Microsoft:Will it be able to contain and win the "Open Source"

The Microsoft - Open source scene is heating up fast and furious! In an earlier post i had mentioned the open source as the anto thesis of Microsoft's philosphy. http://technologyandtelecom.blogspot.com/2009/02/open-source-microsofts-anti-thesis.html

It looks like the Redmond giant is waking up to the reality of the open source as the next evolution in computing history and Microsoft has a strategy to hold this threat or atleast ride it. On the surface it looks like a two pronged strategy eventually leading to Microsoft evolving into an open source product itself. Voila! A change in philosophy is on the cards!

The two pronged strategy revolves around a holding action and a transformative stance! The holding action is to position Windows as something on which an open source can be run. On the otherhand, they will fight the open source to be a replacement of Windows by transforming Windows into an open source product in the next 1-2 years. Thus, on one hand, they'll be building a great place for open source to play; on the other hand, they'll continue to try and prevent it from eating into the walled kingdom they've created on the desktop.

It is not a marked departure from their earlier character of defending their products with lawsuits, patents and antitrust actions. Only this time, they would like to befriend the challenger, learn the terrain an then outrun the "open source" challenge.

This is going to be fascinating and every biuut, worth waiting and watching for!

Microsoft, Google and Ovi:The error list!

Less than 2 days back, i had blogged about the fallibilities of the super corportaions: Microsoft and Google. http://technologyandtelecom.blogspot.com/2009/02/even-invincible-and-infallible.html. Interestingly enough Nokia's foray into online services and application, Ovi has fallen into the list of goofers! This happened when a recent server crash lost all unsynched data on Ovi. This unsynched data is dated from January 23rd 2009 to Febrauary 9th, 2009. This means any data uploaded by the consumer from 23rd Janaury 2009 onwards would not have been saved.

Ovi is Nokia's foray into internet services through the Nokia devices. Apart From Nokia's Ovi, Apple's Mobileme and Microsoft's My Phone service (to debut) use the cloud to store data uploaded by the customer! While the number of affected users is limited, because of Ovi's small userbase, it is worth questioning what would happen if for some reason a Facebook would have such a failure.

The conclusion here for the user is: Dont trust the cloud for everything. It is also wise to have a back up local hard disk for your data.

Another question that pops up: should the cloud be rated for efficiency and trustworthiness of data systems, security and speed. Probably yes!