Wouldn't you know it? I just wrapped up a monster cover story about green computing for the June issue of Redmond magazine, when Microsoft released its top 10 green tips.
I won't walk through all 10, especially since the virtualization tip is rather obvious. Instead, I'll highlight a couple of surprises, such as the very first tip: Compensate IT for datacenter efficiency. Now most bonuses, raises and SLAs are based on speed and uptime. This often leads IT to overbuild, and thus wastes precious watts.
Companies should also reward power savings. Something I didn't realize is that if you have a datacenter that's only half-utilized, you waste electricity. That's because all that power you don't need comes in anyway and ends up stored in UPSes and driving cooling systems that are only really partially used. Getting a detailed picture of actual application loads can help buy future hardware that's not wasteful and is perfectly suited to your software.
Microsoft has a blog item and a pretty good white paper you can check out here.
Posted by Doug Barney on June 22, 20090 comments
Microsoft has always had an odd approach to PC hardware. First and foremost, the company doesn't want to compete with its OEMs. But Redmond wanted a few dollars so it started building mice, which in the early days Windows enabled character-based PCs. In a similar vein, Microsoft sold an add-in PC accelerator card, again aimed at running Windows.
While Microsoft has branched into Zunes and Xboxes on the entertainment side, its PC hardware business still revolves largely around mice. Not too exciting, right? Wrong!
Microsoft's newest mouse, the Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000, does away with the old mouse ball and uses optics for tracking. This way, it doesn't have to glide smoothly over the surface and, as Microsoft claims, can even work on a "shag carpet." Pretty slick.
Posted by Doug Barney on June 22, 20095 comments
When Microsoft entered the anti-virus market, I knocked it for competing against the partners that saved Windows in the first place, and also sold something that should be part of the OS, anyway (the same way seat belts are part of our cars).
Now that Microsoft is on the verge of launching a free anti-virus tool, I have nothing bad to say. Microsoft Security Essentials will be ready for testing tomorrow. Just make sure you have a legit copy of Windows; otherwise, you're out of luck.
I'm optimistic about this software. While clearly not enterprise-class, Security Essentials could be great for netbooks. And even though OneCare was a bust, I've had good luck with the Microsoft anti-virus scanning tool that's similar to Trend Micro's HouseCall (though I can't seem to find it anymore) and Redmond's anti-malware.
Posted by Doug Barney on June 22, 20092 comments
Recently, I described a Google app that allows you to use Outlook to connect to e-mail in the Google cloud. I made the simplistic determination that if it worked, and was indeed far cheaper, then many in IT would switch. Those of you in the IT trenches corrected me posthaste (really fast!). You worried about compliance, archiving and security. This newsletter always lets me know just how little I know!
Microsoft is clearly not a fan of anything that threatens the Exchange franchise, and this week announced that it had found a bug in Google Apps Sync for Outlook. While not exactly a showstopper, the bug does disable Outlook search.
I also disabled Outlook search two years ago -- I simply stopped using it after installing Google desktop search. The Google tool does a far better job of finding e-mails, even those I deleted long ago (not the full message, but I get the subject, a line or so and the address).
Microsoft has one fix for the bug: uninstall Google Sync for Outlook.
Posted by Doug Barney on June 19, 20090 comments
When Vista came out, many new users clamored for the right to move back to XP. Unfortunately, going back wasn't always easy and wasn't usually free. With that lesson in mind, Microsoft just announced that new Windows 7 customers will have a year-and-a-half to move back down to XP or even Vista (however, the plan only applies to high-end versions of Windows 7).
While this is a nice gesture, I think downgraders will be few and far between -- maybe just those who depend on that random app that Windows 7 chokes on. What would make you want or need to go back to XP? And would there ever be a reason to move from Windows 7 to Vista? Answers readily read at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on June 19, 20097 comments
There's a lot of hype over a new search engine Wolfram Alpha, which uses new techniques to give richer results. It's supposed to understand the context of what you're researching, get the relationships between the search term and other data, and simply blow Google out of the Web water.
Wolfram may be the future of search, but its soft launch isn't overly impressive. I gave it the Doug Barney Search Test, which is me searching for my own name. Wolfram basically told me how popular my first and last names are. Not much of an ego boost, eh what?
