Category: Microsoft

Live Software or Web 2.0?

~ rbonini

I just read this by Tim O’Reilly over at the O’Reilly Radar ( aggregated by Planet Intertwingly and via Scoble’s Link Blog – thats Web 2.0 for you)

It strikes me that one of the big differences between the 1.0 class of data aggregators and the 2.0 class is the difference between “back office” and “live” applications. The credit card company mines its database to select you for direct mail offers; it may even get close to real time in monitoring your card activity for fraud or credit limit detection. But Google or Amazon mines its database in real time and builds the results right into its customer-facing applications.

If Google or Amazon were your bank or credit card, they’d let you know which merchants had the best prices for the same products, so you’d be a smarter shopper next time. They’d let merchants know what products were popular with people who also bought related products. They’d help merchants stock the right products by zip code. They’d let you know when you were spending more on dining out than you have set in your family budget. They’d let you know when you were approaching your credit limit, with a real-time fuel gauge, not just a “Sorry, your card has been declined.”

If Google or Amazon were your phone company, they’d give you access to your entire call history, not just your last ten phone calls. They’d build a dynamic address book for you based on everyone you’d ever talked to — and they’d build p2p phone number lookup from your friends right into that address book. They’d get rid of 411, and just help you search for what you need, and then make the connection for you.

This is one reason I think that Microsoft’s term, “Live Software” is so right on. (I thought of naming this piece “Why Live Software is a better name than Web 2.0.”) It’s unfortunate that Microsoft has chosen that name for its own products only, because it goes right to the heart of what makes Web 2.0 applications so interesting: they are alive, or as close to it as you can get with a computer. They learn from and interact directly with their users (and more specifically, provide services to individual users that benefit from the aggregate interaction of the system with all of its users.)

Tim is right on as usual. This is the whole idea of Web 2.0. It shows how Google is becomming much more than a search engine (not that it’ll be buying banks next).

In the past, computers really were dumb terminals connected to a mainframe. Then we got he Personel Computer revolution that mved the mainfraom into a beige box that you plugged your screen into directly. Now our Desktops are turing into terminals again. The avaliability of Software as a Service over the web is essential to using our computers. The enxt Google will take all this one step further and render our pricy desktops using without a highspeed broadband connection (or Verizion Fiber-Optic for you guys in the States – we still have our broadband in Europe 🙂 ).

Soon, Banks and the like will realise the power of the Google Way of handling data. The ways of aggregating this infomation over the web makes it even better to savour the possibilities.

Just to highlight Tim:

It’s unfortunate that Microsoft has chosen that name for its own products only, because it goes right to the heart of what makes Web 2.0 applications so interesting: they are alive

Reminds me of Frankinstien:

It’s Alive!!! <Evil Laugh/>

Mix 07 – Live

~ rbonini

Unfortunately I’m stuck at home and not at Mix. It is a pity since I learned a ton just from watching last years sessions.

Fortunately they’re streaming Ray Ozzie’s keynote.  

There are three streams:

I’m already connected, listening to Microsoft’s fine classical music collection. And belive me it is fine.

I hope my internet connection stands up to the full force of 500kbits…

Update: I’ve got no video. Only sound. Anyone have any idea why?

Windows Home Server Re-install, part 2

~ rbonini ~ 4 Comments

Well, its been a week since I had to install the CTP of Windows Home Server.

The long and the short of it is that the Upgrade option in the setup simply does not work – no way, no how. It stopped after the first reboot. It was insane. So I capitualted and copied all my data off the two secodnary hard drives as it was impossible to access data stored on the primary hard disk ( the one with the OS partition). I even tried recovering the hard drive to no avail. Which wasted the entire afternoon, I might add. So thanks to Folder Duplication – I did not lose one shred (no pun intended) of data – THANKS GUYS!!

So I did a new install over the old one and it worked like a Swizz car. It was a total breeze ( it might be going a bit far to say my grand mother could have done it).

I do like what they have done with the Console UI. Its more Vista-ish. Everything is well layed out. There is a helpful label at the bottom of the connector that informs you when storage is balanced.

