This can't be bad news, can it? Tight Microsoft partner HP had rather an excellent calendar fourth quarter of 2009, financially speaking. And the company says that things are only going to get better from here.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/18/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
A couple of quick things before we begin: First off, thanks once again to Scott Bekker, the Earl Morrall (or Jeff Hostetler, if you prefer) of RCPU, for writing the newsletter last week while your editor was in England watching West Ham beat Birmingham in the other kind of football. And thanks also to Jeff Schwartz, who was busy cranking out stories yesterday while the rest of us enjoyed the day off by watching the Olympics and...well, that's about it, really. It is February, after all.
And while we know that there's a big mobile show going on in Barcelona this week, we did find it a bit odd that Microsoft chose yesterday -- a holiday in the U.S. -- to introduce its completely new, totally revamped approach to smartphone software. Windows Phone 7 essentially (and mercifully) breaks with the old Windows Mobile 6.whatever product.
We kind of wondered whether Steve Ballmer and friends chose a U.S. holiday for this big announcement so that nobody here would pay any attention to it. After all, the whole Windows Mobile franchise hasn't exactly set the world on fire. Upon further review, though, we don't think that was the case.
In fact, Windows Phone 7, if it works the way it's supposed to, could do for the mobile operating system what Windows 7 is doing for the mothership OS -- that is, save it from the ignominy of its predecessor. The technology and philosophy sound solid, at least from what we can read in Jeff's excellent report linked above. And then there's this from Jeff's story:
While companies such as Apple and Research in Motion manufacture their respective iPhone and BlackBerry devices and therefore control all aspects of hardware and software design, Microsoft, by comparison, exerts minimal control over Windows Mobile. The new strategy aims to provide the best of what Apple and RIM offer in terms of control over the hardware, while allowing developers and OEMs to have broader options.
Sound familiar? It sounds to us very much like what Microsoft did with desktop Windows years ago: license it to OEMs and let them run with it rather than forcing OEMs, partners and users to conform to the restrictions of a particular kind of hardware box and development strategy. Granted, people don't seem to mind using the iPhone or BlackBerry, so maybe the old paradigm that held sway on the desktop 25 years ago doesn't matter on the smartphone's smaller screen.
Then again, how would we know? Microsoft hasn't really had a seriously competitive mobile offering...well, ever, arguably. So, maybe smartphone users really are aching for something somewhat less proprietary than what's on offer now, and maybe developers and OEMs will flock to Microsoft's new mobile OS offering in search of a little breathing room. A fair number of OEMs seem to be on board already.
Windows 7 has already started making people forget about the disaster that was Vista. Maybe there's something to this "7" thing for Microsoft. If Windows Phone 7 can replicate the success of its desktop cousin, Redmond might be on its way to dominating yet another facet of the software industry.
What's your take on Microsoft's new mobile strategy? Will it work, or will it flop? Send your thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/16/2010 at 1:22 PM1 comments
Don't you hate it when the cure is worse than the disease? Microsoft surely does, as it's now having to look into a patch for XP that apparently crashes the operating system. How funny is it that both Microsoft's corporate color and its infamous death screen are blue?
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/16/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
This effort has a four-letter acronym, just to be refreshing. Want to know what it is? You'll just have to click.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
The analysts at Forrester have put out a tasty little tidbit about upgrading to Exchange 2010. Increase RCPmag.com's hit count by reading more about it here.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Well, this just figures, doesn't it? As soon as we at RCPU start to go and brag on Windows 7 and tell partners what a great opportunity it'll provide for them, the whole operating system goes kaput.
Well, not really. Windows 7 is still popular and working well for most folks. But for others, it literally is going kaput -- or at least threatening to, due to a puzzling bug that keeps telling users that their laptop batteries are dying or faulty. In fact, it seems as though Windows 7 might be damaging the batteries themselves. Or, Windows 7 might not be at fault at all. Everything's a bit murky right now. The root of the problem isn't clear at this point.
Microsoft is investigating the snafu and looking to develop a fix. The bug is nothing new, by the way; users have been reporting it since June, apparently. Given Windows 7's meteoric rise up the OS charts, this isn't the best time for a problem like this to come to light. However, we hope that Microsoft will be able to fix this problem relatively quickly now that it has gone mainstream.
After all, it would be a shame for all the post-Vista credibility that Microsoft has rebuilt with Windows 7 to drain away like so much...well, battery acid, we guess. Microsoft and its hardware partners need to make this a top priority, which they are no doubt doing, so that Windows 7's (and Microsoft's) momentum can continue to build.
Have you experienced the Windows 7 battery problem? What has your experience been? Send it to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2010 at 1:22 PM7 comments
We still think of cola when we hear the letters "RC," but if you're thirsting for knowledge on the forthcoming version of Microsoft's big moneymaker, you can take a sip or two here. (Heh, we carried that whole beverage thing all the way though the sentence. Not bad. Not bad.)
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/04/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
So, Microsoft posted a job entry seeking a manager for a new, SMB-focused, hosted collaboration and e-mail service...and then took it down. And then wouldn't say anything about it. And now probably wishes the whole thing would just go away, at least for a little while. Well, it won't -- because Jeff Schwartz is on it.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Well, that's a relief. After the debacle that was Vista, Windows 7 has turned out to be a hit and is already paying dividends for Microsoft. (It even helped Microsoft win a customer-satisfaction battle against Apple, a seemingly impossible feat given the dedication of the Mac masses.)
There's no reason why partners shouldn't jump on this bandwagon. In fact, they should. In one fell swoop, Microsoft seems to have restored its reputation -- the good part of it, anyway -- and won back an impressive number of consumers. And given that folks who make corporate IT spending decisions are consumers, too (like the rest of us), it's very possible that they're high on Windows 7 right now along with a lot of other folks.
So, partners, maybe now is the time to start talking to clients about that hardware (and operating system) refresh. Folks who fork over IT cash might really start thinking about putting XP out to pasture now, especially with the economy seemingly out of the absolute lowest depths of the recession (for now). Or perhaps this is a good time to carry a bunch of other Microsoft products into corporate IT departments under the Windows 7 banner, given that Microsoft has a pretty aggressive and impressive roadmap for 2010.
In any case, there's no time like the present to capitalize on the goodwill and happy feelings surrounding Windows 7. In fact, this might be Vista's parting gift to the channel: Just about any OS would have seemed better after it, especially one like Windows 7 that actually is very good. In fact, maybe Microsoft planned the whole thing to play out this way. OK, probably not...but once again, Redmond seems to be winning in the long run.
How have you capitalized on Windows 7? Do you like it as much as other users seem to? Tell all at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
It's called the integrated cloud storage connector, but it doesn't make CommVault a storage provider. Rather, it lets users integrate storage with cloud offerings from providers such as Microsoft and Amazon. That sounds pretty useful, actually.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/03/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments