The VAR Guy

German remote access software specialist NCP engineering has signed an agreement with Synnex to distribute its full portfolio of VPN products to VARs and system integrators here in the United States. NCP is positioning the deal with Synnex as the first stage of a major American channel push. Here’s the scoop.

We’ve nearly reached the halfway point for 2011. So which technology predictions are coming true and which ones aren’t quite living up to the hype? Here’s a midyear reality check for the desktop, mobile and tablet markets from our team here at Lenovo.

The VAR Guy doesn’t just write blogs, he also reads them. And according to Microsoft’s Windows Blog, the company has released the community technology preview (CTP) for Windows Thin PC, its foray into the virtualization space. What implications could this have for the channel? Read on for a few thoughts:

There’s no doubt about it: We’re living in a post-PC world. And it may not be 100 percent post-PC yet, there’s a good chance that most of us can get our daily work done on devices other than a laptop or desktop computer. With that in mind, a trend is emerging among PC vendors trying to stay relevant by moving away from the Windows OS, and if that does indeed happen, there are some implications to consider. Read on …

I’ve railed against Windows 7 based tablets in the past, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they don’t have their uses. Take Motion Computing’s offerings, for example: its tablets are super-light and super-rugged, perfect for healthcare and point-of-sale (POS) environments, where partner opportunities abound. Read on for the details.

CES 2011 officially kicked off the evening of Jan. 5 with Microsoft’s keynote address. President and CEO Steve Ballmer gave a jovial summary of Microsoft’s dominion while being flanked by a plethora of Microsoft evangelists showing off new technology, new games and new devices. Multi-touch and tablets were a focus later on in the presentation, with excited presenters all around. Some snazzy devices were shown off, too (HP and ASUS); but it begs the question: Can form factor win over when the operating system really doesn’t offer something new for personal computing?

It’s almost here, the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in “fabulous” Las Vegas. What will Microsoft say about its tablet strategy during the Sin City gathering? Heck, even mainstream news organizations like The New York Times openly wonder if Microsoft and its hardware partners can launch a credible tablet alternative to Apple’s iPad. Here’s what’s known so far.

Sponsored Blog: As another year draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on the preceding 12 months and look ahead to what the new year promises. I recently had the opportunity to speak with several Novell channel partners on this topic. It was very interesting to hear their views.

When it comes to understanding Microsoft’s partner strategy, smart folks keep an eye on the company’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer ) relationships. With that thought in mind, The VAR Guy recently spoke with Eddie O’Brien, VP of US OEM Sales at Microsoft. O’Brien offered updates on Windows, Office and Windows Phone 7 partner relationships. Here’s the scoop.

Some skeptics think cloud computing and open source are putting the squeeze on Microsoft’s conventional server and desktop businesses. But the software giant’s latest quarterly results suggest demand for Windows Server, Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 remain incredibly robust. Skeptical? Check out these startling financial results.

I don’t need to tell anyone reading this that the biggest hurdle to OS upgrades is application incompatibility – what’s the point in spending money on a Windows 7 license if the software you need to do business won’t run? Enter Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), a new tool released in beta for Windows Vista and Windows 7 designed to transparently run applications in a previous version of the OS (say, Windows XP). Here’s the scoop.

Windows Live Essentials represents a pretty major shift in the way Microsoft thinks about the cloud. So it’s no surprise that Microsoft and Dell have partnered to pre-load new systems with the Windows Live Essentials 2011 cloud-connected desktop application suite. Here’s the scoop.

October 22nd, 2010 will official mark the one-year birthday of Windows 7. No doubt, Windows 7 has been well-received by consumers and plenty of businesses. But what were the ultimate consequences for both consumers and the corporate world. Jay McBain, director of SMB at Lenovo spoke to me about the effects he’s seen at Lenovo and in the industry in general. Read on for the scoop…

Distributor Ingram Micro has announced that from next week through the end of September, they’re going to be bundling a specialized version of Laplink’s PCmover migration assistant with every purchase of Microsoft Windows 7 for their reseller partners. The companies are calling it the “MoveNow” program, and it’s designed to give VARs an edge when bringing customers up-to-date. Here’s the scoop.

As Windows 7 sales kick into high gear and Microsoft begins work on Windows 8, it’s no surprise that the software giant is starting to retire many of its older operating systems. In fact, Microsoft will end support for quite a few Windows releases within days. Here’s the death, er, retirement watch…

If you’re an SMB running mainly Macintosh hardware — get in touch with us. We’d love to know how you operate. We know it’s a niche, but we’ve got Mac OS X Server on the mind now that Parallels Server for Mac 4 has arrived. It apparently features some speed boosts and better reliability in the virtual environment. But are virtualized Mac servers really a trend? Read on for the details…

Apple knows most of the IT channel leverages Windows software and Microsoft Active Directory. But Steve Jobs and Company wants you to know that the Mac can play nice in Active Directory environments. With that goal in mind, Apple has introduced a few online seminars (essentially short videos) describing the ways in which system administrators can integrate the Mac in the workplace. Is this a sign of things to come?

ASUS has finally shown off their version of a tablet computer. Dubbed the Eee Pad, it has debuted at Computex 2010, in Taipei. Clearly, ASUS hopes to give Apple’s iPad a run for its money. Here’s the quick and dirty rundown on what to expect from the ASUS effort.

Laplink Software, the data migration solution vendor we previously discussed here, today launches the PCmover Image Assistant, a solution that can restore a disk image (or the contents of an actual hard drive) to a machine running a completely different operating system. Here’s how Laplink partners can benefit.

If you’re looking for a file management solution that isn’t going to force you to reformat your drive to a journalized file system, you might want to give Tabbles a try. (It’s pronounced TAB-bulls, by the way, not ‘tables’ like the furniture.) Tabbles uses some unique ‘tagging’ features to make your messy hard drive a thing of the past. If you’re anyone — yes, even an SMB or enterprise — who is looking to tidy up the swath of digital clutter you have lying around, here’s what Tabbles potentially can do for you…

The HP Slate — Hewlett-Packard’s answer to Apple’s iPad tablet — has made it into the wild. There isn’t too much back story, but basically, a Mexican website named Conecti.ca got hold of an HP Slate before the rest of us and gave it a look over. Here’s the full story…

The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) battle is getting aggressive. The latest move involves Microsoft and Citrix ganging up against VMware, hoping to switch VMware customers over to VDI solutions that leverage Microsoft and Citrix virtualization technologies. Microsoft is also changing its Windows licensing model to potentially speed VDI deployments. Here’s the scoop.

ZyXEL, the networking solutions company we’ve been tracking for some time now, has announced they’ve done a little spring cleaning with their ZyWALL series. A little polishing, a little upgrading, and some new features. Read on to find out…