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Microsoft wants its partners and customers to know that it’s done letting its competitors and critics walk all over Windows Vista.

“We know our story is very different from what our competitors want us to think,” Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President of Windows Consumer Product, told attendees of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston during a keynote address on July 8. “Today we are drawing a line and are going to start telling the real story” about Vista.

While Brooks didn’t call out Apple by name (he instead referred to a “pretty noisy competitor out there”), he made it clear that Microsoft is finally going to hit back via ad campaigns, including the $300-million-plus one it has under development with Crispin Porter + Bogusky. (Sadly, Microsoft didn’t show off during the keynote any of the new ad collateral that Crispin Porter is creating.)

At the Microsoft partner show, Brooks reiterated the same messages that Microsoft has been attempting to get out to the market over the past few months. He acknowledged that partners stopped believing that Microsoft would ever manage to ship Vista and thus didn’t prepare adquately for the launch of the operating system. He admitted that many of the feature changes, especially those in the security area, broke a lot of hardware and software apps. And he emphasized that the Vista that Microsoft first shipped nearly two years ago is very different from the Vista that’s out in the market today. Microsoft is using Windows Update to ship updates to Vista users every week in order to continue to improve and hone the product, he added.

Brooks also re-emphasized that because Windows 7 won’t veer widely from Vista’s hardware requirements and core set of features, partners should encourage customers to move to Vista today in so they will be well-prepared for Windows 7. (Windows 7 is due to ship in late 2009, last anyone from Microsoft said.)

During his keynote, Brooks took the wraps off a new portal site, the Windows Vista Compatibility Center, that is designed to provide users with a single place to check whether specific hardware and software is compatible with Vista. The site currently lists 9,000 devices and software products (3,500 apps and 5,500 devices) — a number that Microsoft is planning to expand via customer and partner feedback. The site will be all about helping to “bust the myth” that Windows Vista is not compatible with many apps and devices, Brooks said.

The new Vista Compatibility site has no connection (so far) with Microsoft’s still-private “Don’t Blame Vista” tool, a k a Windows Advisor. But over time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the site and the tool tied together in some way.

Brooks also announced the new Windows Vista Small Business Assurance program. Microsoft kicked off the program via a series of full-page ads in a number of major newspapers on July 8. The slogan: “Move to Windows Vista with Confidence.” From the ad copy:

“Risks are a part of every small business. Making the move to Windows Vista isn’t one of them. Buy a new PC with genuine Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate and receive free coaching and support from Microsoft to help you get the most out of Windows.”

As part of the program, Microsoft is providing free phone support; tips and tricks via a new Vista Small Business Assurance Web site; and access to existing online tools and guidance.

Brooks closed by saying “Windows Vista is a good product.”

“The quiet majority of million and millions of Windows Vista users out there are going to have a great experience,” Brooks said. “The message is ‘Move to Vista. The time of worry is over.’”

I, for one, can’t believe it has taken Microsoft so long to get more proactive about trying to polish Vista’s tarnished image. What do you think Microsoft needs to do to regain control of the Vista conversation? Are these kinds of programs, portals and ad campaigns enough?

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They're most often lost at security checkpoints, the Ponemon Institute says

June 30, 2008 (IDG News Service) Keep laptops close at airports, because they have a startling tendency to disappear in the blink of an eye, according to a new survey.

Some of the largest and medium-size U.S. airports report close to 637,000 laptops lost each year, according to a Ponemon Institute survey released today. Laptops are most commonly lost at security checkpoints, according to the survey.

Close to 10,278 laptops are reported lost every week at 36 of the largest U.S. airports, and 65% of those laptops are not reclaimed, the survey said. Around 2,000 laptops are recorded lost at the medium-size airports, and 69% are not reclaimed. The institute conducted field surveys at 106 airports in 46 states and surveyed 864 business travelers.
The five airports with the most missing laptops reported were Los Angeles International, Miami International, John F. Kennedy International, Chicago O'Hare and Newark Liberty International, the study said.

