The Redmondians must be worried, if they read
this hit piece in CNN (tip of the hat to my publisher, who forwarded it to me this morning). Defections, retirements, failed products, confusing product messages, competitors jumping ahead in market cap, pundits suggesting that Ballmer join the ranks of the retired and suggesting that the company would be better off splitting in two...that's all noise that makes Microsoft seem like the company has lost its mojo, doomed to second or third place among the giants.
Apparently, we're talking about the same company that just reported snagging $16 billion in Q1.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/28/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
Microsoft managed to smash earnings expectations in its 2011 Q1, thanks in part to Office 2010, but will that good news continue? Hard to say on the suite side, but a
survey commissioned by Microsoft partner Dell Kace seems to portend bad news down the road. So far, only 4 percent of survey respondents said they've deployed the suite; even more interesting is that Office alternatives appear to be gaining some fans, particularly OpenOffice and Google Docs.
Do you plan on upgrading to Office 2010, or are you staying put? Even better: Tell us if you plan on deploying any of the Office alternatives here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/28/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments
In 1969, two remote computers got networked in the ether for the first time ever, through a project funded and developed through the federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency. Really, we wouldn't be reading this online right now were it not for those two computers, uh, hooking up.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/25/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
HOW ARE YOU CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY? It's Oct. 22nd; the late infomercial pitchman Billy Mays is the unofficial spokesperson.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/22/2010 at 11:59 AM1 comments
What a difference a year makes. Last year, about this time, we grew tired of mocking Vista and anticipating, with the help of the Microsoft marketing machine, the coming of Windows 7. Well, it's a year later, and Vista is a distant memory and Windows 7 is now the "fastest selling operating system in history," according to Microsoft, having sold 240 million copies.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/21/2010 at 11:59 AM2 comments
Can you outsmart your users who continue to hide illegal music and personal files on the servers? How do you react when your manager takes credit for the money saved with a virtualization design, and also cuts your pay? Are you looking to make the leap to IT from, say, autoworker? These might be IT career questions you're faced with in the real world, and a stretch for a reality show. Yet, Microsoft deserves a high-five for trying to pull it off in an online concept show called "Career Factor."
The point of the reality-show like program is to give lots of assistance to a few lucky participants who are looking to make IT a career, to take some big steps to achieving their goals within a 5-month period. Interested in applying? Check out the application here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/21/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
I've had my phone for three years now, and I'm ready for an upgrade. But I'm at a smartphone crossroads. Apple's iPhone? Something with Android? Or Windows Phone 7? Tell me what you like and don't like about the one you're living with, and what apps you can't live without.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/21/2010 at 11:59 AM5 comments
Microsoft is already registering candidates for a new exam being mapped out for Windows Azure application developers. Exam 70-583 PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications, as the name implies, is aimed at Azure application developers who want to prove skills working with the cloud solution. Those who pass the exam in beta and its live form can count it toward the MCPD: Windows Azure Developer 4 title. It's in beta testing from Oct. 28 through Nov. 17 at select Prometric testing centers; get the beta code from the announcement
here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/14/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
Redmond, it might be time to worry: Apple's share of the U.S. PC market has exceeded the 10 percent threshold, says
this AppleInsider piece. A 10 percent slice of pie sounds unfulfilling, but comparing it to all PC vendors on the list and it's mildly disturbing to see that Apple shipped enough units to best Toshiba by 200,000 units. Acer barely beat out Apple...barely. First, the U.S. Next, the world!
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/14/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
[Editor's Note: The following is a post from my colleague at 1105 Media, Online News Editor Kurt Mackie.]
Last week, Microsoft offered its free consumer antimalware solution to small businesses for free. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) can be downloaded and used at no additional cost by businesses that have up to 10 Windows-based PCs.
MSE isn't exactly a free lunch. The catch is that you have to be running "genuine" licensed copies of Windows to use it. However, MSE does seem worth the price of admission. My view comes from a personal tale of woe, if you'll bear with me.
I began my migration to using MSE by way of the McAfee Internet security software that came free with my DSL service. The McAfee software began hogging the resources of my Windows XP-based machine to an excessive degree about a couple of months ago. I was finding that it took 30 minutes before I could do anything on the machine after boot-up. My Internet service provider detected no problem, but a glance at the Windows Task Manager showed various McAfee executable files active during the time when my machine was immobilized.
Now I run Windows 7 on a new machine with MSE. Microsoft's security software works quietly in the background. There is no 30-minute delay after booting the machine.
The old Windows XP-based PC now runs fine offline, except when it tries to perform a full scan, so resource hogging by McAfee's software might have been at least part of the problem. I later found out that McAfee Internet Security 2010 on Windows 7 had failed AV-Test certification. Ouch!
The one setback to MSE seems to be that it can't be centrally managed. Are there any others? What's been your experience? Comment here or share your experiences with me via e-mail.
Posted by Kurt Mackie on 10/14/2010 at 11:59 AM4 comments
The first episode of the American sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, debuted this week in 1975. I know this strains the definition of an IT Webgem. It's like calling "The Big Bang Theory" a science demo. So, why mention SNL? Well, if it wasn't for that show, you'd probably never hear the word "MCSE"
uttered on national TV.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/10/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments
What's more frightening? Finding out that you've got to
test 16 new patches, or wondering what's in store for you on zero-day? We'll know soon enough if you're going to be busier next Wednesday than my local Halloween costume shop on Oct. 30th.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 10/07/2010 at 11:59 AM0 comments