Microsoft struggles with Vista's perceptions    
May 2, 2008
Source: CNET News

In the 15 months since Windows Vista had its mainstream launch, 
Microsoft says it's made progress on a number of key metrics: things like application compatibility, availability of drivers, performance, reliability, and battery life. But there is one area where the company has struggled to gain ground: how Vista is perceived. 

"There's certainly a perceptual gap there," Mike Nash, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said in an interview Thursday. He pointed to Microsoft research that shows that 86 percent of those actually using 
Vista would recommend it to a friend. 

"The perception of Vista is a lot better for the people that have used Windows Vista than (for) the ones who haven't," Nash said. "At some level, a little seeing is believing." 

Microsoft has been trying different ways to promote Windows Vista, including a special pink edition in Japan that combines Vista Home Premium with Windows Live OneCare.

(Credit: Amazon.com)In terms of absolute sales, Vista has done well. More than 140 million computers have been sold with the operating system. But looking at that figure alone ignores the continued lackluster response that Vista gets from media and analysts, as well as the continued demand from businesses for the operating system's predecessor, Windows XP. Microsoft is going on the PR offensive this week, with Nash trying to make the case to the press that Vista is getting a bad rap. 

Top executives have conceded that compatibility was not where it needed to be at Vista's launch. But Nash says things have really changed in the ensuing months. The company tries to track what the odds are that an XP user will find that all the hardware and software they use today will work with Vista. 

Currently, it's above 90 percent, Nash said, excluding truly old devices like TWAIN scanners and devices that connect to outdated ports. He notes that 99 of the 100 top-selling applications work with Vista. 

That number, though, can be deceiving. Although the latest versions of most programs work with Vista, many consumers and small businesses use older versions of programs. That adds to the cost of 
switching to Vista. 

Nash resists the notion that the answer is providing another extension for computer makers to keep selling Windows XP. Microsoft already extended the deadline for large computer makers once, allowing sales through June 30, as opposed to ending them this past January. The software maker also granted a more narrow extension, allowing XP to be used on ultralow-cost computers through 2010. 

Microsoft says XP plan "is the right plan"Nash maintains that the users who really still need XP--businesses--have ways to get the operating 
system, while it's time for the rest of the ecosystem to move forward. 

While some would argue that the fact that computer makers are "pre-downgrading" Vista machines to Windows XP should prompt Microsoft to grant another extension, Nash said the downgrade option is sufficient to address what Microsoft sees in the marketplace. 

"We feel that our plan is the right plan," Nash said. Enterprises with volume license contracts can continue putting XP on machines, while small businesses can buy Vista Business or Ultimate, and have 
either their computer maker or service provider downgrade them to XP, until they are ready to move to Vista. 

"I don't think it's a convoluted process," Nash said. "We want to make sure that customers can get what they need." As for business adoption, Nash said things with Vista are fairly similar to what has been seen with past releases, as large enterprises take time to make sure that their applications are compatible. 

"I don't think this is a different phenomenon than what we have seen in the past," Nash said, adding that it is the case that enterprises are more complex than they were when XP debuted in 2001. Tom Norton, who works in Hewlett-Packard's consulting unit, said it remains the early days for businesses, when it comes to Vista. 

Companies moving to Vista are typically doing so as part of a coordinated plan to reduce the annual cost of supporting their desktop PCs. Vista alone is often not enough to drive the cost savings, but 
businesses are finding that by combining Vista with better management tools, they can shave $80 or even $120 off the $300 or so they spend per year to support each PC. 

At the same time, Norton said some challenges are limiting adoption, including the view that upgrading to Vista is more work, as well as the actual hardware costs that many businesses face in trying to move 
to the more demanding operating system. 

With, XP, Norton said companies felt that they had less upfront work to do to make the transition and less anxiety about whether line-of-business applications would work smoothly. "In some cases, we are finding that it is just an anxiety, as opposed to a reality," he said.

