OK, so you're excited about XP Mode and ready to download the Windows 7 RC. But what you really want is a replacement for your dull XP or less-than-satisfying Vista. What you want is a final version of 7.
Can you wait 'til October? That's when the rumor mill predicts a release. One piece of evidence? Acer plans to ship a Windows 7 box on Oct. 23.
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Posted by Doug Barney on May 01, 20090 comments
During last week's big
Oracle-Sun hoopla
, Doug asked readers what they think Oracle should do with Sun's portfolio. Here are one reader's suggestions:
Here is my wholly unqualified opinion on the subject from the perspective of what I could see being the most valuable/sensible actions for Oracle: Sun hardware, along with Solaris, becomes a pre-packaged Oracle database solution complete with storage, software and hardware optimization (sort of a database appliance, if you will). NetBeans and Java, including the recently released JavaFX, get packaged and sold together (to IBM, perhaps?). MySQL becomes an Oracle-backed open source project with the goal of pushing the envelope and proving concepts that will get refined and optimized into Oracle. OpenOffice gets released to the public domain and/or Open source community to thrive or die. VirtualBox goes one of two ways -- either the whole xVM project gets placed in its own division to survive or die as a strategic counter to the other virtualization solutions Oracle is able to run on (in theory), or the xVM project gets scrapped and sold or left to die on its own.
Is this what will happen? Who knows. Is this what I would like to see? No. I like Sun the way it was (well, except for the nearly non-viability of the operation). What I want to see is marketing and business operation consolidations between the companies and the rest left alone. I just have never seen any buy-out like this happen that way.
-Thomas
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 29, 20090 comments
I may have been wrong, very wrong about Windows 7. I interviewed dozens of Windows 7 beta testers, and no one said a word about a virtual XP compatibility mode. When I suggested that Microsoft give Windows 7 a virtual layer to mimic or even fully include XP, it wasn't an entirely original thought; some analysts, including from Gartner, made a similar argument.
Apparently, behind the scenes, Microsoft felt the same way. Word is now leaking out that at least some versions of Windows 7 will run XP apps in this virtual compatibility box.
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 29, 20090 comments
What kind of software does pretty much every PC have? Yeah, an operating system. But they also have a browser, especially as Microsoft still largely considers the browser and OS as one and the same. That, and the fact that the browser is the most Internet-facing tool, make it a
perfect target for hackers
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 29, 20090 comments
Microsoft may be in the process of
laying off 5,000 workers
, but there's one area where Redmond can't get enough new employees:
Windows 8
.
The job postings reveal a smidge about new features, including clustering and replication. The replication is interesting as Notes creator Ray Ozzie is considered the father of modern replication. The ads also mention that "the core engine is being reworked," which is a very good thing. Some experts, however, are focusing on the term "rework" and believe there won't be a new core.
Posted by Doug Barney on April 29, 20090 comments
In the April
Redmond
cover story
, I stuck my neck out farther than the Toys "R" Us giraffe. In it, I argued that Microsoft has the talent, product set and fiscal discipline to make it through the recession relatively unscathed.
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 27, 20090 comments
One reader takes issue with the description of Microsoft as having had "
two straight losing quarters
":
Microsoft doesn't need me to defend them, really, but your choice of words, "two straight losing quarters," is deceptive, misleading or even untrue in that it implies that Microsoft lost money. A more accurate choice of words would have been "two straight quarters of declining earnings growth," which is still a critical business indicator, just not deceptive.
Upon further reflection, you could even say "declining earnings" without the "growth" if earnings are actually lower than the prior period. But it's still not losing when they're still profitable.
-Anonymous
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 27, 20090 comments
A few months ago, I got hammered when I mentioned a certain non-public Microsoft beta was available on BitTorrent. A reader or two complained that these were unauthorized downloads and I was an unwitting accomplice.
So now I will report that the Windows 7 release candidate is
up on BitTorrent
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 27, 20090 comments
Microsoft spends billions on security, whether it's built into the products, an add-on or a fix. But as we all know, this isn't enough. Now Microsoft wants a helping hand -- from you! That's right, Microsoft wants IT professionals to
help stem the hacker tide
. It also want resellers and ISVs to kick in, as well.
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 27, 20090 comments
Don't worry, readers: Doug will be back on Monday to deliver Redmond Report as usual, but in the meantime, we're filling in for him. Let's get started:
Microsoft changed its plans: It won't be holding its business intelligence (BI) conference this year in October. Instead, its next BI event will take place in Seattle, Wash. Some time in October 2010, according to Microsoft's
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 24, 20090 comments
VMware loves clouds so much it wants to help you build your own. VMware last year announced a broad strategy to help service providers build clouds, and for IT to do the same. Then these IT clouds can be linked to outside clouds so extra capacity doesn't require more internal servers -- just a fatter WAN connection.
The notion of an internal cloud may be a bit ahead of its time. We wanted to do a full cover story on how to build your own cloud but felt the tools weren't mature enough and IT not quite ready.
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 22, 20090 comments
Press reports of Oracle buying Sun imply it's a done deal, and maybe it is. Some of these deals go fast and smooth and others collapse faster than a Jenga stack. Some open source fans may prefer the latter as it's unclear how the commercially oriented Oracle (and boy, is it ever) may not have the love for Java, open source IDEs and MySQL that Sun has.
With the wealth of Sun open tools, it's pretty clear that not all would survive being commandeered by Oracle. Many see NetBeans getting quickly roasted. Beyond that, will Oracle put muscle behind OpenOffice just to irritate Microsoft, or set it adrift? And what about Java itself?
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Posted by Doug Barney on April 22, 20090 comments