VMware Wants to Provide the OS for the Cloud

Stacey Higginbotham on September 4, 2009

vmwareIf the data center is the new computer, then the job of providing the de facto operating system of that new computer is up for grabs, as was made clear this week at VMware’s industry conference, VMworld — a vendor event-turned-virtualization trade show. VMware (s vmw) has had its eye on that prize for some time, but more recently, so has Microsoft.
The show in San Francisco this week highlighted the fact that virtualization is about more than just hypervisors, which have become commodities. It also revealed the extent to which both VMware and Microsoft are hoping virtualization becomes less about maxing out each server and more about delivering applications to employee desktops and through remote terminals with less complexity and lower overhead. Read More about VMware Wants to Provide the OS for the Cloud

VMware to Buy SpringSource for $420M

Stacey Higginbotham on August 10, 2009

springsource_logoVMware (s vmw) today said it’s agreed to buy SpringSource, maker of an open-source platform for Java developers, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $420 million.  The virtualizaiton vendor will acquire SpringSource for roughly $362 million in cash and equity plus the assumption of some $58 million of unvested stock and options. It’s just the latest example of how the cloud platform wars are heating up. And as with other platform wars — whether they’re taking place in Apple’s App Store or on Facebook — the developers look to be the big winners.
“Within the new world of cloud computing, developers have a huge amount of influence over which cloud services get used,” said Kevin Efrusy, a partner with Accel Partners, which invested in SpringSource. Part of the reason VMware was interested in SpringSource, he said, was because it “represents this large and powerful community.” Read More about VMware to Buy SpringSource for $420M

HP Keeps Pushing Touch

Stacey Higginbotham on August 6, 2008

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that within 18 months HP plans to have multiple touchscreen products, including a laptop, “that use the same type of finger-tapping interface popularized by Apple Inc.’s iPhone.” If HP does use the same type of touch screen as that of the iPhone, it will represent a significant breakthrough for larger touch screens as it will help drive down costs and create a market for more applications.

The iPhone has brought touch to the masses, but HP and Microsoft have been pushing the technology for years. Microsoft’s Bill Gates showed off his first tablet in 2000, and in the last two years offered the world the futuristic Surface Table and the Touch Wall. And HP launched its second generation of touch-based personal computers earlier this summer. But the underlying touch technology for smaller devices is very different from that of big ones. Read More about HP Keeps Pushing Touch