Travelers seem to lack confidence that they will recover lost laptops. About 77% of people surveyed said they had no hope of recovering a lost laptop at the airport, with 16% saying they wouldn't do anything if they lost their laptop during business travel. About 53% said that laptops contain confidential company information, with 65% taking no steps to protect the information.

Airports, along with hotels and parked cars, are places where laptops can be easily stolen, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on its Web site. The confusion of going through security checkpoints can make it easy for travelers to lose track of their laptops, making it "fertile ground for theft," the FTC said.

The FTC recommends people treat laptops "like cash." Like a wad of money, a laptop in public view, such as in the back seat of a car or at the airport, could attract unwanted attention. The FTC also recommends using tracking devices such as Absolute Software Corp.'s LoJack, which can help track down a stolen laptop by reporting its location once it is connected to the Internet. Lenovo Group Ltd. last week announced that it would offer the LoJack option in its upcoming ThinkPad SL series of laptops.

Attaching bells and whistles that sound off after detecting laptop motion could also minimize the chances of theft, the FTC says.

Laptop theft is fairly prevalent in the U.S., said Mike Spinney, a spokesman for the Ponemon Institute. In a study conducted by the institute, 76% of companies surveyed reported losing one or more laptops each year, of which 22% were due to theft or other criminal mischief.

Many people are too ashamed to report lost laptops, knowing they left the computers out where they shouldn't have been, Spinney said.

The Ponemon survey was commissioned by Dell Inc., which today announced new security services to commercial customers, including tracking and recovery of lost laptops and data-theft prevention.

Dell's laptop-tracking service uses technology to locate and recover lost laptops, including GPS. The data protection services include the ability to remotely delete data on a hard drive and services to recover data from failed hard drives.
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I don’t buy into all the “Windows Vista is rubbish” rhetoric that’s been floating about. Rather than rely on collective hearsay I much rather collect my own data. Also, when it comes to operating system reliability problems that look like they are down to the OS are usually down to something else - a bad driver or a rogue application, for example. Over the past few months I’ve been keeping a close eye on my system’s reliability and taking steps to improve reliability.

To do this I’ve been using Windows Vista’s own Reliability Monitor and using the information that this provides to help track down issues and fix them.

In case you’ve not come across the Reliability Monitor, here’s how you get to it:

• The quick way:
  Click Start and type Perfmon into the Start Search box, and click the Perfmon shortcut when it appears.  Then click on Reliability Monitor.
• The long way:
  Click Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Performance Rating and Tools > Advanced Tools > Open Reliability and Performance Monitor > Reliability Monitor.

The Reliability Monitor gives you access to a lot of varied and useful information. 

• A System Stability Chart which shows you a stability rating between 10 and 0 (the higher the number the better).
• The chart also shows if any of the following occurred on a particular day:
  - Software (Un)Install
  - Application Failures
  - Hardware Failures
  - Windows Failures
  - Miscellaneous Failures
• There is also a system stability report for each day which gives a breakdown of each of the above categories for each day.

Here’s the data I collected for an 89 day period (for the previous 133 days, check out this post):

Here’s a breakdown of the failures that I encountered over the 89 days (note that multiple failures can occur during a single day):

• Application failures: 19 days (21.3%)
• Hardware failures: 0 days (0%)
• Windows Failures: 1 days (1.1%)
• Misc failures: 0 days (0%)
• Total failure days: 19 days (21.3%)

Let’s now take a look at each of the categories in detail:

• Application failures:
  - CloneDVD mobile (CloneDVDmobile.exe): 11
  - Foxit Reader (foxit reader.exe): 10
  - Explorer (explorer.exe): 6
  - Crysis (crysis64.exe): 5
  - Internet Explorer 7 (iexplore.exe): 4
• Windows failures:
  - OS stopped working: 1

Here is an updated chart containing system upgrade details and information on some of the crashes.

Looking at this data I feel that overall the system has been very reliable - if I ignore the day when I had eleven CloneDVD mobile crashes and the two days when I had a handful of FoxIt PDF reader crashes (where I was hoping that re-running the application wouldn’t result in another crash …).

Over the past few months I have been aggressive in tracking down the causes of instability and eliminating these. Some of the steps I have taken to reduce problems are:

• Apply all patches and updates from Microsoft
• Update critical drivers (graphics card/chipset and so on)
• Flash the BIOS (companies like ASUS put out a lot of BIOS updates, and usually there are good reasons for this)
• Update applications that cause instability (if this isn’t possible, consider replacing the buggy applications with another)

It’s my believe that Windows Vista is about as stable and reliable as it’s going to be, and in my experience, Vista is as robust as XP, if not more so. Yes, it took time (maybe more time than it should) but the reliability is now there.

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Sony  on Thursday announced its smallest HD camcorder, the Handycam HDR-TG1. Measuring 4.7 by 1.3 by 2.5 inches (LWD) and weighing a mere ten ounces, this flash memory camcorder is definitely designed for the frequent traveler.

The HDR-TG1 records in the AVCHD format at full HD resolution (1920 by 1080), contains a 4-megapixel still image camera, and includes a 4GB Pro Duo Mark2 media card. It also offers the ability to see up to 8 faces within a scene and will automatically adjust focus, exposure, and color while shooting video, thanks to its face detection technology.

Using the BIONZ processing engine, the tiny camcorder has a Carl Zeiss 10x optical zoom lens with improved dynamic range that should increase the quality of still images.

Overall, Sony seems to have a decent travel camcorder on its hands. The HDR-TG1 will retail for roughly $900 and will be available in May. 

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I actually like the Macbook Air but found the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 to be a vastly more useful product in the class. I'm one of the few folks that have been using an early version of the HTC Shift , a smaller screened ultra light tablet with a keyboard and a touch screen which is superior to both offerings in some ways and just released on Amazon.com for $1500 (someone screwed up, this wasn't supposed to happen until next week). This got me thinking: The perfect next generation ultra-sexy notebook should be a blend of all three products.

I'll do a quick summery of the ThinkPad X300 and MacBook air because both have been out awhile and then spend some time on the HTC Shift which most of you have never seen or heard of before.

ThinkPad X300 and MacBook Air

Both of these products are very thin. The Macbook Air leads on design and price while trading off usability. The X300 is vastly more practical in use but is nearly twice as expensive as the entry level Macbook Air and it is not as attractive. This comes down to battery life, flexibility, price, and appearance.

The X300 has, with a bay battery, the ability to hot swap batteries and you can carry spares, which means you will have as much battery life as you need. It has an optical drive if you need it, and it comes with a second generation flash drive as standard, providing extra durability and performance.

It is massively wireless with WiMax, WAN, Ultra Wideband, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth radios. It also has a full ThinkPad Vantage load of tools: Security and enterprise support typically associated with a ThinkPad.

The Air is drop dead gorgeous and currently the thinnest notebook on the market from any branded vendor. But with only 2.5 hours of battery life and a fixed battery it really isn't that portable. However, it is far more affordable at around $1800 (without a slower older SSD than the X300 comes standard with).

As Monty Python would say, now for something completely different.

The HTC Shift

The HTC Shift weighs in at well under two pounds (a little over half the weight of the Macbook Air) and has a small 800 x 480 pixel 7" touchscreen, built in Sprint WAN, built in GPS and has about 2 hours of battery life when running Windows Vista.

But, what makes it interesting is that it has a second mode using a limited version of Microsoft's mobile platform that provides the device with massive battery life for email, calendar, and contact management. Basically, you hit one button and move from Windows to Windows Mobile which is a vastly more limited but also a vastly more power efficient mode.

