I use Firefox as my web browser, and one of the extensions I always install is the Web Developer extension.

Internet Explorer users look like they are now going to get something similar: IEBlog : Developer Toolbar for IE announced at PDC

Windows "Monad" Shell Beta 2 (for .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 2) x86

Windows "Monad" Shell is a new interactive command-line and task-based scripting technology in Windows that enables administrators to more efficiently and securely automate and control system management tasks on both desktops and servers.

Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4 (KB891861)

This update consists of previously released recommended, critical and security updates for Windows 2000, rolled into one convenient package.

Automated Deployment Services (ADS) 1.1

With Windows Server 2003, Microsoft extends the platform to make it easier for administrators to build and administer very large, scaled out deployments of Windows servers. Automated Deployment Services (ADS) includes a new set of imaging tools developed by Microsoft and a more secure, remote-able infrastructure for rapidly deploying both Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 onto bare metal servers. In addition, ADS offers a more secure, reliable script execution framework that lets administrators perform script-based administration on 1,000 servers as easily as they once did on a single server.

Just noticed that there will be Visual Studio 2005 RC1 released this month ahead of the final release in November.

I might be visiting Sydney late November, so I'll try and get along to the product launch if possible.

I attended TechEd on the Gold Coast last week, and took advantage of a free offer by Pearson VUE to take a free certification exam. I studied really hard (figuring that even if I failed, then at least I had experienced an exam without it costing me anything).

Well the study paid off, as I passed "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET and Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET" with an excellent result - 962!

I'm going to see if I can have a go at 70-310 before the end of the year, and maybe complete the MCAD or MCSD next year.