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Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest.
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October 2, 2008 5:37 PM
Ballmer on the cloud, Apple's cult and Zune software (the Windows 7 jukebox?)
Posted by Brier Dudley
If you're curious about Microsoft's plan for hosted cloud software, an interview that Chief Executive Steve Ballmer did in London with the British edition of CIO magazine is a must-read.
Previewing some of the news we'll hear at MIcrosoft's Oct. 27 developer conference, Ballmer said Microsoft will offer an Amazon-style model to start. In future versions, partners may also offer Windows cloud services. (No wonder Amazon.com announced Wednesday that it will soon be hosting Windows on AWS.)
Then the interview zoomed from enterprise services to the Zune, where Ballmer suggested that Zune's software is on the ascent, within Microsoft, at least. His comment:
"Now, we built the Zune hardware with the Zune software -- and what you'll see more and more over time is that the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc."
Some jumped on the news that Zune software is coming to Windows-powered phones, but I wonder if it's going onto an even bigger platform. Could it be the software jukebox on Windows 7? We haven't heard much from Windows Media Player lately ...
Zune led to discussion of Apple:
CIO: It seems to me to be a tricky one because Apple is out there, and they have a pretty good product -- but also they have this kind of cult following of people who are just going to buy, because it's Apple. That must be a frustrating thing to compete against.Ballmer: They may have a cult following in the music business, and we got about 97 percent of PC users using our stuff. 97 percent may not constitute a cult! But I wouldn't trade that for a cult!
Dec 19, 08 - 05:03 PM
Happy holidays!
Dec 18, 08 - 11:51 AM
Dish Network, in contract spat, pulls plug on KOMO
Dec 18, 08 - 12:00 AM
McCaw's video startup 1Cast upgrades, lowers sign-up gate
Dec 17, 08 - 11:32 AM
Browser attacks, cheap iPhone myth, VC gloom and more Techmeme culls
Dec 17, 08 - 12:00 AM
Ex Amazon.com chowhounds launch Foodista, a Wikipedia/IMDB for food


- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- In Duvall, all roads lead to deep water
- As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
- Enumclaw-area animal-sex case investigated
- KING-TV: Seattle P-I for sale, could close
- Could Greg Knapp bring a new style for Seahawks offense?
- Kirkland's Jason Mesnick spills about "The Bachelor"
- Washington attorney general requests new laws
- Despite drying, cooling trend, flooding and road closures continue
- Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city
588 - 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
230 - Western Washington dropping football
129 - Food crisis is global warming's biggest threat, say UW, Stanford scientists
125 - The great divide
121 - Stanford game thread
93 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer for sale, could close
87 - As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
68 - Schultz took Starbucks' new jet to Hawaii for the holidays
47 - January questions, volume two
46
- As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet
- Despite drying, cooling trend, flooding and road closures continue
- Washout: Unprecedented flooding forces evacuations, closes highways
- Divorcing husband wants kidney back
- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- Eating certain foods together helps with nutrient absorption
- KING-TV: Seattle P-I for sale, could close
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- Finding beauty among ice at Shoreline's Kruckeberg Botanic Garden
- New Seattle phone line helps immigrant victims of domestic violence

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Gadgets and games | Fun stuff I've written about lately includes Apple's iPhone, Hewlett-Packard's HDX laptop and Microsoft's Halo3. Also on the radar are new digital video boxes such as the Tivo HD and the Vudu.

