Enterprise Cloud Vendors

Traditional enterprise vendors all have cloud strategies. IBM was a very early proponent of both virtualization and cloud computing.

IBM Smart Business cloud solutions support clouds built behind the enterprise firewall, or the IBM cloud. IBM�s public cloud offering is still new, while its private cloud offerings are, for the cloud, very mature.

IBM has partnered with Red Hat, SOASTA, RightScale, and others. HP has partnered with Microsoft; Oracle bought Sun outright and partners with Amazon AWS.

Hewlett Packard is primarily selling cloud solutions to the enterprise, and the enterprise is typically hosting the solutions in private clouds. Its SaaS offerings are still specialized and limited. HP�s BSM 9.0. addresses hybrid delivery models and management of the �consumerization of IT,� i.e., people who use non-company-owned devices on a company network. HP, Intel, and cloud software maker Enomaly have partnered to offer a full end-to-end IaaS platform for cloud service providers. HP and Microsoft are investing $250 million to significantly simplify cloud technology environments for businesses of all sizes.

Oracle has reclassified its clusters as private clouds while slowly moving into the �enterprise private cloud.� Oracle customers can now use their existing Oracle licenses or acquire new licenses to deploy Oracle software on Amazon�s EC2. Oracle has also announced its intention to license others as well. The newly introduced Oracle Secure Backup Cloud module makes it possible to move database backups to the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) for offsite storage. Its VeriScale architecture (part of Oracle�s acquisition of Sun) optimizes load balancing by implementing the networking logic locally in the service instance�s containers and treating the networking logic as part of the application.

CA Technologies (formerly Computer Associates) acquired 3Tera. Its AppLogic offers an innovative solution for building cloud services and deploying complex enterprise-class applications to public and private clouds using an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). CA has extended its partnership with NetApp, integrating CA�s virtualization, automation, and service assurance offerings with NetApp�s storage management solutions. In addition, CA is planning SaaS offerings for most of its IT management solutions. It also partners with a Carnegie Mellon and a host of resellers.

Unisys places strong emphasis on security; this has carried over to its cloud offerings. Unisys Stealth security solution, an innovative, patentpending data protection technology initially designed for government applications, is now available to commercial clients. Unisys has also partnered with VMware on the software side and with its parent, EMC, on the hardware side, among others.

Source of Information : Implementing and Developing Cloud Computing Applications 2011

Windows Phone METRO DESIGN LANGUAGE

Before getting much further into the ins and outs of Windows Phone, it�s worth taking a step backward and looking at the approach that Microsoft took in designing the user experience. Rather than simply refining what they already had, it was time to make a clean break and come up with a revolutionary design. The outcome of this process was not only a unique mobile interface but also a design language that you can, and should, adopt as part of building your application.

As part of going forward, it�s important to look back, even if only for a moment to wave as it disappears into the sunset. In the case of Windows Phone, the legacy of Windows Mobile from Pocket PC 2003 SE, through Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.1.4, and finally 6.5.3. As you can see, each has been an incremental approach with little to excite the user, save the more touch - friendly home screen and controls in Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

What�s important to recognize is that although the Windows Mobile user interface appears somewhat dated now, there are some important concepts embraced within the layouts � for example how relevant information could easily be accessed right from the home screen, and that applications were only a click or two away via the Start menu.

The user interface on nearly all the current- generation Smartphone is geared around applications. The underlying operating system typically handles standard information types such as e - mail, calendar, and contacts, but it is left to individual applications to handle other types of data (e.g., updates from your favorite social networking site need to have an application running on the device). Unfortunately, these applications are often built in isolation and don�t interact with each other or even integrate into the phone experience. In building Windows Phone, it was important for Microsoft to build an immersive user experience, rather than a set of disjointed applications. This needed to encompass all the features that make up Windows Phone, as well as the ability for third - party applications to be built to integrate into the same experience.

It was decided that Windows Phone should have a fresh start and not just the new Start that you see when you first unlock a Windows Phone. This should not just be about an ad hoc change to the way applications look, but a new language for communicating with users. What Microsoft came up with is what they refer to as the Metro design language, based on generations of refinement that have gone into the use of signposting, signaling, iconography, fonts, and layout in the transportation industry. The name Metro was chosen to reflect its heritage in the language used to efficiently guide people to their destinations.

If you examine signs used around and on buses, trains, and other forms of transportation, and at stations, airports, and other transportation hubs, you can clearly see a set of principles that govern them. Most of them have graphics that are instructional, yet minimal in design. Furthermore, the signs are typically universal and feature simple icons. The use of color is significant and plays an important role alongside weight and style when applied to text. Unlike in a lot of software systems, where it is almost an afterthought, the use of different typography in signs can dramatically affect the readability and thus the effectiveness of those signs.

