.NET News Desk

Nvidia Claims Cloud GPU

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:15:00 EDT

Nvidia Tuesday unveiled a VGX platform – reportedly the result of five years of effort – that it called the world’s first virtualized GPU meant to accelerate graphics from cloud computing centers. IT departments are supposed to use it to deliver virtualized desktops with the graphics and GPU performance of office PCs or workstations to employees using any connected and BYOD devices regardless of operating system including thin clients, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The dingus, an enterprise implementation of the company’s new Kepler GPU, is also supposed to work with 3D design and simulation tools previously deemed too intensive for virtualized desktops. Nvidia claims the platform “delivers an experience nearly indistinguishable from a full desktop while substantially lowering the cost of a virtualized PC.”

Leveraging the Cloud for Better User Experience at Cloud Expo New York

Sun, 20 May 2012 05:45:00 EDT

The cloud has many benefits, but when it comes to application development, how does the cloud help enterprises and development teams create custom software and applications that end users actually care about? Using real world examples from Adobe, Herff Jones and Navy Federal Credit Union, this session will highlight the advantages cloud computing provides for quickly developing custom software and applications with compelling user experiences. In their general session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Anthony Franco, president of EffectiveUI, and Ken Guiberson, CTO of EffectiveUI, will explore: Using the flexible nature of cloud computing to rapidly design and deploy integrated enterprise applications Leveraging the cloud for a highly visible and transparent development process Using a service-oriented architecture (SOA) to create a hybrid cloud

Defining Hybrid Cloud at Cloud Expo New York

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:45:00 EDT

Hybrid is an end state for most customers as it balances choice and the needs of the business against cost, flexibility and risk. In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Mark Clifton, Director Cloud Solutions at Dell Commercial Business Unit, will discuss Hybrid cloud adoption as well as the issues around data portability, integration and security that need to be proactively addressed.

Cloud Computing Growing on the Businesses Priority Front

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:30:00 EDT

A survey of small and mid-size businesses found an interest in harnessing technology to improve business efficiency. Midsize businesses are turning to IT investments to grow their businesses and the larger the organization, the more likely it is to cite technology as having the greatest potential to increase productivity, according to a new survey of midmarket companies by Deloitte. The study shows cloud computing emerging as an investment priority. When asked what types of investments companies were likely to make in technology, 40 of the respondents cited cloud computing. That's close to automation of business processes (46 percent) and data analytics (41 percent), according to eWEEK. "Interestingly, there seems to be a greater recognition of the benefits of cloud computing," the report stated. "In our September 2011 survey, it was recognized as a distant fourth as a means to increase productivity. In this survey, it nearly equaled data analytics and business intelligence in terms of likely investments."

Supermicro to Exhibit at Cloud Expo 2012 New York

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:15:00 EDT

SYS-CON Events announced today that Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and green computing, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 10th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 11–14, 2012, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York. Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI), the leading innovator in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology, is a premier provider of advanced server Building Block Solutions for Embedded Systems, Enterprise IT, Data Center, HPC, and Cloud Computing worldwide. Supermicro is committed to protecting the environment through its "We Keep IT Green" initiative and provides customers with the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly solutions available on the market.

Speech and Sound: The Next "Killer Paradigm Shift"..?

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:15:00 EDT

There was a time, not so very long ago, when IT directors and chief information officers dismissed the Internet as something of a passing fad. Somehow though, things took off pretty well with the whole web thing didn't they? Mobile telephony has also grown to a level of dominance that we could never have predicted when it first started appearing around 30 years ago. Then came the tablet... just another fad right? Well, the first few were, but then "Magic Steve" produced the tablet we all love and cherish didn't he? (OK yes - I know Android is doing well in this space too, you don't need to write in)... so what's coming next?

Cloud Expo New York: Using APIs to Extend Your Business Reach

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:00 EDT

How can businesses harness the power of APIs to reach new customers and markets? In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Alistair Farquharson, CTO at SOA Software, will walk the audience through the growth and evolution of the API, why effective API management is important, and how the game changes when companies expose business applications to the outside world. He will also discuss: A brief history of the API How to use APIs to make money, save money, build brand "Appification" and the innovation model of the open API API management nuts and bolts, and best practices Why Enterprise APIs are important Some great examples of companies doing it right

Qualtrics Raises $70 Million

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:15:00 EDT

Called “the biggest software company you haven’t heard of yet” by one of its shiny new backers, 10-year-old Qualtrics has gotten $70 million from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital in the VCs’ largest joint investment ever. It’s also the company’s first outside investment. Reportedly profitable since it started, it’s supposed to use the money to expand its SaaS products beyond market research and accelerate its global growth, expecting to hire another 250 employees to add to the existing 200 in the next year. Qualtrics is used for online data collection and analysis claiming to make it “easy for anyone in a company to conduct PhD-level research.” It figures outsourced research and data collection is too expensive – it’s shooting at data generated from customers, sales reps, channel partners and employees – and competitive tools are either too basic or too complicated.

Facebook Ups Its IPO Price

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:00:00 EDT

You knew this was gonna happen, right? Facebook has repriced its IPO upwards from $28-$35 a share to $34-$38 a share giving it a valuation of $92 billion-$104 billion, a neighborhood more to its liking than the original $77 billion-$96 billion. The actual price won’t be set until Thursday night. Bloomberg claimed the company’s IPO roadshow was producing less institutional demand for the stock than expected because of less-than-rosy revenue forecasts last week – though the increase in the price would seem to belie that statement – and the AP and CNBC did a survey that found half the people polled thought the original asking price was too high – more among active investors.

GM to Pull Facebook Advertising: WSJ

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:45:00 EDT

Here we are less than three days before Facebook’s historic $100 billion IPO and General Motors or “people familiar with the matter” let slip to the Wall Street Journal that GM’s going to stop advertising on the social networking site because the paid ads are ineffective. The big American carmaker still reportedly intends to do marketing through Facebook but that’s not going to put any money in Facebook’s pocketbook. The paper says GM started having doubts earlier this year and met with Facebook managers, leaving the meetings “unconvinced advertising on the web site made sense.” GM reportedly spends about $10 million advertising on Facebook and another $30 million on its Facebook promotional content and managing its Facebook pages.

Compuware Brings Enterprise APM to Cloud and Big Data Applications

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:10:00 EDT

Compuware Corporation on Tuesday announced a deep transaction management solution for dynamic cloud and Big Data applications. The Compuware APM Spring 2012 Platform Release introduces new innovations in Compuware dynaTrace Enterprise that simplify performance optimization, operation and management of modern, dynamic applications. These transformational application environments require a new approach to application performance management (APM) to support massively scalable architectures and dynamic, elastic resource allocation. With dynaTrace Enterprise and its patented PurePath(R) technology, EC2 and Azure cloud applications as well as Cassandra and Hadoop Big Data applications can be easily optimized and managed for greater performance and availability.

Xeround Adds AppHarbor and PHP Fog Integration to Cloud Database

Tue, 15 May 2012 06:00:00 EDT

Xeround, the Cloud Database Company, on Tuesday announced the availability of their database-as-a-service for MySQL applications as an add-on for the AppHarbor .Net platform and for AppFog's PHP Fog PHP platform. Xeround's add-on provides .NET and PHP developers using these platforms with a zero-management, highly available and scalable cloud database solution in just one click. Xeround's add-on on AppHarbor and AppFog platforms provides simple one-click integration between the applications hosted on these platforms and Xeround's Database-as-a-Service. From the users' perspective, all they need to do is add the add-on to their application from within their environment. This automatically creates a MySQL-compatible cloud database that easily connects to their application.

Windows RT Raises Antitrust Specter & It Isn’t Even Out Yet

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:00:00 EDT

This sound familiar? Mozilla is complaining that Microsoft is impeding its Firefox web browser from getting on the devices being designed to carry the unseen next-generation Windows for ARM chip, now officially called Windows RT. RT, which has a Metro environment for tablets and phones, as well as a classic Windows interface, won’t support legacy apps like the x86 version of Windows 8 and programs that run on it will only be available Apple-like from Microsoft’s store. Developers who support RT will only be able to use the Windows runtime stack and standard APIs. Microsoft claims that’s for reasons of security, performance and battery life. It’s supposedly typical of ARM. But it means third-party browsers, which need more than the standard APIs, won’t be supported in the classic desktop mode.

Cloud: Use It? Sell It? Have Your Cake and Eat It Too at Cloud Expo NY

Thu, 10 May 2012 05:15:00 EDT

The rapid pace of technology adoption growth is driving application consumption. It impacts an ever-increasing spectrum of projects across IT organizations such as data center consolidation/expansion, application distribution, mobile workforce enablement, disaster recovery, backup and security policies, all of which effects the total cost of ownership technologies such as virtualization, VDI and web enablement and has helped improve the ways IT organizations can get more with less. But that's not enough. A true automated, standardized cloud environment is the next step in truly utilizing the business of cloud computing In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Darryl Brown, Sr. VP Global Sales & Marketing at Appcore, will cover how everyone can use cloud. He will also discuss how cloud can be used and what the hidden costs are for enterprise IT. He will also cover how cloud truly deliver on total cost of ownership and ROI, plus how Appcore Onsite makes the transition to cloud fast and easy – revenue-ready in 45 days.

Cloud Expo New York: Executing Enterprise Clouds

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT

For years, IT departments have organized their processes, employees, and business relationships around owning and operating the core IT assets in an enterprise. The current wave of cloud services can have a powerful effect on enterprise IT, with the potential for significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. To achieve these benefits, IT departments will have to integrate new ways of thinking about how IT resources are delivered. In his general session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Bill Lowry, Vice President, Cloud Services at Terremark, will discuss the major factors driving cloud adoption for the enterprise, relate how the adoption of cloud technologies is changing the way IT departments will operate, and review case studies showing how businesses have used cloud services to achieve these benefits.

Cloud Expo: Architect Full Performance Potential of IaaS Cloud Services

Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:00 EDT

In a world of ever-increasing demand for performance vs cost, the importance of optimizing infrastructure utilization is critical. With today’s easy access to extremely high-performance hardware and the overabundance of management software, it is easy to “over subscribe” either accidentally or intentionally. Plenty of these discussions center around RAM and CPU, but what about storage and bandwidth and who is going to manage it all? There is a gentle yet optimal balance between performance, redundancy and capacity. In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Mike Carpenter, VP Business Development at CARI.net, will discuss how CARI.net utilizes efficient and powerful hardware along with both open source and proprietary software to achieve that ideal balance.

Using an In-Memory Data Grid to Scale Cloud-Based Apps at Cloud Expo NY

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:30:00 EDT

The elastic resources offered by cloud computing have created an exciting opportunity for applications to handle very large workloads. However, writing applications that span an elastic pool of virtual servers creates huge challenges for developers. How can these virtual servers easily and efficiently share application data while avoiding scaliability bottlenecks? The answer lies in using in-memory data grids (IMDGs) to provide a powerful, easy-to-use, and highly scalable storage layer. IMDGs unlock the potential for application scaling while eliminating the cost and performance impact of using blob stores and database servers. IMDGs also provide a powerful platform for fast data analysis and enable transparent data migration between on-premise sites and the cloud.

You Can Kiss That Old 19-Inch Rack Good-Bye

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:45:00 EDT

A growing throng of Open Compute Project (OCP) disciples converged on Rackspace headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, this week to overturn the established sixty-year-old EIA 310-D rack standard inherited from railroad signaling relays and telephone switching and in its place substitute Open Rack, the very first standard for data centers, especially big hyper-scale data centers like Facebook’s. Facebook set Open Compute in train a year ago to solve problems it was having trying to shoehorn the compute, storage and networking density it needed into the traditional server rack, a form factor its hardware master calls “blades gone bad.” Blades supposedly go bad because of what OCP founding board member Andy Bechtolsheim calls “gratuitous differentiation” on the part of vendors and their lock-in-seeking proprietary designs that sacrifice interoperability.

