Microsoft rallies partners to build hybrid Azure

Microsoft is set to attract businesses to use Azure through a “cloud first” partner programme.

At Microsoft Azure's worldwide partner conference, general manager Steven Martin said: “We are committed to helping our partners and customers embrace cloud computing, using a 'cloud-first' approach to all we do, from our partner programmes to our engineering principles to our product innovations.”

To support integration with cloud applications, Microsoft unveiled Windows Azure Active Directory. This supports integration of identities across both Microsoft and third-party SaaS applications. Windows Azure Active Directory synchronises with on-premise Windows Server Active Directory. It is also built into Office 365.

Microsoft has pre-integrated Windows Azure Active Directory with 40 applications, including Box.com, Salesforce.com, Concur, DropBox and Google Apps Gmail. A browser-based user access panel enables users to find the SaaS apps and login using a single sign-on.

The company has also extended the SQL Azure database with a premium version, which it says enables database administrators to reserve dedicated cloud capacity to support mission critical applications.

Martin urged Microsoft's partners to assist customers who want to integrate Windows Azure infrastructure services, the company's infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform.

As Computer Weekly has previously reported, demand for cloud computing is pushing up rates for Microsoft consultants.

Over the next year Microsoft hopes to extend the Azure platform by forging closer ties with the on-premise Windows server environment used by most businesses to run server-based applications.

The company is also encouraging third-party developers to build apps and applications hosted on the Azure cloud, made available to users through the Windows Azure store. At the time of writing, the store has few applications, but clearly Microsoft wants to make it a fully fledged marketplace for enterprise apps and applications.

Guillermo del Toro Rallies Fans to Counter Negative 'Pacific Rim' Press

Guillermo del Toro is rallying his rabid fan base and telling them not to worry about negative press for his latest movie, the monsters-vs.-robots tentpole Pacific Rim.

“We just need to keep working. Our numbers are going up. Not in a minor way. Significant. We are on the right track,” del Toro wrote on the forum of Deltorofilms.com, which bills itself as the official fan site of the filmmaker.

The thread was under the topic “Buzz and ‘Word of Mouth’" and followed Wednesday’s posting of a Variety article, the headline for which blared, "Is Pacific Rim Doomed to be This Year’s Battleship?"

PHOTOS: Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters: 6 New 'Pacific Rim' Posters

Pacific Rim is a big bet for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., with early tracking numbers suggesting the movie could have a soft opening. But Pacific Rim doesn’t open until July 12, which gives the Warners marketing machine time to raise awareness among U.S. audiences. The studio overcame soft early tracking for The Great Gatsby to launch it with a $50 million opening and had even more success with Man of Steel, which bowed to $200 million in global box office.

Legendary is on the hook for 75 percent of the movie, which cost between $180 million and $200 million to make (Warners has the other 25 percent). The movie, which features monsters fighting mechas, is also one of rare tentpoles that is an original and fresh property and not based on a comic or a sequel.

Pacific Rim is opening against Grown Ups 2, the comedy starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Chris Rock, which is eyeing a $40 million opening, according to early tracking.

PHOTOS: 26 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies

Del Toro acknowledges that sequels have an edge going in.

“Whatever sequel opens will have, by definition, higher awareness and numbers across the board, but we are moving strongly in the right direction,” he writes.

In January, Universal's Mama, a horror movie that del Toro produced, didn't track very well initially and was projected to open around $18 million. The movie overperformed by opening to $28 million. Latino families, often undercounted by traditional tracking services, were one factor in the success.

Tracking has proved to be a bit of an unreliable indicator this summer. On top of Gatsby, World War Z had its numbers revised upward several times as it surpassed expectations.

"We are working on it,” del Toro wrote. “We concentrated on the core for a long time -- but we are barely started on the campaign. I am seeing the ads now and I am seeing outdoors and we are now supplementing what we did with character or tone. Thank you all for your good faith and love.”

Del Toro is one of a handful of filmmakers who has a deep and devoted fan base dating back to his Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth films. He also takes time to connect with his audience and is known for his self-deprecating and genial nature as well as his childlike glee for movies.

