Microsoft has today unveiled a planned retirement date for one of its most successful products, Windows XP.
The news was delivered by Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner today at the Microsoft World Partner conference in Toronto. Amongst the many statistics he quoted around Microsoft's market share and comparisons with competitors' products (including a hilarious video of Apples iPhone Siri telling the audience of 16,000 attendees when asked "what is the best smartphone" that the best choice was the Nokia Lumina 800), Turner announced that April 8 2014 will not only be the 15th anniversary of windows XP , but it'll also be when "it'll be put to sleep".
With over 400 million copies in use as of January 2006, XP was eventually succeeded by Windows Vista in 2007, making XP one of Microsoft's most successful versions of Windows ever. Windows XP still has a massive installed base in the notoriously conservative corporate sector, which also means there's some seriously big money up for grabs once Microsoft cease supplying XT security updates, and corporates are forced to remove it from their desktops and notebook PCs.
It is also likely that Turner's announcement could see a flurry of competition from both the Linux camp and Apple. Both are likely to see the retirement of XP as a possible entry opportunity for their respective platforms into the lucrative enterprise market. Adding further spice into an already hot equation, Google's Chrome OS could also be sufficiently mature to enter the fray, even if at present it is still a rank outsider. Google do have a powerful story to tell around Google mail, Google apps and other cloud applications for investment wary enterprises, and 2014 is still at least 18 months away in the rapidly moving tech sector.
This hasn't exactly escaped the attention of Microsoft either, with Turner saying that the fastest way to Windows 8 will be via Windows 7. Turner went on to cite one last push on Windows 7 as a US$12 billion plus opportunity for Microsoft. Either way, Windows 8 global launch is likely to be a bigger than huge deal, and it is probable that Microsoft will kick off a massive advertising campaign around Windows 8 October launch time to build awareness of Windows 8, which should in theory span smartphones and tablets as well as PCs and other devices such as Microsoft's newly minted Surface slate computer.
Turner didn't mince his words when it came to Apple either, showing a quote that said Apple's upcoming Mountain Lion OS "...is not the future but is a patched up genetic experiment anchored in Apple's past and present successes". Turner also discussed the irony of Apple's apparent fear of change and how similar Apple has become to the Microsoft of the past. Equally biting, he said that Apple has got it wrong talking about the post PC era. Turner instead talked up what he called "PC plus", saying that content creation and consumption can easily be done on the same platform, as Windows 8 will easily span both.
Last but by no means least, Turner announced that Microsoft are building more self branded stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Whilst he made no mention of any non US store locations Turner did say that pop up stores were likely to happen around the Windows 8 launch. Here's hoping we see some in New Zealand.
By Pat Pilcher
What's one low-cost strategy for testing your new business website with a small audience?
Build a simple landing page with an option for an email signup. Test various keywords via AdWords and see what converts (via email signup) and what doesn't. It's a pretty simple and effective way to test a new idea or product with a targeted audience.
Want to see how a product, service or idea is going to resonate with a market outside your current niche? Write a guest post for a popular blog in that space. See how the readers respond to your ideas. You'll get traffic sent your way, but more importantly be able to gauge whether or not that market is a good fit for your business.
Feedback Army is a great tool for receiving feedback on your website. It's cheap and provides excellent results.
Google recently rolled out Consumer Surveys that run off their ad network and allows companies to gather targeted market research. It's as simple as setting up and running an ad campaign, and it allows you to tap the vast network of Google users as test subjects.
With just a little comfort in html, you can use Mechanical Turk to survey thousands of people for just 5 cents a pop!
With Facebook Ads, you can target exactly who you want to visit your new business website - down to the age range, location, and interests. This will help keep costs down, and is a great way to build a Facebook presence too.
Meetup is filled with groups for an incredibly wide variety of interests. If there's a group that fits your business, try contacting the organizer to see if you can talk to the group at their next event or if they might be willing to send a link to your site out to their members. You obviously don't want to be spammy, so I'd recommend focusing on pitching how your site would help them.
Twitter just released their new platform for ads. If you have an American Express card, you can get $100 in free advertising to try the platform. So far it's been pretty awesome in driving traffic and followers to our Twitter account.
Make friends with an entrepreneur who offers a complementary service or product to your target market. Ask her to send out a message to her email subscribers on your behalf. In the email, offer her subscribers free information (such as a report or webinar) in exchange for signing up on your website. You'll build your own list of prospects. Then, follow up, get feedback, and start making sales!
I put together a private email list of 100 people in my personal network who I greatly respect and admire. I let them know that I'll send out one email per month that includes a cool opportunity, a request for feedback, and a request for a Tweet. When I get a new business idea, I tell it first to my private email list to get their expert feedback. MailChimp is my preferred email client.
To work out kinks present in an early iteration of any website, take advantage of your personal relationships. Enlisting the help of those around you is any easy way to avoid the time-drain and costs associated with running focus groups or surveys. Moreover, your friends and family are most likely to take the time to give you thoughtful feedback.
I've become extremely comfortable with Unbounce and recommend it to nearly everyone I talk to. Getting people to your new site is pretty simple; friends, family, social media audience, or Google/Facebook ads can all bring you eyeballs. Once they've arrived, Unbounce can give you some insight into variations of your site without making you write any code.
Message your LinkedIn network and ask for feedback. It usually nets great response and valuable information. People who intimately know you, and your abilities, are the most likely to give you the kind of feedback you need. They're also the ones most likely to call you on your crap, and you need that. Embarrassment is a lot less painful than failure.
Let people know what you're going to offer and encourage them to sign up for your eNewsletter to learn more about the launch. Share the landing page on social media, through blog comments, etc. and see how many signups you receive. This is a great indicator of the demand for your product or service and can also provide feedback on your idea.
There's a sense that we have to bootstrap and that testing is far too expensive. But the reality is that you can actually find experts willing to go over your site for reasonable prices - and it's well worth the expense if you can improve your site before a wide launch. Even if you're on a very tight budget, there a less-experienced professionals or even students who can help you get an edge.
Not too long ago, we observed an explosion in technologies that have empowered SMBs significantly, allowing them to have the same control over their operations as a large corporation would at a smaller scale. Concepts like the Cloud and new telecommunications services (such as the portable PBX system offered by RingCentral) have greatly raised the bar on what a small business can do.
If you've ever sat back and wondered what happened between 9-5, a new survey from the creators of OfficeTime may interest you. Here, the time tracking site polled respondents to answer the question “where does our time go†and identified some of the biggest culprits to workplace productivity.
For the second year, American Express and Facebook are sponsoring Big Break for Small Businesses, an initiative geared toward small businesses. The winner will not only receive a Facebook makeover from one of the site's branding experts, but also $25,000 to put the advice into action.