cloud

Report: Ballmer hints at 'Windows Cloud'

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a crowd in London that Microsoft this month will show off its new development environment for Internet-based applications--what he dubbed "Windows Cloud."

Although the term--which may or may not be the product's actual name--is new, Microsoft has been widely expected to unveil its cloud-based developer platform at the Professional Developer Conference at the end of October. Ballmer's comments, reported on Wednesday by IDG News Service, are the latest in a series of mentions of a cloud-based developer platform. Ballmer was asked at last week's Churchill Club speech about Red Dog, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 821: Cloud hippies

On today's show, a big, fat present for long-time listeners (and Veronica Belmont fans): Veronica Belmont joins us! In the news, Real's pre-emptive lawsuit fails to stop the studios from suing over RealDVD, Apple threatens to close iTunes, Dell offers you Iron Man along with its computers, and Starz on Netflix! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 821

Pandora, Webcasting see victory in Senate http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10055055-93.html

Studios Sue to Bar a DVD Copying Program http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/technology/01film.html

Would Apple really shutter iTunes? Unlikely http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10055021-93.html… Read more

Amazon's EC2 to offer Windows, SQL Server options

Amazon said on Wednesday that it plans to offer its cloud computing customers the option of running Microsoft's Windows Server operating system as well as its SQL Server database.

Starting sometime this fall, Amazon said that customers of its EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) service will be able to run Windows, in addition to the Unix-based options currently available. Amazon is currently conducting a private beta test of the new Microsoft-based options.

"The ability to run a Windows environment within Amazon EC2 has been one of our most requested features, and we are excited to be able to provide … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 820: Stupid cloud

Richard Stallman says anyone who puts their data in the cloud is stupid. Cooley thinks he's right about some things, but finds other parts of his statement stupid. Find out which is which. We also get into a discussion of why exactly the House of Representatives' Web site went down. Cooley doesn't buy any of it. Actually Brian's pretty cranky today. You'll enjoy it. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 820

Stallman rejects cloud computing http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080930-why-stallman-is-wrong-when-he-calls-cloud-computing-stupid.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/sep/29/cloud.computing.richard.stallman… Read more

Virtual event: Reinventing Enterprise Architecture (Sept. 30, 2008)

I'm doing a session on "The Borderless Enterprise" today as part of InfoWorld's Reinventing Enterprise Architecture: How to hit the Reset Button.

I'm joined byEugene Ciurana, director of systems infrastructure at Leapfrog. We'll talk about how enterprises bring SOA outside the firewall and how the Cloud comes into play. It's a good time for all.

We're on today September 30, 2008 at Noon PST/3pm EST. Yes, I should have posted this sooner.

Stallman: Cloud computing is 'stupidity'

Not everyone loves cloud computing. Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the GNU operating system, says cloud computing is "stupidity" that ultimately will result in vendor lock-in and escalating costs.

"The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we've redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do," Stallman said, in a report posted by The Guardian on Monday.

Cloud computing, the latest marketing description for a notion put forth by computer industry companies in recent years, moves most of the computing power--and sometimes data--to servers maintained by companies … Read more

What Oracle didn't say at OpenWorld

Is Oracle losing its touch? Or has it already conquered the enterprise software world and now lacks a compelling story to tell?

That's the feeling some reported coming out of Oracle's OpenWorld conference last week. Yes, bloggers and others dutifully reported on Oracle's Beehive (new collaboration product) and its new hardware device (data warehousing tool that will now play catch-up with Greenplum), but Oracle didn't break much new ground...for once.

CIO.com's Thomas Wallgum captures the void of breaking news succinctly:

But when your biggest and most exciting announcement revolves around a data-warehousing deal … Read more

Ballmer on defining the cloud

There's no shortage of people talking about cloud computing these days. But are they all talking about the same thing?

Speaking with venture capitalist Ann Winblad at the Churchill Club onThursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer addressed those differences of opinion:

"I would have thought I knew what the word 'cloud computing' meant," he said, "until I sat with Anne and a bunch of venture capitalists this morning who used the word completely differently than I would have used it."

Ballmer declined to get into the specifics of Microsoft's vision, or to offer any details … Read more

Oracle's Ellison nails cloud computing

Finally, a technology executive willing to tell the truth about cloud computing. Speaking at Oracle OpenWorld, Larry Ellison said that the computer industry is more fashion-driven than women's fashion and cloud computing is simply the latest fashion. The Wall Street Journal quoted the Oracle CEO's remarks:

"The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we've redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do. I can't think of anything that isn't cloud computing with all of these announcements. The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion. … Read more