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Microsoft Pushes Blackberry Into Juicer
Microsoft announced plans to jam, can and push Blackberry's email system onto the back shelf when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0.
The primary point of the new pack is the Direct Push technology to help IT professionals get their information quickly "without requiring businesses to pay for additional and costly servers or middleware."
The problem Research In Motion (RIM) and Good Technology will run into is that this will drop hobnail boots on their toes. RIM, maker of the Blackberry line of products and Good Technology make the very middleware Microsoft spoke of and as anyone following the industry knows, when Microsoft gives products away in this fashion, then it could very easily spell the doom of their competitors.
The other side of this argument though is the thought process behind Microsoft's progression and that's the "one stop shop" notion. Microsoft has built their legacy on integrating and improving on many things people have done in the past. They make their products accessible and while they do have bugs, Microsoft does provide good products.
I know some may argue otherwise. I know many people who swear by Firefox or by Apple's OS and I'm not knocking them at all. It's just that for a complete package, Microsoft has done it better to be blunt. In most cases, MS products are just as good as any of the others out there and while they certainly do seem to have problems monopolizing certain items, the approach they use has an appeal to most users.
For example, they stuck IE on PCs and eventually squashed out Netscape. In all honesty, this gave the users more bang for the buck. When they added Media Player, once again more bang for the buck. They've continued to add many services to their catalog and it is simpler and more convenient. Microsoft has done quite well building on interoperability for their own products. Many surveys recently show that Firefox and others are making ground and I'm sure they are but I would challenge that notion on how much. I'd say that if you went to every household in the U.S. that uses a computer, I'd say IE is used on 90% or more of them. Why? Convenience.
This brings us to the Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push situation. There are multiple OSs for PDAs out there. Not all PDAs use Windows either. This in theory won't affect them much. The appeal for the average household might be the comfort level of Windows.
The real draw here and where the one-stop-shop mentality will be most appealing is in the business world. Businesses that require PDA usage in the field or in remote locations will find this incredibly useful. If something does mess up, they only have to deal with one company. They only have to go through one set of licensing issues. This should also make life easier on IT folks so they don't have to bounce back and forth between various companies. You don't have to worry about compatibility issues that may occur. Microsoft products will ALWAYS run better with other Microsoft products. That's just a fact of life.
I'm all for competition in the business industry. It's the core of a capitalist market economy. Competition drives everyone to be better. But, if someone can do it better, then they should. Just imagine, Firefox wouldn't be so cool if someone hadn't thought they could improve upon what MS and Netscape had already done. If Microsoft breaks the law, then go after them but keep mind Bill and Steve and their Seattle slew aren't inherently evil either. If RIM and Good Technology are good enough, they'll survive, if not, someone will replace them, just like Opera and Firefox and Konqueror came along after Netscape.
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About the Author:
John Stith is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
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