What's going on with 30GB Zunes today?! There's a firestorm brewing for sure.

Perhaps an online apps store like #1 makes sense. But I don't think opening an chain of brick and mortar stores does. These tend to be quite overhead and low margin. At best all these will do is drive up MS's overhead and dilute the currently very high profit margin. Would also cause a lot of distraction from the core platform businesses around Windows and Office.

I think their big challenge for 2009 is making Windows and Office relevant again. If they don't do this, its just a slow decline, or a transformation into a consulting company.

Its a fair list Joe, mostly, and it took some thought to come it with. My list of what MS should do for 2009 and beyond would be a little different:

1. MS needs to really do a whole lot better with the Malware issue. Windows is a terrible piece of work that is wide open for malware, even Vista's much touted UAC was at best only a half baked attempt that udderly failed. Real Limited user accounts need to be the default in any Windows version released. Internet Exploder. activeX and Outlook, should be removed completely from any future versions of Windows, and Firefox or Opera bundled with them. MS should thereby donate to Firefox and Opera and give up on developing IE for good.

2. Vista/Seven will never be good or fast enough for the lower end Laptops. And extending XP Home is a very bad idea. As at some point, corporations will start buying these cheap netbooks and find out they don't have all the features that XP Pro did have, in particular the networking features. XP Pro SP3 should be improved slightly to work again as limited user out of the box, and have the ability to work nicely at the resolutions of the netbooks. MS is ceding netbooks to Linux long term by putting the crippled (as compared to XP Pro) XP Home on netbooks.

3. Vista is a failure, and therefore MS should be prepared with an XP improved version to offer users a choice. It is still a sale, either way.

4. Joe the problem with the advertising of Vista, was not the folks that MS paid, but was with the product itself, Vi$ta. Its hard to sell an Lemon.

An App Store? They have nothing to sell.

My advice to Microsoft, expand Windows XP beyond the netbook and sell it again on full fledged desktops and full fledged laptops as well as retail.

Keeping more than one Microsoft OS on the market is nothing new. Looking at a old computer magazine from 1999. I saw Dell selling various computers in all price ranges with Windows 98SE, Windows ME and Windows 2000. It was done once before, do it again.

Keep XP selling at every level until all the bugs are worked out for Windows 7, at least to the Windows 7 SP1 level.

Offer upgrade paths from Windows XP (Home and Pro) to Windows 7 Premium (or whatever it will be called then).

Abandon Internet Explorer altogether and have OEM's sell computers with Firefox built in. This way MSFT won't have to waste any more of its money trying to keep IE afloat and "safe" to use. As it is, Microsoft isn't making any money from IE by and of itself.

Your future OS, beyond Windows 7. Base it on Linux and start over fresh. Apple did it with OSX which was based from BSD. Hey Microsoft, going that route will save your company tens of millions
since most of the work is already done.

"Seven on a netbook should cost OEMs less than on a quad-core desktop."

Why? That's so 1960's mainframe. Use Linux or *BSD and it doesn't matter if you have a netbook or a 2000-processor supercomputer; the system will just run without a per-CPU tax. If a modern OS is capable of multi-CPU use, it takes an effort to cripple it just for 'lower-end' use; I agree with MS on this one - just maintain one code base and charge the same for a netbook as a high-end desktop.

MS used to have a Microsoft store at the Metreon in San Francisco. They closed it in 2001.

zuneMe :wrote

"What's going on with 30GB Zunes today?! There's a firestorm brewing for sure."

----------------------------------------------------

This IS big news and its all over the internet, Joe if you are reading this ...do a Google on "zune problems" and then click news...This is a major story....people are pissed.

I've really liked Vista; what I didn't like is running XP pro and having to pay full (not upgrade) price for Vista Home Prem. .. And what is the deal with charging (US$ x 2+) for software in Australia? Paying $500 per computer just to install the OS makes linux look a lot more attractive.
What happened to MS's IE group? After 6 it's been horrible. I've gone to Flock at home and Firefox at work. The 8 beta is coming out with some good ideas but still extremely sluggish performance. I don't even use IE to surf my Live networks.

* "You've got to make the stuff easier to buy than to steal."

Not physically possible. Software is inherently a non-scarce good, regardless of Microsoft's best efforts to make it artificially scarce. The rational thing to do is give away the non-scarce good and use it as promotion to make money off the scarce goods (or services). That's how the Free Software model works.

* "Windows 7 should come in one version, at most two."

Not likely. They have to bring out different versions to justify charging different prices. And they have to charge different prices in order to maximize profit, otherwise everybody pays the same price, which will end up being a low price. Microsoft are a business, after all.

* "Seven on a netbook should cost OEMs less than on a quad-core desktop."

That's price discrimination--guaranteed to get up the noses of customers who will wonder why they're paying more for exactly the same thing.

The only way out of the netbook dilemma is to offer a cut-down version of Windows 7 to justify the lower price. Which, of course, just makes Linux look more attractive.

How about just producing software that actually works reliably?

Each and every software package (including Office for Mac) starts to rot after several months.

Moreover, most of the MSFT software is pitched at such an idiot level of intelligence that it is a daily insult.

If only Apple could have won the OS war years ago, we would be using useful and reliable software that is enjoyable rather than thrown-together, half finished crap from the BloatFarm.

Want to know what is the difference between Apple and MSFT? Compare the junk that washed up on the beach WinMobile to the iPhone: dung vs. diamonds.

