Hype-Master Rains on Cloud Parade

Larry's beef? That clouds refer to almost anything going on in computing today -- Web services, SaaS and massive datacenters from the likes of Amazon. VMware is even talking about turning our datacenters into mini-clouds. If you check out the link, there's a great discussion about the future of clouds and what this all means.

Are clouds over-hyped and what do clouds mean to you? Answers, please, at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on October 01, 20080 comments

Private Browsing Not 100 Percent Private

But private browsing isn't a perfect defense against hackers or tech-savvy parents and spouses. Spyware and other techniques can still track your every move, steal your password and rob you blind.

The answer, I guess, is to treat your private browser as if it's open, making sure your security software is up-to-date and working right.

Posted by Doug Barney on October 01, 20080 comments

Mailbag: Thoughts on Google and Apple, More

Browser is awesome; I've been using it all day. The installer sucks. It is a user-based install, which forcedly dumps itself in the current user's Application Data folder. I like to run as a limited user so this does not work well for me. Whether I tried installing as admin, or using 'Run As' while logged in as my limited user, it forcedly and secretly places the installation in the administrator's Application Data folder, which I cannot access or execute files from while logged in as my limited user. What I had to do to get it working the way I(kind of) wanted was temporarily give my limited user admin rights, install it, then de-admin myself. Why not give me the choice to install for THIS USER or ALL USERS like most programs or, for heaven's sake, at least let me choose which folder I want to install the software in!

Other than that, though, it seems like a really great product, simple and easy to understand.
-Tim

Though this may place me squarely within a minority among technology specialists, I'm not impressed with Google to the degree so commonly expressed these days. Not that Google isn't a powerhouse, because it is, but I don't agree with those that want to see it as a company predestined to rule the world and/or seemingly content to give it a free ride because they simply see it as the anti-Microsoft. I see Google as intent upon and involved in much for which there would be an unending public outrage if coming from Microsoft. Such is the way of the world, unfortunately.

I welcome the entry of Chrome into the marketplace, however, primarily because it's raising expectations concerning increased JavaScript performance, something from which everyone will benefit. On the other hand, I have no faith, nor any interest in, suggestions of Chrome as an emerging application platform. I see such expectations as entirely unrealistic in today's world, a throwback to failed attempts by others to achieve the same in years past, and again, something which would be the focus of intense ridicule and consternation if suggested by Microsoft rather than Google.
-John

No, I'm not excited about the Google phone. I just want a nice, high-quality cell phone that doesn't do anything but be a cell phone. That's getting harder and harder to find, if it's even still possible.

Anyway, I think Google or Apple can stamp their names on any piece of junk technology and the Google and Apple fanatics will automatically go gaga over it, even before they know anything about it.
-Brad

I am like a little, giddy schoolboy when it comes to the Android platform. I am a IT technician and I rely on my phone very much when I need to get online at any given moment. I have kept track of the Anroid platform since its first press release. I, like so many others, where hoping that Sprint would be the first carrier to provide the Android platform (it wasn't). But when it does offer it, I am for sure going to be there to trade my phone in.
-Anonymous

Count Jordan among those who think that Apple simply costs too much:

Apple overpriced? In many respects, it is. To the average consumer, its prices are ridiculous.

I work as a desktop admin for a school system of around 25,000 machines, half Apple, half PC. Apple does cut us some pretty good deals on the cost of the machines from its side, but the downside is our Apple support tickets are two-fold that of the PC tickets. The man hours lost in supporting them does not equal out to being worth the intial cost of the item. No, this isn't me saying we have a Dell 755 running against an eMac. We have models from all years but the old Dell GX110s chug along just fine, when the eMacs lose a hard disk or logic board daily. We have new 755s that you can swap an HD or other part on within seconds compared to the two- to three-hour service time for a new iMac. Apple costs too much in the forefront for the consumer, and costs too much to support for the enterprise.
-Jordan

And James responds to another reader who questioned the findings of a study that said most botnets come from the U.S.:

