Well, we're not sure we can vouch for the a-OK part, but the release candidate of System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2 is available, anyway.
Posted by Lee Pender on June 10, 20090 comments
If the hype Microsoft generated for Vista was a 200-piece brass band playing John Philip Sousa marches with baton twirlers in tow and fireworks going off overhead, then Redmond's attitude toward Windows 7 is something closer to the mood music for this entry, Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" (performed here in 1972 with the requisite earth-tone background and big-bow-tie tuxedos of the era).
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 10, 20090 comments
Yeah, OK, it's not the most attention-grabbing headline ever, but your editor spent a considerable amount of time today poring over this blog entry about Microsoft's flat stock price and future strategy, as well as perusing the generally thought-provoking comments that follow the entry. We at RCPU are not quite as enamored with Apple as this fellow is, but a lot of what he says about Windows and Office reflects a viewpoint we're starting to come around to ourselves. Enjoy.
Posted by Lee Pender on June 09, 20090 comments
Ten fixes are on the way today, so don't be surprised if this update is a heavy one.
Posted by Lee Pender on June 09, 20090 comments
"Listen, don't really matter to me
Baby, you believe what you wanna believe"
--from "Refugee" by Tom Petty
You don't have to live like a refugee...but if you're a partner, you do have to pay attention to IT spending forecasts. They're a decent gauge of how much money is going to be in your bank account in the next few months. And, as with so many things in the industry, IT spending forecasts might as well be IT spinning forecasts, so full are they of differing angles and brave predictions. Let's try to go from best to worst with what we've seen lately.
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 09, 20091 comments
It's been so long since we've run reader e-mails that we just can't help ourselves. You're getting a double dose this week! Let's pick up with Microsoft patenting technology to lock down the operating system. Joseph can kind of see where Microsoft is going with this:
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 04, 20090 comments
Back in the mists of time (weeks ago, when Swine Flu was in the news and Susan Boyle wasn't yet suffering from overexposure), we asked readers to send us "buy bonds" posters in honor of Microsoft's first-ever bond offering. To our great surprise, somebody actually did, and the contribution is magnificent. Check out Rae's handiwork:
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 04, 20090 comments
Boo! No, we're not booing Vista (anymore); we're trying to surprise you with the arrival of Windows 7, which is now due Oct. 22. That's just in time for Halloween, of course, which makes us wonder what Windows 7's costume will be.
Most likely, it'll be dressed as a knight in shining armor, out to avenge the good name of Microsoft after the Vista debacle. Or maybe it'll come in a lion's costume, ready to roar after Vista turned out to be a lamb (a generous characterization of the latter, we think -- we could have gone with something closer to rat). Whatever. We really don't have anything more to say about this except that we're curious to see how Windows 7 goes over. And we haven't even thought about our own Halloween costume yet. It's June, for heaven's sake.
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 04, 20094 comments
So, you thought NetApp was buying Data Domain. Well, so did NetApp. And then this happened: EMC got involved. Now it looks as though the storage titan and mothership of VMware will claim the acquisition prize and leave NetApp with its corporate head spinning.
Posted by Lee Pender on June 03, 20090 comments
Microsoft has a competitor to Windows in the netbook market that's not called Linux. It's -- guess who? -- Google, with the Android operating system, which will soon run on some Acer netbooks and likely make them cheaper than Windows models.
This is happening just as Microsoft and netbook maker Asus have decided to launch an anti-Linux campaign for netbooks. Linux, though, might be the easier of the two opponents to defeat in the battle for netbook OS supremacy. Stay tuned...
Posted by Lee Pender on June 03, 20090 comments
For a company with the mantra "don't be evil," Google sure does terrify a lot of folks in the technology industry.
Late last week, the search titan talked up Google Wave, a phenomenon probably best (and most often) described as a "real-time communication platform" but apparently packed with the destructive power of an asteroid slamming into the earth. Or at least into a bunch of big technology companies.
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Posted by Lee Pender on June 03, 20092 comments
Let's set the mood for this one with a Pink Floyd tune we hadn't heard in years until it broke the normally crushing banality of classic-rock radio on the commute home the other day. It's "Free Four" by Pink Floyd, and while it's actually incredibly depressing, it is catchy...and relevant to this entry.
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Posted by Lee Pender on May 28, 20090 comments