May 12, 2008

Microsoft and RIM cosy up to take on iPhone

RIM, the company behind the Blackberry smart phone, and Microsoft announced an increase in integration between RIM's mobile devices and the Windows Live service. This news sets the stage for the big summer PR battle between the Blackberry and Apple's iPhone. With the iPhone adding Exchange synchronization and enterprise-friendly features by the end of June, Blackberry, Windows Mobile-powered, and other smart phones will find the enterprise phone market under assault by Apple proponents.

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Posted by TomR at 10:34 AM |

September 26, 2007

Amazon MP3 store is the first real Apple challenger

Yesterday, Amazon launched a beta of Amazon MP3, a Web-based store that sells music without restrictive DRM and in the widely supported MP3 format. Unlike other stores based off Microsoft DRM technology and file formats, this means that Amazon files can easily be played on the most popular portable devices -- Apple's iPod family. Consumers will benefit from the store launch, and at last, Apple will be given some real competition in the digital download market. As usual, some of the major record labels still can't decide what to do, despite seeing the success of the Apple store.

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Posted by TomR at 03:22 PM |

April 24, 2007

Global brand ranking report puts a tech company on top

The 2007 global brand ranking report from market research firm Millward Brown Optimor had 17 tech brands in its top 100 list. Marketing executives at Google will be happy with the results, while those at Sony may wonder how they can claw their way up the brand value ladder. As for Microsoft and Apple, score a victory for the Zune and Vista creator.

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Posted by TomR at 11:21 AM |

January 29, 2007

Microsoft continues to lose money trying to make it in the CE world

Despite investing billions of dollars in the consumer electronics market, Microsoft is not profiting from its high profile ventures. Profit comes from Windows, Office, and its server offerings, but critical consumer products, such as the Xbox 360 and the Zune ecosystems, continue to lose money. Microsoft executives don't expect the consumer division to make money until 2008.

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Posted by TomR at 11:09 AM |

December 01, 2006

Microsoft launches Vista and Office upgrades for businesses

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the "business launch" of several of its most prominent software offerings, including Windows Vista, 2007 Microsoft Office, and Exchange Server 2007. However, the individual organizational jury is still out on whether the new features and capabilities of these products outweigh the cost of their adoption, deployment, and support. The biggest hurdle for Microsoft to overcome will be trying to convince its existing customer base to upgrade.

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Posted by TomR at 12:08 PM |

September 20, 2006

The Zune 1.0 dud

Last week, Microsoft officially announced details of its new Zune consumer brand. The September 14th announcement came two days after rival Apple announced a refreshed iPod family, updated iTunes software for Windows and Mac OS X, and a revamped iTunes Store that now supports movie downloads. The verdict? The soon-to-arrive Microsoft device and its accompanying Zune-branded ecosystem will not slow the iPod juggernaut. Zune, in its initial 1.0 incarnation, will be a dud.

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Posted by TomR at 01:42 PM |

July 24, 2006

Microsoft's consumer obsession leads to Zune

For the last week, the rumor of Zune, reportedly some kind of Microsoft-branded iPod, dominated tech news, community, and blog sites. The general media was obsessed, too, as the Zune story offered so many enticing angles, such as Microsoft battling its arch-rival Apple, the company now defining the digital music experience; Microsoft back-stabbing its digital music partners by embracing a vertical digital music strategy; and Microsoft jumping deeper into the consumer electronics space despite huge...

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Posted by TomR at 01:36 PM |

June 16, 2006

Microsoft plans for Gates' departure

Yesterday Microsoft announced that Bill Gates would further reduce his responsibilities at Microsoft, the $40 billion company he founded in 1975. Gates had already reduced his duties, particularly in 2000, when he ceded the company CEO duties to his college friend and longtime Microsoft employee, Steve Ballmer. This announcement provided a timeline and also noted the executives that would take over Gates' current responsibilities. The changes now, and by July 2008Microsoft announced several important points about...

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Posted by TomR at 01:09 PM |

May 15, 2006

Microsoft and URGE won't defeat Apple in digital audio

To take on Apple Computer in the digital audio market, Microsoft is playing favorites, tying its latest effort to dethrone Apple on the soon to be unveiled URGE music service. URGE, due May 17, is a product of Viacom's MTV Networks. MTV Networks includes the youth-oriented MTV properties, the older demographic VH1 offerings, and the country music CMT brands. Announced last December, the service will not provide the only digital music store that can be...

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Posted by TomR at 04:21 PM |

March 21, 2006

All things Vista: Keeping tabs on the next Microsoft operating system

It's hard to keep the details straight when discussing Microsoft's next version of its client operating system (OS). But given some recent announcements, we thought we'd give an update of the current landscape for anyone who hasn't updated their Vista fact and trivia spreadsheet.You should know that:Longhorn is Vista and Vista is the new XP. The history of Vista is really the history of Longhorn, the former code-name for the operating system update. But last...

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Posted by TomR at 04:11 PM |

March 09, 2006

Origami = UMPC: A new acronym but still the same old tablet story

Microsoft officially announced its latest tablet PC effort today. For the past year, the latest iteration of its tablet PC dream had been known by the project's code name: Origami. In Germany at the CeBIT technology show, the vendor finally brought the project out into the light.It's called UMPC, or Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer. What's a UMPC? According to Microsoft it is "a new category of mobile computing devices that features small, lightweight, carry-everywhere hardware designs...

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Posted by TomR at 04:28 PM |

March 08, 2006

Microsoft and Origami: A tablet PC love affair

Bill Gates and, by extension, Microsoft, have really wanted the tablet PC to make it big. Right now, a relatively few number of people use them as mobile clipboards and form-filling devices, such as insurance adjusters and doctors. But Microsoft still believes that the tablet PC can and will become a mainstream computing device. This dream has been going on for years but with little market success despite improved batteries, cheaper screens, low-power processors, and...

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Posted by TomR at 04:31 PM |

November 02, 2005

Not Web-based Windows or Office: Underwhelming Live is rebranded and future consumer and business services

Looking at the headlines in the business and IT press, you would think that Microsoft had radically shifted its strategy with the announcement of Windows Live and Microsoft Office Live. Without digging into the details, it sounded as if the software giant and taken the radical step of creating a Web-based version of its dominant operating system and office productivity suite.However, in reality, Microsoft is extending its two most powerful brands with some new, already...

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Posted by TomR at 04:39 PM |

October 07, 2003

Sun Java Desktop System and its siblings battle Microsoft Windows/Office

Last month, Sun Microsystems announced a new software offering called the Sun Java Desktop System (JDS), a bundle of enhanced open source software to compete with Microsoft’s dominant Windows operating system and Office productivity suite. Most of the business and technology media and analysts seemed unimpressed. Some even said that it was doomed because they considered the product to be a desktop for primarily running Java applications – understandable because of its name. But New...

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Posted by TomR at 10:45 AM |