Jeff Reifman: Microsoft's Sacred Cash Cow. This made me wonder about
Microsoft’s willingness to innovate and compete. Why are
Microsoft products still so difficult to use and so unreliable? Why is
the company improving them so slowly? Is Microsoft losing its
competitive edge? Has the company seen its best days?
This is an interesting contribution to the literature of ex-Microsoft
folks. It's thoughtful, though I don't think the writer appreciates
what $56 billion in cash, a powerful monopoly and the willingness to
do anything to preserve the monopoly can mean in the future.
I believe we've not seen the height of Microsoft's powers. Through
threats and willing helpers or possibly outright proxies, it's already
aiming "intellectual property" laws against open-source software. And
it has made no bones about further such plans.
Microsoft also does improve products when it has competition, such as
in the smart-phone and handheld arenas where its operating system
entries are getting much better. The people in charge at Microsoft may
be ethics-challenged, but a lot of smart and basically honorable
people work for them, wanting to do the right thing themselves. They
often do.
The Future of Microsoft's Xbox06/08/2004 10:40 AM To the gaming community, the Microsoft Xbox console has a lot to offer
and promises even more in the future. But the company has not been
able to get worldwide sales, especially Japanese sales, to the levels
it hoped for. Depending on whose report you read, the Sony PlayStation
is outselling the Xbox at a 4 to 1 pace, and that's an optimistic
ratio. The Xbox has become the number-two platform in the USA, ahead
of the Nintendo GameCube, but it still has not been popular enough to
become a profit center for Microsoft. All this has recently been
compounded by Microsoft's decision to cancel or delay the release of
its online game True Fantasy Live Online.
Investors Weighing Microsoft's Future (AP)04/17/2004 08:37 PM AP - Microsoft Corp.'s successes over the last three decades have made
it the third-largest company in the stock market and its founder the
richest man in the world. But with its peak growth years behind it,
investors are wondering what's ahead for the computing powerhouse.
Microsoft's Thoreau takes to woods to ponder future
Microsoft's Thoreau takes to woods to ponder future03/29/2005 06:25 AM One way to peek into technology's crystal ball last month was to take
a winding road into a cedar forest in the Pacific Northwest to seek
out one of tech's top thinkers. A sunny Thursday afternoon found him
waiting alone behind the gate of his secluded cottage.
"Hi, thanks for coming," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, appearing
eager for company after four days alone at the waterfront cottage. He
was there for his "Think Week," a seven-day stretch of seclusion he
uses to ponder the future of technology and then propagate those
thoughts across the Microsoft empire.
It's a twice-yearly ritual that can influence the future of Microsoft
and the tech industry. A Think Week thought can give the green light
to a new technology that millions of people will use, or send
Microsoft into new markets.
Microsoft's All-Star Publishers to Deliver Content for Future Xbox
According to this Microsoft blogger the
reason IE development has seemed quiet of late is that they've been
working hard on XAML, an XML Application Markup Language which is a way to
create applications in the browser (or out for that matter) [...] It
is basically an XML structure with CSS and JavaScript. The CSS
defines the appearance and the JavaScript dictates behavior.
Sound familiar? It should do - that's exactly what XUL does. On the plus
side, this completely validates the grossly under-appreciated
importance of Mozilla's biggest secret. On the negative side, this
looks set to represent the ultimate browser lock-in - in a
few years time when IE 7
comes as standard on new PCs I wouldn't be surprised to see the corporate
software development world moving almost exclusively to this
technology - after all, it's going to be extremely easy both to
develop and to distribute and it will have all of the benefits of a
web application without the downside of the restricted GUIs offered by HTML.
Of course, Microsoft might make it an open standard. But then I
might win the lottery next week.
I wonder if it will be possible to transform XAML in to XUL using XSLT?
Update: It has been pointed out that the author of
the above blog entry is not a Microsoft employee.
Microsoft's New MSN TV
Microsoft's New MSN TV08/11/2004 11:01 PM Microsoft is getting ready to unleash an updated version of its MSN TV
service according to a review over at Design Technica. This update
will contain a completely redesigned broadband Internet receiver and
of course new services. You can get Microsoft’s MSN TV terminal at
major retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon.com, and
others, beginning this October at $199.
Microsoft’s MSN TV terminal will allow users to play digital media,
send/receive e-mail, and of course browser the Internet. Just image it
all from the comfort of your favorite chair you can view
recorded/download digital videos and listen to your favorite music (as
long as Windows Media Player supports that format). No, Microsoft
isn't stopping there; users will also be able to view their favorite
pictures. Either with an integrated photo viewer or some kind of a
slideshow application. The receiver has your normal audio outputs,
composite/S-Video output, phone line port, Ethernet port, and two USB
ports. All this will be powered by Microsoft’s Windows CE operating
system, which already has shown up in Microsoft's automotive
software.
This product reminds me to much of the original WebTV. That isn’t
necessarily a bad thing, but overall WebTV wasn’t that impressive.
The one thing that really bugs me about Microsoft’s MSN TV is the
overall look. With its current color scheme it reminds me of a
toddler toy you'd pick up at Wal-Mart.
Microsoft's MOM Knows Best?12/18/2003 06:17 PM Management software goes to its second beta as the company aims to
carve out a path in the enterprise infrastructure space.
Microsoft's new CLI
Microsoft's new CLI10/31/2003 10:32 AM An anonymous reader writes "Months ago a story ran regarding a job
advert at Microsoft for a developer role to lead the work on a new
generation of command ...
Microsoft's Whidbey: Something For Everyone
Microsoft's Whidbey: Something For Everyone10/30/2003 11:26 AM The latest pre-beta of developer tools on display at the software
giant's Professional Developers Conference offer something for all
types of developers -- and critics.
Microsoft's Wi-Fi woes05/11/2004 07:31 PM The software giant's decision to dump its wireless networking gear
business came amid sliding market share and profit margins, analysts
say.
PHP 5.0 goes for Microsoft's ASP-dot-Net jugular07/18/2004 08:43 AM THE PEOPLE at Zend Technologies quietly announced last week the
availability of the long awaited PHP version 5. The rise of PHP - the
open source, server-side web programming language that took the Net by
storm starting in 1998 with its 3.0 release, seems to be unstoppable,
if one believes the usage charts at php.net. The PHP growth could be
compared to the relentless growth curve of Apache, the open source web
server of fame which now runs more than two thirds of the sites on the
Web, according to the Netcraft Web Servers survey. That's hardly
surprising, given that Apache and PHP work very well together.
Microsoft's Longhorn05/06/2004 10:25 AM
Microsoft's provided a preview of Longhorn at WinHEC 2004. The
upcoming operating system revision from Microsoft will feature a new
user interface ca...
Oh, it looks like
the USB GPS Receiver in Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 is ... the
same one from 2004, the Pharos iGPS-360. Who knew finding that
information on the internet could be so easy? Frank Townend,
apparently, because he told me.
All the specs, and I launch my own personal satellite with my mind,
after the jump.
Microsoft's new best friends10/31/2003 08:21 AM News.com's Charles Cooper says the Eolas dispute has convinced even
Microsoft bashers that what's good for Bill Gates is good for the rest
of the PC industry.
Microsoft's Evolution05/20/2004 05:42 AM San Jose Mercury News May 20 2004 10:24AM GMT
Microsoft's Still Searching
Microsoft's Still Searching07/01/2004 01:50 PM MSN starts search upgrades, but it's still a little short. Grok Description matches for Microsoft's Future GrokA matches for Microsoft's Future
HTMLArea: a free, embeddable, DHTML-based HTML editor
HTMLArea: a free, embeddable, DHTML-based HTML editor03/11/2003 09:44 AM Today I came across HTMLArea, a freely available DHTML-based HTML
editor. Although the current "stable" version only works with IE, the
new "beta" version works with a wide variety of browsers.
Make no mistake about it--this is first rate stuff. It makes editing
simple HTML a breeze, and is therefore the ...
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 Update: Internet Explorer May Unexpectedly Close When You Leave the Pointer on the Text in the DHTML Editor
The issue of Mobile PC that's on the stand
this month has the sort of feature that I still can't help but get off
on—the future of gadgetry (or the present of product design, I
guess). They just happened to put up my very favorite gadget from the
feature online as a teaser—this "MicroMedia Paper," a damn near
disposable portable video device that's just a few millimeters thick.
