Microsoft launches Windows Azure
LOS ANGELES--Microsoft on Monday announced a version of Windows that runs over the Internet from inside Microsoft's own data centers.
Dubbed Windows Azure, it's less a replacement for the operating system that runs on one's own PC than it is an alternative for developers, intended to let them write programs that live inside Microsoft's data centers as opposed to on the servers of a given business.
"It's a transformation of our software and a transformation of our strategy," said Ray Ozzie, a computing industry pioneer who now serves as Microsoft's chief software architect. (For a play-by-play account of Ozzie's speech, see "PDC 2008: Windows Azure live blog.")
Ray Ozzie delivers his keynote address at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)Microsoft first outlined a shift to "Live Services" at an event in San Francisco in 2005. The company has released a few things piecemeal, such as Live Mesh, but Monday's announcement marked the first real discussion of how Microsoft's disparate Internet strategies fit together.
The announcements come at the start of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference here. On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to go into more detail on Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, due out by about January 2010.
With the launch of Azure, Microsoft will find itself in competition with other providers of Internet storage and computing services including Amazon, Salesforce.com, and Rackspace.
Ozzie said he was tipping his cap to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for innovating the hosted computing model. Amazon "established a base-level design pattern, architecture models, and business models that we'll all learn from," he said.
Microsoft is making Windows Azure in preview form to developers, with a limited subset of the features that it plans to have in the product before its final release.
There weren't many details on how Microsoft will charge for Azure, saying it will be free during the preview period. Final pricing, Ozzie said, "will be competitive with the marketplace."
The company itself plans to offer businesses the option of running over the Internet the kinds of software that have traditionally run on a company's own servers. Microsoft already sells its Exchange corporate e-mail software in this way, but that is just the beginning, said Microsoft vice president Dave Thompson.
"All our enterprise software will be delivered as an online service as an option," Thompson said.
CNET News' Elinor Mills contributed to this report.
Server and Tools senior VP Bob Muglia talks about the benefits to businesses of Windows Azure.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
Microsoft's cloud computing team discusses how a common set of tools can be used for developing applications for traditional Windows as well as for Windows Azure.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
Microsoft's Dave Thompson tells attendees at the Professional Developer Conference that all of the company's enterprise software will be offered as an online service over time.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
One of the biggest challenges in business software, whether it lives inside a company or is part of a hosted service, is making sure that only properly authorized employees have access to the data and applications. Microsoft discusses how its Federated Identity platform will work with the new hosted services.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
Tony - DigitalChalk.com
http://www.livbit.com
if you take a look at the last photo, how many times does it say Microsoft?
Microsoft continues to try to be the gateway keeper. That's why I don't like to work with MS technologies as a developer. I could apply Steve Ballmer's words in this case - it could be compared to a cancer - it's a whole ecosystem designed to exclude competitors so if you're using Team Foundation Server, what about subversion, hg, git, and other VC systems... just as an example. Everything is so tied together that it makes integrating with it yourself into suicide.
Beyond that, it just seems like MS usually tries to cultivate its own solution for everything - they always have their own solution to everything, their own terminology for everything, it's like an ivory tower. Why not put svg into IE? Why not develop a decent javascript engine for IE8 - it's going to be pretty sad to see all sorts of cool web applications running painfully slow as SpiderMonkey (firefox) and V8 (chrome) and SquirrelFish (webkit) completely trash IE8's javascript performance.
They are getting better over time, but I would still rather not be part of this walled garden.
Microsoft is the company trying to make money.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the group that gives money away.
...because open standards insure that you don't get locked in to any one vendor, stuck with stagnant tech, and raped by that vendor's invoices.
The Internet is built on open standards - without them, you'd still be stuck with the likes of CompuServe and paying $5/hr to access the damned thing.
Interoperability for their latest baby? Not a thought! (Just listen to M Guiterrez, the M$ lawyer drone, threatening ip-infringement suits)
Superioriority in performance? Nobody really knows yet, but it already looks pretty much an established fact that Google Chrome/Docs have already taken the cream, looking at speed and performance statistics. What remains for Micro$soft? Yet another mediocre platform, nobody really will want to entrust their data to, not even the IT-eunuchs steadfastedly clinging onto their dwindling Micro$oft safe heavens.
Robert Wakeland
Hehe... i think ASOD will be the new standard of "Death Screen"... I wonder, do they change the look & color of ASOD... Maybe with some AJAX on it... hahaha...
Integration of work desktop w/ personal desktop.
Target audience: mobile businessmen/women, students, older (less advanced) generation, technologically frustrated individuals, large businesses (total outsourcing of IT), people who don't own computers,
MicroSoft should try to increase performance of its core application and then try to open new gates.
I remember MicroSoft with "The Master Of Nine ,is The Master of none"
Imagine being on a tight schedule and having no way to work on your computer because the MS servers and doing "routine maintenance." Or if you're just not internet connected and want to work on an essay or play some solitaire.
Anyone know when its gonna live...World is slowly moving itself to online from desktop..
http://www.comparecontractmobiles.com
I still think centralized computing as an end unto itself is a bad, bad idea. Sure it is convenient to access your data and programs from anywhere, but I still believe in controlling my own data and apps.
all very nice in principle, but i think i'd wait to see how well it works in practice.
i like owning my software, and not being dependent on some nebulous entity who can change whatever at their whim...
/P
"@opposite: Actually, I'm willing to bet that with any OS besides Windows, you won't be able to use much of it (hint: ActiveX)."
It's already available on the Mac through Live Mesh. Silverlight (also on the Mac) integrates with it.
Good try, but your swing was a miss.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/google-apple-cloud-computer.htm
http://www.apple.com/mobileme/
Perhaps in 40 years time people will talk about how MS invented the cloud platform - like I have corrected people lately who say the IBM 360 of 1964 revolutionized computer architecture. Rubbish - it was beaten by a year by the far more capable Burroughs B5000. Don't let monopolies write history they have very corrupted memories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B5000
You guys only need to look, or don't you use Google because it doesn't come from Microsoft!
I can see where your coming from... end of thread, Mr nameless.
- by alxnsc October 28, 2008 6:31 AM PDT
- Enough is enough. It is high time for Microsoft to get concentrated on one OS and not distract efforts on creating low quality anti - maths products. Keep it simple and make it step by step. Let there be subsets, versions, upgrades, SPs. Let there be temporary failures. These happen all the time and are curable.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (61 Comments)Let there be one single line to act along.
Or lose credit and fail!