http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2013-01-03T10:19:00ZBuyout of Brad Krikorian's id8 Group R2 Studios would fit with Microsoft's goal of becoming center of the digital home.http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-looks-to-acquire-home-automati/240145476?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/take-skydrive-for-a-test-drive/240005958"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/854/01_Intro_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft SkyDrive Vs. Dropbox, Google: Hands-On" title="Microsoft SkyDrive Vs. Dropbox, Google: Hands-On" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft SkyDrive Vs. Dropbox, Google: Hands-On</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft has reportedly inked a deal to acquire home automation software specialist id8 Group R2 Studios Inc. <P> id8, founded in 2011 by well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur Blake Krikorian, develops apps that let users control their home entertainment, lighting, security and other in-house systems from a mobile device. Its $99 R2 Control for Crestron app, for instance, gives users control over systems integrated into a Crestron control panel from an Android Phone. <P> The deal was <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324374004578218091764714864.html">reported Wednesday</a> by <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, and was unconfirmed by Microsoft as of early Thursday. Financial details were not reported. The newspaper also reported that Apple and Google also were in talks to acquire id8. <P> Krikorian is best known as the founder of Sling Media, the creator of the mobile TV controller Slingbox. Sling was sold to EchoStar in 2007. Krikorian was also, until late December, a member of Amazon's board. In a sign that a move was afoot, Amazon recently filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicated Krikorian was stepping down. <P> "On December 26, 2012, Blake Krikorian informed Amazon.com, Inc. that he was resigning from the Board of Directors effective immediately," Amazon reported in an 8-K filing. The filing indicates that Krikorian may be set to join Amazon rival Microsoft. The <em>Journal</em> reported that Krikorian would bring a small team to Redmond. Amazon and Microsoft compete in cloud services and in the tablet hardware market. <P> <strong>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross ">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</strong> <P> id8's software would fit with Microsoft's goal of making its products the center of the digital home. Through its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-launches-music-service-for-xbo/240009021">Xbox 360 and Xbox Live</a> products, Microsoft's customers can play games, stream movies and TV shows, communicate with each other through chat and IM and conduct Web searches. id8's apps could extend the company's footprint into home automation products that let users control heat, light, security and other systems from virtually anywhere. Such systems also have applications in the commercial real estate market. <P> An obvious first step if the deal is completed would be for id8 to develop apps for Windows Phone 8 smartphones and Windows 8 tablets, both of which need more apps if they're to successfully go head to head with Apple and Android devices. Microsoft, which has signaled its intention to become <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">a bigger player in hardware</a>, could also build remote control devices around id8's software.2013-01-03T09:33:00ZAzure enhancements leave Microsoft well positioned against cloud competitors in 2013, analyst says.http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-tries-to-outflank-amazon-with/240145474?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/software/productivity_apps/240003864"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/838/01_Office2013_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Office 2013: 10 Best Features" title="Microsoft Office 2013: 10 Best Features" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Office 2013: 10 Best Features</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft's move to add infrastructure and enhanced virtual machine support to its Azure platform gives its cloud offering the ability to match Amazon's infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) product while still providing customers with richer platform-as-a-service (PaaS) options, according to one analyst who believes Microsoft is well positioned to gain cloud momentum in 2013. <P> "We remain positive on Azure, due to its high compatibility with existing enterprise software," said Mark Moerdler, senior software analyst at Bernstein Research, in a note published Wednesday. <P> Microsoft last year launched a Community Technology Preview of persistent-state <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-azure-in-2012-watch-out-amazon/232301231">Virtual Machine support for Azure</a>, effectively creating a hypervisor in the sky that lets enterprises upload VMs running Linux, SharePoint, SQL Server or other "stateful" applications. The move expanded the capabilities of Azure, which Microsoft had always positioned as a PaaS offering, into the IaaS realm. <P> <strong>[ Will 2013 be a good year for Microsoft? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/6-things-microsoft-must-do-in-2013/240145370">6 Things Microsoft Must Do In 2013</a>. ]</strong> <P> Under the PaaS model, customers' apps and services run on a cloud stack that's preconfigured by the vendor, while IaaS provides customers with basic infrastructure, on top of which they can build their own stacks and services while maintaining more management responsibility over the setup. <P> Moerdler said in an interview that Microsoft is now able to offer customers the best of both worlds, which could entice more enterprises to its cloud services. "With Azure, they can run VMs, but they can do more than that, in that they can allow you to be able to step up to a more cloud-based solution," said Moerdler. <P> Moerdler defines a truly cloud-based solution as one that uses a multi-tenant architecture. The difference between multi-tenant and simple virtualization is, generally, that in the former scenario a single instance of an application services multiple clients, while in the latter multiple instances of an app are run across virtual machines. Multi-tenant architectures are thought by many experts to be more robust and scalable than virtualized setups. <P> Azure "is competing against Amazon Web Services in Infrastructure-as-a-Service in terms of virtualization, but they give you this opportunity of saying you can go and become a truly cloud-based model if you so desire," said Moerdler, who rates Microsoft shares as "Outperform". <P> Moerdler believes Azure also holds another, potentially significant advantage over AWS, as well as over competing PaaS providers such as Oracle and <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/platform/heroku-adds-database-service-that-scales/240009994">Salesforce's Heroku</a> -- its native compatibility with Microsoft's on-premises products like <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-server-2012-hardware-makers-join/240006765">Windows Server 2012</a> and SQL Server. That should, theoretically at least, make it easier for Microsoft-centric enterprises to move operations to the cloud when they so choose. <P> "Most apps can be moved to Azure fairly easily initially in a VM and then expanded, adding cloud functionality later," said Moerdler, who co-founded records management specialist MDY Advanced Technologies prior to joining Bernstein. <P> Microsoft hosts Azure at eight, company-owned data centers located around the world. To further bolster its cloud, Microsoft in December added job scheduler support for Windows Azure Mobile Services, improved scaling for Azure website services and support for SQL Data Sync Services from within the Azure Management Portal. <P> More Azure rollouts are expected throughout 2013.2013-01-02T12:21:00ZIn annual report filed with SEC, tech giant says it's considering divesture of businesses that don't fit with its long-term plans. Will CEO Whitman stick with the PC business?http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/hps-pc-services-units-under-scrutiny/240145415?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authorsHewlett Packard said it may divest business units or assets that no longer fit with its long-term objectives, a sign that CEO Meg Whitman may be looking to streamline the struggling tech titan's operations. In its annual report, filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, HP said, "We also continue to evaluate the potential disposition of assets and businesses that no longer help us meet our objectives." <P> In the document, filed on Friday just before the New Year's break, HP added, "When we decide to sell assets or a business, we may encounter difficulty finding buyers or alternative exit strategies on acceptable terms in a timely manner, which could delay the achievement of our strategic objectives." <P> HP did not specify which units could be on the block, nor has it commented further on the filing, but its recent financial maneuverings provide strong indications. <P> The company's Enterprise Services, or outsourcing, unit could be under scrutiny. Last August, HP announced that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/information-management/hp-takes-8-billion-hit-as-consulting-bus/240005170">the unit's performance was so poor</a> that the company would write down its value by $8 billion in third quarter of 2012. At the same time, HP announced that then Enterprise Services chief John Visentin would be leaving the company. <P> HP's Enterprise Services unit mainly comprises assets the company acquired through its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/services/outsourcing/hp-closes-139-billion-eds-acquisition/210200744">$13.9 billion acquisition</a> of Plano, Texas-based Electronic Data Systems in 2008. <P> <b>[ Will PCs be able to see, touch, and smell in five years? <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/supercomputers/ibm-pcs-by-2018-will-see-hear-touch/240144501?itc=edit_in_body_cross">See why IBM thinks so</a>. ]</b> <P> The deal was supposed to put HP into IT Services' big leagues and make it a legitimate challenger to market leader IBM. But it never lived up to expectations. <P> Beyond a handful of high-profile customer wins, the most notable being Procter & Gamble, the deal failed to make HP a services juggernaut along the lines of Big Blue. HP's services revenues fell 2%, year over year, to $35 billion in the company's most recent fiscal year. <P> Another unit that could be up for grabs is HP's Personal Systems group, which sells PCs, tablets and other end-user devices. That group's revenues fell 10% in the most recent fiscal year, to $35.7 billion. It, along with the rest of the PC industry, has been hit hard by consumers and business road warriors' embrace of non-Windows tablets and smartphones. <P> HP and other Microsoft partners are <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-windows-8-unification-plan-gra/232600242">betting on Windows 8</a> to help reverse the trend, but early sales of devices powered by Redmond's new OS are said to be slow. <P> HP's PC business has been on the block previously. Former CEO Leo Apotheker said last August that he would seek a buyer for the unit, and shut down all of the company's WebOS efforts. HP gained WebOS through its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm in 2010. Apotheker planned to use it as a PC operating system along with Windows before deciding to axe the PC unit. HP's board fired him last September after losing faith in his strategy, replacing him with Whitman. <P> HP shares were up more than 5% in morning trading Wednesday. <P> <i>Cloud computing, virtualization and the mobile explosion create computing demands that today&#8217;s servers may not meet. Join Dell executives to get an in-depth look at how next-generation servers meet the evolving demands of enterprise computing, while adapting to the next wave of IT challenges. <a href="https://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1005372&K=EOA">Register for this Dell-sponsored webcast now</a>.</i>2013-01-02T09:12:00ZThis could be a make or break year as Microsoft looks to establish itself in mobile, cloud and other hot new markets while fending off challenges to its Windows franchise.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/6-things-microsoft-must-do-in-2013/240145370?