July 5, 2008
Internet, News, Stuff, Technology
7 Comments
Microsoft is ready to put its popular Microsoft Office suite online, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Called Microsoft Equipt, the suite will join the software giant’s online offerings of Windows Live Mail, Messenger, OneCare and Photo Gallery.Previously code-named Albany, the consumer-oriented Equipt will be available for purchase on July 15 through Circuit City’s 700 outlets nationwide. Each $69.99 one-year subscription will cover up to three home PCs, Microsoft said.
“Certainly the initial move is to capture more consumer eyeballs,” noted AMR Research analyst Jim Murphy. “Though it’s unclear at this point what the next version of Office will look like, it’s likely that it will include a mechanism for Microsoft or its partners to monetize its widespread use — whether that’s through advertising or selling other value-added services.”
Microsoft’s move to make Office a consumer-friendly online service has some long-term implications for the small-business market. Gartner Client Services Vice President Michael Silver thinks we’ll “see more subscription offerings from Microsoft as time goes on” because it would give the software giant a “more reliable” revenue stream.
The software giant’s latest move basically adapts the model of Microsoft Software Assurance for enterprises to the home market, Silver said.
“Larger small businesses already have offerings like this through Microsoft’s open-licensing program, but the pricing and licensing is more commensurate with prices businesses pay,” Silver said. “Small businesses can probably expect something like this suited to them in the future, but may have difficulty buying this version in particular because it does not contain Outlook.”
The terms of the current consumer license will prevent a small business from using Equipt, Silver noted. “Microsoft says that business use of Equipt is prohibited,” he said.
When Microsoft eventually does offer a similar model to small-business users, it could cannibalize the software giant’s existing subscriber base. However, Murphy said that is largely expected under a SaaS (Software as a Service) model.
“It would indeed represent a disruption in the way Microsoft has typically in the past collected revenue from businesses,” Murphy said. “My sense is that Microsoft will offer subscription-based pricing for small businesses, and then medium businesses and large businesses. But they’ll still offer traditional pricing models for the companies that are accustomed and comfortable buying this way.”
Consumer subscribers to Microsoft Equipt will also get the latest upgrades anytime a new version of Office or Windows Live OneCare is released. “Equipt is targeted at consumers and the annual fee allows up to three PCs in a home to use it, just like the regular Office home and student licenses,” Silver said.
Silver noted that new-version rights have always been included for enterprise Software Assurance subscribers.
June 29, 2008
Internet, News, Technology
Comments Off
One Voice Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ONEV) Chairman and CEO Dean Weber, today issued the following corporate update:
“We are pleased to provide our shareholders with the following corporate update:
In the telecom sector our carrier customer in Mexico has indicated their desire to launch MobileVoice services nationally and we are currently defining business models, features and pricing. We are very confident a national launch will happen given several factors including the large revenue opportunities for our customer, the competitive nature of the service offering and as a powerful customer retention tool given number portability beginning July 2008 throughout Mexico. In India, One Voice has installed MobileVoice in our customer’s data center and we are waiting for Internet and telephone lines to be installed and connected to our platform, after which our customer will begin their testing and subsequent launch. We see tremendous opportunities in both Mexico and India with these national carriers.
In the retail sector One Voice just delivered several thousand copies of Media Center Communicator for national distribution in OfficeMax stores throughout the U.S. Next week One Voice will launch beta versions of our new Say2Play and MobileVoice StreetDeck software for download. We look forward to consumer feedback during our beta period to help One Voice continue to deliver quality products and to continue to grow our retail offerings. Visitwww.onev.com/products for product information and beta availability coming next week.
In the embedded sector One Voice is working closely with a large OEM for including voice control on their Mobile Internet Device (MID). Voice control has been stated as the top priority for their MID and One Voice has been selected as their partner.
One Voice is currently securing additional funding to grow our company to meet the demands for our products and technology. Voice control is a rapidly growing sector and One Voice is well positioned to capture market share with powerful products and patented technology.
As always, I appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to a very successful 2008.”
About One Voice Technologies, Inc.
One Voice Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ONEV) is the world’s first developer of 4th Generation voice solutions for the Telecom and Interactive Multimedia markets. Our Intelligent Voice solutions employ revolutionary, patented technology that allows people to send messages (E-mail, SMS, Instant Messaging and paging), purchase products, get information and control devices – all by using their voice. The company is headquartered in La Jolla, California. For more information, please visit www.onev.com
June 28, 2008
Internet, News, Stuff, Technology, Videos
Comments Off
Terri Rossman considers herself a visual learner. So when the 52-year-old marketing professional wanted to learn a new knitting stitch, she turned to the Web.
“I searched for ‘knit bobble stitch’ on Google and I found a video of someone doing it,” said Rossman, who lives in the Detroit area. “It was perfect for me.”
The Web has become the place where people go to learn new tricks. Traffic to sites likeeHow.com and WikiHow.com have doubled over the past year, according to figures from ComScore Networks, while start-ups such as Howcast.com and Findhow.com, a search engine to find “how-to” content, are entering the field.
Want to learn how to count cards at a blackjack table? Go to eHow. Interested in dating a flight attendant? Howcast has a video with some advice. Want to create the cat-eye look favored by singer Amy Winehouse? Several videos on YouTube can help.
“I saw with Google and then YouTube that people are really searching for this stuff,” said Jason Liebman, cofounder and chief executive of Howcast, which has been in development for a year and recently opened for visitors. “But no one was showing you to flirt with a girl or swaddle a baby.”
Liebman, who worked at Google Video and then YouTube, has raised US$9 million in funding for Howcast. The site produces its own videos and also pays people to create videos. Like other sites of its kind, it plans to generate revenue through.
The variety and quality of how-to content can vary across the Web. Howcast offers only videos, while WikiHow, a site where anyone can contribute, largely offers text-based guides. At eHow, which encourages community through its social networking tools, the content is a mix of professionally produced material and user-created items.
