Mungkin bingung maksud dari judul di atas itu apa ya.. ya ada deh maksudnya apa hanya 3 yang tau (passs banget).. aku, dia dan DIA..
Yuppz, 3 ini menggambarkan dan melukiskan sudah berapa lama aku dan dirinya bersama terus-terus dan terus untuk selalu berkata “cinta dan sayang”. Dari 2006 ke 2009 dan aku berharap banget untuk terus selama-lamanya dalam larut dalam doa dan sujud padaNYA agar “cinta dan sayang” ini dipelihara, dimudahkan dan disatukan karena aku sayang bangeet padanya..
Terima kasih atas cinta yang kamu berikan, kesabaran, kesetiaan, doa untukku. Semoga ALLAH selalu ada pada diri kita, membimbing kita pada saat suka dan duka, karena dirimu ada pada saat aku sedih dan senang, dan aku juga begitu untuk selalu bersamamu serta menjagamu.. Amiin..
Kuala Lumpur.. TT.. Genting.. KLCC.. KLIA.. Malaysia..
Ini blog, tadinya gak mau di publish ntah gak ada alasan yang real ataupun pas untuk menggambarkannya..hmm sedikit weird yahh.. tapi, tiba-tiba aja 24 Mei 09, 22:26 PM gw kepengen cerita..
6 November 2008, Jam kerja, pagi, datang Head-nya dept gw, sedang ngobrol ma Director gw..
“Hi Adhie, sedang ngerjain apa kamu sekarang.. “
gw, melongok aja, tumben dia tiba-tiba datang ke ruangan gw..
Nanti ada training delivery di KL, “saya..” (ceeeh, doski bisa ngobrol pake bahasa, cuy..) expat padahal.. lanjuut, “saya rekomendasikan kamu yang ikut, mewakilin Indonesia”..
Gerrrrrrr…. Gedubrakkkk… pagi-pagi dapat kabar ginian.. (sumpeh loh..), tanpa pikir lama-lama, pasang seat belt, masukkin gigi 1 dan tancap gas.. gw woke-in aja.. Siaap, I join the training..
“kamu siap-siap, minggu depan berangkat”.. tiket, bla..bla..bla.. minta ke sekretaris TSD”,
Oke deh… (dalam hati gw, gitu deh)
Besoknyo, gw urus tiket, ruangan sekretaris, di depan Director room gitu, biasalah, namanya juga bagian dari IM dan cross-line coordination.. tanpa basa-basi, gw langsung reservasi tiket…
“Hi mbak, gw mau ke KL tanggal 14 Nov 08”.. (Doi, dieem aja…) eh gak lama, baru ngomong..
“Pake MH atau GA”.. hmmm, GA dah sering.. gw pilih MH aja sekalian pengen tau passenger service-nya sebagus GA-gak.. “MH aja deh, mbak”..
“pagi, siang, sore” kata si, Mbak… hmmmm, “siang aja, Mbak.. pagi ngantor dulu..” (gumam gw..)
“siap, tiketnya diambil 2 hari ya, disini aja”.. oke deh kata gw..
Tiket beres… gw tanya-tanya, fiscal nya berapa ya ke MY.. kalo gak salah 1juta deh..
14 November 08, prepare berangkat nh, jam 14.30 take off nya. Pagi-pagi dah ditelp si bos, kebetulan Beliau lagi extend visa di KL. Tanya ma gw, kapan dan jam berapa take off ke KLIA?
“Hi Adhie, bile awak take off nye” (logat malay nh)..
“jam 2.30 PM, pak”.. sahut gw.. dan bla..bla..bla..
Terus, waktu selesai zuhur, gw bungkus aja nasi buat makan di jalan, karena mepet banget waktunya. Prepare driver, kebetulan orangnya dari Palembang, jadi ngocol aja pake bhs wong kito.. wkwkwk..
Kerepotan
Nah ni dia, chapter yang gw repoot banget , ntah itu di Cengkareng atau KLIA. Dimulai dari, telatnya sampe di Cengkareng tapi exchange dulu IDR ke MYR, waktu itu IDR 1 juta jadi MYR 330-an. Wah, MH720 dah mulai boarding padahal gw sendiri baru mau check in, mana terminal 2 internasional itu jaraknya jauuh man ke ruang tunggu.. walah.. mulai deh ada yang ngomel-ngomel, Tanya kenapa bisa telat dan bla..bla..bla.. gw diem aja, gak ngubris banget soale mau cepat-cepat..
Tiket dah kelar, gw langsung cabut ke fiscal cek, eh salah gak taunya.. untung aja ada petugas yang ngarahin tempat fiscal nya, baruu katanya.. pantas aja gw linglung nyarinye.. untung aja, si petugas nemenin nyari tempatnya. Sampe disana,
“Mas, ke KL..ni passport dan tiketnya..”
“Pake credit card ya, Mas..” Sahut gw kepada si Mas Fiscal :-)
“Bisa” kate si mas fiscal
Dan dah selesai gw ngucapin terima kasih ma si Mas fiscal dan si petugas.. langsung aja gw ngibrit alias lari ke ruang tunggu..untung aja gw hanya bawa tas laptop aja soale ada bagasi.. gw lari man, ke gate berapa ya..gw lupa..
Sesat lagi mau sampe ke gate-nya.. mulai terlihat petugas boarding yang sedang mengarahkan penumpang..
Gw sampe, dan nunjukkin tiket, passport, ID ma fiscal.. dah selesai..
Eh, tiba-tiba.. ada pengumuman ternyata pesawatnya delay, 20 menit… gw, ngomel aja dalam hati…
Gw, langsung aja ambil kursi yang kosong buat didudukin..ngeliatin pesawatnya, kayaknya B737-500.. waduh pesawat kecil nh (dalam hati gw).. jam 14.50, kok gak ada tanda-tanda mo boarding nh.. banyak yang sudah Tanya-tanya ke petugas.. termasuk, si Bapak yang pakaian nya gaya eksekutif banget, kayaknya die lagi di uber-uber meeting, soalnya di telp sana-sini ngabarin kalo sampe sekarang MH belum take off..
Terus, mpe jam 15.30 belum juga ada tanda-tanda boarding.. wahhhh, mulai deh gw ngomel lagi..
^%*#^%#*%_#%&)(#&%)_*%($&*^)$(^*($(##$... gimana sih MH kok jelek gini pelayanannya… *&&^#$%*^#$*%*#%(*.. gw agak sempat nyesel, kenapa gak ambil GA aja… yah mau di apain lagi, mending gw Shalat Ashar aja, mudah-mudahan gak ada apa-apa di perjalanan nanti..
Jam 15.50 gw, telp temen gw yang dah sampe di KL buat ngabarin kalo gw telat sampe nya dan tanya siapa yang jemput ntar…
“ Hi, Zhangfei..” (tanya gw)
“ Have u stayed in Hotel already..?”
“ Yes we did, we have stayed in Corus Hotel”
“So, how u reach that hotel”
“ I used City Central to KLCC”
“ Oh, I thought u guys were picked up by driver?”
“there were no available driver to pick up us”
“alright, I see.. Then, I see u there”
Yah begitulah dengan bahasa inggris yang campur aduk…
Dan gak lama kemudian sekitar jam 16.15, ada tanda-tanda boarding nh.. Alhamdulillah… gw, ada di 14F dekat jendela.. dan ngeliatin di sebelah kanan gw, ada teknisi yang sedang bongkar pasang mesin pesawat..
Ni, sebenarnya mau apa sih si MH.. kayak belum prepare mau take off, mau nekat apa…
Gak, lama kemudian ada capt pilot yang inform kalo sampe sekarang kita belum bisa take off karena mesin masih diperbaiki.. Waaaahhhhh… MH yang aneeehh…
Padahal, semua prosedur keselamatan sudah selesai diperaga-in ma para stewardesses.. ampuuun… jam, 16.30.. ntar sampe KL bisa jam berapa nih, kalo gak jelas berangkatnya.. ternyata, kita disuruh turun untuk pindah pesawat A330.. katanya sih A330 yang setara dengan B747-700.. nih pertama kali gw naek pesawat yang berbadan lebar.. kita semua turun dari pesawat, ganti tiket, karena tempat duduknya dah berubah lagi, gak tau deh, gak nyangka begini banget reportnya..
Iya, bener A330.. pesawat berbadan lebar. Gw naik dan ternyata memang dah hamper full, gw duduk lagi-lagi dekat jendela dan disamping bule. Gw lupa seat no nya berapa. Ternyata memang dah hamper mau take off, untung sempat minta juz apel ma spaghetti ma steward. Alhamdulillah, jam 17.15 pesawat nya take off, mulus banget kalo A330 atau hanya pesawat yang setipe aja mulus kayak gini, pelan tapi lancar-lancar aja. Biasanya kalo B737 atau A319/20 waktu take off nya pasti gak mulus-mulus.. di atas juga adem-adem aja, gak terlalu kuat turbulence nya.. bahkan gak terasa sama sekali..
KLIA
Makanan didalam pesawat juga enak-enak, gw pilih nasi ayam aja deh.. karena tadi makan spaghetti, jadi harus di isi nasi juga biar gak sakit perut sampe disana.. perbedaan waktu di Malaysia +1jam. Jam 9 PM waktu sana atau jam 8 PM waktu Indonesia. Akhirnya MH landing juga, Alhamdulillah.. gw langsung menuju baggage claim, ambil bagasi.. taunya, yang ditunggu-tunggu gak nongol juga.. Aduuuw, kemana… langsung aja gw tanya ma petugas buat bagasi, eh taunya gw yang salah tempat… halaaah, malu-malu in aja nh..
Kemudian gw pikir lancar-lancar aja waktu mau lapor imigrasi, tau nya ada yang iseng.. orang nya keturunan India, pada waktu mau ambil form imigrasi, die tanya..
“hey, man.. do u see us or not” (tanya dia)
“of course, man.. I see both of u clearly and brightly with both of my eyes wide open, then what”
“u have to in line with us!”
‘do u see this surrounding table? Then this side is for what, do I have to follow u? then this form for what if it put on this side of the table, u see everybody there, u see it clearly” (gumam gw)
Melihat gw ngomong kayak gitu, kayaknya nyali nya ciut.. mempersilahkan gw mengisi form imigrasi.. gw ngomel aja dalam hati &*&%($&#(&#_#_%#).. sialan, mo ngerjain aja..
Terus aja gw ke bagian imigrasi buat lapor… ternyata disamping gw ada orang Arab yang gak ngerti bahasa inggris, walau ngerti hanya terpatah-patah.. kayaknya mereka (keluarga.red) kerepotan menangani petugas imigrasi yang super cerewet dan sedikit kasar.. (apa memang orang Malaysia itu kasar-kasar ya) buktinya gw temuin disini.. atau cuma perasaaan gw aja..
Ngerasa kasihan, jadi gw ikut membantu keluarga itu, jadi gw ngobrol ma petugas imigrasi, memperkenalkan diri dari Indonesia. Ternyata si petugas sedikit menebar senyuman gitu ma kita. Katanya mereka harus isi form imigrasi dulu tapi mereka gak ngerti ngisi nya seperti apa dan dimana harus ambil form.. Owwww, langsung aja gw bantu mereka ke form imigrasi, dengan bahasa Inggris yang sedikit repot gw minta mereka untuk isi form, gw bantu deh ngisinya terus gw kasih ke petugas imigrasi..dan kelar juga punya gw.. Alhamdulillah dah bisa bantu orang…
Setelah itu gw, coba tanya-tanya city central, tapi kayaknya ribet banget dan ckup lama. Jam dah menunjukkan pukul 10.00 PM. Bingung, naek apa tapi coba deh ke depan KLIA, ternyata ada taxi airport. Taxi disini beda dengan taxi airport Cengkareng. Warnanya hitam dan ada jenis sedan serta SUV. Gw langsung aja book. Ternyata gak ada argo, tarifnya flat berdasarkan area. Jadi area Corus Hotel termasuk dalam KLCC, bayarnya sekitar MYR 70. Langsung aaj gw bayar dan nunggu di gate 3, pada malam hari KLIA gak terlalu tampak wah nya. Eh, ternyata langsung di antar ke taxi, gw naek sedan.. yahh sedan lokal gitu deh, apalagi kalo bukan Proton..
Sepanjang perjalanan gw menikmati banget KL, jalan tol nya rapi gak macet kayak Jakarta. Gak ada petugas ticketing yang biasanya kita temui di gerbang tol, ada nya semacam magnetic card yang akan memotong jumlah pulsa begitu kartu itu ditempelkankea lat detector. Yaa, efektif.. Dari kejauhan gw ngeliat cahaya yang tinggiii banget, disisi gedung utamanya dan ternyata itulah TT alias TwinTower.. semakin dekat semakin tinggi.. pengen di foto tapi ni taxi larinya kencang banget takut hasilnya blur alias kabur..jadi gw putusin next time ajalah..
Sampe di Corus Hotel yang kebetulan dekat ama TT dan MaxisTower. Langsung gw tanya ke receptionist booking atas nama gw, dan ada.. langsung gw keluarin kartu kredit buat deposit 5 hari dan beres.. Gw ada di lantai 7, corporate area gitu deh karena banyakan yang nginap orang-orang kantor. Gw masuk dan ternyata kamar nya biasa-biasa aja, ya mirip-miriplah kayak deluxe-nya Horison, Novotel di Indonesia gitu.. ngeliat jam dah jam 12.00 PM.
15 November 2008, gw mulai training hari pertama, ya bisa dikatakan meeting juga karena dihadiri para top management se Asia Pasifik.. Sebenarnya gw malas nyeritaiin suasana training, tapi gpp ya..
17 November 2008, banyak temen-temen yg pengen jalan-jalan salah satunya ada yang mau ke genting highland, gw sih oke-oke aja kalo mau kesana, fun-fun aja.. alhasil akhirnya kita pilih ke genting. Rencananya besok tanggal 18 November 2008, kita mau kesana dan temen gw dari Bangladesh nanyain, ntar kesana mau naik apa.. Gw bingung juga mi naek apa, terus gw tanya ke bagian receptionist hotel.
“Hi, can we know how we reach Genting Highland?” Kata gw
“Oo, u can go there by our busses or our taxi” Kata si Mbak receptionist
“If we wanna use taxi, how much it cost?”
“MYR 200 and u can pay directly to us”
“Alright, I see then, thanks” kata gw
Terus aja gw bilangin ke temen-temen, kalo kita harus bayar MYR 200. Kita berangkat dengan beranggotakan 6 orang, 2 dari China, 3 dari Bangladesh dan gw sendirian dari Indonesia..
18 November 2008, pagi-pagi jam 7an kita janjian ketemu di lobby hotel Corus. Dan temenku dari Bangladesh, namanya Atiq langsung booking taxi ke Genting. Dan biasa-lah kita CK-CK *#*%)#
Sekitar jam 8 pagi kita berangkat ke Genting, cuaca di KL pada saat itu cukup mendung dan berkabut, mungkin akan turun hujan. Sampe disana jam 10an, dan memang benar cuaca disana kurang bersahabat, cukup dingin karena daerahnya perbukitan, cing..
Genting
Kita harus nge gunain sky train untuk mencapai daerah tujuan Genting Highland, semakin lama dan jauh semakin tinggi kita dibawa, dan cukup mengerikan juga karena sekitar kita hutan lebat dan berkabut disamping ketinggiannya yang lumayan. Temen gw Atiq sibuk foto-foto demikian juga aq dan temen gw yang lain. Ketika sampe di Genting, tampak beberapa hotel bintang 5 berjejer menyambut kedatangan kami, dan keramaian orang-orang juga ikut membaur bersama kesenangan kami. Kita belum mutusin mau kemana dulu, namun si Atiq sudah berkeinginan ingin mencoba Casino-nya Genting.. well……
Kita mampir ke Starbucks dulu untuk sedikit nyambi coffee, karena cuacanya cukup dingin jadi gw mutusin nyobain hot chocolate.. yang lain ada the, dan malah ada es.. ada-ada aja.. Setelah itu kit abaca peta dan mutusin, jalan sendiri-sendiri dan sekitar jam 4 sore ketemu di stasiun sky train untuk pulang bersama. 2 orang temen gw dari China mutusin mau ke plasa Genting dulu sementara gw dan 3 orang temen gw dari Bangladesh mau nyobain Casino walau bagi gw sendiri berat sekali mau kesana tapi rasa pengen tahu dan penasaran tetap mengalahkan segala nya.. waaaah… kacawww… (gw gak mau cerita deh yang bagian ini)
Terus kita mau nyobain masuk ke Ancolnya Genting, kalo dilihat-lihat sih masih jauh lebih megah Ancol deh, mana Hujan juga disana, jadi untuk berhati-hati kita hanya liat-liat aja.. Gak terlalu banyak cerita disini jadi gw cut aja ya.. dan Jam 4 sore kita ketemuan di stasiun sky train untuk pulang bareng.. Well it's done..
Besoknya, gw dapat SMS dari temen gw di Indonesia, dia minta dibeliin wine ma rokok Dunhill gitu deh di KLIA, jadi gw iya in aja kalo sempat.. dan kebetulan waktu mau pulang ketemu deh toko yang dimaksud, totalnya MYR 70 an gitu deh...
Well fela, sampe disini gw cerita in ya.. ada 5 halaman nih.. sebenarnya banyak tapi gw cut aja yang gak penting-penting. Next time gw post lagi deh.. ^_^
Hari ini, 23 Mei 2009. Aku diberikan sesuatu yang tadinya gak terduga, pagi-pagi, mata masih lemas banget buat wake up, buku-buku masih berantakan habis dibaca malamnya, sebagian ada yang kebuka halamannya. Ada satu buku dari Ernst and Young tentang business plan. Katanya banyak calon-calon entrepreneur belajar dari sini, termasuk juga aku.. Iyakah..
Seperti biasa jam 3 AM, bangun dan membangunkan Mom, dingggin banget. Setiap jam segitu, gak lepas dari namanya mengigil, airnya jernih banget, menetes dari kran.. tik..tik..tik.. yaa perjalanan pagi dimulai biasanya dari hal seperti ini walau kadang tidak setiap hari tapi hampir setiap hari. Berharap DISANA mendengarkan. Walau kadang gak seindah yang diharapkan tapi inilah hidup. Aku pengen mengalir saja tapi tampaknya aku lunak terhadap hidup. Aku gak mau seperti ini, namun hidup yang harus lunak padaku dan aku harus keras terhadapnya. Sebuah kebiasaan BURUK, tidak menunggu sampai Subuh, kenapa sekarang begitu sulit melawan itu. Padahal janji sudah dibulatkan, dan tidak mau lunak begitu saja. Eh, ada buku “Mukjizat Shalat Tahajud dan Subuh” >> Yusni A. Ghazali, gak nyangka… Tapi kok kenapa mata-ku ini tiba-tiba di arahkan begitu saja ke buku itu?? Hal pertama yang begitu tak terduga pada 23 Mei 2009 ini.. DIA ada untukku.. Malaikat juga ikut menyaksikan tuh..
Sebuah kebiasaan BURUK lagi, tidur habis Subuh.. (dedicated to her, I wish she read this) Terima Kasih kepada dia yang begitu sabar, membangunkan aku. Kesabaran dan Kesetiannya membuatku selalu merasa nyaman berada dekatnya. Terima kasih kepada My Q, begitu aku menyebutnya.. duuuh, kok jadi sedikit terharu ini... hehe..
Walau aku dengan volume suara 2, seperti di HP Samsung kesayangan.. Namun, kubahagia.. Bandung, begitu dinginnya pada pagi hari. Suara mobil, motor mulai mengusik telinga.. Bangooeeeennn///
Eheem, ide segar muncul nih buat desain, Bali.. ya Bali, tapi mau di apain ya? Tracing, tiba-tiba muncul begitu saja di pikirannku.. ambil sample, buka Illustrator kesayangan, place dan siap untuk live trace.. Waw, Bali…rasanya pengen kesana lagi..
Jam 10 AM, ada yang SMS nh, pengen ngajak ketemuan, Abdullah, nama yang baguss (sorry Man, gw sebut nama kamu disini) ternyata salah satu calon partner bisnis, dia ada di Jakarta, pengen ketemu di Bandung juga.. Hal kedua yang tak terduga dan kejutan dari NYA lagi.. Kalau dipikir-pikir, kemaren gagal dan sekarang ada sesuatu yang baik.. TUHAN Maha Adil, Bro’s.. Jadilah atur-atur schedule, print business plan yang sudah dibuat, siapin conversation…. Selesai juga, bla..bla..bla.. nunggu yang laen come’ in nh..
Jam 11 PM, Brrrrrrrr (eitts, bukan jargon iklan CC ya..), sebegitu kuatnya efek magnet dari si CC.. masih lebih enak MT alias Madu+Telor.. lebih segar, dude.. lebih sehat juga.. I am happy.. Dapat pahala gak ya..??
A Platform for the Next Technology Revolution Published: October 28, 2008 By Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation
During the past decade, a dramatic transformation in the world of information technology has been taking shape. It’s a transformation that will change the way we experience the world and share our experiences with others. It’s a transformation in which the barriers between technologies will fall away so we can connect to people and information no matter where we are. It’s a transformation where new innovations will shorten the path from inspiration to accomplishment. Many of the components of this transformation are already in place. Some have received a great deal of attention. “Cloud computing” that connects people to vast amounts of storage and computing power in massive datacenters is one example. Social networking sites that have changed the way people connect with family and friends is another. Other components are so much a part of the inevitable march of progress that we take them for granted as soon as we start to use them: cell phones that double as digital cameras, large flat-screen PC monitors and HD TV screens, and hands-free digital car entertainment and navigation systems, to name just a few. What’s missing is the ability to connect these components in a seamless continuum of information, communication, and computing that isn’t bounded by device or location. Today, some things that our intuition says should be simple still remain difficult, if not impossible. Why can’t we easily access the documents we create at work on our home PCs? Why isn’t all of the information that customers share with us available instantly in a single application? Why can’t we create calendars that automatically merge our schedules at work and home? This week at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, we shared news with software developers about a new set of platform technologies that will help transcend these limits. I wanted to share my thoughts about the impact that these technologies will have as developers begin to use them to create a new generation of experiences that extend uninterrupted from the desktop to the mobile phone, media player, car, and beyond—to places where we never thought information and communications would be available to us. A New Platform for Cloud Computing At PDC, we announced the availability of an early preview release of a new technology called Windows Azure. Windows Azure will enable developers to build applications that extend from the cloud to the enterprise datacenter and span the PC, the Web, and the mobile phone. For the first time, we shared pre-beta code for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows 7, which is the next version of the Windows desktop operating system, will take advantage of software and hardware advances to help eliminate the boundaries between information, people, and devices. We also previewed Office Web applications, which are light-weight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that are designed to be accessed through a browser. Office Web applications will be part of the next version of Office and will enable people to view, edit, and share information and collaborate on documents on the desktop, the phone, and in a Web browser in a way that is consistent and familiar. Windows Azure is part of the Azure Services Platform, a comprehensive set of storage, computing, and networking infrastructure services that reside in Microsoft’s network of datacenters. Using the Azure Services Platform, developers will be able to build applications that run in the cloud and extend existing applications to take advantage of cloud-based capabilities. The Azure Services Platform provides the foundation for business and consumer applications that deliver a consistent way for people to store and share information easily and securely in the cloud, and access it on any device from any location. Windows Azure is not software that companies will run on their own servers. It’s something new: a service that runs in Microsoft’s growing network of datacenters and provides the platform that helps companies respond to the realities of today’s business environment, and tomorrow’s. Windows Azure technologies are already finding their way into products such as Windows Server 2008 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, enabling organizations and Microsoft partners to create their own cloud infrastructure. Windows Azure will enable organizations to respond to realities such as the need to use the Web to provide customers with comprehensive information and to interact with an audience that has the potential to expand exponentially overnight; to integrate operations with partners — and sometimes even competitors — to meet customer needs; to add new capabilities quickly to respond to new opportunities; and to enable employees to work efficiently and effectively no matter where they are. These realities apply not just to businesses, but to organizations of all kinds: schools, governments, community groups, and more. Traditional approaches to building technology infrastructure and delivering computing capabilities make it difficult and expensive to adjust to these realities. You need systems with enough capacity to meet the highest possible demand—capacity that includes servers and buildings to house them, the power to run them, and the people to manage them. You have to spread that capacity across locations so there’s a backup if one part fails. You have to solve issues like access for different types of users and compliance with tax regulations in all countries where your customers reside. Designed specifically to meet the global scale that today’s