Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage "Gates' comments on blogging technology were the most extensive thus far from Microsoft's chief software architect, signaling that the world's largest software company is waking up to the potential of blogging as a potential threat and also as a new business opportunity."
I find it fascinating to see all of the usual suspects in the "blogosphere" making triumphant posts about Microsoft's growing blog enthusiasm, when the implications are pretty clear -- Microsoft will take control of its own destiny in this context instead of implicitly deferring to third-parties, as it has until now.
Friday, May 21, 2004
WSJ.com - Oracle, Microsoft Join on Software
WSJ.com - Oracle, Microsoft Join on Software "Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. announced a technology partnership that could signal a thaw in the combative relationship between two of the software industry's fiercest rivals.
Under the arrangement, software developers will be able to use Microsoft's tools to write programs for Oracle's database systems. It is the first formal agreement between the two companies, according to executives on both sides.
Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said his company and Microsoft are discussing additional efforts, including joint advertising to promote the use of Oracle's database software on top of Microsoft's Windows operating system. That would be notable because Microsoft's own database software, SQL Server, competes directly with Oracle's offerings.
Before the announcement, Mr. Ellison said the advertising effort "was proposed by Microsoft, and I was surprised by that." He said the campaign would highlight capabilities of Oracle's software based on "grids" or "clusters" of multiple computers, features that aren't yet available from Microsoft. Chuck Phillips, Oracle co-president, has discussed the possible advertising initiative with Microsoft executives, Mr. Ellison said.
Analysts said the closer ties between Oracle and Microsoft reflect demands from corporate customers, who are increasingly impatient with industry feuds that hinder integration of technology from multiple vendors. Such customer demands were cited in last month's $1.95 billion settlement deal between Microsoft and longtime rival Sun Microsystems Inc. and in last week's technology partnership between Microsoft and SAP AG of Germany."
I imagine this move by Oracle may also have been driven by IBM's plans to support .NET (Visual Studio integration as well as .NET Framework support for stored procedures and user-defined data types) in the "Stinger" release of DB2 that's now in beta.
Under the arrangement, software developers will be able to use Microsoft's tools to write programs for Oracle's database systems. It is the first formal agreement between the two companies, according to executives on both sides.
Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said his company and Microsoft are discussing additional efforts, including joint advertising to promote the use of Oracle's database software on top of Microsoft's Windows operating system. That would be notable because Microsoft's own database software, SQL Server, competes directly with Oracle's offerings.
Before the announcement, Mr. Ellison said the advertising effort "was proposed by Microsoft, and I was surprised by that." He said the campaign would highlight capabilities of Oracle's software based on "grids" or "clusters" of multiple computers, features that aren't yet available from Microsoft. Chuck Phillips, Oracle co-president, has discussed the possible advertising initiative with Microsoft executives, Mr. Ellison said.
Analysts said the closer ties between Oracle and Microsoft reflect demands from corporate customers, who are increasingly impatient with industry feuds that hinder integration of technology from multiple vendors. Such customer demands were cited in last month's $1.95 billion settlement deal between Microsoft and longtime rival Sun Microsystems Inc. and in last week's technology partnership between Microsoft and SAP AG of Germany."
I imagine this move by Oracle may also have been driven by IBM's plans to support .NET (Visual Studio integration as well as .NET Framework support for stored procedures and user-defined data types) in the "Stinger" release of DB2 that's now in beta.
WSJ.com - Comcast Will Use Microsoft System For Digital TV
WSJ.com - Comcast Will Use Microsoft System For Digital TV: " Microsoft Corp., which has been struggling to break into the television business for over a decade, took a big step in that direction by announcing a deal to license its software to Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable-TV company.
Comcast said it would deploy software developed by Microsoft TV in up to five million of its digital set-top boxes over the next 2 years.
...
Foundation Edition was developed to work on the millions of set-top boxes already deployed. While the boxes have less processing ability than was originally anticipated, the Microsoft software gives cable-TV operators the ability to add richer graphics, interactive games and other features -- including ads -- to existing program guides.
...
Comcast committed itself to helping Microsoft break into the cable-software business when it acquired AT&T Broadband in late 2002. At that time, Microsoft agreed to convert $5 billion in AT&T debt into Comcast equity. In exchange, Comcast agreed to launch Microsoft software in 25% of its systems, if certain conditions were met."
Comcast said it would deploy software developed by Microsoft TV in up to five million of its digital set-top boxes over the next 2 years.
...
Foundation Edition was developed to work on the millions of set-top boxes already deployed. While the boxes have less processing ability than was originally anticipated, the Microsoft software gives cable-TV operators the ability to add richer graphics, interactive games and other features -- including ads -- to existing program guides.
...
Comcast committed itself to helping Microsoft break into the cable-software business when it acquired AT&T Broadband in late 2002. At that time, Microsoft agreed to convert $5 billion in AT&T debt into Comcast equity. In exchange, Comcast agreed to launch Microsoft software in 25% of its systems, if certain conditions were met."
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Is Torvalds really the father of Linux? | CNET News.com
Is Torvalds really the father of Linux? | CNET News.com: "It's hard to imagine that Linus Torvalds could have launched Linux without directly using earlier operating system work, according to a report that has become controversial even before its scheduled publication Thursday.
...
If Linux is a derivative work of Minix, that makes Linux vulnerable to charges of intellectual property infringement by Prentice Hall, which published books and the Minix source code but restricted its use until 2000, the study said. "Arguably, Prentice Hall has lost out on tens of millions of dollars" because of lost book sales, the study said."
(I thought it was already common knowledge that Minix played a pivotal role...)
...
If Linux is a derivative work of Minix, that makes Linux vulnerable to charges of intellectual property infringement by Prentice Hall, which published books and the Minix source code but restricted its use until 2000, the study said. "Arguably, Prentice Hall has lost out on tens of millions of dollars" because of lost book sales, the study said."
(I thought it was already common knowledge that Minix played a pivotal role...)
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft cuts some perks with an eye on bottom line
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft cuts some perks with an eye on bottom line "Microsoft has lured many a tech worker to its ranks by offering perks that few other companies could match, but the company said this week it would scale back some of those employee benefits in a cost-cutting move.
Coming less than a year after the company yanked its stock-option plan, the changes appear to be bringing Microsoft's vaunted worker benefits more in line with those of other companies."
Coming less than a year after the company yanked its stock-option plan, the changes appear to be bringing Microsoft's vaunted worker benefits more in line with those of other companies."
Dell First to Offer Windows Mobile 2003 SE Handhelds
Dell First to Offer Windows Mobile 2003 SE Handhelds: "The base Axim X30 starts at just $199 and features a 312MHz Intel XScale processor, 32MB of RAM, and 32MB of ROM. But for just $50 more you can get an Axim X30 model with integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities, 64MB of RAM, and 64MB of ROM. The high-end Axim X30 model features a market-leading 624MHz XScale processor, plus the midrange model's wireless capabilities, and retails for $349--a far cry from the $600 to $700 most PDA makers' high-end machines cost. All Axim X30 devices include 3.5' TFT color displays, Secure Digital (SD) expansion capabilities, navigation button and scroll wheel inputs, and removable batteries with optional high-capacity replacement batteries.
Dell's pricing strategy, which is adapted from its successful run in the PC world, is a phenomenal boon to customers who are used to paying much higher prices for PDAs with comparable features. For example, palmOne doesn't offer a truly competitive product, and its $399 Tungsten T3 has integrated Bluetooth but not Wi-Fi. And HP's least-expensive device with integrated Wi-Fi/Bluetooth costs $449."
Dell's pricing strategy, which is adapted from its successful run in the PC world, is a phenomenal boon to customers who are used to paying much higher prices for PDAs with comparable features. For example, palmOne doesn't offer a truly competitive product, and its $399 Tungsten T3 has integrated Bluetooth but not Wi-Fi. And HP's least-expensive device with integrated Wi-Fi/Bluetooth costs $449."
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Softricity delivers the virtual application
The virtual application - TechUpdate - ZDNet "The company's SoftGrid platform transforms Windows applications into virtual services that can be centrally managed and deployed on desktops, laptops and terminal servers. "Without rewriting, applications are delivered in real time over the network and run locally," said David Greschler, vice president of marketing at Softricity.
Applications execute locally with full functionality and performance, without being installed or configured on the target machine's resident operating system, according to Greschler. "It's not like a screen scraper or emulator. The applications don't install to the local operating system, so you don't have to worry about conflicts. SoftGrid keeps the operating system protected because it carries its own parts of the OS--such as system files, registry, fonts and COM objects--but can get data from the local machine."
Applications execute locally with full functionality and performance, without being installed or configured on the target machine's resident operating system, according to Greschler. "It's not like a screen scraper or emulator. The applications don't install to the local operating system, so you don't have to worry about conflicts. SoftGrid keeps the operating system protected because it carries its own parts of the OS--such as system files, registry, fonts and COM objects--but can get data from the local machine."
Tim Bray ongoing: Gunfight at the WS Corral
Tim Bray ongoing: Gunfight at the WS Corral "As a student of WS-Geography and WS-Politics (and there’s a lot to learn), my eyebrows were first raised by a pointer to a warmish protest (I quote: “... the draft Oasis Web Services Reliability specification was savaged in a most unfortunate manner... We are also informed that the IBM assassination attempt will be posted on the Oasis web site which further adds insult to injury...”) concerning a presentation entitled Critical Comparison of WS-RM and WS-R, which is indeed posted on the Oasis site. However, to keep things fair, the site also has a pointer to the response from the WSRM TC. I totally have no opinion as to who’s right, or if the problem is a fruitful area for standardization work. But I wonder why, if there are differing ideas on how to solve this problem, and there is a standards organization at work, the differing ideas aren’t being hashed out in the standards organization. Clues may be found in the email thread beginning here. It’s tough for strangers to learn a new landscape when it’s ravaged by warring tribes."
(See original for links to referenced posts etc.)
(See original for links to referenced posts etc.)
Technology News Article | Reuters.com: Lycos Europe Beats Google to Market with 1GB Email
Technology News Article | Reuters.com: Lycos Europe Beats Google to Market with 1GB Email "Web portal Lycos Europe (LCYE.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) beat its larger rival Google to market with an e-mail service featuring one gigabyte of storage space, the company announced on Tuesday.
...
Lycos Europe will charge British users 3.49 pounds ($6.15) per month for an ad-free e-mail service. The soon-to-be-public Google will offer a free service supported by advertisers who will be able to target users with promotional messages based on their e-mail conversations."
...
Lycos Europe will charge British users 3.49 pounds ($6.15) per month for an ad-free e-mail service. The soon-to-be-public Google will offer a free service supported by advertisers who will be able to target users with promotional messages based on their e-mail conversations."
AT&T Back in Wireless Business (TechNews.com)
AT&T Back in Wireless Business (TechNews.com) "It wants to reenter the cellular business in order to offer its 30 million business and residential customers bundles of telephone and Internet services. With cable companies coming out with local telephone service this year, and with regional Bell companies like Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications Inc. offering package deals with their affiliated wireless companies, AT&T must have wireless service to be competitive, said Blair Levin, an analyst with Legg Mason Wood Walker.
Customers who subscribe to bundles are less likely to cancel service than those who subscribe to any single telecommunications service, and a bigger bundle means bigger money for the telecommunications providers. "It's the battle of the bundles, and you can't compete without a bundle of service," Levin said."
Oh, sort of like when I was getting local phone, Internet, cable TV, and wireless from AT&T, before they sold the cable business to Comcast and the wireless business to Cingular... Something in this equation doesn't solve for me.
Customers who subscribe to bundles are less likely to cancel service than those who subscribe to any single telecommunications service, and a bigger bundle means bigger money for the telecommunications providers. "It's the battle of the bundles, and you can't compete without a bundle of service," Levin said."
Oh, sort of like when I was getting local phone, Internet, cable TV, and wireless from AT&T, before they sold the cable business to Comcast and the wireless business to Cingular... Something in this equation doesn't solve for me.
The New York Times > Business > Salesforce.com Is Said to Delay Its Public Offering
The New York Times > Business > Salesforce.com Is Said to Delay Its Public Offering "The Securities and Exchange Commission requested that the company delay its public offering after commissioners decided that Marc Benioff, Salesforce's chief executive, violated the S.E.C.-imposed "quiet" period, when company executives are required to keep a low profile before selling stock to the public, the executive said."
Oops...
Oops...
The New York Times > Technology > Google Moves Toward a Direct Confrontation With Microsoft
The New York Times > Technology > Google Moves Toward a Direct Confrontation With Microsoft: "Edging closer to a direct confrontation with Microsoft, Google, the Web search engine, is preparing to introduce a powerful file and text software search tool for locating information stored on personal computers.
Google's software, which is expected to be introduced soon, according to several people with knowledge of the company's plans, is the clearest indication to date that the company, based in Mountain View, Calif., hopes to extend its search business to compete directly with Microsoft's control of desktop computing."
p.s. X1 == Lotus Magellan++ -- from the company overview:
"X1 is being developed by a team based in Pasadena, but it includes bright programmers and business people throughout North America (yes, yes, including Canada). The program is the brainchild of entrepreneur Bill Gross, who conceived and developed a similar product, called Lotus Magellan, that was published in 1989. Several members of the original Magellan team have joined Bill to bring out X1."
Google's software, which is expected to be introduced soon, according to several people with knowledge of the company's plans, is the clearest indication to date that the company, based in Mountain View, Calif., hopes to extend its search business to compete directly with Microsoft's control of desktop computing."
p.s. X1 == Lotus Magellan++ -- from the company overview:
"X1 is being developed by a team based in Pasadena, but it includes bright programmers and business people throughout North America (yes, yes, including Canada). The program is the brainchild of entrepreneur Bill Gross, who conceived and developed a similar product, called Lotus Magellan, that was published in 1989. Several members of the original Magellan team have joined Bill to bring out X1."
WSJ.com - Cometa Shutters Wi-Fi Operations After Failing to Raise More Funds
WSJ.com - Cometa Shutters Wi-Fi Operations After Failing to Raise More Funds "The wireless "hot spot" market got a little cooler, as Cometa Networks Inc., a high-profile start-up that once planned to deploy a nationwide wireless Internet network based on Wi-Fi technology, declared plans to shut down.
Closely held Cometa of Schaumburg, Ill., which had attracted the backing of Intel Corp., AT&T Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and other investors, said it decided to suspend operations after failing to raise "substantial" additional capital from its investors to expand its wireless network beyond the locations, dubbed hot spots, that it currently operates in the Seattle area. Cometa had offered high-speed wireless inside Barnes & Noble Bookstores, Tully's Coffee Shopps and other public locations around Seattle.
