Bruce thinks he knows the reason why
server sales are slumping
:
I'll tell you what the issue is: Companies are FINALLY realizing you don't have to buy new servers again and again and again, and are also starting to reuse licenses. Wait until people start seriously buying machines made with AMD chips where you can get better performance just by swapping CPU chips. Then there won't be a need to buy a new machine for some time.
-Bruce
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Posted by Doug Barney on March 04, 20090 comments
I'm always excited when a Windows guru builds a new product. What's a Windows guru? It's just an idea of mine where I chose 12 technical leaders from Microsoft third parties and tried to figure out
what made them tick
.
One guru is Troy Werelius, CEO of Lucid8. Troy's latest baby is
Recovery Advantage
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Posted by Doug Barney on March 04, 20090 comments
Vista wasn't a resounding success, so many turned to SP1 for help. But SP1 wasn't a resounding success either, as we
reported
in a cover story.
Now there are two possible solutions. One is Windows 7, which you all seem to like very much. There's also Vista SP2, which is now what Microsoft is calling a release candidate and I just call a late beta. This is a big baby, coming in at a hefty 300MB. Let's hope the download works better than SP1.
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Posted by Doug Barney on March 02, 20090 comments
Excel is apparently
vulnerable
to remote code execution attacks, and Microsoft is trying to figure out why and how to fix it.
Symantec found the bug and came up the clever name: Trojan.Mdropper.AC. The attack works through a malicious spreadsheet that's masked by a legit file when the user opens it. Microsoft is working on a patch and points out the attacks have been limited so far.
Posted by Doug Barney on March 02, 20090 comments
I've tracked the Windows 7 beta and the IE 8 beta. Windows 7 has testers excited and anxious for the OS to ship. IE 8 has hosed more systems than the Boston Fire Department.
Microsoft, as I understand it, hasn't had a lot of Windows complaints but has heard a few howls about IE 8, which comes with the new OS. Microsoft blames browser add-ins and has
updated the beta
Posted by Doug Barney on March 02, 20090 comments
Readers share more of their predictions for how Microsoft -- and the tech sector in general -- will make it out of the economic downturn:
Microsoft will need to do some product innovation of its own in order to survive this time around. I don't think it'll be able to steal another "Windows" from Xerox.
-Anonymous
For Microsoft, the future is clear. Windows 7 will replace XP Pro as the flagship Microsoft operating system. It is that good. Even so, its sales will fall short of desired market penetration. Microsoft's true hope for the future lies with a touch-based user interface for its Windows Mobile software and a new physical format that will replace smartphones and netbooks.
My prediction? Look for the next tech-business move to come from the past. Anyone remember Apple's Newton? That physical format, in landscape mode, supportd a virtual qwerty keyboard for speedy, touch-typing text input. In addition, it provided all the functionality of a Kindle, cell phone and workstation. Bonus: The larger, high-resolution screen means on-screen text can be larger (maybe I could even read it without my reading glasses), images display at the size of printed photos, and videos can be viewed without extreme eye strain. For end users, this is the ideal format size for tablet PC applications for hospitals, field inspectors, insurance adjusters and law enforcement officers. For Microsoft, the mini-pad format gives much-needed screen space for Windows Mobile. For Apple, it is the next logical evolution for the iPhone. Plus, Apple gets some vindication for part of its Newton product. The physical format was simply ahead of its time.
Speaking of being ahead of it's time, Trekkers will be quick to point out that this physical format, was predicted in the original "Star Trek" series.
-Dave
The problem is deeper than you imagine. You say Microsoft will be fine, but I don't believe anyone will be fine in the foreseeable future. Most people, especially in business and politics, don't seem to get how deep and painful this one will be.
What Microsoft will do is the same thing other tech companies will do: survive. It will eventually come back to one degree or another, but the old days are gone for good. Fine? I don't think so.
-Anonymous
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Posted by Doug Barney on March 02, 20090 comments
Microsoft recently showed off what could be the world's most secure browser. Unfortunately, it's not IE 8 -- or any rev of IE, for that matter.
The browser is Gazelle
, a prototype from Microsoft Research that includes its own browser operating system designed to ward off memory attacks.
Unfortunately, many of these research projects are more show than go. Take Singularity, a desktop OS architected for speed, compatibility and security.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 27, 20090 comments
You've got to love when monopolies fight. In one corner, you have Microsoft holding on to its IE monopoly by the skin of its well-maintained teeth. In the other, you have Google steadily building control of search -- with the rest of the Internet seemingly to come.
You'd think Google would have enough pride to stay out the European Union's prolonged fight against IE.
But no
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 27, 20090 comments
Recently, Steve Ballmer made the stunning disclosure that Microsoft's server business is
seriously challenged
. And this is a business that had been on an upward trajectory that would make Alain Robert proud. (Look it up -- that's what MSN Live Search is for!)
Ballmer has reason to worry. It's hard to sell server software when no one is buying servers. Analyst firm IDC says the market dipped 3 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, mostly during in the fourth quarter when the market completely tanked. IDC doesn't expect a recovery until late this year or early next. That's if we're lucky, I say.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 27, 20090 comments
Readers give their predictions for how Microsoft will fare in this economic climate...and what the company can do to actually change things for the better:
Of course, Microsoft will be fine. Most of Microsoft's customers have enterprise license agreements so the income stream, though smaller, will remain intact. Being a software company, Microsoft won't be saddled with unused production capacity or unneeded staff or office space.
MS OEMs will be the ones to suffer and the smaller ones are likely to go belly-up.
-Marc
Given Microsoft's cash and the simple inertia of its customer base,
Microsoft will make it through this downturn. And expectations for it
will be lower because of the economy. The real question is after.
Microsoft has strong and potentially strong products, but the key
revolves around whether Ballmer can lead with vision as Gates did.
And after the recession, expectations for things like Azure will be
much higher.
Personally, I don't believe Ballmer is the right leader and MS will
have to find a real Gates successor. Otherwise, while MS will retain
large market share, it won't be as dominant as it is today (which might
not be a bad thing). In essence, Microsoft will make it through, but
it will shrink.
-Bob
Let's face it. No one is better than Microsoft at creating demand before there is any supply! If Microsoft was truly worried about the economic future of this great country, it would invest some of its huge cash reserves back into the creative workers that are actually U.S. citizens. Maybe Microsoft could create a new division of programers that do nothing but reduce the amount of code to help software run more efficiently. Or how about a group dedicated to searching for and filling the security gaps that seem to be everywhere in Microsoft products?
Of all the companies in the U.S., Microsoft would be able to have a positive effect on the economy. And if it expanded, other companies would surely follow. Just like they always do!
-Steve
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 27, 20090 comments
Last year,
Red Hat bought Qumranet
, a virtualization outfit that owned the KVM hypervisor and a selection of desktop/thin client tools, for around about $100 million.
Now Red Hat is laying out its enterprise strategy in the form of a new line of Qumranet-based products, such as an updated server hypervisor, management tools (which is where the real action and money are) and desktop virtualization wares.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 25, 20090 comments
Steve Ballmer is warning Wall Street that our miserable economy can and probably will impact Microsoft. The biggest threats? The PC market is down and Microsoft still struggles with search. Server software, which had been booming, may soon be bombing as IT holds off on upgrades.
Ballmer believes that the money that has left the economy won't simply come back during a recovery, but that we will "reset" at a lower level. For Microsoft, that means future profits may not be as big as we're all used to.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 25, 20091 comments