08.10.09
Posted in Hardware, Microsoft at 4:35 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Alan Wake, Zune, and Nortel problems
REMEMBER Alan Wake? Microsoft has just canceled the Windows version of the game and there is a petition protesting it — one which is endorsed even by Microsoft’s very own partner in development. What is this all about?
An online petition (endorsed by Remedy) has been started asking Microsoft to explain why it suddenly decided to halt the PC development, and strongly urges them to reconsider.
Not so long ago, Halo took the blow and Microsoft also shut down Ensemble Studios and Flight Simulator. Is Microsoft sending the gaming business up the attic now that times are rough?
Another product which falls under the same unit is Zune, which is part of Entertainment (under Robert Bach’s leadership). It is failing so badly that the Guardian starts asking whether Microsoft will just kill this product too.
Will the Zune ever arrive in the UK, or will Microsoft kill it first?
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Zune sales are badly down in the US, and nothing suggests it’s going to improve any time soon. What’s Microsoft trying to prove with it?
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So do you expect to see the Zune land in the UK before it’s taken out the back of the Microsoft campus and shot, along with the Spot data wristwatch, the Smart Display and those other “good ideas” that weren’t?
Without any turnaround on this front, the Zune is doomed to continue to fail. Lacking vision, Microsoft is stuck.
Another problematic area for Microsoft is associated with servers for unified communication. Now that Nortel is going out of business, Microsoft’s plans are in the gutter, leaving more room in this market for Avaya and Free software to inherit and gain.
What will happen to Nortel-Microsoft UC alliance
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While Microsoft does work with Cisco, Thomas said that relationship is “Cisco-controlled, it’s very much add-on extensions to keep your enemy close to you sort of thing.”
Cisco has had bad experiences with Microsoft, so it seems to be moving towards GNU/Linux. Either way, the company under a lot of pressure right now is Microsoft (because of Nortel’s bankruptcy).
About a year ago, Steve Ballmer said that if you are not growing, then you’re falling behind. Microsoft has failed to grow in almost every area. █
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Posted in Finance, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 3:54 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Hypocrisy from Microsoft and aggression towards sellers of its software
THE FOLLOWING story totally failed to make it into the mainstream press, but blogs are actively discussing Microsoft’s ‘theft’ (copying) of someone else’s work.
Oh my God! Microsoft STOLE LittleBigPlanet’s music!
Today, on what must obviously be an incredibly slow news day, Microsoft has come under fire for BLATANT THEFT, shamelessly stealing the music that was 100% totally invented for LittleBigPlanet. This incalculable controversy has swept up the gaming blogs in such a whirlwind of confusion that the videogame industry may never recover.
Shame on Microsoft, especially for being hypocrites who accuse others of imitating. This includes GNU/Linux as a victim.
Speaking of ‘stealing’ or ‘pirating’ (counterfeiting), watch what Microsoft does to people who spread its software. In essence, Microsoft is sending former partners to prison or driving them into bankruptcy [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The owner of a small computer repair shop in Torrington has been going toe-to-toe with Microsoft after the software giant accused Johnson last year of selling pirated software and infringing on the company’s copyrights and trademarks.
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According to court filings, he sold the software to Patricia Ubran, a Microsoft investigator who specifically asked him to buy a copy of Office 2003 from e-Bay and install it on two computers for her because Office 2007 was too expensive.
How reputable a trap/bait. Microsoft has investigators masquerading as customers who lure people into little scams. Microsoft’s scapegoat, Kent Johnson in this case, ought to just sell GNU/Linux and Free software (such as OpenOffice.org) on those PCs. █
“It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”
–Bill Gates
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Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Google, Marketing, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, Ron Hovsepian at 3:26 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Microsoft’s anti-Google AstroTurf recalled; Google’s brand value leaps; Microsoft approval drops
MICROSOFT’S robbery of Yahoo! [1, 2] has probably erased a lot of history relating to this saga, which lasted a year and a half.
A lot of people probably cannot remember that Microsoft hired AstroTurf groups such as LawMedia to battle against the Google/Yahoo! deal [1, 2]. In the case of LawMedia, the effect is said to have been Hispanic groups flooding channels of communication with messages that protest against the Google/Yahoo! deal. It is pseudo-grassroots, or classic AstroTurf.
“A lot of people probably cannot remember that Microsoft hired AstroTurf groups such as LawMedia to battle against the Google/Yahoo! deal.”Now that we come across the spontaneous press release “Hispanic Publishers Have High Hopes for Yahoo!-Microsoft Search Advertising Partnership” it is hard not to think about the LawMedia lobby. Why issue a promotional message like that?
Microsoft is very much afraid of Google, which — just like Free software — challenges the underlying business model of Microsoft by taking software on-line, as opposed to setting it free. Google and Microsoft, both of which are proprietary software companies, are still competing to own the medical data of US citizens and be in charge of other companies. Neither is really acceptable (either Fog Computing or non-Free software), but Google has narrower history of breaking the law, which it never did at quite the same scale as Microsoft.
According to some new numbers, Google’s brand value now significantly exceeds that of Microsoft.
Millward Brown Optimor has just published its list of its 100 most valuable global brands for 2009. Guess who topped the list?
You shouldn’t have to if you’re reading this blog. But yes, Google rings the bell at No. 1 with a $100 billion valuation, a 16 percent increase from a year ago. Microsoft came in second at $76.2 billion, an 8 percent jump from 2008.
These are not scientific surveys, but to some people they may be rough estimates to go by. Watch how Barcelona’s football club wishes to be dissociated from Microsoft, apparently.
FC Barcelona avoids the very appearance of endorsing Microsoft products
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Last time I checked two years ago, during a trip to the Camp Nou (when Openbravo CEO Manel Sarasa got me into the president’s box), FC Barcelona was running OpenCMS for its Web site and a range of other open-source software for content management and other needs.
Perhaps FC Barcelona would have happily done a photo op with the Linux penguin, but just couldn’t bear to affiliate with Clippy?
Speaking of Europe, where Microsoft’s popularity is generally a lot lower, there are still articles which are hostile towards regulation there, such as this new one from Reuters. The language says it all really. I spoke to the Ombudsman just under an hour ago (on the phone). Over in the United States, Motley Fool/MSNBC, which are heavily influenced by Microsoft, show that Steve Ballmer’s approval rating is extremely low.
Investors: Steve Ballmer’s a Failure
Roughly 40% of respondents to a “Wall Street Journal” poll aren’t pleased.
Ron Hovsepian’s approval rating is also exceptionally low. Novell and Microsoft are in a bad shape, whereas Google and Red Hat, for instance, keep growing. █
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Posted in GNU/Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Vista, Vista 7, Windows at 2:31 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“In the face of strong competition, Evangelism’s focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X.”
–Microsoft, internal document [PDF]
Summary: Windows Vista is a confirmed failure, but Vista 7 is already nipping at its heels
WINDOWS Vista is long dead and buried. A look at news headlines from the past week reveals only one headline about “Vista”, whereas “Windows 7″ matches 26 headlines. As the quote at the top begs to show, Microsoft is too busy talking about future products rather than what’s available today.
India Times has published this new article which attempts to explain what caused Microsoft to lose so much business. From the introduction:
Microsoft reported a disappointing 29 per cent slump in fourth-quarter profits after a year in which its revenues fell for the first time ever since 1986. The company’s earnings sank to $3.05 billion, or 34 cents per share, from $4.3 billion, or 46 cents per share, in the same period last year. Now the company plans to go on a ‘crash diet’ programme where it plans to curtail all expenses to go slim.
PC World came out with its own set of reasons why Microsoft’s profits are tanking. Here’s a look at some of these which somewhat explain why the Redmond giant plans to go on a strict diet regime.
Vista is right there at the top — the top of the listed problems, that is. Not good for a flagship product, eh?
In related news, hardware companies are complaining about Vista, which cost them a lot in terms of sales.
Microsoft Vista blamed for memory glut
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The chairman of Taiwanese memory company Transcend has blamed Microsoft Vista for being responsible for a supply glut.
MarketWatch has an article about that too.
Suppliers of DRAM chips “overforecasted Vista demand,” said iSuppli analyst Nam Hyung Kim, referring to Microsoft Corp.’s new PC software operating system released to corporations last November and to consumers in January.
It is going to be the same with Vista 7, which is already upsetting people for the same reasons as Vista. Baffled by the company's hideous upgrade paths, Mossberg complained about Vista 7 the other day and for someone who is close to Microsoft to say it out loud, this is rather significant.
This whole sticky situation is leaving the door wide open to GNU/Linux. It’s no longer the choice between different versions of Windows (or “PC” versus “Mac”), even if the Microsoft-influenced DHS [1, 2, 3, 4] continues to act as though getting a better deal from Microsoft is the best one can do in this scenario. From the news:
The Department of Homeland Security says it will save $89 million in software licensing fees by renegotiating contracts with Microsoft and Oracle–a move that should be considered by other government agencies.
