We took a rare foray into
Windows Mobile this week -- a bit of a detour from the enterprise-software-heavy content partners are used to here. And what do you know? Somebody cared enough about Windows Mobile to write to us. That somebody was Mark, and here's what he had to say:
"I realize that you need to be a good little Microsoft cheerleader to keep the Microsoft advertising revenue coming, but let's face reality please!"
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on a minute here, Mark. Let's stop you right there. If you've read any of our Vista coverage, you'll know that we're not Microsoft cheerleaders. In fact, in a post made almost three years ago, we compared Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and a couple of other Microsoft executives to Mafiosi. In fact, the mafia thing has come up more than once here as a comparison to Microsoft. And we've just been brutal on Vista because Vista and Microsoft deserve it.
We've said that Microsoft is too fat, that its cloud strategy needs work and that it might be giving partners a raw deal with its SaaS compensation plan -- among other criticisms. (To be fair, though, Microsoft has since more or less addressed the first two criticisms and seems to be evolving the third.) Sometimes we side with Microsoft, and sometimes we don't. It's a judgment call we do our best to get right.
(And let me, as the writer of RCPU, just add a personal note here, in case anybody's wondering: I have no idea who advertises with us. I'm not kidding about this. I write the newsletter, send it off to my editors -- hence the "we" all the time; it's a team effort -- and forget about it unless somebody has a question for me. I don't even read it when it hits my inbox -- but you should! In all seriousness, though, I've never made a comment here to appease an advertiser and never would. Just so everybody understands that.)
OK, end of rant. Sorry about that. It was nothing personal, Mark; you just gave us an opening to explain things a bit. Let's get back to Mark's e-mail:
"Microsoft couldn't get the mobile OS right in six versions, so why should anyone expect different from a Microsoft mobile OS update? They need to scrap what they have and start over with a new product team.
"We've returned more Windows Immobile devices than we've kept or resold, mostly due to constant OS-wide hangs during e-mail access and wireless roaming. Every customer hates them because Microsoft can't get the most basic functions to work reliably, much less the custom apps that the customers needed to run. At least now we have a strong alternative to integrate with business solutions -- the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms. Customers love them.
"What Microsoft has proven over the last 20 years is that they rarely innovate and that their product ruts run very, very deep. Fundamental design defects are rarely corrected, while many just get worse with each new release."
Here, Mark, we defer to your expertise. Windows Mobile experts we are not -- in fact, we rarely write about it, which might have been obvious from this week's entry. Our take was that Microsoft was at least trying to move forward with the forlorn OS, but you've brought to light a lot of issues we just didn't know existed. For that, we thank you, and we hope you'll write again. We'll (probably) spare you the lecture next time.
Do you have another take on Windows Mobile? Or anything else you've read in RCPU recently? Tempt fate at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/12/2009 at 1:22 PM3 comments
We heard a story some time ago from someone -- we can't remember who -- about chatting with a friend who worked for Microsoft. The storyteller suggested that the Microsoft employee Google something, at which time the Redmond wage earner shot back, "Don't you mean Live Search it?"
Um, no. We don't. Because despite Microsoft's best efforts, Google is still synonymous with search, at least for consumers. But that other category of search -- enterprise search, or finding data that's tucked away in various corners of a company's IT infrastructure -- doesn't quite belong to Google yet.
That's where Microsoft might have an opportunity to stake a claim in search, and Redmond bolstered that effort this week with the announcement that it's integrating technology it acquired when it bought Fast Search & Transfer with the quite successful Microsoft Office SharePoint server.
The combination will yield a whole new server, actually, logically dubbed Fast Search for SharePoint, which will ship with Office 14. There are a couple of other new server options on the way, too, including a product for companies building e-commerce Web sites and a server for customers who want to use Fast's platform with SharePoint before Office 14 launches.
These new products could eventually be nice little earners for partners as SharePoint add-ons, and with SharePoint going great guns in the enterprise, channel players might as well cash in. For Microsoft, which is bound and determined to grab at least some of the search market somewhere, the new offerings represent an opportunity to use SharePoint's popularity and usefulness to grab search customers.
We don't expect hordes of users to start "Live Searching" anything, but inside the enterprise SharePoint could give Microsoft a search foothold. And that would be something.
Give us your take on Microsoft enterprise search at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/11/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
The maker of Firefox would be more than happy to help the EU
take down IE. Imagine that.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/11/2009 at 1:22 PM1 comments
Oooh, it was such a tease after the drudgery of Vista. But if you missed the Windows 7 beta, you're too late.
It's gone. You'll just have to wait for the next release...and keep using XP for now.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/11/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Sometimes the collision of news and comedy is so spectacular, so earth-shattering, that mere jokes don't suffice in the face of raw hilarity.