Google Wins the Battle of the Interior Department

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:00:00 EDT

The US Department of the Interior has moved its e-mail business to Google, which sued when the agency gave Microsoft a five-year $59.3 million cloud-based e-mail contract in 2010 claiming the department’s research was “stale” and Microsoft’s security wasn’t certified for government use. It’s going with Google Apps for Government and Gmail instead. It will cover upwards of 90,000 seats. The agency’s been reconsidering its original decision since late last year. The deal is worth $34.9 million over seven years to Google and its reseller Onix Networking. Microsoft said it “will engage with our partners and DOI to review and understand the reasons for this decision.”

Cloud Expo New York: Making Hybrid Cloud Safe and Reliable

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:45:00 EDT

Enterprises want to mix the best of their own data centers with private and public cloud services without compromising security and uptime. Making internal information assets available to work across private and public clouds requires a management layer that can stitch together disparate services to create a hybrid enterprise. This requires a way to abstract, secure and manage information flows across all domains. In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Matt McLarty, Vice President of Client Solutions at Layer 7, will cover proven techniques that will help companies govern data and application interactions across the hybrid enterprise in order to maintain mission-critical service levels.

Concentric Cloud Solutions to Exhibit at Cloud Expo 2012 New York

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:45:00 EDT

SYS-CON Events announced today that Concentric Cloud Solutions, a provider of new cloud computing, content acceleration, and cloud voice solutions for businesses, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 10th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 11–14, 2012, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York. Concentric Cloud Solutions offers businesses advanced cloud-based computing, content acceleration, and cloud voice solutions. Through its cloud-based platforms and online portal, Concentric Cloud Solutions helps organizations simplify the procurement and management of critical infrastructure, accelerate application and web site performance, and improve interactive communications with customers.

MMI Gets Toothless Injunction Against Microsoft

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:00:00 EDT

In what FOSS Patents calls the “most anticipated German patent ruling ever,” the Mannheim Regional Court Wednesday gave Motorola Mobility the permanent injunction it was looking for against Windows 7, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Xbox and they might be using those things for landfill right now if it wasn’t for one little thing. MMI’s infringement case is based on two patents essential to the widely used H.264 video codec standard and on April 11 the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington gave Microsoft a temporary restraining order staying Motorola’s hand worldwide. The US court is supposed to hear Microsoft’s motion for summary judgment on its breach-of-contract claims against MMI this coming Monday. Microsoft sued 18 months ago – before any German litigation was lodged – seeking to force Motorola to stand by its FRAND pledges.

Fuel Your Cloud with Metered, Virtualized Middleware at Cloud Expo NY

Thu, 03 May 2012 06:00:00 EDT

Traditional middleware is not suitable for the Cloud; it’s simply too complex and it doesn’t provide a pay-per-use charge model. In their general session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Ash Massoudi, CEO & Co-Founder of NextAxiom Technology, and Sandy Zylka, VP Products & Technology and a Co-Founder of NextAxiom, will discuss a new middleware paradigm for developing and integrating applications: metered, virtualized middleware. The virtualized attribute allows you to easily build and run new applications in the cloud reusing existing on-premise application functionality. The metered attribute has two aspects: it provides a usage-based charge model for the middleware and it provides a built-in, metered charge model, much like electricity, for your new applications.

Cloud Expo New York: Hybrid Clouds Get Real

Thu, 03 May 2012 05:00:00 EDT

With so many cloud offerings in the marketplace, how are you supposed to understand the differences, let alone pick the right ones to meet your specific needs? And while many of your applications may be a good fit for "the cloud," how will you evaluate which cloud offering will be the best match? In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Pavan Pant, Director of Product Management for CloudSwitch, will explain the practical differences and trade-offs between private clouds, public clouds and virtual private clouds, show how to blend cloud services in a seamless and secure way with your existing data center infrastructure and tools, and describe real-life case studies on how market-leading companies are successfully selecting and deploying the right cloud services for their unique application requirements.

