Microsoft News Tracker

As presaged last week, Intel and Microsoft seem to be having separate kickoffs for their new mobile PC design. Intel lead off the dance yesterday at the Intel Developers Forum with their release of details on what they call the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) and Microsoft will introduce their version called Origami on Thursday at CeBIT. Ina Fried at ZDNet reports on Intel:

In a preview of Tuesday afternoon’s demonstration, Brad Graff, Intel’s marketing director, showed CNET News.com several of the Ultra Mobile PC devices, including an example of the kind of hardware that will ship in the next few weeks as part of the Microsoft effort.

As earlier reported, the first devices have a 7-inch touch screen, standard x86 processors, and can run full versions of desktop operating systems including the Windows XP variant being used for Origami.

In later generations, probably next year or later, the devices could have the pocket size, all-day battery life, and $500 price that Microsoft and Intel are aiming for, Graff said in an interview.

The first generation of devices are likely to get about three hours of battery life, he said.

In addition to the 7-inch model, Graff showed several other prototype devices of what the chipmaker hopes will be possible in future versions, including models with smaller screens and a swivel-out keyboard. Although the prototypes are working, because they use today’s standard components, they get only about 15 minutes of battery life.

Intel’s hardware, which uses its ultra low-voltage chips, can run standard x86 operating systems, including Windows and Linux. Microsoft plans on Thursday to finally detail its Origami effort, which runs only on Windows XP.

Intel just said the “L” word! There are more photos of the Intel prototypes here and at the overloaded Intel Ultra Mobile PC web site. Microsoft’s Robert Scoble points to a CNBC video of the prototypes. I’m pleased to see that the keyboard isn’t a completely unknown concept.

Reactions to the Intel revelations has so far been less than favorable (e.g. Blogger’s Origami dreams crumpled) and rumors abound about what Microsoft will actually reveal in their kickoff at CeBIT (e.g. Origami Just a Glorified Media Player with Nasty DRM?). I’m still puzzled about why the Microsoft operating system of choice is Windows XP, although several sources refer to it as a “special version.” We’ll find out tomorrow.

Finally, it seems that ASUS and Samsung are the two “launch partners” whose commitment to actually manufacture the devices will also be announced tomorrow. Macworld reports on Samsung and DailyTech has the ASUS story.

That’s the story from the Windows Vista Weblog which points (via NeoSeeker) to a report on Groklaw from LinuxForum on Monday quoting IBM’s Andreas Pleschek. Pleschek, who is “working at IBM in Stuttgart, Germany, and head of open source and Linux technical sales across North East Europe” makes some interesting statements about IBM’s software product plans in regards to Open Source and then drops the bomb:

Andreas Pleschek also told that IBM has cancelled their contract with Microsoft as of October this year. That means that IBM will not use Windows Vista for their desktops. Beginning from July, IBM employees will begin using IBM Workplace on their new, Red Hat-based platform. Not all at once - some will keep using their present Windows versions for a while. But none will upgrade to Vista.

There are more details by following the link, but not unexpectedly, the IBM Workplace client uses OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office so that’s out too. It’s not clear whether this policy actually applies to all of IBM or just some portion of Europe, but it’ll undoubtedly be exciting for the relevant support staff. I should also mention that this is just the standard IBM office PC. IBM software developers for Windows environments would presumably get an exception.

While IBM is a large company, I don’t think the loss of IBM’s desktops makes much difference to Microsoft except for the unfortunate salesman assigned to the IBM account. It does however, make it clear that IBM is turning serious about desktop Linux.

Finally, Pleschek’s presentation had items of general interest as well:

Last year, IBM changed their business model after a Gartner study told them that 19% of the software market will move from commercial, proprietary software to open source software over the next five years. IBM’s new philosophy is to take the best from both worlds. They will use open source for the commodities, i.e. things that everyone need, such as file zippers, browsers and word processors. On the other hand, he said, proprietary software is better for specialized software - mainly because there is not enough community interest to drive a complex, fast development for something that only a few people need. He said that there is a pendulum motion between the two, so the border between what is best solved by Open Source and what is best solved by proprietary software moves all the time.

Accordingly, IBM will now offer three categories of software: Some will be Open Source, which they will help develop, sponsor or even donate to the Open Source community. Also, they will offer support and integration for it. Some software will still be proprietary - mostly their big, complex systems in full-blown versions. And some will be offered as closed source, but free download. That will often be watered-down versions of the proprietary software. He used the term “community edition”.

When asked from the audience whether the new business model works, he said that IBM’s customers loved it but that their sales persons were “concerned”. But since Gartner predicted that 19% of the market shares would be lost anyway, he did not think that it makes much difference on sales. And if they can sell support to just 10% of the customers that switch to open source, they will still be better off.

I would guess that the salesmen were still a hard sell since, for obvious reasons, they tend to have a short time horizon.

Update: Antone Gonsalves at InformationWeek is reporting that IBM is denying the story:

IBM employees using Linux desktops are switching to Red Hat Inc.’s version of the open-source operating system, but the company denied reports that it’s planning to dump Microsoft Corp.’s Windows, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The number of Linux users within the Armonk, N.Y., company is about 5 percent of IBM’s 329,000 employees, spokeswoman Nancy Kaplan said. The workers include software developers and designers, people configuring software and hardware bundles for customers and others who need to use Linux as part of their jobs.

“The Linux plan is for people who have a need for Linux, as part of their jobs, will use it,” Kaplan said. “We have not made Linux available to the general employee population and there are no plans to do that.”

Andreas Pleschek, head of open source and Linux technical sales across Northeast Europe, was erroneously quoted this week as saying IBM had cancelled its Windows contract with Microsoft as of October, and did not intend to upgrade to Vista, the next major upgrade of the operating system, Kaplan said.
…
As to whether IBM would upgrade to Vista, the company was in the process of evaluating the OS and had not made a decision, Kaplan said.

Overshadowed by all the hoopla late yesterday over the new betas for Windows Live Search and the new Windows Live Toolbar, the Windows Live Favorites beta also got a refresh featuring better integration with the MSN Toolbar. Yes, the MSN Toolbar. Are there too many duplicate Microsoft online products and betas yet?

We knew the Vista launch hype was going to be big, but Ina Fried explains just how big at CNET:

Aiming to re-create the excitement that accompanied the launch of Windows 95, Microsoft is gearing up for a massive campaign to launch Windows Vista.

Chairman Bill Gates has tasked the Windows marketing team with repeating its achievements with the decade-ago launch, such as convincing scores of people to line up at retail stores to purchase the operating system. The marketing budget won’t be finalized until the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year in June, but “regardless of that, we’re still being held to that goal,” said Dave Block, a senior product manager for Vista.

Speaking to a crowd of hardware developers at the Intel Developer Forum here, Block noted that there is a team at the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters focused entirely on generating buzz for the OS, planning such things as having a Vista PC make Oprah Winfrey’s influential “favorite things” list.

“Can we get a cool new PC in front of Oprah?” Block asked. “Can we do stuff like that? I think we can.”

More by following the link, but here’s the interesting part. Since Vista comes in so many different flavors, one of the goals is a “50 percent run rate for Windows Vista premium in the first 24 months.” Premium in this context is not specifically Vista Home Premium, but any of the upscale versions of Vista for home or business.

It would be easier to judge the likelihood of all this if we knew the exact pricing (including volume pricing) for the different Vista flavors and the exact hardware requirements for the advanced features like the Aero UI. Just try telling Oprah about all the cheapie machines that either can’t run all the spiffy new UI features or can, but require that the customer fork over some additional loot for an instant upgrade once they get the PC home, out of the box, and connected to the Internet.

In that regard, the article also has some details on the upcoming “Vista-capable” program including this stunner:

… some machines will be able to run Vista and thus be eligible to be sold over the next few months as “Vista-capable.” But because they lack the necessary graphics driver software, they will never be able to be sold pre-loaded with Vista, nor do they qualify for Microsoft’s basic or premium Vista logos.

That ought to build consumer confidence!