Microsoft reported record (and what I consider stunning) revenues for its latest
quarter -- giving the company a run rate of $50 billion. So you'd think Wall
Street would be popping the corks on their Dom Perignon and lighting up Cohibos.
Instead, analysts drilled the stock, boo-hooing that profits fell 28 percent
to
only $2.6 billion. The profit hit was
largely
blamed on the Vista delay.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/29/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Last November, I sent a couple of reporters down to the launch of Vista in
New York. After five years of waiting, the launch was as underwhelming Milli
Vanilli singing their own songs. Today, Redmond is
pulling
out all the stops for the consumer launch of Vista, again in the Big Apple.
Expect a lot of fanfare, but don't count on learning anything new.
As a lowly journalist, I was wondering about the prices of new Vista PCs, so
I went to one of my most trusted research resources: Parade magazine!
There on the back page was the trusty Dell ad. A Vista PC sells for $599 and
a laptop is a sweet $699. With these prices, Vista is now the de facto
standard for new consumer PCs.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/29/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Sun Microsystems is a landmark story of guts, spunk and survival. Let's face
it: Solaris has taken a beating from Linux and Windows Server, SPARC is now
marginalized by Intel and AMD, and the idea of network computers like the Sun
Ray is about as welcome as Larry the Cable Guy at a New York City Debutante
Ball.
But Sun has not just survived -- it's
even prospering, reporting $126 million in profits for the latest quarter.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/29/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
It must stink to have a free operating system and a free productivity suite,
and realize the press just doesn't give a hoot. Meanwhile, Microsoft sneezes
and CNN cameras snap to attention.
In desperate search of press, two self-professed enemies of Vista tried to
crash the Redmond bash today in New York, and even claimed in a press release
that it will "spoil" the launch.
One group, defectivebydesign.com,
hates Digital Rights Management. I'm not in love with DRM, but if I made movies
or music, I sure would be.
Another group, badvista.org,
loves to take potshots at Vista while it promotes open source. I like open source
as much as the next guy, but I'd rather see these folks simply marketing Linux,
making it more usable and maneuvering OEMs into preinstalling and supporting
the darn thing! Now, that's how you battle Vista.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/29/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Microsoft is serious about Web services like Windows Live. To support such offerings,
Redmond is building a
half-billion-dollar,
400,000-square-foot facility in Texas. Unlike Google, I doubt this puppy
will be running much Linux!
That is an interesting point, as Microsoft will be able to test its high-end
server software in a hugely demanding environment.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
I've got to tell you, I don't think this
new
alliance between Sun Microsystems and Intel is a very big deal -- unless
you are an AMD shareholder! Sun has already had success selling Intel-compatible
AMD-powered servers. Now it will just sell Intel-compatible Intel-powered servers.
Big whoop.
What kind of servers do you prefer, AMD or Intel-based, and why? Tell us all
at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
A decade or so ago, I joined
InfoWorld, and my very first order of business
was to help Stuart Johnston finish reporting a story about Microsoft giving
its own developers access to APIs that third parties like Lotus, Borland, Ashton-Tate
and WordPerfect were shut out of.
Stuart did a remarkable job on the story, and it ended up being the center
of many of the antitrust allegations made against Microsoft.
Ten years later third parties have the very same complaints.
A suit in Iowa on behalf of consumers charges that Microsoft is violating
a 2002 agreement to play fair with APIs. I'm not sure exactly what's going
on here. Maybe I should give old Stu a call!
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Congrats. You might be able to move to Vista this year after all, as
the
first SP is due in '07, according to recent reports. Don't expect any groundbreaking
new features, as the service pack is expected to focus largely on fixes.
Some in IT are more concerned with the long-overdue XP SP3, as that 5-year-old
OS will continue to dominate for years to come.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
I had heard of a virus similar to the European Storm virus, where the e-mail
teaser is that Fidel Castro is dead, and stumbled across The Security News Portal
seeking details. I didn't find what I was looking for (though an overview can
be found
here)
-- I found something better.
In the midst of numerous Microsoft patch reports was a five-disc DVD set --
"Everybody
Loves Redmond: 2007 A New Year of Hilarious Patches." An obvious spoof,
the box is not quite ROTFL, but is almost LOL.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/23/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
Spammers have a new technique to trick the unsuspecting. Their spams
look
just like the HTML newsletters that legitimate companies like airlines send
out to customers. Besides tricking end users, the messages can also trick spam
filters. Do you prefer HTML or text newsletters and why? Tell me at
[email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/23/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
A virus released in Europe through
messages
about a recent storm has spread to thousands of computers. While this precise
tactic might not work in the States and elsewhere, it won't be long 'til some
little puke hacker finds a new e-mailer teaser to carry this viral load. One
of my old bosses fell for the I Love You virus. What would you fall for? Let
us know at
[email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/23/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments
ActiveWin.com might be in the running for a Pulitzer after breaking this whopper
of a news story. The site claims -- get this -- that Longhorn will be officially
named Windows Server 2007. Now there's a scoop of Woodward and Bernstein proportions!
Our author Stuart Johnston is guessing Windows
Server 2008 might be a more accurate name.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/23/2007 at 1:15 PM0 comments