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Trustware has released an application called BufferZone that seems to be targeted as a security application along the lines of GreenBorder, but it offers protection beyond Internet Explorer only. The free version looks to me like it's positioned somewhere between Altiris SVS and GreenBorder. When you download it, you have to specify which application you want to protect, ranging from well known P2P applications, web browsers and Instant Messaging clients. It comes in several flavors, ranging from the free single application version to a full corporate edition that has central management features as well as multi application protection.

I haven't tested it yet, but I'll have a look at it tomorrow.

I think I've posted enough for one day now.

VMWare Server 1.0 has been released, after a public beta period. The virtualization product remains a free download as promised. Other fun news is that VirtualCenter for VMware Server also has been announced. This gives you centralized management for VMware Server 1.0, ESX Server 2.x (and ESX 3.0), and GSX Server 3.x hosts from one console.

While Virtual Center isn't a free product, like VMWare Server, the centralized management features makes it easy to manage different VMWare products from one console. I'll let VMWare brag about it here.

The company I work for has, with a lot of help from me, finally decided to walk down the real virtualization road. We have played a lot with both VMware Workstation and VMware server until now, but not the real deal ESX server.

Over the summer, two brand new IBM xSeries 366 with double dual-core CPUs and a brand new DS4300 based SAN, will grace our datacenter. I can't wait to get down and dirty with the new VMware 3.0 release, scheduled for release sometime this month.

We will be converting some 15 servers over to a new virtualized environment in the time to come, as well as setting up a bunch of new much needed server installations.

I'm excited!

In a press release dated the 22nd of May 2006, Microsoft outlines their Virtualization Road Map.

Mostly well known news there, but one thing caught my attention though was the following passage:

Intent to acquire Softricity, Inc: Softricity’s application virtualization and streaming technologies provide application compatibility and accelerate corporate desktop transitions to Windows Vista.

Softricity is an american based company which makes a very nifty application virtualization suite (Softgrid) that helps you entirely sandbox applications in their own virtual environments. Often used in combination with Citrix based Terminal Server solutions, but their applications also allows you to stream applications to a desktop computer.

To me, this sounds very much like Microsoft is definately moving towards a more "applications as a service" approach, and moving away from traditional software installation/distribution. "Pay-as-you-go" applications, available anywhere and at any time, virtualization and more. Seems like Microsoft is really shifting gears and they do start to look more like a service provider than an a pure OS/Office provider than before. For more reactions and analysis on how this will affect how we distribute software in Windows based solutions, check dabcc.com

Be sure to catch Bill Gates Keynote at Winhec live at 9PM PST on the 23rd of May. I'm sure these topics as well as Terminal Services are going to be covered.