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Microsoft encourages partners to get SAASy

Microsoft is again trying to convince the partners that sell its software that they can make money in a world in which customers are getting their software as a service directly from Microsoft.

At its annual partner conference, which is taking place this week in Houston, Microsoft offered more details on the finances that buttress that claim. For example, partners that sign up customers for the new $15-per-month bundle of hosted SharePoint, Exchange and Office Communications Server can get a 12 percent referral fee. The partners can also get a 6-percent cut of renewal fees provided they continue to be … Read more

Bone-conducting headset goes wireless

Last year's Sound Leaf headset, which caught our eye during CommunicAsia 2007, is back this year and makes no bones about going Bluetooth.

Like its wired predecessor, NTT DoCoMo's Sound Leaf Plus is almost its twin in design, sans the wires. What's less visible are the tweaks, from a vibrate feature to signal an incoming call to a three-step tone control for comfortable sound levels while talking. It's also a mite lighter at 45 grams compared with its older sibling's 52. Not surprisingly, the tradeoff for wireless convenience is a dip in battery life, dropping … Read more

Google gives glimpse of future Gears goodies

SAN FRANCISCO--Google showed off working prototypes Wednesday of new possibilities for its Gears project to goose Web browsers' abilities.

When Google launched Gears a year ago, the company overemphasized one important feature, its ability to make Web applications work even when the browser is disconnected from the Internet, Chris Prince, a lead Gears engineer, said in a talk at the Google I/O conference here Wednesday. The new features, though, head in dramatically different directions: notifications on the desktop of various events, support for location information, better interactions with a computer's file system, and technology to let large file … Read more

Yahoo BrowserPlus aims for better surfing

A year ago it was Google with its Gears project. Now Yahoo wants to make your browser better, too.

A year after the Google launched its Gears project, Yahoo announced software called BrowserPlus that has a similar philosophy: expand what's possible to make Web applications a better alternative to programs running natively on a personal computer. Right now, it's available only in a "sneak peek" on some Yahoo-operated Web sites.

"BrowserPlus is a technology designed to 'extend the Web,' so that developers can build more exciting Web applications and so end users can get more … Read more

Linksys' new design for Wi-Fi routers flies in

Linksys has launched a completely new design for its upcoming routers, and today I got my hands on the first one: the RangePlus Wireless Router (WRT110).

Out of the box, I loved it! It immediately reminded me of a flying saucer (not that I remember the last time I saw a real one), though the router is not exactly round. The new design boasts a sleek and futuristic look. It also has a much smaller footprint and is lighter than the previous models. Still, it feels solid and the thin plate-like shape makes it stay more grounded on the surface, … Read more

dBpoweramp for music file format conversion

I had a problem. Years ago, I bought Microsoft's now-discontinued Digital Media Plus Pack for converting my LP records into digital files. Because it's a Microsoft product from back in the day when Microsoft was gung-ho about Windows Media, it only rips to Windows Media Audio. And of course, it's Windows only. (Other than that, it's a great tool--very easy to use, never messes up line leveling, and has a good algorithm for removing pops and scratches.)

Back when I used iTunes and my iPod exclusively, I'd simply rip the album into WMA, then import … Read more

The Mesh lives but the cloud Office is vaporous

Microsoft pushed out a tech preview of its Live Mesh service, but is still holding back on delivering a more complete set of Office applications delivered from the cloud.

At this point, Microsoft has delivered Dynamics CRM as an on-demand, multitenant hosted service as well as hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint. Tim O'Brien, senior director of platform strategy for Microsoft, said this week, "We have a huge portfolio of applications that we'll over time take in this direction," meaning that Microsoft is rearchitecting much of its software for multitenancy to run in its growing number … Read more

Microsoft: Web at the center, not PC

For years, Microsoft has maintained that the PC is the center of the digital home and office.

But Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said Tuesday that it's time for the company to acknowledge a new reality.

"Over the past 10 years, the PC era has given way to an era in which the Web is at the center of our experiences--experiences delivered not just through the browser but also through many different devices including PCs, phones, media players, game consoles, set-top boxes and televisions, cars, and more," Ozzie said in a memo to be sent to employees on Wednesday (PDF). … Read more

Aristocrat case raises requirements for means-plus-function software patent claims

The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Aristocrat Technologies will require software patent drafters to take more care to describe the algorithms covered by their software--or risk patent invalidity. ( See Aristocrat Technologies.) The court held that expert testimony that a programmer would know how to write code to perform a given function cannot supplement an incomplete patent disclosure when software claims are written using "mean-plus-function" format. Means-plus-function format means that something is claimed by the function it performs rather than by a specific structure--for example, a means-plus-function claim might recite a "means for fastening paper together" … Read more