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/2401422277"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/906/01_Windows_Stor_Apps_1st_slide_tn.jpg" alt="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" title="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> The past 12 months were challenging ones for Microsoft. The company launched Windows 8, but early sales are said to be modest at best. Windows Phone 8 also arrived last year, but Redmond's share of the smartphone market remains stuck at less than 4%. Meanwhile, the company continues to push into new markets like cloud, hardware and online entertainment with mixed success. <P> But don't count out Redmond just yet. Microsoft remains the world's biggest software company, it's got a deep management bench, and it's cash rich. Here are some moves the company can make this year to boost its fortunes. <P> <b>1. Client:</b> Some people love Windows 8, others not so much. Microsoft needs to acknowledge the mixed feelings by giving users the option of booting into the more familiar Windows Explorer environment instead of Metro. Some third-party tools, such as Win8StartButton, have emerged that let users do just that. But Microsoft needs to step in with official support. <P> The company also needs to put some of its cash to work enticing developers to build <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-cool-windows-8-apps-8-or-less/240142429">more Windows 8 apps</a>, even if at its own expense. Many big content and service providers, including Facebook and Twitter, are on the sidelines when it comes to Windows 8. Microsoft needs to court them more aggressively. <P> <b>2. Hardware:</b> 2012 saw Microsoft take its first real plunge into the PC hardware business, with the release of the Surface RT tablet and the upcoming Surface Pro. But the early word is that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-mum-on-surface-tablet-sales/240115303">Surface RT sales are slow</a>. One factor is undoubtedly price. At $499, Surface RT costs the same as the entry-level new iPad. Microsoft needs to recognize that establishing a new brand takes some sacrifices, including profits. <P> <b>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross ">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</b> <P> Surface RT would be better priced at about $399, $100 less than the new iPad, but still two hundred bucks more than Amazon's Kindle Fire HD. Even if that makes it a loss leader for Microsoft, it's well worth it if it gets the device into more users' hands. <P> <b>3. Services:</b> With software becoming a commodity and Microsoft's hardware plans still nascent, the company needs to steal a page from IBM's playbook and build out its services arm. It primarily plays in the market through its equity stake in Avanade, which is majority-owned by Accenture. But it needs to build out its own offerings to compensate for what will surely be declining Windows revenues in the coming years. <P> Enterprises may be supporting more and more non-Microsoft products on the front end, but they'll still need help tying it all together on the back end and integrating in-house and cloud services. It's potentially a huge opportunity that Microsoft needs to cash in on, even if means making an acquisition. Accenture itself might be a logical target. <P> <b>4. Cloud:</b> Microsoft needs to make Azure a more compelling environment for mission-critical enterprise applications and services while reducing migration hassles. To its credit, it's evolving Windows Azure from platform-as-a-service (PaaS) To infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Earlier last year, it added persistent-state virtual machine support to Azure, allowing it to accommodate a wider variety of software, including Linux. Microsoft also introduced Hadoop for Azure and support for MapReduce. <P> In late December, Microsoft added job scheduler support for Windows Azure Mobile Services, and improved scaling for Azure website services and support for SQL Data Sync Services from within the Azure Management Portal. In 2013, it needs to further its build out of its cloud platform to keep it competitive with Amazon EC2, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/ibm-att-team-on-secure-cloud-services/240008772">IBM's SmartCloud</a> and other cloud services. <P> <b>5. Big Data:</b> When it comes to big data, IT's latest megatrend, Microsoft isn't thought of in the same breath as Oracle, with its Exadata Machine, or IBM and its Netezza line. Yet its own Bing search engine, which runs on Windows Server 2012, routinely crunches more than 100 petabytes of data to yield search results. Microsoft also recently began supporting the Apache Hadoop open source framework for distributed big data processing. And it's got powerful front-end tools like PowerPivot for Excel and SQL Server Analysis and Reporting Services. <P> With opportunities on the client side declining, the company needs to get more aggressive about packaging and marketing these solutions. Dedicated hardware, along the lines of IBM's Netezza Data Warehouse Appliance, would be a good step. <P> <b>6. Xbox:</b> Windows' declining cachet in the consumer market hasn't affected Microsoft's Xbox franchise. The platform is going stronger than ever, as 2012 saw the introduction of hits like Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4, while the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-pushes-kinect-beyond-gaming/231902014">Kinect hands-free motion controller</a> has won critical acclaim. <P> The company needs to inject some of Xbox's life into other product lines, such as smartphones, that have yet to catch on with consumers. With Windows Phone 8 struggling to find a niche, a good place to start would be an Xbox-branded smartphone, or a smartphone based on an Xbox blockbuster franchise like Halo. <P> What else do you think Microsoft needs to do in 2013 to recapture its mojo? Let me know in the comments section below.2012-12-21T10:23:00ZHTC 7-inch tablet could pit Microsoft's Windows 8 OS against Amazon's Kindle Fire and Apple's iPad mini.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/htc-prepping-windows-8-rival-to-ipad-min/240145199?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/8-cool-windows-8-tablets-for-home-and-of/240010621"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/889/01_Intro_tn.jpg" alt="8 Cool Windows 8 Tablets For Home And Office" title="8 Cool Windows 8 Tablets For Home And Office" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Cool Windows 8 Tablets For Home And Office</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Taiwanese computer maker HTC next year plans to release a pair of tablets running Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, including a 7-inch model that could be aimed squarely at the iPad Mini and Amazon's Kindle Fire, according to a published report. <P> Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source, reported that both models will run Windows RT, a pared down version of Windows 8 that only runs apps preinstalled by Microsoft--including <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-wont-run-on-windows-xp-vista/240003909">Office 13</a> --or those downloaded from the company's online Windows Store. <P> All Windows RT tablets are powered by chips that use ARM's mobile processor reference design, which aims for energy efficiency and long battery life. <P> HTC plans to release the devices next fall, Bloomberg reported, adding that both will be powered by ARM-based chips manufactured by Qualcomm. Nvidia also makes ARM chips for Windows RT tablets, including for Microsoft's Surface RT device. Spokespersons for Microsoft and HTC did not comment on the report. <P> HTC was excluded from Microsoft's original list of vendors authorized to build Windows 8 tablets and hybrids, which included Dell, Acer, ASUS, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung. If Microsoft has now extended a license to HTC, it may be a sign that Redmond is looking to broaden distribution for its new platform, sales of which are said to be below expectations. <P> There are other signs that Microsoft is ready to pull out the stops to get Windows 8 before as many eyeballs as possible. Redmond originally planned to sell Surface only through its company-owned online and brick-and-mortar stores. But last week it reversed course, releasing <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/can-microsoft-surface-best-buy-save-each/240144430">Surface RT for sale at Best Buy</a> and Staples. <P> <b>[Is Microsoft Office Right For Touch-based Computing? See: <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-is-microsoft-out-of-touch/240003826?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Office 2013: Is Microsoft Out Of Touch?</a>.]</b> <P> Earlier this month, Microsoft said it would convert a number of so-called <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-plans-windows-8-pop-up-retail/240007060">pop-up stores</a> it opened around the country for the holidays into permanent locations. <P> "Based on the success of the Microsoft holiday stores, the company will extend all of these locations into the new year. These stores will transition into either permanent brick-and-mortar retail outlets or specialty store locations," Microsoft said in a statement. <P> Microsoft has said that more than 40 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold since the OS was released. It has not commented publicly on Surface RT sales, but some analysts have said that they are running below expectations. Analysts at Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton last week pegged sales of Surface RT at between 500,000 and 600,000 units since the product launched on Oct 26. <P> By contrast, Apple said it sold 3 million iPads during the first three days after launching the iPad mini in early November. <P> <i>Upgrading isn't the easy decision that Win 7 was. We take a close look at Server 2012, changes to mobility and security, and more in the new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Here Comes Windows 8</a> issue of InformationWeek. Also in this issue: Why you should have the difficult conversations about the value of OS and PC upgrades before discussing Windows 8. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-21T09:00:00ZMicrosoft-sponsored IDC report says there are currently 1.7 million open cloud positions just waiting to be filled.http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/cloud-jobs-7-million-in-3-years-idc-says/240145194?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/7-tips-on-closing-the-big-data-talent-ga/240012658"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/895/01_BigD_Talent_Gap_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" title=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Cloud computing, and related areas like virtualization and data management, will create 7 million jobs over the next three years, according to a new study published by Microsoft and IDC. The study also claimed that currently there are 1.7 million open cloud jobs worldwide that organizations are having a tough time filling. <P> "Despite modest growth in the IT sector overall in the U.S., cloud-ready jobs are increasing as we head into 2013," said Cushing Anderson, a program VP at IDC, in a statement. "With this increase comes the harsh reality that workforces around the world are steps behind when it comes to attaining the skills necessary to thrive in the cloud computing industry." <P> The study's authors contend that cloud computing will drive demand for individuals with a hard-to-find mix of business and IT skills, given that many of the new jobs will involve architecture, design, advisory, and transitional services as opposed to just hands-on tech functions. <P> "Unlike IT skill shortages in the past, solving this skills gap is extremely challenging, given that cloud brings a new set of skills, which haven't been needed in the past," said Anderson. "There is no one-size-fits-all set of criteria for jobs in cloud computing. Therefore, training and certification is essential for preparing prospective jobs candidates to work in cloud-related jobs." <P> The study found that worldwide, almost two-thirds of businesses plan to implement, or are already using, cloud technologies in their operations, with the U.S. accounting for 62% of spending on public cloud infrastructure. It also found that lack of training, certification, and experience are the top three reasons cloud positions are not being filled. <P> <b>[ Does the U.S. need to import more foreign tech help? New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks so. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/services/outsourcing/nyc-mayor-us-needs-more-foreign-tech-tal/231900459?itc=edit_in_body_cross">NYC Mayor: U.S. Needs More Foreign Tech Talent</a>. ]</b> <P> To address the problem, Microsoft recently announced that it has revamped many of its certifications to take into account cloud computing technologies and methods, including forthcoming certifications for Windows 8 specialists. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-flop-wouldnt-doom-server-2012/240010020">Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012</a> are designed to work in concert with Microsoft cloud services such as Azure and Office 365. <P> The study is bound to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/h1b/us-shelves-h-1b-visa-talks-with-india/232301548">create some controversy</a>. Microsoft has long claimed that there are worker shortages in a number of key IT areas, and has been pushing the U.S. government to increase the number of H-1B visas available to foreign tech workers. Currently, the number is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 available to foreign graduates of advanced STEM programs at U.S. colleges and universities. <P> Redmond also wants Congress to pass legislation that would make it easier for U.S. companies to procure permanent resident status (or green cards) for foreign tech hires. Under one plan floated by Microsoft, private businesses could pay up to $15,000 to procure green card approval for a foreign hire. <P> Critics of such proposals, including The Programmers Guild, argue that U.S. tech companies should focus on retraining older IT pros, many of whom have been laid off in recent years, in cloud and other new skills before hiring foreigners. <P> <i><a href="http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/santaclara/?_mc=DIWEEK">Cloud Connect</a> returns to Silicon Valley, April 2-5, 2013, for four days of lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions on a comprehensive selection of cloud topics taught by leading industry experts. Use priority code DIWEEK by Jan. 1 to save up to $700 with Super Early Bird Savings. Join us in Silicon Valley to see new products, keep up-to-date on industry trends and create and strengthen professional relationships. Register for <a href="http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/santaclara/?_mc=DIWEEK">Cloud Connect</a> now. </i>2012-12-20T15:01:00ZFormer Starbucks CIO and 2011 <em>InformationWeek</em> Chief of The Year Stephen Gillett heads to Silicon Valley.http://www.informationweek.com/security/antivirus/bestbuycom-chief-leaves-for-symantec/240145136?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authorsAfter less than nine months on the job as head of Best Buy's online operation, Stephen Gillett has left the struggling retailer to take a senior position at Symantec, which is in the midst of its own reorganization as it tries to adapt to changes in the security software market. <P> Symantec named Gillett executive VP and COO on Wednesday. His responsibilities will include oversight of the company's IT, marketing, and communications operations. "Stephen is the perfect fit for the direction we are taking Symantec," said Steve Bennett, Symantec chairman and CEO, in a statement. "He has been deeply involved in the transformation of a number of high-profile companies at the executive level and is highly respected in the CIO community worldwide." <P> Gillett has been on Symantec's board since January, and will relinquish that position. He is a former CIO of Starbucks, and was named <em>InformationWeek</em>'s <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/starbucks-stephen-gillett-informationwee/232200549">Chief of The Year</a> for 2011. <P> <strong>[ Where is Symantec headed next? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/antivirus/symantec-security-has-become-forgotten-c/240007296?