organizations require, the Azure Services Platform will provide fundamentally new ways to deploy services and capabilities. It gives businesses the option to take advantage of the capacity available in the cloud as it is needed, reducing the need to make large upfront investments in infrastructure simply to be ready when demand spikes. It will enable developers to create applications that run in the cloud and provide the features, information, and interactivity that employees, partners, and customers expect — no matter how many of them there are, where they are in the world, or what device they have at hand. Software Plus Services and the Power of Choice The Azure Services Platform reflects our belief that choice is critical for developers, companies, and consumers. It is also based on our belief that the key to delivering value today and in the future lies in combining the best aspects of software running on PCs, servers, and devices with the best aspects of services running on the Web — an approach we call “software plus services.” Our software plus services approach lets people take full advantage of the incredible power of today’s devices. While there are undeniable benefits to being able to tap into the wealth of information and services that can be accessed over the Web through a browser, the interactive experiences that people expect on their PC, mobile phone, and media player depend on sophisticated software running on powerful processors. The richness of these experiences will only increase as multicore processors expand the computing capabilities of our devices and new programming languages open the door to a new generation of applications that let us use more natural ways to interact with digital technology such as voice, touch, and gestures. Software plus services also recognizes that for most companies, the ideal way to build IT infrastructure is to find the right balance of applications that are run and managed within the organization and applications that are run and managed in the cloud. This balance varies by company. A financial services company may choose to maintain customer records within its own datacenter to provide the extra layers of protection that it feels are needed to safeguard the privacy of personal information. It may outsource IT systems that provide basic capabilities such as e-mail. This balance will change over time within an organization, as well. A company may run its own online transaction system most of the year, but outsource for added capacity to meet extra demand during the holiday season. With software plus services, an organization can move applications back and forth between its own servers and the cloud quickly and smoothly. Today, companies around the world are implementing Microsoft technologies to take advantage of the best combination of on-premise software and cloud-based services. Using Microsoft Online Services, businesses including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Blockbuster, and Energizer access and manage Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Server, and Live Meeting over the Web through a single, secure infrastructure. In addition, 1 million people rely on Office Live Workspace for sharing and collaborating with friends, family, and colleagues. Expanding the Definition of Personal Computing Ultimately, the reason to create a cloud services platform is to continue to enhance the value that computing delivers, whether it’s by improving productivity, making it easier to communicate with colleagues, or simplifying the way we access information and respond to changing business conditions. In the world of software plus services and cloud computing, this means extending the definition of personal computing beyond the PC to include the Web and an ever-growing array of devices. Our goal is to make the combination of PCs, mobile devices, and the Web something that is significantly more than the sum of its parts. The starting point is to recognize the unique value of each part. The value of the PC lies in its computing power, its storage capacity, and its ability to help us be more productive and create and consume rich and complex documents and content. For the Web, it’s the ability to bring together people, information, and services so we can connect, communicate, share, and transact with anyone, anywhere, at any time. With the mobile phone and other devices, it’s the ability to take action spontaneously — to make a call, take a picture, or send a text message in the flow of our activities. Through Live Mesh — a service from Microsoft that we announced earlier this year and about which we shared new information week — we’re beginning to bridge the PC, phone, and Web and create this next generation of connected experiences. Built on the Azure Services Platform, Live Mesh enables you to use programs and information stored on your work computer from your home PC, and vice versa. With Live Mesh, you can share folders and ensure that the information is automatically synchronized across your devices. Live Mesh hints at how our lives will be transformed as the barriers between devices disappear and the option to connect instantly to people, devices, programs, and information becomes a reality. We’re not quite there yet. Today, the Azure Services Platform is available only as a limited technology preview release. But as developers begin to combine the capabilities of this new platform with the amazing ongoing hardware and software innovations that we are seeing from companies across the industry, it will bring us significantly closer to the time when information, communication, and computing flows along with us seamlessly as we move through our day-to-day activities. You can learn more about these technologies and the progress we are making by visiting the Microsoft Software + Services Web site.
I look forward to sharing more information with you about these new technologies in the near future.
