Times are a changing...
Earlier I was speaking with a friend about the new Microsoft 8 OS - HTML 5 / Javascript GUI mess that is coming. He made a good point that Microsoft has never been good when it comes to something new and original. They always need someone else to open the door, then they rush in and take over with great success!
Here is just some of the projects Microsoft has started with other vendors that lead to great products...
Sega Dreamcast running Windows CE = XBOX
STEAM = Games for Windows
Sybase Database = SQL Server Products
Citrix = Windows Terminal Services
Netscape = Internet Explorer
Firefox = IE upgrades
IBM OS/2 = Window
iPod = Zune (okay - this one no so great!)
Java = .NET (hiring they guy who made Delphi - a true VB Killer!)
So now they are trying to get Windows OS on tablets (Windows 7 Mobile is going nowhere fast). The tablet market is a market that has bascially ignored them and is either iPad or everyone else (Android on generic hardware like HP and Samsung, etc). Well, there is a few things they need to learn and a few things they need to change culturally if they are to succedd.
They need to make a tablet OS that is not instantly compatiable with Windows. Windows 7 is great - don't change a thing. Just give me an SDK and tools to write Windows Tablet OS apps on my Windows 7 PC and I'll be happy.
Apple does this and so does Google Android. Nobody assumes their iPhone or iPad app will run on a Mac... so why does Microsoft always want the "same" app to run on all versions of the OS (and why so many versions - but that is topic for another day)?
I'll get excited about a Microsoft Tablet OS when they announce that it will be a new platform that takes advantages of what Tablets do best and doesn't try to cram my PC OS into a tablet. Also, Microsoft's main concern shouldn't be how to make a "Tablet Office" - their main goal should to allow me to easily and securely check my email, read memos, and browse the web. They get that right, you will start seeing the Kindle app, the Nook app, etc ported giving the tablet relevance and marketshare. Also, howabout a easy way to buy apps. No one comes close to Apples AppStore.
If they spend all their time trying to figure out how to make windows on a tablet - instead of making a great tablet OS then they miss the whole point and they will continue to fail.
Here is just some of the projects Microsoft has started with other vendors that lead to great products...
Sega Dreamcast running Windows CE = XBOX
STEAM = Games for Windows
Sybase Database = SQL Server Products
Citrix = Windows Terminal Services
Netscape = Internet Explorer
Firefox = IE upgrades
IBM OS/2 = Window
iPod = Zune (okay - this one no so great!)
Java = .NET (hiring they guy who made Delphi - a true VB Killer!)
So now they are trying to get Windows OS on tablets (Windows 7 Mobile is going nowhere fast). The tablet market is a market that has bascially ignored them and is either iPad or everyone else (Android on generic hardware like HP and Samsung, etc). Well, there is a few things they need to learn and a few things they need to change culturally if they are to succedd.
They need to make a tablet OS that is not instantly compatiable with Windows. Windows 7 is great - don't change a thing. Just give me an SDK and tools to write Windows Tablet OS apps on my Windows 7 PC and I'll be happy.
Apple does this and so does Google Android. Nobody assumes their iPhone or iPad app will run on a Mac... so why does Microsoft always want the "same" app to run on all versions of the OS (and why so many versions - but that is topic for another day)?
I'll get excited about a Microsoft Tablet OS when they announce that it will be a new platform that takes advantages of what Tablets do best and doesn't try to cram my PC OS into a tablet. Also, Microsoft's main concern shouldn't be how to make a "Tablet Office" - their main goal should to allow me to easily and securely check my email, read memos, and browse the web. They get that right, you will start seeing the Kindle app, the Nook app, etc ported giving the tablet relevance and marketshare. Also, howabout a easy way to buy apps. No one comes close to Apples AppStore.
If they spend all their time trying to figure out how to make windows on a tablet - instead of making a great tablet OS then they miss the whole point and they will continue to fail.
Comments