WSJ - Microsoft Article - "I've got to say: in my opinion, Microsoft has turned The Corner"

From the wsj -

"For the past several years, Microsoft has been stung by missteps, including a clumsy defeat last year in Mr. Ballmer's unsolicited bid to acquire all of Yahoo. Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system was pilloried for technical problems, and its videogame ambitions were nearly thwarted by widespread malfunctions of its Xbox 360 console.

Yet amid the bad news, there are signs that things may be finally starting to look up for Microsoft.

Reviewers are praising the test version of its Windows 7, which will go on sale in final form Oct. 22. Microsoft's Xbox business is getting buzz for innovation. Its new search engine, called Bing, has earned plaudits and market share since it launched last month.

"Suddenly you don't feel like a moron for saying you use a Microsoft product," says Keith Richman, chief executive of Internet video site Break.com and a fan of Bing.

And now Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, has reached a deal with Yahoo that, if successful, could give him a big boost in his company's rivalry with Google. Under their 10-year agreement, Microsoft's Bing will become the Internet search service on Yahoo, while Yahoo will sell advertisements that run next to the search results to large companies on behalf of both Microsoft and Yahoo. The agreement could catapult Microsoft's share of online searches conducted by U.S. consumers to nearly 30% from just over 8.4%, compared with Google's 65% of the market, based on market estimates by Comscore Inc.

One of the most telling came earlier this month, on Mini-Microsoft, a blog written by an anonymous Microsoft employee in product management that is popular with company employees. For the past five years, the author has slammed Microsoft as a flabby, inefficient bureaucracy losing ground, but Windows 7, Bing and other recent efforts changed his mind. "I've got to say: in my opinion, Microsoft has turned The Corner," he wrote. "

Kevin Johnson, Juniper Networks CEO Provides His Outlook

The Gold Play for 2H 09

Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco, says markets could see higher gold prices down the road, but for now lack of buying and strong resistance is putting pressure on the precious metal.

SAP CEO Leo Apotheker discusses SAP results

Software giant SAP beat market expectations in the second quarter, and the company's CEO, Leo Apotheker, discusses the results.

Apple Appstore at 1.5 billion downloads and 65k apps

Apple’s App Store Downloads Top 1.5 Billion in First Year

More Than 65,000 Apps; Over 100,000 Developers

Apple announced that customers have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications in just one year from its revolutionary App Store, the largest applications store in the world. The App Store is also growing at an incredible pace with more than 65,000 apps and more than 100,000 developers in the iPhone™ Developer Program.

“The App Store is like nothing the industry has ever seen before in both scale and quality,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With 1.5 billion apps downloaded, it is going to be very hard for others to catch up.”

The revolutionary App Store has more than 65,000 apps available to consumers in 77 countries, allowing developers to reach tens of millions of iPhone and iPod® touch users around the world. The App Store works with both iPod touch and iPhone including the new iPhone 3GS, the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. Apple has shipped over 40 million of these devices that run apps from the App Store.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Skype IPO Still on Track

From Reuters -

EBay Inc shrugged off speculation on Thursday that its planned spinoff of Skype could be in danger, given an ongoing dispute over the technology used in the online telephone unit and new plans to develop proprietary software.

"Our plans to separate Skype have not changed," the company said in a statement. EBay said it would not comment beyond a regulatory filing it made on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Skype filed a claim in the United Kingdom against Swedish company Joltid, which is controlled by Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Skype sought resolution on a dispute over a software licensing agreement between the parties that Joltid was seeking to terminate.

Joltid brought a counterclaim, reiterating that it holds the rights to the peer-to-peer technology and that Skype is in violation of the original agreement.

The trial is expected to take place in early 2010 in the United Kingdom.

In its filing, eBay acknowledged that the new software it was working on had no guarantee of success.

"Skype has begun to develop alternative software to that licensed through Joltid. However, such software development may not be successful, may result in loss of functionality or customers even if successful, and will in any event be expensive," eBay said.

It added that if the new software did not work or if eBay lost the right to use the original software, "the continued operation of Skype's business as currently conducted would likely not be possible."

EBay announced in April that it would spin off Skype through an IPO, saying the timing would depend on market conditions.

Executives acknowledged that the unit, while fast-growing, did not mesh well with eBay's core marketplaces division or its online payments system PayPal. Former Chief Executive Meg Whitman paid $2.6 billion for Skype in 2005.

eetimes: Intel invests in five cleantech startups

" Intel Corp. has expanded its new energy initiative by investing in five startups.

Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, said the five deals total approximately $10 million. As reported, Intel recently formed a new sub-group, dubbed the Energy Systems Group. That group will focus on the development of smart building, smart homes and smart grids.

On Wednesday, the company said it invested in the following firms:

*CPower (New York). The company delivers targeted energy management services and solutions that enable companies to optimize their facilities and operations through energy reduction initiatives and earn market payments for those reductions. This is Intel Capital's initial funding of CPower.

*Grid Net (San Francisco). The company is a pioneer in providing the network operating system and management control plane for the Smart Grid. Grid Net's Series C funding round includes Intel Capital's third investment.

*Powervation (Limerick, Ireland). It provides digital power controllers for server, desktop computing and communications platforms that deliver capabilities in automatic configuration and self stabilization. Intel Capital co-led Powervation's Series A funding round and this is its second investment in the company.

*Convey Computer (Richardson, Texas). The firm offers high-performance computing (HPC) solutions which aim to reduce energy consumption and boost performance. Convey's HC-1 solution integrates advanced existing off-the-shelf hardware -- namely an Intel Xeon processor and field programmable gate arrays -- with compiler technology that minimizes the programming challenges. Convey's Series B funding round includes the second investment by Intel Capital.

*iControl (Palo Alto, Calif.). The firm provides an IP-based platform that delivers monitored home security, remote home monitoring and home and energy management capabilities to security and broadband providers. iControl's Series C funding round includes a follow-on investment by Intel Capital.

"These investments share synergies focused on accelerating adoption of Smart Grid technologies, fostering energy efficiency and performance in ways that benefit consumers of electricity and power utilities as well as complement Intel's strategic objectives," said Steve Eichenlaub, managing director of platform technologies, cleantech and digital health at Intel Capital.

SpectraWatt Inc.--the solar-cell spinoff of Intel-- recently moved its operations from Oregon and will establish the company's first factory and its new headquarters at the Hudson Valley Research Park in Hopewell Junction, N.Y."

Microsoft / Yahoo Partnership Announced - Details of Proposed 10 Year Deal

Yesterday, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers.

For Web users and advertisers, this deal will accelerate the pace and breadth of innovation by combining both companies' complementary strengths and search platforms into a market competitor with the scale to fuel sustained development in search and search advertising. Users will find what they care about faster and with more personal relevance. Microsoft's competitive search platforms will lead to more value for advertisers, better results for Web publishers, and increased innovation and efficiency across the Internet.

This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo!, our users, and the industry, and I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of Internet innovation and development," said Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz. "Users will continue to experience search as a vital part of their Yahoo! experiences and will enjoy increased innovation thanks to the scale and resources this deal provides. Advertisers will also benefit from scale and enjoy greater ease of use and efficiencies working with a single platform and sales team for premium advertisers. Finally, this deal will help us increase our investments in priority areas in winning audience properties, display advertising capabilities and mobile experiences."

The key terms of the agreement are as follows:

• The term of the agreement is 10 years;
• Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!'s core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into its existing Web search platforms;
• Microsoft's Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business such as enhancing display advertising technology;
• Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft's AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter's automated auction process;
• Each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force;
• Yahoo! will innovate and "own" the user experience on Yahoo! properties, including the user experience for search, even though it will be powered by Microsoft technology;
• Microsoft will compensate Yahoo! through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!'s network of both owned and operated (O&O) and affiliate sites;
  • Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo! at an initial rate of 88 percent of search revenue generated on Yahoo!'s O&O sites during the first five years of the agreement; and
  • Yahoo! will continue to syndicate its existing search affiliate partnerships.
• Microsoft will guarantee Yahoo!'s O&O revenue per search (RPS) in each country for the first 18 months following initial implementation in that country;
• At full implementation (expected to occur within 24 months following regulatory approval), Yahoo! estimates, based on current levels of revenue and current operating expenses, that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual GAAP operating income of approximately $500 million and capital expenditure savings of approximately $200 million. Yahoo! also estimates that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual operating cash flow of approximately $275 million; and
• The agreement protects consumer privacy by limiting the data shared between the companies to the minimum necessary to operate and improve the combined search platform, and restricts the use of search data shared between the companies. The agreement maintains the industry-leading privacy practices that each company follows today.

05-09 Microsoft Acquisitions

2009 acquisitions

Press Release	Company
May 7, 2009	BigPark Inc.

2008 acquisitions

Press Release	Company
August 29, 2008	Greenfiled Online Inc
July 24, 2008	DATAllegro Inc.
July 14, 2008	Zoomix
July 1, 2008	Powerset
June 27, 2008	MobiComp
June 17, 2008	Navic Networks
April 9, 2008	Farecast
March 20, 2008	Komoku
March 14, 2008	Rapt Inc.
March 12, 2008	Kidaro
March 6, 2008	Credentica
February 27, 2008	YaData
February 11, 2008	Danger Inc.
February 7, 2008	Caligari Corporation
January 21, 2008	Calista Technologies
January 8, 2008	Fast Search & Transfer ASA

2007 acquisitions

Press Release	Company
December 12, 2007	Multimap
October 29, 2007	Global Care Solutions
August 30, 2007	Parlano
July 26, 2007	AdECN, Inc.
May 18, 2007	aQuantive, Inc.
May 3, 2007	ScreenTonic
March 14, 2007	Tellme Networks, Inc.
February 26, 2007	Medstory Inc.

2006 acquisitions

Press Release	Company
October 12, 2006	Colloquis
July 26, 2006	Azyxxi
July 18, 2006	Winternals
July 17, 2006	Softricity
May 18, 2006	Whale Communications
May 4, 2006	Massive Inc.
April 6, 2006	Lionhead Studios
April 3, 2006	ProClarity Corp
March 7, 2006	Apptimum Inc.
March 7, 2006	Onfolio Inc.
February 13, 2006	Motion Bridge

2005 acquisitions

Press Release	Company
September 19, 2005	Alacris Inc.
November 3, 2005	FolderShare
November 3, 2005	media-streams.com AG
August 30, 2005	Teleo Inc.
July 20, 2005	FrontBridge Technologies
March 10, 2005	Groove Networks Inc.
February 8, 2005	Sybari Software Inc.

infoweek - The Potential of Virtual Desktops

"I’ve been covering desktop virtualization quite a bit lately; it’s a pretty hot topic. After debugging the Matrix for the last 6 months in the InformationWeek Desktop Virtualization labs, I’m trying to free my mind and consider the potential uses of desktop virtualization beyond running MS Office, here’s some pretty cool ideas. Gaming companies, listen up.

What will your desktop computing environment look like in 5 years? 10 years? Presumably, the bloated operating system with a 10GB footprint will be as dead as MS-DOS 3.3 is now (the greatest OS ever by the way). You may be using Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Chrome if it ever takes off, or perhaps you’ll boot right into Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s new web enabled operating environment, hopefully in less than 3 minutes.

It’s possible that neither of those options will exist. Maybe instead of spending $2000 dollars on a blazing fast PC, or instead of spending $500 of a copy of Windows and Office, maybe you’ll spend $25 a month to access a blazing fast virtual desktop hosted on a geographically convenient Microsoft supercomputer. Better yet, you’ll do that on your $200 netbook.

Here’s my question to you, would you pay $25 a month to access a virtual desktop computing environment that's stocked with all the software you need? Think about it, no virus scanning software to slow down your local computer, no waiting for windows updates, no recovering from malware infection, it will just all be done for you. Sound like Shangri-la? My contention is that this day will come. If I had the venture capital backing, I’d set out to make it happen myself.

Consider this. Citrix (NSDQ: CTXS) is getting ready to launch some additional features in its HDX graphics processing technology for virtualized environments. If Citrix can deliver on its promise, you’ll be able to more effectively run high end, graphics intensive applications like CAD, and perhaps even games, through a virtual desktop session.
Consider that World of Warcraft, the most popular massively online role playing game on the planet, has millions of subscribers generating billions in revenue. Kids, and a lot of adults for that matter, spend hundreds of dollars on high end graphics cards and fast internet connections just to play this game at the highest quality level possible. I believe the monthly subscription fee is somewhere in the $15/month range. Assuming the user experience was as good or better, would you pay $35 a month if you could run World of Warcraft in a hosted virtual desktop session? Again, presumably, you could play the game on a cheapo netbook, over a Verizon (NYSE: VZ) EVDO connection while you’re taking Amtrak from Washington to Boston. What better way to waste 8 hours!

From video conferencing, to VoIP, to flight simulation, my vision is that at some point, you won’t be running any of these apps on your own hardware. Think I’m crazy? I know I am, but I’ve also been stuck in a virtualization lab for 6 months, so cut me some slack.

Do you have another vision for the future of desktop virtualization? Share it with us. "