eWEEK June 20, 2011 PDF

BUSI NESS TECHNOLOGY J UN E 2 0 , 2 0 11 V OL . 2 8 , N O.
11 $ 8
McDonalds Serves
Up Clouds
The Scoop on
Windows 8
Lenovo Targets
MacBook Air
The Weakest
Security Link
ROCKIN WITH BONO
DreamWorks relies on workstations,
software, storage and the cloud to turn
innovative ideas into top-selling movies.
By Chris Preimesberger
Say hello to your entire server room.
Imagine if you could consolidate servers, storage and networking I/O into one simple package. Just think
what would happen to your IT operating costs. Thats exactly what many midsize businesses are doing.
Theyre converging their IT infrastructure on IBM BladeCenter S and HS22 servers featuring Intel
Xeon

processors. Through virtualization, theyre reducing servers by up to 85% and cutting energy and facilities
costs by up to 96%, all while actually improving performance.
2
Theyre enjoying superior availability with
features like redundant power and I/O. And theyre deploying the integrated SAN capability for up to $4,900
less than competitive offerings.
3
Take 10 minutes to see for yourself.
Learn how you could achieve up to a 3-month ROI on your migration with
our System Consolidation Evaluation Tool at ibm.com/systems/consolidate.
To connect with the right IBM Business Partner, call 877-IBM-ACCESS.
IBM BladeCenter
S
and HS22 Express
with storage and networking from
$
629.
00
per month
for 60 months
1
1
60 month FMV lease from IBM Global Financing, best credit business customer. Prices are current as of 5/20/11; subject to change without notice;
based on manufacturers suggested retail price; dealer prices may vary. Financing provided through IBM Credit LLC in the United States and other IBM
subsidiaries and divisions worldwide to qualied commercial and government customers. Minimum transaction size: $5,000; rates based on
creditworthiness, terms, offering and equipment type and options, and may vary by country. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and offerings are subject
to change, extension or withdrawal without notice. Please contact your IBM Authorized Business Partner or IBM representative for more information.
2
Sources for the claims can be found at www.ibm.com/systems/consolidate.
3
$4,900 cost savings vs. Hewlett-Packards blade enclosure and servers was
calculated using public sources as of May 2011. Items compared were IBM BladeCenter S chassis with SAN and six IBM HS22 servers vs. Hewlett-
Packards c3000 blade enclosure with SAN and six BL 460 G7 servers. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and BladeCenter are trademarks of International
Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/
copytrade.shtml. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other
countries. All other products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. International Business Machines Corporation
2011. All rights reserved.
3
eWEEK (ISSN 1530-6283) is published twice monthly except combined issues in May, July, August and December by Ziff Davis
Enterprise Inc., 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY, 10016-7930. Periodicals paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices.
TRADEMARK: Copyright 2011 Ziff Davis Enterprise. All rights reserved. eWEEK is a registered trademark of Enterprise Media Group
Inc. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to eWEEK Customer
Service P.O. Box 3402, Northbrook, IL 60065-3402. Printed in the U.S.A. Publication Mail Agreement No. 40009221 Return unde-
liverable Canadian Addresses to P.O. Box 503 RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 4R6. Canadian GST registration
number 865286033 ADDRESS CHANGE OR SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE: Online, go to http://service.eweek.com, e-mail to
ewk@omeda.com. Include your full name and subscription address; no attachments, please. Or call Customer Service at (888)
663-8438. SUBSCRIPTIONS/RENEWALS: Subscribe online at http://subscribe.eweek.com PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS / SINGLE COPIES:
Contact Customer Service, contact information above. One year subscriptions rates (pre-paid only): U.S., $125; Canada, $155;
foreign, $195. Single copy: U.S. $8; Canada $10; foreign $12. FOR ARTICLE REPRINTS AND E-PRINTS: Contact Wrights Media at
877-652-5295 or zde@wrightsmedia.com to obtain quotes and order reprints. PERMISSIONS: To reuse other materials from this
publication or its Website, or use our logo, contact Rights and Permission Director, Ziff Davis Enterprise, 28 E. 28th St., New York,
NY, 10016. E-mail: permissions@ziffdavisenterprise.com; phone: (212) 503-5438.
contents
eWEEK.COM NEWS
Editor in Chief Scott Ferguson
Managing Editor, West Coast John Pallatto
Managing Editor, East Coast Jeffrey Burt
Senior Editors Jessica Davis, Darryl K. Taft
Senior Writers Clint Boulton, Michelle Maisto,
Chris Preimesberger,
Fahmida Rashid
Staff Writer Nick Kolakowski

eWEEK LABS
Editor in Chief Jason Brooks
Technical Director Cameron Sturdevant
Senior Analyst P. J. Connolly

CONTENT SERVI CES
Managing Editor Eileen Feretic
Managing Editor, Editorial Production Rick Dagley
Senior Copy Editors Patrick Burke,
Corinne Bernstein
Senior Newsletter Editor Alethea Yip
ART/MULTI MEDI A
Creative Director Steve Raia
Senior Production Designer Tara-Ann Fasulo
Senior Designer Brian Moore
Production Designer Michael Wirtz
Designer Walter Makarucha Jr.
Video Producer Ashley Daley

ZI FF DAVI S ENTERPRI SE
CEO
Steve Weitzner
Chief Financial Officer/General Manager
Mike Caruso
President, Enterprise Business
Jeff Strief
Chief Technology Officer
Brian Magnotta
Senior Vice President/Audience Marketing
Peter Westerman
Senior Vice President/Strategic Services
Josh Heitsenrether
Senior Vice President/Editorial
Eric Lundquist
Senior Vice President/Director of Content
Elliot Markowitz
Vice President/IT Services
Thomas Matthews
Senior Director/Audience Marketing
Kelsey Voss
Research Director
Guy Currier
Human Resources Director
Deirdre Kelly
Associate Business Director
Kenny Kalipershad
Circulation Manager
Dorrett McDonald
eWEEK editorial staff members can be reached at (978) 887-2246
or (800) 451-1032, or via e-mail using the following convention:
name.surname@ziffdavisenterprise.com.
Tech@Work
4 Blogs on security, Apples plat-
forms, Windows 8, IPv6 Day, VM
interoperability and Chrome rumors.
News & Analysis
8 Stories on Windows 8 and
Microsofts lost appeal in i4i case.
Cover Story
14 DreamWorks turns to
advanced technologies to
bring its movies to life.
Tech Analysis
22 A bridged public/private
cloud offers cost-effective IT.
Clouds
26 Salesforces Chatter
gets a facelift.
28 McDonalds moves to the
cloud to cut costs and enhance
exibility for its development team.
Mobility
30 Acer Iconia is a Windows
7-enabled tablet.
32 Lenovo X1 targets MacBook.
34 Droid X2 boasts better UI.
36 Galaxy Tab challenges iPad.
Business Apps
38 Password is weakest link.
42 AutoCAD 2012 boasts new
features to make users productive.
Spencer F. Katt
46 Katt rocks out at U2 concert.
14
eWEEK J UNE 20, 2011
4
Poor Excuses for
Poor Security
T
here have been some great
excuses for companies not
t o i mpl ement cohesi ve,
encrypted, secure computing
in their operations.
End-to-end encryption? Its too
complicatedand too much of a
drag on computing resources. All
that fiddling with public keys, private
keys and lost keys is just too much
of a hassle. And, of course, the bean
counters would rather pay for the
occasional break-in than the cost of
installing new locks.
End-to-end privacy? Starting at
which end? Do you know how many
levels of privacy we would have to
develop among employees, custom-
ers and contractors? And, by the way,
just who is going to be in charge of
privacy? Were not a Fortune 100
company. And, once again, show
me the money.
You have zero privacy anyway,
Scott McNealy famously (maybe
infamously) told a group of report-
ers in 1999, further advising them
to just get over it, when it came
to privacy.
At that time, McNealy was the
CEO of Sun Microsystems. Hes
now a venture capitalist, while Sun is
part of the Oracle empire. McNealy
always tended to be right about tech,
but he was five to 10 years too early.
If that 10-year lag time between
being right and the market catch-
ing up is correct, then we are well
into the era of needing to get over
it. If the business world security
failures associated with the RSA
token-hacking, IMF cyber-attacks,
Sony hacks, etc., are any indication,
we are entering a new era in which
the security breaches are grander,
more frequent and more devastating
with each new round.
How can this be? A recent New
York Times article contended, Big
credit card lenders are loath to
acknowledge another reason that
the breaches keep happening: They
are in the business of reducing the
financial losses stemming from
fraud, not preventing data theft in
the first place.
Heres some advice: The era of
not having sufficient horsepower to
implement encryption is over.
Google is among the cloud ven-
dors leading the way in providing
two-factor authentication. Though
thats not encryption, Im betting
Google is well along in developing
encryption within its cloud business
applications.
So, none of the old excuses carries
much weight anymore.
If the next era of computing is to
be built around cloud computing,
mobile customers and employees,
and new business applications, all
those operations will require secure
communications that protect iden-
tity and privacy.
A secure, private computing
environment has to be the founda-
tion of your next computing infra-
structure. Dont let Scott be right
on this one.
Eric Lundquist
:
tech
@
work
For the frst time IT professionals can get small business
insurance direct and online in real time.
No one-size-fts-all approach, its for technology
businesses with 10 employees or less and the
coverage is even customized to your industry.
Its not just a new way, its a better way.
Sure, it still works.
But luckily, you found a better way.
Underwritten by Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., 233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1840, Chicago, IL 60601, as administered by Hiscox Inc., a Delaware insurance producer that is licensed in all states and DC.
In California, Hiscox Inc. does business as Hiscox Insurance Agency. Coverage is subject to underwriting and is not available in all states.
Reinventing Small Business Insurance
TM
Learn/quote/buy: hiscoxusa.com/smallbiz
Tech@Work
6
Apples Secure Platform
M
ays cluster of Mac Defender
malware flare-ups felt like a
flashback to 2001, with the
role of Microsoft played by Apple.
The malware, which took advantage
of poisoned Google image search
results to trick users into installing
fake antivirus software, first appeared
in variants that required an admin-
istrator password for installation.
Soon, later versions didnt require
a password for installation, provided
that the user was running with
administrator rightsthe default for
the first user account set up on a Mac.
While much is made of how the
root account is disabled by default
on OS X, administrator accounts
on todays OS X are less tightly con-
trolled than administrator accounts
on Windows 7a result of the decade
that Microsoft spent dealing with
security issues, delaying its efforts
building a strong successor to XP.
The big difference between Apple
2011 and Microsoft 2001 is that
the way forward for Apple neednt
involve bolting on new security lay-
ers to its desktop OS. Instead, Apple
has a second, and significantly more
secure, platform to offer: iOS.
OS X relies on a fairly standard
Unix permissions structure based on
an admin/user divide that home and
corporate users alike find challeng-
ing. In contrast, iOS provides a mix
of application control, isolation and
resource constraints thats proving
both palatable and secure.
Apple has convinced its mobile
users that less can be more. Smart-
phones, which we got to know as a
constrained and underperforming
platform for computing, offered an
apt proving ground for these ideas.
A retirement party for OS X may
be a way off. But given the growth
of iOS and the iOS-ward course that
Apple has charted for Lion, theres
no way that Apples primary OS of
2021 will resemble OS X as closely
as Windows 7 does XP.
Jason Brooks
A Microsoft Branded Win-
dows 8 Tablet Is Unlikely
T
heres a rumor that Microsoft
intends to produce its own
branded Windows 8 tablets.
The rumor comes from a June 8 story
in DigiTimes, which cited unnamed
sources from the upstream supply
chain. The article further suggests
that Microsoft will collaborate on
the branded tablet with Texas Instru-
ments and a variety of Taiwanese
manufacturing partners.
Every so often, rumors say Micro-
soft is jockeying to purchase a com-
pany that builds hardware. Nokia
was the most recent target of those
acquisition rumors, despite Micro-
softs sweetheart deal with them.
Those rumors never seem to pan
out, and for good reason: Microsoft
might take a stab at building hard-
ware for initiatives like the Xbox, but
hardware-chain management isnt
among the vendors core compe-
tencies. Logistically and financially,
its much easier to sell software to
companies like Hewlett-Packard and
Dell, which then must integrate and
deploy the programs on their devices.
Thats why Im not putting a lot
of faith in these DigiTimes rumors.
If anything, it seems that Microsoft
is devoting more of its tablet-related
energies to keeping its manufacturing
partners on the proverbial tight leash.
According to a June 1 article in
The Wall Street Journal, also based on
discussions with unnamed sources,
Microsoft wants five chip makers to
pair with a single tablet manufac-
turer. The chip makers include Intel,
AMD, Nvidia, Texas Instruments
and Qualcomm, which would even-
tually be allowed to expand beyond
that single tablet partner.
If Microsoft did decide to build
its own branded tablets, it would
risk irritating partners that have
demonstrated their willingness to
throw their weight behind Android
devices. Also, unlike Microsoft, the
manufacturing partners have experi-
ence in tablet-building.
When it comes to Windows and
tablets, executives in Redmond could
decide the path of least aggravation
lies in replicating the model that
worked so well with Windows and PCs:
Let the OEMs handle the hardware.
Nicholas Kolakowski
World IPv6 Days Success
W
ith World IPv6 Day safely in
the rear-view mirror, I have to
say that Im surprisedand
a bit happythat more fuss hasnt
been made over it. After all, hassle
has been a big reason why transition-
ing to IPv6, which has been immi-
nent for the last five or six years,
has so far moved at a glacial pace.
Tech@Work
7
Id forgotten that June 8 was the
day, until I was back from lunch and
looking for a blog post. That lack of
hullabaloo tells me that the worst fears
of implementersthat deploying
IPv6 would cause widespread disrup-
tion of the Internetwont come true.
Publicity can sometimes get in the
way of work. Had the Internet Society
(ISOC) or another group made a
huge fuss over this day, its likely
that the consumer media would have
blown the event all out of proportion.
Nevertheless, this appears to have
been a successful test so far. As of
3 p.m. Pacific that day, more than
90 percent of total participants were
reachable over IPv6 from ISOCs
UK-based servers, and almost 95 per-
cent of participants were announc-
ing IPv6 DNS (AAAA) records.
When Akamai, Facebook, Google,
Microsoft and Yahoo can spend the
day running an IPv6 test flight on
their production networksand
nobody noticesyou know its a big
deal, no matter how soft the press.
Id call World IPv6 Day a huge
success. The next step is to set up
a longer trial. The pool of unused
IPv4 addresses is getting smaller,
and time is running out.
Will 2012 be the year that major
Internet forces cut over to the next-
generation networking technology?
P. J. Connolly
VM Interoperability
T
he ODCA (Open Data Center
Alliance) is using years-old work
to help press the case for virtual
machine interoperability. The idea is
that VMs created on one hypervisor
platform and/or running in a cloud
provider data center should be able
to move to another data center and/
or to a different hypervisor platform.
The ODCA mentions the work
of the DMTF (Distributed Manage-
ment Task Force) and OVF (Open
Virtualization Format). Ive followed
the DMTF for years, and it has a
decent track record in terms of stick-
ing to the work at hand.
The OVF was turned over to the
DMTF in 2007 with the blessing of
nearly every player with skin in the
game, including VMware, Microsoft,
Citrix and Red Hat. Now, the ODCA
is also pushing OVF, and its clear
that this is the interoperable VM
format to implement.
VMware and Citrix have been long-
time proponents of OVF, and shops
that are using either of these platforms
are likely far along in understanding
how to use OVF in transporting virtual
machines between platforms.
Theres little to be contentious
about in the ODCAs tacit endorse-
ment of OVF. The main thing to
watch is whether this gives OVF
more steam as organizations push
for open data center standards.
Cameron Sturdevant
Chrome Phone Rumor
T
he idea of a smartphone based on
Googles Chrome operating sys-
tem is getting some attention, but
analysts dont agree on the possibility.
Anton Wahlman, a former equity
research analyst covering the com-
munications space, wrote on The-
Street.com that Google will launch its
own Google Phone based on Chrome
OS, not Android. He sees Google
taking the Chrome OS cloud para-
digmwhich means Web applica-
tions onlyto the phone form factor.
This device would have two major
software parts: the OS and the only
allowed browser. But the OS treats the
browser as a de facto hostile applica-
tion, not allowing it to modify the OS,
including locally installing applica-
tions. The idea is that by not allow-
ing locally stored apps to populate the
phone, Google would improve security.
Wahlman also suggested that this
would threaten RIMs BlackBerry
Enterprise Server because there
would be no need to monitor and
restrict the user device using such
tools. The BES could be replaced by a
much simpler management console
that would focus on device access,
activity in the browser and overall
account device management only.
Wahl man s i dea has wei ght
because Samsung is planning to
build a completely cloud-centric
phone, which could be based on the
open-source Chromium project that
propels Chrome. Motorola may also
be mulling a cloud OS.
IDC analyst Al Hilwa told me the
idea of a more complete dependency
on the cloud is probably more suited
for phones than for PCs.
Independent industry analyst Jack
Gold had a different take, noting that a
phone that works only when you have
a strong data signal and cant load apps
is useless. Moreover, he said Google
would have to do so much engineering
to Chrome to make it work as a phone
OS that the company would end up
with Android all over again.
Im not a smartphone expert, so
I ask our readers: Do you think a
Chrome OS-based phone is possible,
and what would it take for this model
to work? Write to me at cboulton@
eweek.com.
Clint Boulton
News & Analysis
8
By Nicholas Kolakowski
W
hen Microsoft released Windows 7
in October 2009, the software giant
had two very particular goals in mind
(aside, of course, from selling a whole
lot of copies of its flagship software).
The first was to remove the lingering
stigma of Windows Vista, which never managed to
overcome its early reputation as an unwieldy and
bug-ridden operating system. The second was to wean
the public off Windows XP, which was reliable and
robust, but also nearly 10 years old.
In the end, Microsoft managed to
accomplish both those goals.
However, even as Windows 7 swal-
lowed market share and filled the
companys coffers, the tech industry
began to undergo some fundamen-
tal changesa transition, in the
words of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, to
a post-PC world in which tablets
and smartphones effectively replace
desktops and laptops as users pri-
mary devices.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in a
series of speeches throughout 2010,
assured various audiences that the company was pre-
paring a response to the ultra-popular iPad. It wasnt
until this Januarys Consumer Electronics Show in Las
Vegas, though, that the nature of Microsofts counter-
strategy started to take shape for the outside world.
At CES, Windows and Windows Live Division Presi-
dent Steven Sinofsky took the stage to announce that
the next version of Windows would support system-
on-a-chip architecturein particular, ARM-based
systems from partners such as Qualcomm, Nvidia
and Texas Instruments. That would give Microsoft
the ability to port the next version of Windows onto
tablets and other mobile form factors powered by
ARM offerings.
Under the hood, there are a ton of differences that
Microsofts Windows 8:
What We Know So Far
need to be worked through, he told an audience of
media representatives and analysts. Windows has
proven remarkably flexible at this under-the-hood
sort of stuff.
The June Unveiling
At the time, Microsoft executives refrained from
offering any actual glimpse of the next Windows in
development. That would need to wait until June,
when the curtain was finally whipped back from
Windows 8 (Microsofts internal code name for
the software, which is subject to
change before the final release,
rumored to be sometime in 2012).
Whereas previous versions of
Windows featured a desktop with
folders, paired with a taskbar and
start button, Windows 8s user
interface is a set of colorful tiles
that open applicationsa design
that draws many of its visual cues
from Windows Phone, Microsofts
l at est smar t phone oper at i ng
system. In theory, that will allow
Windows 8 to play on everything
from desk-bound workstations
to the smallest touch-enabled tablet.
This represents a fundamental shift in Windows
design that we havent attempted since the days of
Windows 95, presenting huge opportunities for our
hardware partners to innovate with new PC designs,
Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Windows
planning, hardware and PC ecosystem, reportedly told
the audience during a June 2 demonstration of Win-
dows 8 at the 2011 Computex conference in Taiwan.
Among Windows 8 features are multitasking
(including the ability to display two applications side-
by-side on the screen), an all-new Internet Explorer
10, support for legacy applications such as Office,
and access to a traditional Windows file system
beneath the all-new interface. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
IT COSTS: All client examples cited or described are presented as illustrations of the manner in which some clients have used IBM products and the results they may have achieved. Actual environmental costs and performance characteristics will
vary depending on individual client congurations and conditions. PERFORMANCE: www.tpc.org as of 3/28/11 [IBM Power 780 (3 x 64 C)(24 Ch/192 C/768 Th); 10,366,254 tpmC; $1.38/tpmC; avail 10/13/10 v. Oracle SPARC SuperCluster w/T3-4
Servers (27 x 64 C)(108 Ch/1728 C/13824 Th); 30,249,688 tpmC; $1.01/tpmC; avail 6/1/11]. TPC-C is a trademark of Transaction Performance Processing Council. www.sap.com/solutions/benchmark/ as of 3/28/11 [IBM Power 795 (32 P/256
C/1024 Th); 126063 users/2-tier SAP ERP 6.0 pack4/AIX 7.1 + DB2 9.7; cert 2010046 v. Oracle SPARC Enterprise Server M9000 (64 P/256 C/512 Th); 39100 users/2-tier SAP ERP 6.0/Solaris 10, Oracle 10g; cert 2008042]. SAP is a registered
trademark of SAP AG in Germany and several other countries. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, DB2, Power Systems, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions
worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. International Business Machines Corporation 2011.
Since 2009, over 1,000 clients have moved business to IBM Power Systems

from Oracle/Sun. Some were swayed by the up to 60% drop in IT costs. Others
by the 3x per core performance (per both TPC-C and SAP SD benchmarks).
And some by both. Though all saw the strong business case for moving. Wed
welcome the opportunity to show how IBM could help your organization, too.
ibm.com/facts
1,000 Oracle/Sun
clients recently
upgraded.
To IBM Power
Systems.
Double Security, Double Reputability:
&
No one can afford downtime of their website...
1&1 is now offering dual hosting for the ultimate security of your website.
Your website is hosted in two different locations in our data center.
If the rst location is unexpectedly interrupted, your site will automatically
continue running in the second location without any data loss.
&&&&&
WEB HOSTING. TWICE AS SECURE.
Double Security:
1&1 Dual Hosting
Fast Global Network Connectivity:
210 GBit/s Connection
1&1 DUAL UNLIMITED
Q 3 FREE Domains
Q FREE Private Domain Registration
Q UNLIMITED Web Space
Q UNLIMITED Trafc
Q UNLIMITED FTP Accounts
Q UNLIMITED E-mail Accounts (2 GB)
Q UNLIMITED Mailing Lists
Q 20 Microsoft
SQL Databases
Q ASP, .NET, AJAX, LINQ, PHP, Perl, SSI
Q GeoTrust
Dedicated SSL Certicate

Q NEW! 1&1 SiteAnalytics
Q 99.99% Uptime
Q 24/7 Toll-free Customer Support
Please see following page for more
1&1 DUAL HOSTING packages.
$
9
.99
per month*
(36 month term)
1&1 DUAL
UNLIMITED
$11.99/month (24 month term)
NEW!
Top Performance:
High-end Servers
Environmentally Responsible:
100% Renewable Energy
Solid Technical Foundation:
Over 1,000 In-house Developers
No other web host offers as much expertise,
know-how and quality as 1&1:
1&1 combines over 20 years of web hosting experience with the latest technology
in our high-speed and high-performance American data center. More than 1,000
IT professionals will continue to develop our top performance web solutions for
years to come. NEW: 1&1 is pleased to offer double security for your website
with 1&1 Dual Hosting! All at unbeatably low prices!
1-855-CA-1AND1 www.1and1.ca
1-877-GO-1AND1 www.1and1.com
* Visit www.1and1.com for full promotional offer details. Program and pricing specications and availability subject to change without notice. 1&1 and the 1&1 logo are trademarks of 1&1 Internet AG, all other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2011 1&1 Internet, Inc. All rights reserved.
News & Analysis
12
L
ast week, the U.S. Supreme
Court denied Microsofts
appeal in its long-running
patent-infringement suit
with Canadian firm i4i. That
rendered Microsoft vulner-
able to the nearly $300 million judg-
ment delivered by the lower courts.
That seemed pretty devastating for
Microsoft, which nonetheless tried to
put a brave face on the setback.
This case raised an important
issue of law, which the Supreme
Court itself had questioned in
an earlier decision and which we
believed needed resolution, a
Microsoft spokesperson wrote in a
June 9 email to eWEEK. While the
outcome is not what we had hoped
for, we will continue to advocate for
changes to the law that will prevent
the abuse of the patent system and
protect inventors who hold patents
representing true innovation.
In its case before the court (filed
under Microsoft Corp v. i4i Limited
Partnership and Infrastructures for
Information, No. 10-290), Micro-
softs counsel had argued that the
overwhelming standard of evidence
needed to invalidate patents made it
too difficult for companies to beat back
frivolous patent-infringement suits
a position with which the courts jus-
tices unanimously disagreed (with
the exception of Chief Justice John
Roberts, who recused himself from
hearing arguments in the case).
Microsofts Losing
Battle Will Alter
Patent Cases
According to Microsoft, a defen-
dant in an infringement action need
only persuade the jury of an inva-
lidity defense by a preponderance
of the evidence, reads the court
opinion. In the alternative, Micro-
soft insists that a preponderance
standard must apply at least when an
invalidity defense rests on evidence
that was never considered by the
[United States Patent and Trademark
Office] in the examination process.
We reject both contentions.
After delving into the evolution of
patent law, the court digs into what it
found wrong with Microsofts argu-
ments. Resisting the conclusion that
Congress adopted the heightened stan-
dard of proof reflected in our pre-1952
cases, Microsoft contends that those
cases applied a clear-and-convincing
standard of proof in only two limited
circumstances, the opinion continues.
However, Squint as we may, we fail
to see the qualifications that Microsoft
purports to identify in our cases.
And just to slam the point home:
Our pre-1952 cases never adopted
or endorsed the kind of fluctuat-
ing standard of proof that Microsoft
envisions. And they do not indicate
that anything less than a clear-
and-convincing standard would ever
apply to an invalidity defense raised
in an infringement action.
Earlier Rulings
Microsoft had been seeking to
overturn earlier rulings that Word
2003 and 2007 violated i4is rights
for custom XML. The battle between
the two companies extended back
to August 2009, when the federal
judge in the U.S. District Court in
Eastern Texas ordered that all copies
of those Word editions be removed
from retail channels within 90 days.
In between then and now, attor-
neys for i4i and Microsoft argued
their way up through the U.S. Court
of Appeals and beyond.
The Supreme Courts decision has
ramifications for other companies in
the technology space that find them-
selves embroiled in patent warfare.
The ruling pretty much says the
Patent Act of 1952 requires more
proof going forward, Ray Wang, an
analyst with Constellation Research,
wrote in a June 13 email to eWEEK.
In essence, he wrote, the courts
decision shifts the balance back to
patent holders for being there first.
That ironclad standard of proof
will make it difficult to invalidate
patents. Will that make it more dif-
ficult for larger companies to knock
down the patent trolls who launch
intellectual-property suits in hope
of scoring a hefty payday? Perhaps.
At least in the case of a company
like i4i, though, that high burden of
proof offers a sizable defense against
even a massive conglomerate.
news & analysis
1&1 DUAL BASIC
Q 1 FREE Domain
Q 10 GB Web Space
Q UNLIMITED Trafc
Q NEW! 5 FTP Accounts
$
2
.99
per month*
(36 month term)
1&1 DUAL ADVANCED
Q 2 FREE Domains
Q 150 GB Web Space
Q UNLIMITED Trafc
Q NEW! 50 FTP Accounts
$
4
.99
per month*
(36 month term)
Starting at
$
3
.99
rst year*
1&1 DOMAINS
Now only
$7.99/rst year*
.com
.biz
Now only
$3.99/rst year*
FREE Private Registration!
HURRY OFFER ENDS 6/30/2011!
1&1 DUAL HOSTING
&
1&1 and the 1&1 logo are trademarks of 1&1 Internet AG, all other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners. 2011 1&1 Internet, Inc. All rights reserved.
More special offers
available online.
www.1and1.ca
www.1and1.com
* Visit www.1and1.com for full promotional offer details. Program and pricing specications and
availability subject to change without notice.
13
The operating system will apparently accept both
touch and traditional keyboard-and-mouse input
with equal ability.
Outside the Comfort Zone
The big question is how Microsoft will merge
the new Windows interface with old-Windows
support in ways that are elegant and efficient on
all form factors. Given the system requirements
for applications such as Office, that may prove a
taller order on tablets and other mobile devices
with less under-the-hood power than a desktop or
laptop. For the moment, Microsoft is remaining
quiet on how it intends to deal with some of these
larger engineering hurdles.
Indeed, Windows radical change in the user
interface hints at the enormous risks Microsoft
is taking by stepping so far outside its traditional
Windows comfort zone. By linking its tablet efforts
to the next Windows launch, the company risks
having any tablet-related snafus negatively affect
a well-established brand. On top of that, Microsoft
will need to sell Windows 8 to users and businesses
that only recently upgraded to Windows 7.
Windows 8 will also face competition on several
fronts. In the tablet realm, Apples iPad continues to
dominate the market, which is growing crowded with
Android-powered devices such as Samsungs Galaxy Tab.
In traditional operating systems, Microsoft will
go head-to-head against not only Apples Mac
OS X franchisewhose newest iteration, Lion,
includes baked-in cloud features and a streamlined
user interfacebut also Hewlett-Packards webOS,
which will appear on everything from smartphones
and tablets to desktops and laptops.
How Microsoft deals with that competitionand
how well it sells Windows 8 as a value-add over
Windows 7will ultimately determine how well
customers and businesses respond to the next ver-
sion of the companys popular operating system.
eWEEK Staff Writer Nicholas Kolakowski can be
reached at nicholas.kolakowski@eweek.com.
Windows 8 FROM PAGE 8
For more articles on this topic, go to
eweek.com.
14
I
magine a company spend-
ing millions of dollars to buy
workstations, software, serv-
ers, networking and storage
equipment for everyone work-
ing on one large project. Then
imagine recycling those systems
and buying everything new for the
next project.
This may seem like IT overkill, but
its a way of life at Glendale, Calif.-
based DreamWorks Animation,
creator of such highly successful
movies as the Shrek and Madagascar
series, Monsters and Aliens and the
Kung Fu Panda series. Its also what
has earned, its movies are virtually
guaranteed high box-office returns.
The films are also a major driver in
the entertainment data storage sec-
tor, one of the hottest sub-sectors
within the burgeoning international
data storage market. In fact, this
sector has its own professional con-
ference: Coughlin Associates 2011
Creative Storage Conference, set for
June 28 in Culver City, Calif.
This market category takes in all
professional creative media, includ-
ing feature films, documentaries,
corporate videos, television shows
and music videos. The escalating use
has helped keep the company on the
cutting edge of technology animation.
At DreamWorks, a new movie
automatically means fresh Hewlett-
Packard z800 workstations, new
software, additional storage and
other equipment for about 500
highly trained artists and supervi-
sors. An animated moviewhether
or not its 3Dtakes four to five
years to produce, and the equip-
ment stays with the production from
start to finish, so the studio gets its
moneys worth from its investments.
Due to the history and reputation
for quality 12-year-old DreamWorks
15
of high-quality videosuch as high-
definition and super-high definition,
which take up more than double the
space of regular videois a major
cause of this jump.
Opportunities for new profits in
this sector are substantial, to say the
least. A report published last month
by Coughlin projects the media stor-
age market to virtually double in the
next five yearsfrom $3.8 billion to
$6.4 billion in revenue, and from 11
exabytes to 62 exabytes in capacity.
Thats right, exabytes: a million tril-
lion bytes.
Digital storage requirements are
exploding due to use of higher reso-
lution and stereoscopic content in
the media and entertainment indus-
try, lead researcher Tom Coughlin
wrote in the report.
Ramping Up 3D Films
DreamWorks 2011 movie is the
3D-enhanced Kung Fu Panda 2,
which opened May 26 and amassed
$332 million in worldwide box-office
receipts in the first 17 days. Since
the movie cost about $150 million to
make (not counting marketing and
distribution costs), the producers are
already in the black.
Because vi deo qual i t y has
improved so greatly in the last
decade, 3D feature films tend to be
more successful at the box office
than standard films and have been
ramping up in sheer numbers.
Once youve seen good 3D, you
get spoiled, and its hard to go back,
DreamWorks CTO Ed Leonard
told eWEEK. The expectations go
up with each new release.
Ive been in this business for
longer than I care to admit, and, in
that time, Ive observed that every
film tries to outdo the last film. The
roots are still in great characters and
THE FAMED ANIMATION STUDIO IS MOVING TO CLOUD
SYSTEMS TO SUPPLY SOME OF THE RENDERING FOR ITS
3D FILMS, INCLUDING ITS LATEST, KUNG FU PANDA 2.
Po (Jack Black, center) and The Furious
Five(left to right) Crane (David Cross),
Tigress (Angelina Jolie) Mantis (Seth
Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Viper
(Lucy Liu)are back in DreamWorks
Animations Kung Fu Panda 2, released
by Paramount on May 26, 2011.
P
H
O
T
O
S

