Break Free of Vista for a $50 Ransom. Catch Win7 Upgrade While You Can.
Business, Software June 26th, 2009
Fellow Windows Vista victims, there’s light at the end of the tunnel: we may soon set ourselves free and only have to pay a $50 ransom. I just did.
The $50 ransom is not a bad deal. Forget the myriad of Win7 SKU’s and whopping prices all the way to $319.99. I’m calling BS: the real standalone Win7 price is $50 or $100. Period.
Tags: microsoft, operating system, os, vista, vista final, vistasucks, win7, Windows, windows 7, windows upgrade, windows xp, winxp, xref
Promoting SaaS on eBay?
Humor, Personal Productivity, SaaS June 23rd, 2009
This listing on eBay is hilarious, almost makes me wonder if it’s a true listing or carefully planted advertising for Google Apps (and SaaS in general). But the seller appears to be real, has been on eBay for ten years… Here we go, get Microsoft Office w. Outlook for $75, because:
It’s brand new and never been opened. My boss bought it right before I moved the whole company over to Google Apps.
We never looked back, but here’s your opportunity to live it up, 90’s style, with this great, retro piece of Microsoft 2007 software.
Tags: auction, eBay, google apps, marketing, microsoft, ms office, Outlook, SaaS, xref
Zoho Office for Sharepoint: Use SaaS, Keep Data Behind the Firewall
Collaboration, Enterprise Software, SaaS June 23rd, 2009
One of the major roadblocks to SaaS providers’ entry to the enterprise is IT and Business concerns about corporate security, thinking of the firewall as the last line of defense.
Microsoft SharePoint has a very strong position in the Enterprise as the incumbents behind-the-firewall collaboration server, and for years smart Collaboration and Social Software vendors with better functionality, like Atlassian, Socialtext, Jive Software, Newsgator have been "playing well", adopting their services to SharePoint.
Now Zoho joins, announcing Zoho Office for Microsoft SharePoint, which combines the benefits of a collaborative SaaS Suite with the (perceived or real?) security if keeping data behind the firewall.
Tags: Collaboration, Exchange, firewall, Google, microsoft, ms office, Outlook, SaaS, security, sharepoint, zoho, zoho suite
Intuit Did Not Kill MS Money. Microsoft Did. Slowly, Over Long Years. Here’s the Full Story.
Software June 11th, 2009
An era comes to an end on June 30th, when Microsoft discontinues their PFM (Personal Financial Management) product, Money.
The story started outside Microsoft, with a startup named Intuit releasing their first DOS-based PFM software, Quicken. The concept was simple and powerful: balance your checkbook, keep track of your financial transactions electronically. It worked; in fact surveys showed that Quicken became the driver for many consumers to buy their first personal computers in the late 80’s. But it really became popular when Windows, especially the first “good” version, 3.0 arrived.
Intuit remained a one-product company until after their IPO in 1993, when they acquired Chipsoft and entered the tax-software market.
Tags: intuit, microsoft, Microsoft Money, mint, money management., MS Money, Online Banking, personal finance, PFM, quicken, SaaS, software as a service, Software plus Service, Wesabe, xref
Keep Your Paws Off My PC, Microsoft
Humor, Software June 8th, 2009
<rant>
I’ve had it. I’m tired of Microsoft programs taking over my computer without permission. This time it’s IE7 – yes, I know, IE8 is out, but I could not care less. In fact I have not launched IE7 for a long time. Sticking with Firefox, and if I was not so dependent on several Ffox add-ons, the browser I’d switch to would be Google’s Chrome, not Internet Explorer.
So what happened? Read on …
Tags: default browser, firefox, ie7, ie8, microsoft, windows update, xref
Intel & Microsoft Leans on the Netbook Market
Technology May 26th, 2009
The proliferation of affordable netbooks is good for everyone – consumers, that is. Computer manufacturers loath it (high volume, low margin business) and so does Microsoft: they can’t exactly sell $100+ worth of software on a $200 machine. So they come up with all sorts of evil plans. 
Tags: android, intel, linux, microsoft, monopoly, netbook, netbooks, operating system, os, price fixing, scam, web apps, Windows, windows 7, xref
Startups, Present @ Launch: Silicon Valley 2009. Few Days to Deadline.
Bay Area, Marketing / PR, Social Networking, Startups May 4th, 2009
Startup Entrepreneurs who did not make it to the recent Under the Radar event, here’s your second chance: join us at Launch: Silicon Valley 2009, co-presented by SVASE, Garage Technology Ventures and Microsoft.
In fact it will be more than a second chance: while the UtR event focused specifically on Cloud Computing, Launch 2009 is designed to uncover and showcase products and services from the most exciting of the newest startups in information technology, mobility, security, digital media next generation internet, life sciences and clean energy. The inaugural Launch event was in 2006, combined with Guy Kawasaki’s Art of the Start conference.
Are these events worth attending? It’s your call … all I can say is since 2006 presenting startups received a combined $80+ million in venture funding.
So if you are building the Next Great Business in the areas mentioned above, are (almost) ready for launch, meaning that by June 9th, 2009 you will have a product or service available, but have not been out in the marketplace for more than a few months, then by all means send an Executive Summary of no more than 2 pages to Launchsv@svase.org. Submission deadline: May 8th, 2009 – yes, just a few days left. (Garage Technology offers a useful Writing a Compelling Executive Summary guide.)
Last year over 300 companies from all around the country and even overseas applied, so clearly the presentation spots are in high demand. Based on the submissions up to 30 companies will be invited to present at the Launch: Silicon Valley 2009 event on June 9th at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, California. Presentations slots are 10 minutes, running in 6 sessions of 5 companies each. Each presenting team will also be assigned a cocktail table in the Networking Room where they can meet with interested audience members one-on-one to answer questions and explore possibilities.
The evening before, on June 8th the presenting companies, registered audience and selected bloggers and media will be invited to a Pre-Event Party at a prestigious location in Palo Alto, providing a further opportunity for networking with Silicon Valley’s movers and shakers.
So if you are a qualifying startup Founder, remember the deadline: May 8th. For additional details and later for updates check http://www.launchsiliconvalley.org/ and you may also want to follow the event (actually the President of SVASE) on Twitter.
Guy Kawasaki called Launch: Silicon Valley “the poor man’s Demo”. SVASE proudly wears that badge, since this is an event with a price tag that won’t keep any startups away. It’s your turn now: send in the Executive Summary and launch with SVASE in June.
(Cross-posted from CloudAve. To stay abreast of news, analysis and just plain opinion on Cloud Computing, SaaS, Business grab the CloudAve Feed here.)
Tags: business events, DealMakerMedia, Demo, entrepreneurship, Garage.com, guy kawasaki, launch silicon valley, microsoft, product showcase, silicon valley, Social Networking, startup pitch, Startups, SVASE, Under the Radar, UtR, vc, vc Funding, venture Capital, xref
My Miracle PC
Personal Productivity, Software February 19th, 2009
It does so much, while using zero resources:
Of course that’s not the typical picture, more often than not CPU usage is in the upper 80-90% range, while the Resource Monitor can only account for about 40%. Just another crappy program from Microsoft… but no worries: Windows 7: Cutting corners in the rush to market? How reassuring…
Tags: microsoft, resource monitor, vista, vistasucks, Windows, windows 7
Resistance is Futile: We Will Be Assimilated – by Google.
Business, Software, Technology February 11th, 2009
Two seemingly unrelated items:
Today Hitwise reported on how Google Maps is catching up on Mapquest, which once was the king of online mapping.
Perhaps more important than just the numbers is the source of traffic: 61% of Google Maps traffic comes from links placed in organic Google Search results. Contrast that to Mapquest, where 8 out of 10 hits come from searches on the Mapquest brand itself. Translation: Mapquest is only used by its already dwindling user base, while Google Maps gains steadily, since Google owns Search. The writing is clearly on the wall.