Maybe "Anonymous" should go back to school, perhaps to the grade where they discuss "more" versus "less." Apparently, he doesn't understand that 20.7 million is more than 7.7 million. It has nothing to do with "normalizing the number of users." If you want to try and spin things so that the facts get all distorted, that's when you start throwing out the terms "normalize the numbers" or "the percentage of the whatever." But the basic fact is that 20.7 million is more than 7.7 million, so the article was true. Maybe this person could go work for the McCain campaign since they don't seem to let facts get in the way of their statements.
-James

Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on October 01, 20080 comments

Visual Studio 2010 Announced in 2008

That wasn't the only news. Microsoft also talked up some 2010 features, especially Team System items like helping those with different roles -- such as architects and coders -- work better together.

One move that may dismay some is that Visual Studio 2010 won't support SQL Server 2005. That may not be a huge deal as it takes a while for developers to move new IDE releases.

I've covered Microsoft development tools off and on (more off than on) for over 20 years and noticed that Microsoft always pays close attention to developers. If programmers want something, chances are they're going to get it.

Have you worked with Microsoft on the development side and, if so, how did they treat you? Opinions welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on September 30, 20080 comments

Shiny, Happy Chrome Site

What Nate did is similar to what I'm doing with an upcoming Reader Review -- getting the skinny on Chrome. In Nate's case, we see one very well-informed opinion backed by his benchmarks. In my story, over a dozen Redmond Report readers will help form an overall evaluation of Chrome.

Here's what Nate liked: the sparse interface, speed and private browsing (what are you trying to hide, Nate?). On his not-so-good list? No advances in bookmarking and a processor-intensive architecture.

Posted by Doug Barney on September 30, 20080 comments

Mailbag: Is Apple Overpriced?, More

I do not own an Apple. However, my impression has always been that Apple chooses quality and reliable components, which causes the higher prices. Are they overpriced? Is a BMW overpriced? They are certainly HIGHER priced...but OVERpriced? Only if they do not deliver value. If a computer crashes less and lasts longer, but is priced higher, there could be value there, even for an enterprise. How much is your time worth to troubleshoot goofy crashes, root out spyware and viruses, and/or re-image the machine?

Again, this is just my impression, not based on any facts, as I do not own an Apple. But sometimes I am envious of those that do (especially when I am staring at a Blue Screen of Death).
-Scott

You seem to be forgetting that Apple is a hardware company that writes software so it can sell its hardware. Microsoft is a software company that designs some hardware so it can sell its software (Lord knows, it has yet to make a dime off the hardware). So I say: Microsoft's software is overpriced because it's from a single source. And as the King of Windows, Office and Xbox games, Microsoft rules with an iron fist. Microsoft should be more like Apple and open source its OS like Darwin is.

As for the Mac beings overpriced, that's comparing Apples to, well, PCs. Apple computers are for those who value quality over price and are willing to pay for it. Top-shelf products always cost more.
-Anonymous

Jobs sells a premium product to an exclusive and remarkably loyal customer base (how many iPods do you own?). Sure, his computers are overpriced. So are his music players. So what? His customers keep coming back. Why? Because Jobs is selling sex -- as surely as if he ran Victoria's Secret! In truth, the iMac is no more expensive than a comparably equipped Dell -- but Dell also sells entry-level hardware that can do everything the average user needs for it to do. For most people, an iMac is simply overkill.

Apple is in a Catch-22. It cannot offer hardware at entry-level price points because it doesn't sell enough hardware to be able to absorb the extremely small profit margins at those price points. Nor can it get its production levels up high enough to tolerate the narrow margins without first lowering its prices dramatically. If Apple were to change itself into a software house, allowing users to put Mac OS X on everyone's Intel box, it would get their license numbers up but destroy its hardware business. If you think this would be a good idea, look what happened to NeXT computers, Jobs' other venture. Jobs decided a long time ago to leave the mass market to his geeky counterpart at Microsoft -- and take as much of the premium market for himself as he could -- almost entirely through brilliant marketing.
-Marc

Speaking of marketing, Coleen thinks the new Microsoft ads are an improvement...but the Mojave ads are another story:

I do like the new "I'm a PC" ads better than what had come before. Quirky wasn't working, and by the end of one evening of watching (admittedly) a lot of television, I was quickly sick of the strange Seinfeld ad.

