Now we're seeing how Google could be a serious threat to Microsoft in the enterprise. For a long time, Google seemed more bogeyman than real monster, an obvious power in search but not such a big deal when it came to actually selling to businesses and threatening the Microsoft channel. Google Apps has hardly made a dent in Microsoft Office's market share, and much of what Google has offered for the enterprise thus far has really come off to a lot of IT folks as cheap and simple but not quite useful enough.
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/11/20092 comments
Microsoft got a little bump in market share from the launch of its obviously crooner-inspired search engine. (Seriously, would it be too much to ask to have one of those background pictures on the search page be of Mr. Crosby?)
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/10/20092 comments
Surely somebody must have seen the little red line under the name of Microsoft's new Dublin-based start-up spin-off, InishTech. Somebody go change that "n" to an "r" before the logos get sewn on the corporate dress shirts.
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/10/20092 comments
Well, we're not sure we can vouch for the a-OK part, but the release candidate of System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2 is available, anyway.
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/10/20090 comments
If the hype Microsoft generated for Vista was a 200-piece brass band playing John Philip Sousa marches with baton twirlers in tow and fireworks going off overhead, then Redmond's attitude toward Windows 7 is something closer to the mood music for this entry, Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" (performed here in 1972 with the requisite earth-tone background and big-bow-tie tuxedos of the era).
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/10/20090 comments
Yeah, OK, it's not the most attention-grabbing headline ever, but your editor spent a considerable amount of time today poring over this blog entry about Microsoft's flat stock price and future strategy, as well as perusing the generally thought-provoking comments that follow the entry. We at RCPU are not quite as enamored with Apple as this fellow is, but a lot of what he says about Windows and Office reflects a viewpoint we're starting to come around to ourselves. Enjoy.
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/09/20090 comments
Ten fixes are on the way today, so don't be surprised if this update is a heavy one.
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/09/20090 comments
"Listen, don't really matter to me
Baby, you believe what you wanna believe"
--from "Refugee" by Tom Petty
You don't have to live like a refugee...but if you're a partner, you do have to pay attention to IT spending forecasts. They're a decent gauge of how much money is going to be in your bank account in the next few months. And, as with so many things in the industry, IT spending forecasts might as well be IT spinning forecasts, so full are they of differing angles and brave predictions. Let's try to go from best to worst with what we've seen lately.
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/09/20091 comments
It's been so long since we've run reader e-mails that we just can't help ourselves. You're getting a double dose this week! Let's pick up with Microsoft patenting technology to lock down the operating system. Joseph can kind of see where Microsoft is going with this:
"It is a rather interesting technology, actually, and I can see its uses, such as with Windows Unified Data Storage Server, where legally according to the license you can only install anti-virus, storage management and backup software. Of course, currently there is really nothing stopping you from installing whatever you want on your HP AIO Storage Server. Also, I can especially see it being useful for medical device vendors where they could be held responsible for an OS crash that causes someone to somehow die if the hospital IT department installs something it shouldn't."
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/04/20090 comments
Back in the mists of time (weeks ago, when Swine Flu was in the news and Susan Boyle wasn't yet suffering from overexposure), we asked readers to send us "buy bonds" posters in honor of Microsoft's first-ever bond offering. To our great surprise, somebody actually did, and the contribution is magnificent. Check out Rae's handiwork:
Click on image for larger view. |
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/04/20090 comments
Boo! No, we're not booing Vista (anymore); we're trying to surprise you with the arrival of Windows 7, which is now due Oct. 22. That's just in time for Halloween, of course, which makes us wonder what Windows 7's costume will be.
Most likely, it'll be dressed as a knight in shining armor, out to avenge the good name of Microsoft after the Vista debacle. Or maybe it'll come in a lion's costume, ready to roar after Vista turned out to be a lamb (a generous characterization of the latter, we think -- we could have gone with something closer to rat). Whatever. We really don't have anything more to say about this except that we're curious to see how Windows 7 goes over. And we haven't even thought about our own Halloween costume yet. It's June, for heaven's sake.
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Posted by Lee Pender on 06/04/20094 comments
Microsoft has a competitor to Windows in the netbook market that's not called Linux. It's -- guess who? -- Google, with the Android operating system, which will soon run on some Acer netbooks and likely make them cheaper than Windows models.
This is happening just as Microsoft and netbook maker Asus have decided to launch an anti-Linux campaign for netbooks. Linux, though, might be the easier of the two opponents to defeat in the battle for netbook OS supremacy. Stay tuned...
Posted by Lee Pender on 06/03/20090 comments