Microsoft begins rolling out Windows Phone 7.5

Microsoft promised just a few days back that the Windows Phone 7.5 update (otherwise known as “Mango”, because updates need funny little names now) would roll out “sometime in the next week or two” — and sure enough, said roll out has just begun.

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As for who it’s rolling out to… that’s still a bit of a mystery.

Check out this statement:

Today we’re starting the roll out of Windows Phone 7.5 to more than 98 percent of existing Windows Phone customers. This is a simultaneous, coordinated, global update that cuts across carriers, phone models, and countries. This time, almost everybody is going first.

Then, just a few sentences later:

So we’re deliberately starting out slow. This week, we’ll be making the update available to 10 percent of customers.

So, good news: Hurray! 98% of people will get the update beginning today! Everybody goes first!
But the bad news: only 10% of people actually get to install and use it.

70-642 Exam

UESTION 1
ABC.com has a forest with a domain named ABC.com. A server named ABC-SR05 is configured
as the DNS server. During a routine security check you discover a number of outdated resource
records in the ABC.com zone. You successfully set up the DNS service to do scavenging on ABCSR05
but after a month ABC-SR05 was clogged up with the same stale resource records again.
What action should you take to take away all outdated resource records?

A. You should execute the dnscmd ABC-SR05 /AgeAllRecords command.
B. You should disable the DNS service on ABC-SR05 and manually start scavenging stale
records.
C. You should execute the dnscmd ABC-SR05 /StartScavenging command.
D. You should enable the DNS scavenging utility on the us.ABC.com zone.
E. You should execute the dnscmd /zonerefresh command.
F. You should increase the Expires After setting of the Start of Authority (SOA) record.

Answer: D

Explanation:
You again noticed the same stale resource records still lay na.contoso.com even after enabled
DNS scavenging on Server1 because the Server1 may not have na.contoso.com zone integrated
with AD DS and loaded at the server.
To ensure that the stale resource records are removed from na.contoso.com, you need to enable
DNS scavenging on the na.contoso.com zone. The aging and scavenging can be configured for
specified zones on the DNS server to make sure that the stale records are removed from the
specified zone.
Reference: Enable Aging and Scavenging for DNS

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/7972082c-22a1-44fc-8e39-

841f7327b6051033.mspx?mfr=true

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---

QUESTION 2
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network uses the public
namespace ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Microsoft Windows Server 2008.
The ABC.com CIO does not want user to have the ability to copy the public DNS zone records.
You must make sure that the zone transfers are restricted to DNS servers that are listed in the
Name Servers option without affecting the operation of the public name resolution.
How will you comply with the CIO’s requirement?

A. Check the Service Locator (SRV) resource record enabled option on all ABC.com domain
controllers.
B. Configure the priority value for the SRV records on all the domain controllers of us.ABC.com to 1.
C. Check the Allow zone transfers only to servers listed on the Name Servers option on ABC.com.
D. Uncheck the DNS scavenging option on the us.ABC.com zone.

Answer: C

Explanation:
To ensure that public DNS zone records cannot be copied without impacting the functionality of
public DNS name resolutions, you need to configure the Allow zone transfers only to servers listed
on the Name Servers option on ABC.com. This setting allows you to restrict zone transfers only to
DNS servers listed in the Name Servers resource option on ABC.com.
Reference: DNS Zones

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=pL89TOMFcHsC&ABC=RA1-PA244&lABC=RA1-

PA244&dq=Allow+zone+transfers+only+to+servers+listed+on+the+Name+Servers+option+&sourc
e=web&ots=StFz29rSf5&sig=0wRSARkgYxCy2ohweQs4QUDMqEQ&hl=en#PRA1-PA243,M1

---

QUESTION 3
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client
computers run Windows Vista.
The ABC.com network has two Servers named ABC-SR05 and ABC-SR06. ABC-SR05 is a
domain controller that is configured as DNS server. ABC-SR06 is configured to run a legacy
application. You receive an instruction from the CIO to include parameters like Service, Weight
Protocol, and Port number for the legacy application on ABC-SR05.
What action should you take to accomplish this?

A. You must create a Host Info (HINFO) record on ABC-SR05.
B. You must create a Well-Known Service (WKS) record on ABC-SR05.
C. You must create a Service Locator (SRV) record on ABC-SR05.
D. You must create a Pointer (PTR) resource record on ABC-SR05.
E. You must create a Start of Authority (SOA) record on ABC-SR05.

Answer: C

Explanation:
Your best option in this scenario would be to create a Service Locator (SRV) record. To configure
DNS on ABC-SR05 to include the parameters such as Service, Priority, Weight Protocol, Port
number, and Host offering this service for the custom application, you need to configure Service
Locator (SRV) records. An SRV record or Service record is a category of data in the Internet
Domain Name System specifying information on available services. Service locator (SRV)
resource record. Allows multiple servers providing a similar TCP/IP-based service to be located
using a single DNS query operation. This record enables you to maintain a list of servers for a
well-known server port and transport protocol type ordered by preference for a DNS domain name.
References: SRV Record

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRV_record

Resource records reference / SRV

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/9b561e1b-9a0d-43e5-89a8-

9daf07afac0d1033.mspx?mfr=true

---

QUESTION 4
You work as the network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a forest with two
domains named us.ABC.com and uk.ABC.com.
All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client computers run
Windows Vista. Users in the us.ABC.com zone complain that it takes a long time to access
resources in the uk.ABC.com zone.
What action should you take to reduce the resolution response times? (Each correct answer
presents part of the solution. Choose TWO.)

A. You should create and configure a GPO with DNS Suffix Search List option to uk.ABC.com,
us.ABC.com.
B. You should configure the priority value for the SRV records on all the domain controllers of
us.ABC.com to 5.
C. You should apply the policy to all user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone.
D. You should enable Scavenge Stale resource records in the Zone Aging /Scavenging Properties
dialog box of every workstation.
E. You should create and configure a GPO with the Local-Link Multicast Name Resolution feature enabled.
F. You should execute the dnscmd /zonerefresh command on the workstations in uk.ABC.com.

Answer: A,C

Explanation:
To configure the user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone to improve the name resolution
response time for resources in the uk.ABC.com zone you need to configure a new GPO that
configures the DNS Suffix Search List option to us.ABC.com, us.ABC.com. Thereafter the policy
can be applied to all user workstations in the us.ABC.com zone.
A customized DNS suffix search lists to ensures that clients can locate services and other
computers when they perform single-label name queries.
Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution cannot be used because it allows IPv6 hosts on a single
subnet without a DNS server to resolve each other names. Therefore it need not be used here.
DNS SRV records cannot be used because they are the service records, which are a type of DNS
entry that specify information on a service available in a domain. They are typically used by clients
who want to know the location of a service within a domain. When multiple hosts are configured
for the same service, the priority determines which host is tried first.
Reference: Create a Disjoint Namespace / Update the DNS suffix search list

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/afe94bc3-41fb-4817-84b5-

5517c38a0d391033.mspx?mfr=true
Reference: Introducing MS Windows Vista/ Learning about Dual Stack and IP Management
Enhancements

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/7/8/578cbb95-c42e-4b9f-9989-

93ffdeae8af4/Introducing_Windows_Vista.pdf
Reference: Understanding DNS SRV records and SIP

http://blog.lithiumblue.com/2007/07/understanding-dns-srv-records-and-sip.html

---

QUESTION 5
You are employed as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a
domain named ABC.com. ABC.com has a subsidiary company named TestLabs.com. The servers
on both domains are configured to run Windows Server 2008.
You are responsible for a ABC.com server named ABC-SR05. ABC-SR05 is a configured to run
the DNS server role. There is a server on the TestLabs.com network named TESTLABS-LR18
that is configured to run the DNS server role. ABC-SR05 contains a stub zone. The master for the
stub zone on ABC-SR05 is ABC-SR06. During routine monitoring you discover that ABC-SR06
has failed resulting in name resolution problems for ABC users connecting to the TestLabs.com
network.
What action should you take to overcome this problem?

A. You must decrease the Minimum (default) TTL setting in the SOA record for the zone on
TESTLABS-LR18.
B. You must modify the stub zone to a secondary zone on ABC-SR05.
C. You must create a new Service Locator (SRV) record in the primary DNS zone on TESTLABSLR18.
Also create a new host (A) record for ABC-SR05.
D. You must enable DNS scavenging in the DNS zone on TESTLABS-LR18.
E. You must use a DNS forwarder on TESTLABS-LR18.

Answer: B

Explanation:
Users are not able to resolve names for testlabs.com because the master server has failed. To
ensure that users are able to resolve names for testlabs.com in such a scenario, you need to
change the stub zone to a secondary zone on ABC-SR05. This is because the primary name
server notifies the secondary zone server keeps an identical copy of the primary zone. Although it
contains read-only zone information, it can resolve names of the existing names.
You need to remove the stub zone because it requires the IP address of at least one DNS server
in the source domain to the DNS server hosting the stub zone. If this server goes down, then the
stub zone records eventually expire.
Reference: The Long and Short of Stub Zones / What Happens if a Source Server Goes Offline?

http://redmondmag.com/columns/article.asp?EditorialsID=641

Reference: DNS Stub Zones in Windows Server 2003

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/DNS_Stub_Zones.html

---

QUESTION 6
You are employed as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008 and all client
computers run Windows Vista.
The ABC.com domain contains three Windows Server 2008 servers named ABC-SR05, ABCSR06
and ABC-SR07. ABC-SR05 and ABC-SR06 are configured as DNS servers while ABCMicrosoft
70-642: Practice Exam
SR07 passes DNS requests on to ABC-SR06.
How can you configured to enable ABC-SR07 to be updated as soon as DNS records are updated
on ABC-SR06 ?

A. You should execute the ipconfig /flushdns command on all ABC.com client computers.
B. You should execute the dnscmd /clearcache command on ABC-SR07.
C. You should decrease the Retry Interval value of the Start of Authority (SOA) record of ABC.com
to 10 minutes in the DNS service.
D. You should increase the Expires After option of the Start of Authority (SOA) record to 10
minutes in the DNS service.
E. You should enable the DNS Client service on the all client computers in the zone.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To ensure that ABC-SR07 is able to resolve the updated DNS record immediately you need to run
the dnscmd . /clearcache command on ABC-SR07.
Both the DNS server and the local DNS resolver cache any records they receive for a period of
time determined by a TTL setting in the record. The SOA for the zone determines the default TTL,
which is one hour for Windows DNS servers. To ensure that server immediately finds the updated
record, you need to use the Clear Cache option in the server’s property menu in the DNS console
or use the Dnscmd utility with the syntax dnscmd /clearcache, so that less records needs to be
searched.
If you restart the DNS user workstations it will only clear the DNS client cache. This will not resolve
the problem and restore proper name resolution however the DNS server will still respond to query
the name of the workstation.
Reference: dnscmd . /clearcache

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/e7f31cb5-a426-4e25-b714-

88712b8defd51033.mspx?mfr=true
Reference: 10 DNS Errors That Will Kill Your Network

http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=413

---

QUESTION 7
You work as an enterprise administrator for ABC.com. The ABC.com network consists of a forest
with a domain named us.ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server
2008.
You are responsible for a DNS server named ABC-SR10 that hosts numerous secondary zones of
which us.ABC.com is one.
What action should you take to have ABC-SR10 perform the function of a caching-only DNS
server?

A. You should have the DNS stub zones disabled on ABC-SR10 prior to re-enabling the DNS
service.
B. You should have the DNS service uninstalled on ABC-SR10 prior to re-installing the DNS
service.
C. You should configure DNS Scavenging on ABC-SR10.
D. You should modify the DNS zones on ABC-SR10 to standard primary zones.
E. You should re-configure the DNS service with one or more forwarders.
F. You should enable Zone Aging on ABC-SR10.

Answer: B

Explanation:
In order to reconfigure ABC-SR10 as a caching-only DNS server you need to disable and reenable
the DNS service on ABC-SR10. Uninstalling and reinstalling DNS service will remove all
the previously configured data from ABC-SR10.
Reference: Install the DNS Server service

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/421cd57a-9fd4-42da-8d22-

067738f034ee1033.mspx?mfr=true

---

QUESTION 8
You work as the network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a forest that
contains four domains. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2008. The
domain controllers are configured as DNS servers. All ABC.com users make use of a Web server
named ABC-SR02 to accomplish their daily tasks.
What action should you take to make sure that ABC.com users can access ABC-SR02 by using
Internet Explorer? (Each correct answer presents part of the solution. Choose THREE.)

A. By creating a GlobalNames zone on a DNS server.
B. By configuring ABC-SR02 in order to enable DFS-R on it.
C. By replicating the GlobalNames zone to all domains controllers in the ABC.com forest.
D. By creating a host (A) record for ABC-SR02 in the GlobalNames zone.
E. By creating a LegacyWINS zone on a DNS server.
F. By replicating the GlobalNames zone in the DNS zone for the forest root domain.

Answer: A,C,D

Explanation:
To ensure that users from all domains are able to access a ABC-SR02 by browsing to http: //Test
WebApp you need to create a zone named GlobalNames on a DNS server. Then GlobalNames
zone can be replicated to all domain controllers in the forest. Lastly a host (A) record can be
created for ABC-SR02 in the zone.
GlobalNames Zone (also known as GNZ) is designed to enable the resolution of the single-label,
static, global names for servers using DNS. GNZ is intended to aid the retirement of WINS, and it’s
not a replacement for WINS. GNZ is not intended to support the single-label name resolution of
records that are dynamically registered in WINS, records which typically are not managed by IT
administrators.
Reference: Understanding GlobalNames Zone in Windows Server 2008

http://www.petri.co.il/windows-DNS-globalnames-zone.htm

---

QUESTION 9
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. ABC.com has its headquarters in Miami and a branch office in Toronto. IPv4
addressing is utilized at both offices.
During the course of the day you receive instruction from ABC.com to travel to the Toronto office
and deploy an additional server named ABC-SR06.
What action should you take to configure Routing and Remote Access on ABC-SR06?

A. You should have ABC-SR06 configured with the Routing and Remote Access role.
Then you should execute the netsh command with the interface ipv4 enable parameter.
B. You should have ABC-SR06 configured with the Routing and Remote Access role.
Then you should enable IPv4 Router Routing and Remote Access on ABC-SR06.
C. You should execute the netsh command with the interface ipv4 enable parameter on ABCSR06
prior to enabling Routing and Remote Access.
D. You should execute the netsh command with the ras ipv4 set access ALL parameter on ABCSR06.
Then you should have Router Routing and Remote Access enabled for IPv4 and IPv6.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To configure routing on the server at the branch office, you need to first install the Routing and
Remote Access role on the server and then enable the IPv4 Router Routing and Remote Access
option on the server.

---

QUESTION 10
You work as the enterprise administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain
named ABC.com. ABC.com currently has their headquarters located in Miami. The ABC.com
network servers run Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and the client computers run Microsoft
Windows Vista.
You are preparing to deploy a computer named ABC-SR21 which is configured with the Network
Access Policy (NAP) server role. ABC.com wants you to have the tunnel interface and the IPv6
Loopback interface as the only connections running IPv6.
What action should you take?

A. You should execute the netsh interface ipv4 enable command on ABC-SR21.
B. You should consider clearing the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) checkbox in the Local
Area Connection Properties window.
C. You should execute the netsh internal interface ipv6 delete command on ABC-SR21.
D. You should consider disabling the IPv4 Routing and Remote Access option on ABC-SR21.

Answer: B

Explanation:
To disable IPv6 for all connections except for the tunnel interface and the IPv6 Loopback interface,
you need to uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) from the Local Area Connection
Properties window.
This is because unlike Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, IPv6 in Windows Vista and
Windows Server 2008 cannot be uninstalled. However, you can disable IPv6 in Windows Vista
and Windows Server 2008 by doing one of the following: In the Network Connections folder, obtain
properties on all of your connections and adapters and clear the check box next to the Internet
Protocol version 6 (TCP/IPv6) components in the list.
This method disables IPv6 on your LAN interfaces and connections, but does not disable IPv6 on
tunnel interfaces or the IPv6 loopback interface.
Reference: IPv6 for Microsoft Windows: Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/ipv6/ipv6faq.mspx

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Why Microsoft's tablet strategy is flawed

Gary Marshall: Do we really want tablets to mimic our PCs?

Imagine if the motor car was designed not around the engine, but the horse. Instead of fuel injection we'd have carrots on strings. Our steering wheels would be connected to reins, we'd honk the horn to make the car move faster, and we would live in constant fear of enormous horse farts.

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That's more or less what Microsoft wants to do with tablets.

Speaking at Microsoft's Partner Conference in LA, Windows Phone president Andy Lees pooh-poohed the idea of Windows Phone running on tablets. "We view a tablet as a PC," he said, claiming that "Microsoft wants people to be able to do the sort of things they do on a PC on a tablet."

Opinion:Windows 8 could make you rethink buying iPad 3

While Microsoft plans a "unified ecosystem" of devices sharing the same OS, the transcript of Lees' speech on WinRumors shows that the "sort of things" Microsoft has in mind for tablets are "things like networking, to be able to connect to networks and utilize networking tools. To get USB drives and plop them into the tablet. To be able to do things like printing, all of the things, using Office, using all of the things you would expect on a PC."

Last month, I wrote: "I worry that Microsoft isn't thinking 'how do we reinvent document creation and editing on tablets?', but 'how can we shove Office into it?'"

I didn't expect Microsoft to prove me right quite so quickly.

No means no

Windows-powered tablets have been around for longer than many TechRadar readers. Fujitsu started flogging Windows-powered tablets in the early 1990s, Microsoft unveiled its own vision for Windows-powered tablets in 2001 and a tablet-friendly version of Windows XP shipped in 2002. And with the exception of a few niche markets, they didn't sell.

Here's why. Back in 2001, PC World quoted Andrew Dixon, group marketing manager for Microsoft's Tablet PC division. "Tablet PCs are just better notebook computers," Dixon said.

As a result, things went pretty much like this for a decade:

MICROSOFT: "Look! Windows in a tablet!"

EVERYONE: "No thanks."

MICROSOFT: *rummages* "Look! A slightly different Windows in a tablet!"

EVERYONE: "No thank you."

MICROSOFT: "Look! Windows in a slightly different tablet!"

EVERYONE: "Er, no thanks."

It is entirely possible, of course, that with Windows 8 Microsoft will finally find the magic formula, a version of Windows that's as finger-friendly as iOS, Android or WebOS and that doesn't suffer from the complexity and vulnerabilities of a fully-fledged desktop operating system.

It's possible. But it's not very likely.

We're in Maslow's Hammer territory here. Maslow's Hammer, Wikipedia informs me, is the rule we know as "it is tempting, if the only tool you have is in a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail".

Microsoft's hammer is Windows, and 2011's "Microsoft wants people to be able to do the sort of things they do on a PC on a tablet" is the same message as 2002's "Tablet PCs are just better notebook computers".

It wasn't the right message then, and I don't think it's the right message now.

How do I select the most marketable database certification for me?

Which database certification is the most marketable? It is clear when searching online job sites that Oracle, DB2, and SQL Server certifications are what employers are expecting from a qualified database administrator (DBA). Being aware of the different standards for each industry will help you decide which is best for you 70-640 Training .

SQL Server 2008 is the current version and offers progressive certification levels entitled Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), IT Professional (MCITP), Master (MCM), and Architect (MCA). The MCTS Implementation and Maintenance certification is required for the MCITP DBA exam.

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The MCTS Database Development certification is required for the MCITP Database Developer exam. Both the MCITP DBA and the Database Developer certifications are required for the MCM exam. The MCM certification is required to reach MCA. The MCA certification requires a review board interview conducted by Microsoft. This would be the most marketable certification for someone wanting to move into a senior DBA position at a small to medium size company.

Oracle has historically been the most popular platform for larger companies. It has a balanced presence across all platforms and currently dominates all forms of UNIX. It is a close second to SQL Server on Windows and has been the most marketable certification internationally for years. The Oracle 9i Release 2 certification has three progressive levels of advancement called Associate (OCA), Administrator (OCP), and Master (OCM). An OCM will work best for someone looking forward to joining a large company and is willing to relocate.

DB2 is the platform of choice for most mainframes. It has a significant UNIX and Linux market presence because it runs on almost any operating system. DB2 offers a highly scalable and flexible product in a setting where most of the customer interaction happens through an ATM or kiosk of some kind. These custom devices require custom software and applications that can eventually report to an Oracle or SQL database but cannot run the software themselves.

The progressive certifications for DB2 are IBM Certified Database Associate, Administrator, and Advanced DBA. The Associate level is the prerequisite to the Administrator, which includes DBA for Linux, UNIX, and Windows (LUW), Mainframe DB2 DBA for z/OS, and IBM-Certified Application Developer. These certifications are only for a dedicated DB2 and mainframe professional as DB2 is not marketable is other industries and platforms Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.

Cloud Computing: What You Need to Know About PaaS

Cloud computing discussions invariably begin with the “IPS” taxonomy: Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service. This taxonomy has the virtue of being comprehensible and neatly partitioning assessment requirements:

The Challenges PaaS Presents

Why would one call PaaS a significant challenge for users? Simply because the undoubted power and productivity of these platforms brings a new set of issues to enterprises that they may not realize until well after they’ve deployed a number of applications.

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Here are some of the things IT leaders should think about as they begin to evaluate their PaaS options:

1. Lock-in. Using a PaaS framework entwines your functionality with the CSP framework far more than installing your application into a provider’s virtual machine. Attempting to extract an application when it is internally dependent upon services the provider presents requires deep inspection of code–not just installing a tarball into a different provider. The productivity you gain by leveraging the PaaS provider’s offerings is matched by the dependence you suffer by being locked into the specifics of the offering. I’m less disposed than many to see lock-in as purely negative, as in my experience organizations embrace lock-in because it provides significant benefits. But it’s important to go into this with one’s eye open because it definitely represents a higher level of lock-in.

2. Complexity. Every PaaS provider puts its set of functionality together differently, with its framework constructed according to its view of how applications should be designed. Trying to determine how best to write and run your application in a PaaS environment is not trivial. For sure, it’s a big step away from traditional on-premise environments.

