Hello Victor,
> I have speculated here on the role that directories and digitalme
> could have in instant messaging. Would appreciate your expert
> opinions..
This area is one that really interests me for investment ideas. I have been watching for quite a while and trying to decide which directions are going to pan out, and who the various companies are that are involved in those parts of the industry.
First, I think that Novell is very well placed with two core technologies that (IMHO) are going to grow in importance in the Internet - directories and caching.
A directory is a place to store various types of information, and have policies that apply to this information. We can often think about types of information like our name, address or phone number, but sometimes we don't think about what this information really represents, or is used for. This information (in these examples) is used for communications between people. Why do you want my address? To send me something, or to visit - a form of communications. Why do you want my phone number? To call me - a form of communications.
Instant messaging is yet another type of communications that can occur between people. And just as information about my phone number could be stored in a directory, information about how to contact my Instant Messaging client could be stored in the directory.
IMHO, directories can become the foundation for building complex communities of people, and provide a way to broker a wide range of communications technologies.
Ok ... I've spewed for a while ... the short answer is: Yes. They go together.
As for this article, this is a really hot area. I'll throw a couple of comments below:
> Microsoft Plans To Take Messaging Beyond Desktop
Common sense ... no brainer. I want to be accessible at my PC, or on the road.
> SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) said
> Tuesday it planned to take its instant messaging service beyond the
> desktop to allow communication over wireless phones, hand-held
> computers and WebTV boxes.
If you haven't played with AIM, ICQ, or Microsoft Messenger you need to now. It is the way that we will be aware of each other in cyberspace, and initiate communications ... talk ... chat ... call, etc. What Microsoft is saying is that they are going to integrate their presence/messenger software products into a variety of different platforms.
When they say wireless phones, this really interests me. Who's phones? What vendor? Currently, the major cellphone vendors have all aligned around a project called Symbian ( symbian.com ) based on the EPOC OS, created by a company called Psion. This includes Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Matsushita, and Philips. This is quite a line up. I would guess that you have the majority of the cell phone market here. Oh yeah ... and they run native EPOC applications, plus Java!
So I'm curious who Microsoft is going to partner with, or how they will penetrate the cell phone market ... will they develop for EPOC? They have announced working with Qualcomm ... and Qualcomm is agressively pushing their CDMA technology and phones. If I were Microsoft I would write the Java version/EPOC version also.
When they say "handheld computers" this is obviously the WinCE market. Moving their Messenger application to this platform is a breeze ... it's their platform! If I were Microsoft I would write the Palm version also (and the Handspring Visor version)
And as for WebTV, once again it's their platform ... easy.
> ''Regardless of what you choose to be your device or your platform,
> we want to make it possible to get the information and
> communicate,' said Deanna Sanford, lead product manager for MSN.
Yes! This is the same type of statement that Steve Case of AOL says! They both realize that it's about communications. And if you want to communicate with someone, it's best to look up their "number" in a .... directory. ;-)
They fit ... ;-)
Scott C. Lemon |
