The Inquisitr » microsoft

Microsoft once more proves you can indeed buy stupidity

Steven Hodson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:51:01 +0000

I am not sure if you can put a price on stupidity or not; but I am pretty sure that if you could weasel out of Steve Ballmer how much this possible getting into bed with the newspaper giants is going to cost you’d have a pretty good idea.

When the news broke late yesterday it quickly became the topic of choice for just about all the tech pundits out there. Even Duncan here at The Inquisitr has his say about the idea but while I wouldn’t go to the extreme of suggesting a boycott of Microsoft or Bing I will say that if this is indeed true this has to be the dumbest idea on so many levels that my neck hurts from shaking my head so much.

To understand just how stupid this inane idea is we need to look at all the players involved in a debacle just waiting to happen.

Google

The short end of this is that no agreement between Microsoft with News Corp, or any number of news organizations that are stupid enough to go this route, is going to have any longterm detrimental effects on Google.

When it comes to Google it has built its fortune around the Long Tail of the Web, not against the fluctuation of an ever decreasing time frame, or value, of the “news” cycle. The search giant knows that it is extremely hard to sell advertising against information that loses its relevancy almost as soon as it is posted.

Its recent rumblings within the real-time web isn’t so much as living up to their ethos of indexing all the information on the Internet as much as it is about not letting Microsoft have all the marbles in the playground. Unlike any deals being cut with newspapers; so that they can continue to prop up an industry in severe trouble, making deals with real-time web services is more of where the web is heading and as such it makes sense to Google to be in that space.

As Kent Newsome, along with a bunch of other smart folks, points out people are forgetting the power of the verb and human being’s general apathy and inertia.

Here’s the thing: people are going to use Google, that’s why it’s a verb. If you take your content out of the Google search results, people won’t see it. Merchants go where the people are, not the other way around.

Google knows this and it also knows that what ever is published to the web will eventually make its way into its search index. Real-time or Long Tail it doesn’t matter to Google as long as they can successfully sell advertising against any and all search results.

News Corp and the other desperate Susans of the News Industry

The whole argument being put forward by Rupert Murdoch and the other news industry barons that Google; and the other minor players in the search business, are nothing but bloodsuckers destroying the news business sounds like a bunch of whiny boys threatening to take their bat and balls and go home.

As much as they carry on about the evilness of Google nobody is listening, or caring, any more. We’re all too busy reading the news on sites that are trying to understand and deal with the new way of doing business. Along with that we are reading blogs, reading our Facebook pages and following links to interesting stuff just as we are also doing on Twitter.

And this is one of the major points that the news industry seems to have failed to understand. People don’t go to Google to search for specific news organization’s latest headline. People use Google, or other search companies, to search for ALL of the news about the latest breaking event; or they go to the actual news site itself.

The idea that this is some sort of salvation that will see newspapers finally lift the veil of disaster that is hanging over them is nothing short of delusional. The delivery of news is changing and it is no longer the private fiefdom of an exclusive bunch of rich pricks who think that can buy and sell the world.

Rupert Murdoch acting as the cheerleader of this idea of search engines paying for access doesn’t give a shit about the effect long term of any deals created using this idea. He doesn’t care one iota about the journalists who still don’t know half the time on a day to day basis if they are going to have a job the next day just because Murdoch and his ilk only care about making sure their bottom line isn’t endangered.

This is all about Murdoch being able to keep maintaining control over his media empire while he is alive and he doesn’t care about the survivability of his competitors beyond his opportunity to buy them. Being able to force Internet companies like Google, and Microsoft’s Bing, to pay him the ransom he wants is only a feather in Rupert’s cap – nothing more.

Microsoft

First off I can totally understand why Microsoft would even consider going down this road. That said I think it could be one of the most stupidest things ever conceived of at the company under Steve Ballmer’s stewardship.

As Duncan noted in his post Microsoft has come a long way since its days of being the epitome of evil in just about everyone’s eyes. If this is actually something that Microsoft is seriously considering they could wipe out just about all the good work that has been down to revitalize the company in the public’s eyes.

This whole thing strikes me as nothing more that Microsoft having to pay protectionist money in order to not become totally inconsequential in the search market. The problem is that once Microsoft hands over that first payment they are screwed on so many levels as it is a payment that they can’t take back and will only become the first of a non-stop stream of cash flowing out to the robber barons of news.

One of the biggest dangers that this move by Microsoft could create, as Alex Wilhelm at The Next Web notes, a dangerous precedent that we could never go back from.

Doing so would set a precedent that content should charge search engines for the right to be spidered. What you are doing is just that, attempting to buy exclusive rights to News Corp online. This is the proverbial slippery slope.

Openness is one of the most important concepts on the internet. If you create content, it is searchable. Google brought this revolution, and made the internet not just live up to its potential, but made it useable. Pre-functioning search, the internet was just an idea with potential. Search unlocked the dragon, in the best way possible.

By beginning to close search, by hitting other engines with a dollar-war, you, Microsoft, are going to destroy the open internet. If News Corp wants to not play, fine. Let them leave. They will suffer more than they are supposing. But by paying to get an exclusive, you are tearing the fabric of the free exchange of content and ideas that the internet stands on.

For a company that has been making great stride to change the perception of it this idea of buying search results on such a scale the effects would be disastrous. As many have pointed out the calls for a boycott of Microsoft and Bing would start faster than the ink could dry on any deals.

Us: the netizens.

The newspaper industry isn’t suffering this crisis for no reason. We have found new, and in some cases better ways to get our news and most of the time it has nothing to do with newspapers or even news television. We have also discovered that discovering our news doesn’t have to cost us money.

This would change that if only for a short period of time. We are already seeing calls for the return of the paywall with the deluded belief that people – in general – will pay to read the news and that this is the only way for the news industry to survive.

It has nothing to do with the survivability of the news because that will always be there but it has everything to do with big corporations playing power games with us stuck in the middle.

What these companies; Microsoft, Google, and the news industry on a whole, have forgotten is that the game is changing and we are a whole lot mouthier than we use to be. As major contributors to all these companies, whether it be with money or content, we have a say in this as well and for the first time we have the tools to make them listen.

While this is a bad idea for the search industry and most importantly for Microsoft and does nothing more than extend the period of life-support for the news industry it also is bad for us as the lifeblood of the Internet.

Sitting lurking and watching the disaster unfold isn’t an option. We need to tell Microsoft in loud voices that this isn’t an acceptable idea. Hell even if it means using Bing before any deals are made if only to show Microsoft that they don’t need to do this to be successful we need to speak up and stop this idea dead in its tracks.

If we don’t we are the only one’s who will pay the price. Not Microsoft, not Google, and most definitely not the news industry.

Is It Time For A Bing/ Microsoft Boycott?

Duncan Riley — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:10:38 +0000

Following on from news last month that Microsoft was in talks with AP to give AP new stories a better run on Bing comes news today that Microsoft is in talks with News Corp to exclusively feature their content in Bing, as opposed to Google as well.

The concept of a News Corp/ Microsoft tie-up has been speculated on for months since News Corp came out and said that they plan to pull their content from Google and other search engines.

The talks between AP and Microsoft were sickening in themselves: instead of endeavoring to offer the best search results no matter what the origin of the content, Microsoft is willing to sell itself out for favor or monetary gain. Today’s news is simply an extension of that: who cares about the best search results, because Microsoft is willing to sell those to the highest bidder (or in this case, them paying News Corp for the rights.)

Despite the many positives from Microsoft in recent years, old habits have died hard in certain parts of the business. Prostituting the results in Bing and delivering results that aren’t the best results, but instead those that come from business partnerships is the worst of the old Microsoft coming once again to the fore.

On one hand, getting News Corp content out of Google, which is still there despite how easy it would be for News Corp to take it out, is a positive for everyone else. But likewise, Microsoft sets a precedent in a deal that recognizes that News Corp content in a search engine (be it in part) has to be paid for, as opposed to being rightfully fair use (to the point that News Corp can pull it all out tomorrow.)

