Ozzie's Head Is on the Cloud

• By Doug Barney
• 03/17/2008

After making the obvious statement that today's desktop has a '70s and '80s feel (something other Microsoft execs likely agree with but cringe at hearing), Ozzie pointed out that young developers, students and startups build for the Web first, and this is the audience Microsoft must now address (Silverlight, anyone?).

For its part, Microsoft pledges to build a more reliable cloud itself (for MSN and Windows Live services), create better dev tools for mashups and develop a model for cloud computing applications such that Microsoft remains a highly profitable company.

There's a New Mag in Town: Virtualization Review
Over the last few years, almost no one launched new computer magazines. Of course, the exception is 1105 Media, which started Redmond magazine in 2004, Redmond Channel Partner in 2005, and broke out Redmond Developer News in 2006.

Later this month, 1105 lets loose with Virtualization Review, and I'm lucky to be a part of it. The premiere issue includes profiles of VMware, Microsoft and Citrix/Xen; a roundup of top PC virtualization tools; a treatise on the state of storage virtualization; a peek at Hyper-V; and loads of industry news.

We already have a Web site and blog up and running. You can subscribe here. And you can pick up our free newsletter here.

Microsoft: The New New York Times?
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last year famously remarked that in 10 years, all media will be digital -- meaning print will be deader than a run-over Texas armadillo. Maybe Steve really believes such an absurd idea (despite iPods and CDs, the LP is the hot ticket for young music-piles). Or perhaps he's trying to will it into happening so Microsoft can take over the publishing business.

Like Google and Yahoo, Microsoft isn't really planning on doing publishing the traditional way -- the hard way -- where you actually hire journalists and editors and produce content. No, Microsoft and its ilk want to monetize content produced by others. They want advertisers to connect with Microsoft by advertising on Microsoft sites, or for advertisers and publishers to use Microsoft as the Web advertising go-between. Here's a rundown of what Microsoft has to offer.

The company has a new partner, Rapt Inc., which Microsoft is in the process of buying. Rapt helps publishers forecast and does inventory management. The software will be added to Microsoft's Atlas Publisher Suite.

Mailbag: The Online Ad Boom
Last week, after Google officially cleared its acquisition of DoubleClick, Lafe wondered whether the growing closeness between online companies and ad agencies is a good thing. Here's are some of your thoughts:

Google has ALWAYS been an ad agency in disguise.
-Eric

It's inevitable to have ads online. That's where the eyes are at. The next big find is the holy grail of Web-blogged data and merge that with the ever-expanding SharePoint/ShareWeb development. Think of it: When you buy a car and something doesn't work, do you research the book that came with the car or do you go online and see if someone else had the same problem? Now look at all the data that's being socked into SharePoint and the ShareWebs.
-Emma

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