Microsoft Silverlight Challenges Adobe AIR

Microsoft Silverlight 3 is catching up to the capabilities of Adobe Flash, Flex, and AIR in all the areas where Silverlight was behind. Silverlight 3 applications can run in or out of the browser, online or offline, with much improved audio, video, and 3-D graphics.
##CONTINUE##
Recently I've been hearing from Adobe on a regular basis about adoptions of the Adobe Flash Platform by large media organizations, such as Clear Channel Radio and MLB.com, for streaming media content to the Web both live and on demand. I've been hearing rather less from Microsoft about Silverlight adoptions.

I think that part of the reason is that Adobe leapfrogged Microsoft last winter in the area of media support, particularly H.264/Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) audio and full HD video playback. These and many other capabilities are included in Silverlight 3, which is currently in a beta that does not include a "go live" license, but will most likely be released in July.

Another area where Flash and Flex were ahead of Silverlight is Windows and Macintosh desktop operation. A number of desktop Flex/AIR applications have become popular, especially Twitter clients; examples include TweetDeck, Twhirl, DestroyTwitter, and Seesmic Desktop. (Let's ignore the memory leak issues they all have in common for the moment.)

Out of the browser

Silverlight 2 didn't have a viable way to run on a desktop; the best a developer could do along those lines was to build a desktop WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) application based loosely on a corresponding Silverlight RIA (rich Internet application). Silverlight 3 addresses those issues very nicely, with easy ways to install Silverlight applications on a desktop, update them in place, detect Internet connectivity state changes, and store information locally and securely.

What else was wrong with Silverlight 2? From a developer's point of view, no single tool covered all needs; Expression Blend 2 did graphical XAML design but couldn't edit code, and Visual Studio 2008 did code editing and XAML editing and preview, but couldn't do graphical XAML design. That will be fixed in Expression Blend 3 and Visual Studio 2010, both of which have solid betas. For designers, the Expression Blend 3 Preview already imports Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files, another lack in Blend 2, and will add "SketchFlow" prototyping and interactive behaviors in a future release.

In addition, Silverlight 2 lacked 3-D graphics, pixel shader effects, writing to bitmaps, animation effects, themes, decent data binding, and a reasonable assortment of controls. Those deficiencies are all fixed in Silverlight 3.

Rich and obscure

One problem area that Flash and Silverlight have had in common is SEO (search engine optimization). A search engine such as Google can only see the text on a Web page; RIA applications historically have not displayed usable text or allowed external links to states "deep" inside the animation, concentrating instead on their forte -- flashy graphics. Recently there's been some improvement in SEO for Flash and Flex, using external JavaScript objects such as SWFObject (for dynamic loading) and SWFAddress (for deep linking), at least for those who to take the trouble to revamp their Flash sites; Silverlight 3 addresses both SEO and deep linking internally.

Silverlight has long been strong on execution speed and language support. Both of those are getting better still in version 3.

I do not expect many Adobe shops to give up their Flash, Flex, and AIR for Silverlight 3. I do expect many Microsoft shops to do more RIAs with Silverlight now that it's more capable and to create lightweight browser/desktop Silverlight 3 applications where they might have fashioned heavier-weight Windows Forms or WPF client applications. Some mixed but Microsoft-oriented shops might phase out their Adobe work in favor of Silverlight on integration grounds, but some won't. Meanwhile, the next generation of streaming media adoptions are likely to be closely contested, now that the two technologies are near parity.

Of course, in a few months everything will change again. Stay tuned.

Microsoft Silverlight 3 beta

Pros Silverlight 3 applications can run in or out of the browser, online or offline. Much improved audio and HD video support. 3-D graphics and pixel shading effects. Many more controls, with enhanced data support. Expression Blend can import Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files.

Cons No go-live license for the beta; need to wait for release, probably in July.

Cost Free

Platforms Development: Windows XP SP2 or later with Visual Studio 2008 SP1 or Visual Web Developer Express 2008 SP1. Runtime: Windows XP SP2 or later, or Intel-based Mac OS X.

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BY Martin Heller, InfoWorld
Source：PCWorld

© 1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.

Does Microsoft's Bing have Google running scared?

Microsoft may have developed a contender that threatens Google's Web search dominance.
##CONTINUE##
In a story headlined "Fear grips Google," the New York Post reports that the launch of Microsoft's Bing search engine has so upset Google co-founder Sergey Brin that he has top engineers working on "urgent upgrades" to Google's service. Brin is said to be leading a team to determine how Microsoft's search algorithm differs from the closely guarded one Google employs. The tabloid also notes that it's rare for Google's co-founders to have such a hands-on involvement in the company's daily operations.

"New search engines have come and gone in the past 10 years, but Bing seems to be of particular interest to Sergey," an anonymous source described as an "insider" to the newspaper.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the level of Brin's involvement but did tell the newspaper that the company always has a team working on improving search.

Microsoft, which launched as Bing as its default search engine earlier this month, is reportedly spending $80 million to $100 million in an ad blitz to tout its latest search effort. Rival Google, meanwhile, spent just $25 million total on advertising last year, according to an AdAge report.

Bing's launch bumped Microsoft's search share up to 11.1 percent last week from 9.1 percent the prior week, according to numbers released by market analyst ComScore.

However, that initial increase didn't impress Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who was pretty tight-lipped earlier this week when queried about Bing's arrival.

"It's not the first entry for Microsoft," Schmidt said Tuesday in an interview with Fox Business Network. "They do this about once a year."

Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said Tuesday that the company planned to hold "a review tomorrow on it with the executive committee."

While Microsoft has a long way to go before it makes a dent in Google's business, Bing may end up being the only true alternative to Google if Yahoo decides not to compete in the search market over the next few years.

-----------------------------
BY Steven Musil
Source：cnet

Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.

©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Novell talk up collaboration success

Novell and Microsoft have signed up over 100 customers and successfully developed new products since signing a joint interoperability agreement in November 2006.
##CONTINUE##
The two gave a number of examples of new products developed between the two companies.

Novell today said it would ship a new plug-in tool for Microsoft’s management tools to enable users to manage Novell’s SUSE Linux from the same from the one console next week.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Management Pack for Microsoft System Centre Operations Manager, has been designed to extend monitoring capabilities within Operations Manager 2007 R2 across seven SUSE Linux Enterprise operating system (OS) services.

This latest tool follows on from the partners' first jointly developed product, launched last November, for optimising Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 running as a guest OS on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

The pair also said that their combined customer sign-up rate had doubled since they signed the 2006 agreement. In fact, the pair said they had sold more than $200 million in certificates for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server support and maintenance to more than 300 customers

“The relationship has substantially benefited Microsoft’s Linux integration story and has driven Linux revenue for Novell,” said analyst Jay Lyman of analyst firm, 451 Group.

“The development and work by the two companies to improve Linux and Windows interoperability addresses the reality of mixed enterprise environments for customers, who were largely the impetus for this collaboration and are now benefiting from the resulting technology and support.”

-----------------------------
BY Miya Knights
Source：vnunet.com

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503.

Microsoft Tops IBM And Oracle On R&D Spending -- Combined

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says his company will spend $9.5 billion on R&D this year. That's almost 50% more than IBM's $6.5 billion, and it's more than the combined R&D spending of IBM and either Oracle ($2.7 billion) or Google ($2.8 billion). And almost nine times as much as Apple's $1.1 billion. Is Microsoft deriving equivalent multiples in business value?
##CONTINUE##
Microsoft says the answer is yes, and extols its world-leading R&D budget in the "Shareholder Letter" in its 2008 Annual Report, which says the following in a section titled, "Transformation Through Innovation":

"At the heart of our success lies our commitment to innovation. No company in our industry invests more in research and development or has the same depth and breadth of talented researchers, scientists, and engineers working across the globe to create new technology breakthroughs. In 2008, we invested $8.2 billion in research and development, an increase of almost 15 percent compared with fiscal 2007."

But an investment manager who holds a long position in Microsoft says its R&D spending is out of control – he believes Microsoft needs to vigorously reassess its R&D philosophy, cut back on spending, and demand greater ROI from its R&D.

"Spending a lot on R&D would be a good thing for Microsoft if it was generating a large return from that investment. But that's not the case and it hasn't been the case for a long time," writes investment manager Eric Jackson on Seeking Alpha.

In a provocative investment-side analysis of the R&D situation at Microsoft – and remember, Jackson is writing as an investor with a strong and very direct financial interest in the company's share price – he poses some tough questions about R&D that would be relevant at any time but are particularly so during today's troubled economic times that are accelerating the evolution – and sometimes the collapse – of a range of business models.

Noting that Microsoft in the past 10 years has invested $62 billion in R&D, Jackson says, "It's hard to know exactly what Microsoft has delivered for its R&D investment; it doesn't break out the numbers according to its five business segments."

Jackson then exercises his right as an investment manager to do a little speculating to try to see inside the numbers: "However, the two smallest business segments -- Entertainment & Devices, which includes the Xbox, Zune, and Windows Mobile software groups, and Online Services, which includes Search, and the Microsoft MSN, Hotmail, and Messenger properties - likely have taken the lion's share of the investment. Combined, these two divisions have delivered $71 billion in revenue for Microsoft over those 10 years and $15 billion in losses."

And then Jackson, in what is otherwise an intelligently reasoned piece, gets way too caught up in his own speculative somersaults and comes up with this baseless doozie: "So, what Microsoft's $62 billion R&D investment has led to is a $15 billion loss for at least those two businesses in 10 years." Like I said, remember his one and only POV on R&D is ROI.

But a short time later Jackson has regained his intelligent grounding and offers a compelling analogy:

"R&D spending can lead to blockbuster returns. And Microsoft has a big advantage relative to its competitors in that it can invest enormous sums for future product development. But Microsoft, in being proud of the fact that it can spend almost $10 billion a year on R&D, is like a driller of oil and gas being proud of the fact that it can drill thousands of dry holes. It doesn't matter what you spend on R&D; it only matters what return you make from that investment for your investors. So far, Microsoft hasn't delivered on its promises."

Again, Ballmer and Microsoft would no doubt beg to differ, and here's another excerpt from that 2008 Annual Report about the impact its R&D has had on the company's products and processes:

"We launched Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. We released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and introduced advances in our search and online advertising technologies. We rolled out Surface—a groundbreaking new device that transforms a tabletop into a computing surface that enables people to interact with digital content using gestures, touch, and physical objects—in a number of retail and hotel locations. We unveiled new products and services for the healthcare industry. We announced important changes to our technology and business practices to increase the openness of our products and drive greater interoperability and choice for developers, partners, customers, and competitors."

A large portion of that Shareholder Letter is devoted to Microsoft's sprawling R&D operations and commitments, with the company saying it opened four research or development centers in 2008 while investing heavily in many new technologies.

So there's no question that Microsoft is making massive and even unprecedented investments in people, products, facilities, technologies, novel approaches, new collaborations, and other facets of R&D – no one could convincingly dispute that. But it would be revealing for the company to offer some tangible financial links between those staggering R&D investments and the financial payoff of customer acceptance in the marketplace.

As Jackson says in his closing comment, "The onus should be on the company's management to articulate why its status quo approach for running this function will lead to different results in the next 10 years. Otherwise, I can think of several better ways to spend the next $62 billion of cash flow."

-----------------------------
BY Bob Evans
Source：Informationweek

Copyright © 2009 United Business Media LLC, All rights reserved.

Microsoft may deliver prompts for rival browsers

It will now be up to PC makers to decide whether to install Internet Explorer or another browser on the computers they sell.
##CONTINUE##
Microsoft bowed to pressure from European regulators and announced it would release its Windows 7 operating system in Europe without its Internet Explorer web browser.

The US software giant said it still plans to release its next-generation operating system worldwide on October 22, but that customers in Europe will have to install web browsers of their choice.

"We're committed to making Windows 7 available in Europe at the same time that it launches in the rest of the world, but we also must comply with European competition law as we launch the product," Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner said.

"Given the pending legal proceeding, we've decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users."

It will now be up to PC makers to decide whether to install Internet Explorer8 or another browser on the computers they sell.

"We believe that this new approach, while not our first choice, is the best path forward given the ongoing legal case in Europe," Mr Heiner said.

In January, the European Commission said its preliminary view was that Microsoft had stifled competition in the browser market by packaging Internet Explorer and Windows together.

The antitrust investigation was prompted by a complaint from Opera, a rival browser, who was later joined in the action by Google. Internet Explorer is the most popular browser worldwide but its market share has been under attack by Mozilla's Firefox and others. Opera wanted Microsoft to offer users a choice of browsers automatically when they used their computers.

Microsoft has argued that the browser is an integral part of the user's experience and should be bundled together with the operating system. It said users were free top choose another browser if they wished.

Mr Heiner said Microsoft expects that stripping IE from Windows 7 will bolster its position that it is not bundling software in order to suffocate competition. But the Commission is likely to continue its investigations and may hit Microsoft with a fine, expected in some quarters to approach the record $1.49 billion fine recently levied on Intel.

"We will continue to discuss browser issues and other matters with the Commission," Mr Heiner said.

He added: "The E(uropean) versions of Windows 7 will include all the features and functionality of Windows 7 in the rest of the world, other than browsing with Internet Explorer. Computer manufacturers will be able to add any browser they want to their Windows 7 machines, including Internet Explorer, so European consumers who purchase new PCs will be able to access the internet without any problem. Consumers will also be able to add any Web browser to their PCs, to supplement or replace the browsers preinstalled by their computer manufacturer."

-----------------------------
BY Mike Harvey, technology correspondent, San Francisco
Source：TIMES ONLINE

Copyright 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd.

