Windows OS

I'm not entirely sure how this Outlook 2007 plug-in works, but this Microsoft Research project seems to have the ability to alert you of delayed or lost e-mail that you have sent. I am still trying to figure out how it works, but so far it seems like a pretty cool, and free, add-on for Outlook.

Give it a try here.

Even though the hotfix refers to WiMax connections having trouble renewing DHCP client leases, I have seen this exact behavior within network traces using my Novatel U720 USB EVDO modem that is connected to my home's Forefront TMG server. For those that don't know, Forefront Threat Management Gateway is the 'renamed' ISA Server which is part of the Forefront "Stirling" release (Forefront v.Next).

Since my Forefront TMG server is Server 2008 based, it would make sense that this hotfix should help the inconsistent/quirky behavior after maintaining a connection for 24 hours. At that point, DHCP attempts to renew and 9 times out of a 10, goes into a "coma" and stays "stuck" in the "connecting" state.

I can work around that bug by disabling the NDIS support on the U720 and using a 'normal' PPP connection, but that comes with its own set of limitations, especially if I want to do multi-ISP bonding or any of the other fancy features that being in NDIS mode enables.

If you have had trouble with Vista/Server 2008 renewing DHCP leases on WiMax/3G connections, request and try out KB 955352.

The cause:
"This problem occurs because the Windows Vista-based DHCP client computer does not comply with RFC2131 when the client computer tries to renew an IP address that was previously used. When a DHCPNACK packet is received from the DHCP server, the client must invalidate its previous configuration for the interface. Then, the client must return to the initial state to start the renew process."

Helps prevent SQL injection attacks to IIS sites, among other new features:

1. W3C formatted logging: UrlScan v3.0 RTW has W3C formatted logs so that analyzing log files is more accessible by writing queries against them using Log Parser.

2. Allow rules for URLs and query strings: UrlScan v3.0 RTW gives you the ability to specify a "safe" list of URLs and query strings that will by pass all UrlScan checks. This gives administrators the ability to configure UrlScan to allow certain URLs that would otherwise trigger a UrlScan check.

Download it here. This is a newer release than the beta that came out a few months ago.

It is strange that a few weeks ago, the construction updates for Streets and Trips 2009 showed up on Microsoft's download center, but no mention of Streets and Trips 2009 anywhere else on the site. Now, without much fan fare it seems, they've released 60 day trial versions of Map Point 2009 and Streets and Trips 2009. I am hoping it is an improvement over the 2008 version because the perspective view seemed to be a 'last-minute addition' that was quirky at best, and the forced 'auto-reroute' feature made some people upset.

I ended up going back to Streets and Trips 2007 with the updated database from 2008 due to all the other quirks I had with 2008.

With that said, I have heard rumors that this release has a lot new to it compared to the past few releases, so I'm hoping this is true. If I weren't on an EVDO connection right now, I would download them both and give them a whirl in a VM. Unfortunately, I still can't seem to dig up any "What's New" information.

You can download Streets and Trips 2009 here and Map Point 2009 here.