I can't tell you who came up with the term "computer bug," but I do know that Grace Hopper did indeed document one as such, ocurring on a Mark II at Harvard University this week in 1947, and she taped that bug right into a
log book. Click
here for an interesting reference page. More interesting factoids in this week's IT Webgems segment on Redmond Radio. Listen now!
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/09/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Windows Phone 7,
which RTM'ed last week, we hear is much improved. Will it have enough, though, to take on Android or iPhone, or even the Blackberry? Better yet would be improvements in smartphone carrier coverage, which is why I find it hard to give up my landline.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/09/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Microsoft Learning said it's adding more Windows Phone 7 training resources next week, starting with two online sessions on Sept. 21. Details to get up to speed for developing the next great fart app is
here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/09/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Microsoft was showing off
Windows 7 at VMworld last week, but noticeably absent, according to
some pundits, was Hyper-V, a natural fit for a virtualization-focused conference. But it was VMware's party and they weren't gonna have the competition spoil its fun. So, Microsoft showed off Windows and Azure. We're guessing the exhibition guidelines were unspoken and not as
bluntly stated as the new rules for iPhone apps.
VMworld is just one stage and a singular opportunity, whereas the Internet offers the better medium for Microsoft to continue hammering at its cloud message to those most receptive to it. And last week's message was, if you still can't migrate fully to Windows 7, make the slow move with legacy apps (that is, anything XP-based) -- just virtualize them. The solution takes the form of the company's forthcoming P2V migration tool, released into beta testing last week. It's not for everyone though, just customers signed up through Software Assurance.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 09/09/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
It's hard to imagine Microsoft throwing a global mega-party to launch an OS, but that was what happened about 15 years ago this week. Harder to imagine is anyone associating The Rolling Stones' "
Start Me Up" with Windows rather than rock rebellion.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/26/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Gartner predicts momentum will grow among companies to migrate to Windows 7 as Windows XP support ends in 2014 (see
this blog post from Mary Jo Foley at ZDnet for links, details). The researchers there also predict that it'll be expensive: IT budgets will need to add 20 to 60 percent to buy or upgrade hardware to handle Windows 7. The folks at HP must be cheering.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/26/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Behold, the power of the graphics processing units of today.
An article on our News page, courtesy of managing editor Kevin McCaney at our partner Government Computer News, describes a method for using the awesome processing power of GPUs to help hackers crack passwords. Your seven-character password is child's play to hackers. You have been warned.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/18/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
It was five years ago Aug. 18 that Dennis Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences. What did he do and why was his capture technologically significant? You can cheat and Google him, or you can listen to
this week's IT Webgems segment on Redmond Radio.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/18/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
How about a reminder to you, if you received a link to the MCPmag.com compensation survey last week, to fill that thing out? You have a little over a week to do so. I won't be putting the link here, because I'm looking only for those who received the e-mail invitation to participate. (If you want to participate and you didn't get an e-mail invite, send me an e-mail and I'll send you the link.)
Do it out of the goodness of your MCP heart, but do it. In the mean time, check out the just-posted 2010 Redmond Salary Survey.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/18/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Oracle's CEO
Larry Ellison doesn't like what happened to Mark Hurd one bit. I may be just a lowly online scribe, but I have to disagree with the Zen master on this one. It was right for him to leave, lest other skeletons rattle out of Hurd's closet. I just don't buy the "he was cleared of the sexual harassment stuff, but he's leaving because of the violation of company policies" excuse. It seems a bit too clean. if you have any guesses, please post them here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/12/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
My colleague here at 1105 Media, Chris Paoli, works hard. We know because he's always tapping away and posting something, yet, I rarely see him post anything to Facebook (and he's too busy to carry on with Twitter to have an account there). Yet, he seems to be able to
have fun on Fridays. Check out his recurring list of goofy IT discoveries on the Redmondmag.com news page, or send him a link. He'll give you credit -- or not, if you'd rather continue to appear busy to your colleagues.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/12/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
A Redmond reader, who we'll call W.S. for now, a business development exec with an Illinois ISV, noticed the glaring lack of certification data in the
2010 Redmond Salary Survey:
I was surprised in reading your salary survey article, where you mention certifications weren't so important anymore. That may be the case with engineers (MCSEs or whatever equivalent) and managers, but I'm not sure that's the case for developers/DBAs, etc.
The one complaint I have with Microsoft is they stopped releasing the MCP numbers worldwide. That helped me convince my boss that a certification I had was hard to get. Now there's no way to prove a kid out of high school doesn't have the same certification.
W.S., your feedback does not fall on deaf ears. You'll be happy to know that we do intend to compile certification-related salary data, but in the MCPmag.com Salary Report, not in the Redmondmag.com version. That survey will kick off tomorrow, and run for the next few weeks. So, if you get an e-mail invite, please do help us out and fill it quickly. (Our target for publication is end of September.)
On the other issue, W.S., I can't help you. We wonder where those numbers are now and whether Microsoft Learning will start publishing them again.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 08/12/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments