November 20th, 2009

Will Microsoft's Silverlight dampen the appeal of Google's Chrome OS?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:40 am

Categories: .Net Framework, App Compatibility, Corporate strategy, Development tools, Google, Internet Explorer, OEMs, Silverlight (wpf/e), Web 2.0, Windows client

Tags: Google Inc., Microsoft Silverlight, Operating System, Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation, Microsoft Corp., Google Chrome, Chrome OS, Web Browsers, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems

I’m not one of those ready to write Windows an RIP certificate now that Google has finally taken (some of) the wraps off its Chrome OS. In fact, after reading through industry watchers’ questions and Google’s answers about it, I’m thinking that Chrome OS may not look quite so appealing by the time it rolls out in late 2010. Here’s why.

First, as others have noted, Google’s Chrome OS is a new windowing system layered on top of Linux that is being customized to run on netbooks. Chrome OS is an “extension to Chrome,” the company’s browser, in Google execs’ own words. Google officials are billing Chrome OS, among other things, as a way to provide Web applications with the functionality of desktop applications.

Microsoft offers an extension not just to its browser, Internet Explorer, but also to Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Google’s own Chrome. That extension is Silverlight. Among other things, Silverlight is a vehicle for providing increasingly complex consumer and business apps via a browser.

At the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) this week, Microsoft rolled out its strategy and plans for Silverlight 4, the version of its browser plug-in that is slated for final release by mid-2010. Silverlight 4 is adding support for data binding, enterprise networking and printing, and lots of other features that are likely to make the platform more appealing to folks writing not just single-function, lightweight Web apps, but enterprise apps, as well.

Silverlight is a slimmed-down, cross-platform version of Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) programming model. Each successive iteration of Silverlight includes more and more WPF functionality (and vice versa).

Some day — Microsoft won’t say exactly when — Silverlight and WPF are going to merge into one Web programming and app delivery model that, most likely, will be known as Silverlight, Brad Becker, Director of Product Management for Microsoft’s Rich Client Platforms, told me this week at TechEd. Now that the two share the same compiled assemblies, tools and the like, that idea isn’t really so far-fetched. Until that happens, Microsoft plans to continue to offer both WPF and Silverlight, steering developers of more complex, resource-intensive applications toward WPF and Web-centric app developers toward Silverlight.

When Google execs were asked during this week’s press conference where they shared more information (but no code or systems) about the Chrome OS as to whether Silverlight would be able to work on Chrome OS, they said no comment. Maybe they see Silverlight might be more foe than friend of the Chrome OS.

I understand Silverlight is not an operating system. But some Google watchers are questioning whether the Chrome OS is actually an operating system, either, or just a glorified browser. Unlike Silverlight, which can run on a variety of PCs and soon, phones, Google OS is going to be a dedicated Linux-based netbook OS that will only work with certain predesignated peripherals. Microsoft already offers a netbook OS — Windows — which doesn’t force you to run all apps inside your browser — and which works with lots of different devices.

Would you go so far as to say the Chrome OS is going to be more of a Silverlight competitor than a WIndows one? I’m thinking right now that may seem a bit far-fetched, but as more and more apps are designed to run in Silverlight, maybe not….?

November 16th, 2009

Microsoft opens Windows Marketplace to Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1 phone users

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:05 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Windows server

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Mobile Operating Systems, Operating Systems, Mobile Applications, Handhelds, Telecom & Utilities

When Microsoft first announced officially its plans for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, company officials said they’d eventually open the phone app store to users with phones running Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1.

On November 16, the company made good on that commitment, making the announcement on the Windows Phone Team Blog.

Until today, the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site was usuable by Windows Mobile 6.5 phone customers only. By adding 6.0 and 6.1 phone users to the pool of customers who can buy and download apps from the site, Microsoft can now claim that the Marketplace is accessible by 30 million devices. (That’s one claim you can count on the Softies playing up, in the hopes of attracting more developers to write apps for the platform.)

