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My interview in "Finance On Windows"

I was fortunate to be invited for an interview in the global magazine "Finance On Windows" (the digital edition can be found here). The interview, titled "The Forefront of Innovation", focused on the role of the Atos Scientific Community and my role as a track leader, focussing on Cloud Computing.

(Paul...) has a personal interest in alternative delivery models and cloud computing in particular. When asked if he considers cloud computing to be transformational, he explains that it depends on one’s definition of the term. "If you consider cloud computing to be a means of standardising IT, it isn’t particularly transformational," he says. "But if it is seen as a means of allowing IT to behave as a service, then that is very significant indeed.

The full interview can be found here (it is on page 26). Other topics can be found on the website www.onwindows.com.

 

3 screens and a cloud – it means you are at the center

Image via CrunchBase

Most of my regular visitors know I am a fan of the Microsoft (or Ray Ozzie for that matter) vision to merge cloud computing with 3 household devices; TV, Computer and Smartphone.That is why I have put this ‘mantra’ as a byline to my blog since its beginning.

Now a very good article was published in Wired Magazine by Tim Carmody, explaining how this will work out in a Microsoft world and beyond that.

A quote from the article:

“Three screens and a cloud” was Ray Ozzie’s mantra when he was chief software architect at Microsoft. The idea is that desktop, mobile, and entertainment/living room experiences each require their own form factors, tied together by backend services that pull those devices together — and furthermore, that all of them in unison serve the function formerly known as “personal computing.”

The article continues to explain this is not just a Microsoft way of positioning their products, and at the end it comes to a very important conclusion. A conclusion I have always believed to be a essential aspect of the future of computing:

The central hub, the location/entity that combines all of these devices and clouds, is not a product, it is not a company, it is you.

All digital services in the cloud, all devices and all software agents can work together because you bind them together. It is your identity that allows them to know about each other and it is your personality that fills them with content.

I believe that to be a fundamental point and I am very glad to see that companies like Microsoft and other are recognizing that.

There is still hope.

 

(now if I only could get my Windows Phone to communicate with my very new MoBridge Car Kit, life would be wonderful – got any tips?)

Star Trek Beaming Technology in New Windows Server 8?

In a comprehensive post on ZDnet, Jason Perlow writes about the new and upcoming version of Windows Server 8.

“Microsoft demonstrated the ability to literally “beam” — a la Star Trek — a virtual machine between two Hyper-V hosts with only an IP connection.”

The full article is a must read for anybody interested in Cloud Computing, Virtualization and new generation operating systems.

Another quote:

“… Server 8 changes everything, particularly from a complete virtualization and storage value proposition. CIOs are going to be very hard pressed to resist the product simply from all the stuff that you get built-in that you would otherwise have to spend an utter fortune on with 3rd-party products…”

A must read, even if you prefer Linux or OS/390.

Related articles

• Windows 8 Developer Preview Video Tour (zdnet.com)
• Windows Server 8 - A Cloud OS? (joelhalluk.wordpress.com)
• Article: 10 best new features of Windows Server 8 (wagthereal.com)
• This week at Microsoft: BUILD, Windows 8, and servers (thenextweb.com)
• Microsoft Unveils Windows Server 8 (sascho.wordpress.com)

New job

 

Already a bit old but still exciting news: On September 1, 2011, I started my new job at Atos International; Global Business Development Director - More travels, more challenges, new colleagues.

I will be looking after the development of the Siemens Global Alliance in two major areas:

• Cloud Computing and
• Healthcare Systems

 

I am very excited about this opportunity and looking forward to getting the inspiration to restart my blogging (its about time….)

Cloud Orchestration (Intro)

This is what we have been working on in the Atos Origin Scientific Community Cloud-track. A whitepaper is also available (download it from this page) and our animation tells the story very well. I will discuss this in later posts.

 

Cloud Orchestration by Atos Origin

Expect More…

Stay tuned. I will start blogging again after the Feb 7 event (if all goes as planned…).

A BPOS Security Breach, is your email safe?