微软称上网本不再是威胁已变成机会

微软投资者关系部门总经理比尔·科夫德(Bill Koefoed)周三表示，上网本已经不再是微软的威胁。
##CONTINUE##
最初，大部分上网本都采用Linux系统，即使采用Windows，微软也只能从中获取一小部分利润。因此，上网本的风靡反倒影响了微软营收。

但科夫德周三表示，微软最初将上网本视为营收威胁，但现在却已经变成了机会。他说：“在过去的6-9个月中，Windows上网本市场份额逐渐提升。”

由于Windows Vista对硬件要求太高，因此导致第一代上网本都采用Linux系统。后来，微软允许上网本使用Windows XP系统，从而提高了市场份额。

英国调研机构Ovum今年3月公布的数据显示，尽管Linxu在上网本市场领先一步，但Windows已后来居上。Ovum分析师劳伦特·拉查尔(Laurent Lachal)说：“在Linux强势起步之后，Linux上网本的销售量已经被Windows上网本反超。”

对于今年10月即将上市的Windows 7，微软表示所有版本都支持上网本，但初级版和家庭基础版更适合。

-----------------------------
文章出处：赛迪网
作者：友亚

* Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard: Why 7 Is More Substantial

With Snow Leopard finally been given a release date and a price, the comparisons with Windows 7 are starting to pop up all over the place, especially focussing on the price aspect of things. While Apple's move to price Snow Leopard at 29 USD for Leopard owners is a very welcome one, the move doesn't mean that Microsoft is getting a price beating from Apple.
##CONTINUE##
No soup for you!
There are a few very important aspects to this whole pricing issue that many seem to overlook. The most important one is that the 29 USD will get you an upgrade copy. Not a full version. If Apple's past behaviour with its Up-to-Date program is anything to go by, this means that you will need Leopard installed before you can install your copy of Snow Leopard, and that if you want to perform a clean install, you'll need to install Leopard first, and Snow Leopard second.

In addition, Apple still hasn't made anything known about a possible full retail version of Snow Leopard, and its possible price tag. This is an issue for users for Mac OS X Tiger, since they will not be able to buy Snow Leopard for 29 USD; instead, Apple suggests Tiger users buy a box set which includes iWork and iLife, which comes in at 169 USD.

While this 169 gives you some good value for your money, this price is actually not lowered at all - previous box sets, with Leopard and Tiger as the operating system, also went for 169 USD. This means that Tiger users will not benefit at all from the 29 USD price tag for Leopard. On top of that, what if you don't want or need newer versions of iLife and iWork? What if you already have them? What if you don't care about them at all? Apple is punishing Tiger users for not having upgraded to Leopard.

On the Windows 7 side, things look much, much brighter. Windows XP users are also eligible for the Windows 7 upgrade sets, so that people who bought their operating system in 2001 (!) are still eligible for the upgrade; that means 8 years of Windows purchases covered, versus only 2 (!) years of Mac OS X purchases covered.

Then there's the issue of hardware cut-off points. Both Snow Leopard and Windows 7 went on a diet compared to their predecessors, and will see performance improvements on the same hardware. However, Windows 7 has a major advantage in that it can run on hardware that's even as old as 7 years - my Pentium 4 2.8Ghz with 2GB of RAM from 2002 does its job as a Windows 7 media centre outstandingly, inlcudig instant sleep/hibernate/wake cycles, full HD playback, and all the bells and whistles.

Snow Leopard, on the other hand, will only run on Intel Macs, meaning that high-end machines still sold in August 2006 (PowerMac G5), with pretty hefty price tags, are now left in the cold. In other words, it is much more likely that Windows users will be able to run Windows 7 without having to invest in new hardware than Mac users do with Snow Leopard.

On top of all this comes the fact that the 29 USD price for Snow Leopard doesn't even compete with Windows 7's prices. As said, the 29 USD is for Leopard owners only, meaning that the price is utterly irrelevant when talking about switchers; they simply don't benefit one bit from this pricing.

All in all, the 29 USD price is nothing but a (very welcome) gift to loyal Apple users who diligently emptied their wallets every time Apple asked them to, while the Windows 7 upgrade prices benefit even the most non-loyal Microsoft customers, even those who punished Microsoft for the abysmal Vista fiasco by, well, not buying into Vista. Seen in this light, Microsoft's upgrade prices - which are still not confirmed, but will probably be round and about 50-70 for Windows 7 Home Premium, and 100-120 for Professional, seem a lot more useful to a lot more people.

Which is the better upgrade?
This is a really intriguing question. Which of the two operating system upgrades provide more value for your money? The problem with this one is that it includes a comparison to their predecessors, making it a little bit more complicated.

Snow Leopard is truly a release where the under-the-hood stuff is more important than user-visible changes. OpenCL, Grand Central, removal of PowerPC code, fully 64bit, they all aid in making Snow Leopard faster and leaner. There are also some interface tweaks, but they are small (but useful!), and certinaly don't draw that much attention.

Windows 7 is a completely different story. Microsoft has made the operating system perform better than Windows Vista (and every report confirms that), with some even claiming performance on par with Windows XP, especially on more recent hardware. It could very well be that Snow Leopard gives a more substantial improvement in this area, but Snow Leopard has it easy; only very recent and powerful 64bit machines will see this benefit. Windows 7's (possibly) more modest performance gains over Vista will benefit machines that are much older and/or much less powerful. For instance, both that old Pentium 4 box as well as my low-spec Acer Aspire One perform better with Windows 7 than with Vista. Similarly aged and/or specced Macs can't even run Snow Leopard at all!

However, where the difference really becomes obvious is the interface changes Windows 7 introduces, and all the pulling-together of frameworks and features introduced with Windows Vista, and exposing them to users in much more useful ways than Vista did. The best example of this is Homegroup, which pulls together various technologies and features introduced with Windows Vista, and presents them in a way that makes managing your network and shared files (especially in combination with the Libraries feature) completely painless. Another example is that various driver upgrades no longer require a restart, such as graphics drivers.

The interface of Windows itself has also been massively cleaned up compared to Vista. It really takes some intensive usage to reveal just how much of the interface has been cleaned up, made more consistent, and overall prettified without losing functionality. My personal favourite is Windows 7's Explorer file manager, which is such joy to use now, while the Vista one was a busy and clumsy mess. Of course, there are still trouble spots, such as the overly crowded Control Panel.

Snow Leopard simply doesn't bring these kinds of massive interface improvements.

Conclusion
Overall though, while Snow Leopard certainly is a nicely priced upgrade to Leopard, and I'm sure going to buy the Family Pack to upgrade my parents' iMac and my own Mac, it just doesn't compare very favouribly to Windows 7 as an upgrade, in a multitude of aspects: supported machines, previous releases still eligible, and the number of people who are actually able to benefit from the upgrade. On top of that, I believe Windows 7 is a far more substantial upgrade than Snow Leopard, but I'm sure many will disagree with me on that specific one.

-----------------------------
BY Thom Holwerda
Source：OSNews

© 1997-2009 OSNews LLC. All Rights Reserved.

微软将发布免费杀毒软件Morro 已开始内测

微软发言人周三称，该公司已经做好了推出长久以来备受期待的免费杀毒软件的准备，这款软件将与赛门铁克和McAfee的产品展开竞争。
##CONTINUE##
这名发言人称，微软正在内部员工中测试早期版本的免费杀毒软件，将“很快”通过公司网站推出Beta版，但他拒绝透露具体日期。受此消息影响，赛门铁克在纳斯达克午后交易中的股价下跌1.6%，McAfee下跌1.8%，微软则上涨1.1%。

投资者正密切关注这款代号为“Morro”的免费杀毒软件，担心该产品可能损害赛门铁克和McAfee产品的销售，这两家公司的产品能保护预装Windows系统的PC免受黑客攻击，每年因此获得的营收高达数十亿美元。

市场研究机构FBR Capital Markets的分析师丹尼尔·艾夫斯(Daniel Ives)称：“这是一种长期的竞争性威胁”，但近期内的影响则几乎可以忽略不计。

微软此前曾表示，Morro将提供查杀一系列广泛病毒的基本功能，很可能类似于赛门铁克和McAfee售价约为每年40美元的低端个人产品，这两家公司销售量最大的产品则是安全套装软件，具备加密、防火墙、密码保护、家长控制及数据备份功能。

三年前，微软携Live OneCare进入杀毒软件市场，但该软件最终被证明是一种失败的商业产品。去年11月，微软宣布停止提供Live OneCare服务，称其将在2009年底以前推出免费的Morro服务。

分析师称，他们正盼望试用Beta版Morro，以检测这款软件的功能与其竞争者的产品相比如何。微软曾表示，Morro能提供针对病毒、间谍软件、Rootkit和特洛伊木马等多种类型恶意软件的保护功能。

赛门铁克和MaAfee官员均曾表示，他们认为Morro构不成威胁。McAfee发言人乔里斯·埃弗斯(Joris Evers)称，尽管面临市场上已有的免费杀毒软件的竞争，但该公司的增长仍旧强劲，“我们确信自己能与任何进入这一市场的公司展开公平的竞争。”

赛门铁克发言人尚未就此置评，Trend Micro则拒绝置评。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：唐风

Google's Schmidt dings Bing

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, as one might expect, offered no public sense that Microsoft's new Bing search engine has him pacing the halls at night.
##CONTINUE##
"It's not the first entry for Microsoft. They do this about once a year," Schmidt said Tuesday in an interview with Fox Business Network. "I don't think Bing's arrival has changed what we're doing. We are about search, we're about making things enormously successful, by virtue of innovation."

Bing has been well-received in its first trip around the Internet, but it obviously has an awfully long way to go before it makes a dent in Google's business. Still, with some in the search industry now wondering if Yahoo really intends to compete in search over the next few years, Bing may shape up as the only true alternative to Google.

Schmidt seemed to acknowledge those thoughts. "Google is about getting all the information and organizing it. Yahoo has a different strategy. We think ultimately Bing will evolve to a different strategy as well."

Earlier in the day, Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pachette said the company planned to hold "a review tomorrow on it with the executive committee," so it's not like Google is ignoring the possible threat, either.

Schmidt held forth on a wide range of topics during the interview, including:

• Yahoo: "As you know we got within an hour of doing a very deep partnership with Yahoo, but we were unable to do it because of the government and their concerns over various parts of the deal."

• Smartphones: "This is the year of mobile phones. What we like is every one of these has a powerful browser and every one is used to search."

• And Google's new plug-in for Outlook: "I grew up with Outlook as well, which is why we're doing these things. It's very important to bridge the new kind of customer, the young customer, with the existing customer that has grown up with the Microsoft infrastructure."

-----------------------------
BY Tom Krazit
Source：cnet

Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple.

©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Microsoft spins out software protection tech

Microsoft said on Tuesday that it is spinning out as a separate business a two year-old effort that licenses its software protection technologies to other companies.
##CONTINUE##
In the past two years, Microsoft has signed up 120 companies to use the software activation and licensing technologies, including its own eHome unit. But it decided creating an independent company was the way to go.

The new venture, dubbed InishTech, will be based in Ireland. Microsoft will retain a stake in the company as well as an observer seat on its board of directors. Microsoft also plans to be a customer of the company.

The effort is the latest example of Microsoft spinning out its technology to a start-up. A number of past efforts, such as Inrix and Zumobi (formerly ZenZui), have come from technologies developed within Microsoft's research labs, while others have come from various product teams.

It's part of a broader effort at the company to license its intellectual property, a push that dates back to late 2003.

Not all of the start-ups have continued with their original business plans, however. Microsoft spun out a social-networking technology, known as Wallop, in 2006. A start-up by that name hoped to launch its own social network based on the technology, but ultimately decided to join, rather than try to beat the likes of Facebook and Bebo. The company now develops applications for social networks.

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BY Ina Fried, CNET News.com
Source：ZDNet

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

谷歌搅局 微软Windows 7或遭振荡

微软09年的日子的确有些“水深火热”，近日，欧盟反垄断监管机构欧盟委员会又开始向微软举起反垄断大棒，已向各大PC厂商发出了问卷，要求其回答微软是否曾向它们施压，以此求证微软垄断证据。凭以往微软应对欧盟的经验，这很有可能是一场马拉松式的拉锯战，暂时还构不成威胁。也许现在令微软坐卧不安的却是众多上网本厂商弃微软Windows，转战谷歌Android。
##CONTINUE##
早在去年末，华硕就已着手开发运行Android的上网本产品。而在上周于台北举行Computex大展上,宏基、明基两大台系厂商相继宣布将推出采用谷歌Android操作系统的上网本，台湾笔记本代工厂商广达、仁宝更是在展会期间和谷歌进行了接触，对Android上网本的技术细节展开交流。与此同时，惠普、戴尔、华硕等PC巨头正在酝酿推出Android上网本的消息也纷纷传出。

Android操作系统本是谷歌针对智能手机推出的一款操作系统，如今却成为PC厂商打破微软在上网本垄断的不二选择。其原因一是PC厂商面对上网本的白热化竞争，差异化成为厂商的竞争核心力，打破微软XP一统天下已成必然。此外另一个原因在于谷歌的Android操作系统在于不收取任何费用并且支持开放式源代码，进一步降低上网本的成本，为厂商提供利润空间，同时更方便厂商对上网本进行软件的个性化开发以制造差异化优势。

上网本已成为08、09年PC产业的一块极有诱惑力的肥肉，由于微软在上网本市场的缺位，导致了微软IE浏览器和Windows操作系统市场份额的下滑。而最具威胁的则是如果谷歌的Android成功占领上网本市场，对微软十月份即将推出的Windows7可谓是不小的打击，被微软寄于厚望的Windows7如果在市场大打折扣，则对微软的影响是不可小觑的。

据称Windows 7的市场零售价格将在下周公布。据美国电子零售巨头百思买透露的即将上市的Windows 7操作系统升级价格及其他早期计划分析，Windows 7的家庭高级版、商业升级版的价格则分别便宜了逾60%和50%。 如果按照该定价政策推算，Windows 7家庭高级版的价格将在99.99美元（同一版本为269.99美元)，而专业版的价格应为149美元(Vista为299美元)。

一向自大的微软也开始大打价格牌，不得不说市场是公平的上帝之手。

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文章出处：IT商业新闻网
作者：小月

Should Microsoft Buy Palm?

Analyst Andre Kitson at Juniper Research is recommending that now is the right time for Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to buy Palm, giving the huge software company access to Palm's design and engineering team, many of which came from Apple. Does this make sense thought for Microsoft?
##CONTINUE##
Palm and Microsoft have been competitors for years in the mobile device space. Microsoft was a very minor player in the market until they revamped their handheld OS in 2000 and christened it Pocket PC. While it still shared many concepts with Windows, Microsoft was finally beginning to understand that putting a desktop user interface on a 3" screen wasn't the right way to go. It took a few years, but Microsoft ultimately defeated Palm.

