There are some new articles posted on the Workflow Studio section of CDN. These will probably only be of interest to the developers and advanced workflow gurus out there, but I found them interesting and wanted to share (yes, I am a geek )

• Configuring Workflow Studio to use SQL Server for Tracking and Persistence
• Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

Keep in mind that most of the CDN sections for Workflow Studio are open to the general public to post and edit (be sure to share your workflows and activity libraries). The tips and tricks article was intentionally left open to all to edit - come on in and share. Make sure you bookmark the articles section, add it to your RSS reader, or just click on the Community tab from within Workflow Studio every time you open it.

Within this one page you'll have all information on the Citrix and Intel relationship available at your fingertips...or mouse click so to speak.  

Interested in learning about Citrix's latest activities with Intel? We know your time is valuable and that's why we've consolidated all related news, blogs, articles, videos, etc... into the feeds section of this page. We've also created an area that highlights all related forum threads and postings. Look for answers to your burning questions, participate in an existing discussion, or post a new thread. Epitomizing the true nature of community... this page is here for you!  

Did you know that Citrix and Intel are working together to jointly develop a bare-metal Type-1 client hypervisor? Learn about and stay up to date on our joint collaboration of Citrix XenClient. View demos, read blogs and let us know what you think about this upcoming solution.

But it doesn't stop there! Get information and results on our joint product validation, benchmarking and scalability tests. You can even let us know how you're working with Citrix and Intel solutions together in our Community Verified area.

You're only one click away from all things Citrix and Intel. Stop by the Citrix Community page for Intel and check back often! And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

To finish off with another Damone line, "isn't this great?"

Long before Neo said "whoa" ... civilizations throughout history have relied heavily on the wisdom and information provided by oracles.

In The Matrix, the Oracle says "if you can't find the answer, then I'm afraid there may be no tomorrow for any of us." Well, maybe that's a bit extreme in this case... but with the amount of information available within the Citrix Community page for Oracle, I don't think we'll have to worry about finding out.

Not only will this site provide a variety of information and wisdom on the Citrix and Oracle relationship, but you will also have to opportunity to contribute and become an "oracle" yourself. You can even view Oracle apps working on the iPhone with Citrix Receiver. Consider this page a library of resources for all things Citrix and Oracle...or a "shrine of information" so to speak.

From this page you'll have access to news, blogs, community discussions, and Tweets from the Citrix and Oracle communities as well as third-party sites. This information is aggregated into a single area within the page and provides all related information in a simple-to-use format. You can also follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute information.

Got questions? Related discussion forums are also consolidated within this page. Review existing discussion postings and threads to find answers to commonly asked questions. You can even join in the discussion and post new threads. Got knowledge? Become a contributor! The true nature of community is to share information. Remember, it takes a village...or a community in this instance.

We also want to know if and how you're using Oracle in your Citrix environments. Let us know in the Community Verified area. It's easy to use and takes only minutes of your time. Simply identify the Oracle application and Citrix product and you're done!

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, "each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody." So be a hero within the community and become an oracle for the Citrix & Oracle relationship! Participate in the Citrix Community page for Oracle.

That's why we've worked together to develop the Citrix Community page for SAP, a dedicated, one-stop shop for all things Citrix & SAP! So while we'll never say there is "too much" information on the Citrix and SAP relationship, we will say having a single place to access all information on the relationship is "wonderful".

On this page we've consolidated all related blogs, news, videos, etc... from Citrix, SAP and third-party sites in our feeds section to save you time on staying up to date on the Citrix and SAP happenings. You can even follow us on Twitter!

There's even a discussion forum dedicated to SAP-related discussions. Look for the answers to your questions within existing threads or post a new question in our discussion forum. Do you have technical questions about an SAP implementation? Do you want to learn more about the validation and performance results of SAP NetWeaver with Citrix XenApp and Citrix NetScaler? Do you want to learn more about Citrix's relationship with SAP? If you said yes, then this is the site for you!

Visit this page to learn the latest and greatest information about our relationship including press announcements, product validations, joint activities and resources...and don't forget to participate in our Community Verified initiative! Let us know how you're working with SAP in your Citrix environment from the convenient console located within the page.

So...why don't you come up and see us some time? And oh yeah...don't forget to participate in the discussion! Stop by the Citrix Community page for SAP today!

I'm sure you are all familiar with the iPhone commercials and the ubiquitous "there is an app for that" phrase that has seemingly become the catch phrase of this decade. Previous catch phrases include --but not limited to -- The 70s-"Heeeey" , The 80s-"Where's the Beef?" The 90s-"Doh!".

All kidding aside, "there's an app for it" reflects the current state of consumerization and customization that is becoming commonplace in today's on-line experience. It is no longer acceptable to have generic applications and content. We all know what we need/want for our apps and we need them now!

Citrix Community Updates

In that same spirit, today I have the pleasure of sharing some of the upgrades we have made to the Citrix community sites. Need a community for discussing Citrix and Microsoft products, "there's a community for that", need a community for the latest and greatest on Citrix and Oracle, "there's a community for that", need a community for finding cool communities "there's a community for that" , need a community where you can geek out (both online and local), "there are 2 communities for that" (gotta spice it up a bit , the first is here and the second is here)... well, I think you get the idea. You should check out the Citrix Community home page and in particular the new partner community module.

My team and I are continually looking for ways to connect with the Citrix community of customers, partners, Citrites and anyone interested in the latest in virtualization of applications, desktops and servers. We are continually soliciting feedback and update the site based on direct comments and industry trends.

Now it's your turn....

Let us know what types of communities you need and (you guessed it) "there will be a community for that", we are open to all types of ideas... here's a few to get the ball rolling (and maybe a peek at the future )... How about a Citrix and Windows 7 community? Or a Citrix and Desktop Virtualization community? Or (heaven forbid!) a Citrix and VMware community?

Also, let us know what type of content you are looking for in your communities. Check out the partner communities or even XenServerCentral for our real time multi-media feeds. Let us know how we can make them better for you...

Now I need to get back to my favorite iPhone App (an oldie but a goodie) ....

john

The NY Times published an interesting front page article (Aug 9) and online post discussing how NBC attempted to block web sites hosting video clips and live feeds of the Olympic Games opening ceremonies in the United States. According to the Times article NBC "sent frantic requests" to web sites asking them to remove videos and feeds of the Olympic ceremonies - amounting to a game of "digital whack-a-mole". Web sites including YouTube (Google) and Justin.tv pulled down clips, but could not keep up with users who traded links via Blogs and Twitter to stay ahead of NBC. NBC was attempting to protect its' TV broadcast coverage of the ceremonies which were tape delayed and presented in the USA during the evening hours on Friday August 8, a full 12 hours after the opening ceremonies actually occurred.

So why is this interesting for a Citrix marketing type like me? This interests me because NBC had an opportunity to engage its user community - and didn't. User communities are a fundamental component of today's and presumably tomorrow's web, and at Citrix we are fortunate to have a long-standing and vibrant user community that Citrix needs to engage with and make successful. Citrix has a renewed focus and commitment to make our community more successful via the newly re-designed and enhanced Citrix Communities site. We care about our users and our community and are investing to help make our community successful.

Is there more to this NBC video thing beyond the notion that traditional media outlets like NBC apparently still don't get the net, or that video has finally arrived on the net? NBC is posting thousands of hours of its Olympic Games coverage online, using Microsoft® Silverlight™ technology, so they do get the net, or do they? (this Silverlight aspect is a topic for another blog - can you say DRM!) NBC's decision not to live stream coverage of the opening ceremonies might be considered somewhat odd. NBC is obviously working to manage access to its Olympic video footage in an attempt to maximize its audience so as to charge higher advertising rates. This all makes sense - old school sense - or rather cents!

I'm sensing NBC has missed a glorious opportunity to engage its community who could have supplied content snips from their perspective, content that could have extended the NBC viewpoint. This user supplied content could have been a great complement to live streaming feeds of NBC's "official" Olympic games opening coverage - if NBC had in fact supplied a live internet feed. They have the infrastructure -see myNBC.com. My searches on myNBC.com turned up 2 Olympic Games clips, both of which returned "the requested video is not available" message"...

NBC blew a significant opportunity to begin re-inventing themselves to be more than just a source of content created in-house and to begin engaging and fostering a user community of associate content providers. Many news outlets, CNN, Fox News are attempting to leverage user supplied content to support their official coverage - NBC missed the opportunity to build their community and leverage the Olympics.

Hello Mac Users

First I would like to thank all of you for downloading version 1.0 of our blogs widget. We currently have 1400+ downloads, and this goes to show that the Citrix community has indeed a large number of Mac users.

I also would like to thank those users who sent us their feedback, this version of the widget is here because of you, so keep sending your feedback and comments.

 Meet the Citrix Blogs Widget

 Version 1.0:

• The latest 30 Citrix Blog posts
• Adjust view from Full to Summary
• Collaborate with your comments
• Open posts on Safari or Firefox
• Spotlight Search (Instant search)
• Push updates (no refresh required)
• Watch blogged videos
• Check for updates
• Send feedback

 Version 1.2:

• Widget Resizing
• Bug Fixes

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.4 or greater

Download:

Citrix Blogs Widget

In the age where Agua or Aero-glass interfaces are somewhat as important as the underlining kernel, same rules have been applying to Scripts and utilities, after all not everyone wants to be using complex scripts and endless command-line combinations.

For those who are not so keen on Scripts and CLI, our French friend Pierre Marmignon created an app that doesn't solve a new problem, but tackles it more elegantly. Pierre has created an GUI app that (bulk) imports/exports all your published applications.

If you have an useful Citrix app or utility that you would like to share with the world by showcasing it here on the Citrix communities, feel free to send an email to: gus.pinto@citirx.com with the title Community App.

This is the very first edition of a highly buzzed virtualization event held in London, UK, from Oct 14 to 16. The event is three days long: first day (Oct. 14) is dedicated for distributors and resellers, second and third day are for the attendees.

But wait a minute. Another trade show? The answer is, Not really!

So what makes Virtualization Congress special, VC is shaping up to be a truly unconventional conference.

• No Slide allowed on Stage - Only 1-hour long demos: the product is being showed while applied to a specific use case, hopefully matching the ones that attendees may have back at their datacenters.
• It's independent, following the very successful model we know from BriForum, Virtual Congress is an independent and unbiased conference.

Never mind the level of expertise attending the conference: Simon Crosby, Mark Russinoivch, Richard Garsthangen, Scott Herold and many others.

Citrix as usual will be there supporting the conference as a platinum sponsor and deliverying the keynote, you will be able to interact with our top experts and product specialists, so feel free to stop by our booth and say hi to myself, Simon, and others.

Anything else? Yes. Citrix Certified individuals (CCA, CCEA, CCIA) will receive an amazing discount to sign-up for the conference, an amazing 25% off the regular price or $400 US dollars for a pass. *Details coming soon, stay tuned.

I'm looking forward to this event and I have here a video invite from Simon to share with all.

In the meantime you can check out the following links for more information.

Home
Speakers
Agenda

See you in London.

best,
Gus

Today I have received two new applications to play with; that's exactly what I did.

After installing and playing with both apps, I can say they do exactly what their respective developers advertised. Each can be very useful to deployments and day-to-day admin tasks.

Kudos to both developers. I hope you guys find these apps usefull, if not, let them know where and how they can improve.

It looks like usability is important to a lot of people these days.  We recently ran a survey with Citrix's private Customer Advisory Community (CAC) called "Prioritizing Usability", and we got 106 responses, which is above average.  And the respondents definitely felt strongly.

The survey was meant to gauge what kind of usability was important for Citrix to address and whether people felt usability for administrators affects end-users and vice versa.   As the baby boomer population continues to make way for the new generation of echo boomers, "Old School" system administrators will be faced with the challenge of administering to an end user population that is used to customization and flexibility. That has not been a part of the "only give them what they need so they can't muck it up" policy that most administrators have lived by in the past.

Interestingly enough, most people in the CAC think our user experiences (UX) are already quite good, as you can see below:

 

79% felt the administrator user experience was "good" or "excellent".  84% felt the experience for end-users was "good" or "excellent".

Notably, almost all of those who had issues with the administrator UX pointed out the lack of one console, and others mentioned printing.  The end-user UX comments were not particularly consistent.

Where to focus

Still, if we had to focus our User Experience efforts somewhere, it was reasonably split with a leaning towards end-users (54%) as compared to administrators (38%).  And it is partially based on whether or not the current interfaces are considered "good enough."

For those who said we should focus on the end-users, a summary of the reasons is below:

• The End-user Experience  (EUX) can still benefit from improvement
• If end users reject the XenApp solution, it means there is no need for XenApp admins, or for XenApp
• Admins are trainable and can handle usability quirks.  End users cannot handle as well or simply will not handle usability quirks.
• Making users happy or more productive makes IT look good and can give IT more control or ability to standardize
• Fewer support calls

For those who said we should focus on the administrators, a summary of the reasons is below:

• The EUX is already good
• More EUX improvements won't boost productivity much, if at all
• If you make an admin's work easier, the EUX will naturally improve as well since admins can respond more quickly to problems or do it right for the user the first time.

