Get Back, Service Pack!

Quick hits today because...well, just because. Hey, it's December, and the news is kind of slow, and we're now officially obsessed with the growing possibility of a Dallas vs. New England Super Bowl, which would pit your editor's original hometown (Dallas, or close to it, anyway) against his current (and now somewhat longtime) area of residence. And, with that jinx in place, Green Bay and Indianapolis fans, your teams should be guaranteed spots in the big game. Congrats, and you're welcome. More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 11, 20070 comments


Office Live Workspace in Beta

Microsoft Office's kind-of, sort-of answer to Google Apps is in beta for those who want a taste of exactly what Software Plus Services is dishing out.

Posted by Lee Pender on December 11, 20070 comments


Reader Feedback Friday: Readers Control the Microsoft Robot

Last week, we gave you control of the Microsoft robot , and you grabbed the command right out of our hands. What resulted were some of the best e-mails we've ever had.

First up was David, who created a couple of robots of his own:

"The Microsoft robot could be the Swiss army knife of robots. It could store your music collection, balance your checkbook and do your online Christmas shopping for you. It would probably be squat and boxy but easy for everyone to learn and use, but, like children, you have to worry about them spreading viruses on the playground.

"The Mac OS robot would be sleek and sophisticated, if just a little arrogant. It would edit your home videos and clean up your digital photos all while poking fun at the boring, old Microsoft robot. It would be more expensive than the Microsoft robot and claim to be able to do everything the Microsoft robot can -- and do it better.

"The Linux robot would be built from any parts available, and therefore could appear as anything from an insect to a racecar to a Microsoft robot with a knowing smirk on its face. It would be the most highly configurable of all of the robots, with huge numbers of components available, many of which work mostly as advertised if the owner is willing to spend the time to get them configured properly. It comes with a preinstalled flamethrower triggered by an RTM sensor."

More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 07, 20070 comments


Reader Feedback Friday: Confusion in Redmond and the Decline of Open Source

The apparent confusion at the mother ship over the phrase "Vista capable" came as a relief to Cori:

"How can I get in on the lawsuit? I have had software issues and have already replaced my original hard drive that came with the laptop. My husband, who is a senior program technical engineer for Coinstar, kept on telling me, 'I don't know what you're doing, but stop moving all your files around.' Of course, I'm not lame, even have 18 years of software sales experience, so I am not the culprit of all the software issues going on with the laptop.

"I ran across an article about this less than two months ago, which outlined the exact problems I was (and still am) experiencing. Who do I contact to see if I'm eligible to be included in the lawsuit? Your article was such a RELIEF to show my husband."

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Posted by Lee Pender on December 07, 20070 comments


December RCP: It's Not What You Know...

It's whether you know the right people in Redmond that can make a huge difference in your success in dealing with Microsoft. And even if you don't know these people personally, you should at least know who they are and what they have going on. (Of course, getting to know them face to face never hurts.) From our December issue More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 07, 20070 comments


Seven Patches Coming on Tuesday

It's Christmas in...uh, December for those who wanted nothing but Microsoft patches for the holidays.

Posted by Lee Pender on December 07, 20070 comments


Dell Tries To Thaw Channel Ice

Well, here he is again , that smooth-talker wearing an ascot and a smoking jacket and carrying two champagne flutes. He wants to make up. Really, he does. He wants the channel to know that it's real this time -- that he won't go behind your back with that direct-sales model again. He just wants you to listen. He says that he needs you now more than ever. More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 06, 20070 comments


December RCP: Readers (Almost) Couldn't Be Happier

The results of the reader survey RCP conducted this past summer (and thanks to all who took part, by the way) are finally in. And the survey says... you're happy ! Almost ridiculously happy being Microsoft partners. But there are a few little thorny issues. If you want to find out what they are, More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 06, 20070 comments


Release Candidates Hit the Trail

RC1s of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 are due out this week , and, like Vista , Windows Server is going to lose the dreaded "kill switch" More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 06, 20070 comments


SAP Business ByDesign: Hands Off, Partners

SAP, the big German enterprise resource planning monster, put on a little conference in Boston this week that offered one of the great dessert tables of our era. Seriously, it was epic, offering everything from blueberry cobbler to kids'-party-style cupcakes and fudge. Accustomed to the standard fare of lemon squares and mediocre tiramisu on offer at most conferences, your editor delighted in a sugary mid-afternoon romp. For that, we say More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 05, 20070 comments


Reller Lands New Redmond Gig

A thousand apologies from RCPU for not bringing you this story last week, but, in case you missed it, popular former Microsoft Dynamics executive Tami Reller (who, RCPU once speculated, might have been a little too Great Plains for Redmond) has landed herself a plum gig More

Posted by Lee Pender on December 05, 20070 comments


Boo-Yeah! Stuart Scott Lives

Microsoft's ousted former CIO has turned up at a mortgage lender in Florida. We're actually pretty surprised that a mortgage lender was hiring in the first place.

Posted by Lee Pender on December 04, 20070 comments