The "Mojave" ads are seriously getting on my nerves, though. The biggest part of Vista's problems has to do with its lack of compatibility with existing drivers. In my admittedly anecdotal experience, even drivers that are designed for Vista can cause devices like printers to lose some of the functionality they once had. Granted, that's the manufacturer's fault, but it's been so rampant that Vista has gotten an ugly reputation. Putting people in a room with computers that Microsoft has chosen and pre-installed with Vista is not a realistic way to judge the product.
-Coleen

Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on September 30, 20080 comments

Clicking Off Clickjacking

Apparently, clickjacking is where a hacker gets a user to click a link. Unlike phishing, where the hacker tries to get you to go to a site you think is legit (just this morning, Bank of America asked me to reset my site key -- or at least it looked like Bank of America), clickjackers get you to click on something you barely notice. Once you do, they can lead you to a site of their own choosing or making.

The bad news? Pretty much all browsers are vulnerable, as is Flash.

Posted by Doug Barney on September 30, 20080 comments

Oracle Takes the Hardware Road

Now Oracle is back in the hardware saddle, this time with a vastly different and higher-end strategy. This time, the Oracle hardware is designed to support a massive database server and a separate storage appliance.

The move is more about packaging than innovation. Oracle will simply blend its software with HP hardware. Still, moves like this make it easier for IT to buy, install, operate and maintain systems, so there's a clear net plus.

Posted by Doug Barney on September 29, 20080 comments

Ballmer Upbeat

While I wasn't happy that Ballmer was right back then, I'll be pleased if he's right this time around. Last week, in three separate speeches, Mr. Ballmer argued that the tech sector had "buoyancy" and wouldn't collapse despite the Wall Street debacle. In fact, he has so much faith in his company that Microsoft is buying back $40 billion worth of MSFT shares.

Posted by Doug Barney on September 29, 20080 comments

Mailbag: More Microsoft Ad Thoughts

The "I'm a PC" ads are much improved over the Seinfeld ad! The Seinfeld ad was funny and quirky, but really failed to get the message across. I like how the "I'm a PC" ad directly addresses the Apple commercial. It does a nice job of eliminating the spin Apple tries to put on PC users as un-cool, nerdy business types. It effectively shows that a wide variety of people in a wide variety of scenarios choose to rely on Windows-based PCs because they do work super-well, regardless of the Apple spin. Why Microsoft did not do this from the start is puzzling! Is this commercial 3.0? It must be, because MS finally got it right!

The Mojave Experiment commercial and Web site is also a good effort to calm the Vista misconception storm. Bravo, MS! Your marketing efforts are looking much, much better now!
-Jason

I'm a PC for now...but just out of necessity!

I wonder if Microsoft is having problems with its ad campaign because most of the creative minds in the advertising industry use Macs. It just seems like millions of dollars should be able to buy higher-quality ads than what we've seen. I guess we could give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and maybe, just maybe, it's saving the best for last.
-Richard

I don't see the "I'm a PC" ads as defensive, but rather as mocking. MS took the bull by the horns -- a gutsy move, in my book.
-Bernie

The latest MS ads are even more reason to buy Mac. Keep up the good work, MS! The world is laughing at you. Doesn't Microsoft know that "PC" equals "Piece of Crap"?

The one where the "regular Joe" people are shown the "Mojave Experiment" then told it's Vista...they must have pulled those morons out of the Mojave. If they didn't know Vista and how badly it sucks, why should they have any credibility?
-Tom

Join the fray! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on September 29, 20080 comments

iPhone Store Not Completely Open

All this obscures some rather troubling facts: Its computers are overpriced and because they're from a single source, many enterprises are forced to steer clear. And as the king of the Mac, iPod and iPhone platforms, Apple rules with an iron fist.

The latest downer is how Apple is treating iPhone developers. You'd think Apple would want as many iPhone apps as possible, what with Google set to enter the market and Microsoft already a longtime player. As John Belushi might have said, "But noooooo!" If your app competes with Apple's own software, there's no place for you in the iPhone store.