How else to explain this reaction from a devoted fan named ShanghaiShock: “If Pacific Rim loses to Grown Ups 2 in the box office, I'm going to head over to the marketing department of every studio that has a share of Pacific Rim and I will personally gut every single person in the marketing department.”

Twitter: @sajilpl

One dead as Egypt simmers ahead of rallies

CAIRO - Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood said one man was shot dead and four wounded in an attack on a provincial party office, stoking factional rivalries ahead of mass rallies starting on Friday.

It blamed activists who are campaigning to force President Mohamed Mursi to resign as he marks his first year in office.

The incident, in the Nile Delta city of Zagazig north of Cairo, took the death toll to five in factional fighting that has also left scores injured over the past week and raised fears of wider violence during the coming days of demonstrations.

Liberal opposition leaders dismissed an offer by Mursi to cooperate on reforms to end a political deadlock that has plunged the biggest Arab nation into economic crisis, two years after the Arab Spring revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

That has set up a showdown in the streets in the coming days. Mursi's Islamist supporters and some opposition groups plan rallies on Friday, and the broad opposition coalition hopes to bring millions out on Sunday to demand new elections.

The army has urged both sides to reconcile and has warned that it could step back in to impose order if violence spins out of control - though it insists it will defend the democracy born out of the uprising against Mubarak in early 2011.

Mursi and the Brotherhood accuse loyalists of the old regime of being behind violence and of thwarting their efforts to reform an economy hobbled by corruption. Opponents say the Islamists, who have won a series of elections against a diffuse opposition, of seeking to entrench their power and impose Islam.

In a speech on Wednesday, Mursi denounced his critics but admitted some mistakes and offered talks to ease polarization in politics that he said threatened Egypt's new democratic system.

But opposition leaders said their protests would go ahead.

"Dr. Mohamed Mursi's speech of yesterday only made us more determined in our call for an early presidential vote in order to achieve the goals of the revolution," the liberal opposition coalition said after its leaders met to consider a response.

"We are confident the Egyptian masses will go out in their millions in Egypt's squares and streets on June 30 to confirm their will to get the January 25 revolution back on track."

CROWDS

With the start of Egypt's weekend, people began to gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, site of the uprising of January 25, 2011, and at venues in other towns. The atmosphere was largely festive but there widespread fears of trouble in the days ahead.

It is hard to gauge how many may turn out but much of the population, even those sympathetic to Islamic ideas, are deeply frustrated by economic slump and many blame the government.

Previous protest movements since the fall of Mubarak have failed to gather momentum, however, among a population anxious for stability and fearful of further economic hardship.

The army, which helped protesters topple Mubarak and is on alert across the country guarding key locations, says it will act if politicians cannot reach consensus. The United States, which continues to fund the military as it did under Mubarak, has urged Egypt's leaders to pull together.

MEDIA

In his speech, Mursi threatened legal action against several named prominent figures. He said some judges and civil servants were obstructing him, and accused liberal media owners of bias.

Hours after he publicly accused one TV channel owner of tax evasion, the businessman, Mohamed al-Amin found he was under investigation and barred from leaving the country, prompting his lawyer to tell Reuters: "This is dictatorship." Amin's channel notably airs satire modeled on that of U.S. comic Jon Stewart.

Separately, officials ordered the arrest of a talk show host on another channel known for his anti-Islamist diatribes and ordered that station to be shut down for inciting mutiny in the army and for insulting the armed forces and the police.

An anchor on state television resigned dramatically, live on air, in protest at what he said were attempts by the information minister, an Islamist, to control his program.

Instability in the most populous Arab nation could send shocks well beyond its borders. Signatory to a key, U.S.-backed peace treaty with Israel, Egypt also controls the Suez Canal, a vital link in global transport networks between Europe and Asia.

"Egypt is historically a critical country to this region," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is on a tour of the Middle East, said on Wednesday, highlighting economic problems.

"Our hopes are that all parties ... the demonstration that takes place on Friday or the demonstration that takes place on Sunday, will all engage in peaceful, free expression," he said.

With the government short of cash and seeking funding from allies and the IMF, Kerry said Egypt should curb unrest in order to attract investment and restore vital tourism income. The U.S. ambassador in Cairo has angered opposition activists by saying explicitly that their protests risked being counter-productive.

Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl