- Office 2007's hopes for the future
- Daily news beat for May 13, 2008
- Daily News beat for May 12, 2008
- Daily News beat for May 9, 2008
- Daily News beat for May 8, 2008
- 'Fat' Vista has beefy client hardware needs
- Daily News beat for May 1, 2008
- Does keeping XP hurt Microsoft's bottom line?
- Is the Microsoft Architecture credential worth the cost?
- Windows XP isn't dead yet
May 14, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Office 2007's hopes for the future
The latest crop of Office servers has brought several new computing capabilities and opened a wealth of opportunities.
"There are, however, missing pieces and unfinished parts to these servers, though it's possible that the next releases will include more of what we need," J. Peter Bruzzese writes in Hopes for the future of Office 2007 collaboration.
Bruzzese looks at three such servers: Forms, Groove, and Communications.
"In harmony with the spirit of collaboration, wherein people work toward a common goal, I hope the folks at Microsoft consider some of my ideas before releasing the next version."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 14, 2008 04:29 AM
May 13, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for May 13, 2008
What was rumor and speculation yesterday became truth today as Hewlett-Packard bought EDS for $13.9 billion in a move HP CEO Mark Hurd described as being "about us putting our outsourcing business into EDS." Analysts, meanwhile, are saying that HP and EDS make for a high-risk merger because even though the combined entity will be strong on infrastructure-related services it will be weak, relative to IBM, on business-level dialogue with customers. Related analysis: Why HP wants EDS.
In a rather bold proclamation a company executive said Tuesday that Microsoft hopes to capture 40 percent of the smartphone market by 2012 -- an ambitious plan given its small market share today and the stiff competition it faces.
Twenty-five percent of respondents said they plan to spend less on software in coming months, while only 12 percent indicated spending would rise, according to a recent survey by ChangeWave Research that indicates a deepening trend.
The E.U. won't seek a new antitrust complaint against Microsoft and the group is not following up a British agency's complaint about Microsoft business practices the way it normally would, but Microsoft maintains that it will continue to work with the group and try to resolve the issue.
And editor-at-large Paul Krill, at the JavaOne show this week, wonders whether former Sun CEO will show his face this year, in It's JavaOne, but where's Scott?
Posted by Tom Sullivan on May 13, 2008 09:21 AM
May 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily News beat for May 12, 2008
A Microsoft document claims the fault for endless reboots lies in the Windows XP image originally installed on the PC by the computer manufacturers.
The FBI is worried that by tampering with Cisco networking equipment, spies could open up a back door to sensitive military systems using counterfeit gear.
Sun Microsystems is trying to rejuvenate Java, using the JavaOne conference to position the platform as a foundation for next-generation technologies in such spaces as rich Internet applications and cloud-based services.
Research in Motion introduced the well-connected BlackBerry Bold, which beats Apple's iPhone to the 3G punch.
Database maker Vertica is moving its technology to Amazon's EC2 cloud computing infrastructure, hoping to score customers who want a pay-as-you-go model for data warehousing and BI.
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 12, 2008 08:50 AM
May 09, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily News beat for May 9, 2008
Installing Windows XP SP3 sends some PCs into an endless series of reboots. A Windows blogger has tentatively identified XP SP3's problem as involving only machines using processors from AMD.
Apple is once again being pilloried for its green credentials, taking last place among computer firms rated within a recent ClimateCounts survey on climate friendliness.
Windows Vista has experienced 639 unique vulnerabilities over the last six months, slightly more vulnerabilities than Windows 2000.
AT&T has offered no explanation for why it scrubbed from its Web site all references to iPhone users receiving free access to AT&T's public wireless hotspots.
In the high-tech industry dozens of CEOs came away with multimillion dollar compensation packages, pumped up by huge stock and option awards, which is doing little to quell the cry for reform from industry watchdogs and activist shareholders.
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 9, 2008 08:40 AM
May 08, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily News beat for May 8, 2008
Six months after its release, Mac OS X Leopard has gained ground and maturity and grown into a solid computing platform with enough new features to tempt Mac users to upgrade.
Reports of the death of the Microsoft-Yahoo deal could be greatly exaggerated as there is still a possibility that both sides will return to the bargaining table.
Despite a multitude of scripting languages, Sun officials defend the need for the company's new JavaFX Script platform.
Mozilla warns that a language pack for Firefox 2 has been infected with an adware code, affecting everybody who has downloaded the pack since Feb. 18.
Yahoo will beta test in India the new Glue Pages search concept that combines text, images, and video results on a single results page.
AMD kills earlier plans to release 8-core chips and will instead jump straight to a 12-core processor, code-named Magny-Cours.
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 8, 2008 08:45 AM
May 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
'Fat' Vista has beefy client hardware needs
Cross-tabular analysis -- "one of those 'nerdy' sounding terms that statisticians like to use when expounding upon their latest data-mining gems" -- is the lifeblood of InfoWorld's Windows Sentinel project.
Using tidbit pulled from Windows Sentinel's cross-tabular analysis, Randall C. Kennedy exposes in his blog, how "not only is Vista 'fatter' than XP, it's also more demanding at a very fundamental level. Hence the need for beefier client hardware with lots of cores."
Kennedy also outlines how "Vista-based PCs are experiencing roughly 30% higher memory pressure, across the board, than their XP brethren.
"But you don't need lots of fancy abstract statistics to tell you that. Just boot the thing ... and wait ... and wait ... and wait ..."
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 7, 2008 07:07 AM
May 01, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily News beat for May 1, 2008
Microsoft confirmed that it delayed the rollout of Windows XP SP3 because changes to the OS can corrupt data in the company's retail point-of-sale and store management software.
Adobe announced a new initiative, called the Open Screen Project, which opens up access to its Flash technology.
Researchers at Hewlett-Packard have developed a memory circuit that could ultimately replace RAM and make computers more intelligent by tracking data it has retained.
Microsoft's board of directors met to decide how to proceed with the company's bid to acquire Yahoo, although no final decision was reached.
Tibco will make a play in the computer hardware space with its new Tibco Messaging Appliance for ultra-low-latency messaging deployments.
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 1, 2008 08:17 AM
May 01, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Does keeping XP hurt Microsoft's bottom line?
InfoWorld has been leading the charge to save Windows XP. And as Bill Snyder writes in today's Tech's Bottom Line blog, "I might well be inclined to tell InfoWorld to stuff it if I really thought there was a compelling business reason to toss XP overboard. ... But a legitimate business case for dropping XP doesn't exist.
"Even factoring out the copies preinstalled on consumer PCs (where XP has not been an option for a year), there's real Vista demand out there that will continue to enrich Microsoft, whether XP is supported or not."
Besides, Microsoft already has a way to get Vista revenues from XP sales. "The so-called downgrade option, which entails purchasing a Vista license to buy XP, clearly protects the company from revenue loss on the enterprise and small-business sides of the business. It's also worth noting that enterprise upgrades tend to be driven by hardware replacement cycles, not operating system changes," says analyst Matt Rosoff.
There you have it, Snyder says. "Microsoft can do both the right thing and the smart thing by saving XP. So don't be a cheapskate, Steve. Listen to your customers."
Help Ballmer decide to keep XP. Sign the "Save XP" petition!
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 1, 2008 06:41 AM
April 30, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Is the Microsoft Architecture credential worth the cost?
With the arrival of Windows Server 2008 comes a whole new lineup of exams from Microsoft and the end of the MCSE certification era.
At the top of the heap in the new catalog of Microsoft certification options is the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) program, which comes in two flavors: one for technology-based architecture skills, which includes training and certification; and one for broad architecture skills (which entails certification only).
The costs for the technology-specific MCA certification run $25,000, paid in full before you begin. While the costs for the MCA: Solutions or Infrastructure certifications are $10,000.
As J. Peter Bruzzese writes in today's Enterprise Windows, "Some have wondered whether the new certification is worth the effort and what the program is really like. Being that the total number of MCAs is just more than 100, it is difficult to find feedback on the subject. However, Richard Godfrey, the CEO of iPrinciples, spoke with Jeremy Smith regarding the experience.
Posted by Caroline Craig on April 30, 2008 07:41 AM
April 29, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft has finally released the finished version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturing. We've been writing about SP3 for nearly six months and speculating about its impact on Vista sales, but this is the real deal!
As Randall C. Kennedy observes in today's Enterprise Desktop, "enterprise IT is fascinated with SP3. ... Microsoft has been putting on the full court press with Vista SP1, yet all they hear from their customers is, 'That’s nice. So when will we see Service Pack 3 for XP?'"
The wait is over. SP3's list of features remains unchanged from the myriad pre-releases: Network Access Protection (NAP); Black Hole Router detection; Wireless Access Protection (WAP) 2 support; new cryptographic APIs; and so on. And "one of the more controversial SP3 features -- a minor (roughly 10 percent) performance boost over XP SP2 -- seems to have survived the RTM process."
Check out the blog, and while you're at it, sign the 'Save XP' petition today!
Posted by Caroline Craig on April 29, 2008 05:44 AM
April 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Guerrilla IT sounds a lot like open source
A recent InfoWorld feature set Zack Urlocker to thinking about "how so many good innovations have snuck into IT through the back door, the side door and under the radar of what management officially approved."
Indeed, Urlocker is discussing open source but he also points to prior instances -- think PCs in the mid-80's -- in which departments and employees took it upon themselves to bring in the technologies they needed.
"I suspect this phenomena is wide spread," Urlocker writes in Guerilla IT? Sounds like open source. "So one good step to encourage Guerrilla IT to be effective is to find out what open source software is running in your shop and why."
Related: Guerilla IT: How to stop worrying and learn to love your superusers.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 28, 2008 10:23 AM
April 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 28, 2008
Yahoo did not accept Microsoft's bid by the Saturday deadline so now it's up to the software giant to decide whether to pursue a hostile takeover or walk away from Yahoo altogether.
A security think tank uncovers a vulnerability in Apple's multimedia player that could allow a hacker to take complete control of Windows Vista or XP machines.
Security vendors slam the Defcon virus contest that will award hackers for finding ways to beat antivirus software; the vendors claim it will only help the bad guys learn new tricks.
Black Duck buys Koders for its code search engine and, in so doing, hopes to extend its reach into the open source developer community.
And Interop stakes a new claim by adding a software show and security conference as the event branches out beyond enterprise networking. That said, Interop will offer datacenter products and 802.11n tools from the likes of AirMagnet and Citrix Systems. Related blog: Looking at Interop.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 28, 2008 08:51 AM
April 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Two months to go, so save XP today
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer late last week said the company might consider keeping Windows XP available beyond June 30 if customers call for it.
"With just two months to go before XP goes off the market, it's time to turn up the volume and get everyone you know to sign the petition," editor in chief Eric Knorr writes in Steve Ballmer wants your feedback -- let's give it to him.
"Experience dictates that it's going to take everything we've got to get the message to Microsoft."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 28, 2008 05:59 AM
April 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Nonsensical EULAs sometimes show up in the unlikeliest of places.
This time it's on Dilbert.com, as one Gripe Line reader reports, and the Terms of Service state that one must be 13 to use the site and anyone under 18 needs their parents to complete the registration and supervise.
"Well, maybe it makes sense if you're 13 and living where the age of majority is 12. Otherwise your parents would have to help you, and they would need to be 13 as well, I guess, which seems a little improbable," Ed Foster writes in Terms of ridicule.
And that's just the beginning. The EULA goes on to include exploiting submissions, a damage liability of $10, and no-disparaging-us terms.
"Want to defend Dilbert's honor?" Foster asks. "OK, then help us find a ToS or EULA that's even worse."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 25, 2008 12:24 PM
April 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 25, 2008
This weekend marks the deadline Microsoft set for its proposed acquisition of Yahoo, after which the company plans to take its fight directly to Yahoo shareholders. But only late this week did Microsoft begin hinting that, even without Yahoo, it might move forward in the online ad market. Microsoft considers life without Yahoo.
Sun Microsystems buys processor startup Montalvo, which is believed to be working on a chip that uses asynchronous cores of varying power degrees to improve performance while keeping power consumption low.
Researcher David Litchfield finds a new way to hack the Oracle database. Known as a SQL injection, the tactic comprises specially crafted search terms that trick the database into running SQL commands.
A group of German researchers were able to infiltrate Storm, the peer-to-peer botnet, via a "poisoning" technique that also disrupted the infamous worm.
Benchmarking firm The Hackett Group finds that IT leaders can slash spending 40 percent by focusing on certain processes where the largest opportunities to improve efficiencies exist, such as IT infrastructure management, purchase order processing, and accounting.
And in this installment of Geek week in review, Robert X. Cringely rips on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for saying it might reconsider XP's end-of-life date, but by day's end the company insists it's sticking with June 30 as a cutoff, while Yahoo courts another dance partner to help it evade Microsoft. Related news: No change in XP plan despite Ballmer comment.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 25, 2008 09:32 AM
April 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld News Quiz: You don't know tech
This week Microsoft gets applauded for promising not to do something.
Yahoo, OLPC, iPhone and the Ramomes all cameo. Quick: How much profit did Yahoo rake in last quarter?
Ah, that was an easy one. Here's another: Apple just bought P.A. Semi for $278 million. What, pray tell, is P.A. Semi?
Think you know tech? Prove it and take the InfoWorld News Quiz.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 25, 2008 09:19 AM
April 24, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 24, 2008
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is having a busy week. Thursday, he told reporters in Belgium that the company might rethink its plan to stop selling Windows XP as of June 30, saying "if customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter."
At a conference in Milan yesterday, Ballmer said that Microsoft could walk away from the Yahoo deal, maintaining that it is the best way to take on Google but insisting that if the proposed acquisition doesn’t go through, Microsoft will move forward alone.
The desktop Linux community may feel betrayed by OLPC switching to Windows XP, but executive editor Galen Gruman contends that in reality they betrayed themselves by never developing a credible desktop OS and related application stack during the past decade. OLPC's open source qualms underscores a larger Linux limit.
Customers balk at Dell's XPS One update because, although Dell says that there's nothing wrong with the Samsung hard drives themselves, if users don't install the firmware there's a risk they will lose access to their data.
An Oracle executive touts enterprise mashups at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, saying that in order to succeed they need to be easy to use, have performance on par with the Web experience, and provide relevant content. Related: So, what is an enterprise mashup anyway?
And amid recent turmoil over Tibet that includes attempted DDoS attacks against CNN, China worries that hackers will strike during the Olympic Games and an expert says that, even though the Chinese government is taking the issue very seriously, network security is grim.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 24, 2008 08:48 AM
April 24, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Google goes from product to platform
Neil McAllister wonders how to explain Microsoft’s obsession with Google, one that runs so deep and dark it would plunk down $44.6 billion to acquire Yahoo.
The clue, perhaps, is Google Apps.
"Microsoft has been waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since Google unveiled Google Docs two years ago, and with the debut of Google App Engine last week, it landed with a thud," McAllister writes in the new Fatal Exception blog.
While Docs cannot really compete with Microsoft Office in most enterprises, there is another area where it can.
"Ah, the developers -- those developers, developers, developers. Google App Engine is still in testing mode, but when it matures, enterprising programmers will no longer have to settle for whatever applications Google offers up," McAllister explains. "They'll be able to start building their own. By making its infrastructure available to third-party developers -- including its server farm, storage, and key APIs -- Google transforms itself from product to platform."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 24, 2008 05:18 AM
April 22, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Should IT shops be held to the same standard as external providers?
One way to make users work lives more difficult is by failing integration projects.
Making Web savvy engineers revert to an old-fashioned travel agent, or force-fitting employees into less appropriate accounting and timesheet systems, are two of the examples in this week's Off The Record.
The integration went so badly, in fact, that had it been provided for a customer, the group would have been fired for good reason.
"Why can't our internal IT group be held to the same standard?" our author asks.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 22, 2008 06:08 AM
April 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 21, 2008
Microsoft bungles antipiracy tool update. History once again resembles itself as the software giant distributes Office Genuine Advantage Notifications too widely and ranks it as "critical," only to catch heat akin to the trouble it found after a similar slip with Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications two years ago. Related Gripe Line: A Genuine Microsoft mistake.
Vodafone vows to go green and to cut CO2 50 percent by 2020; the mobile operator also details plans to help customers soften their impact on the environment.
Apple files a patent that foreshadows what might be its intentions for a Second Life-like store that would transform shopping at the online Apple Store or iTunes into a more immersive virtual experience.
Motorola, meanwhile, invests in mobile virtualization company VirtualLogix, with an eye toward improving security on handhelds by protecting phone functions from applications users download.
And Ubuntu takes on the enterprise server market with a new OS, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition, which brings virtualization, performance improvements, and certification for an assortment of hardware from Sun Microsystems.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 21, 2008 09:47 AM
April 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Apple's iPhone now accounts for more mobile Web traffic than any other device in the U.S., but the issue of whether or not Web-enabled wireless devices will overwhelm cellular and Wi-Fi networks is about to come to a head.
"Of course, it's not just the iPhone," Ephraim Schwartz points out in The iPhone video threat: Can networks keep up? A whole host of ultraportable devices, in fact, adds to the ways in which users can wirelessly access the Web.
'The issue is not Web access, per se. Instead, it's access through the Internet to video and other multimedia content, which newer devices make such a simple and enjoyable experience."
Ultimately, paying for more capacity may become a necessity.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 21, 2008 07:57 AM
April 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Macs keep cropping up in the enterprise
Thanks to the confluence of a number of computing trends, not the least among them a rising tide of end-user affinity for the Apple experience, executive editor Galen Gruman writes, supporting the appetite for Macs is now a straightforward option.
"Luckily for IT, many of those same trends are making it easier for tech departments to say yes to the Mac by facilitating IT's ability to provide enterprise-grade Mac management and support," Gruman explains in The Mac in businesses: it's easier than you think.
Analysts firm agree that Apple is gaining market share among both home and business users.
The turning point occurred, according to editor-in-chief Eric Knorr, when "Apple switched to the Intel chip, and a little company called Parallels introduced an inexpensive virtualization product that lets Intel-based Macs run Windows unmodified."
As Knorr continues in Decision times for Windows and Mac OS X, there were already some surprises, beginning with the fact that the manageability end has been covered for years. "Ironically, that seems to be a secret to everyone outside the education sector."
And don't overlook Microsoft's role in the Mac's uprising.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 21, 2008 06:12 AM
April 18, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Web 2.0 can cut costs during recession
The "pay for what you use on our servers" model is a dream solution to the ever-increasing costs of traditional software seats and maintenance which can have a teetering effect on TOC, Lena West writes.
"Not only are social media and Web 2.0 apps cheaper to maintain, but it's also one less thing you have to maintain ... so adoption frees you up to work on other projects -- like how to get rid of Vista," she espouses in Web 2.0 can cut costs during a recession.
But what about security problems Web 2.0 technologies bring? "That argument is getting weaker by the minute..."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 18, 2008 08:17 AM
April 18, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 18, 2008
A new pilot program for Office Genuine Advantage Notifications has gotten off to an inauspicious start and, what's worse, at some point the nagware will no doubt be mandatory for all Office users, whether it actually benefits them or not. A Genuine Microsoft mistake.
Tempting as it may be to stick with Windows XP and hold out for Windows 7, analyst house Forrester presents five reasons why enterprises should upgrade to Vista soon -- including the fact that there are few viable alternatives. On the other side of the debate: 10 reasons IT can skip Vista and stay with XP.
The storage industry is rethinking its approach to disk drives and the freshest example of that is Xiotech's new Emprise arrays, which replace disks with Intelligent Storage Elements datapacs. But even though smart arrays may signal a storage shift, the technology comes with questions not yet asked, let alone answered.
Amazon aims to make cloud computing appealing to businesses with a new pair of support options that guarantee response time, offer diagnostic tools and, Amazon hopes, will appease enterprises wary about the services' reliability.
5 IT skills that won't boost your salary. Neither dead nor completely useless just yet, these disciplines are well on their way to being considered a thing of the past.
And I swear I'm not making this one up. In Geek week in review, Cringely rips on a video by Bruce ServicePack and the Vista Street Band. Nope, that’s not a real band, but it is an internal Microsoft video. It does not, however, even attempt to explain why Bill Gates cannot stand to be alone in the room with Vista.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 18, 2008 08:00 AM
April 18, 2008 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld News Quiz: This week in Tech
Curious business deals, Mac clones, tortured corporate mottoes and an actual reason to use Twitter populate this week's test.
Think you've got what it takes?
Prove it and take the InfoWorld News Quiz.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 18, 2008 04:58 AM
April 16, 2008 | Comments: (0)
A reader writes in to ask Bob Lewis whether user satisfaction might be the best metric for measuring a helpdesk's success.
"If the answer seems to you to be obvious (and affirmative) I think you need to take a closer look," Lewis explains.
Indeed, there are complicating factors driven largely by users becoming more tech-savvy. Help desk metrics.
"As end-users become more sophisticated, the same Help Desk appears to become less effective, even though it might actually be improving."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 16, 2008 11:00 AM
April 16, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Many admins don't know it, but there are two versions of SharePoint: the expensive one and a free edition, Windows SharePoint Services (WSS).
After being schooled in the virtues of WSS, J. Peter Bruzzese has found that, "contrary to my original belief, WSS is not a lame, free offering from Microsoft. It's pretty impressive -- once you and your users get used to it."
Will the real SharePoint please stand up?
Bruzzese explains:
WSS provides a Web interface that allows users to collaborate on documents and other Office files, as well as build shared calendaring, discussion forums, wikis, blogs, and more. Out of the box, there are professional-looking site themes to choose from (which are easily customizable using SharePoint Designer) so that the workspace can fit within your business smoothly.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 16, 2008 06:24 AM
April 16, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Yager: A Macophile, and for good reason
Tom Yager took a break from his beloved Mac and found enormous value in his time away.
"It's clear that my appreciation for the platform is justified, and that the customary split of my effort and attention between Apple and AMD is justified,” Yager writes in Back to the Mac.
"Taking a break from Mac hardware gave me a chance to drink more deeply of the software that Apple maintains off its beaten path."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 16, 2008 06:03 AM
April 15, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 15, 2008
Microsoft is preparing to unwrap a new service, Live Mesh. The software giant late last week circulated an invite to what it dubbed the "Get Mesh" event at next week's Web 2.0 Expo, and says it will launch Live Mesh at the show.
AOL snaps up Sphere for its technology that enables publishers to aggregate content based on related subjects, such as video, audio, and blog posts, to increase advertising exposure by driving page views.
Researchers from the School of Computing Science at Newcastle University in the U.K. find that Microsoft's CAPTCHA is easy to solve, though details are scarce on how hackers are doing so in great numbers.
MacBook and MacBook Pro users are angry at laptop graphics glitches and have been complaining in Apple's forums; the company says it is investigating.
And while some argue that the need to maintain backward compatibility is inhibiting Windows from moving forward, Randall Kennedy is not among them. Instead, he advocates a best-of-both-worlds scenario that would enable Microsoft to isolate troublesome legacy apps and actively evolve the native runtime. Solving legacy Windows compatibility problems.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 15, 2008 10:00 AM
April 15, 2008 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld launches Windows Sentinel to demystify Windows performance
We're making available, in beta form for now, Windows Sentinel, a free downloadable monitoring agent that checks the system performance of Windows computers.
The official description: Windows Sentinel is a joint project with the exo.performance.network, founded by InfoWorld Contributing Editor Randall C. Kennedy, that enables InfoWorld readers to monitor system, process, and network performance while contributing to a global repository of information that will yield an unprecedented, real-time image of Windows-based system performance and behavior.
Executive editor Galen Gruman recounts his first-hand experience working and on and ultimately using Windows Sentinel in Adventures in lightweight Web app development.
"If all goes as planned, the result will be a mother lode of information about optimizing Windows systems," editor-in-chief Eric Knorr writes in Windows Sentinel Launches. "In the bargain you'll get a fun, surprisingly useful tool."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 15, 2008 06:02 AM
April 14, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Measuring real-world Wintel requirements isn't pretty
"Despite years of real-world experience with both sides of the duopoly, few organizations have taken the time to directly quantify what my colleagues and I at Intel used to call The Great Moore's Law Compensator (TGMLC)," Randall Kennedy explains.
And with that, we make what is perhaps the first-ever attempt to accurately measure the evolution of the Windows/Office platform in terms of real-world hardware system requirements and resource consumption, in Fat, fatter, fattest: Microsoft's king of bloat.
That crown, naturally, was most recently passed down to Office 2007 running on Windows Vista.
"Microsoft Office 2007, when deployed on Windows Vista, consumes more than 12 times as much memory and nearly three times as much processing power as the version that graced PCs just seven short years ago, Office 2000," Kennedy writes.
InfoWorld's new Windows Sentinel tool enables you to monitor your own Windows and Office system performance.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 14, 2008 05:20 AM
April 14, 2008 | Comments: (0)
5 tips for harnessing your superusers
Every IT shop has seen them. Users who take on tech-related tasks IT won't and, in some cases, even tells people not to.
Hacking the iPhone to work with corporate e-mail servers is the most recent, trendy instance, but there are countless examples.
According to Hank Marquis, director of ITSM (IT systems management) consulting at Enterprise Management Associates, in fact, eighty percent of enterprise IT functions are being duplicated by folks outside of the IT department.
In other words, for every 10 people doing IT work as part of their jobs, you've got another eight "shadow IT" staffers doing it on their own.
"They're walking, talking IT governance nightmares. But they could be your biggest assets, if you use them wisely," Dan Tynan writes in Guerilla IT: How to stop worrying and learn to love your superusers.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 14, 2008 04:41 AM
April 11, 2008 | Comments: (0)
You don't know tech, or do you?
This week, Microsoft and Yahoo dominate the question lineup, naturally, but there's also room for smelly cell phones, the Webby Awards, and what Wal-Mart doesn't want you to know.
Take the InfoWorld News Quiz.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 11, 2008 06:46 AM
April 10, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Whereas Amazon has garnered customers of its cloud computing offering and Google unveiled AppEngine this week another, more likely suspect is entering the fray: EMC.
CEO Joe Tucci said this week that "there already is an EMC storage cloud." He was referring, of course, to Mozy, the company's online backup and recovery service, acquired in the buyout of Berkeley Data Systems.
"Tucci's ambitions go far beyond simple, online backup," Bill Snyder writes in Battle brewing in the cloud. "Like Amazon, EMC's cloud will include both storage and computing resources."
And while the timing is not yet clear, Snyder continues that, "EMC's cloud play will focus on businesses through its computing and storage offerings, but the company sees an opening on the consumer front as well."
Even still, Snyder is not altogether convinced that cloud computing’s success is a foregone conclusion.
"I'm not making any predictions here, but keeping an eye on this nascent trend is likely a good idea for investors as well as serious consumers of technology."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 10, 2008 06:17 AM
April 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The 7 faces of cloud computing
While this buzzword seems to be just about everywhere these days, some vendors and analysts define it narrowly, while others consider it broad enough that anything outside the firewall is a part of cloud computing.
An operational definition "comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software."
SaaS, utility computing, Web services, platform-as-a-service, they’re among the seven pieces of cloud computing that exist today, even if all are not interconnected.
"Cloud computing might be more accurately described as 'sky computing,' with many isolated clouds of services which IT customers must plug into individually."
Related: Editor's letter: Fuzzy thinking and the Special report: Inside the emerging world of cloud computing.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 7, 2008 05:50 AM
April 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Geek week in review: XP not sacked, iPhone SDK hacked
Friday again, and that means Robert X. Cringely delivers a fresh installment of Geek week in review.
This time around he looks at lots of truth and plenty of rumor, including XP's new lease on life, a hacker-friendly tool created by the iPhone dev team, and Google gobbling up just about everybody.
"Here's my prediction: If you keep picking out new acquisition targets for Google, you will eventually be right," Cringe declares. "Even a blind pig finds the occasional acorn."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 4, 2008 08:03 AM
April 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld News Quiz: A foolish week
April 1 did fall on Tuesday, which pretty much rendered the better part of this week rather, umm, foolish.
Something about a feisty fawn mingling with a mighty minx and giddy Googlers, too.
Quick: How did that MacBook Air get turned into a hacker’s plaything? And who was that pregnant guy on Oprah?
Think you know tech? Prove it by taking the test.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 4, 2008 06:51 AM
April 02, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Intel says that mobile Internet Devices will work with both Windows Vista and XP -- a noteworthy proclamation because MIDs are due about the same time Microsoft has said XP will no longer be available, June 30. Related: Windows XP to get reprieve for low-cost laptops, source says.
Q&A: Why the Vista hacker turned to eBay. Shane Macualay put the Windows Vista machine he hacked up for auction, claiming it would serve as a live example of a typical incident response rather than a canned one, but eBay said it had to come down because it could harm users.
Microsoft won't up its bid for Yahoo, according to a report that quotes a source saying the software giant has no need to bid against itself and will stick to its guns.
Even though ISO members voted to approve Microsoft's Office Open XML, the company will have to wait before it can lay its hands on a copy of a formal ISO standard for the format.
And an Intel executive says that programming for multicore chips is a challenge and recommends that developers 'future-proof' their code.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 2, 2008 07:46 AM
April 02, 2008 | Comments: (0)
He thought he could leave InfoWorld behind, but "when they wanted to plant a chip inside my brain that would deliver an electronic pulse whenever I used a non-Microsoft operating system, I realized I was really just an ink- and html-stained wretch at heart," he writes.
