ZoneAlarm users who thought they were doing a good thing by patching their Windows DNS servers got a bit of a surprise -- the DNS fix
locked ZoneAlarm out of the Internet
, making it impossible for the CheckPoint security software to properly do its job.
If you have this problem, head to http://www.checkpoint.com for a fix.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/14/20080 comments
From our previous item, it's clear just how important it is to patch, regardless of occasional conflicts. But many using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) recently found that the server update service
can't update their servers
. Microsoft has already fixed the software that is itself designed to fix software.
My guess is that the rush to fix problems is creating flawed patches and conflicts with other bits of software. What say you? Is the speed or the stability of a patch more important? Send your answers to
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/14/20080 comments
Yesterday
,
we talked about Diane Greene's departure as the head of VMware. I suspected
intrigue and it seems I was correct.
Our
reporting
is now showing a rift between the independent-minded Greene and
EMC execs, who actually own the company.
We don't have all the details, but a sticking point appears to be just how
separate VMware should be from the EMC mother ship. Greene seemed to want total
freedom, while EMC was looking for a bit more oversight.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/10/20080 comments
A random blogger recently made a rather
stunning
prediction
: That Xen is as good as dead. His logic? Citrix, which bought
Xen, is so wedded to Microsoft that it will kill Xen in favor of Hyper-V.
I interviewed Citrix chief Mark Templeton for the premiere issue of Virtualization
Review magazine (you can check out the article here).
The interview came just as Microsoft and Citrix were announcing a multiyear
cooperation agreement over virtualization. The deal calls for both companies
to support each others' hypervisors, Hyper-V and Xen, and work on interoperability.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/10/20080 comments
Confused about
Microsoft
licensing
? You're not alone. Robert is, too -- and he thinks that's all
part of the plan:
I agree with your conclusion: Microsoft's volume licensing is complex
and made so intentionally. While I've attended several MS workshops on licensing,
in the end I find myself asking the Microsoft salesperson what I should purchase
after explaining my needs. The move to sell he software disks separate from
the license has always elicited a raised eyebrow from my clients and invariably
generates an ambience of distrust of the corporation's marketing division.
My target community has always been the non-profit sector. While discounts
are available to this market, that does not change the situation.
-Robert
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/10/20080 comments
If you're a news junkie, you probably know all about the
memo
from Microsoft VP Bill Veghte. But news reports don't have the good, old Barney
attitude and analysis. The memo was a lesson in both candor and obfuscation.
Here's what I picked up:
Bill says Vista is basically awesome, and that we should all move to it as
quickly as possible. He also says that some customers may experience
compatibility problems. "Some" and "may"? This is the very
definition of understatement. The memo skips over Blue Screens and doggish performance.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/10/20080 comments
We've been talking a lot about Microsoft's challenges in Web services. This
is an area we explore in our recent
Redmond
magazine cover story
where we conclude that on the enterprise side, Microsoft
has done a fine job turning server-bound tools like Exchange into software services.
We saw less progress on the consumer side -- the space where Google happily
resides.
Part of Microsoft's strategy is called Software Plus Services. The idea is
to take regular old hard drive applications and enhance them with a few Web
goodies. This is the exact approach taken by Equipt,
formerly called Project Albany.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/09/20080 comments
Microsoft last week added a new element to its already sprawling array of licensing
options.
Select
Plus Volume Licensing
is a new wrinkle for the Select program.
The key features? There's one ID for the entire company and, by unifying buying,
it should make it easier to earn discounts.
This sounds like a good thing, but as with anything involving licensing, the
devil is in the details, and the details are the devil. The problem is there
are too many details.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/09/20080 comments
With Steve Ballmer's
continued
push
to overthrow the Yahoo board, Doug asked readers yesterday whether
buying Yahoo is even a good idea. Here's what some of you had to say:
Should Ballmer buy Yahoo? Simple answer: NO!
-Anonymous
This makes no sense at all. You have an open source culture in one company
and one of the most proprietary cultures in another. Also, the DOJ should
can this deal as being bad for consumers -- one less chat system out there.
For as bad as "Yahell" is claimed to be, it has features no one
else has; it just doesn't leverage them via advertising very well. Then you
also have overlap in the online ad industry.
This should not be allowed -- period.
-Bruce
When I bought my 100 shares of Yahoo five or six years ago and saw it
split two for one a year or so later, I thought I had boarded the gravy train.
I've seen nothing since. So what have I got to look forward to? Maybe it would
be nice to exchange my Yahoo for MS. I'd be willing if they offered -- just
to have something different now.
-Steve
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/09/20080 comments
Microsoft has long known it had a security problem with Internet Explorer, and
it has struggled mightily to fix it. The company now argues that IE 8, now in
beta, will be
far
more secure
than any of its predecessors.
Chief among the protections are a way to stop cross-site scripting exploits,
and safer surfing of social networking Web sites. There are also ways to keep
hackers from jumping from an individual PC to the entire network.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/20080 comments
Microsoft isn't a company known for giving up easily -- and in the case of
Yahoo, it's still stubbornly gunning for a deal.
You probably recall that after Ballmer’s $40 billion-plus bid was rejected,
Microsoft gave up the chase, only to see Carl Icahn start to buy
up shares, manipulate
the board, try
to get the deal done with Microsoft, and then cash in on the premium Microsoft
would have to pay.
More
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/20080 comments