microsoft

More on Zimbra: profitable, exploding sales, and open source

This time, I have the numbers from an unimpeachable source close to the company. Zimbra has been doing much better than we knew. Importantly, Zimbra has demonstrated the kind of success one can have in open source, success which would be expensive and difficult to achieve in proprietary software. Here's the real data:

~$6 million in 2006 (bookings) On track to hit $20 million in 2007 (bookings) Most importantly, the company has been profitable on and off, and could be profitable today.

Net net? Maybe not everyone can build a sustainable, innovative business with open source, as Microsoft has slurred. But Zimbra can, and has.

Think about what these numbers mean....… Read more

Microsoft to ship Office PerformancePoint server

Microsoft on Wednesday is scheduled to launch its PerformancePoint Server, the last server to ship as part of its Office 2007 product launch.

The application, which is expected to be available next week, is aimed at business users who model and run financial operations, such as budget planning. It also includes analytical tools built around Excel and other Office applications.

The suite combines three existing products, said Alex Payne, Director of Office Business applications at Microsoft. It will bundle the latest versions of Microsoft's existing Scorecard Manager application for financial monitoring, the analysis tools it gained through its acquisition … Read more

Ignorance (of open source), thy name is Microsoft

Oh, my. We're back to the good old days of Microsoft mythology. I had actually believed that Microsoft had grown up and wised up.

But no. Microsoft's Clint Patterson, public relations director for the Unified Communications Group, had this treasure trove of open-source "wisdom," circa 1998, to share with CNET's Stephen Shankland:

"The open-source development model has yet to demonstrate the ability to support profitable software businesses that can drive the coordinated research and testing necessary to sustain innovation. Many in the open-source software community have shifted to hybrid business models. They are making the same business decisions as any commercial software company in terms of what products and services to give away, what intellectual property to protect, how to generate revenue, and how to participate in the community."

This would all be true if it weren't false.… Read more

Will free office suites supplant Microsoft as the industry leader?

Quite a bit of talk has arisen today over two of Microsoft's competitors (Google and IBM) offering free office suites in an attempt to supplant Microsoft as the office king. And now that this is happened, some are wondering if Microsoft will finally face reality and offer its own Office product for free so it can compete.

The possibility of having Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the rest for free sure sounds awfully nice, but if you think Microsoft would give it up for free, you're dreaming.… Read more

The EU, Microsoft and digital media formats

Correction: this story has been corrected to remove the implication that iTunes sells audio files in formats other than AAC. iTunes did begin selling DRM-free songs earlier this year, but those files are still in the AAC format. Other stores are selling DRM-less MP3s, but not iTunes.

In 1998, the European Commission began investigating Microsoft on grounds that it was illegally using its desktop operating system (OS) monopoly to squeeze into new markets. At some point along the way, RealNetworks complained that Microsoft was repeating its kill-Netscape tactic by bundling the Windows Media player into Windows. In 2004, the EC agreed, … Read more

Xtreme Reality gets your hands on the Web

If you've kept an eye on the gestures scene, you'll be familiar with the concept of controlling various apps and services with hand gestures. The idea is to help you escape the use of traditional peripheral devices like a mouse or joystick in place of your body and hands. Lately we've seen examples from Microsoft, as well as a slick peripheral from 3dconnexion that's specifically been designed for navigating 3D spaces. Xtreme Reality is a software that captures body gestures via Webcam and converts them into keyboard and mouse inputs. You can create your own keyboard … Read more

Microsoft overhauls Live.com search page

Microsoft has overhauled the look of its Live.com search page, part of a series of changes expected in the coming weeks.

While the first visible changes are to the user interface, fonts and look of the Live.com search page, the bigger changes are coming to the engine itself, as well as the way Microsoft presents results. (Props to the folks over at Liveside.net for spotting the changes.)

Microsoft has scheduled a press event, dubbed "Searchification," for September 26 at its Silicon Valley offices, where it is expected to tell all.

But we'll keep watching … Read more

Microsoft resumes bashing open source

Them's fightin' words!

That was my reaction when later last night I got the official Microsoft comment on my story about the Mozilla Foundation pumping new energy and funding into development of the Thunderbird e-mail software.

I'd asked about whether Microsoft was worried about competition from the project, given that Firefox has fared relatively well against Internet Explorer, and whether Microsoft would help Thunderbird programmers get their software working with Microsoft's Exchange e-mail server software.

What I got from Clint Patterson, public relations director for Microsoft's Unified Communications Group, went a couple notches beyond the "… Read more

EU vs. Microsoft: The morning after

Yesterday, it seemed like a great thing that Microsoft got swatted by the European Union on antitrust grounds. Today, questions are emerging. The Wall Street Journal has two good articles that deal with the fallout from the ruling. Unfortunately, Microsoft may not be the only one that loses in the judgment.

The first article by Charles Forelle calls out the nebulous standard that may be set by the ruling. Namely, if you win (in the market), you may lose (in court):… Read more