This is the first Origami 2.0 device I've had a chance to use and it is much improved over Origami 1.0. This provides more of a Media Center like experience under Vista and rapid access to pictures, videos, and Music. In Origami, which loads much like Media Center does on top of Windows Vista, you get something that probably approximates to what the Mobile Internet Device experience will be in the next generation Atom (Silverthorne) systems that Intel has been talking about with even smaller devices.

In use, unless you have really small hands, the keyboard is too small to touch type, but if you can hunt and peck it is a great little keyboard.
Another really cool feature is a touchpad that sits to the right and, even though it is tiny, it performs its function very well (I actually liked it better than the touch screen). The device comes with a fingerprint reader for security as well and implies it can be used for business successfully.
Unlike the first generation Origami and UMPC products, this thing is actually surprisingly snappy, but it won't set any performance records. By the way, it was fully functional when connected to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse.

At around $1600, it is cheaper than the better looking Macbook Air and provides a better mobile experience, but the Air is still more useful as a laptop thanks to its larger screen and keyboard. However, battery was another thing and with the option of an extended battery (an extra $50) and spare batteries I'd be more comfortable with the Shift on the road. Strangely enough, in my case, I could actually live with the screen just fine. But the keyboard is simply too small and I found myself using an external keyboard whenever I got the opportunity.

But, when I looked at all three products, I could see a blend that could be the perfect laptop.

Blending the X300, Air, Shift Into the Perfect Notebook: The New ThinkPad Butterfly?

Starting with the Shift, the dual mode long battery life aspect is wonderful and it is also the most affordable of the three. The Lenovo is the most practical, usable and comprehensive product and the Apple is one of the most beautiful notebooks that is currently available. In addition, the perfect product needs the battery life and wireless capabilities shared by the Lenovo and HTC products and, were you to wrap all of this up in a bow, I think you'd have a laptop that a lot of us would favor over anything else.

The HTC Shift is a very innovative product for the right kind of user and it is well worth looking at for an idea of what is to come. I believe that the Shift, the ThinkPad X300, and the MacBook air all indicate that the industry is starting to aggressively hunt for the ideal next generation notebook, which will be a blend of what these products currently offer at a price we can afford. Whoever gets this right, will have an amazing product. Of course, some may remember the ThinkPad folks may have been close to right with a product called the ThinkPad 701 Butterfly in 1995 that stared in a James Bond movie. Maybe someone can make that concept more practical.  

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Windows Mobile, like Windows itself, has had a checkered history. Early versions were maligned as being feature-poor and difficult to use. However, in a tale familiar to anyone who has followed Microsoft, the company stuck at it, and the portable operating system started to come into its own. The most recent release, Windows Mobile 6.0, added Vista-like themes to go along with a significant upgrade to the OS internals. Having conquered Palm in the dying PDA market, Windows Mobile was now ready to go toe-to-toe with other phone operating systems and platforms such as BlackBerry, Symbian and various Linux derivatives.

All seemed well in Windows Mobile land, but then Apple released the iPhone running a stripped-down version of OS X and a new multitouch user interface. Despite Steve Ballmer's prediction that the phone had "no chance" of gaining significant market share, a recent survey by Net Applications showed the iPhone actually overtaking Windows Mobile in web browsing share: 0.09 percent for the iPhone versus 0.06 percent for all Windows CE and Mobile devices put together. All of a sudden Windows Mobile phones seemed like they were stuck in the past, and minor UI annoyances stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

Never one to back down from a challenge, Microsoft is busily preparing both a minor UI refresh (Windows Mobile 6.1) and a major new release of the operating system (Windows Mobile 7.0). A gallery of screen shots from the 6.1 refresh compiled by Boy Genius shows an emphasis on simplification: the screens are more task-oriented and have less clutter than their immediate predecessor. A new and clearer font adorns the UI, and new features such as zooming, copy and paste in Internet Explorer, and auto-configuring ActiveSync for e-mails are sure to be welcome additions to the platform. In addition, Microsoft is making it easier (and more Windows-like) to switch tasks by adding a standardized task manager to the platform.

