Official Google Blog: Spot on

Wow -- Google just acquired JotSpot.  Congrats to Joe Kraus (author of the excerpt below) and his team.   

OK, I can finally blurt it out: JotSpot is now part of Google, and I couldn't be more excited.
Three years ago my friend Graham Spencer and I set out to start a new company. We'd both recently left Excite, which we co-founded, and we had spent a few years starting a nonprofit together. We brainstormed scores of ideas, debated late into the night and ultimately exchanged a mountain of email and documents. We realized we needed a tool to help us organize our thoughts or we'd quickly become overwhelmed. So Graham set up a wiki. I was hooked because it immediately changed the way we worked together. Everything was kept in one place, not locked in email threads or on different computers. We could both make changes to the same document, without having to know HTML (well, without me having to know HTML). After twenty minutes of using a wiki, I was convinced that they were like the Internet in 1993 -- useful, but trapped in the land of the nerds (which both Graham and I proudly inhabit). So we set out to start JotSpot as a way to bring the power of wikis to a much broader audience.

Source: Official Google Blog: Spot on

More on Ray Ozzie's "I will fix it all" quote

I hate it when the press takes things out of context -- that has been an occupational hazard for me for a couple decades now, first as a software product manager and for the last few years as an industry analyst/consultant. I'm always careful to not say things that can be quoted out of context to support positions I don't believe in etc.

In any case, Ray Ozzie's "I will fix it all" quote in the article I referenced earlier this morning is now a good case study in this context.  I had an exchange with someone who was in the room during Ray's presentation, and it's very clear that Ray was joking -- relative to the market's approximately infinite expectations for his role as Microsoft Chief Software Architect etc. 

I expect the frequency of this type of out-of-context stuff with Ray will decrease over time, as more reporters get to know Ray as Ray rather than Ray-as-billg-replacement mode.

Link to Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check: At 30, crypto still lacks usability, experts say - Security - News - ZDNet Asia

Zimbra - Blog - Thoughts on Office 2.0 (Reprise)

Scott Dietzen on "Web 2.0"/"Office 2.0" etc.  Useful list; see the post for details. 

Yes, the "2.0" hype is getting out of hand. However, just as with Web 2.0, the technology evolution we are participating in is sufficent to at least justify the discussion. So while I am still dubious about the Office 2.0 moniker, there is no doubt that the Web authoring, sharing, and collaboration technologies under the Web 2.0 umbrella are allowing us to do many of the things we used to do within proprietary Office 1.0 desktop applications, and to do so from any browser on the net. So before you dismiss Office 2.0 as yet another buzz word du jour, please consider some (modest) over-generalizations:

Source: Zimbra - Blog - Thoughts on Office 2.0 (Reprise)

Xbox.com | Xbox News - November 2006 Update Features List

See the post for a complete list of Xbox 360 and Xbox Live updates 

HD 1080p video mode support over VGA and component cables.

Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player support.

Stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect.

Play video from storage devices such as USB flash drives, Xbox 360 Memory Units, etc.

Source: Xbox.com | Xbox News - November 2006 Update Features List

Newspaper Circulation Falls Sharply - New York Times

More on newspaper declines -- no subscription required for this one. 

The circulation of the nation’s daily newspapers plunged during the latest reporting period in one of the sharpest declines in recent history, according to data released yesterday. The slide continues a decades-long trend and adds to the woes of a mature industry already struggling with layoffs and facing the potential sale of some of its flagships.

Source: Newspaper Circulation Falls Sharply - New York Times

Newspaper Circulations Slide More - WSJ.com

One of many things that took about a decade longer than originally expected but now seems inevitable... 

Nearly every major U.S. newspaper suffered circulation declines in the past six months, according to the newspaper industry's twice-yearly report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the latest confirmation of the difficulties facing the industry as readers flock to the Web and other outlets for news.

Average daily circulation of the 770 newspapers reporting results to the ABC dropped 2.8% on a year-to-year basis during the six months ended Sept. 30, according to an analysis from the Newspaper Association of America, an industry-trade group.

Source: Newspaper Circulations Slide More - WSJ.com

MySpace will block illegal use of music - The Boston Globe

MySpace forced to acknowledge copyright and commerce realities...