The settings tab is re-designed. I like the inclusion of the Shutdown button under the menu instead of in a submenu – it saves a click. There are now settings for the Remote Access and Add-in bits. You can register for a custom domain from Live Custom Domains service that actually works very well (the wizard is supurbly designed). You can also auto-configure your router from here. I tried and it didin’t work (Linksys router WAG54G if anyone wants to know).

The process that actually does the configuring is called portfwd.exe and it hogged my system for hours. This slowed down everything. There isn’t actually an option to cancel the config (why???) and simply ending the process buys you a few minutes since it will start up again. the solution is to go into Control panel and click on Services (Control Panel should be in the Start Menu – if it isin’t, customize the Start menu to show it). Find Portfwd.exe and disable it.

Besides that small hickup everything runs smoothly.

This release of WHS really is good. I just need to get my hands on an Add-on or two to test that functionality.

I’m wondering, though, if you can back-up programatically to WHS. This would/ could give finer-grained control over back-up shecedules than is currently possible. It might even allow a few people to write somthing to back-up Macs or PC’s without the Home Connector.

If anyone is interest the WHS team do have a blog.

Millions

~ rbonini

Ever wondered how much Microsoft makes an hour (via)?

Microsoft today announced quarterly revenue of $14.4 billion and net income of $4.93 billion. In other words, Microsoft’s daily net income is about $55 million. That’s $55 million in pure profit every 24 hours. Do some quick math and you’ll learn it takes Microsoft only about…

  • 10 hours or so (yes, hours!) to exceed Red Hat’s quarterly net income of $20.5 million.
  • four days to exceed Research In Motion’s quarterly net income of $187.9 million.
  • four days to exceed Starbucks’ quarterly net income of $205 million.
  • one week to exceed Nike’s quarterly net income of $350.8 million.
  • two weeks to exceed McDonalds’ quarterly net income of $762 million.
  • two weeks to exceed Apple’s quarterly net income of $770 million.
  • 18 days to exceed Google’s quarterly net income of $1 billion.
  • 23 days to exceed Coca-Cola’s quarterly net income of $1.26 billion.
  • five weeks to exceed IBM’s quarterly net income of $1.85 billion.
  • 10 weeks to exceed Wal-Mart’s quarterly net income of $3.9 billion.

Can’t they at least make Vista cheaper?

Google’s Latest

~ rbonini

Without resorting to the Doubleclick acquisition that has been  analysed  ad nauseam around the  blogoshere these past few days, there are two things to point out that Google has also done.

The first comes to me via Andy Beal (which comes to me via Scoble).

Google Acquires Video Conferencing Company

There’s just no stopping Google. Seriously, if you’ve bought into the idea that Google is not a threat to your business, it’s time to re-evaluate that position.

Why so? Google has just announced their acquisition of Marratech, a video conferencing and collaboration company, which will now see them compete with the likes of WebEx.

Forgive me, but, how many services does Google have now? Just kidding, but you get my point. Google is diversifying beyond its core business of search. Why is Google doing this? Same reason why Microsoft is poring Billions in to its Home Entertainment Division – Defense In Depth. In addition to that the more diverse the company is the better able it is to survive, kind of like the  Greek Myth of the Hydra .

At the same time, its also returning to its core business of search though this acquisition. Confused? Read this:

Here’s how it works…

  • Works on Mac, Windows and Linux.
  • Runs on existing PC’s and Laptops – no additional capital expenditure.
  • Have a private ‘one-to-one’ conversation with any participant
  • Share any application and hand control to another user.
  • All participants can record and playback the entire net meeting including voice, video and whiteboard.
  • It’s easy to include office group meetings or video conferences in a Marratech video net e-meeting.
  • Call remote people into the video net meeting even if they are away from a computer.
  • It does all this over highspeed broadband internet without the need to use a telephone.
  • End-to-end encryption ensures security for your entire net meeting including voice, video and documents .
  • You can present or ‘broadcast’ to an unlimited audience.
  • Marratech’s licensed Manager works on Mac, Linux, Windows and Solaris servers.
  • Marratech Manager offers quick installation, upgrades and administration features for fast and easy configuration.

