Tag: business

Microsoft catching up with Google

Way too often do I hear from the Microsoft fans that the company is catching up with Google.  Each and every time I disagreed, but in the heat of the discussion it’s not always easy to find supporting facts.  Yeah, I know, I should come ready for such arguments, but I really take them when and where they find me.

Anyways, Google Android and Microsoft Mobile is only one side of a discussion.  Advertising is the other.  And search is yet another one.  Well, I’ve heard the numbers before, but never bothered blogging them.  This time I will.  Slashdot links to a CNN Money article, which tells a really sad story.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) has lost $5.5 billion on Bing since the search service launched in June 2009, but the company’s search losses actually pre-date that. In fact, the software giant has never made money in its online services division. Since Microsoft began breaking out that unit’s finances in 2007, the company has lost a total of $9 billion.

There is even a little visual aid in case you prefer your trends simplified.  It doesn’t look good, and it will never will.  And the secret is very simple.  Microsoft is not an online company.  It never was and it is too large to change.  If it will ever change, it will be as different from what it is now as IBM is different from the company it used to be in the last century.

 

Automattic Creed

I’ve mentioned several times why I think Automattic is an awesome company to work for (no, I don’t work for them, yet).  Here is another example.  This is a bit that goes on the offer letter that new potential employees get.  This is what the company stands for.

I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company. I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.

Read the rest of the story as told by Matt.

Pantone Inc and Open Source

I came across an interesting paragraph in Wikipedia page on Pantone Inc.

Pantone asserts that their lists of color numbers and pigment values are the intellectual property of Pantone and free use of the list is not allowed. This is frequently held as a reason why Pantone colors cannot be supported in Open Source software such as GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and are not often found in low-cost software.

Vasilikos power station is gone. Tough times for Cyprus ahead

Cyprus Mail reports that Vasilikos power station was completely destroyed by the explosion.  But we already sort of knew that.  The questions were more along the line of “What now?”.  Cyprus Mail provides some good analysis as to how this will affect Cyprus in the nearest future.

However the cost of this explosion does not just affect in terms of rebuilding, compensating and repairing. The dynamic effects on companies will ensure a return to deep recession, especially if you factor in the effects of the electricity crisis is having in Cypriot companies. The electricity shortage causes three devastating blows to our economy: reliability, capability and cost.

The lack of reliability in electricity provision is a great drag to the economy. Already power cuts are taking place and sadly it seems that since our electricity system is operating at full capacity the authorities have not been able to announce when and where such cuts should occur. As a result business are already suffering from lost labour time, repairing software and hardware issues relating to cuts, and an ever greater need for technical support, all in a period where the focus has been to cut costs and thus remain competitive with other European companies.

Read the full article for more.