More Eurofines for Redmond?

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/26/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Yahoo Shareholders Getting Antsy

Even if Yahoo isn't ready to accept Redmond's overtures, Microsoft employees will be, or should be, ready for what seems to be an inevitable consumption of the Internet pioneer. Microsoft executives e-mailed the company's employees last week a guide to swallowing Yahoo, laying out how an acquisition would affect Redmond's rank and file.

Meanwhile, Yahoo shareholders are getting more and more nervous about the company's rebuffing of Microsoft. One group has sued Yahoo, charging that the company's executives shouldn't be trying to get that scary biker dude to take them to the prom when the quarterback of the football team has a limo and a corsage waiting and ready to go. (Or something like that -- basically, the shareholders want Yahoo to sell out to Microsoft rather than shop around for another acquirer.)

Even if a deal is inevitable -- and we have no idea whether it'll happen -- these delays and Yahoo's apparent revulsion at the site of Microsoft don't make anybody look very good. In fact, at this point, both companies look kind of desperate, and Google -- the reason all of this is happening -- must be sitting back and enjoying the drama over a big box of popcorn, or maybe sushi, or kelp, or whatever people in San Francisco are eating these days.

This story is sure to continue unfolding, so check RCPU for more updates and witty commentary (ahem), and keep sending your thoughts on the matter (or anything else) to [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/26/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Deconstructing Microsoft's New Openness

Heck, you could even hold a press conference. That's what Microsoft did yesterday to announce its new openness initiatives, the basics of which RCPU managed to sneak into yesterday's issue. The conference call, which evidently required a "War Declared"-level media alert on Thursday morning, started brilliantly -- after waiting about 15 minutes past the start time, reporters finally heard some Microsoft official apologize for the late start and explain that it had been caused in part by "technical problems we had to solve." What, did Ballmer's PC blue-screen when he tried to open PowerPoint, or something?

Anyway, the crux of the story remains that Microsoft is publishing some 30,000 pages of documentation -- don't try to take that tome on your next flight -- revealing APIs, software protocols and heretofore concealed trade secrets. Of course, that's part of what the European Union has been demanding that Microsoft do for a while now -- and, as you might imagine, the EU still doesn't think that Microsoft is doing enough. After all, Microsoft has talked openness before but thus far hasn't really seemed to make it a corporate priority (understandably enough, given that the interaction between Microsoft applications is one of the company's key selling points). Now, with the EU's constant prodding, Microsoft is all about sharing...again.

This time, though, it's different. This time, Steve Ballmer was doing the talking. And Ray Ozzie. And the top lawyer, Brad Smith. This time, the announcement merited a "Victory in Europe"-style media alert. This time, Microsoft is serious...right? Well, more serious, anyway. Some of the documentation posted will let open source developers go beyond just creating programs that will work with Microsoft applications to actually extending some of the functionality of Microsoft's wares.

As long as it's not done for commercial purposes, of course. As far as software for sales goes, the open source folks are ostensibly under the same patent pressure that they've always been under -- except that now, Microsoft says that it's going to reveal exactly what patents it has and license that intellectual property for low fees. The company's promise not to sue developers working for non-commercial purposes also seems to open the door to let customers (and partners) use open source apps in their Microsoft shops without fear of recrimination.

For partners, the announcement is likely to have relatively little impact, except for those partners who now have access to APIs they might have needed in order to develop for or extend Microsoft applications and previously didn't have. Other than that, the announcement will probably serve to make Microsoft look a little less proprietary and a little more open than it has looked in the past, and with open source applications spreading in corporate IT departments -- especially in data centers -- that can't be a bad thing.

We've said many times before in this space that the EU should just leave Microsoft alone, and we suspect that EU regulators aren't finished with Redmond yet. But if pressure from the EU led Microsoft to open up a bit (and, apparently, it did), and if Microsoft's opening is positive for customers and partners, let's call yesterday's announcement a little bit of good news and wait and see what happens from there. This story is still far from being over.

One thing we could do without, though, is the faux self-sacrifice on Microsoft's part. Listening to Ballmer and Co. yesterday morning, we half expected a fake crying jag (not unlike the one Will Ferrell's character delivers at the end of Blades of Glory) and an emotional speech about the lengths Microsoft will go to in order to please its customers. Whatever. Just pay your EU traffic fine, Redmond, and don't pretend that you're publishing your APIs out of concern for your customers, support for open source or the goodness of your heart. Please. It's just kind of embarrassing. We all know the real story.

What's your take on Microsoft's new openness? Drop a line to [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/22/2008 at 1:21 PM1 comments

Gates: IT Talent Is Overseas Now

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/22/2008 at 1:21 PM4 comments

Vista SP1's Nasty Side-Effects

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/22/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Tech Data To Offer VMware Wares

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/21/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

HP Earnings Surprise the Street

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/21/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Extricom Introduces Channel Program

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/21/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Microsoft's Service Pack Shuffle

And why not? Windows Server 2008 has blockbuster sales potential for partners and already has customers' attention. And now, it has an added bonus: a built-in service pack.