So, the stint only lasted about two hours and now the venerable snark is back among us, and "for all the dog food Apache or I can eat, in perpetuity," Cringe offers in A fool's paradise: The return of Robert X. Cringely. "It seemed like a reasonable compromise."
Marking his return, Cringe takes on Google's annual prank, this time it's dubbed Virgle, and other April Fool's fun.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 2, 2008 07:33 AM
April 01, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for April 1, 2008
In a tight vote, ISO members decided to accept Microsoft's Open Office XML document format as an international standard.
A researcher says that the Internet has a trash problem and as much as 3 percent of 'Net traffic is meaningless packets used in distributed denial of service attacks to knock Web sites offline.
Verizon says that with a new offering it is converging Blackberry and desk phones by extending some PBX functionality to the popular handhelds.
CodeGear makes it easier for developers to update applications via JBuilder 2008, a tool that adds application factories for code reuse.
And because Windows Vista does not run well on low-end notebooks, Microsoft plans to extend the availability of Windows XP for low-cost laptops beyond June 30, the company is expected to announce later this week. Related: Save Windows XP.
N.B. You may have noticed a number of April Fool's Day stories on our homepage today, reader, but these are not. For jokes, pranks and fun, visit our special report: InfoWorld April Foolery.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 1, 2008 09:42 AM
April 01, 2008 | Comments: (0)
A miracle, Cringe waves goodbye, and Microsoft buys Yahoo
On a wall in the garage where Apple began is a "slime mold" in the unmistakable shape of ... Steve Jobs. Thousands of worshippers are lining the streets to witness the holy site. Miracle in the valley.
InfoWorld's longest-running columnist, the indefatigable Robert X. Cringely says "so long and thanks for the dish" as he leaves us to accept a position at that evil empire in Redmond.
For some $2 billion more than the original offer, Yahoo's board agrees to be swallowed by Microsoft -- a move that one analyst says signifies the death of Yahoo, while another contends that it serves as little more than a platform purchase for Microsoft to replace the anemic MSN.
Related: More InfoWorld April Foolery.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 1, 2008 08:22 AM
March 31, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Being paranoid today is being rational tomorrow -- at least according to an official from the Cato Institute.
"To help you gauge the appropriate level of hysteria, we've rated each threat on our Paranoia Meter," Dan Tynan explains in Top 10 reasons to be paranoid.
Just think, Hollywood wants to terminate you but you are your own worst enemy. Except, of course, for anyone lurking around your wide-open Wi-fi network.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 31, 2008 07:48 AM
March 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The last five days were social ones. Apple, Facebook, Motorola.
Quick: that last company is breaking into two, what will each be called?
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 28, 2008 06:43 AM
March 20, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Test Center guide to Vista and XP service packs
The InfoWorld Test Center takes a surgical look at both Windows Vista SP1 and XP SP 3.
"Windows XP Service Pack 3 has been the recipient of copious undue attention," Randall Kennedy writes in Test Center guide to Vista and XP service packs. "After all, it's just another compilation of patches and minor tweaks -- for an obsolete OS, no less."
But with many IT department considering bypassing Vista, the release of Service Pack 3 takes on new importance in that it "may be the last Service Pack [IT] sees for their chosen platform before Windows 7 arrives in late 2009."
The verdict for both is to deploy -- one is even a "must-have," according to Kennedy.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 20, 2008 09:14 AM
March 20, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Vista looks a lot like Me, Windows Me
After years of making jokes about Microsoft's quickly-forgotten Windows Me, J. Peter Bruzzese insists, Windows Me never got the recognition it should have for its desktop innovations within.
Long Zheng, too, argues that Windows Me deserves more respect and "draws a parallel between ME and another arguably under appreciated OS: Vista."
"It may be a few more Windows releases before we fully appreciate Vista and all it is brought to the table today," Bruzzese writes in Windows Vista: Another Windows Me? I hope so!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 20, 2008 06:56 AM
March 18, 2008 | Comments: (0)
How fast can you move a datacenter?
With plans to upgrade power, cooling, fire suppression, and build a new datacenter room, our Off the Record author got word that the current co-location facility was kicking the company out with only 45 days notice.
"Luckily the team I have is top notch and rather than panic, we aggressively planned," the anonymous writer explains in How fast can you move a datacenter?
Faster than one might think, it turns out.
A mere three hectic weeks later, and the group was out celebrating a job well done over dinner and drinks, "having a good time until I said 'Next time we should do it in 20 days.' I thought I was going to get hung."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 18, 2008 01:19 PM
March 17, 2008 | Comments: (0)
It's a question someone was bound to ask.
A recent survey of IT shops shows that over 70 percent of respondents will still be using their 'current OS' in 2009, Kennedy explains.
"Since the overwhelming majority (92 percent) of these sites are still running Windows XP, that means that Vista will likely never achieve critical mass in the enterprise."
So, was Windows Vista dead on arrival?
"Many of us who were beta testing Vista back in 2006 quietly expressed our concerns to one another in web forums, chat rooms and the occasional e-mail thread. After all, we were privy to some of the earliest Vista bits, and what we saw disturbed us."
But the seminal moment came when "I realized that the vague sense of unease I'd felt early on was in fact my subconscious telling me what I knew to be true all along: Vista was a lame duck; a false hope; a cadaver before it ever hit the operating table," Kennedy writes.
Got an epitaph for Windows Vista? Share it via the comments function below...
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 17, 2008 12:09 PM
March 17, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 17, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Perhaps not so much for the notorious 'King of Spam' who pled guilty and now faces a potential 26-year prison sentence and a sit-down with a lie detector and authorities to discuss financial assets in relation to his unpaid legal fines.
BMC, though, is celebrating -- if not for the Irish then at least for buying BladeLogic and its data center automation software for $800 million.
Microsoft says that Windows Mobile will support Flash and PDF, meaning that users of devices based on the OS will be able to run both Adobe software and Microsoft's own Silverlight tool for building multimedia applications.
eBay announces that it will take over affiliate program's management for its core marketplace and its Half.com site.
And IBM's India research laboratory develops a customer service tool that, Big Blue claims, uses algorithms to discover business insights hidden within the data customer service calls collect.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 17, 2008 09:30 AM
March 14, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 14, 2008
Microsoft and Yahoo reportedly met earlier this week to hold merger talks, a pow-wow at which Microsoft pitched its vision for the combined entity, though no negotiations occurred and no investment bankers attended.
That didn't stop the Redmond software giant from making another acquisition, though. Microsoft buys Rapt for ad management tools that it hopes will boost online advertising yields.
Over at the Source Boston 2008 conference, security futurists shun perimeter, anti-virus systems urging IT, instead, to look toward outsourcing and grid computing to fend off sophisticated attackers.
Whereas nearly 80 percent of companies have pulled eco-friendly projects higher up their priority lists, according to research from The Corporate IT Forum, green IT still lags behind security, legacy software, data quality and server consolidation.
And, this week's video recap of tech news includes Bill Gates' appeals to lawmakers for more H-1B visas, the E.U.'s approval of the Google-DoubleClick merger, AOL's Bebo buy, and more. Watch the video.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 14, 2008 10:02 AM
March 13, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Vista zealots are eating their young
“I love irony,” Randall Kennedy begins.
In this instance, Kennedy is referring to Vista devout, who, he points out, are “attacking those of us who've discovered that the core Vista bits run great, just not when packaged as Windows Vista.”
Yes, this is about Windows ‘workstation’ 2008, alias of Windows Server 2008 tweaked to run in "desktop" mode.
Among the Vista faithful, Kennedy writes, “some claim that the test results are inaccurate, that Vista and Server 2008 share the same code base and thus cannot perform differently." Windows ‘worksation’ results lead to backlash from Vista zealots. "Others are claiming that the tests were invalid because Server 2008 ships with a much 'leaner' default configuration. They say that if you enable all of the ‘desktop’ features on Server 2008 -- or vice-versa with Vista -- you'll see that they in fact perform comparably.”
Kennedy, however, views the workstation option as “salvation.”
Related: Windows ‘workstation’ 2008, one week later, and Windows ‘workstation’ 2008 clobbers Vista in benchmark testing.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 13, 2008 11:21 AM
March 13, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Cloud computing: a mistake to ignore
The cloud computing model is not just pie-in-the-sky. Rather, power, hardware and personnel costs, plus a shortage of space in datacenters, are giving rise to the model.
In Cloud computing begins to emerge from the haze, Bill Snyder explains it as “an option when there's a need to complete a resource-heavy project without buying hardware or hiring personnel that won't be needed later.”
"Cloud computing is a new IT outsourcing model that doesn't yet meet the criteria of enterprise IT and isn't supported by most of the key corporate vendors," explains Forrester Research analyst James Staten. "Infrastructure and operations professionals can try to ignore it, as it is just in its infancy, but doing so may be a mistake as cloud computing is looking like a classic disruptive technology."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 13, 2008 07:52 AM
March 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Single malt Scotch and IT incompetence
Any IT pro can tell you that trouble lies just ahead when a software project reaches, then stalls at, 90 percent of completion.
Things get worse when the superficially reassuring developer says to pick him and the demo up on your way to meet a client, then appears dirty, unshaven, bearing a manila envelope and tells you to have a great flight.
That’s precisely what happened in Finding my own level of incompetence, in which our author was then told not to expect much from that demo.
“I actually had a lovely meeting after a nervous flight, for two reasons. First, I had a long history with the clients, who were more confident than I was that we would get the problems fixed. Second, they plied me with enough single-malt Scotch at lunch that I didn't care.”
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 12, 2008 10:41 AM
March 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 12, 2008
With approval from the European Union now official, some speculate that DoubleClick could snap Google out of its funk. That being the looming threat of Microsoft’s proposed Yahoo acquisition, missed earnings, and a report saying that Google’s Achilles Heel is text ads.
Adobe says it will add support for a range of 64-bit OSes in a free ColdFusion upgrade within the next month that, in turn, boosts performance given the ability to address larger amounts of memory in 64-bit systems.
Two years after Microsoft issued a related patch, an IE FTP flaw manifests, though a security vendor says that to pull off an attack requires very specific knowledge.
Wal-Mart takes a Linux PC off its store shelves; a spokeswoman says the move “is based on how our customers vote with their purchases.”
BlackBerry comes under scrutiny in India as the government there demands the right to intercept e-mails along with RIM’s encryption algorithm so it can open them.
And Robert X. Cringely struts and frets upon his own stage, wondering just who will be the next target, easy prey if you will, for criticism in the tech realm now that Bill Gates is on his way out. Oh, and Cringe debates the mertis of one such prospect in The next Bill Gates.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 12, 2008 09:24 AM
March 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
What not to blame for 'Vista Capable' fiasco
In the lawsuit over the permission Microsoft granted PC makers to slap a "Windows Vista Capable" label on their machines, the great question is just who (or what) is at fault?
Not the OS itself, contends J. Peter Bruzzese, in Don’t blame for Vista for the Vista (In)capable lawsuit.
“Rather, fault should lie with those behind the 'Windows Vista Capable' marketing scheme. Microsoft is a large company. Executive decisions are made in terms of marketing that often have nothing to do with products themselves.”
Then again, Bruzzese fesses up that, “I love Vista, and this lawsuit will not hinder my view in any way of the OS or of the Vista development team.”
For Microsoft, however, the whole thing is an embarrassment -- and one that may wind up being costly if the lawsuit proceeds.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 12, 2008 07:23 AM
March 11, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Windows "workstation" 2008 smooth but bizarre
It’s been a week since Randall Kennedy junked Windows Vista SP1 and opted, instead, for Windows Server 2008 tweaked to run as a workstation.
“All of my core applications are working flawlessly, including SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2008 and Office 2007,” he writes in Windows “workstation” 2008: One week later. “In fact, outside of the multimedia issues I mentioned in my previous entry, I'd be hard pressed to find fault with the experience.”
Visual Studio flies, VMware runs better, and the OS never feels sluggish.
“The really bizarre aspect to my "Workstation" 2008 experience is that, from a technical standpoint, it doesn't make sense -- or at least, it shouldn't. With the same kernel (as of Vista SP1), the OSes should in fact behave similarly.”
Related: Windows "workstation" 2008 clobbers Vista in benchmark testing.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 11, 2008 08:29 AM
March 10, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Top 10 improvements in Windows Server 2008
WS08 is a killer upgrade, from security enhancements to virtualization.
Network Access Protection, Terminal Services, and Server Core are on that list. The post also includes half-a-dozen honorable mentions.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 10, 2008 08:04 AM
March 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld News Quiz: You don't know tech
Or do you?
Nine Inch Nails. Sexy Wikipedia. Microsoft software forgetting about Leap Year.
Yes, all three were in this, the weird week that was, topped off with a “Skeptic’s Conference.”
Think you’ve got enough of a grasp on all that occurred to pass the test? Then prove it by taking the InfoWorld News Quiz.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 7, 2008 08:20 AM
March 06, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Windows Server 2008 as a workstation thrashes Vista
And the performance hits against Vista just keep on comin’.
Benchmarking results from the folks at exo.performance.network determined that Windows Server 2008, tweaked to look and act like Vista, outscored its desktop sibling by 17 percent, under a variety of productivity and multi-tasking scenarios.
“Suffice to say that there's a new option for power users who are fed-up with Vista's sluggishness: Windows Server 2008, or as I'm now calling it, Windows NT 6.1 Workstation,” Randall Kennedy writes in this Enterprise Desktop post. “At least now there's an alternative for those of us who are fed-up with Vista but who just can't live without Aero and the rest of the "6.x" Windows GUI.”
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 6, 2008 07:58 AM
March 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 4, 2008
The Office Fluent UI, perhaps the most radical UI change since Windows 95, alters the desktop paradigm and, in so doing, draws both frowns and smiles.
While they don’t typically concentrate on Apple, security vendors are prepping anti-virus software Mac OS X, citing a threat to Apple’s ostensible immunity -- and one firm claims it could have a product ready within days, should a situation necessitate it.
Dell on Tuesday is poised to issue its first ruggedized notebook that meets all U.S. Department of Defense standards for operation in extreme conditions.
Intel and SAP join forces to release an ERP appliance that includes Business All-in-One, SAP's MaxDB database, and SuSE Enterprise Linux from Novell, in a Xeon-based box.
Microsoft strikes a deal under which Nokia will put Silverlight onto its devices, thereby bringing the tool for rich Internet applications to wireless handhelds.
And a German microtrend analysis firm asks Is the 4.0 era upon us? What, prey tell, happened to 3.0 and how did we skip to 4 so quickly, you ask. “Evidence of the '4.0' era -- an ‘always-on’ world where humans can 'self-upgrade' through technology extensions -- is already nigh and being driven by the youngest generation," according to TrendOne’s CEO.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 4, 2008 09:17 AM
March 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft (sort of) owns up to Vista's flaws
The RTM for the controversial OS, it appears, was the product of several weeks worth of Red Bull-infused all nighters.
That's what Randall Kennedy gleans from the internal Microsoft e-mail thread that surfaced as part of the pending "Vista Capable" class-action lawsuit.
"Even Microsoft's own developers had given up on ever getting Vista out the door," Kennedy writes in Microsoft owns to up to Vista's flaws (sort of).
After sifting through some of the more embarrassing e-mails that emerged, Kennedy admits to feeling betrayed, and offers this to Microsoft:
"If you're trying to implement an important and worthwhile new technology -- like UAC -- and you know you need to break some stuff to get it done, please just own up the the problem and let the IT community make up its own mind. Because, chances are good that -- if you deal with us honestly and present your case convincingly -- we'll accept the "no pain, no gain" logic and go along with you. But playing "hush-hush" with a major compatibility issue when your own people are struggling with the problem, well that's just bad form all the way around."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 3, 2008 10:31 AM
February 29, 2008 | Comments: (0)
On the necessity of InfoWorld's 'Save XP' campaign
While we are close to collecting our original stated goal of 100,000 signatures, not everyone thinks InfoWorld's Save Windows XP campaign is a worthwhile initiative.
As Peter Bruzzese points out, the author of Exchangeapedia, Bharat Suneja, suggests that the campaign won't inspire Microsoft to change its plans and keep Windows XP alive beyond June 30.
Suneja, it's worth explaining, is a Microsoft MVP. A rare breed, indeed, these disciples are devout enough that, while attending an MVP Summit back in 2001, a pair of them even got married in Redmond, Wash. and read vows from their Pocket PCs.
That said, Bruzzese writes that Suneja "has done his own research on the matter and his opinion should be heard." I agree, and particularly when he explains that mainstream support will end on April 14th, 2009, and extended support will be available for five years from that date, till April 8th, 2014, both points IT shops should research. Suneja writes, in his post, "Windows XP doesn't seem like a product that's being retired prematurely."
That, obviously, is a matter of some debate. Contrarians can easily point to the reality that Vista sales are not exactly going like gangbusters.
Microsoft, in fact, just today said it will slash prices of Windows Vista up to 50 percent, though mainly in developing countries, and wealthier nations in Europe and the U.S. are likely to see discounts as small as 3 percent -- while one industry analyst said that price cuts don't get to the heart of Vista's problems.
What's more, company e-mails that were unsealed this week as part of the lawsuit that claims Microsoft deceived buyers when it promoted PCs as "Windows Vista Capable" indicate that even top Microsoft executives struggled with Vista because some of their hardware would not work with the OS.
What's your take? Is XP worth saving, or nearing retirement? Talkback via the comments function below.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 29, 2008 10:51 AM