Ooma Puts Out a Call to Ditch Landlines for Web-Based Service | Personal Technology | Walt Mossberg | AllThingsD

Walt Mossberg tests a new VoIP alternative -- note the link below is to the no-wsj.com-subscription-required version of the article. 

Ooma is a $399 piece of hardware that you pay for only once. There are no monthly bills. You just buy an Ooma Hub, a small device that looks like an answering machine. You plug it into your Internet connection and attach a phone, and you get free, unlimited domestic calls, local or long distance, as long as you keep your Ooma.

Second, with Ooma, you can easily keep your regular phone service as an integrated backup, for 911 calls, and in case the Internet service in your home goes out.

Ooma Puts Out a Call to Ditch Landlines for Web-Based Service | Personal Technology | Walt Mossberg | AllThingsD

Xandros Acquires Scalix - Linux E-mail, Calendaring and Messaging Company

The Linux superplatform competition continues to expand...

Today Xandros, the leading provider of intuitive end-to-end Linux solutions and cross platform management tools, announced the acquisition of Scalix, the premier award-winning Linux e-mail, calendaring and messaging company. The acquisition represents another step in the fulfillment of Xandros' strategic vision for developing a complete Linux stack, including desktop, SMB and advanced enterprise servers, cross-platform management tools, and mission-critical IT infrastructure applications, in order to provide organizations and enterprises of all sizes with single vendor support of their diverse and growing IT infrastructures

Scalix: Xandros Acquires Scalix - Linux E-mail, Calendaring and Messaging Company

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Don't be afraid, I just want to interoperate

Classic Fake Steve Jobs post -- with interesting Microsoft/Red Hat/etc. analysis 

Well this little mini drama between Microsoft and Red Hat continues, where Microsoft is trying to form a "partnership" for "interoperability" and Red Hat is freaking out because if makes any deal with Microsoft the nutbags in the Linux "community" will accuse Red Hat of selling out and making a deal with the enemy.

I also love the image selections on The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs...

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Don't be afraid, I just want to interoperate

BEA Systems shares up on buyout rumors - Boston.com

 Perhaps BEA management is losing control of its destiny

"Using our leveraged-buyout analysis we believe a financial buyer could pay somewhere around $15 to $16 (per share), while a strategic buyer has the potential to pay $1 to $3 (per share) more," [Credit Suisse analyst Jason] Maynard wrote. "While management may still be hesitant about selling the business, it's our opinion that they are rapidly losing the ability to influence that decision."

He thinks the company would likely be acquired by a private equity firm or by database software maker Oracle Corp.

BEA Systems shares up on buyout rumors - Boston.com

New Potter Book May Have Made Its Way to Web - New York Times

This is going to become a milestone event... 

But those less mindful of the publishers’ wishes could go onto various file-sharing Web sites yesterday to look at amateur-seeming photographs of what appeared to be each pair of facing pages of a copy of the book. The pictures, which could be downloaded through sites like the Pirate Bay and MediaFire, showed the book laid out on a green-and-red-flecked beige looped carpet, with fingers holding the pages open. Some of the photos made the text difficult to read, but the fiercely protected ending was definitely legible.

New Potter Book May Have Made Its Way to Web - New York Times

Infoporn: Despite the Web, Americans Remain Woefully Ill-Informed

See the article for some scary statistics. 

More than a decade after the Internet went mainstream, the world's richest information source hasn't necessarily made its users any more informed. A new study from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that Americans, on average, are less able to correctly answer questions about current events than they were in 1989. Citizens who call the Internet their primary news source know slightly less than fans of TV and radio news. Hmmm... maybe a little less Perez Hilton and a little more Jim Lehrer.

If you have a wsj.com account, also check out a "Web 2.0" debate between Andrew Keen ("The Cult of the Amateur") and David Weinberger ("Everything is Miscellaneous").

Infoporn: Despite the Web, Americans Remain Woefully Ill-Informed

Brian Jones: Open XML Formats : iPhone supports Open XML

But no ODF?... 

This is pretty cool. I already talked about how there is support for the open xml formats on the palmOS.

I was looking into the iPhone today and it looks like it has support not just for .doc, .xls, .pdf, and .html; but also has for .docx and .xlsx. Very cool!

I saw this in their product documentation: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPhone_User_Guide.pdf

Brian Jones: Open XML Formats : iPhone supports Open XML

FAST Works With Microsoft, Embraces Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: FAST Office SharePoint Server 2007 Connector available today.

Interesting to see the leading doc mgmt, content mgmt, and search vendors striving to complement SharePoint 

In addition to supporting 80 languages, FAST ESP will enable Office SharePoint Server’s users to employ advanced navigation capabilities to refine results and find facts, leveraging the power of FAST’s Contextual Insight^® technology to enrich the customer experience. It also uses Office SharePoint Server as a platform, extending Web Parts capabilities to expose customers and industry partners to more relevant information. “FAST and Microsoft understand that in today’s world it’s not just about searching for information, it is about connecting people with the right information quickly in a security-enhanced environment,” said John Markus Lervik, CEO of FAST. “The market’s rapid acceptance of Office SharePoint Server is a phenomenon. By extending Office SharePoint Server’s content management, collaboration and search capabilities with FAST ESP’s advanced analytics dynamic navigation capabilities, we are enabling users to derive even greater value from Office SharePoint Server 2007. Together with Microsoft, we are enabling organizations to maximize their existing information assets, putting the data to work for them and positioning them for future growth.”

The search business is in a bit of a chaotic state these days, with Autonomy's acquisition of Verity, Open Text's acquisition of Hummingbird (which had in turn acquired Fulcrum), Google seeking to dominate enterprise search, and specialists such as FAST building very impressive customer and partner momentum. 

FAST Works With Microsoft, Embraces Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: FAST Office SharePoint Server 2007 Connector available today.

SunRocket Users May Lose Service and Payments - New York Times

Not your typical phone company... 

Telephone service could be lost for more than 200,000 customers of SunRocket, an Internet telephone company that said on Tuesday that it had gone out of business, according to a person involved in its liquidation.

The customers also could lose money paid in advance to SunRocket, which offered unlimited telephone service for a year for an upfront payment of $199, said Martin D. Pichinson, co-founder of Sherwood Partners, which signed a contract on Tuesday to handle the distribution of assets to creditors.

SunRocket Users May Lose Service and Payments - New York Times

I.B.M. Showing That Giants Can Be Nimble - New York Times

Timely reality check 

I.B.M. has been reorganized from a classic multinational company with country-by-country operations, working in isolation, to a more seamless global enterprise with centers of expertise in industries and technical skills, scattered around the world, each a hub in a global network for delivering services.

The changes, according to Mr. Palmisano, amount to “a huge reinvention” of the company.

Its experience offers a textbook case of a company successfully navigating the twin challenges of globalization and rapid technological change, at least for a two-year stretch.

I.B.M. Showing That Giants Can Be Nimble - New York Times

Microsoft's Open XML hits snag in standards process | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

More fun with politics and standards.  It's not the final word, however; see the article for more details. 

Rob Weir, an IBM employee and advocate of the rival OpenDocument format, on Sunday detailed in his blog the proceedings of a three-hour meeting of the committee, which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Despite a number of Microsoft partners joining the committee in recent weeks, the committee did not approve recommending Open XML as an ISO standard, Weir said. He said that it failed to pass an "approval" vote by one committee member.

Microsoft's Open XML hits snag in standards process | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Google launches fee-based hosted site search for businesses | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

 Also see a wsj.com article about Google reportedly developing a search service for cellphone-related stuff such as ringtones and mobile games.

Google is set to launch on Tuesday a fee-based hosted site search service targeting small and medium-size organizations that will undoubtedly stir up more talk about Google aiming for Microsoft's enterprise business.

The new Google Custom Search Business Edition offers a way for companies to add a search capability to their Web sites that is powered by Google. A free version of Google's site search service displays ads. Businesses with more complex Web sites can buy the Google Search Appliance to offer site search and intranet search for behind the firewall.

Excerpt from the WSJ article referenced above:

Google's plans to broker the sale of mobile content like ringtones and games could become a threat to large cellphone operators like Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., especially if Google enables customer payment through eBay Inc.'s PayPal or its own online Checkout service. The operators have built their own storefronts to sell such material, and they would prefer to hold on to consumers' attention and spending. If billing goes through the carriers instead, appearing on customers' monthly bills, carriers could actually benefit because they usually get a significant cut of such transactions.

