Blaine Homer 01 Feb 2001 I often wonder why I chose a career as a networking professional--a career where a day is determined to be successful, not by my accomplishments but rather by how many holes in the 'dike' I plug. Why did I chose a career where nothing ever works right the first time--a career where I am continuously figuring out just what part of a new technology solution is real and what part is marketing hype? Whatever my reasons, my life is full of endless technical inconsistencies, 'fixes' that just cause more problems, drivers that don't work, documentation and a knowledge base that are two generations behind, and worst of all, the endless bombardment of questions from seemingly stupid users. Recently, however, I have come to the conclusion that maybe that is all Iam--a stupid user. Maybe I should take a step back and focus on what I am trying to accomplish for those I help. Maybe I should stop beating my head against the wall and make technology work for me instead of me working for technology.

What triggered this epiphany? I reviewed Altiris eXpress 5, a new revision of a product that can help any networking professional's quest for a simpler career. This product enables you to deploy and migrate systems more quickly and can also help you perform day-to-day management tasks. I had actually planned to review Altiris eXpress 4, but as I started the review process, Altiris made a couple of significant announcements: First, the company announced that it was merging with Computing Edge Inc., and second, the company announced the availability of its new product, Altiris eXpress 5. In addition to explaining the significance of this merger, this article focuses on the new product Altiris eXpress 5.

Jan 12, 2011. Reports Discovery and Inventory Inventory Cross-Platform Software/Application Software then locate the report 'Installed Software'. Once you got the results, you can then export the data as spreedsheet from the report's toolbat 'Save As' menu. You will end up with a CSV file and you can open it using Excel. Installed Software Report Altiris It. And do appropriate testing before deployment. Do a dry run, so that no software gets installed and no changes.

(For a complete list of system requirements for Altiris eXpress 5, see 'System Requirements.' ) HOW COMPATIBLE ARE ALTIRIS AND COMPUTING EDGE? Altiris develops and markets PC management and deployment solutions designed to minimize the cost of deploying software, maintaining PCs, migrating operating systems, and teaching with PCs. Altiris' flagship product is Altiris eXpress, which is an integration of several Altiris products. Install Activex Webrec Cab Downloads. (For more information about Altiris, visit www.altiris.com.) Founded in 1994, Computing Edge creates solutions for system management, including hardware and software inventory, software delivery, and help-desk support. (For more information about Computing Edge, visit www.computingedge.com.) Altiris and Computing Edge completed their merger on September 30, 2000. The purpose of this merger seems to be to take advantage of the synergy between the two companies' products.

Although I haven't reviewed any of Computing Edge's products, the product descriptions suggest that the merger makes sense. In fact, as I reviewed Altiris eXpress 5 (which is a suite of Altiris products), I felt that Altiris had built its products around the concept of individual PC management. Altiris' products focus on deploying, cloning, configuring, updating, and migrating software on PCs. However, Altiris' products seem to lack strong network management features, such as hardware and software inventory, software monitoring, and help-desk support. In other words, all of the areas that I found to be weaknesses in Altiris' products are claimed to be strengths in Computing Edge's products. Consequently, the 'new' Altiris may be able to provide total management solutions, instead of just PC deployment solutions.