Technology

Overheard: Is CNet - CBS marriage the beginning of a trend?

This deal raises the question of whether any CBS competitors will decide to get into the game of buying Internet content companies. Peter Cohan, CBS to buy CNet: Who’s next?

Peter offers three possible targets:

• TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) - This provider of business, investment and ratings content has $65 million in sales and a market cap of $236 million.
• TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) - This provider of online content for buyers and sellers of corporate information technology (IT) products has $95 million in sales and a $531 million market cap.
• WebMD Health Corp (NASDAQ: WBMD) - This provider health information services to consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals, employers and health plans has $332 million in sales and it’s market capitalization is $1.7 billion’

The Associated Press reports that CBS  is buying CNet  for $1.75 billion.

Overheard: Social networking? SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Facebook’s real problem isn’t privacy, it’s monetization. Dave McClure, as quoted in Social-networking sites work to turn users into profits

 In many respects, it is the same query that dogged portal companies in the mid-1990s and search engines in the early ’90s. Some were sold. Some went public. Some went belly up.

The ongoing challenge is to concoct a potion — be it through banner ads, premium subscriptions or licensing agreements — that no one has perfected. Facebook, crown jewel of the field, is valued at $15 billion but barely turns a profit.

Overheard: There’s no killer app for GRC software

Most people assume that so-called GRC software–governance, risk and compliance–will continue to gather steam, as big boys like Oracle and SAP continue their marketing. It makes sense to automate compliance and risk issues, but the reality of this nascent field is that there really isn’t a single point solution. John Hagerty, CFOs face complex GRC software decisions

Overheard: Dual-boot XP and Vista

The question I am asked most often is “How do I install a dual-boot with Windows XP on my new Windows Vista computer?” The answer is that it’s not that difficult, it’s just very time consuming, and you need to own a copy of Windows XP. The How-To Geek, Install Windows XP on Your Pre-Installed Windows Vista Computer

Home users are pretty much stuck with Vista unless they want go to someone like The How-To Geek for help, but vendors have found a better way to continue giving enterprise customers XP. Apparently there’s a loop-hole called Downgrade Rights in Vista Ultimate and Vista Business licenses that allows the vendor to downgrade the operating system if that’s what the customer wants.

Rumors that Microsoft had confirmed a release date for Windows 7 in two years got a lot of people excited last month, but according to Ken Fisher over at Ars Technica, it was just spin.

Overheard: Dave Winer is the Microsoft of XML?

My point here is that OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) takes a very, very simply nested list definition and then adds random hacks that Dave Winer wanted to use in his applications without thinking of a generic way to define them so that other developers can do something with the format. In other words, Dave Winer is the Microsoft of XML. Elliot C. Back, The OPML Embroglio: What is OPML?

This is an old blog post and I’m late to the party, but it still made me laugh out loud.

Overheard: If you build it, they will wreck it

Years from now, we may come to realise that the defining characteristic of Web 2.0 wasn’t gradients, bubbles and excessive use of JavaScript – it was a false belief in user-generated content. Ian Harris,  Can you trust Web 2.0?

Overheard: Microsoft Live Mesh is JBOF (just a bunch of feeds)

Essentially, Live Mesh is a collection of feeds (which can be expressed as ATOM, JSON, FeedSync, RSS, WB-XML, or POX). Every piece of data entered into a user’s Mesh — be it a file, a folder, a message, a user permission, or a new device — is rendered as a piece of information in a feed. The feeds are then synced with other devices that are part of that Mesh following rules for how to sync each particular piece of information. Josh Catone, Live Mesh: First Look at Microsoft’s New Platform

Ok…I’m loving this. Social networking all grown up. News feeds are the future and Facebook showed us how to use them.

The Live Mesh Notifier is a news feed of all the activity on a user’s Mesh. Right now that means changes made to files, folders, devices, user permissions, and comments left on files/folders. However, because Live Mesh is a platform that seeks to interact with third party services…it is easy to envision how much more could be pushed through the news feed.

Overheard: InPhase Tapestry is just a WORM optical drive

Essentially, the InPhase guys have built yet another WORM (write once, read many) optical drive. Yes, the 1.6 TB capacity is impressive, considering that the only recently has the new Blu-ray DVD-like format made it to market and the proposed dual-layer Blu-ray disks top out at ~50 GB. However, modern 52X CD-ROM drives have a random seek of ~90 milliseconds, significantly faster than the InPhase spec. for their drive. Dossy, InPhase Technologies to publically demonstrate “Tapestry” holographic data storage drive

When I saw that Ivy had picked holographic disk drive as today’s Word of the Day, I got all excited. Then Dossy brought me back to earth.

Overheard: Ballmer says customers love Vista

“In the business environment, we still have customers who are buying PCs with XP because information technology departments often have to work with old machines.” Steve Ballmer as quoted in Microsoft could keep XP if customers want it: CEO

I don’t know which was more entertaining — Ballmer’s spin — or laughing at how this Reuters headline was written for search engines.

Microsoft, by the way, has announced that the cut-off date for XP will be June 30.

Overheard: 75% of businesses still block instant messaging

According to a report released at Infosec 2008, nearly three quarters of businesses are blocking the use of free instant messaging (IM) applications. Asavin Wattanajantra, Infosec 08: Businesses clueless on instant messaging

The report says that retail and distribution companies were most likely to block instant messaging, while financial companies were most likely to allow instant messaging ( but they monitor its use).

Ironically, I read the article above the very same day there were blogswarms about Apple adding an instant messaging application to the iPhone — and Microsoft announcing that their Windows Live Messenger campaign has raised $1.3 million so far.

Tom Newton from Smoothwall (they commissioned the report) says that as time goes on, business will have to change. He points out that while today’s network administrators didn’t grow up with instant messaging, today’s kids are skipping right over email and using a combo of instant messaging and MySpace or Facebook to communicate with friends. I can’t argue with that. It’s that way in our house.

So here’s my question: With a whole generation (think consumers) growing up using instant messaging, how come it’s the only major communication service that isn’t interoperable? And might that have something to do with business not “getting it?”