Microsoft Re-Ups with EMC

The companies renewed and expanded their partnership this week. There's a pretty good Q&A with both CEOs here , and we get the sense that it's not lost on either one of them that EMC still owns VMware, Microsoft's primary rival in virtualization.

Posted by Lee Pender on February 05, 20090 comments


Tech Data Rolls Out Cisco Solutions Group

It's an expansion of the distributor's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Division. More details here .

Posted by Lee Pender on February 05, 20090 comments


Reader Feedback: Words of Warning on Windows 7

With the channel getting a serious look at Windows 7 , we expect the positive buzz from the partner community about the forthcoming operating system to intensify. In fact, with this week's news that Microsoft will offer an upgrade from XP to Windows 7 More

Posted by Lee Pender on February 05, 200910 comments


Seattle Thrift Stores Choked with Discarded Microsoft T-Shirts

Apparently, some of the employees laid off by Microsoft have decided to raise a little cash by unloading some of their painfully uncool apparel. Have a gander at a small gallery here .

Posted by Lee Pender on February 05, 20090 comments


Microsoft Ups Support Services, Downplays Partner Conflict

Everything considered, this is probably a good thing for most Microsoft partners and customers. After all, anything that Microsoft can do to better serve the companies that invest in its technologies is a good thing, right?

Probably. But Microsoft's announcement this week that it would introduce a Premier Mission Critical Support level did raise some concern that Redmond might be moving in on partners' territory. The new support offering will give customers credits if they don't get a response from Microsoft to their support calls within 30 minutes -- and that's 24 hours a day.

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Posted by Lee Pender on February 04, 20090 comments


The Many Faces of Windows 7

Remember how there were about 435 different versions of Vista? Well, there are going to be quite a few versions of Windows 7 , too, but Microsoft won't focus quite so much on trying to push them all.

Posted by Lee Pender on February 04, 20092 comments


Are Enterprises Moving to Vista?

Or maybe the better question is: Why would they? With Windows 7 due out some time within the next 12 months, it's hard to imagine why companies would buy into Vista rather than waiting for what looks like a better operating system. But a recent Forrester survey suggests that while Vista has tiny market share right now, almost half of companies responding were planning to start Vista deployments More

Posted by Lee Pender on February 04, 20092 comments


VMware Opens Up Open Client

The virtualization vendor is bridging the virtual gap between Linux desktops and Windows machines.

Posted by Lee Pender on February 04, 20090 comments


Google's Goof Untangles the Web

You've probably heard about this by now, and maybe you experienced it, but we'd be remiss if we didn't note the comedy of Google identifying every site on the Web as potentially malicious. Then again, isn't there some hidden truth in Google's snafu? Something to consider..

Posted by Lee Pender on February 03, 20090 comments


Chrome and Firefox Clickjacked

The world "clickjack" makes us think of Skipjack's , a small chain of seafood places here in the Boston area. And since we're writing this at just about dinnertime on Monday evening, we're going to just skip right to the article More

Posted by Lee Pender on February 03, 20090 comments


Microsoft Learns from Vista Mistakes with Windows 7

Windows 7 might just be a true rarity, a blue moon rising in the Pacific Northwest. Microsoft's next operating system could just be, if early returns are accurate, a highly anticipated product that actually lives up to its considerable hype.

Of course, following Vista is kind of like following one of those acts that gets chased off stage on Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater; it would take a considerable effort to actually look bad after something like that. So, Windows 7 has that going for it. Timing is everything, or at least very important.

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Posted by Lee Pender on February 03, 20095 comments


Firing and Hiring in Redmond

Well, it's more laying off than firing, really, but it was interesting to read this week that Microsoft, which is so famously laying off 5,000 workers over the next 18 months or so, will also be hiring a couple thousand people More

Posted by Lee Pender on February 03, 20093 comments