Using transportation signage as a base, the Windows Phone team collaborated with other teams within Microsoft in order to fl esh out the design language. For example, the use of motion and animation in the Xbox, the use of navigation via content on the Zune and Media Center, and the intimacy of the ZuneHD interface were all sources of inspiration for Metro.

The resulting Metro design language is about being modern with a clean and fast user experience. It�s about delivering an experience that is in motion and all about the content. Being authentically digital in design and using clear typography are also important throughout the Windows Phone experience.

Source of Information : Wiley-Professiona Windows Phone 7 Application Development 2010

Windows Phone Screen Resolution

Dealing with differing hardware was just one of the challenges faced by developers working with the Windows Mobile platform. In seeking to be a platform that could be tailored to a wide variety of user scenarios, Windows Mobile 6.5 supported six touch - screen and five non - touch � screen resolutions. As you have already learned, there won �t be support for non - touch screen in Windows Phone, but what � s even more exciting for developers is that with Windows Phone there will only be two different screen resolutions that you need to accommodate.

The initial platform will be released with WVGA (480 _ 800) resolution. A second resolution, HVGA (320 _ 480), will follow sometime in the future.

Whenever you see a Windows Phone being demonstrated, it is likely that it will be in Portrait mode. In fact, if you look at some of the core areas of Windows Phone, such as Start, they only support being displayed in Portrait mode. However, this doesn�t prevent you from taking advantage of running in Landscape if that � s more suitable for your application. In fact, the best applications are those that allow either orientation, reorganizing the layout in order to make best use of the available screen real estate. Windows Phone also provides the necessary extension points for your application to handle the change in device orientation during operation, such as sliding out a physical keyboard on a device that has one.

Source of Information : Wiley-Professiona Windows Phone 7 Application Development 2010

Using the Windows 7 Reliability Monitor

As with the Performance Monitor, the Reliability Monitor is a system monitoring tool that is designed to help you diagnose problems and improve the performance of your computer. To start it just click the Start menu, type in view reliability, and hit Enter. The Reliability Monitor is especially geared to helping you solve various types of system failures that can lead to poor performance in all areas. It works by tracking all the software installs, uninstalls, application failures, hardware failures, Windows failures, and general miscellaneous failures to compile a System Stability Chart and System Stability Report.

Any of the icons on the System Stability Chart can be selected to move the scope of the System Stability Report to a specific time period. This is very useful because it allows you to see what happened the same day or just before some kind of failure occurred. Depending on this information, you will have a clue as to what may have been the cause of the failure.


Reading the System Stability Report
Every day your computer is given a System Stability Index rating based on the system activities of the day. The score is out of a possible 10 points. Depending on what has happened in the past, this score goes up or down. For example, if you have a Windows failure, your score goes down. As days pass, if you do not have any more failures, your score gradually goes back up again. However, if another failure occurs, it drops even more.

I recently had an issue with installing new video drivers for my laptop. I was trying to get the Aero Glass look in Windows 7 to work and was installing some drivers that were not exactly made for my laptop model. After I installed the new drivers, I had to reboot and was welcomed by the blue screen error. I rebooted again and the same thing happened. These system failures killed my System Stability Index. Before I had these problems I had a rating of 9.44; after my driver fiasco, I had an index of 4.711. As you can see, your reliability rating can drop very quickly if you have multiple major errors, such as a blue screen.

When you notice that your System Stability Index goes down, you are going to want to know why, so that you can fix the problem and get the performance of your system back in line. The System Stability Report is perfect for understanding exactly what happened.

With your mouse, select a time period on the System Stability Chart in which your score dropped significantly. Depending on presence of the information, warning, or error icons in the grid for the specific day, you will know what sections of the report you should expand to see the details of what happened. The red error icon in the Application Failures grid item on the selected day tells you to expand the Application Failures section of the report to see the details. After expanding the section, you will see which application failed and how it failed. Similarly, if this were a hardware failure, you would see the component type, device name, and why it failed. If it were a Windows or miscellaneous failure, you would see the failure type and details of what happened. As you can see, reading the System Stability Report is a quick and easy way to see what exactly is going on.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010

I acquired a used PC but don�t have an administrator password. Help!

You can access a password-protected administrator account in a number of ways. One is quick and easy, but works only in XP. If the used PC runs Vista or windows 7, skip the next two paragraphs. The following will work only if the previous owner didn�t know enough to close XP�s backdoor entrance to administrator control.