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Symantec Security Has Become Forgotten Child, Critics Say</a>. ]</strong> <P> His departure from Best Buy was unexpected and seen as somewhat of a surprise, given that he was brought in as recently as March to bolster and add credibility to Best Buy's e-commerce efforts. Best Buy has been struggling to convert visits to its website into sales. It's also challenged by the fact that consumers are increasingly using its stores to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/can-microsoft-surface-best-buy-save-each/240144430">check out the latest gadgets</a>, while making actual purchases online at discounters like Amazon. <P> Gillett's departure marks the latest high-level exit at Best Buy. CEO Brian Dunn left in April after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a female employee. He was replaced by former Vivendi Universal Games CEO Hubert Joly. Joly recently brought in his own team of senior executives, a fact that some observers believe contributed to Gillett's departure. <P> "I will miss the wonderful teams at Best Buy," Gillett tweeted on Wednesday. "Our time together was short, but our friendships and experiences lifelong. Thank you." <P> Gillett will have his work cut out at Symantec. The company's stock was downgraded earlier this month by Standpoint Research, amid concerns about increased competition. Microsoft is beefing up free security software for Windows PCs, as well as <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-a-win-for-enterprise-security/240009687">enterprise offerings like EndPoint</a>. Symantec is expected to unveil a new strategic plan in January. <P> "Great companies are defined by their market position, customer base, brand awareness, the quality of their products and by the type of industry they're involved in," said Gillett, in a statement. "Symantec is strong in all of these areas. I look forward to working with everyone at Symantec to help the company achieve its full potential." Gillett did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. <P> <i>Tech spending is looking up, but IT must focus more on customers and less on internal systems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/121012/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Outlook 2013</a> issue of InformationWeek: Five painless rules for encryption. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-20T11:06:00ZThe past year saw some big wins, and big setbacks, for Microsoft. And then there's the special case of Windows 8.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsofts-big-hits-and-misses-of-2012/240145087?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-8-big-benefits-for-smbs/240142263"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/907/01_windows8pro_tn.jpg" alt="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" title="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft's effort to embrace a computing market in which the PC is taking a back seat to tablets and smartphones has been well documented in this column. Many of Redmond's troubles of late have arisen directly from that market evolution. <P> But don't count the company out just yet -- it had some solid breakthroughs in 2012. There were also several misfires. Here's a look back at Microsoft's biggest hits and misses of the past year. <P> <b>Microsoft's 4 Big Hits</b> <P> <b>1. Windows 8</b> <br> Microsoft has taken a lot of heat for Windows 8, and early sales are likely below expectations. Critics complain that the OS, with its Live Tiles interface, is too difficult to learn. But Redmond should be given credit for its bold move to introduce a truly innovative platform that separates Windows 8 devices from the iPad and me-too Android tablets. <P> Granted, Windows 8 could use some tweaking to make it more user friendly, and sales and distribution have been anything but smooth. But the software itself is rich, technically impressive (how about those seven-second boot times?), and secure. It should eventually make Microsoft a player in tablets while keeping its PC franchise intact. <P> <b>2. Yammer Acquisition</b> <br> Microsoft in June bought out business social networking and collaboration specialist Yammer for $1.2 billion. On its own it would have been a smart deal, as biz collaboration is one of enterprise software's hottest categories. But the deal makes even more sense given the synergies Microsoft can achieve by adding Yammer to its existing collaboration technologies. <P> Among <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/240012740/dynamics-crm-gets-yammer-skype-ipad-support">the products that will benefit</a> from getting bits and pieces of Yammer added in are Dynamics CRM, Skype, Sharepoint and Office 365. <P> <b>3. Xbox SmartGlass</b> <br> For the past couple of years, Microsoft has dribbled out a host of new products that appeared to have little connection to each other. Windows Phone, Windows 8, Live, Bing, Kinect, Azure and so on. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/xbox-smartglass-could-save-windows-phone/240001577">Enter Xbox SmartGlass</a>, a game-changing technology that ties it all together and promises to make Microsoft relevant again in the consumer market. <P> SmartGlass is a collection of apps and embedded technologies that form an ecosystem, one in which digital content can migrate from one platform to the next, be it a phone, tablet, desktop or home theater. In a demo at E3 earlier this year, SmartGlass pulled together the capabilities of Xbox 360, Kinect and Windows 8 tablets to show how it can take gaming to the next level. With Madden NFL 13 running on one screen, a user drew up plays on a Win8 tablet, which the game then executed on an HDTV. Pretty cool stuff. <P> <b>4. Hardware Entry</b> <br> With the introduction of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/can-microsoft-surface-best-buy-save-each/240144430">the Surface tablet</a> this year, Microsoft stole a page from Apple's playbook to become a vendor of integrated systems. It was a smart move. Software margins are declining and hardware is a commodity, but by bundling Microsoft can continue to ensure decent profits. <P> From a technical standpoint, CEO Steve Ballmer said it best at the company's shareholder meeting last month: "What we've said to ourselves now is that there is no boundary between hardware and software that we will let build up as a kind of innovation barrier." Up next? Watch for a Microsoft-branded smartphone.<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-goofs-and-gaffes/240009646"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/888/01_clippy_tn.jpg" alt="Windows: Goofs And Gaffes " title="Windows: Goofs And Gaffes " class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Windows: Goofs And Gaffes </div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> <b>1. Windows 8</b> <br> Windows 8 is a hit, but it's also a miss? Yep, because right now, Windows 8 is all about potential. But that will be lost if Microsoft doesn't clean up a few things. For starters, the company needs to unify the user experience across Windows 8's dual (and dueling) Metro and desktop interfaces. For example, Internet Explorer 10 in Metro relies on a host of commands and touch gestures that don't function in the desktop version. That's just going to breed user frustration and confusion. <P> Microsoft also needs to give users the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-fizzling-time-for-windows-clas/240142618">option to bypass Metro</a> and boot to the more familiar Windows Explorer desktop if they like. No need to strong-arm users into Metro if that's not what they prefer. <P> <b>2. Surface RT</b> <br> Similarly, Microsoft's decision to get into hardware should be a hit long term, but its execution in the short term has been poor. By all accounts, Surface is not selling well -- and with good reason. With a starting price of $499, it's $200 more expensive than <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/personal-tech/tablets/kindle-fire-95000-orders-on-day-one/231602481">Amazon's Kindle Fire HD</a> and priced on par with the new iPad. <P> <b>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross ">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</b> <P> Microsoft needs to bite the bullet on price to establish Surface in the market. $399 would have been a good starting price, and we may yet see that. Microsoft also erred by withholding Surface Pro until after the holidays. Buyers who want a fully functioning Windows 8 tablet in time for Christmas can opt for one from Dell, Acer or a number of other OEMs. That's good for the PC makers, but it doesn't help the Surface franchise. <P> <b>3. Windows Phone 8</b> <br> Like Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 is technically impressive. It supports quad-core processors, and features scaled down and more customizable Live Tiles. But unlike Windows 8, it doesn't have a 400-million user installed base of previous-generation software on which to ride. It's out there on its own. <P> As a result, Windows Phone, including Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8, holds a market share less than 3.2%, according to ComScore. Unless those numbers pick up soon, the Windows Phone experiment will have to be considered a flop. <P> <b>4. Bing Taste Test</b> <br> In September, Microsoft stood up a website through which users could take a blind test to rank search results from Bing and Google. Microsoft claimed that users, who didn't know which results were from which search engine, preferred Bing almost 60%. <em>InformationWeek</em> invited readers to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/bing-vs-google-taste-test-reader-results/240007275">take the test</a> and report back to us. The numbers weren't even close to Microsoft's claim. <em>InformationWeek</em> readers preferred Google's results by a ratio of almost 2 to 1. Sorry Bing. <P> What do you think were Microsoft's biggest hits and misses of 2012? Let me know in the comments section below.2012-12-19T10:45:00ZColumbus grants Big Blue incentive package as IBM pledges to create hundreds of new jobs in big data analytics.http://www.informationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/ibm-gets-45-million-tax-break-on-analyti/240144983?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/7-tips-on-closing-the-big-data-talent-ga/240012658"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/895/01_BigD_Talent_Gap_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" title=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->The city of Columbus, Ohio has agreed to award IBM a package of tax breaks and other incentives worth about $4.5 million in exchange for Big Blue's commitment to open a state-of-the-art data center in the community and to retain existing high-tech jobs in the area. <P> IBM expects the previously announced center, which will specialize in technologies that drive <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/trends/big-data-and-analytics-expertise-beg-bor/240142905">big data analytics</a>, to create about 500 new jobs. The company also made a commitment to keep more than 600 existing employees in the Buckeye State. <P> Under the deal with the city, IBM will get a credit for 65% of the income tax it will pay for new employees at the data center over the next six years, according to a published report. <P> The package is worth about $4.5 million to IBM, and Columbus will gain about $2.4 million in revenues. The state of Ohio is also contributing by offering IBM a 60% job-creation tax credit for over eight years, <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/18/city-gives-ibm-millions-in-tax-breaks-for-new-jobs.html">the <em>Columbus Dispatch</em> reported</a>. <P> "When a company with a long-standing reputation like IBM steps forward and says they are going to create jobs, it's incumbent upon the city to help them reach that goal," Councilman Zach Klein said at a Columbus city council meeting Monday, according to the newspaper. "This is really good work of moving the ball down the field of what we are trying to accomplish in economic development." <P> <strong>[ Will PCs have sensory capabilities in five years? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/supercomputers/ibm-pcs-by-2018-will-see-hear-touch/240144501?itc=edit_in_body_cross">IBM: PCs By 2018 Will See, Hear, Touch</a>. ]</strong> <P> IBM first announced plans for the center last month. The IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics will operate in partnership with The Ohio State University, Jobs Ohio and Columbus 2020. IBM said the center will focus on commercializing the technologies behind its Watson supercomputer, which <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/supercomputers/ibms-watson-trounces-puny-humans-at-jeop/229218859">vanquished human opponents on "Jeopardy,"</a> as well as on Smarter Commerce and IBM Social Business initiatives. <P> "Data is a powerful natural resource that, if used wisely, can drive U.S. economic competitiveness and lead to rewarding careers in the future dedicated to building a smarter planet," said Mike Rhodin, senior VP for IBM Software Solutions, in a statement. <P> "This center will have a tremendous amount to offer world-class educational institutions, a highly educated workforce, industry-leading businesses and -- perhaps most important of all -- [it] will serve as the foundation of community of innovators that will transform industries around the world," said Rhodin. <P> Ohio State will contribute to the effort by developing courses that train students in big data analytics and related disciplines. "Our strong collaboration with IBM will help our students across a variety of majors gain the latest skills in this burgeoning big data discipline and set them on a path to secure the high-skilled jobs of the future," said Christine Poon, dean of Ohio State's Fisher College of Business, in a statement. IBM shares opened flat, at $195.73, in morning trading Wednesday. <P> <i>Predictive analysis is getting faster, more accurate and more accessible. Combined with big data, it's driving a new age of experiments. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/111912/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Advanced Analytics</a> issue of InformationWeek: Are project management offices a waste of money? (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-19T09:06:00ZDell Latitude 10 among Windows 8 systems not yet available, as tablet makers struggle with drivers for energy-efficient Intel Clover Trail chip.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/dell-hp-windows-8-atom-tablets-delayed-u/240145002?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/2401422277"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/906/01_Windows_Stor_Apps_1st_slide_tn.jpg" alt="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" title="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Dell and other vendors have pushed back until January the launch of Windows 8 tablets that use a new, energy-efficient Intel chip that was supposed to put Windows devices on an even footing with the iPad and Android tablets in terms of performance and battery life, but which is apparently causing big headaches for system builders. <P> Dell's Latitude 10, which runs Intel's Atom Z2760, or "Clover Trail" chip, was, as of early Wednesday, not available for shipping until Jan. 22nd, according to the company's Web site. Only a month ago, Dell had been advertising a pre-Christmas ship date of Dec. 12. The tablet starts at $649, features Windows 8 Pro, and is aimed at business users. <P> A Dell customer who contacted InformationWeek said company representatives told him last week that the Latitude 10 is delayed. The customer, who asked not to be identified, originally placed his order on Nov. 28, paid for two-day expedited shipping, and was given a mid-December delivery date. Now, Dell is telling him the system won't be available until January. <P> "Dell Latitude 10 is not officially launched. As soon as it will be launched it will be sent to you," a Dell rep told the customer via live chat on Dec. 11, according to a transcript of the session. Dell's Web site is continuing to accept orders for the Latitude 10, and does not indicate it is available only as a preorder. A Dell spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. <P> Dell isn't the only vendor having trouble with Windows 8 systems built around Intel's Clover Trail chip. Hewlett-Packard's site shows that its Envy x2 convertible is not available until Jan. 8. The company originally said it would ship in November, within weeks of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-windows-has-great-tablets-for-th/240010024">Windows 8's launch on Oct. 26</a>. <P> ASUS and Lenovo have not announced specific launch dates for their Clover Trail systems, the VivoTab Smart and ThinkPad Tablet 2, respectively. Of the top 5 PC makers, only Acer's W510 Clover Trail tablet is available for immediate purchase, but it can only be had in limited quantities from Amazon and Microsoft's online store. <P> <b>[Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross ">suggests it's likely</a>.]</b> <P> Intel designed Clover Trail to take full advantage of Windows 8's capabilities, including a key feature called Connected Standby. Connected Standby is supposed to give tablet users a smartphone-like experience by ensuring that their devices are always up to date with new e-mails, messages and other data, even when their systems are powered down. Clover Trail also promises all-day battery life. <P> But PC makers are having trouble building Clover Trail drivers that are stable enough to pass Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) testing, sources say. Under Microsoft's licensing terms, Windows systems must receive WHQL certification before they can be offered for sale. Intel has not responded to repeated inquiries about the situation. <P> Cindy Shaw, an analyst with research firm DISCERN, said the delay could hurt PC makers that specialize in enterprise sales. "HP and Dell are conceding they've given up on the consumer, so missing the holiday season is not that big of a deal. They're not missing that magical time of the year," said Shaw. "But the longer it takes for businesses to get their hands on evaluation units, the longer it's going to take to translate into enterprise sales." <P> Most PC makers currently offer Windows 8 systems, such as the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/dell-xps-12-windows-8-tablet-vs-hurrican/240062511">Dell XPS 12</a>, that use Intel's older Core architecture instead of Clover Trail. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/microsoft-surface-rt-best-tablet-ever-re/240144582">Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet</a> also runs an Intel Core chip. Core packs more power than Clover Trail, but does not support Connected Standby and consumes batteries more quickly. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company could not immediately offer a comment. <P> <i>For the 16th consecutive year, InformationWeek is conducting its U.S. IT Salary Survey. To date, more than 200,000 IT professionals have participated in this survey. Take our <a href="http://informationweek.2013ITSalarySurvey.sgizmo.com/s3/?iwid=pl">InformationWeek 2013 U.S. IT Salary Survey</a> now, and be eligible to win some great prizes. Survey ends Jan. 18. </i>2012-12-18T11:31:00ZMicrosoft says Gmail users who want real-time e-mail on Windows devices should switch to Outlook.com. http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/messaging/microsoft-slams-google-decision-to-axe-a/240144589?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-pop-up-stores-hands-on-look/240012472"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/891/1_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" title="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Microsoft is publicly criticizing Google for its decision to end support for Exchange ActiveSync on the free version of Google Apps, and said Gmail users should take the move as an opportunity to switch to Microsoft's own cloud e-mail service, Outlook.com. <P> "We were very surprised to see Gmail announce last week that they'll soon end support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), unless of course you're willing to pay Google for your email," said Dharmesh Mehta, a senior director of product management at Microsoft, in <a href="http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-outlook/archive/2012/12/17/outlook.com-supports-exchange-active-sync-for-the-best-email-experience-across-devices-.aspx">a blog post</a>. <P> "It means that many people currently using Gmail for free are facing a situation where they might have to degrade their mobile email experience by downgrading to an older protocol that doesn't sync your calendar or contacts, doesn't give you direct push of new email messages and doesn't have all the benefits of Exchange ActiveSync," he said. <P> <strong>[ Is Microsoft Office right for touch-based computing? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-is-microsoft-out-of-touch/240003826?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Office 2013: Is Microsoft Out Of Touch?</a> ]</strong> <P> Google said that it will continue to support existing ActiveSync accounts, but that after Jan. 30 users who want to set up new access to the non-commercial version of Gmail on Windows and Windows Phone mobile devices will need a workaround. One way is to set up an IMAP connection. Users who do so will still be able to access their Gmail, but new e-mails and notifications will not get pushed to them in real time. <P> "So if you want a better email, especially on your phone or tablet, it's time to join the millions who have already made the choice to upgrade to Outlook.com," said Mehta. IMAP and another e-mail protocol known as POP "were designed decades ago," Mehta noted. <P> Users of Google Apps for Business, Government and Education will continue to have the option to use ActiveSync with those services. Google last week said its decision to end support for ActiveSync on the free version was simply part of a "winter cleaning", under which it also is eliminating a number of other services it said were underused. <P> "Last January, we renewed our resolution to focus on creating beautiful, useful products that improve millions of people's lives every day. To make the most impact, we need to make some difficult decisions," the company said, in <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/winter-cleaning.html">a blog post of its own</a>. Getting the axe, as of Jan. 4, are a number of Google Calendar features, including one that allowed users to create new reservable times on their Calendar through Appointment Slots. Smart Rescheduler and Add Gadget by URL are two other features that are also getting cut. Google Calendar Synch was discontinued last week. <P> Several other Google online services are <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/consumer-services/google-makes-byod-harder/240144497">scheduled to be terminated</a>. <P> "As you enter the New Year, we encourage you to seize the opportunity to upgrade your mail to a service that puts the consumer first and gives you a great mobile email experience," Microsoft's Mehta chided, in response to Google's announcement. <P> <i>Tech spending is looking up, but IT must focus more on customers and less on internal systems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/121012/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Outlook 2013</a> issue of InformationWeek: Five painless rules for encryption. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-18T09:09:00ZWindows 8 tablet may not be posting big sales numbers, but everyone who bought one from Best Buy claims to love it unconditionally.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/microsoft-surface-rt-best-tablet-ever-re/240144582?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/2401422277"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/906/01_Windows_Stor_Apps_1st_slide_tn.jpg" alt="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" title="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Forget for a moment that it won't run Windows applications, starts at $200 more than Kindle Fire HD and doesn't have a Facebook app. The consensus among those who purchased Microsoft's Windows 8 tablet from Best Buy is that it is pretty much the best computing device in history. <P> "I sold my iPad," gushed a buyer who identified himself or herself as "ExIpadUser." "I hope to retire my Kindle HD as soon as Microsoft publishes enough apps in the store." A reviewer going by the name "HighTechLover2" was even more effusive: "Best tablet I ever saw in my life!!!" he, she or it proclaimed. <P> Numerous analysts have reported that Surface RT is not meeting Microsoft's sales expectations. But it seems to have won over the hearts and minds of Best Buy shoppers. The 32-GB, Touch Cover-included version, priced at $599, averaged a near perfect score of 4.9 out of 5 stars from 20 reviewers. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas should have been so lucky. The $499, 32-GB version (without Touch Cover) averaged 4.7 from 11 reviewers, while the $699, 64-GB version averaged 4.5 from six reviewers. The only downside one buyer could think of was, "My fear of dropping it." <P> <b>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross">suggests it's likely</a>.]</b> <P> You can forgive <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Microsoft+-+Surface+with+Windows+RT+with+32GB+Memory+%26+Black+Touch+Cover/7409105.p;tab=reviews?id=1218843729064&skuId=7409105">the Best Buy reviewers</a> for their lack of nuance. Of those who critiqued Surface RT, the vast majority had previously never reviewed any other products, and most never had a Best Buy user's profile until last week, when Surface first went on sale at the store (mousing over a reviewer's handle provides this info). <P> "Coty 09," whose activity on the Best Buy site dates back as far as Monday, had this to say: "The Surface RT is a great product that is easy to use and is built very well. This will be great for work, school and play." Who talks that way? Marketing people, according to The Consumerist's list of "<a href="http://consumerist.com/2010/04/14/how-you-spot-fake-online-reviews/">30 Ways You Can Spot Fake Online Reviews</a>." <P> It was never Microsoft's intention to sell Surface at Best Buy, at least not until after the holidays. The original plan was for the tablet to be available only through its online store and the handful of brick-and-mortar locations it has opened around the country. But meager sales apparently led to Plan BBY. <P> In addition to Best Buy, Surface RT is also available at Staples. Staples customer reviewers -- all four of them -- appeared equally impressed with the device. The $499 version had drawn 5 out of 5 stars from two reviewers as of early Tuesday, the $599 version got 4.5 from 2 reviewers. The $699 version had no reviews. Four reviews after almost a week of availability suggests Staples isn't likely to sell out of Surface RT any time soon, but at least those who bought appear to like it. <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">Surface RT</a> runs a pared-down version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. The OS, which runs on ARM-based chips, is not compatible with standard Windows applications. It only supports software pre-installed by Microsoft or apps downloaded from the company's online Windows Store. That limited functionality, according to a published report this week, had one Dell exec urging Microsoft to <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/technology/microsoft_urged_to_ditch_windows_RLGNOworu4X2EmBJuIzOqI">ditch the Windows brand</a> for RT devices, for fear it would confuse customers. <P> Surface Pro runs full-blown Windows 8, and it's also compatible with legacy Windows applications and Microsoft's full-range of security and management products. It will be available starting in January, according to Microsoft. Whether it will land in Best Buy, Staples or other major retailers, the company has yet to say.2012-12-17T09:29:00ZIBM predicts that in five years artificial intelligence will be able to mimic the five human senses.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/supercomputers/ibm-pcs-by-2018-will-see-hear-touch/240144501?