Last night spent 6 or so hours installing Microsoft Exchange on our home server, so that I can *finally* be able to synchronize my mail, calendar and tasks through my laptop when I go off to various places.

It all really hit home when, for my upcoming birthday(today!), I asked (and got) permission spend the funds to upgrade an old computer into a Windows Media Center at home. That also meant *finally* getting a wireless network setup at home so things are starting to actually look like something here.

It was my first time installing exchange and boy was that not a piece of cake! But, 6 hours in, with the help of some friends on line, I was able to make it. It actually says a lot, that someone with virtually no experience installing the thing can get up and running with such a complex server system in less than a full night's work.

I pretty much bet that this would not have been as easy with Linux, though I really can't be too sure.

Kudos for making the installation guide actually usable, Microsoft.