The year 2010 marks the end of certain lifecycles for several Microsoft servers and operating systems. We wanted to draw our clients’ attention to these specific dates and products so as to generate awareness on the proper upgrades needed in order to maintain Microsoft support and updates.

Operating Systems

Regarding operating systems (OS), Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM) no longer receives mainstream support as of April 13, 2010.  Anyone still running this OS should migrate to Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) or consider upgrading to Windows 7.  The other important and pending date is July 13, 2010.  On that day, businesses running Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2000 Professional SP4 will lose their Microsoft extended support and should migrate to Windows XP SP3 or upgrade to Windows 7. Microsoft’s suggestion is to take this deadline as an opportunity to upgrade to the new Windows 7 as the cost in time and resources will be practically indistinguishable between an upgrade to the latest Windows OS and a new service pack. Please note that anyone still running Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) must now upgrade to Windows 7 RTM as the license expired on June 1st. 

A final note on Windows XP SP2: if you are running the 64-bit version then SP2 is the latest service pack and you will be eligible for Microsoft support and updates until April 8, 2014.  Only those running the 32-bit version of XP require an upgrade. Find out which version you are running by right-clicking My Computer and then click Properties. If you do not see a “64-bit” listed then you are running the 32-bit version.     

Servers

July 13^th also marks the end of extended support for Windows 2000 Server SP4.  Microsoft’s suggestion is a migration to the Windows Server 2008.

The decision to purchase a new business server is not a light one; much time and consideration should pass before a decision is made. We at Bryley do not suggest a rash upgrade, but if you have already been giving the matter careful thought, keep in mind that Microsoft is currently running The Big Easy 4.1 through July 2, 2010, and that the Windows Server 2008 as well as many other servers are on the list of qualifying products. Compared to previous versions, the latest Big Easy offer has increased payout rates for Windows Servers in the form of partner subsidies.  All the more incentive to upgrade now, but again only if you have already sunk enough thought into the matter.

Conclusion

It is not advisable to continue to run a desktop operating system or server that is no longer supported.  You can no longer receive service from Microsoft if you have any troubles and you will no longer receive any updates.  It is best to begin your decision making processes with regards to the appropriate upgrades.

To quote directly from the Microsoft Partner Network, “After this date [July 13, 2010], customers still relying on these products won’t be able to benefit from security hotfixes, patches and service packs, presenting serious concerns around data security, reliability for mission-critical workloads and regulatory compliance.”

Want to learn more?

Contact Bryley today. We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and can field all of your questions.  

Call 888.280.5799

Email Sales@Bryley.com

To learn more about the end of Microsoft support, please visit the following sites:

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40131469

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40129890

To learn more about Microsoft’s Big Easy 4.1, please visit the following site:

www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy  

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revisited the University of Washington in Seattle on March 4th, but this time it was not to sneak into the computer labs to test out ideas with Bill, but rather he hosted his first seminar at the campus that paved the way for Microsoft.  The 85 minute presentation, standing and “hanging” room only from the balcony, was on the future of information technology: cloud computing.

Ballmer opened with his explanation of “the cloud,” part of that elusive IT for business jargon that confuses more than it conceptualizes.  The cloud, very simply, is a metaphor for the Internet, and cloud computing thusly is Internet-based computing, part of the new Web 2.0 business jargon.  But this is far more than just jargon. Web 2.0 and cloud computing are paving the way for information technology in 2010 and beyond.  Web 2.0 – a term used to refer to alterations to the World Wide Web post 2004 – is the new state of the cloud. It is all of the new web applications that are simplifying the ability to share information online, such as blogging, video sharing sites, hosted services, social networking sites, et cetera.  Within this latest 2.0 version of the cloud software and data become shared resources and are able to be accessed by many computers and devices.

Cloud computing is the direct result of the ease with which people now remotely compute thanks to Web 2.0, completely transforming the delivery and consumption model of IT services. Ballmer then moved on to discuss the five properties of cloud computing, how these properties would impact the world of information technology, and how Microsoft is literally betting their entire company on the cloud.

Property # 1: New Business Opportunities and Responsibilities  

New opportunities abound thanks to the ability of the cloud to increase IT capacity and capabilities without having to invest in new infrastructure, personnel or software.  New business opportunities generated from cloud computing include software as a service (SaaS) such as the web applications one may purchase at Google Applications, server virtualization offering online storage capabilities, and proactive managed services through Managed Service Providers such as remote network monitoring.

