Apologies if this newsletter is cloud-heavy, but that seems to be what's going on this week. And IT really has to face these issues as vendors continue to pound customers, and CEOs and CFOs continue to press IT for savings -- which the cloud may or may not offer.
Despite all this pressure, IT has to do what's right, and many cloud questions still remain. One of the biggest concerns is security. If the cloud isn't secure, and you put your apps up there, it is your butt on the line -- not Amazon or RackSpace (and certainly not the CEO or CFO).
These fears were backed recently by a survey from nCircle, where less a third of respondents felt that cost savings (and these are potential cost savings, mind you) were so great as to overcome security pitfalls.
The cloud is on the move, though, as more than a third using the cloud to some degree, with another third contemplating some kind of cloud move.
What is your best and worst cloud experience? Share at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/13/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Whatever 12 Florida residents decided, Casey Anthony is still one creepy chick. Partying and lying your pants off while your adorable two-year-old is off somewhere (I can't say Caylee was missing since her mother clearly knew where she was the whole time) is not terribly cool.
Fascination with all things Anthony is the perfect opening for hacker creeps who are posting fake Casey Anthony videos on Facebook that offer a direct route to malware. It won't take 31 days to find this stuff.
If you want to see Casey Anthony videos, just turn on any 24-hour cable news station, and avoid the Internet.
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/13/2011 at 1:18 PM3 comments
Small businesses should be pleased to know that Windows Small Business Server 2011 Esssentials has been released.
SBS Essentials can handle 25 end users and is aimed at file sharing, server backup and running cloud apps and on-premise business apps.
Microsoft is also working to connect Windows Phone 7 so that administrators can manage SBS Essentials remotely via smartphones. SBS Essentials is different from Microsoft's Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard product, which supports up to 75 users.
What is good and bad about the various forms of SBS? You tell me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/11/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Sometimes Microsoft is so in love with an idea that it finds a myriad of ways to do it. That is certainly the case with sharing Word docs, and in particular, sharing them live (or at least semi-live).
The newest technique is to use SkyDrive and invoke the Word Web App service. With this service up, you can see if someone else is working on a shared document file. If you want to see their exact changes, you'll have to refresh the document or section.
Those who want to see the changes as they happen on screen can try collaborating using the OneNote Web App, which supports that dynamic feature. Or you can use Office 2010 or Office for Mac 2011 and get even more functions offline while still using these online collaboration tools.
I spend most of my time working with documents, but never quite felt the need share files this way. I like having total control of my work.
What about you? Do you like to share or are you overly protective of documents as I am? Let us know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/11/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
I read the headline "Microsoft Gave Customer $250,000 To Choose Office 365 over Google Apps" and assumed something sinister happened. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. In fact, I'm not sure it was bad at all.
Here's what happened: Google and Microsoft were fighting for a deal with the University of Nebraska which wanted to move its productivity apps in the cloud.
Microsoft sealed the deal with a quarter million dollar bonus (kick back, pay off, rebate, whatever you want to call it). I call it a spiff because it's going to consultants to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
What is best spiff you've ever gotten from a vendor? And remember, when I publish letters I only use first names so you can really come clean at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/11/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Readers discuss whether their Internet speeds could handle the move to the cloud:
I saw the reader comment about the slow WAN equaling slow cloud. I am beginning to think that the whole 'cloud' terminology has really been thrown around so much that it doesn't mean much anymore. The cloud IS the WAN. It is common sense for anyone that has worked in IT for more than a few years (before the 'cloud' was a buzzword) -- if you have a slow WAN link, anything utilizing that link will be slow.
I don't know if people are expecting the 'cloud' to be different than what they are currently experiencing because of a fast provider of the cloud services or if they just don't understand WAN technologies and how the Internet works. You can connect to the world's largest and most powerful supercomputer running an OC48 with a 56k dialup link, but you will never get any benefit of the speed from the provider unless you upgrade your weakest link: your WAN connection.
-Dustin
Well, I have to tell you that, no, I'm not happy with my WAN connection. My 768 Kb/sec is a truly third-world nation WAN speed, but that's what AT&T/Yahoo DSL offers in my neck of the woods (when it's not dragged down to something closer to 450 Kb/sec). For half my monthly DSL bill, I can get 3.6 or 7.2 Mb/sec HSDPA service, but that's only when I'm visiting Poland -- not a chance of that happening here in these benighted United States.
-Fred
This has been my number two concern from the beginning with regards to the cloud. I'm a one-man shop for an international construction company based out of Montrose, Colo. Not the smallest rural town you could come across, but on the western slope of Colorado, we are somewhat remote. There is fiber out here, but none that has been packaged and sold (that I know of.) Anyway, if we ever move some stuff to the cloud, I had better have a very good reason, as on day one I will hear 'It's pretty nice, but a little slow.' And as more users get on, the slower it will be.
You couple that with the rising demand for cheap voice (VoIP) and Video Conferencing (both of which we have deployed) and you are looking at the potential strangulation of a business critical app that you moved to the cloud to make more robust.
And what is somewhat humorous about the cloud is that you will be working over the WAN, which is what WAN optimizers were made for, even though they will be very difficult (if not impossible) to deploy (we have Riverbed Steelheads deployed in our organization). The one situation you could really use it, it won't be available.
