Want to know what the post-Vista world might look like? We'll bet you do.
Well, Microsoft dropped a hint or two with a couple of recent
applications for patents. No word yet on whether the open source folks came
up with any of this stuff first.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 17, 20070 comments
The bad news for Microsoft search watchers is that Google is extending its
market share lead. The good news is that Microsoft is kind of, sort of,
catching
up with Yahoo a little bit.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 12, 20070 comments
Microsoft is a lot of things to a lot of people: a moneymaker for partners,
a blessing and a headache at the same time for users, an easy target for competitors
and antitrust types, and something of an enigma -- of late, anyway -- for investors.
But what Microsoft is not, and never will be, is cool.
We don't claim here at RCPU to be the arbiters of cool. Far from it, actually.
But like anybody else, we know cool when we see it. And we don't see it in Redmond.
We see wealthy, highly profitable, astute, capable, extremely tenacious, energetic
and sometimes even innovative -- but not cool. If anything, the now-famous Mac
Guy-PC Guy commercials that Apple has been running sum up pretty well the public
image Microsoft has developed for itself -- nerdy, uptight and, these days,
a bit bloated.
It's disturbing, then, to see Microsoft trying to be cool. The Zune is an embarrassment
juxtaposed to the iPod, for instance, at the very least in terms of coolness,
if not in a lot of other ways. And just when Microsoft looked to be on the brink
of being cool with the Xbox video game system, disaster struck (as it always
does for the faux cool) to the tune of more
than $1 billion lost (or, as Redmond might say, "set aside") to
extending the ill-fated -- and, apparently, ill-performing -- system's warranty
protection.
That's why we were struck this week by an article that originated in the Denver
Post and featured Michael Gartenberg (of
all people) telling Microsoft to cool
it with trying to be cool. Rarely have we heard wiser words.
For instance, take Vista -- an operating system that many have said fits Microsoft's
requirements better than those of the users. If anything, the lukewarm (and
that's being kind) reception to Vista should serve as a reminder to the software
giant that Microsoft might want to start getting back to its geeky roots and
stop trying to be everything to everybody. It should especially stop trying
to be cool, with video game consoles, portable music players and the like.
With the coming mini-revolution
of hosted applications, the promising future of Microsoft Dynamics and the
increasingly real threat of open source software in the enterprise, there's
plenty of money to be made -- and competition to be fought -- among the glasses-and-pocket-protector
set that Microsoft has ruled for so long. Redmond needs to embrace its nerdy
roots and focus more sharply on the markets that enrich it and its partners.
After all, it's still better to be rich than to be cool.
Is Microsoft spreading itself too thin and losing its focus on its core products?
Tell me at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 12, 20070 comments
A few of weeks ago, your editor was having a chat with one of his colleagues
out in
RCP's office in sun-drenched, meticulously planned Irvine, Calif.
The colleague mentioned that she had a friend who worked for Microsoft and then
went on to detail a brief conversation with that friend that went more or less
like this:
RCP colleague: So, I Googled [something, it doesn't
matter what] the other day, and
Microsoft friend (interrupting): Don't you mean "Live Searched"
it?
RCP colleague (befuddled): Um...no...
You see, when speaking with folks from Microsoft, we don't "Google,"
we "Live Search" (even if we don't really Live Search -- which most
of us don't). And we don't talk about our iPods, how great VMware is or how
we chat with our friends in Europe via Skype.
That's because one of the keys to making a good impression in Redmond -- or
with folks associated with Redmond -- is to at least act committed to being
100 percent Microsoft, 100 percent of the time. That means talking up Microsoft
products and talking down -- or, even better, not mentioning -- competitors'
wares.
That little piece of advice might just come in handy for partners attending
Microsoft's Worldwide
Partner Conference this week in Denver. It'll certainly come in handy for
partners, especially smaller companies looking to make a good (and, probably,
rare) impression, who are planning to meet with folks from Microsoft soon.
In fact, just in case you haven't seen it yet, we put together a whole guide
to Microsoft etiquette in the July
issue of RCP magazine. And there's a lot more to it than just avoiding
using Google as a verb -- or at all. Getting noticed for the right reasons at
Microsoft -- something many partners might not get many chances to do, so it's
important to make them count -- isn't terribly complicated, but there are a
few basic rules that anybody who's planning to meet with the Redmondians should
remember. We've got those rules covered, along with a few other, more subtle
tips, too.
So, if you're headed into a conference room in Denver this week to chat with
folks from Microsoft, or if you just want to make the best possible impression
when the opportunity to meet someone from Redmond arises, give our guide a quick
read. And then set Live Search as your default search page (if you haven't already
-- which you probably haven't), at least until your meeting with Microsoft is
done.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 11, 20070 comments
Microsoft this week took the wraps off a major part of its hosting strategy
--
the CRM Live initiative,
which involves the company itself hosting customer relationship management applications
for customers (and sold through, but not hosted by, partners) at bargain-basement
prices.
Never one to back down to Redmond (quite the contrary, in fact), Salesforce.com
CEO Marc Benioff immediately began running smack about Redmond's new scheme,
or so it said in this
article:
"Benioff said Microsoft customers are already paying prices similar
to what Microsoft announced today for hosted CRM software through partners.
'These "new" prices are their market prices today -- there is no
difference,' said Benioff in an e-mail interview. 'When you have an inferior
product you have to have an inferior price. That is why Zune is priced below
iPod. And why Windows CE is priced below BlackBerry. And why Microsoft CRM
is priced below Salesforce.com.'"
Ohhhhh! That was nasty! But, we're wondering to what extent Benioff is whistling
in the graveyard. Yes, his company pretty much owns hosted CRM. And, yes, Salesforce.com
is ahead of Microsoft functionality-wise. But -- and isn't there always a "but"?
-- this is Redmond and the enterprise we're talking about, and Microsoft's really
just getting started hosting its own CRM applications. The CRM Live price point
is bound to be attractive, and we're guessing that Microsoft will be able to
catch up to Salesforce.com in terms of functionality at some point -- at least
close enough to make customers take a second look at the more affordable package.
Still, Benioff gets the award for line of the week so far. It's just too bad
that he couldn't have worked a shot at Vista in there just to complete the trifecta.
Is CRM Live another Zune, or will it be a real enterprise contender? Let me
know at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 11, 20071 comments
We here at RCPU sometimes read things that we wish weren't true, but, sadly,
they are. Such is the case with a gentleman who named his baby daughter (and
congrats to his family, by the way), you guessed it...Vista,
after
the operating system.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 06, 20070 comments
Your editor can remember, quite distinctly, his first trip to Seattle. It was
1983, and the city back then was known for vistas that involved mountains and
the Puget Sound, not questionable sales figures and widespread customer dissatisfaction.
(Sorry. That was just too easy.)
But seriously, in 1983, the first thing people thought of when they thought
of Seattle was rain, or maybe the Sound, the mountains or even the Washington
Huskies (who were good back then, for those who have forgotten or just never
knew). Today, though, the first thing that races to a lot of folks' minds when
they hear the word "Seattle" is Microsoft.
OK, granted, Starbucks would be right up there, too, and a few fading devotees
might go with grunge or even Nirvana, but the Microsoft software juggernaut
made an impact. It actually helped change the profile and culture of this city
over the last two decades. No longer do we think of rugged mountain men when
we think of the hub of the Pacific Northwest. Now, Seattle is synonymous with
rich software geeks, along with double frappawhatevers and people in flannel
who pine for the early '90s. Oh, and "Frasier."
If you're a partner, especially a smallish one, chances are you don't get a
lot of chances to have serious heart-to-hearts with the folks who are now so
influential in Redmond. Maybe you've thought of ways to change that -- and maybe
you've wanted to get closer to Microsoft, especially if it's your primary (or
only) source of revenue.
Well, one way to do that is to actually get physically closer to Microsoft
by establishing a presence in Seattle. Being near Microsoft could lead to all
sorts of benefits, as those of you who have an office out there know. There's
a lot of risk-reward stuff involved with that idea, though, so you'd better
read Rich
Freeman's guide to setting up an office in Seattle before you start pricing
real estate. Rich's story is in the July
issue of RCP. And if you do go to Seattle, bring an umbrella -- it's
a beautiful city, but it does still rain a lot out there, after all.
FYI, we're taking a break from reader e-mails this week due to a compacted
holiday schedule, but we'll be back with your rants and raves next week, especially
next Friday. Keep sending them on any topic that tickles your fancy to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 06, 20070 comments
The Free Software Foundation has
released
version 3 of the license that governs Linux use and, as expected, it appears
to
put
the kibosh on Microsoft's recent patent-racketeering spree with Linux distributors.
But GPL v3 is no simple document, and it could cause some confusion for vendors
still working under v2 (or deciding whether to
take
the FSF's advice and work with v3). If you're in charge of figuring this
stuff out, good luck...and we hope you have some good lawyers.
Meanwhile, what will Microsoft do about its Linux deals? Is a courtroom battle
royale over patents on the way? Or will Microsoft have to back off? Stay tuned
-- this little saga is far from over.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 02, 20070 comments