MICROSOFT FIRES BACK
I know several people who work for Microsoft, or have worked for Microsoft. They’re solid people, by and large, good managers, good technical folks trying to build decent products.
I guess I’ve never been sold on the notion that Bill Gates and Co are purely evil or retarding technology significantly by reducing competition.
As a developer, I actually liked Microsoft dominating certain areas of the IT world. Even if their operating system or browser had its weaknesses (and they had many), at least Redmond’s domination limited the number of targets that a developer had to try to hit. Diversity isn’t always a good thing if you’re trying to get a new application into people’s hands.
Right now, though, Microsoft is getting attacked on all fronts. OpenOffice.org challenges their long-time revenue driver, Microsoft Office. They face challenges to the lynchpin of their business, Windows, with Linux and web-oriented operating systems popping up. Google rolls out application after application and prepares to mount an assault on the desktop.
Microsoft is fighting a global technology war on two dozen fronts and is fighting back again a swarm of attackers, from little Web 2.0 start-ups to massively over-hyped and well-funded competitors like Google.
Bill Gates & Co are preparing to unleash a massive counterattack on all fronts. A new operating system will show up early next year, accompanied by a radical new version of Office. Some new Windows applications are rolling out right now, and I like what I see. Microsoft has learned a lot from the success of Apple’s iTunes, and the new applications focus on simplicity in their user interface and hiding of rarely used features.
The new Windows Media Player (went into public Beta yesterday) is a major step forward, and gives iTunes a real competitor. I have used iTunes over the last year, but check out the album-art oriented interface in the new Windows Media Player. Very slick and very easy to use.
I especially like the stacks of album art used to represent a artist for which you have a bunch of albums.
There are two reasons I’m not switching to Windows Media Player at this point, however:
- There’s not smooth compatability with iTunes. I’ve got this nifty iPod and I’m not going to out to buy some other Windows-compatible device, so whatever I use has to sync with the iPod as easily as iTunes does.
- The import function into the Media Library misses a ton of information. WMP’s library management functions are weak at this point, with “folder monitors” that don’t pick up everything, including album art that is picked up by iTunes with no problem. Default library import routines pick up crap in folders you don’t want them to use, such as that copy of “Corpse Bride” which I had in a shared folder for my kids. (I hear it now…”yeah, suuuuuuuure”).
It’s still in Beta, so a lot of this may get fixed. There’s a lot of potential in the new Windows Media Player, though. Nice comeback by Microsoft.
Another nice comeback is found in the new Internet Explorer. I like a lot of the design choices they made here.
Gone is the reliance on a dizzying array of menus and submenus that you see with IE knock-offs like Maxathon, or in Microsoft’s Office. It’s replaced by a simple interface similar to Apple’s Safari browser. It takes some getting used to, but once I got used to it, IE7 became my default browser over Firefox. It loads faster and is simply easier to use. Here’s a screen snap of the IE7 interface.
Check out this feature – similar to some you can add on Firefox, but very quick and well-integrated by clicking the little tab near the left with the four squares on it (to the right of the star and plus sign in the above screensnap)
As with Windows Media player, there’s again a focus on visual cues. It can be a lot easier to pick things quickly from pictures rather than labelled tabs. I have to admit I mostly jump between tabs, but having this sort of feature available (and responsive, unlike some FireFox extensions) makes it that much easier to jump back to Internet Explorer, a browser I used to dread having to use.
On the web, Microsoft is rolling out an array of web services, which now appear to be set to baffle the heck out of the surfing public. I’ll ramble on about that in a future blog.
THERE’S NO STOPPING IT!
A relentless thirst for Lebensraum has caused the entity to expand, annexing all territory that surrounds it. Nothing can stand in its way. With no limits on growth and no natural enemies to speak of, it has run amok, expanding beyond all reasonable purpose and defying natural laws thought to be insurmountable.
The ecosystem has been disrupted and the food chain quivers in fear. While massive corporations profit from the horrendous shift in consumption that generates it, ultimately the system will collapse upon itself.
Yes, I’m getting really freaking fat. My waistline is the anatomical equivalent of the zebra mussel: ungainly, hideous to the eye, and constantly increasing its range.
When I started this gig back in August 2001, I was at the peak of adult health. A healthy and vigorously exercising 5’10”, 170 pound male, I strode with great purpose upon the Earth, master of my domain. Now, I sort of waddle.
Being overweight sucks. Your energy declines, you feel horrible about yourself constantly, and you lose desire to go anywhere or do anything.
How did this happen? Slowing metabolism is part of it, but a larger part of it is simply being at a computer from dawn until unconsciousness hits. I’ve put on 10–15 pounds each year I’ve been at this since 2001, and the trend has been steady and inexorable. Another part of it is simply that when working from home, you don’t really have to dress up to impress anyone, so you lose a bit of the need to keep yourself looking good that comes with corporate life.
So, I’m trying to reverse the trend. Increasing the care with which I select foods, switching to… shudder… light beer… when needed. Ugh.
I’m no good to anyone if my circulatory system explodes. I’d be as useful as, well, Butch Davis offering draft advice. Wish me luck.