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

D
R
E
A
M
W
O
R
K
S

A
N
I
M
A
T
I
O
N

K
U
N
G

F
U

P
A
N
D
A

2

&

2
0
1
0

D
R
E
A
M
W
O
R
K
S

A
N
I
M
A
T
I
O
N

L
L
C
.

A
L
L

R
I
G
H
T
S

R
E
S
E
R
V
E
D
.
By CHRIS
PREIMESBERGER
16
in great storytelling, of course. But
we want to bring that to life in a way
that youre mesmerized. ... Youre
watching something that is taking
you to a different place, and youre
forgetting about all the worries of
life for two hours.
DreamWorks outdoes itself on a
regular basis, as do its equally well-
regarded rivals, Pixar Animation
Studios and LucasFilms Limited.
The company churns out about
three films during a two-year span,
so an ambitious schedule is always
in the works. Each movie has its
own animation staff and HP work-
stations, which are constantly being
updated as new, faster Intel proces-
sors become available.
Because every movie is new,
we change the tools and technol-
ogy [based on] what were trying to
achieve, Leonard said. Literally,
everything is constantly reinvented.
For Kung Fu Panda 2, this is the
first time were going to see this
world in [true] 3D. All the things
that weve learned in our past few
3D movies [such as 2010s How to
Train Your Dragon and other films]
have led us to enhance the toolset
and our creative skill set. You see
this come to life in a really big way
in Kung Fu Panda 2.
DreamWorks obtains all new
workstations about every six months,
as new movies get started, Leonard
said, with the hardware and software
improving incrementally with each
new purchase. The IT shop also
spends a lot of time on performance-
optimizing the software.
A typical four-year DreamWorks
movie project coincides with current
improvement cycles in IT, Senior
Technologist Skottie Miller told
eWEEK. About every four years,
theres a quantum leap in comput-
ing power and I/O speed, he said.
We find that its best to buy new
hardware because it will pay for itself
in about one year.
Thats whats nice about work-
ing at a place like DreamWorks
you get to use all the new stuff,
Leonard said. During the time of
this production, we went from four-
core Westmeres [Intel processors] to
six-cores. Every workstation has 12
cores working, so theres a tremen-
dous amount of power [ for each
artist]. And each of those cores has
gotten a lot faster.
Its kind of Moores Law on ste-
roids. Thats what were chasing.
Quality Is on the Screen
All this new equipment equates
to one major thing: The power
and efficiency of ever-improving
hardware and software platforms
enable animation artists to do more
in less time, so that more iterations
of scenes and characters can be cre-
ated. This results in more choices of
art for the directors and producers.
On a broad scale, visual richness
and interesting literal depth of what
you see in the film is what were
going for, Leonard explained.
At the end of the movie, theres
a climactic epic battle scene that
takes place in the canals and harbors
in the city, with lots of incredible
water, fighting and other actions.
These things are really hard to do
in CG [computer-generated imag-
ery], but you see them happening
here without restraint. Its pretty
magnificent.
Leonard said the most important
change in the production software
for Kung Fu Panda 2 was probably in
the character toolset, which gave us
the opportunity to rerig our charac-
ters [based on the original Kung Fu
Panda of 2008] and redefine some
of the algorithms that create the
motion and key performance enact-
ing, he said.
Po (Jack Black, center), Monkey (Jackie
Chan, left) and Tigress (Angelina Jolie,
right) are back in action chasing a run-
away rickshaw in DreamWorks Anima-
tions Kung Fu Panda 2.
Store and manage your data dynamically
and intelligently with Fluid Data from Dell.
Dells acquisition of Compellent adds to our suite of award-winning Fluid Data
storage solutions. Today, as more companies challenge the cost of running IT, Dell is
helping Ef cient Enterprises simplify IT environments and reinvest savings in strategic
initiatives. Learn more about Fluid Data solutions at DellStorage.com/FluidData.
F D ta
a w ys kn s
t m t e cient
way ge he e
it ds go.
18
Of course, all the tools we used
on the original movie needed to be
upgraded to be able to handle [true]
3D. So when our [scene] lighters are
working, they can now see their work
in 3D. Thats new on this film.
The sheer amount of detail in this
film has gone way up from the 2008
movie. The first Panda movie took
about 50TB of data generated over
the life of the film, and we used a
little over 20 million render hours,
Leonard said. With this new film,
we stored over 100TB of data and
used over 55 million render hours.
That level of detail has a tremen-
dous impact on the quality of the
animation. Look at the amount of
richness, detail and expressiveness
and all the things that go into mak-
ing you suspend disbelief that Po [the
panda] is emoting real character. That
is a big part of what the technology
does for the creation [of this movie].
Cloud Rendering Is in the Mix
Ninety-minute-long 3D films
made in 2011 require north of 100TB
of storage capacity in the studios data
center farm, Leonard said. Because of
these new requirements for Kung Fu
Panda 2, DreamWorks added a cloud
services center to the mix for added
storage and more agile operations.
We did a lot of cloud rendering
on this movie, Leonard said. We
were very aggressive in moving that
massive amount of compute that we
need to finish these films. It used
to be that we had to have all this
stuff within our walls and under
our control, but with this movie, we
pushed a lot of it out to the cloud.
I would say that more than
10 million render hours were ren-
dered in the cloud, which is about
20 percent or more of the film
and that is a pretty big deal.
During the next year, Leonard
said, the company will be mov-
ing more of its rendering to its
cloud storage system (run by both
DreamWorks and HP). Eventu-
ally, most of the tedious rendering
duties will be done outside its walls.
This gives us the opportunity
to lower our production costs, but,
more importantly, it gives us the
ability to flex up when we need
it, he pointed out. We can add or
subtract some things quickly from
a screening, or add a little more
of something else, and we dont
have to worry about buying more
servers or building out our data
center. We just make the call and we
have more compute.
DreamWorks uses HPs data
center in Las Vegas and Cerelinks
in Corrales, N.M. If we build a
data center somewhere and ren-
der there, its not really the cloud,
Leonard said. We prefer to work
with our partners on that.
Leonard said that despite all
the additional work and technol-
ogy that goes into a high-quality,
two-camera, 3D rendition movie
like Kung Fu Panda 2, the overall
costs for these movies are actu-
ally going down at DreamWorks.
Thats because the process is so
much faster and more efficient,
[ which enabl es] our artists to
Angelina Jolie voices Tigress in Dream-
Works Kung Fu Panda 2.
Ed Leonard, CTO
of DreamWorks
No matter the size of your company or budget, you can increase
your ROI with the Ziff Davis Enterprise BuildROI Program.
Take advantage of our award-winning editorial, millions of IT buyers,
and proven marketing results in:
Print and Online Advertising
Lead Generation
Lead Management
Strategic Consulting
Custom Content
Digital/Face-to-Face Events
End-to-End Solutions
and more
Programs start at just $5,000.
B
U
I
L
D

Y
O
U
R
B
U
S
I
N
E
S
S

Visit www.BuildROI.com or
contact sales@ziffdavisenterprise.com
for more information today.
BuildROI.com
features a robust
Resource Center lled
with downloadable
content and more.
Check it out.
20
collaborate more often and get
things done faster, he said.
If you can give artists 10 itera-
tions instead of five, they can try
10 things instead of five things,
and, in time, youre going to get
a better film. Thats what weve
been doing with tools and tech-
nologies that allow us to deal with
massive amounts of data and ever-
increasing complexity, but do it in
a way that makes the experience of
the artists better.
Of course, all this
requires a huge stor-
age capacity. Dream-
Works, which uses
mostly NetApp and
HP for its data stor-
age needs, may have
actual l y l ost count
of exactly how much
storage it owns. When
asked how often he
needs t o purchase
new storage, Miller
told eWEEK: Storage
isnt a buying decision
anymoreits a way
of life.
We have to store an awful lot of
video, he explained. For example,
there are 129,600 video frames in
one 90-minute movie. Most scenes
are 5 minutes or less in length.
But theres so much more [artwork]
created that goes into the process
before its finally cut down and
melded together into a cohesive
movie. Basically, were just doing
file-based supercomputing every
day at work.
Churning Out Artwork
DreamWorks is the first movie
studio to use multicore-powered
workstations. Most of its CG stations
have 12-core machines capable of
24-thread computing.
Where it once took 8 hours to
render a single frame
of a 3D movie, it now
t akes onl y several
minutes. Thats huge
in terms of time and
cost savings.
The HP Z-series
workstati ons offer
about 50 per c ent
mor e c a c he t ha n
previ ous versi ons
(up to 24GB), which
helps speed process-
ing in a big way. Intel
Xeon 5600 Westmere
pr ocessor s i nsi de
the workstations also run cooler,
require less power and cooling
energy, and have improved security
features.
When CG artists put together
all the attributes that constitute
a character, several i terati ons
must be developed: It starts with
modeling and moves to rigging,
hair and fur, clothing and surfac-
ing. This involves very detailed
and often tediousCG work. It
takes a certain type of personality
to excel at this, and DreamWorks
has found hundreds of folks who
fit this bill.
Artists can take 12 to 18 months
to do the original drawings for a
character. Since Kung Fu Pandas
characters were created seven to
eight years ago, however, most of the
basic work had already been done.
Still, the original film could not be
reused in this latest film because of
the new 3D presentation.
Once the drawings are com-
pleted, CG modeling comes next.
From here on out, DreamWorks
uses Adobe Creative Studio for
everything that goes on screen.
Thats where mathematics, sci-
ence, HPC (high-performance
computing), artistry and the pro-
fessionalism of the artists all come
together. Every square inch of a
moving character is plotted out:
how it moves, how it interacts with
other characters, how it is affected
by wind and water, and how hair
moves and falls.
Above: Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) is a ruth-
less peacock who tries to defeat Po and
the Furious Five and take over China in
DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda 2.
Alex Parkinson, the visual
effects supervisor of Kung
Fu Panda 2
Above: Simon Otto, a DreamWorks animation
specialist, uses an HP z800 dual-monitor
workstation to model a figure.
Cover Story
21
There are hundreds of factors and variables involved
here, and they all have to be orchestrated perfectly
to show the audience reality. In fact, DreamWorks
has a separate CG unit that concentrates strictly on
hair, fur and clothing because so much of it has to
be created and rendered.
Surfacing is extremely important, especially in 3D
presentations. Lighting, shadows, perspective and
other visual factors come into play, and no detail is
left untouched.
Much Has Changed
Miller, whos been with DreamWorks for 12 years
after spending seven years at Disneys animation
studioattested to the huge change hes seen in HPC
tools for rendering streaming video.
In 1999, when I arrived here, we had a total of
140 cores [processors], and now we have more than
10,000in fact, Ive lost count, Miller said. We used
to have to physically share the most powerful computers
by putting them in boxes and shipping them from
one studio to another to get a movie done. Sometimes
wed have fistfights over the RAM because memory
used to cost $4,000 to $5,000 per megabyte back then.
We just didnt have the bandwidth, tools or comput-
ing power in 1999 that we have now. Today, weve got
multicore processors, dynamic allocation of computing
power and incredible amounts of storage. Its been
awesome to witness all these advancements.
eWEEK Senior Writer Chris Preimesberger can be reached
at cpreimesberger@eweek.com.
Kung Fu Panda 2 Reaches
New Animation Heights
(
reamWorks Animation Visual Effects Supervi-
sor Alex Parkinson had a huge job on Kung Fu
Panda 2: He was charged with coordinating the
modeling and surfacing of the on-screen assets (characters,
objects, scenery); the lighting, crowds, character effects
and map painting; and final details on everything.
Every shot is one big effect, Parkinson told eWEEK.
This is where animation meets computer animation. I work
very closely with the director and the production designer,
and we get all these crazy ideas from the director and the
writers, and all this wonderful artwork from the designer
and the visual development team. Its my job to take all of
that and get as much of it on screen as we possibly can.
The new hardware and software tools had a great impact
on this movie. It enabled the team to achieve much more
of the directors appetite than we could before, according
to Parkinson.
When you have a lot more computing power, you can
get a lot more into the shots, he explained. The final battle
is a great example of that: The entire ending is a battle
based on water. The CG simulation of water and lighting in
that situation is very difficult to do.
If we didnt have the new rendering software and the
new powerful workstations, we wouldnt have considered
doing it that way. It would have gone off the table because
it would have been too difficult.
Most people who see a DreamWorks movie have no idea
how many people it takes to create it. For every frame you
see, about 50 to 60 people worked on it, Parkinson said.
Now we know why the credits are nine-and-a-half
minutes long!C.P.
EnvironmentaI Monitoring
FOR YOUR DATA CENTER
Alert notifcations via SNMP, Email, SMS
& Voice Call (dialer required)
Trigger external devices via relay outputs
Variety of environmental monitors available
to match your needs
FREE
BOOK!
To order, visit
itwatchdogs.com/book
512-257-1462
sales@itwatchdogs.com
www.itwatchdogs.com
LIVE SENSOR READINGS
WEB INTERFACE
LOGGING & GRAPHING
INTEGRATES WITH IP CAMERAS
Temperature
Humidity
Dew Point
Air Flow
Sound
Light
Smoke
Water
Door/Cabinet Position
Power Failure
Amperage
Live Video
Cloud: Tech Analysis
22
By Cameron Sturdevant
A
di vi de as real as any
weather front separates
private, wholly owned
data centers from public,
capacity-for-hire cloud providers.
There is a role for IT in creating a
bridge across this divide, as virtu-
alization of all types enables more
efficient application development,
virtual machine provisioning and
business continuity.
A bridged private/public cloud
promises efficient workload reloca-
tion and an evolutionary path to more
cost-effective IT operations. But the
challenges of building a bridge between
private and public clouds are real.
Aside from the emerging nature
of cloud computing technology, IT
managers must work with developers
and business managers to ensure that
development platforms, management
controls and compliance issues are
aligned between the private and public
platforms in order to reap the benefits.
Before covering what can be done
with a bridged private/public cloud,
Id like to start with some basic
definitions. In May, NIST (National
Institute of Standards and Technol-
ogy) issued a draft publication titled
Cloud Computing Synopsis and
Recommendations, which described
the characteristics of cloud comput-
ing as an on-demand, self-service
of resource pools that are rapidly
elastic and provided as a measured
service. To this Ill add multitenancy:
Labs@Work: Scaling IT means using tools and services
on both sides of the cloud divide.
Bridging Private
and Public Clouds
infrastructure providersan essen-
tial component in bridging between
private and public clouds.
While there is a debate of epic pro-
portions about the definition of private
and public cloud computing, for IT
managers, the more important ques-
tions are: When will it make sense to
build a bridge between a private and
public cloud so the business gains a
competitive edge? What will it take to
integrate on-premises infrastructure
with that running in the public cloud?
Why Build a Bridge?
Application development was one
of the first beneficiaries of x86 server
virtualization and set the stage for run-
ning infrastructure both on-site and in
a hosted environment. Setting up test
and development environments com-
posed of virtual machines that could be
rapidly provisioned and deprovisioned
segregating traffic from one organiza-
tion or business unit from another.
NIST outlines several deployment
models. The most important of these
cloud infrastructure models are private,
operated solely for an organization
either on- or off-premises; public, avail-
able to the general public and owned by
an organization selling cloud services;
and hybrid, which is a composite of the
two. In a hybrid cloud, the public and
private compute environments remain
unique, but data and applications are
portable between them.
The ODCA (Open Data Center Alli-
ance), a consortium of global IT users,
also just released its first usage mod-
els. These are recommendations from
IT users who take a long-term view of
data center requirements, including
one for virtual machine interoper-
ability between different virtualization
platforms and portability between
The Open Data Center Alliance
virtual machine interoperability
usage model starts with this
context diagram outlining how
VMs should be able to move
between virtualization platforms
and cloud providers.
S
O
U
R
C
E
:

O
P
E
N

D
A
T
A

C
E
N
T
E
R

A
L
L
I
A
N
C
E
Cloud: Tech Analysis
23
on shared resources was also a driver
for using public cloud services.
Corporate users can utilize archi-
tectural guides to move workloads
from private clouds to public enter-
prise-class cloud providers. For exam-
ple, VMware partners with public
cloud infrastructure providers includ-
ing Bluelock, CSC, Terremark and
others that use its VMware vCloud
Data Center Services.
In this case, the private/public
cloud bridge connects infrastructure
(usually processing, storage and net-
works) or platform (which generally
adds to this the operat-
ing system and data-
base) so that applica-
tions can be built using
familiar tools. These
cloud as a service
offerings are called
IAAS (infrastructure
as a service) and PAAS
(platform as a service).
One of the earliest
thoughts behind creat-
ing a bridge between
a private and public
cloud IAAS or PAAS
implementation was
to support essential
computing workloads
without buying all the
underlying infrastructure. An early
example of this was cloud bursting:
the on-demand creation of IT systems
to support peak demands.
Workloads are more likely to expand
and contract within either the private or
the public cloud, as opposed to moving
across the bridge. However, this could
be an effective use case in the near
future if ODCA virtual machine por-
tability guidelines are broadly adopted.
For now, this functionality usually
needs to be built into the application.
BC/DR (business continuity and
disaster recovery) plans dont have
much chance of working when con-
fined to a single, physical data center.
They are more likely to succeed if
there is a bridge to a physically sepa-
rated facility. While there are concerns
when executing a BC/DR move across
data centers, this could be a use case
for bridging a private and public cloud.
Bridging to support peak demand
or BC/DR involves data security
issues, including authorized access.
In addition to ensuring workload
portability, the Open Data Center
Alliance usage models describe how
cloud providers should be able to
assure secure access while also dem-
onstrating how identity, applications
and data use are monitored to meet
compliance guidelines.
Challenges
These are still early days for bridg-
ing private and public clouds, so
were uncovering potholes. Our work
at eWEEK Labs has shown that syn-
chronizing workloads on private and
public cloud platforms can be tricky.
For example, an application work-
load created as a VMware virtual
machine, which results in a .VMDK
(Virtual Machine Disk Format), must
be converted to an AMI (Amazon
Machine Instance) to run on Ama-
zons EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). Its
possible to convert most workloads
from one format to another, but this
must be taken into account up front to
minimize problems. This emphasizes
the importance of separating the appli-
cation from the underlying image to
increase deployment flexibility.
There is a fair amount of trepida-
tion about the suitability of a public
cloud infrastructure for running
workloads that handle regulated
data. While the feelings of unease
are warranted in the short term,
regulatory concerns will likely be
overcome in the medium term.
IT managers should
ask questions that show
that a public cloud
provider can meet the
same level of compli-
ance as that of a pri-
vate cloud. Once these
questions have been
resolved, a private/pub-
lic bridge project can be
assessed on the techni-
cal and cost merits. The
disquiet about bridging
clouds likely also arises
from the newness of
cloud computing.
Ama z o n s EC2
exited beta in 2008.
IAAS and PAAS for
the enterprise are emerging tech-
nologies. The fact that NIST and
the ODCA just released drafts and
first versions of their guidelines tells
us this is an area for early adopters.
Despite the fact that cloud tech-
nology is new territory, the tech-
nique has potential as fertile ground
for organizations that are in the
market for an IT competitive edge.
eWEEK Labs Technical Director
Cameron Sturdevant can be reached
at csturdevant@eweek.com.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology outline on how a hybrid
private/public cloud might look.
S
O
U
R
C
E
:

