Microsoft have billed today’s triple UK launch of Windows Server 2008 along with SQL Server and Visual Studio at the Wellcome Centre in central London. Microsoft is demanding the full attention of a lot of journalists (possible as many as 60 all told) to outline the new products.
Normally this is an opportunity for the press to quiz a company about the new products.. This event is definitely different for a couple of reasons.
First the products are not really new as they have been heavily trailed and everyone who wishes has had a chance to see them in action, or at least have a taste. What it should be about now is the reality.
The second reason is the minimum amount of chance the press have got to put their questions to Microsoft.
Having just sat though the presentations the press had about five minutes to ask questions. We must wait to get them later.
ZDNet.co.uk did manage to get in one question. Why did Microsoft announced not one or two virtualisation products but six? Is that not confusing for IT managers trying to grasp virtualisation..
There is one main product – Hyper-V the hypervisor – but six different strands depending on the type of virtualisation.
Confusing with Profile Presentation, Management, Server, Desktop, and Application as the choices, Or you will have some or all perhaps.
Microsoft’s general manager for servers and tools, Larry Orecklin was patient with what he no doubt thought was a naïve question. “The different types cover different situations,” he said. “You will want to do different things according to the situation.”
At 5.45pm the second half of the day begins and it should hold other answers.

If there was a reason why HP should fly a bunch of journalists off to Cannes in France it was revealed on Monday when the two companies joined up for a press conference to announce the latest step in their pact, that HP would be carrying VMware’s ESX 3i virtualisation product.
The two companies have had a joint agreement for some time (“six or seven years” was one HP insider’s estimate) and this agreement broadens it significantly. Monday was in some ways a celebration of that agreement as the first VMware conference in Europe, VMware Expo, prepared to kick off.
ESX 3i is to be embedded into 10 models in HP’s ProLiant systems range to begin with. By using ESX 3i organisations can have virtualised systems that run out of the box. A chief benefit for organisations is the ability to pool and share the organisations resource offering the potential of savings from their more efficient use. ESX on ProLiant will be available from March 31st.
HP and VMware have also worked together, the companies say, to make available software bundles that combine the VMware Infrastructure 3 software suite and additional automation products (which have not yet been specified) with HP Insight Control Environment.
As a company, HP appears very happy with VMware, so much so that, while it does not like talking too much about the competition, it could be drawn out on some of the area. One question that was asked was had it considered a company like Xen Source alongside VMware. No was the answer. Was it looking to incorporate Citrix’s skills as well. No was the answer again or at least not yet.
Monday was all about VMware, the gathered HP officials made it clear. Now there is a loyal partner.

COPAN Systems the MAID storage supplier (MAID stands for Massive Arrays of Idle Disks) is partnering with Luminex Channel Gateway with the aim of Luminex making the most of COPAN’s clever storage.
Luminex Software develops mainframe connectivity and virtual tape products and is hoping to take advantage of some of the features of MAID. One of the key advantages of COPAN technology is that it helps mainframe users to get more efficient of their huge investments in storage technology. The issue is around persistent data (write once, read occasionally) that has to be kept on storage servers but carries on spinning using valuable energy resource (ie power) while it may only be read once in a week or a month or a year.
COPAN’s heavily patented technology helps with exactly that issue allowing its customers to see significant savings in power, cooling and even floor space.
As I explained in an article last April:
“Due to the patented technology that stores the data, the arrays are very dense — with up to 448TB on one frame. The cost is around $90,000 (£45,448) for one shelf, which works out at $3 to $5 per terabyte.”
Apart from the fact that the maths will have become even more favourable, thanks to the issues with the dollar price and the continuing breakthroughs in technology, that will no doubt still be accurate today.
Other advantages I detailed were:
“The racks are also particularly efficient. According to COPAN, only 46 fans are needed on a full cabinet in comparison with up to 100 or more on a conventional disk sub-system, which would need to be stored in six cabinets for the same capacity. There are similar figures for processors, cables and power converters.
“COPAN's customers include the NHS in the UK, which has bought five systems for use on the data spine. BT is another UK customer. Worldwide customers include the Nasdaq stock exchange, Nasa and Symantec.”
That sort of customer list and those features are no doubt what attracted Luminex.

Small applause to HP for its use of re-cycled plastics as it has claimed something of a breakthrough. Instead of using pristine, new plastic in its print cartridges it has been using re-cycled plastic instead.
Since HP started using the process it has achieved good results, it ways, with "more than 200 million cartridges [being] manufactured using the process thus far". More than "5 million pounds of recycled plastic [was used] in its inkjet cartridges last year, and the company is committed to using twice as much in 2008".
And it is here that we get close to the heart of the matter and what makes green campaigners - and aren't most of us green in one way or another these days? - start to reach for something large, heavy and able to be re-cycled, to hit HP with.
Why so much plastic? Because HP sells expensive (in fact, VERY expensive) cartridges and does not like people using the cheaper, greener option of just re-filling the cartridge with ink. HP will give you a lot of reasons why its cartridges represent a good deal. Others will say that it is much cheaper and greener to squirt itself full rather than chew up yet another cartridge, even if it is green.
And then, don't get me started on the paper wastage caused by cartridges telling you they are empty and need replacing when you can still print another 100 pages with the same cartridge that you were told to get rid of? Step forward Dell on that last point.
At least Dell will take away and re-cycle your cartridge at its expense using handy envelopes provided. But why can you not simply replace your own without wasting the paper and postage. And so on, it seems ad infinitum.