Ever wonder how cool things would be if Steve Jobs and Bill Gates traded places? How would Apple and Microsoft be different with this kind of switch? Random conjecture welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on September 29, 20080 comments

Mailbag: Remembering 9/11, Fixing Vista, More

I was on my way to a technical college -- a Windows Server 2000 class. The first news report I heard said a traffic helicopter hit one of the towers. I remember thinking how odd that was. The instructor had the TV on during the entire class. We all sat in horror as the towers came down and as more planes crashed. My nephew, then 14, was frantic until he found out his mother was safe (she is a flight attendant for United). He had recently lost his father. My niece and her family live in Manhattan. Her husband works close to the towers. Again we were frantic for knowledge that he was safe.

I didn't lose any immediate family that day, but I think all of us lost from our American family. How did we as Americans start to gloss over this horrible event so fast? I heard we have an attention span of about two weeks. I think it's shorter.
-Barb

I had just walked out my front door to go to work. Finding that my car had been broken into, I went back into the house and called the cops. While waiting for the police to arrive, I turned on the TV. The news was just breaking; everyone was speculating on whether this was an accident or an act of terror. Then on live TV, we all got our answer as the second tower was hit. When the cops showed up, that police report just didn't seem quite as important. This showed me that even when you think you are having a bad day, you really should go back and count your blessings.
-William

I was on-site at a client office in the medical center in Houston, where we live. Colleagues called me out to the area sitting room to watch the news of the first one. I was touched by the loss of life, digested that, and returned to my desk. After a while came the news of No. 2. I returned to watch and listen. After taking in the images for a few minutes, my heart sank. My wife was in downtown Houston, at her job, on the 44th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Houston. I went immediately to the phone, called her, said something really stupid, then got my wits and told her to leave the building immediately.

Of course our family was safe. There was no threat in Houston. We have counted our blessings many times since that day, sometimes in remembrance of that day. Thank you for taking a moment to remember it, and to invite reflection. Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones on that horrific day. Special sadness comes over me each time I think of the brave responders running into those buildings and helping others exit. My heart breaks for each innocent life lost.
-Rick

I had the unusual distinction of being in both New York and Washington on 9/11 and saw both the Twin Towers and the Pentagon just before they were hit. You may recall that Jeff Immelt had the unfortunate timing of taking over GE from Jack Welch on Sept. 10. Jeff scheduled a live satellite video feed to introduce himself companywide (worldwide) to over 330,000 employees. I am based in Washington, D.C. and flew to White Plains, N.Y. to work on that project at a Danbury, Conn. building.

I was scheduled to fly home to D.C. the night of Sept. 10, but a big thunderstorm came in and grounded all of the flights. I got a hotel in White Plains and a reservation on a flight out the next morning. The flight took off at about 8 and I flew over Manhattan at about 8:20 (the first plane hit the tower at about 8:45). I had a window seat on the left as we headed south. We flew just west of Manhattan and I got a magnificent view of the city. I recall thinking how I never grow tired of seeing the city from that perspective.

By the time we landed at Washington National, the place was buzzing. No one was quite sure what to do. They knew about New York, but had not yet grounded all flights. I got in my car and started heading to my office in Northern Virginia. The route took me up the George Washington Parkway, which goes right next to the Pentagon (they have since moved the road a few hundred feet to the east so it is not as close). Shortly after I passed the Pentagon at about 9:40, the radio announcers said there was smoke coming from the Pentagon. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw it firsthand. It was all still very confusing and surreal. The gravity of the situation did not kick in until I got to my office and saw the second tower fall on live TV.
-Mark

I was working at my job in Columbus, Ohio (systems analyst with a large insurance company). When the first plane hit, we turned on a TV in our break room and watched as the events of that morning unfolded. I could not help but feel a deep sense of loss, but could not put my finger on exactly what. Having grown up in New York City, I had many friends and relatives living there. Friends who worked in Lower Manhattan. My cousin's wife was on her way to work, but was not in the immediate area yet. Another friend was out of town that day.

