Internet work suite

Microsoft said Wednesday that it has started offering a paid-subscription version of its Outlook e-mail program, marking the first time the software giant has made a component of Office available as a subscription service. Known as Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes a subscription version of Outlook 2003 to connect with Hotmail or MSN e-mail accounts. For $59 a year, customers get an e-mail account with 2GB of storage and the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments. Customers can also check multiple e-mail accounts, including corporate accounts that are managed through an Exchange server. With Outlook Live, the software giant is trying to offer more to the power users among the Hotmail crowd--those that use Hotmail extensively but don't necessarily own a copy of Office, Microsoft lead product manager Brooke Richardson said. "When it comes down to it, one size doesn't fit all," Richardson said. ***

Informix is hopping onto the e-commerce movement. The database maker today is releasing e-commerce software for medium to large businesses to build online stores, part of its overall strategy to sell more databases, Informix executives said. Menlo Park, California-based Informix has suffered several rocky financial years, but believes e-commerce and data warehousing will help it regain its profitability. Embracing e-commerce is a smart strategy for Informix because database makers are best suited for the market, according to analyst Don DePalma of Common Sense Advisory. "E-commerce is about the ability to manage large amounts of transactional data, inventories, collecting information and managing customer profiles," he said, describing the functions of a database. Informix today is releasing a suite of four Java-based products called i. ***

Microsoft today unveiled pieces of its e-commerce strategy for helping businesses sell to each other, putting its emphasis on getting other software vendors to write industry-specific applications based on Microsoft technology. That differs from Microsoft competitors such as Netscape, Connect, IBM, and Oracle, which have developed e-commerce applications for the inter-business market themselves. "Our strategy differs from competitors, but in the long term, it's good for our customers," said Todd Weatherby, Microsoft's group marketing manager for retail and distribution. "It's a pretty smart play on Microsoft's part," Erina DuBois of Dataquest said. "They don't want to actually build the applications. ***