First, boot into Safe mode: Start your PC, and press before the windows logo appears. In the resulting boot menu, select Safe Mode. The log-on screen will probably show a user you�ve never seen before, administrator, that does not have a password. This lets you enter windows as an administrator-level user, and you can use Control Panel�s user accounts applet to change the password.

If you�re using Vista or windows 7, you can remove the administrator password with ubuntu linux. Careful! This gets complicated. download the current ubuntu version from find.pcworld.com/71065. double-click the just-downloaded .iso file. Windows may start a program that burns your ubuntu CD. If it doesn�t, download and install ISO recorder (find.pcworld.com/60657), and then try again. Boot off the CD. when asked, click the Try Ubuntu button. Install the software: From the menus in the top-right corner of the screen, select Check the two options not yet checked: and Click then after the program is done processing, select from the menus in the top-right corner.

In the resulting window�s Search field, enter chntpw. a program with that name should appear in the subsequent list of packages. Click it and select. Click the toolbar icon. Click and wait until the installation is complete. Now mount your drive: From the top menus, select then your internal hard drive or windows partition. When it�s mounted, a File browser window (much like windows explorer) will appear. double-click the folder icons to go to the windows drive�s windows\System32\config folder. Leave this window up. From the top menus, select arrange the two windows so that you can see the top section of the File browser window behind the Terminal window.

In the Terminal command-line window, type cd /media/ (note the space after ) and the path to your config folder, using the folder names at the top as a guide. (note: ubuntu�s Terminal is case-sensitive.) Then press . now type sudo chntpw -u logon SAM, where is the log-on name for the administrator account. Press ; the last section of scrolled-up text will begin �. . . . user edit menu:� Press 1 (the number, not lowercase L), then . at the resulting question, press Y. when the program�s done, click the power-button logo in the upper-right corner and reboot into windows. The account no longer needs a password.

Source of Information : PC World Magazine February 2011

Fix an XP System That Won�t Recognize Flash Drives

Reader THOMAS IS having a problem with his six year old Windows XP Professional system: When he plugs in a flash drive, Windows doesn�t recognize it. Before I reveal the solution to this vexing problem, Tomas, note: You didn�t give me nearly enough information in your initial e mail message. infact, it took two follow up messages for me to get all the details I needed to find a fix. So please, everyone, revisit my post on how to ask for tech help (see find.pcworld.com/71061), and remember that you�ll greatly increase your chances of a response by following its simple guidelines. As it happens, Microsoft itself has a fix for the problem of unrecognized USB flash drives (and other such devices), which, it says, is most likely the result of �corrupted or incorrect keys in the registry.� Just go to find.pcworld.com/71062, scroll down abit until you see the Microsoft fix it button, click it, and follow the instructions. That should do the trick!

Source of Information : PC World Magazine February 2011

Windows Phone Chassis Design

So far you know that hardware manufacturers can optionally include a keyboard, but what else can they modify? In the past this was quite an open - ended discussion as manufacturers could build a device to meet a certain price point. For example, for high - end devices, they could include GPS, an accelerometer, and a high - resolution camera; a low - end device may only have a T9 keypad and no camera at all. Even the number and layout of physical hardware buttons could change between devices. Of course, all these options come at a cost, and the first place this took hold was with developers. When building applications, developers were seldom able to rely on a particular hardware feature being present. Instead, you would typically either query an API to determine if hardware existed, or simply attempt to address the hardware. Failure or an exception would indicate the lack of supported hardware.

After the application had been developed, the problem was transposed to the end users. They would see a product advertised as being compatible with Windows Mobile and purchase it, only to discover that it required hardware that they didn�t have. No two Windows Mobile devices were alike. When it came to Marketplace for Windows Mobile, Microsoft acknowledged this issue, and as part of application submission, developers had to indicate what device capabilities their application required. The Marketplace client running on the device would then restrict the list of applications to only those that matched the device capabilities.

For Windows Phone, Microsoft has taken the proactive position of enforcing a set of requirements around device capabilities. This has been achieved by taking the traditional minimum hardware specifications and turning them into what Microsoft calls a chassis design . This specifies the external buttons, and in some cases their location, and the inclusion of particular hardware features such as Wi-Fi, GPS, accelerometer, compass, camera, light and proximity sensors, and the ability to vibrate. A device that doesn � t include all of the features dictated by a chassis design cannot be called a Windows Phone.

On the front- facing side of a Windows Phone there will be three buttons: Back, Start, and Search. There will also be dedicated camera, power, and volume controls.