N
I
S
T

S
P
E
C
I
A
L

P
U
B
L
I
C
A
T
I
O
N

8
0
0
-
1
4
6
For more articles on this
topic, go to eweek.com.
F:7.75 F:7.75
FS:6.9063 FS:6.9063
Let st alkscalability.
Not infrastructurelimitation s.
Wi nd ow s Azureischang ing
the conversat io n.
Wi n do wsAzure is ascalableplatformfordevelopingandrunningapplicationsintheclo ud .
Its near-innitescalabilitymeansyourbusinesscandevelopapplicationswithlessleadtime,
an dw it houthavingtoworryaboutcapacity.WithWind owsAzure,yourbusinesshas t he
powe rtoinnovate,unhamperedbyinfrastructurelimit ations . Tha t sClo udPo wer .
Find outmoreaboutourcloud-basedplatformsolutions .
Mi cr os oft.com/cloud/azur e
Sca nourtagortextEWEEKto70700 .*
Get thefreemobileappfromhttp://gettag.mo bi
*Sta ndardtextmessagingfeesapply .
F:7.75 F:7.75
FS:6.9063 FS:6.9063
26
Cloud: Review
along with underlying changes to the
analytical processes that many com-
ponents use. Customers will see the
updates roll out in the coming weeks.
I used a preview account in a
Salesforce test organization to look
at the Summer 11 release.
Collaboration Tools Need Work
The file collaboration tools that
are facilitated by the Summer 11
version of Chatter are nothing to crow
about. I used the new collaboration
feature to share Microsoft Excel 2010
spreadsheets between two active users.
After sharing the file, the second
user downloaded and saved the file,
then opened it using Excel, made
changes and saved the revised file.
Next, he uploaded the file, at which
point a Salesforce dialog box appeared
asking the user to comment on what
had changed. The first user could then
download and open the modified file.
The uploading and sharing activity
Chatter Tweaks
was automatically posted in the
Chatter activity stream, quickly creat-
ing a torrent of updates. There is only
rudimentary version information
and no check-out/check-in system.
My Excel files lost formatting
information when I downloaded and
opened them through Chatter. They
worked correctly when I saved the
file to my PC running Windows 7
and then opened it in Excel. While
the file-collaboration feature was disap-
pointing, the new filters that help users
find information quickly worked well.
For example, files a user is follow-
ing in Chatter can be filtered using
the new Files I Own and Files I
Follow subfilters. These develop-
ments are an important step forward
for using enterprise
social media because
t hey sur f ace post s
directed at a user above
the less important ban-
ter that is flowing by
in the activity stream.
A bolstered Favorites
list reduced the number
of steps needed to con-
duct routine searches.
My test account had
several test records with
the common keyword
betta fish.
I was able to search
for betta and, in the
records results page,
cl ick on a l ink that
added the search to
my Chatter Favorites.
To conduct subsequent searches for
my betta records, I was able to click
this term in my Chatter Favorites list.
Users can have up to 50 Favorites.
eWEEK Labs Technical Director
Cameron Sturdevant can be reached
at csturdevant@eweek.com.
Labs@Work: The social media tool gets a facelift.
T
he soci al col l aborati on
changes in the Salesforce.
com Summer 11 rev of the
SAAS (software as a service)
CRM platform consist of a sprin-
kling of filter improvements to the
Chatter enterprise social media mod-
ule. These minor changes improve
content filtering by surfacing posts
that are directed either at a user or
to files the user is following.
The new collaboration file-shar-
ing capabilities that were also added
in Summer 11 can
only be considered a
rudimentary second
stab at enabling indi-
viduals and groups
to work in common
on a shared file. The
first stab, as seen in
the previous version
of Chatter, enabled
file sharing but had
no central upload/
download repository.
A look at the revi-
sions made to the
Chatter Desktop cli-
ent, a Tweetdeck-like
companion to the full
Chatter module, will
need to wait until it is
released sometime in
the next several weeks.
Salesforce Summer 11 became
available on June 3. The revised Chat-
ter module is included in all paid
editions, as well as in the no-cost,
stand-alone edition of Chatter that
can be used in organizations that
subscribe to paid Salesforce editions.
This revision also includes revisions
to the Sales Cloud, Service Cloud,
Jigsaw and Force.com SAAS offerings,
The torrent of activity about this le is shown in Steves Chatter stream. Imagine
what this would look like if all 19 team members were working on the le.
Reach. Connect. Engage.
Delivering the IT buyers marketing craves, the qualied
leads sales demand and the nancial performance CEOs require.
For more information, email sales@ziffdavisenterprise.com
or visit www.ziffdavisenterprise.com
Da a
St r ategicService s
Un s urpassedMarketExpertis e
Dy n amicDatabas e
In - DepthReportingandAnalytic s
Wo r ldClassConten t
Cloud: Trends
28
several other months when things
are very busy, Farnum explained.
The challenge for me is that when
Im trying to provide an environ-
ment for my application teams to
deliver a product and they need XYZ
tooling, I have to buy enough tool-
ing to cover everyone in that peak
moment, which ends up being really
costly. Outside that peak moment,
we are not using those tools, and,
in some cases, we will slow down
development accordingly.
We needed a model that would
be flexible to meet any business
Moving to the Cloud:
A Rational Choice
for McDonalds
condition and any development
condition. Sometimes, we have big
development years, and sometimes
we have big deployment years. We
needed this model to be flexible
enough to handle that
and go from there.
Once the decision
to move its applica-
tion- devel opment
needs to the cloud
was set, McDonalds
tapped IBM partner
Cl oudOne, which
specializes in tak-
ing IBMs Rational
toolset to the cloud.
In fact, that is all
the company does,
said CloudOne CEO
John McDonald, who
spoke to eWEEK dur-
ing IBM Innovate
2011, IBMs annual
conference for Rational users.
CloudOnes Rational expertise is
critical for Farnum, since McDonalds
uses Rational legacy tools, includ-
ing ClearCase, ClearQuest and
RequisitePro. In addition, the fast-
food chain is evaluating Rationals
newer tools, such as Rational Software
Architect, Rational Application Devel-
oper and Rational Asset Manager.
eWEEK News: McDonalds saw the cloud as a way to cut costs
and enhance flexibility for its development teams, which have
standardized on the IBM Rational toolset.
By Darryl K. Taft
W
hen Scott Farnum of
McDonalds saw the
opportunity to move
the fast-food chains
application-development
tooling environment to
the cloud, he didnt hesi-
tate for a minute.
Farnum, McDonalds
global infrastructure lab
manager, is responsible
for the companys applica-
tion-development strategy.
He understood that the
cloud could cut costs and
enhance flexibility for his
development teams, which
have standardized on
the IBM Rational toolset.
Like many other com-
panies that are consid-
ering moving parts of
their business to a cloud
computing environment, Farnum
and his team weighed many fac-
tors, including the amount of down-
time the companys developers have
between projects. They decided that
a move to the cloud made sense
based on the nature of the IT depart-
ments application development.
There are several months when
we do very little development and
Cloud: Trends
29
More i mport ant l y, wi t h t he
CloudOne solution, McDonalds
pays only for what it needs when
it needs it.
Flexibility, Elasticity Are Key
Farnum chose Rational because
McDonalds required tools that cover
the entire software-development life
cycle and have a particular focus
on application life cycle manage-
ment. He also said an independent
study by McDonalds found that the
Rational toolset was best of breed
and had the best opportunity to go
end-to-endfrom requirements to
deployment to maintenance.
Flexibility and elasticity are the
key words here, said David Locke,
director of worldwide marketing
strategy for the cloud at IBM Rational.
However, being best-in-class
comes with a price. The Rational
toolset is not inexpensive, which
made the cloud option even more
attractive, according to Farnum.
McDonalds is a hamburger com-
pany; we dont want to be in the IT
business, Farnum said. We want
to focus on what we do best. And we
are always on the lookout for firms
to come in and provide consulting
services on their respective technolo-
gies to help us do what we need to
do from a business perspective.
CloudOne had begun providing
consulting services to McDonalds
in a different capacity. So, when it
offered a cloud computing solution
to McDonalds, Farnum jumped at
the opportunity. At the time, we
could not find another supplier that
could provide this and the SAAS
[software as a service] model we
needed, he said.
From an implementation perspec-
tive, Farnum said its important to
be in the most flexible mode prior
to going to the cloud, such as having
primarily Web-based systems. In
our environment, we are leveraging
CCRC [ClearCase Remote Client]
as much as possible, he said.
Performance Improvements
Si nce movi ng to the cl oud,
McDonalds has achieved huge ben-
efits, Farnum said. For instance,
the company has gotten a 50 percent
improvement in the performance of
the products.
When we went to CloudOne, it
became easier for them to support
the products if they siloed each one
onto its own server set, he said.
That sped up all those appli-
cations and made them easier to
support. We could do things like
upgrade that one product for
Windows 7 if we needed to and
leave the others alone.
Other benefits include easier
pilots. Im not dependent on inter-
nal infrastructure folks to spin up
a box and grant me administrative
rights. I dont have to worry about
all the aspects that go into a pilot or
proof-of-concept. If we want to do a
six-month pilot instead of a 30-day
pilot, we have that flexibility. We can
even do a pay-as-you-go pilot if we
need to, because its that flexible.
Meanwhile, CloudOnes McDon-
ald said the capital cost of getting
into Rational tools can be prohibitive.
The infrastructure to run the toolset
and the people to set it up, monitor
it and maintain it are beyond the
reach of many companies.
An example is a company that
has a project requiring 20 people,
but only owns 10 licenses. Available
options include coming up with the
money for the extra licenses, cut-
ting costs in other areas, or chang-
ing tools and possibly going with
an open-source technology that is
less expensive from an up-front
cost level.
C l o u d -
One offers
customers
a n o t h e r
opt i on: It
lets a com-
pa ny us e
w h a t i t
wants but pay only for what it uses.
We offer a way to get into this
with no money down, McDonald
said. We lower the cost of entry
to zero, and that allows people who
may not otherwise be able to use
Rational toolsor to use as many
tools as they wantto be able to
do so.
eWEEK Senior Editor Darryl K. Taft can
be reached at darryl.taft@eweek.com.
we offer a way to get into
this with no money down. we
lower the cost of entry to
zero.John McDonald, CloudOne
30
Mobility: Review
W
hen Apple launched the
iPad in 2010, it sparked
off an industrywide
game of follow the
leader. Companies ranging from Sam-
sung to Research In Motion all leapt
into the fray with tablet plans of their
own. Many of those tablets ran some
version of Google Android; other man-
ufacturers, notably RIM and Hewlett-
Packard, decided to take the road
less traveled and either build or acquire
a mobile operating system.
Even as these other companies
rushed into the space, though, there
remained one conspicuous absence:
Microsoft. This was particularly
ironic, considering how Bill Gates
himself advocated tablets as the
device of the future during a Novem-
ber 2001 speech at Comdex. (At the
time, he also demonstrated a proto-
type device running Windows XP.)
Despite some efforts to integrate
touch controls into Windowsmost
notably, Windows XP Tablet PC edi-
tion, followed by a touch-enabled ver-
sion of Windows 7Microsoft over
the last decade had failed to drive a
broad consumer revolution in tablets.
That brings us to the Acer Iconia
Tab W500, the new tablet PC from
a company more known for its net-
books. Like a handful of other tablets
on the market, it runs Windows
specifically, the 32-bit version of
Windows 7 Home Premium. It also
comes preloaded with Office 2010,
eWEEK News: Acers Iconia Tab W500 is a Windows 7-enabled tablet that
cant decide whether to be a full-fledged tablet or a touch-screen-enabled laptop.
Acer Iconia: A Tablet
With an Identity Crisis
that it runs Windows 7. The bad
thingat least for some peopleis
that it runs Windows 7.
Marrying the full functionality
of the Windows platform with the
tablet form factor provides, at least
in theory, heightened portability for
proprietary Windows applications
that havent yet found their way onto
a rival tablet platform. But height-
ened portability compared to what?
A regular laptop? A netbook?
Acer s decision to include a
QWERTY keyboard dock merely adds
to the confusion. Plugging the tablet
into the dock is a snap, and the key-
board itself is a thin but sturdy piece of
hardware inlaid with additional ports.
Acers Iconia Tab runs the 32-bit version
of Windows 7 Home Premium on a
10.1-inch touch screen.
which the owner needs a purchased
product key to activate. Under the
hood, the device rocks an Advanced
Micro Devices dual-core processor
and a 32GB solid-state hard drive.
The 10.1-inch screen definitely
makes this a two-handed device,
along the lines of the iPad or the
upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab
10.1 (read Clint Boultons Tab 10.1
review on page 36). It feels hefty
but not unduly burdensome in your
grip, although the slick backing and
rounded edges will make the clum-
sier among us paranoid about drop-
ping it. The 1.3-megapixel Webcam,
lodged in the top-center of the rear
panel, is serviceable for most needs.
Good News and Bad News
The good thing about the Iconia
Tabat least for some peopleis
31
Mobility: Review
Hey, presto, you have a laptopone
that wont close without popping out
its screen by design. The keyboard and
