Microsoft said last Monday that late next year they would begin offering a new "cloud" operating system that would manage the relationship between software inside the computer and on the Web, since data and services are becoming more centralized. Microsoft is looking for a new operating system for the new computing world that isn't just for a desktop computer. A lot of devices now adays use programs that are on a remote server rather than on the device itself. The servers in the cloud deliver web services, which can be from customer relationships to a game online.
Microsofts last program Vista wasn't as hot as they thought it would be but the cloud server, called Azure, gives Microsoft an opening. Some people are very skeptical about the whole idea but nevertheless, Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., declared a third era of operating systems in the hope that it will be able to repeat the success it had with its DOS and Windows operating systems of the 1980s and 1990s.
Azure was designed during the last three years by Ray Ozzie, a software designer whose company, Groove Networks, was acquired by Microsoft in 2005. He believes that anyone that doesn't take advantage of this new operating system is really missing out. He was a customer just a few years back and has said, “Every time there is a major platform shift in our industry, it has turned into new opportunities for my apps and my business.” He knows this because working for his old company he didn't take advantage of Microsofts Office app that had a great advantage in the business world.
Microsoft would use Azure to harmonize traditional proprietary software with a new set of tools based on Internet standards that are widely used to generate the most popular Web services. Although Microsoft will not release a commercial version of Azure for a year or more, Mr. O’Kelly said that components of the system like Live Services were already being used by millions of PC users. This Tuesday it will be giving a demonstration of Windows 7 operating system in hopes of rejuvinating customer business. It will also show some of its online Office apps as well.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/technology/28soft.html?ref=companies
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment