Microsoft is trying to show the world how great Azure is, and part of that is
a new program that lets the U.S. federal government share non-classified data with agencies and the public.
The system uses a host of Microsoft technologies. Information is posted through Visual Studio and contained as SQL files.
Not sure if this is a freebie proof of concept or if Redmond is snagging some stimulus dough to fund it.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/15/2009 at 1:16 PM1 comments
We're all used to cabs charging by the mile, and shrinks charging by the hour. But are you ready to pay for the Internet based on how much you use? Major providers, especially those selling overpriced cable TV services, hope you are.
The rationale from the cable/Internet companies is that a few users -- heavy file sharers, movie downloaders, and those with rich and popular Web sites -- use an inordinate amount of bandwidth, and therefore should pay more. There are a few problems with this line of reasoning: These new metered charges could apply to the majority, not the minority of users. And as the number of customers increase, the cost of serving each actually falls. Worse is that these companies are really just trying to keep you from dumping cable TV and watching shows over the 'Net.
I guess what really galls me are the price creeps we've already seen. I spend about $50 a month for home Internet mainly because DSL is so darn flaky. I spend the same amount during the summer at my vacation home, so for half the year I shell out $100 a month for Internet. Add to that the $20 a month for tethering so my BlackBerry can serve as a laptop connection, and we're talking serious dough. And I haven't even added in cable TV for the two homes, or all the cell phones my family uses.
All in all, my family gives service providers over $500 a month. I could lease a BMW for that! And now they want to hit me up for more? I don't think so. What about you -- do you want metered Internet? Do service providers provide a fair deal? Tell us what you think at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/11/2009 at 1:16 PM1 comments
The annual Tech-Ed show takes place this week, and I'm jetting off to Los Angeles to take in all the action. With the economy in tough straits and fears over swine flu lingering, attendance is expected to be way down. That's just the reality of conferences these days.
I'm there to see third parties, the lifeblood of the Windows market. Want to know what third parties we'll be talking about? Check out our exclusive Tech-Ed preview, and tune in Wednesday and Friday for newsletter updates.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Much of what bogs down our processors is graphics, and a lot of this is just the operating system. AMD is taking aim at this issue by moving to build more processors with integrated graphics. In fact, the whole company is being reorganized around this new mission.
AMD is a feisty company, one I thought would have been put out of business by Intel long ago. With Windows 7 seeming snappier, and better and better processors in the offing, the future of performance is bright indeed.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
As Windows 7 gets closer to market, more and more add-ons are appearing, albeit in beta form. You already know about the XP compatibility mode that will come free with high-end versions of the OS. Now Redmond is releasing tools that let Windows 7 configure and manage Windows Server 2008.
The overall idea is to "manage roles and features" through Windows 7. IT can set up roles for DNS, terminal services, AD and Hyper-V. These tools work best with Windows Server 2008 R2, but can direct the activities of older servers, as well.
In fact, Microsoft hopes Windows 7 will drive Server 2008 migration. Besides the remote management tools, Windows 7 has two 2008-dependent features. Direct Access lets Windows 7 clients talk to 2008 without a VPN. And BranchCache lets remote Windows 7 clients attach to headquarters more quickly through caching and traffic shaping.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/08/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
When the economy goes south, a lot of expenses get quickly cut. Collision on your car insurance gets axed, those expensive guitar lessons for the kids get shelved, and lobster dinners are replaced with Hamburger Helper.
In the case of IT, middleware goes to the bottom of the heap. The Gartner Group claims middleware isn't just stuck in neutral, but is in reverse, with a nearly 1 percent decline this year. One bright spot in this otherwise gray forecast is Microsoft, which is gaining ground largely through its cloud services.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/08/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Last Patch Tuesday, PowerPoint got a security advisory about a zero-day exploit that uses remote execution. This coming Tuesday, a critical patch for the problem will be out.
The good news is that few of these PowerPoint attacks have been made, and they only affect older versions of the tool. The better news? In less than a week, your PowerPoint should be secure.
Posted on 05/08/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Interested in cloud computing? Have a few databases you'd love to move out of your datacenter but need proof the cloud will really work? Then a
new testing program from Microsoft might be perfect for you.
Project Huron is a "synchronization-enabled cloud data hub" that runs under Azure. The idea is to have the database in the cloud, and have multiple users query and update the data without conflict. While this is old hat with standard databases on a single server, as I understand it, Microsoft is talking about multiple databases synced together via the cloud. That's a bit trickier.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/06/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Monday was a dark day for some Microsoft employees. They must have known it was coming as months ago Steve Ballmer announced the firm would lay off some 5,000 workers, but only immediately
hacked 1,400.
Even with that knowledge, it had to be hard for the up to 3,600 others to finally get the news. In discussing yesterday's layoffs, Ballmer said more cuts may be needed if the economy doesn't pick up.
Sales and revenue may be down, but Microsoft remains a highly profitable company and we here at Redmond magazine are bullish on the future of the Microsoft market. Heck, I even stuck my neck out in a cover story explaining why Microsoft will be just fine. Take a peek and tell me where I'm wrong at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/06/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
"Hey, hey, Ray, Ray, can't off of that cloud!" Now that I've subjected you to the world's worst pun, let me tell you about Ray Ozzie's latest cloud proclamations. In a recent
Q&A session, Ray talked about a world where we have three main data devices -- "something the size of a phone, something the size of a PC, and something the size of a TV."
These won't be the silos they are today, but all three devices will be synchronized over the cloud. Heck, if I could just get my phone to work properly with my laptop, I'd be a happy man!
Microsoft is obviously building the cloud infrastructure, but it's also at work adapting key apps. Office, for instance, won't be simply PC-bound in the future, but Office services will be available by phone or other small devices. My advice? Get it to work properly on netbooks first.
Is all this cloud talk just so much fluff or a future you can't wait to experience? Float your thoughts over to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/06/2009 at 1:16 PM1 comments
Over the last few years, a few new companies have touted their search engines as superior to Google. I would then perform a simple test: Googling myself. None could match the master.
Now comes a new player: Wolfram. This tool promises the world. It doesn't just return results based on keywords, but shows a deeper understanding, offering answers that would make a Harvard prof proud. A couple of examples in an article from The Independent? It can play a scale based on a search for a note or compare the height of Everest to the Golden Gate Bridge (I don't want to give away the surprise, but apparently the mountain is higher).
This is all well and good, but my sense is the system can't automatically reach all these conclusions, but that vastly more complex tagging will be needed. And if this really is a Google killer, Google will probably just buy it.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
How many times have you seen software break and the fix is to shut down some software? It's like telling a guy with no brakes not to push the brake pedal.
Our latest example of this time-honored tradition is Adobe, whose Reader has a hole big enough for hackers to drive a zero-day attack through. The flaw lies with JavaScript and the fix is -- you guessed it -- to turn off JavaScript.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments