Ive inherited my wife's iPhone as its too techy and clunky for her to use, set up all my emails and contacts and so far its working a dream.
BUT, thanks to some skullduggery or what not, Hotmail doesnt work with the iPhone, either by accident, but more likely design.
There are hacks and dodgy programs which get around this problem, but I think at this rate I might find myself back with Yahoo - which Im not happy about. Yahoo works fine with the iPhone.
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Monday, 7 July 2008
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Microsoft Could have been Heroes
Re-reading that article on music downloading and DRM, Microsoft could have been deemed heroes of the industry had they not insisted that DRM becomes part of their operating system.
DRM = Digital Rights Management, the electronic system of tagging digital data (graphics, music, movies) so they only work on the original purchaser's equipment.
Had MS rebuked the RIAA and all the other musical cronies, they could not only have still made Vista the operating system of choice, but won over a lot of people as they would have sided with the users not the recording industry.
evilref
DRM = Digital Rights Management, the electronic system of tagging digital data (graphics, music, movies) so they only work on the original purchaser's equipment.
Had MS rebuked the RIAA and all the other musical cronies, they could not only have still made Vista the operating system of choice, but won over a lot of people as they would have sided with the users not the recording industry.
evilref
Oct. 31st, 2007 05:07 pm (UTC)
Vista is going to be the operating system of choice. Have you tried buying a new computer without it? Have you tried to use the latest version of the business software your customers and suppliers use without the latest hardware?
Don't forget that alongside the battle to protect the copyright of recorded works, there is a similar battle to protect the copyright of software. Micro$oft probably think that if users are prevented from using illegal copies of their products, their profits will vastly increase.
They may even be right, and since the users they want to target are the business users, stronger laws are probably enough to brow-beat those business users into paying up.
Once Micro$oft were behind things like DMCA, their side was chosen.
Don't forget that alongside the battle to protect the copyright of recorded works, there is a similar battle to protect the copyright of software. Micro$oft probably think that if users are prevented from using illegal copies of their products, their profits will vastly increase.
They may even be right, and since the users they want to target are the business users, stronger laws are probably enough to brow-beat those business users into paying up.
Once Micro$oft were behind things like DMCA, their side was chosen.
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Microsoft Sending Me SPAM?
I am a Microsoft Action Pack Subscriber, which basically means for a small annual fee, I get full licenses to use pretty much everything Microsoft produce, software and operating system-wise they make. Plus you get exclusive beta tests of new software, as well as early looks at some of their future software plans.
The idea behind it is simply to make sure people out there selling Microsoft software is well versed and placed to recommend the product as they are currently using it.
You get quarterly updates of software and sales literature, as well as update emails from them.
Now this isnt a sales pitch for their software, but rather to use their online service (and who doesnt use online services these days) you need to have a Hotmail account. This isnt a problem for me as Ive had a hotmail account for years, back in the days before .co.uk, as my Hotmail account is .com! But oddly despite Microsoft's best intentions, Hotmail still identifies emails from Microsoft as being Spam, and puts everything in the spam folder. I have the option set up so it catches the most obvious emails.
So Microsoft's own weapon against Spam is actually catching its own emails to its sales force and partners. Does Microsoft actually know this?
In an effort to find out why, I will be sending a copy of this email to the Microsoft marketing people, and will post their reply to this very blog.
Im expecting a standard formula response, but Im prepared to be surprised.
The idea behind it is simply to make sure people out there selling Microsoft software is well versed and placed to recommend the product as they are currently using it.
You get quarterly updates of software and sales literature, as well as update emails from them.
Now this isnt a sales pitch for their software, but rather to use their online service (and who doesnt use online services these days) you need to have a Hotmail account. This isnt a problem for me as Ive had a hotmail account for years, back in the days before .co.uk, as my Hotmail account is .com! But oddly despite Microsoft's best intentions, Hotmail still identifies emails from Microsoft as being Spam, and puts everything in the spam folder. I have the option set up so it catches the most obvious emails.
So Microsoft's own weapon against Spam is actually catching its own emails to its sales force and partners. Does Microsoft actually know this?
In an effort to find out why, I will be sending a copy of this email to the Microsoft marketing people, and will post their reply to this very blog.
Im expecting a standard formula response, but Im prepared to be surprised.
Friday, 4 May 2007
Does a Free Business Model Work?
I read an interesting article yesterday (it was yesterday when I wrote this, it might weeks later now that you are reading this, depends on when I posted this) in which it stated giving your work away for free is good for business.
Yes, you read that right, giving your work away for free is good for business.
The article was in direct relation to the DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is a method by which companies digitally watermarking their intellectual property directly to the buyer. So in this way a MP3 music track or photograph or movie that you legally obtain is then digitally encoded with your email address or data about you, so that should you copy the digital file, not only will they be able to track the person who copied the music illegally, but also prevent another person from playing that same piece of music or film on another computer.
This is a business model which has been brought to the PC world courtesy of Microsoft and its Vista operating system. DRM is nothing new, and Microsoft can't claim to be the first. In fact DRM has been around for many years, its just that there hasn't been widespread adoption of the method to control illegal sales and piracy within operating systems, and no one in their right mind would upgrade their Windows XP so that their entire movie and music collection was rendered useless?
The music industry (and to a certain extent most other digital media organisations) has had to face a massive turnaround in the way it sells its products. This has been painful, slow and very bloody, and while I should be very sorry for them, I can't but they only have themselves to blame as they have caused most of the problems, as well as being very very hostile against even genuine customers. I'll never forgive them for poisoning Metallica with their lies.
How? By not recognising earlier that their safe income was about to be blown out of the water, and that the traditional methods of making money within the industry were about to change completely. Previously ignored/unheard of methods of revenue would be thrust in our faces without regard. Whoever was in charge of product development, business development or just business strategy ought to be shot, this was something that should have been forseen years ago.
We all bought into music CDs knowing it was the medium of the future. But, sadly many years later it isnt. But this time Ive bought into DVDs knowing they are NOT the future. Not even Blu-Ray or DVD-HD will last. Technology is changing at a blisteringly fast pace.
But going back to my original point above about giving product away for free is a good business model. How does someone create an income when they are giving their product away?
Lets examine another point before I reveal the secret. If a business model for making money exists but isnt perfect, and that person does their utmost to protect that business model, then they shouldnt be surprised when someone eventually comes along with a much better business model, thereby making the old one obselete. This is happening right now, and the companies involved are doing their level best to destroy these models. You need only look at internet radio, and sites like www.pandora.com, which is actually doing more for the music industry than the music industry.
DRM is a terrible method of controlling sales, it bites hard against the typical consumer, treating them as a pirate, and a thief before they even enter their credit card details online to purchase a track. I wont lie and say getting hold of illegal music is easy, but its much easier that getting music legally at times. You download a peer-to-peer file sharing program select the music you want and away you go.
An efficient model will come to replace the current way of selling music, and another model will follow that once that no longer becomes efficient. So how do you make money by giving your product away for free? If Microsoft gave away Vista for free, they would never make a penny on it. Yet they sell it for £ 200 roughly, and plough millions into advertising. I wonder how much they spend on advertising compared to actual sales. In this instance I'd imagine they are in for the longhaul, that they are expecting sales many years from now. They or indeed anyone would make money by creating a buzz, a demand for the product, for newer, revised updated product, and then new releases and associated software. If Microsoft gave Vista away for free, and then charged full price for the Microsoft Office package, thats how they create demand and interest.
This model will be attacked by larger companies, and any one who wants to challenge the status quo will be destroyed, taken over or absorbed and then destroyed. The only way a company is going to fight and win, is to be prepared to go the distance, not sell-out or change its track mid-point.
Today (well it is today for me), it was announced that Microsoft are looking to buy Yahoo for an amount of money considered to be the largest amount of money ever seen in an Corporate (IT) buyout, $50bn.
Yes, you read that right, giving your work away for free is good for business.
The article was in direct relation to the DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is a method by which companies digitally watermarking their intellectual property directly to the buyer. So in this way a MP3 music track or photograph or movie that you legally obtain is then digitally encoded with your email address or data about you, so that should you copy the digital file, not only will they be able to track the person who copied the music illegally, but also prevent another person from playing that same piece of music or film on another computer.
This is a business model which has been brought to the PC world courtesy of Microsoft and its Vista operating system. DRM is nothing new, and Microsoft can't claim to be the first. In fact DRM has been around for many years, its just that there hasn't been widespread adoption of the method to control illegal sales and piracy within operating systems, and no one in their right mind would upgrade their Windows XP so that their entire movie and music collection was rendered useless?
The music industry (and to a certain extent most other digital media organisations) has had to face a massive turnaround in the way it sells its products. This has been painful, slow and very bloody, and while I should be very sorry for them, I can't but they only have themselves to blame as they have caused most of the problems, as well as being very very hostile against even genuine customers. I'll never forgive them for poisoning Metallica with their lies.
How? By not recognising earlier that their safe income was about to be blown out of the water, and that the traditional methods of making money within the industry were about to change completely. Previously ignored/unheard of methods of revenue would be thrust in our faces without regard. Whoever was in charge of product development, business development or just business strategy ought to be shot, this was something that should have been forseen years ago.
We all bought into music CDs knowing it was the medium of the future. But, sadly many years later it isnt. But this time Ive bought into DVDs knowing they are NOT the future. Not even Blu-Ray or DVD-HD will last. Technology is changing at a blisteringly fast pace.
But going back to my original point above about giving product away for free is a good business model. How does someone create an income when they are giving their product away?
Lets examine another point before I reveal the secret. If a business model for making money exists but isnt perfect, and that person does their utmost to protect that business model, then they shouldnt be surprised when someone eventually comes along with a much better business model, thereby making the old one obselete. This is happening right now, and the companies involved are doing their level best to destroy these models. You need only look at internet radio, and sites like www.pandora.com, which is actually doing more for the music industry than the music industry.
DRM is a terrible method of controlling sales, it bites hard against the typical consumer, treating them as a pirate, and a thief before they even enter their credit card details online to purchase a track. I wont lie and say getting hold of illegal music is easy, but its much easier that getting music legally at times. You download a peer-to-peer file sharing program select the music you want and away you go.
An efficient model will come to replace the current way of selling music, and another model will follow that once that no longer becomes efficient. So how do you make money by giving your product away for free? If Microsoft gave away Vista for free, they would never make a penny on it. Yet they sell it for £ 200 roughly, and plough millions into advertising. I wonder how much they spend on advertising compared to actual sales. In this instance I'd imagine they are in for the longhaul, that they are expecting sales many years from now. They or indeed anyone would make money by creating a buzz, a demand for the product, for newer, revised updated product, and then new releases and associated software. If Microsoft gave Vista away for free, and then charged full price for the Microsoft Office package, thats how they create demand and interest.
This model will be attacked by larger companies, and any one who wants to challenge the status quo will be destroyed, taken over or absorbed and then destroyed. The only way a company is going to fight and win, is to be prepared to go the distance, not sell-out or change its track mid-point.
Today (well it is today for me), it was announced that Microsoft are looking to buy Yahoo for an amount of money considered to be the largest amount of money ever seen in an Corporate (IT) buyout, $50bn.
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