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Mitchell Ashley
Microsoft Is Perfect Example Why Executive Pay Is Broken
Written on Fri, 11/06/09 - 8:34am
Text message this morning from CNN: Unemployment hit 10.2% in October. Microsoft announced earlier this week another 800 employee layoffs to the 5,000 previously announced employee layoffs. If you look at Microsoft's financials you see why, a 14% revenue and 18% net income drop for the last reported...
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RIM Still Hasn't Recovered From The Blackberry Storm
Written on Wed, 11/04/09 - 8:54am
The Blackberry Bold is getting good attention but the mobile SmartPhone world has become a two horse race between the Apple iPhone and the Motorola/Google Droid. Even with the new Blackberry Storm 2 model, the Storm missed its window to be a serious contender against the iPhone (despite all my ill advised ...
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Verizon and Google Droid Phone Take Run At iPhone
Written on Wed, 10/28/09 - 1:51pm
After the debacle called the Blackberry Storm, you have to wonder if Verizon is really ready to take another run at the iPhone. From one viewpoint the Google Android powered Droid phone must a very capable contender, given how the recent Droid video ads pick at iPhone weak points. Hard to say the Droid...
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Will Apple Block Adobe's 'End-Around' Into The iPhone End Zone?
Written on Wed, 10/07/09 - 2:53am
Adobe Flash and the iPhone don't mix, at least that's been Apple's policy when it comes to mixing iPhone apps, the mobile Safari browser and Adobe Flash. But Adobe thwarted Apple by adding a Flash-to-iPhone compiler in the next version of Flash Professional CS5. There are apparently five recompiled Flash...
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The Dawn of the "micro app" - Why Smartphone Apps Are Proving Google Wrong
Written on Mon, 10/05/09 - 9:17am
Apple iPhones, Google Android phones, BlackBerries, Microsoft Windows Mobile, and the Palm Pre all bring us mobile platforms that can do more than just make phone calls, check our calendars and do email. It's now all about "the apps", the mobile applications that come with and can be downloaded or synchronized...
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Google Chrome OS Announced. Windows 7 May Have Arrived Just In Time.
Written on Wed, 07/08/09 - 4:11am
If there was any doubt Microsoft and Google were out to eat each other's lunch, both companies have proved they're going after the other's core business; desktop OS+apps and search, respectively. Microsoft upped the ante big time with Bing. Google's responding right on the heels of the Google Wave announcement...
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Blackberry Storm – A Huge Disappointment
Written on Tue, 01/27/09 - 3:01am
Sometimes I just have to fess up and eat crow, and it’s time I do that about all the touting I’ve done declaring the BlackBerry Storm an iPhone killer. The fact of the matter is, the BlackBerry Storm has a long way to go before it equals the iPhone in many respects. I’m not saying the Storm is...
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Premature to Call Pre the savior of Palm
Written on Fri, 01/09/09 - 2:47am
Given all he buzz about Palm's announcement of the Palm Pre, and my passion (obsession?) for handheld gadgets, you know I've got to blog about the Palm Pre announcement. In case you haven't heard, Palm announced their iPhone killer touchscreen phone, the Pre.
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Best of Windows Mobile 6: Touch Commander
Written on Thu, 11/06/08 - 6:06am
The Windows Mobile 6 operating system is getting to be a bit long in the tooth. I suspect the Windows Vista OS upgrade was named Windows 7 so it can match up with a new phone OS, Windows Mobile 7, some time in '09 (just a guess.) New phone user interfaces offered by the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry...
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How Ozzie got Microsoft's groove back
Written on Tue, 11/04/08 - 10:17am
Things have definitely changed at Microsoft, and it's clear Ray Ozzie is a big part of the reason for it. Microsoft seems to have a bit of a swagger again. Case in point, the comprehensive PDC announcements with Windows Azure, Windows 7, Live synchronization and Office apps in the cloud last week....
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Vista SP2 - More Upgrade Woes On The Horizon?
Written on Mon, 10/20/08 - 2:41am
Microsoft is starting to release beta code for Windows Vista SP2 to testers as we speak. No news yet about new user features as Bluetooth 2.1 and VIA chipset support are expected. If you recall, Vista SP1 upgrades didn't go so smoothly. Seems like Apple iPhones and Windows Vista have something...
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Google Android: The dude? Or big dud?
Written on Tue, 09/23/08 - 3:51pm
Today's the day Android strutted its stuff to the world. Is Android the game-changer for the SmartPhone industry, a real contender to the iPhone or just another cell phone OS? It's definitely not just another cell phone OS, as evidenced by all the attention around today's launch. Google...
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Apple User Resents Missing iPhone Features
Written on Fri, 06/13/08 - 1:12am
Not everyone's thrilled with the new iPhone 3G announcement this week. After sifting through many comments by Apple fans who just wanted to call names or dismiss a valid viewpoint, I thought this Apple fan was pretty straight up and said it well.
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iPhone 2.0 Upgrade Will Backfire On Apple
Written on Thu, 06/12/08 - 4:22am
Keep the iPhone you already have - here's why. I had an interesting "iPhone 3G debate" over drinks this evening with a passionate, but less than thrilled, iPhone user. I'll call him "Don". Don, like every other iPhone owner, was debating whether to upgrade to the new iPhone...
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Blackberry's a Ferrari, iPhone's a DeLorean
Written on Fri, 06/06/08 - 3:36am
Everyone's interest is up about the new Apple 3G iPhone coming next week. I'm sure Steve Jobs will do his pitchman shtick as well as he ever has. I expect to see Steve roll out some cool iPhone app a 3rd party developed with the iPhone SDK along with touting new features and styling of the...
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iPhone Interface Comes to Windows 7
Written on Wed, 05/28/08 - 3:37am
That was the big Windows 7 demo this week; multi-touch user interface will be in Windows 7. Picture the iPhone UI meets Windows. Is touch exciting enough to get us all hopped up about Windows 7. I guess Gates and Ballmer thought so. I actually think touch will be an important part of our user experience,...
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Blackberry Thunder Or Just Distant Lightning
Written on Sat, 05/17/08 - 11:51am
Blackberry Thunder, the next iPhone killer. Or should I say, the next iPhone killer rumor? Everyone gets all hyped up about, when is someone going to create the iPhone killer?
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Blackberry Bold Staves Off Business iPhone Migration
Written on Wed, 05/14/08 - 10:49am
The Blackberry Bold (9000) was announced this week, with a plethora of new and upgraded hardware and software features. If the Apple iPhone has done nothing else, it's causing RIM to raise its game and bring out even better devices. The net-net on the Blackberry 9000 is a beautiful 480x320 display,...
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Apple: Unlock The iPhone and iPhone Apps
Written on Wed, 04/16/08 - 3:12am
Yes! Break the bonds of AT&T's voice network and use your iPhone for free VoIP calls with Fring . Fring is a VoIP client for cell phones much like Skype. If your phone has a data plan and a compatible Fring client, you're in business. Cut down the minutes in your calling plan and move...
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What's the Real Reason AT&T Didn't Like Google Android?
Written on Thu, 04/03/08 - 2:55am
It looks like the iPhone isn't the only "cool" phone AT&T wireless has agreed to carry. After meetings with Google, AT&T said their fears have been allayed that Google Android phones would be too Google app centric, giving Google too much control over AT&T's choice of...
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About Converging on Microsoft
Mitchell Ashley has a diverse background in software development, network engineering, information security, mobility, collaborative technologies, and IT management and operations. An early adopter of social media in business, he began blogging about security and information technologies in 2006 at theconvergingnetwork.com. Mitchell is VP of Information Technology at CableLabs in Louisville, CO, and previously held positions as CIO, CTO and VP Engineering at prior companies.
 

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