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Inside GM's Newest U.S. Assembly Plant
(TechwebNews.com Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
InformationWeek Daily - Monday, June 23, 2008
Seeding The Cloud
Recently, I got the chance to visit one of Microsoft's
mega data centers for a tour while it was under construction. I'll just say this: creating the infrastructure needed for cloud computing isn't child's play.
Microsoft rolls out data centers as if they were aircraft carriers in the United States Navy. There's the Quincy-class, there's the Dublin-class, and there's the Chicago-class. I myself was at the Quincy-class San Antonio location, a monstrous ship of the online if there ever was one at 475,000 square feet.
And that's only one of the numerous (Microsoft won't give a number) $500-million-or-so data centers the company's got under construction or up and running around the world. With all that going on, Microsoft's got to have a plan in place to figure out when and where to build.
The company uses what Microsoft data center services general manager Mike Manos calls a "continuum strategy." It starts with Microsoft mapping out the world to identify the company's important data center markets. From the maps, Microsoft (duh) determines where new data centers are needed.
So in the end, Microsoft will build many of its own data centers, but it has the expertise to do so and may be able to make its data centers (and data center software) into sort of competitive advantage. Eventually, it could turn management software like Scry and all the other one-off software its running inside its facilities, as well as all of the design elements and one-off hardware, into licensed products or (for hardware, at least) licensed designs.
What if you're not Microsoft? For the vast majority of companies building out their own data center infrastructures, leasing will be fine. It'll likely be cheaper capital-wise and operationally as well as less distracting from a strategic standpoint. But for large enterprises that need untold computing power and demand total control, they may want to stick with a buy decision.
P.S. For all of those who read this and say, okay, but what is Microsoft going to use this ridiculous amount of server energy for? Check here for more and feel free to post your thoughts in the comment section.
Nick Hoovernhoover@techweb.comwww.informationweek.com
"We are all apt to believe what the world believes about us." -- George Eliot
Inside GM's Newest U.S. Assembly Plant
In a tour of its Lansing Delta plant in Michigan, GM shows how IT helps make a difference during tough times for the automaker.
FCC Gives Sprint Nextel 30 Days To Vacate 800-MHz Band
The plan to reconfigure parts of the wireless spectrum is designed to prevent interference with public safety communication systems.
NMPA Seeks To Guard Songwriters' Earnings, Protect Copyrights
National Music Publishers Association fights for legislation that protects copyrights, tries to make sure songwriters get fair royalties, and sues infringers.
AT&T Paying High Price For iPhone 3G
Analysts differ on the exact figure, but AT&T could be paying as much as $425 in subsidies per iPhone.
Microsoft Reissues Critical Security Fix For Windows XP
The original patch worked on Windows Vista, but failed to accomplish its task in Windows XP SP2 and SP3, the Microsoft Security Response Center said.
Apple Fixes Security Flaw In Windows Version Of Safari
The patch changes Safari so it will first seek permission from a user before downloading an application from a Web site to the desktop.
Calif. Asks ISPs To Block Newsgroups Exchanging Child Porn
Attorney General Jerry Brown hopes Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint will extend their agreement with New York to the Golden State.
Sprint Brings Corporate E-mail To Cell Phones
Users of popular phones like the Samsung Instinct and Motorola Razr can now access Exchange and Lotus accounts.
Phoenix Mars Lander Discovers Ice, Scientists Think
Software experts at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver are now doubling efforts to save more of the mission's data.
FCC To Verizon: Don't Talk Voice Customers Out Of Switching To Cable
Cable TV companies complained that Verizon offered discounts and other promotions to keep consumers in the telco's fold.
Mac OS X Security Threat Discovered
The malicious code distributed from a hacker Web site has been given a "critical" security tag, but can infect only certain versions of the Mac OS.
Yahoo Execs Exit Stage Left
Though it's easy to make Yahoo's failure with Microsoft or the company's partnership with Google a scapegoat for these departures, there are some who are just moving on.
FairPoint's Takeover Of Verizon's New England Phone Lines Is Delayed
The planned cutover of Verizon landlines in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont has been delayed for 60 days and is now scheduled for November.
All Our Latest News
See InformationWeek's daily breaking news on your mobile device, visit mobile.informationweek.com and sign up for daily SMS notifications.
FCC Gives Sprint Nextel 30 Days To Vacate 800-MHz Band
NMPA Seeks To Guard Songwriters' Earnings, Protect Copyrights
AT&T Paying High Price For iPhone 3G
Microsoft Reissues Critical Security Fix For Windows XP
Apple Fixes Security Flaw In Windows Version Of Safari
Virtualization At The Desktop?
Examine how more than 250 companies plan to adopt server virtualization technology in this recent InformationWeek Research report, Server Virtualization.
The BI Explosion
Examine the business intelligence strategies of 500 companies, including deployment drivers and challenges, spending plans, and vendor selection, in this recent InformationWeek Research report.
