Google Beating Microsoft on all Fronts

NOSE: Innovation, eLearning, Educational Technology, OpenSource : Microsoft's Press vs Google's Press: "Microsoft's Press vs Google's Press

Robert Scoble, a Microsoft blogger, complains that Google's private-domain Gmail service has generated buzz among the digerati while Microsoft's launch of a similar service went completely unnoticed:

'Case in point: looks like Google is in some sort of closed beta for a domains service and the digerati are all a-buzz. Hmmm... turns out some of my colleagues in Redmond launched a new domains service for Windows Live way back in November, it's open to the public AND we have a bunch of folks using it including a slew of universities around the world. '

I did some checking and there appear to be some important differences. First, Microsoft's 'Custom Domains' program caps the email accounts to 60 per domain and 250 MB storage per user. There is no information on Google's program but I will bet that they won't be as miserly. Second, Microsoft's Windows Live @ edu program for universities requires --it's buried in an obscure footnote at the bottom of the page---installing Microsoft's Identity infrastructure and hefty license fees I am sure! Unless the university is already a Microsoft shop, particularly at the infrastructure level, Microsoft's offering is not in the least bit attractive.


Here's the footnote:

'1The "