Why 'Azure'?
How did Microsoft end up going from "Red Dog" to bright blue (Azure) in naming its just-unveiled cloud operating environment?
Microsoft evangelist Anand Iyer provides the official explanation on his blog:
"Azure is a vibrant, dynamic and uplifting color. Azure is also linked to the image of the blue sky and, by extension, ‘the cloud.’ "
No one has mentioned the Microsoft codename "Blue" that seemingly had to do with data hosting in the cloud when talking about the origins of Azure.
Speaking of Azure, here are the restrictions and guidelines that Microsoft is sending out to attendees of the Professional Development Conference (PDC) who are eligible to start testing an early build of Azure as of today:
"This invitation to participate in the Windows Azure Community Technical Preview is subject to the following usage limits
- Total compute usage: 2000 VM hours
- Cloud storage capacity: 50GB
- Total storage bandwidth: 20GB/day
"During the CTP, we reserve the right to suspend your account activity (this does not imply we will delete your cloud storage) if you exceed these usage limits."
Many developers who attended the October 27 unveiling of Azure at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles are still trying to get their heads around what Azure is and how it will work.