Simply the fact that any business, any small creator can now put content – information, software, a web application – out into the cloud, can create this content in the cloud and have it accessed instantaneously anywhere across the globe through the cloud and can even monetize their content through the cloud through such sites as the App Store from Apple sets the stage for the myriad of possibilities available to the small business man today. Leaders in the industry are also capitalizing on cloud computing. For example, Ballmer announced that the new version of Microsoft Office - to be released this June - has been designed to run in the cloud.

But with these new opportunities and paradigms come new responsibilities to take into consideration.  There is now the need to really protect the user, protect their identity, their personal information, their anonymity. In the cloud, a user is susceptible to identity theft and so it is up to the creator to balance their new opportunities with their new responsibilities to both protect their users and create products that are yes, high tech, but also still cost effective and easy to use.

Property # 2: The Cyclical Nature of the Cloud Continuing to Learn and in Turn Helping Users Learn

Ballmer then went on to discuss the fact that the cloud continuously learns from user input, and in turn the cloud binds together all relevant information that it is fed and creates more holistic and comprehensive data for users. Indeed, the relationship between cloud and user is quite symbiotic as well as the definitive form of information sharing.

Ballmer gave us an example with Bing Maps. Currently they are updating the site to incorporate all data integration the cloud is capable of.  At its onset, Bing Maps only offered simple mapping requests and driving directions, but now all information that the cloud has ever been fed on one particular location is now available, making Bing Maps a more multifaceted source of information: maps, directions, actual satellite photographs of the location, pinpointed areas of interest, reviews on restaurants, cinema locations and movie times, links to relevant blogs on the area and its resources, all information on every location has now been bound together on Bing Maps for your convenience.  So you see as the cloud continues to learn - for example learn more and more about particular locations - it in turn will help users learn more. 

To take cloud learning even further, Ballmer went on to discuss the fact that the cloud not only has the capacity to learn about the world, but now has the capacity to learn about you the user as well: what you are interested in based on its accumulated knowledge of you from previous searches and online personal data. To comb through the vast ocean of information online, we first created search engines to aid us in combing through the content. Now we need to take it one step further.  Ballmer predicts that within five years time, search engines will not only be able to help you search the cloud for all relevant sites on your topic of search, but will actually help you comb through the articles for the information you are truly searching for. Ballmer gave the example of the Microsoft product One Note, a research tool that gathers information from a variety of sources. Ballmer also mentioned Microsoft’s plans for Excel; eventually they want to see this Office tool operate within the cloud, and based on the cloud’s knowledge of the world, the subject at hand, and of the user, pinpoint the exact information the user is searching for and automatically upload it into the spreadsheet for you.  

Property # 3: The Cloud Enhances Your Personal and Professional Interactions

The third property of the cloud is its ability to enhance all of your interactions, business related as well as social. Everyone is familiar with the new social networking sites available on Web 2.0, the most popular of which is Facebook.  So, what exactly is Microsoft doing to incorporate cloud computing interactions into its business plan?

Ballmer commented that Microsoft is pushing ahead into the future, and creating software that will allow business interactions to become increasingly virtualized: think along the lines of Skype. The examples Ballmer gave concerned the new version of Office that will simplify cloud communications and Xbox, a division of Microsoft.  The Xbox Live game console has joined forces with Sky, a multimedia company located in the United Kingdom.  In the U.K., people can virtually watch television with their friends through their game consoles on a virtual couch and can not only watch the same programming together from their respective homes through the cloud, but can also interact with one another though the console very much like a video game and can physically chat through their Xbox wireless headset. Xbox now even has a camera called Natal Vision that you can purchase that will actually recognize you, your appearance, your gestures, and your voice.

Property # 4: As the Cloud Continues to Learn, It Wants Smarter and Smarter Devices

As the cloud continues to learn, it wants smarter and smarter devices: smarter PCs, smarter phones, smarter game consoles, and smarter software. You will note the cycle of symbiosis: as the cloud continues to learn from users, it will continue to help users learn more, and as this pattern continues, devices need to also improve in order to keep up with progress.    

So what is Microsoft working on?  Once again, Ballmer cited the new Office coming out in June that will utilize the cloud. Ballmer also mentioned the new smart phone series Microsoft is churning out, Windows Phone 7, has been specifically designed for cloud computing.  We also see how devices are becoming smarter with the above example of Xbox Live.

Ballmer announced that Microsoft products will really begin to incorporate sensors and cameras, devices that will recognize you, learn about you; these new devices are really going to provide a richer interface between user and cloud through a machine-middleman.   

Property # 5: The Cloud Drives Server Advances that in Turn Drive the Cloud  

And finally, the fifth property of the cloud: as the cloud continues to learn, and we continue to learn, and as that cycle continues on, and as the need for smarter devices continues to advance, the need for better servers will also continue to grow. As cloud computing continues do advance, we now need advances in server hardware and software to keep up, and as the cloud continues to advance so quickly – learn and change so quickly – we need servers that have the capacity to allow those quick evolutions to occur.  