Of course, even in gizmo fantasy land, they still aren't projecting
something like this until 2015.
It's the box of them that really sells it for me, though. I can
resist buying in bulk.
Studiometry update gains new Alerts window, more04/12/2004 07:36 AM Oranged.net Software has released
Studiometry 1.2, a new version of its organizational software for
freelancers. With Studiometry, you can track client data, project
data, project files, to do's, invoices, reports, notes and other data
relevant to your freelance work.
Four alternative Linux window managers
Four alternative Linux window managers07/29/2004 08:21 AM KDE and GNOME combine window managers with suites of applications to
create comprehensive work environments. As complete as they are, it's
easy to forget that there are other graphical ways to work on a Linux
desktop. Sometimes a lighter-weight window manager is in order, such
as for laptop usage, children's use, or quick startup applications.
Here are four "alternative" window managers that are mature, fast, and
functional.
See more info in Safari download window in 10.3.9
See more info in Safari download window in 10.3.904/18/2005 11:17 AM In Safari 1.2 (and earlier), in the Downloads window you could see
either the download speed or the time remaining, and you toggled it
with option-clicking the description text, as explained in this hint.
Well, with Safari 1...
Download items from Safari's Activity window
Download items from Safari's Activity window04/16/2004 10:24 AM After reading FunkDaddy's hint about using Option and Return for
downloading files from the Safari address bar, I thought I'd try it
with the Activity window. When I tried holding Option and double
clicking an item in the Act...
Drag and drop items to Safari 1.2's Download window
Drag and drop items to Safari 1.2's Download window02/13/2004 11:55 AM It seems as though Apple read my mind and tailor-fitted Safari v125
just for me. The Downloads window has received a huge boost with the
latest Safari release. As mentioned in previous hints, you can now (1)
Control-Click on ...
Source code opens window to old IE flaw02/17/2004 09:16 PM Security researchers confirm that leaked Windows source code can be
used to find flaws in Microsoft's software.
Making a phpBB-style Editor - Part 1: The Editor
Making a phpBB-style Editor - Part 1: The Editor10/29/2003 12:11 AM This tutorial is for all those looking to achieve a bb-style editor
for their users. This part (part 1) covers the javascript and form
behind the editor itself (none of the processing). FOREWARNING - it
lacks some of the functionality of the actual phpBB editor.
2-Disk X window embedded Linux 1.2.12 (Source code)
Lockergnome Download: pageQ Editor Home v1.206/09/2004 01:06 AM Editor Home allows you to create slideshows of Web sites that will be
loaded in a specified sequence and can be distributed via Web or
e-mail. The program is easy to use; you can use the provided browser
interface to surf and add the Web sites to the queue, then save them
as a Q file and play it all as a slideshow. You can also save the
slideshow as an HTML file and upload it to an FTP server or send it
via (.html) e-mail attachment. The slideshow does not save the actual
Web pages, but links to the online content - so you will always see
its latest version. The slideshow can be controlled with player-like
control buttons (stop, rewind, forward, etc.). Additional Pro version
with more features is also available.
2-Disk X window embedded Linux 1.2.20 (Source code branch)
2-Disk X window embedded Linux 1.2.20 (Source code branch)03/29/2005 05:09 PM
2-Disk X window embedded Linux is a tiny net-centric Linux that aims
at portable secure remote system usage. It contains many utilities
including: X Windows, vncviewer, rdesktop, a Web browser, a file
manager, a text editor, a terminal, a window manager, a menu system, a
dialog system, X scripting facilities, and many others. It aims to
work from 1 or 2 floppy disks in any remote location.
Changes:
A busybox package update and minor script cleanups.
Tiny open source window manager catches a giant's eye
Tiny open source window manager catches a giant's eye06/17/2005 06:45 PM Freelance software developer Matthew Allum was simply "scratching an
itch" when he created the Matchbox Window Manager, a lightweight
program designed to more efficiently run X11 applications on handheld
devices. But Allum's project worked so well, it caught the attention
of a giant in the handheld space.
A Window into Microsoft Server Innovations05/25/2004 05:39 PM
TechEd: Microsoft announces its Dynamic Systems Initiative and
previews things to come as it builds its server technology into a
unified system.
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