As far as Windows Mobile 7.0 goes, there are no leaked screen shots as of yet, but big changes are afoot. Microsoft plans to completely redo applications such as Internet Explorer, bringing the mobile browser up to par with Apple's Mobile Safari. The e-mail and SMS applications are also scheduled for complete rewrites. Microsoft plans to make the user interface even more consumer-friendly.

Beyond 7.0, Microsoft is even hinting at a completely redesigned Windows Mobile 8.0, which will again redo the internals of the operating system to keep up with newer and more powerful mobile hardware. Details for this release are scarce, although Microsoft promises features such as being able to go from a person's address in their contact info directly to a map view with directions to where they live. It all sounds like the iPhone really lit a fire under the posteriors of the Windows Mobile team, and that can only be good news for smartphone users. 

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 Samsung surely loves limelight as Sprint proudly launches the Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone to its customers. The large touchscreen phone works on the same technology as the Samsung Anycall Haptic phone.

The Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone measuring 2.17 x 4.57 x 0.49 inches holds its head high in the air with amazing features as GPS navigation, TV and web browser. As per Haptic technology which means ‘touch related’, the phone gives you a feeling of typing while operating its touchscreen QWERTY keypad. To enhance the experience of touch, the Samsung Instinct also provides voice activation features where one can make/receive calls, send text/picture messaging, access traffic, movie, sports, news and search.

Now Sprint customers will be able to download music tracks for 99 cents each through the Sprint Music Store using the Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone. If music does not excite you, then just hop on to the Sprint TV feature and avail of the live TV and on-demand entertainment function.

There is no clarity about the pricing of the Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone as yet; however there are plans in the pipeline to provide this sleek phone on a special unlimited data plan of $69.99 per month via Sprint.

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Any form of branding essentially means being recognized. A positive website brand image means that your potential customers will recognize your brand and begin to associate that brand with a particular product or range of products. In achieving this, those same customers will begin to turn to your brand when they need the product you sell or require information that you provide.

 

Branding Is More Than A Pretty Logo

A lot of websites and website owners mistakenly believe that creating a brand means a compelling and relevant name, and well designed logos and web pages. While these are a part of website branding, they are far from being the whole story. In fact, every aspect of your website and online business needs to convey your brand image. This includes design, narrative voice, advertising, and marketing. Customer communication is equally as important, and provides the opportunity to strengthen your brand even further.

Your Target Market

Branding needs to concentrate on the target market you are aiming to attract. Market research and some competitor analysis will usually garner you with relevant information regarding the people you are aiming to attract. What products and services are they looking for? What information do they want access to? Do they expect to be able to interact with you or other members of your online community? These are all important questions that you not only need to ask but answer as well.

The most effective branding will also consider the demographics of a target market. Age, sex, nationality, religion, and disposable income bracket are important factors. Again, the savvy online business owner should have at least a reasonable understanding of their target market demographics. Knowing this information ensures that you not only create a brand, but that you create a relevant and powerful brand that is attractive to the right people.

 

What's In A Name? Everything

The first aspect of your brand is your company or website name. It doesn't necessarily have to portray the products you sell, but it does need to be memorable. Brands like Google and Ebay relay little about the service they offer but they are short, catchy, and easy to remember. You can consider other aspects of branding when choosing a name � PayPal clearly conveys the fact that the service is related to paying and payments, while the addition of the word Pal implies that the service is user friendly and intuitive. It still sticks to the format of being short and memorable; the use of alliteration making the name roll off the tongue even easier.