Ballmer actually brought a next generation server from Microsoft to the University of Washington for the seminar, and boasted that it is the equivalent of 10,000 present-day servers.  He also mentioned that the latest servers from Microsoft – Windows Azure and SQL Azure – are both cloud-inspired.  Ballmer then went on to discuss Microsoft’s vision for these next generation servers and how they will allow for the privatization of clouds, meaning that personalized, private clouds will be the future of cloud computing, saving users the potential security risk of using the public cloud.

Microsoft in the Context of the Cloud

Once again we return to the cyclical and symbiotic relationship of cloud computing: as a major leader of the IT industry, Microsoft fuels the cloud and in turn the cloud fuels Microsoft. Currently, Microsoft employs roughly 40,000 people worldwide, and according to Ballmer 70% of these employees are working on something either entirely cloud-based or at the least cloud-inspired.  Ballmer’s prediction is that within one year that percentage will grow to 90%.  Microsoft is literally betting their entire business on the cloud, and if a global titan is betting on the cloud, there is no doubt that all chips are in across the industry. The future forecast of information technology? Definitely cloudy.

References

The recorded seminar from March 4, 2010 at the University of Washington in Seattle given by Steve Ballmer. 

Image from Microsoft Partner Network.  

Hungry for More?

You can watch the entire recorded seminar at the following link.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/cloud/

Bryley Systems is proudly a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

We have been providing Business Technology Solutions to organizations throughout New England as a trusted business partner for over 23 years. Please feel free to contact us today for any and all of your business technology needs. 

Call 888.280.5799

Email Info@Bryley.com  

Critical Security Update Regarding Internet Explorer!

Microsoft sent out a critical security update to all of its partners (Bryley included) regarding eight vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer - seven privately reported and one publically disclosed.  According to the Microsoft TechNet Security Bulletin, "The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer."  It is possible that users of Internet Explorer whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights

Microsoft is rating this security update as Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer: "Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 (except Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003)." Microsoft has rated the update as Moderate for Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003 as listed.

Fortunately, the majority of users have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action as a security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Users who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates and install this one manually.

For more information, please visit the following link to Microsoft TechNet.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS10-002.mspx

Questions? Concerns?  Feel free to contact Bryley Systems, a Gold Certified Partner of Microsoft.  Call: 888.280.5799 or Email: Info@Bryley.com

Microsoft Incentives Just in Time for the Holidays  

Microsoft can certainly help you get in the holiday spirit of giving (and in the recession spirit of saving) this year.  If you are looking for a gift for that IT enthusiest in your life, or if your business is looking to technologically upgrade for 2010, new Microsoft Incentives - check out all 18 at www.microsoftincentives.com - will save you a bundle.  This means more money for mistletoe or marketing depending on whether your purcahse is personal or business related.  So what are some of the noteworthy Incentives this year?

The Return of the BIG EASY

The Big Easy Offer 3.0 returns.  With The Big Easy, your organization will receive money back on its Microsoft purchases in the form of subsidy funds to be used to purchase even more products and services from your local Microsoft partner ( remember Bryley is Gold Partner Certified).  The more qualifying products you purchase, the more subsidy funds you will receive, the offer being valid up through the new year, January 2, 2010. 

Save 20% On Office Professional Plus 2007

Another Incentive to take advantage of is the limited time offer of saving up to 20% on your purchase of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007.  This offer is valid until New Year's Eve, December 31, 2009 and may be used on up to 250 Office Professional Plus 2007 licenses and Software Assurance packs. 

Take 15% Off the Latest in Desktop Optimization: Save On Windows 7

The third Incentive that must be addressed is perhaps the most enticing.  It is an offer to save up to 15% on a Windows 7 Professional Upgrade if you act before February 28, 2010. This seems to be the "It" technological purchase of the year, and here Microsoft is offering up a wonderful discount on top of their wonderful new desktop optimization software.  Windows 7 guarantees quicker access to all of your programs and data with new features such as "Pin" that allows you to pin programs to your taskbar (analogous to a bulletin board) and "Jump Lists" a new feature that lists all of the files and websites you utilize the most in one place that can be accessed in two clicks of your mouse.  It also guarantees greater PC security with new Backup and Restore features as well as the new application "BitLocker," data encryption that allows you to put a virtual lock on your files. Learn all about Windows 7 at www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7 and be sure to take advantage of this and any other Microsoft Incentive that might satiate your huge holiday appetite for technological savings.