Patrick Hynds

Okay, summer's over. Let's get back to work... But first, let's look at what's new. Microsoft has taken WinFS, its new file system, out of the first release of its next operating system. The story is that WinFS will follow soon after the OS releases. For most of us, this is something we don't need to worry about for a couple of years, at least. EMC has reduced prices on its Celera line of NASes. Network Appliance still dominates the high-end NAS business and its alliance with NTP Software for storage management gives it a significant advantage in the marketplace. Speaking of NTP Software, they have released their Deep Scan technology for content filtering. Deep Scan uses sophisticated heuristics to determine the real content of a file without creating a huge impact on storage platform performance. What's on tap for Q4? Based on the conversations we've been having, the... (more)

i-Technology Opinion: Will Cyber Storm "Break the Internet"?

Information Storage & Security Journal Co-Editor-in-Chief Patrick Hynds writes: The U.S. deparment of Homeland Security is performing a readiness test this month called Cyber Storm, after rescheduling. The Cyber Storm exercise is about ensuring and testing against a computer based attack or hack against public infrastructure targets as well as some parts of the private sector. This has caused some (on Slashdot.org for example) to decry it as idiocy that will only "break the Internet". These are likely the same people who would apportion blame if an attack came and we found oursel... (more)

Storage & Security Journal: "Striking the Right Balance"

Storage is still one of the most costly and fastest-growing aspects of everyone's network and is likely to remain so for some time. Every network user is a storage user. We're all part of a community that shares the costs and the benefits of this expensive resource. Storage management can be a challenging task. There's so much hardware, so many alternatives, and so many issues that it's easy to get lost in the details and fail to see the forest for the trees. Networked storage is a service not a product. While hardware is necessary for you to provide the service, successful stor... (more)

Community and Ecosystems – .NET Has Arrived

(SYS-CON Media) – I am often struck by how good some ideas are and often wonder whether they are happened upon by accident (dumb luck), like the discovery of Teflon and penicillin, or whether there was just a really good idea that made it happen. I think what we are seeing in the evolution of .NET is a bit of both. .NET has arrived in my opinion. I base this on the really powerful community I see surrounding it, especially from where I sit here in the North East just north of Boston. I also note that the conversations have ended that contain the often-heard phrase, "If .NET... (more)

.NET Editorial — On the Horizon

Usually in this space I like to summarize the contents of the issue and point out anything bearing in particular on our theme, but if you will indulge me, I would like to talk more long term and big picture this month. I am thinking specifically about security. Not a big surprise for those who know me and, if you were paying attention, you might have noticed that I used to be the security editor before taking over as editor-in-chief. Security is one of those pervasive things like error handling. You don't typically notice it until it fails you when you need it most. I was talking... (more)