DNS on Windows Server 2003 is a special Windows-oriented edition of the classic DNS and BIND, newly updated to document the many changes to DNS found in Windows Server 2003. You'll learn everything from starting and stopping a DNS service and establishing a namespace in the global hierarchy, to using the the dnscmd command line and the WMI DNS provider to perform maintenance. The book also documents new features, including conditional forwarding and zone storage in Active Directory application partitions. Sample Chapter 8, Integrating with Active Directory, is available free online.

The Perfect Holiday Gift -- Steve Bass's PC Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer has recently dominated the #1 spot on Amazon's Computer Top Seller list. In this jam-packed book, PC World's famed kvetcher shows readers how to fix everything from Windows glitches to misbehaving browsers. Get your copy of PC Annoyances.

VBScript or Perl? That's the Windows sys admin's scripting dilemma. In this article, Robbie Allen outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each language, with sample code, to help you determine which works best for your project. Robbie is the author of Active Directory Cookbook.

Shooting the Windows Messenger Service -- Preston Gralla shows how you can permanently solve the problem of unwanted pop-up windows in XP by disabling the Windows Messenger Service, a hack he also covers in his book, Windows XP Hacks.

Windows Server 2003: Still Room for Improvement -- Windows Server 2003 is indeed an improvement over the earlier Windows 2000 platform, but with just a wee bit more work, Microsoft could have made it much easier to use. Mitch Tulloch has a few suggestions that he hopes Microsoft will take to heart. Mitch is the author of Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell.

Improvising Your Own Wireless Router -- Wei-Meng Lee explains how to use the Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature available in Windows XP to improvise a wireless router, allowing you to wirelessly (and cheaply) share an Internet connection with multiple computers in your home. Wei-Meng is the author of Windows XP Unwired.

Five More PC Annoyances -- Steve Bass says no matter how many annoyances he identified and solved for his book, more sit-in-the-corner, dumb things keep cropping up. Here are five PC irritations you won't find in the newly released PC Annoyances.

XForms and Microsoft InfoPath -- Micah Dubinko compares W3C XForms and the data format and processing model underlying Microsoft InfoPath, the data-gathering technology shipping with Microsoft Office 2003. Micah is the author of XForms Essentials.

Sizing Up Windows Server 2003 -- Microsoft claims its new Windows Server 2003 can do things『faster, more securely, and at lower cost.』Mitch Tulloch takes a look at whether it has lived up to its promises. Mitch is the author of O'Reilly's Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell.

Overview of the New Active Directory Tools in Windows Server 2003 -- Microsoft set out to improve manageability in several key areas with the release of Windows Server 2003. Did it succeed? Robbie Allen, author of Active Directory Cookbook, gives you the rundown on the best new tools for improving manageability.

Sending SMS Messages Using Windows XP -- Wei-Meng Lee writes about the recent release of the free SMS Sender, which lets cell phone users send SMS messages from the comfort of their Windows XP computers. You need not envy Mac users anymore. Wei-Meng is the author of Windows XP Unwired.

Resolving SSID Conflicts in Windows XP -- If two wireless networks have the same Service Set Identifier (SSID), you have to do some tweaking to connect to the right one. Learn what to do from Wei-Meng Lee, author of Windows XP Unwired.

Hacking Windows XP, Part 2 -- Find out how to hack the Registry to improve the Context Menu and to gain faster Internet access, as well as how to use a proxy server to surf anonymously, in these sample hacks from Windows XP Hacks.

Cooking with Active Directory -- Try out these two new recipes--the first on finding the domain controllers that are acting as one of the FSMO roles, and the second on determining the last time a user logged into a domain--from O'Reilly's Active Directory Cookbook.

Bluetooth File Transfer with Windows XP -- Wei-Meng Lee shows you how to set up an ad hoc, wireless network (without the need for a network infrastructure) that lets you copy files from one Bluetooth-enabled Windows XP computer to another. Wei-Meng is the author of Windows XP Unwired.

Hacking Windows XP -- Learn steps you can take for faster PC startup times, ways to speed up XP's shutdown process, and how to hack XP's interface using the Registry, in these sample hacks from Windows XP Hacks.

The Three Pillars of OOP -- Object-oriented programming is built on three sturdy pillars: encapsulation, specialization, and polymorphism. Chapter 4 of Programming Visual Basic .NET, 2nd Edition, shows how the process of aggregation (or composition) allows you to build complex classes from relatively simple classes. Get a free trial to read this and four other O'Reilly books on Safari.

Introduction to System.DirectoryServices -- In the conclusion to this two-part series on using the .NET Framework's System.DirectoryServices namespace, Robbie Allen looks at how to search with the DirectorySearcher class. Robbie is a coauthor of Active Directory, 2nd Edition.

Windows XP Hacks -- Bend Windows XP to your will. Among the 100 tips, tricks, and tools you'll find in this upcoming release are hacks that teach you how to stop pop ups, spyware, and web bugs; slam the spam; remove unruly applications and uninstall entries; and customize the GUI with TweakUI. Read these hacks and more online now.

Using Delegates to Implement Event Handling -- In this article, Jesse Liberty focuses on how delegates are used to implement event handling, with a look at the implementation of a custom event. Jesse is the author of Programming C#, 3rd Edition.