La Résistance has gone mainstream. Once a more-or-less underground combatant in the battle against the Internet Explorer empire, Mozilla and its Firefox browser are now
engaging in full warfare with along with a couple of powerful new allies: Google and RealNetworks.
Mozilla’s guerilla tactics already had Redmond, the overwhelming winner over Netscape in the first browser war, looking over its shoulder. Firefox controls as much as 15 percent of the global browser market today , and RealNetworks will now offer it, along with that pesky Google toolbar, to users who download the popular RealPlayer media player.
For the resistants, everything here makes sense. Google forks over a fair amount of money to have its toolbar set as the default in Firefox, so the more users who download the rebel browser, the happier the search giant will be. (Plus, as we know by now, Google just loves to set itself up in competition with Microsoft.) RealNetworks has a long-running feud with Microsoft now stoked by the competition between RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. And Mozilla... well, Mozilla just wants Firefox to take a bigger chunk out of IE’s market share.
What remains to be seen is whether the power of RealPlayer -- an application that has survived competition from Microsoft -- can overcome the power of IE’s bundling in Windows. Not many products have, but, like Symantec’s recent deal with Yahoo!, this three-way deal is an attempt by a few industry heavyweights to shift the focus of product integration from Windows to the Web, thereby shifting Microsoft’s role from keeper of the kingdom to struggling also-ran. The fact that RealPlayer is as popular as it is today despite competition from Redmond bodes well for this new troika. Plus, it gives bloggers and newsletter writers an excuse to use the word "troika."
As far as the new browser wars go, competition is never a bad thing. IE has always had its flaws, especially in terms of security. Some scary competition from Firefox -- say, 25 percent market share instead of 15 percent -- might be too late to affect IE7 development and features, but it could kick-start some serious innovation for the next version of Microsoft’s browser and jolt Redmond out of the complacency that so easily sets in when a company dominates a market. So, with that in mind, "Vive la Résistance," and may this browser war not end up with the Empire crushing the rebels again.
Which browser do you prefer and why? Tell me here or e-mail me: [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on August 03, 20065 comments
Speaking of betas, that "other" beta product just became
a new cash cow for Microsoft. Want to download Office 2007 Beta 2? That’ll cost you the price of a soft drink and some of those pre-packaged cookies from the hallway candy machine.
Does having to pay to download the Office beta annoy you? Sound off here or send me e-mail at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on August 01, 20064 comments
A Redmond magazine columnist
now has his doubts about the Software Asset Management program. Any thoughts on SAM? Any experience with it? Comment here or send me e-mail at
[email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 25, 20060 comments
With Windows Genuine Advantage blowing up in Redmond's face (scroll to the last entry
here), I asked whether any of you had experience with a company that sold pirated software. Without mentioning any names (as promised), here are some of the stories I received:
"Yes, I worked at a place that sold/installed pirated software. I think it was terrible. This was in the days of Novell, and what they did was buy software (Novell) and use it in the office and also install it at client sites. So when it was time to call Novell for support, it was a big scramble to figure out who was registered as the owner. Also, when it was time to upgrade, it was a big mess. We also sold people RAM and charged them for Compaq RAM and installed Kingston."
"Well anyway they wound up getting caught for not paying taxes, and the company was shutdown. Last I heard they had started back up under another name. The way I found out was I was sent [to a client --LP] after hours on a Friday to troubleshoot a Compaq server that was rebooting itself every 20 minutes or so. After checking the OS, on one of the reboot cycles I pulled the cover off to check for loose cards or RAM and saw that it did not have Compaq RAM. Well, the older servers were very picky about what kind of memory was installed. I let the employee know that they didn't have Compaq RAM installed and that was most likely the RAM had failed, and left the site at 11:30 p.m. and went home. The next day, after lunch, I got a call to come to the boss's office as soon as I back in the office. Man, was he mad. I was told that I should not have told them that; I should have called the office first. I thought I was going to lose my job. I did find out later that we had originally sold them the server and charged them for Compaq memory. My recourse was to start looking for another job ASAP, which back then didn't take too long.
Another one:
"Never knowingly, but we -- in a previous business -- naively bought bargain copies of Windows 98 and Office 97, and they were curiously un-holographic. The good old days -- we sold them and never bought from that source again. My beef is with the authentication process for Windows XP which frequently finds OEM copies of XP unauthentic when we put it on an HP or Dell PC which we've had to restore for a client plagued by spyware or general OS constipation. Run the restore and try to do updates and the thing chokes. Then you can find an Internet hack to circumvent it or suffer calling the Microsoft off-shore bozos to try to resolve it. And there is no good reason for it to fail the authenticity test! This is unreasonable and overzealous. Then there is the problem of motherboard replacement. Theoretically, this happens if you get a replacement motherboard for a computer with OEM Windows the OS authenticity is voided. Some Microsoft dork called a reseller friend of mine telling him he was committing piracy because he relicensed an HP computer on which he had replaced the motherboard under warranty!"
Got any more? Let me know at [email protected]. Incidentally, a hearty thank you goes out to Christopher, Sherri and Harry, who all wrote thoughtful soccer-related e-mails to me last week and let me know that Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos did, indeed, open in Boston last weekend. I saw it Sunday night and loved it. If you saw a stumpy guy in a green St. Etienne jersey in Harvard Square Sunday evening, that was indeed your intrepid author. Thanks for the tips, everybody.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 25, 20060 comments
Amnesty International says that Microsoft, along with Yahoo! and Google, has colluded with the Chinese government on Internet censorship. And maybe they all have. But there's a knee-slapper of a quote from Amnesty in this one: "The willingness of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google to override their principles amounts to a betrayal of trust in the face of the lucrative opportunities that the Chinese market offers them."
Override their principles? Sure, Google touts its "Don't be evil" tagline, but isn't the principle in business still to make money? Granted, it would be great if big corporations would buck the hard-line government in the world's most populous country (and one of the world's fastest-growing markets) and stand up for freedom on the Web, but don't hold your breath. With Western markets looking ever more saturated, executives constantly looking for greener sales pastures and investors demanding a return on their money, the only principles most companies follow have dollar signs attached to them. That might be morally uncomfortable, but that's the nature of business -- and dealing with (often also known as "giving in to") the government at absolutely every turn is, to my understanding, the essential to business in China. It is bitterly ironic, though, that the pursuit of capitalism might have led some of our corporate leaders to make decidedly undemocratic decisions. Complicated world, huh?
Do you do business in China? Do you think Microsoft and friends are in the wrong on this issue?
Posted by Lee Pender on July 20, 20061 comments
This week's Partner Conference in Boston has been a show for the big guys and
the global guys. One partner told me that Microsoft told him that more than
70 percent of conference attendees are Gold Certified Partners, and almost half
are from Europe. The Dutch in particular have been easy to spot with their bright
orange shirts.
I also heard that Microsoft's Ballmer-attended Gold Certified Partner luncheon
on Tuesday turned out to be a little less regal than expected. Instead of having
the tables, table cloths and other signs of civilized dining that partners surely
deserve, Microsoft's channel champions got rows of chairs (no tables) and cold
box lunches! Heck, we got a better deal in the press room. Maybe those Eurofines
have already led to some cost cutting in Redmond...
If you were at the WWPC, what was your favorite part of the show? What did
you not like? Drop me a line at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 13, 20060 comments
Not everybody who responded to Tuesday's newsletter was thrilled with Steve
Ballmer's Microsoft's-way-or-the-highway WWPC keynote.
Wayne wrote to say:
"If Steve Ballmer wants to ramp up the Microsoft strong arm business tactics,
I will start selling Linux packages. I am NOT going to turn my back on other
companies that I have partnered with. I plan to provide my customers the best
computer services that can be found in (I won't reveal where he is -- just in
case --LP). If I can NOT provide solutions that fit my customers' needs and
can only provide the Microsoft solution to continue my partnership then COUNT
ME OUT!"
Well said, Wayne. And you're not alone. David's not happy, either:
"I like Microsoft (sort of), but when they start hammering anyone that
doesn't toe their line, it just makes me... angry. I knew it wasn't an accident
that the Security Center didn't recognize my Norton Anti-Virus installation,
but I'm really tired of their arrogance. It's no wonder the EU is hammering
them daily. If the apps my company needs to operate were available on Linux,
we'd be there in a heartbeat."
Serial RCPU e-mailer Matt also chimed in with this gem:
"Pushing all Microsoft no matter what isn't going to fly if you want to
have long term credibility with your clients. My clients look to me to determine
what works best for their situation, not what is easiest for me to source and
integrate. Asking clients to put full trust in Microsoft for their security
is a little like asking Ted Kennedy to teach driving safety."
Driving safety is a bit of a sensitive issue in Boston this week, Matt, but
we get your (very funny) point. And William chimes in with a thought-provoking
history lesson:
"Having spent more time in the computer industry than I really want to
remember, I know of another company that took the same attitude that Ballmer
is now shouting. Maybe he should look at how far down IBM went with that attitude
and then concentrate on putting the product on the market that makes us want
to follow his wishes instead of feeling we must follow."
All valid points, well articulated. Now, with all of that said, let's give
Microsoft its due, at least on the security front. Some of the incentives the
company announced this week at the WWPC could end up being very sweet deals
for partners. Partners that take part in the new Security Software Advisor Program
can get some fat referral fees for sales of Antigen and ForeFront applications
-- 20 percent of the sale price of the product, and 30 percent with a special
deal Microsoft is offering for the next seven months. That's on top of the original
partner margin for the sale. VARs can also get a 5 percent fee on renewals of
existing products on top of normal margins.
In order to participate in the SSA program, partners must be at least registered
members of the MSPP. Then, they must then either be Certified or Gold members
of the Security Competency program or eligible for that certification, or be
Sybari partners, or be top-tier member of another security vendor's program.
Hey, we're not promoting the all-Microsoft, all the time concept, but this is
definitely worth a look.
What do you think of SSA? Let me know at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 13, 20060 comments
The
Eurostory we've been telling you about continues....
Well, Microsoft has not settled its anti-trust case with the EU, so now it's time for Redmond to throw some euros Brussels' way. The news, not exactly a shock, doesn't seem to have affected Microsoft's deflated stock price much, but it's surely one expense (and a big hassle) that Redmond would rather not have to deal with. Click here to read the piece from Reuters.
Update: The EU has finally arrived at a number that amounts to what Gates might have in the couch cushions. Click here to read the details.
Posted by Lee Pender on July 11, 20060 comments