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ComScore Internet Usage Survey Shows Microsoft “On Top”

Justin Kerr — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:29:09 -0600

A recent ComScore survey on Internet usage is reporting that Microsoft might not be leading the way in search, but in terms of total hours spend online, it has a commanding lead over its competition. The survey, which measured a whopping 27 billion hours of Internet usage by Web users aged 15 or older is an increase of nearly 24% over the year prior, and of those studied, over 3.9 billion hours were spent using Microsoft services. Google came in a not so close second place with around 2.5 billion hours.

The big winner in the Microsoft portfolio might surprise you however, with about 70 percent of the usage being attributed to Windows Live Messenger. Of course, this number measures time spent “online” and not just those “actively engaged” with the service, but it certainly shows the popularity of Microsoft’s instant messenger. Google’s numbers are pretty typical explain analysts, since they make it their business using search to try and get you “in and out” as quickly as possible. The most successful Google property continues to be YouTube with nearly 1.2 billion hours logged watching video.

Yahoo placed third with 1.7 billion hours, and Facebook commanded a respectable fourth place with 1.4 billion hours. The individual rankings may have been a bit of a shock, but the trend showing “Internet usage on the rise” certainly isn’t. Did any of these results surprise you? Let us know what you think.

Windows 7 is Selling Well, But Microsoft Could Still be in Trouble

Justin Kerr — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:46:10 -0600

Windows 7’s launch may have turned in an impressive 234% growth in sales over Vista, but at least one industry analyst report is suggesting it may not be enough to bring Microsoft out of the red. Boxed copies of the software enjoyed strong pre-orders, but as many of you know, the vast majority of these were sold at a significant discount with an average selling price of only $76 in the week ending October 24th. Sales of PCs through the OEM sales channel also grew by 95% during the launch week, but it has since settled down considerably.

According to the report, Microsoft’s fortunes in 2010 will largely depend on whether the global economic conditions improve, and if IT budgets increase along with it. Strong sales to consumers is one thing, but getting businesses to embrace a tech refresh is the real trick to Microsoft’s recovery. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell suggested that his company is planning for the worst, and is being “reasonably cautious” about the prospect of enterprises adopting Windows 7.

"It looks like the Win7 inspired upgrade cycle can start in late 2010 and run through early 2013," Katherine Egbert, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., wrote in an Oct. 12 report. "We expect new hardware purchases to precede the software upgrades by about 6 months." Either way, business will need to replace aging hardware and software eventually, but the big question for Microsoft is “when”.

Zune HD v4.3 Firmware Update Brings Several New Improvements

Justin Kerr — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:03:12 -0600

Okay, so it’s not like Zune HDs were dropping dead right left and center, but more than a few users were irked that play count issues have plagued the device since day one, and many were wondering if it would ever get fixed. Specifically, the Zune HD wouldn’t register a song as “played” unless you skipped to another track manually after about 20 seconds or so. If you were one of the many who were annoyed by this bug, the end is nigh.

The just released v4.3 firmware update addresses not only this issue, but offers up a myriad of “minor improvements”, not the least of which is a snappier browser.

In addition to speed enhancements, it offers up “support for upcoming 3d games and applications, as well as an auto-suggest feature for better text input”. Its great to see Microsoft continuing to make improvements to the device, but who are we kidding, this thing pretty much kicked ass to begin with right?

Zune HD 4.3 firmware brings:

Support for the upcoming 3D games and applications.
Auto Suggest feature for text input.
Faster web browsing experience.
Landscape keyboard
Keyboard option has been added in the settings section.
New toggle between seek and presets under Radio.
Under the Internet in settings, you can now toggle to default mobile or desktop webpage layout.
Artists bios are updated; embedded links to other artists in text.
Other bug fixes.

Windows 7 Launch Did Not Grow PC Sales as Hoped

Ryan Whitwam — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:46:00 -0600

PC vendors were hoping that the launch of the much anticipated Windows 7 would result in a sales boost. The first reports from those vendors, however, are not painting a very rosy picture. Most vendors report only modest increases in sales.

We know that sales of standalone upgrade licenses for Windows 7 were very good at launch, but it seems not many people went out to get a new PC. Vendors are not expecting sales to pick up in 2009. This may be due, in part, to the fact that Vista users can easily upgrade their existing hardware to the lighter weight Windows 7.

Some notebook manufacturers produced extra units running Windows 7 in anticipation of high demand. With demand ending up weaker than expected, these PCs end up discounted. Expect PC prices to continue to slide. Good for us, not so much for the manufacturers and vendors.

Windows 7 Sales Surpass Vista's by 234%

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:51:27 -0600

Microsoft is wallowing in the success of Windows 7. It is difficult to ignore the itch to compare Windows 7 with its predecessor. The Redmond-based software behemoth seems to be relieved that Windows 7 has managed to dodge the fate of Windows Vista. Windows Team Blog blogger Brandon Le Blanc could barely hide his excitement when reporting NPD group's assessment of the initial response to Windows 7.

"It has been quite amazing to watch the global excitement build around Windows 7, especially during a tough economic climate. It was just a few short weeks ago that we learned about Windows 7 outselling the UK's "own" Harry Potter. In Japan, anxious PC users waited in line to be one of the first to get their hands on Windows 7," a clearly ecstatic Le Blanc wrote on the official Windows Team Blog.

According to NPD's weekly tracking service, Windows 7 software unit sales in the US surpassed VIstas by 234 percent during the first few days. However, revenue generated by Windows 7 sales was only 82 percent higher than Vista's during the tracking period. NPD imputed the rather lackluster revenue growth to the discounts offered on pre-sales and Microsoft's failure to plug the Ultimate version in a manner its due. Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade with an average selling price of $76 was the top-selling Windows 7 SKU during the week ending October 24, 2009.

Google CEO: "We Won't Repeat Microsoft's Mistakes"

Paul Lilly — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:04:55 -0600

During an interview with the Fox Business Network, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said his company has learned from Microsoft's past follies in terms of antitrust issues and letting the competition catch up.

"Hopefully we won't repeat the mistakes that Microsoft made 10 years ago that ultimately led to all these things that happened to them," Schmidt said.

Schmidt was also pressed on the potential for Twitter and Facebook to steal the thunder from Google among younger Internet users. But according to Schmidt, it's not a big concern because users of social networking services end up using Google even more.

You can view the two-part interview here and here.

Microsoft Revamps Pricing for Online Business Suite

Paul Lilly — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:45 -0600

Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite, the company's cloud-based communication and collaboration SaaS, now sports a new pricing model, more storage, and an international expansion that adds 15 additional countries and regions, according to TechCrunchIT.

That's great news for the suite's more than 1 million paying customers, who are now paying $10 per month instead of the former price of $15. Microsoft said it reduced the price because of "rapid customer adoption."

On the mailbox storage side, Microsoft now offers 25GB for users of the standard service, which has been expanded to include Singapore, along with trials to take place in Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, and Taiwan.

Microsoft's Business Productivity Suite Online Suite includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online.

Microsoft to Issue Six Patches Next Week, Ties Most Ever in Month of November

Paul Lilly — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:23 -0600

Microsoft's security team is having a busy month when that traditionally hasn't been the case in November. As such, IT departments need to prepare for six security updates next week to fix flaws in both Windows and Office.

"Six is the lucky number this month," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security. "Really, anything less than 13 is a lucky number."

That's only half as many that were issued last month, which set the record for the most updates ever since Microsoft starting shipping the monthly patches six years ago. But next week's updates, which will patch 15 separate vulnerabilities, also sets a record for November, a month that's traditionally been pretty low-key.

On the bright side, none of next Tuesday's updates affect Microsoft's recently released Windows 7 operating system.