Partners Get an Earful

• By Doug Barney
• 07/12/2005

I just rolled in from last weekend’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. The real news I covered last week, which was the announcement that someday the company will formally launch, and then sometime later ship, SQL Server 2005 and Longhorn. I’m a skeptic, though not quite as jerky and self-indulgent as a curmudgeon, but the demos of what Microsoft has coming are still pretty inspiring—even for me. SQL Server, with loads of XML bells and whistles, will advance the state of Microsoft databases and put further pressure on Oracle. Too bad Sybase, its original creator, isn’t reaping the full rewards of its labor.

Longhorn, another tool I’ve been unsure about, is looking more and more interesting. Firewalls going in and out, instant on, and years of coding behind it, should make at least one new Longhorn box well worth buying for the Barney house.

For more coverage of the Partner conference, go here.

If you are a Microsoft partner, you must, absolutely must, subscribe to our new magazine, Redmond Channel Partner.

Thanks, Microsoft
Want to make a quick 250K? Find a major virus author and turn him in to Microsoft. That’s what two virus narcs got after dropping a dime on the author of Sasser. Given that Sasser caused far more economic harm, this seems like money well spent and shows exactly what side Redmond is on.

Let’s Get Virtual, Virtual
Microsoft has a long-term view of every market it enters and server virtualization is no exception. According to our own Scott Bekker, Microsoft isn’t just squaring up against EMC’s VMware, but has a long-term view where virtualization will be embedded deeper and deeper into the OS, not just simplifying networks and saving money, but enabling on-demand computing, something Redmond rivals have had a handle on for some time. Get at the details here.

Feedback on Bill
Recently I poked fun at Bob Geldof’s recent charity concert. Here is one of the letters representing a direct counterpoint.

"Hi Doug,

It may have been a spin on words but I disagree with the comments made in the article in the July 7, 2005 edition.

The paragraph in the e-mail was as follows:

“BILL GATES REALLY IS COOL
Bill Gates is a star. The richest man in the universe, creator of one of the biggest brands in the world, and the one who made it cool to be smart, really smart.

Now Bill Gates is a rock star, too. At the recent Bob Geldof Live 8 charity concert, manned by the same exact senior citizens who played at Geldof's last show, Bill Gates made some quick remarks and was wildly applauded by all the fogies in attendance.

Don't get me wrong. The concert, semi-lame as it was, did a great thing by raising money for famine relief. But Gates has raised far more, single-handedly. And he has handpicked issues like AIDS in India and population control. He earned all the applause.” 

I think the editor or the person writing the above article did not actually grasp what the concept of the Live 8 concert was about. The reason was NOT to raise money for famine relief but to pressure George Bush and the other seven leaders of the G8 summit, which is happening now. The Live 8 Web site provides all the details of the concerts and why they were done can be viewed at http://www.live8live.com

I suspect if the debt is wiped out for all the African nations as part of the G8 talks then this could be higher than any amount given “single-handedly” by Bill Gates, which in theory makes the above comments untrue, but I am not into one-upmanship.

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Both Bill Gates and Bob Geldof are raising awareness using their status and following their beliefs and to say one is better than the other does not help either cause. Bill Gates was there (I hope) to support the Live 8 cause and not to say here I raised more money than you—which is the way the article comes across.

I would have liked the article to support the cause and providing the link to the Live 8 Web site as this supports what Bill Gates believes in, rather than a we-did-better-than-you article; and also a link to Bill Gates Web site on what he achieved for some of the worlds poorer nations.

Thank you for taking the time to read my mail. These thoughts are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

Regards,
Michael Whiteley"