You Can Be an Xbox Star
Faithful Redmond Report readers will question my sanity (maybe not for the
first time, eh?) for writing about the Xbox in an IT newsletter, but by the
end of this item, you'll see my point...Microsoft has
a
version of its Xbox development tools for amateur programmers and hardcore gamers.
For $100 a year, you can write Xbox games and post them on Xbox Live.
Corporate developers would do well to take a peek at these tools. Not only
are Xbox games more powerful graphically than XP programs, but they are far
more stable -- and most importantly, have remarkably simple interfaces.
IBM Continues Open Source Push
One of our recent themes is IBM reigniting the fight with Microsoft. IBM first
started nibbling around the edges, with instant messaging and other narrowly
focused tools. More recently it decided to buy FileNet and go after SharePoint
in content management. But IBM's massive Linux push always seemed to fall
short of attacking Microsoft-dominated desktops.
A new open
source push by Big Blue continues to poke at Redmond's flank, rather than
attacking the core of the Microsoft product line. Look for new projects in Linux
security and virtualization, as well as open source management, grid computing
and development tools.
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Speaking of IBM...
Hoping to give Linux desktops a little boost (I'd rather see a big boost, but
the Linux
vendors are far too gun-shy by shipping
an enterprise-class messaging tool that runs on Linux clients. The Sametime
client joins the new Notes Linux client. This is all well and good, but it sure
ain't a full-on assault! What would it take for you to adopt desktop Linux?
Let me know at [email protected].
Boffo Blogger in Beta
Microsoft is getting
into the blog publishing market with Windows Live Writer, now in beta. The
WYSIWYG tool works with any blog service provider, and it's aimed largely at
non-technical users. The interface is a lot like Word -- hey, I thought this
thing is supposed to be EASY to use!
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.