In recent years Microsoft has bought companies and built new technologies to catch up with Google. Now Google is playing catch-up, buying DocVerse so it can have cloud apps that are more compatible with Office.
Google Apps are like mini versions of their Office counterparts. With DocVerse, you can apparently use Word, Excel, et. al and share work over the Web through the Google Apps infrastructure. Hmm...I guess the cloud isn't replacing Office after all.
What do you think of Google Apps? Share your experiences at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 08, 2010 at 12:08 PM0 comments
Last month's Patch Tuesday was a bit of a bear. To make up for it, Microsoft is planning a light patch batch tomorrow. In fact, there are only two "important" patches prepped. Both patches address remote execution attacks, one aimed at Office and the other at Windows.
IT could use a breather around now!
Posted on March 08, 2010 at 12:59 PM0 comments
Microsoft loves to make well-publicized big bets, like when Bill Gates released his famous "The Internet Is Everything" memo.
Now Steve Ballmer says "The Cloud Is Nearly Everything" and believes his company has a head start. Most apps, such as SharePoint, Office and Exchange, can already run as hosted software. And he believes Azure is more robust and scalable than other cloud tools such as those from Amazon. The cloud leads to a number of possibilities, Ballmer believes. It can foster the creation of smarter devices that rely on cloud power, and offers the possibility of new software inventions and services.
But while the cloud might be nearly everything, it's not the only thing. Ballmer argues that good, old-fashioned hard drive-based software will be important for years to come.
How you tried Azure? What do you think? Shoot your responses through the ether to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 08, 2010 at 12:35 PM1 comments
Many IT pros are wary of the cloud because they can't control the data and must rely on the service provider to keep hackers at bay. But the cloud, in many cases, is financially and technically compelling. So if the economics lead you to a cloud solution, do your best to make sure your apps are secure. A report from the Cloud Security Alliance has some advice -- and a few warnings.
Here are some things for you to think about and to press your cloud provider on: How does the provider handle patching and, in general, administer your system? Because most clouds are virtualized, what specific steps have been taken to make sure cracking one VM doesn't lead to hacking all of them? How secure are the APIs? And finally, what measures are taken to make sure the service provider's own employees aren't a risk? IT people can be just as bad as any other, as I discovered in this report that was entirely based on Redmond Report readers' experiences.
Have you gone to the cloud? How do you handle security? Let me know at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 05, 2010 at 9:54 AM0 comments
I love Novell. This company has been on the ropes more than Ali in Zaire. But like Muhammad, Novell clearly has the knock-out punch. Whereas Wang, DG and WordPerfect all died because they couldn't escape their legacy, Novell did. NT killed NetWare and Office killed WordPerfect (which Novell bought), but yet Novell not only survives, but prospers.
Don't believe me? Well, why else would a hedge fund offer a cool $2 billion (in cash) for Novell?
I've seen enough companies come and go, and I've covered Novell on and off for almost three decades. Novell's survival and success are something we should all admire.
What's your best or worst Novell memory? Stories may be passed along to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 05, 2010 at 9:57 AM3 comments
It's been tough in IT for, what, about the last 10 years? It's gotten even worse in the last two, as you've been asked to not only do more with less, but sometimes do more with nothing!
How have these budget cuts affected you? How does it feel to lose co-workers or even be the one to give them their pink slips? How do you keep your head up and respond to these challenges? How do you prioritize spending when you're dealing with chump change?
I want to bring your stories to life in a cover story for Redmond magazine. I want your war stories and advice. E-mail me directly at dbarney@redmondmag.com and we may feature your experiences in this upcoming article!
Posted on March 03, 2010 at 10:21 AM2 comments
If an e-mail directs you to a Web site, and that Web site asks you to push the F1 key -- don't! This is a new attack that takes advantage of a flaw in VBScript running on IE and Windows 2000, 2003 or XP, and if successful, can run malicious code on the attacked computer.
I can't remember ever being asked to hit the F1 key by a Web site, and I doubt you IT pros would fall for this either. But tricks like this fool novices all the time. In fact, I had a boss at an IT publication who thought someone was in love with him...and he unleashed the I Love You virus on his entire operation.
Have you or anyone in your IT group ever spread a virus? Come clean at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 03, 2010 at 9:57 AM3 comments
Microsoft has just helped eliminate a spambot that could send some 1.5 billion spams every day. The Botnet Task Force, which Microsoft runs, got an injunction against the still unidentified botnet "herders," and the botnet domains are now shut down.
While the folks behind the botnet are still unknown, the botnet itself, W32.Waldedac, is fairly well-understood and hopefully will be gone for good.
Is spam getting better or worse? Send your answers, not your spam, to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 03, 2010 at 10:04 AM1 comments
Windows Server 2008 R2 is hot enough to literally lift the x86-based server market out of its doldrums. IDC says server sales in the fourth quarter were up nearly 14 percent, with 42 percent of those running Windows Server. That's more than double the amount of servers running either Linux (at 14 percent) or Unix (at 18 percent). In that part of the market, Linux is rising slightly while Unix continues to fall.
Posted on March 03, 2010 at 10:12 AM4 comments
All good or even mediocre things must come to an end, and so it is with XP SP2 and Windows Server 2000 and 2003, for which extended support will end this summer.
Microsoft is pushing customers to upgrade before July 31 or suffer the no-support consequences. If you don't upgrade but still want a failsafe, you'll have to buy a custom support plan. XP users have another, simpler option: Just upgrade to SP3! That will be supported for three more years.
If you're on Windows 7 RC, you best move to the real thing soon. Starting today, your machine may start shutting down for two hours at a time. There's a free trial version that will buy you another three months of uninterrupted use.
Does Microsoft support end too soon or go on too long? Tell us at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 01, 2010 at 11:21 AM1 comments
Microsoft has been on an interoperability kick of late, and its most recent move involves Outlook's .PST format for storing e-mail. Microsoft recently published all the how-to's and wherefores for .PST so other vendors can tie more directly into the mail store.
There are limits, however: You can only access .PST files running on Outlook, and you can't implement the format in your own products.
Posted on March 01, 2010 at 11:30 AM0 comments
The recession had a lot of victims; jobs, mortgages and IT projects were all killed. While there's not a lot of good job and foreclosures news, IT projects may be on their way back. Cancelled projects as well and new ones are starting to get funding -- a development that could make IT fun again!
Top tech areas? Virtualization, Web design, collaboration, cloud computing and social media.
What's going on in your shop? Are the purse strings loosening? What areas are you looking at? Send your thoughts to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on March 01, 2010 at 11:15 AM2 comments