"Microsoft is stuck" says trendwatcher Vincent Everts

During a recent seminar organized by Cap Gemini called ´The Future of Office automation´various large IT vendors gave their vision on innovation on people productivity and office automation for the years to come. During the mainstream session Microsoft, IBM and also trendwatcher and ICT guru Vincent Everts spoke about how technology has influenced the way we live, work and interact in our day to day personal and business lives. One thing is clear; we are starting to get ´addicted´ to the ease, speed, cost and practical advantages of new ways of communicating. While I can still remember the first mobile fridge phones of 15 years ago (remember how proud you were having one;-), nowadays tools like Skype, Google, Hyves and other instant communication and social networking tools start to dominate the way we interact and share idea´s.

IBM Lotus VP Ken Bisconti amongst others talked about how Lotus Sametime 7.5 (see article and links on other parts of this blog) will be every businesses alternative to public instant communication tools and how IBM see´s these worlds blending together. Microsoft spokes person Ms. B. Karia talked about the future innovations of Microsoft Vista and how this will add even more features probably nobody will use. Vincent Everts wrapped it all up in a high paced overview with many recognizable examples (presentation available via the link on this page).

At the end of his presentation Vincent was asked the question which company would no longer exist in 10 years time. His answer: "Either Microsoft or Google will eat each other, I see Microsoft trying to climb up in the business segment but they are currently ´stuck´"

It is true that Microsoft currently has to deal with many different issues and that it´s shine has faded over the last couple of years. Last year for the first time worldwide more Linux servers were sold then Windows servers, adoption of the open document standard (ODF) is growing at a rapid pace, X-Box is tagging far behind Sony´s playstation and customers are starting to see that they are only paying Microsoft for expensive marketing campaigns while not getting back true innovation.

Beauty AND brains..!

I recently read an article on Notes vs Outlook on a MS blog. Someone was going on and on about a pretty interface. Sure, looking pretty is hip today but won´t take you very far. First of al you need to be reliable, trustworthy and of course healthy. Certainly when you are not a woman but an instrument people in businesses use daily to do their work;-). I think that's why 126 million users love Lotus Notes since it came out in 1989. Oh yeah that´s another great chractaristic; being innovative, Exchange Outlook was only launched in 1996/1997 ...

Anyway the new Notes client will again be the more secure, reliable, platform independent (being built on a completely open Eclipse platform) choice but..will now also have the pretty interface. Hannover will be out around the end of this year or the start of 2007. Of course you will see many annoucements and beta programs before that time.

Presentations Lotusphere Online

All presentations given at the Dutch Lotusphere Comes to You Roadshow end march can now be downloaded via the link on the right. Pay special attention to the presentation of Ron Sebastian and of course; The Boss Loves Lotus. In case you would like to see or get the software yourself; all the stuff you see can be tested completely free for 3 months. Sametime 7.5 will be general available within 2/3 months, until that time we can of course give you live demo´s, presentations or you can have a look at much material and a great flash demo via the ALL about Sametime 7.5 link. Enjoy!

At the Speed of Light

The speed at which we communicate today is truly facinating. When the phone was invented over a 100 years ago nobody could of thought about mobile phones, satellite phones or smart phones. The invention of email about 20 years ago gave a whole new dimension. Email travels at the speed of light but at the pace we´re going today email has already made place for instant messaging and real time communication for many people and businesses. Although there are no real figures available it is for sure that the amount of ´real time communication´that is going on every day around the globe greatly surpasses the amount of e-mails sent. Why? Because its...faster and cheaper again. And of course because it opens up much more opportunity like web conferencing, sharing files and photo´s, and playing games all in real time and regardless of our location.

During a recent Lotusphere Comes to You Road show Lotus guru Ron Sebastian demonstrated the new Lotus Sametime 7.5 environment. This fully open, eclipse based, platform is a new leap forward towards real time business including sound proof ´click to call´capabilities (with Skype quality), ´instant communities´ and location awareness locating people all over the globe via (for example) Google maps.

Sametime truly allows people in different places to work together in a virtual office, whether they’re across the hall or across the globe. Sametime 7.5 will have secure and completely free connections to other, public networks like Google talk, Yahoo and AOL. And as soon as Microsoft decides to start using its (own developed) SIP protocol maybe also MSN messenger. Lotus also announced partnerships with Nokia and Rim enabling their new Communicators and Blackberry´s standard with the new Sametime mobile client.

IBM started saving ± 40 million $ a year after the introduction of Sametime some years ago. It´s already more important then email and it´s importance will only increase with the coming of these new possibilities. Why send a mail if you can speak to someone live whilst sharing a file and instantly sending a quick feedback poll to the rest of the community? All over a (virtually) free Internet connection... its much more efficient and saves money and time.

Watson´s Workplace, First Posting!

Monday february 6, 2006, 21.00

´Sticks and Stones´

What's all that blogging about? These things are everywhere and everybody seems to have one! I thought the best way to find out was to just create one and take a personal testdrive. This blog will be about the way people work and interact with their environment and the way ´tecnology´ influences our lives daily. I also want to use this place to link to other interessting places, share photo´s and have fun!


The first pieces of tecnology were of course quite basic.
Our ancestorsters started to use sticks and stones to get what they wanted in a more efficient way. Since that moment on, mankind has been fascinatedated by what ´sticks and stones´can do for us. We have used our creativity to explore new, different and more efficient ways of getting all sorts of things done. Mankind has come a long way since the first sticks and stones and the speed at which things develop around us seems to constantly take up pace. And we are only just getting started...sky is the limit, or is it?;-)!

The introduction of for example electricity and (steam) machines in the late 1800´s have radically changed the way we currently live our lives in large parts all over the world. Who today could imagine a world without plains, fridges or tv´s?
A worldwide network which allows the user to pick up a ´modern stick´and talk to somebody at the other side of the planet, spacetravel, internet?! There are BILLIONS of ´things´ around us everyday and the fact is most of us couldn't/wouldn´t do without them. And thats not a strange nor a bad thing. All these new sticks and stones have made us live longer, easier and more pleasant in many ways.

They have smallened the world and created facilities for billions of people to live, meet and interact regardless of space or time. And thats a great thing!