InformationWeek Daily Archives
05/24/2013 04:23:09 Daily, May 14Windows Vista Business Adoption Wide, Not Deep
In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Why Doesn't Microsoft Have A Cult Religion?
2. Today's Top Story
- Survey: Business Adoption Of Windows Vista Is Wide, But Not Deep
- Microsoft Looks For Security Guidance At BlueHat Event
- Microsoft, SanDisk Venture Promises Apps On A Thumb Drive
3. Breaking News
- Cigna's Craig Shumard: One Man's Security Mission
- Alcatel-Lucent Reports A Drop In Profits, But A Gain In Orders
- National Union Sues TSA Over Security Breach
- Ohio Man Indicted On 54 Charges Related To Identity Theft Scheme
- Prison Sentence For Ex-Comverse Executive
- IBM To Spend $1 Billion Per Year On Green Technologies
- Motorola Granted Patent For 'Smellophone'
- Hardware-Level Content Protection Headed For More Gadgets
- Lost In Space: Ashes Of Star Trek's James Doohan
- Student Paper Claims iPods Can Affect Pacemakers
- Steve Jobs Defends Options Record At Apple Meeting
4. The Latest Digital Life Blog Posts
- Jaiku: Like Twitter, But With More Features
- Will The CIA Censor Google Earth?
- Will Black Be The New Green For The Web?
- The Cutest Video On Installing Ubuntu Linux Done By A Librarian In Washington, Vt., That You'll Ever See
5. Job Listings From TechCareers
6. White Papers
- Replicate Sales Success -- Using CRM Strategies To Incorporate Sales Best Practices
7. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
8. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote Of The Day:
"Think before you make the coward's choice. Old age is not for sissies." -- Larry Niven
Apple has one. So do Java, Oracle, IBM, and Google. Lord knows anyone who uses Linux or free and open source software is dedicated to spreading the gospel of St. Linus Torvalds and St. Richard Stallman. But does anyone really worship the Gods of Redmond?
The question came up in a casual conversation I had at the JavaOne conference in San Francisco last week.
I was chatting with some Sun Micro PR people who commented that Microsoft's problem these days is that it doesn't have a passionate user/developer base. (Hey, I thought the days of mudslinging were over.) The theory is that while Microsoft certainly owns the majority of user systems, no one seems to really be evangelical about its software: Windows Vista, Office, Visual Studio, SharePoint, SQL Server, and certainly not IE. The same thing goes for Microsoft's hardware. Where are the legions of Zune users? Xbox may be the closest thing Microsoft has to a fanatical fan base, but I'm pretty sure the lines were just as long for the PS3 and the Wii.
Think about it. When was the last time an editor was fired because of a scathing article titled, "10 Things We Hate About Microsoft"? When was the last time a group of developers stood up at a VS Live show and shouted, "Yea, man! Orcas Rocks! Language Integrated Query is da' bomb! New and improved ADO.Net? Oh, no you didn't!" It just doesn't happen.
Conversely, how many e-mails have you received (or written) because someone bashed your favorite operating system or software application? Chances are that you were defending something that wasn't made or acquired by Microsoft.
So while I expect Sun to mouth off, my biggest surprise was that Mary Jo Foley (of Microsoft Watch and ZDNet blogging fame) was standing right there and she validated the theory that customers and developers are just not that into Microsoft. Her take on it was that even Microsoft people she's spoken with acknowledge that developers and users have a lackluster passion when it comes to Microsoft products.
I can kind of support this theory. Last year, I spent time consulting for a Visual Studio group within Microsoft whose goal was to engage with more developers. The idea was to create a "community" effect similar to the one enjoyed by the Eclipse project. The group's budget included a contest and subsequent resource Web site. The contest garnered about two dozen entries (yawn) and the Microsoft group certainly considered the project a work in progress.
So my question is this: Does the largest software vendor in the world have people who are actually excited by its products and drive themselves into a frenzy when the latest version comes out?
To read more on this subject, and add your $0.02, visit the InformationWeek Blog.
