mix08

LAS VEGAS--While Internet Explorer 8 demos, Silverlight progress and a Monkey Boy reprise from Steve Ballmer captured much of the attention at Mix 08--it was a database announcement that could be the sleeper announcement of the show.

What Microsoft announced was a database-in-the-cloud service where Web developers can store their data. Those attending the Mix show here were able to sign up for a beta test that is set to begin in three or four weeks, with a final version aimed to be launched by the end of the year, according to Dave Campbell, a technical fellow in Microsoft's … Read more

Apple’s iPhone SDK Strategy Both Promotes and Stifles Innovation http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030700060.html

iPhone SDK, Apple’s Touch Platform, and The Next Two Decades http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/ 900-iphone-sdk-apples-touch-platform-and-the-next-two-decades

FAQ: What does the iPhone SDK mean? http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888281-7.html

Rumor: Sprint will spin off Nextel http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888321-7.html

Air Force Cyber Command Wants Intarwebs Supremacy (Thanks Jacob!) http://gizmodo.com/365042/ air-force-cyber-command-wants-intarwebs-supremacy

Analysts say T-Mobile may acquire Sprint http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/519407.html

Report: Google, Microsoft, and two … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Mozilla Vice President Mike Schroepfer said Microsoft's decision to support a more standards-compliant mode by default should keep Web developers from having to waste so much time.

With the current set-up, he said that developers have a fairly easy time getting a site that renders properly in Opera, Safari, and Firefox, but often spend a lot of energy trying to get that same site to also render correctly in Internet Explorer.

"Web developers burn through a tremendous amount of time getting their sites to work with IE because of IE's special quirks," said Schroepfer, who … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On one score, Yahoo has been extremely receptive to an offer from Microsoft.

With its Yahoo Messenger for Vista, the Internet company has been one of the few consumer software companies to come out with a Windows Vista-specific product.

The instant messenger program doesn't have a lot of extra features (in some cases it has fewer than the generic Windows version). What it does have is an extremely pleasant look and feel. Using the Windows Presentation Foundation graphics engine built into Vista, the program smoothly resizes Windows and moves buddy icons around based on the screen real estate … Read more

LAS VEGAS--With the acquisition of Danger and the proposed bid for Yahoo, Microsoft is looking at taking on a whole lot of non-Windows technology.

Danger's Sidekick device uses a Java operating system, while Yahoo is known for its extensive use of open-source software to power its services.

Speaking at the Mix '08 conference, Ballmer said that Microsoft would likely take on some of the open-source PHP applications that Yahoo relies on for its services, again assuming Yahoo ever starts returning Microsoft's phone calls.

"We should not have two of everything," Ballmer said. "We'll have … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If the jabs from venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki weren't enough, Steve Ballmer took a bunch of no-holds-barred queries from the audience at Mix '08.

He was asked whether, given Apple's iPhone announcement, Microsoft was trying to get Silverlight on the Apple phone.

"Silverlight for the iPhone is, of course, interesting," he said. "I can't say there's been extensive discussion with Guy's old boss."

He also said it was unclear whether Apple's business model, which takes 30 percent of iPhone application revenue, would allow for royalty-free distribution of Silverlight. (Apple … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At Microsoft's Mix conference here Thursday, CEO Steve Ballmer said online advertising is "the next superbig thing" but admitted that the company is well behind Google.

"Despite the fact you could say we are not where we'd like to be, and we could have gotten started a little bit (earlier)," Ballmer said, "we are very committed. We have a long way to go, and (acquiring) Yahoo seems to be a way to accelerate that."

Asked by venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki in an onstage question-and-answer forum where things stand on the Yahoo front, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I was in the Mix '08 press room Thursday chatting with Directions on Microsoft analyst Greg DeMichillie, and somehow the subject came around to the MacBook Air.

It turns out we've had the exact same reaction to Apple's waif-like laptop. Every time we see or touch the MacBook Air we decide it's the perfect laptop for us.

Then, with its seductive thinness more distant, we think about its specifications: its slower processor, small hard drive, and lack of connection ports.

"It's a left-brain, right-brain thing," DeMichillie said. It wouldn't have to be … Read more

Updated at 2:30 p.m. PST.

LAS VEGAS--Although anyone can now download the Internet Explorer 8 browser, Microsoft is gearing this release for Web developers. However, a second beta, slated to arrive this summer, is aimed at a wider audience, Microsoft's top browser executive told CNET News.com.

"It's public," general manager Dean Hachamovitch said of the Beta 1 released Wednesday. "It's out on Microsoft.com somewhere. Anyone can download it."

Although features like Web Slices may appeal to consumers, Hachamovitch said that "the (current) beta really is for developers." … Read more