Slow Road to Vista
I can't believe Vista has been out for a year-and-a-half. I still call it new
-- because I barely know anyone that uses it!
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.