Category: Microsoft
Nokia! Apple! Mac! Microsoft! BOOBIES!
When Nokia wanted to convince the world that it would bring consumers “stellar hardware and innovative software and great services” in its partnership with Microsoft, it turned to Apple’s Mac-only iMovie to get word out, potentially violating the non-commercial use clause in Apple’s licensing agreement.
Sometimes, I think sites just post things like this for the traffic the keywords will generate.
I also think no one really gives a crap if Nokia used iMovie or not — including Apple.
Nokia’s Solution
Hotmail Meltdown
Some users of Microsoft Hotmail are starting off the new year scrambling to get back e-mails of old. A chorus of frantic users has posted complaints on Microsoft’s online forum that all of their messages have disappeared.
[…]
Others complain that the majority of the e-mail in their inboxes was sent to their deleted mail folders instead. It is unclear from the posts how widespread the problem is. The free Web-based e-mail service is the world’s most used with about 360 million users globally, according to comScore Inc.
Microsoft Launching Tablets at CES
Microsoft has struggled to gain traction with a slate-like device, yet each year the company announces new products, software or operating systems that try to promote a world of Windows-based slate computers.
Next month, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft will give it another try, presenting a slew of new slates that it hopes will offer some competition to the Apple iPad, which has quickly become the leader in this market.
On Fresh Thinking
My latest piece at Macgasm discusses Windows Phone 7. Go check it out.
Windows Phone 7 Achieving Android’s Dream?
Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug, on carrier-bundled apps on Windows Phone 7 devices:
While Microsoft won’t enforce a clean install on every Windows Phone, it does ensure that anything your carrier/OEM installs on top of the OS can be uninstalled. My Samsung Focus for example came with a bunch of AT&T apps. Not only can they be unpinned from the start menu, they can also be completely uninstalled. Carriers get the option to differentiate, but users get the option to say no, it’s a win-win situation. If you do a factory reset of your phone however, it will restore the phone to its original state - which will include reinstalling carrier/OEM installed apps.
Ars Reviews Windows Phone 7
The platform will not do well in checklist feature comparisons, but when it comes down to human interaction and using the thing, this software is a winner.
Microsoft doesn’t often get version one releases right, but this time, it has got the release very right indeed. Windows Phone 7 looks great, works well, and is a treat to use. Market success isn’t assured, but judged on its merits alone, this is a platform that absolutely deserves to succeed, and I really, really hope it does.
Microsoft Avoiding Fragmentation and Poor Software Intergration Via Control
The crucial part of Microsoft’s new phone strategy is the quality control it imposes onto its hardware partners. Rather than code an operating system and allow manufacturers to do whatever they want with it–like Google is doing with Android–Microsoft is requiring hardware partners to meet a rigid criteria in order to run Windows Phone 7.
Each device must feature three standard hardware buttons, for example, and before they can ship with Windows Phone 7, they have to pass a series of tests directed by Microsoft.
The Difference Between a Microsoft Announcement an an Apple Keynote...
This morning, Microsoft officially launched Windows Phone 7. Boy Genius Report live-blogged the entire thing, and as great as their coverage is, I can’t tell you what really happened. I know that HTC launched 5 handsets, LG launched a WP7 QWERTY phone, Samsung unveiled a new phone and AT&T’s U-Verse is bundled with some phones and with the Xbox 360. Additionally, copy and paste is coming “early 2011” and that PC-maker Dell is even in on the action.
On Core Competencies and Battle
While I usually don’t quote entire posts, this one from my buddy Kevin Lipe is worth it:
What I don’t get about this whole thing is this: Why the hell does Adobe feel like it has to “beat Apple”? Adobe makes application software and browser plugins. Apple makes computers, phones, and operating systems (and yeah, they have pro apps, but ask anybody who uses them: they sort of half-ass all of that these days).
Rumor: Microsoft, Adobe in Merger Talks
Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, recently showed up with a small entourage of deputies at Adobe’s corporate offices in San Francisco to hold a secret meeting with Adobe’s chief executive, Shantanu Narayen.
The meeting, which lasted over an hour, covered a number of topics, but one of the main thrusts of the discussion was Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could partner in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options.