Let me just repeat that: All participants can record and playback the entire net meeting including voice, video and whiteboard.

Ahh, its clearer now. Google will have a killer algorithm for searching said recordings. Perhaps Google will provide contextual ads to help the meeting along.  So if you are, say, a construction company looking for a new timber supplier, the appropriate ads show up on the side of the screen.

I must admit, Google is good.

The other bit comes to me via Rex Hammrock ( also via Scoble).

He takes a look at Google Web History (formerly codenamed “Search History” 🙂 ).

The newly renamed service goes beyond chronicling merely what I’ve “searched” for via Google, but now maintains a history of every site I visit — complete with a time-stamp of when I visited. And, perhaps the most significant feature of all — if it truly exists — is speculated by Gary Price: that Google is caching a version of the page you visited, so that when you search across your history, you can find the site as it was when you visited. Yes, that is truly amazing, if it works, and is a feature that could make one overlook all of the creepiness of being shown the reality of everything Google knows about you when you use one service for searching, mapping, comparing products, sending email, and then, embed a tool of theirs in your web browser.

This now takes what we say and do on the web to a new level. What ever we write, will still be there in 100 years time – erasing it is not possible. Now what we do is in the same category.

Now you could argue that there are legitimate applications for this – i.e. policing employee behavior, in investigative police work and so on. But on the whole, its worrying. I can can also see parents demanding that this be turned on for their kids.

I would find it helpful to hear from some of the folks associated with AttentionTrust.org, as this type of data — and the belief that we, as users, “own” this data — is their focus. While I can see how to activate, pause, edit or delete the data stored in my “Web History,” I haven’t seen yet if I can “export” the information. If a user can export such data, it becomes more than a “feature,” it becomes the basis of an economy where I can exchange such data about myself for something of tangible value beyond the transaction I have engaged in with Google by exchanging my attention for the value I derive from the efficiency and productivity they provide me through such a service. If I can export that attention data, not only will Google be rewarded for knowing exactly what type of car I am shopping for at the moment, I will also be able to benefit from it in the marketplace.

Something about all of this makes me think of a song by Police.

Every move you make
Every breath you take
Every bond you break
Every step you take
Ill be watching you

If you’re interested, SearchEngineLand.com has a nice writeup of Web History

Anil Dash  (also via Scoble) has this to say:

From a technical standpoint, Google Web History is one of those tools that’s so well-executed it seems simple, or even obvious, the first time you see it. There’s a basic timeline of your search history, with the ability to drill into specific search result histories for Google properties like web search, image search, news, Froogle (now renamed Google Product Search, though the UI for Web History shows the old name), Video, and Maps. There’s even, astoundingly, a history of which AdSense Ads you’ve clicked on.

So Google, not content with merely searching the web, now enables us to search our own online lives.

All ideas in this post Copyright (C) 2007 Roberto Bonini All Rights Reserved

Windows Home Server, part 5: The Re-Install

~ rbonini

So far so good. Setup is proceeding normally. I’ hitting the knees every five minutes praying that all goes to plan.

I’m told that installation will take approximately 51 minutes. And, if memory serves, that’s longer than for the Beta 2 install.

For the sake of convenience the server is not connected to the network as its easier to take the server to the screen and keyboard rather than the other way around ( yeah, I know!)

I’ll update this post after the “Finalizing Installation” box is ticked

Update: The Re-Install was a completel disaster. It stopped after rebooting once.There are no shared folders – nothing. I’m trying again. Hopefully its work this time.

Update 2: The install wizard only give the new installation option now. Hmm. The file and folders show up fine, but can’t be opened. I’ve remove the primary hd and hooked it up to my work machine and am running DiskInternals NTFS Recovery 1.5 on it. Its only my second time using it, and the fist time I’m really putting it though it throught its paces. If it recovers my data, I’m buying the full license. The funny thing is that this only happens one the primary HD. The duplicrtes onthe other two HD’s are fine. Very strange. So If i have to re-install, I’ll only be losing part of my data. I’ll let you know how recovery goes.

Oh, The Joy!!! – WHS CTP

~ rbonini

Just reading my feeds and was pleasantly surprised to find that a new Community Technology Preview was out for Windows Home Server. I’m downloading it now. Depending on the state of sanity of my Internet connection ( 🙂 ) it should take about 3 hours.

Can’t wait to get my hands on this. I just might be up late tonight…

This could not have come at a better time  as I just added a 400Gb hard drive.

And yes, I will copy everything off before the upgrade. I’m not in a the mood to burn 2000 tracks again.

I just wonder how close this CTP will be to the release version. Which leads me to ask: Will there be a Release Candidate? 

Windows Home Server and SQL Server

~ rbonini

I tried again today to install SQL Server 2005 on WHS. All the other components installed except for the actual Server, the Native Client and the Vss Writer ( what ever its actually called). To get this far you need to work around the SSL issue on WHS, which hopefully will be solved by the time it ships.

This KB article helped alot, even though its for SQL 2000.

To install SQL Server 2000 successfully, export the certificates to a file, and then delete the certificates from the Certificate MMC snap-in. After you successfully install SQL Server 2000:

1.Stop the SQL Server service.

2.Reinstall your certificates.

3.Start the SQL Server service.

There’s a KB article on exporting and installing certificates here.

With just a small caveat. WHS will automatically repopulate the Certificates in Personal/Certificates folder. You need to make sure that the imported certificate is the only one in there, which means you delete the new one. if you don’t do this the Remote Website will not work. I’ve no idea why.

So I’m going to hunt for the SQL Install log and see if I can find a workaround for what ever went wrong.

Using Windows Home Server, part 4

~ rbonini ~ 2 Comments

So after testing everything else, I got around to testing the remote access functionality.

Since I was on holiday away down  in the south of England, I decided to set things up. Got registered on dyndns.org and set my Linksys router up to ping their servers every time my external IP address changed. This side of things worked pretty well for the next day or so, before the IP changed and the router didn’t update dyndns.org with the change. Which is strange in and of itself.

The WHS remote access website works very well indeed. The downloads went smoothly, even when downloading an entire folder. I intentionally forgot to copy some files to my laptop so I was forced to test this out one way or the other. I want that zip code that the website uses to send your files (all files get included in a zip archive), could prove to be useful. But I digress.

So far, I’m very impressed with it. I was unable to test the uploading functionality because by the time I got round to that my router was suffering IP paralysis.

As a tip, download the automatic update software from dyndns.org and run it on the server as a service to back up the router functionality (if its there). The really strange thing is that my Linksys Router DDNS needs to be setup anyway to work with dyndns.org .I  tried turning it off after I installed the update software, but it refused to work and showed the Router setup page and not the WHS website. I turned it back on and viola – it worked!

Must try the uploading features some time.

The WHS SDK is out am I’m salivating like Pavlov’s dogs for their bell over what I could do with it. I haven’t come up with anything yet, I’m afraid. At least not something that I could do. But it struck me that what ever antivirus software you have running, it should have a Home Connector Tab and a Remote Access Tab. In fact you could extend the same idea to the Dyndns.org update software I wrote about above. Since the idea is for a headless server, the Home Connector and Remote Access Website are now the developers primary  interface and means of interacting with the user.

For example. If I had a SQL server running on WHS ( which I don’t – there were issues last time I tried the install) I could programmatically check the SQL server status and display the data in the Home Connector – kind of like what SQL Management Studio Express and the DotNetPanel do. Hey, come to think of it…DNP is free for up to 10 websites… (consider this a note to self). Now, if I could get SQL Server working…

But I digress. Back to the issue to Anti Virus software. Nortons 2007 Internet Security refused point blank to install. Which leads me ask what plans the WHS team have in this area. Is there going to be a OneCare license included with the release of WHS (this would be great from the point of view of Home Connector and Remote Access integration)? Is Microsoft going to do a deal with Nortons and McAffee over their Server Editions (possible but very unlikely in the light of Microsoft entering their market with OneCare). Or is WHS magically going to be security hole free ( possible, if the WHS team decide to port to OSX 🙂 ). Now I’m justifiably nervous with out AV software covering my back. I suppose I’ll just have to trust the windows firewall….