SUSE Working On One-Click Enterprise Deployment On OpenStack

Reportedly SUSE is in works with OpenStack members from B1 Systems, Dell and Mirantis in order to make the platform simple and easy to deploy for enterprise customers. The company released a beta version of its OpenStack-based private cloud and now has plans to make the first release of its enterprise-ready, private cloud solution this summer, according to Alan Clark, director of industry initiatives, emerging standards and open source at SUSE. Clark is also a member of The Linux Foundation’s board of directors.

Clark also put light on the fact that the main challenge of a private cloud lies in getting servers into a service-oriented state, which improves agility and responsiveness to business needs. “The open source cloud helps achieve a service-oriented approach because it delivers a flexible infrastructure, quick and easy deployment, service management and complete life cycle management,” he said.
He also mentioned that as OpenStack contributors, “we’re working with partners -- many are open source projects -- to build this together. It’s a collaboration of ideas as well as code. It accelerates bringing a solution to market that works across all the different partners.” The uniqueness of the SUSE is the company’s ability to use its existing data center infrastructure, which already incorporates a wide variety of vendors and technologies. “Take virtualization, for example. We’re not just built on KVM or Xen. We work with all the virtualization technologies. We are working with several partners including VMware and Microsoft to ensure all the industry leading virtualization technologies work with SUSE Linux Enterprise, making it extremely flexible for enterprises to deploy the hypervisor of their choice,” he emphasised.

Open Source Will Not Let You Miss Windows 8 Start Button

You won’t have to miss out on the Start button in Windows 8. Guess who will come to your rescue - an open source application named Classic Shell, which can deal with the Interface Formerly Known As Metro (TIFKAM).

According to a Register report, El Reg's antipodean lab installed Classic Shell on a Windows 8 RTM virtual machine running under Oracle VirtualBox on Mac OS 10.7.4. We can report that the application installed without a hint of trouble, and as soon as we clicked in its shell-like Start button we were offered a nice set of options to arranged Windows 8 so that it resembled versions of Windows past.
This application even gives you an option to access Windows 8 without having to seek TIFKAM screen. It also disables the “active corners” features that invoke the tiled interface.
While the authors are still not completely sure whether Classic Shell will actually work well with Windows 8. The FAQ of the app clearly indicates that it has not been formally tested under the RTM version that was made available for download last week.

Office 2013/365 may be Microsoft's most pervasive software package yet

With the help of Kurt DelBene, president of Microsoft's Office Division, CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Office 2013 and the latest iterations of Office 365 at a press conference in San Francisco yesterday. Unsurprisingly, the next versions of Office have taken on the same flavor as Windows 8, with streamlined, uncluttered interfaces and deep integration with the cloud and social media. Interface tweaks for, and synergies with, social media, smartphones and tablets abound.

During the presentation, a handful of the most popular Office applications were shown off, including PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, and One Note. Although DelBene and Ballmer both explained that only a fraction of the changes coming with Office 2013/365 were shown off, the glimpses given seemed impressive. Office 2013/365 isn’t simply an update to Office 2010 with a few minor interface tweaks. In addition to rethinking virtually every menu, the interfaces have been sculpted for touch input, and there’s been an obvious focus on collaboration and social media integration. And many of the changes should prove useful features to both mobile and desktop users.

 

Microsoft’s vision for your modern office

I’m only going to talk about a couple of the features that stood out to me during the presentation. I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of coverage in the coming days and you can even try the software for yourself right here. To quickly cover some of the more substantial changes, the ribbon is hidden by default, but easily accessibly with a single-click/tap, which I think cleans up the main interface immensely. There’s a new presentation mode in PowerPoint that aids presenters with an easy-to-use interface and even a built-in timer. And Outlook sports a totally new look with a “quick actions” tab in the right pane to aid in the completion of common tasks, a “peek” feature at the bottom for quick access to your calendar and people menus, and an in-line reply feature that should speed-up replies for short e-mails that don’t require long responses.

A Window 8/Metro-style edition of One Note was also demoed, which seems to improve upon the current version in a few ways. But it was one particular feature during this portion of the demo that caught my eye and shows how much thought Microsoft has put into optimizing the next version of Office for touch. That feature was a new Radial menu that makes altering font attributes and other aspects of a document quick and easy, with a finger, stylus or mouse. When you see the radial menu in action, you’ll understand what I mean - it seems really intuitive.

Office 2013 features a new radial menu, visible at the upper-right

The next thing that that really stood out is technically very minor, but I feel it will have a major impact on consumers. The next versions of Office will save your documents to Microsoft’s SkyDrive service by default. You can still save files locally if you choose, but the default option will send all of your data into the cloud. I’m sure that’s going to scare some users, but the seamless integration with SkyDrive makes it possible to access your files from any internet-connected device, which also happens to be running Office. During the demo, DelBene saved a document that he had edited on a Samsung tablet (I guess the rumors are true that Samsung will have a Windows RT tablet ready for launch) and then immediately opened it on a Nokia Windows Phone.

