Vista Barely Capable
The lawsuit over "Vista Capable" labels is heating up as more and
more internal
e-mails pop up, showing a pitched debate over what "capable" means
and how Microsoft should proceed. The verdict could really come down to parsing
words.
Here's the core issue: Microsoft agreed to provide the "Vista Capable"
logo for computers that could only run Vista Basic. Critics argue that this
was misleading, that consumers wouldn't understand this limitation. Even Microsoft
insiders
such as Jim Allchin felt this way.
But words have meaning and the labeling, one could argue, was technically correct.
What do you think? Should Microsoft win or lose this case? Verdicts accepted
at [email protected].
Office on Apple Phone
Last week Tarkan Maner, the CEO of Wyse Technology, came by the well-lit Redmond
magazine offices for a sit-down. Very cool, very smart, and utterly outspoken
-- just the kind of exec I like. After taking about Wyse's approach to client
virtualization, Tarkan showed me how Wyse software can present a virtual PC
desktop on an Apple iPhone. Slick.
Microsoft is also looking this way and promises now to make its new Web-based
Office apps available
on the iPhone.
Seems to me the Wyse approach is harder; it's showing and manipulating the
actual Windows desktop. Microsoft, it seems to me, is simply displaying its
Web apps on a Web-ready iPhone.
Small and Medium Businesses Get New
Servers
Microsoft is shipping
two new servers aimed at small businesses. Windows Small Business Server
(SBS) 2008 is pretty obviously aimed at smaller shops (not sure if Joe the Plumber
placed his order yet) and is based on its big brother, Windows Server 2008 itself.
SBS also comes with SQL and Exchange -- a one-stop shop.
We've looked at an earlier rev and found it solid, pretty easy to set up (some
readers disagreed with this notion as I recall), but not great at scaling by
making multiple servers work together.
Microsoft is also shipping Windows Essentials Business Server 2008, aimed at
mid-size businesses. I was curious about the Essential product. The press release
wasn't clear on what exactly it contained, and it took quite a bit of sleuthing
on Microsoft.com before it became clear that Essentials is really a higher-end
version of SBS with management software, security and SharePoint added to the
mix, and with SQL Server only in the premium edition.
Mailbag: Surviving the Economy
After Sun announced that it plans to lay
off up to 6,000 employees over the next year, Doug asked readers what their
own companies are doing to deal with the economy:
I work for a company in the transportation industry, which is already
getting hit due to the high cost of aircraft fuel. We've taken the path of
a hiring freeze and a budget freeze. We've also pushed all IT software purchasing
and projects back to 2010. Only essential purchases/projects are allowed.
-Nicholas
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.