-Travis
I find it truly amazing that the T1 speeds that were to dream for years ago are still so much the standard for many links. While all other technology has boarded the Enterprise for journeys to other worlds, the standard WAN speed has stayed grounded. It's not just the SaaS applications, cloud solutions, Web sites, downloads and media streams that call for higher bandwidth, it's the centralized backups, data transfers, SAN replication, etc. that cry for more bandwidth. Unfortunately, the price tag rises significantly. Oh, and if you have VoIP, you need to guarantee a portion of that bandwidth for the voice traffic. I know there are some lucky souls out there that have the money to put fiber all around, or even large pipes through metro Ethernet, but many of us still are bound by budgeting dollars.
-Scott
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/11/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Two readers chime in with their thoughts on the Internet browser landscape:
In your story 'Google/Firefox Graphics Ain't No Good,' Microsoft claims Chrome is less secure than IE. This is pure unadulterated BS! As you've reported yourself, every year the hacking community hosts a competition (the name escapes me) to determine who can compromise a system using the leading browsers as attack vectors. Chrome has yet to be compromised AT ALL by any of the hacking groups. IE fell prey to their exploits is less than 10 minutes.
What's that saying about rocks and glass houses?
-John
I think the browser wars are over and really have been for some time. I mean browsers are a commodity. They all are about the same -- when one browser comes out with something cool, the others soon add the same or similar functionality into it. I think it's funny that people seem to get into holy wars over a browser or any other software/technology. Just pick the one you like and use it. If someone likes something else, great, this is what freedom is all about.
-Craig
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
This month there will be a scant four patches on Patch Tuesday from Microsoft. Even better, only one is critical.
Two fixes are for elevation-of-privilege attacks, and the other two are for that old nemesis: remote code executions exploits.
The critical fix only impacts Vista and Windows 7, while the two RCE fixes are for all supported versions of Windows.
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
The more I ask about Office 2007 and 2010, the more I hear how you hate the Ribbon. I thought I was used to the Ribbon, but trying to do relatively simple tasks can still be more aggravating than babysitting a two-year old. Those that prefer old revs of Office, specifically Office XP, will have to support themselves or shell out some bucks and learn a new interface -- official support ends this month.
The same is true for Vista SP1, which is weird since this rev of the OS ain't that old. While most disdain Vista, if it works for you, it makes no sense to buy a Win 7 upgrade. The good news? You can download SP2!
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/2011 at 1:18 PM3 comments
Boy, that cloud sure does sound great. All those admins can get pink slips and the air conditioners in the server room can be redeployed at the CEO's summer house. What could possibly go wrong?
An insightful Redmond Report reader points out that if your WAN is slow (and many are) your cloud apps will be sluggish as well. And as more and more application processing moves over these wires, latency becomes, well, more latent.
A 10-gig Ethernet used to be overkill and was needed only by service providers. As the cloud continues to grow, we may need 10 gigs everywhere.
Are you happy with WAN speeds? Let me know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/08/2011 at 1:18 PM6 comments
The day before Microsoft's lavish Office 365 party in New York, Google released a somewhat wacky blog detailing 365 reasons to use Google Apps instead. The only problem -- there were only four reasons! I guess we'll have to wait for the other 361.
Google argues that its apps are perfect for teams, offer more choice, are cheaper, easier to license and more Web-friendly.
Time will tell who has the best offering, but one thing is for sure -- this competition makes both companies better.
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/06/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Readers share their thoughts on law enforcement's access to online information:
The problem with law enforcement is that it does not realize that its job is not supposed to be easy. If it was easy, good cops could be found at McDonalds. I find the case in Florida to be profoundly disgusting but I do not believe that it is in the best interests of society to give up our privacy and, by implication, our liberty to make it easier for someone I do not know or trust to get an easier conviction. The basic premise of our legal system is that it is better for 10 guilty to go free than one innocent be convicted.
The reality is that none of the high tech forensic practices has prevented a single crime. All you do is get more convictions. That masks the problem -- we need to figure out how these monsters are created and work on that. To steal a line from Ben Franklin, any society that would trade liberty for security deserves neither security nor liberty. This country was not built by people who needed to be protected. It was built by people who trusted their neighbors. People who were not afraid of the dark. People who trusted their own ability to protect themselves.
The Internet is not a new force in society. It is merely a different mirror for us to look at ourselves. The government wants to know what you are doing because they do not trust you. Your boss wants to know what you are doing because he does not trust you, and if you are doing something that might compromise his business, legally he needs to know so he can cover it up. Your wife wants to know what you are doing on your computer at night because she doesn't trust you. Law enforcement officers want to see what you are doing because they do not trust you.
Do you see a pattern evolving here? Nobody trusts anybody any more. And governments and cops that do not trust the people are dangerous.
-Anonymous
As you probably know by now, the search of that computer does not prove who made those searches in question. And Casey's mom has now testified that she made those searches relative to some other reason. Something to do with pets and some bad stuff they got into, I think.
While this case is strange (and it makes Casey look really bad), unfortunately I don't think the case is as open and shut as you state. Not that I am defending any of that family at this point. I see way too much about that case when watching CNN's Headline News while exercising in the morning.
-Lyle
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/06/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments