Microsoft tries BrowserRank to replace Google PageRank

A research paper BrowseRank: Letting Web Users Vote for Page Importance delivered at a conference in Singapore this week, highlights Microsoft Asia Research's alternative to Google's PageRank algorithm, BrowserRank - "The more visits of the page made by the users and the longer time periods spent by the users on the page, the more likely the page is important. We can leverage hundreds of millions of users' implicit voting on page importance,".

The new process, in theory, ranks sites based on their usage, and user behavior patterns. Google's algorithmic stew for rankings remains a great mystery, and an ever changing set of goalposts that are constantly gamed by companies looking to leverage search results to drive traffic, and drive revenues. Microsoft sees Google's strength in this regard as being its weakness, too, arguing that web developers have many opportunities to influence the ranking system, unfairly. BrowserRank, on the other hand, would actually try and take a look at user behavior on a site, Microsoft arguing that the more people are engaged by a site, the more likely it is that it has relevance.

Search is of tremendous importance to the Internet for many reasons. For one thing, search engines are highly influential middlemen that steer users to Web sites they may not be able to find on their own. For another, queries typed into search engines can be powerful -- and in Google's case highly profitable -- indications of what type of advertisement to place next to the search results.

But Microsoft lags leader Google and No. 2 Yahoo in search. It's trying hard to catch up, for example with unsuccessful proposals to acquire Yahoo or its search business that would cost the company billions of dollars. And Microsoft just bought search start-up Powerset.

Google isn't putting all its eggs in the PageRank basket, though.

"It's important to keep in mind that PageRank is just one of more than 200 signals we use to determine the ranking of a Web site," the company said in a statement. "Search remains at the core of everything Google does, and we are always working to improve it."

Windows Mobile On Track For 50% Growth

Will sell 20 million units this year

Microsoft said today that it estimates its Windows Mobile software to grow at least 50 percent annually through fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

"Fifty percent growth is the minimum," said Eddie Wu, Microsoft's managing director for embedded devices in Asia, in an interview with Reuters.

Wu said Microsoft expects to sell 20 million units in the current fiscal year that ends in June. It sold more than 11 million units of its Windows Mobile software in the previous fiscal year.

"We're actually still seeing very good growth (for our mobile software) in markets like Europe and the United States," said Wu. He said the fastest growth of Windows Mobile is in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Brazil, Russia and India.

Microsoft faces strong competition from Apple, Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion and Palm Inc.

"Even if Microsoft is growing at a rate of 50-60 percent, it doesn't mean they can gain that much share since Microsoft and Apple's mobile operating system is still much smaller compared to the Symbian system," said Citigroup analyst Kevin Chang.

"But they (Microsoft) are one of the few players which are offering touchscreen platforms so that is helping them grow," said Chang.

Microsoft announced earlier this year that it would introduce Web browsing capabilities for mobile phones in the third quarter of this year.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 Bring New Performance Analysis and Diagnostics Tools

Microsoft insisted to put Windows Vista at least on par, if not on a superior level compared to Windows XP in terms of performance throughout 2007, in a strategy that proved little efficient even though it also spanned to Vista SP1 and XP SP3.

For Windows 7 and Windows 8, the Redmond company has changed tactics somewhat, and is determined not to permit feedback from the general public to dictate next Windows winner in the performance arena. As a matter of fact, the Windows Client Performance Team is hard at work in an effort to build the infrastructure and the tools to take Windows 7’s performance to the next level.

At the same time, even with Windows 7 having reached Milestone 1 stage, and with M2 up next, Microsoft is also planning ahead all the way to Windows 8. For the next iterations of the Windows operating system, Microsoft plans to focus on enhancing performance for key components and applications of the platform. Starting with Windows 7, the Redmond company will work even intimately with original equipment manufacturers and system builders to provide them with the necessary resources to boost the quality of Windows PCs.

At the same time, Microsoft plans to build and reveal to the world what it referred to as extensible platform for Windows performance analysis. Such a platform already exists and is in use, but available only internally, at Microsoft. In addition, machines running Windows 7 and Windows 8 will benefit from unique industry standard definitions Microsoft is cooking up that will enable benchmarking and evaluating PC System performance.

With Windows 7, Microsoft will take the work done with Windows Vista in regards to enabling end users to perform basic troubleshooting tasks one step further through the introduction of a new breed of in-box diagnostics tools set up to detect the cause of performance issues. But the Redmond company’s work will not be done with Windows 7. In fact, plans are already in place for even more complex in-box diagnostics resources for Windows 8. And, in Windows 7, the company will simply lay the foundation of what will come in the future.

Microsoft Windows ‘Fiji’ beta testing has begun

Speaking of Microsoft information lockdown, there’s been no word in ages from Microsoft about “Fiji,” the next version of Windows Media Center Edition.

But that isn’t because Fiji has evaporated. In fact, the Fiji beta began a few weeks ago, according to a few sources with whom I’ve spoken and who’ve asked to keep their identities under wraps.

It’s not clear how many testers are part of this current test phase. There’s also no word on when and if Microsoft is going to tap the many other Fiji testers whom the company has signed up over the past year-plus or when Microsoft expects Fiji — also known as “Media Center Edition +1″ in some circles — is due out.

Last anyone heard, Fiji was supposed to build on the functionality that Microsoft delivered as part of Vista Service Pack 1. Some potential testers said they heard that Fiji would deliver some of the fit and finish that was missing in the Vista release. DirectTV support also is expected to be added to Media Center with the Fiji release.

Microsoft initially sought testers for Fiji last spring. It’s not clear whether any of the selected testers ever received any internal Fiji builds. Last anyone heard, Fiji was looking like a late 2008 deliverable.

Microsoft’s only comment on Fiji, delivered via a corporate spokesperson: “Microsoft has many ongoing betas, however at this point we do not have any announcements to make related to any future version of Windows Media Center.”

Microsoft puts new Yahoo deal on the table

Microsoft said on Sunday that it has raised the possibility of a new deal with Yahoo, one that may involve buying a part of the company but not all of it. "Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo," Microsoft said in a brief statement.

The company did not elaborate on the proposal. It said it did not plan at this time to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo, but that it was continuing to explore its options to expand its online services and advertising businesses.

Microsoft withdrew its offer to buy Yahoo on May 3 after the two sides failed to agree on a price. Since then, the activist investor Carl Icahn has said he will launch a proxy battle to replace Yahoo's board and force it back to the negotiating table with Microsoft. They could not immediately be reached for comment, although published reports said the company is not discussing its plan further in public.

"There of course can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions," Microsoft said in its statement. It said it reserved the right to reconsider its decision not to buy Yahoo outright, depending on any future talks with Yahoo, third parties or the shareholders of either company.

Meanwhile, Yahoo issued a statement later on Sunday confirming that Microsoft isn't at this time interested in acquiring the entire company.

"Yahoo and its Board of Directors continue to consider a number of value maximizing strategic alternatives for Yahoo, and we remain open to pursuing any transaction which is in the best interest of our stockholders," the statement said. "Yahoo's Board of Directors will evaluate each of our alternatives, including any Microsoft proposal, consistent with its fiduciary duties, with a focus on maximizing stockholder value."

That Microsoft is discussing a new deal could be a sign that Yahoo's leadership wants to avoid the spectacle of a proxy battle ahead of its annual meeting on July 3, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Yahoo responded to Icahn's threats on Friday, arguing that its own board gave Microsoft's offer fair consideration, and that the current board, led by Chairman Roy Bostock, can best manage Yahoo's future.

It was unclear Sunday what type of alternative deal Microsoft has in mind. It said it issued its statement "in light of developments" that have taken place since it withdrew its offer.

Microsoft indicated earlier that it had moved on from the deal and that it was looking for other ways to grow its online business, internally or through smaller acquisitions.

Do you think, Microsoft will buy Yahoo?

Microsoft Buys Yahoo..A Pondering Primate 2007 Prediction

So I was off by 2 or 3 month for this prediction. Is it too little too late?

After reading Nicholas Carr's Big Switch, I wonder if Microsoft buying Yahoo is too little, too late. As more of the computing world goes and performs online, the PC becomes irrelevant.

Microsoft To Buy Yahoo For $44.6B

In an effort to take on Google, Microsoft buys Yahoo.

For $44B, what should Microsoft have bought instead?

The better question though is....what does Google buy to up the ante?