We believe that we've experienced such a collision this week, with the infamous Conficker virus having struck the French military and effectively grounding the French Air Force. (For ceux qui parlent français, you can read about the whole thing here in French, in a blog posting in which the word "Conficker" is spelled no fewer than three different ways.)
OK, OK. So this story isn't really funny. It's actually pretty scary and no doubt has produced a lot of stress for the folks who have been in charge of ridding the French military network of the nasty virus. But rarely have two comedy gold mines -- Microsoft security and the French military (let's face it, not history's most successful outfit) -- combined in such a spectacular way.
Your editor lived in France for five years and loves the country, so we mean no offense to the good people of the hexagon here. But you have to admit, there are jokes to be made. We're not going to make them, though. Instead, we're just going to let the comedy of this story stand on its own merit. If you want to take a crack or two, feel free to e-mail us at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/10/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Green IT, generally speaking, remains more hype than reality, and Microsoft -- unlike, say, IBM -- hasn't exactly been taking the lead in selling green technology to customers. But
this week's release of the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard for the Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning suite is a big step in the green direction in Redmond. (And if you're scoring along at home, letter fans, that's the ESD for the Dynamics AX ERP suite.)
The dashboard is sort of business intelligence for energy use. It lets companies capture data on energy consumption and related costs and then use the data to analyze how they can save energy -- and money. It's all delivered with Microsoft's "role-tailored design," which shows users information based on their roles in a company.
"Customers are feeling increasing pressure to start to deal with this issue," Jennifer Pollard, senior product manager for Dynamics at Microsoft, told RCPU last week. She noted that, for instance, the French government now requires companies to report carbon dioxide emissions.
Pollard also noted that the "greening of the supply chain" has put the squeeze on midsize businesses, AX's target market. "Big companies are stepping up to the plate and saying, 'We are going to require our customers to supply this information to us,'" Pollard said. "That starts to really affect our target market, which is medium-sized business."
But the new AX dashboard isn't just about meeting regulations. It is, of course, about saving companies money by allowing them to cut energy costs. And, partners, it's free for AX customers, which is a nice little selling point for the whole AX suite.
"We really see in this down economy that the time is now to deliver this information so that our customers can benefit from it," Pollard said. "If you can measure it, you can manage it."
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/10/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
It's not often that we write much about Windows Mobile here, but the teetering OS -- which doesn't enjoy anywhere near the market share of its desktop counterpart and has been struggling recently -- topped the news early this week, so here we are.
There's much to say, actually, so here's a little wrap. First off, Microsoft is announcing a new service that lets users synchronize their devices with the Web. Called MyPhone, it sounds a lot like -- maybe even exactly like -- Google's Google Sync product, which the search giant created in part by licensing Microsoft's ActiveSync technology.
Yes, that's right. The two rivals announced very similar products this week, and both offerings have Microsoft technology in their DNA. Maybe this is Microsoft hedging its bets in the mobile market by introducing one offering and getting its technology into another. Or maybe it was just an opportunity for Redmond to pick up some revenue from a competitor. In any case, this type of cooperation between vendors is not unusual -- unless the vendors are Google and Microsoft. Then it's news.
For Windows Mobile partners and users, MyPhone, along with a forthcoming, Apple-esque mobile-applications store, are at least signs of life from an operating system that has looked a little less than healthy lately. (By the way, it's not lost on us that MyPhone sounds a lot like iPhone. We're just sayin'.)
As is always the case with the would-be vultures who can't wait for Microsoft's demise (and will likely be waiting for a while longer), some pundits had started whispering here and there about the death of Windows Mobile. But with a new version out this month and some potential momentum around MyPhone, it looks as though Redmond is very much moving and shaking with Windows Mobile. Just how many customers dance to the new tune is something partners and mobile pundits will be watching very closely.
Can Windows Mobile regain its momentum? What's your take on the mobile OS? Sound off at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/10/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
The Gospels, the Beatles, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse...and now
Microsoft patches. It's a nice, even number this week: 4.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/10/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
The companies
renewed and expanded their partnership this week. There's a pretty good Q&A with both CEOs
here, and we get the sense that it's not lost on either one of them that EMC still owns VMware, Microsoft's primary rival in virtualization.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/05/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
It's an expansion of the distributor's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Division. More details
here.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/05/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments
With the channel
getting a serious look at Windows 7, we expect the positive buzz from the partner community about the forthcoming operating system to intensify. In fact, with this week's news that Microsoft will
offer an upgrade from XP to Windows 7, we're thinking that Windows fans anxious to forget about Vista will hardly be able to contain themselves.
