ZDNet

Microsoft vs Google and the race for the top cloud

If you want controversy, forget Coke versus Pepsi, or Ginger vs. Mary Ann. Try Microsoft against Google. Ed Bott and Christopher Dawson are tearing it up in their Great Debate over at ZDNet today, arguing the pros and cons of Microsoft Office 365 versus Google Apps for Business.

The subject du jour is one that's likely to command greater attention throughout the rest of the year now that both Microsoft and Google have competing business software suites in the "cloud." As Bott notes, "Google has done a good job of scaling its free Gmail service into … Read more

Frauds: An ugly, old journalism tradition

It's handwringing time in the journalism world again.

Over the weekend, IDG, publisher of InfoWorld, acknowledged that Randall Kennedy, one of InfoWorld's contributing writers, had misled some at the company about his involvement with Devil Mountain Software, a firm he wrote about and just happens to own.

While Kennedy told his InfoWorld editors about his interest in Devil Mountain, he did not tell them that he had created a fictitious chief technology officer for his company, a man named Craig Barth. Masquerading as Barth, Kennedy was able to mislead Gregg Keizer, a staff writer for sister IDG publication Computerworld, … Read more

SAP users reject higher maintenance fees (surprised?)

In July, SAP instituted a new policy that forced users into paying a higher support cost with no clearly defined additional value for the higher cost.

ZDNet's Dennis Howlett interviewed Alan Bowling, chairman SAP user group UK and Ray Wang, VP at Forrester research about the price hikes and what they really mean for users.

The short version: SAP users in the UK and Ireland will not accept the next round of price rises for support unless the company has "clearly delivered improved total cost of ownership" for the businesses that use its software.

Software licensing is … Read more

Security Bites 120: When social networks host malware

In this week's Security Bites podcast, Robert Vamosi speaks with Ryan Naraine, security evangelist for Kaspersky and Zero Day blogger for ZDNet, about malicious software.

Naraine recently spoke at a conference on emerging security threats sponsored by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center about the increasing risks of malware on social networks, such as Facebook pages that to lead people to Google pages with additional links to malware sites (a two-step infection process), and the more straightforward approach of Facebook being used for botnets.

In this podcast, Naraine and Vamosi talk about the changing nature of threats today and … Read more

Microsoft missing the boat on SOA (service oriented architecture)

Over on ZDNet Joe McKendrick asks Is Microsoft slow to the punch on SOA, or just waiting for the right moment? The answer is neither. Microsoft is clueless about SOA (service oriented architecture) and seems intent to remain so.

Microsoft can't seem to figure out what it wants to be anymore. In this day and age the company simply can't be all things to all people. It's clear that after the Yahoo fiasco, the focus is on the business "user" and the consumer. There has been very little in the last year or two that … Read more

Google's little g. Does it allow for a conversation about the big S?

Sometimes, apparently unrelated events are really part of a strategy.

You trim your eyebrows. You visit a shrink. You suggest a late meeting with an attractive co-worker. Only afterwards do those around you see the connection between the three.

I am getting the same feeling about Google.

Google always wanted everyone to believe that it would never change. That it was a fine and spiritual body, eager to do good, while taking charitable donations on the side. (the side of the page, to be precise)

A sort of Mother Teresa with sideburns and a poetic songbook.

Now, as Bronski Beat … Read more

Look who's blogging: Oliver Marks

I was really excited to see Larry Dignan's announcement that Oliver Marks has joined the ZDNet blogging team. I've known Oliver for a few years, first meeting him while he was managing the Sony PlayStation team's collaboration extranet.

He's a great person with deep experience in collaboration technology, having rolled out things like Jive and other tools. He also knows quite a bit about open source, having managed teams with heavy reliance on open-source technologies.

Check out his new blog on collaboration. Well worth a read. Where else will you read about the Crimean War, super … Read more

Microsoft 'Albany' subscription--this must be a hoax

I find it hard to believe that Microsoft is seriously considering this 'Albany' program as anything more than a PR stunt tied into a little market experimentation.

The 'Albany' offering as outlined by Mary Jo Foley on ZDNet.

Albany consists of 2007 version of Office Home and Student; Office Live Workspace, Microsoft's collaboration-service complement to Office; Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft's consumer security/backup service; and three Windows Live services - Live Mail, Live messenger and Photo Gallery. The bundle will be delivered via a single installer. When Microsoft releases new versions of any of these software or service … Read more

Noted without comment.

Ryan Naraine reports on Twitter that George Ou has been laid off.

We'll miss Russell Shaw

One of our tech journalism colleagues, Russell Shaw, passed away on Friday, March 14. He was on a reporting trip in San Jose, traveling from his home base of Portland, Ore. I knew Russell first as a blogger at ZDNet, where he covered broadband, VoIP, smartphones, and other topics.

Russell was very prolific and knowledgeable, and wrote about a broad range of subjects. In addition to technology, he covered everything from rock concerts and hotel management to politics and entertainment. He was a contributor to Huffington Post and the author of several books, including Caution! Music & Video Downloading: Your Guide to Legal, Safe, and Trouble-Free Downloads … Read more