0906red_Cover.v5 8/15/06 10:37 AM Page 1 Google vs. Microsoft: Whose Software Is Best? 54 SEPTEMBER 2006 WWW.REDMONDMAG.COM TimeTime forfor aa Raise!Raise! Salary survey shows pay going up. Is yours? 36 > $5.95 09 • +Insider: Event Log Forensics 68 SEPTEMBER Novell and the Attacker’s 25274 867 27 Advantage 49 71 Project3 8/7/06 10:15 AM Page 1 Make desktops available the easy way. Centrally enable users to access their applications and information from WhyWhy dragdrag andand dropdrop desktops…desktops… any desktop with whenwhen youyou cancan pointpoint andand click?click? Desktop Authority. • Deploy Applications • Map Drives and Printers • Configure Office Settings SaveSave thethe backachebackache –– downloaddownload • Manage Power Schemes DESKTOPDESKTOP AUTHORITY.AUTHORITY. • And MUCH more! DOWNLOAD FREE Eval! an eval for a www.scriptlogic.com/available chance to win a 60GB iPod! Contest ends Sept. 30. Point. Click. Done! 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ScriptLogic, the ScriptLogic logo, and Desktop Authority are registered trademarks of ScriptLogic Corporation chance to win a in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and www.scriptlogic.com products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. 60GB iPod! 1-800-424-9411 iPod giveaway rules can be found at www.scriptlogic.com/ipodrules. Contest ends Sept. 30. Project1 8/3/06 9:22 AM Page 1 SMB? Meet EMC. EMC® Insignia — made for Small and Medium Businesses EMC brings its leadership in storage and information management Backup & Recovery to businesses with 20 to 200 employees. EMC Insignia software and Software hardware products allow you to confidently store, manage, protect, Storage Storage and share your vital business information. Management Hardware Software Storage Hardware Replication ® Install trusted storage. Move up to an Every minute counts. EMC RepliStor Replication Collaboration EMC CLARiiON® AX disk array. 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All rights reserved. 0906red_TOC_1.v4 8/15/06 11:23 AM Page 1 SEPTEMBER 2006 WWW.REDMONDMAG.COM Winner for Best Computer/Software Magazine 2005 RedmondTHE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE MICROSOFT IT COMMUNITY COVER STORY REDMOND REPORT In the Money— 9 Microsoft Bets Big IT Salaries on the Live Era Ballmer, Ozzie pledge to Rise Again deliver innovative services- enabled software. Salaries have gone up for the 10 Vista: The Clock Is Ticking third time in as many years, Can Microsoft zap enough bugs to according to the 11th annual make its promised ship date? survey of compensation and benefits. So, are you getting 12 The Low Down what you deserve? Summer of Lockdown: Securing files, e-mails, Web sites and crazy soccer fans is a tall order. Page 36 14 Beta Man HTTP Traffic Cop: Major enhancements to ISA Server 2006 FEATURES include better bandwidth controls and improved networking. 49 The Attacker’s Advantage As Novell emerges as a Linux 16 Better Late Than Never? powerhouse, CEO Ron Hovsepian Latest build of Vista impresses, but sets his sites on Microsoft. did it arrive too late? COLUMNS 4 Barney’s Rubble: Doug Barney Page 49 Glutton for Market Share 35 Mr. Roboto: Don Jones 54 Cyberspace Battle Group Therapy Royale: Google vs. 67 Never Again: Barry McBride Microsoft Time Is Money We put these rivals’ tools to the test in a win, lose or draw 68 Windows Insider: Greg Shields contest. The overall winner Spend Less Time Looking for Logs might surprise you. 75 Security Advisor: Joern Wettern Do You Need an SSL VPN? Page 54 80 Foley on Microsoft: Mary Jo Foley PHOTO BY GEOFF STEIN Microsoft Bloggers: A Who’s Who REVIEWS ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 21 Last Line of Defense 25 Redmond Roundup 2 Redmond Magazine Online You set the policy, Endforce Cover Your Assets ensures that it’s followed. Get a grip on your network with 6 [email protected] the right asset management tool. 79 Ad and Editorial Indexes COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JUAN ALVAREZ 0906red_OnlineTOC_2.v4 8/15/06 11:03 AM Page 2 Redmondmag.SEPTEMBERcom 2006 Redmondmag.com Exclusive Questions with ... John Is Microsoft’s SAM Just a Powers, Shakedown in Disguise? Digipede