Drawing The Curtain

The server business is entering a fascinating phase, with processors that feature power through the roof and energy efficiency unrivaled by older chips; extraordinary hardware options available to you whether you're in a large enterprise or a small business; a growing, stable open-source platform in Linux that's going head to head with Microsoft's forthcoming, exciting Longhorn server and some wonderful legacy platforms; the old reliables of supercomputers or flexible new clustering methods to compete for the high-end; and pretty good pricing on all of it. If you can't figure out a server platform for your company that will increase your business efficiency, save you money and justify your investment, you're not really trying. And that's the point at which I'll leave things. Server Pipeline and its newsletter will be transitioning as of Friday into CMP Media's Network Computing, with a crack staff, a revamped magazine and an upgraded website; they will bring you all the news, reviews, and insight you'll ever need about servers and how they can add value to your business. Visit it early and often. (And don't forget my excellent colleagues at InformationWeek and TechWeb, either.)

As for me, I'm already off to different and welcome challenges, but it's been a fascinating ride at Server Pipeline and this newsletter. I'm genuinely grateful that you invited me into your e-mail boxes and your browser bookmarks the past couple of years and contributed so much superb feedback and opinions along the way; I hope I was able to give something of value back. May your data centers, whatever the size, stay up 24/7 and give you 100 percent efficiency; you all deserve it.