The VAR Guy

Cisco TelePresence: It’s nifty technology, but not everyone can afford it. But that’s where  Starwood Hotels and Resorts steps in. They’ve unveiled their first in-hotel Cisco TelePresence meeting suites. That means they’re ‘public’ to the extent that you’d like to rent one. The flagship hotels?  The W Chicago City Center in Illinois and the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, Australia. But more are coming, and soon. Here’s the scoop about the new plan and partnerships…

Here’s an interesting tidbit out of Redmond: Microsoft is looking for “Road Warriors” to work with their New Zealand branch. The deal? Up to $43,000, but you’ll have to hustle around for four months touting the awesomeness of Office 2010 Suite. Think you’re up for the task?

The image on the right hit a few privileged email inboxes yesterday. It’s part of an Apple invitation to a January 27, 2010 event. Is Steve Jobs finally ready to unveil the long-rumored Apple Tablet? Here are some educated guesses.

If it’s not official yet, it should be. Netbooks and Tablets are the CES 2010 show stoppers, and ever since the buzz about an alleged Apple tablet started, every consumer electronic maker has been rushing to beat Apple at its own game. HP was one of the first out of the gate this year at CES, and Steve Ballmer was happy to display the new tablet.

There’s plenty of buzz about tablet computing in 2010, and we’re only 4 days in. Admittedly, the buzz about tablets has been going on for quite some time, but with the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show just around the corner, there’s reason to get excited. And there’s reason to believe that 2010 is going to be the year of the tablet. Seriously. Here’s why:

I’m not sure if anyone knows who coined the phrase, but Google certainly pioneered it. “The browser is the OS.” With the launch of Google Chrome and the idea of instant-on cloud computing, there’s a feeling that — yeah — pretty much everything you use a computer for these days revolves around if you’ve actually got an Internet connection. And as long as you’re not a PC Gamer, what do you need your computer to do? It needs to be fast, and get on the Internet. That’s about it. So that got me thinking…what do I do with my Apple G4 Cube (running Mac OS 9) that’s collecting some dust? Classilla gave me the answer.

The Netbook World Summit (NWS) is coming to town. That is, if you live in Paris, France. December 8th 2009 will mark the 2nd year of the annual Netbook Summit. It’s an international conference designed to chat, engage and examine the emerging netbook market. This year, it’ll be at the swanky Parisian “Cyclone – Le Studio.” But is there really a need for a big event about a tiny computer? We sure think so.

Initially, critics blamed Microsoft for a Black Screen of Death (BSOD) issue that has plagued Windows 7, Vista and XP in recent weeks. But Microsoft points to malware as the potential cause of the problem. Here’s the blow-by-blow.

Even as distributors reinvent themselves for managed services and open source VARs, they aren’t ready to abandon their logistics heritage. A case in point: Ingram Micro says it will ship more than 3 million products during peak holiday weeks. Here’s how.

It might be time to say goodbye to the Mac clone market (again). The reason: Apple has won a judgment against Psystar –  the grey-box Mac cloners. Here’s the details…

At the VoiceCon 2009 conference in San Francisco, there was growing buzz about softphones potentially replacing standard hard land-line phones. Here’s a quick overview on the opportunities and challenges awaiting VARs and MSPs in the next-generation unified communications market.

Coinciding with the October 22nd Windows 7 release, Microsoft is launching its first retail store at the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona (pictured). It’s anyone’s guess whether it’ll be hit or miss, especially since big media like BusinessWeek had once publicly addressed Steve Jobs and told him that his Apple Store concept would fail. Here’s what could go right — and wrong — with the Microsoft Store effort.

The practice of putting Mac OS X on your vanilla computer is kind of old news. Since 2005, Intel code has been hacked and executed on gray boxes all over the world. But the Dell Mini 9 netbook falls into a special category of this kind of hacking. The Mini 9’s 8.9 inch form factor and expandability deliver something that Apple fanatics — and perhaps even some mobile executives — would buy in a heartbeat. Here’s why.

Most people like to fix their mistakes, especially the big ones. Anyone who has had even a casual point-and-click encounter with Vista would know that, indeed, Microsoft made a blunder. But my experience with Windows 7 suggests Microsoft is back on track. Here’s what’s right with the new operating system.

The VAR Guy thought Cisco Systems was preparing to acquire LifeSize Communications, a tiny but fast-growing provider of video conferencing technology. But apparently the networking giant had much bigger things in mind — spending $3 billion to gobble up Tandberg. It’s an interesting move, especially when compared to Avaya’s bid to acquire Nortel’s enterprise networking business. Here’s some perspective.

The VAR Guy will be in four places at once the week of Nov. 2. The reason: ConnectWise Partner Summit, the HTG Peer Group meeting and Symantec Partner Engage all are in Orlando, Fla., that week. Three events — right down the road from Walt Disney World. The VAR Guy couldn’t have planned the schedule better himself. Oh, except for one nagging problem…

The folks at Computer Service Partners (CSP) — a managed service provider in Raleigh, N.C. — have distracted The VAR Guy’s staff this week. First came word that CSP has a putting green in its Network Operation Center (NOC). Then The VAR Guy spotted a rather interesting application running in CSP’s NOC: Atari’s coin-op classic, Dig Dug. Here’s the scoop.

Herb Siegel, the former VP of channel marketing communications at Computer Associates International Inc., talks the talk. But today he couldn’t walk the walk — due to a freak accident at home.

Meow. A cat fight has broken out between ChannelWeb and ChannelInsider, and Hewlett-Packard got caught in the middle. On the one hand, ChannelWeb praises HP’s new Web connected printer. Clap, clap. On the other hand, rival ChannelInsider pans the printer. Boo, hiss. But perhaps that isn’t the full story.

For years I have been speaking about pervasive computing, the concept that technology will be ubiquitous in our everyday life. The debate has centered on whether we will focus on one powerful and flexible computing device to service all of our needs — from email, web surfing, gaming, managing personal finances to running our small business. Or will we leverage a myriad of devices that are optimized for our current location? Before you answer, consider the Netbook boom.

Rob Ross leads one of California’s most successful VAR and managed service provider (MSP) businesses. But he now has a bigger claim to fame: Ross ranks among the world’s top Segway Polo players — a “sport” pioneered by Apple co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak. Skeptical? Here’s a video to prove Segway Polo exists.

Rumor has it The VAR Guy is heading to court the week of June 8. Has our resident blogger finally crossed the line and been served with a lawsuit? Time to pay up for high-tech dumpster diving? Well, not quite. It could be a simple case of jury duty — 12 angry men and one crazy blogger. Either way, don’t worry. The VAR Guy will keep telling you what’s next in the IT channel — even if he has to blog from outside a courthouse…

The VAR Guy is gearing up for a busy week in the Orlando, Florida, area. He’ll be stopping by VoiceCon on April 1 and Ingram Micro VTN on April 2. But here’s the big question: If The VAR Guy finds a few hours to sneak to an area theme park — which one should he visit? Before you answer, consider these world-class options.