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authorsMaybe this is how Data got started. Computers will soon gain human-like abilities to receive input through senses like taste, touch and smell, according to IBM's annual list of innovations that will change computing in five years. <P> IBM calls the development the "era of cognitive systems" and says it will usher in brand new ways for humans and PCs to interact. <P> "This new generation of machines will learn, adapt, sense and begin to experience the world as it really is," the company said in a statement. "This year's predictions focus on one element of the new era, the ability of computers to mimic the human senses--in their own way, to see, smell, touch, taste, and hear." <P> IBM said the breakthroughs could have <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/processors/ibm-reveals-chip-that-acts-like-human-br/231500276">multiple commercial applications</a>, helping drive industries such as mobile commerce. <P> Researchers at the company are working on technologies that would allow smartphone displays to mimic the feel of fabrics or other materials for which consumers might be shopping. "The vibration pattern will differentiate silk from linen or cotton, helping simulate the physical sensation of actually touching the material," the company said. <P> IBM also predicts that computers will be able to gain the ability to recognize and interpret images without them having to be tagged. <a href="mationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/inside-watson-ibms-jeopardy-computer/229100143">Smart computers</a> will be able to recognize attributes like color and texture patterns. "This will have a profound impact for industries such as healthcare, retail and agriculture," the company said. <P> IBM imagines applications like smart sensors that could allow X-Ray and CT scanners to automatically differentiate healthy from diseased tissue. <P> IBM is also teaching computers to hear by imbuing them with the capability to key on some sounds and vibrations, while filtering out others. That could lead to a range of applications, from improved child monitoring systems to geological equipment that could predict when a landslide is imminent. <P> Taste is another sense that IBM believes computers will gain in the next half-decade. While Star Trek's food replicator may be a long way off, the company is working on systems that can break foods down into their constituent components to ascertain what makes some combinations appealing and others less so. This could even lead to the development of new, healthy flavorings. <P> Finally, IBM also sees the arrival of computers that can smell. Sensors could be embedded within a smartphone to measure the qualities of a user's breath, and predict if he or she is coming down with a cold or some other condition. <P> "IBM scientists around the world are collaborating on advances that will help computers make sense of the world around them," said Bernie Meyerson, IBM Fellow and VP of Innovation, in a statement. "Just as the human brain relies on interacting with the world using multiple senses, by bringing combinations of these breakthroughs together, cognitive systems will bring even greater value and insights, helping us solve some of the most complicated challenges." <P> <i>Tech spending is looking up, but IT must focus more on customers and less on internal systems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/121012/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Outlook 2013</a> issue of InformationWeek: Five painless rules for encryption. (Free registration required.)</i> <P>2012-12-15T09:06:00ZMicrosoft needs to get its Windows 8 tablet in front of as many eyeballs as possible, and the retailer needs hot products to drive in-store sales.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/can-microsoft-surface-best-buy-save-each/240144430?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/hardware/handheld/240002490"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/820/11_Screen_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features" title="Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Microsoft said this week that Best Buy would carry the Windows 8 Surface RT tablet. Best Buy is bleeding cash, and Surface sales are slow --so it's a bit like pairing a cardiac case with an asthmatic. But if managed right, the combination could help both patients get off life support. <P> Microsoft has not commented publicly on Surface sales, but some analysts have said that they are running below the company's expectations. Analysts at Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton last week pegged sales of Surface RT at between 500,000 and 600,000 units since the product launched on Oct. 26. By contrast, Apple sold 3 million iPads in three days following November's debut of the iPad Mini. <P> "Lack of distribution is killing the product," Detwiler Fenton said of Surface, in a research note published before <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/microsoft-surface-hits-best-buy-staples/240144424">the Best Buy deal</a> was announced. Surface RT is also now on sale at Staples. <P> <strong>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</strong> <P> Just 4% of tablet buyers surveyed this week by Ipsos said they would choose Surface. Sure to be hurting sales is that until now it's been very difficult for potential buyers to literally get their hands on a Surface tablet. It had been available only through Microsoft's online store or at the handful of brick-and-mortar locations Microsoft has opened around the country. <P> Without being able to touch and feel the tablet, which is made of a cutting-edge alloy Microsoft calls VaporMg, consumers were likely to pass. That's where Best Buy comes in. The chain is hurting because shoppers will often kick the tires on products on its show floors, and then buy online for a lower price -- often tax free. That doesn't do Best Buy much good, but it does boost sales for the vendors whose products the store carries. <P> So how could Surface help Best Buy? At the very least, the widely hyped system is likely to increase foot traffic during the crucial holiday season as curious shoppers look to see <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">what it's all about</a>. Even if they don't buy the tablet, they might stock up on PC accessories and the like, which the chain sells at considerable mark ups. <P> That alone won't be enough to save Best Buy, which posted a net loss, after charges, of $13 million in the third quarter. But it's a start, and new CEO Hubert Joly appears to have some good ideas for moving the business forward. When he came on board in September, he spent a week working the floor at Best Buy stores, blue shirt and all, to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by sales staff. <P> That led him to try to combat the "try here, buy elsewhere" problem by authorizing sales reps to negotiate price discounts on the spot. Best Buy founder Dick Schulze, meanwhile, is looking to take the company private. <P> Tech makers, including Microsoft, would do well to support Joly's efforts as much as they can. If Best Buy goes down, like its former rival Circuit City did, consumers will have few options when it comes to seeing the newest gadgets in action. A PC, tablet or phone isn't like a song or movie file -- you can't download a preview before buying. <P> <i>Storing and protecting data are critical components of any successful cloud solution. Join our webcast, Cloud Storage Drivers: Auto-provisioning, Virtualization, Encryption, to stay ahead of the curve on automated and self-service storage, enterprise class data protection and service level management. <a href="https://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1005242&K=STOEAIBM">Watch now or bookmark for later</a>.</i>2012-12-14T10:37:00ZWindows 8 tablet now available at retail outlets as Microsoft looks to jumpstart sales.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/microsoft-surface-hits-best-buy-staples/240144424?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/2401422277"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/906/01_Windows_Stor_Apps_1st_slide_tn.jpg" alt="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" title="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Surface RT, previously available only through Microsoft's website or its brick-and-mortar stores, is now on sale at retailers Best Buy and Staples as part of Redmond's effort to bolster distribution of the Windows 8 tablet, initial sales of which are said to be slow. <P> Best Buy is currently offering Surface RT for sale only online, but said it would stock the device in its stores starting Sunday. "Customers have come to expect Best Buy -- both its store and website -- to be the place with the broadest selection of consumer electronics, and our sale of this much-hyped new tablet just reinforces that point," said BestBuy.com president Scott Durchslag, in a statement. <P> Staples currently has Surface RT for sale both online and in stores. "Staples is excited to provide this innovative product to customers just in time for the holiday season," said Mike Edwards, Staples executive VP for merchandising, also in a statement. <P> Retail shoppers appear impressed with the device. Consumer reviewers on Best Buy's site gave all three available models, the $499 32-GB version, the $599 32-GB with Touch Cover version, and the $699 64-GB version, an average score of 4 out of 5 stars or higher. "It's much better than other tablets because it comes with MS Office," wrote one customer. <P> <b>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</b> <P> In another effort to boost sales of Surface and other Windows 8-related products, Microsoft this week said it will convert a number of so-called <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-plans-windows-8-pop-up-retail/240007060">pop-up stores</a> it opened around the country for the holidays into permanent locations. <P> "Based on the success of the Microsoft holiday stores, the company will extend all of these locations into the new year. These stores will transition into either permanent brick-and-mortar retail outlets or specialty store locations," Microsoft said in a statement. <P> Microsoft has not commented publicly on Surface RT sales, but some analysts have said that they are running below the company's expectations. Analysts at Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton last week pegged sales of Surface RT at between 500,000 and 600,000 units since the product launched. <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">Surface RT</a> runs a pared down version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. The OS, which runs on ARM-based chips, is not compatible with standard Windows applications. It supports only software pre-installed by Microsoft or apps downloaded from the company's online Windows Store. <P> Surface Pro runs full-blown Windows 8, and it's also compatible with legacy Windows applications and Microsoft's full-range of security and management products. It will be available starting in January, according to Microsoft.2012-12-14T09:38:00ZThe tech services industry is in the midst of a downturn, but outsourcing isn't going anywhere&#8212;it offers too many benefits.http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/outsourcing/5-reasons-outsourcing-is-here-to-stay/240144422?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/7-tips-on-closing-the-big-data-talent-ga/240012658"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/895/01_BigD_Talent_Gap_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" title=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Outsourcing sales fell 33% to hit a nine-year low in the third quarter, according Ovum. Meanwhile, General Motors is moving IT operations back in house, Apple will start making some Macs in the U.S., and outsourcers were painted as economic Benedict Arnolds during the election. <P> Is this the beginning of the end of outsourcing as a staple business practice? Short answer: Not by a long shot. Here are a few reasons why. <P> <b>1. Cost Savings</b> <P> Labor and related costs are rising in India and other popular outsourcing destinations, including Eastern Europe and Brazil. But it is still considerably cheaper to have work done offshore than domestically. Industry data culled by Staff.com showed that while senior programmers in the U.S. can make more than $90,000, a similar position in India might pay as little as $14,000. <P> <b>2. Skills Gap</b> <P> While the national unemployment rate stands at 7.7%, the unemployment rate for tech workers is less than 4% -- below what the federal government defines as full employment. Microsoft currently has <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-says-6000-jobs-open-wants-more/240008011">3,400 open engineering positions</a> it says it's having difficulty filling. Consumers Energy in Michigan has turned to outsourcer HCL Technologies for tech help. "It's tough to get good talent right now," CIO Mamatha Chamarthi told me earlier this year. <P> <strong>[ It will take years to close the big data skills gap. In the meantime, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/trends/big-data-and-analytics-expertise-beg-bor/240142905?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data And Analytics Expertise: Beg, Borrow Or Steal?</a> ]</strong> <P> You'll hear the same story from most tech execs. Finding workers with specialized skills in hot areas like mobility, the cloud and <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/data-scientist-shortage-split-role-in-h/240144215">big data analysis</a> is difficult. Until the supply increases, businesses will turn to outsourcers to fill the gap. <P> <b>3. Visa Shortages</b> <P> It's not just workers that are in short supply. The annual allotment of 65,000 <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/h1b/microsoft-defends-hiring-foreign-workers/240142984">H-1B visas</a> available to foreign workers is generally exhausted within the first few weeks of availability each year. After that, a business that wants to bring in, say, a talented SAP expert from Bangalore needs to wait for the next fiscal year to roll around. <P> Companies are getting around this by placing the work offshore. Microsoft has opened a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/microsoft-looks-to-dodge-visa-limits-wit/200900554">development center in Vancouver</a>, Canada and uses it, among other things, as a sort of holding station for Asian recruits who can't get U.S. immigration papers. If the help can't come to the work, the work will go where the help is. <P> <b>4. Global A Go-Go</b> <P> Even without the cost savings, many companies would still hire offshore workers, as the practice offers a number of benefits beyond the bottom line. Having staff located around the world, whether at a captive center or a third-party site, allows the company to operate 24x7. Call center workers on a day shift in India or the Philippines can handle evening or overnight operations for U.S. customers, for instance. <P> Offshore operations also help companies understand and reach new markets. Insights gained from having a development center in, say, Brazil, could be invaluable for a business that ultimately wants to sell into that country. Ditto for the many other high-growth, emerging markets around the world. <P> <b>5. The Cloud</b> <P> Is the cloud outsourcing? Of course it is. Hosted services like Amazon's EC2, Microsoft's Azure, Oracle Cloud or IBM SmartCloud allow CIOs to hand off routine operations like hardware maintenance and network monitoring to third parties. That, in turn, lets them get by with fewer in-house employees, or they can redeploy staff members to more strategic projects, such as supporting new business initiatives. That was the most-frequently cited benefit among respondents to <em>InformationWeek</em>'s <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/13/9076/Outsourcing-Services/research-2012-state-of-it-outsourcing.html">2012 State of IT Outsourcing</a> survey. <P> So while outsourcing is going through a tough spell, it's far too early to say the industry is headed for a permanent contraction. The IT business tends to be cyclical, and outsourcing is no different.2012-12-13T12:36:00ZCompanies held off on major tech projects during the period amid the weak global economy.http://www.informationweek.com/services/outsourcing/it-outsourcing-hits-nine-year-low-in-q3/240144343?