Print - Microsoft, Finally, Talks Cloud Computing

Getting Microsoft executives to admit that the company is plotting a transition from traditional software to Web-based services is like getting President Bush to talk up his timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. But this week, the first cracks in the stone wall of silence appeared. No, not with Mr. Bush. With Microsoft.

Microsoft, which was once one of the fastest-moving and customer-centric companies on earth, has fallen on hard times lately. Sure, the company is still raking in revenues and profits, but its traditional money makers--Windows, Office, and Windows Server--are still its only money makers, while its Internet services, video games, mobile devices, media players, and other offerings are still wallowing in massive losses and lost market share. Microsoft was widely criticized for not seeing the shift to the Internet a decade ago, but today, the company faces a similar issue: Increasingly, customers are turning to Web services-based solutions. And all Microsoft really offers is services that link up to, yep, Windows, Office, and Windows Server.

That situation may finally be changing. At this week's annual Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft finally admitted that it was working on Internet services software solutions that may actually compete with its traditional offerings for the first time. "Look, this is going to happen," Microsoft CTO Kevin Turner said this week during a keynote event. "We need to build the door and go through that door and reach that opportunity. Software plus services is imminent, it's going to happen. It doesn't mean the traditional client-based software or locally based software is going to go away, but the customer is going to want the choice."

Under the new Microsoft plan, the company will begin offering its business customers a range of software solutions. Some will be solely client-based, such as the Office suite its customers know and love. Some will be hybrid "software + services" offerings that combine the best of local applications with Web services. And some, finally, will exist solely in the Internet cloud. This new tact has far more in common with, say, Google's strategy for applications that it does with anything Microsoft has done in the past.

To host its Internet-based offering, Microsoft is working on a "cloud platform" called Windows Live Core that will sit alongside Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Mobile as yet another Windows-based (or, Windows-like) platform. The first infrastructure services based on this platform will ship later this year, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says. And the company will increase its 2007 $7 billion R&D budget in order to expand its offerings into this new market.

"I guarantee you Microsoft will lead in driving this next generation of computing and user-interface models just as we have the last couple of generations," Ballmer said during his own keynote address at the event. "You'll all have choices, but suffice it to say priority number one in terms of our long term outlook is this transformation, and we're going to make sure it's a very successful one for our customers, for our partners, and, of course, for Microsoft."

Nice political undertones, Paul...your liberal friends in the Senate and Congress would be proud...and they definately have time to read your column, because they aren't doing anything else!!! Lame Duck Presidency, indeed...we have an entire Lame Duck government thanks to the likes of Clinton, Pelosi, Kennedy, Kerry, etc. --tayme

@stevejobs Yes, some conservatives (including myself) actually exist and are intelligent enough to read this site. And yes, I do think the Dems are just as corrupt (if not more so) than the Reps. There needs to be a massive overhaul to get rid of the enormous amount of corruption and manipulation in which both parties are involved. My ideal government would be one where there is 0 government sponsored programs, an extremely small bureaucracy, and 0 government handouts, including welfare. I am more capable at spending my own hard-earned money than the government.

actually, the entire country did; based on the current low confidence rating of both Bush and the legislative branch. 2008 should be interesting. We'll see if people actually vote their concience or along political lines...this could be the year of a third party candidate that truly makes a difference! --tayme

I think a true conservative would be happy with a do-nothing Congress; the fewer laws they're passing, the less they're interfering in peoples' lives.

What's a more formal way to say, "I want to whine and complain, but I don't want to shoulder any responsibility in fixing any of the very problems I complain about." Non-Binding Resolution.

They could have done a lot more than a non-binding resolution if 40+ Republicans hadn't refused to place the blame where it belongs- with the head of their party.

Just think what would happen if the US declared a timetable for withdrawing: 1. Iraqis are left with an unstable government with a weak police force and army 2. Iran, wanting more land, promptly takes over Iraq via their insurgents who are already stationed there. 3. Iran now is closer to Israel and the US loses a foothold in the Middle East. I don't like the war in Iraq, just like most of us, but withdrawing would be a disaster.

