Would consumers buy a Microsoft Windows Home Server?

Jan 4, 2007 | blog

I’m not sure that many would. The biggest use of a home server would be for storing recorded video in its original high-quality state.

Most consumers don’t know what they would need a server for and those that have moved into recording or watching video content are using services like SlingBox or Orb. These types of services allow them to watch live TV over the Internet from anywhere with a broadband connection.

What else would consumers use a server for? Let’s try some ideas:

  1. Email: No, Yahoo, GMail, Live Mail, and many others have that tied up – why host or store your email anymore?
  2. Streaming Media: Why, with YouTube, online audio services, iPod/iTunes, and the like would you want to manage all those files and stream them?
  3. Web Server: Huh, all the free blogging services, hosting services and such – even the fee-based services are cheap! Why bother with managing a server?
  4. IM: Nope, GTalk, Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc… is where your friends are. Not “Bob’s Messenger” with you and your mom.

Well, I can’t come up with much more in the time I have, but you get the drift. A year ago, I still would have thought this was a great idea, but now I think MS would be better served coming up with better Vista licensing plans for consumers with multiple computers – Office too!

Via: Neowin.net – Microsoft to unveil Windows Home Server at CES

Wishlist for my 2007 phone

Jan 2, 2007 | blog

Ok, there are several great new phones slated for 2007 from Samsung, HTC and others.  But here are some of the features that I’ll be looking for in my next handset.

  1. Windows Mobile 6 (Crossbow) – Pocket PC
  2. VGA Screen
  3. Multi-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA on T-Mobile
  4. 400MHz processor (or faster)
  5. Bluetooth 2.0
  6. 802.11b/g
  7. Slid-out QWERTY Keyboard
  8. Scroll wheel
  9. D-Pad
  10. 256MB ROM
  11. 96MB RAM
  12. 3MP Rear-facing Camera
  13. VGA Front-facing camera
  14. MicroSD or MiniSD Slot
  15. GPS
  16. Tethering ability as GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA modem
  17. 2-Day battery life to fit my usage (to beat my existing T-Mobile MDA’s 24 hour limit)

I reserve the right to revise this list as I change my mind of course!smile_wink There are always great new things coming down the pipe that we don’t know about.

What about you, what features will you be looking for as you replace your phone in 2007 (if you are planning it)?  Will it be a Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Blackberry device?  Will you go back to a dumb phone and carry a UMPC?  Or will you be moving from a dumb phone to a smart phone this year?

Let me know in the comments!

Zoho brings online integration to Microsoft Office

Nov 30, 2006 | blog

Zoho Web 2.0 Online Office SuiteWow, great news for those of you who have embraced the modern world of online applications and document storage!

Zoho has interoperability with Microsoft Office via a downloadable plugin that allows Office users to save Word & Excel documents directly to their Zoho account. This functionality helps blur the line between remotely hosted and local applications.

“People are asking for this,” Vegesna said. “Currently they have to go to Zoho.com, login, and upload documents. We have them doing this an average of five times per day. This will let them go straight to Zoho without having to go to Zoho.com, upload, etc.”

Zoho is also opening its API’s so that online storage providers could tap into the Zoho engine and provide more seamless integration of storage options.

I’ve been using Zoho (and Google Docs & Spreadsheets) for most of 2006. There are definite differences between the offerings, but Zoho has made the most progress towards an integrated feature-rich office suite. By offering the ability to upload/download documents directly to your Zoho account – their product becomes even more useful and productive.

This new feature is compatible with Office 2000, 2003, and 2007 by the way.

Via: TechCrunch – The Real Office Live: Zoho Bridges Online And Offline Office App’s

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