This article about reluctance among users to give up Outlook as their mail client of choice underscores an issue that everyone in product design/development faces. People hate change, especially at work. When it comes to computers, most people have a very low tolerance threshold for failure, even if the service or web app is free.… Read More
Tag: microsoft
Everything is a Journey
The year I started with Oracle (1996) was the year the Network Computer (NC) was announced. The NC was about a decade ahead of its time due to a number of factors, and it’s funny to me that netbooks are the latest rage. The promise of netbooks is essentially the promise of the NC, i.e.… Read More
Why It Just Works
So John suggested I delve into why “it just works“. He suggests that Apple’s tight control of their products, from design to software and hardware development and third party components allows them to do what “open” systems cannot. I agree. Beyond control, this approach both limits the possible combinations software needs to support and allows… Read More
No, We’re AppsLab, You Have the Wrong Number
Yesterday, Google announced Labs for Google Apps: Google is making it easier for business customers and schools using Google Apps to also take advantage of our innovations and ideas that aren’t quite ready for prime time. We encourage your organization to experiment with the Google Labs features listed below to improve how you communicate and… Read More
Macs in the Enterprise
I noticed that the Cult of Mac converted another member this weekend. Floyd bought an iMac. He’d been pondering the jump for a while, and now, his love for Mac has leeched over into his work. Full disclosure here, I’m a convert too. So is Dan. So are Paul, Rich and I assume Anthony, too.… Read More
Is Simple the New Black?
Thanks to Matt for covering Geode. I have to agree with his assessment of location as awesomesauce when mixed with Intertubes. Continuing my mission to slog through all the unread feeds I have left over from the week of OpenWorld, I noticed an item from Mashable about the simple and elegant Umbrella Today? The concept… Read More
Thoughts on Chrome
So, I decided to read the Chrome comic book, which was sent out to a select few influencers prior to the launch last week. I wanted to see what all the fuss is about, and a couple things intrigued me. First, since Chrome is Windows only, it must be pretty good to stay relevant in… Read More
Back to Work
So, I’ve returned from my staycation officially, and thanks to scheduled posts, it was almost like I never left. Everyone wins. I’ve made it through several hundred emails; incidentally, would you take a job that had in its description of responsibilities: To send and receive thousands of emails each month. Just wondering, since we all… Read More
OS X, Ubuntu and Other Fun Stuff… My Perspective
Instead of adding a comment to Jake’s post on his Ubuntu experience to-date, I thought I’d just blog my perspective. Here’s my backstory with Apple, MSFT, Linux, and others: Mid to late 80s: Timex Sinclair 1000… loved writing programs on cassette tapes! How many of you Web 2.0 kiddies can say that? Early to mid… Read More
OS X, Ubuntu and Other Fun Stuff
Comments have been awfully quiet lately. I’m guilty of talking too much about work-related stuff and not enough about iPhones and Twitter. My bad. Let’s remedy that. Rich asked me recently how my move to Ubuntu was going. It’s been almost a month, and he says he has a vested interest in keeping me happy… Read More
Taking the Plunge: Part 4
In case you haven’t had enough of my epic dumping of Windows for Ubuntu odyssey, here’s another installment. This is likely to be the last one, but no promises. This is my fist blog post from Ubuntu, not a huge deal, but still. I’m probably 75-80% of the way done, with a few holes yet… Read More
Taking the Plunge: Part 3
I decided earlier in the week that the long Fourth of July would be a great time to reimage my work laptop from XP to Ubuntu. A couple reasons for this: 1) I’m supposed to be off today, so I can muck around with my laptop without worrying about work stuff and 2) it’s a… Read More
Taking the Plunge: Part 2
Over the weekend, I finally made the decision to reimage my laptop, which currently runs XP, to Ubuntu 8.04, fondly known as Hardy Heron. Well, I dragged my feet, and the weekend ended; XP must not have got the memo because it’s being more temperamental than normal. It’s complaining about disk space on C; it’s… Read More
Taking the Plunge
It’s ironic to me that D-Day for good old Windows XP is coming up on Monday, since for several months, I’ve been trying to motivate myself to dump it in favor of Ubuntu as the O/S on my work laptop. Tracking Dan’s recent jump into the Mac pond chronicled over Twitter and in his blog… Read More
Yahoo-Microsoft Endgame?
I blogged about the Yahoo-Microsoft soap opera when it first began. I expected it to end pretty quickly, with Yahoo realizing they couldn’t go it alone anymore. Since then, rumors have swirled and now the plot is as thick as mud. News Corp has gone from savior to Microsoft conspirator, and Google is still lurking,… Read More
Thoughts on Microsoft-Yahoo
I’ve been thinking about the proposed Yahoo-Microsoft merger since the news broke on Friday. As a closeted economist and enterprise apologist, the offer’s value really jumped off the page. Microsoft is offering $44.5 billion in cash and stock for a business that generated just under $7 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2007. Microsoft’s Office… Read More
You’re So Money.
I’ve been shaking my head since reading yesterday that Microsoft is in talks with Facebook to take a stake in the “social utility” darling, not because it doesn’t make sense for both parties (albeit in much different measures), but because the valuation is ludicrous. Microsoft is reported to be seeking a 5% stake in Facebook,… Read More
Google Apps Suite Plows Ahead
Business Week has an article today about Google Apps. The suite looks more complete every day. Witness the Postini acquisition, the anticipated release of presentations (a combination of Zenter, Tonic Systems and probably some homegrown mojo too) this summer, the integration of JotSpot features and now, enterprise YouTube. This one jumped off the page for… Read More