On another note, I would just like to announce that Waethorn and I are now a couple. Having professed his deep erotic desire for me, he proposed Canadian Gay Marriage(tm) to me after a tender carriage ride past the CN Tower. I accepted, on the condition that Steve Ballmer only gets to throw a bouquet, and not a chair. We're registered at the Microsoft shop and the iTunes store. Sad to say my boy is off the market now. He's 100% pure man meat, and he's all mine. We're gonna have beautiful Wae-babies, and I've taken his "XP" signature as my own now. XP Stevejobs

@stevejobs OK, that was uncalled for. Attacking arguments: OK Attacking people: not OK

nate: stevejobs is just perpetuating the iTude: silly little kids that won't outgrow their IQ. losta: care to comment on to what this site has degraded to, or are you going to post as yet another "stevejobs" persona? ....and on a funny note: http://tinyurl.com/3dfum7 the first (and likely only) third-party developer taking advantage of iPhone capabilities. now THAT'S some good iPhone functionality right thar! (i wonder if you could still get the 90% refund *snicker* at the AT&T store after that) no need to sheild your "i" 's, iPhone users - the link won't work on your device. :D XP

www.ronpaul2008.com Only hope for America, a president who actually wants to rule by the constitituion, scary. All my friends who are Democrats are now losing tocuh with their party, same with many of my conservative small-government friends. Ron Paul is the perfect combination. Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record * Never voted to raise taxes. * Never voted for an unbalanced budget. * Never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership. * Never voted to raise congressional pay. * Never taken a government-paid junket. * Never voted to increase the power of the executive branch. * Voted against the Patriot Act. * Voted against regulating the Internet. * Voted against the Iraq war. * Does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program. * Returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year. ------ There's a quote from a comedian some of you may have heard of, Patton Oswalt (the main character from the new Pixar flick.) "If the standard for impeachment is covering up a burlargy, or cheating on your wife with an intern, shouldn't Bush have been excuted by now? I'm just saying if that's your standard for impeachment, Bush should have been beaten to death on the front lawn of the white house by now"

"If the standard for impeachment is covering up a burlargy, or cheating on your wife with an intern, shouldn't Bush have been excuted by now? I'm just saying if that's your standard for impeachment, Bush should have been beaten to death on the front lawn of the white house by now" ....here, here!* *(makes me glad i live here, here) "All my friends who are Democrats are now losing touch with their party, same with many of my conservative small-government friends." maybe what the US needs is a good socialist regime to clean house. ;) XP

"They could have done a lot more than a non-binding resolution if 40+ Republicans hadn't refused to place the blame where it belongs- with the head of their party." First of all, the minority whip is not where the blame belongs (do you know who the head of the party is?). And secondly, when you have legislative majority one of the luxuries is that it doesn't matter what the other party refuses to do. And please, nobody wants to see anyone else's essay entitled "What will happen in Iraq if we have a timetable". First, I doubt anyone here can even name the leaders of the factions in Iraq, much less predict their actions or future motives. Secondly, it is not so much as everyone wants a day-to-leave, moreso an actual battle strategy that isn't moronic. Here is a clue, 20,000 troops is not enough. 50,000 troops is not enough. This is a country of significant stature and you need a proportional force for control. There is no effective strategy with the meager armorless forces we have right now, and that's why no strategy has been given. Put 500,000 US forces on the ground and the USS Washington, Nimitz, and Lincoln carrier groups 100 miles off coast. Give our units the capability for up to 10 rapid precision strikes at a time (10,000LBS @ 25min response) and a full Navy backup. Make the US insurgency so obvious, so pervasive, and so intense that anything other than bending to our will is out of the question. If you want to keep calling this a war, then treat it like one. Death toll will be high, but that's the cost of war, and the cost of success.

"maybe what the US needs is a good socialist regime to clean house. ;)" I'm beginning to think so. I've read about Vermonts experiment with socialism and it's improving things in that state. The Republican party has lost its way. They used to promote fiscal responsibility, no foreign intervention, no preemptive war, low government spending. Now only a fraction practice what they preach, whereas the others use fear to scare American citizens. Here's a quote from one of those nut job Republican senators. "“At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on 9/11, and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country,” Sen-Dennis Milligan said. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/191942/print/ It's quotes like that that make me realize most of them have done a complete 180 and started reading Hitlers diaries. I know you're not a citizen of this country, but you should check out this videos of his anyways so you can at least believe there's 1 decent politican left in America http://youtube.com/watch?v=FG_HuFtP8w8 http://youtube.com/watch?v=W6KNr1YzdPc http://youtube.com/watch?v=N331kGvh0U0 There's full director authorized version of the film on the internet if you want to watch it, but I'll let you decide after you see the trailer. --- "If the terrorists hated freedom, then the Netherlands would be f*cking dust! As would Denmark, Canada, and any other country that's truly more free than we are. I don't think Osama Bin Laden sent those planes to attack us because he hated our freedom. I think he did it because of our support of Israel, our ties with the Saudi family, and all our military bases in Saudi Arabia. Want to know why I think that? Because that's what he f*cking said! Are we a nation of 6 year olds? Answer: yes" - David Cross

Please, please. Let's get this post back on topic. That topic being the fact that Waethorn is gay for me and sent naughty video to my iPhone of himself, some baby oil, and the Longhorn Server beta.