It� s important to note that these hardware buttons have a dedicated purpose. Unlike in Windows Mobile, where the buttons could be assigned by the user to different functions, and then applications could elect to override all or some of the buttons, on a Windows Phone the buttons have a sole purpose. This reinforces the overall user experience through a consistent interface. The one exception to this rule is the Back button. Within your application you are able to control the navigation sequence. This means that you are able to intercept and handle the Back button. However, it is important to remember that the purpose of this button is to navigate back to whence the user came. For example, if they click to delete an item from a list and the application displays a confirmation prompt, the Back button should dismiss this prompt without deleting the item. Similarly, if the user has clicked an item in a list and gone through to a Details view, the Back button should navigate the user back to the list of items.

If you ensure that you correctly handle the Back button, there should be little need for your application to include navigation controls within the context of your application. Forward navigation is typically done through interaction with content; Back navigation is instigated from the Back button, and exiting your application is little more than pressing the Back button when on the first page of the application.

You can think of every application you open as being placed on a stack. When you hit the Back button and have not purposely handled it within your application, the application is popped off the stack and the previous one is displayed. This analogy works well as Windows Phone will automatically close your application when it goes out of focus by being popped off the application stack.

Similar to other mobile platforms, Windows Phone has a dedicated� I �m lost, take me to a known location � button. As it � s a Microsoft platform, this button is logically called the Start button and takes the user back to the Start experience. As you will learn, the Start is an area on the device that contains a personalized set of tiles that reflect what�s important to the user. It also acts as a launching point for accessing areas of the device and applications that the user may have installed. The last of the buttons on the front of the device is the Search button, also known as the Bing button . Pressing the Search button launches a context- sensitive search. For example, if you are looking through your contacts, pressing the Search button will filter your contacts based on the search criteria. If there is no appropriate search context, pressing the Search button will launch Bing Search, allowing you to search over Web content, images, and maps. At this stage it is not possible to integrate the Search button into your application, so tapping it within any third � party application will launch Bing Search.

The inclusion of Wi-Fi seems like an obvious requirement, but with the advent of 3G+ networks that are continuing to get cheaper, it would have been an easy cost saving for manufacturers to omit the Wi-Fi stack. In the early days of Windows Mobile, before Microsoft tightened security, it used to be possible to synchronize your contracts, calendar, and e - mail with Outlook by connecting to ActiveSync through a Wi-Fi network. This capability is returning with the ability to synchronize across your home Wi-Fi network to your Zune desktop experience.

Location is definitely one of the hip new fads being talked about across the software development community. Software that is aware of the user�s location means that it can locate information and people nearby. Of course, there are all manner of privacy issues to navigate, but it is important that Windows Phone can provide location information. This topic will be covered in detail in the context of the location services offered by the platform, but it � s enough to say that having a GPS is essential in order to accurately geolocate the user.

One thing that you will notice about Windows Phone is that it is the first mobile offering from Microsoft that has been designed with a consumer rather than enterprise or business user focus.
Previously, Windows Mobile was more tailored for the mobile worker, with support for enterprise features such as device deployment and management at the expense of a consistent set of hardware capabilities. As a consumer device Windows Phone will offer a minimum of a 5 - megapixel camera with integrated fl ash. Windows Phones will also include light and proximity sensors that will be used to enhance the user experience.

In building your application, you need to be very aware of the experience you are constructing for the user. Where you would have once provided simple on - screen feedback, you can now use more complex animation and sounds and even have the device vibrate. You should use all visual and hardware effects sparingly as it is easy to overwhelm the user and drain the phone�s battery in the process.

Source of Information : Wiley-Professiona Windows Phone 7 Application Development 2010

Windows Phone MINIMUM SPECIFICATIONS

Traditionally, Windows Mobile has had the stigma attached to it that it is slow and unreliable. This had little to do with the underlying operating system, but rather the other stakeholders involved in getting a device into market. Manufacturers, telecommunication companies, application developers, and other third parties all contribute to what comes prepackaged on a device. Each one of these parties builds or adds features that they think will benefit the user. Unfortunately, quite often these features either degrade the overall experience � for example, hogging precious device resources � or don � t play well with other aspects of the phone. This has led to an overall negative impression of the Windows Mobile platform as a whole.

Microsoft took the opportunity with Windows Phone to restructure the ecosystem in which devices operate. Although they haven � t been so arrogant as to come out with the Microsoft Phone , which many were anticipating, they have put some checks and balances in place to ensure that users receive an amazing experience, and, furthermore, that this experience is uniform throughout the phone and for the duration of the phone � s life.