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/7-tips-on-closing-the-big-data-talent-ga/240012658"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/895/01_BigD_Talent_Gap_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" title=" Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Talent War: 7 Ways To Win</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Sales of IT outsourcing services fell to their lowest level in nine-years in the third quarter, according to Ovum. The U.K.-based research group pegged the total contract value of deals signed worldwide during the period at $18.9 billion, down 33% from the same time a year ago. <P> Deal volume also fell sharply. The third quarter saw a total of 332 deals signed, down 24% year over year. <P> The numbers come on the heels of a marginally improved second quarter for the industry. "The signs of recovery in the IT services market apparent in the second quarter of 2012 were largely conspicuous by their absence in 3Q12," said Ovum senior analyst Ed Thomas. <P> The analyst blamed the tech services downturn on the weak global economy. Looking to the fourth quarter, "There will need to be a significant upturn in both TCV and deal volume if last year's performance is to be matched," said Thomas. <P> <strong>[ Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/outsourcing/sorry-but-outsourcing-isnt-evil/240004847?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Sorry, But Outsourcing Isn't Evil</a>. ]</strong> <P> Ovum said Q3 outsourcing numbers would have been even worse were it not for a pair of unspecified, multi-billion dollar deals procured by IBM and CSC. <P> Outsourcing can help companies cut costs if work is farmed out to low-cost regions such as Asia or Eastern Europe. But the industry is not immune to recession as poor economic conditions mean businesses have fewer dollars to invest in new tech projects that might contain an outsourcing component. Twenty-six percent of 564 respondents to <em>InformationWeek</em>'s <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/13/9076/Outsourcing-Services/research-2012-state-of-it-outsourcing.html">2012 State Of IT Outsourcing Survey</a> cited high costs as their primary reason for not outsourcing, second only to the 44% who said they have no need for such services. <P> Survey respondents also cited communication problems, unforeseen costs, and management time as being among their top concerns when it comes to outsourcing. <P> Ovum said the number of private sector outsourcing deals inked in the third quarter hit a nine-year low, while the number of public sector deals came in at a three-year low. The research firm said activity in the North American market was particularly weak. <P> U.S. companies might have held back on outsourcing during the run-up to the November election to avoid becoming part of the political debate. President Obama chided Republican challenger Mitt Romney for investing in companies that outsource during his tenure as CEO of Bain Capital. The Romney camp responded by pointing out that John Rogers, chairman of the President's Advisory Council on Economic Capability and a top Obama fundraiser, is CEO of Ariel Investments, which holds a significant equity stake in offshore outsourcing specialist Accenture. <P> Some companies have committed to bringing tech jobs back to the U.S. and to do more work in-house, whether for political or other reasons. <P> General Motors has said it plans to move its IT operations in-house over the next three years. As of July, about 90% of the company's tech work was farmed out to third-party providers using both on and offshore workers. GM CIO Randy Mott told <em>InformationWeek</em> earlier this year that he believes insourcing can reduce bureaucracy. <P> "When the business says 'go,' then that means we start working on a contract, we don't start working on a project," <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/general-motors-will-slash-outsourcing-in/240002892?pgno=1">Mott said</a> of the automaker's outsourced model. <P> Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would start manufacturing at least one model of the Mac <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apple-mac-to-be-made-in-usa/240144009">in the U.S.</a> starting next year. The move is expected to create about 200 jobs. Meanwhile, China's Lenovo, which <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/ibm-completes-sale-of-pc-business-to-len/162100445">acquired IBM's personal computer business</a> for $1.75 billion in 2005, said it plans to open a manufacturing plant in North Carolina. <P> <i>Stay ahead of the eCommerce technology curve. Watch our webcast, Next Generation e-Commerce Strategies for B2B Sales and Marketing, to learn the strategies and tactics you can use to more efficiently give your clients what they want, keep them happy and increase sales. <a href=https://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1005250&K=ECOMEAIBM">Register now</a>.</i>2012-12-13T10:55:00ZGoogle says development dollars are wasted on Microsoft's mobile and tablet platforms.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/google-nixes-apps-for-windows-8-windows/240144323?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/2401422277"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/906/01_Windows_Stor_Apps_1st_slide_tn.jpg" alt="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" title="10 Great Windows 8 Apps" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Google has no plans to port its productivity apps to Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 because Microsoft's new platforms don't have enough users to justify the investment, an official at the search giant said. <P> "We have no plans to build out Windows apps," said Clay Bavor, product management director for Google Apps, in <a href="http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2231503/google-shuns-windows-8-for-app-development">an interview</a> with U.K. tech news site V3. "We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows Phone 8." <P> As a Google employee, Bavor may not be completely objective. His company competes fiercely with Microsoft on a number of fronts, including search, online advertising and cloud software. <P> Google offers its basic Google Apps for Business, which includes word processing, spreadsheet and presentation apps, as well as 25 GB of online storage, at $5 per user, per month. Google Apps for Business with Vault, which adds data discovery, archiving and retrieval services, starts at $10 per user, per month. <P> Microsoft has countered with Office 365, a cloud-based version of Microsoft Office that includes online editions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint and some of the tools the company gained through its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/240012740/dynamics-crm-gets-yammer-skype-ipad-support">acquisitions of Yammer and Skype</a>. Pricing starts at $4 per user, per month for the standard edition, and extends to $20 per user, per month for a version that includes enterprise tools like e-mail archiving and hosted voicemail support. <P> <strong>[ On the other hand, Google does see value in Apple's market share. After a three-month absence, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/google-maps-returns-to-iphone/240144321?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Google Maps Returns To iPhone</a>. ]</strong> <P> Third-party studies show Bavor's concerns aren't without some justification. Windows Phone currently holds just 3.2% of the mobile operating system market, according to the latest numbers from ComScore. Apple holds 34.3%%, while market leader Google, with its Android OS, commands a 53.6% share. <P> Things aren't any better for Microsoft on the tablet front. IDC puts the company's current share of the tablet market at just 2.9%, and predicts it will grow to just 10.3% by 2016, despite the billions of dollars that Microsoft put into developing, producing and promoting Windows 8 tablets like Surface RT and Surface Pro. <P> Weak sales numbers for Windows Phone and Windows 8 put Microsoft in a chicken-and-egg situation when it comes to attracting developers to its platforms. Companies aren't willing to commit the time and money to creating apps for environments with relatively few users, and consumers are likely to bypass devices that aren't backed by developers. <P> The situation has left Microsoft with some key holes in its app portfolio. For instance, there are no official apps from Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for Windows 8. Google has published a dedicated search app for Windows 8. <P> In another effort to boost sales of Windows Phone, Surface RT and other Windows 8-related products, Microsoft this week said it will convert a number of so-called <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-plans-windows-8-pop-up-retail/240007060">pop-up stores</a> it opened around the country for the holidays into permanent locations. <P> "Based on the success of the Microsoft holiday stores, the company will extend all of these locations into the new year. These stores will transition into either permanent brick-and-mortar retail outlets or specialty store locations," Microsoft said in a statement.2012-12-12T10:25:00ZMicrosoft abandons plan to be sole source for Windows 8 tablet during the holiday season.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-tablet-headed-to-retai/240144245?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-pop-up-stores-hands-on-look/240012472"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/891/1_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" title="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft is hoping to jumpstart sales of its struggling Surface RT tablet by offering the device for sale at major retail outlets. <P> Since its launch on Oct. 26, Surface RT has been available only through Microsoft's online store or at company-owned brick-and-mortar locations. On Tuesday, Microsoft said Surface RT would hit major retail outlets in mid-December. Surface Pro, which runs Windows 8 Professional, is slated to ship in January. <P> "Our plan has been to expand the retail presence for Surface after the first of the year. Based on interest from retailers we are giving them the option to carry Surface with Windows RT even earlier," said Steve Scheuler, corporate VP for Microsoft Retail Sales and Marketing, in a statement. <P> Microsoft did not specify which retailers would carry Surface. Asked by <i>InformationWeek</i> if Best Buy would be carrying Surface, a sales associate at the chain's location at Union Square in Manhattan said the store did not have Surface in stock but would have the tablets "probably later." <P> In another effort to boost sales of Surface and other Windows 8-related products, Microsoft said it will convert a number of so-called <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-plans-windows-8-pop-up-retail/240007060">pop-up stores</a> it opened around the country for the holidays into permanent locations. <P> "Based on the success of the Microsoft holiday stores, the company will extend all of these locations into the New Year. These stores will transition into either permanent brick-and-mortar retail outlets or specialty store locations," Microsoft said in a statement. <P> <strong>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Ballmer: Hardware Key To Microsoft's Future</a>. ]</strong> <P> Microsoft has not commented publicly on Surface RT sales, but some analysts have said that they are running below the company's expectations. Analysts at Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton last week pegged sales of Surface RT at between 500,000 and 600,000 units since the product launched. By contrast, Apple sold 3 million iPads in three days following November's launch of the iPad mini. "Lack of distribution is killing the product," Detwiler Fenton said, in a research note. <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">Surface RT</a> runs a pared-down version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. The OS, which runs on ARM-based chips from Nvidia and others, is not compatible with standard Windows applications. It supports only software pre-installed by Microsoft or apps downloaded from the company's online Windows Store. <P> Surface Pro runs full-blown Windows 8, and it's also compatible with legacy Windows applications and Microsoft's full-range of security and management products. Surface Pro, however, will not be available until January, according to Microsoft. <P> Microsoft shares were up .82%, to $27.55, in early trading Wednesday. <P> <i>Upgrading isn't the easy decision that Win 7 was. We take a close look at Server 2012, changes to mobility and security, and more in the new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Here Comes Windows 8</a> issue of InformationWeek. Also in this issue: Why you should have the difficult conversations about the value of OS and PC upgrades before discussing Windows 8. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-10T10:53:00ZMicrosoft hopes broader retail distribution strategy will boost Surface sales, says analyst.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/microsoft-surface-coming-to-store-near-y/240144090?