Oh, yes! Not only will you get Windows Server 2008 when it ships, you'll get its first service pack built right in! But wait, there's more. Actually, there isn't anything more -- we just got a little caught up in the old-school TV ad script. Seriously, though, when is a service pack not a service pack? When it ships with a brand-new product. What, did Microsoft screw up Windows Server 2008 so much that it's having to ship a service pack as soon as the product debuts?

Probably not. In fact, Microsoft says that since Windows Server 2008 has the same code base as Vista, and since Vista is at the SP1 stage, it makes sense for Windows Server 2008 to be at the SP1 stage, too.

Whatever, Redmond. We all know that customers are often leery of new Microsoft products and tend to wait for service packs before investing in them. Microsoft isn't fooling anybody here; by shipping SP1 right off the bat, Redmond is trying to get customers to sign up for Windows Server 2008 without hesitation.

But why this product? And why now? Unlike Vista, which came out to a reception flatter than the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, Windows Server 2008 has customers both buzzing and budgeting. Wethinks, in this case, that Microsoft doth indeed protest too much. But we're still excited.

What's your take on SP1 shipping with Windows Server 2008? How much will it help you sell the product? Sound off at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/21/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Microsoft Continues Dance with Open Source, EU

Redmond also pledged not to sue for patent infringement open source developers who develop software for "non-commercial distribution." (So, that includes Microsoft's own customers...right?) Microsoft is also going to let us know once and for all which of its protocols are patented, and then license those patents at what it calls low rates.

The whole Microsoft spiel is here. Also, look for more coverage of this announcement -- and maybe a snarky comment or two -- in Friday's RCPU.

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/21/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Microsoft Repackages Servers for SMBs

Microsoft announced today the Windows Essential Server Solutions family, which we could call "WESS" but won't. The concept behind this is simple. There are two versions of the aptly named Windows Small Business Server 2008 -- Premium and Standard -- for small businesses, and two versions (yup, Premium and Standard again) of the Windows Essential Business Sever 2008 aimed at midsize companies.

By the way, yes, you used to know Small Business Server as Cougar. Along with Longhorn, Cougar was apparently part of Microsoft's server-codename tribute to the mascots of the extinct Southwest Conference. We fully expect something to be codenamed Horned Frog any day now -- in fact, we demand it.

Anyway, there's a graduation from SBS Standard through EBS premium: SBS Standard includes one server, SBS Premium two, EBS Standard three and EBS Premium -- anybody following the pattern here? -- four. Starting with SBS Premium, IT folks can run the second server virtually on the first one and then, if they'd like, transfer it later to a physical box at no extra cost and with no licensing hassles. And, yes, the idea is for a growing company to move from SBS to EBS at some point.

All of these offerings are built in Windows Server 2008. There's other stuff, too, such as a Forefront Security for Exchange bundle and SaaS-like connection to Office Live Small Business.

The new servers are much easier to set up and install than previous models, said Steven VanRoekel, senior director of the Windows Server Solutions Team at Microsoft, who chatted with RCPU this week. "Partner models are shifting to more downstream stuff and less about the initial install. They've told us they don't want to do that stuff anymore," VanRoekel said.

Microsoft is going to kick off some marketing around the new server family soon, using the tagline "Multiply Your Power," which sounds like something from an '80s action cartoon or an old videogame. As such, we at RCPU heartily approve.

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/20/2008 at 1:21 PM0 comments

Survey Says Vista Not Cracking the Enterprise

Well, they have no plans to deploy Vista "at this time," according to the survey. Don't let that bit on the end slip away. What happens when a company undergoes a hardware refresh and can't get anything but Vista for new machines? As we've suggested before in RCP, that's when Vista might finally make a break for enterprise pay dirt.

Or, if this survey is any indication, a hardware refresh might be the moment when mundane office workers in drab cubicles (hey, that description sounds familiar) might suddenly become hipsters with Apple logos on their machines. Does that mean that we'll also have to listen to obscure pop bands and stop watching big-budget movies in favor of indie "films"? The cultural ramifications could be massive. To the copy and paste from the RCPmag.com story:

"The survey asked participants if they had 'considered the possibility of deploying any non-Windows operating system as an alternative to adopting Windows Vista.' It turned out that 44 percent of participants said that they were indeed considering a non-Windows alternative....The Windows OS replacement that respondents mentioned most was Macintosh (28 percent), followed by Red Hat Linux (23 percent), SuSE Linux (18 percent), Ubuntu (18 percent), other Linux (nine percent) and not sure (four percent)."

Somewhere, Steve Jobs is laughing with delight. OK, so maybe there's some wishful thinking going on here in IT world -- it seems unlikely that companies would jettison major investments in Microsoft simply out of disdain for Vista -- but the survey numbers, for what they're worth, confirm that Vista still looks like a dud in the enterprise. If it does ever make a serious dent there -- and we still suspect that it will -- it'll be more because IT folks have little choice but to deploy it than because they actually like it.

A Mac in every cubicle? Really? Share your vision of this brave new world at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on 02/20/2008 at 1:21 PM2 comments