Windows IT Pro magazine and SQL Server Magazine announced the winners of their Best of Tech Ed 2008 IT Professional Awards yesterday evening. Jeff Lewis, the Group Publisher of the Windows IT Group, presented the awards at a ceremony at Universal Studios in Orlando. Out of over 223 product nominations that were received for the Best of Tech Ed Awards, editors chose 29 finalists in nine categories.
Winners were chosen based on innovation, competitive advantage, and value to customers.
In the Messaging category, the winner is Azaleos OneServer Virtual Edition. Our judges liked the features of this innovative virtual appliance, ranging from its polished interface to its wealth of management and analysis options.
The winner in the Business Intelligence category is SoftArtisans OfficeWriter. OfficeWriter can connect to SQL Server, Analysis Services, and other databases and deliver fully functional Microsoft Excel and Word documents over the Web.
In the SharePoint category, the winner is the AvePoint DocAve Software Platform. SharePoint use is exploding, and the DocAve Software Platform provides an integrated environment for SharePoint management, disaster recovery, and real-time backup.
In the Hardware, Networking, and Storage category, the winner is Strangeloop WS1000. The WS 1000 can increase the performance of Web services by an order of magnitude. Its advanced caching technologies enable plug-and-play performance optimization without requiring any changes to the Web services application code.
In the Database Administration category, the winner is SQL diagnostic manager. SQL diagnostic manager provides the ability to monitor SQL Server performance as well as diagnose and analyze performance problems.
In the Productivity and Collaboration category, the winner is Colligo Contributor Pro. Giving users access to company information on the road is essential, and Colligo Contributor Pro allows users to access and edit Microsoft SharePoint content both online and offline.
In the Security category, the winner is Trend Micro ScanMail for Microsoft Exchange. ScanMail for Microsoft Exchange provides comprehensive e-mail security including anti-virus, anti-spyware and zero-day virus protection.
In the Virtualization category, the winner is VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3. Virtualization is taking the IT world by storm, and VMware has been driving that change more than anyone.
In the Systems Management and Operations category, the winner is Athena by Odyssey Software. Athena is a management solution for Windows-based mobile devices. The product seamlessly integrates into the Microsoft System Center management interface to provide remote tools, extended asset reporting, and provisioning for mobile devices in the enterprise.
The Breakthrough Product award winner is Quest Software’s PowerGUI, a scripting and command shell platform that enhances ease of use of Windows PowerShell.
This year's Attendees' Pick award winner is Syntergy Replicator for SharePoint.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Delayed SQL Server 2008 hits release phase
Microsoft's delayed SQL Server 2008 has inched closer to daylight, with the company's first release candidate (RC) code.
SQL Server 2008 RC 0 has been made available in three editions - the full database, Express and Express Advanced. Also released for testing is the SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, consisting of installation packages, with 15 new components.
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Calling RC 0 a "milestone", server and tools chief Bob Muglia told Microsoft's TechEd in Orlando, Florida, that the company is "very close" to shipping its delayed database. "It's in great shape," he said.
Microsoft was originally due to launch SQL Server 2008 at the end of last year. That was pushed back to February 27, with launch timed to coincide with Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. In January, the release was again pushed back to the third quarter
SQL Server 2008 RC 0 has been made available in three editions - the full database, Express and Express Advanced. Also released for testing is the SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, consisting of installation packages, with 15 new components.
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document.write('\x3Cscript src="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adj/reg.channel.4159/software;cta='+cta+';ctb='+ctb+';ctc='+ctc+';sc='+sc+';cid='+cid+';'+RegExCats+GetVCs()+'pid='+RegId+RegDT+';'+RegKW+';test='+test+';pf='+RegPF+';dcove=d;tile='+tile+';sz=336x280;ord=' + rand + '?" type="text/javascript">\x3C\/script>');
Calling RC 0 a "milestone", server and tools chief Bob Muglia told Microsoft's TechEd in Orlando, Florida, that the company is "very close" to shipping its delayed database. "It's in great shape," he said.
Microsoft was originally due to launch SQL Server 2008 at the end of last year. That was pushed back to February 27, with launch timed to coincide with Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. In January, the release was again pushed back to the third quarter
Friday, May 16, 2008
Not Going Closed Source?
MySQL is one of the most popular databases in use today, a popularity that has been driven by the open source community. Some in the community, however, are taking issue with exactly how open MySQL actually is as fears about the future of the open source database grow.
At stake and at issue are the $1 billion dollars Sun has invested in MySQL. As community members question Sun's intentions, MySQL defends its turf.
This week Sun's MySQL division preannounced the release of MySQL 5.1, which is expected to be available in June. The actual release is months behind schedule and follows the last major MySQL release, MySQL 5.0, by two and half years.
MySQL also announced some new features for MySQL 6, currently in Alpha development.
At stake and at issue are the $1 billion dollars Sun has invested in MySQL. As community members question Sun's intentions, MySQL defends its turf.
This week Sun's MySQL division preannounced the release of MySQL 5.1, which is expected to be available in June. The actual release is months behind schedule and follows the last major MySQL release, MySQL 5.0, by two and half years.
MySQL also announced some new features for MySQL 6, currently in Alpha development.
MySQL Backs Off Closed Source Plan
MySQL has backed off a plan to charge for some encryption and compression backup widgetry in the next version of the database – and, heavens, NOT OPEN SOURCE THE STUFF, an idea it trotted a few weeks ago and predictably caught hell for.
Sun, which bought MySQL for a billion dollars, a good reason to try to make some of the money back, took the rap.
MySQL’s community relations VP Kaj Arno says on a blog that the features will be open sourced after all, admitting “a change in direction” and absolving Sun of complicity in the, um, miscalculation. Sun gets enough bad press.
“The change,” he writes, “comes from MySQL now being part of Sun Microsoft. Our initial plans were made for a company considering an IPO, but made less sense in the context of Sun, a large company with a whole family of complementary open source software and hardware.”
That is not to say, MySQL won’t try again. Arno says “To financially support MySQL’s free and open source platform, we have a business model which allows both community and commercial add-ons, and we remain committed to it….expect Sun/MySQL to continue experimenting with the business model, and with what’s offered for the community and what’s offered commercial-only.”
Sun, which bought MySQL for a billion dollars, a good reason to try to make some of the money back, took the rap.
MySQL’s community relations VP Kaj Arno says on a blog that the features will be open sourced after all, admitting “a change in direction” and absolving Sun of complicity in the, um, miscalculation. Sun gets enough bad press.
“The change,” he writes, “comes from MySQL now being part of Sun Microsoft. Our initial plans were made for a company considering an IPO, but made less sense in the context of Sun, a large company with a whole family of complementary open source software and hardware.”
That is not to say, MySQL won’t try again. Arno says “To financially support MySQL’s free and open source platform, we have a business model which allows both community and commercial add-ons, and we remain committed to it….expect Sun/MySQL to continue experimenting with the business model, and with what’s offered for the community and what’s offered commercial-only.”
MySQL backtracks on closed-source plan
"MySQL Server is and will always remain fully functional and open source," said Kaj Arno, MySQL's vice president of community relations, in a statement released on his website on Tuesday. "So will the MySQL Connectors, and so will the main storage engines we ship."
In effect, MySQL has changed its plans for forthcoming encryption and compression backup features that it had planned to ship under a proprietary licence, and will now release the features with open-source licences, Arno said. He also confirmed that pending backup functionality in MySQL 6.0 and the MyISAM driver for MySQL Backup will be open source.
The announcement is a step back from plans announced last month by Marten Mickos, former chief executive of MySQL and now a Sun vice president.
In effect, MySQL has changed its plans for forthcoming encryption and compression backup features that it had planned to ship under a proprietary licence, and will now release the features with open-source licences, Arno said. He also confirmed that pending backup functionality in MySQL 6.0 and the MyISAM driver for MySQL Backup will be open source.
The announcement is a step back from plans announced last month by Marten Mickos, former chief executive of MySQL and now a Sun vice president.
MySQL in a Nutshell, Second Edition--New from O’Reilly: Updated Reference Keeps Pace with MySQL’s Growth and Changes
Sebastopol, CA�MySQL has held steady as one of the great open source success stories, and there is no indication that this will change in the foreseeable future, in spite of its recent acquisition. "Although MySQL AB has recently been purchased by Sun Microsystems, the software and the organization has remained intact" reports author Russell J. T. Dyer. "The software will only get better now that the company has the money to expand its software engineering department. More importantly, the software will be broadly adopted by larger companies now that it has the backing of a multi-billion dollar company like Sun. Sun can assure large companies, institutions, and governments that MySQL is here to stay and that it’s fully supported"
MySQL aficionados confirm that this is indeed the case, making the new second edition of Dyer’s book, MySQL in a Nutshell (O’Reilly, US $34.99) even more timely. "There have been several changes to MySQL since the first edition: in particular the stabilization of version 5.1 of MySQL" says Dyer. "I wanted to expand the book to include the changes and improvements to MySQL. This new edition includes the many new features such as stored procedures, stored functions, triggers, and views
MySQL aficionados confirm that this is indeed the case, making the new second edition of Dyer’s book, MySQL in a Nutshell (O’Reilly, US $34.99) even more timely. "There have been several changes to MySQL since the first edition: in particular the stabilization of version 5.1 of MySQL" says Dyer. "I wanted to expand the book to include the changes and improvements to MySQL. This new edition includes the many new features such as stored procedures, stored functions, triggers, and views
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