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Windows Vista, come and get it

Here it is.  Or at least that's where it's supposed to be.  Traffic's heavy this morning, do you may have to wait for Windows Vista Beta 2, Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system.   Intended for tech pros and IT folks, the company says it's also "available to technology enthusiasts that want to install and test a copy of Windows Vista Beta 2." The new OS build is available in three languages: English, German, and Japanese. 

Make sure you run Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, a program that tells you whether your PC is man enough to run the software.  My two-year-old Vaio :(  Maybe I'm not either.

Meanwhile, new from the labs of Google, a terrific extension for the Firefox browser.  If, like me, you use both a laptop and a desktop, this little program will help you keep the same settings – bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords on each PC.  It slows the start-up of Firefox a bit, checking for changes you may have made on the other computer, but it's a dandy, simple add-in.  It works.

Mini-Microsoft posts again

Gone, but not forgotten.  Mini-Microsoft has a bunch of coverage links, plus PowerPoint slides and the transcript, of Steve Ballmer's presentation at the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Strategic Decisions Conference.

Not much comment from Mini, other than that he/she doesn't think Ballmer can keep his job if MSFT shares dip below $20.

Microsoft critic takes a timeout

The Microsoft employee whose "Mini-Microsoft" blog has ripped the company's execs, strategy, products, and personnel policies says his Sunday night post was "the end."

Listen to the podcast.

Microsoft details alternative to Google

CEO Steve Ballmer was preparing Thursday to announce the launch of Microsoft adCenter, the company’s online advertising platform which is now serving 100 percent of paid search traffic on Microsoft's online properties in the U.S. market. 

In a news release, the company said Ballmer will thank advertising and marketing executives attending the company's Strategic Account Summit for their help in developing the alternative to Google's paid search platform.  Testing of the re-named service's contextual advertising capabilities will start this summer.  Since last October, it's been known as MSN adCenter.

Microsoft adCenter, Ballmer will say will grow  "to address advertising opportunities beyond paid search."  He will also announce that  Microsoft has acquired DeepMetrix Corp., a provider of statistical and analytical tools for online marketers and publishers to help them evaluate and manage AdCenter campaigns.

Jennifer Slegg at SearchEngineWatch.com has an analysis.

Yahoo-soft?

Those chatty "people familiar with the situation" have told the Wall Street Journal there are some folks inside Microsoft who'd like it to take a stake in Yahoo. 

"Microsoft appears to be falling farther behind Yahoo and Google, said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Media & Telecommunications fund.  He told the Journal a  Microsoft bid for Yahoo is possible. 

Personality could be the deciding factor.  Jerry Yang and other insiders at Yahoo would be hard-pressed to sell to Microsoft, the Journal said.  But ex Ask.com-chief Steve Berkowitz, who takes over the chores running MSN early next month, is a veteran of 40 acquisitions over his career, and one more could be the key.  "Top management remains open to a deal with yahoo," the Journal concludes.

Henry Blodget (I know, I know - but he's still a smart guy) thinks Microsoft should spin off MSN as a way of improving focus in Redmond.  (Is there REALLY going to be another delay shipping Vista?

Microsoft needs something!  Google and Yahoo have the Internet mojo right now, while Microsoft has neither the buzz nor prospects for a stock option kicker.  That means the best and brightest are not eagerly trekking across the northern border of California to search for Web gold. And while stock options are no longer a favored currency at Microsoft, if you're already there, and been on the payroll five years, with any options at all, you lose.  "Underwater" doesn't begin to describe your situation.

Here's the Journal YHOO/MSFT story.  BTW, WSJ.com is having an open house.  It's all free :)

Google Calendar "looks a lot like Outlook"

The introduction of Google Calendar (in beta, of course) is a game changer, according to Charlene Li, senior analyst with Forrester Research.

Li said Calendar's ability to manage multiple schedules (work, family, friends, church, club) is a home run, she said.  Allowing synchronization with Microsoft Outlook's calendar module is also a positive because "I have to use Outlook at work, and one of the biggest pains of my life is re-entering work dates on my personal calendar." Listen to our podcast here.

Asked if Calendar's features are part of a continuing assault on Microsoft and its desktop strength, Li conceded, "It does look like Outlook in many ways."

Calendar's strongest suit is the Google's plan to allow developers to incorporate its features into other applications.  For instance, a beauty salon could use Calendar to schedule employees and appointments.  Pointing out how open access to Google Maps' features created hundreds of new ways of visualizing space through "mashups," Li expects Calendar to have a similar impact helping people manage time. 

Li's written comments are also on the Web.

MSN IM overtakes AOL

ComScore Networks reported Microsoft is beating America Online in instant messaging  usage.

The Web analysis firm said this is the first time its data reported MSN in first place; MSN Messenger has 61 percent of the world market.  Surprisingly, ComScore said "only" 69 million people in the US use IM, accounting for 37%of the Web's domestic population.  In Latin America, where IM usage is the highest, 64% use online messaging tools. 

Skype is showing strength, also.  While only 3% of the US online population uses the chat tool of the VOIP software, it is used by 14% of all instant messenger users worldwide.  More

Microsoft could have owned Podcasting

Lots of people think Adam Curry invented the idea of automatic audio downloads.

Not!

But he's sure proved to be a great marketer of the concept at IPodder.org. And that's what counts. THANKS!

In fact, several years ago, Microsoft introduced Sync & Go, a free audio and video download service, tailored for PocketPCs. MarketWatch has been a charter content supplier because I imagined that some day I would be able to sync a device for audio, take it and put it into a slot in the dashboard of my car, and listen to what I wanted to listen to on the way home. And when I heard MSFT shared that imagination and developed a product, I was there!

And the market yawned.

Did it flop because MSFT put the downloading program into a $19.95 "suite" of software that added things like talking alarm clocks to your PC?

Did it fail because MSFT never figured out who the market was for a diverse menu of content that included music videos, geek news, Comedy Channel cuts, and CEO interviews?

Sync & Go lives today, but no one seems to care. Now Microsoft's amping up the idea with its Portable Media Center. Best of luck.

The difference between Curry/Podcasting and MSFT/Sync&Go is people. Curry managed to tap into the blogosphere, the early adopters, the open sources, and involve them. Podcasting's a bottom-up technology; Microsoft offered it top-down. I guess MSFT never really had a chance.