September 19th, 2007

Symphony plays on in Notes 8

Posted by Maurene Caplan Grey @ 12:53 pm

Categories: Collaboration, Email, IBM, Messaging, Microsoft, Productivity suites

Tags: Microsoft Office, IBM Lotus Notes, Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., Media Coverage, E-mail Servers, Groupware, Enterprise Software, Software, Maurene Caplan Grey

It’s the morning after IBM’s Lotus Collaboration Summit, at which IBM announced that the reincarnation of an ODF-compliant Lotus Symphony is integrated into Notes 8 — as well as being offered as a free download. The media coverage conveys that IBM is trying to win over the Microsoft Office market, and the half-page IBM ad in yesterday’s New York Times about the free Symphony download appears to support the “IBM takes on Microsoft Office” mindset. But, I don’t believe that — not for a moment. Read the rest of this entry »

August 20th, 2007

Microsoft and Open Source: Kissing cousins

Posted by Maurene Caplan Grey @ 1:28 pm

Categories: Microsoft, Open Source

Tags: Open Source, Microsoft Corp., Xandros, Maurene Caplan Grey

In early 1994, the World Wide Web opened the gates of Internet travel for the average person — the same year that the Netscape Navigator browser was released. By mid-1994, millions of PC users were riding the “information highway.”

On December 7, 1995, Microsoft announced its plans for the quantum leap to Internet time.

“The thing that really motivates us is paranoia and competition,” says [Paul A.] Maritz [Microsoft group vice-president for platforms]. The day after Microsoft’s Dec. 7 splash, Netscape CEO James L. Barksdale was asked about the threat Microsoft posed. His joking response: “God is on our side.” That was like putting a match to dry kindling. “It’s the kind of stuff that gets people up in a locker room,” says [Brad] Silverberg, who now heads Microsoft’s Internet division. “I want to thank Netscape. All this trash talk helped get us motivated.”

Today, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer dominates the Web browser market. Read the rest of this entry »