Give me five!
Vista, Office and Exchange 2007 to help struggling Brits
Register - Nov 30, 2006
In other words, Microsoft is using a new interface to expose many existing functions in Office that users didn't know existed or found too hard to use. Office replaces many menus with a "ribbon" and icons. Among the genuine improvements, integration between Office and Microsoft's CRM means that users can view business data at the same time as their Outlook diary and to-do-lists. Also, there's improved search in Windows Vista and SharePoint, and online collaboration through Groove Workspaces for employees and partners, which offers threaded discussions, issue tracking, and document libraries shared with SharePoint. Microsoft stressed security by working virtually, and of using BitLocker in Windows Vista to encrypt a PC hard drive in case the machine is lost or stolen, plus the ability to specify who can access documents to prevent leaks and stolen IP. ® Track this type of story as a.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/30/microsoft_cure_for_uk_productivity_gap/
National Business Review (NBR) - Business, News, Arts, Media, Share...
National Business Review - Dec 4, 2006
And it’s only because I’m an old fogey who has written about Great Plains, Navision and Axapta in the past that I care much. The IT industry in general is little interested in history – it’s what works and can be sold now that counts. Welcome, then, to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It was introduced a couple of years ago but a it’s portion of the Microsoft Dynamics line that comes unencumbered with history. Microsoft developed it itself, in such a way that it will work with the existing Dynamics suite. Dynamics needed customer relationship management, so here it is. Dynamics CRM may not have history (yet) but it does have background.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=16875&cid=3&cname=Technology
Vista's Many Turnoffs
BusinessWeek - Dec 1, 2006
He says that the involvement of dozens of people, operating in too many teams, led to what he calls "the lowest common denominator. "Microsoft executives were not available to comment for this story. However, its supporters point out that each menu option—switch user, log off, lock, restart, sleep, hibernate, and shut down—does do something slightly different. "Restart," for example, shuts off and then immediately reboots the computer. "Sleep," on the other hand, puts the computer in a lower power state, saving battery juice while enabling the user to quickly resume activity. That's different from "hibernate," which saves work before, essentially, shutting down.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2006/tc20061201_625122.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives
Taipei Times - archives
Taipei Times - Dec 3, 2006
If your hard disk crashes, your laptop gets stolen or any other disaster strikes, your valuable online work is stored safely on some big server probably on the other side of the Atlantic. That, admittedly, raises other security questions, but I've more faith in Google not losing my data than I do my own infrequently backed-up hard drive. Microsoft can be more of a hindrance than a help for bloggers. Cutting and pasting from Word is seldom straightforward, as there are often hidden formatting commands which interfere with the appearance of blog text. All the online packages I've looked at make inserting text and even graphics into a blog far more straightforward. Browser-based software should also make collaboration inherently simpler. Files such as word processor documents or spreadsheets are treated essentially as password protected Web pages... It includes Zoho Writer, Sheet and Show, the last being a lightweight PowerPoint-style presentation program. It also has a collaboration program called Zoho Virtual Office. On top of these there are Web-based business tools, including Zoho CRM and a well-featured online organizer called Planner. The spreadsheet seems more polished than Google's effort. It's certainly easier to produce charts, although that's not something I often do. There are occasions, however, when Sheet doesn't quite behave as expected, highlighting the wrong cells and so on. The software is still shown as being in beta test, but even when these problems are ironed out, it's not going to be a challenger for Excel's crown.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/12/03/2003338939
Oracle: On-demand world the future
InfoWorld - Nov 30, 2006
We see partners take that platform for applications across the entire enterprise. We have on-demand versions for all of our applications including the ones we acquired. We've a revamped release of PeopleSoft Enterprise On Demand and we have Oracle On Demand for Siebel CRM as well as Siebel CRM On Demand. We have all our retail 'on-demanded' -- Retek and ProfitLogic -- and our G-Log logistics. We're working on a Portal solution. IDGNS: Who does the bulk of the hosting of your on-demand software -- Oracle or your partners -- in percentage terms?Rottler: In most cases where partners are hosting, it's because the customer already has someone to outsource their software. Depending on the geography, it's in the 20 to 30 percent range... IDGNS: Who do you see as your primary competition both now and in future?Rottler: Ultimately, it will be the same people we compete against today. SAP has been a bit unfocused and haphazard and it'll take them some years to come up to scratch. We're waiting to see if Microsoft [Corp. ] can successfully enter the market. The rest of the competition are niche players. The challenge for them is can they broaden their products and be relevant in a broader context? We're a huge company that can provide an individual on-demand service or a multitenant solution securely; others don't have those options. Some players won't be around in future.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/11/30/HNoracleontap_1.html&source=searchresult
Quest Software Unveils New Version of Quest's Vintela Authenticati...
TMCnet - Dec 4, 2006
Wilson said since most of these enterprises are also heterogeneous, the ability to extend the powerful capabilities of Microsoft technologies to non-Microsoft platforms is key to their success. Microsoft has purposely chosen to base its solutions, such as Active Directory, SMS and MOM, on established industry standards, which creates an ideal platform upon which to build a unified management infrastructure for the heterogeneous enterprise. “Quest provides the enabling technologies that allow organizations to get the most from their investment in Microsoft infrastructure by extending the reach of those capabilities across platforms. We’re very pleased to be among the founding members of the Interop Alliance,” concluded Wilson. 1 of Quest’s Vintela Authentication Services was introduced in October, and is now generally available.
http://news.tmcnet.com/news/2006/12/04/2135090.htm
NewsFactor Network | Samsung Intros New Windows Mobile Smartphone
NewsFactor Network - Dec 4, 2006
"Microsoft's strategy with Windows Mobile is to line up device manufacturers to extend the reach of this operating system," Ryan said. 0, Microsoft has added push e-mail capability, which is critical for business users. Connecting through Exchange should prove popular to the large number of organizations using the Microsoft communications.
http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Samsung-Intros-Windows-Smartphone/story.xhtml?story_id=010000ZEE0NE
Goodbye.
