"[Emerging vendors offer] far superior technology, more robust margins and uncompromising technical support... they're reshaping the information technology industry, solution providers say, by handily beating established vendors in head-to-head product, margin, technical support and field engagement comparisons... It's not even close."

Smart solution providers are always looking for new opportunities, and once again, we're looking for the newest vendors reaching out to the channel. If you're a vendor (under $1B in revenue) selling though the channel, Sign Up Now. The deadline is next Thursday, May 15.

We've just posted "20 Great-Looking Solution Provider Sites," a slide show I've put together, recognizing some of the sharpest sites in our industry. Starting with the 2007 VARBusiness 500 companies, I whittled the list down to sites that demonstrate appealing design, imagery and typography, along with elegant navigation, and I learned quite a bit myself.

Coming soon: What not to do.

"The update for IDT (Formerly Sigmatel)'s high definition sound and is called "IDT High Def Codec," according to several users on a Dell customer forum, who claim that installing the update results in a "Code 10" Error after rebooting, as well as the loss of audio."

As of late this afternoon, over 120 ChannelWeb readers have posted in our forums about their experience with problem, and how they were able to fix it (if they were). It's the hottest forum topic we've seen in recent memory. Though not specifically Microsoft's fault, it's another black eye for Vista which really didn't need it...

"While a lot of people will remember Coca-Cola's initial mistake, many tend to forget that, in the long run, its chief brand has endured and strengthened.

Could Microsoft learn a lesson from that? Could it announce that XP will live on, renamed as "Windows Classic?" Could it announce that it now has a roadmap for XP with SP 4, SP 5 and SP 6?"

Meanwhile, BusinessWeek reports that Macs are making inroads ino the corporate marketplace.

"XP lovers will likely be happy for a little while. But soon they will begin to realize something...

That 's it. There are no more upgrades coming. O.K., so Ballmer says Microsoft will be sensitive to XP SP3 users. I don't know what that means, but I am sure that doesn't mean we can expect an XP SP4."

But I'm not sure I'd say that the end of XP "looms," as Larry puts it. OEM's are enthusiastically taking advantage of their XP downgrade rights; XP fans are organizing to save their system; Dell is planning to sell XP until 2010; even Microsoft's Steve Ballmer refers to Windows Vista as a 'work in progress'.

In our forums, ChannelWeb members seem reluctant, at best, to start moving their clients:

"Any VAR that is suggesting it's clients move to Vista should be ashamed."

"You should not be selling [Vista] in a business environment until it is fixed, and that will probably be around SP 2."

"There is no legitimate reason for the small business to be forced into a short term rotation of software."

XP will be the OS that wouldn't leave. In the 90's, Microsoft's Windows updates (3.1, 95, NT, ME) made every IT shop a multi-OS shop. That's not going to change any time soon.

Don't miss our review of Windows XP Service Pack 3. You'll be getting to know it quite well...

Craig Zarley puts the results in perspective:

"HP won six overall awards and tied with IBM Corp. for a seventh. By contrast, Cisco Systems, the vendor with the next most overall awards, won in four categories. IBM won three and tied with HP in a fourth.

And Robert DeMarzo explains the answers to Wanna Be A Champ? 5 Things You Must Do, including:

"Don't overarchitect your channel program. Sure, a partner program is important, but many SMB VARs would prefer to sell your product sourced through distribution rather than join your program. A great program can never make up for a poor product no matter how hard you try."

If you're a solution provider, Channel Champions can be your guide to which vendors are best serving the market, and how.

"The researchers, from the University of Mannheim and the Institut Eurecom, recently infiltrated Storm to test out a method they came up with of analyzing and disrupting P2P botnets. Their technique is a spinoff of traditional botnet tracking, but with a twist: it not only entails capturing bot binaries and infiltrating the P2P network, but it also exploits weaknesses in the botnet’s P2P protocol to inject 'polluted' content into the botnet to disrupt communication among the bots."

This is great news. I wouldn't bet against Storm's ability to adapt -- that's its strength -- and it has significant support as well as plenty of cash to help it continue. But eventually, either by technical wizardry or old fashioned police work, the Storm ring will get cracked. That'll be quite a story.

We take a look at the campaign proposals of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama regarding high technology, then talks to a number of industry luminaries, including Cisco's John Chambers, Websense's Dave Roberts, Six Apart's Anil Dash, Sanford University's Lawrence Lessig, Fake Steve Jobs, and more, about what tech policy issues they see as most critical for the next president to address.

"Many solution providers suffered (aka got burned) from not only CA's financial traumas but also from its fickleness in the channel. One day it wanted to embrace the channel and the very next day it was kicking the channel in the teeth. That went on for years under old regimes. But is it time to put all of that behind you and give CA another look?... Perhaps it is."

Our Scott Campbell took a detailed look at CA partners this past December, and found them please with the company's improvements. Robert DeMarzo also profiled CA's channel chief, Bill Lipsin, last summer.

In our Custom Systems Best Sellers slide show, we highlight the market leaders in ten key custom systems components, including chips, hard drives, and peripherals. For other solution providers, getting to know some key custom system partners can help you provide a far richer range of options to your own customers.

"Albany, which is entering an external beta with trusted regular Microsoft beta testers this week, is a software bundle that includes Microsoft Office Home and Student, Windows Live OneCare, Office Live Workspaces, and a cadre of Windows Live components...

Albany will be offered as a subscription service, and users will be entitled to automatic upgrades for the duration of their subsciption contract. It's not quite a web app, but it does take a page out of the web app play book by going the subscription route."

Computerworld asks if you would Pay Forever For Office? Well, no, but the pricing will certainly be an interesting element in this strategy. Ars Technica hones in:

Microsoft has been commended for its Windows Live OneCare pricing, but Microsoft Office prices are widely criticized... Windows Live OneCare and Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 are the only applications in the suite that are not currently offered for free."

While Information Week identifies the threat:

"Microsoft's assault on the Web is in no small part a response to advances by archrival Google. In recent months, the search engine company has introduced a host of new online services. Of those, the biggest threat to Microsoft is Google Apps. The offering features free or low-cost versions of Office-style productivity applications that are hosted on the Web."

"Preparing for a security overhaul on the vendor side is arguably only half the battle. VARs now face the monumental task of convincing clients to rethink their own security philosophy and adopt new and comprehensive strategies to combat growing threats."

We also talk with RSA CEO Art Coviello on his company's challenges.

The Channel Test Center tries out Windows Server 2008's data management features in terms of "storage, backup, virtualization, application management and overall data management," and finds a number of promising possibilities.

Jennifer Lawinski looks at issues facing Apple VARs, while Larry Hooper examines Cisco's efforts to encourage partners to generate more cross-partner business.

Steven Burke looks at EMC's turnaround while Robert DeMarzo finds some lessons in how Intel handled the departure of key channel executives on the eve of their partner conference.

Finally, Robert Faletra is back from Rome and has some insights on the international system builder market:

"Western European system builders are finding the developed markets they traditionally operate in are becoming more difficult. But Eastern Europe has many markets that have not built out the infrastructure to the same degree and offer an easier path to growth."