Friend of the channel and @CRN reporter. Loves writing in English, speaking in Mandarin Chinese, and swearing unintelligibly when losing a wargame.

Sunny So. Cal.
Joined July 2009
Joe “Joe Kovar” Kovar retweeted
BREAKING: Billionaire Sir Richard Branson unleashes a SCORCHING attack on Trump and his disgusting cozying up to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that gets under Trump's skin... "I thought I’d never have to say this in my lifetime, but this is 2026, and sadly nothing is what it used to be," Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, wrote on LinkedIn. "The Trump administration has become an appeaser to autocrats and dictators, putting their personal whims before the best interests of the American people and those of the free world. What is it about Putin that President Trump fawns over?" "How will America’s allies ever be able to trust this administration again when they are now turning against them at a time of war and suffering?" he asked. Trump has repeatedly betrayed our Ukrainian allies in recent days. First, he announced a stunning deal with Putin to allow millions of barrels of diesel into the global markets, a move that will directly pump money into the Russian war machine. Then, he began a concerted smear campaign against President Zelenskyy and said that Putin is easier to deal with. The backstabbing escalated when Washington failed to provide its usual early warning to Kyiv of an incoming Russian ballistic missile attack. Now, it appears that the White House ordered a temporary disruption of Starshield, a military version of Elon Musk's Starlink that the Ukrainian armed forces rely upon. "The slowdown of Starlink/Starshield and the inexplicable lack of advance warning of Russian missile launches have already caused Ukrainian civilians to die unnecessarily," wrote Branson. "How much worse can it get?" "If one thing is clear it’s that European leaders must overcome the initial shock about Trump’s recent actions and step up to the plate. It’s as much about Europe’s freedom as it is about Ukraine’s sovereignty. Both are worth fighting for," he continued. "All options should be on the table now, from the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to the delivery of advanced weapons systems such as Germany’s Taurus." "Why oh why is this happening? We cannot let the free world be dismantled before our very eyes," Branson concluded. We couldn't agree more. Trump is an enemy to Ukraine, an enemy to democracy, and an enemy to the American people. When Democrats retake power, we have our work cut out for us. Every last trace of this monstrous man's legacy must be erased. Please ❤️ and share if you think that Trump is Putin's puppet!
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Joe “Joe Kovar” Kovar retweeted
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.@TDSYNNEX is focusing on physical AI with its planned acquisition of BlueStar and distributing Kuka's industrial robotics, moves CEO Patrick Zammit told me will help push the convergence of operational technology and information tech. Details @CRN $SNX tinyurl.com/556ab9nk
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I’ll check it out tomorrow.
Gentle reminder that chronic procrastination and task paralysis are not normal. If you’re struggling, try The Fabulous. It’s created by Duke neuroscientist and proven to work.

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IT distribution leader @TDSYNNEX Thursday opened its TD Synnex 2026 Inspire conference with the unveiling of FinOps Fusion, a new offering designed to help its channel partners manage the cost of AI consumption. Details @CRN $SNX tinyurl.com/yc2hw9sm
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Joe “Joe Kovar” Kovar retweeted
Dell Technologies (@Dell) has expanded its AI Data Platform with agentic AI context, @nvidia-accelerated data preparation, multi-tenancy, storage performance tools, managed PowerScale for @Azure, and professional services, all aimed at helping enterprises move AI deployments more quickly from pilot projects into production. @DellTechPartner crn.com/news/storage/2026/de…
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The Department of Justice alleged solution provider EarthMade Computer owner Greg Lui smuggled $300M+ in export-controlled servers containing U.S.-made GPUs, routing the tech through Malaysia and Singapore in violation of export controls. Details @CRN tinyurl.com/4dhvx27a
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Joe “Joe Kovar” Kovar retweeted
NetApp CEO George Kurian calls his company an intelligent data infrastructure provider built for AI, hybrid cloud and cyber resilience, as opposed to the traditional classification of @NetApp as a storage vendor. In an exclusive interview with @CRN during #NetAppINSIGHT this week in Las Vegas, Kurian said NetApp’s software brings together unified storage, security, data protection, metadata, and movement across data centers and clouds, allowing customers to build AI-ready data in place while retaining control. Read @ChannelWritrGuy’s interview with Kurian to learn more, including about the company’s focus on bringing unprecedented performance and scalability of data to AI: crn.com/news/ai/2026/netapp-…
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