Microsoft's Office 365 Beta Yet Another Cloud Step

Microsoft has launched its Office 365 public beta, repeating the company's well-worn pattern of soliciting widespread feedback ahead of a general release. Public betas also help spread the word about a new product months before it hits browsers or store shelves.

In this case, Microsoft needs that word spread as far and as wide as possible. Office 365 (the beta is available in 38 markets and 17 languages) bundles Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online in a cloud-based platform for a starting price of $6 per user per month. On top of that, Microsoft is launching the Office 365 Marketplace, with more than 100 productivity apps and 400 professional services.

For many months, Microsoft has publicly embraced an "all in" cloud strategy. CEO Steve Ballmer and other executives regularly espouse the cloud as the future for both businesses and consumers. In doing so, the company not only hopes to open new business channels, but blunt the competitive threat presented by the likes of Google and Salesforce.com, which offer their own cloud platforms.

That being said, Microsoft's enthusiasm for the cloud has yet to translate into anything resembling significant revenue. As with Bing and other initiatives, the cloud represents a long game for the company: You pour in hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development, and hope that paying customers eventually take to what you're offering.

To further promote its cloud ambitions, Microsoft is also partnering with Research In Motion to integrate its cloud offerings into BlackBerry devices, with the latter providing cloud-based BlackBerry service in support of Office 365. RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise servers will connect "cloud to cloud" with Microsoft's data centers to host Office 365 on users' BlackBerrys.

RIM's new PlayBook tablet (which I reviewed for eWEEK) will be able to port and display Office 365 data from any user's BlackBerry, via the BlackBerry Bridge tethering service. As mobile devices enjoy broader adoption by businesses and consumers (the projected tablet numbers for the next five years, as predicted by research firms like Gartner, are pretty insane), the cloud will likely assume greater importance as a means for porting user data from one gadget to another. Rumors are already flying that the next version of Windows, which will support the ARM architecture underlying many mobile devices, will include a substantial cloud element.

A number of government entities and larger corporations are already moving in limited ways to the cloud. Consumers have also shown an interest, mostly in services such as Amazon's Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. And competitive pressure from Google will ensure that Microsoft keeps pushing money toward its own cloud initiatives. But as the "all in" strategy takes yet another step, with Office 365 ramping toward release, I'm starting to wonder about Microsoft's strategy for making all this pay in a substantial way.

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavisenterprise.com/~r/RSS/MicrosoftWatch/~3/Jrf5V2rofk4/microsofts_office_365_beta_yet_another_cloud_step.html

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Sprint starts selling Motorola Xoom WiFi (not WiMAX) May 8th for $600

We've gotten multiple clandestine clues that Sprint would sell the Xoom -- a calendar entry here, an accessory there -- but there was nary a confirming peep from the Now Network itself. Until today, when it announced that it would join the legion of retailers peddling the Wi-Fi version of Motorola's tablet for $599.99 on May 8th. That's right, the carrier will start selling folks the sweet Honeycomb slate soon enough, but a Xoom sans Sprint cellular data is a bit of a letdown. One question, Mr. Hesse, when will we get one with WiMAX? PR's after the break.

Continue reading Sprint starts selling Motorola Xoom WiFi (not WiMAX) May 8th for $600

Sprint starts selling Motorola Xoom WiFi (not WiMAX) May 8th for $600 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/sprint-starts-selling-motorola-xoom-wifi-not-wimax-may-8th-for/

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Chrome OS machines leaked in bug reports: Acer netbook and touch-friendly Seaboard

Plowing through bug reports is a reliable way to dig up juicy morsels of info, and thanks to that timeless tactic we've got some specs on a pair of unannounced Chrome OS devices. First up is a netbook from Acer codenamed ZGB which, according to a recently filed report, will have a 1366 x 768 panel, presumably in the 10 to 12 inch range. We also know that you can hook up an external display to it via an HDMI port powered by an encoder chip from Chrontel. Since AMD's Fusion netbook platform supports HDMI natively, we can also safely assume that the ZGB will be running the web-only OS on an Atom processor. That's where the details end for now but, hey, it's better than nothing.

The other device, Seaboard, has been floating around the Chrome OS flaw depot for some time, but reports are finally starting to reveal some tantalizing details. We now know that it is powered by a Tegra 2 and sports a touchscreen -- the perfect place to test out those finger-friendly tweaks we've heard so much about. There are also mentions of a "lid switch" and a physical keyboard, indicating it may be a convertible or something in the vein of the Eee Pad Slider rather than a pure slate. The hybrid form factor would make perfect sense since it will house a pair of USB ports and an HDMI jack, which could make for a rather chunky tablet. Obviously, neither of these devices are confirmed yet (and Seaboard is most likely being used for internal testing only) but at least we've got a better idea of what to expect when the browser-based OS comes to consumers later this year.

Chrome OS machines leaked in bug reports: Acer netbook and touch-friendly Seaboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/chrome-os-machines-leaked-in-bug-reports-acer-netbook-and-touch/

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Microsoft announces record Q3 earnings: $16.43 billion revenue, $5.23 billion net income

Well, it looks like the record quarters from tech companies just keep on coming -- this time it's Microsoft, which just reported $16.43 billion in revenue in its third-quarter results, a jump of 13 percent from the previous year, and well ahead of analysts' expectations. Net income clocked in at $5.23 billion, a whopping 31 percent increase from the previous year, with Microsoft citing strong sales of Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect as key driving factors. The company also reiterated that it's sold a staggering 350 million Windows 7 licenses so far, and said that its Entertainment & Devices Division has grown a full 60 percent year-over-year -- again, largely fueled by those record-setting sales of Kinect and continued strong sales of Xbox 360 consoles and Xbox Live. Unfortunately, Microsoft still isn't providing a whole lot in the way of specifics -- there's no mention at all of Windows Phone, for instance -- but hopefully it will have more to say during its earnings call that gets underway in less than an hour.

Continue reading Microsoft announces record Q3 earnings: $16.43 billion revenue, $5.23 billion net income

Microsoft announces record Q3 earnings: $16.43 billion revenue, $5.23 billion net income originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/microsoft-announces-record-q3-earnings-16-43-billion-revenue/

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Barnes & Noble: Microsoft-Patented Nook Features ?Trivial,? Licensing Fees ?Exorbitant?

The licensing fracas Microsoft is whipping up around Android and, in particular, Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader gets another chapter today, as B&N submits its 50-page response to Microsoft's suit. Their position and language are aggressive out of the gate, accusing Microsoft of trying to "marginalize the competition" and describing the contents of the patents in question as "highly obvious at the time [they] were filed." It's a bold rebuttal, but not entirely convincing. Amazon and HTC, after all, didn't find them onerous enough to object, and countless other companies great and small find licensing patented Microsoft software and patents no problem at all. But by attacking the patents themselves and Microsoft's greater market-driven intentions, they might be able to poison the well sufficiently to make their case at least plausible.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pd1i_BdOKJQ/

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Spiceworks Raises $25 Million To Be The Facebook For IT Managers

Spiceworks, a startup that develops Web-connected social IT management software, has raised a whopping $25 million in new funding from Adams Street Partners, Tenaya Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Austin Ventures and Shasta Ventures. This brings the company's total funding up to $54 million. Spiceworks develops a desktop software suite that helps a company?s IT staff collaborate with each other and manage ?everything IT.? The IT management software, which is free and ad-supported, is mainly used at small to medium businesses to inventory, monitor, troubleshoot, report on and run a help desk for their IT networks.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XZM-_aSPGY8/

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LG Optimus Big brings a 4.3-inch NOVA display and 1GHz dual-core to the superphone party

What's big, mostly white, and set for a Korean launch tomorrow? That's right, the LG Optimus Big! This 4.3-inch whopper, LG's largest handset to date, touts a 1GHz dual-core processor, a slightly skinned Android 2.2 as its OS, HDMI output, a 5 megapixel camera, and 16GB of built-in storage. That spec sheet sounds mighty close to the elder Optimus 2X that launched earlier in the year, though a couple of items have also been borrowed from the still unreleased Optimus Black. They are the NOVA display, which can crank all the way up to 700 nits of brightness, and WiFi Direct, which allows for wireless inter-device communication without the need for an intermediary WiFi access point. This big, delicious spec sandwich is hitting its home market on April 28th, but there's sadly no word on when and where else it might show up. Just keep an eye out for it, shouldn't be that hard to spot.

LG Optimus Big brings a 4.3-inch NOVA display and 1GHz dual-core to the superphone party originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/27/lg-optimus-big-brings-a-4-3-inch-nova-display-and-1ghz-dual-core/

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