Chances are your budget over the last few years has been cut, slashed and cut again. If the money hasn't been restored, you might want to show your boss, CFO or CEO data from Ovum indicating that most shops are increasing budgets from 1 to 5 percent.
While not exactly whopping, it's a heckuva lot better than the carnage we've all gotten used to.
How did you weather the budget storm? Tips and horror stories equally welcome at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/15/2010 at 2:21 PM0 comments
Nearly every name known to man has already been taken and secured with a copyright. That's why new companies these days have so many kooky, meaningless names. They have no choice.
The same is true for Bing, which had apparently been taken before Microsoft rolled out their search engine. Turns out Terabyte Unlimited has something called BootIt Next Generation, a PC boot manager that goes by another name -- Bing.
Lawyers from either side got together and agreed that both sides can use the name. Problem solved.
Posted on 03/15/2010 at 2:23 PM2 comments
A few months ago I asked you, the Redmond Report reader, to name your favorite dead and defunct companies. Over a dozen of you wrote in. Favorite dead company by far? DEC. Coming in second was Commodore.
In my March editorial for Redmond magazine, I reported on these results, and quoted a few of you. Check it out here.
Posted on 03/15/2010 at 10:27 AM0 comments
The best browser at preventing malware is, drum roll, IE 8! Who says? A report paid for in part by Microsoft, that's who!
NSS Labs tested IE, Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera. IE 8 was best at preventing social engineering-based malware, largely by virtue of IE's SmartScreen that alerts users to potentially malicious Web sites.
I'm not going to dismiss these results just because Microsoft sponsored it. In fact, a bunch of infrastructure vendors also underwrote the research. And Microsoft did work mightily to make its browser more protected. In fact, Redmond Report readers like IE 8 a lot, at least according to this cover story you all helped write.
Is IE now more secure? You tell me at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/12/2010 at 10:37 AM2 comments
One reader shares his thoughts on a recent letter complaining about a Windows 7 quirk:
A couple of weeks ago you published a problem somebody had with Windows 7 not waking up cleanly and the person involved having to turn the computer off and resume Windows 7 from a reboot.
I have been having exactly the same problem along with intermittently coming back to the computer to find it had randomly rebooted itself. A few days ago I saw the dreaded BSOD and the memory dump screen.
I decided the Power Supply might be the root cause. After replacing it, I've had no repetition of the problems.
-Dave
Another reader comments on why it is that software can never truly be 100 percent flawless:
As long as software uses the von Neumann model where "code is data is code is" and there is no "hardware cop" to police the use of memory, the hardware/software combination will never be secure. Secondly, as long as one depends on OOP (with its current incarnation of classes begetting child and parent classes) where the day-to-day programmer has no clue about the mechanics of the processor's native implementation of those OOP kludges, software will never be secure. Thirdly, as long as the day-to-day programmer makes the assumption that "no reasonable user would ever do that" or "if the manual states packets are always n bytes, then EVERYONE will ALWAYS follow those rules -- DON'T need to check packet sizes," software will never be secure. In other words as long as humans and/or semi-sentient beings program machines, software will never be secure.
-Stephen
The following reader agrees with Doug's assessment of why users are switching to Google Apps:
Back in the day it was cheaper for me to setup my own servers to host my domain than is was to pay for the hosting. In December, I moved to Google Apps. I still have to pay for the domain name, but I do not pay for the server hardware or software. I also get Web and e-mail free. I've played with Google Docs. I don't need to share docs with many people, so I still use MS Office for my document heavy-lifting.
-Eric
Posted on 03/12/2010 at 11:52 AM1 comments
Looks like Microsoft will indeed be out a cool $290 million after a court, for the second time, upheld a ruling that Redmond owes i4i cash for infringing on an i4i XML patent.
The judgment shouldn't affect IT since the offending code has been taken out of Word 2003 and 2007, and won't make an appearance in Word 2010.
The ever-persistent Microsoft isn't giving up, and plans to appeal once again.
Posted on 03/12/2010 at 10:39 AM1 comments
CA continues its decades-long buying spree with the $350 million purchase of Nimsoft. Usually I advocate that the buying company give the buyee as much independence as possible, as Quest has done with ScriptLogic (many of you probably don't even know Quest owns ScriptLogic).
Nimsoft is in the network monitoring market, in which CA already participates. Nimsoft's edge is that the company can now monitor clouds, and is also aimed at small and medium shops, whereas CA largely plays in the large enterprise space. All this puts greater pressure on Microsoft System Center, as well as a myriad of fine third-party vendors.
In the case of Nimsoft, it should be fully integrated, if only to get rid its wacky name!
What do you use for management or monitoring? What is the worst company name you've ever heard? Answers welcome at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/12/2010 at 10:41 AM3 comments
If you're a midmarket company, a version of Windows Server built just for you is no more. Well, it still exists -- it's just that there will be no new versions of Windows Essential Business Server.
