An Ill Corporate Wind Is Blowing – And Many Are Not Helping One Byte

Unless you’ve been living under a piece of loose shale recently 2009 is tipped be an uncomfortable year for businesses and workers alike – world wide.

Last year the UK officially entered into recession, along with a number of other countries including New Zealand.  There was some talk of the US being there late last year (as we used to say as kids “Well – der Fred!)   while here in what used to be called “The Lucky Country” we are not presently “in recession” though I expect that to be revised several times by the end of 2009.

Who else would have the gall to have a defunct, ageing and generally laughed at ex Prime Minister toss poor old Obama and his family out of Blair House opposite the White House in order to receive a meddle from his bestest buddy (and last remaining friend) G Dubyah?  

But this economic uncertainty is not what I’m directly talking about.  It is related, sadly because such things I’m going to touch on seem to manifest during recessions and downturns even more than during “good times”.

One of the fatal mistakes any company can make is to not be flexible enough to adapt.  The bigger a company is the more crucial this becomes.  A small company is more flexible and manoeuvrable (if the operator is competent) but a big multi-national company is kind of like turning a luxury liner around in that you need plenty of preparation and a wide area to work within and lots of time to pull it off.  Couple this with a storm, like a severe economic crises and one’s stock can be wiped out overnight.  Or to continue the maritime analogy – sunk.

But a really big company – I’ll use the purely fictional name in this example of “Yahoo”

- for example – it really becomes akin to trying to turn the HMAS Titanic around right before it’s hits Microsoft an iceberg.

Diversification is one solution to this.  For the record, while I don’t predict Google will go bang anytime soon – if at all- they are certainly vulnerable in my book as they only have one product – advertising supported search.  “Google Apps” are sidelines.  The dollars are in advertising.

Funny how “Web 2.0” companies repainted “Web 1.0” disasters as “new” – nothing really changes it seems. 

“What The….?”  Moment.

So when Yahoo started playing silly buggers last year in respect of the would have been Microsoft take-over the news that they are screwing over the advertisers hardly comes as a surprise.

The above links to Andy Bryce’s blog – you can read more on the details there…

Not that it’s entirely new, you understand.  The clause in question has been around for some time now, it’s just that an ostensibly legalese clause has been accosted by the sales department. 

That’s it’s utterly stupid is clear, that it’s going to hurt their advertising model is ditto clear and that it’s one more nail in their coffin in an atmosphere that is dripping with the potential for dot com collapses only goes to make it inscrutably insane.

Alta Vista Asta la vista Yahoo!

Windows 7 – And It’s Not Eleven!

Some months back I posted here that I couldn’t see Microsoft getting Windows 7 out in 2009 to retail.  I still stand by that.  I went as far as to say it may well be 2011.  However in that respect I might have to eat my hat.  It’s rumoured that MS will release Windows 7 Beta to MSDN subscribers in the next few days.  If they do I’ll mention whatever we end up being allowed to mention…

However it’s really bugging me that the media, who increasingly seem unable to produce articles with any real meat of their own – keep announcing that you can get Windows 7 beta’s on torrent sites and then indirectly linking to them.  Today Mary Jo from ZDNet did it again.  Over and over these people keep telling us what the Jolly Rogers are making available and it’s really pissing me off.  I mean – lets be frank here – I’ve got nothing against Mary Jo or ZDNet, but if a man steals a TV do the media feel compelled to mention this while discussing the latest plasma TV available? 

Nope. 

So their point is?

Get a clue!  Mentioning the software pirates give them credibility in the context of articles read by non tech masses (who invariably think they are tech in that they can click a mouse button or install a USB stick) and legitimizes the problem we have with piracy in the first place.  Mary Jo stating”

“If you really can’t wait for tonight’s “private” Beta 1 build — or the imminent public one –  the 64-bit version is on torrents now. I’m not suggesting anyone do anything illegal — like download it from there. But I’ve heard it’s been done at least a few times with the 32-bit Win 7 version that was leaked just after Christmas.”

Doesn’t cut the mustard as a statement.  Why say it at all if you’re not bloody well “suggesting” – not heard the term “subliminal message”?

(Note the quote above has the hyperlinks removed from the site that links to the site that…)

Mary Jo  – I’m sure you’re not suggesting, but please, resist the temptation, no matter how much it may make you shake and quiver, to deliver this piece of journalistic insight, we don’t need it in the industry!

Which I suppose, just in linking to her articles, makes me a hypocrite too now, and that just makes me even more pissed off with her mentioning it all over again!

UPDATE 11:30 pm AEST:   Window 7 Beta is up on MSDN this evening.  Will be downloading later and checking it out in a VM later on tomorrow when I have some time.

…And On A More Positive Note

Steph’s got a nice little article on optimizing WordPress basics that is well worth a read.

 Little articles like Steph’s, IMHO, help to remind us of what we should be looking at doing as mISV’s and ISV’s in 2009. 

Best

Scott Kane

“ARE WASHING MACHINES NEXT?”

U.S. CIRCUIT JUDGE HARRY T. EDWARDS on Movie Piracy