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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/10/20100 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/10/20101 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/10/20101 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 by Doug Barney on 03/08/20100 comments
Microsoft loves to make well-publicized big bets, like when Bill Gates released his famous "The Internet Is Everything" memo.
Now Steve Ballmer says "The Cloud Is Nearly Everything" and believes his company has a head start. Most apps, such as SharePoint, Office and Exchange, can already run as hosted software. And he believes Azure is more robust and scalable than other cloud tools such as those from Amazon. The cloud leads to a number of possibilities, Ballmer believes. It can foster the creation of smarter devices that rely on cloud power, and offers the possibility of new software inventions and services.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/08/20101 comments
In recent years Microsoft has bought companies and built new technologies to catch up with Google. Now Google is playing catch-up, buying DocVerse so it can have cloud apps that are more compatible with Office.
Google Apps are like mini versions of their Office counterparts. With DocVerse, you can apparently use Word, Excel, et. al and share work over the Web through the Google Apps infrastructure. Hmm...I guess the cloud isn't replacing Office after all.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/08/20100 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
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/08/20100 comments
I love Novell. This company has been on the ropes more than Ali in Zaire. But like Muhammad, Novell clearly has the knock-out punch. Whereas Wang, DG and WordPerfect all died because they couldn't escape their legacy, Novell did. NT killed NetWare and Office killed WordPerfect (which Novell bought), but yet Novell not only survives, but prospers.
Don't believe me? Well, why else would a hedge fund offer a cool $2 billion (in cash) for Novell?
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/05/20103 comments
Many IT pros are wary of the cloud because they can't control the data and must rely on the service provider to keep hackers at bay. But the cloud, in many cases, is financially and technically compelling. So if the economics lead you to a cloud solution, do your best to make sure your apps are secure. A report from the Cloud Security Alliance has some advice -- and a few warnings.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/05/20100 comments
Microsoft recently helped shut down the Waledac botnet, but Doug still wonders if spam has been getting worse:
In the days since I first read the report of the MS crackdown on spammers, I have suddenly been flooded with spam across most of my e-mail accounts. Most appear to be originating from Russia, after a cursory look at the IP addresses and domains involved.
I haven't see this massive a thrust in months. It is almost as if whoever was shut down decided to prove that it meant nothing.
-Bernie
I think spam has gotten much worse over the past few months. When the government shut down the two spam host sites a couple of years ago, my spam dropped to nearly nothing. Now SPAMfighter is catching 20 to 25 messages a day, with the biggest increases over the past two or three months.
-Tony
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Posted by Doug Barney on 03/04/20101 comments
It's been tough in IT for, what, about the last 10 years? It's gotten even worse in the last two, as you've been asked to not only do more with less, but sometimes do more with nothing!
How have these budget cuts affected you? How does it feel to lose co-workers or even be the one to give them their pink slips? How do you keep your head up and respond to these challenges? How do you prioritize spending when you're dealing with chump change?
I want to bring your stories to life in a cover story for Redmond magazine. I want your war stories and advice. E-mail me directly at [email protected] and we may feature your experiences in this upcoming article!
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/03/20102 comments
Windows Server 2008 R2 is hot enough to literally lift the x86-based server market out of its doldrums. IDC says server sales in the fourth quarter were up nearly 14 percent, with 42 percent of those running Windows Server. That's more than double the amount of servers running either Linux (at 14 percent) or Unix (at 18 percent). In that part of the market, Linux is rising slightly while Unix continues to fall.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/03/20102 comments