Google launches fee-based hosted site search for businesses | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Ad Downturn Threatening the Survival of Business 2.0 - New York Times

More consolidation -- and perhaps more "The Cult of the Amateur" themes in action... 

Business 2.0 magazine, a seven-year-old Time Inc. publication that covers start-ups, technology trends and changes in the new economy, might publish its final issue in September, according to people briefed on discussions about the fate of the magazine.

Though a reprieve is still possible, according to these people, executives at Time Inc., the nation’s largest magazine group, are threatening to shut down Business 2.0 in the midst of a sharp drop in advertising at the San Francisco-based magazine.

Ad Downturn Threatening the Survival of Business 2.0 - New York Times

Internet Phone Company Halts Operations - New York Times

 Vonage, meanwhile, has a mkt cap of ~$460M, even with its stock at < $3/share.

SunRocket, one of the largest start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies, a person briefed on its status said yesterday.

A message on SunRocket’s customer service line said the company was “no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Executives of SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Va., and had 200,000 subscribers as of April, could not be reached for comment.

Internet Phone Company Halts Operations - New York Times

News Corp. in tentative deal to buy Dow Jones - The Boston Globe

Can't say I'm thrilled about this prospect, as a wsj.com subscriber  for the last 11+ years. 

Murdoch has long wanted to own the Journal, which has won many prizes for editorial excellence. He has denied making plans for major cuts, instead saying he would invest in its online and overseas operations and tap the company's resources to help build a business cable news channel that would rival General Electric Co.'s highly profitable CNBC network. The channel, to be called the Fox Business Network, is to debut on Oct. 15.

News Corp. in tentative deal to buy Dow Jones - The Boston Globe

Technology Review: Directing Digg

Interview with Digg founder Kevin Rose 

Technology Review: The common criticism of Digg is that what tends to be dug is often superficial. Are the most popular stories that rise to the top of Digg the best stories?

Kevin Rose: As we speak, right now, the top three stories on Digg are do-it-yourself lucid dreaming, an update about the Apple iPhone, and why a former official of the Reagan administration thinks that President Bush should be tried as a war criminal. We get a mixture of all types of news on our front page. In any case, users can customize their home page: if you're not into technology or you're not into celebrity gossip, you can remove those sections, and you don't have to see them.

Technology Review: Directing Digg

IPhones flooding wireless LAN at Duke University - Network World

Oops... 

The built-in 802.11b/g adapters on several iPhones periodically flood sections of the Durham, N.C. school’s pervasive wireless LAN with MAC address requests, temporarily knocking out anywhere from a dozen to 30 wireless access points at a time. Campus network staff are talking with Cisco, the main WLAN provider, and have opened a help desk ticket with Apple. But so far, the precise cause of the problem remains unknown.

IPhones flooding wireless LAN at Duke University - Network World

Windows Home Server off to production, gets new partners | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

 I'll be ordering one of these soon -- I've been using the test builds for several months and am very impressed -- the back-up, media sharing, and remote access features are very useful. 

Right on schedule, Microsoft announced that its Windows Home Server software is off to the presses. This clears the way for HP, Gateway, LaCie, Medion, and now Iomega and Fujitsu Siemens, (both also announced today, the latter in Europe only) to begin selling their Home Server-powered hardware later this quarter.

For more on the history of the product, see this WHS team blog post.

Windows Home Server off to production, gets new partners | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

IBM to Acquire DataMirror to Deliver Real-Time Information on Demand

IBM acquires another data/information management player 

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and DataMirror Corporation (TSX: DMC) today announced an agreement for IBM to acquire DataMirror based in Markham, Ontario. Under the Arrangement Agreement, IBM will acquire all of the outstanding DataMirror common shares at a price of C$27.00 per common share payable in cash, amounting to total consideration of approximately C$170 million (approximately $161 million USD).

DataMirror is a provider of technology that identifies and captures data that has been added, updated or deleted and allows the changed data to be delivered in real time to processes, applications and databases, ensuring that continuous, accurate and trusted information is available for decision-making.

IBM to Acquire DataMirror to Deliver Real-Time Information on Demand

Zonbu: Software Jackpot!

Interesting app/tool list -- including OpenOffice.org, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Skype, and more 

Surf. Shop. Burn music. Trade stocks. Write letters. Crop photos. Calculate profits. Watch videos. Talk to friends. Zonbu comes with all the software you need to work hard, and play harder. There's nothing to buy, configure or troubleshoot — the world-class OS and 20 open source applications come installed and ready to go. When the latest application upgrade is released we automatically and transparently install it, keeping you up-to-date without you lifting a finger.

Zonbu: Software Jackpot!

A PC That Uses Less Energy, but Charges a Monthly Fee - New York Times

$99 and $12.95/month, cost-justified in part because the PC will apparently use ~$10/month less electricity than a normal PC 

The computer is the size of a cigar box and uses a low-power Intel-compatible microprocessor from VIA Technologies of Taiwan. It comes with four gigabytes of flash memory instead of a disk drive, a spinning mechanical part that uses much of a PC’s power. It also lacks a fan, another big energy user.

The Zonbu PC also uses a Gentoo version of the Linux operating system and will come with a range of software applications like the Mozilla Firefox browser, Skype voice-over-Internet service, OpenOffice software suite and many games. An additional 25 gigabytes of free online storage is available, with more offered for purchase.

A PC That Uses Less Energy, but Charges a Monthly Fee - New York Times

The Hand That Controls the Sock Puppet Could Get Slapped - New York Times

 Go figure...

On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog — or the chief executive of a Fortune 500 company.

Or so thought John Mackey, the chief executive of Whole Foods Market, who used a fictional identity on the Yahoo message boards for nearly eight years to assail competition and promote his supermarket chain’s stock, according to documents released last week by the Federal Trade Commission.

The Hand That Controls the Sock Puppet Could Get Slapped - New York Times

Technology Review: The Future of Search

Brief interview with Peter Norvig, Google's director of research; excerpt: 

TR: Which research has the most people and funding?

PN: The two biggest projects are machine translation and the speech project. Translation and speech went all the way from one or two people working on them to, now, live systems.

TR: Like the Google Labs project called GOOG-411 [a free service that lets people search for local businesses by voice, over the phone].

Technology Review: The Future of Search

The Next Small Thing [BusinessWeek]

 Another widget-mania snapshot, including a "very brief history of the web" -- from browsing to searching and now sharing (via widgets).

There's a land grab under way in Silicon Valley. Not in real land (even in Tech Town, home sales are sagging), but on the Web. What's fueling the frenzy is something that couldn't sound more prosaic: widgets.
In the Web world, widgets are modules of software that people can drag and drop onto the personal page of their social network or onto a blog. There, widgets typically look like a little window or box, packing a bit of the functionality that you would get with a stand-alone Web site or software package. The result can be as mundane as the WeatherBug, or a YouTube clip of your favorite video of a bulldog riding a skateboard, or your wish list from online jewelry retailer Blue Nile (NILE ).

The Next Small Thing

The High Cost Of Wooing Google [BusinessWeek]

Interesting snapshot -- in this case a $600M Google data center

Just as Google has pushed the boundaries of its Internet business, it plays the real estate game aggressively. Beginning with an anonymous approach in late 2005, the company elicited a stream of promises from local and state officials in North Carolina, all frantic to lure a major tech company, even before they knew which one. During months of negotiations over Google's shifting requirements, the company never failed to remind those officials that it could go elsewhere. In the end, the North Carolinians agreed to a package of tax breaks, infrastructure upgrades, and other goodies valued at $212 million over 30 years, or more than $1million for each of the 210 jobs Google said it eventually hoped to create in Lenoir.

Later in the article:

Since the company's plans in Lenoir were announced in January, Weiss has struck similar deals for new computer centers in South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Google won't say how many server farms it operates nationwide.

The High Cost Of Wooing Google

iPhone's Network Hang-Up [BusinessWeek]

Useful snapshot

Given the muddled state of 3G networks in the U.S., Apple's decision to go with slower technology in the first edition of the iPhone was understandable. But right now we are stuck having to choose between the iPhone, with a good browser and a painful network, and rivals such as the Palm (palm ) Treo 700p from Verizon or the HTC Mogul from Sprint, with fast networks and lousy browsers. Apple and AT&T have their work cut out for them.

Also see Making the iPhone Mean Business in the same issue

iPhone's Network Hang-Up

Modern technology and Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome - Fortune

Cute article, but my print subscription to Fortune will be high on my list of things to cut, if, as is the case with this week's issue, the ratio of advertising (or "special advertising sections") to content is greater than 1:1...

[...] I tallied up the total monthly cost of my family's digital and cultural lifestyle. I was shocked and awed. Stupefied. Then queasy. Diagnosis: Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome.

CSFS is a 2lst-century malady loosely related to mouse-induced carpal tunnel syndrome and to the neurological disorder that habitual videogamers call the "twitch." It's the kind of infirmity that sneaks up on you, sort of like "feature creep" - the slow accumulation of arcane bells and whistles that transforms perfectly usable software like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop into an intimidating, leaden mass.

Other interesting stuff from the latest issue:

• How Gates conquered China -- cover story; "Or is it the other way around? Fortune's David Kirkpatrick goes on the road to Beijing with Bill Gates, who threw his business model out the window."
• Annual Global 500 survey: a useful reality check (or unreality check, in some cases)

Modern technology and Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome - July 23, 2007

Open Source Semantic Desktop Is Coming

Interesting times... 

Thanks to the open source NEPOMUK (Networked Environment for Personalized, Ontology-based Management of Unified Knowledge) effort, the Semantic Desktop isn't a dream; it's an emerging reality and will be here with the upcoming release of KDE 4 for the Linux desktop.

"NEPOMUK is a project attempting to address what we see as a major missing component of the open source environment -- what we call 'semantic capabilities,' which you can think of as the ability to define and take advantage of the relationships between different items and types of data throughout the desktop and beyond," Stéphane Laurière, Semantic Web activities coordinator at Linux distribution Mandriva, told internetnews.com.

Open Source Semantic Desktop Is Coming

Pownce invites and the rise of Adobe AIR | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

Adobe AIR checkpoint/snapshot 

Adobe released the public beta of its Adobe AIR runtime environment (previously codenamed Apollo) about a month ago. The software is designed to allow the development of rich Internet applications that work on any operating system. I'm sure that there are technical differences, but it seems a lot like an amped-up widget engine to me.

Needless to say, AIR apps aren't nearly as ubiquitous as Adobe Flash apps (yet), but there have been a few interesting recent developments. The most-polished AIR application so far is Adobe Digital Editions, software for reading, downloading, and managing e-books. To learn more about it, check Seth Rosenblatt's First Look video for Adobe Digital Editions.

Pownce invites and the rise of Adobe AIR | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

Intel, in Shift, Joins Project on Education - New York Times

It'll be interesting to see the next wave of headlines in this context 

Intel contributes about $100 million to educational activities annually, he said, and the company now views the new partnership as a simple way to expand its impact.

As part of the partnership, Mr. Swope will take a position on the One Laptop Per Child board and the group will use the chip maker’s server technology as a component in the educational systems that are deployed in countries abroad.

Intel, in Shift, Joins Project on Education - New York Times

A Crowd of One : The Future of Individual Identity by John Henry Clippinger

Recommended reading -- click here to order from Amazon.com

In A CROWD OF ONE, John Clippinger takes us through the historical origins of identity and the way it is influencing – and being influenced by – today's world. He examines origin narratives from around the world and the religious underpinnings of many people's identities, and explores the competing theories of human nature developed by Hobbes, Adam Smith, and some of the other leading philosophical minds throughout history. He applies principles from evolutionary biology to show why and how we evolved some of our most unique capacities: trust, empathy, retribution, honor, virtue, leadership, reciprocity, and collaboration. Drawing on modern scientific studies, he debunks some of our strongest-held beliefs about individualism, rationality, self interest and moral absolutism. He challenges thinkers on the Left and the Right and proposes a new theory of leadership, social virtue, and cooperation derived from evolutionary biology and neuroscience.

The book is audaciously ambitious in some respects (and I agree with the Publishers Weekly editorial review on Amazon.com suggesting the book would benefit from a clearer central thesis) but is nonetheless a very timely and thought-provoking read, and also a useful complement to other books I've read recently including The Cult of the Amateur and The Assault on Reason.

Thanks to Jamie Lewis for the book recommendation

A Crowd of One : The Future of Individual Identity by John Henry Clippinger

iZimbra

 Check the full post for video and screen shots of the Zimbra client on iPhone

Few things have generated as much buzz as the iPhone. According to USA Today, up to 700,000 iPhones have been sold. Some of the people who purchased them were Zimbra Customers and Users. They've been asking us in our support portal, as well as in our forums, if/how were we going to support the iPhone. . .and so far, our story as been iSync or using our standard client on Safari - which works quite well.

However, today we're announcing that we've developed a mobile web client for the iPhone that is 100% standards compliant, and will be included with ZCS 5.0. We will be bundling it into our Network and Open Source editions as a standard feature, much like the Standard HTML client. It's built upon a JSP tag library that we've developed which allows Customers to easily change the Zimbra UI to fit their needs.

iZimbra

Criminals Google 'How To Open Safe' In Middle Of Burglary -- Crime -- InformationWeek

Another example of "organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful."

Even though they had the pass code needed to get into the company's main office and the combination to the safe, the two men still couldn't open it up. "It's more involved than a combination on a school locker," said Fox. "It's not rocket science, but it's more involved." Stymied as to what to do next, the men found a computer that had been left on in the office and simply Googled for information on how to break into the safe.

Definitely not rocket scientists in this case -- e.g., using WD-40 instead of spray paint on security cameras...

Criminals Google 'How To Open Safe' In Middle Of Burglary -- Crime -- InformationWeek

Video: This Is What The Web Looked Like In 1994 - Digital Life Blog - InformationWeek

 DEC 1994 Internet infomercial

[...] this three-minute promotional video from Digital Equipment Corp. sure takes me back. I was online news editor for InformationWeek around then, we produced a flat Web site much like the ones shown here.

Actually a bit depressing to watch the video -- in many respects it doesn't look like the industry has made a huge amount of progress since 1994, except perhaps for pervasive in situ advertising...

Video: This Is What The Web Looked Like In 1994 - Digital Life Blog - InformationWeek

Brian Jones: Open XML Formats : Open XML timeline

Useful counter-ODF-FUD reality check -- timeline starting in 1998 in the parallel developments of ODF and Open XML. 

I posted on this earlier in the year, but I thought it was worth repeating, as I've seen a number of threads lately that question why Microsoft originally created Open XML rather than going with ODF. As you'll see from the timeline below, both formats were actually developed in parallel, and had very different design goals.

Brian Jones: Open XML Formats : Open XML timeline

Google's Brin does not see Facebook up for sale | CNET News.com

Strange days indeed 

The attention paid to Facebook has even eclipsed MySpace. It was MySpace's own rapid growth that helped make Rupert Murdoch a Wall Street darling. Bought by News Corp. in 2005 for $580 million, it is now considered worth about $10 billion by some Wall Street analysts.

Asked if the rise of social networks has had a negative impact on Google, Brin said, "Social networks are creating lots and lots of content...and that's more for us to search."

Google's Brin does not see Facebook up for sale | CNET News.com

ChangeThis :: When You Absolutely, Positively Should NOT Use Email: A Civilized List

Interesting "manifesto" -- see the source below for a pdf download. 

For those of us email addicts who can’t quit cold turkey but are increasing stressed by the size of our inbox each morning, Shipley and Schwalbe offer advice for managing our input and output in this engaging manifesto.

Excerpt:

One of the biggest problems with email is that people use it reflexively: Get an email? Reply by email! Have a random thought while you are sitting next to your desktop or laptop or when your handheld is at hand? Fire off an email! Sure, there are good emails and bad emails. But there are also a lot of emails that never should have been emails in the first place: They should have been calls, letters, visits, or nothing. Everytime you choose a form of communication other than email, or choose not to communicate at all, there’s a bonus: Simply the best way to cut down on email is to send fewer emails.

And yet, the real benefit of sending fewer emails is far greater than a blessedly more sparsely populated inbox. Consider this: Too many of us send emails that seem like a good idea at the time but tear at the fabric of our relationships and create damage that can last forever. And too many of us send email that is just plain inconsiderate—email that makes our world a slightly less pleasant place to work and live. There is a huge social and karmic dimension to indiscriminate and inappropriate emailing. And there is a huge karmic benefit to knowing when to stop.

I'm not certain, but I think the net of their advice (don't email when you're right, wrong, mad, drunk, etc.) is to not use email at all... :)

ChangeThis :: When You Absolutely, Positively Should NOT Use Email: A Civilized List

Windows Live OneCare Team Blog: Download the OneCare Beta (v2.0) and let us know what you think!

See the full post for more details, e.g., on an option to use Windows Live Folders for photo backup. 

After months of listening to customer feedback on Windows Live OneCare (v1.5) and designing and testing new features and services for the product, we’re proud to unveil the first public beta release of the next version, Windows Live OneCare (2.0).  Windows Live OneCare 2.0 automatically manages an even greater number of security and maintenance tasks so users can spend more time using their PCs and less time maintaining them.  Sign up at http://get.live.com/betas/onecare_betas!

In the new version, our aim was to help consumers better manage their home environment.   Our research has shown that most homes now have approximately 2.5 computers.  This means that in addition to securing and maintaining multiple PCs, consumers now need to do the extra work associated with connecting devices and securing networks.  To ease this burden, we added to OneCare features such as multi-PC and home network management as well as printer sharing to help address the modern home environment. 

Windows Live OneCare Team Blog: Download the OneCare Beta (v2.0) and let us know what you think!

Oracle Unveils Oracle(r) Database 11g

The official announcement of 11g; see the press release for more details 

Oracle today introduced Oracle(r) Database 11g, the latest release of the world's most popular database. With more than 400 features, 15 million test hours, and 36,000 person-months of development, Oracle Database 11g is the most innovative and highest quality software product Oracle have ever announced.

"Oracle Database 11g, built on 30 years of design experience, delivers the next generation of enterprise information management," said Andy Mendelsohn, senior vice president of Database Server Technologies, Oracle. "More than ever, our customers are facing the challenges of, rapid data growth, increased data integration, and data connectivity IT cost pressures. Oracle Database 10g pioneered grid computing, and more than half of Oracle customers have moved to that release. Oracle Database 11g delivers the key features our customers have asked for to accelerate broad adoption and growth of Oracle grids; representing real innovation, that addresses real challenges, as told to us by real customers."

Of particular interest for my current research agenda:

Oracle Database 11g includes significant performance enhancements to XML DB, a feature of Oracle database that enables customers to natively store, and manipulate XML data. Support for binary XML has been added offering customers a choice of XML storage options to match their specific application and performance requirements. XML DB also enables manipulation of XML data using industry standard interfaces with support for XQuery, Java Specification Requests (JSR)-170 and SQL/XML standards.

Oracle quotes Gartner putting them at 47.1% market share in Gartner's 2006 worldwide DBMS market share analysis, up a bit from 2005, and holding more market share (in terms of total DBMS software revenues) than its two closest competitors (IBM and Microsoft) combined.

Oracle Unveils Oracle(r) Database 11g

Microsoft’s "Games for Windows" Takes Center Stage at E3 2007: Q&A: Kevin Unangst, global director of Games for Windows, discusses Microsoft’s lineup [...]

 See the full press release for more details, e.g., an Xbox Live-like service for PC gamers

Last night at the company's E3 press briefing, Microsoft unveiled a lineup of nearly 30 new titles that will carry the Games for Windows brand, as well as strong support for the Games for Windows – LIVE online service from three top game publishers: Eidos, THQ and SEGA, which have committed to developing Games for Windows – LIVE enabled titles. Additionally, Microsoft Game Studios unveiled plans to bring “Gears of War” and the hit “Viva Piñata” to Windows XP and Windows Vista gamers this year as Games for Windows branded titles with LIVE support.

Microsoft’s "Games for Windows" Takes Center Stage at E3 2007: Q&A: Kevin Unangst, global director of Games for Windows, discusses Microsoft’s lineup of nearly 30 new titles, the Games for Windows - LIVE online service, and what the initiative means for consumers and for Microsoft.

Nielsen Alters Web Ratings, Favoring AOL Over Google - washingtonpost.com

Interesting and certain to be controversial... 

This new measure will report the total time spent for all visitors and provide a better understanding of users' total engagement of Web pages and volume of traffic, Nielsen said.

Use of programs such as instant messaging and e-mail propelled AOL, Yahoo and MSN/Windows Live to the top three rankings.

Nielsen Alters Web Ratings, Favoring AOL Over Google - washingtonpost.com

Oracle Of Gloom - Forbes.com

Interesting reality check from Forbes

Call it the most important software release no one will notice. Oracle is set to launch a new version of its database software, dubbed 11g, Wednesday.

[...]

The problem, of course, is that after a surge in demand in the 1980s and another in the late 1990s, the market for big-time database software is saturated. More troubling still, a host of free and cheap alternatives, such as MySQL, have stalled demand for pricey database software among less demanding customers.

I disagree -- I think the industry is poised for a renaissance in data and content modeling/management, and that there will be a major resurgence in DBMS, especially for IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle, as the scope of DBMS expands to include full-fidelity XML content management (with XQuery, in particular).

It won't happen overnight, as DBMS upgrade cycles are in some respects even more protracted than OS upgrades, but the opportunity to have fewer moving parts (i.e., to consolidate content/document/web content management systems), to have content benefit from capabilities traditionally associated with DBMS (locking and isolation levels, robust transaction management...), and to use XQuery, a content/data manipulation language that has significant potential to optimize the best of both worlds, will be very compelling for most enterprises.

Oracle Of Gloom - Forbes.com

blog.pmarca.com: Eleven lessons learned about blogging, so far

Marc Andreessen shares initial impressions from blogging -- lesson #3: 

I should have started doing this years and years ago.

Anyone who says blogs are not widely read is incorrect. I have been absolutely amazed at the range and diversity of the people who have been reading this blog, and so quickly.

It is crystal clear to me now that at least in industries where lots of people are online, blogging is the single best way to communicate and interact.

He also notes, later in the post:

"[...] if you want to get technical about it, I started my first blog in 1993"

Read the full post for an interesting snapshot of the state of the blogosphere.

blog.pmarca.com: Eleven lessons learned about blogging, so far

» Ballmer: Caught between a software rock and a services hard place | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Timely snapshot

Ballmer explained that Microsoft already is rearchitecting its core platform to be more of a Web-centric one. As he told the Partner Conference audience, “the programming model stays .Net and Windows.” But beyond that, Microsoft is is redoing its products and business models from scratch.

In a nutshell, Microsoft is taking the datacenter infrastructure it has been building to support Windows Live, Office Live, Xbox Live and other Live services, and is making it the crux of the company’s future products, all across the board.

Mary Jo Foley concludes with a question about cannibalization potential. No doubt some Office product managers are worried about that, but I think the "Software + Services" shift for Microsoft is likely to be a net gain scenario -- and perhaps even more profitable than its traditional mostly-shrink-wrapped/on-premises software business.

Consider: let's say an organization pays X to have Windows Server + Exchange + SharePoint + LCS/OCS on-prem, where X includes hardware, software licensing (server and client access licenses), and assorted costs for admin, support, etc. If the organization can get the same capabilities directly as SaaS from Microsoft, let's speculate for .9X, there's a very good chance that Microsoft's revenue and profit will go up, as the hardware and admin/support costs are now value-shifted to Microsoft, which can avail itself of economies-of-scale opportunities that individual organizations can't reach.

» Ballmer: Caught between a software rock and a services hard place All about Microsoft ZDNet.com

» Microsoft recruits vendors to integrate Office into business apps | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Among other news from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Denver this week 

Microsoft recently launched a new SharePoint resources mash-up site designed to encourage more partners to make use of SharePoint’s enterprise search and other capabilities. Microsoft is encouraging developers to think about doing more SharePoint-inclusive composite applications, like new business dashboards and mash-ups “where a new business capability is created by assembling multiple existing software assets: web services, APIs, web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom), gadgets, and screen scraping (and) where content is sourced from APIs, Web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom), gadgets, web services and screen scraping.”

» Microsoft recruits vendors to integrate Office into business apps | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Ballmer hints at Microsoft's future in the 'cloud' | CNET News.com

Hints about Microsoft's next Software + Services steps 

Ballmer also said that Microsoft is moving closer to offering a service based on its effort with Energizer, where Microsoft has been essentially managing the battery maker's desktop IT support for more than two years. Microsoft won't offer that full outsourcing ability, but will have a service around communications and collaboration that it will start selling "much more vigorously and transparently."

Ballmer hints at Microsoft's future in the 'cloud' | CNET News.com

Microsoft Plays Up Family Appeal of Xbox - New York Times

More Xbox news from E3 

Part of Microsoft’s strategy has been to position the Xbox 360 as a living room media hub and an essential element of that plan has been allowing users to download films and television shows to the machine. Adding Disney to the roster of companies distributing movies and video programming over the Xbox Live service should help broaden the appeal of the game system to families with children.

[...]

The company also said it was developing a keyboard for the Xbox 360 controller. Currently, Xbox Live users send text messages using an on-screen keyboard. The company recently announced plans to integrate the popular Windows Live Messenger service with Xbox Live.

But even as Microsoft hopes to appeal to new sorts of users, the company wants to avoid neglecting the serious player. So Microsoft also said that the next version of the popular Resident Evil series from Capcom of Japan would also be designed to run on the Xbox 360.

Microsoft Plays Up Family Appeal of Xbox - New York Times

The Walt Disney Studios to Offer Movie Rentals On Demand Through Xbox LIVE Starting Now

 Interesting, but I'd like to see Netflix streaming content available via my Xbox 360.

Beginning today, consumers of all ages will have access to a growing catalog of new and classic movies from The Walt Disney Studios including titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films, on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the leading high-definition-video download service. Xbox 360 owners will be able to rent popular Disney films on demand as they become available, such as “Bridge to Terabithia,” Miramax Film’s “The Queen” and Touchstone Pictures’ “Déjà Vu.”

The Walt Disney Studios to Offer Movie Rentals On Demand Through Xbox LIVE Starting Now: New partnership brings growing catalogue of current blockbuster and classic library titles to Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Microsoft to partners: It's time to change | CNET News.com

More Microsoft morphing... 

While change is hard, Turner said Microsoft's partners need to be ready to offer customers the choice of running software on their own servers or subscribing to hosted services. "It doesn't mean locally based software is going away, but customers want the choice."

Example: Office Live now has > 400K businesses signed up...

Later in the article:

Turner also announced that Microsoft's new server operating system, Windows Server 2008, won't have its formal launch until next year. Microsoft plans to launch that product, as well as the next version of its SQL Server database and Visual Studio developer tools at an event on February 27 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft to partners: It's time to change | CNET News.com

Business & Technology | Verizon's copper cutoff traps customers, hampers rivals | Seattle Times Newspaper

Hmmm... 

Verizon's installer — without warning, Powderly says — removed the copper wires that used to carry his phone calls. For most of the world, copper still links homes and businesses, as it has for a century.

Verizon's new high-bandwidth fiber lines are capable of carrying not only calls but also Internet data and television with room to grow. But once the copper is pulled, it's hard to switch back to the traditional phone system or less expensive digital subscriber line service.

And Verizon isn't required, in most instances, to lease fiber to rival phone companies, as it is with the copper infrastructure.

Business & Technology | Verizon's copper cutoff traps customers, hampers rivals | Seattle Times Newspaper

Intel Buys Stake in EMC’s VMware - New York Times

Let's see -- EMC pays $625M to acquire VMWare (deal completed in early 2004), and now Intel is paying ~$219M for a small minority share; not bad EMC ROI... 

No. 1 chipmaker Intel will pay $23 a share for 9.5 million Class A common shares in VMware, giving it 2.5 percent of all outstanding common stock

VMware also said in a regulatory filing shedding new information on plans for its upcoming IPO that it expects to sell up to 37.95 million shares to the public for an estimated price of between $23 and $25 per share.

After the sale to Intel, the chipmaker will control less than 1 percent of voting shares because the stock is divided into two classes in which Class B shares have greater voting power, the companies said.

The WSJ this morning included an article noting "An Intel executive will become a director of VMware, a Palo Alto, Calif., company that expects to raise $741.4 million from the offering."

Intel Buys Stake in EMC’s VMware - New York Times

Live Earth Concerts on MSN.com Are the Most Watched Entertainment Event in Online History: MSN delivers 30 million streams to date; more than 8 million people worldwide enjoyed live online coverage.

Impressive stats 

A history-making audience of viewers from around the world united at http://www.liveearth.msn.com to experience the excitement of the Live Earth concerts and confront the threat of global warming. Since the start of the first Live Earth concert in Australia, MSN^® has delivered more than 30 million live and on-demand video streams of the concerts. During the exclusive live coverage on MSN, more than 8 million people watched over 15 million streams, with peak simultaneous viewership of 237,000 people making it the most watched entertainment event in online history.

Live Earth Concerts on MSN.com Are the Most Watched Entertainment Event in Online History: MSN delivers 30 million streams to date; more than 8 million people worldwide enjoyed live online coverage.

Cisco, EMC, Microsoft Align to Offer Comprehensive Technology Architecture for Helping Protect and Share Sensitive Government Information: SISA Alliance unites industry leaders to produce a breakthrough in sensitive information exchange for government and

Maybe Google should also snap up the three vendors listed in the second paragraph below :)... 

Cisco®, EMC® Corp. and Microsoft Corp. today announced the formation of an alliance of technology vendors that will offer one of the most comprehensive, security-enhanced, commercial, multivendor, end-to-end information-sharing technology architectures for helping protect and share sensitive government information. The Secure Information Sharing Architecture (SISA) combines industry-leading applications, information infrastructure, and networking technologies to help protect customers’ existing information technology (IT) investments. This architecture offers a consistent approach for breaking down the barriers across traditional organizational and jurisdictional IT infrastructure boundaries, so sensitive human resources, financial and other information that is critical to mission accomplishment can have increased protection and be shared among authorized communities more effectively than if they were not to deploy SISA.

[...]

The SISA Alliance also includes technology vendors that bring innovative approaches to fulfill specific requirements. Liquid Machines in Waltham, Mass., provides solutions that enhance the SISA content-protection capabilities by extending the Microsoft^® Digital Rights Management technology. Swan Island Networks, Inc. in Portland, Ore., designs and operates sensitive information-sharing systems. Titus Labs in Ottawa, Canada, offers information labeling and classification solutions that determine how content protection should be applied. As customers’ needs evolve, the alliance will incorporate additional technology vendors to bring innovative approaches to fulfill other specific requirements.

Cisco, EMC, Microsoft Align to Offer Comprehensive Technology Architecture for Helping Protect and Share Sensitive Government Information: SISA Alliance unites industry leaders to produce a breakthrough in sensitive information exchange for government and private sector.

» Podcast: Google & Postini execs discuss specifics of Google’s Postini acquistion | Berlind’s Testbed | ZDNet.com

A useful summary -- note that Google has also already acquired at least two companies to advance its future presentation-oriented tools for Google Apps, incidentally

But Google Apps has traditionally lacked some of the industrial strength it really needs to convince organizations they should be considering Google Apps instead of locally hosted alternatives. In addition to lacking a PowerPoint-like tool and having applications that died when an Internet connection wasn’t present, Google had some weaknesses on the security and compliance front. Through the partitioned version of GMail that’s offered as a part of the Google Apps brand, e-mails could not be secured through encryption. Nor is there an easy way to encrypt Google Apps-based documents (eg: word processing, spreadsheets) at rest (in other words, while they’re sitting on Google’s servers, even if it’s in a private partitioned area).

From a compliance perspective, Google offered no direct method for archiving e-mail in a way that it could be easily “discovered” later, perhaps due to an investigation by a Federal agency. While these two issues were not of primary concern to many small businesses, they’re clearly issues that are of import to big businesses and public corporations. The same sorts of companies that couldn’t possibly consider Google Apps for e-mail without an easy migration path off of Exchange Server or Lotus Notes.

» Podcast: Google & Postini execs discuss specifics of Google’s Postini acquistion | Berlind’s Testbed | ZDNet.com

WSJ.com: TiVo Users Can Access Amazon Unbox Videos From Their TVs

 Includes a security code option to prevent the "babysitter scenario" ("where you come home to find a bunch of movies on your TiVo that you didn't order")

The two companies joined together in March to deliver Amazon's Unbox download service to TiVo machines, but the feature required customers to place their orders on a computer through Amazon's Web site.

Now, PC intervention won't be needed. The new "Buy on TV" feature allows TiVo users to search Amazon's video catalog and rent or purchase titles using their TiVo's remote control.

Article - WSJ.com

Google Buys a Manager of E-Mail - New York Times

It'll be interesting to see if Microsoft "software + services" advances, e.g., SaaS as it has done with Energizer (including hosted Exchange + SharePoint + LCS), are broadly factored into the analysis

Microsoft played down the notion that Google’s acquisition of Postini would create more competition for Exchange and other Microsoft applications.

“What we are hearing from our customers is that they are looking for an experienced solutions provider,” said Roger Murff, director of marketing for unified communications services at Microsoft. The deal is “further validation that we are doing the right thing and have been doing the right thing for several years,” Mr. Murff said.

Google Buys a Manager of E-Mail - New York Times

With Postini deal, Google sharpens aim at Microsoft - The Boston Globe

If that's the primary focus, they should acquire Zimbra 

Taking further aim at one of Microsoft's core franchises, Google said yesterday that it would acquire the e-mail security and management company Postini for $625 million. The deal underscores Google's ambitions to become a serious player in the business of selling software to companies and organizations, in competition with Microsoft and others.

With Postini deal, Google sharpens aim at Microsoft - The Boston Globe

Google Goes Corporate - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

It'll be interesting to see if Postini takes a momentum hit because of its new parent 

So Google’s entry into the corporate software business promises to exponentially disrupt an industry that was already in turmoil, because of the prospect of a shift from selling software to software as a service. Now Google may well offer software free or at very low cost because it can insert advertising. Even if some companies would pay to offer their employees ad-free tools, Google’s global network of services may be able to help it underbid smaller rivals.

As an aside, if Google does succeed in convincing companies to accept advertising on their internal systems, it may become the replacement for trade journalism. Instead of advertising your widget maker in Widgets Today, you could simply buy an ad on Google that will appear every time someone reads an e-mail or writes a presentation about making widgets.

Google Goes Corporate - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Google to buy e-mail security company for $625 million | CNET News.com

Wow -- the security services vendor dance floor is rapidly emptying... 

Postini supplies on-demand communications security and compliance products to more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide. Google said the deal could enable it provide organizations with more hosted services similar to its Google Apps package, which includes its e-mail service Gmail, Calendar, and Talk, its messaging service.

Google to buy e-mail security company for $625 million | CNET News.com

The Unfinished iPhone: iPhone vs. Windows Mobile > Summary

Interesting multi-part comparison; start here for the multi-page overview 

The iPhone is undeniably a thing of beauty. It represents a shift in user interaction, much like the recent "Surface" table Microsoft released. However, once you get past the exterior and superficial aspect of the iPhone, it falls short of what I expect from a $500 gadget — not to mention the $2000 fees a subscriber will rack up during their two year service plan. In fact, the iPhone is really nothing more than a tease — it’s full of potential, but thanks to DRM and a very restrictive environment it is a disappointment.

The Unfinished iPhone: iPhone vs. Windows Mobile > Summary

Collaborative Thinking: JotSpot To Surface & Other Google Musings

JotSpot sightings -- see this post from my Burton Group colleague Mike Gotta for more details. 

Google is adding JotSpot, which the company acquired in October 2006, to the Google Apps, according to Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager of Google Enterprise. Google Apps currently includes mail, calendar, instant messaging, Web page creation, documents and spreadsheets.

JotSpot will bring wikis and easy to build team Web sites to the suite. The company has been in the process of moving JotSpot to the Google infrastructure to gain reliability and scale efficiencies, Girouard said, but he didn’t disclose when JotSpot would become available.

Collaborative Thinking: JotSpot To Surface & Other Google Musings

Waiting for iPhone 2.0 | Voices | Dan Gillmor | AllThingsD

Dan Gillmor's take on iPhone 1.0 hype and reality 

Apple’s new iPhone may well be a revolutionary product in some ways. But after testing one of the devices that went on sale late last month, I’m steering clear, at least for now, of the most shamelessly overhyped consumer product since Windows 95.

For all its admirable features–the large screen, gorgeous industrial design and advanced user interface in particular–the iPhone feels like a beta product. It’s still early in development and suffers from deal-breaker drawbacks.

Waiting for iPhone 2.0 | Voices | Dan Gillmor | AllThingsD

Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Prices as Many Xboxes Fail - New York Times

Perhaps an opportunity for Sony ... to gain some share and lose a lot more money on PS3 sales. 

Analysts said that Microsoft’s huge task of repairing Xbox 360s and the brand’s reputation would allow Sony a chance to gain customers. Given the amount of money that Microsoft is setting aside for repairs, as many as a third to one-half of all Xbox 360s may need to be fixed. Microsoft has declined to specify the extent of the problem.

Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Prices as Many Xboxes Fail - New York Times

Technorati's Troubles - Forbes.com

Timely reality check 

Blog search-engine startup Technorati's own technorati, including its chief technologist and vice president of engineering, are leaving. With these heavy-hitters will go some of the site's geek credibility, while Google siphons away some of its traffic. It's all part of the Silicon Valley life cycle.

Technorati's Troubles - Forbes.com

Google on 'Sicko' criticism--'We blew it' | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Timely corporate blog reality check; see the link below for more details 

Last weekend a corporate Google blog raised a stink by blasting Michael Moore's new documentary, Sicko, and offering to help the health care industry defend itself with Google ads.

The blog posting generated much justified criticism in the blogosphere, and within a few days the blog writer wrote another blog entry clarifying that the opinion was hers alone and not the company's.

Google on 'Sicko' criticism--'We blew it' | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Microsoft Expanding Canadian Operations in Greater Vancouver Area: New software development center to be opened in fall 2007.

One way around the immigration visa issue... 

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it intends to expand its presence in Canada by opening a new software development center in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia, area. The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will open in the fall of 2007 and will be home to software developers from around the world.

“Microsoft is a global company, and our greatest asset is smart, talented, highly skilled people,” said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. “Our goal as a company is to attract the next generation of leading software developers from all parts of the world, and this center will be a beacon for some of that talent.”

The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will operate as one of a handful of development centers outside the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters; the others are located in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark and Israel.

In addition, the company houses research and development centers in the United Kingdom, India, China and the Silicon Valley. The Microsoft Canada Development Centre builds on recently announced expansions to Boston two weeks ago and Bellevue, Wash., two months ago. The Vancouver area is a global gateway with a diverse population, is close to Microsoft’s corporate offices in Redmond and allows the company to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.

Microsoft Expanding Canadian Operations in Greater Vancouver Area: New software development center to be opened in fall 2007.

IPhone Futures Prove to Be a Bad Investment - New York Times

Related to the Cringely article referenced in an earlier post this morning 

Across the nation, people looking to make a quick and easy profit bought one, two or as many phones as they could by recruiting friends to stand in line with them. Many of them were the first to get in line, camping overnight outside the stores. But now they are finding that the iPhone is much more like a Harry Potter book than a hard-to-find Wii video game machine: a great thing to be one of the first to own, but not high in resale value because supply is not constrained.

IPhone Futures Prove to Be a Bad Investment - New York Times

Microsoft to Spend $1.15 Billion for Xbox Repairs - New York Times

Ouch... 

Company officials said that Microsoft had sold 11.6 million Xbox 360 units by the end of June, shy of the 12 million units the company had predicted. The Xbox 360, which first went of sale in November 2005, is currently the best-selling game machine in the United States, according to NPD, a market research firm.

The size of the anticipated repair bill suggests that a third to as many as half of the machines are flawed.

Microsoft to Spend $1.15 Billion for Xbox Repairs - New York Times

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Faster iPhone faster! Kill!! Kill!! | PBS

Useful analysis/speculation; see the full post for more, e.g., on how Apple successfully introduces disruptive technologies. 

It is my understanding that Apple and AT&T are planning a fall rollout for full 3G iPhone service, with technical trials already underway in certain AT&T markets. AT&T's (formerly Cingular's) 3G uses a technology called HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), which is a combination of GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution). It provides average mobile data download connections between 400 kilobits per second (kbps) and 700 kbps. Not as fast as any of us would like, of course, but the new service will be 3-5 times faster than the current EDGE network alone, making your iPhone suddenly 3-5 times faster than it was before, right?

I think so. The question here is whether 3G is already built into the iPhones shipping now or whether it will require a new model? Given that it is coming so soon after the iPhone introduction, I can't believe that even Steve would make us buy new phones. It is very likely that a firmware upgrade will awaken the 3G within all you iPhone owners.

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Faster iPhone faster! Kill!! Kill!! | PBS

Amazon.com: The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture: Books: Andrew Keen

Recommended reading -- click here to purchase via Amazon.com. 

The book is a timely reality check on the "Web 2.0" trends, along with related phenomena such as MySpace and YouTube.  Especially recommended for parents of teenagers.  I don't agree with every assertion in the book, but I consider it a thought-provoking, important, and well-written survey of some timely and troubling new realities.

 For more context:

NYT review (which led me to purchase the book...)

Lawrence Lessig review (which I found after searching for the title in Google) -- rather twilight zone-ish but interesting

Indeed, the range and severity of some of the reviews I found from my Google search tend to reinforce my sense that Keen is right about many things.

Amazon.com: The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture: Books: Andrew Keen

At I.B.M., a Smarter Way to Outsource - New York Times

Strange days indeed 

In the field of technology services, Mr. Levy said, the essential skill is “often a lot more about business knowledge than it is about software technology — and it’s a lot harder to ship that kind of work overseas.”

The offshore specialists in India are learning that lesson. As they increasingly compete for higher-end work, the Indian companies are hiring thousands of workers this year in the United States, adding an odd twist to the offshoring trend. Tata alone plans to recruit 1,000 workers in America, said Surya Kant, president of the company’s American unit, for “the near-shore work that requires regular contact with clients in person.”

At I.B.M., a Smarter Way to Outsource - New York Times

Rob Pegoraro - Apple's iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple - washingtonpost.com

This one warrants a Fake Steve Jobs entry... 

The iPhone doesn't look, sound or feel like other cellphones. With its smooth, almost button-free contours, it could be the product of an advanced, alien civilization.

Rob Pegoraro - Apple's iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple - washingtonpost.com

Database admin steals 2.3M consumer records at Fidelity National subsidiary

Yikes 

Call it the case of hiring a fox to guard the hen house. A senior database administrator at a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services Inc. who was responsible for defining and enforcing data access rights at the company instead took data belonging to about 2.3 million consumers and sold it to a data broker.

The broker in turn sold a subset of the data to other marketing companies. The stolen data included names, addresses, birth dates, bank account and credit card information, the company said in a statement released today.

Database admin steals 2.3M consumer records at Fidelity National subsidiary

iPhones For Everyone - Forbes.com

The invisible hand slaps eBay iPhone speculators... 

Except for one: A true shortage. Despite the media hype, long lines and huge sales, the shimmering handhelds remain available for sale in some Apple and AT&T stores and at both companies' Web sites.

As of Monday evening, there were still more than 5,000 unclaimed iPhones on eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ), mostly of the 8-gigabyte variety. On Sunday, a blogger at Newsvine analyzed data on the iPhone auctions and said that 52% of iPhones on the site didn't sell. The median profit for iPhone sellers was a measly $34.16.

iPhones For Everyone - Forbes.com

If Trust Is Lost, Google Will Crumble - Forbes.com

Timely Google reality check; read the full article for more on the trust issue. 

Google has used these financial flows to increase investment into new developments (e.g., its payment service, Google Checkout) and has recently increased its workforce by more than 10%, to slightly above 12,000. However, despite these developments, Google remains dependent on revenue from online text advertising (AdSense), which makes up 99% of the company's income. Google's rise owes much to its engineering prowess (the capacity of its PageRank algorithm to deliver the pages users want), but also the "two kids in a garage" myth: two Stanford students turning a small start-up into a multibillion-dollar business.

If Trust Is Lost, Google Will Crumble - Forbes.com

Oracle CEO a Bit Smugger Than Usual Today | Digital Daily | John Paczkowski | AllThingsD

Not a happy turn of events for SAP... 

Amazing how quickly a Justice Department investigation can change your perspective on an issue like this. Because today it appears that Kagermann would like nothing more than to settle this matter quickly and out of court. “I personally was surprised and disappointed that Oracle had not chosen to talk directly to me as soon as they felt something was wrong,” Kagermann said during a conference call. “We are strong competitors, but we are also parties within the industry, which has an established working practice of addressing matters of concern first between the companies rather than going directly to the court.”

Oracle CEO a Bit Smugger Than Usual Today | Digital Daily | John Paczkowski | AllThingsD

ACM Queue Interview: A Conversation with Michael Stonebraker and Margo Seltzer

 Another excellent ACM Queue interview (and another perplexing instance of the dead-tree version of the publication being updated weeks before the companion site).  This one, with DBMS legend Michael Stonebraker, is certain to be controversial.  Hopefully the somewhat funky acm.org URL for the interview will be accessible to people without ACM Digital Library accounts.

Over the past 30 years Michael Stonebraker has left an indelible mark on the database technology world. Stonebraker’s legacy began with Ingres, an early relational database initially developed in the 1970s at UC Berkeley, where he taught for 25 years. The Ingres technology lives on today in both the Ingres Corporation’s commercial products and the open source PostgreSQL software. A prolific entrepreneur, Stonebraker also started successful companies focused on the federated database and stream-processing markets. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998 and currently is adjunct professor of computer science at MIT.

Interviewing Stonebraker is Margo Seltzer, one of the founders of Sleepycat Software, makers of Berkeley DB, a popular embedded database engine now owned by Oracle. Seltzer now spends most of her time teaching and doing research at Harvard, where she is full professor of computer science. She was kind enough to lend us her time and travel down the Charles River to speak with Stonebraker, her former Ph.D. advisor, at MIT’s striking Stata Center.

Interview

Pattern Finder: Autonomy Buys ZANTAZ

My Burton Group colleague Guy Creese on a key content archiving/electronic discovery acquisition. 

Autonomy announced this morning that it was buying ZANTAZ, a company that offers SaaS-based archiving and e-Discovery services, for approximately $375 million in cash. This acquisition gives Autonomy a vertically-oriented (records management, electronic discovery) SaaS footprint, and highlights the growing importance of delivering content management services via SaaS. Search companies impacted by this move would include Autonomy's arch rival, FAST Search, as well as Recommind, a niche player that has targeted the legal market.

Pattern Finder: Autonomy Buys ZANTAZ

Straight dope from Fake Steve Jobs | Newsmakers | CNET News.com

Sign of the times... 

CNET News.com doesn't know who FSJ is. But we do know what he thinks. On Monday, just days after Jobs' huge public relations effort build around the launch of the iPhone went off mainly as planned, FSJ sat down for an open-ended instant-message conversation with News.com. The only ground rule? That there be no discussion about his true identity. But given that the real Steve Jobs hasn't talked to CNET in years, the interview was conducted as our first such opportunity in a very long time.

I'm still willing to bet Kara Swisher is at least part of the FSJ scene.

Straight dope from Fake Steve Jobs | Newsmakers | CNET News.com

» Microsoft submits XPS alternative to PDF to ECMA for standardization | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

More fun from the standards zone

Like it has done with its Open XML specification, Microsoft is pushing its XML Paper Specification (XPS) alternative to PDF through the standards bodies. And just like the case with Open XML, Microsoft’s competitors are lining up to diss Redmond’s standards moves.

Even Microsoft’s critics admit they don’t like the “heavy-handed” way that Adobe turned PDF into a standard. But they are equally unenamored of Microsoft’s plans to try to get “open standards” status for XPS. The most-often-stated objection to Microsoft’s XPS push: A standard shouldn’t be created, administered and maintained by a single vendor. Otherwise, it’s not really “a standard” in the pure sense of the term.

» Microsoft submits XPS alternative to PDF to ECMA for standardization All about Microsoft ZDNet.com

Google Purchases Web Phone Service - New York Times

 All your number are belong to Google...

Google said yesterday that it had bought GrandCentral Communications, acquiring a service that lets people use a single number for all their phones.

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

Google Purchases Web Phone Service - New York Times

NetSuite files for IPO | CNET News.com

More NetSuite details -- no WSJ subscription required for this article. 

NetSuite, an on-demand applications company controlled by Oracle's Larry Ellison, has filed for an auction-style initial public offering, according to a Monday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company, which hopes to raise $75 million based on its registration filing fee, is currently controlled by Tako Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lawrence Investments that is owned by Larry Ellison, Oracle founder and chief executive.

NetSuite files for IPO | CNET News.com

Apple iPhone Review by PC Magazine - Review by PC Magazine

So, the iPhone sorta sucks as a phone, but otherwise it's pretty cool...  See PC Mag's full review for more details. 

It's the best portable media player ever. It's possibly the most fun we've ever had with a handheld device. It browses the Web like a champ. Yet as a voice phone and a messaging device, it's a loser. The iPhone is full of contradictions.

Fun new interface for navigating multimedia. Huge screen looks amazing. Terrific Web browser. Syncs well with PCs and Macs. YouTube function is great. Functions flow seamlessly into each other. Built-in speaker for voice calling and music.

Poor business e-mail and PIM connectivity. Bad audio quality on phone calls. Tons of "GSM buzz" on nearby speakers. Virtual keyboard hard to type on. No phone functionality with iPod speaker docks. No FM radio.

Apple iPhone Review by PC Magazine - Review by PC Magazine

iPhone 2.0 - Forbes.com

Digital turnip twaddling -- coming soon

Right about now, Steve Jobs is probably seething. The reviews of Apple's iPhone are in, and they're great. But Apple's chief is known to be almost as thin-skinned as he is secretive. This diva reads his press clips, and you can bet he's already stirring up his minions as he prepares for his next performance: iPhone 2.0.

iPhone 2.0 - Forbes.com

iPhone Launch, Like Device, is Dazzling, Frustrating

Paul Thurrott's iPhone impressions.  He has a more detailed review here.

Disappointed users notwithstanding, the device itself lives up to much of the hype. The technology in the iPhone, from the cool touch screen with unique zooming functionality to the rotating screen, usually (but not always) works as advertised. The battery life is surprisingly good for a device of this kind, even when performing battery-unfriendly tasks such as Web browsing or video playback. Functionally, however, the iPhone is a mixed bag. The built-in applications are usually excellent, but a curious mixture, and you can't download any new applications. Some iPhone features seem half-baked or are missing altogether. For example, although the iPhone sports "visual voicemail" (which is excellent), it doesn't support basic cell phone features such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). The iPhone Web browser is the best ever on a mobile device, but because Apple chose its own Safari browser, it's incompatible or non-optimal with many Web sites, especially those specifically designed for smart phones. For every vaunted feature, it seems, there's a caveat.

All this said, the iPhone is as revolutionary as Apple has claimed. It's just a typical 1.0 product, with lots of room for improvement. I'll continue to track Apple's progress with this intriguing device and will review the iPhone later this month. In the meantime, you can check out my first impressions, along with various photo galleries, screenshots, and other iPhone articles, on the SuperSite for Windows.

iPhone Launch, Like Device, is Dazzling, Frustrating

NetSuite Stake May Prove Tricky for Ellison - WSJ.com

 An interesting juggling act for Larry Ellison

Mr. Ellison's personal wealth is well-documented. As of April, he held more than 20% of Oracle's shares, a stake valued at more $24 billion. Mr. Ellison owns about 74% of NetSuite's common stock -- with a 61.1% stake of his own and 6.5% stakes apiece in trusts for his children, David and Margaret, according to the filing. NetSuite didn't estimate the number of shares it will sell or the price expected in the offering, to be conducted through an auction.

[...]

His holdings could pose tricky corporate-governance issues. As chief executive and a director of Oracle, Mr. Ellison is a major decision maker there. At NetSuite, he wields control over most matters requiring shareholder approval -- including the election of directors, executive compensation plans and approval of significant transactions.

NetSuite Stake May Prove Tricky for Ellison - WSJ.com

State will keep Office after Microsoft makes change in software - The Boston Globe

Stimulus-response... 

If Massachusetts embraces Open XML, it'll be the latest in a string of victories for Microsoft in its bid to protect its Office business. After Massachusetts disclosed its policy shift, legislators in Florida, Texas, California, Oregon, and Connecticut filed bills that would have mandated the use of an open document format. But aggressive lobbying by Microsoft defeated them all.

Andrew Updegrove, a Boston lawyer who tracks the open document dispute, said that Microsoft's embrace of its Open XML provides more choices to consumers, because rival software companies can make compatible products. "If you look at it from the standpoint of Microsoft customers, it's a good thing," Updegrove said.

State will keep Office after Microsoft makes change in software - The Boston Globe

eBay - iphone, Phones w o Service Contracts, Phones w Service Contracts items on eBay.com

Hmm -- high offer price variability, but lots of 8 gig iPhones on eBay for less money than I expected...  Maybe Apple should start buying a few, to keep the hype rolling.

eBay - iphone, Phones w o Service Contracts, Phones w Service Contracts items on eBay.com

How the iPhone will change computing - Jun. 29, 2007

Typical reality distortion field instance: 

So are you worried about the extraordinary expectations for the phone, I asked Jobs? "Not really," he replied, "because it's actually even better than people expect!" That is an extravagant claim, but my reading of the early reviews from people like Walt Mossberg and David Pogue leads me to believe it isn't much overstated.

Meanwhile, also on the Fortune site: The iPhone is business media’s Paris Hilton

The news value of the product launch doesn’t merit all the coverage it is getting - but yet everytime The Browser writes about the iPhone we get tons of reader feedback. (Some of it comes from Apple (AAPL) enthusiasts who seem to pore over every sentence looking for hidden or overt anti-Apple bias.) So we feed the beast with more iPhone stories and blog posts.

And like Paris Hilton, the iPhone won’t go away. To paraphrase New York magazine’s  Undulating Curve of Shifting Expectations, there will be backlash to the iPhone and then backlash to the backlash.  (We’re well past the overhype stage, so expect the iPhone to be uncool in about 3 days, and so uncool-it’s-cool by mid July.)

How the iPhone will change computing - Jun. 29, 2007

Hype Meets Reality At iPhone's Debut - washingtonpost.com

 Sign of the times

Mic Wendt, 20, of Chevy Chase, was the first to arrive at AT&T's Friendship Heights store, showing up at midnight Thursday. He plopped a mattress on the sidewalk and brought enough junk food to sustain him and his four friends. When no one else showed up for several hours, they almost abandoned camp.

"But being the first to get one was all that mattered," he said, although he hopes to turn around and sell it online for a considerable profit. "Are you kidding? I'm not going to waste my money on a $600 phone."

Hype Meets Reality At iPhone's Debut - washingtonpost.com

washingtonpost.com: Opus

Opus gets an iPhone (try this link if the link below is stale) 

washingtonpost.com

A Web That Thinks Like You

BusinessWeek snapshot of Radar Networks -- run by Peter Drucker's grandson 

"Semantic Web" software from startup Radar Networks could help transform the Net

A Web That Thinks Like You

U.S. buyers snap up iPhones from coast to coast - CNN.com

Big lines near the Apple store in downtown San Francisco tonight, TV camera crew -- excellent market choreography... 

Even Steve Wozniak, the ex-partner of Jobs, showed up at a Silicon Valley, California, mall at 4 a.m. aboard his Segway scooter. He helped keep order in the line outside the Apple store.

The other customers awarded the honorary first spot in line to Wozniak, who planned to buy two iPhones on Friday even though he remains an Apple employee and will get a free one from the company next month. He said the device would redefine cell phone design and use.

U.S. buyers snap up iPhones from coast to coast - CNN.com

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . An AIR of Invisibility | PBS

Another insightful Cringely reality check  

Adobe is moving into developer tools in a big way to support its grab for mindshare in the interactive/rich web application space where much of the excitement lately seems to be. Some people think of this as Browser Wars 2.0, but I think it is more fundamental than that. Here are the players. Microsoft is putting massive resources behind Silverlight. Sun is trying to take Java to the next level with Java FX. Mozilla is trying to improve its position through AJAX, Canvas support, and better offline support. And Adobe is leaning hard on Flash, Adobe Integrated Runtime or AIR (formerly code-named Apollo), and Flex. My money is on Adobe simply because of those two invisible weapons, PDF and Flash.

[...]

If it sounds like I am more or less writing off Java despite Sun's recent announcement of Java FX to directly compete with AIR and Silverlight, well I am. Adobe is far more focused than Sun on this market segment and there are just as many Flash developers as Java developers.

Read the full article for more details and projections

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . An AIR of Invisibility | PBS

The Cult of the Amateur - Andrew Keen - Books - Review - New York Times

Timely book/reality check 

Mr. Keen argues that “what the Web 2.0 revolution is really delivering is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, shrill opinion rather than considered judgment.” In his view Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better. By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”

The Cult of the Amateur - Andrew Keen - Books - Review - New York Times