Posted 11/17/09 at 09:37:41 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference (PDC) began today, and right off the bat we have some solid information about an impending release. Windows Azure will be available to businesses on January 1, 2010. It will be free for the first month as well.

Windows Azure will be an operating system in the cloud. An applications layer will be hosted in a datacenter and developers will be able to write applications for it like they would for any other OS. The cloud service landscape has changed significantly since the Redmond giant started talking about the cloud-based web some four years ago.

The number of netbooks and smartphones has exploded since Microsoft began this endeavor. These platforms may benefit most from technologies like Azure. Can Microsoft make cloud-based services a part of their core business with Azure? Maybe we’ll get some clues during the rest of PDC.

Read More

Posted 10/09/08 at 05:15:33 PM by Alex Castle

Microsoft’s upcoming internet-based OS, heretofore known only as Windows Cloud, might finally have a name: “Strata.” On the website for their Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft briefly listed a number of cloud computing session under the heading “Windows Strata.” The listing was quickly taken down, but not before observant bloggers picked up on the slip.

Of course, the Strata name is far from a sure thing. Beyond Binary reports that as of Wednesday morning, no trademark had been filed for “Windows Strata,” and that a Microsoft representative said, via e-mail “As you know, Microsoft uses internal code names for pending technologies and from time to time they make their way to the public. We’re looking forward to talking more about our cloud services platform at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.”

In the mean time, what do you think of the name “Windows Strata?” Tell us after the break.  

Read More

Posted 10/02/08 at 07:52:55 PM by Mark Edward Soper

"Windows Cloud" is the code name for a new operating system that will make its debut at Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference later this month, InfoWorld reports.

It's no secret that Microsoft has been developing what it calls "software plus services" for some time now. In addition to SharePoint, Exchange, and Dynamic CRM software for enterprise and business clients, the list of S+S from Microsoft also includes the home and small-business-oriented Windows Live family, which has just been upgraded.  So, what exactly will be in "Windows Cloud" (or whatever its actual name will be)? For a peek behind the curtain, and the Microsoft rival preparing to use Microsoft's own tools against it, join us after the jump.

Read More