IT-Director.com | XML Takes over the User Interface

IT-Director.com | XML Takes over the User Interface: "XForms has created a great deal of interest in industries that have a large number of forms, with a larger number of users, across different languages and platforms. The biggest interest has been in e-government, finance and internal applications such as HR. But in reality all sectors and types of companies have a requirement for simplified forms processing, and faster more productive development. Now that XForms is a standard we can see it rapidly impacting forms processing but also impacting application development."

I agree with the title but not the XForms-specific conclusions...

Microsoft Announces Official Name and New ODM Partners For Portable Media Center Devices Previously Known as "Media2Go"

Microsoft Announces Official Name and New ODM Partners For Portable Media Center Devices Previously Known as "Media2Go": "Portable Media Center devices, expected to be available in the second half of 2004, will enable consumers to watch and listen to their digital media content wherever and whenever they want. The software will provide support for the leading Windows Media® 9 Series audio and video formats, as well as MP3. The high quality and smaller size of Windows Media Audio and Video files mean that consumers will be able to store lots of high-quality content on their Portable Media Center devices. Consumers will be able to conveniently sync Windows XP-based digital media content to the device to listen to thousands of hours of music on the go, watch digitally recorded television shows, home movies or digital videos, and store and view digital photo albums.
Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Centers is built on Windows CE .NET, the robust, real-time operating system designed to power the next generation of smart mobile and small-footprint devices."

Microsoft and Google: Partners or Rivals?

Microsoft and Google: Partners or Rivals? "According to company executives and others briefed on the discussions, Microsoft - desperate to capture a slice of the popular and ad-generating search business - approached Google within the last two months to discuss options, including the possibility of a takeover.
While the overture appears to have gained little traction - Google indicated that it preferred the initial offering route, the executives said - it demonstrates the enormous importance that Google represents as both a competitive threat to Microsoft and as Silicon Valley's latest hope for a new financial boom."

WSJ.com - Amazon's Text Search Feature Helps Boosts Sales of Some Books

WSJ.com - Amazon's Text Search Feature Helps Boosts Sales of Some Books "Amazon.com Inc. said a new program that allows customers to search the contents of some books has boosted sales growth by 9% for titles in the program above other titles that can't be searched.
The news from the Seattle-based Internet retailer suggests that concerns among some book publishers that the search service might hurt sales haven't materialized. Amazon last Thursday introduced the service, called Search Inside the Book, which gave its customers a way to scour complete copies of 120,000 books from 190 publishers, a major advance over the searches customers were previously limited to, such as searches by title and author name."

Microsoft fires worker over weblog

Microsoft fires worker over weblog: "Michael Hanscom began keeping an online journal, commonly known as a weblog, several years ago. He started his job as a contract worker in Microsoft's print shop last year. Last week, he mixed the two.
This week, he's looking for a new job, after becoming an unwilling case study in the fine line walked by corporate employees who write about work in their personal weblogs."

Apple patches Panther but not older OS | CNET News.com

Apple patches Panther but not older OS | CNET News.com: "Apple Computer's latest version of its Mac OS X operating system, Panther, patches security flaws that affect previous versions of the operating system, leaving security experts wondering if users will have to pay the $129 upgrade fee to be secure."

This would of course be a scandalous headline if it were MS instead of Apple doing the upgrade extortion.

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: MSN division revamped to reflect its new focus

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: MSN division revamped to reflect its new focus "Details of the reorganization are still being sorted out, but the division will be organized in two groups focusing on communication services and information services."
...
"Microsoft also announced it hired Paul Ryan from Overture Services, the company that provides online search advertising for MSN. Ryan was Overture's chief technology officer; now he's "general manager of MSN monetization."

Cart 54, Where Are You? The Tracking System Knows

Cart 54, Where Are You? The Tracking System Knows "A typical indoor positioning system, or I.P.S., tracks people wearing badges or carrying devices that transmit wireless signals to receivers in ceilings or on walls. The receivers, connected to a local network, send the data to servers that calculate location and make the information available in various ways."
...
"Among the other developers of location technology is Wheels of Zeus, a company run by an Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, that is working on portable hot spots that can be moved around to track people, pets and things. That system, which is expected to become available in 2004, can cover a range of one to two miles using radio frequency technology, the company says. Symbol Technologies and Cuesol have begun testing "shopping buddies'' mounted in shopping cart handles at three Stop & Shop stores in the Boston area, and mobile phone locators like mapAmobile in Britain enable users to pinpoint the location of a cellphone."

Microsoft's New WinFS Gets the PDC Buzz

Microsoft's New WinFS Gets the PDC Buzz "Chatter about the new WinFS storage system in the next version of Windows ("Longhorn") is boosting the developer buzz-meter at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference."

It rated a bit lower on the substantive-detail-meter, but it's still a very compelling vision.

Web Group Backs Microsoft in Patent Suit

Web Group Backs Microsoft in Patent Suit "In a long letter yesterday, Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium director, who created the basic software standards for the Web, said the patent office should begin a review of the patent "to prevent substantial economic and technical damage to the operation of the World Wide Web."
In his letter to James E. Rogan, director of the patent office, Mr. Berners-Lee repeatedly emphasized the wider public interest in a review of the patent. If the claims in the patent are upheld and enforced, Mr. Berners-Lee warned, "the cycle of innovation on the Web would be substantially retarded." Later, he wrote that the patent, if unchallenged, represented "a substantial setback for global interoperability and the success of the open Web."

ENT News | News: IBM Aims "Stinger" at PDC Buzz

ENT News | News: IBM Aims "Stinger" at PDC Buzz "As Microsoft floated some of its first real details on "Longhorn," "Yukon" and "Whidbey," IBM moved to pop Microsoft's buzz balloon with a code-named project of its own called "Stinger."
In an announcement Monday timed to coincide with the start of Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, IBM unveiled a preview of enhancements to its IBM DB2 software -- database technologies and development tools aimed at Microsoft's upcoming Yukon version of SQL Server and upcoming Whidbey version of Visual Studio."

Windows Server System Magazine- Tracking the Business Intelligence Market

Windows Server System Magazine- Tracking the Business Intelligence Market 'Learn how Microsoft's changes to its Business Intelligence (BI) platform have poised the company to dominate the BI market."

FYI article co-authored with Lynne Harvey Zawada

Windows Server System Magazine- The Future of Microsoft Collaboration

Windows Server System Magazine- The Future of Microsoft Collaboration: "If you've tracked Microsoft's collaboration technologies over the past several years, its strategy might seem less than complete or even inconsistent. Exchange 2000 included conferencing and instant messaging capabilities and seemed to set the server up as the collaboration tool. However, today, Exchange 2003 has returned to its roots as a messaging platform and new products are in development that provide expanding conferencing and IM services. That might leave you wondering how SharePoint fits into the picture. The strategy might appear to be in disarray, but a closer look will reveal a compelling plan emerging from the chaos."

FYI my perspective on Microsoft's collaboration strategy. Note: the Groove white paper referenced in the article will be posted in a week or two, and I'll post a reference here when it is; FTP posted the collaboration article earlier than I expected (it's in the Nov issue of "Windows Server System" -- formerly .NET Magazine).

Microsoft Details Next Wave of Software Innovation to Developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003

Microsoft Details Next Wave of Software Innovation to Developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003 "Gates discussed key catalysts in software development, pointing to a variety of trends driving the next wave, including Web services interoperability, proliferation of smart clients and software and hardware innovation. He highlighted key characteristics of the next wave: developers building connected systems using Web services that reflect the dynamic nature of the real world; software making oceans of digital information more meaningful and actionable; and new breakthrough user experiences, improving interactions between people, groups and organizations."

Interesting pattern in the press, not unlike the press after the Office/Exchange/Live Communication Server launch last week -- not a lot of detailed coverage in the mainstream business press. No doubt many reporters are still trying to understand what the Longhorn Visicalc demo was all about, and/or why MS executives were using Emacs and vi instead of VS.NET...

Two Companies at Odds Over the Internet's Future

Two Companies at Odds Over the Internet's Future "The Internet Act I was mainly about e-mail programs and downloading digital information to look at or listen to - Web pages, animations, video and music. Act II should bring all kinds of automated transactions among businesses and individuals. And those transactions will be able to include a hint of computer-aided intelligence."

Microsoft may preview 'next big breakthrough'

Microsoft may preview 'next big breakthrough' "During its Professional Developers Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center this week, the Redmond company will give new information about its plans for Longhorn, including an early technical preview that software developers will be able to take home to get a sense for how the system will work.

Some of the general elements of Longhorn have been made public, including plans for 3-D-style graphics, unprecedented security and an advanced file system designed to make it easier to find all types of files on a computer's hard drive. PC-enthusiast Web sites have posted apparent Longhorn screen shots purported to have leaked from inside the company, providing glimpses of the way it might look.
But outsiders who have been following the operating system's development closely anticipate new levels of detail -- and possibly some major surprises -- at the Professional Developers Conference this week."

I'm at the PDC this week -- I was relatively lucky, as my flight was only 2.5 hours late, due to an unscheduled detour to Palm Springs because of the firestorms; I know of many others who had much longer detours.

Longhorn PDC Build 4051 Leaked

Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better - Updated: Longhorn PDC Build 4051 Leaked "The moment nearly every Windows enthusiast has been waiting for has all but nearly arrived. Windows Code-Named Longhorn 4051 has leaked onto the internet. As Paul Thurrott correctly confirmed late last evening. The select few who have been able to get hold of the build are currently working to install it. No doubt we'll see it half way round the internet within 12 hours or so."

As Silicon Valley Reboots, the Geeks Take Charge

As Silicon Valley Reboots, the Geeks Take Charge "But this is no bubble redux. Instead, Silicon Valley, the entrepreneurial hub of the nation's high-tech economy, is rebooting, just as a computer does after it crashes. And this time, the geeks are the ones with the upper hand.
The valley is populated with people of various talents, but its essence begins with the software and hardware engineers. They create technology tools that then find investors and users in the marketplace. It is, first and foremost, a high-tech tool shop."

Let's not forget the press/analyst/public relations people who often craft and tell the stories...

Jesse Ezell Blog: Earnings Reports / Webcasts

Jesse Ezell Blog: Earnings Reports / Webcasts "Two approaches to solving the same webcast problem:
http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earn.mspx
http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/ir/macr/web_pres/earnings/q204/?promoid=pu1_homepage_macr_102203
It is pretty clear that Macromedia's solution (via Breeze) provides a far superior experience to the Microsoft approach. This space is actually pretty active. If you think Breeze is cool, you should check out these guys, who just released a standalone version of their product (something Macromedia has yet to come out with)."

Ed Brill: Domino Applications and the Lotus Workplace technical strategy whitepaper

Domino Applications and the Lotus Workplace technical strategy whitepaper "This paper will provide developers, CTOs and other IT decision-makers with information on the tools and technologies used to support Lotus Workplace. This includes information about the application server platforms available for use with Lotus Workplace; a section on application platform considerations to assist with selecting the appropriate platform for your application; information on how to leverage your investment in Domino; and a brief overview of the future of rapid application development."

Good stuff, and very timely -- thanks, Ed