Microsoft on Wednesday launched a trial version of its instant messaging software for corporations, upping the ante in the race for supremacy over one of the world's fastest-growing communications technologies. Dubbed Greenwich, Microsoft's new server software allows businesses to support secure instant messaging on a network. In addition, it offers a bridge to Microsoft's popular consumer MSN Messenger IM network, giving it a potential jump on rivals who are lining up to court business customers with instant messaging products and services.
"IM is a very hot subject right now among corporate users trying to tame this technology that has found its way into IT environments without, necessarily, IT approval," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research.
Will Poole, the recently appointed head of Microsoft's Windows client business, has a tough couple of years ahead of him. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and other top Microsoft brass have been doling out tantalizing bits on Longhorn for the past year. They have shown private demonstrations of the next Windows desktop to hardware partners, software partners, top customers and the volunteer Most Valuable Professional squad. A few builds of the product - including 4008, which debuted on the Web this weekend - have escaped the company's hallowed halls. People who have seen Longhorn are excited by it and want it.
Microsoft's top sales executive, Orlando Ayala, is stepping down as part of a major reorganization of the company's sales division, sources close to the company said. While the details are not yet finalized, sources said Ayala, a 12-year company veteran and Microsoft's group vice president, worldwide sales, marketing and services, will move out of the No. 3 executive management slot. Ayala currently reports directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Ayala is expected to assume a new role driving Microsoft's growing SMB-focused business, sources added. "It's a shakeup," said one source familiar with the reorganization. "Orlando is definitely moving aside." Microsoft would neither confirm nor deny the sales shakeup.
I recently found myself in a Monty Python-like debate with a friend over whether Microsoft's Tablet PC is dead or simply "pining for the fjords." My take: The tablet PC is just catching its breath. Sure, there are reasons to look at the whole tablet PC phenomenon and see doom and gloom. Since the initial flurry last November, we haven't seen many new machines running Microsoft's specialized operating system. Flying on business, you're not very likely to see any of your fellow passengers scribbling wildly on a tablet.
Still, four months after their introduction, tablets are doing just fine. The top two notebooks on ZDNet Reviews's list of best ultraportables--the Toshiba Portege Tablet 3505 and the Fujitsu PC Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC--just happen to be tablets. The consensus among our reviewers is that the two machines would be great portables with or without the pen input. The tablet PC capabilities are just icing on two already very tasty cakes.
Most editions of Windows Server 2003 will cost the same as their Windows 2000 counterparts, while the new Web Edition, which is designed to compete with Linux, will cost less than half as much as the Standard Edition, Microsoft revealed Monday. Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, will cost $399, which is 40 percent of the $999 price tag for Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.
The Web Edition is a stripped down version of Windows Server 2003 for ISPs and enterprise Web farms. The Web Edition is limited to support just two processors and 2 GB of RAM, and only partially supports Active Directory, PKI and VPNs. The Web server edition will not be available through all Windows Server sales channels.
Microsoft plans to officially launch Office 2003 Beta 2 on Monday, a release that will include a public preview available to several hundred thousand beta testers and businesses, said sources. The launch will come almost three weeks after Microsoft inadvertently posted the software on the Microsoft Developer Network Web site. The Redmond, Wash.-based company pulled the software about six hours later, following an inquiry by CNET News.com.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment about the new beta ahead of its official release, which could possibly be delayed because of last-minute problems or a change in the company's plans. In mid-February, CNET News.com reported Beta 2 would ship around the second week of March.
After years of working to establish the smart phone as a viable platform, Microsoft Corp. and Symbian Ltd. seem to be garnering enough support to conduct an old-fashioned operating system war in a new frontier. While some industry experts say competition in the space encourages innovation and carrier adoption, others say multiple standards in the space complicate the environment for third-party software developers. In addition, some fear competition could spur the kind of tactics found anti-competitive in the desktop operating system environment.
Seven weeks after shipping, Microsoft's closely watched Microsoft CRM (customer relationship management) software has attracted 300 customer orders and is being offered by more than 1,000 resellers, Microsoft officials said here Tuesday during a seminar, part of a series being held throughout North America to demonstrate the software to prospective partners and customers.
The package is the first major offering from Microsoft's Business Solutions unit, and is Microsoft's first application built entirely on its .Net integration and development technology. Combining account activity, history tracking, communication and reporting features, the software integrates tightly with Microsoft's popular Outlook personal information management and communication software.
Microsoft Tuesday announced that it has launched a new back-end technology platform for its MSN TV service using the company's .NET architecture that it says improves performance by almost 50 percent. John Matheny, general manager of engineering for MSN TV, said that the company started replacing its proprietary HTML-based system with ASP.NET technology a few months ago. As a result, he said pages in five MSN TV categories - News, Sports, Money, Entertainment and Around Town - load up to 48 percent faster.
"This sets the stage for things we'll be working on next," said Matheny. He said that MSN TV will be bringing in additional content from MSN. "There are a number of features in finance, entertainment, health, relationships and photos that we'd like to improve."
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said IBM is voluntarily recalling 56,000 computer monitors for repair. The problem is that the monitor's circuit board can overheat and smoke, posing a fire hazard to consumers, the commission said. IBM said it received five reports of monitors overheating and smoking, including one report of minor property damage, but that no injuries were reported. The commission said the recalled IBM monitors include the G51 CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and G51t Touch Screen CRT models.