The IBM-Google connection 
May 2 , 2008 
SOURCE: TNN

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt gave a speech and chatted with IBM's CEO Sam Palmisano onstage Thursday at IBM's Business Partner Leadership Conference here. The two talked up their relationship, which primarily involves a joint research project. 
In October, Google and IBM announced a cloud computing initiative, based on Google's expertise in distributed, parallel computing and IBM's industrial enterprise management technologies, for public use 
by universities.

IBM is taking some of the learnings from the project and plans to operate a cloud that will allow partners to house their Web-based applications and sell them to customers, Palmisano said. "It is the 
first time we have taken something from the consumer arena and applied it to the enterprise," he said. 

Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins hands with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano.

Schmidt said that over time there won't be much differentiation between consumer and enterprise architectures. The major difference is that enterprise customers will pay for software and services, with 
required security and other features, and consumers won't. 

Schmidt gave IBM lots of credit for pioneering many of the technologies that underlie today's computing architectures. He noted that IBM, which has about 87 years on Google, has figured out that the underlying platform is a server and Web services. 

"Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime," Schmidt said. "Eventually all devices will be on the network." Both IBM and Google, and a host of competitors, have the same idea, which was actually first promoted by Sun with its "the network is the computer" slogan. Google figured out how to monetize the fruits of the pages its massively parallel servers manage.

IBM wants to provide the infrastructure and support services to the planet, and Google wants to provide the world's information, and some applications, on its platform. "The two companies are great and 
have lots of innovation in their gene pool," Palmisano said. "There isn't a lot of overlap in the strategies." Both are committed to open standards and an open Internet, and they are both going in the same direction, he added.

Google's YouTube captures 10 hours of video every 60 seconds, and IBM might like that business if it could figure out how to make money at it. But eventually, IBM, Microsoft, Sun, Google, and other big players will look more similar in their technical architectures and business models. 

Google and IBM have more in common than a shared view of the world and an academic research project. It turns out that Google outsources its accounting to IBM and that Schmidt considers IBM's sales organization important to Google's enterprise software efforts.

As more companies look for Web-based tools, mashups, and standard applications, such as word processors, Google stands to benefit. "IBM is one of the key planks of our strategy--otherwise we couldn't reach enterprise customers," Schmidt said.

While IBM isn't selling directly for Google in the enterprise, IBM's software division and business partners are integrating Google applications and widgets into custom software solutions based on IBM's development framework. The "business context" is the secret of the Google and IBM collaboration, Schmidt said. Embedding Google Gadgets in business applications, that can work on any device, is a 
common theme for both Google and IBM. 

Currently, Salesforce.com is selling Google Apps as an integrated part of its platform. It's not far-fetched to think that Google would seek out IBM's help with its business partners to spread the Google word in 
the enterprise.

PC biggies ‘snub’ Vista      
May 2, 2008 
SOURCE: AGENCIES

There still may not be clarity from Microsoft end on whether it will officially retire the retail edition of Windowx XP on June 30, however, PC makers seem to be keen on keeping the OS. 

After Lenovo and HP, Dell too has said "Customers may continue to get Windows XP Professional by exercising Downgrade Rights that come with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate licenses. Dell has the ability to exercise “Windows Vista downgrade rights” on your behalf in the factory if your business is still reliant upon Windows XP and you’d prefer to have Windows XP Professional preinstalled on your PCs." 

Earlier, Lenovo, maker of the popular ThinkPad line of laptop and notebook computers had announced that it will sell XP media through January 31, 2009. HP has reportedly said the same thing. In both cases, customers must choose to "downgrade" to get XP. Microsoft says Dell is within its rights to do so. 

However, how long Dell will be able to keep installing XP isn't clear. As after January 31, 2009, it won’t be able to get new copies from Microsoft. So, eventually, XP supplies will run out, except for some "ultra low-cost PCs" that will be able to get it until June 2010.