Microsoft's 'Live Mesh' aims to become the universal window to the Web
Microsoft has taken the wraps off a Technology Preview of its new Live Mesh platform, which promises to connect disparate devices so they can seamlessly share information. But beyond the surface, Live Mesh portends that Microsoft doesn't just want to compete on the Web; it wants to be the Web.
The brainchild of Redmond's new Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and in development for two years, Live Mesh is a bold endeavor that, if successful, could change the way PCs and other devices interact with Internet services and each other. Microsoft wants data and applications to be accessible from anywhere -- online and off -- using any device.
Ray Ozzie's memo: 'My Computer' is being replaced by your 'mesh'
Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie issued a memo to employees about the company's new "services strategy" that includes Live Mesh. He talks about how Microsoft has been transformed by the Web, and what changes are coming as a result. Be warned: it might leave you with more questions than when you started.
Services Strategy
Microsoft's Live Mesh broken down into bullet points
Microsoft's just-announced Live Mesh platform is a complex offering that can be difficult to understand, even to those familiar with the company's typical marketing-speak and software-plus-services buzzwords. In turn, we have broken down Live Mesh into some easily digestible bullet points.
- What is launching today is an initial look at Live Mesh's core experience for consumers. It has two key components: an online service that lets users register their devices, and a 2MB software client -- called the Mesh Operating Environment -- that links and integrates the service into Windows.
What recession? Yahoo shows signs of a complete resurgence
Exactly who should be buying whom? With only minimal mention of Microsoft from both Yahoo executives and analysts this afternoon, suddenly the "big deal" between the software giant and the portal keeper doesn't seem to be "on."
It is one of the biggest uphill battles in the technology industry, and last quarter, it seems "uphill" is the only direction Yahoo knows: Revenues up 9% on the year to nearly $1.82 billion, and gross profit up 11% annually to $1.06 billion versus Q1 2007. Operating income was down 28%, though actually that percentage can fool you: Last year's operating income at this time was low to start with, so the reduction is only $48 million. And the shock of the day, if there was one, is that this reduction was much less than expected.
Evidence the worst may be over for AMD's market share drop
The plunge in AMD's worldwide CPU market share in 2007 may have finally stopped in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the most recent statistics from hardware market analysis firm iSuppli.
Though the gap between it and Intel widened by 7.3 points of market share by revenue (as opposed to units shipped) for the total year 2007, the tick went up for AMD in the fourth quarter -- by pretty much as small as a tick, 0.3%, according to iSuppli's latest figures supplied to BetaNews this morning.
Bringing down the cloud: HP's Upline down for a third of its life
HP Upline hosted storage has been suspended for five days (and counting) allegedly due to some potentially disastrous bugs. Already, competing services are attempting to cash in.
The service from Hewlett-Packard offering unlimited online storage of user data was launched only 15 days ago, and has been out of commission for just over a third of that time.
Psystar reports it's shipping Mac clones, begins building its office
The Mac clone company said Monday that it had begun shipping PCs that had been ordered during the week of April 7, while a news outlet confirmed the company indeed is building an office at its Miami location.
If indeed true -- it is not known yet since no one has reported receiving the Open Computer yet -- it would end a tumultuous week for the Florida company. Its online store was down Friday, but had returned Monday.
Seagate ships its billionth hard drive, promises 2 B in five years
In just under 30 years, Seagate has become the first manufacturer to ship one billion hard drives, and it expects to double that number within the next five.
In recent years, worldwide shipments of hard drives has soared -- a statistic that's not surprising considering the advent of portable digital media players and rising demand for laptops, which are typically replaced much sooner than traditional desktop PCs, as well as online data storage.
Sony BMG joins Nokia's 'Comes with Music' subscription service
Nokia's subscription-based music download service that was announced at the tail end of 2007 has added another major recording label's content to its catalog: Sony BMG.
Initially a partnership with Universal Music Group, Nokia's Comes With Music service offers unlimited downloads of PlaysForSure-protected tracks to those who purchase compatible Nokia handsets.
Photobucket opens its API to developers
At the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco today, photo sharing site Photobucket announced that it is opening its API to developers, with the hopes of generating new applications based on its Web services.
The API allows applications to be developed which access a user's account, create and edit albums, upload, search and share content, and update metadata of media files.
Office 2007 no longer measures up to OXML standard, says consultant
With the myriad changes that had to be made to DIS 29500 before it could be approved by three-fourths of the ISO subcommittee's voters, there was a very high chance that by the time Microsoft saw its offspring once again, it wouldn't recognize it.
As a consultant for conformance testing agency Griffin Brown confirmed last Thursday, indeed, Office 2007 may require an upgrade before it can say it faithfully adheres to an international standard.
Apple files patent for instant messaging on the iPhone
Apple has filed for a patent which brings instant messaging to the iPhone and other touchscreen devices it produces.
The patent's abstract describes the application as follows: "One aspect of the invention involves a graphical user interface (GUI) on a portable electronic device with a touch screen display. The GUI has a set of messages exchanged between a user of the device and another person."
NBC, not Fox, will provide political news for MySpace
In the burgeoning field of social networking, the prominence of the major players' brands is extremely important. But what signal does it send when a sister company of Fox pairs with NBC for its political news coverage instead?
In another curious signal of how warm the mood has been of late between NBC Universal and News Corp. -- normally considered direct competitors in the television space, though they're partners in the online video service Hulu -- the MySpace unit of News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media division has decided to feature political content from NBC News.
PlayStation Home delayed once again
Now delayed by almost a full year, Sony has warned that its Home MMO virtual world for the PlayStation 3 is still not finished.
The service was announced in July of last year, and was supposed to release in the fall. However, that never happened and Sony said at the Tokyo Game Show that a release was targeted for the spring.
Google's OpenSocial API could convert iGoogle into a social media platform
A simple demonstration of adding access to the OpenSocial API through iGoogle gadgets is the hot topic of discussion among both Web developers and social network aficionados today, as Google looks more poised to take on the social net leaders.
A new tool for skilled and amateur developers to build social networking gadgets using version 0.7 of the OpenSocial API, launched by Google last October, looks very conspicuously like a way to populate the service's iGoogle personalized home pages with features that could put it in competition with social networking sites like MySpace.
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