tablet will sandwich together for travel,
courtesy of a hook clasp and a set of
magnetic points along the frame.
Windows 7 is built primarily with
keyboard-and-mouse input in mind.
Especially on a 10.1-inch screen, many
of the icons and buttons are too small
to tap easily with a finger; the touch
interface at moments seems to lag;
and gestures that have rapidly become
the standard on other tabletssuch as
pinch to zoomdo virtually nothing.
The virtual keyboard, once opened,
swallows virtually every pixel of screen
real estate, making it hard at times to
judge what youre typing. The screen
will flip between landscape and portrait
modes, but only after a few disconcert-
ing moments worth of black screen.
These kinks dont come into play
with passive whole-screen activi-
ties, such as reading documents or
viewing multimedia. When using
the tablet for actual work, though,
the inclination in the face of these
petty frustrations is to pull out the
keyboard, plug the tablet in, and rely
on physical controls to navigate and
input data. In which case, why arent
you simply carrying a notebook?
In other words, the Iconia Tab isnt
sure whether it wants to be a tablet or
a laptop. Owners may find their own
usage scenario in which a Windows 7
tablet is vital to their day-to-day lives.
However, others could be left ques-
tioning why they didnt opt for either
a full-on tablet or a notebookand
wondering when exactly Microsoft
will release its nextsupposedly tab-
let-optimizedversion of Windows.
eWEEK St af f Wr i t er Ni chol as
Kolakowski can be reached at nicholas.
kolakowski@eweek.com.
Shown here is the Iconia Tabs virtual keyboard.
The Acer tablet is pictured here connected to the keyboard dock.
32
Mobility: Review
I
n many ways, the X1 13.3-inch
laptop is Lenovos response to
the MacBook Air. However,
the heavier, angular and much
more capable X1 should be consid-
ered on its own merits for business
users who want a durable, sleek and
portable system.
The Lenovo business-class system
has a number of ThinkPad firsts,
i ncl udi ng a bri ght
13.3-inch display fronted
with Corning Gorilla
Glass. The battery charg-
ing and management
system is now equipped
with Lenovos Rapid-
Charge t echnol ogy,
which can get a dead
battery to an 80 percent
charge in 30 minutes.
In my road tests,
usi ng t he opt i onal
feather- l i ght wedge
battery, I was able to fly
from San Francisco to
Atlanta (approximately
seven hours, outlet-to-
outlet) with no break in the action.
I was browsing email, writing notes
and accessing an external hard drive.
The power scheme was set for bal-
anced, with the screen dimming
after 5 minutes and the system sleep-
ing after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Although the X1 isnt as svelte as a
MacBook Air, it has many more impor-
tant characteristics for enterprise
Labs@Work: Lenovo X1 slims down business
laptop dimensions and pushes power.
Lenovo X1: A Solid, Sleek
Answer to MacBook Air
and usage tests at eWEEK Labs to
judge its suitability for business use.
Speaking of business use, longtime
ThinkPad users should brace them-
selves: Lenovo is experimenting with
style. And the results of this experi-
ment introduced a couple of concerns.
Until now, the design of the
iconic ThinkPad put engineering
and performance before frippery and
bangles. In the X1, the engineering
and performance are still
there, but are now locked
in a fight with an angled
chassis that forced cov-
ers onto some of the
ports and hid the speak-
ers under the upper edge
of the keyboard deck.
Fortunately, most of
the ports are on the back
of the X1. The traditional
top-hinge design means
that these ports are easily
accessible even with the
display open. All told,
there are three USB
ports (one USB 3.0 and
two USB 2.0), a Mini
Display port, an RJ45 network jack,
an external Serial ATA port (a combo
port that doubles as one of the USB
2.0 ports that can also supply power
to the peripheral device) and a four-
in-one card reader.
In another firstand a bow to
fashionthe X1 uses island-style
keys in place of the classic chamfered
key caps found in ThinkPads until
users. My test system came equipped
with a second-generation cool-run-
ning Intel Core i5 processor. (The X1
can use the i7, but the MacBook Air
maxes out with an Intel Core Duo.)
The X1 also features 4GB of DDR3
(double data rate type 3) RAM. (The
laptop can hold a maximum of 8GB,
while the Air maxes out at 2GB.)
In almost every category of com-
pute, storage capacity and all-around
capability, the X1 has more of every-
thing. For eWEEK Labs images of the
Lenovo X1 in action, go to tinyurl.
com/43br5n5.
Benchmarks and Usage Tests
Moving away from a somewhat
apples-to-oranges comparison of
the X1 and MacBook Air hardware,
I subjected the device to benchmarks
The 13.3-inch Corning Gorilla Glass display gives the ThinkPad X1 a
bright, edge-to-edge screen.
33
Mobility: Review
now. The new keyboard provided easy typing action, and
it didnt detract from the overall fit and finish of the X1.
I didnt notice any hesitancy while using the X1 for busi-
ness applicationsand some nonbusiness applications,
including watching on-demand Netflix content in my hotel.
However, the X1 turned in unimpressive average
scores from Passmark Softwares Passmark Perfor-
mance Test (1212) and Primate Labs Geekbench (5231).
Both these benchmarks were run on the system directly
after the X1 was unboxed. The only change I made to the
configuration was to set the Windows 7 power option
to high performance. All tests were run while the X1
was plugged into wall power.
Trying to Be Small
Angles and wedges are used to give the X1 the appear-
ance of being small. Thus, while it is true, as Lenovo
often states, that the X1 is a mere 16.5 mm thick, it is
only that thin at the edge closest to the user. The rear
of the unit is almost an inch thick, and it is also that
thick when rubber feet are included in the measure.
The optional wedge battery adds about another half
inch. In the more important airport-handling test, the X1
passed with flying colors. The exterior matte-black chas-
sis is easy to grip, while also being slim enough to easily
slip in and out of my carry-on for security inspection.
The trackpad has gained a left- and right-click action
and lost the bottom row mouse-click buttons to retain
a large track area inside the 13.3-by-9.1-by-0.84-inch
dimensions of the X1. These buttons are still present
at the top of the trackpad.
Because the screen is edge-to-edge glass, there is no
top bezel. This means that the ThinkLight has been
replaced with another ThinkPad first: a backlight in the
six-row keyboard itself. This is a big improvement, as
hands on the keyboard easily blocked the ThinkLight.
In prelaunch briefings, it was common to see Lenovo
product managers standing on top of a closed X1 to
demonstrate its solid construction. I did not attempt
this flashy trick. However, based on my day-to-day use,
I can say that the Gorilla Glass display combined with
the roll-cage chassis design likely means thatthough
style has invaded some aspects of Lenovo designthe
X1 has all the hallmarks of being able to live up to the
rugged life of a business system.
eWEEK Labs Technical Director Cameron Sturdevant can
be reached at csturdevant@eweek.com.
This is the rst ThinkPad with island-style keys. Arranged in six
rows, the full-sized keyboard has a large trackpad and control
keys running down the right side of the keyboard deck. The
matte-black nish is nice, but can get a little smudgy.
The undercarriage of the ThinkPad X1 is typical of a business-
class laptop system and offers access to memory, drive and
the keyboard.
One of the keyboard drains (center) and access hatch (right) are
seen here from underneath the X1.
For more articles on this topic, go to eweek.com.
34
Mobility: Review
By Clint Boulton
V
erizon Wireless began
selling the Motorola Droid
X2 smartphone online for
$199.99 on May 19, with
the Android 2.2-based follow-up to
the smash-hit Droid X from last July
readily available in Verizon retail
stores May 26.
Ive been using the Droid X as my
personal smartphone since Novem-
ber. Rather than comparing it to
other Droids or Samsung Galaxy
devices on the market, Im going to
stick to the Droid X comparisons,
which are many.
From a hardware perspective,
the Droid X2 is largely the same.
Not only does the X2 measure
5 inches long, 2.6 inches wide and
only 0.38 inches thick, it weighs
the same as the X: just under
5.5 ounces. The X2 also has the
same physical input buttons below
the pretty screen.
Yes, the screen is pretty. Why?
Its actually one of two major modi-
fications from the original Droid X.
This candy-bar form factor Froyo
smartphone uses a qHD (quarter-
high-definition) display with 960-by-
540 resolution.
Motorol a cl aims the X2 has
26 percent more pixels than the
Droid X, which sounds about right.
I could certainly see a difference,
but only when the X and X2 were
eWEEK News: The qHD screen and other UI improvements of the Motorola
Droid X2 are nice perks, but theyre not enough to sway users in a time of
4G LTE Android smartphones.
Droid X2 Froyo Phone
Boasts Better UI
shaking. Call it an incremental
improvement to the naked eye.
The software on both the X and
X2 is, at present, largely the same.
Both run Froyo. The X launched
wi th Androi d 2. 1 and got the
Froyo bump late last year. The X2
launches with Froyo, but will get the
Android 2.3 Gingerbread bump
later this year. However, this phone
placed side by side and showing
the virtual keyboard or YouTube
videos.
The difference was especially
notable in lighter settings, as the
Corning Gorilla Glass offered
protection from light reflection,
which tends to cloud what you can
see on the screen. The qHD is a
nice improvement, but not earth-
The Droid X2 is the spitting image of the Droid X, from the physical input buttons to the
lone speaker atop the screen, as well as the company and provider logos.
35
Mobility: Review
lacks the requisite NFC (near-field
communication) chip, so dont
expect to do mobile payments with
your Droid X2.
The user interfaces of the X and
X2 are differentif only in slight
nuances as far as smartphones go.
Im talking in particular about the
color scheme, which is largely blue
on the X2, as you can see from
the native Droid X wallpaper that
loads up when you power on the
phone. Where the dialer on the X
is a drab gray, the X2 dialer has a
nice blue hue.
I thought this was a freak thing,
but then I discovered similar blue
tinges in the camera software UI.
Yes, the X2 has more or less the
same 8-megapixel camera as the X,
with 720p video recording, dual-LED
flash and auto-focus.
However, the X2 camera software
offers the ability to zoom in or out
on the virtual viewfinder, saving
us from the clunkiness of buttons.
Motorola also claims that the X2
camera boasts 44 percent faster shot-
to-shot performance. I didnt notice
that much difference: The Droid
cameras still stutter.
A Fine Addition to the Family
A new Gallery application on
the X2 is fun. Accessible from
one of seven home screens, the
app lets users post photos and
comments on sites like Twitter
and Facebook. Tap on a picture
and youre in Facebook. Users can
view their camera pictures from
this application.
Video worked fine on the X2,
and port i ng cont ent wi t h an
HDMI (High-Definition Multime-
dia Interface) to my TVwhich
always worked well with the X
performed without hiccups. Sorry,
but theres no front-facing camera
for video chat. I know thats all
the rage these days, even if it does
annoy the people sitting or stand-
ing next to you on the train.
Under the hood, it is a different
storyalso allegedly. I write alleg-
edly because the X2 is powered
by the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core
1GHz processor, which also pow-
ered the Motorola Atrix 4G on
AT&T, the Motorola Xoom tablet
and other devices.
Motorola claims the X2 is the
first smartphone at Verizon Wire-
less to sport a dual-core 1GHz pro-
cessor, delivering up to twice the
power as its predecessor Droid X.
The first part I cant argue with, but
Im not convinced the dual-core on
the X2 is that much of a better per-
former than the standard single-die
chip of the X.
While the X2 portends to offer
lightning-fast speeds for better
gaming experiences, Web brows-
ing, page rendering and Adobe Flash
video performance, I found the
X and X2 beat each other loading
Google search, Websites and You-
Tube videos. Seriously.
Calls have always been great on
my X, and I found this to be com-
parable on the X2, with minimal
dropping of coverage in Fairfield
County, Conn.which, by the way,
has 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution)
coverage now.
The X2s 1,540-mAh battery, the
very same lithium-ion workhorse
in the X, will last you a day as long
as youre not spending it flicking
through YouTube and playing data-
and power-hogging games. Round-
ing it out, the X2 has 512MB of
RAM, 8GB of onboard memory and
8GB of internal storage, expandable
up to a 32GB microSD card.
If you were on the fence about
the Droid X, Im not sure this
largely incremental upgrade will
do it for youunless the qHD
screen and dual-core are enough
to change your mind. No current
Droid X owners should abandon
their handsets for the X2, which is
essentially the same phone.
If I were shopping for a phone,
would I pick the X2? Not when
the Samsung Droid Charge runs
blazingly fast on Verizons 4G LTE
network.
However, should a Droid X come
along on Verizons 4G LTE network,
running Gingerbread with native
NFC support and chip controller,
count me in. I bought the X above
other Android phones because I
loved the hardware. A faster X with
better softwarenot the X2would
do the trick for me.
eWEEK Senior Writer Clint Boulton
can be reached at cboulton@eweek.com.
The Gallery app in the X2 is a nice touch,
allowing users to view photos in the
stack you see here, or via a classic, linear
camera roll.
36
Mobility: Review
camera capable of recording 720p
video, as well as a 2MP front-facing
camera for video chat. Video plays
back in crisp 1080p high-definition.
Verizon is selling a 4G/3G Tab
10.1, for $529.99 for a 16GB model