Microsoft needs more customer and developer love for the Windows Mobile platform, and that love can come none to soon. Last week, Gartner Group analysts issued a report that found Microsoft has lost a third of its worldwide marketshare for Windows Mobile in the past year.

When Microsoft opened the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site in October this year, it offered 246 applications on it.

Last week, Microsoft introduced a synchronization feature that allows users to download apps for Windows Mobile 6.5 phones from the Marketplace onto their PCs, not just directly onto their phones.

Microsoft is holding its invitation-only Mobius conference this week in Redmond. Only some of what is shown at that annual event is under non-disclosure. Will the Softies share info with the invited mobile bloggers and analysts about Windows Mobile 7.0 — or anything else that will give folks hope for the future of the platform? Guess we’ll find out in the coming days….

In the interim, I’ve taken a pass (again) on buying a Windows Mobile phone. Verizon still doesn’t have any models I like (a good QWERTY keyboard is non-negotiable for me, as is a simple user interface that I don’t need a manual to decipher). And Verizon folks at my local store are still advising users against going with Windows Mobile unless they absolutely must use that operating system, claiming a high rate of returns. Maybe there really are some more compelling Windows Mobile devices in the pipeline, but if there are, no one I’ve spoken with seems to know about them or be able to talk about them (publicly or privately)….

November 16th, 2009

Microsoft makes available new high performance Windows Server test build

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 10:00 am

Categories: Azure, Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Office 2010/Office 14, Red Dog, Resellers, System builders, Utility/cloud computing, Visual Studio 10 ("Hawaii"), Windows Server 2008 R2 /("Windows 7 Server"), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, High-performance, Server, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Corp., Beta, Supercomputing, HPC Server, Leadership, Management

Microsoft made available on November 16 a code-complete beta of Windows HPC (High Performance Computing) Server 2008 R2 to selected testers.

The company made the announcement at the Supercomputing 2009 show in Portland, Oreg., where officials said they planned to provide all of the 4,500 or so of the attendees with the bits today. Microsoft also will be providing select testers with access to the downloadable beta via the Connect site today. Microsoft is expecting to release at least one more beta of HPC Server 2008 R2 before rolling out the final version some time in 2010.

HPC Server enables cluster supercomputing on x64 versions of Windows Server 2008 R2. The new release that is in testing is Microsoft’s third iteration of the product.

With the HPC Server 2008 R2 beta, testers can run the test builds of Excel 2010 and Visual Studio 2010, supporting the development and use of parallel and scalable applications, Microsoft officials said.

Microsoft and its partners have been making a concerted effort to increase the appeal of its HPC Server product beyond the small segment of scientists and engineers who typically use supercomputers. Last week, Dell announced it would be the exclusive distributor of the Cray CX1 supercomputing workstation, which runs Windows 7 integrated with HPC Server on a single box.

“We’re trying to make HPC more mainstream and accessible” to more engineers, financial quants and others in a variety of large and mid-size organizations, said Vince Mendillo, Microsoft Senior Director of High Performance Computing. To do this, the team is focused on providing new tools and techniques making HPC Server easier to set up and deploy, Mendillo said.

When Microsoft introduced the first version of HPC Server, Linux dominated the supercomputing market. Since then, Microsoft has been making inroads in market share and performance. Last year, Microsoft added “thousands of customers in large scale organizations” for the product, Mendillo said. (He declined provide any more specific data.) Microsoft now has 159 independent software vendor partners developing applications for HPC Server, Mendillo added.

Because HPC Server is part of the overall Windows Server family, MIcrosoft will fold back into the core Windows Server codebase new developments made by the HPC team. Mendillo said that some of the new parallel enhancements in the new HPC Server release would likely be useful to the Windows Azure team, which is building MIcrosoft’s cloud-computing offering.

November 12th, 2009

Microsoft readies shared classroom server for 2010 debut

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:55 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Resellers, Windows Server 2008 R2 /("Windows 7 Server"), Windows server

Tags: Server, Microsoft Corp., Teacher, MultiPoint Server, Microsoft Windows, Branding, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Marketing

Microsoft is growing its MultiPoint franchise, adding to its line-up in 2010 with a new MultiPoint Server 2010 product.