 

Domain Names

Once you've determined a brand name and ensured that domain names and company names are available, it's time to register domains. .com domains are the most effective because they are the ones that we, as surfers, generally remember. We may remember a company name and forget the domain extension. Nine times out of ten we would add .com as the extension and hope to find the right site. It will pay, in the long run, to purchase a number of domains including your own regional domains (.eu, .co.uk, etc...) and others. Some potential customers like to deal with local firms and these customers will use local extensions.

 

Headers And Logos

Many websites now utilize a header rather than a true logo. Whichever option you plump for, it is usually a good idea to have your graphic designed by a professional. This design can cost $100 upwards but the results should be more than worth it. A logo will appear on all communication you send to customers, every page of your website, every newsletter, brochure, and virtually any other form of communication or promotional material. It needs to be strong and instantly memorable to prove effective.

 

Providing The Brand Your Market Wants

The design of your website and other online media needs to be attractive, but it needs to offer the level of usability and functionality that your target market expect. Website design, in particular, needs to be easy on the eye, give simple guidance to the most important parts of the page, and appear professional. It should also cater to your target market. A younger audience will gladly appreciate a more modern design, while the older generations may prefer a classic and more simple design.

Bringing all aspects of design together in all of your media is important. If you intend to use video marketing as a tool to drive traffic and promote your brand, then you need to try and include your logo and a link to your website within that video. Emails, newsletters, faxes, and invoices should largely match the design of your site and should certainly include any logo you have.

 

Website Content And Narrative Voice

Narrative voice is another important facet of website branding. The main reason that we go online and search for certain terms is to find out more about that term, and not usually to directly purchase a product. As such, website content should provide the information that your visitors are looking for and throughout your website and other media you need to convey the same type of voice.

Websites that are geared towards individual consumers can adopt a more friendly and personable style. This conveys an image that you and your brand are equally friendly and personable an attractive perception to most consumers. B2B websites can approach content in a more formal and businesslike manner. CEOs and other business executives prefer to know that their budget is being spent on a professional service that will deliver, rather than push an amicable brand.

 

Giveaways To Promote Brand Awareness

Offering free newsletters or promotional giveaways is an excellent way to kick start your website's popularity. It provides visitors with the information they crave and it provides you with an opportunity to further enhance your new brand. Blogs, forums, and web applications offer similar advantages and they convince visitors to bookmark your pages and visit more frequently. This, in turn, helps to improve brand awareness and makes your brand much more memorable to your visitors.

Start creating content for use outside of your site. Articles, videos, blog posts, and news stories are all good material that can be branded effectively and distributed in various areas of the Internet. This extra push will help to improve your brand image because it will begin to convey you as being an expert within your field. It will give you and your brand greater exposure and will also help drive traffic to your website.

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Lenovo, with its forthcoming X300 subnotebook, is among a gang of four (Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sony...) that already has an established tradition of miniature models. It surely sees new opportunity in Apple's announcement, to go with the new opposition that it represents.

The X30 is meatier than the new MacBook: it has a 2.0 GHz Intel LV processor, up to 4GB of RAM, 64GB SSD option, WiMax or HSDPA, GPS and a 1440x900 13.3" display, despite being lighter than the Air with this 2.5lb loadout. It has three (3!) USB ports and gigabit ethernet.

On the downside, the XP or Vista-equipped box is much thicker. It's also cast in standard IBM black, though I must submit that this particular look is the industry's best example of Pollardian neutrality this side of a faceless OEM laptop from Taiwan.

Advanced components on the X300 include solid state storage drives (with no moving parts, they consume less power and are considered less likely to break down than traditional hard drives). The X300 also offers several wireless connectivity options including Wireless USB (UWB) and a Wireless WAN option that utilizes native GPS functionality built into the system. Style-wise, the X300 is closer to the size of an actual paper notebook than a ThinkPad notebook has ever been. And it offers numerous design flourishes including a glossy bottom bezel, select illuminated buttons, and for the first time in X Series an integrated camera option and stereo speakers.

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