The update came out on Friday for the tool that helps administrators set baseline security policies on a bunch of Microsoft products.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 25, 2010 at 12:40 PM0 comments
If anything is going to derail the cloud-computing train, it'll be cloud computing itself.
Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite -- the cloud versions of Exchange, SharePoint and other tools that Microsoft itself hosts -- went out for a couple of hours on Monday. A couple of hours might not sound like a big deal, but it's a pretty long time to be without e-mail or SharePoint access. And, more to the point, two hours would be a virtual eternity if a truly critical system -- something like an ERP application or suite -- were involved.
Of course, this shouldn't be that big of a deal because this stuff happens all the time. But that's precisely the problem: This stuff happens all the time. Data-center outages, some lasting hours, are still common enough that many companies are hesitant to move anything to the cloud except some extraneous or non-critical applications. As long as that's the case, the cloud won't reach its full potential as a revolutionary model for IT.
We know, too, that on-premises systems go down all the time as well. But in that case, a big enough company can get a partner or an internal IT department started on fixing it. When cloud apps go down, all companies can do is sit on their hands (or scream into the phone) and wait for their providers to make everything OK again.
Many Microsoft partners' role in cloud computing is still up in the air (ahem, so to speak). But Microsoft has pledged many times to be "all in" for the cloud, so it's coming to (and from) Redmond whether partners are prepared for it or not. These outages, though, remain the proverbial elephant in the room for partners looking to sell the cloud to their customers. And there's not much that partners who don't host applications themselves can do about them.
In that sense, many partners are a lot like customers when it comes to cloud computing -- when something goes wrong, they have to wait around for somebody else to fix it just as the customer does. Frustrating? Sure. Discouraging to potential clients? Undoubtedly. Avoidable? Apparently not. So, what's a partner to do when the system goes down and somebody else has to fix it? Wait, we suppose, and wonder whether cloud computing will ever become reliable enough to erase doubts about it.
What's your take on reliability in the cloud? Do you trust cloud-based applications? Do you have any horror stories about the cloud? Tell them at lpender@rcpmag.com.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 25, 2010 at 12:44 PM2 comments
Windows turns 25 this year, and we'll be celebrating the operating system's big birthday in Redmond and RCP, online and in print. We'd like to get your memories of the first Windows launch, stories about the early days of the OS or even thought on where Windows is going. Send your thoughts to lpender@rcpmag.com. As always, we won't publish anything in the magazines without notifying you first.
Thanks,
Lee
Posted by Lee Pender on August 25, 2010 at 12:31 PM0 comments
Oh, if only Tiger Woods could have delayed the public outing of his indiscretions, we'd be able to make quite a few golf-related jokes here. But with Tiger as stale as a July 4 cake (you have one every year, don't you?), we'll just have to settle for writing about some company called 3Par without making any silly golf references.
After all, we don't know much about golf here at RCPU. We didn't know much about 3Par, either, until today, when news broke that HP and Dell were in a billion-dollar battle to buy the company. Apparently, HP has won the war with a $1.6 billion bid, meaning somebody at 3Par headquarters is swilling champagne right about now.
So, $1.6 billion for a company that does...what, exactly? Well, 3Par makes network-management and storage-virtualization applications, which apparently can play a pretty big role in optimizing cloud-computing environments, particularly cloud storage.
OK, well, that makes sense. Anything that makes cloud computing easier and more cost effective is going to have value for companies like Dell and HP. But this acquisition also makes us wonder: Who else is out there doing this kind of stuff, flying under the radar and waiting for a big-name suitor to come along and finance a few rounds of golf (there it is) for some innovative entrepreneur?
We want to hear from you. Which companies are quietly building themselves up to become the next big players in cloud computing, or the next big buyout targets? Obscure names only please to lpender@rcpmag.com.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 23, 2010 at 1:50 PM0 comments
Actually, there are two tablets coming: one running WebOS, and a likely more expensive (and enterprise-focused) version running Windows 7.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 23, 2010 at 1:52 PM0 comments
It's really pretty amazing that despite the presence of plenty of cheap (or free) alternatives, expensive and bloated Microsoft Office still rules the desktop -- but it does. There's a lot to be said for familiarity, we suppose.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 23, 2010 at 1:56 PM1 comments
Here's a quick back-to-school pop quiz. Choose the best answer.
Intel is:
a) a chip maker
b) a software company
c) a security company
d) all of the above
As of this week, the best answer is d). Intel is buying McAfee for $7.68 billion. That's right; the 'tel in the famous Wintel partnership now has a massive security presence.
The chip maker has been more than a chip maker for a while now, boasting a growing software lineup. But the move into security breaks new ground for Intel. And it suggests that security might be moving to a new home as well: to hardware, in the chip layer, rather than just at the operating-system or application level.
More than that, though, Intel -- if it can succeed in swallowing a pretty big bite in McAfee -- now has a new revenue source that could help boost its flagging financials. It turns out that Intel's core product (so to speak) is a bit commoditized these days, and margins on chip sales aren't what they used to be.
So, Intel is diversifying, expanding and, in buying McAfee, leaving Symantec as the last true monster of the security game. And by doing all of this now, Intel is also giving us at RCPU something to write about in late August. (To figure out what we mean by that, check out the next newsletter entry, which we wrote Wednesday night...) For that, Intel, we thank you.
What's your take on Intel and McAfee? What does it mean for the future of security software? Send it to lpender@rcpmag.com.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 2010 at 2:25 PM2 comments
Do you like what you see? (Oh, and don't pretend that you don't Google, or at least Bing, yourself. We all do. It's only natural.)
Why on earth are we talking about this? Well, it's late August, and there's not much else to talk about. But, beyond that, The Wall Street Journal published an interview this week with Google CEO Eric Schmidt that had some interesting stuff in it.
Notably, Schmidt seems to think that those darn kids today will be entirely different people tomorrow -- or, at least, people with entirely different names. Quoth the journal:
"Mr. Schmidt is surely right, though, that the questions go far beyond Google. 'I don't believe society understands what happens when everything is available, knowable and recorded by everyone all the time,' he says. He predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends' social media sites."
Interesting. Sow your wild (online) oats as a kid and then run away from it all as an adult. What a concept; most of us have had to live with the real-world consequences (or rewards) of the behavior of our youth. The thought that today's kids will be able to have a stupidity-filled virtual youth that they can just jettison when they're in their 20s or 30s is pretty darn intriguing.
And what if those of us who are past childhood (at least in terms of age) are still doing stupid things online now? Is there a statute of limitations on this name-change thing? How many changes do we get? Thoughts to ponder...thoughts to ponder. Eric Schmidt, philosopher. Who knew?
Oh, and by the way, in the worst transition ever, here's a story about Google possibly releasing a Chrome OS tablet the day after Thanksgiving. Just so you know.
Have you ever done anything that made you want to change your name? And what would you choose for a new name? Rattle stuff off at lpender@rcpmag.com.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 2010 at 10:21 AM1 comments
Here's a pretty interesting story that (once again) pounds home a theme: Come up with long, complex passwords. Of course, our password for everything is "RCPU." Just kidding. Or are we...?
Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 2010 at 10:26 AM0 comments
This is that 'Aurora' thing you've been hearing so much about. Or if you haven't, check this out.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 2010 at 10:24 AM0 comments