Microsoft Executive Diaspora Grows

The big news late last week, of course, was that Eric Schmidt will soon step down as CEO of Google and turn the company back over to company cofounder Larry Page.

As news goes, though, that story was a little bit boring. The whole thing seemed pretty friendly -- Schmidt will stay on as an adviser and as executive chairman and will no doubt continue raking in loads of cash. Everybody wins. More

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/24/20110 comments

Ballmer Takes Hu to Task on Piracy

There's a whole "Hu's on First," Abbot-and-Costello-style routine to be written about Chinese President Hu Jintao, but since your editor isn't a comedy writer he'll (mercifully) leave that to someone else. In the meantime, Hu had a heck of a week in the U.S. last week, including some less-than-friendly (although totally appropriate -- even necessary) comments from Steve Ballmer about how the software piracy rate in China is 90 percent. More

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/24/20112 comments

HP and Microsoft Unveil Appliances

OK, so we were expecting some blenders, maybe a washer or a food processor, but the appliances HP and Microsoft trotted out yesterday are more about cloud computing than what used to be called "home economics."

There are five appliances in total, one of which is intended to help companies build a private cloud "in a box." That leads us to wonder -- when is the cloud not the cloud? If it's installed and administered on-premises, is it still the cloud? And can the cloud be put in a box? More

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/20/20111 comments

Apple Reports Spectacular Earnings

Apple is a monster that is consuming the technology industry. Its latest earnings report was almost comically awesome, and the company is now simply brushing off competitors the way a raincoat sheds water. Of course, Steve Jobs's health is still an issue, but credit where credit's due: Apple's getting the loot.

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/20/20110 comments

Microsoft Loses Another Key Person

Strictly speaking, he might not have been an executive, but Johnny Chung Lee, a researcher who helped develop the massively successful Kinect application, is headed for Google. How long can the Microsoft Execudus continue before Redmond is completely out of brain power? Why don't you tell us at [email protected]? Also, while we're writing about Johnny Chung Lee, let's enjoy some Johnny Lee. Of course, Buh-wheet would later make that song eternally his, but Johnny Lee sang it first.

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/20/20110 comments

Microsoft Releases New Embedded Operating Systems

The excitement was almost palpable last week as Microsoft rolled out Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 and Windows Embedded POSReady 7. And, yes, we crack up every time we see the abbreviation "POS."

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/19/20110 comments

Microsoft Quietly Gets Serious about Dynamics CRM Online

Microsoft has a strange habit of working on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. We've noted this before, and on Monday it happened again.

While much of the nation was sledding or skating on frozen ponds on Monday (hey, sunshine types, don't knock winter until you've tried it), Microsoft was busy talking up by far its most complete version of Dynamics CRM Online, it's software-as-a-service customer relationship management suite. More

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/19/20114 comments

Jobs Health Leave Rocks Apple Stock

The fickle nature of the financial world is such that everything might have changed by the time you read this, but Apple's stock price took a bit of a hit on Tuesday with reports that the great Steve Jobs -- seriously, let's not even begin to deny the man's genius -- is once again taking leave from the company for health reasons.

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/19/20110 comments

Check Out the New RCPmag.com

The site you know and love has a brand-new look that is, frankly, fantastic. It also has tons of great content, as always, as well as archives of your editor's ramblings. Check out the new RCPmag.com today.

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/19/20111 comments

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Coming in March

Brace yourselves, MultiPoint Server fans. Not long now.

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/13/20110 comments

Reader Response: Microsoft and Google Go to Court

Ah, litigation. Where would IT be without you? Where would America be without you? But we digress... Not long ago, we wrote about Google winning a freeze on Microsoft's cloud deal with the U.S. Department of the Interior. In response, reader Philip thought that we might have thrown the word "winning" around to casually, but he's right with us other than that: More

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/13/20111 comments

Microsoft Execudus "Devastating"

Following on the heels of the departure of Bobby Mugs, one prominent former Microsoft honcho says that all of these folks leaving Redmond adds up to bad news for the company. OK, so Don Dodge didn't use the word "Execudus," but he should have. And he will eventually...

Posted by Lee Pender on 01/13/20111 comments