This has been dubbed as the biggest gmail deployment to date.  The New South Wales Department of Education & Training will dump the Microsoft Outlook/Exchange Duo for gmail as their email platform.  This is not the first move by educational institutions switching away from Microsoft products to the more streamlined Gmail platform.  Macquarie University in Sydney did the same thing in Sept 2007.  Five US colleges have adopted Google Appes and several others in Ireland, Israel, and Japan.

Hosted applications has been creeping up over the past few years.  Quite possibly becoming the transition between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.  Web 2.5 anyone?

Microsoft’s Outlook/Exchange product suite package is a very important revenue stream for the giant.  These are big blows to their bottom line and just compounds how much of a threat Google is to their software arsenel.  It also shows the disgust of Microsoft’s licensing platforms.  If an alternative solution that cuts the expenses by at least 2 or 3 fold then Microsoft seriously has to revamp their business model.

Great news for compulsive masterbaters and porn addicts!  According to search company’s statistics, there’s been a sharp increase in porn that’s viewable on the iPhone.  Now with 3G technology users will be able to get multimedia faster and probably stream movies right off the Internet onto the touch screen.  I use the phrase “touch screen” loosely as I’m sure programmers will find a way to make interactive naughty apps.  Apple has said that it will be a cold day in hell before they allow any adult-related applications on the iPhone app store but so what?  You can also install your own.

I find this bit of news humorous.  It’s no longer a surprise when a company will announce they’re very skeptical about transitioning their systems over to Vista.  But according to the Inquirer, there was an internal memo circulating that said Intel will not use Windows Vista in any of their internal corporate computers.  Now what is even more interesting is that Intel has full access to Vista’s source code and may even know it better than Microsoft since the operating systems need to work fully with Intel’s processors.  Does Intel know something more in-depth about the operating system than meets the eye?

What will Intel use for their own computers?  The other two options are Linux and Mac OS.  Microsoft’s Windows 7 is still about 1.5 years away from release and even with that Intel is not holding their breath.  Was this a wise decision by Intel leaving Microsoft out in the cold?  Time will tell.  As they say, the bigger they are the harder they fall.

A few days ago, two teens that dropped out of high school hacked Comcast’s domain.  Comcast’s registrar holding the Comcast.net domain is Network Solutions.  The two teens said they found a “flaw” on Network Solutions website allowing them into Comcast’s account to change the domain configuration.  They called the technical contact at Comcast to tell them they found a flaw in their system but the guy hung up on them.  They then proceeded to change the DNS settings for the Comcast.net domain to point it at their own servers.  Although a lawsuit is probably eminent they should hire these two as security consultants.  Unfortunately the incriminating picture on Gizmodo’s website may not allow them to land the job!

Gamestop has announced they will discontinue selling the Microsoft Zune multimedia player due to lack of sales.  Microsoft has sold 2 million Zune’s since their inception in November 2006.  Apple has sold 10.6 million iPod’s last quarter alone.  TechCrunch reports:

“We have decided to exit the Zune category because it just did not have the appeal we had anticipated,” said a GameStop spokesperson. “It (also) did not fit with our product mix.”

The health care system in the United States is out of control.  Exactly the same reason why there’s so many credit problems right now because the credit system is also out of control.  Perhaps the first step in redefining the health care system here in the states is by giving some of that control to the people.  Google Health Beta launched yesterday(5/20/08) with the intentions of just that.  It gives everyday people a platform to help them track their medical records, prescriptions, allergies, medical conditions, and so on.  Perhaps in the future Google will add additional features like a Google Health Analytics.  Such a feature could have an analytic and graphing system that tracks your blood pressure, sugar levels, PSA levels, white blood counts, and so on all on a easy readable pie or bar graph with a time line.  So every time you go for a checkup this information updates with the new data.  Did I mention Skynet is self aware?

I have been using Xobni Beta for the past month and like what it offers in terms of email management.  It does have a few quirks here and there(after all, it’s beta) but for the most part it does help being more productive.  I find myself spending less time digging around in emails when I was emailing someone back and forth on a particular subject or project.  This is due to its ability of grouping together replied and forwarded emails into “conversations” which you can easily see all those emails with one or two clicks.  There now seems to be another player in town that does something similar called ClearContext as stated in this Tech Crunch article.  Although it does not look as intuitive as Xobni, I may give it a whirl to check it out.

As everyone now knows, the talks of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger have recommenced after this weekend.  So now what?  Well, first of all, Microsoft will put in a lower bid because all the lawyer and analyst fee’s have soured the deal a bit.  Not to mention, it appears that Yahoo will be losing their Bebo advertisement contract which will further diminish the company and its value.  AOL is finalizing the Bebo buyout for $850 million and once this is done they’re most likely not going to allow Yahoo in their advertising network because they will reserve it for themselves.(the whole point of the buyout)  It is now even more likely that Microsoft won’t even consider a buyout all together.  They may just work out some sort of advertising deal for the various Microsoft networks such as Windows Live.  I’m sure all the caretakers in the industry between both companies want a resolution already.  Jerry Yang seems to be taking the brunt of the heat on this deal, all fingers from Microsoft, analysts, shareholders, and exec’s seem to be pointing in his general direction.  Can he redeem himself?  Probably not, the initial bids from Microsoft are gone and will never come back.

Verizon has announced that sometime next year they will roll out a Linux based cell phone on their US wireless network.  The Linux based phone will NOT be the Google Android.  Although Verizon said they are not ruling out the Android and may or may not include devices running the operating system.  Verizon also accuses Google that the Android is not as “open” as they say it is.  Verizon’s company spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said that Google is calling the shots.  Which would mean less control for Verizon: “Google said ‘Here’s the plan. Sign on the dotted line if you support.’ It may end up being collaborative. It may end up being collegial. But it need not be.”

