Microsoft's Nine Press Release Monday

I'll just quickly take them one by one, offering a little color and perspective. I read them, so that you don't have to.

More talk about unified communications. Barely a month goes by without Microsoft reminding us that it has a unified communications strategy. But Cisco gave Microsoft some reason on Friday to whisk out a fresh Q&A press release on Monday. Cisco is buying Jabber. Jabber will give Cisco some real scale for enterprise instant message, presence and collaboration.

Cisco and Microsoft are on a collision course in unified communications, with the channel as the territory between them. In August 2007, Cisco and Microsoft CEOs sat down for an informal chat with PBS journalist Charlie Rose. The "Yeah, he's one hell of a guy" banter between John Chambers and Steve Ballmer only emphasized their fierce competition. So there's no misunderstanding: Microsoft clearly identified Cisco as a competitor in its recent, annual 10-K filing.

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Jabber is just that: A fierce Cisco jab at Microsoft's unified communications strategy. Cisco needs to extend its software capabilities if it's going to fend off Microsoft and gain more customers. Cisco has more at stake. Communications are its core business but high-end router sales aren't growing like they used to. Microsoft's Q&A isn't much of a jab back. But, hey, what is the company going to cobble together in a weekend?

Microsoft-CNBC mobile advertising deal. Aren't MSNBC, sister to CNBC, and Microsoft still partners? These in-the-family deals don't rush my blood. Besides, 1.1 million unique U.S. mobile users is kind of a pittance. But I shouldn't be so harsh. While the big search deals draw headlines, real success and market reach will come from a succession of smaller deals like this one.

The deal makes Microsoft the "exclusive third-party provider of mobile WAP site display" advertising on CNBC's mobile site, according to the press release. OK, but what about the real mobile Web? Apple's iPhone has got a Web browser, so will cell phones running Google's Android operating system. Is that a real Web browser I see in Sony promos for the Windows 6.1 Professional-based Xperia X1? The future of mobile computing isn't WAP, baby.

Timing surely is deliberate, with the first Google Android phone set to launch tomorrow. Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, but I don't expect there to be much might behind the Android hype. The sales projections—600,000 to 700,000 handsets this year—make the point: it's not called the Dream phone for no reason. Google, HTC and T-Mobile are dreaming if they really believe unit sales will be so high. I agree with eWEEK readers: No way, no how.

Atlas lifts up more beta testers. Despite recent rumors Microsoft is shopping around its Atlas division, advertising services move forward. The Engagement ROI beta tool is now available to all Atlas customers for managing and assessing the effectiveness of their digital advertising campaigns by way of the "Engagement Mapping method."

The press release quotes Young-Bean Song, senior director, Atlas Institute and Microsoft Advertising, as saying the tool helps assess how a "media campaign influenced eventual conversions or sales," and how to "validate and maximize online spending beyond the 'last ad.'"

If you're confused, check out the Microsoft Advertising Web site, It's a good resource for at least while the company still owns Atlas. Microsoft advertising services are underrated, because of Google's success.

$40 billion stock repurchase and quarterly dividend. Please look to my last post for the timing, which is no accident given the financial crisis gripping Wall Street.

Some of you readers are more cynical than I. Microsoft Watch commenter Paul wrote: "The timing is pretty obvious. The shareholder meeting is in November. With the stock down 30% YTD and threatening to break to its decade lows, [Microsoft CEO Steve] Ballmer knew he needed something to placate them and keep his job." Ouch.

Windows HPC Server 2008 release to manufacturing. Whoa, this one got two press releases. That's OK, because the announcement also got two stories on eWEEK, one from colleague Darryl Taft and another from colleague Chis Preimesberger.

The venue and timing of the software's RTM announcement is quite deliberate. Microsoft sees terror on Wall Street—teetering and collapsing financial institutions—as a huge sales opportunity. It's gutsy. The Q&A press release quotes Craig Saint-Amour, Microsoft's U.S. capital markets industry solutions director: "In this tough economic environment, lowering operational costs and increasing overall productivity at all levels of a firm's HPC value chain—end user, developer, operations staff—is at the forefront of every manager's mind." My translation: While you're downsizing, chuck those Unix and Linux systems and costly supporting personnel for Windows Server.

Games for Windows birthday present: "Grand Theft Auto IV." I must have been naive thinking that XNA was going all the way to a fierce future of Xbox 360, Xbox Live and Windows Vista cross-platform game development. At least Microsoft has Rockstar and yet another installment of road kill mayhem. The game will be available in November. Happy second birthday, Games for Windows. Maybe the "terrible twos" will be better. Full title list can be found at the Games for Windows Web site.

SQL Server 2008 benchmarks. I really hate benchmarks. The press release touts "new TPC-E performance benchmark results" that, in layperson's terms, make the software look really good for returning TCO. For years, Microsoft and other server software or server hardware vendors have approached me with the latest benchmarks. The results are great PR, but in my limited experience often don't translate into real world results. Show me some benchmarks for a production system running a couple dozen custom applications and SQL Server 2008, then maybe I'll show some interest. You want benchmarks? Go to the nearest park bench and read carvings like "Josh and Katie Forever."

Microsoft Research facility in Cambridge, Mass. Academic research is big money. The Mosaic-based Web browser and the Google search algorithm are just two examples of the zillions of academic projects that led to new high-tech companies or ventures. It's no coincidence that the new Microsoft Research facility is located in Cambridge and officially opened with "a symposium hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." Research is the tie that binds academia and corporate America. There's sure to be cross-pollination, even if only unofficial, between the Microsoft Research facility, MIT and other Boston-area colleges. The 33-member research team includes "post-doctoral students" and "interns."

"Microsoft Research New England will focus initially on the combination of core computer science—especially as it relates to new algorithms—and the social sciences, including economics, psychology and sociology," according to the press release. Well, MIT is the right place for the math, and the other colleges—and their students—for other areas of research. Boston has something like 100 schools and 250,000 students. That's a hell of a lab for testing social or even social networking products or services.

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