Real Time View

I am still catching up with work following HP’s Technology Forum and Expo (HPTF&E) in Las Vegas. I will be leaving for vacation at the end of this week and that is only adding to the pressure to make sure I meet my commitments. The picture above is of me alongside HP’s “Performance-Optimized Datacenter” (POD) that was on display in a small exhibition space beneath the main expo hall. Seeing a “standard” container used this way really took me back to my early days in IT. Some readers may remember my post from March 28, ‘08 “ The need for standardization! ” where I wrote “the time I spent working in the container shipping business really reinforced for me the value that comes from standardization ... (and) when it comes to standardization, we are beginning to see the same revolutionary approach to packaging appear in the computing industry. It is already well on its way when it comes to storage, and now it’s all about blades!” Back in the early ‘70s I saw first-hand the value tha...

I arrived for this year’s HP Technology Forum and Expo (HPTF) Sunday afternoon – well before the official start of the program - to get my first look at the expo. For me, the signs that a major event is about to happen is best reinforced with the activity on the exhibition floor and amid the rubble and chaos, I came across the stand of QLogic Corporation that stopped me dead in my tracks. The picture above shows the prize, a Ducati 1198 sports bike that attendees registering at their stand could win! And Mike Geroche of QLogic assured me that I would be the winner – so I spent a little time making sure no one scratched “my bike!” Early Sunday evening, as I had walked towards the hotel elevators, I ran into Daryl Ragan standing in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay. For as long as I have been involved with NonStop user events, Daryl had been extremely helpful to me when I was Summit chair from 2000 to 2002. Shortly after exchanging pleasantries, Daryl was joined by Janice Reeder-Highleyman...

Whenever I return from spending time in Boulder, there’s a serious pile of magazines waiting for me. As I empty the mail box it feels a lot like Christmas, as the mix of business, motorcycle, and automobile literature spills into my hands. Glancing at the covers can often stop me dead in my tracks, forcing me to pull one of two of them out for a quick spot check. Anything new always gets my attention! Boulder weather was a little unseasonable last week. I had to check the calendar to make sure it was late May as the weather was more like late fall or even early winter – chilly, with light rain. The mountains were shrouded in mist from the low clouds, reminiscent of a Led Zeppelin song, or a page from Lord of the Rings. I took the opportunity to blow the cobwebs out of the Boulder coupe, and the picture above is of me by the side of Carter Lake, a popular boating destination nestled into the front ranges, a little to the North of Boulder. For the moment, sports are very much in the news...