Eight Patches Are Enough

We think that each one should be named for one of Dick Van Patten's brood from " Eight Is Enough ." Then, IT people could say things like, "I've implemented Nancy, but I'm having some trouble with Susan. And I can't get Nicholas to download properly..."

Posted by Lee Pender on April 08, 20080 comments


XP To Live a Little Longer

Microsoft just gave us a wonderful reason to buy a low-cost PC in the next couple of years.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 08, 20080 comments


Vista Already the Forgotten Heir to the Windows Throne

Vista what? Vista who? As if it wasn't hard enough being Windows Vista already -- what with the love for XP in the user base, the scant enterprise adoption and the routine pounding in the trade press -- the man most responsible for making Microsoft what it is today is already talking about Vista's successor.

Bill Gates kind of, sort of said that Windows 7, Vista's successor and an OS that won't have to follow a legend like XP, might come out in 2009. The rest of Microsoft -- from which Gates is supposed to finally, officially retire this year -- put the kibosh on that notion, saying that the 2010 release date most pundits expected is still circled on Redmond's calendar.

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Posted by Lee Pender on April 08, 200815 comments


Avistar's Tale: Microsoft Shows Its Dark Side

Many have the times been here at RCPU that we've defended Microsoft -- in the EU antitrust cases, in certain disputes with other vendors and against the more communist element of the open source movement.

But this is just nasty.

Avistar Communications is going through a rough time. That's probably the first thing that we should understand here. Avistar makes videoconferencing software with a specialty in enterprise desktop video, and its new CEO, an affable Brit named Simon Moss, sees his company's wares as a great fit for the cresting wave of unified communications (UC) platforms.

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Posted by Lee Pender on April 03, 20082 comments


New Partner Program Proves Entrigue-ing

The title will make sense when you click the link .

Posted by Lee Pender on April 03, 20080 comments


OOXML Battle Not Won Yet?

Microsoft's famous victory in getting its Office Open XML standard approved by the ISO might not be a done deal yet, if the pesky EU has anything to say about it.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 03, 20080 comments


Vendor Leads Are Road to Nowhere for Channel

One survey of resellers finds that leads from vendors aren't so great after all.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 03, 20080 comments


New Version of Windows Mobile Unveiled

Version 6.1 hasn't done much to impress the critics , though.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 02, 20080 comments


OOXML: The Return of the Champ

This is the way it used to be when the New York Yankees were dominant, when the Steelers or 49ers were winning Super Bowls, and when Manchester United couldn't be stopped (and, actually, those days for Man U seem to be returning). They might fall behind here and there, maybe lose a game, maybe even lose a championship...but then they would collect themselves, rally and unleash fury upon their hapless opponents, reminding them who was boss after all. That's pretty much what Microsoft did with Office Open XML. More

Posted by Lee Pender on April 02, 200838 comments


IBM Updates Collaborative Tool

Lotus Quickr 8.1 is out there, misspelling and all.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 02, 20080 comments


Google Docs Goes Offline

Google's word processor-y sort of thing isn't just a SaaS application anymore. Google Docs is now available offline in what a lot of people are calling a challenge to Microsoft Word.

Our note to Google: Be careful what you're getting into here. You've still got Microsoft over a barrel with the whole SaaS-apps thing, but offline productivity software is Redmond's bread and butter, and Microsoft has crushed all competitors that have tried to usurp its position in the market. We're just saying...

Posted by Lee Pender on April 02, 20080 comments


Microsoft Joins Security Consortium

No jokes, please. It's an MIT consortium on network authentication. Now, those must be some rockin' parties.

Posted by Lee Pender on April 01, 20080 comments