Or, should I say, Palm defeated itself? Not to take anything away from Microsoft's efforts, but Palm has had a number of missteps over the years. Palm OS5, the most recent OS from Palm until last Saturday when the first WebOS device shipped, was released in 2002. That was seven years ago, multiple lifetimes in the digital world. They failed to get a single manufacturer to buy OS6. Even Palm didn't build a PDA with OS6 on it. By then, Palm was modeling the software side after Microsoft. Palm would split the company in two. PalmSource would develop and sell the operating system to a number of manufacturers like Sony, Garmin and PalmOne, just like MS does with all of its PC manufacturing customers. PalmOne was, of course, the hardware company and just one of a number of licensees using PalmOS.

To make a long story short, just about all of the licensees for PalmOS either walked away from the venerable OS or got out of mobile devices entirely. PalmSource has since been acquired by a Japanese company, Access, and faded from the memory of gadgets geeks the world over. PalmOne renamed itself Palm again and started working on a new platform. Eventually WebOS was announced and the Pre is now available, assuming the localSprint (NYSE: S) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has one in stock for you.

Why would Microsoft want Palm now? In 2002 it made a lot of sense. Palm had well over 70% of the market share. Today, most of the market share Palm has is actually from phones running Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform. Microsoft doesn't need engineers and device designers. That isn't what Microsoft does. Sure, they have some nice keyboards and mice and they make the Zune and X-Box. The gaming market was an area that Microsoft wasn't really in, so by jumping in with their own platform, they had no existing customers to tick off, and it played right into Microsoft's desire to own the living room. The Zune is an oddity. I am sure Microsoft ticked off a ton of its customers that were using MS's Windows Media Audio codecs and the Plays For Sure DRM encryption scheme, but those customers weren't setting the world on fire with their products and I doubt MS had much licensing revenue to lose. I suspect MS got tired of the iPod dominating the MP3 player market. None of MS's customers could really make a dent in the market and from a consumer standpoint, MS seemed to be to blame when there were DRM/playback issues. It was a lose/lose for MS.

Mr. Kitson is right about one thing - Microsoft does need a cool consumer phone. I am not convinced MS has to build it though. With Windows Mobile 6.5, MS has finally got religion on the consumer side of the equation. WinMo 6.5 will not even be a year old when WinMo 7 comes out in 2010. WinMo 7 is supposed to finally be the OS that really gives the iPhone a serious run for the money.

As it stand now, MS plans to let its OEM partners like HTC build the device and sell it to the carriers. If MS started making their own devices, it would make them a competitor to their own customers, customers that can move over to Android at a moment's notice. It would do more harm than good. This is where the phone market differs from the MP3 player market. With the MP3 player market, none of the hardware/music store combos came anywhere close to what the iPod/iTunes combo is. Microsoft decided to change that. The problem with the phone market for MS isn't their hardware partners, it is Windows Mobile itself. The OS is little changed from 2005. Back then it was ok to use a stylus and have menus flying all over the place. Apple changed that in 2007 with the iPhone and it took time for MS to catch up. They are clearly headed down the right path now. The question is, can they catch Apple? Events coming out of WWDC this week may show the iPhone will make more leaps ahead, and iPhone 3.0 should ship this summer.

And what of Palm? WebOS and the Pre are make-or-break time for Palm. It is either a huge success, or it is over for Palm. I seriously doubt Palm can afford a lukewarm reception to the platform in the coming months, or they will continue to be an also ran. That won't be enough to sustain the stock price it is at today. It has moved from $1.70 in December 2007 to $11-12 today. Investors didn't run the price up for a mediocre seller. It may make sense for someone likeMotorola (NYSE: MOT) or LG to buy Palm for their hardware smarts, but not Microsoft.

-----------------------------
BY Ed Hansberry
Source：InformationWeek

Copyright © 2009 United Business Media LLC, All rights reserved.

思科变革渠道体系矛头直指惠普微软

一方面极力拉拢与合作伙伴的关系，另一方面又非常明确地向竞争对手宣战，尽管面临全球经济放缓的考验，思科却表现出前所未有的自信。
##CONTINUE##
“我们目前的任务不是生存，而是如何抓住目前的机遇实现扩张。”在日前召开的思科2009年合作伙伴峰会上，思科全球渠道高级副总裁Keith Goodwin作出了这样一个令业界吃惊的宣言。

思科表示，将对其渠道体系作出重大调整，以帮助合作伙伴更好地应对充满挑战的经济环境，并为即将到来的经济复苏做好准备；与此同时，思科更加明确了与微软和惠普之间的竞争关系，“我们将与惠普竞争。”思科全球CEO钱伯斯明确表示。

渠道变阵
在这次合作伙伴峰会上，思科公布了其全新的渠道激励计划“Navigate to Accelerate”。绝大部分产品都是通过渠道合作伙伴销售，这是思科销售模式的重要特点。思科通过对合作伙伴的分级管理和有侧重的激励，完成对产品销售的调控。

一位来自中国的思科合作伙伴对CBN记者解释说，从渠道合作伙伴的角度来看，这次的激励计划主要有三方面的亮点。

首先，思科将在全球信贷紧缩的情况下，为合作伙伴提供更多资金支持。其中包括将渠道融资期限由之前的60天进一步延长到90天，这一计划的发展重点是亚太地区和欧洲。

“在现金流短缺的情况下，资金支持变得非常重要。”上述渠道伙伴表示。据思科介绍，自从2008年10月以来，通过思科的信贷支持，合作伙伴将销售额新增了20亿美元，而思科还打算将融资计划扩大到140个国家和地区，这是其他IT厂商的两倍。

其次，思科将为合作伙伴提供更高的返点，思科管理服务全球副总裁Jeff Spagnola在接受CBN记者专访时表示，为了鼓励合作伙伴更多参与思科管理服务的销售，思科将为合作伙伴提供最高达48%的返点。

当Keith Goodwin宣布，将在其VIP(Value Incentive Program)渠道价值激励计划中加入路由器和交换机等更多基础架构产品时，全场近千名渠道商对此抱以热烈掌声。

VIP价值激励计划是思科在2003年开始推出的，开始主要包括各种先进技术产品，而思科的基础架构产品，比如路由器和交换机等被渠道认为“最好卖”的产品并不在其中，到目前为止，思科已经通过VIP返点的方式为其合作伙伴提供了25亿美元的奖励。而这次对VIP的调整，意味着合作伙伴将获得更多的优惠和支持。

向竞争对手开战
自从思科在今年年初推出自己的服务器产品，业界评论就指出，思科将与传统合作伙伴惠普、IBM等展开竞争，不过思科一直回避这个说法，而在这次的合作伙伴大会上，钱伯斯非常明确地指出，“我们将与惠普竞争。”

除了惠普之外，微软也位列思科提及的竞争对手名单，双方的主要竞争领域在包括统一通信在内的数据中心业务。从传统上来说，思科的竞争对手只局限于北电、阿朗、3Com等企业。

管理服务和数据中心业务对思科而言，是相对较新的两个领域，也是思科在这次渠道伙伴峰会上强调的重点业务，被思科认为能给合作伙伴带来更多利润。至此，思科的产品线进一步从底层的路由器等硬件产品拓展到中层的应用以及高层的服务和解决方案等整个系列。

据思科亚太区总裁陈仕炜介绍，目前亚太区是思科在全球增长最快的一个市场，而就国家来划分，中国是思科增长最快的发展中国家。目前，亚太区在思科全球的份额是10%～11%，而陈仕炜的计划是在3～5年内，将这个数字提高到20%。

为了达到这个目标，思科已经实现了相当一部分产品在中国的研发和生产，实际上，在新一轮的经济复苏中，中国政府出台的经济刺激计划是所有亚太国家中力度最大的，这被思科认为是最重要的发展机遇，“思科在中国已经做得相当不错，但我们相信我们还能做得更好。”思科亚太区渠道总监Mike Allen表示。

-----------------------------
文章出处：第一财经日报
作者：马晓芳

盖茨接班人称谷歌Wave反互联网 应依赖开源软件

微软首席软件架构师雷·奥兹(Ray Ozzie)认为谷歌波浪(Wave)是“反互联网”的。
##CONTINUE##
奥兹上周末表示，“波浪”违反了一条他奉为圭臬的原则：复杂是互联网的大敌。奥兹称，开放的web需要开放的数据格式和协议，而不是相反。奥兹没有确切解释“波浪”的复杂程度，但表示，“波浪”应当依赖开放源代码软件，否则其他公司将因过于复杂而无法部署。

奥兹对“波浪”和微软Mesh进行了比较。Mesh是一款数据存储框架，可以存储通信录、电子邮件、文档或照片等数据，将包含在今年晚些时候发布的Azure云计算平台中。奥兹称，“‘波浪’和Mesh基本上完全相同，但Mesh源自Groove，其特点是非常简单，第三方可以轻松地部署。”

尽管奥兹大谈Mesh的开放性，但实际情况是，要部署Mesh，客户必须部署微软的SQL Server；“波浪”则大量使用了开放技术，例如可扩展消息处理现场协议(XMPP)和Javascript。

当然，“波浪”也存在问题。其一是只使用App Engine；其二是必须使用“既简单又复杂”的Javascript语言。

-----------------------------
文章出处：新浪科技
作者：志翔

And Moses asked God: Is Mac better than Windows?

I once was a God-fearing Windows user. But when an Apple shrine, uh, store opened in my area, I began to ask myself the age-old question that has confounded even the greatest biblical prophets: Is the Mac better?
##CONTINUE##
I avoided the Mac for years for the usual reason cited by the Windows faithful: a dearth of hardware and software. (The so-called Mac tax was never really an issue for me.) That said, I won't go into a broad platform critique because I risk rehashing Windows-versus-Mac religious arguments that have been repeated millions of times for (digital-age) eons. (Besides, I'll leave that faith-based debate to the digerati of the world.)

Suffice to say, I now use a MacBook full time. Though, in the spirit of complete disclosure, I do have a Vista-based HP tower that I still use when there's something I absolutely can't do on the Mac. And, no, I have not gone the Boot Camp or virtual machine route yet.

So, without getting into an unwieldy philosophical argument, there are some nuts-and-bolts things that make the transition a challenge (and it's different for everyone, as every user has different needs.)

And one more disclaimer: I'm writing this from the perspective of a Mac neophyte/new user. Not as a seasoned Macophile that can instantly troubleshoot issues as they pop up.

Docking stations (lack thereof): This is a biggie. I had grown attached to the convenience of Hewlett-Packard docking stations. Apple should have connectors for docking stations (or port-replicators) built into MacBooks. The ease of popping an HP business laptop--which I had been using for years--in and out of a docking station cannot be overstated.

Microsoft Entourage: This is not the Windows Outlook equivalent. In a word, it's slow. In two words, very slow. (Note: I can't use the OS X "Mail" client because it can't run the email programs that I use.)

Web compatibility: All things should be equal here. But they're not. Like many people, I use both Safari and FireFox. Last week, there was a live video stream that, while it loaded on my MacBook Air, wouldn't run. The applet was there but it wasn't streaming. I didn't have time to figure out why it wasn't streaming. I just needed it to work. Out of desperation, I tried it on the Vista-based HP tower. It streamed immediately. In my book, that's a problem. And generally, on many Web sites that I use, Windows Media Player (that is, WMP v.11) is more adept at streaming video than the applets that come standard on the Mac OS X platform.

OS X local search: OS X local search is great (e.g., Spotlight) but it won't let me exclusively search a folder full of JPEG files. This issue was validated by a Mac "Genius" at my local Apple Store who admitted it was "odd." Let me repeat, an Apple Genius verified that I could not do this. Of course, I can find these files a dozen other ways but there's an application I use everyday that would be a lot easier to use if I could search JPEG files exclusively in that folder.

(Update: After a second visit to my local Apple Store and a separate discussion about changing the user short name--which the Genius did, as this process is a little tricky--I can now do JPEG searches on one of my MacBooks. I do not know how this came to be fixed, however, as it was an unintended consequence.)

Hardware compatibility--in this case, camcorders: I found this out quite by accident. I was in my local Best Buy (Southern California) and overheard one of those illuminating matter-of-fact dialogs between a customer and a salesperson. "Are all of these camcorders Mac compatible?"--the customer asked. "No," the salesman said. "Only the Panasonic and Canon." After the salesman was done helping the customer, I followed up with more queries. The upshot: Most other brands are not Mac-compatible, according to the Best Buy sales force. Does a Best Buy salesperson always know the bottom-line, gospel truth about hardware compatibility? Probably not. But the larger point is that's what he is telling customers. And it's always an ugly reminder of that cliche that a lot hardware is not compatible with the Mac.

The Mac philosophy of how to use external displays: This, I suppose, is more a philosophical argument than a practical argument. But, to me, the way Windows handles external displays (with a laptop) using Fn-F4 is straightforward and extremely practical. And--returning to the lack-of-a-docking-station argument--inserting/removing a laptop into/from an HP dock is so well executed that it becomes second nature to the user: the internal laptop display shuts off, the external display goes on, and the external display automatically adjusts the resolution. Again, this may be partially a case of me simply being more accustomed to the Windows way of doing things--but not completely: Windows wins the ease-of-use award here.

No built-in 3G option: I've talked about this before in other posts. HP, Dell, and others offer integrated 3G connectivity. That said, I fully expect that this will become less of an issue when 4G hits, as I am confident that Apple is savvy enough to stay in front of this trend.

Of course, the list goes on (lack of development momentum from some software vendors on the Mac, being another minus often cited). But I would be remiss at this point to not preemptively answer the critics who will say, "Well, if you're going to whine all the time, go back to Windows you a#%*!#@." (And that's putting it charitably. Mac minions tend to be slightly more contemptuous.)

The reason I switched to Mac (if anyone really cares) was hardware, not software. I looked at all of the HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Sony laptops and saw nothing that came close to a MacBook Air. Not even remotely close. The Air is an incomparably well-balanced design that is light, fast, and aesthetically a knockout, to boot. The other unibody MacBooks inherit these attributes too.

Oh yeah, Mac OS X beats Windows in a lot of ways. You can run Windows, after all, if you choose, with Boot Camp or VMware Fusion. And all of the well-known virtues are true. You're not constantly on Virus/Worm/Malware alert, the interface is more intuitive in some ways, it's more streamlined than Vista, it boots faster, and the list goes on. I guess I can live without a docking station--for now.

So, as of summer 2009, which is better, Windows or Mac? Dare I ask?

-----------------------------
BY Brooke Crothers
Source：cnet

Brooke Crothers is a former editor at large at CNET News.com, and has been an editor for the Asian weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. He writes for the CNET Blog Network, and is not a current employee of CNET. Contact him at mbcrothers@gmail.com. Disclosure.

©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

微软封杀混合硬盘上网本

微软已经向上网本制造商发布了禁止在混合硬盘(装备固态硬盘和传统硬盘两种硬盘)环境下使用Windows XP Home操作系统的禁令。
##CONTINUE##
此限制条款将成为微软所推行的Windows XP上网本不能“超过1GB内存”，“显示屏不能超过10英寸”之后的第三条限制条款。目前受此条款影响的只有微星Wind U115上网本，因为这款上网本在微软发布声明之前上市，所以它有可能在6月底才会退市。

微星U115上网本上安装的混合硬盘系统，其中包括预装操作系统的SSD固态硬盘，和作为存储使用的160GB标准2.5英寸传统硬盘。在用户需要的省电模式下，用户可以关闭传统硬盘获得更多使用时间，同时系统安装在固态硬盘中也让系统运行的更快。

据悉，微软增加此限制的原因是，Windows 7系统要在10月份才能上市，微软在此之前并不想让使用Vista操作系统与混合存储方案的高端笔记本失去市场。

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文章出处：驱动之家
作者：N/A

Microsoft Bing rides open source to semantic search

As it turns out, Powerset's open-source-happy semantic talents are only a small part of Bing, Microsoft's freshly-minted decision engine search engine.
##CONTINUE##
Microsoft acquired Powerset last July in a reported $100m deal, and after a conspicuous Tweet from Powerset co-founder Barney Pell, many assumed that the semantic search outfit would play a major role in Redmond's latest attempt to catch the uncatchable Google.

According to a blog post from Scott Prevost, general manager of Microsoft's Powerset division, the division has tweaked Microsoft's primary search engine in certain "subtle" ways. But its main contribution is a secondary engine that searches nothing but Wikipedia. In essence, Microsoft's has taken Powerset's existing Wikitool and latched it to the Bing torso.

"The Powerset division has contributed to Bing in both subtle and more conspicuous ways. While the subtle contributions are important, they are much harder to showcase. This post will focus on how the features that our users have come to love on Powerset.com have evolved and have been integrated into Bing," Prevost says, before detailing Bing's "Reference" tab.

As we reported yesterday, the Reference tab reproduces Wikipedia articles in their entirety. When you search on, say, Albert Einstein, the tab will appear on the left hand side of the page, and if you click on it, you're taken to a reproduction of Einstein's Wikipedia entry (licensed at no cost from the "free encyclopedia anyone can edit").

Yes, Microsoft has solidified Wikipedia's place as the web's number-one source of truthiness.

But from that Reference tab you can also tap into Powerset's semantic Wikisearch, which the company originally unfurled in May of last year, before the Microsoft acquisition. This vertical search engine is designed to accept natural-language queries, such as "Was Einstein married?" - though that's not immediately obvious from Bing's layout. In a video attached to Prevost's blog post, Powerset founder Lorenzo Thione acknowledge that some of Bing's Powerset tools are "a little bit hidden. Over time, we'll definitely work on making it more accessible and visible to users."

In the same video, Senior Program Manager Mark Johnson says that in a few cases, Microsoft has hooked Powerset's natural-language platform into some of Bing's other search verticals, including the "Business" tab. But Thione calls these "pilot tests."

"There are a subset of queries where you use a more natural-language oriented syntax or you ask questions, similar to what Powerset.com used to support, we will get you answers right there on the page and a link back to the Reference vertical," he says.

Despite its limited role in the new search engine, Powerset's Bingification is a Microsoft milestone. Powerset's platform leans heavily on open-source code. Most notably, its search index is generated via Hadoop, the same open-source distributed computing platform that juices Yahoo!'s search engine. Powerset originated Hadoop's HBase project, an effort to mimic Google's famous distributed storage system, BigTable, and two of its employees, Michael Stack and Jim Kellerman, are full-time HBase committers.

According to Sam Ramji, the director of Microsoft's open-source development lab, "This is the first time we have acquired a company with committers to a key open source project who have been able to continue to commit to that project in their old capacity as part of their new role."

And thanks to its integration with Powerset's platform, Bing is one of the few Microsoft "shipping" products to actually incorporate open-source code. Ramji points out that from the early to late 90s, Microsoft's Windows TCP/IP stack included BSD code, and today Windows HPC includes code developed at Microsoft that was then offered up to Argonne National Lab (ANL) for open-sourcing. But since the arrival of Windows Vista, Bing is certainly the most high-profile Microsoft product to go the open-source route.

Ramji calls it part of Microsoft's "strategic shift and cultural change" towards the open-source world. And it's certainly nice to see. But on another level, it's rather amusing that the company that once called Linux a cancer and spent untold millions on Encarta is now resting its search-engine on Hadoop and Wikipedia.

-----------------------------
BY Cade Metz in San Francisco
Source：The Register

© Copyright 1998–2009.

Microsoft and Google take aim at each other

Microsoft owns desktop apps, Google rules search, and both are trying to chip away at the other's strength.
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There's a philosophy of battle that says, rather than attack your opponent's weaknesses, go right at his strength. Microsoft did just that with its launch of the Bing search (excuse me, decision) engine last week. Now Google if firing back, announcing significant upgrades to its Google Docs hosted productivity app suite with a clear goal of taking a piece out of Microsoft's dominance over productivity apps.

Could Google really take Microsoft Office's 80 percent enterprise market share down a peg or two? Apparently, the first step along that path is a mea culpa. Dave Girouard, president of Google's Enterprise unit, says that in one year's time, Google Docs "will be night and day from what [it is] today." In true Google fashion, Girouard is reluctant to provide details as to exactly what upgrades to expect, but the main thrust of his statement is that in order to be a truly viable alternative to Office, Docs needs to provide a better user experience. Improve the product, and Google improves its market share, at least in theory.

The wild cards in play here that could favor Google are the economic downturn and the upcoming Microsoft Office 2010. Economic conditions being what they are, companies are looking to cut costs, and when Microsoft rolls out Office 2010, some companies may opt to go with the cheaper (or even free) Google offering instead of re-upping with Microsoft.

Girouard says that a large enterprise (10,000 or more end-users) migrates to Google Docs "every few weeks." He believes that as Docs improves -- and as people become more comfortable with the hosted software model -- he will see more frequent migrations.

"We can be a first-tier player in IT," Girouard said. A more attractive Google Docs offering would go a long way toward making that statement a reality.

