Stories by: Oliver Rist

Virtual PC was nice for Windows power users. But for developers and systems adminstrators testing against specific OS images and doing similar business-oriented tasks, Virtual Server 2005 is the only thing out of Redmond that might make us stray from VMware. Fortunately, after slipping a couple of ship dates, Microsoft released Virtual Server late last year to semi-enthusiastic hand clapping from its customers.

The circle opens as I'm helping a client sort through computers and books he intends to donate to an international charity. We get to talking about Microsoft's new Client Protection suite, an amalgam of Windows Live Safety Center and Windows Live OneCare. The suite's available from the Windows Live Market-Share Retainer -- I mean, the Windows Live Ideas Web site. "So pretty soon, I won't have to pay extra for security software?" That's his actual question. And it's this question that begins the cycle of doom and salvation.

Redmond really did announce an amazing amount of stuff in the past three weeks, and it all ties together in an only slightly twisted Microsoft way.

Cisco Systems on Wednesday released a new computer networking and virtualization architecture it calls VFrame. The architecture combines a set of InfiniBand-based SFSs (server fabric switches) with the VFrame virtualization software suite. Much of this is based on Cisco's acquisition of TopSpin, though the company has gone to significant lengths to rebrand and extend the technology in time for this announcement.

In response to the market's dual-core mania, Sun is releasing its new Opteron-powered Galaxy line of rack-mount dual-core servers, intended to augment its Sun Fire line of Intel-based machines.

IT infrastructure requirements can shift quite suddenly. Say, for example, your company lands several large new accounts at the same time. The sudden influx of sales and account management staff so quickly outstrips your office's square footage that the only reasonable thing to do in the time available is to look for additional space. That space turns out to be a mile or so down the street. As an IT administrator, you need to get the new location connected to the network as soon as possible.

Paradigm shifts were easier before the bubble burst. Serious change costs serious money, and few IT organisations have gobs of green stuff to throw around anymore. So it's no surprise that utility computing - hailed as the biggest paradigm shift since the first disk drive spun up - has stalled. It doesn't help that the marketing geniuses who came up with the concept still can't agree on what it means. There are three basic definitions.

Ever since I began paying taxes, April just hasn't been much fun. Everything comes due in April, making May a month dedicated to grumbling and reactionary belt-tightening. Seems Redmond feels similarly, because so far Microsoft hasn't made many waves this merry month.

It's like two big dogs fighting over a bone while a little dog sits by watching as it happily gnaws on the prize. Of course, in this case, the little dog is actually just as big as the other two, if not bigger, and the bone really isn't just one bone; it's - hell, I'm no good at similes.

In an ever more price-conscious market, IBM is one of the few server heavyweights still swinging with authority. Though mail-order outfits like Dell are beginning to add engineering value to their server lines, IBM and HP (via Compaq) are among the last Intel-based server manufacturers doing more than just slapping components together. Additional software and intelligent, embedded hardware brains give these machines a competitive edge.

Look out, because Cisco Systems is going gigabit. With 10Gig switches heading into the enterprise backbone at full steam and 10/100/1000Mbps becoming commonplace in workstations and servers, Cisco has decided that Gigabit Ethernet’s day has come. To prove it, the company has released its Catalyst 3750 line of stackable switches.