The VAR Guy

It’s not the final nail in the coffin, but it’s yet another sign of Windows XP’s decline. Microsoft is officially dumping Windows XP support in the next iteration of Internet Explorer. Here’s the why and how and what’s next from Microsoft…

Parallels, the company you may know for their virtualization muscle, is bolstering their server virtualization by supporting Apple environments.That’s right, they’re introducing a ‘world first’ — the bare metal hypervisor for Apple Xserve. Any takers…?

It’s finally here, Windows Mobile 7, or as it more colloquially wants to be known: Windows Phone 7 Series. It doesn’t really roll off the tongue and it’s not exactly the seventh series of any kind of Windows Phone, but that’s what they’re sticking with. So what’s the scoop on the new dialer from Redmond? Well, it all started at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona…

Oh, ye of little faith. Those who mocked the iPad and called it a foolish endeavor; a gadget that would never see the light of enterprise adoption. But now, thanks to Citrix, you can have your Windows 7 experience right at your fingertips. For those who don’t know, Citrix has developed receiver software for the iPhone that’s been in the loop for quite a while. Now it’s coming to Apple’s iPad. Interested, now?

Is Microsoft ready to hedge its smart phone bets? As Windows Mobile struggles to match the iPhone, Blackberry and Android hype, there are signs Microsoft may take a new direction in the smart phone market. The chatter involves a potential Zune smart phone. The question: Would Zune smart phones really strengthen Microsoft’s position in the consumer and/or corporate markets? Hmmm…

So long Microsoft Works. Say hello to Office 2010 Starter Edition. Heading in a new direction, selected PC makers will likely bundle the new Office starter offering with new PCs later this year. Office 2010 Starter Edition is a stripped down and ad-supported — but totally free — version of Office 2010, the forthcoming upgrade to Microsoft’s ubiquitous productivity suite.

The VAR Guy didn’t have a chance to attend Microsoft’s Professional Developers conference (PDC) this week. But much of the PDC chatter landing in his inbox involved Microsoft’s Windows Azure. Here’s the latest on Microsoft’s cloud operating system.

As Windows Azure nears its official launch in early 2010, we’re starting to hear from more companies taking the plunge into developing for Microsoft’s cloud platform. True believers include Acumatica, a channel-centric ERP and CRM provider that’s embracing Azure. Here’s why.

Microsoft’s has disclosed the official timeline for the launch of Windows Azure, their cloud-based operating system, over at one of their official blogs. The software giant hopes VARs and managed services providers will transition customer applications into the Azure cloud. Here’s what you need to know.

As Microsoft prepares to officially launch Windows Azure — its cloud-based Windows platform — the software giant has introduced key perks for those within the Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN). 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…

Don’t tell Stephen Hall there’s no money in Windows 7 deployments. The CEO of District Computers LLC, a Microsoft Gold Partner, says his team is booked solid with Windows 7 deployments every weekend (except holidays) through January 2010. Why is Hall seeing so much demand for Microsoft’s new operating system — even before Windows 7 ships on Oct. 22? Here’s the scoop.

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.

A technology revolution started today. Most people don’t know about it. In fact, most folks won’t hear about today’s events for another five to seven years. But circle April 24, 2008 on your calendar. A decade from now, historians will say today was the day Ubuntu Linux reached its tipping point — especially on servers. Here are five reasons why.

Question: What is a consultant? Answer: Someone you pay to look at your watch and tell you the time. The VAR Guy thought of that old yarn while reading all the coverage about Gartner stating Windows Vista is too monolithic. Memo to Gartner: Thanks for telling the world what it already knew. Windows has become too big, too complex and too much of a headache for corporate IT.

The VAR Guy was guilty of hyping Windows-based Ultra-Portables from startups like OQO a year ago, but he has drastically changed his thinking about the Ultra-Portable computer market. He thinks current market dynamics greatly favor Linux over Windows in the Ultra-Portable industry. Here’s why.

So, you’re about to launch a business. Or perhaps you’re a solutions provider that’s helping an entrepreneur to get a business off the ground. Here are seven IT tools The VAR Guy would recommend for that fledgling business.

The VAR Guy is packing up and heading to Austin, Texas, to meet with Dell’s channel chief on March 28. During the chat with  Greg Davis, VP of commercial channels, our resident blogger plans to raise numerous questions. But here are the top 5 on his mind.

The looming Google Android vs. Apple iPhone battle could wind up looking a lot like the old Windows vs. Mac OS war from more than a decade ago. Here’s why.