Windows Sentinel | Randall C. Kennedy

Windows 7 compatibility test now available

Randall Kennedy — 2008-06-30T03:00:00-08:00

Windows 7 is coming. Will your PC be ready? It seems like a straightforward question. However, in the aftermath of the Vista debacle, where many systems that were certified as “Vista Ready” proved to be anything but, the process of vetting Windows-compatible hardware has taken on new complexity. You simply cannot count on Microsoft to provide an honest assessment of Windows system requirements. And as the “Vista Ready” experience has shown us, Microsoft’s vendor partners are no better. [ Find out more about Windows 7 -- and Randall C. Kennedy's advice to Microsoft on how to make it better --... READ MORE

The myth of "MinWin" and a thinner Windows 7

Randall Kennedy — 2008-06-02T01:23:33-08:00

Are you ready for Windows 7?

Randall Kennedy — 2008-05-20T03:00:00-08:00

"Hold the line!" That's the new rallying cry for the core Windows development team. Add new features. Tweak existing ones. But whatever you do, don't make Windows 7 any slower or fatter than Vista. [ Monitor your own Windows performance with the new Windows Sentinel tools from InfoWorld. ] I have little doubt those are the marching orders for Windows 7, given the tight release timeframe of 18 to 24 months plus various reports of early Milestone builds. More ambitious changes would risk another -- and potentially fatal -- Longhorn-style delay. Windows 7 will be exactly what the internal Microsoft... READ MORE

Vista PCs: the hardware resources they are so hungry for

Randall Kennedy — 2008-05-06T02:45:25-08:00

Cross-tabular analysis. It's one of those nerdy-sounding terms that statisticians like to use when expounding upon their latest data-mining gems. It's also the lifeblood of the Windows Sentinel project. We use cross-tabular analysis to extract all sorts of interesting statistics from the exo.repository, including how a platform shift can directly affect workload composition. [ Add your Windows systems to the exo.performance community, plus monitor how they specifically perform, with InfoWorld's Windows Sentinel tool. ] For example, did you know that Vista-based PCs are working harder than ever? Aside from the obvious fact that they run slower than they did under... READ MORE

Application usage summary: 4/18/08

Randall Kennedy — 2008-04-18T09:32:29-08:00

The place for real-world Windows performance data

Randall Kennedy — 2008-04-15T03:00:00-08:00

Welcome to the Windows Sentinel blog. Here, you'll learn all about real-world Windows performance based on analysis of data and trends extracted from the exo.repository of Windows performance data. That repository contains aggregated data on more than 1,000 systems -- a number that will grow as people join the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel monitoring service. Monitor your Windows systems over the Web Windows Sentinel is a free performance monitoring and analysis service for Microsoft Windows-based systems. Delivered through a partnership between InfoWorld and Devil Mountain Software (the creators of the exo.performance.network), Windows Sentinel allows you to monitor system, process and network... READ MORE