News Corp.'s MySpace.com yesterday said it had licensed a new technology to stop users from posting unauthorized copyrighted music on the social networking website and oust frequent violators of its policy.

[...]

But MySpace, increasingly seen as a site to hear and see music and video, will soon begin selling songs from nearly 3 million unsigned bands. It aims to eventually offer copyright-protected songs from major record companies

Source: MySpace will block illegal use of music - The Boston Globe

At 30, crypto still lacks usability, experts say - Security - News - ZDNet Asia

More Ray Ozzie reality checks 

The issue, Snow said, is products. "The remaining issue that is big today on the plate is lack of quality in the products," he said, adding that security products are poorly designed and often not in a secure way.

Other panelists agreed. "I will fix it all," Ozzie said. He said he had built security into Notes and in Groove, a later venture. At Microsoft, he plans to design it into products as well, keeping in mind compliance issues and the realities of enterprise systems, he said.

"In the early years, we as an industry could blame the system for controlling the pace of innovation because the government was throwing up roadblocks," Ozzie said. "At this moment in time, it's laziness on the part of the industry in terms of not embracing architecture and the importance of human interface in design of secure systems."

Source: At 30, crypto still lacks usability, experts say - Security - News - ZDNet Asia

» Ray Ozzie’s view of the Web Office | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

Reality check from Redmond 

From Ozzie’s response, Microsoft is not in a hurry to deliver a pure Web Office, nor does it have its head in the sand.  “People have been trying to create applications with Web technology since the Web began," Ozzie said. "Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. We are looking at Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and paying attention to Office 2.0 and Zoho. We are also putting those in front of customers and seeing what makes sense.”

Source: » Ray Ozzie’s view of the Web Office | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

FT.com / Companies / IT - IBM executive warns over Oracle open-source impact

Oracle wants to see successful non-commercial open source about as much as Microsoft does, and BTW Red Hat is more IBM competitor than complementor these days...

Oracle’s entry into the Linux business – an open-source software system – could have a divisive and damaging effect on the market for this fast-growing product, a senior IBM software executive has warned.

The comments from Kristof Kloeckner, chief technology officer and head of strategy in IBM’s software division, echo criticisms in recent days from some other open-source supporters, who have claimed that Oracle’s move could undermine one of the software industry’s biggest success stories.

Source: FT.com / Companies / IT - IBM executive warns over Oracle open-source impact

» Will Web 2.0 ultimately kill Windows? | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Excerpt from part two of a two-part interview with Jim Allchin 

Q: In your view, what’s Google's Achilles Heel?

Allchin: I think they have several issues that they will face, the first is being able to do integration that's meaningful. They basically have fiefdoms or sort of randomization of IP.

They've got lots of IP, but could they ever pull it together in a coordinated fashion?

Source: » Will Web 2.0 ultimately kill Windows? | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

» Is Firefox 2.0 a dud? | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com

 Interesting perspectives -- read the full article

Is Firefox 2.0 a dud?  Are users better avoiding it and waiting until a future build?  Are too many of the new features buggy and incomplete and is the browser overall more unstable that previous versions?  What about Firefox on Vista? 

[...]

So what's my issue with running Firefox on Windows Vista?  It's that it runs in standard user mode and has full access to the system.  Internet Explorer 7 on the other hand runs in protected mode.

Source: » Is Firefox 2.0 a dud? | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com

A Dot-Com Survivor’s Long Road - New York Times

Seven years -- so long that I'd forgotten Clark was involved... 

When Jim Clark started Shutterfly, the online photo printing service, in December 1999, a 2-megapixel digital camera could set you back $800, investor enthusiasm for e-commerce was soaring and the words “Internet” and “bust” were rarely used in the same sentence.

Source: A Dot-Com Survivor’s Long Road - New York Times

YouTube Is Purging Copyrighted Clips - New York Times

 Somehow I suspect this might impact the site's popularity a bit...

The site late last week began purging copyrighted material from Comedy Central, including clips from YouTube stalwarts like “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” “The Colbert Report” and “South Park.”

Source: YouTube Is Purging Copyrighted Clips - New York Times

Brightcove to Launch Online Video Marketplace - WSJ.com

More Brightcove updates (apparently Brightcove gets a PR gold star today...) 

