Geek Newsletter February 14, 2008 — Can Microsoft Rule the Mobile Space?
Written by admin on February 15th, 2008 in gadgets.
There were a lot of announcements at Mobile World Congress this week. Surprisingly, Microsoft had a number of them, including an acquisition. Is Microsoft gearing up to aggressively go after the consumer mobile space? Read today’s newsletter for our latest analysis.
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February 8th - February 14th
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Make the Move
First up is a business white paper for users of Linux operating systems which explains in detail how to Make the Move to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. You’ve heard the buzz about SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, and maybe even seen a demonstration, but you’re still hesitant to migrate. You know that adopting a new operating system is a big step for administrators and users alike. Fortunately, migrating to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is easier than you think, and the benefits you’ve heard about such as lower cost of ownership, stronger security and greater flexibility and control are all real. With careful planning, your migration can be smooth and highly rewarding.
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Contents 1 Geek Thoughts 2 This Week on Geek 3 Geek.com Web Picks 4 Don’t Forget About This
1 Geek Thoughts - Can Microsoft Rule the Mobile Space?
This week is Mobile World Congress and companies of all shapes and sizes are stealing the spotlight. First off is Microsoft, which has a bunch of announcements this week including that Sony Ericsson has come to the Windows Mobile party with a phone of its own called the XPERIA X1, which features a QWERTY keyboard and an arch slider. In addition, Microsoft picked up the maker of the sidekick, Danger. Microsoft also announced the availability of a technology preview of MSN Direct for Windows Mobile, which will show weather, news, and more, all in the today screen.
So, why is Microsoft aggressively buying and investing in Windows Mobile when it already has more than 14 million phones sold? You have to look at some of the other announcements from the MWC to really understand. AOL announced the release of its Mobile Platform , Android is being shown off everywhere, and Modu started showing off its modular phone, which will eventually plug into just about any gadget you own. Of course, we still have Apple’s iPhone, which is due to have an SDK out any day now, and there are rumors about Apple having its own February event. All of this adds up to one thing: competition. While Microsoft has more than 14 million mobile phone users, those are mostly on the enterprise side. With Apple, Google, Modu and others trying to grab market share from Microsoft, Nokia, RIM and others, and most users bringing their personal devices to work, Microsoft needs to invest in grabbing the consumer, too.
If you look at the Microsoft announcements, you can see that it’s trying to position itself against the competition in every step. For example:
1. Sony Ericsson injects “cool” into Windows Mobile
2. Buying Danger brings a consumer focus
3. MSN Direct on Windows Mobile competes with a number of widgets that
are already out for iPhone and other handsets
For me, I’m most excited about Modu. It’s the functionality I’ve always wanted–one device that can plug into everything and give it added functionality. I’d prefer it running Windows Mobile, but maybe that’s in the future, too.
This is definitely the year of the mobile phone OS, and we’ll see what Android really ends up bringing to the table by the time the second generation of the platform comes around. In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch the space in hopes of a phone and/or OS wrestling the iphone out of my hands.
Send me your comments to joel@geek.com.
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Vista
Next is a competitive guide explaining When and Why to Choose SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Over Windows Vista. Cost is not always the most important consideration, but if you are purchasing hundreds or thousands of desktops, it becomes a vital part of the equation. The total cost of desktops stretches far beyond the initial licensing fee. This white paper helps you to decrease your total cost of ownership.
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2 This Week on Geek - February 8th - February 14th
News
Google Apps Team Edition available
Europe succeeds North America as spam leader
Online music subscription service for US$5 a month?
Microsoft releases Outlook 2007 standalone
Yahoo turns down Microsoft’s takeover bid
AvSoft Technologies website hacked
Search engine spam on the rise
Microsoft buys Caligari
Baby Plays lets you rent toys online
IBM proposes one computer to rule the Internet
U.K. Internet users may get ban for illegal downloads
Firefox 3 Beta 3 now available
Chips
Eee PC Chronicles - Part 4 - And Reality Sets In
Will XP be saved?
Intel raided and sued
Dell cuts some AMD inventory
Mobile
Mobile ads will know where you are
Iambic releases Tipper and GoogHelper for Android
MWC Highlights- Nokia’s N96, Updated HTC Advantage, and more
Text in style on Valentine’s Day
Samsung to offer its Soul
Sprint expands Family Locator service to more phones
Review: Novatel Wireless USB727 USB Modem for Verizon
BlackBerry outage hits users
Microsoft acquires Danger, maker of the Sidekick
Yahoo! bumps Google for T-Mobile users in Europe
Starbucks switches from T-Mobile to AT&T Wi-Fi
Sony Ericsson to offer Windows mobile phone
Nokia combines N95 and GPS for advanced traffic monitoring
A touchscreen blackberry?
Motorola and Nortel in talks to create joint venture
AOL attempts to attract mobile developers
BlackBerry outage happened during "routine" efforts
Games
Over 150 Japanese arcades to close
Cell shrink to help PS3
Devil May Cry 4 not the last game to require PS3 install
Netflix to go Blu-ray only
Preview: Dark Sector
Capcom expands installation option to PSP games
Preview: This is Vegas
Mass Effect on PC in May
Twofish brings micro-transactions to games
Interview: Zero Punctuation’s Yahtzee
Apple
Leopard 10.5.2 released, fixes and weighs a ton
The second coming of Apple TV is out
Mac guy "Rush" appeals to Jobs for support
gadgets
Modu offers modular smart phone
Wal-Mart stores will be seeing Redbox
Knee brace generates watts while you walk
What would you give up for a 50-inch plasma tv?
Make cheap calls from your Mac or PC with magicJack
Dell buys MessageOne Inc.
The $54 million laptop suit
3 Geek.com Web Picks
Submit your favorite sites, articles, software picks, diversions,etc., to Joel@geek.com (mail subject: Good Sites). Here is one of my faves:
Modu
I mentioned Modu in the Geek Thoughts but take a look at the video on the company’s site to see what your mobile future could be. Are we really that close to having our mobile work like this?
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Support Link
And finally there is a look at support from Novell for OpenOffice.org in It’s Time to Make Your Move. Have you seen the costs associated with Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007? Send the children out of the room and take a look. Now take a look at OpenOffice.org from Novell. It’s much more cost effective and includes the office tools your employees need to stay productive. And with full support available from Novell, there’s no better time to switch to OpenOffice.org and free yourself from high costs and complicated licensing.
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4 Don’t Forget About This
You’ve no doubt heard about the Eee PC by now. Our resident laptop man, Sal, has written up Part 4 of his Eee PC Chronicles. Is Sal using it as his primary device? Does he still recommend it after having used it for a few months? Read his latest installment to find out.
As always, thanks for reading!
Joel Evans
Joel@Geek.com
Chief Geek
Geek.com
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