It all starts with the hardware. Previously Microsoft has been overly optimistic in specifying the minimum specifications for Windows Mobile. This resulted in many devices that were woefully underpowered, and although this kept the price point low, the devices were frustratingly slow and unresponsive to use. Going forward, Microsoft has defined a much higher set of minimum hardware requirements for Windows Phone, which includes a 1 - GHz processor and support for graphics hardware acceleration. When you look at the frameworks that are to be used to develop applications and games for this platform, it is very evident why such high hardware specifications are required.

In addition to having graphics acceleration, Windows Phone devices will appear to be highly responsive because of the use of capacitance screens. This, in turn, lends itself to supporting multi - touch. The net effect is that users will interact with a Windows Phone device using gestures such as tap, pinch, and swipe with their fingers, rather than the more traditional mechanism of using a stylus.

There is currently no intention to support a non- touch- screen Windows Phone device. However, device manufacturers will still be able to differentiate their devices through different device ergonomics and the optional inclusion of a hardware keyboard. A hardware keyboard will complement the Windows Phone experience, making it easier to enter text rapidly. This is particularly useful for e - mail, messaging, and annotating documents on the road.

Source of Information : Wiley-Professiona Windows Phone 7 Application Development 2010

Clearing Windows 7 the Last User Logon

Every time you boot up your PC, all computer accounts and users who have logged on to it display on the logon screen. This can be a big security risk because it shows the usernames of all accounts that someone can try to use to break into the computer. In addition, the logon screen can become cluttered with many user accounts. Therefore, it might be a good idea to enable the Do not display last user name policy. In previous versions of Windows that used the classic logon screen, this policy would just clear the User name text box so that an attacker would have no clue about the last account used to log on. With the removal of the classic logon screen in 7, this policy behaves slightly differently by removing the Account list on the logon screen and turning on basic User name and Password boxes.

Using the policy is easy, if you choose to enable it. If so, just follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, type secpol.msc, and press Enter.

2. When the Local Security Policy editor loads, navigate through Local Policies and then Security Options.

3. Locate the Interactive logon: Do not display last user name policy. Rightclick it and select Properties.

4. On the Local Security Settings tab, select Enable, and then click OK.

5. Close the Local Security Policy editor and you are finished.

For those of you that don�t have SecPol.msc in your version of Windows (only Professional version and higher) you will have to set the registry key manually:

1. Click the Start button, type in Regedit, and hit Enter.

2. Navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Policies, then System.

3. Right-click dontdisplaylastusername and select Modify.

4. Set the value to 1 and click OK.

As soon as you log off or reboot, the new logon screen settings will be present.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010

Understanding User Account Control in Windows 7

In a homegroup or workgroup, a computer running Windows 7 has only local machine accounts. In a domain, a computer running Windows 7 has both local machine accounts and domain accounts. Windows 7 has two primary types of local user accounts:

� Standard Standard user accounts can use most software and can change system settings that do not affect other users or the security of the computer.

� administrator Administrator user accounts have complete access to the computer and can make any changes that are needed.

Windows 7 includes User Account Control as a way to enhance computer security by ensuring true separation of standard user and administrator user accounts. Because of the User Account Control feature in Windows 7, all applications run using either standard user or administrator user privileges. Whether you log on as a standard user or as an administrator user, you see a security prompt by default whenever you run an application that requires administrator privileges. The way the security prompt works depends on Group Policy settings and whether you are logged on with a standard user account or an administrator user account.

When you are logged on using a standard user account, you are asked to provide a password for an administrator account. In a homegroup or workgroup, each local computer administrator account is listed by name. To proceed, you must click an account, type the account�s password, and then click Submit.

In a domain, the User Account Control dialog box does not list any administrator accounts, so you must know the user name and password of an administrator account in the default (log on) domain or a trusted domain to continue. When Windows prompts you, type the account name, type the account�s password, and then click OK. If the account is in the default domain, you don�t have to specify the domain name. If the account is in another domain, you must specify the domain and the account name by using the format domain\username, such as cpandl\williams.

When you are logged on using an administrator user account, you are asked to confirm that you want to continue. You can click Yes to allow the task to be performed or click No to stop the task from being performed. Clicking Show Details shows the full path to the program being executed.

An important related change has to do with elevation of privileges. Elevation allows a standard user application to run with administrator privileges. You can run applications with elevated privileges by following these steps:

1. Right-click the application�s shortcut on the menu or on the desktop, and then click Run As Administrator.

2. When you see the User Account Control prompt, proceed as you normally would to allow the application to run with administrator privileges.

Note : You must run the Command prompt window with elevated privileges to perform administration at the command line. If you do not do this, you will see an error when you try to run an administrator utility or perform a task that requires administrator privileges.

Source of Information : Microsoft - Windows 7 Administrators Pocket Consultant 2010