Later, I learned that 11 high school mates were in the towers. Seven of them were firemen, and one had been in my graduating class. Two members of the sports car club that I race with were on Flight 63. To this day, I wear the pin from the fire department I belonged to in Upstate New York, and carry memorials on the sides of my race car. I also proudly wear the unit patch from the fire station that my classmate belonged to.
-Anonymous

On 9/11, I was in Houston with three other co-workers. We were expanding our office there and we had brought in two new racks with new hardware. We were eating breakfast at the hotel before we went into the office and the TV was on, showing the WTC and talking about how a plane had hit one of the buildings. With shock and confusion, people watched the TV, some standing, some still eating. Then the second plane hit the other building while we were all watching.

Knowing this was not TV but reality was completely heart-stopping. I called my daughter as she was in New York with her dad. They typically take the subway train which passes through the WTC on up to mid-town. Thankfully, they had not even gotten up yet. I called home to Virginia to check on the rest of my family. I have a sister whose husband worked at the Pentagon. She had not heard from him, and by this time a plane had hit there. She was understandably in a panic. As the day went on she finally got in touch with him; he was helping people within the Pentagon who had been hurt.

Several days later, our work in Dallas completed, I remember sitting out by the pool, still seething with anger over the attack...and in the late evening sunset, an airplane finally took into the air. After the skies above Dallas had been empty of jets, this was a small but significant event, and I was proud. I got on an airplane the next day and the airport was fairly empty. All the employees and passengers were at high alert. I have always enjoyed flying and this day the flight seemed special. The clouds below the wing more fluffy, the land far below more rugged, the people, with or without fear, pushing forward.
-Karen

I was in the dean's office of the engineering college at Ohio Northern University for my work study. The exec assistant came in and said that one of the towers was hit. When I went down to watch, the Pentagon had been hit. It was amazing how the university came together that day and you could walk down the hallway of the dorms and hear CNN without missing a beat.

I remember calling my mom and she said that this event would be, for me, like the assassination of JFK was for her. The world would never be the same.
-Lora

A couple of you share more of your thoughts on Vista:

It is easy to fix Vista. Just demand that people buy hardware that will run Vista well. Apple sells Macs based on quality, not price. HP, Dell, etc. sell PCs based on price. I tried Vista on a relatively low-end computer but it was duo-core with 2GB RAM. It ran badly. I put it on a quadcore with 4GB RAM and it runs well.

Some of the things Vista users hate, Mac users accept without hesitation. One example is Vista demanding Administrator credentials to install programs or updates. Mac does the same thing. I support Windows, Macs and Linux. I prefer Windows, even Vista, to the Mac OS.
-Earl

I'm currently working as a consultant at Microsoft and want to admit full-disclosure to that fact when I give my opinion on the subject. Vista was hard to get used to at first, I agree. There were many pieces of software that didn't incorporate the new rules for coding or new locations of files that wouldn't run on it. There were also hardware issues -- you couldn't just load Vista onto any old machine and expect it to perform.

I'm now happy to say we're past those problems. Most IBM-compatible machines are now built with the intention of running Vista and most software has been upgraded to be compatible with it, as well. It's like any new platform/software/system you have to learn. Once you get used to it, you have a hard time using something that doesn't have the latest features.
-Sharon

And readers chime with their thoughts on the virtualization front:

I would like to see VMware refugees make an even cooler package that will make money and kick others in the pants. Maybe a suite of virtual IP 6-based "hardware" or multiple virtual RAID arrays. With the failover abilities that are out there now with VMware, I think they may have many more ideas up there.
-Anonymous

The question shouldn't be whether Hyper-V is a viable competitor to VMware. It should be whether the hypervisor matters at all. And though it does today, that won't be the case for very long. The hypervisor is a commodity and all the vendors know it. Microsoft made a huge play with the System Center Virtual Manager and that is going to be worth way more money and market share to them than having Hyper-V out there.
-Seth

Check in tomorrow for more reader letters! In the meantime, share your thoughts by leaving a comment below, or sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on September 25, 20080 comments