In a completely unanticipated announcement made quietly during a virtualization talk here at WinHEC 2008, Microsoft announced a completely new SKU of Windows Vista, to be entitled Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop. Its purpose will be to enable Vista to run within an enterprise exclusively as virtual machines, managed centrally using System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
Or is that a nonsensical question to ask in the first place?
No, it is not a nonsensical question. Based on its description in the article, System Center Virtual Machine Manager sounds a lot like VMware ACE. It would be great if Vista VECD was license-compatible with VMware ACE.
I’m not sure about VMWare, but it will run on Xen on Novell SLES. They’ve made agreements to do so. This development is hardly a surprise to anyone who’s been following statements made by third-party virtualization vendors. For example, I predicted this last August:
The proper way to interpret this whitepaper is that both Xen and VMware want to push forward with paravirtualization, and they’re warning proprietary OS vendors that they need to cooperate in order to achieve maximum performance on their virtualization platforms. In other words, Microsoft needs to release yet another SKU for Vista: Windows Vista Virtual Client, or whatever.
I like my branding better than their’s. But in any case, Microsoft is definitely moving in the right direction. I previously identified virtual client services as an area where Linux might have an edge on Microsoft in the enterprise. But depending on the quality and cost-effectiveness of Microsoft’s solution, Linux might be playing catch-up again. Furthermore, while Red Hat is firmly committed to centrally-managed virtual clients for the enterprise, they might be playing catch-up to Ubuntu, which was first to tightly integrate LTSP with the Ubuntu/Debian packaging system (Project MueKow).
Thin clients are the way of the future in the enterprise. Microsoft has actually found a way to position Vista as a compelling corporate desktop platform. It could be challenging for Linux to compete against this offering. Or this could be a total dud. We’ll see.
…it’s own marvellous, indecipherable and pointless licensing scheme.
There’s definitely a point to it.. to make Microsoft money.
A *Different SKU*?!
My god, thats so awesome, i just about crapped in my pants.
From Microsoft’s Windows Vista page:
“Windows Vista Ultimate has it all”
I wonder if this functionality is going to be made freely available to Windows Vista Ultimate users seeing as how Ultimate supposedly has all the features from the other “crippled” Vista SKUs…
Somehow I doubt it tho.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/ult…
Um… it’s not new functionality this is about.
It’s just a new licensing scheme that makes it cheaper for an enterprise to provide desktops running on virtual machines.
In other words, it will probably be cheaper than the regular Business version while providing the same functionality, but only allow it to run under a virtual machine. (license wise, doubt they can prevent anyone from running it on real hardware)
..be used to boost the supposed numbers of copies sold?
Before anyone flames me or mods me down, please bear in mind this wouldn’t be the first time creative book-keeping was used to inflate the numbers of a product being sold in attempt to stir up interest. And both Bill and Balmer have gone on record claiming millions of copies sold despite heavy evidence to the contrary, so a bit of judicious number tweaking wouldn’t be much of a stretch given their past record…
–bornagainpenguin
I wonder if MS counts free copies of Vista Starter as sales. I mean, the stores had to pay for them, right? Shrink-wrapped with security hologram sticker, etc.
despite heavy evidence to the contrary
What evidence? Random estimates by “analysts”?
typical microsoft
others have something that we dont have lets steal there ideas because they have a feet on the ground in a business we dont. lets grab some of our money and promote this so called new thing we have like a new invention to all our business partners, who will go crazy all the way and tell the world what a great company we are for having so many bright ideas. Maybe later we can sue those others for stealing our so called ideas or spread some fud that we are better and that those others are way more expensive then we are.
as always with most micrsoft products
i wonder how many versions of vista i have to buy now for the same functionality that i get with 1 free dvd of linux ??
just the microsoft way
invention 0/10
promotion 10/10