Satellite Radio Stumbles, Still Shines
XM Satellite Radio's share price is down another 3.6% today after plunging 17% on a discouraging report from Goldman Sachs. XM rival Sirius has suffered a similar stumble.
AP Struggles To Save Face In Blogger Copyright Dispute
I don't blame the Associated Press for refusing to participate in a conversation about its attempts to overthrow government authority and rewrite copyright law its own liking. The AP is like a husband who foolishly told his wife that the new jeans do make her butt look big. The best way to limit damage at that point is to simply shut up and hope the subject eventually goes away.
Some Hard Data On Vista Users and UAC
Of all the changes in Windows Vista, perhaps the most controversial is the User Account Control (UAC) functionality that often results in multiple permission prompts that border on annoying. Okay, let's be honest; UAC crossed the border, broke down the front door, and is camped-out-on-the-sofa annoying.
How Open Source Builds Winning Teams
Anyone who still thinks open source isn't ready for prime time hasn't been paying attention. Two events this week demonstrate how open source principles have put an entertainment juggernaut and a sports franchise at the top of their respective games.
Red Hat In Boston, Part 2.2: Forges Or Exchanges?
Conference summaries can be so misleading. When I saw a note in the Thursday schedule for "Exchange strategies for open source software", a part of me wondered if they meant that Exchange. No -- this was about creating a software exchange on the order of SugarCRM's SugarExchange, a marketplace for SugarCRM extensions and add-ons. After all, what's an open source project -- especially something of SugarCRM's proportions -- without community contributions?
Global Name Spacing
In speaking with an IT manager the other day, he was complaining about running out of drive letters and the difficulty that moving away from using drive letters was causing his users. He was looking into Microsoft DFS and was looking for other solutions since he had a mixed environment of Unix and Windows. Global Name Space solutions like those available from Acopia or built into OnStor NAS products are ideal for solving the complexity of managing multiple drive letters or teaching users different paths to servers while supporting multiple protocols like CIFS and NFS.
One-Quarter Of Current iPhone Users Upgraded From Motorola Razr
The Motorola Razr was the iPhone of its day. Stylish and expensive, it was the it phone back in 2005. This recently revealed statistic, which should concern Motorola a lot, isn't all that surprising. The Motorola Razr has been a best-selling mobile phone for years, meaning a lot of people have it -- or in this case, had it. But going from a Razr to an iPhone is quite an upgrade, one that Motorola is clearly losing out on.
Google Says: Bang, Zoom, Straight To The Moon
Google is going to pay $20 million to the first team to land a rover on the moon, drive it around a bit, and return pictures, videos and other data by Dec. 31, 2012. That's just four and a half years from now. Competitors for the Google Lunar X Prize must be privately funded, though costs for such a mission are sure to run well over $20 million. Is the prize worth it?
The True UC Market Is Tiny...Today
I've been watching the Unified Communications market since it began two years ago, and one of the things that everybody's been trying to figure out is how to quantify the market and characterize how fast it's moving and where it might be headed. This week, Blair Pleasant of COMMfusion and UCstrategies.com delivered a great contribution to this emerging body of knowledge. The executive summary and TOC are here, and Blair's been blogging about it here, here, and here. After reading these various items, my takeaway is that the UC market is quite small, at least as of now.
Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue Comes To Your Mobile Phone
One side of the mobile business that no one likes to acknowledge or speak about openly is that adult content is a big moneymaker. To wit, Sports Illustrated has decided to jump into the game and is making a version of its famous swimsuit issue available on mobile phones. IT, watch out!
The Findability Factor
Findability. For our purposes, it describes how easy it is for your user community to find the content and resources they need to do their jobs. And if yours is like 49% of enterprises in a recent survey, your findability stinks.
Real-World SOA: Definition, Implementation and Use of SOA with CentraSite
Web services are having a dramatic impact on improving enterprise architecture and application development practices. This paper highlights three sample case studies illustrating how Fujitsu's CentraSite delivers SOA solutions.
Forrester Consulting: Unified Communications Delivers Global Benefits
This Forrester Consulting study shows how Unified Communications (UC) makes it simpler to contact others over any device in any location, enhancing business agility, cutting costs, and boosting employee productivity. Forrester finds that UC is already delivering major savings for organizations around the world in retail banking, manufacturing and education. Download the full report for free.
Software as a Service Research Report
No longer a niche software delivery model, software as a service (SaaS) can help small and midsize companies get access to enteprise-class software functionality without having to commit enterprise-level capital resources. Download the full report for free.
The Internet & the Developing World
The evolution of the Internet has been full of surprises - surprises that have sometimes resulted in radical changes in the commercial landscape, such as the arrival of Amazon, eBay, Google, YouTube, and Skype. Could one of the next big surprises turn out to be linked to developing countries? Read the full report for free from InternetEvolution.com
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For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services, please visit our Career Center.
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