Ballmer confirms Windows 7 Starter restrictions for netbooks

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently confirmed that the company will limit Windows 7 Starter, the edition expected to end up on netbooks, to systems that sport small screens and low-powered processors.

During Microsoft's annual financial analyst day July 30, Ballmer got more specific than other executives in describing the limitations computer makers must abide by if they're to install Starter on their machines. Starter is the least feature-rich edition of the operating system available worldwide, and will not be sold direct to consumers or businesses. It will be available only to OEMs, or "original equipment manufacturers," such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba.

"Our license tells you what a netbook is," said Ballmer at the Microsoft-hosted day with Wall Street analysts. "Our license says it's got to have a super-small screen, which means it probably has a super-small keyboard, and it has to have a certain processor and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Although other Microsoft executives earlier this year said that the company would place restrictions on the kinds of processors and screen resolutions supported by Starter, Ballmer is the highest computer official yet to spell out Starter's limitations, if only in the broadest terms.

Last May, the Malaysian Web site TechARP.com, which regularly leaks information provided to computer makers by Microsoft, reported that the company would restrict Starter to specific netbook configurations. According to TechARP, Microsoft will only sell Starter to OEMs for use on netbooks that have a 10.2-in. or smaller screen, no more than 1GB of memory, a hard disk drive of 250GB or less (or a solid-state drive no larger than 64GB) and a single-core processor no faster than 2GHz.

Ballmer was frank with analysts about Microsoft's rationale for setting Starter's limitations. "We want people to be able to get the advantages of lightweight performance and be able to spend more money with us, with Intel, with HP, with Dell and with many, many others," he said.

"With today's netbooks, we sell you XP at a price," Ballmer continued. "When we launch Windows 7, an OEM can put XP on the machine at one price, Windows 7 Starter Edition at a higher price, Windows 7 Home Edition at a higher price, and Windows 7 Professional at a higher price."

Microsoft has not disclosed pricing for Starter, since the edition will be sold only in volume to OEMs, and will not be available to end users at retail. However, Ballmer made it plain that Microsoft hopes to coax users into purchasing PCs with higher-priced versions of Windows 7. "It's not just what are our prices -- that's partly in here -- but it's also a function of how well do we do getting, in any segment, people to buy the more expensive offering," he told analysts.

"They're trying to force people into higher-end SKUs," said Allan Krans, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Selling XP at a low price to OEMs hurt them financially, and they're trying to figure out a way to stem that."

Last month, Microsoft said revenues for the Windows client division were down 29% year over year for the company's fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30. Microsoft blamed the fall-off on the increased sales of netbooks and a global slow-down of PC purchases.

Ballmer acknowledged that Microsoft made a mistake pricing licenses of Windows XP Home that it's been selling only to netbook makers since April 2008. "[Windows revenues are] down primarily because we did a program this year to cut prices in emerging markets with a theory that the lower price would lead to higher attach and higher total revenue," Ballmer said.

"The theory was wrong. It's not that it was untested, but it turns out the theory was wrong, and you will see us address the theory in the Windows 7 time frame. We're going to readjust those prices north, so to say, and I think with our Windows 7 SKU lineup, we also have a great chance to do some up-sell ... to Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home...."

"They're trying to rectify the mistake," noted Krans. "But that will be very difficult for them to do. Netbook prices are low already, and adding another $20 or $30 for Windows 7 Starter will make it too tight for [OEMs[ to operate."

Microsoft doesn't divulge Windows prices to OEMs, but earlier this year the Wall Street Journal cited sources that claimed the company receives less than $15 per netbook for Windows XP, considerably less than the estimated $50 to $60 it gets for a Vista license.

Krans said higher prices for Windows 7 -- $30 to $40 more than XP Home -- would be a tough sell to netbook makers. "OEMs don't have a lot of wiggle room on price, since price points seem to be the most important feature for netbooks," said Krans.

The best Microsoft can hope for is to make a case for more capable, but still-inexpensive laptops that run one of the "premium" editions of Windows 7, like Home Premium or Professional. "Netbooks have their place, but low-end notebooks are a more compelling value," Krans said. "For $500 or less, low-end notebooks are going to have a much more usable keyboard and a more usable screen. They're better for the OEMs and for Microsoft, because there's more pricing flexibility there than in netbooks to make some sustainable margins."

Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136454/Ballmer_confirms_Windows_7_Starter_restrictions_for_netbooks?taxon

SEO Trends 2009

If you know anything about the fundamentals of search engine optimization ( SEO Tips ), you will know that the experts’ opinions on what to do, what is now considered redundant and recommendations of the absolutely necessary elements you must put in place on your website, change with mind-spinning frequency.

However, the bigger trends in search engine optimisation are easier to keep up with and most seem to be here to stay, as business owners become more attuned to just how important SEO is to their success.

SEO Trends 2009 And Beyond

The industry and ‘bigger picture’ trends have become relatively easy to identify as the SEO world becomes more established - increased awareness of SEO in general being the first major trend.

Search engine optimisation used to be an exclusive world, with only those practising it really knowing what it entailed and how it boosted a website’s visitor stats.

Now, most people know what it means, and most business owners are aware of just how important the internet is and how SEO can help them gain more customers.

The next major trend and one which is definitely here to stay, is the rise and rise of Google - they have dominated the world of search engine optimisation for years, and their lead over competitors such as Yahoo and MSN is only getting bigger.

When Google speaks, SEO consultants listen and if your business is not being found on Google, it’s almost certain it’s not being found at all - around 70% of user searches are done using Google.

SEO tools and automated processes are becoming an important part of the reporting of website results - individuals are focusing on developing these tools for companies to buy, who may be struggling to find or afford a good search engine optimisation agency. Such tools can offer good basic data, but it’s worth remembering that it’s still what you do with the data that’s important.

Dipping into the actual technicalities of good SEO practice, good content has been king for a while and remains so.

As a business owner, if you write, or employ an SEO copywriter to write good quality articles and press releases, this will benefit your search results hugely, encourages links to and from your website - and links are extremely important as the ‘currency’ of good quality SEO.

Finally, a trend clear to all - not just those operating in the search engine optimisation world - is the rise and rise of social networking sites.

Facebook and now Twitter are educating people to communicate in a whole different way, and business owners should be engaging these people in order to develop a whole new audience.

Keep Up With SEO - Your Business Will Benefit

There are many more trends in search engine optimisation, too many to mention here, but one thing remains clear - business owners small and large cannot afford to ignore SEO and must become well-versed in good SEO practice if they want to keep up with the ever-changing world of consumer web behaviour.

Google PR and Backlink Updated - Have You Been Affected?

After an unusually long time, it appears Google is updating its PageRank and Backlink measures according to many website owners.
Google’s PageRank and Backlink count are are key measures Google uses to determine its search engine rankings. While many skeptics believe PageRank is an irrelevant indicator, its hard to dismiss it when Google continues to promote as a pivotal measure of a site’s ranking potential - and Top Google rankings = Better website traffic.
Did you notice something different on my this domain? I mean the PageRank icon at Google toolbar above!

It is showing a PageRank of 3 out of 10. I know, I know there is nothing to boast around with just a PR 3 but I am really happy about it. I was like waiting for so so long, finally I got ranked by Google within 3-4 months. I still remember a few weeks back, how I’d always check my Pagerank and worried why I am still not ranked (N/A) by Google. But now, I am relieved but I will keep on working on this blog and target a higher PageRank on the next update.

And most importantly,

Thanks to my readers, visitors and drop-byers. It is you that keep this blog growing !!

Google will update the PageRank once in a while hence we would have no idea when it is going to update again.

Internet Marketing Is A Better Marketing?

Is it true that the Internet marketing niche is already too saturated? In a way, yes. But if you can create a unique slant on an old idea, then you can definitely prosper just as well as the others who dropped anchor in this niche years ago.

The World Wide Web is always changing, and new things are being created that give you an opportunity to break out onto the Internet marketing scene with a unique product that sells well despite the number of competitors in that niche.

Just like any other large market, there are smaller, more defined niche markets within the ‘internet marketing’ field. When you put a website up you need to know many things in order to succeed.You have to drive targeted traffic to your site, make your site search engine friendly (SEO), be able to write a high converting squeeze page and sales page, learn about free and paid advertising. So all these things and more could be a ‘micro niche’ within the larger ‘internet marketing’ niche.

You may also want to consider staying away from the Internet marketing niche and paving a path in another niche, such as dog care, parenting, or financial advice. As long as there is traffic and interest, then a niche can be profitable. It’s not enough just to find the huge search counts; you also have to be able to see how much competition there is for that particular niche. Then you can determine if it will be profitable or not.

What often happens is that the newbie ‘net marketer has a specialty in an area outside of Internet marketing, and once the launch a highly successful information product on it, they write a tell-all e-Book showing other Internet marketers how to do what they did.

There’s really no way for a niche to become fully saturated. As long as there is continued interest, there’s always a way to come up with a new slant for an old idea. Print publications do this all the time. Whenever a writer submits a story to a magazine, they have to take an old idea and convince an editor they can write about it in a fresh manner.

Many Internet marketers routinely try to convince others that their niche is, indeed saturated. Why would they do this? It’s because they don’t want the competition from you. If you are doing affiliate marketing - promoting other peoples products - be careful what you choose. Even though it may be a great product or service, a specific affiliate program can become saturated.

To determine if a niche is truly saturated, or better yet, if you have a shot at success, visit third party product sites such as Click Bank and see how many products are available for the idea you have as an Internet marketer. You can also find the hottest selling products in your niche market; check out commission payments, percentage of sales coming from affiliates and much more, a great place to start.

If you see twenty e-Books on affiliate marketing, ask yourself, ‘Could I come up with a unique slant or a better way of doing things’ Sometimes all it takes is having verifiable proof of your own success to position you as an expert in a particular niche. It can’t hurt to give it a try - and you may find that you edge out all of your competitors for the sheer fact that the consumers want someone new to take the reins and spoon-feed them their information.

source: http://www.article-buzz.com/Article/Internet-Marketing-Is-A-Better-Marketing-/299761

Follow this Article marketing Strategy Profits from Articles

Here is an article marketing strategy for you to follow which will outline some techniques you can use immediately and dramatically profit from. If you have been online for some time you are probably aware that article submission or article publishing is one of the most effective and profitable ways top Internet marketers utilize. The reason why is because it works so well.

Writing and distributing articles is my #1 way to drive pre-targeted traffic to my sites. Besides that, search engines love fresh content and what better way than submit articles and to post or archive your articles on your own article directory which you should have implement on your own sites. For more details www.yourarticlecash.com.Better yet, writing and submitting unique content articles rather than submitting the same articles will produce more traffic, back links, and higher rankings. Although this can be difficult and time consuming writing hundreds of versions of unique and different articles, most of the article submission software available can only submit the same article to different article directories. Article Pro Software is one piece of software I can highly recommend that will automatically submit unique articles saving you valuable time. It is not an article spinner or content creator that submits gibberish. You write the articles and it does the rest.

The major keys to profiting from article submissions are to write articles filled with useful information and are of great quality. Adding your resource box to the end of your article is where you develop your traffic and back links. A simple, catchy one-line phrase will do the trick. Do not overlook trying a few longer resource boxes; say 4 to 5 sentences long. I have had great success with those as well.

Before publishing your articles, be sure and do a spell and grammar check on them. It does not convey professionalism when your articles are loaded with spelling and grammar errors. Some of the major have a spell check already built in, but I usually draft my articles in notepad and then copy and paste into Word where I can run a check on them before submitting. This is somewhat of an extra step, but a valuable one that does not take long to complete. Not only that, but you can learn a lot form going through the spell checks yourself.

Publishing your articles to the top ranking article directories and to your own Website or Blog are two great ways to get your articles exposed on the Internet. If you do not have a blog yet you may want to look into it. They are usually free and can serve as another Website for your own self-promotion. As previously mentioned, unique content articles are a major advantage over your competition. For more details www.internet-copycatting.com.Article Pro Software can create unique articles for you to distribute not only to it’s internal list, but you can also use those unique articles to copy and paste into the major high ranking article directories e.g. EzineArticles, Isnare, and Go Articles which require manual submission.

In closing, article writing and submissions is a great article marketing strategy that can yield huge profits if done correctly. There are other important factors that also contribute to article success which I will cover in future articles, but if you follow this article marketing strategy you will be ahead of your competition separating you from the field.

source: http://www.article-buzz.com/Article/Follow-this-Article-marketing-Strategy-Profits-from-Articles/290641

The Importance of Keywords to your SEO Campaign

If you are working on an SEO campaign you will know the aim is to rank at the top of the search engines for your chosen keywords. However have you considered the importance of the keywords you select? If not this article will give you some insight into what you should be thinking of.

What are Keywords?

Firstly let’s consider what keywords are. Put simply they are the words or phrases that people put into a search engine when they search. The results that they get back are the ones the search engine believes are the most relevant to the chosen word or phrase.

Checking Number of Searches

When you are choosing your keywords one of the most important thing to know is how many searches there are for a keyword. There are a lot of useful tools, many of which are free that you can find on the internet that will help you with this. It is absolutely vital that you know this because what is the point in appearing at the top of the search engines for a phrase that no one searches for. So once you have an idea of the keywords you want to use you can find out how many searches there are for each of them to help you reduce your list and only include those with a large number of searches.

Checking the competition

Once you know how many searches there are for your keywords you also need to know how many results there are for each one. If you have a keyword that has a medium number of searches but a very high competition level it might have less value than those keywords that have less competition. It is really important to check this as words with very high competition as much harder to get to the top for and will take a lot longer so the search volume needs to be high enough to warrant the effort.

Commercial Intent of Keywords

One of the other things you need to analyse is the commercial intent of each of the keywords. If you are looking to sell to customers then you need to make sure that you are targeting buyers. There are a lot of keywords out there that people use just to find information on a certain topic and not for buying. Those are the ones you should be avoiding. One way to tell is to look at the top 10 results in a search engine if there is only one commercial site and the rest are information then it is not a commercial keyword. However if there are 9 commercial sites in the top 10 then your chances will be a lot better there.

Long Tail Keywords

These are basically search terms that include 3 or more words. These are phrases you should look at very closely as they are usually the ones used by people looking to buy. In addition to that the more general keywords are usually dominated by the big brands and will be a lot harder to break into.

As you can see from the above selecting the keywords to optimise your website for is not a simple thing. It is important to do the proper research to ensure you are going in the right direction. Without this research you could waste a lot of time and money on SEO with very little effect.
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