tulloch, Microsoft MVP

When I created my virtual machine I had foolishly set the maximum size of the dynamically expanding virtual hard drive (VHD) too small and now I was running out of space, yikes! What to do? Find some way of expanding my VHD to make some more room. Here are five possible ways I found of doing this, in order from most geeky to least.

Reboot Mystery Solved

By Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld

If you remember a column that I wrote back in November when I was baffled by a periodic reboot of a Windows box that I manage and trying my hand at various DOS commands to determine when and why the system was rebooting, you might be interested in knowing the cause of the problem. ...continue reading 'Reboot Mystery Solved'

How to choose the right application development technologies

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

Application design can involve dizzying oscillations as a result of the power of the available technologies. Should you start with a C# application and embed bits of XSLT as required? Or, alternatively, should you start with XSLT and step out into C# if/when required? ...continue reading 'How to choose the right application development technologies'