This kind of stuff isn’t new, but for the overwhelming majority of Office users that aren’t tech savvy, seamless, easy cloud/SkyDrive integration is going to be huge. Everyone from students to CEOs will be able to access their files from their desktops, tablets, and phones with nary a thought. For this feature alone, I can see may IT departments embracing Windows 8 and Office 2013/365.

Pricing and availability information wasn’t given, but Ballmer did say that the next versions of Office will be available as a cloud-based subscription service or purchased via physical media. Widows RT-based devices will have Office Home and Student 2013 RT included, which contains new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Five reasons you'll love Office 2013

Much-improved interface

Office 2010's interface was beginning to look long in the tooth and a bit dowdy. Office 2013's is much improved, doing away with the sometimes-distracting 3D look of the Ribbon, and adding swaths of flat color. It's far easier on the eyes than earlier versions of Office.

The interface improvements are more than skin deep. The File tab (previously called Backstage) has been revamped, to great effect. For example, when you create a new document now, you get to see thumbnails of available templates. There's a lot more as well, including simple ways to make the Ribbon disappear and then come back when you need it.

Full editing of PDF files

PDF files are an unfortunate fact of life -- unfortunate because they're so hard to work with. Even doing something as simple as grabbing formatted or unformatted text from one can be an experience making you want to pull out your hair.

No longer. Word now opens PDF files, and gives you full editing capabilities. You can save the resulting files as PDFs or any file type that Word supports. This, by itself, is reason enough to upgrade.

Auto-created bookmarks

This new feature will prove to be a big productivity-booster for those who work with long Word files. Save a Word file and then open it at some later point, and you have the option of jumping to the location you were when you last were working on or viewing the file. No more scrolling and search -- you jump straight there.

In-Office image search

Finding images to insert into Office documents such as PowerPoint presentations has never been an easy experience. That changes with Office 2013. From right within Office, you can use Bing search (you were expecting maybe Google?) to find suitable images, and then pop them right into any Office document.

Excel's QuickAnalysis tool

If you're not a spreadsheet jockey, figuring out the best way to analyze and present data can be a puzzler. No longer. With Excel's Quick Analysis tool, just highlight the data, and Excel will offer suggestions on the best way to format it, analyze it, present it, and more. Even experienced Excel users will welcome this new feature.

Pulse App Comes to the Web, Shines in Internet Explorer 10

A few years ago, two graduate engineering students were faced with an interesting challenge posed by a class at Stanford University: Build a product and launch it in 10 weeks.

Focused on the task at hand, Akshay Kothari and Ankit Gupta didn’t realize they were actually launching their careers. Together, they created Pulse, an elegant news reading application originally designed for mobile devices, and now available on the Web. Pulse incorporates colorful panning story bars and fills them with content from sources you select.

“Suddenly, our small class project became a company,” Kothari says.

Today more than 15 million people around the world use the Pulse app on every major mobile platform, including Windows Phone. The app has grown to offer content from virtually every major U.S. publisher and a growing list of international ones. Its visual style and simple navigation have garnered praise from consumers and the press alike, and it has earned numerous awards for its design.

According to Kothari, the success of the app has everything to do with good design that puts content front and center, making it easy for people to find what they’re looking for.

“We wanted something that was very visual and engaging,” Kothari says. “We didn’t want reading the news to feel like a chore, but rather something that you want to do. So the Pulse design on the mobile apps has really resonated with people.”

Pulse Home Screen — Tech News

August 09, 2012

Pulse keeps you up to date with all your favorite news sites and blogs.

Download: Web

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This week the company is announcing the next step in its evolution — moving to the Web. Pulse worked in conjunction with the developers at Pixel Lab and the Windows Internet Explorer team to completely redesign Pulse into a visually stunning new Web service using HTML5. It’s a new experience for the Web that Gupta and Kothari say will shine in Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 10 browser through its extensive use of fast and fluid multitouch support.

“We’re excited to take on the next frontier, which also happens to be our most requested feature — the Web,” says Kothari. “Playing with Internet Explorer 10, we were amazed by the fluidity of it, and that inspired us to create an experience on the Web that, in some aspects, will be even more beautiful and intuitive than our mobile apps. It’s very fluid, very fast. And what you can do with Internet Explorer 10 and touch on the Web will surprise a lot of people.”

But taking a mobile app to the Web isn’t as easy as just porting it to a new platform. It’s an entirely different computing paradigm that Pulse had to examine from top to bottom.

“People are on their phone for two to three minutes, snacking on news throughout the day,” Gupta says. “On the tablet at home after work, they’re sitting on the couch and having a longer session, 15 to 20 minutes. Now moving to the Web, it’s always open, connected, and we had to find a way to keep stories refreshed and remind you of new stories that are breaking.”

To live up to the high bar set by its mobile apps, Pulse had to rethink the experience of using the application on a computer versus swiping and scrolling on a phone. The service will support impressive touch gestures with Internet Explorer 10 on a touch device running Windows 8 Release Preview and, of course, will also work for those using a mouse and keyboard.

