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Taken from The Microsoft Exchange Blog:

We have released the Exchange Load Generator 2010 Beta to our downloads site. Please note that this version should be used against the Exchange 2010 RC only at this time.

Exchange Load Generator 2010 Beta (64 bit)

Exchange Load Generator 2010 Beta (32 bit)

There have been several changes made since the last available build. Some of the “coolest” ones are listed below.

Changes

• Requirement Changes:
  • Now requires .NET framework 3.5
  • Now requires Vista/W2k8 for Loadgen client OS
• No longer requires Exchange Management Tools! One less item to install!
• Configuration File Schema Change:
  • We have changed the config file schema again. We had to change the schema to make it easier for our other module owners to create tasks for their protocols.
  • Your existing configuration files will not work with this new version of Loadgen. You will have to re-create them.

New Features

• ActiveSync Module!
• Dynamic Mail Content Generator; no more messy message files to play with!

You can specify:

• • Min/Max/Avg message size
  • Default language (English, French, Spanish, Korean, Turkish)
  • Language Variation %
  • Default Body Type (html, rtf, text)
  • Body Type Variation %
  • Embedded Message Frequency

The dynamic mail generator is setup by default for initialization. If you would like to use it during test runs you will need to adjust the XML to remove the message files.

We currently do not have a UI for this feature. You will have to customize your Loadgen XML to take advantage of this. Please see the end of this post for some more details about this.

• UI enhancements:
  • User group page shows the separate selection of ActionProfile and MailboxStoreProfile we also enable/disable columns based on module selected.
• Mailbox Profile for initialization now based on mailbox size:
  • Settings range from 2mb to 2GB.
• Public Folder Initialization:
  • You are now able to enable or disable public folder init.
  • The checkbox to disable PF initialization will only be visible if you have a PF configured.
• Loadgen will skip Free/Busy initialization if no public store exists
• Log files in their own directory!
  • We have tried to clean up our Exchange Load Generator folder by moving things out of it. You will notice that log files are no longer being created here. They are now created under “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%/Microsoft/Exchange Load Generator”.
  • We have added a shortcut under the Exchange Load Generator folder that will direct you to this rather cryptic location.
• New Junk Mail Rule action
  • Create default additional folders, i.e. Sync Issues, Conflicts, Local Failures, Server Failures, Junk E-mail, at the time of first logon during simulation. This is what Outlook does, applies to both Outlook 2003 and 2007.
  • LoadGen simulation code will only do default JunkEmail  rule creation with blank blocking sender list/safer sender list.
• Calendar Items have reminders turned off by default

Known Issues

• MUST create a new XML because of schema changes.
• OWA Module
  • If running OWA load against E12 use the OWA2007Module.
  • The OWAModule is for E14 only.
• ActiveSync – be careful which profile you choose as they will only work on certain server builds:
  • V12 – Exchange 2007
  • V12.1 – Exchange 2007 SP1 & Exchange 2007 SP2
  • V14 – Exchange 2010
• Dynamic Mail Generator is not linked to the UI. Therefore if you add the dynamic mail generator to your XML, we will not be able to create the mailbox size that you specified in the UI.
  • We have future workitems to integrate the dynamic mail generator more with the UI.
  • You will still have the ability to have Loadgen send message files it just will no longer do that by default.

Sample XML modifications:

Replace the MessageFiles XML tag with the following GeneratedMailProfile XML tag:

MessageSizeParameters:  Min, max and average in bytes:

• MinimumSize: default value = 100
• MaximumSize: default value = 100000
• AverageSize: default value = 30000

LanguageParameters: Language to use, weighted as follows:

• EnglishLanguageWeight: default value = 100
• FrenchLanguageWeight: default value = 0
• KoreanLanguageWeight: default value = 0
• SpanishLanguageWeight: default value = 0
• TurkishLanguageWeight: default value = 0

BodyTypeParameters:  Type of body to use:

• HtmlBodyWeight: default value = 70
• PlainTextBodyWeight: default value = 5
• RtfBodyWeight: default value = 15

AttachmentParameters:  Whether and how often to add attachments:

• AttachFrequency: default value = 0.05
• AttachmentCount
  • MinimumCount: default value = 1
  • MaximumCount: default value = 5
  • AverageCount: default value = 1

MessageFiles:  Files to use for attachments (local paths only). Files can be anything, but they will be attached as a binary object not a message.

• MessageFile
  • Weight: default value = 840
  • Pathname: default value = messages\msg00001.msg or messages\*

New versions of loadgen will automatically use the dynamic mail generator for the mailboxstoreprofile for init.