They should check Free software options. Public money should not be spent putting national resources in the hands of corporations. If companies wish to sign deals with Oracle and Microsoft, that’s their problem and their loss. Just like BECTA, governments like to brag about “savings” rather than “spendings” in order to justify the passing of tax money to companies that thrive in lock-in and price-fixing. █
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Posted in Microsoft, Search at 1:47 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Microsoft meets and promotes the grey Web
MICROSOFT’S renamed search engine has obviously inherited all the same deficiencies of its old identity (Live/MSN), including the spam Webmasters were complaining about. Based on this post from SEO Roundtable, Microsoft carries on filling Web site logs with “junk” requests that give the illusion of search gains. Here is Microsoft’s excuse:
Historically, Bing (Microsoft/Live Search/MSN Search) is known for using referral requests to attempt to find cloaked pages or find search spam. Since April 2007, Microsoft has been sending weird referrals to many webmasters. They were known as internal cloaking tests designed by Microsoft’s search quality team. But even though they promised to cool it with those visible tests, it came back time and time again.
Yes, this never stopped. Webmasters have complained about it for well over a year (since 2007). According to a new report, despite all those so-called “attempt[s] to find cloaked pages or find search spam” (which is Microsoft’s excuse for justifying its own spam), Microsoft’s search is promoting phony drugs. There are two press releases about it, apparently. This is already covered in:
A report this week claims that nearly 90 percent of Microsoft-sponsored search results for online pharmacies found by the Bing search engine lead to fraudulent sites.
Microsoft is by all means part of the Dark Side of the Internet. Is it that desperate to make money? █
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Posted in Free/Libre Software, FUD, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Office Suites, Open XML, OpenDocument, OpenOffice, Patents, RAND, SUN at 1:23 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“What we’re seeing though now can be loosely described as patent terrorism, where people are using their patent horde as a threat [...] It’s almost like a cold war stand over tactic; where I have these patents and if you breach these patents, I’m going to come after you and sue you.”
–James Eagleton, systems product manager for Sun Microsystems
Summary: Signs of increased patent aggression in Microsoft’s behaviour amid sinking profits
With OpenOffice.org 3.2 coming quite soon, not to mention the ODF Workshop, Microsoft has many reasons to worry about its biggest cash cow. Microsoft seems to be dealing with rival office suites in the same way it deals with GNU/Linux: FUD, patents, and litigation, in that order. Microsoft has already moved beyond smearing or belittling Apps and OpenOffice.org. Having already made vague patent accusations against OpenOffice.org back in 2007, Microsoft is now collecting patents on word processing.
At the same time that Microsoft was pushing for the adoption of an XML-based file format for documents, it had a patent pending that would cover most uses of XML for word processing files.
This is an issue that was covered some days ago [1, 2] and also a few months ago in:
Michael Tiemann speaks about Microsoft’s latest RAND traps [1, 2] (patent royalties).
Glynn Moody writes an insightful analysis of Microsoft’s latest attempt to confuse the issue of open standards by throwing a new word into the mix: balance. It didn’t fool Glynn, and it shouldn’t fool you, either.
In the final analysis, the question of what is an open standard, and how governments and free markets should police the claims of those who purport to offer open standards should never come down to a question of rhetoric. An open standard should never depend on what the definition of “is” is. Rather, there is plenty of room for those who are honest to say “X is a proprietary standard, dependent on restrictive technologies that must be licensed for a fee” and for others who are equally honest when they say “Y is an open standard, dependent on a variety of technologies, all of which can be practiced royalty free”. And if we believe that free markets can make intelligent decisions based on fair information, market participants can choose which offering is most attractive to them and the best will come to all.
With that in mind, Tiemann and the OSI should be aware that Microsoft is trying to appeal to FOSS projects while it’s suing GNU/Linux vendors. Microsoft uses lawsuits against vulnerable Linux-distributing companies that surrender and let Windows be publicly perceived as ‘safer’. RAND is part of this plot, which Microsoft may later try to use as a suppressor of OpenOffice.org adoption.
In a bid to increase their support for open source technology, Microsoft (News – Alert) has announced the addition of SugarCRM Community Edition for free download on the Windows Web App Gallery.
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In November 2006 TMC reported that SugarCRM had announced its membership in the Interop Vendor Alliance with Microsoft.
Going back to office suites, they already appear to be marketing Microsoft Office with pseudo ODF ‘support’ [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] over at Wikipedia [1, 2]. Another vector of competition happens to be the Web (SaaS) and not only Google Apps or Zoho are out there looking to poach users. Evermore is moving there as well. From the news:
Chinese Microsoft Office Rival Launching on Web Soon
A Chinese company that offers a rival suite to Microsoft Office is following industry trends by turning its software into a Web-based service.
Evermore Software, based in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi, has for years offered a software suite that looks very similar to Microsoft Office but costs less. Now the company sees its rivals moving online, and it is designing a Web version of its suite to compete with the likes of Google Docs and Microsoft’s upcoming Office Web apps.
Some of Microsoft’s acquired patents may also apply to Web-based office suites. Is Microsoft preparing to ‘pull a SCO’ in desparate attempts to defend its aging cash cow? █
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Posted in IRC Logs at 1:02 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
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To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.
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