Research in Motion and its arch-nemesis, NTP, went to court today in Richmond, Va. Judge James Spencer did not make a ruling to prevent RIM from selling Blackberries in the U.S. Instead, the 10-minute hearing focused on the term sheet and settlement letter agreed to by RIM and NTP last March. After Spencer decides if both documents are clear or ambiguous, the legal process will lurch forward. Expect this messy legal soap opera to carry on for many more months unless a settlement agreement materializes - something highly unlikely given the untenable relationship between the two sides.

 

There is going to be a lot of amount of chatter today within the blogosphere - and, hopefully, the mainstream media - about the "Live" e-mails sent by Bill Gates and Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie (provided to us by Dave Winer. Thanks, Dave!). If you'll indulge me, I'd like to add my two cents. If you want to know where Microsoft is heading strategically, Ozzie's e-mail is as fascinating as it comes because it provides big-time insight into where Microsoft and the high-tech industry has been, where it is and, more importantly, where it's going. I was particularly struck by the following paragraph within Ozzie's lengthy e-mail, which shows Microsoft is going to enthusiastically embrace Web-based services and its enabling technology (AJAX, DHTML, etc.) to drive its business and product portfolio forward.

"It is now 2005, and the environment has changed yet again – this time around services. Computing and communications technologies have dramatically and progressively improved to enable the viability of a services-based model. The ubiquity of broadband and wireless networking has changed the nature of how people interact, and they’re increasingly drawn toward the simplicity of services and service-enabled software that ‘just works’."

In a nutshell, this is Microsoft 21st century manifesto. It's the core of Microsoft's new strategic DNA that could lead to some amazing new developments in how it delivers software as a service - not only services such as Hotmail and MSN Messenger but "core" applications such as Windows and Office. I can't help but feel this is Microsoft Redux in that it was a decade ago that Microsoft had an "Internet Strategy Day" in Redmond to announce its online plans - after dismissing the Web until Netscape became a runaway success. To paraphrase Ozzie, it's now 2005 and Microsoft has shifted the direction of the Titantic to adjust strategically to the new technology landscape.
Another interesting angle to "Live" is how Ozzie taking a leading role in shaping Microsoft's technology and strategic direction. His experience and expertise is perhaps the most valuable "asset" that Microsoft acquired when it purchased Groove Networks eight months ago. What's particularly interesting is his apparently close relationship with Gates. It's almost as if Gates has discovered a  kindred spirit after a less-than-stellar track record attracting executives from outside the company. As a result, Gates spend time on "vision", Ozzie will help shape this direction and execute it, while Steve Ballmer will focus on selling it.

For anyone interested in getting a running start at what Web 2.0 may mean, good starting points are Ozzie's e-mail, Tim O'Reilly's "What is Web 2.0" and Nicholas Carr's "The Amorality of Web 2.0".
Update: Carr has a nice post on the "Live" e-mails. One sentence that jumped out was: "Gates's desktop era is over. Ozzie's internet era has begun."