Microsoft Buys into Nook Business

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:00:00 EDT

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have struck a strategic deal that will end their patent litigation and put the substantial Barnes & Noble e-book library including college textbooks on Windows 8. Microsoft is investing $300 million in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that is called Newco for the moment and is valued at $1.7 billion. Microsoft will have 17.6% of the unit, which may or may not be spun off. Barnes & Noble will pay Microsoft an unsung royalty for a patent-settling license that covers its Nook e-readers, which are based on a forked version of Android.

Microsoft Gets Another Android Vendor to Pay Up

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EDT

If anybody’s making money off of Android, it’s Microsoft, which has just signed another licensing deal with another Android merchant. This time it’s Pegatron, which is gonna pay Microsoft to run Android and Chrome on its e-readers, tablets and phones. How much is secret like Microsoft’s other licensing arrangements. Nailing Pegatron means Microsoft now has four of the top five Taiwanese ODMs, according to Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez. That would give it 70% of all US Android devices.

Smart Grid as a Service at Cloud Expo New York

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EDT

The complexity of Smart Grid and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) implementations present a challenge for most of the nation’s electric utilities. From skilled resource availability to the operational complexities of installing and maintaining these systems, utilities have often struggled with achieving success. SAIC’s cloud-based Smart Grid as a Service (SGS) solution was developed to address these complexities and ease the implementation of Smart Grid technology. In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Tim Crowell, Assistant Vice President and Chief Architect for SAIC’s Smart Grid division, will present SAIC’s SGS solution with specific focus given to how SAIC addressed the challenges of utility integration into their cloud-based infrastructure.

Facebook Buys $550M Worth of AOL Patents Off Microsoft

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:45:00 EDT

Facebook and Microsoft said Monday on Facebook’s web site that Facebook is buying the lion’s share of the 925 US patents and patent applications that Microsoft just bought from AOL for $1.06 billion. Facebook – and Microsoft has an investment in Facebook – is buying 650 of patents off of Microsoft for $550 million cash. A quick turnover for Microsoft considering its deal with AOL hasn’t closed yet and the whole megillah needs regulatory approval. In fact, Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith remarked in a prepared statement that “Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction. As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio.”

The Web – Changing the Way We Work

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:00:00 EDT

The web is fundamentally changing the way we work – is your company ready? Intrigued by how more than 4 million businesses are using Google’s cloud to work in the future? Join us as we bring Google’s highly anticipated annual gathering of business leaders together to hear: Industry experts shed light on emerging business models Customers share stories of business transformation Our product experts unveil new products Our executives answer your questions

Microsoft Sets Up an Open Source Subsidiary

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EDT

Microsoft – for reasons that haven’t been plumbed enough to satisfy skeptics – has set up a wholly owned open source subsidiary. Given history that’s an unusual step. It’s called Microsoft Open Technologies and it’ll be run by Jean Paoli, an XML standards expert whose interoperability strategy team will form the nucleus of the new subsidiary. Figure about 50-75 people and a board composed of Microsoft people. Paoli will be president. He’s credited with calming the ISO brouhaha between Open Office XML and the competing OpenDocument contingent. His new domain is supposed to advance Microsoft’s investments in openness, he said in a blog posting, including interoperability, open standards and open source. Through it Microsoft should get out code more quickly and ensure compatibility.

Windows for ARM Will Be Windows RT

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:45:00 EDT

When Windows on ARM (WOA) finally hits the market it’s going to be called Windows RT, not Windows 8. The designation Windows 8 is reserved for x86/64 widgets run by Intel and AMD chips. The decision complicates promotion and one can easily imagine Intel insisting on profiting from whatever momentum has built up for the coming of Windows 8. But the branding decision is more likely Microsoft’s own so it can make it clear that Windows RT isn’t backwards-compatible like Windows 8 – it’s still going to be an educational hurdle for some people – and something of a new start for Microsoft.

