microsoft and antitrust

A jury in Rhode Island found Microsoft guilty of patent infringement, ordering it to pay US$38 million to Uniloc, the patent holder.

Initially filed in 2003 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the suit alleges that Microsoft’s product activation system infringes on a patent held by Uniloc.

The jury decided that the patent is valid and that Microsoft willfully infringes it.

The software giant still thinks otherwise and intends to appeal the decision. “We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported. We will ask the court to overturn the verdict,” the company said in a statement.

Microsoft’s product activation process aims to reduce piracy by requiring people to activate their software, tying it to a particular machine in the process. Users can then reinstall the software repeatedly on that machine, but can’t share the software with other people and PCs.

Uniloc sells technology that software developers use to offer flexible licensing terms, such as trial periods.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, said it was disappointed in the verdict, and plans to appeal.

The verdict was reached by a jury in a long-running case in federal court in Rhode Island, which found that Microsoft infringed Uniloc’s patent on software that generates unique identities for licensed users and prevents unauthorized use or copying of programs.

“We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported,” said a Microsoft spokesman. “We will ask the court to overturn the verdict.”

Uniloc USA and its Singapore-based parent originally filed suit against Microsoft in 2003, claiming that Microsoft infringed its patent with security software it was using to prevent unlicensed use of its Windows XP operating system and parts of its Office suite of products.

After six years of legal wrangling, the jury trial started in March. The damages award is one of the largest on record in patent law disputes.

The case: Uniloc USA, Inc., et al v. Microsoft Corp., et al, U.S. District Court District of Rhode Island (Providence), 1:03-cv-00440-S-DLM.

sql

Many SQL Server 2000 and 2005 shops have been waiting for the pack before upgrading to the 2008 edition, as it contains all the cumulative updates and fixes issued since SQL Server 2008 was released to manufacturing in August, resulting in an overall more stable application.

Service Pack 1 (SP1) also makes it easier to deploy SQL Server 2008. A feature called Slipstream allows users to install the database and service pack at once, easing the process of loading the software onto hundreds or thousands of servers, said Fausto Ibarra, director of product management.

There isn’t much in the way of new features in SP1, but that is a deliberate reflection of Microsoft’s strategy to put out initial releases that are feature-complete, with packs only used for fixes, he said. “We got feedback from customers that they wanted more predictability, service packs that they could deploy without worrying about application compatibility.”

Should there be a compatibility problem, users have the ability to uninstall the service pack, he said.

While Microsoft is hoping the service pack’s release will entice more SQL 2000 and 2005 users to upgrade, the company claims SQL 2008 has been downloaded more than 3 million times already.

Some Microsoft customers, such as the financial services company Raymond James, haven’t bothered to wait for SP1.

Raymond James is using SQL Server 2008 to power its BI (business intelligence) platform, said Todd Daniell, manager of the company’s BI group.

The platform is being used by about 7,000 workers, from back-office employees to financial advisors at Raymond James’ many locations around the country, he said.

windows 7

“Looking forward, we can confidently say that no matter how netbook PC hardware evolves, we’re gearing up to ensure that Windows 7 will run great on them,” Brandon LeBlanc, a Windows communication manager, wrote in Friday blog post.

“We’ve been testing Windows 7 on netbook PCs since before Windows 7 was feature complete, and our plan is to enable these small notebook PCs to run any edition of Windows 7,” he wrote.

A beta version of Windows 7 was released in January.

LeBlanc’s comments were part of a “year in review” blog about Windows netbooks. He shot down suggestions that netbooks will hurt Microsoft, and touted the company’s gains over Linux-based netbooks.

“Initially, some in the industry viewed low-cost netbook PCs as a new challenge for Microsoft and an opportunity for Linux to make inroads in the consumer market. Some believed consumers wouldn’t want or need their netbook PC to be a full-featured PC,” he wrote. “In fact, the exact opposite turned out to be true – a number of analysts and researchers following the space see ample evidence indicating customers really DO want netbook PCs to work like their larger brethren – and that the way the vast majority of consumers make that happen is by buying a netbook PC with Windows.”

He pointed to NPD data that said Windows-based netbooks have gone from 10 percent of units sales in the first half of 2008 to 96 percent as of February 2009. LeBlanc also said that return rates for Linux-based netbooks were four times as higher than Windows, according to vendor data.

Microsoft

Bach outlined Microsoft’s target, a “three-screens-and-a-cloud scenario” in which “our customers can get the services and capabilities they want delivered to any device whenever they want.”

Such a scenario involves interaction and syncing between your “three screens”—TV, PC, and mobile phone—and an online account that manages them and backs up your content. Bach pointed out that, ideally, “A Windows PC, a Windows phone, and a Windows Live service will create that connected experience that we’re talking about.”

Microsoft’s new My Phone service will facilitate that connectivity. The service backs up a Windows Mobile phone’s data and content, and lets users access that content via PC. For instance, users can search for text messages on their phones using their PCs.

Bach also took the audience on a tour of Windows 6.5 (which you can see for yourself in our Windows Mobile 6.5 slideshow), and talked about the newly announced customizability options. Designers like Isaac Mizrahi have signed on to design wallpapers for Windows Mobile phones.

Besides nifty skins and wallpapers, another way to customize a Windows Mobile phone is through apps from the Microsoft Mobile Marketplace. Bach said that all apps in the Marketplace are certified by Microsoft, that users can back them up, and said there’s a self-serve refund feature with which users can get their money back for apps they aren’t satisfied with.

Adam Sussman from Electronic Arts joined Bach on stage to talk up the Mobile Marketplace, and promised that “every major EA Mobile release this year will be available on the Windows Mobile platform.”

ie8

Still, Microsoft should be applauded for trying.

Most notable in Microsoft’s free, Windows-only browser are tools called Accelerators, which are designed to better mirror how people use the Web these days. Accelerators help you share content and blend services from various sites.

You can install Accelerators written by Microsoft, Yahoo Inc., Google Inc., Facebook or any developer that wants to participate — no one needs permission from Microsoft.

IE8 also offers “Web Slices” to quickly alert users to updates on their eBay auctions, stock quotes, sports scores and other frequently viewed services. They appear on your favorites bar just like other bookmarks, but instead of static pages or text headlines, you get the latest photos and other goodies as well.

The new Microsoft browser also makes it easier to switch between search engines from the search box. And it offers a “private” mode during which IE8 doesn’t store the addresses of sites you visit or keep the small advertising data files called cookies.

But to use any of that, I’d have to give up one of my favorite things about Flock: the way it helps people share content and blend services.

Enjoy.

Micro$oft

Money

Microsoft slaps hefty licensing fees on the use of its Windows OS, whereas Google charges no such fee for Android. The Linux-based Android could save HP, and other Netbook manufacturers, loads of money, and thereby allow for price cuts. Consider HP’s Mini 1000 MIE (Mobile Internet Experience), the Linux-based version of its popular Mini 1000 series. The Mini 1000 MIE was priced at $379, compared to Windows-based iterations of the same computer that fetched $549.

Exposure

It might take a while for those used to the Windows experience to grow accustomed to Android, and many would be hesitant to make the switch. However, Google has become a trusted name in the industry. Those tired of dropping top dollar for Windows may find themselves gravitating to the Android alternative, and as this trend progress, open-source Android would evolve into a richer, more popular experience, giving Google a considerable advantage in a Microsoft-congested OS battleground. That kind of exposure could bolster Google into a powerful position in the computer biz.

Simplicity

Netbooks are primarily aimed at the casual computing crowd, so what better OS than one originally intended for a device that fits in the palm of your hand? Windows can be a complicated, fickle beast — especially the much-hated Vista — that’s packed with memory-hogging features that are useless to those who just want to surf the Web and write e-mail. Android on a Netbook can streamline the computing process with a simple UI and online-based applications, such as Google Docs. Google was practically born to serve straightforward means.

HP is currently “studying” the Android OS and refuse to speculate on future products that may or may not happen. But the stars are aligned, and it looks like HP could hit one out of the park — and crush its competition — if these speculations became reality.

