Redmondmag.com

Mailbag: Firefox vs. IE...Again, Cloudy Computing, More

Readers talk browsers -- specifically, why Firefox trumps IE, and whether Netscape died a natural death:

I don't know what you don't like about Firefox. I find it fast, intuitive, extensible and easy to use. Granted, I've been in on this session since 1982; I've seen EVERY version of IE. I've seen everything that IE can possibly do and I am not happy with IE. I only use IE because of some Web sites, like the educational system's Web site. Otherwise, I do everything else in Firefox.

If I had to choose just one feature of Firefox that I rely on most, it's the infinite zoom feature.
-Ari

Netscape definetely died. Take a look at Firefox (well, it's free). It's still gaining momentum over IE, and now Chrome is doing its part. If Netscape would've offered a very compelling reason to stick with it, it would be alive. But I'm sure it would be as freeware.

I think Microsoft did a good job (even tough, unconsciously) in making the market for the Web browsers at no cost. I don't think paying for such a piece of software would've improved the security and quality.
-Armando

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/17/20080 comments

New VMware CEO Paul Maritz stood in front of a crowd of (I'd have to guess) thousands and, like Sarah Palin, gave the speech of his life. What's the difference between a former VMware CEO and a pitbull? Lipstick. And if you put lipstick on Hyper-V, it's still Hyper-V.

No, Maritz really didn't say any of those things. In fact, that's probably the lamest joke I've ever penned (send barbs my way at [email protected]).

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/17/20080 comments

VMware Wants To Virtualize Everything

While Microsoft has a series of discrete tools for servers, PCs, applications and management, VMware is now talking about what it calls a Datacenter Operating System. If that wasn't bold enough, this OS (well, it's not really an OS) handles computers, networks and storage (not sure how Cisco and NetApp feel about all that).

Essentially, VMware wants you to build your own clouds. The cloud isn't just Google et al., but the datacenter right down the hall. Under this plan, computing becomes a utility -- carefully managed by VMware.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/17/20080 comments

Just Say No to Other Hypervisors

In a Q&A session, Maritz was asked about support for non-VMware hypervisors. He said, "At this point in time, we don't support hypervisors other than our own," adding that VMware isn't religious about hypervisors and it would consider it if there was enough demand.

After private conversations, it's clear that the door is open for other hypervisors. The trouble is in doing things like VMotion with Hyper-V et al. that are so easily accomplished with ESX.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/17/20080 comments

Sun Puts Its Best Hypervisor Foot Forward

Sun may not get the same attention in the virtualization space as, say, a Microsoft or a VMware, but like IBM on the mainframe, Sun is no stranger to virtualization. Sneaking its message in just before VMworld, Sun announced that its new hypervisor, xVM Server, and its management platform for virtualization, Ops Center 2.0, are both now ready .

Sun already added the Xen hypervisor to Solaris. xVM Server is actually the exact opposite; it adds chunks of Solaris to Xen, which Sun claims makes the hypervisor more secure and full-featured.