“Our records indicate that a very small number of downloads actually occurred, and we are working with those few customers to remove the files,” he said in a statement. “This issue applied to Offline Address Book information only, and no other information was affected. Offline Address Book contains an organization’s business contact information for employees. It does not contain Outlook personal contacts, e-mail, documents or other types of information.”

The statement above was done by Clint Patterson, Microsoft's director of BPOS Communications last week.

Apparently the offline address book of Exchange Online could be inadvertently downloaded by other customers of the service. No emails or any other information was at risk at any moment.

Microsoft claimed the issue was resolved within two hours of being discovered. However, during this time "a very small number" of illegitimate downloads occurred. "We are working with those few customers to remove the files," Patterson said.

Only customers of BPOS Standard were affected, showing us both the dangers of a cloud and a shared environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of cloud computing, but a shared environment of identity information introduces risks – as shown here.

 

Related articles

• Microsoft BPOS Cloud Service Hit With Data Breach (pcworld.com)
• A configuration error recently exposed corporate data belonging to customers of Microsoft's cloud-based (robbiz1978.blogspot.com)
• Microsoft BPOS configuration screw up causes data disclosure (arstechnica.com)
• Microsoft Cloud Data Breach Heralds Things to Come (pcworld.com)
• Microsoft Cannot Offer Security on the Web, Either (techrights.org)

Is Facebook Preparing to Launch Video Chatting In a Partnership with Skype?

Image via CrunchBase

 

Tal Ater from Green Any Site, found a hidden (?) piece of code when he was writing an application for Facebook. It is a programmable object called ‘VideoChat’. The object has several properties, some of them are related to Skype.

You can read the full entry here.

Related articles

• Facebook + Skype = Fear for Verizon and AT &T? (q-ontech.blogspot.com)
• Skype Video Chat Coming to Facebook? (techie-buzz.com)
• Facebook Skype integration tips "Face me" video chat (slashgear.com)
• Skype Video Chat Coming to Facebook? (mashable.com)
• Is Facebook about to introduce video chat? (geek.com)

What Facebook forgot to mention in their announcement today (I told you so…)

Image via Wikipedia

I have just read this on the The Microsoft Office Blog by Office VP Takeshi Numoto:

“Facebook's new messaging platform integrates the Office Web Apps to enable Facebook users to view Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents with just one click. As you know, Office helps you create stunning documents that bring your ideas to life. Now you can easily share those ideas with your friends and family on Facebook.  I'm really excited about being able to make it even easier for people to use Office to access and share information across different devices, networks and platforms. With the Office Web Apps on Facebook, you have even more ways to express yourself with Office and easily share your thoughts with people that are important to you.

When you receive a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document attachment in your Facebook message, click "View on Office.com" to view it in the browser in high fidelity via Office Web Apps or click "Download" to download the file to your computer (where you can open it in Office on your computer).”

So it is not Hotmail, but the integration is there w/ Office Web Apps as an integral part of Facebook messaging. I can think of some people in Mountain View (and Cupertino) raising some eyebrows.

Remember that Facebook messaging is platform agnostic and also available on mobile. I am looking forward to seeing this in action on Windows Phone 7 (if it ever becomes available in my country….).

Related articles

• Office + Facebook = Easily share your ideas and documents with friends (Takeshi Numoto/The Microsoft Office Blog) (techmeme.com)
• What Facebook Didn't Mention: Microsoft Office Web Apps Come to New Messaging Platform (nytimes.com)
• Facebook and Office Web Apps Are Together, But Only One Of Them Remembers (winextra.com)
• Hotmail, Office 365 and now Facebook betting on Office Web Apps (windowsteamblog.com)

Twitter Cheat Sheet available for download

Did you know that Twitter understands (at least) 10 commands? I did not know you can use “nudge” or “whois” in a tweet. Luckily I found a full cheat sheet, which is available for download on BOX.NET (thx to Matthew Tommasi). The sheet also includes action words for searches and a full (clickable) list of Twitter resources.