“There are things we can do with gestures on the smaller screen and the touch affordance that we can’t do on the Web,” says Gupta. “Pinching, panning, zooming in and out, tapping — we had to examine all these gestures and come up with ways to let users control those actions.”

One big challenge: horizontal scrolling. The Pulse mobile app works on two axes, which on a phone is as natural as swiping a finger one way or the other, but on the Web, not so much. The solution? A striking new layout that combines collections without the need to scroll side to side.

“We had to get rid of the horizontal axis and focus on the vertical,” Gupta says. “With our new design for the home page, all of the stories in the collection are combined and arranged in a beautiful layout that extends from edge to edge.”

Apart from the striking new design, both men say the company’s biggest concern was to deliver speed and performance on the Web that rivals native applications running on portable devices. Internet Explorer 10 allowed them to do that with HTML5 and advanced touch support coupled with hardware acceleration enabled through Windows. The result, they say, is something that may just change the way people think about building applications for the Web.

“The team at Internet Explorer 10 and Pixel Lab really helped us perfect the design and performance, particularly in Windows tablets,” says Gupta. “It’s not just a vision of what HTML5 can do, but it’s actually happening today with the modern browsers like Internet Explorer 10. We are really excited to launch this now and blow people away.”

Try Pulse With Internet Explorer 10 Today

Pulse for the Web is available today at http://www.pulse.me. Web enthusiasts who would like to try it out with Internet Explorer 10 can download the Windows 8 Release Preview. Windows 8 with Internet Explorer 10 is scheduled to be commercially available in stores Oct. 26.

New York City Police Department and Microsoft Partner to Bring Real-Time Crime Prevention and Counterterrorism Technology Solution to Global Law Enforcement Agencies

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced a partnership with Microsoft Corp. designed to bring the latest crime prevention and counterterrorism technology capabilities to worldwide law enforcement, public safety and intelligence agencies, among others.

The NYPD teamed with Microsoft to develop the Domain Awareness System (DAS), a sophisticated law enforcement technology solution that aggregates and analyzes public safety data in real time, providing NYPD investigators and analysts with a comprehensive view of potential threats and criminal activity.

Partnership Announcement in New York

August 08, 2012

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during a news conference in New York, joined by New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (left) and Microsoft Vice President of Americas Services Mike McDuffie (right).

Download: Web | Print

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For example, analysts are notified of suspicious packages and vehicles, and NYPD personnel can actively search for suspects using advanced technologies such as smart cameras and license plate readers.

The NYPD and Microsoft jointly developed the DAS by bringing together Microsoft’s technical expertise and technologies with the day-to-day experience and knowledge of NYPD officers. The result is a solution that is uniquely tailored to meet the specific needs of its users. As part of the agreement, the NYPD will receive 30 percent of revenue from the sales of the DAS system to other customers worldwide.

“Part of the reason we have been able to continue driving down crime to record lows while devoting considerable resources to counterterrorism is our heavy investment in technology and our willingness to develop new, cutting-edge solutions to keep New Yorkers safe,” Bloomberg said. “This new system capitalizes on new, powerful policing software that allows police officers and other personnel to more quickly access relevant information gathered from existing cameras, 911 calls, previous crime reports, and other existing tools and technology. It will help the NYPD do more to prevent crimes from occurring and help them respond to crimes even more effectively. And because the NYPD built the system in partnership with Microsoft, the sale of the product will generate revenue for the city that will fund more new crime-prevention and counterterrorism programs.”

“The system is a transformative tool because it was created by police officers for police officers,” Kelly said. “Its development is a testament to the talent and experience of our officers. And this agreement with Microsoft will allow the NYPD to continue to fund innovative counterterrorism and crime prevention programs.”

DAS combines NYPD operational knowledge with Microsoft technology expertise, and Microsoft is now bringing the solution to market in an effort to extend these capabilities to other jurisdictions. Public safety organizations interested in deploying DAS will go through a process of customization based on unique organizational and regional requirements.

“Microsoft is honored to partner with the NYPD to provide these important public safety capabilities to other jurisdictions,” said Kathleen Hogan, corporate vice president of Microsoft Services. “The NYPD is a respected leader and is continually innovating to help ensure the safety of New York’s citizens. It is a privilege to support its work with our technology and professional services.”

For more information on the solution, law enforcement organizations can contact JPSINFO@Microsoft.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx

Now Download Microsoft Office 2013 Apps!

Microsoft had recently put up the customer preview of its latest Microsoft Office. Owing to the huge response, the company has now opened the Microsoft Office Store. To give you an insight, Office Store is basically Microsoft’s online shopping feature, which allows users to gain access to third party apps that are primarily meant for Microsoft Office 2013 suite. This store that can be launched by the “Apps For Office” option present in Insert Tab of the Office ribbon, which contains web based apps that provide additional functionality to Microsoft Office products, explains Crazy Engineer report.

Happy Friendship Day!

 

I wish all my friends a Happy Friendship Day!