For people receiving a lot of e-mail and using Microsoft's terrible Outlook client, this free plug-in looks like an absolute must. The video on the Xobni website is much better, but it can't be embedded (a pretty stupid move by Xobni). It's a mystery why Outlook doesn't come with these features...
There's not much to add to this excellent news from Charles Arthur, which signals a "push for 'open source' software to be used more widely among central and local governments' 4m desktop computers." It'll be very interesting to see what Microsoft has to say about that, particularly as the NHS is one of its biggest customers in Europe.
Now that it has been recognised that open source solutions represents a viable alternative to propriety software for governments, this paves the way for business to change the way they think about collaboration, and their processes.
If you were wondering how mobile start-up Giffgaff might operate its "people-friendly mobile network", Getsatisfaction.com might be one (possible) solution. The company offers an "instant-on support community for sharing answers, ideas and solutions" that allows you to "love your customers" better. Big hitters already using the platform include Apple, Microsoft and Nike. Visit getsatisfaction.tv for some helpful videos to help you get the idea on how Getsatisfaction can help reduce your support costs.
Interestingly, I heard about it when using the free, open-source media player Songbird, which uses Getsatisfaction for its community-driven online help pages. Offering their platform to the project (no doubt for free) is a clever marketing trick on the part of Getsatisfaction.
You have no doubt heard of Microsoft's cringeworthy attempts to encourage people to host Windows 7 launch parties, and their godawful video to promote the dodgy initiative. If you thought the whole misguided effort was unspoofable check the above brilliant video out via fellow Budapest expat Alex Poulson's new blog.
Some would say you could walk out onto an American street and ask just about any simple question and get a similar response, but the above vox pop by Google is surprising nonetheless. You really would think that in this world where everyone carries a powerful computer in their pocket, most of them would know what a browser was. Then again, it explains why Google is trying to break into the browser market, through the back door, as Slate says, by building a Google Chrome plug-in for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Watch the sparks fly between those two...
P.S.: YouTube has dozens of examples of Americans giving dumb answers to really simple questions.
As a Linux user, Microsoft hater and believer in the open-source movement, it is with great joy I read of Google's announcement to launch its own operating system Chrome OS, via its blog, of course. Not only will the code be Linux-based and opened up to developers, the marketing might of Google will allow free software to at last be pitched up against Microsoft's propriety offering in the collective consciousness. As Google say themselves:
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
With so many people like myself who are anti-Microsoft by default, it is with a chuckle that the above ad for Internet Explorer 8, the successor to a product that has caused much controversy in the courts and is universally dispised by developers, spread around the net. (The ad has since been removed, although it lives on on YouTube, to even more online hilarity.) Whether IE8 is as bad as IE6 for example, which does not obey web standards and has gaping security holes, remains to be seen, but what is more interesting is how Microsoft continues to throw big-money marketing at its terrible image problem - it is now universally agreed Vista was a disaster and everything rides on Windows 7.
Cue this scathing analysis of the software behemoth's marketing efforts here in The Guardian tech blog, which contains the following inciteful comments from Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land:
Just because you're Microsoft doesn't mean that you have some type of manifest destiny to receive it. In particular, it's a terrible signal to tell the world that this is a primary reason you're doing search, to grab some of the advertising cash away from Google. It would be like Apple trying to sell Macs by telling the world too much money is being spent on Windows PCs.
Instead, Apple pitches the consumer advantages of the Mac. Similarly, Microsoft should be consistently pitching more than anything else that they are in search to improve life for consumers.
In other words, Apple doesn't need the shock factor of a women throwing up at their partner's surfing habits to sell its products. In an IT world increasingly driven by rapid innovation, communities, collaboration and open-source projects (none of which require expensive marketing), it is ironic that the biggest player of all believes such old-fashioned marketing will improve its image. FAIL!
DrDonzo
