[Desperate for that one last lock-in...]
Microsoft's DreamSpark – What a Giveaway
,----[ Quote ]
| The rest of the $44.6bn (£22.3bn) deal would be financed with an undisclosed
| amount of credit.
|
| What that means is that it must squeeze as much money as it can from its
| operations to fund that debt and still pay dividends to shareholders, who
| will be looking for some payback from the Yahoo takeover. Giving away
| software is the last thing it would want to do in these circumstances, and
| the DreamSpark announcement shows just how worried it is about the future.
`----
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/microsofts-dreamspark-%E2%80%93-what-giveaway
Microsoft's stingy DreamSpark program
,----[ Quote ]
| DreamSpark would have been cool...20 years ago. Today it's an admission, as
| Glyn Moody writes, in "the plainest possible terms that its business model
| has failed." Sorry. Maybe you'll catch up next century.
|
| These days, dear Mr. Gates, you must give away the core. No one is interested
| in mere complements anymore. Those are the tools necessary to drive revenue
| around the core being open sourced. Look around. Everyone (Google, Yahoo,
| MySQL, Red Hat, etc.) is doing it.
`----
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9874171-16.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheOpenRoad
All very true, of course. It's an Adobe/Google catchup, and it's bound to
become up as successful as the Zune.
Bill Gates spoke yesterday and it was sad. Microsoft can't raise the bid (which
lost value since Microsoft's stock crashed and the company's market cap sank
by $40 billion). Moreover, he said they would continue the Web initiatives
even if a Yahoo takeover fails. But all the Live team is jumping ship (even
the very top manager *quit* last week) and that division loses literally
$billions.
Meanwhile, Gates is dumping free PCs and free antiquated development tools,
targetting *children*. It says a lot. They gave up on today's generation. They
need new crack addicts.
Recent:
Microsoft's Last Big Beat: Internet Domination or Death
,----[ Quote ]
| What can $44.6B USD mean? Well, for Microsoft (MSFT) it may mean the cost of
| survival.
`----
http://seekingalpha.com/article/63876-microsoft-s-last-big-beat-internet-domination-or-death?source=yahoo
Microsoft says to borrow money for Yahoo deal
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp said on Monday it may borrow money for the first time in its
| history to fund a portion of its $44.6 billion unsolicited offer for Yahoo
| Inc.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN0455692920080205
Related:
Will Microsoft Survive the Next 10 Years?
,----[ Quote ]
| I am not really an expert in this but when I read all the negative
| headlines and articles I ask myself if Microsoft really will survive
| the next 10 years.
|
| [...]
|
| I am pretty sure that the Open Source Community, the new Ubuntu,
| Google and of course Apple are those companies that are ready for
| our century and they will get more and more people that know what
| they really want.
`----
http://websquirrel.blogspot.com/2007/03/will-microsoft-survive-next-10-years.html
P. Graham: Microsoft is Dead
,----[ Quote ]
| A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking
| to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo.
| I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of
| Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media
| company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face
| and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much
| girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who?
|
| Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite
| believe anyone would be frightened of them.
`----
http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html
Microsoft Shares the Love
,----[ Quote ]
| News Brief. I'm a huge fan of guerrilla marketing. Two excellent examples:
| Silverlight valentines and the Martin Luther King Jr. virtual tour.
|
| The first is a collaborative effort by Microsoft's Windows Live and
| Silverlight teams: Valentine's Day e-cards, created using Silverlight. PC
| users can send their love using photos from Flickr or Windows Live Spaces.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/microsoft_shares_the_love.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Microsoft Shares the Love, but Not with Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has put up an invitation to share the love, but not with Linux
| (just bear with me, it will make sense in the end). With Valentine's Day just
| a few weeks away, the teams over at Windows Live and Microsoft Silverlight
| have joined their forces to enable users to spread and share their love.
`----
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Shares-the-Love-But-Not-with-Linux-76929.shtml
Is Seven Renegade, Guerrilla Marketer or Fake?
,----[ Quote ]
| Some advice for Microsoft: If this site is unsanctioned but real, don't shut
| it down. The most recent post is reason enough. The anonymous blogger gives a
| short history of Windows architectural changes, and he or she provides the
| most information about Vista. Microsoft, you need some good Windows
| evangelism right now, and an anonymous and seemingly insider blogger is a
| great way to generate buzz. If Seven provides some juicy details, people will
| subscribe to his or her feed, and enthusiast sites will report or blog every
| little feature.
|
| Some kudos for Microsoft: If Seven is a sanctioned guerrilla marketer, he or
| she has been too long waiting to blog. Microsoft, you need to get some good
| leaks out there to generate buzz. Please, let's see more of this. Be
| aggressive, take marketing risks. A blog such as this is worth millions of
| dollars in advertising, if it delivers the goods (meaning details) and
| generates buzz.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/is_seven_renegade_guerrilla_marketer_or_fake.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Microsoft's Silverlight Promises to Disrupt Linux Web Users
,----[ Quote ]
| Just as it seemed that Linux users (especially 64-bit users) would
| finally be able to enjoy streaming content with a minimum of
| hassle, Microsoft's new Silverlight software promises to throw a
| wrench in the works. Because of sites like Google Video and
| Youtube, Flash video has become a common means of streaming
| multimedia over the Internet.
`----
http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1418.html
Microsoft's 'Everywhere' excludes Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| This browser add-on enables rendering of WPF content, but
| "Everywhere" doesn't include Linux.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/7794/53/
ECIS Accuses Microsoft of Plotting HTML Hijack
,----[ Quote ]
| An industry coalition that has represented competitors of Microsoft
| in European markets before the European Commission stepped up its
| public relations offensive this morning, this time accusing
| Microsoft of scheming to upset HTML's place in the fabric of
| the Internet with XAML, an XML-based layout lexicon for
| network applications.
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/ECIS_Accuses_Microsoft_of_Plotting_HTML_Hijack/1169824569
|
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