Infrastructure Optimization

Some folks talk about Service Oriented Architectures, some talk about Virtual Desktop Infrastructures, and some folks do something about it.

Stoneware, Inc. has been gaining momentum on its flagship product, webOS (due to ship April 200 and as a result has been getting some pretty healthy media attention.

Well, their latest release (5.3) is going to directly incorporate Google Apps in its Virtual Web Desktop, which is slated to incorporate “Windows, web and hosted applications in a single, ubiquitous web desktop interface.”

The tight integration of Google applications will definitely make Stoneware an interesting player in the space, and perhaps make them even more attractive as an acquisition property for one of the competing giants.

These are exciting times - when the humble world of HTML and JavaScript have been leveraged to the hilt, and AJAX applications now rival traditional executables in functionality and behavioral metaphors. Stoneware seems poised to deliver what many of us have dreamed about for as long as bandwidth has been increasing.

Check these guys out. I especially like the screenshot (above) that shows Excel running remotely through a web page. So much potential here.

And - for those of you about to rally back with “Citrix already does this!” - think again. Yes, they both do presentation virtualization, but consider what having it all web-based does for you, and how most of your organizations computers probably already have all the software they’d ever need to run it.

It’s not a revolutionary prediction, but expect a web-based desktop in your organization soon.

From the excellent 4sysops blog:

Vista SP1 is officially only available for enterprise customers, but the reports about problems caused by this service pack are piling up. This post contains a list of all SP1 issues I am aware of.

List of Issues with Vista SP1 (4sysops)

Good to know, especially if you are managing Windows Updates at the Enterprise level. Also good to know for you early adopters with TechNet subscriptions.

Hello, dear readers - I thought some of you might be interested in a free event that our team is putting on, centered around the business value of virtualizing applications. For Infrastructure Optimization wonks like myself, this technology is poised to become the centerpiece of many future IO engagements for me and our team.

The webinar should prove to be a great introduction to the benefits of the technology, both from an administrator’s and IT management perspectives.

Registration is free, and the webinar is an hour long. I’ll be there - and hopefully, I’ll be able to meet a few of you “in person.”

Details:

Desktop Management - The Business Value of Application Virtualization

March 18, 2008 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST

This is a FREE event. Registration link is below.

Attendees will understand how organizations around the world have leveraged application virtualization, to realize measurable business value. Both Gartner and Forrester have called application virtualization the technology to watch in 2008. Learn how businesses combined the newest technology, desktop management best practices and support changes to achieve significant savings.

Planned 45-minute agenda follows:

• Introductions
• Business Drivers
• Application Virtualization and Desktop Management Overview
• Business Value
• Demo
• Questions and Discussion

For more information please contact: IOConsulting@getronics.com

Registration page at:
http://www.getronics.com/us/en-us/getronics/events_data/desktop_management_form.htm