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BY Pete Babb
Source：InfoWorld

©1994-2009 Infoworld, Inc.

Windows 7 catching developers' eyes

While we've heard a lot about Windows 7, we haven't heard too much about the software and hardware that will take advantage of the new operating system.
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That's starting to change.

This week, touch-screen maker N-trig is showing off a variety of third-party software programs that take advantage of the multitouch features of Windows 7. Meanwhile, Microsoft's hardware unit said it is also building support for Windows 7's new taskbar and thumbnail previews into its line of keyboards and mice.

Microsoft said beta versions of the drivers for its products are available now, with final versions set for release at the end of next month.

On the software front, N-trig is showing off a number of multitouch Windows 7 applications at a display conference in San Antonio, Texas, this week. Microsoft has also announced its own package of free touch programs for Windows 7, including three casual games and three programs ported over from Microsoft's Surface tabletop computer.

"There's lots of stuff going on," N-trig Vice President Lenny Engelhardt said in a telephone interview. Among the applications N-trig is showing is a photo browser from FingerTapps and a multitouch 3D design program from SpaceClaim. Corel also said it will have multitouch-enabled programs later this year, but didn't give specifics.

"Windows 7 and Windows Touch are giving Corel's software designers an incredible opportunity to enhance how consumers experience creative software," executive vice president Joe Roberts said in a statement.

Getting compelling software is key to transforming multitouch from a curiosity into something that consumers are willing to pay for. A touch screen adds on the order of $100 or more to the cost of a system, depending on screen size.

"In this current economic climate, to get people to buy new hardware is going to take some real nice, compelling applications," Engelhardt said.

HP and Dell have started shipping multitouch machines ahead of Windows 7, but Engelhardt said he expects all the major hardware and software makers to support touch at some level once the new operating system hits the market in October.

"None of these guys wants to be left out," Engelhardt said.

Although touch will remain a small part of the total PC market, Engelhardt said he sees it expanding from where it is today, with a few desktop models as well as a handful of convertible tablet laptops.

"A lot of those notebooks are going to be larger than what you have seen," he said. "There will be computers with 14- and 17-inch screens."

Multitouch will also reach the Netbook sector, though that market is harder to predict, he said.

Engelhardt said that multitouch has the opportunity to do the same thing for Windows PCs that the iPhone did for mobile phones--take a task that everyone was already doing and make it fun.

A video from N-trig shows some other possibilities for where touch can go in Windows 7. In the video, N-trig shows a number of gaming scenarios, including the ability to play Guitar Hero using several fingers touching the screen. Although the makers of Guitar Hero haven't announced such plans, Engelhardt said the option is entirely technically feasible, with his engineering team having created a working demo.

Thus far, Engelhardt said, the consumer area appears to be ahead of the enterprise software market, but over time he expects more touch-enabled business applications as well.

For its part, Microsoft said it is happy with the level of touch support it is seeing from developers.

"We are pleased to see how quickly our partners are developing multitouch applications on Windows 7," principal group program manager Ian LeGrow said in a statement.

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BY Ina Fried
Source：cnet

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Is Microsoft Following GM's Road Map?

Analysis: GM's bankruptcy marks the end of an era. Is Microsoft repeating the automaker's mistakes?
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It's always shocking when a stalwart of any industry topples. It makes people pause and lay blame in a variety of directions. Some may be slightly confused that GM is not going out of business, as the taxpayers are going to now have a 60 percent stake in the company. However, many different brands we have known for years (Saturn, Pontiac, Saab, and others) will be cut loose. There are three primary reasons why GM tanked: First, GM seemed to focus a lot of attention on high-margin gas guzzlers (case in point, the Hummer). Next, GM hit some competition from Toyota and Ford (both of which seemed to be better prepared for the economic crisis). Add to that the obvious, a financial recession, and we have a bankruptcy.

Now where does Microsoft stand in comparison? Some might say Microsoft has faced a few serious bumps over the last 10 years but came out fine. Going back to Windows Me (possibly the worst of the Windows releases), it was able to rebound with Windows XP. But the Vista debacle that began in 2006 has brought along an avalanche of critique. Although I've never personally agreed with the technical complaints, the fact that there are six or more variations of the software, combined with price tags that have just gone overboard, makes the anger directed at Vista understandable. When you look at the many upgrades and varieties of Vista and now Windows 7, the slew of new System Center products, and the Xbox division (which may continue to do well with the new body controller idea), you have to ask if Microsoft is overbloating its product line. Is it stretching out in too many directions, instead of improving the core products and lowering the cost to consumers?

Some may say, "Well, Microsoft has a ton of money, so there is nothing to worry about." But Microsoft has already begun trimming the fat. Microsoft said in January that it would cut up to 5,000 positions over the next 18 months, starting with an initial 1,400-person wave. And many analysts expect that number to grow.

What about competition? So far, nothing substantial. Microsoft is actually competing with itself in many ways. Folks love Windows XP so much that they won't switch to Windows Vista, partly because they've heard it wasn't good, not because they've seen it or it's caused them any problems. Upgrades to Vista and Office 2007 have not been as plentiful as Microsoft had hoped. Windows 7 may turn it around a bit, and certainly a bouncing economy may loosen the money belt with some companies.

Apple may make a better commercial than Microsoft (even I laugh at Apple's Mac-versus-PC ads, while I grit my teeth in anger for Microsoft's Seinfeld/Gates commercials), but Mac doesn't have much traction in the enterprise space. The Mac is still a niche market, not a threat. Linux supporters have yet to unite and battle the Redmond giant. Essentially, Microsoft has one advantage over GM: The competition won't cause its downfall.

Knowing the work Microsoft developers put into their products, I believe they are the saving grace of the company -- as long as they are allowed to hear the voice of the people. This is an area where I've seen a problem. For example, when Windows Server 2008 was released, it was odd that you could not perform an Exchange 2007 backup through Windows Server 2008. You needed a separate product (Microsoft marketing encouraged the new System Center Data Protection Manager). People complained -- loudly -- on the Exchange team's Web site. They were told that Microsoft would develop a fix. That was over a year ago.

Finally, Microsoft announced at TechEd 2009 that SP2 for Exchange 2007 would contain a backup fix. The actual fix, however, is the bare minimum Microsoft could provide to satisfy the crowd but not steal any thunder away from the separately sold Data Protection Manager -- a tremendous disappointment. Now whose fault is that? If it were up to the Exchange team, I'm confident it would develop a fully functional tool, as opposed to this volume backup tool that doesn't even provide what we have in Windows Server 2003 and Exchange 2007.

Microsoft will continue to have a long and healthy life ahead if it does three things: First, adopt a new marketing strategy. Second, let its developers go crazy and really nurture their product, trimming out solutions and honing the primary pillars of Microsoft (Windows, Office, and Windows Server). Third, provide a more reasonable price tag, starting with Windows 7.

What do you think? Do you see Microsoft following the wake of GM into dangerous waters or do you think it still has a long, clear path ahead? Any suggestions on how Microsoft can pull it around or stay the course?

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BY J. Peter Bruzzese
Source：InfoWorld

© 1998-2008, PC World Communications, Inc.