and $629.99 for a 32GB model, both
on two-year contracts. T-Mobile,
meanwhile, is offering a WiFi-only
Tab 10.1 at this time, which will cost
customers $499 for the 16GB ver-
sion and $599 for the 32GB version.
Besting the Xoom
From a hardware perspective, the
Tab 10.1 bests the Motorola Xoom,
Galaxy Tab 10.1:
Great for Media
Consumption
which I enjoyed using in March. The
Tab 10.1 weighs approximately 1.31
pounds to the Xooms 1.6 pounds
and its even slightly less than the
svelte iPad 2s 1.33 pounds. Whereas
the Xoom is fully a half-inch thick,
the Tab 10.1 is as thin as the iPad 2
at 0.34 inches.
You might not think thats a big
difference from the Xoom, but you
want to be able to carry a tablet with
a 10.1-inch screen comfortably in
one hand. In my hand, the Tab 10.1
fits comfortably.
The software is Android 3.0
Honeycomb, so its very much
like the Xoom in many aspects.
Samsung is touting a TouchWiz
user interface, but, to be honest, I
didnt see much difference between
the Tab 10.1 and Motorolas Xoom
UI. (TouchWiz is for the commer-
cial version only.)
Both offer the awesome applica-
tion tray, which sits along the left
of the screen to let
users multitask and
flit from one applica-
tion to the next, as
well as the widgets for
which Honeycomb
is known.
This includes the
deck- of- card st yl e
Yo uTube wi dg e t
on one of the five
home screens of the
Tab 10.1, which lets
users flip through
Yo uTub e v i d e o s
with a single flick
of a finger. Notifica-
tions stream in from
the lower right for
Gmail, Google Talk
and other applications.
Applications such as Angry Birds
downloaded from the Android
Market in seconds. The Tab 10.1
leverages Googles cloud, so once I
associated my Google account with
eWEEK News: Samsungs Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate
is a remarkable media-chomping device with a
crisp screen in a slim form factor.
By Clint Boulton
T
he Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
is an excellent alternative to
Apples iPad 2, the ultra-thin
tablet its designed to chal-
lenge in the burgeoning market for
lightweight slate computers.
I received the limited edition Tab
10.1 at Google I/O on May 10. This
32GB flash memory, WiFi-only tab-
let has a 10.1-inch
display rendering a
1,280-by-800 reso-
lution and a 1GHz
dual-core Nvidia
Tegra 2 processor.
The 7,000-mAh bat-
tery is great for lon-
gevity: I can report
a full days worth of
heavy multimedia,
emailing and gam-
ing before having to
charge it.
The Google I/O
edition is encased
in plastic on the
back, revealing an
army of Android
robots and their sil-
houettes. The commercial version
will have a black, textured back for
better grip. (At this point, I dont know
how else the commercial version dif-
fers from the limited edition.)
There is a 3-megapixel rear-facing
Here is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 unpacked. While the Xoom felt heavy at 1.6
pounds, the Tab 10.1 is a lightweight at 1.31 pounds. That ranks with
the iPad 2s 1.33 pounds.
37
Mobility: Review
this device, magical cloud things
happened: My Google Music beta
synced up and put my music on
the Tab 10.1.
As I sit at my desk, the tablet alerts
me when I get a new Gmailjust
as my Motorola Droid X does. I can
access Google Maps and the Map
navigation service.
Googl e Pl aces i s awesome.
Though scrunched and canned on
my Droid X, on this machine, the
restaurant, coffee shop and other
options sit in a window on the left,
with the Maps in the background.
Tapping pubs, for example, calls
up the O Bar and Grill thats near
my house.
A Media-Chomping Device
Samsungs Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a
remarkable media-chomping device
with a crisp screen in a slim form
factor. Its great for sending email
and consuming YouTube, movies,
books and music.
Next up, text input. The vir-
tual keyboard on the Tab 10. 1
was superior and better spaced
than Xooms. It lent itself well
enough for typing, and I was able
to compose a blog post on it with
no problems.
The Honeycomb Gmail applica-
tion is a real treat: Its easy to use
with one-touch copy-and-paste func-
tionality. However, I wouldnt want
to type a long report on the Tab 10.1
because tablet keyboards just arent
there yet.
Ultimately, I approached the Tab
10.1 as its intended: as a pure media
consumption device, which is where
it shines.
Reading digital books through
the Web Reader in Googles eBook-
store was great and clean. The
brightness of Honeycomb tablets
can wear on the eyes, but darned
if I didnt think I was reading an
actual book until I remembered
that I was actually holding a tablet.
Taking pictures worked OK,
though I found the Tab 10.1s
latency between shots annoying.
The video camera worked well
enough, and it al l owed me to
upload to YouTube easily. Leverag-
ing the front camera with Google
Talk proved solid. YouTube sparkles
on this gadget, with only minimal
delays and latency.
People love to make a big deal
about Flash on Android devices,
so I made sure to test it on the
Tab 10.1. I logged into my Ama-
zon Instant Vi deo account to
watch Leaves of Grass, but Ama-
zon Instant Video informed me I
needed Adobe Flash 10.2, which
I was surprised wasnt already on
this tablet. I downloaded it in about
5 seconds, returned to Amazon,
and the movie began playing.
The first 3 minutes were pixi-
lated in a way that Ive seen on Net-
flix at times, but this went away,
and the movie played brilliantly.
A caveat: Amazon Instant Video is
tailored for larger TV screens, not
for tablets. Thats why the pause,
fast forward and rewind buttons
were scrunched together and hard
to access. Google and Amazon
need to work on this.
As an aside, Im super-psyched
about Honeycomb 3.1, which has
better widgets andmore impor-
tantly for mea movie application.
The Tab 10.1 does have a few
faults. After I unboxed it and used
it in my hotel in San Francisco, it
froze several times, which could
have been the fault of the hotels
WiFi network. On my home net-
work, the speed and rendering
have been better, but not perfect.
Also, there are no SD card slots or
ports of any kind, which is a prob-
lem if you want to transfer media.
In contrast, I really appreciated
the 10-hour battery of the Tab 10.1.
My recommendation is that if you
are in the market for a good, solid
tablet, the Tab 10.1 will not fail you
particularly for the $499 to $599
price range.
eWEEK Senior Writer Clint Boulton
can be reached at cboulton@eweek.com.
eWEEK checked out the book-reading factor via Googles eBookstore, selecting Jack
Londons classic, White Fang.
38
Business Apps: Trends
By Fahmida Y. Rashid
D
espite repeated remind-
ers to select strong pass-
words and not reuse
them across Websites
and services, online users continue
to be frighteningly lax in their pass-
word security, according to a recent
analysis of leaked passwords.
Security experts recommend
taking a multilayered approach
to security. Instead of relying on
a single point of failure, organi-
zations should be implementing
several mechanisms to make it
harder for cyber-attackers to steal
sensitive, confidential data, Mike
Yaffe, government security strate-
gist at Core Security, told eWEEK.
Considering how easy it has
become to steal passwordsusing
phishing emails or by installing
keyloggers on a target computer
relying solely on passwords to pro-
tect data is very risky, Yaffe said.
Organizations are often leery of
putting up any security measures
that may affect the user experience
and interrupt workflow because they
are worried users will get annoyed
and go elsewhere. But some toler-
ance for inconvenience is necessary,
since it will result in a significant
boost in security, Yaffe said.
Password Security Remains
the Weakest Link Even After
Big Data Breaches
be combining all the security layers
that will help trap attackersor
at least slow them down enough
by raising enough flags for the IT
department to notice something is
wrong, according to Shaul.
Theres No Security Nirvana
Theres no such thing
as security nirvana,
but organizations can
try to foil attackers by
making their environ-
ments harder to breach
t han t he payoff may
be worth, Yaffe said.
Motivated attackers will
always find a way, but
theres no need to make
it easy.
That applies equally
to users. Angry users
blame the vendor for not
taking proper security measures
after a data breach, but the fact
remains that users must share the
blame. While Gawker and Sony
were both criticized for running
obsolete software and not protect-
ing password data stored in their
databases, a recent analysis of
passwords stolen from those two
companies reveals a significant
degree of overlap.
Many banks are rolling out addi-
tional protections such as image
verification and hardware tokens,
which may feel a little tedious.
However, Yaffe said hes willing
to put up with them because he
would rather be overprotected than
underprotected.
Other protections include mul-
tiple security questions, forcing
users to change passwords regu-
larly, and checking to ensure the
passwords arent dictionary words
or being reused.
Attackers should have to get
past multiple gatekeepers before
they even get to the database, Josh
Shaul, CTO of Application Security,
told eWEEK. Organizations should
WHAT KINDS OF PASSWORDS ARE PEOPLE USING?
Q0)2+8, 93% of passwords are between
6 and 10 characters
Q786)2+8, 50 percent of passwords are
lowercase only
Q'3140)<-8= 99 percent of passwords
dont contain a non-alphanumeric character
Q6%2(31 64 percent of passwords cant be
found in a password dictionary
Q92-59) 80 percent of passwords occurred
only once
Source: Troy Hunt
eWEEK News: Organizations should be implementing several measures to
prevent cyber-attackers from stealing sensitive, confidential data.
39
Business Apps: Trends
Software architect and security
researcher Troy Hunt analyzed the
torrent of files released by LulzSec
shortly after the group hacked Sony
Pictures and Sony BMG Music,
as well as the password lists that
another hacker group, Gnosis,
leaked in December after hack-
ing Gawkers commenting data-
base. According to Hunts analysis,
88 people were in both data sets
with the same email address, and
67 percent of them used the same
password.
Admi t t edl y, 88 peopl e i s a
very small number, considering
there were 37,608 accounts in the
Sony files and more than 188,000
accounts from Gawker. However,
the two sites are pretty indepen-
dent in terms of the kinds of users
they attract, Hunt noted.
For skeptics who may not con-
sider this significant, Hunt identi-
fied well over 2,000 users who
had accounts with both Sony Pic-
tures and Sony BMG using the
same email address. Hunt also
found that 92 percent of the users
had the same password across
both accounts.
Based on these findings, its
reasonable to assume many of
these user-name or email combi-
nations with the password could
turn out to be the key to access
other Gmail, eBay and Facebook
accounts. Theres a statistically
good chance that the majority of
them will work with other Web-
sites, Hunt said.
Attackers are already doing just
that, testing leaked passwords
against other Web services. LulzSec
recently breached the Website of
Infragard, a partnership between the
FBI and private security firms, and
obtained the email database.
It turned out one of its members,
Karim Hijazi, was using the same
password for his personal Gmail
and work email accounts. Hijazi
also happened to be the CEO of
white-hat hacking organization
Unveillance. Password reuse also
helped hacktivist collective Anony-
mous when it went after HBGary
Federal in February.
The Sony users also didnt have
very strong passwords, according
to Hunts analysis. While theres
no hard rule on password length,
ei ght characters or more i s a
pretty generally accepted yard-
stick, Hunt said. Half of the Sony
passwords were less than eight
characters long, he said. Another
good practice is to have a mix of
lowercase and uppercase letters,
numbers and non-alphanumeric
characters. Only 4 percent of pass-
words used three or more types,
Hunt said.
Two-Factor Authentication
Security that depends on users
having strong, unique passwords
is not enoughnot when modern-
day malware can easily intercept
that information.
Security experts often say user
authentication should be a com-
bination of what the user knows,
such as a password, and what
the user has, such as a hardware
token that randomly generates
a passcode every 30 seconds. Some
major Websites, including Google
and Facebook, have implemented
two-factor authentication based
on user phones to access their
services.
For Googles Gmail, users who
have opted into two-factor authen-
tication enter their user name and
password as usual, and then are
directed to a verification page
where they enter a six-digit code
that is generated by an application
on the smartphone or sent via SMS
(Short Message Service).
Some banks turn to the cloud to
handle two-factor authentication,
Ken Hunt, Vasco Data Security
CEO, told eWEEK. Vasco custom-
ers issue hardware tokens, similar
to the SecurID tokens from RSA
Security, which randomly gener-
ate passcodes that users enter on
online banking sites. Vascos Digi-
pass cloud service authenticates
users before allowing them to
access applications, Hunt added.
Ray Wizbowski, global direc-
tor of marketing and communi-
cations in the security business
unit at Gemalto, takes that a step
further for cloud-based applica-
tions. Wizbowski suggests that
authentication be a combination
of the physical device, something
the user knows and something
you are.
The something you are can be
a biometric detail such as a finger-
print, retinal scan or venous palm
scan, Wizbowski told eWEEK.
Identity-based information would
provide a stronger verification
that the user is really the one sup-
posed to be accessing the cloud
data or service, Wizbowski said.
eWEEK Senior Writer Fahmida Rashid
can be reached at frashid@eweek.com.
TOP 25 PASSWORDS THAT PEOPLE USE
seinfeld
password
winner
123456
purple
sweeps
contest
princess
maggie
9452
peanut
shadow
ginger
michael
buster
sunshine
tigger
cookie
george
summer
taylor
bosco
abc123
ashley
bailey
Source: Troy Hunt
40
C I1 N n
1
, d