Windows MultiPoint — a product developed largely by Microsoft in India and which Microsoft officially unveiled in 2006 — enabled multiple users to access a single host computer. The product was geared toward students and teachers, especially those in developing countries.

Microsoft is changing the name of the original MultiPoint product to MultiPount Mouse SDK (software development kit).

In the first half of 2010, Microsoft will introduce MultiPoint Server 2010, which is a host-run operating system that enables multiple users to each run different applications from their own “user stations.”  The new server product is being developed in Microsoft Corporate Vice President Amit Mital’s organization, the Startup Business Group, which was formed when the former Startup Business Accelerator and Unlimited Potential Group teams were merged under Mital.

A spokesperson sent me the following positioning statement for the Server version of the product:

“Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 allows schools to provide independent computing to more students for the same budget. Teachers can assign and distribute work assignments based on each student’s level and need, or establish a consistent experience, depending on the needs of the class.”

Microsoft is touting the forthcoming MultiPoint Server as being designed for non-technical professionals, so they won’t need a consultant or administrator to set up and manage the system.

MultiPoint Server maps a USB 2.0 keyboard, mouse, and headset to a monitor to create a student station. Each station gets an individual Windows desktop. The teacher management interface is called the MultiPoint Manager and allows the management of desktops, student accounts, and student sessions, plus provides teachers with a way to distribute content to students’ desktops.

The MultiPoint Server product will be available through both OEM and Academic volume licensing channels, company officials said. At launch, it will be available in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 will have the same application requirements as Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2008 R2 (and is based on Windows Server 2008) officials said. The user stations in the configuration do not require an operating system of any kind on them. No word yet on pricing.

November 10th, 2009

Study claims netbook users dissatisfied with Windows 7. Are you?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 7:07 am

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Resellers, System builders, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows client

Tags: Microsoft Windows 7 Starter, Netbook, Microsoft Windows 7, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley

Another day, another Windows 7 study. The latest comes from Retrevo, a consumer electronics shopping site, which asserts that users aren’t keen on Windows 7 netbooks running Starter Edition.

In a blog post entitled “Is Microsoft Trying to Kill the Netbook Market?” Retrevo officials outline their findings, based on responses from 1,100 of its “users.” Among the claims are users aren’t aware of the limitations of Windows 7 Starter Edition (like no desktop personalization, no multimonitor support, no DVD playback). Retrevo said 54% of respondents would not be satisfied if their new Netbook only came with Windows 7 Starter Edition. XP Starter was a better choice, Retrovo’s respondents said.

While I do think Microsoft would like nothing better than for the netbook market to disappear, as it has put a serious dent in its Windows client margins, the rest of Retrovo’s findings seem off-base to me. (Example: Windows 7 netbooks running Starter will support the use of a DVD player via a USB port, contrary to Retrovo’s assertion that Microsoft killed that XP Starter feature.)

Whether you agree with Microsoft’s decision to continue to field lots of different Windows SKUs or not, I’d claim the company has been pretty clear for the past year that Windows 7 Starter was not going to be able to do everything. (Originally, it also was going to be crippled so it wouldn’t allow users to run more than three apps concurrently, but Microsoft removed that limitation earlier this year.)

Microsoft officials also have noted that PC makers can choose any version of Windows 7, including Ultimate, to preload on netbooks. Whether OEMs can cost-justify some of the pricier SKUs is another matter.

I’ve been shopping for a Windows 7 PC starting on October 22, the day they went on sale at retail. I’ve been impressed by the choice of Windows 7 netbooks I’ve found. Many come with Starter Edition; others I saw were preloaded with Windows Home Premium. Toshiba loaned me one of their Mini NB205-N330 netbooks running Windows 7 Starter. I’ve found it very responsive, portable and perfect for my basic daily  tasks (surfing the Web, posting to my blog, answering email, etc.).

Yes, I am a more educated consumer than many out there, so I know what a netbook running Starter will and won’t do. But two different salespeople at my local Best Buy were very clear with me about what Windows 7 starter netbooks would and wouldn’t do. I’m not implying that it’s been completely smooth sailing for PC users looking to move to Win7; Computerworld noted recently that some Dell and HP users who ordered upgrades to Windows 7 are having to wait considerably longer than they were led to believe for their upgrade disks.

I’d be curious what others in the market for Windows 7 PCs have found. Are retailers, PC makers, resellers savvy about the new PCs and upgrade deals out there? Are Windows 7 Starter netbooks good enough for you?

November 9th, 2009

Which should a small business choose: Windows Home Server or Windows Server Foundation?

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:36 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Database, Exchange Server, Management tools, OEMs, Resellers, SQL Server, System Center, System builders, Virtualization, Windows Essential Business Server (Centro), Windows Home Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 /("Windows 7 Server"), Windows Small Business Server (Cougar), Windows server

Tags: Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Windows Home Server, Small Business, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley

Until quite recently, Microsoft officials emphasized the “home” in Windows Home Server (WHS) when explaining how that product fit into its server line-up.

Last week, however, something changed. Microsoft officials added small office/home office (SOHO) users to its list of potential customers for WHS. On November 5, the WHS team posted a new blog entry entitled “Top 10 reasons to use Windows Home Server in your SOHO.” From that post:

“Don’t let the name Windows Home Server fool you into thinking that this product was created for home use only. A lot of the reasons that you would use Windows Home Server in your home are just as applicable to a small or home office. Windows Home Server provides a dependable and affordable way to organize and safeguard your work on up to 10 computers.”

Up until this point, Microsoft’s business-focused Windows Server family looked like this (with entry-level servers listed first):

• Windows Server Foundation
• Windows Server Standard
• Windows Server Enterprise
• Windows Server Datacenter

Other “specialty” versions include the Web Edition, Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server. (The latter two bundle together various Microsoft applications, like Exchange Server and SQL Server, with Windows Server.)

Microsoft delivered the first release of Foundation Server in April 2009. The R2 version of Windows Server Foundation is globally available (covering all countries in Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, France, German and Korea and Middle East/Africa) as of this week. Like WHS, Foundation is primarily an OEM product. The first release of Foundation was available preloaded on servers from Dell, HP, NEC and Fujitsu. The R2 version will be sold by these same server vendors, plus IBM, Lenovo, Acer and local OEMs such as Wortmann (in Germany) Datateknik (Turkey) Lanix (Mexico), Positivo (Brazil) and NTT (Japan), among others, according to the company.

So which should a small business user choose: Foundation or WHS? The biggest difference seems to be in the number of users that are supported. Foundation scales up to 15, while Home Server only supports up to 10, company officials said. In addition, Home Server is also designed specifically as a media server, with storage and file backup features for movies, music and photos,” a spokesperson added when I asked for more information.

“Windows Home Server is for people who work and play at home,” said Eugene Saburi, General Manager in the Windows Server & Solutions Division. “And it’s still based on Windows Server 2003,” at this point, he said. “Windows Foundation is more of a general-purpose platform,” Saburi added. “You can install a line-of-business app on it.”

(There’s no official word on when Microsoft plans to upgrade WHS so that it is based on Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2. Maybe that’s “Vail” — which could be out next year if the latest rumors are right.)

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering when will the R2-inclusive versions of Windows Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server will be out, Microsoft officials aren’t saying. They are not talking about a month, a quarter or even a year (!) in terms of shipping commitments for these two products. Sigh.

One would think it wouldn’t take the Softies long to update the existing SBS and EBS products to include the “minor” Windows Server 2008 R2 update… but if they also include the new Exchange Server 2010 bits, it could take a bit longer. And if they wait for the SharePoint 2010 ones, the next releases might not be out until after mid-2010….

November 3rd, 2009

Microsoft to show Office Mobile 2010 at TechEd Europe

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:44 pm

Categories: Channel, Corporate strategy, Network service providers, OEMs, Office, Office 2010/Office 14, SharePoint Server, Windows Mobile

Tags: Mobile, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Corp., Office Mobile 2010, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft officials have shared details about two of the three different versions of Office 2010 that are in development: The Office 2010 client and the Office Web Apps. Next week, at the TechEd Europe conference in Berlin, they finally are slated to show and tell more about the third: Office Mobile 2010.