...
Adding to the pressure on commercial wireless networks is the decision by some public venues to offer Wi-Fi service as a free amenity, like air-conditioning."
Closely held Cometa of Schaumburg, Ill., which had attracted the backing of Intel Corp., AT&T Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and other investors, said it decided to suspend operations after failing to raise "substantial" additional capital from its investors to expand its wireless network beyond the locations, dubbed hot spots, that it currently operates in the Seattle area. Cometa had offered high-speed wireless inside Barnes & Noble Bookstores, Tully's Coffee Shopps and other public locations around Seattle.
...
Adding to the pressure on commercial wireless networks is the decision by some public venues to offer Wi-Fi service as a free amenity, like air-conditioning."
Windows Server System Magazine - Microsoft's Platform Strategies Today
Windows Server System Magazine - Microsoft's Platform Strategies Today "This is the second Trends & Analysis column in a series focused on the past, present, and future of Microsoft's platform strategies. The first column, "Understanding Microsoft's Platform Strategies," established a framework for evaluating Microsoft's product line in terms of platforms, tools, applications, and services. This column focuses on Microsoft's progress with .NET thus far relative to the framework, and includes an assessment of the extent to which Microsoft's 2003-2004 product line is fully .NET-ified."
Second in my series of 4 columns in Windows Server System Magazine. BTW I'd welcome topic suggestions for future columns.
Second in my series of 4 columns in Windows Server System Magazine. BTW I'd welcome topic suggestions for future columns.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Apple Seeks Patent for Translucent Windows
Apple Seeks Patent for Translucent Windows: "Apple is seeking a patent on a method for rendering translucent-appearing windows, technology that appears similar to features Microsoft has been previewing for its next major Windows release."
I will be stunned if there's not ample prior art in this context.
I will be stunned if there's not ample prior art in this context.
CRN : Breaking News : Gartner: Poor Data Quality Dooms Many IT Projects
CRN : Breaking News : Gartner: Poor Data Quality Dooms Many IT Projects "Corporations routinely make decisions based on remarkably inaccurate or incomplete data, a bad habit that's a leading cause of the failure of high-profile and high-cost IT projects such as business intelligence and customer relationship management deployments, a research firm says.
"Most enterprises don't fathom the magnitude of the impact that data quality problems can have," said Ted Friedman, principal analyst with Gartner. According to his research, a quarter of the Fortune 1000 companies are working with poor-quality data."
"Most enterprises don't fathom the magnitude of the impact that data quality problems can have," said Ted Friedman, principal analyst with Gartner. According to his research, a quarter of the Fortune 1000 companies are working with poor-quality data."
BW Online | May 24, 2004 | Craig McCaw's Secret Plan
BW Online | May 24, 2004 | Craig McCaw's Secret Plan "Ever since he was a boy growing up near Seattle, Craig O. McCaw saw the moneymaking potential of the public airwaves. His father, J. Elroy McCaw, built one of the first rock 'n' roll radio stations in the country, New York's WINS-AM, and netted about $20 million when he sold it in 1962. An inveterate practical joker, Elroy sent his then-12-year-old son into a New York bank to deposit the multimillion-dollar check from the deal. Years later, Craig scooped up licenses for radio spectrum and cobbled together the first nationwide cellular empire, which he sold to AT&T (T ) for a neat $11.5 billion in 1994.
Now, McCaw is trying to get back on the air. After losing billions on several ventures in recent years, the reclusive entrepreneur is quietly making wireless investments that could be the start of a new empire that once again upsets the balance of power in the telecom industry. In March he acquired Clearwire Holdings Inc., a Texas company that provides wireless broadband service in Jacksonville, Fla., and holds the exclusive rights to radio spectrum in about 100 other U.S. cities. In April he snapped up NextNet Wireless Inc., a Minneapolis startup that makes gear for delivering high-speed Internet access through the air. And on May 3, he invested $36 million in Microcell Telecommunications Inc., a Montreal-based cellular provider that plans to introduce wireless broadband throughout Canada."
Now, McCaw is trying to get back on the air. After losing billions on several ventures in recent years, the reclusive entrepreneur is quietly making wireless investments that could be the start of a new empire that once again upsets the balance of power in the telecom industry. In March he acquired Clearwire Holdings Inc., a Texas company that provides wireless broadband service in Jacksonville, Fla., and holds the exclusive rights to radio spectrum in about 100 other U.S. cities. In April he snapped up NextNet Wireless Inc., a Minneapolis startup that makes gear for delivering high-speed Internet access through the air. And on May 3, he invested $36 million in Microcell Telecommunications Inc., a Montreal-based cellular provider that plans to introduce wireless broadband throughout Canada."
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Paul Allen resurfaces in cable waters
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Paul Allen resurfaces in cable waters: "Billionaire Paul Allen's appearance at the annual cable-industry convention this month had tongues wagging. And not just because the reclusive mogul arrived aboard the world's largest privately owned yacht, Octopus, a 413-foot stunner Allen docked on the Mississippi River.
Allen returned to the convention stage for the first time since 1999 to carry the flag for his new set-top-box technology, which some in the industry say could be a winner.
His unusually high profile here set off speculation that Allen, chairman and controlling shareholder of troubled Charter Communications, the nation's third-largest cable-TV operator, was contemplating another acquisition as the industry undergoes more consolidation."
Allen returned to the convention stage for the first time since 1999 to carry the flag for his new set-top-box technology, which some in the industry say could be a winner.
His unusually high profile here set off speculation that Allen, chairman and controlling shareholder of troubled Charter Communications, the nation's third-largest cable-TV operator, was contemplating another acquisition as the industry undergoes more consolidation."
WSJ.com - AT&T May Offer Cellphone Service With Sprint Deal
WSJ.com - AT&T May Offer Cellphone Service With Sprint Deal: " AT&T Corp. this week is expected to announce a deal to offer cellphone service using Sprint Corp.'s wireless network, people familiar with the situation said.
The company also is in talks with other cellphone companies to sign additional resale deals, seeking to offer wireless service through whichever carrier has the strongest network in a particular market across the nation.
AT&T, the nation's largest long-distance company in terms of subscribers and revenue, initially will target its existing customer base of roughly 35 million subscribers and about three million business customers. The company also wants to offer consumers new wireless handsets that can serve as home phones that run over a high-speed Internet connection, so that AT&T no longer has to lease phone lines from local phone companies in order to offer local phone service."
So it appears AT&T, after shedding an astonishing amount of shareholder value and market share, has finally internalized the implications of The Dawn of the Stupid Network. Too bad they didn't listen to David Isenberg when he wrote the essay in 1997.
The company also is in talks with other cellphone companies to sign additional resale deals, seeking to offer wireless service through whichever carrier has the strongest network in a particular market across the nation.
AT&T, the nation's largest long-distance company in terms of subscribers and revenue, initially will target its existing customer base of roughly 35 million subscribers and about three million business customers. The company also wants to offer consumers new wireless handsets that can serve as home phones that run over a high-speed Internet connection, so that AT&T no longer has to lease phone lines from local phone companies in order to offer local phone service."
So it appears AT&T, after shedding an astonishing amount of shareholder value and market share, has finally internalized the implications of The Dawn of the Stupid Network. Too bad they didn't listen to David Isenberg when he wrote the essay in 1997.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Nick Bradbury: MovableType, HomeSite and satanic cults
Nick Bradbury: MovableType, HomeSite and satanic cults: "Having been where the Six Apart crew are now, can I make a suggestion to those who are flaming them? Even if you live in some bizarro universe that equates earning a living with belonging to a satanic cult, if you're really not willing to pay for MovableType, at least have the courtesy to thank them for the free ride up to this point. "
Freedom 0 [dive into mark]
Freedom 0 [dive into mark] "Movable Type has never been Free Software, as defined by the Free Software Foundation. It has never been open source software, as defined by the Open Source Initiative. Six Apart survived and thrived in the blogging community because Movable Type was free enough.
...
It’s not about who has a right to make a living (everyone does); it’s not about how nice Ben and Mena are (I’ve met them, they are very nice); and it’s certainly not about eating. I’ve taken the $535 that Movable Type would have cost me, and I’ve donated it to the WordPress developers.
It’s not about money; it’s about freedom."
Interesting essay on the Movable Type license controversy, via Miguel de Icaza
...
It’s not about who has a right to make a living (everyone does); it’s not about how nice Ben and Mena are (I’ve met them, they are very nice); and it’s certainly not about eating. I’ve taken the $535 that Movable Type would have cost me, and I’ve donated it to the WordPress developers.
It’s not about money; it’s about freedom."
Interesting essay on the Movable Type license controversy, via Miguel de Icaza
The New York Times > Business > Intel's Big Shift After Hitting Technical Wall
The New York Times > Business > Intel's Big Shift After Hitting Technical Wall "Then two weeks ago, Intel, the world's largest chip maker, publicly acknowledged that it had hit a "thermal wall" on its microprocessor line. As a result, the company is changing its product strategy and disbanding one of its most advanced design groups. Intel also said that it would abandon two advanced chip development projects, code-named Tejas and Jayhawk.
Now, Intel is embarked on a course already adopted by some of its major rivals: obtaining more computing power by stamping multiple processors on a single chip rather than straining to increase the speed of a single processor.
...
Late last month, Current Analysis, a research firm in La Jolla, Calif., reported that for the week of April 24, the percent of personal computers sold using A.M.D. chips had surpassed those using Intel chips, with Advanced Micro at 52 percent of PC's sold versus Intel at 47 percent. It was the first time in recent history that Intel had lost its lead.
...
The company's new cooler dual-core approach will offer Intel room for growth, he said, permitting greater advances on energy consumption for future chips. A processor with two 2.5 gigahertz processors can outperform a chip with a single 3.5 gigahertz processor in certain situations, but getting full performance from dual-core processors requires special software that is only now becoming available for desktop PC's.
In fact, software developers may come to Intel's rescue. Future operating systems, like Microsoft's Longhorn version of Windows, due in 2006, are being designed to perform substantially better with multiple processors."
Now, Intel is embarked on a course already adopted by some of its major rivals: obtaining more computing power by stamping multiple processors on a single chip rather than straining to increase the speed of a single processor.
...
Late last month, Current Analysis, a research firm in La Jolla, Calif., reported that for the week of April 24, the percent of personal computers sold using A.M.D. chips had surpassed those using Intel chips, with Advanced Micro at 52 percent of PC's sold versus Intel at 47 percent. It was the first time in recent history that Intel had lost its lead.
...
The company's new cooler dual-core approach will offer Intel room for growth, he said, permitting greater advances on energy consumption for future chips. A processor with two 2.5 gigahertz processors can outperform a chip with a single 3.5 gigahertz processor in certain situations, but getting full performance from dual-core processors requires special software that is only now becoming available for desktop PC's.
In fact, software developers may come to Intel's rescue. Future operating systems, like Microsoft's Longhorn version of Windows, due in 2006, are being designed to perform substantially better with multiple processors."
Friday, May 14, 2004
InfoWorld: Update: Yahoo takes on Google with extra mail storage: May 14, 2004: By : APPLICATIONS
InfoWorld: Update: Yahoo takes on Google with extra mail storage: May 14, 2004: By : APPLICATIONS "Responding to the Gmail offer, Yahoo plans to raise the storage limits for its free e-mail users later in the second quarter or third quarter of this year from the current 6MB to 100MB, a U.K. spokeswoman for the company confirmed Friday. Meanwhile, premium subscribers -- who currently pay close to $50 a year for 100MB of storage -- will be given "virtually unlimited" capacity later this year, the spokeswoman said."
Office Developer Center: A Developer's Take on Smart Tags (Microsoft Office 2003 Technical Articles)
Office Developer Center: A Developer's Take on Smart Tags (Microsoft Office 2003 Technical Articles) "Smart tags are one of the coolest, cleverest, and easiest-to-understand pieces of technology to come down the pike in a long time. One of the goals of this article is to give a concise introduction to the technology and it corresponding terminology. By strictly observing the terminology in this article and explaining the technology more fully, I hope to help you see just how cool, clever, and easy-to-understand smart tags can be."
CRN : Breaking News : WinOE Likely To Join Indigo, WinFS In Longhorn : 12:00 AM EST Fri., May 14, 2004
CRN : Breaking News : WinOE Likely To Join Indigo, WinFS In Longhorn : 12:00 AM EST Fri., May 14, 2004 "It's looking more like Longhorn will get key orchestration features derived from BizTalk Server.
Microsoft is working on workflow and orchestration technology, called WinOE, or the Windows Orchestration Engine, for the Longhorn/Orcas timeframe, several sources said. Such technology manages how processes or software services interact in distributed systems."
Microsoft is working on workflow and orchestration technology, called WinOE, or the Windows Orchestration Engine, for the Longhorn/Orcas timeframe, several sources said. Such technology manages how processes or software services interact in distributed systems."
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: A talk with Xbox chief Robbie Bach
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: A talk with Xbox chief Robbie Bach "Q. Sony's PSP game device could compete with the Portable Media Center Microsoft is launching later this year. How do you see it playing out?
A. Well I think the PSP is an interesting product because really what Sony's doing is they've decided to go compete with everybody. It competes with the iPod. It's going to compete with Portable Media Center, which isn't just Microsoft, it's Microsoft plus all the hardware partners who are supporting that. It's going to compete with Game Boy SP, Game Boy DS. They've really taken on Microsoft, Nokia at some level, Apple, it's pretty ambitious.
On the Portable Media Center side we're very focused on the things that we know go together, and that we can create a device that's compelling at the right price point for music and movies, with the right storage media, with the right model for enabling people to get movies to it easily, all those kinds of things.
PSP, they run the risk of trying to be a little bit of all things to all people and then end up being great for a small audience.Movies to get to the PSP are going to have to be in a proprietary format, so how's that going to happen? Am I going to buy my movies a second time? I don't know. People look at durability. It's got a beautiful screen on it, but is that going to survive the rough-and-tumble world of a portable device. So I think they have some real interesting product ideas but some real challenges, and creating an all-in-one device is hard."
A. Well I think the PSP is an interesting product because really what Sony's doing is they've decided to go compete with everybody. It competes with the iPod. It's going to compete with Portable Media Center, which isn't just Microsoft, it's Microsoft plus all the hardware partners who are supporting that. It's going to compete with Game Boy SP, Game Boy DS. They've really taken on Microsoft, Nokia at some level, Apple, it's pretty ambitious.
On the Portable Media Center side we're very focused on the things that we know go together, and that we can create a device that's compelling at the right price point for music and movies, with the right storage media, with the right model for enabling people to get movies to it easily, all those kinds of things.
