What's New on MCPmag.com: Windows Patching, Hyper-V, Pop Quiz

I'd like to point out a few new pieces of content on the MCPmag.com site.

First, Zubair Alexander, a good friend and sometime contributor to MCPmag.com's Windows Advisor column, called me over the holidays and asked if I'd be interested in some research he had done into a recurring problem he found as he was reinstalling some Windows servers. Seems he'd continually run into a problem performing updates with a few particular servers for one client, and a few days later, he ran into what seemed like oddly familiar issues on a completely different system. About three days of sweat and solid, nose-to-the-grindstone research later, he came up with answers, and did I want an article that recounted his tribulations?

Definitely, I was interested and I told him to send it soon, before I go on a company-mandated break the last week of the year in about three days' time. About a day later, Zubair e-mailed me with the piece, and here is the sparsely edited result: "Windows Update Troubles, Or What To Do When the Mother Of All Patches Fails." I'm sure quite a few of you have already read it (confirmed by Google Analytics), but I thought it was worth highlighting for those among you who are just getting back into the swing of the daily IT routine who would find Zubair's finding to be beneficial as you're updating and migrating servers.

On a related note, Also, Paul Schackenburg, a Microsoft MVP and frequent contributor to many 1105 Media pubs, takes a turn writing the Windows Advisor column with a series on Hyper-V. It's a back-to-basics look, starting with processing power in the first installment. (We understand quite a few readers are just generally interested in this virtualization thing and want to get started with Hyper-V.)

And finally, it's the return of the perenially popular Pop Quiz column, written by Microsoft MVP and trainer of many hundreds of MCPs, Andy Barkl. He starts off with some SharePoint questions, but if you have suggestions for other exams, please do leave a comment on the site.

On a side note, Visual Studio Magazine has followed MCPmag.com's lead by surveying its readership on its earning power. The results look pretty good, particularly for those who deal with data (daily). You can read the full report here.

Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/12/2012 at 11:59 AM