ShadowRAM, April 10, 2006

Bill Gates has never been shy about playing the political ponies, and during the 2006 election cycle he already has put bets on Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.), in the form of $2,000 campaign contributions to each. The Allen contribution could be a two-fer for Gates: Allen is considered a potential 2008 presidential contender.

And, lest you think Gates is only throwing his support to the right side of the political spectrum, he has also contributed $2,000 to the coffers of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has contributed $2,000 to the campaign committee of Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.). Intel is New Mexico’s largest private, industrial employer, with more than 5,000 employees in the state.

Legal issues are crowding the thoughts of readers involved in managed services. At the MSPAlliance 2006 conference late last month in Orlando, Fla., MSPs chattered about legal matters such as “consideration clauses” that help them confront questions like, “How do I give annual raises to my employees when my customers are on fixed-rate, three-year contracts?”

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Another concern: prenuptial contract tricks that protect MSPs from liability if they pull the plug on a customer who’s way behind on payments. How to gracefully present hefty, legalese-laden contracts to customers without frightening them away was another common worry.

Dell freebie update: The Round Rock, Texas-based direct PC maker last week was giving away free 20-inch monitors with some system sales. The company is keeping up with its previous pledge to stop giving away printers. (Dell discovered that people who get free printers don’t use them or buy toner afterward.) But average selling prices aren’t exactly skyrocketing: Last week, a Dell 810 all-in-one printer was going for $19 with system purchases. That ought to help kick-start Joe Marengi’s plan to move the company into print managed services.

Blog watch: Check out Cisco’s new mobility blog, blogs.cisco.com/wireless/. Alan Cohen, senior director of Cisco’s wireless networking unit, recently recounted an airport stop where he was able to check on a flight via a T-Mobile connection provided in the airport’s lounge but was unable to print out a boarding pass or transfer a boarding pass digitally to his PDA. That inspired him to rip off Dire Straits and type out this line: “I want my boarding card. Public Wi-Fi for nothing, and the clicks for free.”

The blog is OK. The lyrics, not so much.

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