Google is building a reseller program for its online suite of enterprise applications as it seeks to push its productivity tools and software as a service model deeper into corporate computing.
They said it has 50 resellers in a pilot program that will allow them to sell and support Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE) with a host of corporate features such as directory synchronization and end-user provisioning. The Google Apps Authorized Reseller Program will formally open in March. GAPE is the Google's $50 per user productivity suite targeted at businesses.
Google is battling with Microsoft and others to provide productivity applications and collaboration as an online service.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Will Windows 7 stymie Mac OS X's growth?
As of December, Apple's Mac OS X commanded 9.63% of the OS market, according to Net Applications, while Microsoft still led the way, accounting for more than 88% of the operating system market. There are numerous reasons why Mac OS X has become so popular over the past few years. Part of it can be attributed to Apple's success and its status in the industry as the most renowned and respected company to consumers. And most assuredly, part of the reason for Mac OS X's success is Windows Vista.
Even though it's only in beta testing, Windows 7 is easily one of the best operating systems MS has made. Driver support is outstanding, and performing basic tasks is very fast. But there's another key factor to consider: Windows 7 is optimized for netbooks. And although the market is currently still in its infancy, the netbook space is one of the fastest-growing in the industry, and most analysts believe that the mini devices are the future.
Besides the world of netbooks, Windows 7 is still an extremely compelling offering for the enterprise and consumers alike. But the real success for Windows 7 will come from vendors and the enterprise. Hewlett-Packard and Dell will be happy with Windows 7 because their customers will be happy. And the enterprise will be absolutely delighted with Windows 7 because it's not the resource hog Vista is, and believe it or not, it does more in fewer steps, creating an extremely simplified experience--something I've been enjoying on Mac OS X for years now.
In the process, Mac converts who moved to Mac OS X out of sheer hatred for Vista might start making their way back to the Windows world, after they hear great things about Microsoft's latest operating system.
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Even though it's only in beta testing, Windows 7 is easily one of the best operating systems MS has made. Driver support is outstanding, and performing basic tasks is very fast. But there's another key factor to consider: Windows 7 is optimized for netbooks. And although the market is currently still in its infancy, the netbook space is one of the fastest-growing in the industry, and most analysts believe that the mini devices are the future.
Besides the world of netbooks, Windows 7 is still an extremely compelling offering for the enterprise and consumers alike. But the real success for Windows 7 will come from vendors and the enterprise. Hewlett-Packard and Dell will be happy with Windows 7 because their customers will be happy. And the enterprise will be absolutely delighted with Windows 7 because it's not the resource hog Vista is, and believe it or not, it does more in fewer steps, creating an extremely simplified experience--something I've been enjoying on Mac OS X for years now.
In the process, Mac converts who moved to Mac OS X out of sheer hatred for Vista might start making their way back to the Windows world, after they hear great things about Microsoft's latest operating system.
Full Story
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Nonprofit laptop maker forced to cut staff
In another sign of the growing financial strain on nonprofit groups, the One Laptop Per Child program is cutting its work force in half.
The project, a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that sells durable, green-and-white laptops to developing countries for use in grade schools, will be left with just 32 employees at reduced salaries.
"Like many other nonprofits that are facing tough economic times, One Laptop Per Child must downsize in order to keep costs in line with fewer financial resources," Nicholas Negroponte, the group's founder, wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
The group sells its XO laptops to governments of developing countries for $199 but would like to get the cost down to $99. The computers run on open-source software and use less power than ordinary PCs.
The project, a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that sells durable, green-and-white laptops to developing countries for use in grade schools, will be left with just 32 employees at reduced salaries.
"Like many other nonprofits that are facing tough economic times, One Laptop Per Child must downsize in order to keep costs in line with fewer financial resources," Nicholas Negroponte, the group's founder, wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
The group sells its XO laptops to governments of developing countries for $199 but would like to get the cost down to $99. The computers run on open-source software and use less power than ordinary PCs.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Illegal copy of Windows 7 leaked
The first beta of Windows 7 is out illegally on BitTorrent. You can get a copy and run it before you're supposed to but that might be a mistake, especially if you're not careful. Turns out that it's impossible to apply security updates to the bootleg version, including the recent "out of band" update for a seriously critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer.