"Make the US insurgency so obvious, so pervasive, and so intense that anything other than bending to our will is out of the question." Hmmm. That sounds familliar. Where have I heard that before? Hmmmm. Oh yeah! The Germans from 1939 - 1945.

"Attacking arguments: OK Attacking people: not OK" Where have you been? Attacking people is WaeBonch's specialty.

"losta: care to comment on to what this site has degraded to, or are you going to post as yet another "stevejobs" persona?" I don't have another "persona" on this site. This identity is my own, and my sole one as well. Not that I should have to explain myself to you, but there you have it anyway. As to the degradation of this site--again, Mr. Kettle, I introduce you to Mr. Pot.

@Reflections how does he expect to get the Republican leadership??! i think Ron Paul is running for the wrong party considering that most of his views do not coincide with the rest of the current GOP.... "Attacking people is WaeBonch's specialty." pot meet kettle indeed. *cough* overused statement *cough* *cough* broken record player *cough*. you're consistently the first to fire back at Paul, not to mention the first to criticize someone's nationality. XP

@Wae Because his views on gun control/small government wouldn't go over to well with the Democratic nomination. He ran as a Libertarian before but I think he realized he had to choice a party because unless you're one of the two major political parties here, it's next to impossible to win since you aren't allowed on the public debates. His popularity is on the rise, it's almost shocking the media calls him a small candidate yet he's raised more money than every other GOP except that psychotic Mormon from MA Mitt Romney. It'll be interesting to see how things go in the next year, even if he doesn't win I'll write his name in. It's better than having to chose between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwhich yet again.

choose a party* lordy they need to fix the AC system in this building, 100 degree weather in Oregon is not cool. I'm not a lizard like Steve Jobs and anyone else who lives in CA.

"psychotic Mormon", "It's better than having to chose between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwhich" been watching Comedy Central reruns lately? ;) "Because his views on gun control/small government wouldn't go over to well with the Democratic nomination. He ran as a Libertarian before but I think he realized he had to choose a party" what is that going to mean to Congress then? would they determine their votes based on his actions or just take the role of opposition, against his party's policies? obviously, being unbalanced with the status quo of both the GOP and the Liberals isn't going to leave him with a whole lot of support. "lordy they need to fix the AC system in this building, 100 degree weather in Oregon is not cool." remember that heat is your computer's enemy. fans work great so long as you have cool air coming into the intake vents. if it's hot outside the computer, you know it's going to be moreso inside, and will lead to overheating, random shutdowns, internal power surges and hardware failures and such. it boggles the mind when i talk to people around here when it's 35°C+ outside and they have no A/C indoors and yet their computer, which is inside a desk cabinet with only a small rear hole for cables, is shutting down out of the blue, and they wonder why! here's a tip: if you don't have A/C and it's really hot and sunny outdoors: shut the computer down, take the afternoon off, and go for a walk in the park or a cool dip in the pool or something....and don't forget the sunscreen! XP

But I demand that my xbox be replaced even though its 3 years old! Oh wait, you are going to replace it??? Thats not good enough! :D

"been watching Comedy Central reruns lately? ;)" DVD's, but I can't help it, South Park is quite addicting :) If only my wife would appreciate their humor/political satire. She's a Bush supporter all the way so life is never fun in my household when it comes to politics and making fun of leaders, hopefully I can sway her from the dark side one day. "here's a tip: if you don't have A/C and it's really hot and sunny outdoors: shut the computer down, take the afternoon off, and go for a walk in the park or a cool dip in the pool or something....and don't forget the sunscreen!" I'm doing that tomorrow while they fix the A/C system, it'll be nice to just sit by the pool, go on bike ride through the nature park, then once it cools down, work some more on the nursery.

I think that the socialist healthcare in Canada must be working...those toque wearing doctors are on to something - Son't use iPods!!! http://tinyurl.com/2mv7df --tayme

stevejobs, shut the fu*k up! you are a retarded! go back and fu*k your gay boyfriend!