Amazing Day of Announcements for Microsoft

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:27:31 EDT

Today is day two of MMS 2012, April 17th, 2012. I just can't believe the number of Announcements that have come out today. First here at the Keynote at MMS we announced the world wide availability of System Center 2012. To download the trial go to http://aka.ms/syscntr If you missed the keynote you can watch it here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/new.aspx Brad Anderson published a blog post today that further details the opportunities for IT professionals to accelerate their careers in the era of continuous services and connected devices

Microsoft Teams up with Ariba on B2B eCommerce Front

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:15:00 EDT

Ariba is now teaming with Microsoft in business streamlining to empower buyers and sellers to better connect and collaborate across Microsoft applications and Ariba's commerce cloud services. Microsoft Dynamics offers productivity tools and built-in contextual business intelligence that help decision-makers move faster. There are 300,000 businesses that use Microsoft Dynamics applications and 10,000 Microsoft Dynamics reselling partners worldwide. The Ariba Network leverages cloud-based invoicing, supplier discovery and spend management services and an online trading community to drive collaboration and efficiency in business-to-business ecommerce.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 is RTW

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 05:30:00 EDT

RTW = Released to the Webitubes

Wow.. what a big week. The System Center 2012 release, the official naming of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, and now the newest version of the MDT - Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 – is released and available for download.

For those not familiar with it, the MDT is “a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment.” Here is the overview from the download page:

Overview

Deploy Windows 7, Office 2010 and 365, and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits:

Unified tools and processes, including a set of guidance, for deploying desktops and servers in a common deployment console.

Reduced deployment time and standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management.

Some of the key changes in MDT 2012 are:

Comprehensive tools and guidance to efficiently manage large-scale deployments of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 365.

An enhanced user-Driven Installation (UDI) deployment method that utilizes System Center Configuration Manager 2012. UDI lets end users initiate and customize an OS deployment on their PCs—via an easy-to-use wizard.

Ease Lite Touch installation through integration with Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolkit (DaRT).

This release provides support for deploying Windows 8 Consumer Preview in a lab environment.

Highlighting was my own. Notice that this is a good start in helping you gear up for your Windows 8 deployments.

Get it HERE.

And for even more information, be sure to check out the Microsoft Solution Accelerators page, and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Team Blog.

Citrix Buys Danish Collaborative Cloud Service

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EDT

Citrix Wednesday said it bought Copenhagen-based collaborative work platform Podio to expand its social media offerings for SMBs, figuring there’s going to be a surge in demand for so-called social software by the enterprise as part of the consumerization of IT. Forrester estimates the market for corporate social software will hit $6.4 billion by 2016 compared with $600 million in 2010. Podio can be used by dispersed teams, contractors, partners, clients and projects in sales, recruiting, marketing or any other business function using pre-assembled apps from Podio’s free app market. Citrix says the widgetry unifies content and integrates traditional business apps and new mobile apps as well as the real-time and asynchronous communications required to work in the post PC era.

Technology and Managed Services Innovation via the Cloud at Cloud Expo NY

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EDT

In his session at the 10th International Cloud Expo, Nigel Mackenzie, CTO of Pacific Controls, will discuss how managed services and cloud computing are driving a whole new cycle of systems and technology innovation based on the diverse interactions cloud systems will enable between people, smart devices, systems and enterprise applications. Nigel Mackenzie is CTO of Pacific Controls, one of the leading information and communication technology (ICT) enabled machine-to-machine (M2M) automation and control solutions providers globally. Cloud Expo 2012 New York, June 11–14, 2012, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.

US Court Forbids MMI to Use German Injunction Against Microsoft

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:15:00 EDT

A US judge Wednesday told Motorola Mobility it can forget about enforcing the German injunction it expects to get next week that would prevent Microsoft from selling Windows and Xbox in Germany. In a bench ruling the US District Court for the Western District of Washington gave Microsoft a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction stopping it. The German infringement decision, based on a couple of patents essential to the H.264 video codec standard, is expected next Tuesday, April 17. Motorola has asserted those patents against Windows 7, Internet Explorer, the Windows Media Player and Xbox.