PSP, they run the risk of trying to be a little bit of all things to all people and then end up being great for a small audience.Movies to get to the PSP are going to have to be in a proprietary format, so how's that going to happen? Am I going to buy my movies a second time? I don't know. People look at durability. It's got a beautiful screen on it, but is that going to survive the rough-and-tumble world of a portable device. So I think they have some real interesting product ideas but some real challenges, and creating an all-in-one device is hard."
WSJ.com - BEA Systems CEO Sees 2Q Revenue Of $265M-$275M
WSJ.com - BEA Systems CEO Sees 2Q Revenue Of $265M-$275M "After reporting disappointing software sales for the fiscal first quarter, BEA Systems Inc. (BEAS) executives announced changes to sales leadership and tempered analysts' expectations for the current quarter, which ends July 31.
On a teleconference Thursday, Chief Executive Alfred Chuang said business conditions remain challenging. He predicted second-quarter revenue would be between $265 million and $275 million, up from $245 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected total revenue to rise to about $276 million in the second quarter, according to a survey by Thomson First Call."
On a teleconference Thursday, Chief Executive Alfred Chuang said business conditions remain challenging. He predicted second-quarter revenue would be between $265 million and $275 million, up from $245 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected total revenue to rise to about $276 million in the second quarter, according to a survey by Thomson First Call."
Wired News: Microsoft to Battle Spyware
Wired News: Microsoft to Battle Spyware "Nearly half the world's computers may soon have built-in protection against debilitating infections of spyware and other unwanted software, thanks to Microsoft's update of the Windows XP operating system.
Expected to be released this summer, the Windows XP Service Pack 2 update will contain no fewer than five new security features designed to ward off the unauthorized installation of software via the Internet, according to Microsoft officials. The company hopes the features will not only quell the growing number of complaints from consumers about Windows XP's susceptibility to spyware, but will also save businesses millions of dollars in tech support calls."
Expected to be released this summer, the Windows XP Service Pack 2 update will contain no fewer than five new security features designed to ward off the unauthorized installation of software via the Internet, according to Microsoft officials. The company hopes the features will not only quell the growing number of complaints from consumers about Windows XP's susceptibility to spyware, but will also save businesses millions of dollars in tech support calls."
Line56.com: Oracle's Web Conferencing Update
Line56.com: Oracle's Web Conferencing Update "The Web conferencing component of the Oracle Collaboration Suite has been around for about 10 months. Oracle recently offered Line56 an update on traction. According to Michael Miller, senior director of product management for Oracle Web Conferencing, there are 3,000 companies currently running trial versions of Web conferencing and 2,000 total customers for Oracle Collaboration Suite, which is about two years old. It costs $60 per user per month.
...
Further leverage comes from Oracle's ability to piggyback contextual collaboration atop the applications it already owns within the installed base. Specifically, Web conferencing can be accessed from within Oracle-owned applications, like calendaring, e-mail, and the portal. However, outside the realm of the installed base, Oracle isn't the first company that comes to mind in this context, Gotta concludes. "Oracle Collaboration Suite is a work in progress."
...
Further leverage comes from Oracle's ability to piggyback contextual collaboration atop the applications it already owns within the installed base. Specifically, Web conferencing can be accessed from within Oracle-owned applications, like calendaring, e-mail, and the portal. However, outside the realm of the installed base, Oracle isn't the first company that comes to mind in this context, Gotta concludes. "Oracle Collaboration Suite is a work in progress."
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Microsoft Outlines Windows Server Roadmap
Microsoft Outlines Windows Server Roadmap "This week, Microsoft revealed its plans to update Windows Server over the next several years, and the company unveiled a roadmap that will see major Windows Server releases every four years, interspersed with minor releases every two years. The plan, revealed during a meeting with Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia this week, extends from this year through at least 2008.
"We're going to continue a theme over the next few years of trying to innovate along three major initiatives--Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), Trustworthy Computing, and .NET--all to drive a set of benefits for users that are pretty consistent," Muglia told me during the meeting. Muglia noted that Microsoft hoped this revelation would make the company's plans more predictable to corporate customers, who often need to plan years in advance. "We've moved away from a monolithic release cycle," he said."
"We're going to continue a theme over the next few years of trying to innovate along three major initiatives--Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), Trustworthy Computing, and .NET--all to drive a set of benefits for users that are pretty consistent," Muglia told me during the meeting. Muglia noted that Microsoft hoped this revelation would make the company's plans more predictable to corporate customers, who often need to plan years in advance. "We've moved away from a monolithic release cycle," he said."
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
IBM continues gains in server software | CNET News.com
IBM continues gains in server software | CNET News.com "No. 1 IBM's license and services revenue from application servers went up 6 percent in 2003 to give the company 29 percent market share, IDC said, as No. 2 BEA's dropped 4 percent to give it 26 percent market share. No. 3 Oracle, meanwhile, saw its revenue increase 15 percent, leading to 19 percent market share. And No. 4 Sun's application server revenue slipped 15 percent, giving it 3.5 percent share.
Total corporate spending on commercial Java application servers declined 8 percent last year to $1 billion, according to Gartner Dataquest, in part due to the rise of free, open-source Java application servers. For example, JBoss, which sells consulting services around a free Java application server, is targeting corporate customers looking for an alternative to commercial application servers. Sun Microsystems also makes the low-end version of its application server available for free--cutting into the money spent on application servers."
Total corporate spending on commercial Java application servers declined 8 percent last year to $1 billion, according to Gartner Dataquest, in part due to the rise of free, open-source Java application servers. For example, JBoss, which sells consulting services around a free Java application server, is targeting corporate customers looking for an alternative to commercial application servers. Sun Microsystems also makes the low-end version of its application server available for free--cutting into the money spent on application servers."
Mitch Kapor's Weblog: Now I'm Mad
Mitch Kapor's Weblog: Now I'm Mad "Some idiot Atkins Diet spammer just posted 53 bogus comments in this blog. I'm disabling comments (globally) shortly and figuring out if there's any recourse.
They don't know it yet, but they picked the wrong person to do this to."
They don't know it yet, but they picked the wrong person to do this to."
TheServerSide.com - MDA: Nice idea, shame about the ...
TheServerSide.com - MDA: Nice idea, shame about the ... "Let me recap on the objectives of MDA as I see them. The primary objective is to separate business requirements and analysis from technology. A secondary objectives is to provide rapid development; a third is to put a focus back on modelling.
If your business doesn't care about models, and/or you adopt a Java or .Net platform using open source technologies, and/or your business changes as rapidly as the technologies, then that first objective would seem to be moot.
Let's look at the second point: rapid development. Clearly code generation can produce benefits and productivity gains. However, the initial cost of creating the model transformers/code generators will always outweigh the cost of just writing an application. The transformers provided out of the box by the vendor mitigates this cost, but if the business wants a highly custom application (and they probably do, otherwise they would have bought a 3rd party COTS product), then those transformers provided will act only as a starter for ten.
The third objective I listed for MDA was its emphasis on modelling. However, that emphasis is at best superficial at least for the elaborationists, mostly because of the problem I identified of expressing behaviour of objects, and hence their responsibilities. If a designer cannot easily experiment with assigning different responsibilities to objects; that is, it's hard for them to create a decent design. Putting all the above together, I really can't see MDA working as the OMG defined it."
Very timely essay -- read the whole post if you care about MDA
If your business doesn't care about models, and/or you adopt a Java or .Net platform using open source technologies, and/or your business changes as rapidly as the technologies, then that first objective would seem to be moot.
Let's look at the second point: rapid development. Clearly code generation can produce benefits and productivity gains. However, the initial cost of creating the model transformers/code generators will always outweigh the cost of just writing an application. The transformers provided out of the box by the vendor mitigates this cost, but if the business wants a highly custom application (and they probably do, otherwise they would have bought a 3rd party COTS product), then those transformers provided will act only as a starter for ten.
The third objective I listed for MDA was its emphasis on modelling. However, that emphasis is at best superficial at least for the elaborationists, mostly because of the problem I identified of expressing behaviour of objects, and hence their responsibilities. If a designer cannot easily experiment with assigning different responsibilities to objects; that is, it's hard for them to create a decent design. Putting all the above together, I really can't see MDA working as the OMG defined it."
Very timely essay -- read the whole post if you care about MDA
Sony makes over Vaio line | CNET News.com
Sony makes over Vaio line | CNET News.com Sony on Monday revamped and expanded the scope of its Vaio computer line.
Additions to the line include a new portable music player built around a hard drive, a diminutive Windows XP PC and new PCs with enhanced audiovisual functions. Also, the company revealed that it is working on a hard-disk recorder with more than a terabyte of storage capacity."
See the article for details and pictures. Should be strong competition for, e.g., Apple iPod and... Sony's own PSP device
Additions to the line include a new portable music player built around a hard drive, a diminutive Windows XP PC and new PCs with enhanced audiovisual functions. Also, the company revealed that it is working on a hard-disk recorder with more than a terabyte of storage capacity."
See the article for details and pictures. Should be strong competition for, e.g., Apple iPod and... Sony's own PSP device
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Gamers, start your handhelds
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Gamers, start your handhelds "The PSP displays games and video on a 4.3-inch color screen and will be able to connect to wireless networks. It will not play games made for PlayStation systems because it works with a new storage format, Universal Media Disc.
The 2-inch discs can store up to 1.8 gigabytes of data; Sony hopes the PSP popularizes their use for storing music and movies.
The PSP plays movies, music videos and sports programs stored on the discs. It could compete with the growing number of handheld audio and video players.
...
Sony aims the PSP at video gaming's prime demographic: men, 18 to 34, who have money and will spend it on games.
...
"Ultimately, it's going to be an iPod, a Walkman, a Watchman and a portable DVD player," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "It'll have everything. I think that's brilliant."
The 2-inch discs can store up to 1.8 gigabytes of data; Sony hopes the PSP popularizes their use for storing music and movies.
The PSP plays movies, music videos and sports programs stored on the discs. It could compete with the growing number of handheld audio and video players.
...
Sony aims the PSP at video gaming's prime demographic: men, 18 to 34, who have money and will spend it on games.
...
"Ultimately, it's going to be an iPod, a Walkman, a Watchman and a portable DVD player," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "It'll have everything. I think that's brilliant."
nat friedman" "... we open sourced our Exchange connector."
nat friedman" "... we open sourced our Exchange connector." "The past couple of months were pretty busy, scrubbing code and going through legal and security approvals, but this morning we open sourced our Exchange connector. We also announced that the upcoming version of Evolution will support both Exchange and Novell GroupWise servers out of the box. You can get source code for both backends in GNOME CVS today.
This is an important step. Desktops need a standard set of core APIs for personal addressbook information, to allow things like unified presence information, identity-based data association, and to build a richly integrated environment for collaboration. Our intent is to establish Evolution as the standard client for addressbook, mail and calendaring to make these things possible. And now that Evolution is 100% open source, it is not only a true competitor for Outlook, it also has a real shot at being the hub of your personal information/collaboration environment."
Novell press release
This is an important step. Desktops need a standard set of core APIs for personal addressbook information, to allow things like unified presence information, identity-based data association, and to build a richly integrated environment for collaboration. Our intent is to establish Evolution as the standard client for addressbook, mail and calendaring to make these things possible. And now that Evolution is 100% open source, it is not only a true competitor for Outlook, it also has a real shot at being the hub of your personal information/collaboration environment."
Novell press release
WSJ.com - The Mossberg Solution: A Killer Amp -- for Your Desk Chair
WSJ.com - The Mossberg Solution: A Killer Amp -- for Your Desk Chair "Is this a great country, or what? Thanks to technology, you soon will be able to not only hear your favorite music and the sound effects of videogames, but to actually feel these sounds, and not just in your heart and soul.
An outfit called Guitammer Co., from Westerville, Ohio, has developed a $150 home gadget that actually transmits sounds as vibrations through your body, starting from the bottom up. The product's name says it all: the ButtKicker Gamer. This gizmo attaches to the bottom of your chair and sends low-frequency sound waves from music or games through the chair's back and, especially, its seat -- hence the name."
(I didn't make this up, honest)
An outfit called Guitammer Co., from Westerville, Ohio, has developed a $150 home gadget that actually transmits sounds as vibrations through your body, starting from the bottom up. The product's name says it all: the ButtKicker Gamer. This gizmo attaches to the bottom of your chair and sends low-frequency sound waves from music or games through the chair's back and, especially, its seat -- hence the name."
(I didn't make this up, honest)
WSJ.com - Microsoft, SAP Form Alliance on Web Software
WSJ.com - Microsoft, SAP Form Alliance on Web Software "Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG, longtime partners and increasingly competitors as well, agreed to integrate their high-profile efforts in Web software.
The deal, which is to be announced at an SAP conference in New Orleans, is another indication of the success corporate customers are having in forcing software companies to eliminate technology roadblocks that have often served to entrench particular providers.
The agreement includes provisions to link SAP's software, which is typically used for managing business functions such as manufacturing, supplies and financial reporting, with Microsoft's Office suite of desktop applications. SAP and Microsoft created a joint marketing fund and a technology support center in Germany and cross-licensed their patent portfolios.
...
SAP's NetWeaver also is partly based on Java. But Mr. Kagermann and Mr. Gates both said SAP's customers wanted NetWeaver to work with Microsoft's .NET technology. Mr. Gates said the ability to exchange information between applications has become more important than the choice of programming languages. "You could say, 'It's the data, stupid,' " he said."
The deal, which is to be announced at an SAP conference in New Orleans, is another indication of the success corporate customers are having in forcing software companies to eliminate technology roadblocks that have often served to entrench particular providers.
The agreement includes provisions to link SAP's software, which is typically used for managing business functions such as manufacturing, supplies and financial reporting, with Microsoft's Office suite of desktop applications. SAP and Microsoft created a joint marketing fund and a technology support center in Germany and cross-licensed their patent portfolios.
...
SAP's NetWeaver also is partly based on Java. But Mr. Kagermann and Mr. Gates both said SAP's customers wanted NetWeaver to work with Microsoft's .NET technology. Mr. Gates said the ability to exchange information between applications has become more important than the choice of programming languages. "You could say, 'It's the data, stupid,' " he said."
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Forbes.com: Wearable Wireless Displays Are In Sight
Forbes.com: Wearable Wireless Displays Are In Sight "Imagine having a 17-inch screen constantly at your disposal that lets you look up information online, check your e-mail or watch a movie--and that isn't attached to a laptop.
Soon, thanks to the burgeoning microdisplay industry, you probably will.
Small liquid crystal displays are already ever-present on our cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and PDAs. But scientists and startups alike have figured out how to make tiny wearable screens--with diagonals of less than half an inch--project what looks like a lifesize screen floating in space just a couple of feet from your eyes. These devices permit the wearer to remain totally engaged with their environment, able to see everything around them. The trick is in the magnifying optics on top of the display, which creates the illusion of a large, legible monitor that moves with you when you move your head."
We are Borg... I want one of these devices anyway, especially for working on planes etc.
Soon, thanks to the burgeoning microdisplay industry, you probably will.
Small liquid crystal displays are already ever-present on our cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and PDAs. But scientists and startups alike have figured out how to make tiny wearable screens--with diagonals of less than half an inch--project what looks like a lifesize screen floating in space just a couple of feet from your eyes. These devices permit the wearer to remain totally engaged with their environment, able to see everything around them. The trick is in the magnifying optics on top of the display, which creates the illusion of a large, legible monitor that moves with you when you move your head."
We are Borg... I want one of these devices anyway, especially for working on planes etc.
CRN : Breaking News : IBM Launches Alternative To Microsoft Office : 5:34 PM EST Mon., May 10, 2004
CRN : Breaking News : IBM Launches Alternative To Microsoft Office : 5:34 PM EST Mon., May 10, 2004: "IBM on Monday unveiled a server-based bundle of desktop applications that offer companies an alternative to Microsoft's market-dominating Office suite.
Part of IBM's Lotus Workplace strategy, the software includes email, instant messaging, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Unlike Microsoft's products, however, the applications are not tied to Windows or Mac systems, and can run on Linux, Unix or proprietary operating systems used in handheld computers and cellular phones."
(Lotus eSuite lives...)
Part of IBM's Lotus Workplace strategy, the software includes email, instant messaging, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Unlike Microsoft's products, however, the applications are not tied to Windows or Mac systems, and can run on Linux, Unix or proprietary operating systems used in handheld computers and cellular phones."
(Lotus eSuite lives...)
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Electronic Arts to play online with Xbox
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Electronic Arts to play online with Xbox "Just a year ago, the biggest video-game developer teamed up exclusively with Sony's best-selling game system to develop online sports titles — dealing Microsoft's Xbox a very public snub.
But now it appears Electronic Arts (EA) has learned a thing or two from Xbox's new marketing slogan: It's good to play together.
The game developer and Microsoft announced yesterday they have made peace and plan to release about 15 titles, including several sports games, that are compatible with the Xbox online gaming service, called Xbox Live.
...
On the software side, Microsoft said it is working on a program that will allow Xbox Live users to conduct up to four video chat sessions.
The new technology, which requires Web cameras, is expected to be initially rolled out in Japan.
McNealy [no, not that McNealy] said the program is a sign Microsoft wants to innovate and expand the Xbox audience.
Microsoft wants first to put the Xbox in every household with a PlayStation 2, McNealy said. Next it wants to go after those without either system.
The company also announced an arcade for Xbox Live, where customers can pay about $10 to download simpler, more casual games such as "Bejeweled." Game developers Atari and Namco have committed to producing titles for the arcade."
BTW Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) has a mkt cap of ~$15.5B at the moment -- sign of the times relative to, say, Amazon.com (AMZN: ~$17B), Apple (AAPL: ~$10B), Macromedia (MACR: ~$1.5B), or Borland (BORL: ~$0.67B)
But now it appears Electronic Arts (EA) has learned a thing or two from Xbox's new marketing slogan: It's good to play together.
The game developer and Microsoft announced yesterday they have made peace and plan to release about 15 titles, including several sports games, that are compatible with the Xbox online gaming service, called Xbox Live.
...
On the software side, Microsoft said it is working on a program that will allow Xbox Live users to conduct up to four video chat sessions.
The new technology, which requires Web cameras, is expected to be initially rolled out in Japan.
McNealy [no, not that McNealy] said the program is a sign Microsoft wants to innovate and expand the Xbox audience.
Microsoft wants first to put the Xbox in every household with a PlayStation 2, McNealy said. Next it wants to go after those without either system.
The company also announced an arcade for Xbox Live, where customers can pay about $10 to download simpler, more casual games such as "Bejeweled." Game developers Atari and Namco have committed to producing titles for the arcade."
BTW Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) has a mkt cap of ~$15.5B at the moment -- sign of the times relative to, say, Amazon.com (AMZN: ~$17B), Apple (AAPL: ~$10B), Macromedia (MACR: ~$1.5B), or Borland (BORL: ~$0.67B)
Microsoft says bye-bye to Wi-Fi - News - ZDNet
Microsoft says bye-bye to Wi-Fi - News - ZDNet "Despite quickly becoming one of the leading sellers of wireless networking products, Microsoft has decided to discontinue its entire line of Wi-Fi gear, CNET News.com has learned.
A source close to the company said Microsoft entered the Wi-Fi field with hopes of "raising the bar" on security, ease-of-use and performance and now feels it has accomplished those goals.
Microsoft confirmed the move late Monday.
"After careful evaluation, the Microsoft hardware group has decided to scale back its broadband hardware and networking business," a representative said. "Instead, the plan is to apply the knowledge we have gained in that category to future products and services."
Via Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk. I guess that explains the fire-sale prices on MS home networking equipment...
A source close to the company said Microsoft entered the Wi-Fi field with hopes of "raising the bar" on security, ease-of-use and performance and now feels it has accomplished those goals.
Microsoft confirmed the move late Monday.
"After careful evaluation, the Microsoft hardware group has decided to scale back its broadband hardware and networking business," a representative said. "Instead, the plan is to apply the knowledge we have gained in that category to future products and services."
Via Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk. I guess that explains the fire-sale prices on MS home networking equipment...
Monday, May 10, 2004
Silicon Valley | 05/10/2004 | IBM to Microsoft: Don't take this personally, but we want to make you irrelevant
Silicon Valley | 05/10/2004 | IBM to Microsoft: Don't take this personally, but we want to make you irrelevant: "No matter how loudly IBM proclaims that it's not embarking on an anti-Microsoft strategy, its new pitch for 'client middleware' can hardly be seen as anything else. Today, IBM unveiled upgrades to its client, administration and portal software that will allow everything from PCs to smartphones to access the same data -- including Microsoft Office data -- using standards-based middleware instead of a Microsoft client. IBM said the middleware layer, IBM Workplace Client Technology, makes the choice of underlying operating system largely irrelevant. Its client technology can support Windows, Linux, Unix and, eventually, Mac OS. Motorola, PeopleSoft, Adobe Systems and Siebel Systems will announce plans for products that support the IBM software, providing large corporations with further alternatives to Microsoft business software applications. 'People are going to start accessing applications with more devices, that's the bet IBM is making,' James Governor, principal analyst with RedMonk, told TechWorld. 'The PC is not the most interesting device any more. That's why you need software to be componentized, so that you can mix and mach what components you need for each device. Microsoft always gives you the whole honking thing.'"
Sean McGrath, CTO, Propylon: Transactions and SOA
Sean McGrath, CTO, Propylon: Transactions and SOA "In our conceptualisation of SOA (asynch. business document messaging + REST) there is no temporal coupling between communicants, no resource locking and no stateful services. That pretty much rules out ACID based transactions:-)
Invariably, we get asked to explain our approach to transactions. Our answer is:
(a) if you really, really need transactions - don't attempt to do it with Web Services. The CORBAs and the TPMs of this work do that stuff bettter than any amout of new fangled lets-do-it-with-angle-brackets ever will."
Read the post for the full answer. Via Tim Bray
Invariably, we get asked to explain our approach to transactions. Our answer is:
(a) if you really, really need transactions - don't attempt to do it with Web Services. The CORBAs and the TPMs of this work do that stuff bettter than any amout of new fangled lets-do-it-with-angle-brackets ever will."
Read the post for the full answer. Via Tim Bray
BBC NEWS | Technology | Google revamps blogging service
BBC NEWS | Technology | Google revamps blogging service: "One of the leading names in blogging is overhauling its service in an attempt to catch up with the competition.
Blogger, which is owned by Google, has redesigned its site to make it easier to use and added new features, including posting by e-mail."
Via Dave Winer
Blogger, which is owned by Google, has redesigned its site to make it easier to use and added new features, including posting by e-mail."
Via Dave Winer
BW Online | May 10, 2004 | Office, Beware -- Here Comes Workplace
BW Online | May 10, 2004 | Office, Beware -- Here Comes Workplace "If it stood on its own, IBM's $15 billion software group would be the world's second-largest software company, trailing only Microsoft (MSFT ). Yet, most of the software IBM (IBM ) makes runs on powerful server computers, and it figures only minimally in desktop computing. That's about to change.
On Monday, May 10, Big Blue is set to roll out a major new advance in its software strategy -- an integrated group of products called IBM Workplace. The strategy weaves together e-mail, collaboration software, IBM's Web portal, a small database, software for working on Web applications offline, and desktop-productivity applications including word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation manager. It's aimed not at individual consumers but at corporations."
I think IBM is way ahead of Novell/SuSE, Red Hat, and Sun in this context -- the Workplace model is very strong.
On Monday, May 10, Big Blue is set to roll out a major new advance in its software strategy -- an integrated group of products called IBM Workplace. The strategy weaves together e-mail, collaboration software, IBM's Web portal, a small database, software for working on Web applications offline, and desktop-productivity applications including word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation manager. It's aimed not at individual consumers but at corporations."
I think IBM is way ahead of Novell/SuSE, Red Hat, and Sun in this context -- the Workplace model is very strong.
Longhorn In-Depth
Longhorn In-Depth: "The latest build of Longhorn seems to offer a more coherent whole than the PDC release last fall. But it's clear that a massive amount of work is still under way. The 3D desktop needs some serious performance tweaks and WinFS is unbearably slow, even on basic functions. It's all well and good to take advantage of new hardware when it comes out, but Microsoft will be facing a hefty installed base of older systems when Longhorn ships.
However, the 3D desktop will be available in tiers, so users who don't have the hardware to handle a system where each window is a 3D surface can revert to a 2D desktop. We're more concerned about WinFS. While it's very innovative, it's still extremely sluggish. It's more stable than last fall's build, but is in dire need of some serious performance improvements. Not everyone will have high speed RAID 0 or 0 1 arrays on their desktops.
This build did feel more solid overall and was a lot of fun to play with. But users will be looking for value beyond fun factor. If Microsoft can address some of the performance issues we've seen, then we'll feel much more bullish about Longhorn. "
However, the 3D desktop will be available in tiers, so users who don't have the hardware to handle a system where each window is a 3D surface can revert to a 2D desktop. We're more concerned about WinFS. While it's very innovative, it's still extremely sluggish. It's more stable than last fall's build, but is in dire need of some serious performance improvements. Not everyone will have high speed RAID 0 or 0 1 arrays on their desktops.
This build did feel more solid overall and was a lot of fun to play with. But users will be looking for value beyond fun factor. If Microsoft can address some of the performance issues we've seen, then we'll feel much more bullish about Longhorn. "
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Merges Tablet PC Future into Wider Mobile Computing Vision
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Merges Tablet PC Future into Wider Mobile Computing Vision: "Say what you will about the Tablet PC, Microsoft isn't giving up on the concept. The company plans to meld future versions of this often-misunderstood technology with other mobile-computing devices to ultimately produce a mainstream product. Once seen as laptop alternatives, Tablet PCs will soon give way to a range of mobile PCs that meet all customer needs--a sharp departure from the niche products PC makers released until recently.
...
Microsoft's Longhorn-era plans are far more exciting, however. Although the company hasn't yet determined which of these features it will include in the base Longhorn product line and which will be available only on Tablet PCs and notebook computers, the list is dizzying. Microsoft will beef up fundamental features, such as power management and multimonitor support. The company will also develop a slew of new functionality, including the following:
- Auxiliary displays--Next-generation mobile devices will include small external displays on their covers that will let you view personal information manager (PIM) data at a glance, without having to open or turn on the device.
- Device and file synchronization--You'll be able to use Longhorn's integrated synchronization control panel to synchronize data between your PC and Tablet PC, notebook computer, PDA, portable audio device, and other portable devices.
- Communication and collaboration--Longhorn will make it easy for you to quickly set up ad hoc wireless networks for file sharing and for discovering people who are connected nearby. The OS will also provide a way to connect to wireless projectors by supplying one-to-one and one-to-many support for wireless connections betweem PCs whose users want to collaborate in real time.
- Mobility Center--Microsoft is planning an Activity Center called Mobility Center for Longhorn that will include all the Longhorn mobility-tuning features in a central location.
- Location awareness--Although the details of how the system will work are currently in flux, Microsoft plans to add location awareness to Longhorn PCs; the system will behave and look differently at home, work, school, and other locations.
- Pen/shell integration--Longhorn will natively support ink file names. You'll be able to click on an icon's name with the stylus and write the file name in your own handwriting. A simple wizard will let you supply examples of your handwriting so that the handwriting-recognition engine will compare only created file names against your writing, not the millions of samples the engine currently uses.
- Flick and Snipper utilities--A new pen-gestures feature (code-named Flick) will let you perform certain actions with a Tablet PC stylus that aren't writing or control-selection activities. For example, you'll be able to set up gestures for copy, paste, back, forward, undo, and delete activities. Another pen utility, code-named Snipper, will bring the Snipping Tool for Tablet PC PowerToy into the base OS.
- Pen Optimized Skin--For a new generation of small, 5" to 8" Tablet PC devices that will begin shipping this year, Microsoft is developing a dashboard that will provide access to all user PIM information on one handy page. The Pen Optimized Skin presents time and calendar information, links to recently accessed documents and applications, the seven most recent unread email messages, the most recent uncompleted tasks, and the links to the most often-used applications. This skin is designed to sit on top of--and generally replace--the basic Windows UI on devices with screens that are too small to display a desktop UI."
Corollary: the role for Windows CE is shrinking
...
Microsoft's Longhorn-era plans are far more exciting, however. Although the company hasn't yet determined which of these features it will include in the base Longhorn product line and which will be available only on Tablet PCs and notebook computers, the list is dizzying. Microsoft will beef up fundamental features, such as power management and multimonitor support. The company will also develop a slew of new functionality, including the following:
- Auxiliary displays--Next-generation mobile devices will include small external displays on their covers that will let you view personal information manager (PIM) data at a glance, without having to open or turn on the device.
- Device and file synchronization--You'll be able to use Longhorn's integrated synchronization control panel to synchronize data between your PC and Tablet PC, notebook computer, PDA, portable audio device, and other portable devices.
- Communication and collaboration--Longhorn will make it easy for you to quickly set up ad hoc wireless networks for file sharing and for discovering people who are connected nearby. The OS will also provide a way to connect to wireless projectors by supplying one-to-one and one-to-many support for wireless connections betweem PCs whose users want to collaborate in real time.
- Mobility Center--Microsoft is planning an Activity Center called Mobility Center for Longhorn that will include all the Longhorn mobility-tuning features in a central location.
- Location awareness--Although the details of how the system will work are currently in flux, Microsoft plans to add location awareness to Longhorn PCs; the system will behave and look differently at home, work, school, and other locations.
- Pen/shell integration--Longhorn will natively support ink file names. You'll be able to click on an icon's name with the stylus and write the file name in your own handwriting. A simple wizard will let you supply examples of your handwriting so that the handwriting-recognition engine will compare only created file names against your writing, not the millions of samples the engine currently uses.
- Flick and Snipper utilities--A new pen-gestures feature (code-named Flick) will let you perform certain actions with a Tablet PC stylus that aren't writing or control-selection activities. For example, you'll be able to set up gestures for copy, paste, back, forward, undo, and delete activities. Another pen utility, code-named Snipper, will bring the Snipping Tool for Tablet PC PowerToy into the base OS.
- Pen Optimized Skin--For a new generation of small, 5" to 8" Tablet PC devices that will begin shipping this year, Microsoft is developing a dashboard that will provide access to all user PIM information on one handy page. The Pen Optimized Skin presents time and calendar information, links to recently accessed documents and applications, the seven most recent unread email messages, the most recent uncompleted tasks, and the links to the most often-used applications. This skin is designed to sit on top of--and generally replace--the basic Windows UI on devices with screens that are too small to display a desktop UI."
Corollary: the role for Windows CE is shrinking
Boston.com / Business / Trading places
Boston.com / Business / Trading places "Bob Davis, sporting an open maroon shirt and sipping from a cup of coffee, is in all-business mode. He leans forward at a conference table in the Highland Capital Partners office and gazes poker-faced at a document handed to him by Steve Kropper, senior vice president at a start-up called Equinox that wants to lower the cost of brokering home mortgages by doing much of the work overseas.
...
Dorchester-bred Davis, now 47, has always been known as a young man in a hurry, unusually driven and competitive even by the high-octane standards of the technology industry. His sale of Lycos for $12.5 billion in stock, at the peak of the technology boom, was heralded as one of the best-timed deals of the Internet era. (Lycos is back on the market, expected to fetch just $200 million to $400 million this time.) And three years ago, when Davis signed on as a Highland venture partner after a brief stint running the merged Terra Lycos, many presumed the job would be a hiatus until he could found another company to run."
...
Dorchester-bred Davis, now 47, has always been known as a young man in a hurry, unusually driven and competitive even by the high-octane standards of the technology industry. His sale of Lycos for $12.5 billion in stock, at the peak of the technology boom, was heralded as one of the best-timed deals of the Internet era. (Lycos is back on the market, expected to fetch just $200 million to $400 million this time.) And three years ago, when Davis signed on as a Highland venture partner after a brief stint running the merged Terra Lycos, many presumed the job would be a hiatus until he could found another company to run."
The New York Times > Technology > I.B.M. Takes Aim at Microsoft With Server-Based Software
The New York Times > Technology > I.B.M. Takes Aim at Microsoft With Server-Based Software "I.B.M. plans to announce today a software strategy for corporate desktop personal computers and hand-held devices - one that is firmly anchored in the company's strength in data centers.
The I.B.M. offerings include new Lotus Workplace software for PC's and hand-held devices, but most of the critical software resides on server computers in corporate data centers. Workers can tap into their e-mail messages, calendar, work group and other software using a Web browser. The approach harks back to a low-cost model of computing - known as "thin client" computing - promoted in the late 1990's by Sun Microsystems and Oracle as an alternative to Microsoft's hefty desktop programs.
A worker using the Workplace software by I.B.M. can still run Microsoft Office programs. But I.B.M. also offers alternatives, built on free software from the open source project OpenOffice.org, including a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software.
The Workplace desktop, I.B.M. says, promises to deliver improved security and cost savings of up to 50 percent over the Microsoft desktop suites. Since central control resides in the server software, I.B.M. says, it is easier to manage changes and updates, and eliminates the possibility of a desktop computer user inadvertently spreading a computer virus."
The I.B.M. offerings include new Lotus Workplace software for PC's and hand-held devices, but most of the critical software resides on server computers in corporate data centers. Workers can tap into their e-mail messages, calendar, work group and other software using a Web browser. The approach harks back to a low-cost model of computing - known as "thin client" computing - promoted in the late 1990's by Sun Microsystems and Oracle as an alternative to Microsoft's hefty desktop programs.
A worker using the Workplace software by I.B.M. can still run Microsoft Office programs. But I.B.M. also offers alternatives, built on free software from the open source project OpenOffice.org, including a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software.
The Workplace desktop, I.B.M. says, promises to deliver improved security and cost savings of up to 50 percent over the Microsoft desktop suites. Since central control resides in the server software, I.B.M. says, it is easier to manage changes and updates, and eliminates the possibility of a desktop computer user inadvertently spreading a computer virus."
Friday, May 07, 2004
AOL exercises Google warrants | CNET News.com
AOL exercises Google warrants | CNET News.com: "In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Time Warner disclosed this week that its America Online unit has purchased 7.4 million preferred shares in the search leader for $22 million, or about $3 a share. The purchase stems from a warrant issued to AOL in 2002 that gave the company the option to buy these shares at that set price.
...
AOL isn't the only company slated to benefit from Google's IPO. Yahoo also has a minority stake in Google, despite considering it one of its biggest competitors."
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AOL isn't the only company slated to benefit from Google's IPO. Yahoo also has a minority stake in Google, despite considering it one of its biggest competitors."
Jon Udell: Adobe Designer 6.0 preview
Jon Udell: Adobe Designer 6.0 preview "A more descriptive name for Adobe Designer 6.0 might be "InfoPath for PDF." The concept is brilliant: exploit Microsoft's failure to make InfoPath ubiquitous by putting interactivity and XML smarts into Adobe's free PDF viewer, and by offering a forms builder that targets both Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Announced last summer, in beta now, and scheduled for release this summer, Adobe Designer is that forms builder.
...
Despite evident weaknesses, the Designer/Reader duo offers two key strengths: digital-paper fidelity, and a ubiquitous runtime. Using the free Reader, I was able to fill out a Designer-built form, print a high-fidelity copy for my records, and post its XML data to a Web server. No matter how the future of e-forms unfolds, that's going to be a popular scenario."
...
Despite evident weaknesses, the Designer/Reader duo offers two key strengths: digital-paper fidelity, and a ubiquitous runtime. Using the free Reader, I was able to fill out a Designer-built form, print a high-fidelity copy for my records, and post its XML data to a Web server. No matter how the future of e-forms unfolds, that's going to be a popular scenario."
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Revises Longhorn Graphics Requirements
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Revises Longhorn Graphics Requirements: "The default Aero user experience is built on the low-level Longhorn graphics API called Avalon and will require a DirectX 9-compliant 3-D graphics processor with at least 32MB of RAM and an Intel AGP 4x bus. Aero will require a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 (XGA), compared with 640 x 480 (VGA) for today's Windows versions.
...
Aero Glass, the higher-end user experience, will be a true superset of Aero and will come with higher hardware requirements. "Aero Glass will provide a beautiful [UI] experience with transition animations. Window frames will be a bit blurry and translucent, making text easier to read. Transparencies and animations will be hallmarks of the Aero Glass user experience, with more modern, high-quality visualizations than with [standard] Aero." Aero Glass will require a DirectX 9-compliant 3-D graphics processor with at least 64MB of RAM, although Microsoft will recommend 128MB to 256MB of RAM.
In addition to the two tiered Avalon-based user experiences, Longhorn will also support a legacy Classic display mode that will resemble the Windows 2000 UI. This mode will support all the non-UI-related Longhorn technologies, enabling Longhorn applications to run in Classic mode. Microsoft is providing this mode for upgrades that don't meet the minimum requirements for Aero and for corporations that would prefer not to retrain users as they migrate to Longhorn."
...
Aero Glass, the higher-end user experience, will be a true superset of Aero and will come with higher hardware requirements. "Aero Glass will provide a beautiful [UI] experience with transition animations. Window frames will be a bit blurry and translucent, making text easier to read. Transparencies and animations will be hallmarks of the Aero Glass user experience, with more modern, high-quality visualizations than with [standard] Aero." Aero Glass will require a DirectX 9-compliant 3-D graphics processor with at least 64MB of RAM, although Microsoft will recommend 128MB to 256MB of RAM.
In addition to the two tiered Avalon-based user experiences, Longhorn will also support a legacy Classic display mode that will resemble the Windows 2000 UI. This mode will support all the non-UI-related Longhorn technologies, enabling Longhorn applications to run in Classic mode. Microsoft is providing this mode for upgrades that don't meet the minimum requirements for Aero and for corporations that would prefer not to retrain users as they migrate to Longhorn."
WSJ.com - Copy Machine: H-P, Post-Compaq, Looks Like Its Old Self
WSJ.com - Copy Machine: H-P, Post-Compaq, Looks Like Its Old Self "Hewlett-Packard Co.'s acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. was designed to significantly remake H-P. But on the second anniversary of the biggest-ever technology merger deal, the new H-P isn't looking all that different from the old one -- and that isn't necessarily good for investors.
Prior to the $19 billion deal's May 2002 close, Hewlett-Packard was a diversified technology concern with mediocre computing businesses and a red-hot printer unit that generated the bulk of its profit and revenue. Today, that profile hasn't substantially changed. Even as H-P's computing businesses continue to struggle for sustained growth, its printing unit remains its greatest strength, contributing about 30% of quarterly revenue and 70% of quarterly profit.
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The upshot: H-P still faces many of the same questions over growth and what value it brings beyond its printing business as it did two years ago. In 4 p.m. trading yesterday on New York Stock Exchange, H-P's stock fell 22 cents, or 1.1%, to $19.78, just slightly ahead of its closing price of $18.22 on May 6, 2002, when the combined company was launched.
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Indeed, H-P's printer business alone is valued at $21 a share, says Kevin McCloskey, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors, which owned 9.6 million H-P shares at the start of the year. That means the market is assigning hardly any value to the company's other businesses. "Not a lot has changed within certain parts of the company," Mr. McCloskey says."
Prior to the $19 billion deal's May 2002 close, Hewlett-Packard was a diversified technology concern with mediocre computing businesses and a red-hot printer unit that generated the bulk of its profit and revenue. Today, that profile hasn't substantially changed. Even as H-P's computing businesses continue to struggle for sustained growth, its printing unit remains its greatest strength, contributing about 30% of quarterly revenue and 70% of quarterly profit.
...
The upshot: H-P still faces many of the same questions over growth and what value it brings beyond its printing business as it did two years ago. In 4 p.m. trading yesterday on New York Stock Exchange, H-P's stock fell 22 cents, or 1.1%, to $19.78, just slightly ahead of its closing price of $18.22 on May 6, 2002, when the combined company was launched.
...
Indeed, H-P's printer business alone is valued at $21 a share, says Kevin McCloskey, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors, which owned 9.6 million H-P shares at the start of the year. That means the market is assigning hardly any value to the company's other businesses. "Not a lot has changed within certain parts of the company," Mr. McCloskey says."
Microsoft: Full Steam Ahead for Palladium
Microsoft: Full Steam Ahead for Palladium "Microsoft (Quote, Chart) officials poured cold water on a published report that said its Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) project is being canned.
"The project is continuing full steam ahead. It's alive and kicking and we're very excited about it. The vision has been refined over the last year but it's absolutely not true that it's being killed," Microsoft product manager Mario Juarez told internetnews.com.
...
Much has changed since that introduction. "Last year, we presented a very preliminary vision," Juarez said. "Since then, we have refined the vision and we're making changes to provide the broader value to customers and partners. We're still targeting Longhorn. We're looking to make sure that the work we're doing is appropriately integrated into Longhorn but the architecture will naturally evolve as we receive feedback from customers and partners."
(Likely translation: "We kept the code name and the overall goals but changed everything else.")
"The project is continuing full steam ahead. It's alive and kicking and we're very excited about it. The vision has been refined over the last year but it's absolutely not true that it's being killed," Microsoft product manager Mario Juarez told internetnews.com.
...
Much has changed since that introduction. "Last year, we presented a very preliminary vision," Juarez said. "Since then, we have refined the vision and we're making changes to provide the broader value to customers and partners. We're still targeting Longhorn. We're looking to make sure that the work we're doing is appropriately integrated into Longhorn but the architecture will naturally evolve as we receive feedback from customers and partners."
(Likely translation: "We kept the code name and the overall goals but changed everything else.")
Thursday, May 06, 2004
WSJ.com - Game Makers Raise Questions On Sony's 'PSP'
WSJ.com - Game Makers Raise Questions On Sony's 'PSP' " Sony Corp., the maker of the PlayStation game machine, next week plans to unveil a long-awaited hand-held device that will play videogames as well as movies and digital music -- a gadget the company has dubbed the Walkman of the 21st century.
Makers of videogames hope the PSP, whose name is derived from "PlayStation Portable," will attract more users to a market long cornered by Nintendo Co.'s Game Boy, another portable device. Consumer-electronics companies, meanwhile, wonder how the PSP will stack up against Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, as well as a host of portable media players starting to appear on store shelves.
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"Will it be a game machine or a video Walkman?" asks Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of corporate strategy at Japanese videogame maker Square Enix Co. "We're still not sure what Sony wants to do with it -- that's a problem."
Noticed a WinHEC slide elsewhere this morning that had "Portable Windows Media Center" instead of the earlier "Portable Media Center"; I think that clarifies Microsoft's intent.
Makers of videogames hope the PSP, whose name is derived from "PlayStation Portable," will attract more users to a market long cornered by Nintendo Co.'s Game Boy, another portable device. Consumer-electronics companies, meanwhile, wonder how the PSP will stack up against Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, as well as a host of portable media players starting to appear on store shelves.
...
"Will it be a game machine or a video Walkman?" asks Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of corporate strategy at Japanese videogame maker Square Enix Co. "We're still not sure what Sony wants to do with it -- that's a problem."
Noticed a WinHEC slide elsewhere this morning that had "Portable Windows Media Center" instead of the earlier "Portable Media Center"; I think that clarifies Microsoft's intent.
RedHat ES 3.0 vs. SuSE Server 8.0: Battle for the Enterprise
RedHat ES 3.0 vs. SuSE Server 8.0: Battle for the Enterprise "With the pending release of SuSE Server 9 and SuSE's new backing by Novell, I believe that Red Hat is going to have to rethink their current strategy. SuSE just blows the doors off the Red Hat implementation."
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > The Internet's Wilder Side
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > The Internet's Wilder Side "Even as much of the Internet has come to resemble a pleasant, well-policed suburb, a little-known neighborhood known as Internet Relay Chat remains the Wild West. While copyright holders and law enforcement agencies take aim at their adversaries on Web sites and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks like Napster, I.R.C. remains the place where people with something to hide go to do business.
When I.R.C. started in the 1980's, it was best known as a way for serious computer professionals worldwide to communicate in real time. It is still possible - though sometimes a bit difficult - to find mature technical discussions among the tens of thousands of I.R.C. chat rooms, known as channels, operating at any one time. There are also respectable I.R.C. systems and channels - some operated by universities or Internet service providers - for gamers seeking opponents or those who want to talk about sports or hobbies.
Still, I.R.C. perhaps most closely resembles the cantina scene in "Star Wars'': a louche hangout of digital smugglers, pirates, curiosity seekers and the people who love them (or hunt them). There seem to be I.R.C. channels dedicated to every sexual fetish, and I.R.C. users speculate that terrorists also use the networks to communicate in relative obscurity. Yet I.R.C. has its advocates, who point to its legitimate uses."
When I.R.C. started in the 1980's, it was best known as a way for serious computer professionals worldwide to communicate in real time. It is still possible - though sometimes a bit difficult - to find mature technical discussions among the tens of thousands of I.R.C. chat rooms, known as channels, operating at any one time. There are also respectable I.R.C. systems and channels - some operated by universities or Internet service providers - for gamers seeking opponents or those who want to talk about sports or hobbies.
Still, I.R.C. perhaps most closely resembles the cantina scene in "Star Wars'': a louche hangout of digital smugglers, pirates, curiosity seekers and the people who love them (or hunt them). There seem to be I.R.C. channels dedicated to every sexual fetish, and I.R.C. users speculate that terrorists also use the networks to communicate in relative obscurity. Yet I.R.C. has its advocates, who point to its legitimate uses."
The New York Times > Business > Economic Scene: How Much Does Information Technology Matter?
The New York Times > Business > Economic Scene: How Much Does Information Technology Matter? ... "Mr. Carr has replied to his critics with a new book, "Does IT Matter?" (Harvard Business School Press).
It's a good book. Mr. Carr lays out the simple truths of the economics of information technology in a lucid way, with cogent examples and clear analysis.
His basic point is straightforward. At one time, information technology was so expensive and so difficult to manage that companies could make large amounts of money simply by being able to make systems work. (Think I.B.M.)
...
Asking whether information technology matters is like asking whether electricity matters. In one sense it certainly does - without electricity, commerce would grind to a halt. But skill in the management of electricity isn't particularly useful to most companies, since electricity is now so cheap and so commonplace that it can't really be a source of competitive advantage to anyone.
...
In my view, companies cannot afford to ignore information technology, or relegate it to the back burner. Commoditizing it does not necessarily mean innovation slows. If anything, it could accelerate as more and more innovators experiment and tinker with those cheap, ubiquitous information technology commodities."
It's a good book. Mr. Carr lays out the simple truths of the economics of information technology in a lucid way, with cogent examples and clear analysis.
His basic point is straightforward. At one time, information technology was so expensive and so difficult to manage that companies could make large amounts of money simply by being able to make systems work. (Think I.B.M.)
...
Asking whether information technology matters is like asking whether electricity matters. In one sense it certainly does - without electricity, commerce would grind to a halt. But skill in the management of electricity isn't particularly useful to most companies, since electricity is now so cheap and so commonplace that it can't really be a source of competitive advantage to anyone.
...
In my view, companies cannot afford to ignore information technology, or relegate it to the back burner. Commoditizing it does not necessarily mean innovation slows. If anything, it could accelerate as more and more innovators experiment and tinker with those cheap, ubiquitous information technology commodities."
WSJ.com - Personal Technology: Clean Image Is So Key To Google's Success, Why Take Gmail Risk?
WSJ.com - Personal Technology: Clean Image Is So Key To Google's Success, Why Take Gmail Risk? "I'm all for advertising. Advertising pays my salary, and it can be helpful and interesting to consumers. But I'm against advertising that is too easily confused with editorial content. If Yahoo's system applied to newspapers, there would be paid news stories in the paper that looked just like real stories but were even more prominent than the real stories.
But Google is risking its reputation for honesty, and for putting the user first, with a new e-mail service it is currently developing, called Gmail. The Gmail service, which I've been testing, offers users free e-mail with a massive storage limit of one gigabyte, far more than any competitor provides.
There's a catch, however. Google intends to run ads down the side of the e-mail messages in Gmail, just like it does in its search results. And, just as on the search pages, the Gmail ads will be triggered by key words in the body of the text -- in this case, the text of your e-mail. So if I get an e-mail that refers to, say, a kind of product, I might get an ad for a store that sells that product.
The problem here isn't confusion between ads and editorial content. It's that Google is scanning your private e-mail to locate the key words that generate the ads. This seems like an invasion of privacy. Google notes its scanning will be done by computers, and that these machines can't understand the e-mails and are just looking for specific terms. And the company notes that nearly every e-mail anybody receives is already scanned by computers looking for spam or viruses.
These are logical points, but the proposed system is still a little creepy, and it has the potential for big problems if the content scanning were ever misused by Google. Google might also be forced to use such content scanning in the service of government subpoenas or court orders that might apply to years' worth of its customers' e-mails.
So I'm calling on Google to preserve its sterling reputation for honesty and customer focus by offering an alternative form of the new Gmail service. The company should offer Gmail accounts without the ads, and without the scanning, for a modest annual fee. That would put the choice where Google has always placed it: in the hands of its users."
Well, at least they're not using that insidious smart tag technology, right Walt?...
But Google is risking its reputation for honesty, and for putting the user first, with a new e-mail service it is currently developing, called Gmail. The Gmail service, which I've been testing, offers users free e-mail with a massive storage limit of one gigabyte, far more than any competitor provides.
There's a catch, however. Google intends to run ads down the side of the e-mail messages in Gmail, just like it does in its search results. And, just as on the search pages, the Gmail ads will be triggered by key words in the body of the text -- in this case, the text of your e-mail. So if I get an e-mail that refers to, say, a kind of product, I might get an ad for a store that sells that product.
The problem here isn't confusion between ads and editorial content. It's that Google is scanning your private e-mail to locate the key words that generate the ads. This seems like an invasion of privacy. Google notes its scanning will be done by computers, and that these machines can't understand the e-mails and are just looking for specific terms. And the company notes that nearly every e-mail anybody receives is already scanned by computers looking for spam or viruses.
These are logical points, but the proposed system is still a little creepy, and it has the potential for big problems if the content scanning were ever misused by Google. Google might also be forced to use such content scanning in the service of government subpoenas or court orders that might apply to years' worth of its customers' e-mails.
So I'm calling on Google to preserve its sterling reputation for honesty and customer focus by offering an alternative form of the new Gmail service. The company should offer Gmail accounts without the ads, and without the scanning, for a modest annual fee. That would put the choice where Google has always placed it: in the hands of its users."
Well, at least they're not using that insidious smart tag technology, right Walt?...
WSJ.com - A New Cellphone Service With an Old Name
WSJ.com - A New Cellphone Service With an Old Name "In a situation bound to confuse millions of consumers, AT&T Corp. plans to launch its own wireless business -- using the AT&T name -- just as Cingular Wireless closes its $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. this year.
"We'll be back in wireless, probably the next day," AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive David Dorman said recently. AT&T has been largely shut out of the cellphone business since 2001, when it split off AT&T Wireless as a separate company to reduce a crushing debt load."
If they're planning this far ahead, I wonder if they have a target time frame for dumping their next wireless service as well...
"We'll be back in wireless, probably the next day," AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive David Dorman said recently. AT&T has been largely shut out of the cellphone business since 2001, when it split off AT&T Wireless as a separate company to reduce a crushing debt load."
If they're planning this far ahead, I wonder if they have a target time frame for dumping their next wireless service as well...
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Sun considers GNU General Public License for Solaris - Computerworld
Sun considers GNU General Public License for Solaris - Computerworld: "Sun Microsystems Inc. may be selling servers running Linux, but that doesn't mean it's cutting back on the evolution of Solaris. Among its plans: The company is considering offering a free, open-source version of its flagship operating system, and offering Solaris with a version of its Java Desktop System, said Jonathan Schwartz, the company's recently appointed president and chief operating officer.
...
Until now, Sun has made Solaris freely available to certain noncommercial users, but it hasn't released the Solaris source code and still charges $99 for a single-processor license. Adopting the GPL would dispel criticism "that if you can't build your own kernel, then you're not open," said Schwartz, calling that notion "a fantasy."
"I just find that kind of comic," he said. "Open standards are all about enabling more competition, not about enabling CIOs to have more source code. They don't want more source code."
...
One area where Sun has remained constant is on the topic of whether it will ever sell the Windows operating system. Despite the company's recent landmark $2 billion deal with Microsoft Corp, Sun still has no plans to begin selling the rival operating system. "I doubt we'll ever sell Windows," Schwartz said. "Let's be clear: They are still the competition."
...
Until now, Sun has made Solaris freely available to certain noncommercial users, but it hasn't released the Solaris source code and still charges $99 for a single-processor license. Adopting the GPL would dispel criticism "that if you can't build your own kernel, then you're not open," said Schwartz, calling that notion "a fantasy."
"I just find that kind of comic," he said. "Open standards are all about enabling more competition, not about enabling CIOs to have more source code. They don't want more source code."
...
One area where Sun has remained constant is on the topic of whether it will ever sell the Windows operating system. Despite the company's recent landmark $2 billion deal with Microsoft Corp, Sun still has no plans to begin selling the rival operating system. "I doubt we'll ever sell Windows," Schwartz said. "Let's be clear: They are still the competition."
Google viral account count is now zero FYI
Google viral account count is now zero FYI -- I'll post an update if Google gives me more to share
Need a Google Gmail account?
Need a Google Gmail account? Clever Google, perhaps in response to the silly eBay auctioning of beta Gmail accounts, has gone viral -- existing beta users can now invite a couple other people to join the beta. Drop me a line -- pbokelly at gmail dot com (compress accordingly; I'm just trying to minimize spam in my spiffy new Gmail inbox) if you want to try Gmail.
seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Windows Mobile and Palm
seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Windows Mobile and Palm "Microsoft's Windows Mobile software running on a palmOne handheld device or smartphone? It might sound far-fetched, given the longtime Pocket PC/Palm rivalry, but Pieter Knook isn't ruling it out.
Asked about the possibility yesterday during a discussion with Seattle-area reporters, the senior vice president in charge of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Division called such a scenario "perfectly feasible."
The development that made it feasible was last year's decision by Palm Inc. shareholders to separate it into two independent companies, one for hardware and another for the Palm operating system. The hardware company, known as palmOne, was bolstered at the same time with the acquisition of Handspring, the company behind the Treo line of smartphones.
"They are a hardware company and we are a software company," Knook said yesterday, adding later, "They would be an interesting partner for us."
Pressed on the issue, Knook wouldn't say whether Microsoft and PalmOne have held any discussions to that effect. "We talk to lots of people," he said. "I wouldn't be in a position to tell you even if we had."
Asked about the possibility yesterday during a discussion with Seattle-area reporters, the senior vice president in charge of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Division called such a scenario "perfectly feasible."
The development that made it feasible was last year's decision by Palm Inc. shareholders to separate it into two independent companies, one for hardware and another for the Palm operating system. The hardware company, known as palmOne, was bolstered at the same time with the acquisition of Handspring, the company behind the Treo line of smartphones.
"They are a hardware company and we are a software company," Knook said yesterday, adding later, "They would be an interesting partner for us."
Pressed on the issue, Knook wouldn't say whether Microsoft and PalmOne have held any discussions to that effect. "We talk to lots of people," he said. "I wouldn't be in a position to tell you even if we had."
Download details: Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability
Download details: Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability "This guide provides end-to-end guidance for managing performance and scalability throughout your application life cycle to reduce risk and lower total cost of ownership. It provides a framework that organizes performance into a handful of prioritized categories where your choices heavily impact performance and scalability success. The logical units of the framework help integrate performance throughout your application life cycle. Information is segmented by roles, including architects, developers, testers, and administrators, to make it more relevant and actionable. This guide provides processes and actionable steps for modeling performance, measuring, testing, and tuning your applications. Expert guidance is also provided for improving the performance of managed code, ASP.NET, Enterprise Services, Web services, remoting, ADO.NET, XML, and SQL Server."
Remember when people used to pay for this kind of information?...
Remember when people used to pay for this kind of information?...
Ned Batchelder: May 2004: Google's math sense of humor
Ned Batchelder: May 2004: Google's math sense of humor "Stories like this one mention that Google is raising $2.7 billion in its much-discussed IPO. What they don't mention is that they are actually raising a more precise amount: $2,718,281,828. Recognize the number? It's a billion times e, the base of natural logarithms!"
(Thanks, Phil)
(Thanks, Phil)
O'Reilly Network: Why GMail Matters (Really!) [May. 04, 2004]
O'Reilly Network: Why GMail Matters (Really!) [May. 04, 2004] "So why is GMail so impressive? First, they've fundamentally rethought email interfaces. I've been using email for about fifteen years, and during that time every mail interface I've used has been based on the same fundamental metaphor: individual messages stored in folders. The virtual desktop has been aping the real desktop since the 1960s, forcing me to store any given message in exactly one place.
GMail changes that. A GMail account has exactly one folder, containing all of your messages. Messages are grouped into "Conversations", containing all the messages in a particular thread. Threading is nothing new, although GMail is the first mass market service I've seen that relies heavily on it. The mailbox itself has three default views - an Inbox, a "Starred" view for finding conversations you've marked as of interest, and an All Mail view. Conversations live in the Inbox until you choose to Archive them, at which point they are available from the All Mail view, and by searching.
...
The second advance is the web interface itself. I've long been a proponent of web applications that act like "regular" applications. The difference between the two is about immediate responsiveness, which is expected of desktop applications, versus a request-response metaphor that is still tolerated in web application design - although I haven't the foggiest idea why. GMail is an incredibly well designed application. The interface is entirely HTML and DHTML, with only a few, tiny, graphics. Pages load almost instantaneously--the Compose Mail screen for my account is only 1,001 bytes and loads instantaneously. The spell checker interface is the best I've seen in a web application, although it seems to have trouble with contractions. For power users, they've even managed to implement PINE-style hotkeys, allowing complete navigation of the system from the keyboard. All in all, it's a hellishly impressive piece of thin-client interface design, and is going to raise the bar for every competitor."
GMail changes that. A GMail account has exactly one folder, containing all of your messages. Messages are grouped into "Conversations", containing all the messages in a particular thread. Threading is nothing new, although GMail is the first mass market service I've seen that relies heavily on it. The mailbox itself has three default views - an Inbox, a "Starred" view for finding conversations you've marked as of interest, and an All Mail view. Conversations live in the Inbox until you choose to Archive them, at which point they are available from the All Mail view, and by searching.
...
The second advance is the web interface itself. I've long been a proponent of web applications that act like "regular" applications. The difference between the two is about immediate responsiveness, which is expected of desktop applications, versus a request-response metaphor that is still tolerated in web application design - although I haven't the foggiest idea why. GMail is an incredibly well designed application. The interface is entirely HTML and DHTML, with only a few, tiny, graphics. Pages load almost instantaneously--the Compose Mail screen for my account is only 1,001 bytes and loads instantaneously. The spell checker interface is the best I've seen in a web application, although it seems to have trouble with contractions. For power users, they've even managed to implement PINE-style hotkeys, allowing complete navigation of the system from the keyboard. All in all, it's a hellishly impressive piece of thin-client interface design, and is going to raise the bar for every competitor."
Jon Udell: Groove, four years later
Jon Udell: Groove, four years later "I recently met with Groove's Jack Ozzie and Michael Helfrich. Jack is a co-founder and VP, development; Michael is VP, applied technology. The subject, of course, was the forthcoming V3 of Groove, a product I first saw in beta four years ago this spring. We had a wide-ranging discussion; here are some of the key takeaway points."
Thoughtful analysis from Jon Udell
Thoughtful analysis from Jon Udell
James Gosling: on the Java road...
James Gosling: on the Java road... "There's been a lot of churn lately over open letters from IBM and others calling for Sun to open source Java. Rather than try to respond to everyone individually, I'll try to respond to a pile of questions here:
Some have asked why IBM is sending open letters, rather than talking to us directly: asking if this isn't rather kindergarten-ish. Well, yes: it does appear that way.
Some have asked what IBM would get if Java were open-sourced: doesn't IBM already have the source? Again yes, they do have the source. It's also true that anyone can get the source. The major restriction is that if folks want to redistrubute their changes, they have to pass the test suite. Which means that about the only thing that they could get from liberalization is to be able to skip testing."
(See the post for several other response points.)
Some have asked why IBM is sending open letters, rather than talking to us directly: asking if this isn't rather kindergarten-ish. Well, yes: it does appear that way.
Some have asked what IBM would get if Java were open-sourced: doesn't IBM already have the source? Again yes, they do have the source. It's also true that anyone can get the source. The major restriction is that if folks want to redistrubute their changes, they have to pass the test suite. Which means that about the only thing that they could get from liberalization is to be able to skip testing."
(See the post for several other response points.)
More responses to comments on Word posts
More responses to comments on Word posts "Some people publicly and privately have suggested that they find it amazing that I am writing this blog. Some were just generally curious - that's cool. But some of them have been suspicious of my motives because I blog. Three of them have asked how it is that I got "permission" to write this blog, or have assumed it must be part of some "marketing ploy".
Allow me to clear a few things up and maybe provide some insight into the culture at Microsoft. First, I happen to have some time right now because I am on infant care leave for a month (a nice benefit that Microsoft gives to new Dads). My son was born eight days ago and once again is asleep in my lap as I write this. The first post I made about Word took me about 4 hours to write (I am NOT a great typist). I spent more time than usual on it because I suspected it would draw more attention than my past posts, and I guess I made the right call on that one.
The idea that I would need "permission" to have a blog is a little humorous to me. Microsoft has always had as one of its strengths that it gives enormous freedom to its employees. We don't have time cards, no one tracks our hours, and in general we are given a lot of responsibility. As long as we deliver results, it doesn't matter if you come in at 2pm and don't wear shoes (both of which I do occasionally, although less often than I used to)."
Ahh -- so Chris Pratley didn't exactly clone himself to find time to review and respond to blog feedback, but...
Allow me to clear a few things up and maybe provide some insight into the culture at Microsoft. First, I happen to have some time right now because I am on infant care leave for a month (a nice benefit that Microsoft gives to new Dads). My son was born eight days ago and once again is asleep in my lap as I write this. The first post I made about Word took me about 4 hours to write (I am NOT a great typist). I spent more time than usual on it because I suspected it would draw more attention than my past posts, and I guess I made the right call on that one.
The idea that I would need "permission" to have a blog is a little humorous to me. Microsoft has always had as one of its strengths that it gives enormous freedom to its employees. We don't have time cards, no one tracks our hours, and in general we are given a lot of responsibility. As long as we deliver results, it doesn't matter if you come in at 2pm and don't wear shoes (both of which I do occasionally, although less often than I used to)."
Ahh -- so Chris Pratley didn't exactly clone himself to find time to review and respond to blog feedback, but...
More feedback: Patents
More feedback: Patents "So back to the question. Imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. Borrowing other people's ideas is as old as humanity, and is common in the business world too. But copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc have grown up as society's ways of protecting the investments that people make, so these need to be respected. Would I like to see a world where I and my colleagues do loads of research and hard thinking to develop something new and creative only to have it copied and devalued immediately after we made it available? Hardly. But that's why we have these intellectual property systems, flawed as they are. I love competition, so if someone is out there putting some heat on us, that's great. As a designer I'd prefer it if the competition was creatively moving the state of the art forward rather than cloning us, but I don't get a say in it I guess :-). I am also quite confident that we can stay far enough ahead of cloning efforts to show the value of our products."
Chris Pratley, who will now need to clone himself to keep up with feedback on his thoughtful blog posts, discusses open source.
Chris Pratley, who will now need to clone himself to keep up with feedback on his thoughtful blog posts, discusses open source.
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft reveals more to gain allies for growth strategy
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Microsoft reveals more to gain allies for growth strategy Microsoft once envisioned selling a computer to every household. But in the United States, people are now buying more than one.
At the same time, computer use is still low in developing countries such as China and India. Those emerging markets are where the industry's growth is expected to explode in coming years.
Both trends present huge opportunities for Microsoft and for computer makers, executives said yesterday at the company's annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, going on this week in Seattle.
...
"A great experience is personal and it's emotional," Allchin said. "If you give a customer a great experience, they'll be a customer for life."
Hmm -- looks like somebody has been reading the latest Don Norman book...
At the same time, computer use is still low in developing countries such as China and India. Those emerging markets are where the industry's growth is expected to explode in coming years.
Both trends present huge opportunities for Microsoft and for computer makers, executives said yesterday at the company's annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, going on this week in Seattle.
...
"A great experience is personal and it's emotional," Allchin said. "If you give a customer a great experience, they'll be a customer for life."
Hmm -- looks like somebody has been reading the latest Don Norman book...
WinHEC 2004: Allchin Touts Windows Roadmap, Experience Computing
WinHEC 2004: Allchin Touts Windows Roadmap, Experience Computing "On the client side, 2004 will be a big year. First, Microsoft plans a Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) release in late summer that will focus on what Allchin calls "safety" features, primarily security updates that will make the underlying system more resilient and reliable. XP SP2 will beget three major new client releases, XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (codenamed Lonestar), XP Media Center Edition 2005 (codenamed Symphony), and XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-bit Extended Systems, the latter of which targets AMD-64 and upcoming Intel-based x86-64 systems. Microsoft will also ship Windows CE 5.0 and new versions of the Smartphone and Pocket PC operating systems in 2004, Allchin said. Additionally, the company is planning a "media experiences wave" this year that will include a major new version of Windows Media Player that supports "Janus" subscription-content synchronization with portable devices, a major revamp of MSN Music, Portable Media Centers from a variety of third party hardware makers, and Windows Media Center support for Media Center Extenders, set-top boxes that will remotely access Media Center Content.
Allchin reiterated that Longhorn Beta 1 will ship in 2005, and demonstrated some exciting Longhorn capabilities using recent builds (4067 and 4069) of the alpha version operating system, highlighting capabilities such as the Avalon 3D subsystem and the Indigo communications subsystem. Longhorn, Allchin said will integrate the "three magic ingredients" of fundamentals, scenarios, and people. "That's what Longhorn is all about," he added. During a demo, he showed Longhorn playing 6 high-resolution videos simultaneously while playing Quake III Arena in the background; a comparable XP system was unable to play four of the videos simultaneously. Allchin also demonstrated an interesting migration tool that can optionally use an upcoming smart USB cable to transfer personal data from an existing PC to a new Longhorn-based PC.
On the server side, Microsoft will ship Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) in late 2004, which he said would include all of the safety technologies from XP SP2 and some unique server-specific features. Windows 2003 SP1 will be followed by Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems, and Virtual Server 2005. In 2005, Microsoft will deliver Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2, which he referred to as "Windows Server 2003 Update"), Windows Small Business Server 2003 Update, a new version of Windows Storage Server (codenamed "Storm"), and Longhorn Server Beta 1. "Longhorn Server is now generally aligned with the Longhorn client," Allchin said, referring to recent scheduling changes; originally, Longhorn Server was going to ship sometime after the Longhorn client."
Allchin reiterated that Longhorn Beta 1 will ship in 2005, and demonstrated some exciting Longhorn capabilities using recent builds (4067 and 4069) of the alpha version operating system, highlighting capabilities such as the Avalon 3D subsystem and the Indigo communications subsystem. Longhorn, Allchin said will integrate the "three magic ingredients" of fundamentals, scenarios, and people. "That's what Longhorn is all about," he added. During a demo, he showed Longhorn playing 6 high-resolution videos simultaneously while playing Quake III Arena in the background; a comparable XP system was unable to play four of the videos simultaneously. Allchin also demonstrated an interesting migration tool that can optionally use an upcoming smart USB cable to transfer personal data from an existing PC to a new Longhorn-based PC.
On the server side, Microsoft will ship Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) in late 2004, which he said would include all of the safety technologies from XP SP2 and some unique server-specific features. Windows 2003 SP1 will be followed by Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems, and Virtual Server 2005. In 2005, Microsoft will deliver Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2, which he referred to as "Windows Server 2003 Update"), Windows Small Business Server 2003 Update, a new version of Windows Storage Server (codenamed "Storm"), and Longhorn Server Beta 1. "Longhorn Server is now generally aligned with the Longhorn client," Allchin said, referring to recent scheduling changes; originally, Longhorn Server was going to ship sometime after the Longhorn client."
Microsoft - PressPass Remarks by Jim Allchin - WinHEC 2004
Microsoft - PressPass Remarks by Jim Allchin - WinHEC 2004 "I firmly believe that the most successful companies in the future will be the ones who understand the customers, whether in business or at home, really want deep, immersive experiences, and the best products will be the ones that bring those to life."
Microsoft Unveils Live Communications Server 2005
Microsoft Unveils Live Communications Server 2005 "Key enhancements in LCS 2005 include these:
LCS Federation (between organizations). Presence information and IM now can be extended to partners, suppliers and customers, enabling more efficient collaboration and a channel for bringing geographically dispersed people together. Two or more organizations will be able to communicate and collaborate in real time, in an encrypted, authenticated and managed environment.
Outside access solution. End users now can connect to presence and IM capabilities when they are outside the corporate network, whether working from home or on the road, or visiting customers or partners. Access is provided in a more secure and authenticated manner through the use of standard firewall ports, without requiring the establishment of a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Improved architecture. Customers can now benefit from substantially improved reliability, availability and scalability allowing them to recover gracefully from unplanned downtime, and delivering a higher level of availability through a tiered architecture. Deeper management options and administrative tools also have been added to reduce overall management time while increasing the level of control available to the administrator."
LCS Federation (between organizations). Presence information and IM now can be extended to partners, suppliers and customers, enabling more efficient collaboration and a channel for bringing geographically dispersed people together. Two or more organizations will be able to communicate and collaborate in real time, in an encrypted, authenticated and managed environment.
Outside access solution. End users now can connect to presence and IM capabilities when they are outside the corporate network, whether working from home or on the road, or visiting customers or partners. Access is provided in a more secure and authenticated manner through the use of standard firewall ports, without requiring the establishment of a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Improved architecture. Customers can now benefit from substantially improved reliability, availability and scalability allowing them to recover gracefully from unplanned downtime, and delivering a higher level of availability through a tiered architecture. Deeper management options and administrative tools also have been added to reduce overall management time while increasing the level of control available to the administrator."
Microsoft and Industry Leaders Connecting Devices with Web Services
Microsoft and Industry Leaders Connecting Devices with Web Services "Installing and configuring network-connected devices is not always a simple task. However, by extending the benefits of Web services to a rich and diverse set of devices, Microsoft and industry leaders are reducing the complexity of device-based integration. The Web services architecture offers a standardized mechanism for devices to send and receive information over a network without needing to know what operating system or application software is on the other side." More details on MSDN.
WSJ.com - Microsoft Uses Antispam Tool Favoring Some Mass E-Mailers
WSJ.com - Microsoft Uses Antispam Tool Favoring Some Mass E-Mailers "Microsoft Corp. is adopting an antispam tool that gives favored treatment to certified mass e-mailers, the first major operator of online services to do so.
The software company's MSN and Hotmail units are deploying an approach, developed by IronPort Systems Inc., that is based on establishing lists of certified e-mailers. To get on the list, senders in the program agree to post a financial bond to guarantee their adherence to guidelines about their behavior."
The software company's MSN and Hotmail units are deploying an approach, developed by IronPort Systems Inc., that is based on establishing lists of certified e-mailers. To get on the list, senders in the program agree to post a financial bond to guarantee their adherence to guidelines about their behavior."
Microsoft SharePoint web hosting, document file sharing & collaboration
Microsoft SharePoint web hosting, document file sharing & collaboration "Looking for a Web site to manage a business or project / collaborate on documents?"
Interesting -- Microsoft's Small Business Center is now directly offering Sharepoint hosting; that's not happy news for Microsoft's SharePoint Services Partners
Interesting -- Microsoft's Small Business Center is now directly offering Sharepoint hosting; that's not happy news for Microsoft's SharePoint Services Partners
Boston Globe / Opinion / Op-ed / Cautionary words for Google
Boston Globe / Opinion / Op-ed / Cautionary words for Google "So thank you, Google, for a great product and for bringing some long-overdue excitement back into the world of investing. At the same time, please be careful about changing the world in too many places at once.
(Author:) Bob Davis, founder and former CEO of Lycos, is a partner at Highland Capital.)"
I can't be certain, but this looks a lot like a very subtle "It wasn't my fault!" from the guy who sold Lycos, now apparently being dumped, at an astonishing price.
(Author:) Bob Davis, founder and former CEO of Lycos, is a partner at Highland Capital.)"
I can't be certain, but this looks a lot like a very subtle "It wasn't my fault!" from the guy who sold Lycos, now apparently being dumped, at an astonishing price.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
TIME.com: Is Microsoft A Slowpoke? -- May. 10, 2004
TIME.com: Is Microsoft A Slowpoke? -- May. 10, 2004 "When a company's revenues grow 17%, as Microsoft's did in the past quarter, it might seem a little churlish to suggest its glory days are over. Its chairman, Bill Gates, even reclaimed his title as the world's richest man, after a widely published story claiming that the founder of Ikea had replaced him turned out to be so many Swedish meatballs. And Gates' baby, based in Redmond, Wash., is still by far the largest software maker in the world, with a healthy $56 billion in the bank and revenue conservatively expected to rise 5% next year, to about $38 billion. It has buried the hatchet with Sun Microsystems and AOL with billions of dollars in legal settlements. What could possibly be wrong with Microsoft?
Answer: quite a lot. When you fly as high as Gates & Co. did during the 1990s, growing an average 36% annually, maintaining that altitude is nearly impossible. So Microsoft's growth rate is now no larger than that of the PC industry as a whole. Its stock price has stalled at 1998 levels. A new version of its flagship Windows product, once expected as early as 2003, may ship in 2006, lacking many of the cool new features Microsoft had hoped to include. By then, Windows is expected to be squaring off against its toughest challenge to date, from Linux, a rival operating system that literally gives itself away."
A handy collection of most current conventional-wisdom views of Microsoft, all in a single article.
Answer: quite a lot. When you fly as high as Gates & Co. did during the 1990s, growing an average 36% annually, maintaining that altitude is nearly impossible. So Microsoft's growth rate is now no larger than that of the PC industry as a whole. Its stock price has stalled at 1998 levels. A new version of its flagship Windows product, once expected as early as 2003, may ship in 2006, lacking many of the cool new features Microsoft had hoped to include. By then, Windows is expected to be squaring off against its toughest challenge to date, from Linux, a rival operating system that literally gives itself away."
A handy collection of most current conventional-wisdom views of Microsoft, all in a single article.
WSJ.com - Red Hat Unveils Linux for Desktops
WSJ.com - Red Hat Unveils Linux for Desktops "In a sign that demand is growing for alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software, Red Hat Inc. is releasing a version of the Linux operating system and other programs tailored for desktop computers in corporations, universities and government agencies.
...
Mr. Szulik said Red Hat Desktop is less expensive to administer and more secure than Microsoft's offerings. It will cost on average about $5 a month per machine, with additional support services available, he said."
Ahh, so "second generation open source" apparently costs more than traditional commercial software. ($5 * 12 months > annual Windows licensing per enterprise desktop in many cases, I suspect, especially averaged out over several years)
...
Mr. Szulik said Red Hat Desktop is less expensive to administer and more secure than Microsoft's offerings. It will cost on average about $5 a month per machine, with additional support services available, he said."
Ahh, so "second generation open source" apparently costs more than traditional commercial software. ($5 * 12 months > annual Windows licensing per enterprise desktop in many cases, I suspect, especially averaged out over several years)
Adam Bosworth's Weblog: GMail, et al
Adam Bosworth's Weblog: GMail, et al "Google is clearly trying to think outside the box. Their use of DHTML is both audacious, astonishing, and sometimes almost annoying. It is incredibly quick and when entering a new contact name with just a key stroke or two, it is an almost visceral thrill. And it has a very untraditional outside of the box look and feel. But when Reply To requires an act of faith that a box will expand, I'm still not sure where I stand. And Google clearly doesn't want me to delete. They want me to archive, file, label, and in general slowly build up a searchable volume of email whereas Mailblocks by default ages my mail."
Microsoft to test new IM server - News - ZDNet
Microsoft to test new IM server - News - ZDNet "The new version of Live Communications Server will push the presence picture forward, said Dennis Karlinsky, lead product manager for Microsoft, with several new "federation" features that allow IM sessions and availability information to be used outside the corporate firewall.
Businesses maintain an "edge proxy server" to serve as a gateway to other Live Communications Server users, Karlinsky said. Companies can selectively share availability information with other businesses, helping to streamline communications and transactions.
"The main goal our customers have told us about is they want to be able to connect to customers and partners," Karlinsky said. "We want to provide the ability for two or more enterprises to connect in a secure way."
Businesses maintain an "edge proxy server" to serve as a gateway to other Live Communications Server users, Karlinsky said. Companies can selectively share availability information with other businesses, helping to streamline communications and transactions.
"The main goal our customers have told us about is they want to be able to connect to customers and partners," Karlinsky said. "We want to provide the ability for two or more enterprises to connect in a secure way."
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Sells 210 Million Copies of Windows XP
WinHEC 2004: Microsoft Sells 210 Million Copies of Windows XP "The day before opening its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2004 trade show in Seattle, Microsoft announced that it has sold 210 million copies of Windows XP, most of which were bundled with new PCs. However, Microsoft also noted that actual XP usage is far higher than that figure, because its sales figures don't include copies of XP bundled with new machines under corporate licenses.
The last time Microsoft released sales figures for XP was July 2003, when the company announced that it had sold 130 million copies of the operating system. Microsoft notes that it is selling approximately 10 million copies of Windows XP every month now, and sales are actually accelerating month-over-month; last July, the company was averaging 6 million copies of XP each month."
The last time Microsoft released sales figures for XP was July 2003, when the company announced that it had sold 130 million copies of the operating system. Microsoft notes that it is selling approximately 10 million copies of Windows XP every month now, and sales are actually accelerating month-over-month; last July, the company was averaging 6 million copies of XP each month."
Wired 12.05: The Kingmaker [Walt Mossberg]
Wired 12.05: The Kingmaker [Walt Mossberg] "Disarmingly bright, blunt, fervent, and combative, Mossberg was an investigative reporter for two decades before becoming a tech pundit, and he has a heady sense of his ability to keep the industry chieftains in check. His MO: posing as the champion of the "normal" or "average" tech consumer, though he's hardly one himself. Close friend and Journal reporter Kara Swisher calls him "a freakish geek."
Still, his success comes from demystifying the digital realm for readers who aren't regular Slashdot contributors. He's on a mission to remake the tech world according to his own fetish for simplicity, reliability, effectiveness, and great design. Chances are he has influenced the look, feel, and performance of your laptop, mobile phone, and MP3 player."
Interesting multi-page background on Walt Mossberg. I often enjoy his WSJ column, but he was simply wrong (and alarmist) on Microsoft smart tag technology, and it's unfortunate that this article (twice) reinforces his error.
Still, his success comes from demystifying the digital realm for readers who aren't regular Slashdot contributors. He's on a mission to remake the tech world according to his own fetish for simplicity, reliability, effectiveness, and great design. Chances are he has influenced the look, feel, and performance of your laptop, mobile phone, and MP3 player."
Interesting multi-page background on Walt Mossberg. I often enjoy his WSJ column, but he was simply wrong (and alarmist) on Microsoft smart tag technology, and it's unfortunate that this article (twice) reinforces his error.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Barron's Online - Technology Trader: Handicapping the Four Horsemen
Barron's Online - Technology Trader: Handicapping the Four Horsemen "Four stocks dominate technology portofolios: Microsoft, Intel, Cisco and IBM.
The stock-market value of these four firms adds up to a combined $760 billion, which represents 35% of the entire tech universe's market cap. But one of the four stocks looks expensive, say the tech analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. It's Cisco.
...
As for all those Cisco shares in investors' hands, the Bernstein analysts suggest investors apply some of those toward share purchases of Microsoft."
The stock-market value of these four firms adds up to a combined $760 billion, which represents 35% of the entire tech universe's market cap. But one of the four stocks looks expensive, say the tech analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. It's Cisco.
...
As for all those Cisco shares in investors' hands, the Bernstein analysts suggest investors apply some of those toward share purchases of Microsoft."
Boston.com / Business / Technology / Microsoft is in whittle mode to bolster its bottom line
Boston.com / Business / Technology / Microsoft is in whittle mode to bolster its bottom line "Microsoft Corp. chief financial officer John Connors is scaling back employee business trips as part of a 13-point plan to cut costs.
...
Next year, sales are forecast to grow less than 10 percent for the first time. The need to cut costs is new for Microsoft, which increased revenue an average of 38 percent a year in the 1990s.
Expenses have risen, trimming Microsoft's operating margin to 41 percent in fiscal 2003 from 50 percent five years ago. Connors estimates Microsoft's costs may rise to $18.7 billion this year.
The reason: Microsoft won't have its new version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, in stores until the first half of 2006, almost five years after releasing Windows XP. It's the longest gap between Windows product releases and is preventing some customers from buying new versions and signing multiyear agreements for updates."
...
Next year, sales are forecast to grow less than 10 percent for the first time. The need to cut costs is new for Microsoft, which increased revenue an average of 38 percent a year in the 1990s.
Expenses have risen, trimming Microsoft's operating margin to 41 percent in fiscal 2003 from 50 percent five years ago. Connors estimates Microsoft's costs may rise to $18.7 billion this year.
The reason: Microsoft won't have its new version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, in stores until the first half of 2006, almost five years after releasing Windows XP. It's the longest gap between Windows product releases and is preventing some customers from buying new versions and signing multiyear agreements for updates."
Longhorn to Steal Limelight at WinHEC
Longhorn to Steal Limelight at WinHEC "Microsoft's annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) traditionally is all about the low-level Windows innards that help make computers tick. WinHEC 2004, which kicks off next Tuesday, will focus heavily on the guts of Longhorn, a version of Windows that won't be ready for at least a couple more years.
The time lag seemingly isn't deterring Microsoft from evangelizing its next-gen platform.
...
Microsoft is expected to recommend that the "average" Longhorn PC feature a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today.
That's according to developer sources close to the company. Microsoft officials would not comment on the Longhorn reference implementation."
The time lag seemingly isn't deterring Microsoft from evangelizing its next-gen platform.
...
Microsoft is expected to recommend that the "average" Longhorn PC feature a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today.
That's according to developer sources close to the company. Microsoft officials would not comment on the Longhorn reference implementation."
Saturday, May 01, 2004
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Competition narrows in handheld software sales
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Competition narrows in handheld software sales "Microsoft, which has been boosting sales of software for handheld computers, is now almost tied for the top spot in the market as users buy devices with the company's programs for e-mail, researcher Gartner said.
Microsoft's share of the market for operating systems that run handheld computers rose to 40.2 percent in the first quarter, Gartner said. Leader PalmSource dropped to 40.7 percent.
The world's biggest software maker has eroded PalmSource's lead since 2000, when Microsoft had 11 percent of the market and the company then known as Palm had almost 85 percent. Microsoft gained by pitching its security and Outlook e-mail program.
"Palm still dominates the consumer side of the market, but Microsoft has come on very strong in the enterprise market," Gartner analyst Todd Kort said. "Palm is rapidly losing the enterprise."
Worldwide sales of the handheld computers themselves, however, fell 4.6 percent in the first quarter, Gartner said. Market-leader PalmOne's share fell to 30.5 percent, and No. 2 Hewlett- Packard rose to 21.2 percent. Research In Motion had the biggest gain, climbing to third place. Its share grew to 14.8 percent from 3.1 percent as people use its BlackBerry devices to send e-mail."
Microsoft's share of the market for operating systems that run handheld computers rose to 40.2 percent in the first quarter, Gartner said. Leader PalmSource dropped to 40.7 percent.
The world's biggest software maker has eroded PalmSource's lead since 2000, when Microsoft had 11 percent of the market and the company then known as Palm had almost 85 percent. Microsoft gained by pitching its security and Outlook e-mail program.
"Palm still dominates the consumer side of the market, but Microsoft has come on very strong in the enterprise market," Gartner analyst Todd Kort said. "Palm is rapidly losing the enterprise."
Worldwide sales of the handheld computers themselves, however, fell 4.6 percent in the first quarter, Gartner said. Market-leader PalmOne's share fell to 30.5 percent, and No. 2 Hewlett- Packard rose to 21.2 percent. Research In Motion had the biggest gain, climbing to third place. Its share grew to 14.8 percent from 3.1 percent as people use its BlackBerry devices to send e-mail."
ZDNet AnchorDesk: All take, no give: why collaboration fails
ZDNet AnchorDesk: All take, no give: why collaboration fails "Recently my team at work embarked on a big project, one that involved a lot of meetings, expansive ideas, and the creation of large strategic documents. In a previous column, I described my experience trying to capture some of the intelligence that emerged in the meetings we held. But we also tried to use technology (collaboration software) to get people to contribute to this project outside of the meetings.
Frankly, it was a disaster. Our collaboration system became a wasteland, a great technological framework with no humanity in it. I lay only part of the blame on the service we were using, Intuit's QuickBase. I've seen similar initiatives based on other technologies fail in almost exactly the same way ours did, so I'm letting Intuit off the hook in this case.
I have seen a small number of collaboration systems succeed, too. But sadly, because I've witnessed more disappointment than satisfaction with these products, I have a better handle on the common failure points."
I suspect this will be a common pattern over the next couple years --
1. Observation: market-leading collaboration software is too hard/expensive/disruptive/whatever.
2. Hypothesis: everything will work if we just use open source instead
3. Eventual realization: there are many good reasons why market-leading collaboration software is market-leading collaboration software, and the current crop of open source collaboration-related stuff doesn't address many of the reasons; reset expectations and go back to step 1...
Frankly, it was a disaster. Our collaboration system became a wasteland, a great technological framework with no humanity in it. I lay only part of the blame on the service we were using, Intuit's QuickBase. I've seen similar initiatives based on other technologies fail in almost exactly the same way ours did, so I'm letting Intuit off the hook in this case.
I have seen a small number of collaboration systems succeed, too. But sadly, because I've witnessed more disappointment than satisfaction with these products, I have a better handle on the common failure points."
I suspect this will be a common pattern over the next couple years --
1. Observation: market-leading collaboration software is too hard/expensive/disruptive/whatever.
2. Hypothesis: everything will work if we just use open source instead
3. Eventual realization: there are many good reasons why market-leading collaboration software is market-leading collaboration software, and the current crop of open source collaboration-related stuff doesn't address many of the reasons; reset expectations and go back to step 1...
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Symbian on the front foot
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Symbian on the front foot "According to Arc Group research, Symbian is well out in front. Backed by Nokia and most other leading mobile manufacturers, it has a 64% market share, followed by Microsoft with 15% and Palm with 14%. But it is early days: smart phones/PDAs with mobile operating systems only accounted for 2% of the phones sold last year, with 8.6m sales worldwide, according to the research company, Gartner. But it expects that figure to double this year."
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