What’s Next for Google? March 21, 2008
Posted by Matsu in Business, Information Technology, Microsoft, Software, Technology, Web, Windows/Microsoft.1 comment so far
Today I was catching up on some reading and came across this post by Robert Scoble. He said:
Several people have told me about an off line version of Gmail, coming soon. Other people say that Google, or a company working with Google, is going to come out with a new server that will let corporations replace their Exchange servers with ones made by Google.
Now, wouldn’t it be interesting if Google did in fact come out with an e-mail client to rival Microsoft’s Outlook or Outlook Express? And, to take that one step further, what would happen if Google did release a server that could replace Exchange servers allowing all existing Outlook and Entourage users to just continue using the same client software with the new server without ever knowing the difference? Obviously, that’s not something Microsoft wants to see, but it may be coming.
The world of technology is always interesting and ever changing.
NCAA Website Overwhelmed March 16, 2008
Posted by Matsu in Software, Web.9 comments
I didn’t catch the whole NCAA tournament team selection announcement so I visited the NCAA website. Boy, was that a mistake. Apparently I am not the only person in to think of checking the team selection and brackets online. Maybe in an hour or two it will be able to handle the traffic.
I can’t help but wonder if the web server administrators and web programmers plan ahead for the flood of traffic or if they just figure that since it only happens once or twice a year they will just let the server crash and recover from it as well as they can.
Does anyone know what kind of web architecture NCAA uses to host their website? (Moose?) — According to the Firefox plug-in, Server Spy, the NCAA website is using Microsoft’s IIS software. That explains a lot.
Note: After giving up on the NCAA website I went searching for the NCAA Mens basketball brackets and came across the CBS printable bracket chart. That gave me what I needed.
Apple Bento: The new personal database for Macs February 10, 2008
Posted by Matsu in Apple, Information Technology, Japan, Mac, Microsoft, Software, Technology, Windows/Microsoft.13 comments
Yup, Apple is finally shipping a database for the rest of us. Yesterday they released a new product called Bento by FileMaker.
As you may know, FileMaker is an Apple company that provides database software designed for small to medium sized businesses. Now, they are selling a new $50 database product for individuals who want to track collections of things or just plan a party.
This product fills a whole in Microsoft’s offering as Office for Mac doesn’t include database software. Now, Mac users have a database program that will fill that need. I wonder how well it integrates with Microsoft Word or Excel.
By the way, did you know that “bento” means “lunch box” in Japanese? It does.
I haven’t installed the demo yet, but I will do it this week and let you know what I what I find out about integration with Microsoft’s office software.
I.T. Quote of the Week February 7, 2008
Posted by Matsu in Humor, Information Technology, Random, Software, Technology, Web.add a comment
One of my co-workers sent around a link to an article about Google Apps new “team edition” and that Ars Technica article said this about how I.T. managers might view it:
“IT administrators tend to fervently dislike the sudden appearance of unapproved applications, even if said software package promises world peace, actually delivers all those free iPods, and periodically spits gold doubloons out of the CD-ROM drive.”
That is funny! I hate it when one of my computers spits gold doubloons out of the CD drive slot.
Microsoft Releases Open Source Exchange Server February 3, 2008
Posted by Matsu in Information Technology, Microsoft, Open Source, Software, Technology, Windows/Microsoft.2 comments
Now, that’s a headline that you are unlikely to read any time soon. Though, if Microsoft is successful in their $44 billion bid to purchase Yahoo then something will have to change if Microsoft isn’t going to make that headline a reality. Why? Because last year Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350 million and now owns and supports Zimbra, the open source Exchange-server-compatible e-mail system
If Zimbra is truly an open source product and if it is in direct competition with Microsoft and their Exchange server product, then will Microsoft kill Zimbra as soon as the Yahoo acquisition becomes final? Can they kill it? Will they provide an open source alternative to their commercial product? Will they support and improve Zimbra as an alternative to their flagship e-mail server product? What do you think?
“Zimbra” and the Zimbra logo are trademarks of Zimbra, Inc.
