Microsoft Said to Encourage Big Investment in SCO Group. More evidence emerged about Microsoft’s role in encouraging the anti-Linux campaign being waged by the SCO Group, a small Utah company. By Steve Lohr. [New York Times: Technology]
Tag Archives | Microsoft
Think Globally, Buy Locally
I’ve been in the book and publishing business for a while. I take advantage of the fact that there are local retailers by buying from them whenever possible. Perhaps I could use an Amazon or a BookPool or another online service, but if I’ve used the local bookstore to browse the stacks, look through possible purchases, I’ve used their services, what they pay rent for, and I owe them fair compensation. Tim O’Reilly notes similar thoughts here, and my thoughts were spurred on by receipt of my monthly email newsletter from SoftPro. The folks at SoftPro are great – they know their titles, they can order what you need. They’re working hard to make it through this “jobless recovery” when the joblessness is hitting hard in the IT sector.
Their “Regular Reader” program is a great deal – a percentage off list price in exchange for an email address for monthly newsletters. In addition, they sponsor the discounts sent on by their publishers, like O’Reilly’s “Buy Five, Get One Free” promotion. And to top it off, they throw in their own promotions of T-shirts and coffee cups.
And SoftPro is a cool store, the geek equivalent of a kid in a candy store. Wall-to-wall books, and they’re all computer books. O’Reilly, Addison-Wesley, Prentice-Hall, APress, No Starch Press, Microsoft, sometimes even Hentzenwerke. I was sad to hear they were closing the Marlborough, Mass, store, although the Waltham store (recently relocated from Burlington) is my favorite. Check them out if you’re in the area (or near Denver, where their other two stores are).
Eolas patent invalidated
A Reuters story reports that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated the patent that Eolas was claiming gave it exclusive licensing to the technique of embedding objects (think ActiveX, Java, Flash, MIDI) into HTML pages. As I had blogged here and here, Microsoft had lost an infringement suit, and industry watchers were concerned that the suit could be the precursor to the end of browser technology as we know it.
ComputerWorld mentions OOsSwitch
ComputerWorld has a positive mini-review of Tamar Granor’s new book, “OOoSwitch: 501 Things You Wanted To Know About Switching to OpenOffice.org from Microsoft® Office.” Tamar is a good friend and we’ve collaborated on several books before. I got to see some early drafts of this book, and I was pretty pleased about how well it covered the topic, especially the perspective of writers like myself coming from Office.
ComputerWorld: Web retailers go open-source
ComputerWorld reports Web retailers go open-source wrapping up by quoting a Microsoft Gold Partner: “Our customers don’t know where Microsoft is headed…”
Microsoft failed to explain the advantage of Windows XP: it’s not the OS, it’s the bundled software
OSNews links to a piece in a Seattle newspaper that reports Microsoft Exec Says Marketing Effort Faltered with Windows XP. It’s so nice that they let him have free space to explain what their advertising should have said. The best part was:
In the next version of Windows – codenamed Longhorn – Allchin said Microsoft will be working to make things run more smoothly and easily for customers.
We’ll get it right next time. Really. Oh, c’mon.
Microsoft’s Plans For Fighting Linux…
Microsoft Hints of Future Programs to Stave Off Linux Overseas. Redmond is focused on finding the right price point and feature set for its products in developing countries, says its platform strategy chief. [Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley]
Is Linux Keeping the Softies Awake at Night?
Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley asked Is Linux Keeping the Softies Awake at Night? and the answers . “We asked readers if they believed Microsoft’s every move is dictated by Linux. Their answers may surprise you.”
Salt in the wound
CNET News.com – Front Door reports Source code opens window to old IE flaw. “Security researchers confirm that leaked Windows source code can be used to find flaws in Microsoft’s software.” Isn’t that funny? It’s the same reason that Open Source developers release their code
Many Eyes Lead to Shallow Bugs
Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley notes That Didn’t Take Long. February 12: Windows 2000 source code leaks to the Web. February 15: First exploit based on leaked code reported.