The VAR Guy

Admittedly, most VARs have yet to jump into Amazon’s cloud. But that may soon change. Here are three prime examples highlighting how Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) are catching on with solutions providers. In some cases, the solutions providers may not even realize they’re working in Amazon’s cloud. Take a look.

It’s right around midnight. The VAR Guy should be sleeping. But our resident blogger just heard another wake-up call for entrenched security software providers. The details: Lenovo and Sophos are set to announce an expanded security partnership aimed directly at the channel. The deal, set to debut Feb. 23, calls for Lenovo to offer Sophos security and “data protection technology bundles” with Lenovo Think-branded PCs for corporate customers. Where do VARs fit in? Here are some clues.

Say hello to the ThinkStation E20. It’s  not just another desktop from Lenovo, it’s actually a complete workstation solution, under $600 bucks, and it’s environmentally friendly, to boot. If that sounds like it’ll be a paltry granola burning machine, you’d be wrong. Lenovo is positioning this thing to do some serious content creation. Are you interested?

It looks like the all-in-one (AIO) desktop PC trend is accelerating. A case in point: In just two years, 60% of Lenovo’s desktop sales will involve all-in-one PCs, predicts TradingMarkets.com. VARs and partners might want to take note.

Yet again, Lenovo is busting down the gates of boring consumer electronics and pushing the envelope here with the LePhone. It’s not officially launched yet (just in China), but it has the potential to shake up the way we look at phones, especially Android offerings. Not convinced it’s something different? Read on.

Media center startup Boxee and networking veteran D-link have teamed up to launch the Boxee Box, a home media center. But they’re not alone; interestingly enough, there’s been a lot of interest in big corporate networking companies trying to break in the the home, so to speak. Here’s the latest on some interesting offerings.

The Netbook. Once considered a toy, it now seems like the preferred device for many productivity-driven workhorse travelers. And even if you’re not a mobile workaholic, there’s something simplistically perfect about sofa-browsing while watching TV and catching up on some e-mail. With a small form factor, there comes caveats at the expense of size and portability. But recent moves by Lenovo and others show some promising trends — several of which involve Linux.

Lenovo is looking to shake things up with their consumer products. From a newly redesigned All-In-One IdeaCentre to some notebooks and a Linux netbook, Lenovo is looking to steal the spotlight at CES 2010. But similar to their business brand counterparts, one can’t help but wonder if Lenovo is taking cues from Apple. Here’s the latest on the snazzy new introductions from Lenovo…

Lenovo at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is introducing a new line of ThinkPads. The ThinkPad Edge effort includes a hardware redesign that leaves boxy appearances behind. In some ways, Lenovo might be channeling their inner Apple a little bit with a few of the design efforts. Here are the details.

Is Google mulling a more aggressive move into the hardware market with a range of partners? Could Google’s Chrome OS set the stage for a Google Netbook? Buzz about a potential Google Netbook seems to be growing. But will Google really make the move — and what are the implications for solutions providers?

It’s not exactly VAR-related news, but it’s interesting news none the less. The latest viral video poking around the web is a mock-up of a digital magazine coming from Condé Nast. It’s an edition of WIRED potentially running on the long-rumored Apple Tablet. Apparently Wired isn’t alone. Rumor has it that the New York Times has already been approached for producing material custom-tailored for the holy-grail of Apple devices.

PC and computer makers continue to launch new multi-touch offerings. The latest example: HP has released some TouchSmart development programs to help ISVs and VARs create unique TouchSmart applications, in addition to interactive digital signage for both the consumer and commercial end of the spectrum. Here’s the quick and dirty details for solutions providers.

Lenovo claims its new Secure Managed Client (SMC) is the “PC industry’s only storage-based fleet management solution.” SMC 2.0 brings increased security and tools, and there’s a lot of them. Here’s the news boiled down and what you need to know.

Lenovo’s is pulling back the curtain on an all-in-one unit called the Lenovo ThinkCenter A70z. The PC represents a significant step for Lenovo, and has potential implications for channel partners. Here are the details.

Now that Windows 7 is here, it begs the following question: What type of Windows 7 desktops, notebooks and netbooks are hitting the street? The answer: There’s no shortage of hardware from which to choose. Here’s a sampling of options we spotted…

A lot of folks are quick to bash Windows Vista. But few people actually take the time to describe what went wrong with Windows Vista — and how Microsoft (and PC partners) hope to mitigate those problems with Windows 7. During a briefing Oct. 20, Lenovo Director of SMB Jay McBain walked us through Vista’s weak points and specific R&D steps Lenovo took to assist Microsoft with Windows 7. Here’s a  quick rundown:

Seeking to drive Lenovo’s channel revenues north, Jay McBain (pictured) packed his bags and headed south. Indeed, McBain moved from Canada to Lenovo’s headquarters in North Carolina, in order to serve as the company’s new director for North American channel sales. The VAR Guy caught up with McBain last week to get a feel for his current priorities.

The VAR Guy looks scared today. Sure, he’s optimistic about his own media site and the long-term benefits of IT. But short term, the economy is going from bad to worse. Intel today said it expects Q4 revenue to drop 23% year over year. And something is up over at Lenovo, where trading in company shares were halted today.

Talk about your awkward moments: The VAR Guy used an Apple MacBook to take notes while visiting Lenovo and hearing about the ThinkPad X300 notebook last week. It was like sipping Pepsi in Coca Cola’s headquarters. Instead of throwing The VAR Guy out of their offices, the Lenovo folks described why the ThinkPad X300 is a better option than Apple’s MacBook Air. So, who won this debate? Take a look.

J Scott Di Valerio, president, Americas Group, Lenovo, commutes frequently between his home in Seattle and Lenovo’s headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina. But when he’s not on the road, Di Valerio works from the ultimate home office — a tree house in his back yard. Take a look.

The VAR Guy runs hot and cold on Lenovo. One minute, he praises Lenovo’s ThinkPad brand. The next, he openly wonders if Lenovo can hold off rivals like Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Acer. Plus, Lenovo’s server strategy — particularly as it relates to Linux — is nowhere to be seen.

At first glance, Novell’s desktop Linux goals are humble. Novell insiders tell The VAR Guy they’d be pleased if SuSE Linux eventually captures 1 percent of the overall global desktop market. So, how is Novell’s desktop strategy performing so far — especially vs. Red Hat and Ubuntu? Here are key clues from two top Novell sources on the subject.

The grand experiment is over. Wal-Mart has locked Linux out of its stores. The retail giant has stopped selling Linux-based PCs — though Walmart.com will continue selling the so-called Green gPC from Everex, according to the Associated Press. What does this mean for the open source desktop movement in the consumer market? Here are some thoughts from The VAR Guy.