Tag Archive for Microsoft

RB | January 24, 2012
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Tablet Info

The Tablet PC has long been a pet project for Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who showed the first Tablet PC prototype in 2000 at Comdex. Mr. Gates described the device, which featured input via stylus only, as an evolutionary step in PC functionality and usability. For the next ten years leading up to CEO Steve Ballmer‘s introduction of the new “slates”, which support Windows 7 touchscreen features, the company has tried to make the Tablet catch-on but with little success according to PCWorld.

Microsoft Office Coming To iPad Next Year – Report

Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft may be bringing Office to the iPad next year, according to a report in The Daily. The report cites unnamed sources, and says that Microsoft (MSFT) will also update its version of Office for the Mac next year.

On a business level, it might make sense the Apple (AAPL) iPad is making inroads into enterprise, and having some sort of Office client available for it would let Microsoft earn at least some money from these Apple invaders. It would also help make sure that Office 365 the company’s cloud-based business services would work on the iPad according to the BusinessInsider,

Microsoft might even do this at the risk of driving some enterprise customers to stick with iPads instead of adopting Windows 8 tablets. After all, Office and related back-end products has been driving Microsoft’s growth for the last year, while Windows sales have been pretty stagnant (I wrote about Office’s profitability here).

The BusinessInsider points out that Microsoft has NEVER released Office for the Mac in the same year (or before) Office for Windows. Microsoft is building Office 15 for Windows. It’s going to be a ton of work to revamp it to work with the Windows 8 tablet interface, or risk having it relegated to traditional PCs only (and having one less reason for customers to choose Windows 8 tablets). The Mac version of Office almost always comes a year after the Windows version. It COULD be different this time, but that would require a diversion of resources to a minority platform (the Mac still has less than 5% market share for personal computers).

Microsoft said through a spokesperson: “We already deliver Office on multiple platforms and devices and are committed to expanding in the future, but have nothing further to share today.”

BI says that expanding Office to the iPad is not crazy.

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Dell Streak Discontinued

DellThe Dell Streak 7 won’t even get to turn one year old. The BusinessInsider noted that Dell (DELL) is pulling the plug on its unremarkable tablet, as indicated on its site.

This is only shortly after discontinuing the Dell Streak 5 as well.

BI recalled Walt Mossberg‘s February 2011 AllThingsD review of the tablet, he sums it all up with one sentence: “I found the compromises Dell made to get to that low price make it impossible for me to recommend the Streak 7.”

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I wrote about hardware companies abandoning the tablet market in 2012 here. Does this move make Dell a market leader?

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Proof That The PC Is Dying

PC is dyingThe BusinessInsider noted this excellent chart from Horace Dediu @asymco as proof that the PC is dying a slow, painful death. Mr. Dediu’s chart shows PC sales, including Google (GOOG) Android and Apple (AAPL) iOS devices, from the dawn of time to today.

As you can see, PC sales have started to go flat. Based on recent numbers from last quarter, they may have already hit their peak.

Meanwhile, Macs are gaining steady momentum while Android and iOS devices are blowing up.

One thing BI thinks could break the trend are all those fancy new Ultrabooks displayed at CES. Those could give PC sales a major boost considering how cheap and efficient they are.

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Apple Sues Chinese Outfit for Heresy

Steve Jobs Apple (AAPL) is suing a Chinese company for making graven idols of its founder Steve Jobs reports TechEye. Chinese company In Icons created an “eerily realistic” 12-inch action figure of Steve Jobs. TechEye says the model comes with the clothes and accessories such as the black faux turtleneck, blue jeans and sneakers. It was being sold in a box that looks like Walter Isaacson‘s “Steve Jobs” biography cover, and comes with a chair, a “One More Thing…” backdrop, as well as two red apples, including one with a bite in it.

Apple sees this an affront and has told In Icons that using Apple’s logo or products, or Jobs’ name or appearance, is a “criminal offence.” The article points out that the Pope and Elvis have similar deals on their merchandise.

But it is clear that its threat is going nowhere In Icons is not giving up.

Tandy Cheung, the entrepreneur behind In Icons told TechEye said that he was an Apple fanboy and a lot of people like him who want to have Jobs’ action figure. Cheung spoke with several lawyers from Hong Kong who told him that he wasn’t in violation unless he decided to brand any of his designs with Apple products or logos. He told IB Times that Steve Jobs was not an actor, he’s just a celebrity. There is no copyright protection for a normal person. Steve Jobs is not a product.

BuzzFeed updates that the promo pics from toy company In Icons might suggest that the late Apple co-founder comes with cool accessories, but alas. For $99 all you get is the black turtleneck-clad 12” action figure, no assembly required. Due for U.S. release in late February.

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Category: Hardware, Tablet computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
RB | January 19, 2012
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Don’t Fear the iPad

Network security Dark Reading reports that as workers bring their consumer devices to the workplace and expect to use them, many IT teams have raised concerns over the impact of mobile devices on a business’ security.

Tablet computersThe first reaction to the trend of consumerization of IT has typically been to ban smartphones and tablets. Slowly, companies are opening up Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) programs and attempting to better manage the devices. Yet Josh Corman, director of security intelligence for Akamai (AKAM) told DarkReading firms should speed things up at least in the case of iPads.

He says firms that switch employees from general-purpose computers to more limited devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad, could reap significant security benefits. “When new IT comes out, it is not ipso facto secure, consumer devices typically lag,” Mr. Corman told DarkReading. “But in this particular case, the adoption is of something that is inherently more defensible and inherently less complex.”

Apple ComputersMr. Corman looks at the more tightly controlled software ecosystem for iPads and sees fewer avenues for attackers to compromise corporate networks. The devices are simpler than general-purpose computer workstations, and that’s a benefit for security, he told DarkReading. “We know that complexity is the enemy of security, but we accept very high levels of complexity in our compute environments,” Mr. Corman says.

The article reports that the reasoning parallels that used by Microsoft (MSFT) when the company embarked on its mission to harden its Windows operating system. A measure of its progress was the reduction of the operating system’s attack surface area, a measure of the ease of which attackers could get access to and exploit critical functions. By reducing the ability for attackers to inject code into the system, Microsoft reduced the attack surface area and increased security. Similarly, simpler software systems, such as the iPad, used as part of a comprehensive attempt to reduce complexity in a company’s computational environment could have a similar effect.

Android logoAs long as the tablets can satisfy worker requirements, then a company could garner security benefits, agrees Frank Andrus, CTO for Bradford Networks, a network security provider. Not all tablets are created equal the more open Android platform might not offer as many security benefits as Apple’s more controlled product, “They can more easily be taken advantage of by an attacker,” he told DarkReading.

The mobile devices, however, pose a greater hazard to sensitive company data, he says. Because employees carry smartphones and tablets to places they would not bring a laptop, companies do run a greater risk of exposing data on lost and stolen devices, he says.

Weak linkIn addition, unless a company completely converts its employees to tablets for work, they will just be adding another attack surface to its IT systems, not subtracting a more complex system, Tim Matthews, a director of data-loss prevention products for Symantec told DarkReading. “The problem is that you don’t necessarily reduce the attack surface because you are not replacing your laptop yet,” he says.

To protect against the loss or theft of devices, and the resulting data leakage, companies should employee mobile device management (MDM), Mr. Matthews says. MDM software can also limit the applications installed on an employee-owned device and enforce role-based security on devices that attempt to connect to a corporate network.

In the end, allowing employees to use locked-down tablets, such as the iPad, can increase security, but only if the company pays attention to how employees are using the devices, he says.

Steve Ballmer

Where's my tablet?

“These guys are working on the plane or working at home, adding to a company’s productivity, but they are doing so in an unprotected way,” Matthews says. “And that’s a problem.”

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Mobile devices bring a different set of threats, but more employees on hard-to-hack tablets means better security.

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Category: Security | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
RB | January 5, 2012
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CSCO CEO Tries Bribing Shareholders To Get A Tax Break

Embattled Cisco (CSCO) CEO John Chambers recently urged the networking giants shareholders to lobby congress for a big corporate tax break. He tried to bribe promised to increase their dividend if the tax break comes through reported the BusinessInsider.

Cisco SystemsBI explains the CEO was talking specifically about repatriation, the term for when multinational corporations bring cash from overseas back into the U.S. Today they are charged the full corporate tax rate, 35%.

Mr. Chambers has been the poster child for multinationals like Cisco wanting to be granted another so-called “repatriation tax holiday” that would allow them to bring back more than a trillion dollars at a much lower tax rate. He even appeared on a 60 Minutes arguing for the plan. (I have written about Cisco’s efforts to dodge taxes here and here)

Money bagsMr. Chambers made the case that a repatriation tax holiday would be of personal benefit to Cisco shareholders. “Repatriation at a rate of between zero and 2 percent puts us on a level playing field,” he said. If Cisco could bring its overseas funds back it would spend them on beefing up manufacturing sites, jobs and “if approved” the company would “increase dividends,” he said.

“The current tax system was developed when Microsoft (MSFT) wasn’t even public,” the Cisco CEO said. He urged the assembled to “Take time to send a note to members of congress and others,” he urged.

In 2004 Cisco and other multinationals were granted a tax holiday. Opponents of a tax holiday for repatriation aren’t convinced that Cisco needs the tax break now. Some say that multinationals have accumulated offshore cash through gimmicks. They also point out that corporations can borrow against their overseas stash at really low rates and will use this as an ongoing method to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

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Category: Business | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
RB | December 15, 2011
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Tablet Info

In case there was any doubt that mobile devices are the real deal, here are some stats from Digby. Globally, 80% of consumers have used computers to access the Web within the previous seven days. Sixty percent used their mobile devices to do so. 25% of US mobile web users only access the web from their mobile phones.

Angry Birds know where you live

Angry Birds75% of the public may be giving away their physical location when downloading smartphone applications, according to mobile security vendor AdaptiveMobile. 69% of smartphone users say such privacy breaches are unacceptable, yet Help Net Security reports that 75% fail to read the terms and conditions, which include access to data such as their physical location.

“Consumers are outraged that their data may not be secure but are unwilling to protect themselves,” AdaptiveMobile VP of Handset Security, Ciaran Bradley says in the article. “We are downloading more apps than ever before, but people are unaware that their location and other information can be harvested by applications.”

AdaptiveMobile research has shown that common applications including Angry Birds, Jaws and Paper Toss have access to information including location co-ordinates and owner’s name, which can be shared with up to 17 different external domains including advertisers.

“Consumers and the wider mobile industry need to become savvier about the information which is shared by apps,” Mike Hawkes, Chairman of The Mobile Data Association told Help Net Security. “It is becoming commonplace that personal information is shared with advertisers and developers.”

Mr. Bradley told Help Net Security that iPhone users are the most careless, with 65% completely unaware that free applications may compromise their privacy. Windows Phone users are more responsible, with 29% promising to stop downloading free applications if they had any doubt that their personal information was not safe. Windows Phone users are generally cautious, 95% of them are ‘quite’ or ‘very’ concerned about privacy infringements.

“If we are to slow the rise in cybercrime, consumers need to become more aware of the need for phone security” concluded Mr. Bradley. “Not only will this frustrate hackers and other cyber criminals, but also ensure that consumers can have a safe mobile experience.”

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I wrote about mobile apps stealing PII here and here.

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Cisco’s Tablets Are Doing So Well, They’re Planning At Least Two More Models For Next Year

CiscoThe Cisco Cius tablet for enterprises, sounded like a hard sell when Cisco introduced it. But the company is apparently proving experts wrong, including me (I wrote about the Cius here and here) because Cisco‘s (CSCO) tablets are doing well enough that the company plans to release two new form factors next year, including a 10-inch version according to the BusinessInsider

Product manager Chuck Fontana told the BusinessInsider that 1,000 companies have already bought the tablet, He wouldn’t share device unit sales, but some deployments are in the hundreds, and one company plans to buy 1,500 for its sales force. The tablets are sold as part of a broader communications package, and include Cisco’s teleconferencing and collaboration services.

But underneath they’re straight Google (GOOG) Android tablets, and can run any Android app. To prevent employees from downloading malware-infested or low-quality apps, Cisco has rolled out a custom app store called AppHQ, where every app is vetted.

The BusinessInsider says the Cius is an interesting demonstration of how the relative openness of Android versus iOS is helping it gain traction in surprising places. Cisco didn’t go to quite the lengths that Amazon (AMZN) did with the Kindle Fire, where it basically forked Android and created a custom OS. But Android is open enough that Cisco could build its own app store and ship it with its own apps front and center.

That couldn’t have worked with the iPad, where Apple (AAPL) controls the experience.

So would Cisco consider offering a Windows tablet instead once Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8 comes out?  “No,” said Fontana, “we’re not looking to do anything from a Windows perspective. Our core approach remains on Android.”

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People Are Losing Interest In The Microsoft Tablet, And It’s Not Even Out Yet

Microsoft Apple‘s (AAPL) iPad has already taken about 11% of the PC market, and by the time Microsoft (MSFT) and its partners get around to releasing a real competitor next year, it may be too late according to a new study from Forrester Research (FORR) in the BusinessInsider.

Near the beginning of 2011 according to the article Forrester surveyed 3,835 consumers who were considering buying a tablet. When asked which operating system they’d like on it, 48% said Windows, well ahead of iOS (16%) and Google’s (GOOG) Android (9%). The second most popular choice was “undecided” with 16%.

In September, Forrester asked the same question of a different group of 2,229 consumers. This time, iOS came in number one with 28% of the vote. Windows had only 25%, and Android was at 18%. A whole 24% were still undecided.

Overall, interest in Windows tablets dropped 21 percentage points in six months.

The BusinessInsider says the study is probably a bit skewed, but says the data shows a real perception shift: consumers are thinking of tablets more like smartphones, and less like PCs. That perception could carry through to the next time they’re thinking of buying a new computing device.

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Category: Tablet computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
RB | December 13, 2011
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U.S. Firms Set Record Hiring H-1Bs

RecessionCorporate America’s assault on the middle class continues. Despite the jobless epidemic, U.S. companies are tripping over themselves to fill high paying job openings with workers from overseas. The BusinessInsider reports that tech titans led by Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM), have already maxed out their allotment of 65,000 H-1B visas.

GreedThe article says that U.S. companies have set a three-year record in how quickly they reached the cap for H-1B workers.The applications process for 2012 opened on April 1 and on November 23, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services department announced that the cap had been reached.

But there are more than 65,000 jobs at stake. The USCIS also received “more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for persons exempt from the cap under the ‘advanced degree’ exemption,” it said. In addition, petitions for workers who already have their visas are not counted toward the cap.

DepressionThe H-1B visa is a temporary work visa for those classified as “skilled workers” such as IT staff, engineers, doctors and scientists, and the pay is good. For instance, the average salary for a worker that lands a job at Google (GOOG) is $103,129, at Oracle (ORCL) it is $104,080 and at Microsoft it is $96,497, according to MyVisaJobs.com, a firm that helps prospective employees apply for such positions.

According to the BusinessInsider the visa program was established to let employers hire the best and brightest from a global workforce. But some U.S. workers have complained that the program allows companies to ignore U.S. workers and import employees willing to work for lower wages.

Food Line in DetoritThe blog says critics of the program have also complained that H-1B workers have diminished rights and protections, too. They have charged that such workers cannot leave their employers, for instance. Workers must petition the USCIS to extend their visa, change employers, accept a second back-to-back H-1B job and so on.

As with earlier years, Microsoft imports the most overseas talent, followed by IBM and Indian outsourcer Infosys (INFY). The top 25 users of H-1B Visas come largely from the high tech sector.

Top H-1B Visa sponsors according to MyVisaJobs.com

  1. Microsoft 2505 H-1B Visas
  2. IBM 1263 H-1B Visas
  3. Infosys Technologies 1058 H-1B Visas
  4. Deloitte Consulting 887 H-1B Visas
  5. Fujitsu Laboratories of America 747 H-1B Visas
  6. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 645 H-1B Visas
  7. Patni Americas 540 H-1B Visas
  8. CVS Pharmacy (CVS) 499 H-1B Visas
  9. Qualcomm (QCOM) 472 H-1B Visas
  10. Larsen Toubro Infotech 418 H-1B Visas
Category: Out-sourcing, Recession | Tags: , , , , , , ,
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