Perhaps I Haven’t Made Myself Clear...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:45:00 EDT

I’ve been discussing HTML5 for some time now. In July of 2010, I mentioned that I wasn’t particularly concerned about PowerBuilder supporting HTML5 in the initial PowerBuilder.NET release (12.5) because: “HTML5 is largely still in its infancy, and there appears to be too much opportunity for it to fragment as previous HTML standards have done.” [1] In December of 2010 I devoted an entire editorial to HTML5 [2], noting that: “I have some basic concerns that make me reluctant to recommend using HTML5 as the basis for any line of business application development in the near future.”

New Microsoft Certs Align to Cloud –The MCSE is Back!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:45:00 EDT

Hot off the newswire:

Today Microsoft announced some changes to the certification program for IT Professionals, in order to address the growing need for people being able to prove their expertise in all things cloud-related.

“Wait.. you said that “the MCSE is back’. Huh?!”

That’s right. What was the well-known “Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer” acronym MCSE has been re-purposed. It now stands for “Microsoft Certified Solution Expert”

From the press release…

Because cloud computing talent is in short supply, Microsoft has reinvented its flagship credential, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, for the cloud. The new Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) shows employers and peers that those certified have the skills to do the job in an expanding market. Forecasts show that public and private IT cloud services will generate nearly 14 million jobs worldwide between now and 2015.1The MCSE is the flagship credential for those who want to lead their company to the cloud and is the target credential for established IT professionals and developers who have expertise working with Microsoft technology solutions.

“The new Microsoft certifications are raising the bar across the industry and reflect industry shifts that require a broader knowledge base and deeper skills across solutions that cloud computing requires,” said Don Field, Microsoft’s senior director of Product Management. “The Microsoft certifications reflect the experience and skills needed to build, manage and evolve solutions in a cloud-based environment, ensuring validation of real-world skills for individuals and helping hiring managers identify the best-qualified job candidates.”

The new framework will help IT professionals and developers navigate their own path, while also making it clearer for hiring managers to identify credentials that offer the greatest value to their organization’s needs.

“So… just when I get my MCITP they go and do this? What happens to my MCITP?”

Yeah.. I know. And honestly I haven’t looked into what it means for current certifications. But if the past is any indication, your existing certs are still valid and valuable. And if I were still on the path to getting my MCITP: Virtualization Administrator, I’d still do it. Those skills are still valuable, and will be a good foundation for the new certifications. (Hint: Take 70-659. Pass it. You’ll thank me.)

“What tests are required for this?”

The official path to the MCSE: Private Cloud certification is:

Get your MCSA: Windows Server 2008 R2 if you don’t have it already.
Take exam 70-247: Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012
Take exam 70-246: Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012

Go to the MCSE Page at Microsoft Learning for all the details. There is also an MCSE path for SQL Server.

Here’s a video that summarizes the value, too…

“Are you going to get this private cloud certfication, Kevin?”

Definitely. Probably sometime after July 1st. (Microsoft Employees know what I mean. )

Another hint: Get started with System Center 2012.

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What do you think? Should we start an MCSE: Private Cloud study group? Are you going to go for it? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Best Buy CEO Out

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:00:00 EDT

Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn resigned Tuesday shortly after announcing an $800 million cost-saving plan designed to shore up the Internet-racked brick-and-mortar electronics retailer by lowering its operating costs. The idea is to close 50 stores and lay off 400 employees. It figures to open hundreds of small shops selling mobile phones in a belated response to Apple stores and the shops carriers have set up. Best Buy lost $1.7 billion last quarter on revenues up 3.4% to $16.6 billion although sales overall fell 2.4% – despite a 21% increase in online sales – because consumers snubbed laptops and TVs. Its stock is in the gutter.