Stories by Jonathan Hassell

Exchange Server 2013: Not quite ready for the datacentre

Thinking about upgrading? Hang back at least a year before implementing this release, our expert advises.

SharePoint 2010 cheat sheet

SharePoint 2010 can be a great collaboration tool. Here's what you need to know to find your way around.

5 tips for working with SharePoint 2010

Techniques for using SharePoint 2010 to its maximum benefit.

Microsoft Build: Wooing Windows 8 developers

At its conference this week, Microsoft pulled out all the stops to convince developers why they should build Windows 8 apps.

In Pictures: Windows Server 2012

Reviewer Jonathan Hassell takes you through the highlights, and some lowlights, of the newly available Microsoft operating system.

First look: Windows Azure Active Directory preview

It's lacking enough functionality to make it worth waiting for subsequent versions, Jonathan Hassell says, unless you're building Azure apps right now.

Windows Server 2012 Release Preview: Compelling new features

Windows Server 2012 Release Preview features a better virtual desktop experience, much easier DirectAccess deployment and a full-scale file-classification and access control system.

Microsoft System Center 2012 review: Streamlined cloud service management

Microsoft released the final version of its System Center 2012 suite of components in April at a conference in Las Vegas. I've taken a hard look and used it in a variety of tests, and I find it a compelling product that has lost a lot of its licensing and complexity baggage. Let's drill down.

Hands on: HP's Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance

If you're like most enterprises, you have data everywhere. It's in line-of-business applications. It's in directories. It's in various departmental servers. It's in your e-commerce platform. To manage all this, most shops use databases of all sizes running on a variety of operating systems and database applications, often from different vendors and editions. Chances are, they're not consistent.

Prevent your systems from being hijacked: A quick guide

It's time to rethink some old, and now outdated, security truisms that enable a very scary kind of attack.

Developing for the iPhone and Android: The pros and cons

Smartphones and their apps are the new way of the world, and developers are lured by their increasing popularity. But with two major platforms - Apple's recently upgraded and renamed iOS 4 and Google's Android - competing with one another, how does a developer choose between them?

Product Review: Micosoft System Center 2010

Last month, Microsoft released the first two products in the System Center 2010 wave: the management suite System Center Essentials 2010, and the backup-and-recovery-focused Data Protection Manager 2010. I've been evaluating these products in late prerelease form, and I'll share my impressions and what I've discovered here.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2

With virtualization taking over the computing world, enterprises everywhere are finding that virtual machines spread across an organization need to be managed as much as their physical computers are. Companies are also figuring out that these virtual machines have special needs and requirements that can multiply very quickly as servers are added, moved, changed or removed.

Preview: Windows Server 2008 R2

Receiving slightly less attention than its client brother, Windows Server 2008 R2 -- also known as Windows 7 Server -- made its pre-release debut a couple of weeks ago. But with this new incremental release, there are quite a few changes under the hood that may make this something you should watch. In this piece, I'll look at some general facts about the release and then drill into a few key improvements and new features.

10 best features in Windows 7 for IT professionals

Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled its work on Windows 7, the successor to Vista, to a crowd at the Professional Developers Conference that was salivating for information on what's new in the updated operating system. A lot of sites will take you through the whiz-bang consumer-friendly features, but you might be wondering as an IT professional what Windows 7 has to offer you.