The second story: Google Gmail Within Striking Distance Of Hotmail – reported Information Week a few days ago. Wait, wasn’t Gmail supposed to be email for the geeks only, lagging behind the masses of Yahoo and Hotmail users?
Between September 2007 and September 2008, Gmail’s visitor total grew 39%, from 18.8 million to 26 million, ComScore figures indicate. Windows Live Hotmail during this period saw its visitor share decline 4%, from 46.2 million to 44.6 million.
If Google’s Gmail growth rate rises to, say, 46% over 2009, it could reach approximately 43 million unique U.S. visitors by the end of the year. And if Windows Live Hotmail continues to bleed visitors at a rate of, say, 3%, it will finish the year with around 42 million unique visitors per month.
So Gmail may overtake Hotmail by the end of this year, and if the trend continues, it might overtake Yahoo by the end of 2011, concludes Information Week. Note, these are site visits, not account numbers, but account numbers include all the throw-away, long forgotten dormant accounts that both Yahoo and Hotmail has in abundance. All these email systems being web-based, visitor stats are a better representation of actual usage.
The third story (yes, I promised two, but can’t stop now): The Google Power Meter., currently being tested by Google employees. These are smart devices you plug in all around the house, they will report back to the mothership and you get a nice dashboard aimed at helping you making the right energy choices.
I would certainly like to know just how “smart” they can be – any chance of bi-directional communication? I can’t help but remember the mail campaign from PG&E, my utility company. They are handing out $25 to anyone who allows them to install a smart thermostat free of charge. The catch? At times when consumption reaches peak levels, the utility company can remotely throttle back your air conditioner. So now you see why I’m hesitant about these Google electricity meters. Could they be switched from passive reporting to regulating one day?
The fourth story (gee, I really have to stop soon): An opinion piece on Bloomberg discusses how the health provisions slipped into the stimulus bill will effect every one of us in the US:
Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors. But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446).
Ouch. I’m all for electronic medical records, but I don’t want them to be turned into a Big Brother function. And I don’t want a computer program to decide on my medical treatment. But I’ve just complained about the Sorry State of Health 2.0: neither Google Health nor Microsoft HealthVault are up to the job yet. I want them to get there, and I trust they will (at least one of them). I don’t want them to run my health care, just help me and my providers manage it – but fear of potential misuse won’t stop my desire for progrees.
Do you see the trend here? Google is unstoppable. They want to manage all data, but our life is increasingly all about data and what we do with it. The former Borg in Redmond is now a toothless veteran, slowly dwindling away – Google is the New Borg. Resistance is futile. We’re being assimilated. And we like it. Enjoy the video: (better quality if you click through)
Related posts:
(This post originally appeared @ CloudAve. To stay abreast of Clod Computing, SaaS news and analysis, grab the CloudAve feed here.)
Tags: borg, electricity, email, energy, gmail, Google, google maps, gotmail, health 2.0, health care, hotmail, mapquest, microsoft, monopoly, yahoo
Google Health & Microsoft HealthVault: the Sorry State of Health 2.0
SaaS, Technology February 5th, 2009
Today’s joint IBM – Google announcement about enabling personal health monitoring devices to send data directly to Google Health gave me the grand opportunity for a (not-so) quick rant that’s been boiling in me for a while.
Ever since I started actively managing my parents’ health care I’ve been a heavy user of electronic health records and communication systems, and I am immensely frustrated. Frustrated at the paper-based world we’re facing in the 21st century, but also at the current attempts to change all that. Grand ideas, alliances, announcements, but they all feel like IT-talk, losing sight of the very people these systems supposed to serve: patients. That’s you and me and our relatives who have health issues.
Tags: Google, google health, health, health 2.0, health care, health records, healthvault, hipaa, microsoft, privacy, usability, windows live
Zoli Erdos
