OK, for work I have a new Lenovo T60 (IBM Thinkpad) 15.4" widescreen with 60GB HD, 3GB of RAM and an Intel Core2 T7200 chip at 2.0Ghz. Needless to say, it is a very nice laptop. So, the question is, what do I run on it? Normally this would never come up, install Windows Vista and be done with it. But two of my colleagues run Ubuntu and I felt it was time to learn something new again. So, I have Ubuntu up and running (7.04 - feisty) and I have installed VMware Workstation 6.0 on it. I have built a VM for Windows XP Pro and will be building another for Windows Vista (I am thinking of doing Windows Server 2003 also).
At this point I have gotten everything working that I expected. I have been very impressed with the performance and ease of use of Ubuntu and how robust the feature are compared with Windows.
There are still a ton of special apps I need on Windows but that is the point of the VM - I don't have to give it up yet. Also, I get to run XP in a full sized window on one screen while still being able to switch screens to my Linux environment.
I think for a lot of folks it is time to check out some of the Linux distros again and see if one works for you. They have gotten more and more desktop friendly and the ease of upgrade and management is very remarkable (especially in light of what it was at a few years ago).
Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend - my hats off to all those who have served our country.
- Ed
Howfunky...a place with useless technical content!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Microsoft Longhorn Beta 3
For those that want to see what is going on in the server side check out the beta 3 release. It is available here: Longhorn Beta 3
What is odd is that new releases like OCS 2007 haven't been platform tested against Longhorn yet even though beta 3 is an overkill for Longhorn. I haven't been hearing the sort of buzz about Longhorn as I have about Exchange 2007, Vista and Office 2007 - I guess server OS features just aren't that exciting to talk about anymore? With any luck they will get Longhorm out to an RC and RTM prior to the end of the year - then all the IT Pro's can spend their holiday season installing a new server OS!
- Ed
What is odd is that new releases like OCS 2007 haven't been platform tested against Longhorn yet even though beta 3 is an overkill for Longhorn. I haven't been hearing the sort of buzz about Longhorn as I have about Exchange 2007, Vista and Office 2007 - I guess server OS features just aren't that exciting to talk about anymore? With any luck they will get Longhorm out to an RC and RTM prior to the end of the year - then all the IT Pro's can spend their holiday season installing a new server OS!
- Ed
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Beta
The Beta for OCS 2007 is out and I just got done attending a two day long hands on lab in San Francisco going over all the feature and functions and getting them up and running. I must admit I am impressed with some of the integration and work that Microsoft has put into this product. Granted the list of missing features is big ( there is nothing on the roadmap today to support the concept of a stand alone device that has no user associated with it - like a phone in a common lobby area or kitchen, voice paging, music on hold, and some other standard telephony items) but some shops will be willing to work around those issues to get the rich environment that Microsoft is pushing.
You can get the beta software here: The Power of Unified
So, what is Cisco going to do with their presence solution now is the real question. I honestly think Microsoft entering the game will help push along funding and research within Cisco which is a good thing. While Cisco has been interested in UC presence + voice it hasn't done the sort of serious push behind it that other Cisco products have had as of late. It deserves more attention and investment IMHO.
To top it all off I have already been asked a bunch about Exchange 2007 UM and OCS 2007 integration vs Cisco Call Manager and Unity + CUPS. Plus, some folks are considering doing some weird hybrid approaches or small test deployments. For those VAR's and partners who don't know both sides of the fence (Cisco and Microsoft) they will see their business value erode due to lack of technical knowledge. Hate to say it but I am going to have to brush up on all my Microsoft Exchange skill sets again!
- Ed
You can get the beta software here: The Power of Unified
So, what is Cisco going to do with their presence solution now is the real question. I honestly think Microsoft entering the game will help push along funding and research within Cisco which is a good thing. While Cisco has been interested in UC presence + voice it hasn't done the sort of serious push behind it that other Cisco products have had as of late. It deserves more attention and investment IMHO.
To top it all off I have already been asked a bunch about Exchange 2007 UM and OCS 2007 integration vs Cisco Call Manager and Unity + CUPS. Plus, some folks are considering doing some weird hybrid approaches or small test deployments. For those VAR's and partners who don't know both sides of the fence (Cisco and Microsoft) they will see their business value erode due to lack of technical knowledge. Hate to say it but I am going to have to brush up on all my Microsoft Exchange skill sets again!
- Ed
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Cisco introduces a new partner level
It is the first time in 10 years or so that Cisco has changed the partner levels. It used to be:
Gold, Silver, Premier, Registered - with only the Gold, Silver and Premier actually requiring the registered partner to pass exams and meet certification requirements.
Well, they have introduced the new partner level as Select and it is below Premier and above the generic Registered (pretty much anyone can become a Registered Partner). So now there are five levels which go like:
Gold, Silver, Premier, Select and Registered. The new Select Partner level is specifically targeted at the partners going after the SMB market. It is also the only partner level where all the requirements can be fullfilled by one person (they can be both the Account Manager and Engineer) meaning there are going to be a whole lot of one man shops opening up soon.
I don't know what impact this is going to have on the Premier partner groups yet but my initial feeling is that I don't really like it. Gold and Silver are far enough removed that this isn't much of a factor for them but the Premier status has much more requirements and specializations but doesn't appear to be that much more value in Cisco's positioning as of now. Guess we will have to wait and see if they plan any changes in that.
- Ed
Gold, Silver, Premier, Registered - with only the Gold, Silver and Premier actually requiring the registered partner to pass exams and meet certification requirements.
Well, they have introduced the new partner level as Select and it is below Premier and above the generic Registered (pretty much anyone can become a Registered Partner). So now there are five levels which go like:
Gold, Silver, Premier, Select and Registered. The new Select Partner level is specifically targeted at the partners going after the SMB market. It is also the only partner level where all the requirements can be fullfilled by one person (they can be both the Account Manager and Engineer) meaning there are going to be a whole lot of one man shops opening up soon.
I don't know what impact this is going to have on the Premier partner groups yet but my initial feeling is that I don't really like it. Gold and Silver are far enough removed that this isn't much of a factor for them but the Premier status has much more requirements and specializations but doesn't appear to be that much more value in Cisco's positioning as of now. Guess we will have to wait and see if they plan any changes in that.
- Ed
MVP awards - some bad news
I just found out that Scot Mehl and Doug Spindler did not get renewed for their MVP's from Microsoft. I have to be frank and say that I am amazed they did not get renewed. Scot runs the Tri-Valley Network User's Group (TVNUG) and gives a ton of time to make stuff happen from the user group level.
As for Doug not getting it - I am speechless. Doug is a legend in the user group community of IT Professionals. He single handily does more for the IT Pro user groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond then anyone I have meet or heard of in my many years of being involved in user groups myself. I think Microsoft has made a HUGE mistake. Perhaps they are just tired of hearing from Doug about issues they fail to address year after year after year. Perhaps it has finally gotten personal? Who knows. Either way, I can't not help but express my true disappointment that Doug is no longer an MVP. Pacific IT Professionals will be worse off because of it.
- Ed
As for Doug not getting it - I am speechless. Doug is a legend in the user group community of IT Professionals. He single handily does more for the IT Pro user groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond then anyone I have meet or heard of in my many years of being involved in user groups myself. I think Microsoft has made a HUGE mistake. Perhaps they are just tired of hearing from Doug about issues they fail to address year after year after year. Perhaps it has finally gotten personal? Who knows. Either way, I can't not help but express my true disappointment that Doug is no longer an MVP. Pacific IT Professionals will be worse off because of it.
- Ed
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