The torrented build was a daily build for the beta, and anyone who was supposed to have access to it has access to more recent builds which probably incorporate the fix. Microsoft has no good reason to release a patch for this version.
The torrented build was a daily build for the beta, and anyone who was supposed to have access to it has access to more recent builds which probably incorporate the fix. Microsoft has no good reason to release a patch for this version.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Websites could get film-style ratings
The kind of ratings used for films could be applied to websites in a bid to better police the Internet and protect children from harmful and offensive material, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has said. Internet service providers could also be forced to offer services where the only sites accessible are those deemed suitable for children.
Burnham, who has three young children, pointed to the example of a 9 p.m. television "watershed" in Britain before which certain material, like violence, cannot be broadcast, and said better controls were needed for the Internet.
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Burnham, who has three young children, pointed to the example of a 9 p.m. television "watershed" in Britain before which certain material, like violence, cannot be broadcast, and said better controls were needed for the Internet.
Full Story
Sunday, December 21, 2008
RIAA Confirms It Will Take Piracy Fight to ISPs
The Recording Industry Association of America confirmed that it will abandon its practice of suing individuals for online piracy in favor of working with Internet service providers to track down offenders.
The RIAA is partnering with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and several undisclosed ISPs in order to alert the ISPs rather than the individual customer when it finds people who are swapping pirated tracks online. Instead of the RIAA sending lawsuits directly to consumers, the RIAA would notify the ISPs, who would then contact their customers.
People who ignore the warnings from their ISPs could be subject to a slowdown in service or loss of service completely. Pending lawsuits, however, will continue, and record companies have the right to sue those individuals who ignore the warnings from their ISPs.
Full Story
The RIAA is partnering with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and several undisclosed ISPs in order to alert the ISPs rather than the individual customer when it finds people who are swapping pirated tracks online. Instead of the RIAA sending lawsuits directly to consumers, the RIAA would notify the ISPs, who would then contact their customers.
People who ignore the warnings from their ISPs could be subject to a slowdown in service or loss of service completely. Pending lawsuits, however, will continue, and record companies have the right to sue those individuals who ignore the warnings from their ISPs.
Full Story
Monday, December 15, 2008
Businesses say they'll add Macs in 2009
The number of businesses planning to add Apple Inc.'s Macintosh desktops and laptops to their corporate mix has doubled since earlier this year -- part of what an analyst calls the "consumerization" of IT.
68% of some 700 companies polled said they will allow their end users to deploy Macs as their work systems in the next 12 months. Approximately 30% of the IT professionals polled said that the Macs in their organizations are running Windows XP or Vista in virtual environments, up two percentage points since the earlier 2008 survey.
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68% of some 700 companies polled said they will allow their end users to deploy Macs as their work systems in the next 12 months. Approximately 30% of the IT professionals polled said that the Macs in their organizations are running Windows XP or Vista in virtual environments, up two percentage points since the earlier 2008 survey.
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
Google Chrome Out of Beta
Google has officially announced that its Chrome browser is no longer a beta version and made a full version of the product available for download.
Chrome programmers say they have fixed a multitude of bugs that plagued the browser's early days, including video and audio glitches and other plug-in performance-related issues. Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine is also said to have grown 1.5 times faster since the software's first beta release.
Other improvements in the first full Chrome release include improved bookmarking options that make importing and exporting saved sites simpler, as well as a retooled privacy control panel within the program for more user-friendly access.
Other progress expected for Chrome includes the addition of Mac and Linux support.
Full Story
Chrome programmers say they have fixed a multitude of bugs that plagued the browser's early days, including video and audio glitches and other plug-in performance-related issues. Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine is also said to have grown 1.5 times faster since the software's first beta release.
Other improvements in the first full Chrome release include improved bookmarking options that make importing and exporting saved sites simpler, as well as a retooled privacy control panel within the program for more user-friendly access.
Other progress expected for Chrome includes the addition of Mac and Linux support.
Full Story
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