Those changes will then look something like this:

– <TaskConfig d6p1:type=”GeneratedMailProfileTask” xmlns:d6p1=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance”>
<TaskCount>0</TaskCount>
– <TaskParameters d6p1:type=”GeneratedMailParameters”>
<ExtendedProperties />
– <MessageSizeParameters>
<MinimumSize>100</MinimumSize>
<MaximumSize>100000</MaximumSize>
<AverageSize>30000</AverageSize>
</MessageSizeParameters>
– <LanguageParameters>
<EnglishLanguageWeight>100</EnglishLanguageWeight>
<FrenchLanguageWeight>0</FrenchLanguageWeight>
<KoreanLanguageWeight>0</KoreanLanguageWeight>
<SpanishLanguageWeight>0</SpanishLanguageWeight>
<TurkishLanguageWeight>0</TurkishLanguageWeight>
</LanguageParameters>
– <BodyTypeParameters>
<HtmlBodyWeight>70</HtmlBodyWeight>
<PlainTextBodyWeight>5</PlainTextBodyWeight>
<RtfBodyWeight>15</RtfBodyWeight>
</BodyTypeParameters>
– <AttachmentParameters>
<AttachFrequency>0.05</AttachFrequency>
– <AttachmentCount>
<MinimumCount>1</MinimumCount>
<MaximumCount>5</MaximumCount>
<AverageCount>1</AverageCount>
</AttachmentCount>
– <MessageFiles>
– <MessageFile>
<Weight>840</Weight>
<Pathname>messages\msg00001.msg</Pathname>
</MessageFile>
</MessageFiles>
</AttachmentParameters>
</TaskParameters>
</TaskConfig>

Source: here

Chris Sanders at Windows Securty.com has just published a deep dive into AppLocker here

Introduction taken from Chris’s guide:

AppLocker is a new feature available in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 that helps to prevent the use of unknown or unwanted applications within a network. Its functionality boasts both security and compliance benefits for a wide array of organizational environments.

As a mischievous kid growing up in rural Kentucky I was very aware of the concept of rules. Whether it was cleaning my plate before I left the table at supper time or making sure the animals were fed before bed, the rules were in place for a reason. Of course, I was also very aware that breaking the rules resulted in consequences. Albeit an effective means of making sure I followed the rules, this was not always 100% effective. A prime example of this was the “no cookies before supper” rule. Although I was sure to get a switch to my tail end if I ruined my appetite, I could not always resist the temptation. That being the case, after my Mom tired of that method, she changed her means of rule enforcement. Realizing I was significantly shorter than her, the cookies got moved to the top shelf of the pantry very much out of my reach. At this point, I could not break the rules if I tried.

The moral of this story is that although rules can have consequences, sometimes we have to put rules in place that do not just discipline people for breaking them, but that prevent people from breaking them. This related to my cookie infatuation growing up and it relates to keeping users secure and compliant today.

The desire to block particular applications from running on network computers is not new by any means, but the methods of doing so have continued to evolve over time. In previous cases network administrators may have found this task best served by the use of third party software, however, the advent of AppLocker in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 allows for application execution restriction on a very useful level. AppLocker is the next evolution of Windows Software Restriction Policies.

Source: here

There are a lot of disgruntled Apple customers all scratching their heads thinking “Why did I buy/upgrade to Snow Leopard?”

Cons:

• Whilst it is a “cheap” upgrade (£25) – what does it deliver, Microsoft typically deploys these types of updates for free and calls it a Service Pack.
• Snow Leopard does bring 64bit support, but only if you hold 6+4 during boot and then not a lot works under x64 mode.
• Roger Chang from Revision3 says “I noticed initially when I started it up, it did like peg my activity meter like 75% for like 30 seconds for some reason. But it settled down so it runs just like it did before I installed.”
• Compatibility, it breaks a bucket load of apps (check here for more information)
• No more Quicktime Pro (replaced with Quicktime X, which is not as feature complete)

Pros:

• Native Exchange support within Apple Mail (but this is after the Microsoft Mac Business Unit sorts out Entourage)
• 512 x 512 icons, yay!

Okay so maybe my pros are not pros after all, don’t get me wrong I do like my Mac but I can’t help thinking that Snow Leopard is a marketing team inventing something that launches alongside Windows 7, that could well turn out to be Apple’s “Vista”.

When Windows Vista launched the top two flavours were Enterprise and Ultimate, with Windows 7 this is still the case…but wait there is a difference!

Previously Windows Vista Ultimate included Media Centre, whereas Vista Enterprise did not, Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate have an identical feature set with the only disguising factor being the licensing schema.

• Windows 7 Ultimate uses standard retail keys
• Windows 7 Enterprise uses corporate multiple activation keys (MAK) or key manager server (KMS)

So if you are interested in trying Windows 7 before you buy, the Enterprise edition is available as a 90 day trial here (remember from a functional perspective it is the same as Ultimate)

Corporates are still fighting the move from Office 2003 to 2007, predominantly due to UI changes AKA “the ribbon bar”.

In Office 2007 the ribbon was only present in Microsoft’s core Office applications, namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. The Office 2010 release will extend this to Visio, Publisher and no doubt Project.

Speaking from personal experience I have certainly had to tread carefully when pushing central Office system updates, our approach was to upgrade Outlook first (in my opinion the easiest ribbon jump of the 2007 suite).

Source: here

Like most I am very happy with Windows 7, however the pinned Explorer icon drives me nuts as it opens “libraries” instead of “computer” – don’t worry though all is not lost!

Create a new shortcut on your desktop and as a destination path put the following %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} Once this is created right click and pin to taskbar.

You can remove the old icon by right clicking and selecting unpin from taskbar.