The Brightcove Network has been in test mode for months and already is being used by media and entertainment companies such as Reuters Group PLC, Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks, and Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Until now, only content owners selected by Brightcove could use the network. Now any media company or professional video-content owner will be able to launch a Web video channel at Brightcove. Web sites looking for video can then see what is available at the Brightcove marketplace. The content owner, Brightcove and the Web sites would then share revenue generated from ad sales and sales of the videos.

Source: Brightcove to Launch Online Video Marketplace - WSJ.com

Brightcove, others aim for TV on Web - The Boston Globe

Update on Brightcove (and competitor Maven) 

These companies are building flexible online networks that can host content, serve up ads, and dish out interactive features. While "viral" video-sharing sites like YouTube focus on individual clips -- many pirated -- these new Internet TV platforms are designed to host full-fledged channels that content creators control.

One of the best positioned is Brightcove Inc., which today is taking the wraps off an Internet video network that handles most everything for content creators.

Source: Brightcove, others aim for TV on Web - The Boston Globe

Windows Vista: The Experience

I took the plunge today -- switched to Vista and Office 2007 for my primary PC (to be precise, I switched to a new PC running Vista and Office 2007 as my primary PC).  No problems so far -- Office, Notes R7, FeedDemon, Windows Live Writer, Groove, and other apps I use on a daily basis are working with no problems, and I'm looking forward to working in Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, etc.  

I'm also very impressed with the eval PC I'm using, a Dell XPS M1210 with a couple gig of RAM and a couple more on a USB drive (which Vista exploits for system swap space etc.).  The only bummer so far: I can't use Aero mode with the external monitor I'm using with the M1210 (although Aero works fine when I'm using only the laptop display). 

I'll post notes here as I gain more experience with Vista and Office 2007.

Link to Windows Vista: The Experience

ANN: FeedDemon 2.1 Beta 3a (Build 2.1.0.5)

FeedDemon (beta 2.1) now directly supports Windows Live Writer, although the user experience isn't optimal, imho -- you select an item in a feed index, right-click/send to/blog this news item/Windows Live Writer.  Unfortunately it doesn't support the model used in browser clients, wherein an arbitrary selection can be used for the post.  

I've just uploaded FeedDemon 2.1 Beta 3a, which corrects a few problems that people reported in yesterday's beta.  To get it, just stop by the FeedDemon Beta Site.

I've also updated the FeedDemon 2.1 Quick Reference Sheet to include the new keyboard shortcuts added in Beta 3.

Source: ANN: FeedDemon 2.1 Beta 3a (Build 2.1.0.5)
Originally published on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:45:29 GMT by Nick Bradbury

WinInfo Short Takes: On the Road to RTM

Read the full post for a timely reality check from Paul Thurrott.  I'm still very impressed with Vista on my test machine (a Dell XPS M1210), but I expect to be even more impressed with Vista on 1H 2007 PCs designed to fully exploit the OS.

This week's announcement about the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program--whereby consumers purchasing new PCs can get coupons for free or reduced-cost versions of Vista early next year--raises a simple question: Should you buy a PC now or wait? I can't stress this strongly enough: You should wait.

Source: WinInfo Short Takes: On the Road to RTM

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Forgive the missed days

I'd love to know who's writing this blog -- it's clearly an industry insider with a great sense of humor. 

I've been having problems with my friggin MacBook shutting down. Can't tell you how many blog items I've had 90% done and then bam the friggin Mac craps out on me. Anyhoo, we've shipped a fix and supposedly mine is gonna get updated as soon as the guys in tech support can work me in.

Source: The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Forgive the missed days

In Teens' Web World, MySpace Is So Last Year - washingtonpost.com

Second such article I've seen in the last few days 

"I think it's definitely going down -- a lot of my friends have deleted their MySpaces and are more into Facebook now," said Birnbaum, a junior who spends more time on her Facebook profile, where she messages and shares photos with other students in her network.

Source: In Teens' Web World, MySpace Is So Last Year - washingtonpost.com

Using WLW Blog This with Firefox 2.0 « whateverblog.

In case you're trying to use Windows Live Writer with Firefox 2.0 -- here's a work-around summary. 

