Dell: January 2008 Archives
So, I'm actually down in Round Rock, TX, attending a Dell Executive Briefing, today and tomorrow. I'm sitting in the hotel room catching up on my RSS feeds, and one thing caught my eye:
Dell continues the innovation in Blade technology (via BladeWatch)
First, I have to give mad props to the BladeWatch blog. It's, generally speaking, an aggregation of a lot of the DataCenter consolidation news around the interwebs, focusing on Blade Technology, but also Virtualization of every flavor. It has a unique slant, which I appreciate, towards "Green IT", something I'm completely in favor of and hold quite dear.
I'll be learning more about the M1000e and M600 line of Blades and enclosures from Dell tomorrow, but I'm immediately excited by what I see on their website. Finally, I think Dell has a Blade product-line that can really compete with the IBM BladeCenters that we've been running for years.
Oh, and you can buy them now! Girlz? Why didn't we hear about this *before* we bought that latest round of R900s for Project Bubblewrap?!? Oh, and they run more efficiently than the other guys. SUH-WEET!
Check out Dell's Blade Server Product Page for the current spec. Also, check out that sweet step-by-step (pdf) on the unboxing of the Blades chassis from Dell, HP, and IBM. I can *fully* corroborate the almost bass-ackwards packaging and process for the IBM BladeCenter chassis. Awkward!
Saw an interesting article up on the Windows IT Pro website about Microsoft and Dell partnering with (PRODUCT)RED [via WikiPedia], which you may be more familiar with on the consumer products sides of things, with retailers like the Gap and Motorola licensing the (PRODUCT)RED brand as a way of raising money for various African continent humanitarian initiatives.
Probably the most visible aspect of the brand is emphasis on HIV/AIDS policies and practices (one of Product Red's main principles).
Dell will be releasing a RED-branded hardware, and Microsoft will include a RED-branded version of Vista Ultimate, available only on that RED-branded Dell hardware.
As a former Student Health Educator at the University, I'm keenly sensitive to the issues surrounding the spread, prevention, and education of HIV/AIDS on College campuses. But, the pandemic of this horrific disease in the developing world (and in underserved populations in our own cities), means to me that there is so much left to do.
Hopefully, this announcement from Microsoft and Dell is just the vanguard of a legion of another partnerships with mega-corporations we all know and love.
Who knows? Is a (PRODUCT)RED Wharton Lab, 100% comprised of these Dell computers in our near future?
Read more about the (PRODUCT)RED announcement from Microsoft and Dell and maybe purchase a computer or two to support the cause [Windows IT Pro] [Dell].
