Editor's Note - August 2001

TechNet vs. the Tooth Fairy

Thursday night I was the Tooth Fairy.

There was my almost-six-year-old daughter, tooth in hand, gap-toothed grin on face. And there was my wife, with the look that said, "You're 51 years old, so go figure it out."

I went, of course, to the Web, but there was no HowTo on Tooth-Fairy-ness. No manual that I could find. There was a Web site, but it wasn't responding.

It sounds like IT, doesn't it?

So I called a few friends, and they gave me some suggestions. That, too, sounds like IT.

And since I've had recent practice in asking for help, please allow me to ask you for some too. Advice on raising young kids is also welcome, but in particular I'm seeking your help with TechNet.

HowTos for Common Tasks

If you've been watching TechNet over the past few months, you know that we're posting lots of HowTos, simple recipes for performing an IT task. For example, check out Setting security on a domain, and understanding why kids now get a buck per tooth when it was only a dime when I was a kid.

In the HowTo arena, we're adding three things this month:

• More of them, another 150 or so.

• Links to newsgroups from the HowTos, so that you can exchange additional information, help each other, and help us make them better.

• A better way to organize them, so that you can more easily find what you need and see how they relate to each other.

We're also going to carry them in a new, easier-to-read format starting in early September. Please check them out, and share your feedback with us and with each other (e.g., in microsoft.public.technet.howtofeedback).

How Can We Make Our Content Easier to Scan?

We're trying some new layouts on TechNet pages. Our aim is to make it easier for you to find and focus on the information you need.

We'd really appreciate your feedback — on both layout and content — on three areas.

• Our sample Architecture page represents a new way of sorting content to reflect the wide variety of backgrounds of folks coming to TechNet. Is this easier to scan? Does it have the right content categories?

• Please let us know if the layout on the Windows XP main page is clearer — and helps you find what you're looking for. Is it helpful to find listings of books and training courses side-by-side with articles?

• The Windows 2000 Server main page is the new layout adopted in our recent site refresh. Use it for comparisons to the other two pages and also let us know what other things you would like to see here.

By the way, you probably know that Windows XP is coming in October. I hope you'll check it out; it's seriously good stuff. (Sure, I work for Microsoft, but I'm also a software user, on two computers at work and half a dozen at home. And my missing-a-tooth daughter vouches for it, too.) For IT folks, Remote Assistance may turn out to be the sleeper "killer feature." Now, instead of trying to guess how a user (or friend or relative) has configured a system, you can — with their permission, of course — literally put yourself in their shoes and work on their system directly. (Maybe I should let you control mine when it comes time to write this column!)

Sharing Your Experience

Just as my friends helped me play Tooth Fairy, I hope you'll help others by sharing your IT experiences and successes.

First, the newsgroups are a great place to both ask and answer questions; pretend it's still the '60s, and build up that good karma! Check out microsoft.public.win2000.general or microsoft.public.inetserver.iis, for example. Or if you're an ex-code-jockey like me who's moved into management, perhaps microsoft.public.powerpoint is the place to contribute!

Second, we're resuming our "T-Shirts for Tips" program; please send us your tips, and we'll reward those we publish with some sort of logo goodie. (I think T-shirts are still ahead of coffee cups in internal voting.) While we can only offer prizes to US residents, we will still acknowledge contributions from outside the US by including your byline with your tip.

Third, we'd like to start a section tentatively called "Overcoming IT Nightmares." I have to admit I'm getting a lot of flack on the working title; I don't think it's any secret, however, that at least a few IT projects might not always go smoothly. If you've overcome an IT problem by using Microsoft software, either alone or in conjunction with a partner product, we'd love for you to share the story in some detail on TechNet. Learning from each other really does make a difference.

By early September, we'll have a page up where you can submit your tips and nightmare-no-more case studies, after the lawyers approve the wording and I get beaten into submission about the word "nightmare." Until then, please feel free to send them to me. I'm also open to better titles for this section; lawyer-jokes aside, "nightmare" is a bit strong. As always, I can't promise to respond to every letter, but I do read them.

How You Can Help: Sinking Your Teeth Into TechNet

In summary, here are some ways you can help make TechNet better, so we can serve you better.

• Check out our HowTo articles. Share your comments in the newsgroups, and with us.

• Send us feedback on our layouts, as represented in our Architecture, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Server main pages.

• Send us your tips, tricks, and techniques.

• Share your stories about overcoming IT nightmares (or lesser problems).

Friday morning, my daughter held up the dollar and said, "Can I keep my tooth also?"

"But the Tooth Fairy has it."

"Silly Daddy! You're the Tooth Fairy."

Kids are getting just too darn smart these days. (By the way, what do you do with your kid's baby teeth?)

Steven B. Levy
Product Unit Manager
Microsoft TechNet