As you may or may not know, along with our last beta of Windows Live Writer we also released a Blog This extension for Firefox. The extension works great with Firefox versions between 1.5 and 2.0 Beta 2 (the latest that was available at the time of our release) but not with the 2.0 Release Candidates and final version that have been released since then–Firefox will give you a message that the extension isn’t compatible.

Source: Using WLW Blog This with Firefox 2.0 « whateverblog.

Oracle Announces Next-generation User Interaction Environment: Oracle® WebCenter Suite

Looks like Oracle Collaboration Suite is perhaps having something of an existential crisis... 

Oracle today announced Oracle® WebCenter Suite, a new component of Oracle Fusion Middleware. Oracle WebCenter Suite will improve information worker productivity by delivering a unified, context-aware user experience that integrates a full set of enterprise services. It delivers a unified environment that provides user access to business applications, structured and un-structured content, business intelligence, enterprise search, business processes, and communication and collaboration services. Oracle WebCenter Suite will provide the first user interaction environment that breaks down the boundaries between web-based portals, enterprise applications, and Web 2.0 technologies to enable the rapid creation of flexible, context-sensitive work processes. The product will be based on an open, standards-based architecture and will be used by customers to develop their own Web 2.0 centric applications. Oracle WebCenter Suite will also become the default user environment for Oracle Fusion Applications.

Source: Oracle Announces Next-generation User Interaction Environment: Oracle® WebCenter Suite

Google Co-op - Custom Search Engine: Search the personal blogs of burton analysts.

 Cool -- Mike Gotta set up a Google Custom Search Engine for ~10 BG-related blogs.

Link to Google Co-op - Custom Search Engine: Search the personal blogs of burton analysts. 

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Larry Ellison and the business of social production

More insightful analysis from Nicholas Carr; read the full post. 

Are there economic or other barriers that prevent competitors from capitalizing on the investments of the open-source companies?

We're about to get a lot closer to an answer to that question, thanks to that great clarifying force in the technology business, Larry Ellison.

I also find it fascinating that Larry Ellison gets credit (in BusinessWeek) for a "ruthless and brilliant act of capitalism" while Microsoft executives, openly speculating about similar issues in the past, got attacked for comparing open source to communism.  In any case: the theory, hype, and reality of enterprise open source are now being tested in new and interesting ways.

Recommended (albeit somewhat dated) reading in this context: The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison -- it's a book with a dumb title, but it's useful background/early history on Ellison and Oracle.

Source: Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Larry Ellison and the business of social production

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Die, Red Hat. Die!

More good humor (and insights)... 

So I called Larry and I'm like, Dude, WTF with this attack on Red Hat? You look like the big schoolyard bully picking on the little Linux nerd, the kid with the pocket protector full of pens and the calculator on his belt. Here's how Larry explained it:

(Read the full post)

Source: The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Die, Red Hat. Die!

Pattern Finder: IE 7 vs. Firefox 2.0: Firefox Wins for Me

More IE7 versus Firefox 2.0 -- from my Burton Group colleague Guy Creese 

I've used Firefox since its early days, due to its speed and tabbed UI. But I keep IE around because some sites don't work well -- or even function -- with Firefox. I was amenable to going back to IE because I find it a bit of a pain to switch back and forth.

But, unfortunately, while IE 7 certainly got into the general ballpark of Firefox, it didn't blow by it. And, at least for me, IE 7 loads incredibly slowly, while Firefox 2.0 got even zippier. So I'll continue to lead a schizophrenic existence

Source: Pattern Finder: IE 7 vs. Firefox 2.0: Firefox Wins for Me

Collaborative Thinking: Taking Slidesshare For A Ride

My Burton Group colleague Mike Gotta explores SlideShare -- starting with a 31-slide presentation on collaboration market dynamics 

Since I create and deliver a lot of presentations, I find this personally quite interesting. I'll be playing with it on and off and will share findings as I go along...

Source: Collaborative Thinking: Taking Slidesshare For A Ride

Technology Review: Firefox 2.0: The Honda Civic of Web Browsers

A very different perspective on Firefox 2.0, compared with the following post 

Released late Tuesday, the Mozilla Foundation's latest Net-surfing tool is almost everything Web denizens have come to expect from the popular Internet Explorer alternative. Firefox 2.0 offers a handful of obvious improvements in searching and security and a couple of new features, and it largely keeps doing well what it has done well before.

This said, it breaks little genuinely new ground.

Source: Technology Review: Firefox 2.0: The Honda Civic of Web Browsers

CNET Prizefight: Internet Explorer 7 vs. Firefox 2 - CNET reviews

Interesting perspectives -- worth a skim 

Firefox 2 still rules the browser roost for now, despite a much improved version of Internet Explorer. The most obvious new feature for IE 7 (tabs) has been in Firefox forever, and the security additions from Microsoft aren't enough for us to allay concerns over new possible exploits. Lastly, the extensibility of Firefox 2 is its knockout punch, and IE's add-ons cannot compare. The flexibility and customizability of Firefox might be best suited to more advanced Web users, but it has earned its spot at the top of the browsers.

Source: CNET Prizefight: Internet Explorer 7 vs. Firefox 2 - CNET reviews

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: From Hungary to the galaxy, Simonyi's goals always high

Some people have weird hobbies...  I bet his "'special friend', domestic goddess Martha Stewart", is not thrilled...

Charles Simonyi considers himself blessed to be able to fly to space.

Four decades after he fled Soviet-occupied Hungary to help create the U.S. personal-computer industry and key Microsoft products such as Word and Excel, Simonyi is to join two Russian cosmonauts flying a Soyuz TMA10 to the international space station on March 9.

Source: The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: From Hungary to the galaxy, Simonyi's goals always high

Microsoft Profit and Revenue Up 11% on Strength of Games and Servers - New York Times

Relentless... 

Demand for the company’s software for corporate databases and servers grew strongly, with sales up 17 percent, to $2.5 billion. Sales of Xbox game consoles, software and online game subscriptions jumped 70 percent, to more than $1 billion. Those two businesses accounted for most of Microsoft’s revenue growth in the quarter, the first in the company’s 2007 fiscal year.

[...]

The Xbox 360 machines went on sale last year, and six million have been sold worldwide. Software sales are going well, and Microsoft’s online game service, Xbox Live, has more than four million members.

Source: Microsoft Profit and Revenue Up 11% on Strength of Games and Servers - New York Times

Pattern Finder: Oracle's Content DB - Document Infrastructure

My Burton Group colleague Guy Creese has an ah-hah moment at Oracle OpenWorld; see the full post for more context

It's a bit ironic that Microsoft had the vision early, circa 1995 with Cairo and then WinFS, but it's Oracle that has beat them to the punch.

Source: Pattern Finder: Oracle's Content DB - Document Infrastructure

Oracle to offer Red Hat Linux support | CNET News.com

This was a predictable response to Red Hat + JBoss -- a very steep opportunity cost for Red Hat. 

Becoming an operating-system company is one of a series of bold attempts at growth by the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based software company, which in recent years also has acquired small and large rivals. Many major computing companies have embraced Linux, but until now, all have chosen partnerships with Linux companies rather than direct competition.

Source: Oracle to offer Red Hat Linux support | CNET News.com

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data - New York Times

Post-90s politics... 

Fifty or so other Republican candidates have also been made targets in a sophisticated “Google bombing” campaign intended to game the search engine’s ranking algorithms. By flooding the Web with references to the candidates and repeatedly cross-linking to specific articles and sites on the Web, it is possible to take advantage of Google’s formula and force those articles to the top of the list of search results.

Source: A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data - New York Times

Disney Movies on a Tiny Disney Screen - New York Times

File under "Future collectors' item"

The Disney Mix Max Personal Media Player is slightly larger than an iPod Nano and can play MP3 or WMA music files. But the hallmark of this player is the 2.2-inch screen, created especially to display TV-quality Disney videos and movies. The movies, including “High School Musical” and “Ella Enchanted,” are available on specially formatted memory chips that sell for $15 and slip into a side port that also accepts standard SD memory cards.

Source: Disney Movies on a Tiny Disney Screen - New York Times

The Cellphone Costs $1,275. In Love Yet? - New York Times

Yeah, I was looking for a phone with a motorized clamshell... 