Still, unless Microsoft pays for reading rights for their users, any deal with News Corp will only push readers to Google; after all Murdoch has said they’re going to charge for access to their content. What would most people prefer: independent but free content on Google, vs pay to view content pushed to the front of Bing.

Microsoft, a company that has tried awfully hard in the last five years to become a true community and fair player, may never give up its old ways. Whether we should boycott Microsoft/ Bing I’ll leave to others, but I know that if Microsoft signs deals like this, my occasional use of Bing will halt immediately, and I’d bet I’m not the only one who does that.

Microsoft could face legal action over mass Xbox 360 bannings

Chris Greenhough — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:55:22 +0000

Last week, Microsoft started rocking its banhammer in a big way, permanently banning 1 million Xbox Live users from the online gaming service for playing on a modded Xbox 360. But was Microsoft’s choice to ban 5% of the Xbox Live community a bit too conveniently timed?

Boutique law firm AbingtonIP thinks so, and argues that the timing of the bannings – which took place shortly before the launch of Modern Warfare 2 – was deliberate. By cutting users off just before the year’s biggest game arrived, AbingtonIP claims that Microsoft netted a ton of money from potential Xbox Live subscribers, before banning their modded consoles.

Of course, by the letter of the law, Microsoft would seem to be in the right – modding your console does violate the Xbox Live Terms of Service. Yet banning so many users when it did could land Microsoft in trouble for what Joystiq legal columnist Mark Methenitis calls a “deceptive business practice concern.”

AbingtonIP is currently investigating the case before it considers bringing a class action lawsuit to obtain a refund for the sums of money left on the banned Xbox Live subscriptions.

[Via Joystiq]

Automattic, Those Champions of Open Source Plug The Microsoft Cloud

Duncan Riley — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:06:51 +0000

Automattic, the company behind WordPress and self-proclaimed nazis when it comes to enforcing the strictest interpretation of open source on others, ~~have announced that they’re moving WordPress.com to~~ are plugging Microsoft’s Azure cloud hosting.

At the Microsoft (MSFT) Professional Developers Conference on Tuesday, Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg took to the stage alongside Microsoft’s Ray Ozzie to ~~announce the move~~ plug the service.

We can’t find a full transcript of what Mullenweg said on stage yet (update, see below), although other sites are suggesting that the tie-in with WordPress was used to highlight how Microsoft Azure will (or soon will) support PHP, MySQL and other open-source tools.

I don’t doubt that what Microsoft is doing with Azure is great, and that it is offering a highly appealing product. That they’ll support open source platforms is probably overdue, but likewise will make Azure that much more competitive.

That aside, how is it that one of the most over the top purists in the open source world is now in bed with a company that at its very core is all about proprietary software and has long been seen as a combatant against the open source movement?

Still, Automattic’s and Mullenweg’s hypocrisy when in comes to open source has long been documented: the company likes nothing more than attacking those who dare profit from WordPress code while they themselves act as if they believe that only Automattic alone should be able to profit from it. That they’d get into bed with Microsoft really shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise.

Update: the transcript for the appearance doesn’t say that Automattic is switching to Azure, only some how backing it.

A number of outlets, including at the time of writing AOL’s Daily Finance is reporting that WordPress.com is going to Azure.

The contention either way remains the same: Mullenweg is an open source nazi who stops at very little to cut off or make life difficult for those outside of Automattic who seek to profit from the WordPress code.

Don’t believe me on Automattic’s support? , ask ReadWriteWeb, who wrote “Mullenwegg appeared on stage to show that his company, Automattic, is fully supporting Azure. Automattic is the company behind Wordpress.”

Microsoft store employees do sad, sad dance

Kim LaCapria — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:24:34 +0000

Microsoft apparently didn’t learn anything from the internet-wide mocking they got with their Windows 7 Launch Party ad fiasco.

Engadget linked this video, which I’d almost advise you not watch because it’s embarrassing for everyone involved. Microsoft, the poor employees, the people in the store, the people at the mall, the real estate developers who leased the store to Microsoft, and you, the viewer. Below is a clip of the employees “breaking out” into an electric-slide like dance (seemingly inspired by the viral “JK Wedding Video”), and this description accompanied it:

The Blackeyed Peas compel the employees at the Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo, California to break out in dance, let their hair down and have some fun. This is an amazing store, the employees seem really excited and engaged, almost happy to be at work. My favorite parts are when people walking in the mall come inside the store, join in the dancing and have some fun. The amazing thing is that people are in the store for hours, they love interacting with the software and learning about new technology…

And I suppose the people who have to drop everything and sing “Happy Birthday” at Outback and Houlihan’s are just letting their hair down and having fun, too- anyone else skeptical it was the Black Eyed Peas that “compelled” these poor people?

The War of Giants – coming to a web near you

Steven Hodson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:02:01 +0000

This has to be one of the few times that I find myself agreeing with Tim O’Reilly but his post today over at O’Reilly Radar touched on something that I’ve been thinking about for some time now. He started out with how Facebook seems to be messing around with links people are posting to their feeds. The short of it is that Facebook was removing the links from the posted URLs.

It turns out that this might have been more of a bug than anything intentional from Facebook. Tim used this though as his jumping off point to explain why he thinks we could be headed into some really troubling times on the web.

I’ve outlined a few of the ways that big players like Facebook, Apple, and News Corp are potentially breaking the “small pieces loosely joined” model of the Internet. But perhaps most threatening of all are the natural monopolies created by Web 2.0 network effects.

One of the points I’ve made repeatedly about Web 2.0 is that it is the design of systems that get better the more people use them, and that over time, such systems have a natural tendency towards monopoly.

And so we’ve grown used to a world with one dominant search engine, one dominant online encyclopedia, one dominant online retailer, one dominant auction site, one dominant online classified site, and we’ve been readying ourselves for one dominant social network.

But what happens when a company with one of these natural monopolies uses it to gain dominance in other, adjacent areas?

Near the end of his post he comes right and suggests that we could very well be facing a war for the control of the web.

It could be that everyone will figure out how to play nicely with each other, and we’ll see a continuation of the interoperable web model we’ve enjoyed for the past two decades. But I’m betting that things are going to get ugly. We’re heading into a war for control of the web. And in the end, it’s more than that, it’s a war against the web as an interoperable platform. Instead, we’re facing the prospect of Facebook as the platform, Apple as the platform, Google as the platform, Amazon as the platform, where big companies slug it out until one is king of the hill.

Tim finished off his post with an interesting prediction that given his past opinions caught me off guard.

P.S. One prediction: Microsoft will emerge as a champion of the open web platform, supporting interoperable web services from many independent players, much as IBM emerged as the leading enterprise backer of Linux.

I find the idea that he believes that Microsoft will end up being our champion of the open web absolutely fascinating, and one that I have believed for sometime now. It is incredible that the company derided at one time for being the most evil thing that happened to computers is now looked upon a more open company than its two main competitors.

I might not like the idea that we could be headed into troubling times on the web but on this I have to agree with Tim as well as have a great big chuckle over the changing opinion about Microsoft – even by O’Reilly.

Time for Google, and Microsoft, to call Murdock’s bluff

Steven Hodson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:57:20 +0000

There’s been a lot of go-round this past week about Rupert Murdock yanking everyone’s chain about pulling their content from Google unless the search giant is willing to cough up some money for the privilege of indexing News Corp properties. In fact both Duncan and I have written about the whole stupid mess here at The Inquisitr.

The most consistent statement that everyone has been making about the threats is that if Murdock was serious all it takes is a single line in the Robot.txt file on any of the News Corp servers and the bullshit poker game is done. On the other side is a bunch of folks saying that this is nothing more than a bargaining ploy by Murdock to try and get all the search companies to cough up some cash for access.

Well I’ve got another suggestion but this one goes to both Google and Microsoft.

Call his bluff.

Seriously. Pull all of News Corp content from your indexes and don’t have your search crawlers pull in any new data. After all neither of you are obligated in any fashion to index Murdock’s content. There are no laws saying that you have to index News Corp media sites.