A

? P C
1
u

1 P 1

n
L
k
LM8
S
A M
L
1

A
C P
1

l uS

8

M
C

1
l P

1
S k n
6 3 ( &, $/ $'9( 57 , 6 , 1* 6 ( &7 , 21
ILA1UkLD WnI1LALk
I D C k
n I S
/

1
CREATED BY CONTENT SERVICES
$FFHVV 9LD
6PDUWSKRQH
I1 I
d , E
>
/d d ,
/d
d DZ ,/WW W
D
d
K ZK/
Z
d
/d d

Z '
'

,
,/WW
d
d

d
W /
hW^ Wh ^

,
d
/ , /d

DZ
d
d
d

d , ,
d

1 ACnW
M D L
nn D C
d ,
d

t
/ ,

t

d /
, d

/ d
hW^

>

W

/ /
d
, /
D , /d
/
/ ,
/
d d

1 ACnW
I D C k
n I S
M D L
nn D C
d /d
DZ ,
d

1
$FFHVV 9LD
6PDUWSKRQH
6 3 ( &, $/ $'9( 57 , 6 , 1* 6 ( &7 , 21
ADDI1ICNAL kLSCUkCLS L M
Business Apps: Review
42
By P. J. Connolly
O
ne might be forgiven for
thinking that after 25
releases, Autodesk had
run out of things to put
into its flagship product, AutoCAD. As
with many simple assumptions, that
simply isnt the case. The 2012 version
of the gold standard in CAD software
boasts new features designed to make
users more productive, without com-
promising performance or utility.
Perhaps the most notable thing
about this release of AutoCAD is the
emphasis on collaboration and com-
munication. First among the new
features designed to make it easier for
AutoCAD users to work with others
is the integration of PDF creation and
consumption tools. Its now possible
for AutoCAD users to publish PDF
files from within an AutoCAD draw-
ing, and to use PDF files as underlays,
with attach and snap-to capabilities.
Equally valuable is a new DWG
conversion tool, which allows users
to translate DWG files that were
created in AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT
and other applications that are built
on AutoCAD into five versions of
the DWG specification: R14 (which
dates back to 1997), DWG 2000,
DWG 2004, DWG 2007 and the cur-
rent version, DWG 2010. The con-
verter also works on batches of files,
allowing the mass conversion of file
libraries that might have become
dusty in the intervening years.
Aut oCAD 2012 al so boast s
Labs@Work: Autodesk finds more to add to the gold standard of CAD,
making collaboration easier than ever.
AutoCAD 2012:
26th Times the Charm
edge displays, scale and location.
Finally, this version of AutoCAD
for Windows supports AutoCAD
WS, the companys mobile device
and Web-based collaboration tool,
which debuted last year in conjunc-
tion with the launch of AutoCAD for
Mac 2011. AutoCAD WS runs on
Android and iOS devices and allows
users to work on DWG drawings in
real time, whether online or offline.
Migration Tools
AutoCAD 2012 installs easily and
offers migration tools for users wishing
improvements to the model docu-
mentation tools, which allow users
to generate intelligent drawing views
for models created with AutoCAD,
Autodesk Inventor and other mod-
eling tools. Users can easily import
models from a variety of tools, includ-
ing Parametric Technologys Creo
Elements/Pro (formerly Pro/Engi-
neer), CATIA and SolidWorks from
Dassault Systmes, Siemens NX, and
Rhinoceros from McNeel and Asso-
ciates. The imported models can be
instantly updated to reflect engineer-
ing changes that affect view entities,
AutoCAD 2012 allows users to more easily create 3D models of existing buildings and
objects with laser scanners, by supporting up to 2 billion scan points in a drawing.
Business Apps: Review
43
to maintain customized palettes or set-
tings. For my testing, I used an Apple
MacBook Pro with an Intel Sandy
Bridge i7 CPU running Windows 7.
Beyond the usual content manage-
ment and license assignment tools,
theres one big difference between this
and preceding versions of AutoCAD.
This release adds the option to
install Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2012,
which combines direct modeling and
parametric design approaches in a
single tool. Inventor Fusion can be
invoked from within AutoCAD 2012
as a plug-in, allowing users to edit 3D
solids; extruded, lofted, planar, revolved
and swept surfaces; and perhaps most
dramatically, NURBS (non-uniform
rational basis spline) surfaces.
AutoCAD 2012 boasts a number
of tweaks to the user interface that
were designed to make the program
easier to use for inexperienced users,
while maintaining the productivity
of seasoned operators. For example,
the Insert tab now groups the tools
for inserting and editing block refer-
ences with those for defining blocks.
Grouping operations have been
consolidated into a panel in the Home
tab. Also, the new Nudge function
allows users to use keyboard com-
mands to modify object positioning by
a few pixels in orthogonal directions.
Similarly, the command-line inter-
face has been reworkedperhaps
more dramatically than the GUI
by the addition of auto-complete
features. These include a pick list,
a color highlight of the active com-
mand in the command line window,
and the ability to display system vari-
ables and modify the delay before dis-
playing the AutoComplete pick list.
Multifunctional grips in the 2012
release support a wider range of
AutoCAD objects than previously.
These include lines, arcs and dimen-
sions, as well as faces, edges and
vertices in 3D drawings. Hovering
the cursor over a grip will reveal a
context menu that displays the rel-
evant options controlled by that grip.
New Settings
The UCS (User Coordinate Sys-
tem) features have received a great
deal of attention in AutoCAD 2012.
For starters, users can now directly
manipulate the UCS icon through
its multifunctional grips, or rotate
the UCS around the X, Y or Z axis
without invoking the UCS command.
New settings control the behavior of
the UCS icon, and the UCS shortcut
menu can be customized.
AutoCAD 2012 adds 3D model-
ing support to the associative array
functions that simplify 2D docu-
mentation. Polar and rectangular
associative arrays now work in 3D
space, and the new path option
allows users to align objects along
even an intricately curved path.
Point cloud support, which enables
users to rapidly visualize scanned
objects and access the objects sur-
face, has been enhanced in AutoCAD
2012 to support up to 2 billion points,
allowing the definition of even the
most intricate details.
Finally, AutoCAD 2012 allows
users to easily clean up their work by
identifying duplicate or unneeded
objects. Formerly known as the
Overkill Express tool, this function-
ality is now part of the core toolset.
Simplifying software often means
dumbing it down, but Autodesk
has chosen another approach to
simplification in AutoCAD 2012. Its
an approach that leaves all the soft-
wares power and flexibility intact,
while making it more approachable
than previous versions.
Instead of patronizing users ( la
Clippy), AutoCAD 2012 empowers
them, providing top-shelf functions
and capabilities in a well-organized
package.
eWEEK Labs Senior Analyst P. J.
Connolly can be reached at pj.connolly
@eweek.com.
Updated materials swatches and better organization of the library make it easier for
users to work with materials and textures.
CONTACT INFORMATION (required, please print legibly)
First Name:________________________________________________Last Name: _____________________________________________________
Company:______________________________________Title: _________________________________Division/Mail Stop: _______________________
Company Address: __________________________________________City/State/Zip: __________________________________Country: _____________
E-Mail Address:_____________________________________________________Business Telephone: _________________________________________
Your Customer ID number:______________________Your Signature:___________________________________________ Date: _____________________
(10 digit # on mailing label)
I wish to receive/continue to receive eWEEK FREE: YES NO
Do you authorize, recommend, evaluate and/or specify IT solutions,
products and/or services for your organization?
YES NO
eWEEK is available in a digital formatit is an exact replica of the print ve eWEEK rsion
delivered right to your desktop with powerful enhancements that allow you to
search, save, archive, and get your issue sooner. In which format would you like
to receive it?
F PRINT F DIGITAL
1
IT MANAGEMENT
F 001 CIO
F 002 CTO
F 016 CSO/CISO
F 004 CTA
Executive VP/Senior VP/VP:
F 003 IS/IT/MIS
F 006 Networking/Communications/Infrastructure
F 007 E-business/E-commerce
F 008 Operations
F 018 System Security
F 019 Testing or Quality Assurance or Quality Control
F 022 Product Development or Research & Development
F 023 Data Systems Architecture
F 009 Software or Systems Engineering
F 056 Software Application Design or Development
F 057 Web or Internet Development
F 013 Other IT Exec VP/Sr. VP/VP
(please specify) __________________________
Director/Sr Manager/Head of:
F 050 IS/IT/MIS
F 052 E-business/E-commerce
F 042 Operations
F 029 Data Center
F 054 Other IT Dir/Sr Mgr/Head
(please specify) __________________________
Manager/Supervisor of:
F 030 IS/IT/MIS
F 031 Networking or Communications or Infrastructure
F 032 E-Business or E-Commerce
F 033 Operations
F 040 Data Center
F 049 Project Manager
F 045 Other IT Manager
(please specify) __________________________
Staf & Specialty of:
F 061 IS or IT or MIS
F 063 E-Business or E-Commerce
F 064 Operations Support
F 065 Information Systems/Data Center Operations
F 066 Security
F 067 Testing or Quality Assurance
F 068 Product Development/Research & Development
F 069 Data Center
F 070 Engineering
F 072 Web Development
F 073 Internet Content Development
F 074 Support (Technical)
F 060 Other (Technical)
(please specify)____________
Other:
F 044 Internet Tech Consultant or Analyst
F 122 Creative/Graphics/Artistic
F 123 Computer Hardware or Software Distributor
F 124 VAR or Systems Integrator
CORPORATE MANAGEMENT
F 014 CEO
F 075 COO
F 076 CFO
F 077 CMO
F 078 CCO
F 036 President/Owner/Chairman/Partner
Executive VP/Senior VP/VP:
F 079 Call Center Operations
F 055 Finance/Accounting
F 020 Engineering (Non-IT)
F 080 Manufacturing (Non-IT)
F 081 Operations (Non-IT)
F 125 Facilities
F 082 General Management
F 083 Human Resources
F 084 Legal or Compliance
F 021 Marketing/Sales
F 085 Product Development or R&D (Non IT)
F 086 Purchasing
F 087 Quality Control
F 126 Real Estate
F 088 Telecommunications
F 089 Training or Education
F 090 Business or Corporate Development
F 017 Other Corporate Executive/Sr. VP/VP
(please specify) __________________________
Director/Senior Mgr/Head of:
F 092 Finance or Accounting
F 127 Facilities
F 099 Marketing or Sales
F 101 Purchasing
F 128 Real Estate
F 046 Other Corp. Director/Senior Mgr/Head
(please specify) __________________________
Manager/Supervisor of:
F 107 Finance or Accounting
F 130 Facilities
F 114 Marketing or Sales
F 116 Purchasing
F 131 Real Estate
F 047 Other Corp. Manager/Supervisor
(please specify) __________________________
Other:
F 024 Business/Financial Analyst
F 121 Consultant
F 132 Customer Service Representative
F 015 Other (please specify)_________________
Which of the following best describes your primary job title?
(Check one only)
You may use the following form to subscribe to or renew your subscription. You must answer all the
questions on page 1 and on page 2 to be eligible. eWEEK oers free digital and print subscriptions
to qualied applicants within the U.S. and Canada and free digital subscriptions to qualied non-
residents. Please call Customer Service at 1-(888) 663-8438 for assistance.
For faster service, apply online at: http://subscribe.eweek.com and enter Priority Code: RIN611A
FREE SUBSCRIPTION APPLICATION
2
GO DIRECTLY TO THIS WEB SITE: http://subscribe.eweek.com EXECUTIVE PRIORITY CODE: RIN611A
F 14 10,000 or more
F 04 5,000 to 9,999
F 05 1,000 to 4,999
F 06 500 to 999
F 07 100 to 499
F 16 50 to 99
F 19 10 to 49
F 18 1 to 9
How many people are
employed in your entire
organization? (Check one only)
7
F Yes
F No
Do you resell IT
products and
services?
8
NON-COMPUTER INDUSTRY
F 01 Manufacturing
F 02 Finance/Banking/Accounting/Venture Capitalist
F 09 Insurance/Real Estate/Legal
F 35 Federal Government
F 36 State and Local Government
F 08 Aerospace/Defense/Military
F 04 Healthcare/HMO/Hospital/Medical
F 06 Pharmaceuticals/Biotech/Agricultural/Life Sciences
F 33 Education: K-12
F 34 Education: College/University/Cont Ed
F 29 Retail (non-computer)
F 30 Wholesale/Distribution (Non-Computer)
F 11 Transportation (highway, air, railroad, maritime)
F 12 Mining/Energy/Utilities/Refneries
F 13 Engineering/Architecture/Construction
F 07 Tourism/Travel/Hotel/Restaurant Services
F 05 Entertainment/Publishing/Broadcasting
F 17 Marketing/Advertising/Public Relations
F 16 Non-Proft/Trade Association/R&D
F 19 Business Services/Consultancy
COMPUTER RELATED INDUSTRY
F 20 Computer Manufacturing
F 31 Computer Retail
F 32 Computer Wholesale/Distribution
F 10 Telecommunications/Network Service Provider
F 23 System/Network Integrator or Provider/VAR
F 21 Data Processing Services/Outsourcing
F 18 Computer/Network Services Consultancy
F 25 ISP/ASP/Communications Carriers
F 26 Independent Web/Software Developer or Vendor
F 24 E-Commerce/E-Business Integrator or Provider
F 28 Security/Storage Provider/SAN Management
F 27 Other
(please specify)_______________________
$100 Million $50 to $99.9 $10 to $49.9 $1 to $9.9 $500,000 to $100,000 - Less than
or More Million Million Million $999,999 $499,999 $100,000 None
A Application Design and Development Tools 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
B Cloud Computing Services 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
C Customer Communications/Relationship Management 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
D Databases and Database Management Tools 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
E Desktop & Notebook Computers 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
F Desktop Software 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
G Disaster Recovery/Back-up Systems 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
H End User Application Software 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
I Enterprise Applications 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
J IT Consulting Services 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
K IT Security 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
L Mobile Devices 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
M Network Hardware 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
N Server and Storage Hardware 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
O Telecommunications 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
P Training 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
Q Virtualization 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
R Other (please specify)____________________ 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 10 F
PLEASE MAIL OR FAX THIS ENTIRE FORM BOTH PAGES TO:
eWEEK attn: Customer Service
PO Box 3402
Northbrook, IL 60065-3402
FAX: 847 2914816
FOR FASTER SERVICE, APPLY ONLINE AT: http://subscribe.eweek.com and enter priority code: RIN611A
GO DIRECTLY TO THIS WEB SITE: http://subscribe.eweek.com EXECUTIVE PRIORITY CODE: RIN611A
FREE SUBSCRIPTION APPLICATION
What is your companys annual budget for each of the following technology products and services? (Select one dollar range for each category below)
Which of the following best describes your companys primary business? (Check one only) 3
4
F 01 Authorize Purchases
F 02 Evaluate/Specify Brands or Vendors
F 04 Create IT Strategy
F 05 Determine IT Needs
F 06 Align Business & IT Goals
F 11 Manage Vendor Relationships
F 12 Other Role in IT Decision Making Process
F 99 Not Involved in IT Decision Making Process
Which of the following describes your role
in the IT decision-making process at your
company? (Check all that apply)
6
F 01 81% - 100%
F 02 61% - 80%
F 03 41% - 60%
F 04 25% - 40%
F 08 Less than 25%
F 07 None
Overall, what percentage of the
above budget are you personally
involved with? (Check one only)
5
eWEEK J UNE 20, 2011 46
Rockin With
Bono
and Dell?
ADV E RT I S I NG S AL E S OF F I C E S
Jeff Strief
President, Enterprise Business
(212) 503-5621
Katie Yeend
Executive Assistant, Sales and Marketing
(212) 503-5626
EASTERN REGION
Frank Bilich, Vice President, Eastern Regional Manager
(212) 503-5634
Eric Biener, Vice President, Strategic Accounts
(212) 503-5646
Chip Zaborowki, Strategic Account Director
(212) 503-5635
Teresa Varela, Strategic Account Director
(212) 503-5696
Alex Dardac, Strategic Account Manager
(212) 503-5651
Christine Blake, Account Services Coordinator
(212) 503-5623
Phoebe Klein, Account Executive
(212) 503-5604
Heather ODea, Account Services Manager
(212) 503-5791
Ann Jesse, Director of Sales, Developer Shed
(785) 841-8834
Samantha Amoroso, Account Coordinator
(212) 503-5945
Elyssa Greene, Account Coordinator
(212) 503-5747
TEXAS
Thomas Rousseau, Senior Vice President, Strategic Accounts
(512) 344-9448
WESTERN REGION
Sandra Gibson, Strategic Account Director
(415) 547-8422
Christi Basch, Strategic Account Director
April Ramirez, Silicon Valley Strategic Account Director
(415) 547-8470
Rachel Gordon, Account Executive
(415) 547-8452
Maria Plummer, Senior Account Coordinator
(415) 547-8317
Alexa Calvarese, Account Coordinator
(415) 547-8451
Justin Cranford, Account Coordinator
PRODUCTION
Bill McMahon, Production Manager
(212) 503-6042
SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES
(888) 663-8438 ewk@omeda.com
eWEEKS sales and marketing staffs can be reached at (212) 503-5600 or
(800) 758-3789, or via e-mail by using the following convention: name.
surname@ziffdavisenterprise.com. eWEEK, PC Week, PC Week
Netweek, PC Week Shoot-Out, Spencer F. Katt and Spencer F.
Katt: Rumor Central are registered trademarks of Ziff Davis Publishing
Holdings Inc. Copyright (c) 2002 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
For permission to reuse material in this publication or to use our logo,
send e-mail to permissions@ziffdavisenterprise.com.
For reprints, contact Wrights Reprints via e-mail,
zde@wrightsreprints.com; phone, (877) 652-5295.
I
f theres one thing the
Learned Lynx knows, its
that technology makes
strange bedfellows. And
few things are stranger
than seeing a major international band
like U2 hanging with those normally
buttoned-down IT mavens from Dell, who
set up the computing muscle that drives
the dazzling multimedia displays backing
up the rock groups current U.S. tour.
Spencer, a longtime music fan, scored
a backstage pass to check out how those
technicians from deep in the heart of Texas
were using specialized Dell workstations to
drive massive displays that keep the music
pulsing at an outdoor concert for 55,000.
Then the Tawny Titan headed over to
Anaheims Angel Stadium to hang with lead
singer Bono and his guitar-playing sidekick,
The Edge. Nice shades, mate, Bono said.
The Kitty was honored.
U2 performs on what is literally the
worlds largest and most unique stage: a
360-degree stage that allows huge num-
bers of fans to watch from behind. It also
incorporates the worlds largest video
screen. The Katt was awed by the size and
weight of the screen: It weighs 54 tons, is
4,300 square feet in size when closed, and
expands to more than 14,000 square feet
and seven stories tall when opened.
Throughout each concert, U2s design
team tailors graphics using live concert video
footage from 15 cameras mounted through-
out the stadiumall run on Dell Precision
R5400 rack-mounted workstations and
UltraSharp U2711 monitors. After the con-
cert, Spencer returned backstage to con-
gratulate Bono & Co. Loved the show, he
purred, but all this hardware takes a ton of
power. Can you make it greener? After all,
youre pretty, uh, environmentally aware.
Bono thought for a moment. Youre
absolutely right! Well virtualize the sys-
tem for the next showbut were not
skimping on the loud levels.
Deal! roared the Katt. p
1. Trivial Tester. Blocks all tweets involving what
you had for breakfast, your dogs name and
your commute hassles.
2. Hashtag Intelligence. Blocks stupid hashtags:
#Grandslambreakfastclub
3. Cash Register. Converts the time you are
wasting on Twitter into a dollar amount.
4. Articial Intelligence. Blocks tweets going to
certain groupsGreenpeace tweets to big oil
companies.
5. Weiner Waiter. Holds onto your tweets for a
day while you decide if you want to tweet your
career into the trash can.
Spencer Katts Five Twitter Capabilities We Need Right Now!
www. .com
IS YOUR BUSINESS SAFE BETWEEN THE DOTS?
If your site goes down because of attacks, your business goes down with it. But with Verisign
DDoS Protection
Services, Verisign continuously monitors and helps protect your site from even the largest denial-of-service attacks. Our
industry-leading technology, Internet scale, and DDoS expertise help keep your business available. Best of all, its a
scalable, cloud-based solution, which means you do not have to invest in costly infrastructure or equipment.
View the Best Practices for DDoS Mitigation webinar and
keep your site connecting to customers at VerisignInc.com/DDoS
2011 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved. VERISIGN, the Verisign logo, and other trademarks, service marks, and Verisign designs are registered or unregistered
trademarks of VeriSign, Inc., and its subsidiaries in the United States and in foreign countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

eWEEK June 20, 2011 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

eWEEK June 20, 2011 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BUSI NESS TECHNOLOGY J UN E 2 0 , 2 0 11 V OL . 2 8 , N O.

Dedicated SSL Certicate

You might also like