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-pop-up-stores-hands-on-look/240012472"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/891/1_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" title="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft plans to distribute its Windows 8 Surface tablets, currently available only through the company's website and brick-and-mortar stores, through major retailers, according to a published report. <P> Longtime Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott said that Surface tablets could start to show up <a href="http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/wininfo-short-takes-december-7-2012-144922">at retail outlets "within days</a>." Thurrot said Microsoft had always planned to establish retail distribution for Surface, "but the software giant has apparently decided to ramp up the speed and make it happen before the holiday selling season is over." <P> Microsoft has not commented publicly on Surface sales, but some analysts have said that they are running below the company's expectations. <P> Analysts at Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton last week pegged sales of Surface RT at between 500,000 and 600,000 units since the product launched Oct. 26. By contrast, Apple sold 3 million iPads in three days following November's launch of the iPad Mini. "Lack of distribution is killing the product," Detwiler Fenton said, in a research note. <P> <b>[Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?itc=edit_in_body_cross">suggests it's likely</a>.]</b> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">Surface RT</a> runs a pared-down version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. The OS, which runs on ARM-based chips from Nvidia and others, is not compatible with standard Windows applications. <P> It only supports software pre-installed by Microsoft or apps downloaded from the company's online Windows Store. Surface Pro runs full-blown Windows 8, and it's also compatible with legacy Windows applications and Microsoft's full range of security and management products. Surface Pro, however, will not be available until January, according to Microsoft. <P> Windows 8 tablets, laptops and PCs are also available from numerous other vendors, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, ASUS and Acer, but Microsoft and its partners have been mum when it comes to sales data. <P> Windows unit co-chief Tami Reller claimed last month that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-windows-8-sales-match-early-wi/240142685">40 million licenses</a> have been sold. The number is difficult to interpret however, given that Microsoft has declined to say how many of those copies are preinstalled on systems that have yet to find a buyer. <P> Microsoft is counting on Windows 8 to make it a player in the tablet market, which is dominated by Apple and, to a lesser extent, devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 that run Google's Android operating system. But to date the effort does not appear to be paying off. Market researcher NPD earlier this month said that sales of Windows-based systems are down 21% since Windows 8 debuted on Oct. 26, compared to the same period a year ago. <P> Microsoft has not commented on Thurrot's report. The company's stock was up 1.14%, to $26.76, in early trading Monday.2012-12-08T09:06:00ZWindows 8 tablets powered by Intel's Atom "Clover Trail" chip were supposed to hit the price-performance sweet spot -- but just try finding one.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/windows-8-sales-plagued-by-tablet-delays/240144094?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/6-reasons-to-want-windows-8-ultrabooks/240012634"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/893/1_tn.jpg" alt="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" title="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Opinions are split over Windows 8. Some love it, some hate it. But even the former group isn't buying much simply because many of the most promising Win8 systems just can't be had -- a fact that, more than any technical or esthetic consideration, threatens to derail Microsoft's new OS. <P> Windows 8 and related hardware launched Oct. 26. To date, Microsoft has been mum on sales data, with the exception of Windows unit co-chief Tami Reller's claim last month that 40 million licenses have been sold. The number is meaningless, given that Microsoft has refused to say how many of those copies are preinstalled on systems that have yet to find a buyer. <P> Estimates from more objective sources paint a dismal picture of Windows 8 hardware and software sales. Market researcher NPD last week said that sales of Windows-based systems are down 21% since Windows 8 debuted on Oct. 26, compared to the same period a year ago. <P> <strong>[ Check out <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/10-great-windows-8-apps/240142227?itc=edit_in_body_cross">10 Great Windows 8 Apps</a>. ]</strong> <P> That's surely disappointing for Microsoft and its partners, but the operating system's relative merits are only one part of the story. The fact is, many of the most promising Windows 8 systems haven't made it to market yet. Some have been delayed until next year. <P> I've written before about Microsoft's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/5-ways-microsoft-can-save-windows-8/240142960">inexplicable decision to hold back Surface Pro</a>, which runs Windows 8 Pro and supports legacy applications, until after the holidays. That means buyers who want a Surface right now are stuck with Surface RT, a $499-and-up device that can run apps only preinstalled by Microsoft or downloaded from the somewhat limited Windows Store -- no Facebook, no Twitter, no LinkedIn. <P> Small wonder Surface RT unit sales are projected to come in at well under a million in the current quarter, according to analysts at brokerage Detwiler Fenton. (By contrast, Apple sold three million iPads in three days following November's launch of the iPad Mini. <P> But it gets worse. Windows 8 tablets and convertibles built around the platform that was supposed to put Win8 on an even footing with the iPad and Android are scarce. That platform is the Clover Trail version of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/processors/some-intel-based-tablets-flunk-windows-8/240009576">Intel's Atom architecture</a>. The chip is designed to deliver energy efficiency and battery life on par or better than ARM chips, <em>and</em> the power and legacy compatible of x86 systems. Vendors pitched their Clover Trail-based products as devices with no tradeoffs. <P> Is that really true? Hard to tell, because you're about as likely to find Clover Trail tablets and convertibles on store shelves or online as you are to find Sandra Fluke at a Tea Party convention. <P> Here's the current availability of Clover Trail systems from the top five PC vendors, in no specific order. The ASUS Vivo Tab Smart? No launch date specified. The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 is "coming soon" according to the company's website. As of Friday, an order placed on Hewlett-Packard's website for the Envy X2 Windows 8 hybrid tablet/PC will be fulfilled on Jan. 7. It was supposed to launch Nov. 14. Dell's estimated ship date for the standard version of its Clover Trail-powered Latitude 10 tablet is Dec. 28; for the enhanced version it's Jan 4. <P> The only Clover Trail system I could find that's available for immediate purchase is Acer's Iconia W510 tablet. A Microsoft rep confirmed that it can be had directly from Redmond's online store, but purchase quantities are limited to one. As of Friday, Amazon had exactly 18 units left of the $749 version that comes with keyboard, and was sold out of the standard, $599 version. <P> This situation has to be absolutely killing Windows 8 sales. To be sure, there are some nifty Intel Core-based Windows 8 convertibles and tablets out there, like <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/dell-xps-12-windows-8-tablet-vs-hurrican/240062511">the Dell XPS 12</a> and the Acer Iconia W500, but they're typically priced $800 and above -- unlikely to make them big holiday sellers. Windows RT systems, such as the Surface RT and ASUS Vivo Tab RT, are price competitive with the iPad, but don't offer nearly as many quality apps to choose from. <P> Clover Trail systems, on the other hand, seem to hit the sweet spot in price, performance, application availability and compatibility. "At a retail price of $500, this device is a better value than most other tablets since it can run x86 programs and still last as long," read an Iconia W510 customer review posted on the Microsoft Store. But supplies of Clover Trail systems are short or non-existent. <P> Sources tell me the delay rests with Intel, which is having trouble producing production-quality Clover Trail chips in high volumes. No doubt hardware makers who built holiday marketing campaigns around Win8-on-Clover Trail systems are seething. Is it any wonder Intel CEO Paul Otellini is stepping down? Is it any wonder that Microsoft has suddenly gotten serious about <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">building its own hardware</a>? <P> <i>Upgrading isn't the easy decision that Win 7 was. We take a close look at Server 2012, changes to mobility and security, and more in the new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Here Comes Windows 8</a> issue of InformationWeek. Also in this issue: Why you should have the difficult conversations about the value of OS and PC upgrades before discussing Windows 8. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-07T11:00:00ZIBM gets serious about becoming a player in end-user cloud services for the enterprise.http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/ibm-launches-cloud-docs-eyes-google-micr/240144040?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/10-cloud-computing-pioneers/240142397 "><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/909/01_cloud_gurus_tn.jpg" alt="10 Cloud Computing Pioneers" title="10 Cloud Computing Pioneers" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Cloud Computing Pioneers </div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> IBM is looking to challenge Google and Microsoft with a new online software suite that includes apps similar to those found in its rivals' well-known cloud offerings. <P> IBM SmartCloud Docs includes Web-based apps for the creation, editing, and sharing of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The suite is available for free as part of Big Blue's SmartCloud Engage Advanced business networking and collaboration service. <P> It's also available for $3 per user, per month, as an add-on to SmartCloud Engage Standard and the IBM Connections networking platform. IBM also added new features, such as enhanced presence awareness, to its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/ibm-smartcloud-as-much-cloud-as-you-want/240000512">SmartCloud for Social Business</a> service. <P> <strong>[ IBM and AT&T launch secure cloud service for business customers. Read more at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/ibm-att-team-on-secure-cloud-services/240008772?itc=edit_in_body_cross">IBM, AT&T Team On Secure Cloud Services</a>. ]</strong> <P> The offerings are part of IBM's campaign to become a major player in the nascent but fast-growing market for business networking software that is as intuitive to use as consumer services like Facebook while maintaining <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/ibm-att-team-on-secure-cloud-services/240008772">enterprise-grade security and manageability</a>. <P> "As the mobile workforce moves beyond gaining access to email and calendars to collaborate and generate new ideas and be more efficient anytime, anywhere, on any device, the intersection of social, mobile, and cloud becomes even more critical," said Alistair Rennie, IBM's general manager for social business, in a statement. <P> IBM says its customer wins in enterprise social networking include the University of Texas at El Paso, NEC, and UK manufacturer Centrax TCL. The company faces big competition in its bid to become a player in the market for end-user cloud services in the enterprise. <P> Google offers its basic Google Apps for Business, which includes word processing, spreadsheet and presentation apps, as well as 25GB of online storage, at $5 per user, per month. Google Apps for Business with Vault, which adds data discovery, archiving and retrieval services, starts at $10 per user, per month. <P> Microsoft, meanwhile, is building momentum with Office 365, a cloud-based version of Microsoft Office that includes online editions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and some of the tools the company gained through its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/240012740/dynamics-crm-gets-yammer-skype-ipad-support">acquisitions of Yammer and Skype</a>. Pricing starts at $4 per user, per month for the standard edition, and extends to $20 per user, per month for a version that includes enterprise tools like e-mail archiving and hosted voicemail support. <P> The playing field could be big enough for all three, as well as specialists like SocialCast, Tibbr and Jive. Forrester Research estimates the market for enterprise social networking software and services will grow 61% annually through 2016, to $6.4 billion. <P> <i>Join Cloud Connect for a free webcast with "Cloudnomics" author Joe Weinman. Cloudnomics is a new way to discuss the benefits of private clouds. Many have focused on the cost reduction possibilities while others have focused on business agility. However, private clouds can play a strategic role, as well. The <a href="http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=543922&s=1&k=03050B993D09D35972131EDAF5030AD5&partnerref=jdpl">Cloudnomics</a> webcast happens Dec. 12. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-12-01T09:06:00ZMicrosoft's new OS holds plenty of potential, but so far consumers aren't loving the radically redesigned desktop. Microsoft should consider these changes.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/5-ways-microsoft-can-save-windows-8/240142960?