Technologies CEO hat’s what our Redmond Negotiator columnist and licensing guru Scott This month we spoke TBraden is starting to wonder. In his latest column on Redmondmag.com, with John Powers Braden shares that while he used to have hope for this program, the way it’s about the state of grid being implemented is raising some serious red flags. computing today “Based on what we were told about SAM [Software Asset Management], it (FindIT code: RRadio): seemed like a great idea. Basically, Microsoft certified a select group of partners who understand the ins and outs of Microsoft licensing, along with the best prac- Grid computing—what’s in it for the tices involved in good software asset management,” he says. business world? However, according to Braden, there’s several problems Greater application performance, new with the way the program is being implemented. revenue opportunities and lower costs, “Microsoft is data mining its purchase-history databases, all within a familiar environment. looking for customers whose purchase history doesn’t match up with their size, or their number of PCs or servers If you pair grid computing with …. [However], Microsoft’s purchase history records are very virtualization—what do you get? incomplete. Retail shrink-wrap sales, many OEM licenses, Tremendous flexibility for deployment even Select or Open volume licenses can easily be missed of scalable applications in businesses Scott Braden in the data mining. So even if you’re completely legal and warns about of all sizes. in compliance, you may still turn up on the target list as a SAM in his recent, online likely candidate.” Redmond Describe one creative scenario for If you’re picked, Microsoft will send out a SAM Partner Negotiator grid computing: column. to act as a consultant—according to Braden, this process FindIT code: An event organizer hosting a Web por- can easily turn into more of an audit. “What happens if SAMShake tal for customers, vendors and event you just say no? Will an involuntary audit be the next coordinators scales out a reporting step? If so, isn’t it more accurate to describe these initial conversations as application behind their Web server to ‘settlement negotiations?’” enable more simultaneous users. Find out more about why Braden changed his mind about SAM and what he recommends you do if contacted by a SAM Partner. FindIT code: SAMShake FACTOID REDMONDMAG.COM RESOURCES Number of Redmond Salary Survey 1 respondents who Resources Enter FindIT Code out expect their next >> Daily News News raise to be $5,000 >> of E-Mail Newsletters Newsletters or more. >> Free PDFs and Webcasts TechLibrary >> Salary Survey Extended PDF Subscribe/Renew Subscribe 5 FindIT code: 2006SalPDF >> Your Turn Editor Queries YourTurn REDMOND MEDIA GROUP SITES: Redmondmag.com • RCPmag.com • ENTmag.com MCPmag.com • CertCities.com • TCPmag.com • TechMentorEvents.com 2 | September 2006 | Redmond | redmondmag.com | Project5 7/18/06 10:25 AM Page 1 Seamless failover. Always connected. Keeping Users Connected. Keep your application servers zipped up and func- management intervention needed, no one covers tional all of the time. Whether a single server or an your back better than Neverfail. Anything less is entire site fails, availability to critical business appli- a lesser solution. Designed for Windows-based cations fails, along with the productivity of users applications, Neverfail’s comprehensive suite of company-wide. No matter if you’re a start-up or a award-winning software solutions will help ensure Global 100, server downtime will kill your business. that your productivity is never interrupted. With Neverfail, users are kept continuously connected to their applications no matter To make your business a more productive — and when, where, or why a failure occurs in the profitable — enterprise, visit neverfailgroup.com server environment. Neverfail delivers cluster-class for your FREE server analysis and take the first disaster recovery, data protection and high availability step to achieving true high availability. Or better software solutions to every size company, and at a yet, call or email us today to join companies all over significantly lower total cost and complexity.