Get Off Microsoft

The Microsoft brand is getting pummeled overseas, in the music industry, and in the server market. Can you even estimate how much good will has been lost? Gates and Ballmer must get indigestion every morning as they scan the headlines on their pocket PCs.

Microsoft has lots to worry about and can’t point fingers at iPhone security while living in the glass house of Windows Mobile. This explains why the Gartner analysts that adhere to Microsoft’s way of thinking took the first propaganda shot against the iPhone, calling it unfit for business due to lack of security measures.

Among several Windows Vista patches released yesterday, Microsoft included one that lets iPods be disconnected without getting corrupted. This time, Microsoft blinked first and fixed the problem.

So far there have been no reports of trouble with the iTunes 7.1 update, other than Vista problems. The new iTunes version 7.1.1., released last week, which packs a lot of new features, fixes some of these problems, but not all.

It looks like Apple is serious about not licensing its FairPlay Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect music sold through its iTunes online store.

The iPod and iTunes software for Windows needs a patch to work with Windows Vista. But iTunes and the iPod are not the only media players, devices, and applications that break. After five years of propaganda and several months of beta, many vendors are still not ready for Vista.

As 2006 closes, the titans of our computer industry have, one way or another, made their visions known to mankind. Three in particular have made interesting, if not influential, comments on the future of the Internet and the world as we know it: Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and of course, Microsoft’s Bill Gates.

Microsoft, with Zune, is making the classic mistake of using price, features, and incremental improvements to compete against the iPod.

What might make Microsoft’s Zune better than the iPod is its price — as yet unannounced. But how low must Toshiba go before anyone will pay attention?

Apple’s 30th anniversary is a prime subject for journalists this month, and I’ve fielded a number of interesting questions concerning Apple’s success. I gathered some relevant questions and my responses here.