If Murdock seriously thinks that he has the upper hand in this, that Google will collapse without the content and that Microsoft will truly do anything, no matter how stupid, in order to get even a percentage point over Google by paying News Corp blackmail money then I think it’s time to show him otherwise.

All Murdock is getting right now is more and more press as we babble on endlessly about the momentous battle of the search titans against the news titans. It’s bullshit people. Seriously. It’s all a game and I think that if Microsoft and Google in conjunction shut down any spidering of News Corp media properties we’d see in a very short time just who has the better hand here.

And it isn’t Murdock.

Think not?

Then check out Jeff Jarvis’ post today. He has some nice looking graphs showing just how little the 148 German newspapers who signed the Hamburg Declaration really matter to Google.

Here’s a hint….

… dick all.

C’mon Google and Microsoft – call an end to this farce. Call Murdock’s bluff. We’ll love ya for it.

Chrome OS to launch within the week?

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:51:55 +0000

After several spurious sightings in the wild, rumors intensified this morning that the hotly anticipated Google Chrome OS might be released within the week.

Google said earlier in 2009 that the open source operating system would be available “later this year.” A mid-to-late November launch would make sense, but don’t get too excited yet. It’s expected that the code will be opened to developers, and that it’s not going to be something you can install on your netbook just yet. Essential functions and details like driver support will ostensibly be forthcoming, and the Chrome OS likely won’t be usable out of the box for average schmohawks right away.

As all the information surrounding the Chrome OS release this week is rumor/speculation at this point, the nature of the possible impending release is up in the air- plus scant details surrounding the Chrome OS and an abundance of fake information have made users even more curious, fueling chatter. According to PC World, there is a chance that the alleged version allegedly set for this week (supposedly) could be a stripped down version most users could test run and use for basic functions. Either way, we’ll update details of the possible launch as soon as they become available.

Banned Xbox sets headed to an auction site near you

Steven Hodson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:41:15 +0000

Yesterday Kim reported here about the big ban hammer that Microsoft had dropped on about 600, 000 users that either had modded systems or pirated games. It turns out that those bans are permanent leaving those banned users with Xboxes that are next to useless – especially when it comes to online play.

Well word late today via Matt Peckham at PC World is that there has been a dramatic rise in the number of Xboxes showing up on Craigslist and eBay. Prices for these next to useless consoles range from a buck to well over the retail price and often includes a full raft of games and other goodies to entice buyers.

There is also an apparent “want to buy” market for the banned systems but in most cases as with this one they are looking for more than just the box for their money.

“I’m looking to buy one of the newly banned X-Box 360’s,” adding that it needs “to come with some new games such as Modern Warfare 2 and what not.”

I can see the logic of doing that especially if you had no plans whatsoever of playing online. Hmm .. maybe this would be a good time to actually get a console.

Xbox 360 getting Facebook, Twitter, and Last.FM on November 17

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:43 +0000

The Xbox 360 dashboard update that will allow you access to Facebook, Twitter, and Last.FM through your console goes live on Tuesday, November 17. That’s according to Marc Whitten, Xbox Live general manager. Here he is, doing some talking:

“We look at things like Facebook and Twitter as amazing social experiences, but also entertainment. We didn’t want to copy and paste from the PC. It’s going to be great for current users, but it’s also great for new users who can see who is on Facebook and get their first 30 friends on Live.”

Using Facebook on Microsoft’s console will allow gamers to convert their Facebook friends to Xbox 360 friends, a rather nifty Xbox 360-exclusive addition.

Yet, as VG247’s Stephany Nunneley points out, gamers may just be distracted by a few other trinkets on November 17. Check out what must be the strongest day of releases in some time:

Assassin’s Creed II
Left 4 Dead 2
God of War Collection
Assassin’s Creed DS & PSP Bundle
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
Tony Hawk: RIDE
Lego Indiana Jones 2

Just a bit good, eh?

[Via VG247]

Microsoft unleashes banhammer on 1 million Xbox Live players

Kim LaCapria — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:29:37 +0000

Cries of frustration, anger and grief rose up from parents’ basements across the land as a million Xbox Live players found themselves cut off from the service in an anti-piracy blitz by Microsoft.

Microsoft describes the number of affected modded consoles as “small,” and commented on the move unapologetically:

“We have taken action against a small percentage of consoles have been modified to play pirated game discs,” Microsoft told GamesIndustry.biz today. “In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox Live community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox Live.”

While banninated users can’t participate in Xbox Live, affected consoles work offline, so the console isn’t totally bricked. That’s of little comfort to users who have fallen afoul of the ban, one of whom commented at length to the BBC:

I wasn’t expecting it. I was just like, ‘OK, what do I do now? Is this just a joke?’ So I thought, ‘Let me restart the Xbox’. I restarted, signed in again, same message. I did that three times, same message. I was pulling my hair out thinking, ‘No, why me?’

It’s like telling someone their dog’s just died. It was pretty much like that for me. I love it, I love playing Xbox live. I play with my mates all the time. It’s just a good laugh, we all sit there chatting, playing games. Now I don’t know what to do.

The move comes just as the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hit shelves- a release that was reportedly widely pirated before it was available for purchase. Although many users have praised the ousting of the rule-circumventing Xbox owners, alienating 5% of the 20 million players on Xbox Live just seems counterintuitive. I also imagine that the users who would spend money to mod their consoles (the user quoted by the BBC spent £100 to do so) might also be the players who are dedicated enough to pour revenue into the company in other ways. Well- perhaps they were the customers who poured revenue into the company in other ways, but that’s not very likely now.

It’s a see-through future according to Microsoft

Steven Hodson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:04:08 +0000

Back in July Microsoft made some waves in the tech blogosphere with its video that showed what they thought computing might be like come 2019. Well that old story looks like it might just have been the tip of the iceberg given what the folks a Microsoft Labs is playing around with these days.

Thanks to Long Zheng over at his istartedsomething.com blog he has some pretty interesting videos of speeches given recently by Craig Mundie at various big name colleges around the United States.

According to Mundie the future display for computers will be glass with multi-touch capabilities as well as voice and pen input.

Unfortunately I can’t find a way to embed the videos here so take a few minutes and watch them over Long’s site.

Early Windows 7 Sales Eclipes Vista By 234%

James Allen Johnson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:44 +0000

The NPD Group have released early numbers for Windows 7 sales and they show that the new operating system is performing over two times better than the companies last OS, Windows Vista. Those numbers according to the firm include deep pre-order discounting, a strong marketing campaign and overall better reviews of the product.

While sales are up 234% those deep discounts used to secure pre-orders also cut into the companies earnings potention, allowing for an 82% increase in profits compared to Vista, still a nice chunk of change, but hardly comparative to the over two fold increase in sales.

According to Electronista:

Pre-order discounts dropped the average selling price of a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade from its official $120 price down to $76. Windows 7 Professional’s average asking price dropped from $200 to $147, while only the Home Premium Family Pack was left virtually unchanged at $149.

Profit margins were also hurt by a distinct lack of new features found in Windows 7 Ultimate, a fact that made many power users gravitate towards cheaper version of the OS compared to those who purchased Vista Ultimate editions of the companies software which came with higher profit margins.

As more netbook manufacturers begin to switch over to the faster and lightweight OS and more PC sales contain the Windows 7 OS sales should continue to pick up with more manufacturers adapting the new operating system.

In any respect it’s a huge win for Microsoft, good job on finally getting it right guy.

$199 XBox 360 Arriving At WalMart For One Day Only With $100 Giftcard Purchase

James Allen Johnson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:59:16 +0000

Oh Walmart how we love your ridiculous electronics sales, especially when they blow away the competition with such ridiculous offers as the $199 Microsoft Xbox 360.

A new sale, starting on November 7th at 8AM has been announced and one of the offers includes an Xbox 360 gaming console with the purchase of a $100 WalMart gift card. That places the device at $100 less than the nearest competitor.

Along with that deal is a 46-inch Plasma HDTV with 1080p resolution and three HDMI ports for $788, an HP notebook with a 250GB hard drive and Intel Celeron processor for $298 and the Sharp 42-Inch LCD with 1080p that we showcased earlier. They’ll also be offering a Sony Blu-Ray disc player for $148 among other offers.

Apple ad bombing Windows 7 on Google

Steven Hodson — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:18:37 +0000

If there is one thing you can say for the Apple marketing department it is that they love nothing better than taking subtle swipes at Microsoft. While their television and web ads have been doing this for some time much to the glee and satisfaction of Apple fans around the world it seems that they are adding another area to their arsenal.

Alex Wilhelm over at The Next Web points out that Apple has begun taking out Google AdWords that are centered around Windows 7. The ads are showing up in searches for `download windows 7`and `windows 7 download`as you can see from the image below (thanks Alex)

Talk about a fine example, and funny, of guerrilla advertising.

Should Microsoft be thinking about making their own PCs?

Steven Hodson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:47:27 +0000

This is an idea that is sure to get all kinds of Apple fans rolling on the floor laughing their asses of while struggling to get words like copycat and loser out through their guffaws. Not too mention that the anti-Microsoft crew in general will be hauling out their smartass dictionary out to fill out posts about how this is a dumb idea and will never work.

The thing is it could work and it could be the best thing to happen to both Microsoft and the PC market. I first heard the idea broached on a recent Cranky Geeks show with John Dvorak where he brought up the idea along with some sound reasons as to why Microsoft should seriously consider the idea, as well as writing a post about it. At the same Mike Elgan at the IT Management blog had a post where he outlined sever reasons as t o why he liked the idea as well.

His seven points are

The Windows and Office ain’t what it use to be
Microsoft is a great hardware maker
Microsoft needs to manage the transition to multi-touch PCs
Microsoft needs to be a bully again
Microsoft needs to lead the market again
Making PCs will make Windows better
Selling PCs will help maintain Windows and Office profits

One of the things that has Apple regain its forward momentum the way it has is precisely for some of the same reasons the Mike Elgan gives above. This is nowhere more apparent that in the way that Mac OS X is a great operating system. It is exactly because Apple owns and controls the whole hardware software process that OS X in most peoples eyes a better operating system that Windows.

The other advantage that this gives Apple is that they can dictate what the hardware if going to be and then the software is written to play to the strength of that hardware. In Microsoft’s case it has always been a matter of having to be compatible with every kind of hardware produced by hardware manufacture.

This causes innumerable problems for the company as it is very rarely that when things go wrong that the hardware manufacture is blamed. When ever you see anyone going off on a rant about the problems they are having with their computer it is typical against Microsoft. If suddenly the video isn’t working, or some other piece of hardware is screwing up no-one points their finger at the video card manufacturer or hardware manufacture – it is primarily pointed at Microsoft.

A good example of this was with the launch of Vista. Both ATI and nVidia dragged their feet getting updated drivers out and this caused nothing but grief for users, and Microsoft because everyone looked to them to blame. Some manufacturers even said that they weren’t going to be delivering Vista drivers for the products.

In a lot of ways it would make sense for Microsoft to take a page out of the Apple play book and I have a feeling that if we did given the company’s excellent hardware product line they already have adding computers to it would be a big bonus for users. The interesting thing is that people are talking like this would be something totally new for Microsoft setting their current hardware line of keyboards, webcams, and mice. In fact since just before Vista was launched Microsoft has been looking at the computer hardware end of things.

As part of the lead into the Vista launch Microsoft made available a Vista Industrial Design Toolkit to over 70 PC manufacturers that contained much of their thoughts about the future of computer design and aesthetics. In addition they hired the Carbon Design Group to come up with some mock-ups of PC using the toolkit. I remember catching wind of this for the first time via Long Zheng’s blog and then drooling a bit over the actual mock-ups from Carbon.

>Here are a few shots of their desktop computer idea

As well they did a mock up for Windows Home Server 2008

The more that I thought about this especially in light of Elgan and Dvorak’s interesting posts on the idea I have to admit I’m warming to the concept. It definitely could throw a whole new light on PCs and Windows.

What do you think? Good idea or bad?

October 28 Xbox Live update is not as exciting as it seems

Chris Greenhough — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:15:14 +0000

If you fired up your internet-connected Xbox 360 today, you’ll have been asked to download a new system update. But for what, exactly?

Well, firstly, I advise you to calm down, because this does not contain the quite exciting Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune features. Microsoft blogger Major Nelson reports that those come as part of an Xbox Live update next month.

Sadly, this simply adds WPA2 support for the Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter.

In other words, unless you plan to pick up the new 802.11N wireless adapter that’s releasing November 3rd, this update is basically redundant. But I thought you’d like to know.

[Via Major Nelson]

Sky Player comes to Xbox 360 in UK [UPDATE]

Chris Greenhough — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:55:36 +0000

[UPDATE: We have prices, people!

£25 - Sky Sports 1 OR Sky Sports 2 + Sky Sports Xtra
£34 - Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 + Sky Sports Xtra
£24 - Sky Movies Screen 1 OR Screen 2
£32 - Sky Movies Screen 1 + Screen 2
£33 - One movie channel + one sports channel + Sky Sports Xtra
£38 - One movie channel + all sports channels, OR vice versa, + Sky Sports Xtra
£41 - All sports and movie channels
From £9 per month extra - ESPN]

Us British Xbox 360 owners have a popular bugbear we like to complain about: how come our U.S. counterparts get to enjoy Netflix on their consoles? Hm? HOW COME, Microsoft?

Well, now we’re even, sort of. Today in the UK, Sky was launched on Xbox Live and NOT THE U.S., meaning Gold members with at least 2Mb broadband and a Sky subscription can watch some free channels on Microsoft’s box, including Sky One, MTV and Sky Arts.

If you haven’t already subscribed to Rupert Murdoch’s no-doubt-evil satellite TV service, than you can do so for £15 per month. Naturally, both subscribers and non-subscribers can pay more money for additional channels. There are 24 in total, and while solid information on pricing is difficult to find, I do know that having all the sports channels added to your package will be an extra £19.

That’s … pretty pricey, yet I’m still terribly tempted by the idea of watching Sky Sports in my own room.

[Via ElectricPig]

Microsoft pulls out of Family Guy

Steven Hodson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:04:16 +0000

Last week Seth MacFarlane the creative genius behind the hit show Family Guy and Microsoft announced a rather interesting partnership. In effect Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show would be sponsored by Microsoft in exchanged for Windows 7 product placement in the show.

Of course this created a roar of sell-out and flack galore for both Seth and Microsoft but it wasn’t that bad PR that caused Microsoft to pull out of the deal. Instead it turns out that Microsoft didn’t want to be associated with jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.

That apparently was a bit too much for Microsoft.

“We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of ‘Family Guy,’ but after reviewing an early version of the variety show it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent.”

Source: MacFarlane special loses Microsoft

All the PR spin aside it is interesting to see that Microsoft is taking this stance. Of course because it is Microsoft you can be sure that they’ll get some bad press over pulling out their sponsorship deal with the show.

Windows 7 Student Upgrade Kit Fails To Install, Microsoft Offers Refunds

James Allen Johnson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:30:26 +0000

I’m sure Apple will have a heyday with this little bit of news, it appears the download friendly Windows 7 Student Upgrade has been failing on Windows Vista 32-bit systems. A problem established due to an ISO error included with the download.

According to Engadget the issue is occurring because the ISO file that is suppose to execute is actually being read as a .EXE file and several bundles. As users attempt to install the upgrade the system eventually outputa a bunch of nonsense about how the 64-bit upgrade is trying to install on a 32-bit system.

Microsoft is offering refunds to anyone who purchased the $29 upgrade. If you really don’t want to deal with a refund DownloadSquad is showing users how to create a CD out of the downloaded files, although ludites may want to avoid the process.