Corporations can be heinous places. All day, people wander around, playing politics like so many Lindsay Lohans in "Mean Girls."
So today, one wonders just what machinations are being endured by Simon Aldous, the Microsoft Partner Group manager who was Wednesday quoted by PCR as suggesting that Windows 7 was rather inspired by the simplicity of the Mac OS. Indeed, Aldous declared that Microsoft's new operating system was designed to "create a Mac look."
In what appears to be a somewhat hurriedly written post on the Windows Team blog entitled, "How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7," Microsoft showed that perhaps some of its underwear is currently a little twisted.
The post read: "An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was "borrowed" from Mac OS X. "
This would suggest that Aldous was, in fact, misquoted.
However, the post, written by Brandon LeBlanc, continued, "Unfortunately, this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed."
I'm Steve Jobs, and Windows 7 was my idea?
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)Some would therefore now conclude that he was quoted accurately, but he didn't quite get his facts right. This is entirely possible, though one might wonder why he would have made comments with a ring of such endearing honesty.
However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this Windows Team post is a comment left by someone with the handle "i-dont-do-tat".
This commenter wrote: "I know Simon Aldous, having worked in the same U.K. subsidiary as him for a few years. He's a good guy who, for me, is telling it like it is. He's paying testament to the common view that a Mac is cool and a great template to copy."
As many in the world of business will tell you, copying happens all the time. The competition is scrutinized religiously, and the best articles of faith are taken and sometimes even improved. This happens in every product category.
The "i-dont-do-tat" poster concluded that perhaps honesty might not be such a bad thing: "Denying this to your customers just makes you look stupid because the very look and feel of Windows 7 is desperately trying to look like a Mac OS--just admit it."
Oh, of course one mightn't expect honesty in the mass-market arena. It is a very dangerous place in which to say anything at all. Equally, though, in a tech world interview, perhaps a little nod toward the opposition is not such a bad thing. It might even lull it into a little complacent smugness.
One can only hope that Simon Aldous had a good breakfast Thursday and that he hasn't endured any untoward communications. Unless it's a job offer from Apple, of course, which he should accept only if the company gives him a better deal and appears to come from nicer people.
That's how the corporate world works, you see. Like high school, it's all temporary, so you have to make the most of it while you can.
Sometimes you take a wrong turning in life and, Wednesday, a slight concussion led my eyes to fall upon the pages of PCR.
It is a little more intelligent than my normal reading matter, but I am very grateful for its interview with Simon Aldous, Microsoft's partner group manager.
He was quoted, for example, as saying: "One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use."
You're waiting for the punchline, right? You know, the one about how he was kidding.
Wait away because he continued: "What we've tried to do with Windows 7--whether it's traditional format or in a touch format--is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics."
I know that such words might cause some entrenched foot soldiers in both of the fanchildren camps to hoot, hiss, sigh and reach for the nearest farming implement.
However, isn't it rather charming to hear someone admit that a competitor's product isn't overly expensive or overly pretentious, but that it has something about it that is good and that real people who buy real products actually appreciate?
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Adoption of Windows 7 continues to grow, with the weeks-old operating system accounting for 4 percent of PCs accessing the Web over the past weekend, according to Net Applications.
By contrast, it took Windows Vista seven months to reach that level, the Web-monitoring firm said in a report.
"The early anticipation and high expectations for Windows 7 seem to have been warranted," Net Applications Executive Vice President Vince Vizzaccaro said in an e-mail.
One of the key questions, though, is whether Windows 7 will help Microsoft regain share from Apple, Vizzaccaro said. "Can Windows 7 stop the slow Windows decline, or even reverse it? I think we'll see that answer develop in the next few months," he said.
A week ago, Net Applications noted that Windows 7 use had topped 3 percent. The new operating system tends to do better on weekends, the time when consumer use accounts for more of the market and then share dips back somewhat as the work week starts.
Windows 7 went on sale October 22, though it was already topping 2 percent market share in Net Applications' daily tracking statistics even before its official debut.
Market researcher NPD said last week that boxed copy sales of Windows 7 were also outpacing those of Windows Vista in its initial days on the market.
Microsoft has also said it is seeing strong interest from businesses, although typically corporations take many months to test a new operating system before deploying it widely.
At TechEd Europe, Microsoft talked about enterprise adoption of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, highlighting some early customers of the two products.
"We remain just pleased and humbled by the very warm reception we're seeing," Windows Vice President Tami Reller said in a Webcast on Monday.
