Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook – New York Times 10/24/2007
Posted by thaadsma in advertising, google, microsoft, web.add a comment
Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook
- New York Times
Well, this sure shakes up the advertising and web platform market. Facebook has made noises about wanting to be a web-based OS and development platform, but they won’t get there alone. It is surprising that they seem to want to get there with Microsoft!
With Google and Yahoo! rounding out the major players, this MS/Fb alliance injects some needed competition into the the online advertising world. Google’s advertising platform has seen staggering growth without a corresponding innovation in advertising tools and services. Maybe this deal will prod Google into providing them. Yahoo? Maybe them, too.
Competition is a very good thing, indeed.
Java: A Retrospective 10/23/2007
Posted by thaadsma in SUN, development, ibm, microsoft.add a comment
Read it all, and read the comments, and leave some comments of your own. Where do you think Java is heading?
Microsoft’s “Me Too” Strategy: Can the Tortoise Beat the Hare? 10/19/2007
Posted by thaadsma in SaaS, development, google, microsoft.add a comment
Microsoft’s “Me Too” Strategy: Can the Tortoise Beat the Hare?
It’s always good fun to bet on the tech races, and this blog post is a great look at one of the hottest contests. I love Google’s wide-open innovation, and the creative, integrated applications issuing forth from the GoogleBeast, but have the sneaking suspiscion that Microsoft is stumbling along on purpose, a couple of steps behind– ready to lap Google’s first ‘beta’ releases. Click the link above for the full take on this:
”Microsoft has lifted the lid this week on a number of products that compete to various degrees with popular Google services. While Google fans and blogosphere cynics have derided the Microsoft offers as “me too” knock-offs, at first look Microsoft 411 and Live Workspace look really nice. Virtual Earth 6.0
also has a “newly open” SDK and the Popfly mashup engine also made its first appearance this week.
Much of this may be following in Google’s footsteps – but fact of the matter, it could end up being better than what the search giant has already brought to market.”
Now Playing: YouTube videos in Google Earth 10/11/2007
Posted by thaadsma in google, mapping, web.add a comment
Google LatLong: Now Playing: YouTube videos in Google Earth
Another great way to use Google Earth for fun and games. Use your imagination and consider the business potential for this type of geo-coding and mashup application where you work, as it continues to mature and go mainstream:
“I love watching videos on YouTube. Every once in a while I’ll see something so good that it makes me stop and wonder where it was recorded or how I can find more videos from that particular location. For instance, just the other day I stumbled upon a video of a man playing a guitar with his feet. The person who uploaded the video to YouTube geotagged it, so I was able to track the guitarist back to Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Now you can find YouTube videos connected to specific locations right in Google Earth. Our new browseable layer of geotagged videos works a lot like our Google Book Search layer, only it shows you the locations referenced in specific videos instead of books. Let’s say you’re jetting off to Paris. Before you go, you can watch the sunset filmed from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, among other clips of popular spots in the City of Lights.
Microsoft Targets Web-Based Services For Enterprises 10/02/2007
Posted by thaadsma in SaaS, development, microsoft, web.add a comment
Microsoft Targets Web-Based Services For Enterprises – CRN and VARBusiness
The fog around Microsoft’s Live (web-based/SaaS application) strategy is finally is starting lift. Microsoft now offers customers three ways to access: on-premise, hosted in the Microsoft cloud, or hosted by a partner like i3 Business Solutions. Click the link above to read the whole story, or read an excerpt below– with i3′s President Mike Ritsema quoted with comment about the announcement:
“…The distinction between Live and Online was made in response to larger businesses asking for better articulation of the vendor’s services strategy, Kelley said.
Online services are designed for organizations of 5,000 users or more that have more advanced technology needs, says Kelly. “It’s all about making life easier for IT decision makers with compliance, data control, and reliability services,” he said.
Within the Online umbrella, Microsoft is delivering so-called ‘finished’ services, or complete end to end solutions that end users can use immediately; ‘attached’ services, which are added to existing on-premise deployments, and “building blocks,” a service oriented architecture-based approach for developers that want to build applications that take advantage of services being hosted by Microsoft, according to Kelly.
In the partner-hosted model, solution providers sell services through monthly subscriptions to end users, and pay licensing fees to Microsoft through the Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA).
“We continue to see the opportunity for partners to host our technology and provide that to customers. In fact, many customers are specifically asking for that,” said Kelly.
Mike Ritsema, president of i3 Business Solutions, a Microsoft Gold partner in Grand Rapids, Mich., isn’t thrilled by Microsoft’s new services model, but understands why the vendor is moving in this direction.
“I don’t like it, because I’d prefer a pure business partner play and channel strategy around services. MS becoming a competitor is a concern for me, but it’s the reality,” said Ritsema. “
