Computer World Canada Magazine

^{Mark Els Rodney Gedda Ron Glen}_{Vanessa Ho}an eventful 2005 ^Another ^notable ^trend ^of ²⁰⁰⁵ ^was ^that ^of ^wireless ^{mobility. Again,} ^this ^was ^not ^something ^that ^popped ^up ^on ^New ^Years ^Eve ^oflast year and took off throughout the present calendar, but one that Paul Krill had been growing for some time.

_{Carol Sli wa}the year just yet when this paper hits corporate private data almost anywhere at almost anytime trans- Jaikumar Vijayan your desk, this is our last issue of formed from a “Wow” to a “Ho-hum”. Travellers expect quick and _{Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Dan McLean}A 2005: meaning it’s a fine time to think reliable access in airports and hotels; field workers expect apps to be about what the past 12 months were like in the ready on their handhelds 24/7. world of IT and examine just what this rather Finally, 2005 also witnessed a widespread acceptance of eventful year will be most remembered for. outsourcing as an often imperative course of IT action. This

^{Warren Lee}lthough it won’t quite be the end of It seemed that this year, having access to public networks and a Agam Shah

AR T AND PRODUC TION

Graphic Artists Irena Gorian Cheryl Quinn

Production Coordinator Anna Demetriou

Creative Manager Jeff Coles

One of the biggest trends that we saw flour- set of circumstances should continue to expand in 2006 as lingering ish in ‘05 was the continued growth of IT in doubts about the practice’s safety are dwarfed by its the overall business picture for most large enterprises. convenience. 055964

The people in the back room full of servers and wires have slowly

^{COMPU TER WORLD CANADA SALES}been gaining a more prominent role in the higher-level business

Print Sales Manager Mirza Baig decisions ultimately made by the CEO and his team of upper-level

Strategic Accounts Chris Ir win executives.

_{Enterprise Accounts Stephen King}It’s no longer a question of whether IT is important to the com-

_{Online Sales Stephen Kranabetter}pany, or whether it can act as a differentiator in crowded markets.

_{Eleanor Mc Millan}Today, the question is, How can we most effectively spend a
tight budget on IT and get the kinds of returns on those invest-

CIRCULATION

genright@itworldcanada.com

Fulfillment Manager Cheryl Patfield

Circulation Director Doni Moore

above the cloud BY JAMES KOBIELUS

Clients virtualize beyond recognition

CORPORATE

Chairman Michael R. Atkins

President and Group Publisher Andrew White

Vice-President and Editorial Director John Pickett

its implementation in particular What’s primarily left is a client its Windows Live basic browser. AJAX-
physical platforms, operating virtualization technology called strategy, under which capable browsers, such
systems, application frameworks Windows Presentation Founda- operating system and as Internet Explorer
and software components. tion (WPF), which allows the application features and Firefox, shift the
Essentially, a client becomes Windows GUI to be dynamically will be provided presentation emphasis
virtualized when its GUI grows rendered, tailored and custom- as hosted soft ware away from download-
abstracted from the resources ized by applications, in keeping as a service. Live is ing individual Web
of the local access device, be it a with a declarative markup syntax essentially aimed at pages toward navigat-
PC, handheld or other computer. called Extensible Application making free Microsoft-hosted ing within richer, structured,
^For ^printed ^and ^electronic ^reprints, ^please The virtualized client may rely on Markup Language (XAML). services — such as e-mail, instant client-side content caches.
contact Anna Demetriou at 416-290-0240
or ademetriou@it worldcanada.com both local and remote network Essentially, WPF/XAML messaging, search, file sharing, The enriched browser can
resources to render its interface, enables a virtualized separation VoIP, soft ware delivery and RSS execute more application logic,

General Manager, I Tworldcanada.com Nicole Filiatrault

General Manager,
GovernmentDivision FawnAnnan

General Manager, Enterprise Group Dan McLean

Controller Rob Novorolsky Human Resources Sonia Singh

Client virtualization is an Microsoft has removed most of become the virtualized presenta- clients and servers even further. underlying theme in many the new functional components tion layer to all Windows versions. Enriched browsers such as recent industry announce- — including security and There’s even more to Mi- those supporting Asynchronous ments. In virtualization, file-system enhancements — that crosoft’s client virtualization JavaScript + XML (AJAX) deliver the external interface of every were supposed to make Vista story. Last month, a more GUI-like user service becomes unmoored from worth waiting for. Microsoft announced experience than a

^HOW ^TO ^CONTACT ^{COMPUTERWORLD}furnish its processing power, of the Windows presentation aggregation — integral to Micro- cache more content and perform Telephone: (416) 290-0240

Fax: (416) 290-0238 store its data, route its print jobs interface from the underlying soft’s not-free client software. more rendering locally than a Mail: Computer World, and handle other core client application code. When the client operating basic browser.

⁵⁵ ^Town ^Centre ^Court, ^Suite ^302, ^Scarborough,_Ontario _M1P _4X4functions. Users remain blissfully Microsoft has even decoupled system goes “live,” per Microsoft’s And it offloads some or all of
_E-mail: _The _{publication’s} _address _is unaware of what blend of distrib- WPF/XAML from Vista, tak- strategy, it blurs the practical these functions from portals,
^{cwc@itworldcanada.com} uted resources is actually driving ing the Windows platform boundary between those functions Web sites and other presentation
Also, employees may be reached using
a combination of their first initial and last name, their presentation experience. another step down the road to total the client performs from local servers. 059488
^for ^example: ^{genright@itworldcanada.com} Vendors are avidly exploring virtualization. WPF/XAML, and resources and those it relies on the
^Online: ^{www.ITworldcanada.com}ways to virtualize client environ- all Vista features, also will be made service fabric to accomplish. Kobielus is a senior technical
^Subscription ^inquiries:₍₆₁₃₎ _475-3217 _{or 1-800-565-4007} ments. Take Microsoft Windows available as retrofits for legacy But let’s not give Microsoft all systems analyst at Exostar, a
^fax ⁽⁴¹⁶⁾ ^290-0239 ^or ^{1-800-565-8148}Vista, for example. In the long, Windows operating systems, the credit. Enriched browsers business-to-business trading
e-mail: circulation@itworldcanada.com
tortured ramp-up to the release including XP and Server 2003. of all varieties are blurring the exchange. He can be reached at
of this client operating system, This new technology will basically practical distinction between james_kobielus@hotmail.com

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