Mutual Benefits

The other interesting questions we asked were about whether or not people felt that improving the administrator UX will benefit end-users, and vice versa.  Plenty of respondents would like improvements to both admin and end-user UX, as they see the benefits to each and how they feed off each other.  It's a win-win.

Others, on the other hand, felt pretty strongly that it was just one-way.  But the skewing indicates that more people strongly felt that IT benefits from EUX improvements than end-users benefiting from IT UX improvements.  The breakdown is below: 

How about you? 

Do you feel strongly?  Is there something here we missed?  If you're not a member of the Citrix CAC, feel free to jump in (I'd hate to count you twice, otherwise!).  And if you'd like to be part of this private community, we are accepting applications right now.  Here is a link to the page on Citrix.com where you can learn more about the community and apply for membership: Customer Advisory Community.

Thanks for your time.

Scott Novack

Usability Design and Evaluation Team

Sadly this year I missed PubForum, Rich however, made it all the way to Dublin and brought us some awesome pictures and videos, you can check them out on his blog.

I stayed in Fort Lauderdale really jealous of Rich. However the guys (AlexY/AlexD) who organize PubForum were kind enough to think of people like me and all those who didn't make to Dublin, for the BeerForum, ops.... I mean PubForum.

They recently posted all the videos and presentations for PubForum 2008, and you can do exactly what I did, download them all.

One session in particular caught my attention, Simon Frost, a colleague of ours here at Citrix, presented on the topic "AppReceiver", and he did a fantastic job explaining how Citrix will aggregate all its clients into one universal application receiver client.

You can meet all the rock start who put together this awesome user group event, during Citrix Synergy in Huston from May 20th to 23rd.

See you in Huston.

Cheers,

Gus Pinto
Microsoft MVP - Virtualization
Twitter/GusPinto

In this video I share a closer view of the new site on the Citrix Community named Citrix VideoTips.

I also explain a bit of the web application interface as well as how this site will integrate and expand the other sites within the Citrix community.

If you have any questions feel free to post them here on comments or email me: gus.pinto@citrix.com

cheers,

Gus Pinto
Microsoft MVP - Virtualization
Twitter/GusPinto

Here's a list of blogs I read on daily basis, I wanted to share with you guys so you can always be on the loop on what's latest in technology, some of them have constant conversations and posts others post more sporadically, but still great conversations!

• http://c1tr1xguru.wordpress.com
• http://www.dabcc.com
• http://www.brianmadden.com
• http://www.shawnbass.com
• http://www.alsolorzano.com
• http://www.applicationdelivery.co.uk
• http://www.engadget.com
• http://www.bink.nu
• http://www.virtualization.info
• http://www.theshonkproject.com
• http://channel9.msdn.com
• http://www.scobleizer.com
• http://www.vmblog.com
• http://www.thomaskoetzing.de

Am I missing any blogs with cool conversations? Let me know!

Cheers,

Gus Pinto
Twitter/GusPinto

Citrix XenApp Platinum Reference Design is an independent publication originally created by Rick Dehlinger the CEO/Chief Technologist of the iQurious Corporation in 2004 / 2005. From 2005 through 2008 Roddy Rodstein maintained and re-distributed the publication.

I'm honored to have both these brilliant minds as close friends of mine.

If you don't know Rick, you're probably new to this industry or have been kept far away from all technical conversations around Citrix. Rick is one of Citrix's Technology Professionals - a true community leader and CEO of a Citrix partner company named iQurious where he applies his revolutionary technical vision around App Delivery.

Roddy Rodstein is a world-class technical guru for Citrix products, he's been the most active and renowned SEs in the community while working for Citrix; Roddy recently started his own company named SE Outsourcing.

--

This Paper is a complete guide covering every aspect of XenApp Platinum; If you have Citrix XenApp currently implemented or you're thinking of delivering your applications using XenApp technology this is a must read!

Fantastic Job Guys, you know I'm a big fan!

To download the whitepaper visit: http://seoutsourcing.com/node/28



Cheers,

Gus Pinto
Twitter/GusPinto

We are looking to better prepare Labs and Sessions during this year's PubForum 2008. Alex Danilchev has been kind enough to setup a quick survey to help with this, so if you are attending, please go ahead fill out the survey as we need your participation.

See you in Dublin!

Continue to the Survey: PubForum Lab Survey