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What is great about Windows Server 2008?

What are my favorite features of Windows Server 2008?

  • Install experience is way faster. You don't even enter a name for the machine until after the install is complete. This is huge since virtualization is so big and installing Windows Server is happening more and more. This will save the IT industry hundreds of thousands of cumulative man hours.
  • Windows Server 2008 is built for performance, not beauty. This is what I don't like about Vista. It is pretty but terribly slow. I hate when Vista's wastes my time. Windows Server 2008 is focused on performance. Perhaps I'll install Windows Server 2008 on my laptop..
  • Event Viewer is much improved.
  • Interface is written by a non-developer and it is helpful. This is so nice that each tab and button is much more clearly described exactly what the feature does and what will happen when I hit the OK button. This will make me much less nervous about making changes on a production server.
  • The interface is Humane. I read a book a few years ago that influenced me "Humane Interface".

Now you know how some things are just engrained in your brain like they have to be that way and they will never change, and one day someone crazy changes that thing and you realize it really didn't have to be that way. Well that is how I would describe the install of Windows Server 2008: crazy easy. You don't even have to choose a name for the machine until after the OS is installed! woah, who would have ever thought that was possible? You don't select a password until after the install either so, you save so much time installing because you can stick the install disk in and do all the configuration after the OS is installed.

 

The upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista was an un-breathtaking experience, but not this upgrade, I can't breath.. Ok, so a little dramatic there, but man I'm thinking about all the hours of time that I've wasted over the past year that could have been saved if I'd this cool new stuff. I think I'll install Windows Server 2008 on my laptop because it is optimized for performance, now beauty like Windows Vista is. When you accumulating hours of wasted time each week waiting for beautiful windows explorer to load, you don't care about beauty...

 

  • The event log is great, no more modal dialogs. We are finally out of the 90's modal dialog boxes. (See Figure 1)

image

Figure 1

  • The default install comes with a shortcut to server manager. Oh, that is beautiful. That alone will save years of my life not having to click on start->program files->admin tools->manage my computer each time I open up a clean image of Windows Server. (see Figure 2)

image

Figure 2

  • Adding Windows Features is much improved. again no modal dialog boxes, much more descriptive, helpful interface and much more efficient because you can turn on all the features from one place at once, instead of drilling down into window after window.

 

image 

Figure 3: The old way to add windows features. Tons of nested modal dialog boxes: yuck!

Comments

Catto said…
Hey Now Joseph,
Nice post, some day I'll install '08 & be a real man 2.
Thx 4 the info,
Catto
7:56 PM
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