Microsoft has killer Q1, profits surge, beats estimates

Whatever else you want to say about Microsoft, it makes its investors happy. Very happy. Profits surged for its fiscal first quarter, the company reported today, helped nicely along by strong sales of Halo 3, Windows and Office Suite, reports AP.

On the news, shares rose a hefty sum today, from $31.99 to $35.55. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, profits climbed to $4.29 billion, or 45 cents per share, from $3.48 billion, or 35 cents per share, over the same period last year. These results beat Wall Street estimates – which called for 39 cents a share.

Revenue grew, too, 27 percent to $13.76 billion from $10.81 billion in the year-ago quarter, again topping analysts' forecasts by more than $1 billion. The business unit responsible for Vista contributed $4.14 billion in revenue in the quarter, 25 percent more than a year ago. It claims to have sold more than 88 million copies of Windows.

Halo 3 pushed the entertainment division into the black for the second time, contributing $165 million of profit for the quarter. Ad revenue, too, grew thanks to the aQuantive acquisition, but, the story reports, that even without that, ad revenue would have been up 25 percent

IBM Lotus Sametime tops corporate IM platform review

Jabber and Cisco follow as close seconds in test of corporate IM platforms

Messaging has come a long way from the early days of rudimentary chat programs, the DOS and Windows "NET SEND" command and the Novell NetWare "SEND" command.

The ideal corporate instant-messaging environment lets users communicate anything they choose, from simple typed messages to documents to video. It tells employees which colleagues are available for an impromptu meeting and which don't wish to be disturbed. The ideal IM environment offers impenetrable security that thwarts intrusion attempts, as well as IM-borne malware. It's nimble and responsive; intuitive to use and administer; and integrates seamlessly with other IM products and protocols, such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

Preferably, it safely archives IM sessions for easy retrieval by an auditor, is highly scalable, exhibits rock-solid reliability and uses network resources frugally. A corporate IM product taps into a Windows Active Directory or a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) back end for grouping and authenticating users. And finally, it provides the necessary VoIP capabilities to turn a chat session easily into a telephone call.

In short, the model platform makes holding meetings via IM as productive as - or even better than - meeting face to face.

To test the state of corporate IM tools we invited all vendors in this space to send products. We received Extensible Communications Platform (XCP) 5.2 from Jabber, Lotus Sametime 7.5.1 from IBM and Openfire Enterprise Edition 3.2 from Jive Software. We downloaded Gordano Messaging Suite (GMS) 5.0 from Gordano's FTP site and Mirador Instant Messenger for Windows 3.0 from Serial Scientific International's (SSI) Web site, and we accessed Cisco's WebEx AIM Pro Business Edition via the Internet.

Microsoft also plays in this space with its older Live Communications Server 2005 platform and will be forging ahead with enterprise IM as part of its Office Communication Server platform running on Exchange 2007. As this product was still in beta during our testing Window and won't be available until next month, we could not include it in our head to head test. We have, however, test early beta code to help give readers a feel for what they can expect from this unified messaging platform.

Cisco's Next Municipal Wireless Move

Can Cisco Systems transform the perfect storm into the perfect business opportunity? That's the question facing Cisco as the company heads to a municipal broadband conference in Santa Clara on October 21.

For those who missed the first two chapters of the municipal broadband story, let me get you up to speed. In Chapter One, several big city mayors promised their citizens free or low-cost universal broadband access. It was a "feel good" political story. How can affordable broadband be a bad thing?

In Chapter Two, we discovered that these municipal wireless networks were more difficult to deploy than expected. Successful projects in Providence, R.I.; Oakland County, Mich.; Corpus Christi, Texas; and other locations were overshadowed by big setbacks in San Francisco and several other major cities.

In Chapter Three -- beginning right now -- we finally get to the heart of the matter: Applications. Find some killer applications and the municipal broadband market will follow (that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it). A case in point: Cisco earlier this week announced its intense focus on public safety applications for emergency first responders. Smart move. Many of the most successful municipal broadband networks involve police, safety and video surveillance systems.

Instead of posing with mayors for municipal broadband photo opportunities, Cisco and its rivals are zeroing in on the municipal departments that are willing to pay a few bucks for mission critical wireless systems.

Chapter Three hasn't played out yet. In fact, we're only getting started. There is a risk that some smaller wireless mesh vendors will suffer more layoffs or go bankrupt before this chapter is complete.

Still, some venture capitalists are willing to pump money into very targeted opportunities. (Firetide just received $14.4 million.) And newer technologies -- such as 802.11n -- promise to enhance municipal broadband network performance.

Where do Cisco and its mesh wireless rivals go from here? I'll be searching for answers and blogging live from the MuniWireless conference, October 21-23. If you're at the event look me up.