The phone is called Serene. It’s a radical departure from any cellphone you’ve ever used before, mostly in a good way. One of the bad ways, alas, is the price. Promise you won’t stop reading when you find out? It’s $1,275.

For that money, the company promises, you don’t just get a phone. You get “discreet, pleasurable interaction,” a device “to have, to hold, and to communicate with.” (Is this a phone or a personal ad?)

Source: The Cellphone Costs $1,275. In Love Yet? - New York Times

Personal Technology -- Advice on Shopping For a Windows PC -- If You Must Buy Now

Naturally Apple has no similar issues, for reasons explained in the article (this is a link to the no-subscription-required version) 

It's time for my annual fall computer buyer's guide, and this year my message is a little unusual. If you're thinking of acquiring or giving a new Windows desktop or laptop computer this holiday season, don't do it. I suggest that, if at all possible, you wait around 90 days and get that new Windows machine in February.

Source: Personal Technology -- Advice on Shopping
For a Windows PC -- If You Must Buy NowStreet Journal.

» Microsoft readies new transfer tool for XP-Vista migration | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Cool... 

The three components of the solution are Windows Easy Transfer, a new feature in Vista that will scan old XP PCs and gathers up applications, settings, emails, address books and more. The Windows Easy Transfer Companion moves the applications from XP machines to Vista PCs. And the Easy Transfer Cable, which will be developed by various USB cable manufacturers and available at retail locations, will be the physical medium for the transfer.

Source: » Microsoft readies new transfer tool for XP-Vista migration | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Amazon balks at Google request

Another example of Google attempting to make all of the world's information widely available... 

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, challenged a request by Google Inc. to provide documents that may be used in the fight over Google's book-scanning project.

Amazon.com said Google is improperly trying to get confidential information to help defend a program that would compete with the retailer. Google said it needs the documents to fend off lawsuits challenging its Google Library project and pledges to keep subpoenaed information confidential.

Source: Amazon balks at Google request

As Expected, Microsoft Gives the Gift of Vista

And Office too, apparently, at least for some customers 

Additionally, consumers who purchase new PCs with a preinstalled version of Microsoft Office 2003 may be eligible to receive upgrades to comparable Office 2007 product versions. These offers are a bit murkier than the Windows Vista upgrades, and will only be "made through participating computer manufacturers in qualifying locations."

Source: As Expected, Microsoft Gives the Gift of Vista

Microsoft, Industry Partners Offer Early Holiday Gifts to PC Buyers Around the World

More details... 

A number of computer manufacturers worldwide have confirmed plans to participate in the Express Upgrade to Windows Vista program. PCs carrying the Windows Vista Capable logo may be eligible for the program, but upgrade offers will vary among PC makers. The upgrade to Windows Vista may be offered for free or at a discounted price (shipping and handling charges may also apply), and customers should check with PC makers for their specific offers. Consumers can also visit http://www.windowsvista.com/expressupgrade for more information.

Source: Microsoft, Industry Partners Offer Early Holiday Gifts to PC Buyers Around the World: Microsoft working with PC manufacturers and system builders to provide holiday PC buyers with low-cost upgrades to Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release.

Microsoft to Offer Coupons For Free Vista Upgrades - WSJ.com

Many vendors now offer free Vista upgrades 

Microsoft Corp. said it will offer coupons for free or heavily discounted upgrades to its long-delayed Windows Vista operating system to consumers who buy computers this holiday season ahead of the software's release.

The software giant said the program will defer around $1.5 billion in revenue from its current fiscal second-quarter to its third quarter. Microsoft, which will report quarterly results on Thursday, said it does not expect the deferral to affect its full-year sales outlook.

Source: Microsoft to Offer Coupons For Free Vista Upgrades - WSJ.com

» Microsoft earns a mixed report card for its year-old Live initiative | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Timely Microsoft Live reality check -- read the article for a progress report.

How has Microsoft fared, in terms of living up to the Live goals it set for itself? I’d give the company an A- for delivery, but a D- for presentation. Microsoft is actually making some real headway in the way it is developing and distributing services, but almost no one knows it, thanks to the abysmal job the company has done in defining Live and updating the various Microsoft constituencies on its progress.

Source: » Microsoft earns a mixed report card for its year-old Live initiative | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com