In an attempt to reduce customer frustration and volume of calls to HP’s call centers for support, HP announces to sit tight on XP SP3 to wait for a fix.  As AMD-XP users that have become frustrated after installing SP3, Microsoft tries to work with OEM’s to get the issue(s) resolved.  The problem originated from sysprep’d XP Service Pack 1 utilizing Intel hardware from OEM’s.  This practice has led us here today where yet again, customers are the ones that suffer.  Why didn’t this issue surface from the beta or release candidates prior to release?  Quite possibly because most beta testers are enthusiasts and build their own machine’s, therefore, never had a sysprep’d image from an OEM in the first place.

I have been reading these articles about the failure of Microsoft merging with Yahoo and can’t help but think if Microsoft really is in trouble.  Not so much in the short term but in the long term.  Rob Enderle, the President of Enderle Group, believes that Google’s strategy is to kill Microsoft.  Google has been slowly taking over the Windows desktop with Google Search, the Google Toolbar, and the Google Sidebar.  They have been adding features to the Windows XP platform that disinterest users from upgrading to Vista.  Not to mention, Google Docs, allows users to freely create and distribute documents/spreadsheets that they normally would have to pay Microsoft hundreds of dollars to purchase their Office Suite.  Furthermore, Google diluted the Yahoo deal by allowing them to advertise in the Google ad network during the Microsoft-Yahoo fiasco.  It was like Google gave Microsoft the finger and said go ahead, buy Yahoo!  But Google wanted to delay the merger for as long as possible, hopefully either ending in a hostile takeover or take a serious drain on Microsoft as the deal falls through.  All the while, Google is trimming Microsoft’s revenue streams down to give Microsoft no breathing room while they would be busy allocating all of their resources merging Yahoo and Microsoft together.

Google will need to take on Microsoft’s Enterprise sector head on by innovating new suites to run corporate networks.  Although they have been knit-picking the Windows desktop and Office suite market shares, the Enterprise is where Microsoft also gets a big chunk of profit.  Google would need to attack on all fronts in order to succeed taking out the giant.  But what would that mean for consumers and businesses?  Usually when you have one big corporation with little competition it invokes greed and laziness.  I hope Google and Microsoft can survive together as competitors to help drive the market instead of shifting a technology monopoly from one company to another.

Microsoft has signed deals with Hyundai & Kia to supply voice recognition kits for cars by 2010.  Pretty much getting a head start on the exclusive deal with Ford which expires on November.  Currently, Microsoft’s Sync system uses an ARM-based system that runs Windows Mobile for Automotive is provided by Nuance.  In case you’ve been under a rock recently and haven’t seen any Ford commercials, the system allows you to say an artists name or song name and the audio system will play that song in the media player.  It’s unclear as of yet what exactly Hyundai & Kia will use this system for.  It’d be kind of silly to only include it just to control your iPod or Music player device.  Most likely it will integrate into the future navigation systems for these vehicles.  The Reg reports.

Google lost the recent FCC auction of the 700MHz wireless spectrum to Verizon.  Apparently Verizon had a bigger appetite than Google at the time in which they severely underestimated.  But Google thinks that Verizon may try to exploit loopholes in rules for the FCC 700MHz spectrum agreement.  Specifically, the ability for Verizon to completely block any device or application they deem having a negative impact on the performance of their network.  Kind of sounds like the jibba jabba from Comcast and their network in regards to P2P networks.  TechCrunch reports:

“The Commission’s open access rule is clear that C Block licensees “shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice….” The rule also is explicit that C Block licensees may not “disable features on handsets it provides to customers.” The rule thus plainly proscribes a C Block licensee from selling handsets to customers that hinder a customer’s ability to use applications of their choice, and applies to all customers of a C Block licensee.

Notwithstanding the clarity of the rule, Verizon has taken the public position that it may exclude its handsets from the open access condition. Verizon believes it may force customers who want to access the open platform using a device not purchased from Verizon to go through “Door No. 1,” while allowing customers who obtain their device from Verizon access through “Door No. 2.”

VoIP Provider JaJahjust landed a deal with Yahoo to offer its VoIP services to current Yahoo users via the Yahoo Messenger.  JaJah’s existing VoIP userbase consists of 10 million subscribers.  So the additional 97 Million Yahoo users should add a nice revenue boost.  Skype finally has some sizable competition.  TechCrunch Reports:

“Under the deal, JAJAH will provide its proprietary telephony infrastructure, payment processing, and customer care to Yahoo Messenger users using the platform for receiving calls from the PSTN network, or for making calls to land lines and mobile phones.

The announcement coincides with JAJAH moving into new territory as an indirect to consumer provider as well as its direct to market service. Yahoo is the first major U.S. technology customer/partner of JAJAH’s Managed Services and JAJAH told TechCrunch that they expect to announce new partners including landline operators, cable companies and mobile carriers in the coming weeks.”

Another blow to AMD’s ego, Cray’s latest and greatest has been centered around AMD Opteron processors. But now Intel has gotten into bed with them to start selling Xeon based systems for future hardware architectures.  Beginning around 2010, Cray will be releasing their new Cascade computer systems and they will be using Xeon processors this time around.

Cray Inc. is a supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington.  The US Department of Energy has been known to use Cray’s supercomputer systems at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory utilizing 50 teraflops of speed.  Additionally, Sandia National Laboratories also uses the Cray Red Storm supercomputer capable of performing 41.5 teraflops.