From a technology standpoint, 2001 was a banner year for Apple that saw the release of its next-generation Mac OS X operating system, along with OS X-specific versions of Microsoft Office, iTunes, iMovie, and iDVD. But as a public company, Apple must answer to its shareholders, and even though Steve Jobs, the company's CEO, remained a hot commodity at MacWorld Expo events, Apple suffered through a rough year financially. In fact, 2001 was the toughest year ever under Jobs' tutelage, though the company and its supporters put up a brave face. But it's hard to escape the feeling that Apple is clutching at straws as its market share continues to nosedive despite having finally caught up, technologically, with Windows.
It wouldn't have been reported on the local news if a similar event happened in the Linux or Mac camps, but a domain name server problem with Microsoft's Windows Update Web site has, for some reason, hit the radar of the mainstream media. And if there's a lesson to be learned here, it has nothing to do with technology: Instead, I think it's high time that Microsoft's marketing people get on the phone and do some damage control. Because these days, you can't see the word "Microsoft" in a news story unless it's full of dire warnings and dread. And this has got to stop.
For the past few years, you could confidently predict that every computer industry pundit in the world would write some article about the rise of Linux on the desktop. "1999 will be THE year of Linux on the desktop," they cried. "OK, seriously, 2000 is it! Well, maybe 2001." Maybe not. In 2001, the dot com market officially dried up, the economy nosedived into a cyclic recession, and the market for Linux on the desktop remained nonexistent.
Microsoft on Tuesday released a test version of Commerce Server 2002, its latest software for building e-commerce Web sites. The upgrade offers several new features, including the ability to support multiple languages and currencies. It also boasts tight integration with Microsoft's forthcoming Visual Studio.Net suite of software development tools, allowing programmers to create custom features for their e-commerce Web sites, Microsoft executives said.
Commerce Server lets Web site operators manage catalogs of products and services and tailor the content to customers' preferences. It also provides developers with the tools needed for building the online buying and payment processes.
Run AOL, run!
The MSN network of Internet services today announced that MSN achieved record subscription growth in the United States during the past quarter, adding more than 1.2 million new subscriptions, with more than 7.7 million MSN Internet Access subscribers. For the first time, quarterly new-subscriber growth for MSN surpassed that of AOL during the same period in the United States.
"We are very excited about our phenomenal quarter and the number of consumers that are choosing MSN over AOL," said Yusuf Mehdi, vice president of MSN at Microsoft Corp. "Our recent success indicates that we delivered an excellent service with MSN 7 and that we are offering useful and compelling services that consumers want."
November 20, 2001, was a good day for Microsoft. Despite objections from Apple Computer, the software giant was apparently going to be able to settle more than 100 private antitrust lawsuits--without having to admit any wrongdoing--by giving away $1 billion in cash, software and services to the nation's poorest schools. But last Friday was not such a good day for Microsoft. A federal judge in Baltimore threw the deal out.
Last Monday in a separate antitrust case, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said no to a request that would have delayed a remedy hearing by four months. In November, the Justice Department and nine out of 18 states had settled with Microsoft, but nine other states and the District of Columbia didn't, leading to the March hearing that will now go ahead as scheduled.
While Microsoft might be bowed on this, it's not beaten. With the $1 billion school deal all but dead--there being little likelihood Microsoft will appeal against the finding--Microsoft will lose out with the disappearance of some golden public relations opportunities. But in the long term, the raft of antitrust lawsuits dogging it will be settled and business will continue.
Advanced Micro Devices and Intel are expected to report fourth-quarter results this week that will likely top their recently increased outlook as holiday sales of personal computers were not as grim as most had expected, analysts said. The two, longtime rivals in microprocessors that are the brains of personal computers, raised their quarterly outlooks Dec. 6, with Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, noting that it was having difficulty shipping enough Pentium 4 chips to customers amid stronger-than-expected demand.
The fourth quarter, paced by holiday sales, is typically the industry's strongest. Revenue in the first quarter usually declines slightly on a sequential basis, although some analysts are forecasting Intel's revenue to be flat to slightly up in the current quarter.
Microsoft on Monday launched new tools for linking its Office desktop software into its growing .Net Web services plan. The company posted two tools for free download on its Web site: the Office XP Web Services Toolkit and the Smart Tag Enterprise Resource Toolkit. Both tools let developers link Office, which controls more than 90 percent of the desktop business software market, into Web services developed using .Net.
Dell Computer announced that it has signed on to be the National Football League's official computer systems provider for the upcoming Super Bowl XXXVI. Dell also signed a deal to be the NFL's hardware supplier for the remainder of 2002. As part of the Super Bowl agreement, the company will provide on-site service and support for computer systems used in Super Bowl operations, which will include some 200 Dell desktops imported to New Orleans from league headquarters. And under the new Dell-NFL hardware agreement, the league will purchase 120 or more PowerEdge 2500 servers and a storage area network. Dell says it has had a sales relationship with the NFL since 1998.
Microsoft Corp. today announced the official launch of the newly enhanced Microsoft TV Developer Program. The company also announced that leading set-top box suppliers OctalTV SA and Pace Micro Technology plc will provide Microsoft TV-configured set-top boxes as part of the program. The upgraded developer program features new resources designed to meet the evolving needs of interactive television (iTV) developers, including a new, free introductory level for companies that are in the planning phase for interactive TV, as well as new premium-level benefits, including access to set-top boxes from OctalTV and Pace.