Microsoft Cloud

.Net Services is a component of the company’s Azure Services Platform for cloud computing. It also features Microsoft-hosted, developer-oriented services to help with building cloud-based and cloud-aware applications. The Community Technology Preview of .Net Services M5 (Milestone 5) offers improved support for standards including REST, ATOM, JSON, SOAP, and HTTP

“From the beginning, .Net Services was designed for multicloud, multiplatform use,” said Steve Martin, Microsoft senior director of developer Connected Systems Division product management, in a blog entry. “Developers can use the .Net Services in conjunction with any programming language (using support for industry-standard protocols, or via available SDKs for .Net, Java and Ruby) on any platform to create or extend federated applications.”

The M5 Access Control Service adds a management service supporting REST and ATOM for managing rules. Access Control Service provides capabilities for controlling user access to Web applications and services by federating with multiple standards-based identity providers.

The service bus in M5, for connecting and messaging between network endpoints, offers durable queues and routers supporting SOAP and HTTP, Microsoft said. Also, M5 REST-based activities are supported on the bus, including Put, Get, Post, Delete, and custom verbs for orchestrating messages.

Microsoft demonstrated cloud-to-cloud interoperability at the Mix09 conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, Martin said. “Specifically, we showed how the Access Control Service and Service Bus could be integrated with a Python application deployed into Google App Engine using just two lines of code,” he said.

Encarta

“People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past,” the software maker said in a notice posted on its MSN website.

Microsoft, which axed 5,000 jobs earlier this year to cut costs and warned profit and revenue would fall over the next two quarters, said it would stop selling Encarta software products by June.

Encarta websites worldwide, except Encarta Japan, would be discontinued on October 31 and Encarta Japan will cease after December 31, the company said.

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From Microsoft Watch: Steve’s comments about Yahoo are more important than Apple slap downs. “We’re largely on the same strategy, with or without a partnership with Yahoo,” he affirmed. But what about with Yahoo? Had he spoken to Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s new CEO, about a deal?

“Carol arrived at Yahoo, what, in January sometime?” Steve asked. “I did have a discussion with her to welcome her and tell her I wanted to chat.” He spoke to her on the phone, but said there would be a meeting when it was appropriate. Steve continued:

I’ve known Carol for years. Carol is very straightforward. Very friendly. She makes up her mind about what she wants to do. I know that if I want to talk to her about something, when she’s ready we’ll have a real discussion because she’s that kind of person. Whether a deal gets done or not, who knows?
Fine. Fine. But will there ever be a deal, Steven Adler pressed. “There are a lot of things that are fairly compelling economically in trying to put together our two search efforts in some type of partnership. … I spoke fairly strongly economically with the bid we made last year.”

Microsoft’s CEO emphasized that there is a “fairly compelling set of economics that underpin the idea of a search partnership. And, unless I’m fooling myself, over time I expect there to be a good opportunity for a deal.”

Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of the Fox TV show “Lie to Me.” As a journalist, I’m fascinating by lying because people lie to me so often. On the telephone, those lies are hard to perceive, and even live when I’m taking notes.

Microsoft

Robert Bernard

(Credit: Microsoft)”Recently our CEO, Steve Ballmer, sent out an e-mail to all 90,000 Microsoft employees. He made clear that environmental sustainability is a core value for the company that is embedded in all we do,” Robert Bernard said in an interview with CNET News. He added that Ballmer talked about the topic as a corporate belief, “as opposed to a green campaign or a marketing campaign or a marketing issue.”

This could be good news for both the environment in general and laptop users in particular.

Computers running the Windows operating system have had problems with power hunger, most notably laptops, where battery life is said to have suffered. So power hungry, in fact, that PC manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard developed their own power management software, instead of the application shipped with the latest Windows Vista operating system.

Microsoft’s global market share in operating systems is almost 90 percent, and recent reports indicate that the global IT industry generates as much greenhouse gases as the aviation industry. So Microsoft’s environmental footprint can be considered significant.

Microsoft is now promising lower power consumption in its next operating system, Windows 7, among other products.

“The real opportunity is when consumers see the results rather than actually having to notice them,” Bernard said. “For example, when they buy or deploy a new version of Windows their energy consumption, and therefore their bills, will decrease over time.”