Posted by Doug Barney on June 17, 20096 comments
Redmond magazine has covered the good and not-so-good sides of IT. I got interested in the seamy side of IT after meeting with about a thousand security vendors. The idea was about selling IT tools that kept out hackers. But more and more, those security players talked about internal threats, with employees themselves doing the hacks. And now, those tools were being given to IT to keep out internal hackers.
So I'd ask, "Who is watching IT itself?" Every vendor was dumbfounded, the assumption being that IT, which controls the network, is inherently trustworthy. "But aren't IT folks just like everyone else, a portion of whom are dirtbags?" Again, the vendors were dumbfounded.
So I decided to find out just what a dirtbag IT guy or gal could do, and asked you, the loyal Redmond Report reader, to tell your tales of IT gone bad. You told me about blackmail, theft, sexual harassment and just plain snooping. Want to here more? Go here.
A few months ago, I decided to look at the bright side and asked you for stories of IT charity and volunteerism. And boy, did I get a lot of great stories! You can read them in Redmond magazine's upcoming July 2009 cover story.
But there's still a bad IT element, and it's bigger than you might think. According to security vendor Cyber-Ark (who gets the IT threat), a full 35 percent of IT people snoop. Sometimes it's just curiosity. Other times, critical data is lifted. The lesson here is that just as IT controls end user privileges, IT privileges should be limited, as well.
Does your shop have a distinct lack of IT morality? Have you taken steps to lock down the 'Net from bad IT apples? Answers and advice welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on June 17, 20091 comments
Microsoft has so much going on that it's easy to forget about Forefront. If you're a fan of ISA Server, pay attention to this release: ISA Server is evolving into the Forefront Threat Management Gateway, which the company said will be out later this year (it's in Beta 3 as we speak).
Microsoft also shipped an update to its Forefront Online Security for Exchange and will be making a big to-do about Forefront Unified Access Gateway, the replacement for Microsoft Intelligent Access Gateway.
Posted by Michael Domingo on June 15, 20090 comments
Dell's Download Store this week has started selling Microsoft Office applications for download at discounts slightly lower than Redmond's retail.
The company already sells goods from companies like CA and Intuit. But with only about 10,000 visitors to its download site weekly, it'll take a while before Dell can mount a challenge against Amazon, Ingram Micro or other big online distributors.
Did you know Dell sells software? Would you buy from them? What's your preferred method for corporate software purchases these days? Tell us at [email protected].
Posted by Michael Domingo on June 15, 20092 comments
Laptops have long been the preferred machine for many shops. Personally, I can't image buying a desktop, as I work from a number of locations (I'm writing this from a comfortable chair in a comfortable house on Cape Cod). And laptops that can be taken home dramatically increase -- often to our detriment -- the number of hours we all work each week.
The same set of circumstances is driving sales of netbooks, which now outnumber the sales of PCs and laptops combined.
The low price, around $300, is one driver. But I think ever greater mobility is the real deal. Instead of trying to get your cell phone to jump through hoops and actually compute, why not get the real thing?
Posted by Doug Barney on June 12, 20091 comments
I always laughed when I heard that Google was about to squash Microsoft. Google had search, a bunch of ad programs and low-end online apps. That wasn't enough bulk to squash a fly.
But sometimes, if you say something long enough, it comes true. Now Google has a real OS in the form of Android, and a real browser in Chrome. And it wants to take over the lucrative e-mail server market with a new tool, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook.
While it doesn't have a cool name, it does have huge potential. The idea is to let us use Outlook, but instead of talking to Exchange servers, we get our mail from Google cloud e-mail servers. Google claims this costs one-sixth as much as Exchange.
If it works, Exchange could be in for some serious pressure. Could we see price cuts, or a more aggressive move to Exchange in the cloud? Would you ditch Exchange for Google? Use whatever e-mail system you want and send me a note at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on June 12, 20093 comments
When it comes to financial projects, Microsoft is more cautious than Neville Chamberlain in 1938. For years, Gates and Ballmer would warn analysts about the next quarter, then promptly blow projections away. The same approach is being taken with Windows 7.
Recently, a Microsoft official warned that sales may be depressed by our current, uh, depression. One factor is that many enterprise budgets are locked down for the year. That means many shops can't move to 7 even if they wanted to. Microsoft is less down on the consumer market, for which 7 should be done in time for the holidays.
There may be a demand hiccup this year for 7, but next year, watch out!
Posted by Doug Barney on June 12, 20093 comments