Microsoft has halted distribution of its Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool after questions were raised as to whether the software utility makes improper use of open-source code. The tool is designed to help owners of Windows XP-based Netbooks get Windows 7 onto their machines.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft has halted distribution of a tool aimed at making it easier to put Windows 7 on Netbooks amid allegations that the utility makes improper use of open-source code.
The software maker said on Tuesday that it has pulled down the Windows USB/DVD Tool while it investigates the issue, which was raised last week by Windows blogger Rafael Rivera on his Within Windows blog.
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In his blog post, Rivera said Microsoft appears to use code from a tool called ImageMaster that is licensed under the GPLv2 open-source license. The General Public License, like other open-source licenses, allows code to be freely used by others, but has its own set of terms and conditions, such as sharing any modifications made to the code.
Microsoft confirmed it has launched a review of the matter and taken the utility off its online Microsoft Store until that inquiry has been completed.
"Microsoft is looking into this issue and is taking down the (Windows 7 updating) tool from the Microsoft Store site until its review is complete," the company said in a statement. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience."
Though somewhat arcane, the utility is important because it solves a technical challenge in upgrading the operating system on Netbooks and other PCs without an optical drive.
Microsoft had been exploring for months different ways of trying to help users of Windows XP-based Netbooks move to Windows 7. The tool, which was released last month alongside Windows 7, allows users to take a downloadable copy of the operating system and create a bootable drive.
The issue is also a thorn in Microsoft's efforts to show that it can play nice with the open-source community. As ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley notes, this isn't the first time Microsoft has been accused of misusing GPL code.
The latest dust-up comes as Microsoft is celebrating the third anniversary of its deal with Novell, one of Microsoft's biggest--and most controversial--efforts to blend its world with the open-source world.
Under that deal, Microsoft agreed not to sue Novell customers for their use of its Linux distributions.
Microsoft has also released a number of products under various open-source licenses itself, though typically not under the GPL, which it sees as one of the more restrictive licenses. Redmond has been particularly critical of terms in version 3 of the GPL.
The software maker did release a few Linux drivers under GPLv2, although it appears its hand may have been forced there. Some have suggested the drivers contained GPL code, meaning that they would have necessarily needed to be released back under the GPL.
Microsoft has taken a number of different approaches to open-source software, particularly Linux. The software maker has at times accepted the notion of a heterogeneous world where Linux and Windows co-exist, pledging to do better to make sure IT administrators can manage mixed environments.
At other times, Microsoft executives have lashed out, painting open-source software as violating hundreds of Microsoft patents. In its lawsuit against TomTom earlier this year, Microsoft for the first time made those accusations in court, alleging that TomTom's implementation of Linux in its GPS systems infringed on Microsoft patents. The two companies quickly settled the matter, although terms were not disclosed.
Microsoft made two enterprise moves on Monday, one expected and the other a bit of a surprise.
As promised, the company used its TechEd event in Berlin to release Exchange 2010, the latest version of its e-mail and calendar server software. Microsoft finalized the code for the product last month and had said it would launch at TechEd.
Microsoft VP Tami Reller talks about enterprise adoption of Windows 7 as part of a Webcast held after the first day of TechEd Europe.
(Credit: CNET News)Meanwhile, the company also announced it is buying the Teamprise technology from SourceGear. Teamprise allows developers using Eclipse and those working on non-Windows operating systems to build applications using Microsoft's Visual Studio product.
"We know our customers face daily challenges with management, collaboration and development in heterogeneous environments. The industry must take steps to make interoperability a stronger business asset for our customers," senior vice president and developer unit head S. Somasegar said in a statement. "With the acquisition of the Teamprise assets, we're taking a step forward on this journey, providing customers with a viable cross-platform development solution that will help produce business results more quickly."
Microsoft didn't announce financial terms of the deal, but did say the Teamprise technology will be integrated into Visual Studio 2010.
At TechEd Europe, Microsoft also talked about enterprise adoption of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, highlighting some early customers of the two products.
"We remain just pleased and humbled by the very warm reception we're seeing," Microsoft vice president Tami Reller said in a Webcast on Monday.
As part of the same Webcast, senior vice president Chris Capossela sounded off on Cisco's announcement of updated collaboration tools that could take on Exchange.
"Rather than stitching together acquired products and calling that a solution, we've built Exchange form the ground up," he said.
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Judging by its initial sales, Windows 7 is certainly proving more popular than Vista.
Microsoft sold 234 percent more boxed editions of Windows 7 than it did Vista in the initial releases of both products, according to research released Thursday by NPD Group.
In actual dollars, Windows 7 has also been more successful than Vista. However, early discounts on pre-sales copies and a lack of a promotional boost behind Windows 7 Ultimate led to revenues only 82 percent greater than those of Vista.
"Ultimate was a much bigger part of what Microsoft did with Vista, whereas this time I think they not only kept the price very high, but really kept the focus on the Premium product and the Premium three-pack," explained the author of the report, NPD's Stephen Baker, to CNET News. "Most of the promotional fire that they've put out there has been focused on those, for example, 'Buy a computer, get a $50 copy of Home Premium.' The pre-sales were all pretty much focused on Home Premium."
The numbers provided by NPD include both the initial sales of Windows 7 following its release on October 22 and pre-sales data from the discount program that Microsoft launched in July.
NPD declined to release actual sales figures for Windows 7, but the percentages help tell the story.
Web statistics firm Net Applications also found early adoption of Windows 7 to be strong.
(Credit:
NPD Group)
Sales of PC hardware running the new OS didn't fare quite as well. Though growth in PC sales for the Windows 7 launch was at its highest level for the entire third quarter, it wasn't as strong as during the Vista launch, showing a 6 percent decrease from Vista's initial days.
A mixture of different factors affected the sales of Windows 7 PCs, notes Baker. Vista was launched in January, which traditionally offers a better sales environment than October. Also, the new OS was hurt by sales of PCs with older operating systems, which made up 20 percent of all sales during Windows 7 launch week. In contrast, PCs with older operating systems made up just 6 percent of all sales when Vista hit the market.
Baker doesn't think the current recession had a bearing on the lower PC sales for Windows 7's launch. "We've seen pretty strong sales growth on computers all year regardless of the recession," he said. "People have been buying more units of PCs all year than they had in 2008. At least from a unit perspective, we haven't really seen much impact on the consumer PC market from the recession."
When I wrote on Monday about the ins and outs of what counts as proper licensing of Windows 7, I was worried that it might turn into a flame war. But, instead, readers sent in a whole bunch of really good questions on the intricacies of licensing Windows 7 that went beyond the basics I had covered.
Things like dual-boot machines and systems with beta versions of the operating system raise all sorts of interesting licensing challenges.
Before we dive into the edge cases, though, here's a recap of the basics on Windows 7.
For those upgrading their PC, they can choose from Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate editions. There is also a family pack that includes three upgrade licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium.
Many people will have to do what is known as a custom or "clean" installation, which involves backing up one's data, installing Windows 7, then restoring the data and re-installing all applications.
All users of XP will have to go this route, as will those moving from a 32-bit version of Vista to a 64-bit version of Windows 7 (or vice versa), as well as those who are moving from a higher-end version of Windows Vista to a lower-end version of Windows 7.
Those moving from Windows Vista to the same version of Windows 7 (or to Ultimate) can do what is known as an "in-place" upgrade, which preserves files and applications.
Anyway, on to the tough cases. Here are some of the questions that readers sent me, as well as the answers I heard back from Microsoft.
Q: I installed the release candidate version of Windows 7 on a reformatted hard drive that previously had Windows Vista installed. Can I use the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade version to install a licensed copy?
A: Yes. You can do a custom installation ("clean install") to Windows 7 using the upgrade. The Windows 7 installer will detect you have the RC installed, enabling you to do this.
Q: Try as I might, I haven't been able to find any reliable information on whether I can upgrade from Vista Home Premium Edition (that came with my HP Laptop) straight to Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate, or whether it is only possible to upgrade from "Vista Home Premium" to "Windows 7 Home Premium."
A: You can do an in-place upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate, provided you aren't switching from 32-bit to 64-bit or vice versa. Going from Home Premium to professional, however, requires a custom installation. (For a chart of which versions can be done via in-place upgrades, check out this Microsoft Web page.)
Q: I have Vista Basic on two computers and XP on the other one. So all I would have to do is use a Windows 7 upgrade disc on all three computers? Does one disc do one computer or will it do all three? I live in Canada, not the U.S.
A: In both the U.S. and Canada, your best bet is probably the Windows 7 family pack, which offers a license to upgrade up to three PCs.
Q: Can you use an upgrade disk to run XP (or Vista) in dual-boot (meaning that one partition or hard drive has the older operating system and the other partition or drive has Windows 7?
A: Microsoft treats a dual-boot machine as if it were two PCs, so you can only use the upgrade if you are installing over an existing Windows partition. So, unless you have two licenses already on that system, you will need a full copy of Windows 7.
Q: What about upgrading a Mac?
A: In order to qualify to use the upgrade version, Mac owners need to be running a previously licensed full copy of Windows (not just a beta version). That applies whether one they are using Windows in Boot Camp or using a virtualization product like Parallels or VMWare's Fusion.