But let's not get carried away. Already there's talk that user access control -- that thorn in many Vista users' sides -- will be weakened in Windows 7. That might not seem like a bad thing, but it could have the potentially unfortunate consequence of making Windows 7 less secure than Vista.
And that's not all. Despite the mostly positive feedback we've had coming in from readers, a couple of you wrote to warn us that Windows 7 might not be the blockbuster that its buzz suggests it'll be -- or, at least, that Windows 7 might give users some of the same problems that came with Vista. Let's start with Tom:
"Every bit of the EXISTING hardware would not work in Vista -- except my mouse! The vendors DID have hardware stuff for Vista -- but only NEW stuff. They left all the other perfectly fine hardware already bought, paid for and working fine with XP behind since they wanted people to throw it away and, in my case, spend a few thousand more to replace the perfectly good working hardware with new hardware that did the same exact functions and had the same technical abilities. The only difference was a new set of drivers so that this hardware could run on Vista. That is just plain bad economics.
"Windows 7 -- I face the same problem. All of that same four- to eight-year-old hardware works fine on XP but NONE will work on W7. I would have to scrap it all and buy new hardware just to get the drivers!
"Now, would manufacturers want to spend $50k-plus of their money JUST to write a SINGLE driver that would work with the old hardware? No, they would lose money and get no income doing that. Some companies like HP would spend millions for no new income at all. So, as a business, it is bad to spend money and get nothing back. But spend that $50k and sell a million new printers identical to the old but they come with a driver to work with Vista -- ah, payback and profit!
"Microsoft and the manufacturers forgot to ask the users if they are willing to spend $500 to $2000 in new EXTERNAL hardware just so they can work with that new OS. No."
Tom, we're getting Vista flashbacks here, we have to admit. But the real issue seems to be a lack of advancement on the hardware side. It might be -- might be -- worth $500 to $2,000 to upgrade hardware along with moving to Windows 7...if there were a reason to buy new hardware. Still, while this problem might not be Microsoft's fault, it could still end up being Microsoft's problem, again.
Ken, never a fan of Vista, writes to us regarding Windows 7...and he's not a fan of the new OS, either:
"Microsoft, in an act of blind stupidity, has taken away the classic start menu and forced this new menu approach, which if you come from an information management or records management background (and many people have) is not intuitive and does not allow us to customize the start bar in a way that suits how we wish to work. I really resent an OS forcing me to work someone else's way, and I also resent being forced to accept someone else's perception of change just for the sake of change when there is no obvious benefit other than cosmetic. There will be Geeks that refute this and say they are glad it's gone, but that effectively just whitewashes the rest of us who are desperately trying to minimize our costs (both hardware and software), training and re-training efforts and budgets and concentrate on our core business survival without being constantly distracted by changes Microsoft thinks we should all be forced to technically embrace.
"For every one of my clients attracted to Windows 7, the other 9 have expressed concerns about two major features that have gone. The classic start bar is a big one. The second is the total non-existence of a repair-restore option.
"This is just plain stupidity by Microsoft. They are publicly saying these two features will not be included, and so just on that fact alone I cannot see any sensible IT manager buying the product. If you have ever had to run an IT site -- and I have a 5,000-user site for Victoria Police here in Melbourne, Australia -- users just seem to be able to break PCs daily for the most bizarre reasons. In a corporate world, you have techniques to handle this, like spare PCs, use of SOEs and image files and data stored on servers centrally managed.
"However, when you come to servicing smaller (fewer than 10 users) businesses or agencies (here in Australia that comprises 50 percent or more of the workforce), these agencies have neither the time nor the resources to handle Windows 7 rollouts if there is not a certain familiar look and feel about the OS; they are freaked out by the new interface, are appalled that the classic start menu has gone (including their ability to do things the way they have become accustomed), and they do not want to pay for staff to have to learn new ways of doing old tasks. They are staggered there is no repair/restore option, which I often used to salvage one of their broken PCs with XP."
Ken, you bring up some very good points. A lot of partners and IT folks -- people doing beta testing and the like -- seem to like Windows 7. But will users warm to it after years of familiarity with XP? That's hard to say; certainly, Vista didn't win a lot of hearts and minds. We'll have to see. One thing's for sure, though: Microsoft really needs Windows 7 to succeed. Whether it does or not could come down to some of the issues mentioned here.
Thanks to Tom and Ken for their contributions. Anybody else who wants to chime in should, at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/05/2009 at 1:22 PM10 comments
Apparently, some of the employees laid off by Microsoft have decided to raise a little cash by unloading some of their painfully uncool apparel. Have a gander at a small gallery
here.
Posted by Lee Pender on 02/05/2009 at 1:22 PM0 comments