The VAR Guy

Once synonymous with the word “buffering,” RealNetworks, the company known best for its media player technology,  has been approached by Intel for the purchase of its patents, patent applications and more. What is Intel’s end game, and where is this headed? Likely, something very cool …

As if Intel couldn’t be any larger, the microchip company plans to acquire “certain assets” of QLogic’s InfiniBand networking portfolio. But what will Intel do with networking technology? Here are a few ideas …

From technology giants like IBM and Intel to smaller–but growing–tech firms like Adtran and F5 Networks, a lengthy list of technology companies announced quarterly earnings results this week. Overall, earnings season is shaping up well. Sure, some technology companies are suffering from isolated hiccups. But the IT market, as a whole, looks healthy. Here’s a look at the Adtran, F5, IBM and Intel results.

Once upon a time, Intel created a mobile OS called Moblin. At the time, Nokia was also creating a mobile OS it called Maemo. Intel and Nokia then merged their resources and built MeeGo, the unified answer to both mobile operating systems. After delays and a completely unenthusiastic release of the one and only Nokia MeeGo phone, the Nokia N9, MeeGo was usurped by Tizen, which, as you may remember, is a new mobile OS venture by Intel that incorporates MeeGo technology. Now, Tizen is going to be merging with Samsung’s mobile OS “bada.” So, now what?

McAfee Channel Chief Alex Thurber is exiting the Intel-owned security software company to pursue a new opportunity, according to sources in the know. The sources tell The VAR Guy that McAfee’s channel commitment remains firmly in place. No cause for panic, folks. Thurber is a talented guy but The VAR Guy suspects a McAfee successor is in place. Here’s the background.

Reports are coming in from Korea that Intel and LG are teaming to deliver a new Intel-based Android smartphone at CES 2012. Is it true? If so, are there channel implications? Here’s the scoop.

The AppleTV’s channel implications probably aren’t immediately obvious, but since hacked AppleTVs can run iOS apps full-screen, there are indeed opportunities for the taking. Here’s what I’m thinking …

On the heels of Intel’s latest attempt at Atom CPU proliferation in phones comes its latest Atom CPU development, codenamed “Cedar Trail.” These Atom processors are outfitted with new features for tons of channel-ready markets. Read on for the feature list and implications …

Intel expects its Q4 2011 revenues to be “below the company’s previous outlook due to hard disk drive supply shortages.” That’s not good news for Intel, but what does it mean in the long run, and how will it impact IT market and the channel? Read on for the rundown …

As promised, Intel has reached out with a little bit more information on its new line of Intel Xeon E5 Sandy Bridge server boards for channel partners. The general gist: Intel wants to help channel partners build their businesses on services and hardware from its Enterprise Platform and Services Division (EPSD), and it’s accelerating its software platform while providing higher-performance motherboards to help get them there.

Intel, my hosts here at the SC ’11 conference in Seattle, used the first day of the event to make a pair of announcements that shows the chip giant is always looking to the future. First, Intel released the first details of Knights Corner, a 50-plus core chip that can deliver a consistent 1 teraflop of double-precision floating-point precision. And second, Intel released the details of a new line of Sandy Bridge-compatible motherboards designed for the reseller channel.

Is Cisco Systems committed to VCE (the Virtual Computing Environment Company)? The answer appears to be “absolutely yes,” based on a recent Cisco SEC filing plus chatter from Cisco Global Channel Chief Edison Peres. Here’s the update.

Intel has decided to support Tizen, another open source platform, and dropped MeeGo, its mobile open source OS baby. Partner this latest news with Intel’s ambiguous support of Android, the question begs to be asked: What is Intel’s intention? Here’s the breakdown on Intel’s lack of mobile monogamy and the details on just what Tizen means for you in the channel …

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth announced Wayland graphical server for Ubuntu, the Linux distribution, in fall 2010. Wayland for Ubuntu news made headlines. But almost a year later, Wayland for Ubuntu remains in development and the venerable X server won’t be going anywhere soon — which is not surprising, since replacing a display system that has dominated the open source world for decades is hard work. But when can we expect Wayland for Ubuntu to hit the mainstream? Read on for some updates.

Join us Wednesday (Sept. 21, 2:00 p.m. eastern) for our next webcast, The topic: Deliver New Customer Value With the Managed IT Services Tools You Already Have. Two talented MSPs (Rick Vines of Axcell Technologies and Michael Nelson of TLC Tech) plus Eric Townsend of Intel will describe MSP best practices for customer retention and customer satisfaction. I will moderate the discussion and ensure our experts answer your questions. Please join us.

One week after Intel Developer Forum 2011 and we’re still getting news from the event. Intel has been steadily growing its solid state storage offerings, and its latest iteration of SSDs have been outfitted with features that Intel believes will meet the most demanding data center requirements. Storage VARs serving massive data centers might want to read on. Intel’s platter-less drives are starting to make The VAR Guy’s head spin …

The third and final day of Intel Developer Forum 2011 saw the chip giant shift its focus from its Ultrabook mobility strategy to its more forward-looking energy-saving technologies including a solar-powered Pentium-class processor concept, baked-in-chip capabilities to boost JavaScript performance, a super-high capacity Hybrid Memory Cube, and the rise of multi-core computing. Here’s the scoop on Intel CTO Justin Rattner’s keynote.

As The VAR Guy himself is starting to see, this time of year gets really busy for your friendly neighborhood blog team when it comes to industry conferences and events. So it’s really no surprise that in the span of two weeks, I attended both the Salesforce.com Dreamforce ’11 (details on Talkin’ Cloud) and Intel Developer Forum 2011 events. Both involved ISVs, SIs and other channel pros converging on the Moscone Center in San Francisco, but the events couldn’t have been more different.

The second day of the Intel Developer Forum 2011 was given over entirely to a deep dive on the Ultrabook strategy, with Intel VP and GM of the PC Client Group Mooly Eden taking the stage to give attendees a closer look at concepts teased the day before. Microsoft even stopped by with a brief update on how existing applications can play nicely in the new Windows 8 playground.

What else can I say but, “whew!” Your humble correspondent has been beaten into the ground by the whirlwind that was Intel Developer Forum 2011 Day 1, which turned out to be a nonstop tour of announcements, pronouncements and, inevitably, hype.

No doubt, holding Microsoft Windows BUILD at the same time as Intel Developer Forum 2011 caused a dilemma for channel pros who’ve partnered up with both companies. But there was a surprise in my IDF goodie bag that’s potentially good news for the Microsoft partners in attendance: the promise of free Windows Server 8 preview and development kits at the Microsoft booth. But you’ll have to be fast — there are only 100 download codes to go around.

Remember MeeGo? It was the love child between Nokia and Intel’s respective mobile OS technologies, and was supposed to be the future of netbooks and smartphones alike. But a new rumor suggests that it’s likely dead, despite Intel denying it.

Intel is branching out into the governmental vertical with launch of the Intel Federal LLC, designed to help Intel work directly with the government and fuel the supercomputing needs of the nation. But is there room to play for the channel? Read on for the details …