(Credit:
Gizmodo)
We've seen slides and videos of Microsoft's Courier dual-screen booklet in action, but nothing has quite explained how all of these things actually work. This document explains Courier's interface, gestures, and features more in-depth than ever before.
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.
Microsoft said on Wednesday that it is notifying approximately 800 workers that their jobs are being eliminated as the software giant completes the layoffs it announced earlier this year.
In January, Microsoft said it would cut approximately 5,000 positions before the end of the next fiscal year, which ends in June. With the latest cuts, Microsoft said it has essentially completed those layoffs. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in May that it was mostly, but not entirely, done with the job eliminations.
Actually, though, the latest cuts will push Microsoft past that 5,000 number. Once these cuts are made, it will have eliminated approximately 5,800 jobs since January, said Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos.
Wednesday's job cuts were spread across multiple businesses and around the globe, Gellos said. Microsoft didn't announce any specific products that are getting the axe as a a result of Wednesday's cuts, although it has cut a variety of products in recent months, including Microsoft Money, Windows Live OneCare and, just this past week, its small business accounting product line.
There could also be additional cuts, even as Microsoft does some hiring in key areas. Although January's layoffs were the company's first across-the-board cuts, it regularly reviews its businesses and makes adjustments as necessary, Gellos said.
"We'll manage our businesses closely and do the things that we need to do," Gellos said.
Update 12:05 p.m. PT: As noted by TechCrunch and others, among those let go on Wednesday was Don Dodge--one of Microsoft's key voices in Silicon Valley and a director on the company's emerging business team. Dodge wrote about the turn of events on his personal blog Wednesday.
Aiming to stay relevant, Microsoft is introducing a new look for its MSN.com home page.
Although MSN gets far less attention than the company's Bing or Windows Live efforts, the home page remains an important economic engine for Microsoft's online business, as well as a significant source of search traffic for Bing.
Along with redesigning the MSN home page, Microsoft also gave the site's butterfly logo a new look.
(Credit: Microsoft)"We believe it's an important asset for Microsoft," said MSN general manager Bob Visse.
The site is still the top portal in about 25 of the 46 markets, with about 600 million unique users globally and 100 million in the U.S, where it trails Yahoo in popularity.
The redesign, which has been in the works for months, bears quite a bit of resemblance to the one that Microsoft had been testing in France.
Microsoft late Tuesday began rolling out the new MSN home page (click for preview), which it says will become widely available in the U.S. early in 2010.
With its new look, the home page has about half as many links as the previous incarnation, focusing instead on a few categories, such as video, news, shopping, and search.
The old site had dozens of text links at the top and bottom of the page for everything from horoscopes to white pages to a free trial of MSN's dial-up Internet service.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this is a very cluttered and busy site," Visse said of the existing page.
The company has, in the past, tried to make changes that its users saw as too radical, such as a 2007 overhaul of Hotmail that the company was forced to significantly scale back. Visse said he isn't as worried about that, given that users were already complaining that the site was both dated and overstuffed with links.
"We were, frankly, at a point where customers are complaining about the clutter," he said.
Microsoft is also trying to tap into the popularity of social networks, adding a column on the right-hand side that lets users peek at their Windows Live, Twitter, and Facebook feeds, and even update their status or post a tweet. As before, users can also see a preview of their Hotmail in-box.
But it will take its time in jumping on the Web apps bandwagon, with plans to offer several Silverlight-based apps on the right-hand side of the redesigned page at a later date. In the past, MSN users have not customized their pages to a large degree, and so Microsoft is going to take a wait-and-see approach before it decides whether it will roll out more apps than the Windows Live, Twitter, and Facebook apps available at launch.
By contrast, Yahoo, perhaps MSN's largest competitor, has bet the farm on the popularity of Web apps on the home page, redesigning the entire Yahoo experience with that in mind. It's still early, but since the redesign went live Yahoo has seen a 20 percent increase in the amount of time spent on the home page, it said last week.
The company has decided to scrap altogether a more radical overhaul that it tested in Brazil. That site, geared towards Brazil's highly social online population, allowed people to share videos by dragging the video screen onto a contact in one's social network.
"It was too radical, even for that audience," Visse said. "It's not going to ship for a final release."
MSN was among the Microsoft units hit by companywide layoffs earlier this year, but things have stabilized, Visse said.
"I wouldn't say we are growing headcount, but we aren't reducing," he said.
The 2009 redesign of MSN features a new logo and new look with fewer links and more videos and images.
(Credit: Microsoft)Correction, 6:35 a.m. PDT: This story initially gave an incorrect launch date for the new MSN home page.
