Microsoft's Latest Threat: VMware

microsoft's No. 1 rival is a household name, Google. But a strong candidate for No. 2 is a company scarcely known outside the technology industry: VMware.

"VMware is definitely a threat," said Gary Chen, an analyst at IDC, a research firm. "After Google, it is the company Microsoft fears most."

Google and VMware, which is based in Palo Alto, California, pose a broadly similar challenge to Microsoft, by potentially undermining the dominance of its most lucrative desktop software and operating systems. Google represents the attack from above, while VMware is the assault from beneath.

Google, the search giant, is offering free and advertising-supported software for e-mail, word processing, calendars and spreadsheets online as alternatives to Microsoft's popular Office products. For Web-based programs like these, it is the browser -- not an operating system like Windows -- that is the vital layer of software on the computer.

VMware is the leader in so-called virtual machine software, which allows a computer to run two or more operating systems at once. Its software resides on top of the hardware and beneath the operating system.

But as VMware's technology becomes more powerful and adds more features to its products, it is starting to supplant the operating system from below -- just as the browser can from above.

VMware's leadership adds an edge to its challenge. A year ago, Paul Maritz, a former senior executive at Microsoft, took over as chief executive. In the late 1990s, he was regarded as Microsoft's third-ranked executive, the person with the most responsibility and authority after Bill Gates and Steven A. Ballmer.

Motorola Unveils Android-Powered MOTOBLUR Platform

Motorola is moving to make a comeback with new phones based on the Android operating system. Motorola unveiled its MOTOBLUR vision and its first device at the GigaOM Mobilize '09 Conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

MOTOBLUR will debut on Motorola's new 3G Android-powered device -- the Motorola CLIQ in the U.S. and Motorola DEXT in international markets -- later this year.

"With MOTOBLUR we are differentiating the Android experience for consumers by delivering a unique mobile-device experience designed around the way people interact today," said Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of the company's mobile-devices division. "MOTOBLUR, which will be available on our first Android-powered device and on multiple Android devices in our upcoming portfolio, helps us to create phones that are instinctive, social and smart."

Sort of Like webOS?

Motorola said it leveraged its experience with Linux and open platforms to design MOTOBLUR. Motorola's rendition of an Android-powered platform focuses on fexibility across devices with multiple carrier partners.

Motorola is billing MOTOBLUR as the first and only solution to sync contacts, posts, messages, news, photos and other content from social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and e-mail -- and deliver the content to the home screen. The concept is similar to Palm's webOS Synergy feature.

With MOTOBLUR, content is fed into streams that aim to allow consumers to spend less time managing messages. MOTOBLUR updates changes that contacts make to their information. When consumers make or receive a phone call, the caller's latest profile picture and status is shown on the screen. And in the contacts view, consumers can see their communication history and the latest social updates for each person. Contacts are backed up on a MOTOBLUR server.