Michael Singer
Survey: Business Adoption Of Windows Vista Is Wide, But Not Deep
Related Stories:
Microsoft Looks For Security Guidance At BlueHat Event
Microsoft, SanDisk Venture Promises Apps On A Thumb Drive
Cigna's Craig Shumard: One Man's Security Mission
Alcatel-Lucent Reports A Drop In Profits, But A Gain In Orders
National Union Sues TSA Over Security Breach
Ohio Man Indicted On 54 Charges Related To Identity Theft Scheme
Prison Sentence For Ex-Comverse Executive
IBM To Spend $1 Billion Per Year On Green Technologies
Motorola Granted Patent For 'Smellophone'
Hardware-Level Content Protection Headed For More Gadgets
Lost In Space: Ashes Of Star Trek's James Doohan
Student Paper Claims iPods Can Affect Pacemakers
Steve Jobs Defends Options Record At Apple Meeting
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Jaiku: Like Twitter, But With More Features
Will The CIA Censor Google Earth?
Will Black Be The New Green For The Web?
The Cutest Video On Installing Ubuntu Linux Done By A Librarian In Washington, Vt., That You'll Ever See
American Home Mortgage seeking Build Manager in Melville, NY
Agilent seeking IT Consultant in Roseville, CA
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InformationWeek Daily Newsletter
1. Editor's Note: Why Doesn't Microsoft Have A Cult Religion?
msinger@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com
2. Today's Top Story
Hardware compatibility, cost of upgrading are among concerns cited by business technology managers.
The software maker hosted the two-day conference to get updates on the security landscape from the researcher and hacking communities.
The technologies will be designed to let mobile computer users carry a complete image of their desktops in their pockets.
3. Breaking News
This security chief has his hands full locking down all the personal data that flows through a big benefits provider's operations. We spend a day with him to find out just how he does it.
Despite a projected second-quarter revenue growth, the company is cutting 12,500 jobs in an effort to improve cost savings.
With a class-action lawsuit looming, three politicians question the head of the Department of Homeland Security about the lost hard drive.
The suspect allegedly opened at least 35 accounts with online brokerages using stolen identities.
Former senior general counsel William Sorin was found guilty in options backdating case.
The plan, dubbed Project Big Green, could help the typical enterprise realize IT energy savings of 42%, IBM said.
You've seen 3-D movies, scratch-'n-sniff perfume ads. Now, it's a mobile phone that scents the air around you as you talk, using the phone's battery to heat a replaceable scent pack. A rose, by any other name....
Pressure from Hollywood, record companies, and other content providers is putting the heat on the makers of PCs, music players, and other handheld devices.
A search team continues to look for a rocket carrying ashes of the actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek, almost two weeks after it hurtled to the edge of space from New Mexico, the company behind the launch said.
IPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists.
Apple's chief executive also joked about his $1-a-year salary in a spirited exchange at the computer and iPod maker's annual meeting Thursday.
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Web 2.0 technologies are proliferating in the consumer market. How will your organization adopt these technologies? This InformationWeek Research report, Enterprise 2.0, will provide a glimpse into the adoption of Web 2.0 applications in the enterprise environment. Use this report to evaluate adoption plans and understand the challenges and impact these technologies will have on users.
Learn how your pay compares to that of your peers with our free and confidential online tool. Featuring more than 20 job functions and tracking IT compensation across 20 metropolitan areas, InformationWeek Research's 2007 IT Salary Adviser makes it easy to compare your salary and compensation.
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To read more about our 2007 National IT Salary survey, click here:
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4. The Latest Digital Life Blog Posts
http://informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/digital_life/index.html
Jaiku offers an alternative to Twitter that might be more attractive for many users. Jaiku includes built-in tools to integrate external sources of information -- weather, headline news, blogs -- into the stream. It also allows you to set up groups of users, for your friends, family, customers and partners, or anyone who shares a common interest, something that Twitter will likely get but doesn't now have.
Controversy surrounding satellite mapping services like Google Earth continues to grow. This week Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, told AP that commercial satellite services may need to be edited or censored to protect U.S. interests. Is this just another example of someone who can't deal with the reality of the Web?
Did you know that an all-white Web page takes roughly 74 watts to display, while an all-black page uses only 59 watts? This little piece of information could lead to a revolution in Web design.
Blogger and librarian Jessamyn West got several PCs as donations, but they didn't have an operating system. So she installed Ubuntu Linux and videotaped the process. The result is not only the cutest video on installing Ubuntu Linux done by a librarian in Washington, Vt., that you'll ever see. It's also the only one with a catchy Zydeco soundtrack.
6. White Papers
If you could clone your top sales rep, would you? Find out how, in this short brief that outlines the surefire steps and tools to achieve measurable increases in revenue per sales rep. Start managing the sales process versus reacting to the sales results at the end of the quarter.
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