Notes From the Keynote
VMware CTO Dr. Stephen Herrod gave the keynote talk this morning. Mostly, he repeated what Paul Maritz
said yesterday, just with a lot more detail. He certainly is a more dynamic speaker than Maritz, who is at about the same level as Bill Gates as a presenter (and no, that's not a compliment).
Herrod was more animated and more outwardly enthusiastic. He didn't get into any more specifics in terms of products or deliverable dates, but he did talk more about the technology behind VDC-OS, cloud computing and VMware View.
It's worth noting that there was exactly one spontaneous outburst of applause during the two keynotes: it was when Herrod announced that VirtualCenter (now vCenter) had been ported to Linux, in the form of a virtual appliance. I guess it's not a terribly pro-Microsoft crowd. Herrod, in fact, went even further than that, saying vCenter will eventually be available on any device, including my iPhone (something Executive Editor Tom Valovic still doesn't have yet -- right, Tom?)
Other tidbits:
- On one wall was a table with a rack full of headsets. The headsets were translators to Japanese and Chinese. It didn't look like almost any were actually taken. I've heard, though, from VMware PR reps that there are about 90 journalists attending the show, and a large contingent is from overseas.
- I agree absolutely, 100 percent with analyst (and all-around good guy) Dan Kusnetzky's take on the loud and obnoxious music, light show, fog machine -- Fog machine! What is this, Phantom of the Opera? -- etc. that preceded both keynotes. Too much, VMware. Way, way too much.
- More evidence of the age in which we live: a blogging-specific row, containing two tables. Hilarious. Good for the bloggers, I'm sure, but a little strange that they're now a recognized breed (although I guess that includes me, too).
More blogging goodness coming.
Posted by Keith Ward on 09/17/2008 at 12:48 PM