Microsoft today announced Windows Azure, a cloud services platform. According to the website, “Windows Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting, and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host and manage web applications on the internet through Microsoft data centers.“
I know it’s unfair, but FAIL: http://infinite-labs.net/Extras/WTFBBQ.png
It’s up and running now. Whole lotta bizspeak on it, few specifics.
here are some more specifics without all the MS sales pitch. http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Charles/Manuvir-Das-Introducing-Wind…
Edited 2008-10-27 19:44 UTC
when originally created .net?
I guess ‘Blue’ is the color of The Internet to Microsoft. Though since it’s the color of every new technology thing ever these days, that doesn’t surprise me. It works well with Mesh, though, which I find myself using a little more every day…
I’d’ve liked to have seen ‘Windows Cirrus’ or ‘Windows Stratus’… maybe ‘Windows Pyrocumulus’… heh
I guess we can start referring to Microsoft as Big Blue instead of Microsoft?
Oh, wait a sec…. hmmm, maybe not
I see OSnews is censoring posts. Good to know.
Edited 2008-10-27 22:41 UTC
They actually just changed the .net logo to something more… blueish.
This was pre-announced as “Windows Cloud” earlier this month:
http://osnews.com/story/20349/Microsoft_Unveils_Windows_Cloud_Confi…
The Wikipedia article has been renamed accordingly, with not much more detail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Azure
Wow. Marklark, marklark, marklark.
Okay, let’s take out words that have no meaning.
“Windows Azure is an operating system that serves development, hosting, and management for Azure. Windows Azure provides developers storage to host and manage web applications on Microsoft data centers.”
Ah, so it’s another flavour of Windows Server, to do what you’re already doing, but now with extra ticks in the product matrix, and a place to shift new technologies so that people have to upgrade from their already fine Windows Server Vanilla.
(That’s just a satirical drive, whilst I wait for the site to load. I truly cannot discern anything useful from that marketing drivel. That’s the kind of crap you read to managers and they nod and understand it all, somehow. I think they hear the sound of money, or something.)
Edited 2008-10-27 19:13 UTC
Naaaa……… just a new version of Windows Commerce Server imho. Took Commerce Server and put some 24’s on them. Well it could be. LOL
That wouldn’t be a bad thing. Commerce Server was a great idea with some major issues in terms of the way it was executed, and is now in “we-only-support-it-cause-we-have-to” mode so there is no real chance of it getting better.
500 error… I guess it’s production quality!
Seriously though, why on earth is MS chasing this dead animal? Are they upset that SUN/Amazon is doing it?
MS needs to wake up to what their actual business is, and get out of the advertising, and ‘what google does’ business. They have become the follower, and we all know that death is to follow…
Azure is basically your applications hosted by Microsoft, over a new platform which is compatible with your old one. I’m mixed because there’s a value for sure, expecially for small companies and expecially from a big, so complex platform to develop onto. And for sure it’s well thought.
Anyway, I would way prefer to keep my Windows Server investments and not being forced to give up my data.
However, can’t deny there’s a lot of value for companies and individuals who aren’t willing to invest in a big infrastructure.
And I’m sure Microsoft is smart enough not to damage their reputation about Windows and other systems in their server business unit to promote Azure.
As a Microsoft partner, however, I have to notice that while there’s a value in providing a complete infrastructure, margins for partners shrink so I’m basically very mixed about Azure.
It’s Microsoft running a Windows-based top-class infrastructure (good) but with Microsoft getting most of the margins (bad).
…is highly overrated, and very played-out.