Update (November 6): A Microsoft spokesperson called today to tell me the Office team isn’t quite ready. This session on Office Mobile 2010 is being cancelled for TechEd Europe. I’m betting it’ll be on the PDC agenda instead, so we’ll have one more week to wait….

Office Mobile 2010 is the version of Office that runs natively on Windows Mobile phones. The most recently released version debuted in 2007. That release is Version 6.1 and includes mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and a rudimentary version of the OneNote note-taking application.

The Office Mobile 2010 release will include “a refresh to the Office Mobile client apps, an all-new SharePoint Workspace Mobile app and redesigned mobile access to SharePoint site content,” according to a synopsis of the “Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 In-Depth” session that is slated for November 12 at TechEd. That session also will cover the back-end infrastructure powering the new Office Mobile release, according to the write-up. The presenter is listed as Outlook Product Manager Dev Balasubramanian.

Here is the entire synopsis:

OFS01-IS Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 In-Depth
Presenter: Dev Balasubramanian
Thu 11/12 | 13:30-14:45 | Interactive Theatre 1 - Red

In this session we cover all of the mobility technologies and scenarios enabled as part of the Office 2010 “wave”. You’ve heard us talk about how Office 2010 spans the PC, Phone and Web — come learn what the Phone pillar is all about! Collaboration scenarios, mobile workflows, and mobile access to data, people, and corporate resources are all part of what makes Office on the phone a new experience in 2010. A refresh to the Office Mobile client apps, an all-new SharePoint Workspace Mobile app, redesigned mobile access to SharePoint site content, as well as the infrastructure needed to support it, are covered as part of this session.

In early October, I blogged about a screen shot that showed a mock-up of Office Mobile 2010 that seemed to indicate it the new mobile suite would be customized to work on Windows Mobile 7, the version of Microsoft’s mobile OS expected to be available by the end of 2010. That shot also showed off what looked like some kind of SharePoint application. Microsoft officials did not comment on that screen shot or its implications.

At the recent Microsoft SharePoint Conference, executives noted that Microsoft has a number of enhancements coming to SharePoint for mobile. According to an October blog post by SharePoint Corporate Vice President Jeff Teper:

“We both improved the experience for mobile web browsers and are introducing a new SharePoint Workspace Mobile client so you can take Office content from SharePoint offline on a Windows Mobile device. These clients let you navigate lists and libraries, search content and people and even view and edit Office content within the Office Web App experience running on a mobile browser.”

To be clear, Office Mobile 2010 won’t be the only way to run Office apps on mobile devices. The Softies have said Office Web Apps also are going to be able to run on unspecified phones from Microsoft and other vendors. Supposedly when the public beta of Office Web Apps hits later this month, Microsoft will be ready to share more details how and when specific phones and browsers will support Office Web Apps.

I have lots of questions about Office Mobile 2010. Will it run on platforms other than Windows Mobile? When will it go to testers? Will the final version be released alongside the other two Office 2010 releases (around May/June 2010)?

What do you want to know about Office Mobile 2010?

November 3rd, 2009

Microsoft to raise prices, add more high-end editions with SQL Server 2008 R2

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:04 am

Categories: Azure, Channel, Code names, Corporate strategy, Database, OEMs, Office, Office 2010/Office 14, Resellers, SQL Server, SharePoint Server, Utility/cloud computing, Virtualization, Windows server

Tags: Processor, Microsoft SQL Server, Server, Microsoft Corp., Datacenter Edition, Microsoft SQL Server Team, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software

With the new version of its database due out by mid-2010, Microsoft is increasing its retail prices. It also is adding two new high-end editions of SQL Server 2008 R2 to its line-up.

Microsoft is planning to make the next Community Technology Preview (CTP) test build of SQL Server 2008 R2 — which will be feature-complete — available later this month, but officials declined to specify a date. The timing is “aligned with” the public beta of Office 2010, which many are expecting around mid-month. Customers can sign up today for notification about the November SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP. Microsoft released a first CTP of SQL Server 2008 R2 (codenamed “Kilimanjaro”) in August.

Microsoft went public with these details on the opening day of its PASS Summit, its SQL Server user group conference, on November 3.

The two new versions of SQL Server will be a Datacenter edition and a Parallel Data Warehouse edition (formerly codenamed “Project Madison”). The Datacenter edition builds on the SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise product, but adds application and multi-server management; virtualization; high-scale complex event processing (via StreamInsight); and supports more than 8 processors and up to 256 logical processors. The Parallel Data Warehouse version will be sold preloaded on servers as a data warehouse appliance. Using the DataAllegro technology Microsoft acquired in 2008, it will scale customers’ data warehouses from the tens of terabytes, up to one petabyte plus range, according to the company.

Microsoft isn’t increasing the Server/Client Access License (CAL) pricing — which is the primary way its customers buy SQL Server, officials said — with the new release. But the new SQL 2008 R2 retail pricing is as follows:

Standard: $7,500 (Per Processor), or $100/Server + $162/CAL (a $1,500 increase over SQL 2008 Standard)
Enterprise $28,800 (Per Processor), or $9.900/Server + $162/CAL (a $3,800 increase over SQL 2008 Enterprise)
Datacenter $57,500 (Per Processor), Not offered via Server/CAL (no previous version available)
Parallel Data Warehouse: $57,500 (Per Processor), Not offered via Server/CAL (no previous version available)

No pricing information was available for other R2 versions of SQL Server, including the Workgroup, Web and Developer, company officials said. For the four aforementioned versions, there will be discounts available for customers purchasing via volume licenses, Microsoft officials said.

Microsoft’s SQL Server team has focused on pricing as one of its main differentiators from its database competition, especially Oracle, so any kind of price increase is a sensitive topic. Company officials said they hadn’t “adjusted” database prices since the introduction of SQL Server 2005. Microsoft is still not charging per core like Oracle does; instead, it charges per processor, which benefits users who run databases on multicore servers.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 28th, 2009

Microsoft's Windows 7 challenge: Selling Live services (without being sued)

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:57 am

Categories: Advertising, Channel, Corporate strategy, OEMs, Resellers, System builders, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Live, Windows client

Tags: Antitrust, Microsoft Windows Live, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Corporate Law, Operating Systems, Software, Business Operations, Mary Jo Foley

I was wondering how aggressively — or not — Microsoft would market Windows Live services once it began selling Windows 7.

The answer seems to be somewhat aggressively. But is that tepid enough to keep the Softies out of antitrust hot water?

For more than a year now, Microsoft has been pulling certain features out of Windows and making them available as free “rich” services. The suite of these services is known as Windows Live Essentials (WLE) and includes Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Live Writer, Messenger and Mail.

Although Microsoft officials take care to avoid saying that removing features and offering them separately might be motivated in any way by the threat of antitrust suits, I’d think this would be one (big) definite upside for the WLE strategy/approach. The downside (for Microsoft) around this decoupling is that the company needs to find ways to get users to understand that these functions are available for free download, or, in some cases, preloaded by PC makers on new machines.

I asked Microsoft officials how they intended to let consumers know about the existence of Windows Live Essentials (WLE), a bundle of several Windows Live services meant to complement Windows 7, and received via e-mail this list of “ways we are educating consumers about the offering”:

• The most recent version of Windows Live Essentials (WLE) can be downloaded from download.live.com
• Most large OEMS will ship WLE on Windows 7 PCs.  For example, we have already announced that Dell will ship WLE on its machines, and we expect to announce other specific partners in the coming months.
• Windows.com and Microsoft.com both include information on WLE and where to go to download it
• Windows 7 users can find a link to download (download.live.com) WLE within the Control Panel.  An easy way to find this link is who search to type Windows Live Essentials into the Start Menu search bar
• We offer WLE as an Optional Update through the Microsoft Update program
• Customers who are enrolled in Windows Update will receive automatic upgrades to any WLE applications they have installed on their PC
• WLE is highlighted in the Getting Started experience within Windows for new PC purchasers

One way Microsoft also is getting the word out, which company officials didn’t mention, is by featuring WLE on new “Signature” PCs that are sold through Microsoft’s own Store.

