Intel Mac Attack: The Second Wave
I'm getting closer -- much closer -- to joining my two sons as a Mac
laptop owner. I already have a G4 desktop but still rely on my trusty (actually,
it's not all that trusty) Dell laptop for real work. My plan is to pick
up a new Mac laptop, and dual boot XP for when I need Windows. All I wanted
was a broader selection and lower prices. Now, with
a
dual-core unit at $1,100, I'm this close to handing over my American
Express.
Microsoft bigots might call me a traitor, but since when is competition bad?
And with a 90-plus percent desktop market share, Microsoft can use all the competitors
it can get.
One Linux Vendor Actually Cares About the Desktop
A few months ago I complained that Linux vendors were either afraid to compete
on the desktop, too lazy or just didn't care. Thank goodness one stepped
up to the plate.
Longtime Redmond needler Novell announced a desktop
suite that takes precise aim at Office, XP, MOM and Exchange. For $100 to
$150, customers get the whole darn thing, replacing what could be well over
a thousand dollars in CAL costs. For IT this would be a major shift -- adopting
GroupWise for e-mail, which feels like a thing of the past, Linux servers, which
feel like the future, Linux desktops, which seem like they could be the future
if anyone besides Novell cared, and OpenOffice, which feels like a Scott McNealy
pet project.
Playing the Piracy Card
I came across an interesting discussion about Microsoft sales using the threat
of audits and well-publicized piracy charges to sell new licenses -- whether
the customer needs ‘em or not!
We've covered this in several pieces:
But the new title of "Microsoft Engagement Manager" adds a fresh
wrinkle. My old employer ComputerWorld (it was so long ago, I had pimples, not
wrinkles, and a six pack, not a beer belly) has a column
about a brave IT pro who went public, complaining openly about the attempted
intimidation.
That prompted a remarkable discussion
on Slashdot, where posters dug into the ins and outs of this new technique.
Have any sales horrors stories? Send them to [email protected].
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Microsoft and Time?
There's a rumor
around that Microsoft may be angling to buy Time-Warner. Interestingly, this
was reported by BusinessWeek, not Fortune, which is owned by Time.
I always felt that AOL blew a massive opportunity. They had millions of subscribers,
were moving into cable and broadband, and could've harnessed Time-Warner's
video and magazine content to do some rather remarkable things. It never happened,
leaving me amazed that I was, in this case, smarter than Steve Case and Ted
Turner combined.
I would never claim to be smarter than Gates and Ballmer. If they snapped up
Time-Warner, I'm sure they'd do something interesting!
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.