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-8-big-benefits-for-smbs/240142263"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/907/01_windows8pro_tn.jpg" alt="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" title="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft spent billions developing and marketing Windows 8, but by all accounts it's proving to be a tough sell. Consumers just aren't buying into the hybrid tablet/PC operating system. I've maintained all along that there's some great technology behind Windows 8, but Microsoft needs to do more to make it both user- and merchant-friendly. <P> Some background: Microsoft believes Windows 8 represents the best of both worlds -a full featured PC OS married to a touch-based UI geared toward tablets. That's great in theory, but many would-be purchasers are finding the combination confusing and difficult to use. <P> Microsoft has been mum on sales data, but <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsofts-windows-8-numbers-meaningless/240142865">considerable evidence has emerged</a> over the past couple of weeks that Windows 8 systems aren't doing well at retail. The latest: an NPD report that sales of Windows-based systems are down 21% since Windows 8 debuted on Oct. 26, compared to the same period a year ago. <P> That's not good news for Microsoft. What follows are some steps the company could take to polish Windows 8 to make it more palatable to both users and stores that have to sell it. <P> <b>1. Cut Prices</b> <P> Microsoft needs to get realistic about how much consumers are willing to pay for a new, unproven platform, given the alternatives. The company introduced Surface RT starting at $499. For that amount, buyers could get the latest generation iPad. <P> Now, Microsoft will surely argue that Surface RT is superior -- you can run Office natively, for starters -- but that doesn't matter. The iPad is a megabrand. To compete with it, Redmond needs to take <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/amazon-mum-as-kindle-phone-rumors-swirl/240003690">a page from Amazon's playbook</a> and use its hardware as a loss leader to establish its platform. Kindle Fire HD 8.9" starts at $299, which would be about right for Surface RT. <P> <b>2. Ship Surface Pro, ASAP</b> <P> Microsoft made the inexplicable decision to keep its top-of-line Surface model off store shelves until after the holiday season. That may have been a concession to its PC OEM partners, who have shipped their own Intel Core-based Windows 8 systems in time for Christmas. But the decision is muddling the market. <P> <b>[ Will Microsoft introduce more hardware products beyond Surface? CEO Steve Ballmer <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">suggests it's likely</a>. ]</b> <P> Consumers can purchase Surface RT immediately, but if they want a Microsoft tablet that can run legacy Windows applications, they must wait. The quandary will undoubtedly push many to say "to heck it with it," and opt for an iPad or Android tablet. At the least, Microsoft needs to announce a specific launch date for Surface Pro. "Sometime in January" isn't good enough for those making buying decisions now. As for Surface Pro's starting price of $899? See above. <P> <b>3. Get Appy</b> <P> Microsoft now has more than 20,000 apps available for download from the Windows Store. But the number is meaningless. It's great that that there's Fruit Ninja and more than 300 photo apps, but serious omissions remain. Like, say, Facebook. Or Twitter. Or LinkedIn. The absence of the former is enough by itself to dissuade swaths of buyers whose primary use for a tablet is social networking. On the upside, the Windows Store is filling out with apps from leading brands. This week, ESPN released its Windows 8 app. Microsoft needs more of those. <P> <b>4. Unify The User Experience</b> <P> A major source of frustration voiced by early adopters of Windows 8 is the lack of consistency between Metro (or Modern UI) mode and the classic Windows desktop. Metro is what users see when they first boot up. It's got the Live Tiles and apps optimized for touch and tablets. From Metro, you can launch the Windows Explorer desktop, which is similar to Windows 7 (with some marked differences) and is geared toward mouse and keyboard computing. <P> It's understandable that there would be differences in how the two operate. But there's no good reason for the vast UI and performance gulfs between the Metro and Windows Explorer versions of the same applications. Take Internet Explorer 10. Even cosmetic differences -- like the fact that the navigation bar is on top in the desktop version and on the bottom in the Metro version -- are bound to flummox some users. But it's more than cosmetic. <P> On Thursday I tried to listen to the Webcast of Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting on IE10 Metro. "The site you opened is not on the Compatibility View (CV) list" is the response I got. Apparently IE10 Metro, Adobe Flash and Microsoft's own investor site don't play well together. I was able to get the Webcast from the desktop version of IE10. <P> <b>5. Metro A Go Go?</b> <P> If all else fails, Microsoft has one last, nuclear option, which <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-fizzling-time-for-windows-clas/240142618">I've previously suggested</a>. It could ditch Metro, and introduce what I've been calling Windows 8 Classic. Windows 8 Classic would restore familiar features like the Start button and Task Bar, while retaining Windows 8's numerous new security and manageability features. <P> Among those is Secure Boot, a process designed to prevent malware from infecting computers during startup, even before Windows and all of its built-in safeguards are launched. It works by confirming that all components have the appropriate security certificates before they are allowed to launch. Secure Boot requires UEFI BIOS to run, which is only found on the newest PCs. <P> For companies that hire lots of consultants, contractors and other temps and need to give such personnel access to a corporate desktop image and apps without granting full server permissions, there's Windows To Go. It lets users boot a preconfigured, IT-certified Windows 8 image onto any laptop from a USB. It also lets them boot up a Windows 8 image on a Windows 7 PC. Metro notwithstanding, there's a lot more for enterprises to like about Windows 8. <P> But if the operating system and the devices on which it runs continue to languish, Microsoft will need to take bold steps to ensure it remains commercially viable. What do you think Microsoft should do to improve Windows 8? Let me know in the comments section below.2012-11-30T12:27:00ZMicrosoft says it has 34% more open engineering positions than this time last year, and can't fill them all domestically.http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/h1b/microsoft-defends-hiring-foreign-workers/240142984?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-pop-up-stores-hands-on-look/240012472"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/891/1_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" title="Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Pop-Up Stores: Hands-On Look</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Microsoft officials this week defended their call for a program that would let companies pay to import foreign programmers and other high-tech workers. <P> "Every year the economy is requiring another 120,000 people with a computer science degree," said Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith, in response to a question at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950">the company's annual shareholder meeting</a>. <P> "Right now, if you take all of the great, or not so great, all of the universities across the country, they're only producing 40,000 computer science graduates each year," Smith said Wednesday, in Bellevue, Wash. <P> Smith was responding to a shareholder who said Microsoft shouldn't be seeking to import high-tech help at a time when so many Americans are unemployed. The questioner said he knew numerous individuals in their 50s who, despite advanced computer science degrees from MIT and other prestigious schools, can't get work. <P> <strong>[ Which U.S. companies hire the most H-1B workers? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/outsourcing/microsoft-tops-h-1b-visa-employer-list/240004231?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Microsoft Tops H-1B Visa Employer List</a>. ]</strong> <P> Smith said that, although some individuals might fall through the cracks, overall there is a shortage of tech workers in the U.S. "The answer is for any specific individual there may be some specific circumstance that explains a specific result in their life. But when we look at the numbers today, the numbers don't lie," said Smith. <P> Smith said Microsoft currently has more than 6,000 open jobs, up 19% from a year ago. In engineering alone, the company has 3,400 open positions, up 34% from last year. "We'd like to fill them here," said Smith, adding that it's difficult for Microsoft and other U.S. companies to find all the talent they need domestically. <P> Smith <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-says-6000-jobs-open-wants-more/240008011">recently called on Congress</a> to increase the number of high-tech visas available for foreign IT workers. He said the government should issue 20,000 STEM-specific visas each year, in addition to the 65,000 H-1B visas currently available. He also called for 20,000 new green cards for tech workers. Smith said the government should charge companies $10,000 per visa for the former, and $15,000 for the latter. <P> Sure to fuel the debate over whether the U.S. needs to import more high-tech workers is a report released Friday by the Partnership for A New American Economy. <P> The lobby group said the unemployment rate for tech workers in the U.S. is just 3.15%, compared to around 8% for all workers. "Given that the U.S. government has defined 'full employment' to be 4 percent, this suggests a skills shortage of STEM professionals with advanced degrees," the group said in the report, titled "Help Wanted." <P> Groups that represent U.S.-born tech workers, such as <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/high-five-meet-john-miano-founder-of-the/197002664">The Programmers Guild</a>, have argued that programs like H-1B allow American companies to import cheap labor at the expense of homegrown talent. <P> On Friday, the House approved a bill that would make 55,000 new green cards available to foreign-born graduates of advanced U.S. STEM programs. <P> <i>Upgrading isn't the easy decision that Win 7 was. We take a close look at Server 2012, changes to mobility and security, and more in the new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Here Comes Windows 8</a> issue of InformationWeek. Also in this issue: Why you should have the difficult conversations about the value of OS and PC upgrades before discussing Windows 8. (Free registration required.)</i>2012-11-30T09:08:00ZFacing tablet pressure, Microsoft CEO tells shareholders that company needs to bring hardware and software together to speed up innovation.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/ballmer-hardware-key-to-microsofts-futur/240142950?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/6-reasons-to-want-windows-8-ultrabooks/240012634"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/893/1_tn.jpg" alt="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" title="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Surface may be just the beginning. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told investors at the company's annual shareholder meeting that pressure to innovate and get new products to market faster means Microsoft will need to produce more of its own hardware going forward. <P> Responding to a shareholder who questioned why the company has fallen so far behind in the tablet market, despite the fact that chairman Bill Gates, present but silent throughout the Q&A session, showed off a tablet prototype more than a decade ago, Ballmer said Microsoft may have been too reliant on external hardware makers to develop the product. <P> "Bill did hold up a tablet a number of years ago," Ballmer said. "And, not that we don't have good hardware partners, but sometimes getting the innovation right across the seam of hardware and software is difficult unless you do both of them," Ballmer said at the meeting, held Wednesday in Bellevue, Wash. <P> Referring to the company's new strategy of building its own <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-cool-windows-8-tablets/240010621">Windows 8 tablets</a> under the Surface brand, Ballmer said "maybe we should have done that earlier, maybe [Gates'] tablet would have shipped sooner." <P> Ballmer then left little doubt that Microsoft is no longer content to be solely reliant on third-party PC manufacturers for its success. "What we've said to ourselves now is that there is no boundary between hardware and software that we will let build up as a kind of innovation barrier." <P> <b>[ Windows 8 early sales numbers are weak. Should Microsoft pull a Coke and <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-fizzling-time-for-windows-clas/240142618">introduce Windows Classic?</a> ]</b> <P> Ballmer's comments are sure to add fuel to rumors that the company's next hardware product will be a self-branded smartphone. Digitimes, an overseas publication that tracks Asian component manufacturers, this week published a report that said Microsoft has contracted with iPhone-maker Foxconn to produce a smartphone. Microsoft has not commented on the report. <P> Another sign that Microsoft is looking to become a major player in hardware is that it's looking to hire individuals with experience in hardware manufacturing and supply-chain management. On Thursday, the Microsoft Careers Twitter feed carried a tweet saying, "At @Microsoft, we're more than just software. Come show us your Hardware Engineering talents." It included a link to Microsoft's hardware engineering jobs page, which listed <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/go/hardware-engineering/340056/?affiliate=&utm_medium=&utm_source=November">numerous open positions</a>. <P> Microsoft's hardware designs could bring it into conflict with PC OEMs, on which it still depends for the bulk of its Windows revenues. Lingxian Lang, China operations manager for Acer, recently said publicly that Redmond's plan to compete with partners would ultimately see it eating "hard rice." <P> Meanwhile, Microsoft has revealed more details about Surface Pro, the version of Surface that will run full-blown Windows 8 Professional and legacy Windows applications. The notebook-tablet hybrid will hit stores in January, starting at $899 for the 64-GB version and $999 for the 128-GB version. <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-mum-on-surface-tablet-sales/240115303">Microsoft released Surface RT</a>, which runs a pared-down version of Windows 8 called Windows RT, on Oct. 26. Surface RT runs an ARM-based Nvidia Tegra 3 chip that promises low power consumption and long battery life, but it will run only pre-installed Microsoft software and apps downloaded from the Windows Store. Surface RT starts at $499.