Adobe Goes Open Source in a Flash

Pieces of Flash are now in the hands of the public thanks to a generous contribution from Adobe to the Mozilla Foundation. The scripting piece of Flash was handed over so that Flash can play a more integral part of Firefox.

I'm now using IE6 and Firefox 2, and although I browse for hours a day (all work-related, I can assure you!), neither bowls me over. What do you think? Let me know by posting below or e-mail me at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on November 08, 20061 comments


Vista Coupons Worth $1.5 Billion

The coupons and other guarantees given out to deal with a delayed Vista have forced Microsoft to defer $1.5 billion in revenue. That's pretty rough, until you realize that's about how much Redmond spends on Jolt Cola and pizza every year (and even with that, the software is still late!).

Posted by Doug Barney on November 08, 20060 comments


Good, Bad and Ugly 'Net Firm $30 Million Richer

Narus, a company that helps monitor Internet traffic, just got a big cash infusion. For companies protecting trade secrets and countries tracking terrorists, this technology can be a very good thing. But for those concerned with privacy, such spying is as distasteful as 10-year-old Moxie.

One of its bigger uses is to block Internet phone calls, something the phone companies just love!

Posted by Doug Barney on November 08, 20060 comments


Office Live Goes Live

Office Live, a set of services to manage contacts, build Web sites and more, will end its beta and actually go live (or is that Live?) on Nov. 15. If you can put up with a bunch of ads, the services are free. If you want more features and fewer intrusions, it'll cost you $20 a month -- still cheaper than HBO.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 08, 20060 comments


Chinese Take Out?

A Microsoft exec recently mentioned the possibility the company might leave China over the massive country's equally massive repression. Microsoft has only been tangentially involved in the ruckus over U.S. high-tech companies actually helping the Chinese government repress citizens, but I'm sure that deep down, counterfeit versions of XP are the main tool keeping the Chinese populace down. My guess is it will never happen -- Microsoft could never fully cede a billion customers to open source or some other alternative.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 07, 20060 comments


Microsoft and Novell: Linux Lip Service or Fundamental Shift?

At first, it seemed like a blockbuster. Microsoft, for whom open source is the Saddam Hussein of software, formally agreed to support Novell's version of Linux. I've gotten more questions about this than almost any other subject (except "Is that your real hair?").

After my heart stopped racing, I realized this is a huge deal for Novell, but far from a seismic shift for Microsoft.

What Steve Ballmer announced was Microsoft's intention to treat Novell's Linux server software as if it actually exists. There will be no patent disputes, and Microsoft will answer questions about Novell's Suse software -- if you have a coupon and a pre-existing Microsoft support contract, of course.

If you think about, this is akin to Microsoft agreeing that IBM mainframes have a right to exist and interact with Windows servers. If this was all about the desktop, where Microsoft has two monopolies (Windows and Office), now that would be something to write about.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 07, 20060 comments


The Launch of the Launch Is About To Be Launched

Explain this to me, please. We have three new Microsoft products about to ship. They've all been in beta, so millions have used them. Meanwhile, dozens of books have already been written. When it comes to Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007, they hold fewer secrets than Paris Hilton's Sidekick.

But this is Microsoft we're talking about. For Redmond, you leak that you're going to build something, and -- after several hundred stories are written -- you publicly disclose such plans. Then, after a few thousand more articles, you announce your intention to actually build such a thing. After a few months and many more articles, it finally makes it to beta and tech journalists fall all over themselves to discover the next little feature.

Eventually, the code is gold and all the secrets are known and dissected. So it should just ship, right? Not for the masters of PR. For Microsoft, it's time for launch. So break out the Moet et Chandon, crank up the tunes and bring in the celebs. This is a press event as shallow and contrived as a new Madonna hair color.

So on Nov. 30, when Vista, Exchange and Office are all launched, ignore the tech press -- as we'll simply tell you all the things you already know.

But if your PCs and servers have a few hundred spare megabytes, it might be fun to download these babies. They should all be far superior to their predecessors.

Meanwhile Microsoft loosened Vista licensing after IT had a major conniption. Read the good news here.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 07, 20060 comments


SQL Everywhere Is Nowhere

The name SQL Everywhere is dead. Fortunately, the product isn't. SQL Server Mobile Edition was supposed to get the Everywhere moniker. Now it'll just be called SQL Server Compact Edition.

Apparently, the Everywhere name was too close to Sybase's SQL Anywhere. Heck, Microsoft got its SQL Server code from Sybase -- why shouldn't it snag the name, as well?

Look for the tool to ship later this year.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 02, 20060 comments


Making Apps Vista-Ready

Microsoft has a pretty good track record for making old apps work on new OSes. In fact, Redmond has been so concerned over the years with backward compatibility that it didn't push as aggressively as it could to new technologies. And all the code to support 8- and 16-bit apps made Windows 95, 98 and XP less stable and less modern than it could have been.

Vista, as I understand, dispenses with some of that legacy code, so compatibility might be an issue (you mean MultiPlan, WordPerfect 1 and dBASE 2 might not run?).

To help figure out what will work and what won't, and make broken apps whole again, Microsoft has launched the Application Compatibility Factory, where large systems integrators will help ensure enterprise apps are ready for Vista.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 02, 20060 comments


Dotster Digs Dots

Hey, good lookin'! Domain registrar Dotster wants you! The company is searching high and low for spokesmodels, and is holding its latest auditions tonight in Los Angeles. I wonder how many of the contestants will know who Dotster is, or what a domain registrar does.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 02, 20061 comments


Kiley Marie Out of Beta

I got a little bundle of gold code last week as my new daughter Kiley Marie was released to manufacturing. While only a few days old now, she already has a razor-sharp wit and well-defined political views. No word yet on whether she'll standardize on the Mac or Vista. As for desktop Linux, she maintains it's "too immature."

Posted by Doug Barney on November 02, 20060 comments


Red Hat Hit

Remember that bully in school that always stole your hat and tossed it in the garbage? For Red Hat, Larry Ellison is that bully. Larry announced that Oracle will happily support Red Hat software -- for half-price! That news had Red Hat investors seeing red as the stock sank almost $6 in a day. At least Red Hat is still in the black!

The company itself still believes in the stock and last week announced plans to buy back $300 million worth of shares.

Posted by Doug Barney on November 01, 20060 comments