Slow Road to Vista

• By Doug Barney
• 07/30/2008

Forrester Research and Kace Research explain that my experience is the rule, not the exception. According to Forrester, Vista's enterprise penetration is less than 9 percent. With the amount of PC turnover, IT actually has to go out of its way to not use Vista. This means downgrading machines or making special provisions with Microsoft or OEMs to get units with XP -- not the new OS.

I've covered Microsoft since around 1984 and have never seen so much trouble moving to a new OS. Even DOS to Windows was a cakewalk compared to this. I upgraded four or five old machines from Windows 95/98 to XP, and in each case it was a breeze. I'm not sure why Vista went so wrong and I'm not sure how Microsoft can fix it other than with Windows 7, which is years away.

My prediction is that IT will keep going the extra mile to install XP, and that despite the Vista debacle, Microsoft will maintain a hold on its desktop monopoly. Now, that's one strong monopoly to survive Vista.

What is your most and least favorite Microsoft OS? Answers welcome at [email protected].

OneCare Gets Obscure Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Support
OneCare, Microsoft's consumer-based answer to Symantec and McAfee, is being bundled on a bunch of new PCs.

But before you get all excited, these are trial versions of the security software and the OEMs aren't exactly top-tier. Instead of the likes of Dell, HP and Leveno, how about MDG Computers, or LEO Gesellschaft, Wortmann, Olidata, Hyrican, Sotec and TICNOVA?

With partners like this, OneCare is sure to take over. Not.

The Top 3 Virtualization Vendors Are Who and What?!
I've been writing a lot about virtualization lately, for two reasons. For one, I think it's a pretty dang important subject. For another, I helped launch Virtualization Review, our new magazine and Web site, so I'm pretty steeped in all things virtual.

Having this little bit of knowledge gives me big opinions. So when Saugatuck Research released a report claiming that Citrix, VMware and Cisco are the three most powerful forces in virtualization, I almost choked on my Cheerios.

Actually, I only disagree 66.6 percent. Citrix, maybe. It has Xen and the best lineup of desktop virt tools. And VMware, absolutely. But Cisco? Not this year, and not next. Cisco has a tool called VFrame that helps virtualize networks and I/O, but when I asked IBM's virtualization guru about it, she had never heard of it. And IBM resells VFrame!

Am I writing too much or too little about virtualization? Compliments and complaints welcome at [email protected].

Mailbag: DNS Is Serious Business
After a rash of DNS attacks, Doug asked readers recently whether they take DNS security seriously. Tony says yes -- and here's why:

If one is running any type of e-commerce or production system that is public-facing, you absolutely have to take DNS (and the entire infrastructure) seriously. If DNS is broken, the following can happen:

1. If DNS is not properly configured, then your customers will have an inconsistent experience when trying to access your Web site. Result: Customers will go elsewhere and you'll lose possible revenue.
2. If DNS is not working at all, then customers will not even be able to contact your site. They might assume your site doesn't exist or is no longer in service. Result: Customers will go elsewhere and possibly never return -- loss of immediate and possibly future revenue source.
3. If your DNS is hacked or spoofed so that your customers go to a fake version of your site...well, not only will you lose money, your customers might possibly lose money also, further damaging your brand and reputation.

So yes, one should take DNS very seriously.
-Tony

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