Microsoft partner Phase 2 International, sensibly based in Hawaii, is all over 
  Redmond's SaaS (or, we suppose, S+S) play. Kurt Mackie has more about Phase 
  2's SaaS-y goings-on 
here
.
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 17, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    It's Product News Wednesday, so we're stretching 
VMware's 
  acquisition of Thinstall
 from a financial story into a product story, as 
  Thinstall's stuff will eventually make it into VMware's desktop virtualization 
  offering.
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 16, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    Here in panic nation, with the sub-prime mortgage fiasco and the resulting 
  credit crunch leaving blocks of houses empty, and the stock market tanking like 
  the Cowboys in a playoff game, all the talk is starting to boil down to one 
  word: recession. 
The signs 
  of an economic slowdown are everywhere, and presidential candidates are 
  starting to address the issue -- and when politicians wake up and realize that 
  something's going on, that's when you know that whatever it is they're talking 
  about is at an advanced stage and is very much upon us. 
 More
	Posted by Lee Pender on January 16, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    In case you missed it, a 
public 
  beta of Vista SP1
 has been out there since late last week. For those of 
  you actually running Vista, that is.
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 16, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    Microsoft 
took 
  the wraps off
 of a retail component of the Dynamics suite of business applications 
  this week.
Perhaps hoping for better things from America's Team, Microsoft included in 
  its 
press 
  release
 More
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 16, 20081 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    International Business Machines -- we just love full names like that -- gave 
  Wall Street a much-needed jolt this week with 
earnings 
  that beat expectations
. 
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 15, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    Bill Gates, you knew about. The press has written stories, sonatas and sagas 
  (well, stories, anyway, and lots of them) about the departure of Microsoft's 
  legendary leader. Redmond has worked to ensure his line of succession, with 
  Steve Ballmer continuing as CEO mostly for the business side of things and Ray 
  Ozzie taking over the technology reins.
But there's a lot more to Microsoft's transition than just Gates' departure. 
  Bruce Jaffe, architect of some of Microsoft's biggest acquisitions -- including 
  the massive 
  aQuantive buyout -- will be gone 
  by the end of February. And, perhaps more critically, Jeff Raikes, president 
  of the Microsoft Business Division, the group responsible for a little product 
  called Office, will 
  be gone -- "retired" -- by the end of the summer of 2008. 
 More
	Posted by Lee Pender on January 15, 20081 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    Perhaps flush with the victory they scored in court last fall, European regulators 
  are 
on 
  Microsoft's back again
 -- this time, in part, because of (you guessed it) 
  the Internet Explorer browser! Couldn't they just Goog...uh, we mean Live Search 
  the U.S. antitrust settlement and figure something out?
 
More
	Posted by Lee Pender on January 15, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    The word "malware," which we assume has its 
roots 
  in Baudelaire
, has always sort of made us snicker. But this 
new 
  malware toolkit
 (whatever that is) that's making an end run around anti-virus 
  applications doesn't sound too funny at all.
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 15, 20080 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    The big distributor has some interesting leasing finance options for partners 
  that work with SMBs. Launch yourself into the press release 
here
. 
 
	
Posted by Lee Pender on January 10, 20080 comments