Microsoft executives said Thursday that they intended to respond to the growing threat to its software posed by rivals like Google that offer Web-based versions of its applications. The executives said Microsoft would add similar Internet services to its own well-known desktop applications like Office or Excel.

At an annual meeting with financial analysts, the executives laid out the clearest description to date of Microsoft’s plan to compete with companies offering free or lower-cost "software as a service." Industry executives and analysts have argued that Microsoft’s greatest challenge will come from the shift from packaged software to a proliferating array of Web services ranging from spreadsheets and word processors to data storage and business-oriented applications like customer-relationship management systems used by corporate sales forces.

"Today the transformation toward services is the most significant one in the software industry," said Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect. Microsoft fought a similar battle before. In the mid-1990s Microsoft defeated Netscape Communications by embedding the Internet Explorer Web browser as a free component of its Windows operating system. The strategy insured Microsoft’s dominance over Netscape, but at the same time embroiled Microsoft in a legal battle with the Justice Department, which Microsoft eventually lost.

Now, however, Microsoft’s executives appear to be increasingly confident that in addition to giving away some free services, they will be able to sell Web-based services both to consumers and to businesses. "We're not moving toward a world of thin computing," said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, referring to systems in which simple processing takes place on a PC, but more complex processing is moved to a centralized computer through a network connection. "We're moving toward a world of software plus services." Nearly every Microsoft software application will be transformed with the addition of a Web-services component within 3 to 10 years, he said.

He rejected the notion that in the future all software would be based in what computer industry executives refer to as “the cloud” — computer hardware and software reachable over the Internet. “People tend to get weird and extreme about this," Mr. Ballmer said. "Does everything move to the cloud? I think that is wrong-minded." The company has already begun charging a subscription fee for a set of computer security services and this fall it intends to introduce a set of consumer services like photo sharing under the Windows Live brand.

The strategy did not immediately ignite enthusiasm among the more than 100 financial analysts who follow the company. Microsoft’s stock fell 73 cents Thursday, or 2.38 percent, to $29.98. Microsoft’s weak reception, against the backdrop of a steep decline in the overall market, came despite the company’s statement that it has sold 60 million copies of its Windows Vista operating systems. Microsoft said that this was the strongest initial sales performance of any of its operating systems. “We eclipsed the entire installed base of Apple in the first five weeks that this product shipped,” said Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer.

The company expects a billion Windows-based computers — including those running pirated copies — within the next 12 months. At that point, personal computers will outnumber automobiles worldwide. Microsoft also said it agreed to buy the online advertising exchange AdECN to bolster its presence in the online advertising market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. AdECN runs a Nasdaq-like marketplace, where ad space on Web sites is bought and sold in real time through an auction. The deal follows Yahoo’s acquisition of the ad exchange Right Media, which was announced in April. Yahoo paid $680 million for the 80 percent of Right Media it did not already own, but Microsoft’s purchase of AdECN is likely to be smaller.

Microsoft has lagged behind Yahoo and Google in this business despite spending heavily to build its own advertising technology, known as AdCenter. In May, Microsoft agreed to pay $6 billion to acquire aQuantive, an online advertising conglomerate. And Microsoft has also bought small companies that specialize in placing ads in video games and mobile phones.

Source: nytimes.com

In the past there have been tales of skullduggery (see: Beware: Competitor Hijacks Google Local Business Listing? Maybe, Maybe Not! ) at Google Maps which have proven to be false. It appeared that Google Map’s verification system was robust and while there may have been algorhytmic problems, there had been no reports of abuse….until recently.

It appears that some companies are managing to spam Google Maps local listings via Bulk Upload. This abuse was first reported to Google in the Maps for Business Group on 7/19/07 and substantiated on 7/20/07. Google’s response from Maps Guide Jen:

Right now there’s no easy way to report these listings or get them removed,
especially if there’s a lot of them. If you can let me know the specific
search term that you’re looking at, I might be able to do a quick quality
check.

The abuse reported was multiple local listings by TechPros. In a brief check of other areas, their listings were found in all major and minor metropolitan areas of the US that I checked (perhaps in every zip code), using the exact same PO Box and phone number on every lisitng. In the example shown - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&abauth=59eed53c%3A8qxyhU_qe5IvND-QZPdUJBkzsx
M&view=text&output=html&hl=en&q=techpros&near=chicago+il&btnG=Search+Businesses Google Maps show 487 results for Techpros near Chicago, IL. Google is also showing 264 for Techpros near Olean, NY (by way of reference Olean barely supports 5 computer repair facilities).

It is important for public confidence that Google not only take care of these listings immediately by removing them but that they implement a better system for preventing these types of entries in the future.

Source: blumenthals.com