The server was aimed at shops with 75 to 300 end users and, like Small Business Server, was designed to be easy to set up and manage, and included most of the core apps a shop of that size should need.
For Microsoft, the move will save some money. And it was seeing -- or at least expecting -- flagging demand as midmarket shops look to the cloud for application services.
Will you miss WEBS? Do you use Small Business Server and, if so, what do you think? Answers to either question welcome at dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/10/2010 at 10:53 AM1 comments
After releasing two "important patches" for Office and Windows, Microsoft issued a warning that IE 6 and 7 may be subject to remote code execution attacks. Security experts say that hackers have found this hole and that a "limited" number of attacks have been reported.
All software has flaws. One of the reasons Microsoft's software seems to have so many holes is that Microsoft aggressively reports its problems.
Do you agree or still think that Microsoft is less secure that its competitors? Shoot your answers to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/10/2010 at 10:44 AM1 comments
Next month, Microsoft is expected to start rolling out a number of 2010 products -- at least, rolling them out to its manufacturing operations and partners. Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 all seem primed and ready to go.
There will be about a month-long lag before IT pros like you can get their mitts on these puppies, as general availability is scheduled for May 12.
You've already told me everything you know about Office 2010 and it looks pretty good (unless you're one of the many who still dislike the ribbon). Now I'm getting curious about SharePoint 2010. Any of you folks beta testing this thing? If so, send your thoughts to dbarney@redmondmag.com.
Posted on 03/10/2010 at 10:55 AM1 comments
Last month's Patch Tuesday was a bit of a bear. To make up for it, Microsoft is planning a light patch batch tomorrow. In fact, there are only two "important" patches prepped. Both patches address remote execution attacks, one aimed at Office and the other at Windows.
IT could use a breather around now!
Posted on 03/08/2010 at 12:59 PM0 comments
Readers share their thoughts on Novell, which a New York-based hedge fund offered to buy last week for $2 billion:
I like the analogy comparing Novell to Ali. He was great in his time, but got pummeled a few too many times and could barely communicate in midlife. Yep, sounds like Novell.
However, I don't see how you can admire Novell. They blundered in their marketing against NT. NetWare and directory services could have buried NT with the right marketing. Yet they persisted in asking for the additional pound of flesh when you bought it; Microsoft undercut them. They blundered in buying WordPerfect (for way too much money), thinking they could go against Microsoft on their own software platform. The first few WordPerfect versions on Windows were horrible. GroupWise under a different company might have been a contender, but almost 10 years later, SharePoint is finally doing what Novell wanted to do back then. Novell was the king. The king is dead. Long live Microsoft.
-Joseph
As a Windows professional working in a Novell shop (well, we just migrated away from Novell), I remember this video from BrainShare in 2002. Our Novell engineers all got a big laugh out of it. But when I looked at it more closely, the crash errors appeared to be from Windows 98 vintage, not from Microsoft's new OS at that time, Windows 2000.
I don't think NT killed NetWare. I think Active Directory killed NetWare. Don't get me wrong, I think Novell had good products. But when they should have been innovating to separate themselves from Active Directory, all they did was try and make fun of Microsoft's products. Flying Boy and the Microsoft butterfly swatter are what I remember most from Novell.
-Kevin
Doug's mailbag was recently filled with readers' gripes about the Office ribbon. A few of you wrote in to commiserate and offer some tips:
You might want to post a tip for the folks who think the ribbon is too big. If you click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon on the top line of an Office app, there is an option to minimize the ribbon at the bottom of the menu. I have chosen that in all my Office 2007 apps, and now the ribbon is only active when I click one of the commands (just like a pull-down menu).
All in all, I think the ribbon is slightly better than a pull-down menu. I'm still using Office 2003 at home (for financial reasons), and I'm now finding those pull-down menus to be irritating, especially when I have to branch out three or more times to get to a function!
-Ron
I, too, struggled with the ribbon, and continue to do so. A co-worker of mine sent me a link to a video from Microsoft that helped alleviate the pain somewhat. The video is called "The Ribbon" and is located here. Near the middle of the page, under "Key Features," is the link to play it.
-Anonymous
I like the ribbon now that I'm used to it. Most of our users aren't tech-savvy and need a lot of hand-holding. Consequently, we were late to adopt Office 2007. Users are adapting and may eventually become more productive with the new UI. But whatever gains we see are offset by increased training and support costs. To me, the ribbon is an example of fixing something that wasn't broken.
-George
And one reader offers a wry assessment of the new breed of smartphones:
Whenever I get a new phone and start trying to figure it out, I can't help but chuckle as I recall the words of Bjarne Stroustrup, inventor of C++: "I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone."
-Anonymous
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to dbarney@redmondmag.com. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted on 03/08/2010 at 11:41 AM0 comments