Windows Server 2008 as desktop laptop OS - h0bbel.

h0bbel.p0ggel.org
there is a very good line in between agile and fragile

Last night I jumped in and chose to install go forward with my grand plan, particularly operating Windows Server 2008 as my laptop computer OS.
Installation
After making sure that I had backed up every little thing I might be needing
from the aged Windows XP set up, I generally wiped the whole laptop and
started new. Several partition deletions later, the Windows
Server 2008 install was underway and on my Lenovo ThinkPad T60 the
installation was pretty much carried out in 15 minutes.
Thats correct, fifteen minutes through the set up started until finally I was capable to logon for that very first time.
No queries are asked during set up. No laptop or computer name setup, no passwords, nothing. It is possible to pretty significantly stick the media in the pc, go possess a cup of coffee or some thing, and come back to finalize your set up. Fingers off installation at it's really very best.
After the primary logon, you get presented with the "Server Manager" which beneath the "Features Summary" states 0 of 36 capabilities set up. Is this truly Microsoft? They've got 36 capabilities you'll be able to add, and they never force you to disable the ones you do not will need? You truly need to make an lively choice to permit the characteristics you desire? Thats excellent!
The "Server Manager" itself warrants a post of it really is own. By far the finest management console to appear out of Redmond to date, and the ability to have diagnostics, roles, and capabilities all in one central place like this is one thing that has been in demand for years. Well done!
On to driver installation. Most drivers were automatically set up, soon after all Server 2008 shares kernel and codebase with Windows Vista,Office 2010 Professional Plus Product Key, so this was to be expected. The drivers that Server 2008 didn't handle on it's own, were for your most part handled by Lenovo System Update which identifies my system as Vista. The only thing I'm missing at this point are the Bluetooth drivers, but I'm rather certain they'll set up without significantly problems soon after a manual download from Lenovo.
Of course, working Windows Server 2008 as a desktop OS means that you will have to manually configure a few items. Unlike previous Windows Server versions, Server 2008 is pretty significantly locked down when put in. Right after all, who needs Aero, Windows Media Player and Wireless connectivity on their servers? It is really a server OS right after all. Well, as it turns out, I do. If you are able to call Aero a require that is, but I just had to try and permit it to compare performance with Vista.
The very first "problem" was wireless connectivity. The wireless driver for my laptop seemed to be put in ok,Windows 7 Professional X64, but I used to be competely unable to find, and a lot less connect to, any wireless network. This was rather infortunate, as I only use the laptop on wireless connectivty at home. Sitting on the floor with a cable attached to my wireless access point wasn't considerably fun, so I had to tackle that issue first.
The solution is rather straight forward, and makes perfect sense,windows movie maker, but if you do not know where to look it may possibly pose a problem getting wireless to work.
Wireless
As I mentioned earlier, Wireless LAN functions are not installed by default. All you have to do, is to include the "Wireless LAN Feature" to the server. That brings us to the new "Server Manager" console that Microsoft provides in Server 2008. Start "Server Manager", click on "Features" then go to "Add Features" and appropriate at the bottom you'll find "Wireless LAN Service".
Internet Explorer Security
The second issue, if you need to call it an issue, is that by default Internet Explorer is locked down together with the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configration settings. For that most part thats a good idea, and I'll leave it enabled on all my real servers at work, but when using it as a desktop OS it is just annoying. Disabling it can be a bit different that from Server 2003,Microsoft Office 2007, but it's a really quick procedure in Server 2008. In Server Supervisor browse to the Security Information section and click "Configure IE ESC".

Aero:
Now, to allow Aero features there are several things that needs to be accomplished. First, use the "Add Functions Wizard" to add "Desktop Experience". This requires a reboot, but thats not all, you also have to start the "Theme" service, which is disabled by default. When you have logged back in, launch "Server Manger" and browse to "Configuration" -> "Services" and locate the "Themes" service. Change the value from "Disabled" to "Automatic" and start the service. Right after the service starts, right click on the Desktop select "Personalize" and set the theme to Windows Vista.
Other
I've put in most of my day to day work applications on the newly set up laptop. Lotus Notes 8, VMware Virtual Infrastructure Client, Firefox etc. The only problem I've encountered so far, was installing MSN Live. The standard download doesn't install on Server operating systems, but there's an alternative download available. I've seen that others have experienced problems with running VMware Workstation 6 and Hyper-V simultaneously, but I've yet to test Hyper-V here, nor run any VMware products on top of it. While I plan on testing out Hyper-V on this system, I have to prioritize VMware Server for now. I still possess a few template images I have to create, both personally and for that ############## team.

I might be operating the most expensive laptop OS within the world, but so far I'm extemely happy with it. I was even able to join the work domain remotely, via our Firepass SSL VPN solution. I had a small problem with all the initial logon for my user account though, as the VPN client wasn't operating when the logon box appears. That was easiliy solved by logging on as a local administrator, connecting to the SSL VPN, switching user account and then logging on with my domain user.
Conclusion
Windows Server 2008 performs better, even with the Aero features enabled,Buy Microsoft Office 2007, than Vista ever did on the same hardware. To
me, this a bit strange, even if a lot of services are still disabled,
as the codebase is rather much the same as Vista. For all I know,microsoft office 2007 sale, Vista
might perform better now that Service Pack 1 has been released, but I
don't anticipate changing back again any time soon. Another factor here is
that I had the 32bit version of Vista put in, while I'm now running
64bit Server 2008. How much of a difference that actually makes, I don't
know.
My experience with Windows Server 2008 so far truly makes me want to get started with upgrading my domain at work and all my servers. I'm literally acing to run adprep /forestprep and adprep /domainprep right now, but I'll wait until I'm physically at work though.
Mr. Patrick O'Rourke from the Microsoft Server Divison, if you are still reading this site please send my regards to the entire development team. You've made a wonderful desktop OS, I'm confident it will be wonderful on my servers as well.