Newsfront Briefs

MICROSOFT, INTUIT RESUME ACCOUNTING SPACE BATTLE

Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006, which was expected to begin shipping this month, lists for $179 and includes a $30 mail-in coupon. QuickBooks Basic lists for $199.95 or $99.95 as an upgrade, and QuickBooks: Pro Edition 2005 costs around $180 after rebates.

Microsoft also launched Microsoft Office Small Business Management Edition 2006 with Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006. The suite includes Outlook 2003, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access. Some in the channel say the Office tie-in might be attractive to companies that want to upgrade Office anyway and think the accounting add-on is a needed perk. Microsoft is partnering with ADP for payroll processing and Chase Merchant Services for credit card processing.

Intuit is not standing still and this fall will release QuickBooks 2006, which has been revamped for easier navigation and organization, new inventory management, accounting controls and faster performance.

Intuit is also enhancing its accountant-focused partner program and set up a new program to fuel growth in the small-business retail market.

SBS: HEAR IT ROAR
At Microsoft Business Summit, Microsoft confirmed it is is preparing a major upgrade for Small Business Server in 2007, code-named Cougar, designed for the Longhorn version of Windows. The release will offer stronger desktop integration with the Windows Vista client and Office 12, support for extranet scenarios and for line-of-business Dynamics applications from Microsoft Business Solutions.

The Cougar release also will make strides toward reducing the technical skill set needed to deploy, configure, manage and troubleshoot SBS environments, Microsoft said.

Next year Microsoft plans to release a substantial upgrade of Small Business Server based on the forthcoming Windows Server 2003 R2. The upgrade is expected to offer improved patch and update management, SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition, expanded mailbox limit of up to 75 Gbytes, Exchange SP2 and SharePoint SP2 updates. D-LINK EXPANDS SMALL-BUSINESS ROUTER MENU
D-Link has introduced a new wireless router for small businesses and expects to begin selling it in mid-2006.

The D-Link Wireless 3G Mobile Router (DI-725) enables wireless broadband access from local Ethernet or 802.11g Wi-Fi networks at speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps. The 3G-compatible DI-725 has adapters for EVDO, UMTS and HSDPA networks, and is equipped with two USB 2.0 ports. The USB ports can be separately assigned to devices, such as providing wireless broadband access in conjunction with a USB-enabled 3G mobile cell phone and a print server. Designed to connect up to four Ethernet-enabled networking devices, the DI-725 has built-in security features such as firewall and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Pricing was not yet available.

MAXTOR LAUNCHES NEW SOHO STORAGE
Maxtor recently introduced a new hard drive that connects directly to home or small-office networks. The Maxtor Shared Storage Plus connects directly to a broadband router so that any PC or server on the network can access it for backups and secondary storage. Customers can use its configuration wizard to do backups and restores of specified files or folders and can set it up to automatically back up those files or folders. The software allows up to 10 historical versions of a file to be kept. It is available in a 200-Gbyte version for $300, a 300-Gbyte version for $400 or a 500-Gbyte version for $500.

SHAVLIK HELPS SMALL FIRMS FIGHT SPYWARE
To help small companies reduce the time and frustration of finding and eliminating spyware and managing patches, Shavlik Technologies this month began shipping software that combines patch management, reporting and automated antispyware technology.

Shavlik NetChk Protect allows IT administrators to conduct multiple scans of a network from a single console. The tool identifies software and security patches on a network, locates and identifies spyware on computers and helps IT personnel remove the spyware.