Microsoft joint venture with Barnes&Nobles investing $300 million. To ditch Android for Windows 8 ?

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft joint venture with Barnes&Nobles investing $300 million. To ditch Android for Windows  8 ?

The plan is to spin out the "Nook" e-reader business from Barnes & Noble, along with its College business.

Microsoft's $300 million investment is worth a 17% stake in the new company, which means it's valued at $1.7 billion.

Amusingly, Barnes & Noble's entire market cap was $792 million at the time of the investment.

Barnes & Noble's stock is up 80% in pre-market trading

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Barnes & Noble will own the rest of the company, and the new tablet focused company will still have a relationship with Barnes & Noble bookstores.

In January Barnes & Noble announced that it was exploring options to spin out its Nook business. At the time it appeared as though the Nook business was unprofitable. Barnes & Noble said sales of the Nook Touch were worse than expected and investment in the Nook business is dragging on earnings.

There's a lot to unpack here. Here are some of the things to think about:

Microsoft now has a stake in a company that is on a path to become a rival. The Nook Tablet, much like the Kindle Fire, is an entry level tablet. We doubt this new company is going to settle for making just Nook e-readers and entry level tablets. Eventually it will have a full blown tablet that rivals Windows 8 tablets.

Nook has forked Android for its tablet operating system. Again, this means Microsoft is investing in a rival platform, unless the new Nook company plans to ditch Android and use Windows 8 for its tablets. That seems unlikely. We assume it would take a lot of work to rebuild the code from scratch.

However nothing on that way, is impossible.

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble were in patent lawsuits until recently. They've settle their patent disputes and are now partners.

This is Microsoft's mode of operation lately. It is really into partnering with companies. Look at its deals with Facebook, Nokia, and now Barnes & Noble. It's much better than trying to build out an e-book business.

Microsoft saves Barnes & Noble's Nook business.

Q1 2012: Sales of Windows to businesses up.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Q1 2012: Sales of Windows to businesses up.

Microsoft saw an upturn in sales of Windows to businesses in the first calendar quarter of 2012, beating analyst expectations.

The company reported an 8% year-on-year rise in systems sales to companies, while sales to consumers remained flat, driving the Windows and Windows Live Division of the company to a 4% rise in revenue for the quarter ended 31st March, to $4.62 billion. Analysts had widely predicted a slump in PC sales, but shipments actually increased by 2%, according to IDC and Gartner.

Strong Windows 7 adoption continued with enterprise desktops on Windows 7 now up to 40% worldwide.

For the quarter overall, Microsoft posted a 6% growth in revenue, to $17.41 billion, and a 12% rise in operating income, up to $6.37 billion.

"We're driving toward exciting launches across the entire company, while delivering strong financial results," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. "With the upcoming release of new Windows 8 PCs and tablets, the next version of Office, and a wide array of products and services for the enterprise and consumers, we will be delivering exceptional value to all our customers in the year ahead."

Microsoft's Server & Tools division saw revenue rise 14% to $4.57 billion, driven by double-digit revenue growth in SQL Server and more than 20% growth in System Center revenue.

The Microsoft Business Division reported a 9% year-on-year rise in revenue, to $5.81 billion, with strong sales of Office 2010 and an 11% increase in from the Dynamics business.

The Online Services Division reported revenue of $707 million, a 6% increase from the prior year period, and operating loss improvement of approximately $300 million.

The Entertainment & Devices Division posted revenue of $1.62 billion, a decrease of 16% from the prior period due to a soft gaming console market.

NAB2012: Microsoft Announces Comprehensive Media Services Platform and Architectural Guidance for the Cloud.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

NAB2012: Microsoft Announces Comprehensive Media Services Platform and Architectural Guidance for the Cloud.

Windows Azure Media Services and Broadcast Reference Architecture empower customers to more easily design and build cost-effective cloud media solutions for a world of devices.

 At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2012 conference today, Microsoft Corp. announced new media services and guidance to enable content providers and customers to realize the power of cloud computing. The new cloud-based Windows Azure Media Services is designed to make creating, managing and delivering media to any device easier than ever by offering a comprehensive set of ready-to-use first- and third-party media technologies. Microsoft also published a new Broadcast Reference Architecture that offers prescriptive guidance on how media companies can architect their solutions to improve systems performance management as they move toward the cloud.

Windows Azure Media Services

Taking advantage of the worldwide Windows Azure cloud infrastructure, Windows Azure Media Services gives content providers and media partners the nearly unlimited capacity of the cloud to cost-effectively handle a huge volume of digital media and make it available in the format that customers want, when they want it. Windows Azure Media Services' ready-to-use services allow customers to simplify the creation of complex media workflows built on Microsoft Media Platform and third-party technologies.

"Our internal research shows that more than one-third of today's Internet traffic is devoted to video consumption, and we expect that to grow to 80 percent by the end of 2015," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, Windows Azure application platform. "Not everyone has the expertise or capital required to build a media infrastructure, so Windows Azure Media Services enables companies everywhere to build custom media solutions that easily scale and adapt to meet consumers' needs, wherever or however they consume it."

Highlighting the diversity of solutions enabled by Windows Azure Media Services is a broad ecosystem of media partners, with many already integrating their technologies for customers to use in their own media solutions. These include high-speed transfers from Aspera Inc., content encoding from Digital Rapids Corp., ATEME and Dolby Laboratories Inc., content security from BuyDRM and Civolution, and video-on-demand streaming from Wowza Media Systems Inc. In addition, Windows Azure Media Services enables full-service media companies such as iStreamPlanet Co. and Movideo Pty. Ltd. to host and offer complete workflow solutions to customers.

Windows Azure Media Services will also support an entire ecosystem of connected devices from some of the largest consumer electronics and manufacturers in the world. With support for Microsoft Smooth Streaming, HTTP Live Streaming and Flash media formats, Windows Azure Media Services will enable customers to reach almost any connected device, from Xbox 360, Windows Phone and Windows-based PCs to non-Microsoft platforms such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, MacOS, iOS and Android. To further enable true interoperability between media technologies from different vendors, Windows Azure Media Services will also include native support for MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP), the International Organization for Standardization and Interoperability Executive Customer Council standards developed by Microsoft and other industry leaders that deliver an exceptional video experience for end users by automatically adapting to varying client and network conditions during playback.

To further showcase the capabilities of Windows Azure Media Services, Microsoft is working with Akamai and deltatre to deliver high-definition streaming video of the London 2012 Olympic Games across multiple countries through major rights holders in Europe, North America, Central America and South America. This will be the first time an event of this scale will be hosted and broadcast from a cloud platform to millions of viewers around the globe.

"Consumers now watch video anywhere, anytime and on any device," said Bill Wheaton, senior vice president and general manager of Media at Akamai. "Working with partners such as Microsoft and deltatre, we're eager for the Olympic Games to start and for the powerful combination of Windows Azure Media Services and Akamai's SOLA Media Solutions to deliver a high-quality viewing experience on a global scale."

Customers can visit http://www.windowsazure.com/media to sign up for the preview of Windows Azure Media Services.

Broadcast Reference Architecture

Microsoft's goal is to provide media and cable companies with the necessary tools and guidance to make decisions and deliver technologies that enable powerful business transformation. The Broadcast Reference Architecture provides the way forward for media organizations to assess current technology, resources and processes; to lay the foundation for future success; and to provide flexibility to allow businesses to grow, adapt and innovate quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.

Microsoft published the Broadcast Reference Architecture for the first time today and has worked with several partners, including Harris Corp., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Decentrix Inc., to roll out this reference architecture. The Broadcast Reference Architecture white paper is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/telecom/docs/BroadcastReferenceArchitecture.pdf.

More information about Microsoft's products and services for media and cable companies is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/telecom/media.aspx.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

Windows 8 editions: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows RT.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

From the Windows Team Blog:

Today I would like to share information with you on the editions that will be available for "Windows 8" when it is released to market. We have talked about Windows 8 as Windows reimagined, from the chipset to the user experience. This also applies to the editions available – we have worked to make it easier for customers to know what edition will work best for them when they purchase a new Windows 8 PC or upgrade their existing PC.

Windows 8 has the flexibility you need - whether you’re on an x86/64 or a WOA PC. You can use a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse – and switch anytime. It’s beautiful, fast, and fluid design is perfect for a wide range of hardware. And you’ll love browsing through the Windows Store and downloading all the apps you want. And those apps can work together too so you can share photos, maps, contacts, links and whatever else you want faster and easier. All editions of Windows 8 offer a no-compromise experience.

First, Windows 8 is the official product name for the next x86/64 editions of Windows.

For PCs and tablets powered by x86 processors (both 32 and 64 bit), we will have two editions: Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. For many consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice. It will include all the features above plus an updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support and the ability to switch languages on the fly (more details on this feature can be found in this blog post),which was previously only available in Enterprise/Ultimate editions of Windows. For China and a small set of select emerging markets, we will offer a local language-only edition of Windows 8.

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies. It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be available as an economical “media pack” add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family – also known as Windows on ARM or WOA, as we’ve referred to it previously. This single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors and will help enable new thin and lightweight form factors with impressive battery life. Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT, which we unveiled in September and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.  For more details on WOA, we suggest reading this blog post which shares more detail on how we have been building Windows 8 to run on the ARM architecture.

The below chart breaks down key features by edition (this list should not be considered an exhaustive list of features):

In the coming months, we plan to share much more information about Windows 8, including details on pricing and limited-time programs and promotions that we will make available to customers. Today, you can check out a preview of Windows 8 for yourself (if you haven’t already done so!).

NOTE: As with previous versions of Windows, we will also have an edition of Windows 8 specifically for those enterprise customers with Software Assurance agreements. Windows 8 Enterprise includes all the features of Windows 8 Pro plus features for IT organization that enable PC management and deployment, advanced security, virtualization, new mobility scenarios, and much more. 

Video: Welcome to Office 15.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

NOTE: This video was pulled from beta software and may not be representative of the final product.

According to the roadmap below, Office 15 Beta will be released the last quarter 2012, and availabilty Q1 2013.

CEBIT 2012: Windows 8 Consumer Preview Is Ready for Business.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Is Ready for Business.

At CeBIT, Kevin Turner demonstrates how Windows 8 delivers a no-compromise experience.

In his CeBIT keynote speech today, Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft Corp., showed how Windows 8 will bring together the potential of a tablet with the power of a PC. He also invited IT professionals around the world to test the recently released Windows 8 Consumer Preview, now available for download at http://preview.windows.com. 

 The Windows 8 Consumer Preview offers a more robust experience for testing the world's most popular operating system and is available to the widest range of people yet following the initial release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview late last year.

"Windows 8 will deliver no compromise experiences on a range of devices from tablets and PCs to desktops. It will give people functionality they love and the enterprise-grade capabilities that IT departments demand," Turner said. "We encourage IT professionals to begin using it to get a firsthand experience of how Windows 8 will give people a beautiful, fast and fluid experience with the mobility and familiarity they need to effortlessly move between what they want to do and what they need to do."

"We believe Windows 8 will bring an evolutionary solution to Windows users that delivers business productivity, while helping IT to manage and secure new devices using their existing infrastructure and tools," said Al Gillen, program vice president, system software, IDC. "Windows 8 will help bridge the demands that end users are placing on IT departments with what IT wants for its business — a smooth transitional path to add tablet devices into an existing Windows client infrastructure."

Windows 8 highlights for enterprise organizations include the following:

• Great user experience. Windows 8 bridges the gap between a personalized experience for users and the security and management features that IT professionals trust. Features include the new Windows 8 Start screen and fully immersive Metro style apps. People can be more productive with both multitouch and traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces. Critical line-of-business apps also can benefit from an immersive full screen, allowing people to easily interact with the app.
• Tablets without compromise. Windows 8-based business tablets are built for touch and are deeply personalized. Powerful, connected Metro style applications are the focal point to create an immersive experience that helps eliminate distractions while having the productivity benefits of a PC. In addition, it works well with a mouse and keyboard. It also enables organizations to use Windows 7 productivity and line-of-business applications, and IT departments can leverage their existing infrastructure to help manage, secure and support it.
• New possibilities for mobile productivity. For people who are increasingly mobile, Windows 8 helps them stay connected and productive in a more secure way. Windows 8 includes Windows To Go — the ability to provide users with a full corporate copy of Windows 8 (along with users' business apps, data and settings) on a USB storage device. Windows 8 also includes improvements to DirectAccess and built-in mobile broadband features that natively support 3G and 4G telecommunication. And Windows 8 can stay always connected with Metro style apps.
• End-to-end security. Features such as Trusted Boot and improved BitLocker drive encryption, AppLocker and claim-based access control help protect corporate data across the client device, the network and back-end infrastructure.
• Advancements in virtualization. With Windows 8, users can get a virtualized experience with high-definition graphics, support for touch and support for USB devices on a local PC. It will be easier for IT departments to implement virtual desktop infrastructures in a more cost-effective way. In addition, Windows 8 includes Microsoft Hyper-V, a high-performing client virtualization technology that enables enterprise developers to develop, debug and test multiple configurations of apps and operating systems on a single PC instead of each configuration requiring its own PC.
• Improved management. Windows 8 easily integrates into most existing client management infrastructures, and management tasks are easier with Windows PowerShell automation.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview will be available worldwide for download to users running Windows 7-based PCs in English, French, German, Japanese and simplified Chinese.

As Tami Reller, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer, Windows and Windows Live Division, shares in this video at http://win8.ms/lfolnd, Windows 8 will give businesses a personalized experience that is both convenient and productive to fit well with today's changing work styles.

 The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available for download and evaluation at http://preview.windows.com. Additional resources and information are available at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business or http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windows.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft partners with Good Technology to provide enterprise-class security for business customers on windows phone devices..

WorldWide Tech & SCience. Francisco De Jesùs.

Microsoft partners with Good Technology to provide enterprise-class security for business customers on windows phone devices .

Microsoft Selects Good Technology as its Windows Phone 7.5 Preferred Partner Solution for Secured Encrypted Mobile Email

Redmond, Washington and Sunnyvale, Calif.—February 27, 2012 — (Virtual Press Office) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”), and Good Technology, the leading provider of secured and managed enterprise mobility for a range of mobile devices, today announced a strategic application partnership to enable the use of the Good for Enterprise™ solution on Windows Phone devices. Good will provide FIPS-certified 192 bit AES encryption for end-to-end mobile messaging for the Windows Phone platform to enable secured accessing of corporate data using Good for Enterprise. With these powerful security technologies, businesses will be able to offer employees even more choice when supporting ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) environments. 

According to a recent report by IDC, Windows Phone is set to realize the fastest growth in the next three years at a CAGR of 69.4 percent, more than double the industry average. Total volumes are forecasted to total 9.2 million units in 2011 and 209.0 million units in 2015.¹

“The Windows Phone platform provides mobile users with a terrific new solution that combines a state of the art user interface and ease of use,” said Susan Vinci-Lucero, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Good Technology. “As our December BYOD report and 2011 Q4 Data Report indicate, enterprise customers are rapidly embracing the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ model across all industries, and we are delighted to work with Microsoft to help accelerate Windows Phone adoption in the enterprise.” 

As the leader in multi-platform enterprise mobility, security and management, Good Technology has a clear view into the devices and operating systems that business users are demanding. The rise of BYOD environments demonstrates that more employees are demanding to use the phones they know and enjoy in their personal lives, at the office. With the addition of Good Technology, Windows Phone now not only has all the applications and games that consumers want, but can now deliver the market leading security messaging solution to meet the needs of today’s enterprise information worker. 

“Every customer makes an individual decision when it comes to selecting a personal mobile device, and more and more people are choosing Windows Phone for both its integrated experiences and elegant design,” said Tom Trinneer, director of Product Management, Windows Phone Division, Microsoft. “Good Technology is a leader in providing encrypted email access to enterprise employees. This is why we selected Good as our Windows Phone 7.5 preferred partner solution for secured, encrypted mobile messaging. With its help we can now extend the Windows Phone experience by adding powerful security technologies to enterprise email, enabling busy professionals to stay connected and productive.” 

The Good for Enterprise solution is targeted for commercial availability for Windows Phone devices in early Q2 2012 and will be distributed as an application, available for download from the Windows Phone Marketplace. 

¹ “Worldwide Smartphone Mobile OS 2011–2015 Forecast and Analysis,” by Stephen Drake, Stacy Crook, Ramon T. Llamas and William Stofega, December 2011, #232163.         

Microsoft to align Windows Phone 8 with Windows 8

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft is set to align the next generation of its Windows Phone platform, Windows Phone 8, with its Windows 8 platform for desktop computers and tablets – although it was reported that compatibility with current apps will be maintained.

In a video, Joe Belfiore, manager of Windows Phone for Microsoft, said that the intention is for developers to be able to “re-use, by far, most of their code” when moving behind the desktop and smartphone platforms. This should also help Microsoft to seamlessly transition many of its existing PC developers to mobile, resulting in a much larger pool creating apps.

According to reports originating from Phonenow, the platform, codenamed Apollo, is based on the Windows 8 kernel, rather than being based on Windows CE like the current Windows Phone. There will also be commonalities in the networking stacks, security and multimedia architectures.

Microsoft has already begun efforts to woo developers to its Windows 8 platform, which will also mark the company’s effort to gain market share in the tablet space. It is offering a version of the platform for devices using ARM-based processors, which should enable it to exploit commonalities with the smartphone platform.

Also on the Windows Phone 8 spec sheet, the reports said, is NFC, enabling the creation of “tap-to-share” apps. The camera architecture has also been modified, to provide a basic interface that can be modified by device makers or developers.

The platform will be integrated with Microsoft’s Skydrive cloud service, to enable content to be shared across multiple Windows-powered devices.

A number of other changes have been reported. The platform will gain support for multicore processors and more screen resolution, enabling more hardware differentiation for vendors.

Related post: 

Windows Phone 8 details leaked. Will have tap- to-share capabilities like webOS.

2012: Windows Phone Tango, Tango 2 and Apollo flavors to be launched.