No matter how hard MSFT tries, I am convinced beyond a doubt that it has always produced crap; it produces crap now and will always produce crap. MSFT = CRAP.

One problem I see:

"For some locations, like Moscow, show people the benefits of buying software; educate them about problems associated with piracy."

When libre and gratis software comes into the picture, that really goes out the window. There is such a thing as piracy when it comes to FLOSS (just ask Cisco), but it doesn't apply to the consumer, and the only real benefits to buying software are those that cannot be provided by equivalent free software. Apple may have a leg to stand on there, but I'm not so sure Microsoft does anymore.

I like #9. Advertise everywhere. Especially at Google.

I also like #8. Fire your ad agency. Instead, give even more of your money to Google Advertising.

I agree with Jeremy, Microsoft should concentrate on making decent products, word of mouth will do the rest. Otherwise they are just trying to convince people that they are better without any proof.

Renaming Windows Live Search to Kumo will not suddenly make it a good search engine. They could market IE 8 all day long, but that does not mean it will be a better browser. They are still way behind everyone else.

Linux and OSX are way ahead in the OS wars, Microsoft is limping along based on history. The most profitable web companies of 2008 all run Linux.

My big prediction for 2009 is the end of general purpose computing.

Unless Microsoft can ramp up development of Windows in 2009, I do not think it will be ready for the market and the market will change the OS that they can customize to their own needs (like Google has already done with Linux).

Much of the problem relates to licensing, Microsofts licenses do not permit much modification so ISVs cannot get the experience they want for their devices. Linux does and we will see companies like Dell and HTC building their own versions for their hardware so they can add some sort of differentiators, selling desktops is very hard for OEMs but adding their own custom OS will make it much easier.

I think Microsoft should break itself into two companies: Operating Systems & Applications (like the Justice Department proposed, during the time of the Netscape lawsuit). It would:

1. give the "Applications" company more freedom to deliver solutions for any platform (Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, the Web, ...). Essentially their goal would be to sell applications, wherever possible, to generate revenue.

2. force the "Operating Systems" company to produce the most innovative, high-quality application platforms, so that people would select them, rather than alternative solutions.

Right now, Microsoft products are a rat's nest of applications & operating systems, all intertwined to maintain a monopoly lock on the market. Eventually (if not already), it will likely prove to be unmanageable.

Quote: "According to Microsoft, 'No information is collected during the [Genuine Advantage Program] validation process that can be used to identify or contact a user.' That's little comfort to the software counterfeiters who were just handed jail sentences ranging from 1.5-6.5 years by the Futian People's Court in China, especially since Microsoft contends that much of the estimated $2B in bogus software was detected by its Windows Genuine Advantage program."

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/01/1251254

perhaps for 2009 ms should focus on telling the truth

You are a bigger idiot than the goons at MS. Not once did you mention to listen to their customers and give the customer what he wants. This is why they are losing market share and why 7 will be a flop.

And as far as their internet presence, we hosting etc., they have not and will not be successful with their push to the Internet.

If MS does as you say they will surely lose more market share and stock value as well.

A lot of good ideas here. Just two short ones for MS:
1. Product range reduction and focus - Focus on fewer products to make them as they good as they can be.
2. Get rid of Steve Ballmer. It is my opinion that he has done more harm to the company than good, and infact to me Steve Ballmers attitude/behavior emulates perfectly the arrogant corporate monster that some perceive Microsoft to be. Look at youtube. and the amount of people openly making fun of his behavior. I dont believe he is taken seriously in the main and I believe he contributes to peoples low opinion of MS. IMO.

Goblin says :
A lot of good ideas here. Just two short ones for MS:
1. Product range reduction and focus - Focus on fewer products to make them as they good as they can be.
2. Get rid of Steve Ballmer.
----------------------------------------------------
Yes, good ideas Goblin, but not going happen. First if MS ever turned out an OS as good as Linux or Mac, who would buy the sequel? This is commercial software, and one of MS's tricks is to keep then wanting more in the next release, even if that means leaving something broken or half broken. Vista is a prime example of broken, and why Seven might be a seller for those who want to escape Vista. Too bad they really getting scammed and gettting Vista/Seven with a fresh coat of lipstick. Also take for example XP, MS made it too good by their standards, and therefore have not been able to still kill it off.

Now getting rid of Ballmer might help the image of MS, that I would agree. But nothing would change there. Bill Gates is still the largest shareholder, most likely his foundation is second, which he controls, he is still Chairman of the Board, and part time employee (ya right) and hand pick Ballmer his close personal college friend to replace him as CEO. Ballmer himself has at least 12 to 14 billion mostly in stock at MS. Then there is Paul Allen, who co-founded MS with Gates and is at one time the second richest man in the World and 2nd largest shareholder back then, during the time that Bill was the richest man in the world. Not to mention about 30 other close friends of Bill that helped him start up this company and became very rich and own a lot of voting stock in MS. My point is, nothing is going happen at MS, unless the Emperior (Bill) wants it to happen. Ballmer is more of an errand boy, or monkey if you preferr.

Windows is good, but Windows and Zune are better together

30GB Zunes Failing Everywhere, All At Once
http://gizmodo.com/5121311/30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once?skyline=true&s=x
Right, so this is a weird one: we're getting tons of reports—tons—about failing Zune 30s. Apparently, the players began freezing at about midnight last night, becoming totally unresponsive and practically useless.
------------------
Ralph :

zuneMe :wrote

"What's going on with 30GB Zunes today?! There's a firestorm brewing for sure."

Yes Ralph, you were right

".....becoming totally unresponsive and practically useless."
-
That to me sounds like a few other products of MS's as well.
-
Seriously though, this would be a major scandal for any other company. It seems par for the course for Microsoft products. Didnt SeaDragon have issues? What about the Xbox360? and shall we start mentioning IE? or however "the OS that cannot be named"
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The list goes on, and as much as I would like to take delight in another MS "issue", I dont believe it comes as a shock to anyone.
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Another sorry state of affairs. I think the shocking thing for me about this story was to see the amount of complaints it received. I had no idea that many people even knew what Zune was.
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Goes back to what I suggest. Concentrate on a small number of products to make them the best possible instead of going after every market you can and expecting people to buy into any old rubbish.

The Zune bug is hilarious from a developer point of view. They seemed to write a specific date handling function, but only for the Zune 30.

Any sane programmer would have worked out date handling a LONG time ago and would have standard routines for handling those sorts of things.

My brain is still boggling at how they could mess that up so badly. Please can a MS fan explain how this happened? The partial excuses I have seen so far just point to programmers who do not know what they are doing combined with a very shoddy testing division. They wrote code for handling leap years but didn't actually test it.

It is totally inexcusable to have such rudimentary functions broken. If I were a shareholder, I would be asking to see heads roll.

'* "Windows 7 should come in one version, at most two."

Not likely. They have to bring out different versions to justify charging different prices. And they have to charge different prices in order to maximize profit, otherwise everybody pays the same price, which will end up being a low price. Microsoft are a business, after all.'

I wonder how Apple manages to make a profit by having only 1 version of it OS, then. Yes, the price is low and there is a 3-licence price as well but . . .

Judging from their last report, Apple make money by selling iPhones and MacBooks. OSX doesn't make any money, but they are not likely to give up and start licensing Windows.

Even if MS wanted to, they could not offer 1 version of Windows. There are so many markets where the standard Windows price is just too much. Microsoft must reduce the cost and add arbitrary differences to sell more at the higher price. The standard price of Windows Vista Ultimate is more than most netbooks cost.

So, if you want 1 version, how much do you charge? If you charge full rate then you will lose money and marketshare (netbooks would be 100% Linux). If you charge the home basic price then MS will see a massive loss in revenue that will collapse its stock.

Android netbooks on their way, likely by 2010

venturebeat.com/2009/01/01/android-netbooks-on-their-way-likely-by-2010/

So the questions is: is "Android" the Google OS, that MS has so greatly feared?

Mac web share nears 10% in December

appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/01/mac_web_share_nears_10_in_december.html

Quote: "Net Applications' December results show Mac OS X surging from just under 8.9 percent in November to the new 9.6 percent mark for the tens of thousands of sites monitored by the web tracking firm.
The figure is an all-time high for Apple and a significant jump from the same period a year before, when the Mac maker held 7.3 percent."
--------------------------------------------------
Does anybody here think that Windows Seven, no matter how fast MS rushes it out, can compete with alternative OS's, since Malware problem has not been fix and is a growing problem for MS users?

billybob "Please can a MS fan explain how this happened?"

I'll take a crack at how this happened. MS bought a chip from Freescale (old Motorola) that came with a driver. They are a SW company so they buy all their silicon parts from somebody else. All in all they probably get 100 thousands of lines of code from external suppliers and have to rely on that these are reviewed and tested at the chip supplier to some degree.

Code reviewing these external pieces of driver code at MS is probably not a very useful use of resources, end of the day much of the code requires intimate knowledge of the silicon part and it would not be reasonable to expect the MS engineers to possess this.

Testing it though is another issue, leap year bugs have occurred in many pieces of SW (SunOS 1988) and should be part of a standard test suite, but in an attempt of defense of the SW QA guys, they probably spent their time focusing more on making sure audio, video and UI would always work and that some malformed MP3 song sequence did not crash or compromise the DRM security of the device.

Comical: yes
Slip in the SW QA: yes
Epic fail: no

Here's one idea you can expand to cover the entire list: Simplify.

Vista: What was one of the reasons Vista failed - business adoption was too complex. While Software Assurance didn't help, the larger problem was incompatibility and too much overhead for business. Noone in Business needs the Aero interface. They want raw horsepower to run their apps. So focus on delivering the horsepower, not running more and more useless gadgets that eat up that horsepower. Simplify.

Internet Exploder: Simplify. Adhere to IEEE web standards. Ditch ActiveX components entirely and use something that can port to all browsers - or at least provide an ActiveX plugin for Firefox, Opera, etc.

Licensing: Simplify. If the licensing policy requires training, it's too complex. Your regular layperson should be able to understand the difference between various licensing options. (IE - no pun intended - get the lawyer-speak out of here!)

Advertising: Simplify. Noone wants to see Bill Gates and Seinfeld - let alone in their homes. Go back to Marketing 101 and tell your potential customers what your product(s) can do for them. Then go tell them what it does better than the competition. The second one there will tell you what new features you need to work on.

Microsoft Office: Simplify. You can very easily sell a low-cost version that will substantially reduce the incentive to pirate by selling a version of Office without the stuff 95% of people DON'T use. Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint viewer, Outlook) for $50 is not out of reach. Then you can sell the additional functionality (Sover, etc.) as upgrades/plugins.

@Goblin

Ballmer's single-minded intransigence lead to Microsoft's delayed public entry into distributed computing has put Microsoft in easy range of open-source adoption by enterprise while MSFT could have kept the barbarian horde at bay easily.

If Ballmer had not been playing chicken since 2006, Microsoft would be a dominant force in the cloud dominion. As it is, Microsoft's reputation has suffered, their partners and clients have lost opportunities and Microsoft's products now look like wannabe and woulda-coulda-shoulda entries late to the science fair.

IF Windows 7 is released early... IF Azure is released early... and IF Windows 7 turns out to be what Vista was supposed to be before it was neutered in 2005... Microsoft will finally begin the healing process that has been an open sore for three years.

But, Ballmer is the easy target here; being a clueless lout unable to appreciate the finer points of the unintended consequences in usury of the soul.

We must remember Gates has been the facilitator all this time. In particular, his amazing disappearing act pulled in Spring 2006 ejected his responsible pilotage at precisely the time the rest of the world would become aware Microsoft was naked in the street.

Microsoft needs to be broken up into productive segments. As long as Ballmer and Gates maintain their treehouse-club-on-a-limb, Microsoft shareholders and partners will remain at the mercy of an unbelieving market and a tech savvy public.

Microsoft is on the right track no matter what you nay Sayers say. Even losing 6% of the desktop market has not hurt them, heck, they increase volume and profit this year. So what I would say, is MSFT is doing all the right things already to get every last drop of profit out of it cash cows.

They just need to continue to release Windows and Office at more frequent intervals, and raise the prices in small ways that are not apparent to most. This is exactly what they are doing. Spending a lot of R&D on the viral problems of Windows is a loser, MSFT knows this. So only expect to see small incremental steps taken, which will be greatly trumpeted by the choir. MSFT knows that windows cannot compete forever against free, so why bother spending on too much R&D for it? Speaking of the choir, they need to hire more evangelists, as market share goes down, to keep the faithful in line. It called milking a dead or dieing cow to death, and expect MSFT to get every last drop of your money it can.

Come to think of it, MSFT is already doing all these things already.

Precisely the things IBM did in their death spiral days. Precisely the MBA inspired tactics practiced by the US car companies.

We see where that lead.

The left hand obviously does not know what the right hand is doing here.

"or at least provide an ActiveX plugin for Firefox, Opera, etc."

Noooooooo! Run away! Run away!

portuno_diamo says:
"Precisely the things IBM did in their death spiral days. Precisely the MBA inspired tactics practiced by the US car companies.
We see where that lead.
The left hand obviously does not know what the right hand is doing here."

Nicely written portuno, I especially liked the imagery of the last sentence. But you miss the point. MSFT probably would have 5 to 10 years with the Windows cow, to keep milking it, and Office could even be ported over to other alternatives if they should prevail.

One other thing that MSFT should do, is to give away Laptops to bloggers. Whoops, guess they already do that.

People, you do not understand how money works, or how the thinking of those at MSFT who are in charge works. Ballmer, Gates, and the rest of that crowd, just pull all the strings, but look at their age. Late fifties to later. They could care less about windows being around in twenty years, but do care if they as people are. Why do you think MSFT is buying back its stock? Because it props up the price, and these guys are the stockholders that want to sell some or all of it so they can retire eventually. Also the more the company has, the more votes the leadership controls, meaning of course them, the Gates crowd.

So the powers that are in control of MSFT, are looking at short term profits and how to max those out, long term is not something they really care about.

Another thing MSFT should do is to add in more DRM so that MSFT can control and eventually charge you to play files or programs on your computer. Whoops, maybe they already done that with Vista.

@Portuno
Believe it or not, I am genuinely pleased to see you have returned and are posting again (as I said before, I believe I did you a great dis-service in previous threads here, and for that I appologise)
-
If I may I will quote you:
"IF Windows 7 is released early... IF Azure is released early... and IF Windows 7 turns out to be what Vista was supposed to be before it was neutered in 2005... Microsoft will finally begin the healing process that has been an open sore for three years."
-
Completely agree, however one of the allegations when Vista was released was that it was rushed out and I believe a rushed release of anything from MS from now only will be severely damaging to them. If its ready great, if its not Id hold back instead of releasing "to get in early" But then I assume Ballmer knows best, he's the one with the job not me.
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Of course another allegation was, like all proprietary products, it was intentionally broken in order for people to "want more" and upgrade. Whatever the truth, Vista IMO WAS broken, no amount of PR will ever cover up that fact, when all you have to do is speak to a Vista user.
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You said "Microsoft needs to be broken up into productive segments. As long as Ballmer and Gates maintain their treehouse-club-on-a-limb, Microsoft shareholders and partners will remain at the mercy of an unbelieving market and a tech savvy public."
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And that, I completely agree with. I also cant see why MS dont appear to be even considering it.
It addition to the above, MS has so many "battlefronts" I believe its impossible for them to keep ontop of all, they spread their resources but IMO have not got the upperhand in any of them. A more focused set of seperated small teams would reap benefits for both the software and MS in general.

The Left Hand of God :wrote

"One other thing that MSFT should do, is to give away Laptops to bloggers. Whoops, guess they already do that."
----------------------------------------------------

That might have to be changed to "they used to give out laptops". Microsoft is cutting back and laying off some of its workforce. That could mean the end of free laptops and free software for bloggers and astroturfers.

---

However the positive side of that could be more honest and realistic posts from (supposedly) "pro MSFT" people.

---------

I just wonder if Andre would be affected or if he would change his position any, if he didn't get a new laptop or free software.

As they say stay tuned...

I hope Andre doesnt think it rude for me to talk about him here. We obviously have major differences of opinion but I do not wish this to be a character assasination of him.
He, IMO is a difficult one. If he was paid to post pro-MS comments you would think he would be far better. There are times when I have challenged him, knowing that some of my comments could easily be challenged back and he hasnt done so.
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There have been holes in previous arguments Ive had with him he's failed to pick up on and you'd think if he was being paid to promote MS he would jump on them immediately.
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I think much of Andre's posting comes more from a sense of misguided loyalty to MS. If thats because they've sent him "free loans" I dont know, and I dont think we will ever know the truth. The shame with Andre is that he never debates a point properly. He will come on and post a pro-MS comment, disapearing shortly after. Thats a shame. I like healthy debate, and sometimes after Ive seen an Andre post destroyed in a plethora of opposing facts, I have been itching to post a pro-ms comment on his behalf in the spirit of good debate (Ill say now I havent though)
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I personally think Andre is a MSwatch celeb. I dont think we will ever agree on anything, but you can always use Andre's posts to see which direction MS is taking on its current "topic of the week" and for that he is a valuable asset to this site.
Andre makes no secret of his MS allegiance (by the PR style way he posts), and again, regardless of what he says in his posts (and some of his dubious figures) there is some honesty there because of that.
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Quote Ralph "I just wonder if Andre would be affected or if he would change his position any, if he didn't get a new laptop or free software."
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I dont honestly believe anyone would support any MS product to the extent some do if there wasnt anything in it for them. When was the last time you met someone who was passionate about an MS product and not connected with them in any way?
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BTW - Happy new year if I havent said to already to you.

Ralph:
believe it or not, but the very impartial Andre Da Costa who made his Windows Seven Revue on ActiveWin site, the site hosted and ran by a MS MVP, and reads, is being quoted on this respectable site:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/152854.asp

Nothing like MS having a mole in the blogging community is there?

Another strange thing chips (and Ive emailed you about this) is that on Andres blog on:
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http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/?_c11_BlogPart_BlogPart=blogview&_c=BlogPart&partqs=amonth%3d10%26ayear%3d2008
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You will notice that he says he is not going to the conference. Yet the link you supplied says he did.
Ive taken a screen grab of Mr Da Costa's blog just incase he decides to make any alterations. I wonder what the truth is?
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Maybe Andre would like to comment?

Goblin :wrote

"When was the last time you met someone who was passionate about an MS product and not connected with them in any way?
-
BTW - Happy new year if I havent said to already
to you"
--------------------------------------------------

Happy new year too.

I am sorta passionate about Linux, but I am not connected with anyone or any company in anyway. I do get free Linux software...so can any one else.

Maybe there is where the loyalty really lies...We get free software that we could use and it performs better than most closed paid software.

Maybe the word I am looking for it appreciative ...more than passionate. I guess that why I defend Linux if and wherever I can. Because I appreciate all the work that was done for everyone for a good product that cost me nothing except 10 or 25 cents to burn a CD or a DVD.

Then again how can I be passionate about MSFT software that would cost me $150 to $500. The attitude is different...it is either worth the money or it isn't. How can one be passionate about shelling out $500?

Furthermore it boils down to this, if I can achieve roughly the same goals and not have to spend $150 to $500 per computer for software...then why shouldn't I?

Even putting Microsoft aside for a minute,....

A recent example was Nero. I wanted to make a DVD with some files I had. Now Nero works great with Windows and I was doing a project on my XP machine. Nero would not let me convert any file to a DVD until I upgraded their product for more money.

I kinda knew about Devede from Linux and looked further into it. I saw what it could do and looked for a Windows version ...and there it was.

So while I could have (at the time) transfered files to the Linux machine and convert...I had the files right there on my XP machine. So why not give Devede (for Windows) a whirl?

I'm telling anyone out there regardless if you are pro Windows or pro Linux or both. Devede was able to convert the files to a DVD ISO...from there I was finally able to burn my files into a DVD ISO and then use Nero to burn a image ISO.

Here was yet another example where a free and open source application was able to do something that a closed proprietary software product was unable to do (unless I wanted to cough up some money). For making a DVD file ...Devede is a winner and its free for either Windows or Linux users.

Out of curiosity I converted and burned the same files on a Ubuntu machine. Yep you guessed it ....Ubuntu (Linux) did the job faster while using a slightly slower machine with less ram.

Sometimes less or next to nothing is better than the expensive stuff. Another example I don't own a Zune, all I know is that my Curtis 2GB MP player that I bought sometime in 2007 for under $20 worked fine on New Years Eve and New Years Day. Unlike the poor souls who shelled out $200+ for a Zune and could not use it when they wanted to.

I hope my previous comment was not misunderstood by anyone, so ill clarify.
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What I was meaning what that maybe the reason why people get passionate about Linux is because there are so many reasons to do so (functionality, reliability,speed) and that maybe the only ones passionate about MS products are being paid since they wouldnt get passionate about it otherwise as there is nothing to get passionate about. (thats a lot of passionates)
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My fault, a badly worded post before.
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I agree with what you are saying although I look at the "freeness" of Linux as an added extra and not a "selling point" if Linux as a platform was hopeless it would be (for me) no better if it was free.
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Ive often said, if Linux was a proprietary platform, it still would be my platform of choice over Windows simply because for me personally I am far more productive with it and IMO it is a far more reliable, faster,stable and secure environment to work in.
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In regards to your DVD issue. I personally found Brasero brilliant. Simple, quick, does the job. It certainly offers everything that Ive needed in the past from a proprietary burning software. I will certainly check out your recommendation though, as Ive never used the package before.

@Goblin

Devede will even convert FLV, avi, wmv or any video file even mixed format files...into a DVD ISO. I don't think Nero can do that even if you paid extra for the full program.

From there use your favorite burning program that can burn ISO's like Brasero or Nero.

Microsoft should just do the world a huge favor, and exit the software business completely. Microsoft should merge with Berkshire-Hathaway, becoming an even larger holding company.

@Ralph
"Devede will even convert FLV, avi, wmv or any video file even mixed format files...into a DVD ISO."
----------------------------------------------------
Going have to install that, thanks. In linux of course!

@ Chips

Let us know how it works for you. Just remember to check on the lower left side (after you select Video DVD) there is where you have to select PAL or NTSC. Select the appropriate one depending on what system your country uses.

All you have to do is drag the files into the right window. On the left window where it says Title 1 , click "properties" and put your title that you want in there.

On the bottom you have menu options, click that and you can put another title that will sit on top of the other title. Kind of like a subject caption.

Make sure you have a couple of GB of HSD space for it to convert. And when you are done, If you are in Windows...go to program files...open up Devede and look for your completed ISO. Then use your favorite burning program to burn that ISO.

On the subject of Zunes:

Forget both the Zune and the iPod. I'd say take a look at some of Sansa's offerings, like the Sansa Fuze. I say so primarily because the Fuze now officially supports the Ogg and FLAC formats. Try getting that from a Zune or an iPod without resorting to custom firmware.

Full disclosure: I don't own a Fuze. For all I know they might be total junk, but a friend of mine owns one and seems happy with it. In any case, I think any music device that officially supports open music formats deserves a look, and let the buyers decide for themselves from there.

"Tokyo (or Seoul)"? lol How much money did you get from the Koreans?

@ Tom:

If you mean me, nothing. I don't even know if it is a good product or not. I only highlight it as an option because it supports open standards (and that only recently, I think). The day the iPod or Zune does that, I'll probably mention that for them too.

@ Tom again:

Oops. My mistake. I just realized what you were talking about after re-reading the blog post.

Open mouth, insert foot for me. My apologies. Just ignore the preceding post.

Dump the ad agency and go open source. Don't spend a dime on advertising or anything else for that matter other than network and services infrastructure. Don't over extend, keep your best people and clean house.

Being in the IT field, I would like to see a clearer distinction between what is sold as a Consumer OS and a Business OS, similar to when Microsoft sold Windows 95 and 98, for consumers, and Windows NT for Businesses.

Windows 7 for a business environment should be based on the Windows Server kernel and should include only Business related apps and services. This would make IT support easier because the OS would be stable (well, as stable as Windows Server anyway).

I think it's important for MS to rebuild the trust and support of IT professionals, who themselves are also consumers. This will translate into a trickledown effect and improve consumer confidence. How many of the IT professionals and “geeks” out there are asked their opinions about computers by friends and family members? That’s how word of mouth support starts and grows.

I think you forgot the most important thing Microsoft needs to do in 2009... put out a decent product... one that works all the time not most of the time.

The main reason I am thinking of going to Apple after years (like since the first PC dual floppy PC) of using MS is reliability!

Jobs never puts a product to market till it works, Gates (Microsoft) puts out anything they can make a buck at.

Apple products come with 3 licences (per house not per hard drive), and honestly it just works better.... Microsoft does have an immage... DINOSOUR (Microsoft is the new IBM MAINFRAME). While Apple is cool... (PC of the past)

The best thing for MS to do is show they care about value, reliability, and (dare I say it) change!

MS needs to give every Vista owner a new OS free. Vista is my last MS OS.

Does anyone really think System 7 will be better than Vista? Was XP better then Win 95, 98, or ME (ok ME crashes all the time so it could be somewhat better than ME).

A poorly conceived OS is inexcusable. When I want to install something, I don't need to be asked if I want to install it. I hate being asked by my computer if I'm sure I want to do something. We're not all idiots..like the people who work for MS.

"Access denied" when there is only one user is unacceptable.

To Pat:
11/07/08 I wrote:
To Joe;Do you think it will be just if MS give Windows seven free to all the people who bought Windows Vista? because windows 7 is Windows Vista Pack 2
It could be a good crusade for eWEEK o some Media with interest in protecting their readers and that is fair.
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What do you thinks guys, will be Joe brave enough or not?

Microsoft is now a Dinosaur. Perhaps the number one thing they need to do is break apart so they can be reincarnated as a whole.

Microsoft remains out of compliance with too many industry standards (web based), and is living in the past as to what people want today. I don't take issue with their branding of laptop cases or apparel -- branding is just a way to advertise. I do however completely agree with your assessment that their branding is all over the place -- with no sense of unity. If given the opportunity, I'd love to unite this chaos for them.

Aside from branding, you also need something people are united in to want to buy and/or are proud to own. If you're going to reach out to the market -- it's not for something the market already owns and are not too happy about.

What I take issue with is MS doesn't offer any products or services that appeal to me as much as open source, Sony, Google, Adobe, or Apple innovations. Their EULAs are far too restrictive -- and could learn from the mistakes of Quark, and the goodwill of the creative commons.

If a company is privileged enough to own a dominant market segment, they are hyper-vulnerable to tectonic shifts in the marketplace. Most of Microsoft's real estate remains rigid and brittle. That kind of engineering is rapidly being deprecated in favor of more malleable, community oriented solutions.

I'd like to see Microsoft transform itself the way IBM did. However in order to do that my feeling is it's going to need to mutate into a smaller, leaner, Velociraptor -- and eventually reincarnate into a smart, cute, fuzzy mammal.

Marco says:
"It could be a good crusade for eWEEK o some Media with interest in protecting their readers and that is fair.
-----
What do you thinks guys, will be Joe brave enough or not?"
----------------------------------------------------
I say he will NOT. Joe has had every chance to be a consumer advocate, and has chosen his own self proclaimed words of wanting to be a MS Advocate instead. Also the fact that Joe continues to tell the non-believing public and us, that "Vista is not so bad, and is really a lot better than people say it is," as he blogs from his Mac. No, Joe is not an consumer advocate at all.

Sometimes I wonder if Joe just get many of his talking points from Microsoft. Like the way he keeps wanting to talk about Windows Moble all the time. Why? Is it because he owns smartphones, or is it because MS wants to build hipe before they come out with their zunephone?

Ill put the issue of intentions to one side. I wouldnt like to comment.
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What I will say is that regardless of if a Zunephone gets released (and after .andre (sic) said it wont happen, I tend to think it will) Microsoft has suffered horribly from bad PR brought about (IMO) by its own doing.
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I personally cannot see any real consumer faith in MS here, infact the most pro-MS comment I have read here recently was by someone getting excited that they had downloaded a pirate copy of Windows 7.
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I cannot see any excitement for Microsofts upcoming product ranges (which are so complex you need an IQ of over 180 to keep up with them all)
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As I see it, shareholders of MS stock will be looking at this site and seeing a pro-MS feeling coming from a piracy angle, and the rest of us who "play the game" and pay for things looking at alternatives and other solutions to problems which we have struggled with in the past.
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Regardless of any intentions of anyone (and I said this on another thread) As Atari found out with the release of its state of the art console Jaguar (at the time) even the best specs and systems will crash and burn if nobody wants to buy it. Now looking at the sales of mobiles, does anyone want to argue that MS have cornered the market and created a genuine "buzz of excitement" for any of its attempts, in particular the mobile market?

Hi chips;
I can or not to be agreeing with you about; "and has chosen his own self proclaimed words of wanting to be a MS Advocate instead" but it doesn't matter
because only Joe (with his behavior) will be demonstrating if him will defend MS interest or the consumer interest, but its an interesting issue that is worth taking into account , is it not Joe?.
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Claim: Microsoft earned $1.5B from "Vista Capable" PCs

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/158488.asp?source=rss

From the declaration of expert Keith Leffler:

I have been asked by Plaintiffs' counsel to estimate the amount of revenue earned by Microsoft from the licensing of Windows XP on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs. In Microsoft's Supplemental Responses it estimates that it received revenue of [redacted] from Windows XP licenses on upgradeable PCs sold in the U.S. during the April 2006 through January 2007 period. From the estimates of Windows Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs compared to all upgradeable PCs as in Table 1, I estimate that [redacted] of the [redacted] from Windows XP licenses on upgradable PCs were for XP licenses on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs -- those PCs purchased by the Plaintiff class. From these figures, I have, therefore reached the opinion that Microsoft revenue from the Windows XP licensing on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs was $1.505 billion.
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@Marco:
"because only Joe (with his behavior) will be demonstrating if him will defend MS interest or the consumer interest"
----------------------------------------------------
This is true, and really in all seriousness, I hope Joe will prove me wrong. This is one point I really would like to be wrong about. Actually thought it might make it easier for Joe to do this, if I said he would not.

Now there was a MS news/blog site, that did start and maintain a petition to save XP, so your idea of free upgrades to those who goes stuck with Vi$ta is not out of line at all for a site like this one. Heck a sign up petition for free Seven upgrade for Vi$ta sufferers, might help increase the traffic greatly at eweek.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/

The site with the petition to save xp.

and the end result of the petition:
it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/06/2322205&from=rss

Perhaps infoworld would be interested in your idea, it is a good one. Although we know MS will not do this, still, they should be asked to.

Don't give them tips (not that they listen to anyone else anyway)! As microsoft has been going backwards the industry has moved forward, so keep a lid on it Wilcox! :-)

Good bit of advice for Microsoft and its agents, try to avoid practices that result in posts like this:
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http://boycottnovell.com/2009/01/02/gary-stewart-flatfish-troll-unmasked/
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It appears the allegations of Microsoft paying people to write favorably (and other practices, you know what I mean! ;) ) has taken a further turn.
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Interesting reading.
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That reminds me, Andre are you going to admit if you went to the PDC last year? Your blog says you didnt, yet I have a link which is quoting you at the event. Why not clear the matter up? Im sure you dont want conflicting stories about what you did or didnt do.

Goblin :wrote

"Good bit of advice for Microsoft and its agents, try to avoid practices that result in posts like this:
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http://boycottnovell.com/2009/01/02/gary-stewart-flatfish-troll-unmasked/
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It appears the allegations of Microsoft paying people to write favorably (and other practices, you know what I mean! ;) ) has taken a further turn."
--------------------------------------------------

I read that link and it appears that there is some real damning information there.

This whole thing reeks...makes me embarrassed that I still use XP yet.

“I’m a huge fan of guerrilla marketing.”

–Joe Wilcox, Microsoft fan & Microsoft Watch editor

http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/18/microsoft-crashing-parties/

Excellent link Goblin!.

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"Although we know MS will not do this, still, they should be asked to."
thank for you backing, but...

Really I had to fight with myself about this idea because its very difficult (by means of economic interest-and MS stupidity) that it would be done.
Additionally, I generally fight to MS if MS will be doing thus (Windows seven free...etc) the principal winner would be ...MS (because the excellent advertising) and it... well I think that MS should change a lot itself before it would be getting the public opinion support(for the welfare of us all).
Therefore I will leave it this time.

It is alarming to read the various comments concerning "Unsolicited Advice for Microsoft". Some of the comments concerning Gates and Ballmer, and individuals lack of influence is naive.
Shareholder activism has tremendous influence. Google search Third Point, Icahn Partners, Pershing Square and Ironfire Capital.
Ironfire Capital created "Plan B" for Yahoo and rallied support from numerous frustrated shareholders. I agree that Gates and Ballmer have large holdings. However, during the stupid $45 billion and 65% premium bid for Yahoo, reports indicated that 11 of the 20 largest Yahoo shareholders own Microsoft. CRM, Barclays, Vanguard and three other collectively own $60 billion worth of equity. They want shareholder value. This fails to incorporate the power of numbers. Individual shareholders can rally support an influence change.
We agree that Ballmer has failed to guide the company. We agree with numerous other blogs that Microsoft requires a change.
We have in December 2008 launched a campaign for "New Strategy" for Microsoft. Since the launch of the blog we have obtained attention from a global media company.
Microsoft according to youtube, analysts, reporters, shareholders and bloggers, requires a change...we have an alternative "New Strategy" located at http://thecrandreagoupr.blogspot.com
We are in the process of rallying support and gaining tremendous media attention.
We are seeking frustrated users and mainly shareholders to rally support. In our blog we offer an email address for additional comment or correspondance.
Microsoft requires a "New Strategy" similar to the comment of selling to "Berkshire Hathaway", we offer a "New Strategy"
The Crandrea Group

Joe
I find it interesting that you have a section for post a comment, then reserve the right to accept the post.
In response to "Unsolicited Advice for Microsoft" we posted a comment. Prior or posting the last comment was Marco on January 5th. However, despite posting a comment early January 5th we failed to see the comment posted.
Yes, we have read the posts. Yes, we have read Mr. Ballmer and Mr. Gates responses. Maybe, if I offer you a free lap top you will actually post the comments.
Are you afraid of criticism concerning the not so Glorious Microsoft?
Do you get a commission from Steve and Bill for all positive reviews?
From doing a Google search (Google is mentioned to reference its dominance, despite Microsoft trying to buy its way into being competitive with its 65% premium bid for Yahoo)"Microsoft shareholder blogs"
Read about Mr. MacDonald who bought $3 million worth of shares in 2000 to see them sit at the same level for eight years. Read extrememakeover for Microsoft. Read articles from numerous frustrated users, shareholders, and analysts.
Seems like with your blog, Microsoft has with everything it does, used its cash to buy positive reviews.
How about trying posting comments that go contrary to your beliefs and feelings, or is Microsoft Watch afraid of conflicting opinions?
Or, is Microsoft Watch actually funded by Microsoft.
We have a blog at http://thecrandreagroupr.blogspot.com
It refers to the fact that the only reason Ballmer is CEO is because of being friends with Bill and an initial employee. If Bill really wants a friend to properly run the company he created, maybe he should see if his buddy Warren is interested. Berkshire Hathaway has certainly managed to add shareholder value. Then there is Steve and his legacy of poor performance, massive overspending and complete blunders. This is the same guy who in July 2007 at a analysts meeting stated "we have no desire to acquire Yahoo, we prefer organic growth". Then less than one year later announces a plan referred to by a analyst with Goldman Sachs as "the stupidiest idea in the company history".
If you aren't afraid that others don't agree with everything concerning Microsoft, try posting this comment.

Craig Montgomery wrote: "I find it interesting that you have a section for post a comment, then reserve the right to accept the post."

Criag, what I find interesting is that the blogging system automatically junked your first comment for having a link but not the second. I don't know why.

My apologies, there's no censorship here. Unfortunately, the blogging system gives a message that spam-identified comments will be reviewed. They aren't. I only searched for your junked comment because of your second comment. As you can see, the first one is now published.

It's unfortunate there is so much comment spam that I don't have time to search for any ones wrongly junked. If this ever happens again, where you comment and it doesn't appear right away, use the Tips e-mail to contact me. I usually fix the problems within a few minutes.

Thanks,

Joe

I think M$ should lower the price, simplify the products, & get rid of bloatware.
What is wrong with K.I.S.S? (I think that maybe M$ thinks it's smarter than everyone else ;)
People are sick and tired of the crap coming out of Redmond. I only use it because I have to for my job. Not because I want to.
I've been doing SW development for over 25 years and do my best to keep my head from exploding every time I have to write Windows applications. The kernel sucks, the UI API sucks, the libraries are bloated and are bug ridden. I say start with a POSIX base, like Linux and go from there. As the guy stated above, most of the work is done, the foundations are solid, and it is sooo much easier to write quality software to.

A very interesting article!
I liked!
I would be here now go more often!