Krishna Srinivasan’s Blog

As rumored last week, Microsoft, with the notion of a Yahoo deal receding quickly in the rear-view mirror, is taking another tack in its efforts to stem the dominance of Google search — rather than playing catch up, it wants to try leapfrog. Today, Microsoft confirmed an agreement to buy Powerset, one of the leaders in semantic search, which attempts to glean the context and intent of a search rather than just matching keywords against the content of ranked pages. Details of the deal weren’t revealed, but the price is rumored to be in the $100 million neighborhood. “We’re buying Powerset first and foremost because we’re impressed with the people there,” Microsoft’s Live Search blog said. “We came away impressed by their smarts, their experience, their passion for search, and a shared vision. That shared vision is to take Search to the next level by adding understanding of the intent and meaning behind the words in searches and webpages.”

There are challenges aplenty in the strategy. Semantic search is a non-trivial exercise involving the honing of the technology and the re-indexing of the searchable Web, and semantic analysis of a page is much more computing-intensive than simply scanning text. On its own, Powerset had been limited to demonstrating its proof of concept in searches through the finite world of Wikipedia. Microsoft has the infrastructure and the war chest to expand that reach, first, perhaps, in vertical search categories where semantic search has done the best so far. It will be a while before the success of this approach can be judged, and there’s always the chance that Google might innovate or buy its way into the same territory, but Microsoft needed to do something to try to pull its search share out of single digits, and this looks like as good a bet as any. “Microsoft’s acquisition of Powerset makes perfect sense and is probably the best shot at a disruptive technology that might allow it to leapfrog Google,” said Andrei Hagiu, assistant professor of strategy, focusing on technology, at Harvard Business School.

Windows XP officially exits the OEM and retail channels after today. Let the Leopard and Vista competition really begin.

Windows XP won’t completely go away, but it will be increasingly more difficult to find, and that could be very good for Apple. Because if computer buyers don’t want Windows Vista, they’ll have to look elsewhere. Can you say Mac OS X 10.5?

Here’s the no-nonsense explanation about XP availability:

• Today is the last day OEMs can offer Windows XP PCs.
• System builders, which buy the software from distributors, can ship XP PCs through the end of January.
• OEMs can offer XP as a “downgrade” option for PCs shipping with Vista Business or Ultimate, but usually at extra cost.
• OEMs can still ship Windows XP Home on ultralow-powered notebooks like the Asus Eee PC.
• Businesses buying Microsoft software through some volume-licensing programs can use “downgrade” rights to reimage Vista PCs with Windows XP.

XP’s exit from OEM and retail channels comes at a time when Vista isn’t doing so well. Microsoft boasts 150 million Vista licenses shipped, but the number loses its impact in the context of PC shipments.

Between Jan. 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, PC manufacturers shipped approximately 342 million PCs worldwide, according to published Gartner figures. However, the figures include x86 servers. Being as generous as possible to Microsoft, I lop off 42 million units, to account for x86 servers and computer sales during the first 29 days of January 2007, when Vista wasn’t yet available on new PCs.

That works out to about 300 million PCs during the same time Microsoft shipped 140 million Vista licenses. Typically, Microsoft sells about 80 percent of Windows licenses on new PCs. Being, again, generous to Microsoft, I figure 112 million Vista licenses. Based on this arguably loose estimate, Windows Vista shipped on about 37 percent of the 300 million PCs. I strongly suspect that one-third would be a more accurate number.More>>

Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don’t want to be forced into using XP’s successor, Vista.
Once computers loaded with XP have been cleared from the inventory of PC makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., consumers who can’t live without the old operating system on their new machine will have to buy Vista Ultimate or Vista Business and then legally “downgrade” to XP.
Microsoft will still allow smaller mom-and-pop PC builder shops to buy XP for resale through the end of January. A version of XP will also remain available for ultra-low-cost PCs such as the Asus Eee PC.
A group of vocal computer users who rallied around a “Save XP” petition posted on the industry news site InfoWorld had been clamoring for Microsoft to keep selling XP until its next operating system, Windows 7, is available. The software maker has said it expects to release Windows 7 sometime in 2009.
Last week, Microsoft said it would provide full technical support for six-year-old Windows XP through 2009, and limited support through 2014.

Bill Gates is retiring as an employee of Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic foundation. More than any other single person, Gates defined the PC era. His products touch nearly every computer user on the planet. And he created what is still the biggest technology wealth machine in Microsoft. But now that he is leaving, who will fill his shoes?

I don’t mean who will fill his shoes at Microsoft. Gates stepped back from day-to-day management years ago, handing his business responsibilities to CEO Steve Ballmer and technology responsibilities to chief software architect Ray Ozzie. What I mean is: Who will carry on his legacy and define the current Web era of computing?

It is unlikely there will ever be another Bill Gates if for the only reason that Gates’ influence stemmed from his control of the computing platform of choice (the PC, through Windows). The computing platform of choice today is the Web, and no single person or company can control that. But there are plenty of Web company founders out there—from large companies to small startups—that are turning the Web into a platform for applications and creating new kinds of software as a result.More>>

Bill Gates ends his full-time job at Microsoft on a Friday afternoon and the company opens for business after the weekend as if nothing has changed.

At least, that is how Gates’ successors want to play it.

The ‘transition’, as it is called inside the company, was announced two years ago.

On the face of it, the only difference after 27 June will be that Gates will be non-executive chairman rather than executive chairman, spending just one day a week on Microsoft business.

Seamless transition?

The new leaders, none much younger than Gates himself, mix warm tributes to their founder with reassurances that all will be fine without him. More>>

A new book says Gates got the rewards due Gary Kildall. What’s the real story?
The saga of the computing industry is rich with outsize characters and surprising plot turns, but there’s one story that has risen over time to mythic proportions. It’s the tale of how software pioneer Gary Kildall missed out on the opportunity to supply IBM (IBM ) with the operating system for its first PC — essentially handing the chance of a lifetime, and control of tech’s future, to rival Bill Gates and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT ). In the process, he may have missed out on becoming the world’s richest man.
The legend goes like this: One fateful day in the summer of 1980, three buttoned-down IBMers called on a band of hippie programmers at Digital Research Inc. located in Pacific Grove, Calif. They hoped to discuss licensing DRI’s industry-leading operating system, CP/M. Instead, DRI founder Gary Kildall blew off IBM to gallivant around in his airplane, and the frustrated IBMers turned to Gates for their operating system. This anecdote has been told so often that techies need only be reminded of “the day Gary Kildall went flying” to recall the rest. While he’s revered for his technical innovations, many believe Kildall made one of the biggest mistakes in the history of commerce.

But what if that’s not what happened? What if IBM and Microsoft deprived Kildall not only of untold riches but also of the credit for a seminal role in the PC revolution? That’s the thesis of a chapter about Kildall in They Made America, a serious coffee table history book by renowned author and former newspaper editor Harold Evans. The book, published by Little Brown on Oct. 12, profiles 70 American innovators and is the inspiration for an upcoming PBS series. And while other tech authors have debunked the gallivanting story before, Evans bases his Kildall chapter on a 226-page, never-published memoir written by Kildall just before his death in 1994. Early on, Kildall seemed to represent the best hopes of the nascent computer industry. But by the time he died at age 52, after falling in a tavern, he had become embittered and struggled with alcohol. More>>

The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, is all set to step down as the chairman of Microsoft on Friday.

The God of geeks, an inspiration to many a wannabe millionaires and a shrewd businessman, Mr Gates would always be remembered for the huge contribution that Microsoft did for spreading the IT revolution in the world.

Over 90% of the world’s desktops work on Microsoft Windows and almost all of the world’s word processing documents, spreadsheets, are created on Microsoft software.

All started in Albuquerque, US, in 1975, when Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and started ‘Microsoft’ with buddy Paul Allen at age 20. Paul was two years older to Bill. Both wrote the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Within three years, Bill and Paul earned their first million dollars via sales of BASIC and two other software.

Bill Gates became CEO for Microsoft in 1975, a title he handed over to his Harvard mate Steve Ballmer in 2000. Bill Gates went on to become the richest man in America with a fortune of $9.35 billion in 1994. He married Melinda French from Dallas, the same year.

The next year he was crowned the world’s richest man with a worth of over $12.9 billion. He visited India in 2005, and announced an $1.7-billion investment.
In June 2006, he announced his intention to step down as Microsoft chairman by July 2008. Mr Gates expressed his intention to focus more on Global Health & Development Program run by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation has an endowment of $34.6 billion. The donations from the foundation each year amount to over $1.5 billion at minimum, largely from Bill Gates’ own fortune.

Even though Microsoft’s monopoly may erode over the years as open source and web technologies gain momentum, nobody can forget the enormous contribution of Bill Gates to the world both in terms of a software revolution and his philanthropic efforts.

Microsoft is pushing hard to stop Google from teaming up with Yahoo now that the software giant has given up on acquiring the tarnished Internet portal. But antitrust lawyers and technology analysts outside the case don’t think Ballmer & Co. has much of a prayer at stopping the deal from going through.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) intends to put up a strong fight nonetheless. The company is on a mission to derail or delay Google’s deal to outsource a portion of its ads on Yahoo. The company says it’s still interested in buying just Yahoo’s search business. Microsoft has deployed its lawyers and Washington staff to meet with lawmakers to discuss how Google will monopolize search advertising and drive up prices through its new Yahoo partnership.More>>

Google seems to have landed a big-ticket contract for issuing Gmail accounts to some 1.3-million students in schools in Australia. Which also means Gmail accounts will now oust existing Microsoft Outlook or Exchange accounts of these students.

The three-years contract is worth nearly $9.5 million; Google, in partnership with SMS Management & Technology and Telstra, will supply the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education a customized Gmail version that bundles Google Apps. With this contract, Google has succeeded in migrating Microsoft Outlook/Exchange users to its Google Applications and Gmail. For the NSW Department of Education, it’s a win-win as the existing Microsoft Outlook/Exchange system costed a bomb, i.e. $33 million.

The other big story is that an upstart named LimitNone (start-up) has sued Google for allegedly ‘copying’ their email switching tool. LimitNone has alleged that while it shared trade secrets of its email switching tool (gMove) with Google engineers, sales executives, customers, Google quietly went and developed an ‘almost identical’ tool, subsequently jumping into the fray itself.

Bill Gates isn’t really leaving Microsoft; he’s just shifting how much time he spends there.

In late May, I chatted with Gates over cocktails before he and CEO Steve Ballmer made their final public appearance together at the D Conference in Carlsbad, Calif. Gates said he spends about 80 percent of his time at Microsoft and another 20 percent at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. From July 1, that 80-20 ratio will flip, with the majority of Gates’ time being dedicated to the charitable endowment.

And Gates really hasn’t been involved in day-to-day operations at Microsoft for a while.

For example, during the D Conference, Gates said, other than consulting with Ballmer as a friend, he wasn’t involved in Microsoft’s attempted, and failed, takeover of Yahoo. In addition, Gates’ role as visionary has greatly diminished, particularly after his successors—Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer—fully assumed their positions during the last year.

As chairman and the largest stockholder in the company, Gates will always have a role at Microsoft. But as chief influencer, Gates left long ago.

Gates announced his departure two years ago, as part of a long transition from monopolist to philanthropist. But Gates’ exit really started in 2000, when Ballmer replaced him as CEO. A transition from charismatic founding leader burdens any company, and Microsoft has taken eight years to move from Gates to Ballmer. The change is sure to affect Microsoft during its fourth decade as an incorporated entity.

Even with waning influence, however, Gates is an important figurehead who casts a long shadow over most other Microsoft executives.

Technical expertise is one reason. More>>