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Microsoft has created a truly great media multimedia device in the Zune.   It exceeds the media capabilities and quality of the classic touch versions of the IPod but there’s a problem and Apple and others have already figured it out while Microsoft has not:

The days of the media player are as dead as the Sony Walkman.

The iPod Touch, droid, and iPhone are all platforms that support gaming, GPS, internet, and communications (of all types).   In the meantime, Microsoft is still supporting Windows, Windows Mobile, xBox and Zune as seperate but connected platforms.

What it needs to do to dominate is consolidate these sperate platforms into a unified vision and brand that works seemlessly with Windows, Linux and Mac.

Zune while far superior in ergonomic design, display quality, and software integration with Windows can’t compete with the smart mobile devices available today.  Windows Mobile 6.5 is a huge disappointment and devices like the droid skyrocket and surpass their sales in mere weeks of launch.   Why is this?  Some aspect is hype but  the deep reason is functionality.  Within weeks of launch there are nearly twenty thousand (20,000) applications for droid.   Zune HD – Launched in late summer and still there are less than 12 – That’s TWELVE.

DUH

Want to win?

By next July here’s what Zune has to do and by the end of 2010 you’ll have real marketshare:

• Kill Windows Mobile 7.0 NOW
• Leverage Microsoft brand recognition and create a unified marketing direction for consumer portable devices
• Seemless integrate this device with Windows Media Center on xBox and Windows 7
• Provide a compelling Mac experience
• 3G Phone capability AND skype
• Improve the browser
• Put an application store on Zune
• Support Java and .Net development for applications
• Make it easy to choose
• Keep all the great stuff you have now

I just returned from a 10 day vacation from modern civilization in northern Maine.   No TV, Radio, Internet or Cellphone.  Simple life simple meals and good friends.   Less than 3 weeks ago I attended Microsoft’s SharePoint Conference where the conference give away was “Laptop Koozy”   At most a $10 item – that for my $2000 conference – This at a conference that was Microsoft’s most well received event of the year – At the time I said to myself “this is the worst conference bag I’ve ever received at ANY conference.”

Today while catching up on the news I read that at PDC which concluded on Friday Microsoft gave every attendee a free laptop with a touchscreen display.   This at conference that touted more vapourware than any since the 2003 conference (which interestingly enough was the last PDC I attended).

I’m not sure how anyone else feels about this, but I am deeply offended that Microsoft has treated the SharePoint conference attendee base this poorly.   I’m not really sure how to react to it yet other than thinking this is a huge slap in the face.

Thoughts anyone?

PS:  I guess if I had gone to PDC I would have a matched set

Here’s a cool feature I found by accident this morning in Windows 7.   It only applies if you have a multi-monitor configuration and I’m not sure if its a Vista feature or not.  Select any application and Press Shift-WindowsKey-Left Arrow or right arrow and the entire window moves from one monitor to another.  Supper easy to re-organize your overall desktop or of you monitors are different resolutions to see more or less of the application.

Its been a long time since I posted anything anywhere but a lot has changed and some developments have started me thinking that it is time to start expressing opinions about these changes.  Here are some of the things that are making me think this way.

• Windows 7 and the Vista Marketing Fiasco
  • Cool little things about Microsoft Products
• SharePoint and Office and why these are great together and what does this whole social networking thing offer to business anyway
  • Scripting
  • SharePoint implementation and the unexpected acceleration of adoption
  • Governance why is something so important so difficult?
• Google
  • Some of their recent announcements (OS and wave) What’s hype and what’s not
  • Should anyone be concerned about privacy with Google
  • Dependence on Google as  a single source provider?
• Apple Zealots and the iPhone
  • Why does everyone think that there wasn’t a mobile platform before Apple
  • Security and Viruses
  • Why Apple is great for the industry
• Cloud Distributed Computing – Why the word cloud is so appealing is beyond me and why I avoid it.
• Just cool stuff

I’m planning on writing some longer articles over the next few weeks and a few short blurbs as well.   I want to seriously start writing again and rebuild some communication skills that I haven’t exercised as much as I should recently and see what happens.

I think I’m also going to make an investment is some video equipment to do video blogging like Mike Gannotti.  With more than an hour a day in the car, there’s no reason to waste that time.

I’ll probably highlight some of the blogs I read on a regular basis as well.

This is a a tall order and I hope I’m up for it.   Let’s see what happens

People are finally coming to their senses about the nature of Google.   A nice article over on Softpedia about how many internet and software companies are realizing that Google is trying to run the internet the way many people thought that Microsoft was trying to run the computer industry 10 years ago.

Can you remember the last time you actually thought that Microsoft was actually doing something cool? Well according to an article on SlashGear We might be seeing technology like this within the next year. Cool indeed! Imagine the practical implications and what this could to for the sex/porn/webcam business medical and healthcare fields.

Well this is pretty cool, I’ve just installed Windows Live Writer beta and am making this post using its nice WYSIWYG interface.   This is a winning app.   It allows posting to multiple blogs, automatically detected the blog software for each type, and displays your post using the style indicated by the blog.   If you change your theme, the interface changes to support it.  It also has built in spell checking support for image uploads and mapping. 

I highly recommend that anyone using other free blogging tools at least take a look at this software.

I’ve been using Vista Beta 2 and its interim CTP releases as my primary OS for about 2 months now.  It looks like MS is going to ship another beta a release candidate of Vista soon.  This despite the two post Beta 2 interim releases which were still not as baked (IMHO) as any previous OS’ beta 2 I’ve used.   I do have some perspective on this as I’ve been beta testing MS development tools and OS’s since NT 3.0.   I’m a big fan of Vista overall, but relative to what it is promising the product just isn’t ready yet.  I can’t help but think that the Windows group’s definition of Release candidate is somehow out of line with the industry.  Foisting a build that isn’t truly ready for real world apps Allowing us the privilege of using a complete more usable build is a something I am really looking forward to.  

Some blokes showed that they never let DEV320 Get in the way of football. World cup rules!

The convention center had about 10 TVs set up around the convention center showing FIFO World Cup.   Always a crowd and always a smile (or grimace) depending upon who scored…  Great to see the Convention Center showing this event!

I really like all the stuff I am hearing about BizTalk 2006R2 v.Next+1 and .Net framework 3.0.   As if the product wasn’t good enough already.   Integration with RFID and better EDI support should put this product clearly in the leader position in the next gartner quadrant.   Its nice that MS has a clear product strategy with brokers unlike IBM that is the most confusing marketing snafu I have ever seen.  The one area where they are still weak is in marketing HIS.   It is such a strong product, but there is no clear message they they can communicate on how to use it.   It almost requires a degree in rocket science.

Now I am off to the HIS Adapters session, or to the managing Windows Mobile in an enterprise environment (which sounds cooler but isn’t erally on my agenda).