As Todd Bishop over at TechFlash noted recently, the Windows 7 PCs that Microsoft is highlighting on the Microsoft online store come with a number of Microsoft software and service offerings — including WLE — preloaded. (The Signature PCs also include Microsoft Security Essentials, Silverlight, Bing 3D Maps, Zune 4.0, plus a few select third-party wares, like Adobe Flash and Reader.) Signature PCs include systems from Sony, HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo and other vendors.

I’m surprised we haven’t seen Microsoft push WLE more than through some rather vague mentions by Microsoft spokesperson of the year, the now-five-year-old Kylie. But maybe the specter of looming antitrust busters is keeping the Softies from going all-out with a splashy WLE campaign.

Do you think any of the ways Microsoft is promoting WLE — including the new Signature PCs –might leave open loopholes for Microsoft’s competitors to run screaming to the authorities?

October 23rd, 2009

Ballmer: Zune services coming to 'next release' of Windows Mobile

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:58 am

Categories: Channel, Code names, Corporate strategy, Mobile services ("Pink"/"Rouge"), OEMs, Resellers, Windows Mobile, Zune

Tags: Phone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Mobile, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Zune, Engadget, Microsoft Corp., Pink, Mobile Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really made the rounds on October 22 to help kick off Windows 7. One stop he made was the Engadget Show, which was taped live in Times Square.

Ballmer was a lot more direct than Microsoft Entertainment and Device Division President Robbie Bach, when it comes to answering questions about Microsoft’s mobile and device strategies. (Not a high bar, given Bach’s reticence to even acknowledge the existence of anything codenamed “Pink.”) Ballmer did offer a few tidbits during the show yesterday that I found interesting, though still somewhat cryptic.

In response to Engadget’s questions on when the Zune music and video services will come to Windows Mobile, Ballmer said Zune services would definitely be available in conjunction with the next Windows Mobile release.

But as the folks over at the MobileTechWorld blog note, that answer is still somewhat murky. Microsoft is strongly believed to be readying a 6.5.x or 6.7 release of Windows Mobile, which many are expecting the company to release on or around the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010. That release supposedly enables Windows Mobile to work on capacitive touch-screen phones. Microsoft officials continue to refuse to say if and when that release will be coming.

Engadget also asked Ballmer about the photos of the Pink phones (codenamed Turtle and Pure) that were leaked on Gizmodo last month. Are either of these the rumored Microsoft-branded phones that many of us heard are — or at least “were” — in the works?

“We are not shipping, pricing  or selling phones. As of today, that’s not our plan,” Ballmer told Engadget’s Josh Topolsky yesterday.

This is a more definitive statement than Bach or anyone else at Microsoft has made about the rumored Pink phones. (As I’ve noted previously, Microsoft officials have been able to wriggle out of repeated questions about whether Microsoft is planning to make its own phone because Microsoft doesn’t actually “make” any hardware. Other vendors make it for the Redmondians.

With Pink, most recent rumors seemed to indicate that Sharp was the company making the Pink phones that Microsoft and Sharp were considering they’d cobrand. Ballmer’s new statement still leaves a lot of wriggle room, but it also leads me to believe there’s a good chance that Microsoft’s phone partners may have complained so vociferously about Microsoft being involved in branding/distributing its own phones that Pink may be back to nothing more than a bunch of premium services for Windows Mobile phones. (That’s what I initially heard Pink was, before I got more tips indicating Pink also was the codename for a Microsoft-branded phone, as well.)

What’s your take? Has Microsoft scrapped plans to cobrand a phone aimed at teens and 20-somethings? And when will Zune come to the Windows Mobile platform — in early 2010 with an interim release or not until Windows Mobile 7?