3. CSP (cloud services provider) differentiation. As noted above, a number of PaaS frameworks claim to provide a layer of abstraction that hides the details of the cloud provider from the application developer. Setting aside the likelihood of this application abstraction really working, it overlooks the meta-application functionality that can lock one in as surely as anything. Much of this functionality will be provided by the CSP–think monitoring and payment systems, for example–and will focus on operations, not application writing. CSPs will use this level of functionality to differentiate themselves, with the net effect of locking you in at the operations level rather than the code level. Don’t think this won’t happen. The first thought a cloud provider has is, “How do I differentiate myself from other CSPs?” because they all fear becoming the computing equivalent of a “dumb pipe.”

4. New skills. Your application developers will need to learn a new framework and how to develop applications for it. While many early cloud adopters are blessed with highly skilled development personnel that build new skills quickly, in the rest of the industry, getting organizations up to speed with something new is a human capital challenge.

5. Mapping existing practices to new frameworks. Most organizations have defined frameworks, methodologies and operational practices. These will have to be evaluated in light of a new framework and modified accordingly. In effect, this issue already exists with IaaS cloud offerings; it will just be exacerbated as the richness of the new framework presents more touch points for mapping.

Intel Joins the Windows 8 Developer Push

IDF takes place at the same time as BUILD, and the Wintel alliance (for now) is linking arms to reach out to developers Microsoft 70-640 Training .”.

If you’re going to Intel’s Developer Forum next week and want to know what’s up with Windows 8, good news: you don’t have to jet down to Anaheim, Microsoft has got you covered at IDF, too.

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As we all know, the Microsoft BUILD conference takes place next week in Anaheim, California (just across the street from Disneyland). BUILD is a rollup of PDC and WinHEC, so it’s the show for developers to attend. At the same time, Intel is hosting the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.

This may present a quandary for some people, but thankfully, Microsoft and Intel are coordinating this rather well. For those of you attending IDF, you can get yourself at least some info on Windows 8. As for a beta, well, we still don’t know if one will come out at BUILD (although I’d be shocked if it didn’t happen). The most likely scenario is that you can register to get the beta while at IDF.

The information comes courtesy of Intel’s IDF site, which lists a few notable sessions involving Microsoft (click on the Technical Session Catalog and search for Microsoft). The biggest one comes on Wednesday, where Microsoft will deliver a session on Windows 8 called “Microsoft Windows 8 on Intel Architecture.” This session will be the look at Windows 8 and discuss “the work both companies are undertaking to deliver this new compute experience.”

Most of the sessions are reserved for Thursday, the last day of IDF. I’ve seen how attendance falls off on day 3 of IDF and question whether that’s a good idea, but maybe it was all they had Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.

The two companies will host a session called “Hot Topic Q&A: Intel and Microsoft – Windows 8.” Microsoft will have three representatives, Intel will have two engineers.

Another session on Thursday will be “Microsoft Windows Platform Evolution and UEFI Requirements.” UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and will finally replace the creaky old BIOS firmware that has been in PCs for more than 30 years. The session will talk about the latest Windows 8 platform requirements including UEFI boot and security features.

The final session on Thursday will be “Integrating Intel Platform Capabilities on Microsoft Windows Security Architecture.” Intel will detail improvements in the Windows security architecture and how Intel hardware will work with the next-generation of Windows.

Sure sounds like a beta is coming, doesn’t it?

Microsoft's 5 biggest weaknesses

Search, mobile devices, the Web and even the desktop represent challenges for Redmond

For all its success as the world's biggest maker of PC operating systems and office programs, Microsoft's position as the dominant provider of software to consumers is at risk.

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2. Browsers

Once upon a time, Microsoft's Internet Explorer commanded greater than 90% market share, dominating the Web browser market as much as Windows dominates PCs today. The Microsoft monopoly earned itself antitrust penalties by beating Netscape into submission, but it wasn't until the rise of Mozilla's Firefox (a descendant of Netscape) and Google's Chrome that the monopoly would be broken.

Nowadays, Microsoft loses browser share almost every single month, dropping to 52.71% in total number of users, according to Net Applications, and to 42.45% in total page views, according to StatCounter. The discrepancy between numbers of users and amount of usage suggests that the Web's heaviest users are the ones who replace the default Internet Explorer with Firefox and Chrome.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 took steps forward in speed, the user interface, and ability to display sophisticated content like HTML5, and Microsoft is moving to a faster release schedule that brings improvements to users on a more regular basis. Perhaps just as important, Microsoft has made IE9 available only on the newest versions of Windows, arguing that creating browsers that work across all types of computers drives quality down by appealing to the lowest common denominator.

In other words, Microsoft says Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox are hobbled because they run across Windows, Mac, Linux and older, less capable versions of Windows such as XP. Microsoft wants you to believe that unless you buy a new version of Windows, you won't get the best browsing experience.


"In the future, the browser is only as good as the operating system and the device it runs on," IE Senior Director Ryan Gavin argued several months ago. "We have to think about these things as being integrated."

Internet Explorer itself isn't a moneymaker for Microsoft, although it can be used to direct consumers to Microsoft's online services. Theoretically, someone who tries out Chrome and likes it better than IE is a potential customer for other Google products, and someone who tries out Safari and likes it may become enamored with Apple.

Because of the move from locally installed applications to the Web, the browser is becoming "the portal into your world," says IDC analyst Al Gillen. "The reason Microsoft wants to fight movement is if you can wrestle the browser away from Microsoft, the more your interface to the rest of the world becomes your browser, and you worry more about what browser you're running than what operating system you're running."

Microsoft's response: Microsoft declined to answer questions about Internet Explorer, but pointed to a blog post by executive Roger Capriotti, who notes that IE9 is gaining popularity among Windows 7 users and business customers.
3. Mobile phones and tablets

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously laughed at Apple's iPhone in 2007, saying, "It's the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which means it's not a very good email machine. ... We have great Windows Mobile devices in the market today. I look at that and say I like our strategy, I like it a lot. We're selling millions and millions and millions of phones a year. Apple is selling zero phones a year."

Gmail or Exchange? Six questions to help you make the right choice

Summary: There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all e-mail solution. After a long evaluation process, I’m happily using three different e-mail systems. Here’s how and why I chose each one.

When it comes to e-mail, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. I’ve learned that lesson emphatically over the last year as I’ve tested a variety of different e-mail solutions for myself and for various friends and clients.

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The top-secret Technology Reviewers Handbook says that after all that evaluating I’m supposed to pick a winner. But there is no clear winner. Instead, I’m happily using three different e-mail systems:

My business e-mail i running on a hosted Exchange account at Intermedia. My wife’s business account is hosted on the same server. (I’ve written previously about my reasons for choosing Exchange 2010; I switched to Intermedia earlier this year because they offered Exchange 2010 when other hosted Exchange providers were still offering Exchange 2007.)
I have a single user account at Office 365 for several upcoming projects, where features other than e-mail were the deciding factor.
I’m playing Google Apps administrator for an out-of-state client who needed a free, easy e-mail solution that would work well with his new Android phone.

Why three different solutions? Because each client (including myself) had different needs. I sorted them out by asking a series of questions and thought it might be useful to share my decision tree here.

A note: If you live in the United States, your options should be the same as the ones I write about in this post. In other countries, some services might not be available, and others might be offered at different prices. In addition, I do not cover the many educational offerings available for students and others associated with an educational institution.

1. Do you want a store-and-forward server or one that syncs your messages in the cloud?

Most Internet service providers offer POP3 mailboxes. They’re usually a standard feature with cheap web-hosting plans, too. These accounts use store-and-forward servers that assume you’re downloading your messages to a local store and deleting them off the server immediately. The server isn’t designed to keep an archive. Your master copy of any message is local.

By contrast, cloud-based mail products store your messages on a server so that you can access your e-mail—all of it, new and old—via a web browser. You can usually sync the server’s message store with a local PC or device, using Exchange ActiveSync or IMAP.

For this question, I think there’s only one correct answer. If you work in a big corporation, a central server that stores every user’s messages is a key part of a legally acceptable archiving policy. But a cloud-based server is also a good idea even if you’re a one-person organization. If you have more than one device (smartphone and PC, maybe a notebook, maybe a tablet), keeping everything in sync with a POP3 account is impossible. I still have a few POP3 accounts associated with some domains I own, but I forward all incoming messages from those accounts to a cloud-based account.

2. Do you need a custom domain?

I’m a firm believer in owning your own domain—especially for business mail. You might be perfectly happy to use a generic webmail address as your calling card to the rest of the world. (Just don’t adopt an address from your ISP as your primary e-mail account. If you move or change service providers, that address will become useless.)

The free Google Apps offering allows you to assign your custom domain to Google Apps. Hotmail offers this feature, too, but the domain management tools in Windows Live Admin Center made me want to scream in frustration. For my out-of-state clients, it took a few hours to get their custom domain working with Google Apps, but after those initial hiccups were out of the way it’s been problem-free.

Naturally, all of the paid services—hosted Exchange, Office 365, and Google Apps—offer excellent integration with custom domains. For Office 365 and Intermedia, I had a choice of turning an entire domain over or just defining mail exchange (MX) records. If you know your way around DNS configuration, this is a straightforward task. If you don’t, be prepared to ask for help (or take a crash course in DNS management).

Here’s the DNS manager for an Office 365 P plan. Note that you must set up the MX records with an external DNS service and can’t edit them here:

And here’s the custom DNS manager that Intermedia customers find in the HostPilot control panel:

3. Do you plan to use Microsoft Outlook?

If you live in Outlook, then your primary account should be on an Exchange 2010 server. Period. Full stop.

The combination of Outlook and Exchange offers great online and offline support. That’s true whether you’re using Microsoft’s Office 365 or a hosted Exchange option like Intermedia’s. Hotmail accounts work well after you install the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector.

My experience with accessing Gmail and Google Apps accounts via Microsoft Outlook has been consistently bad—so bad that I won’t use the two products together. I won’t recommend that combination for anyone else, either. If you have a Gmail account and you want offline access, you can use the Offline settings in Google’s Chrome browser or try a third-party client program other than Outlook.

How Apple's iPad is changing the computer world

With or without Steve Jobs, Apple's [AAPL] iPad isn't just a PC replacement, it's a completely new solution that will define the next-generation of computing, no matter how long the analysts take to recognize the device as more than the equivalent of a PC.

iMusical iYouth

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It shows 24-students in a music class at a UK school working together with an adult music teacher (Neil Johnston) to create a release-quality track using 24 iPads.(You can buy the song on iTunes in the US right here.)

The song is completely original, and guitars are linked to the iPad using Apogee Jam while drums and vocals are recorded through iRig Mic and M-audio midi keyboards, themselves all plugged into iPads.

"The iPad is a breakthrough device for the classroom because the opportunities are endless for app integration within an education curriculum," Neil Johnston (@storevanmusic), the music teacher featured in the video above, said to me. "For us, with music, the iPad now allows all students to be engaged in the learning and performing process."

All aboard

This is a big deal, because it boosts inclusion, he explains. "Before, the kid who struggled to play an instrument was given a triangle and told to sit out of the limelight, trying to keep in time. Now that kid, can open up GarageBand and press some chords on a guitar or piano. That kid is now involved with their classmates, that kid is engaged, having a great time, and learning too! Our project was never about replacing real instruments, it was about an engaging music lesson, where every student had a role to play and could take part."

Johnston will fly across to the US this fall to tour New York and beyond, where he'll be hosting sessions inside Apple retail stores, I hear. Watch this space for details.

This isn't the first remarkable use of an iPad in music, or in the classroom. Look around and you'll find many, many more (including three at the end of this story), but it is an interesting reflection on just how much impact a device which is under two years old has already had across so many industries.

The evolution of both the PC and the Post-PC will both go down on the world-changing track record of Apple's ex-CEO, Steve Jobs. However, the significance will extend far beyond that: Apple is defining the new generation of computing.

Incidentally, the UK experiment above prompted Sting to say: "I'm very impressed... Your use of studio as classroom and technology as teacher is exactly what we need to maintain music as a vital part of the curriculum."

[ABOVE: An iPad orchestra plays us to the post-PC future.]

This is the real deal

iPads and similar devices will become the defacto way that people use computers. Laptops are too big and smart phones too small. For many, the iPad is the perfect size -- but the key to the future isn't the technology -- that must become ever more pervasive, but the apps. Apple's app empire is its key differentiation, raising the value of its solutions far above those from everyone else.

HP's move to launch a fire sale on its TouchPad will soon be emulated by all the other tablet vendors (bar Apple) who will perhaps realize that it isn't enough to talk about tech specs, and make sure a device runs Flash (which no one really likes), but you need to resonate with consumers.

And the way to resonate with consumers is to create devices which offer all the creative possibilities of a child's toy, alongside all the productive capabilities of a Mac and all the time-wasting potential of a television, a good book, or radio. And you get all this with the iPad, iTunes and, in future, the iCloud ecosystem.

No one wins a price war

Price is a factor. The HP fire sale saw a few foolish customers waste a hundred dollars or so on a device which will never see a software update, and which has no app market. The sale has raised some cash to offset HP's losses, but customers will quickly tire of a device they can't upgrade, and can't purchase software for. Though some may enjoy installing Linux on the things, that hardly constitutes a mass market.

The success of the sale ably illustrates that there is space in the market for a cheap tablet -- but can you make a cheap tablet? I don't think so. Those cheaper devices just don't have the build quality, the operating system, the screen, the interface, they just don't match up. Also, last time I looked, components were hard to find...

This means that for the present, Apple will maintain its tablet market lead until 2013 at the earliest. Given the company has today begun manufacturing components for next year's iPad 3, there's no end in sight for innovation yet.

What would Steve do?

That's because people at Apple ask themselves one thing in the morning and one thing at night these days, "What would Steve do?"

Reflect on this: The interesting thing about a company collectively and individually asking itself that question is that the result might actually be a post-Jobs renaissance of innovation, as even the guy in the back room suddenly comes up with a great idea.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Do what you love. That's a statement of philosophy that can't be matched by any dry focus-group-led discussion on Megahertz or memory.

2017: When PCs go the way of the dinosaur?

Today, In-Stat predicted that the global tablet market will reach 250 million shipments by 2017. It's a seemingly big number, but its real significance is bigger: How much will tablets displace PC sales?

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Right now the global install base of PCs is about 1 billion units. Shipments have been above 300 million PCs per year, but they're way down in mature markets, still strong in some emerging markets and losing sales to tablets, according to both Gartner and IDC. Is there market sustainable enough for 300 million PCs and 250 million tablets? I'm the wrong person to answer, having already proclaimed -- to the chagrin of many Betanews commenters -- that the "PC era is over."

The synopsis to In-Stat's report -- "The Reality and Ramifications of Tablets" -- focuses more on how consumer electronics devices are impacted. In-Stat sent me data sheets with no data, but questions and other info that let me see the report doesn't take the PC into the equation.

It is the PC that will matter more to many Betanews readers managing IT departments.
Two months ago, I asked: "Are tablets a fad?". In-Stat's data surely suggests otherwise. Then there are Gartner and IDC, which, respectively, forecast 69.8 million and 53.5 million this year.

Much depends on overlap. How much can tablets replace PCs? Many of our readers don't see that happening. Maybe, but Windows 8 is coming, and I'm expecting a juicy developer beta to drop during next month's BUILD conference. Microsoft is clearly targeting Windows 8 for tablets as well as desktop and portable PCs -- and it's what analyst firms Gartner and IDC consider a "full" OS rather than a mobile.

In context of Microsoft entering the tablet market in a big-OS way and with its core market being businesses, there's good reason to rethink the PC's future -- not just in the hands of Apple or Android tablets but Microsoft leading businesses down a hybrid path. Whatever, tablets are maturing fast and the overlap with PC functionally can only get greater (with Windows 8 part of that equation).

I don't see enough room for both tablets and PCs in 2017. Something has to give. Either tablets must cannibalize PC sales or a hybrid product emerges, something that absolutely could happen in a post-Windows 7 world, with Windows 8 driving new form factors. That 250 million is a mighty big number. But many analysts made big predictions about netbooks, which sales have collapsed before tablets. It may be that Microsoft and its hardware partners can similarly upset the current tablet market with Windows 8. If not, we have a date, or thereabouts, for PC's obsolescence: 2017.

In the here and now, In-Stat sees tablets encroaching on consumer electronics devices. "The tablet market and its associated ecosystem are still evolving. Over the next few generations we will see more differentiation between devices that are targeting different market segments and usage models. In addition, competitive device and service pricing will bring tablets into the mainstream consumer and enterprise markets", Jim McGregor, In-Stat chief technology strategist, says in a statement.

"Tablets are joining an array of smart-connected devices that allow users almost unlimited access to content and communications", he continues. "These new devices mark a significant change in the value change of the electronics industry where the content and applications are now the key differentiators and innovation drivers".

In-Stat sees Android and iOS coming to dominate 90 percent of the tablet market during the forecast period, with Windows pulling up the rear. Tablets 9 inches to 11 inches will make up 56 percent of the total tablet market in 2017.

HP PC Spin-Off Puts Pressure on Microsoft to Nail Windows 8

Hewlett-Packard's sale or spin-off of its PC business will put pressure on Microsoft to "hit the ball out of the park" with Windows 8, an analyst said today.

Computerworld — Hewlett-Packard's sale or spin-off of its PC business will put pressure on Microsoft (MSFT) to "hit the ball out of the park" with Windows 8, an analyst said today.

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For the short term, then, Microsoft is unlikely to notice any difference in Windows sales.

However, like Miller, Margevicius saw the move as a signal of a troubling trend.

HP will retain the webOS operating system it acquired last year from Palm, but it will halt development and production of any tablets based on webOS.

HP's webOS-based TouchPad went on sale only a month ago, and several former Palm executives, including former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, currently have high positions in HP's Personal Systems Group.

"HP tried to put the defibulator on its PC business with the TouchPad, but it's not yielding the kind of results it wanted," said Margevicius. "The patient isn't dead, but it's moved into assisted living."

Ironically, Miller saw the withdrawal of HP from the tablet hardware business as a win for Microsoft.

HP made it clear that it was betting on its own webOS, rather than Windows 8, for its tablets. By exiting the market, it means that there's "one less partner" to convince that Windows 8 is the right OS for tablets.

"For Windows 8 to succeed [on tablets] Microsoft needs a partner that's passionate, and one that will work with Microsoft to make a great tablet," said Miller.

Both Miller and Margevicius attributed the decision by HP to dump the PC side of its business to the small, fragile margins on Windows-based personal computers.

"This is MBA 101," said Margevicius. "This part of their business may be attractive from a legacy perspective, but it's the part of [HP's] business that generates the least amount of revenue. And HP is run by someone with no strong ties to hardware. [Leo] Apotheker has three things in mind: software, services and support, and not particularly in that order. All those businesses are far more profitable than PCs."

HP hired Apotheker, a former CEO of German software and support giant SAP, as its president and chief executive in September 2010.

Margevicius said that Dell, the world's No. 2 PC seller, will likely reap the most benefit from HP's ridding itself of its PC group. "Dell will be viewed as the vendor that is safe and solid," he said.

Microsoft: We make more money on cloud-based Exchange than legacy email

Per-user income greater in cloud, or so Microsoft claims

microsoft Claims it earns more money per user from cloud-based Exchange email accounts than it does selling the legacy version of Exchange Server most businesses deploy today.

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That's what Microsoft investor relations GM Bill Koefoed said at the Oppenheimer Annual Technology, Media & Telecommunications Conference Tuesday, according to a transcript on Microsoft's website. Customers who purchase Exchange as part of the Office 365 cloud service pay roughly $10 per month, less than they would in the back-end costs of running their own Exchange servers, but nearly all of of it goes directly to Microsoft, he said.

Hosted productivity suites: Google Apps or Microsoft Office 365?

That doesn't mean Microsoft actually makes more money in the cloud than it does with its traditional business of selling software licenses. For one thing, Microsoft's cloud customer base is mostly small businesses. To gain the kind of per-user profits Koefoed is talking about, Microsoft needs Office 365 to lure in big enterprises.

"Within an enterprise, let's say it costs $15 per user per month today to run Exchange, and that's about $2 for Microsoft, and that's $13 in rent, power, the data base administrator that's running the thing, the hardware and all the kind of services that are associated with kind of running Exchange in your premise," Koefoed said.

"With Office 365, or with Exchange Online, the Exchange part of that, we charge $10 per user per month," he continued. "So, that ends up being a savings to the CIO of roughly 33%, and we make 5X more revenue and our profit ends up being somewhere, $3 or $4 per user per month. So, we make more revenue and we make more profit and we save our customers money."

The profit ends up being $3 or $4 per user per month because it costs Microsoft $6 or $7 per user to run the data centers powering the cloud service. "We can do that at scale," Koefoed noted. "Interestingly, one of the things that we've learned in our search business is how to run data centers at scale."

Koefoed gave the example in response to investors' questions about how Microsoft's revenue in the cloud compares to its traditional business model of selling software licenses. The popularity of Google Apps with small businesses is among the factors that forced Microsoft to expand its Web-based offerings, but investors are likely concerned these offerings will cannibalize Microsoft's existing revenue streams.

Koefoed's example leaves out the fact that Office 365 is appealing mostly to smaller businesses with few users. The small business version of Office 365, which includes Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Office Web Apps, costs only $6 per user per month. An actual Exchange Server license, meanwhile, costs $700 for a standard edition and $4,000 for an enterprise edition, plus extra charges for client access licenses.

Enterprises can lessen the financial hit because of their scale, making the economics of running their own servers worthwhile for the customer, which is why Koefoed can say enterprises pay Microsoft only $2 per user per month to run Exchange. For small customers, the per-user cost of running Exchange Server without a cloud subscription would be higher, and therefore more profitable for Microsoft. Whether Microsoft actually makes more per-user profit from cloud services than packaged software is therefore questionable.

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Microsoft HealthVault to Accept Google Health Record Transfers

Microsoft has announced a way for customers to pull in data from Google Health to its HealthVault health record platform using federal Direct Project protocols.

Microsoft says it will enable users of the soon-to-be-defunct Google Health service to transfer their data to Microsoft's HealthVault PHR (personal health record) platform using the federal government's Direct Project messaging protocols.

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The Direct Project is the Obama administration's effort to provide a simple and secure way for people to exchange authenticated, encrypted health information over the Internet.

On June 24 Google revealed that it would discontinue Google Health as of Jan. 1, 2012, and customers could still access their data until Jan. 1, 2013.

About 300 applications and 70 devices connect to HealthVault, which allows consumers to monitor health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and asthma, and record the data in an online account. Devices that connect to HealthVault include blood-pressure monitors, blood-glucose monitors and weight scales.

Microsoft announced Feb. 2 that it would integrate encrypted email functionality into HealthVault using DirectProject's security protocols.

Google Health customers can send their profiles to HealthVault as an encrypted message by selecting "Send profile to another service" and choosing HealthVault, according to Microsoft, which announced the arrangement on July 18 and posted instructions on its Website.

Microsoft is also inviting developers who have designed applications for Google Health to migrate their software to HealthVault.

"Google has been an important ally in providing customers with access to their data and tools to better manage care online," Nate McLemore, general manager for Microsoft's Health Solutions group, said in a statement. "Microsoft continues to advance the HealthVault platform to increase its value to consumers—by adding important features, such as support for mobile devices, and by collaborating with hundreds of health organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and CVS Pharmacy—to deliver robust health and wellness applications that connect to HealthVault."

Tech industry experts have said Microsoft benefits in the PHR space by having both Amalga on the enterprise side and HealthVault on the consumer side. Amalga is Microsoft's unified enterprise health platform for storing and retrieving many types of health records. It allows hospital systems to combine health data in disparate formats into a single platform.

HealthVault is better positioned than Google was because it will be able to integrate both Amalga and SharePoint Server with HealthVault to create physician and patient portals, Lynne Dunbrack, program director of connected health IT strategies at IDC Health Insights, told eWEEK.

Redmond says health care data should flow from the hospital to the physician to the home, the company reports.

"Microsoft's strategy and investments continue to be focused on delivering these systems—Microsoft Amalga, which is designed to help health systems streamline operations and connect care teams, and HealthVault, which enables engagement with patients," Peter Neupert, corporate vice president for Microsoft's Health Solutions group, wrote in a blog post. "We believe these two platforms combined—Amalga and HealthVault—can transform care and create a patient-centric health system."

Despite the impending shutdown of Google Health, PHR platforms have a future, if they're integrated into a comprehensive health care IT strategy, according to a report by research firm Frost & Sullivan.

Still consumers have yet to show an interest in tracking health data themselves, experts say. Patients would rather have more face-to-face time with doctors, according to Shahid Shah, CEO of IT consulting firm Netspective Communications.

"People want more time with their physicians and don't really care who manages their chart," Shah wrote in his Healthcare IT Guy blog.

Google vs. Microsoft: Who's Winning?

Google and Microsoft are at each other's throats over everything from patents to Android and Windows Phone market

Google and Microsoft are at each other’s throats over Android.
The simmering rivalry between the two tech giants exploded this week, with executives trading barbs on Twitter and blog posts over patents related to mobile technology.

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This newest burst of aggression has its roots in a high-stakes auction that took place earlier this year. Microsoft and a handful of other companies submitted a $4.5 billion winning bid for some 6,000 patents and patent applications formerly owned by Nortel. Google wanted the same property, but its own bid of $900 million couldn’t quite seal the deal.

Now Google seems concerned that Microsoft and its consortium partners (which include Apple, not exactly the search-engine giant’s bosom buddy) will use those patents to sue Android manufacturers into the ground. Indeed, Microsoft is rapidly making an industry out of what it claims are Android’s violations of its intellectual property: in addition to squeezing royalties from any number of Android-device manufacturers, the company has filed patent-infringement suits against Motorola (maker of Android-based smartphones and tablets) and Barnes & Noble (which produces the Nook, an Android-based e-reader).

“Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other’s throats, so when they get into bed together, you have to start wondering what’s going on,” David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer, wrote in an Aug. 3 posting on The Official Google Blog. “Fortunately, the law frowns on the accumulation of dubious patents for anticompetitive means—which means these deals are likely to draw regulatory scrutiny, and this patent bubble will pop.”

He went on to claim that the Justice Department is “looking into whether Microsoft and Apple acquired the Nortel patents for anticompetitive means.”

Microsoft executives felt compelled to fire back.

“Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, wrote in an Aug. 3 Tweet. “Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

The same day, Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of corporate communications, also Tweeted: “Free advice for David Drummond—next time check with Kent Walker before you blog.”

He included a link to an Oct. 28 email sent to Brad Smith by Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, suggesting that “a joint bid wouldn’t be advisable for us on this one.”

Rather than let Microsoft blow a hole beneath the waterline of his tight little narrative, Drummond updated his original post Aug. 4: “If you think about it, it’s obvious why we turned down Microsoft’s offer,” he wrote. A joint acquisition of the patents “that gave all parties a license would have eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners.”

A number of analyst estimates have Android leading the mobile market. According to recent data from Nielsen, for example, Android held 39 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, followed by Apple’s iPhone with 28 percent, RIM with 20 percent, and Microsoft with 9 percent. Similarly, research firm comScore placed Android’s share of the U.S. market at 40.1 percent, followed by Apple with 26.6 percent, RIM with 23.4 percent and Microsoft with 5.8 percent.

Combined with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s recent admission that Windows Phone’s market share is “very small,” it seems Android is handily winning the mobility wars despite Microsoft’s patent maneuvers. That being said, Microsoft seems to have found a viable source of revenue in its latest string of Android lawsuits and “royalty agreements,” something the company is likely to vigorously push in quarters ahead; Jack Gold, founder and principal analyst of J. Gold Associates, recently theorized that Microsoft’s cash stream from Android royalties could even top that of Windows Phone.

Meanwhile, Google’s core business—search—continues to outpace Microsoft’s Bing, although the latter has enjoyed incremental market share gains over the past several quarters. Microsoft has demonstrated a willingness to burn hundreds of millions of dollars to keep itself in the search game, something that makes its investors nervous—but doesn’t seem to have any appreciable effect on Google’s ability to earn lots of cash from advertising.

So Android continues to handily dominate Microsoft in the actual mobility and search markets, but Microsoft has a variety of good legal cards to play in order to make life more difficult, both for Google and its manufacturing partners. In other words, look forward to some messy battles (and more irate blog and Twitter posts) to come.

Chrome 13 Stable as Google Pays 17K for Bug Fixes

Google's Chrome browser version 13 is stable, featuring Instant Pages predictive search technology, print preview for Windows and Linux machines, as well as a better omnibox. Also featuring: 30 bug fixes.

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Google has taken Chrome version 13 stable (technically Chrome 13.0.782.107), fixing several bugs and turning the search engine's new Instant Pages feature on as the browser’s default. The next step in Google’s predictive-search technology, Instant Pages is based on a Google-developed prerendering technology that prepares the top search result in the background while a user chooses which link to click. The company says this saves users two to five seconds on typical searches.

Ideally, this technology removes the latency many Web pages exhibit when users click on them. This could, in turn, possibly entice more people to tap Chrome—which has a 13.5 percent market share worldwide—as their search browser of choice.

Also with Chrome 13, print preview is available for Windows and Linux users. The technology, which is, as usual, not yet available yet for Macs, leverages Google's built-in PDF viewer and a "print to PDF" option.

Finally, Chrome's omnibox address bar and search box have been improved to more easily let users go back to pages they’ve visited before. Users need only type part of the Web page's address or title to find matching pages from their search history in the dropdown menu. While there had been some talk about the omnibox going away, clearly that's not the case in this iteration.

A major focus of the 5,200 improvements in the browser is bug fixes. Google and participating third-party experts found and plugged 30 of them, as the search engine paid out $17,000 to “bug squashers.” "Miaubiz" earned $7,500 for detecting various exploits, including $1,000 each for so-called "use after free" exploits.

Sergey Glazunov, a fixture among the bug hunters, netted $3,000 total. That included $1,500 apiece for finding a cross-origin script injection and cross-origin violation in base URI handling. See the complete list of found flaws and payouts in this blog post.

In other Chrome-related news, Google is now making it possible for developers in a host of countries to complete merchant account sign up and start adding their paid apps to the Chrome Web Store.

Google—which last month created the In App Payments API to enable developers to receive payments for applications they sell in the Chrome Web Store in 140 countries—also added the ability to target or exclude specific markets.

Specifically, Chrome Web Store developers can publish their apps only to the following regions: Argentina, Australia, Austria (new), Belgium (new), Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic (new), Denmark (new), Finland (new), France, Germany, Hong Kong (new), India, Indonesia (new), Israel (new), Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand (new), Norway (new), Philippines (new), Poland, Portugal, Russia (new), Singapore (new), Spain, Sweden (new), Switzerland (new) and the U.S. and U.K.

Gartner: Windows Phone 7 sales modest, but promising

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 sold 1.6 million units in the first quarter of 2011, according to Gartner. Though this represents only "modest sales," Nokia's support for the new smartphone OS will help it move forward in the future, the research firm adds.

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Microsofts Windows Phone sold 1.6 million units in the first quarter, according to new data from research firm Gartner. The smartphones, which represent Microsoft's attempt to take market share from the likes of Google Android and the Apple iPhone, originally made their debut in late 2010.

Windows Phone "devices launched at the end of 2010 failed to grow in consumer preference and CSPs [communication service providers] continued to focus on Android," reads Gartners May 19 research note. However, "in the long term, Nokias support will accelerate Windows Phones momentum."

Microsofts deal with Nokia will see Windows Phone ported onto the latters hardware. As Nokia begins to abandon its homegrown Symbian platform in favor of Microsofts offering, however, it could create an opening for the companies competitors to seize additional market share.

"This will precipitate a competitors rush to capture Symbians market share in the mid-tier," Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, wrote in the May 19 research note. Should Google or Apple succeed, it could prove an unwelcome consequence to an agreement designed to bolster Microsofts and Nokias fortunes in the space.


Worldwide smartphone sales to end users by operating system in 1Q11 (thousands of units)

Source: Gartner

Gartner's numbers (above) show that about 3.6 million phones with Microsoft operating systems were sold during the first quarter of 2011. This suggests that, ironically, Redmond's earlier Windows Mobile 6.5 is still more popular than Windows Phone 7, despite regularly being criticized as obsolete. (Windows Mobile has a large application base and many enterprise-friendly features, so it obviously still appeals to conservative customers.)

Meanwhile, Microsoft is developing a substantial Windows Phone 7.5 update, code-named "Mango," which will introduce a broad range of consumer and enterprise functionality, including the ability to search a server for email items no longer stored on the device, and share and save Office documents via Office 365 and Windows Live SkyDrive. "Mango" (below) will also include Bing Audio, which identifies any songs playing in the vicinity, and Bing Vision, an augmented-reality feature that lets a smartphones camera scan bar codes and QR Codes.

Windows Phone 7.5's conversation view (left) and Lync capabilities (right)
Source: Microsoft

Despite the challenges facing Windows Phone, the past quarter was a good one for smartphones as a whole. "Smartphones accounted for 23.6 percent of overall sales in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 85 percent year-on-year," Cozza wrote. "This share could have been higher, but manufacturers announced a number of high-profile devices during the first quarter of 2011 that would not ship until the second quarter of 2011."

The current advantage lies with smartphones that offer a broad apps ecosystem. "Every time a user downloads a native app to their smartphone or puts their data into a platforms cloud service, they are committing to a particular ecosystem and reducing the chances of switching to a new platform," she added. "This is a clear advantage for the current stronger ecosystem partners Apple and Google."

Recent data from The Nielsen Company had six percent of consumers indicating they wanted a Windows Mobile/Windows Phone 7 smartphone as their next device, compared with 31 percent for Android, 30 percent for Apples iOS and 11 percent for Research In Motions BlackBerry.

Further information

The Gartner numbers cited in this story derive from the firm's "Market Share Analysis: Mobile Devices, Worldwide, 1Q11" report, available on Gartner's website for $1,295.

Microsoft and Intel spin Windows Embedded signage platform

Microsoft and Intel announced a "validated digital signage platform" that runs Windows Embedded Standard 7 on a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-520M processor. The Digital Signage Evaluation Kit (DSEK-10) is said to include DisplayPort, DVI-D, HDMI, and VGA video outputs, a 2.5-inch hard disk drive, and 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking.

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According to Microsoft and Intel, their new "validated digital signage platform" is designed to "address the market's need for a more streamlined, high-performance, and highly reliable solution." The Digital Signage Evalulation Kit, manufactured by Winmate, will apparently be one of the first devices to ship with Microsoft's Windows Embedded Standard 7.

Winmate says the DSEK-10 will be available at the end of this month. Software will include a preinstalled OS image optimized for digital signage usage, plus a recovery DVD, the company says.

Winmate's DSEK-10

According to Winmate, the DSEK-10 uses Intel's Core i5-520M, one of the embedded-specific CPUs launched by the chipmaker in January. The CPU has a base clock speed of 2.4GHz and Turbo Boost speed of 2.93GHz, dual cores, and a 35-Watt TDP. It's teamed here, as intended, with Intel's QM57 Express chipset.

Winmate says the DSEK-10 has 4GB of DDR3 memory, supplied via two SODIMM sockets, plus a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive of unspecified capacity. Intel-supplied components also provide gigabit Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking, the latter via a Mini PCI Express module (WiMax is orderable, the company says).

Ports on the Winmate DSEK-10
(Click to enlarge)

The DSEK-10's front panel (pictured above) includes audio jacks (mic in, line in, line out) and two USB 2.0 ports, says Winmate. The rear panel (also above), meanwhile, has two more USB 2.0 ports, the gigabit Ethernet port, and four video outputs: DisplayPort, DVI-D, HDMI, and VGA. (Winmate does not cite potential resolutions nor how many of these outputs may be used at once.)

Features and specifications listed by Winmate for the DSEK-10 include:

* Processor -- Intel Core i5 520-M clocked at 2.4GHz
* Chipset -- Intel QM57 Express
* Memory -- 4GB of DDR3 RAM via two SODIMM slots
* Storage -- 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive
* Expansion -- Mini PCI slot (occupied by WLAN card)
* Networking:
o LAN -- 1 x gigabit Ethernet
o WLAN -- 802.11a/b/g/n
o WiMAX (optional)
* Other I/O:
o 4 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 2 rear)
o Audio -- mic in, line in, line out
o DisplayPort
o DVI-D
o HDMI
o VGA
* Power -- 12VDC via external AC adapter
* Operating temperature -- 32 to 104 deg. F (0 to 40 deg. C)
* Dimensions -- 7.24 x 4.92 x 1.96 inches (184 x 125 x 50mm)


The Intelligent Digital Signage Concept
(click to play)
Source: Intel

Further information

According to Intel and Microsoft, the DSEK-10 is being shown off at this week's Screenmedia Expo Europe 2010 show in London, scheduled for May 5 and May 6. Also being displayed is the Intelligent Digital Signage Concept (see video, above) that made its debut at a January convention in New York.

The Intelligent Digital Signage Concept features a seven-foot six-inch multitouch screen touted as having holographic glass. More information may be found on Intel's website, here.

Winmate did not release pricing for the DSEK-10, but said the device will be available later this month. More information may be found on the company's website, here.