The U.S. Department of Transportation
just
says no to Vista. Actually, the agency is simply saying that users cannot
upgrade existing machines to the new OS.
If I was smart enough to be in IT, I'd order the same thing.
Installing Vista on any computer that didn't come with it is a waste of time
-- probably a lot of time. The way to move to Vista is to do so with new machines
so you know it'll work out of the box.
On a related note, I laugh when people ask how Vista is doing, or when the
press and analysts talk about Vista pickup. Vista will take over the world as
people buy new PCs, no slower or faster. Of course, this is coming from a man
not smart enough to actually be in IT.
How will your shop move to Vista? Are you demanding that new machines run XP,
or letting Vista in as machines are replaced? Let me know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/28/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
I once tried to become a Microsoft licensing guru. I read a book by
Scott
Braden and a report by
Directions
on Microsoft.
Struggle as I might, I finally realized that becoming an expert meant total
immersion in a complex, often arbitrary, artificial construct designed to prop
up Microsoft's stock price (and how well is that working out?).
I learned enough to write two cover stories -- "SA
Exposed" and "7
Steps to a Better Bargain" -- but still feel inadequate compared to
Mr. Braden and longtime reader Travis Parrent, who wrote a sidebar for me based
upon his mathematical licensing analysis.
Travis last week sent me a link to a blog complaining that Exchange 2007 customers
do
not get licenses to Outlook 2007 -- unless they've ponied up the truly big
bucks for Software Assurance.
The issue is that the new Outlook unlocks some of the coolest Exchange 2007
features. Of course, Microsoft has an easy answer: Just buy Office 2007!
Thanks, Travis.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/28/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Visual Studio Team System is an important development tool for Microsoft, partly
because it truly offers deep collaboration, but also because it has a high-end
price tag and presumably large profit margins.
But not all are willing to pay big bucks to access Team System, which is where
devBiz,
just acquired by Microsoft, fits in. This company, now part of Microsoft,
offers Web access to many of Team System's collaboration features. This could
improve your development project and save a few bucks in the process!
One of the coolest aspects is that it was announced at VSLive!,
a show the Redmond Media Group now owns.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/28/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
MOM, Microsoft's way of watching over Windows networks and correcting them
when they go wrong, is passing its apron over to the new boss --
System
Center Operations Manager, one in a new line of forthcoming System Center
management tools.
Microsoft, though, seems confused as to what to call this thing. Ordinarily,
we'd just use the acronym -- Microsoft loves acronyms and even uses them to
refer to beta software (CTP, RC) and licensing (SA, EA).
But as fellow newsletter
writer Lee Pender of Redmond Channel Partner points out, Microsoft
is steering clear of
"SCOM" and calling it just "Operations Manager." That's
a fine name, so why does "System Center" have to precede it?
The tool was announced this week at the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS, an
acronym Microsoft isn't shy about using), but there are already 20,000 customers.
Is it really a new product if it's already in such widespread use?
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/28/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Microsoft employee Jeff Jones ran an
analysis
of Vista's first three months compared to the Mac and Linux, and found Vista
has far fewer security flaws.
While a report from Microsoft about Microsoft security has the scent of bias,
I have no evidence to contradict Mr. Jones. There hasn't been a large quantity
of Vista vulnerabilities, and so far no show-stoppers.
But critics smarter than me countered Jones, pointing out that his report only
tracks those holes made public. Making them more suspicious is the fact that
XP came in as the second-most secure operating system.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Adobe is taking a stab not just at Web development, but at rich application
building, as well.
Apollo,
now in alpha test (how I've missed that term, overwhelmed by a tidal wave
of CTPs, RCs, RTMs and other inane Microsoft names for test software), takes
the best of what Adobe has learned with Web development and ties this to OS-style
services such as printer drivers and personalization.
I hope this tool is a winner, partly because it will defuse the religious debate
of thin vs. thick clients, but mostly because it will force Microsoft and others
to build more flexible development tools.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Our friends from FullArmor recently treated us to some sushi at the local buffet
(I used all my willpower and only had one heaping plate), and between sips of
miso soup, chomps of calamari, mounds of mackerel and tons of tuna, we talked
about their latest product:
FullArmor
Endpoint Policy Manager, a tool that lets admins build and enforce security
and other policies for fixed desktops and roving laptops.
The whole idea is to make sure that laptops and mobile devices that have been
out in the wild are in compliance with internal corporate security as defined
by Group Policy when they return to the corporate nest.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
As if Larry Ellison,
owner
of America's largest yacht, didn't already have enough money, his company
goes out and
increases
revenue by 27 percent and profits by 35 percent in its latest quarter.
It turns out the $20 billion Ellison shelled out to buy a bunch of high-end
software companies was money well-spent.
What's really interesting is that Oracle is becoming less and less of a database
company, and more and more an enterprise application vendor. But what really
makes me happy is that Larry has finally stopped mouthing off about Bill Gates!
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/26/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
It's rare that I find myself jealous of those in less-developed countries, but
hearing what Dell is doing in China has me pleased and steamed simultaneously.
I'm happy because
Dell
built a $230 desktop for China that runs XP and has a 40GB drive and a quarter-gig
of RAM.
Then I got mad wondering why we can't all buy a brand-new, low-priced XP machine.
Before sinking into total depression, I did some fact-checking (yeah, I do this
occasionally) and found a $350 Dell Vista desktop with an 80GB drive and half-a-gig
of RAM. If I were in the People's Republic, I might just order my machine from
Austin!
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/26/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
The Slashdotters have struck again. The popular discussion site (what is it
about the Internet that releases inhibitions faster than a double Grey Goose
martini?) picked up our cover story about Microsoft's fledgling effort to work
with the open source community.
We praised Redmond for its efforts to build quasi-open products and its more
serious stab at interoperating with the open community.
As you might expect, zealots (God bless 'em) came out of the proverbial woodwork
with comments.
I was plumb excited by the sheer volume of feedback, and even more pleased
by the passion. One of my favorites was W. Anderson arguing that Redmond magazine
editors are "inexperienced in professional journalism" and should
"learn to report stories factually."
Hey, W. My folks have lost more hair than a grizzly's chest and are saving
up for liposuction, dentures and hip replacements. They might not be experienced
journalists but they sure are creaky!
Scroll to the bottom for the good
stuff.
While the open source posts were a gas, they were not nearly as much fun as
when Fark
made fun of one of Redmond magazine's maiden issues.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/26/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Palm Inc., longtime maker of hand-held devices that are actually easy to use,
is reportedly
up for sale, with either Nokia or Motorola as the presumed buyer.
This has been an interesting space, with Microsoft getting better and better
at making smaller and smaller operating systems, and Apple set to get into the
market with a phone that comes stocked with all the hand-held computing basics.
What is your hand-held or smartphone of choice, and which devices stink on
ice? Let us know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/22/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments