Travis Reed's Blog

TSPTalk Quotes Mini Gadget

2008-03-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

I've now released a "Mini" version of the TSPTalk Quotes Gadget. This version has all of the functionality of the original when expanded, however, in order to minimize the amount of space it takes up in the sidebar it does not show the charts when docked.

For more information and to download the gadget, visit the gadget information page here.

TSP Talk Tracker Gadget Released

2008-02-05T10:30:00.001-08:00

We have recently released Version 1 of the TSPTalk Quotes Gadget for use with the Windows Vista Sidebar. This gadget provides the ability to view charts of the TSP funds in real time (with a 20 minute delay) from Yahoo! Finance.

The small charts in the preview can be expanded into a "flyout" that expands and shows larger versions of the charts and also provides useful links to manage your TSP account, to Yahoo! Finance, and to TSPTalk.com.

For more information and to download the gadget, visit the gadget information page here.

Microsoft Bids on Yahoo

2008-02-01T07:06:00.001-08:00

As it is being reported around the web today (CNN and The Sun ), Microsoft has made a $45 Billion (£22.4) bid for Yahoo. As Microsoft and Yahoo continue to fall behind Google in the online advertising arena Microsoft has decided to up the ante a bit by placing this bid for Yahoo. With estimates of the online advertising market increasing in value from $40 billion in 2007 to $80 billion by 2010, and with an overall trend of shifting applications to online, browser-based delivery, this is just further indication that Microsoft sees the direction of things to come.

It is being reported that Microsoft has offered $31 a share, a 62% premium from where Yahoo stock closed on Thursday. This comes shortly after Yahoo's announcement on Tuesday that they would be laying off 1,000 employees between now and mid-February. Despite meeting market expectations, a "disappointing" 2008 revenue forecast and increased market dominance by Google may lead to Yahoo deciding that the time to sell is now.

While I was a little surprised to see this offer finally materialize, the two companies have allegedly been in talks for quite some time, 18 months according to Steve Balmer. I'm personally more than a little torn by this turn of events. I've always enjoyed the "separation of powers" of having the three big companies (Microsoft, Yahoo and Google) separated. I suppose, however, if two of them were to have to combine forces, this is probably the scenario I'd dislike the least. Regardless of what happens now, Google knows that its market dominance is definitely troubling MS to a certain extent and with Yahoo up against the ropes right now I don't expect Google to sit back and coast. I'd be surprised if Google doesn't use this as an opportunity to announce a major new service, acquisition, or something similar in the next few weeks.

Microsoft Office for $60?

2008-01-17T12:05:00.001-08:00

Yep, you read that right. Microsoft is offering Office 2007 Ultimate to students for $59.95 for a limited time. Yes, the same Microsoft that is often accused of taking advantage of their position in the software market to overcharge customers.

Now, Microsoft has always had a pretty reasonable student pricing plan in the past, but the educational/student versions were usually the bare minimums (Word, Outlook, Excel, maybe PowerPoint). Certainly not Access, FrontPage, or any of the titles that usually show up in "Professional" or "Corporate" versions of the suite. This time, however, Microsoft is really taking an aggressive approach to getting Office 2007 into the hands of students.

Meet "The Ultimate Steal." For $59.95 you get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Groove, Publisher, OneNote, InfoPath, and Access. We're talking about a savings of 91% off of the retail price of Ultimate ($679)! This is a limited time offer, for obvious reasons, but the promotion started September 12, 2007 and runs all the way to April 30, 2008. This is a pretty good length of time for students to scrape up the $60 bucks to buy this, and let's face it, if you're a student there's absolutely no reason to not take advantage of this deal. Even if you're an open-source, MS is evil kind of person, the fact is that you will be expected to use at least some of these products when you get out into the workplace. Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, these are all very common tools in the business environment today. I personally feel that this deal is well worth the investment.

To qualify, you simply have to meet these two conditions:

Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; AND
Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

Pretty painless. Once you submit your request with a qualifying .edu email address, you'll receive an email with instructions for purchasing the software, which is available via download, or for a few dollars they will mail you the disc. The program is limited to one purchase per qualifying student, and "Microsoft or an appointed vendor may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the full retail cost of the software ($679)." So be sure to have your handy Student ID card ready before you order.

I'm a little surprised by the fact that this promotion has been going on for a few months and I just heard about it yesterday for the first time (I accidentally stumbled upon the deal). I'm really pleased though to see that Microsoft is promoting the new software and making it available for students at such a reasonable price. Just think how wonderful it would be if their normal pricing was more in line with this…

Having used Office 2007 since shortly after it was released, I've been very pleased with the entire package. The Tabs, Office Ribbon, and Quick Access Toolbar are very welcome enhancements from my perspective. As with anything new, it takes a little bit of getting used to, however, the interface is so intuitive that the learning curve is rather short. If you'd like to learn more about this promotion, check out the official site at www.theultimatesteal.com.

If you're in the Topeka area and are interested in learning more about Office 2007, I'll be the guest speaker at the Friends University Knowledge is Power Lecture Series to introduce students, faculty, and alumni to the new features and interfaces for Office 2007 and Vista. There will be an evening session on January 24^th and a morning session on January 26^t^h. Check out my Calendar at www.reedconsultingonline.com for additional information and details on how to RSVP for the event.

Welcome!

2008-01-05T19:27:00.001-08:00

Well, this is my first blog entry…not much to say right now. I am testing the MS Word 2007 Blog Posting feature, so if you can see this, it worked.

I'll be posting an array of entries on here soon, mostly covering the IT industry but I'm sure I'll tackle some other topics as they come up as well. So again, welcome to my little corner of the web.