microsoft

Michael Tiemann among the libertarians

Michael Tiemann has an excellent piece on open-source licensing over on his Open Source Initiative (OSI) blog. He captures what I've been trying to say about Microsoft's application for OSI certification, in part (though he doesn't address this in his blog), as well as the importance of open-source licensing, generally.

Want the CliffsNotes? Open-source licensing works because it breeds trust in process and code, not in people.

What does this mean?… Read more

Should CNET be supporting Windows? I say 'No'

CNET Channel has announced that it is partnering with Microsoft to help consumers purchase Windows-supported products with ease and little hesitation. Just what I wanted from my unbiased, neutral news broker.

CNET Channel's high-quality, accurate and consistent product content helps over 2,100 high-technology manufacturers and channel businesses in 35 national markets drive their online businesses and increase sales effectiveness. As an aggregator of best-of-breed content and e-commerce services, CNET Channel will now deliver 'Certified for Windows Vista' and 'Works with Windows Vista' logo information… Read more

Microsoft Sidewinder strikes again

The last reference to a Microsoft Sidewinder product on CNET was back on an old must-have games roundup from 2002, where we pointed to a Sidewinder steering wheel. Microsoft seemed to have let its gaming hardware brand die since then; that is, until today's announcement of the Sidewinder Mouse. Available in October for $80, the new Sidewinder comes with the usual laundry list of features we demand in our high-end gaming mice these days, including a few we haven't seen before.

Naturally, the Sidewinder is a laser mouse, with a customizable sensor that tops out at 2,000dpi. … Read more

The OSI, Microsoft, and history

It's almost funny (almost) to see how out-of-context my words can be taken. On one side, I can have Microsoft calling me to ask me to not criticize the company as I so often do (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and....you get the point).

Then I have Groklaw suggesting that I'm wrong to think the OSI shouldn't discriminate against groups bringing licenses to it based on past behavior. I would have thought that, if weighed in the balance, people would tend to find me anti-Microsoft (though I admit I don't find it hard at all to separate out Microsoft's products from its strategies). But not enough for some in the open-source community, apparently. This is unfortunate, as I'm a regular reader and supporter of the work that Pamela does at Groklaw.

The sad thing is, the OSI and the open-source community may have brought this upon ourselves.… Read more

Microsoft's tasty new search interface: Tafiti

Microsoft just released Tafiti, a Silverlight- and Live Search-powered search engine experiment. TechCrunch asks the question that matters: Will people use it? Their answer: Probably not.

But it's worth checking out, because beneath its glitzy user interface are some cool experiments that could easily be implemented on a more plain-Jane search site. I like the "shelf" on Tafiti, where you can drag search results that you want to save or look at later. And I like the stack of search queries that Tafiti collects as you use the site; other engines record your search histories, … Read more

Former Microsoft partners unite

(UPDATE: RealNetworks has filed an 8-K form with the SEC that contains some more details about Rhapsody America. Most notable: MTV is contributing a $230 million note to the deal, and RealNetworks will in exchange be required to spend that amount with MTV on advertising. The joint venture is between RealNetworks and MTV, with Verizon as a distribution partner.)

The 2007 Consumer Electronics Show must've held some awkward moments for Microsoft.

The previous year, the company had trumpeted MTV's Urge music store as the showcase for the Windows Media Player 11 that was due to ship with Vista. … Read more

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 tracks traffic, gas prices

In advance of Labor Day weekend and its inevitable coast-to-coast traffic jams, Microsoft is releasing Streets & Trips 2008 software. Among the new features in the deluxe edition are live traffic updates, information on nearby gas prices, and estimates of what filling up along the journey will cost for that Hummer, Prius, or whatever else you're driving. It also hooks up to Live Search maps that you can mark up, and which chart businesses including hotels, snack spots and camping areas.

Despite such helpful features, this product seems like an odd fit in the market when you can get … Read more

Blu-ray camp fires back at latest HD DVD announcements

Ah, the emails and voice mails were flying fast and furious yesterday after Paramount and DreamWorks made their little announcement about going HD DVD exclusive. At just after 4 p.m. in New York, Fox and MGM put out a press release saying they were unveiling "an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy, including 29 new release and 'must-have' catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year."

The release went on to say that Fox intends to put out "at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD 'firsts'" and highlighted the fact that "Blu-ray was out-performing HD DVD 2-to-1 at retail in 2007." Among the 29 new releases, my eye was drawn to Master & Commander, Ronin, Cast Away, Independence Day, A Bridge Too Far, 28 Days Later, The Day After Tomorrow, and the Die Hard trilogy.

After the email went out, the phone started ringing: All the CNET the home-theater editors were contacted, so the PR folks at GCI Group in LA were working overtime, trying to do a little damage control. The basic message was, they may have this, but we have a whole more of that. And, did you hear that the Paramount deal doesn't include any of Spielberg's movies and that the deal only ran for 18 months? Tit for tat. Tat for tit. The war was raging.

Then, thanks to a New York Times article, word got out this morning that indeed (as I suspected), someone was getting paid off. The article noted that, "Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified." Microsoft denied paying anything, but wouldn't rule it out as a tactic in the future. There was no word on who might be paying Universal for its exclusive HD DVD agreement, but you gotta think there's a pretty sweet deal in place there, too.

… Read more

Learning how software is built

Just came across this blog, which details how software is built in the open and closed-source worlds. It's pretty interesting, even though (or perhaps because?) it's sponsored by Microsoft.

I should have remembered it, as Scott and Sean (the two bloggers on it) contacted me some time ago to do an interview for the blog. It was end of quarter so I failed to keep my appointments....My bad, because it seems like a good series.

Here's a taste from an interview with John McCreesh of the OpenOffice project. I hope Scott's and Sean's comments here aren't intended to sway the written record in Microsoft's favor....… Read more