Microsoft TechEd 2010: Heads in the Cloud, Muglia says

Our guy on the spot, Paul Thurrott, was in the crowd listening to Microsoft's Bob Muglia as he gave his keynote kicking off Microsoft TechEd 2010 today. Paul writes, "In his opening keynote during the TechEd 2010 conference in New Orleans on Monday, Microsoft Server and Tools President Bob Muglia said that the computer industry was on the cusp of a major transformation from traditional software models to the cloud computing future. Microsoft, he said, will help businesses make this transition, and bring their IT investments forward into the cloud."

Muglia's focus on the cloud will likely hit a "meh" note with many IT pros, who are less interested in the cloud and more interested in navigating the shoals of the latest updates and service packs, and figuring out how to best manage what they've already got.

Moving from the cloud back down to Earth, Steve Jobs's keynote, going on now at Apple's WWDC conference, is expected to focus on that popular piece of hardware, the iPhone. The contrast is interesting: Will we look back 10 years from now and see this week as a turning point for one or the other of these companies?