Whither comes Innovation?
"huge profits — $6.7 billion for the past quarter — come almost entirely from Windows and Office programs first developed decades ago.. There has been a steady exit of its best and brightest."
NYT Op Ed from the former Microsoft Vice President (1997-2004) tasked with developing a tablet device. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/opinion/04brass.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all
From DeWitt Fortune Brainstorm blog..
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/04/dick-brass-why-microsoft-is-failing/
Speculation
Gates became the poster child for marketing and unbridled capitalism. The focus shifted from tech innovation, to marketing and profit.
Stick the techies in cubicles. Send the marketing crew to the golf course. Every day, high fives for the well tanned when they return from their mission. Great marketing should be expected when marketing is the top priority.
Focus top tech talent on the "next great thing" that the marketing crew says is important. Stuffing Office into mobile devices, the Zune, Games, markets you must control in the future.
At the same time, maximize profits from existing customers by sending customer service and tech support overseas.
Realize that from a marketing perspective, there is no such thing as a customer problem. Each problem for them is an opportunity for you - to upsell for more profit. Keep those solutions in your back pocket ready to ink another deal. When clients express difficulties tracking complex licensing schemes, sell them a pre-packaged licensing server solution. Keep clients thinking that if they spend enough money, they too will profit from the tech nirvana that is so close, yet just beyond their reach.
Good Enough for Government Work
The concept worked when technology was the great booming head, the Wizard of Oz, the smoke and mirrors wonder of the day. The machinery continues to be a perfect fit for government purchasing practices.
Got a problem, more money is the answer. Tech getting too complex? It is only because you are considering alternatives that the tech seems complex. Standardize by upgrading to the latest version of our stuff. If that still doesn't work, we are training a group of complexity solutions consultants to help keep it simple for you -- reaches into back pocket...
You can't make it up, but apparently you can sell it in the good ole USA. Windows Server 2008 Gold anyone? No thanks, waiting for Windows Private Label Reserve. I hear it will be the ultimate in security and manageability.
For ordinary people and ordinary businesses, sooner or later, they must use tech for some legitimate purpose. The decades old promise of the paperless office, what happened? Can you buy your way in today?
In Good Hands
It's in the hands of pre-teens. They communicate amongst themselves, and with the rest of the world, on those little devices they slip out of their pockets. They play games on them, listen to music, watch videos, type notes to each other, all while watching a ball game. They don't need typewriter, paper, filing cabinets, training, licensing servers.
$200 for a Touch, find a wifi connection, for a taste of how simple it can be.
In Southwest, MO, pre-packaged solutions like a Mac Mini Server, installed and set up by an Apple certified consultant, with a couple of Touches, starts under $2,000. So yes, you can buy your way in. And save a ton of money and future headaches.
Start simple, with a full functioning server that can store over 500 cd's worth of information, an onboard hardware backup system, a couple of pocket sized handhelds, and wifi networking. All in a package you can hold in one hand. You may connect macs, pc's, unix and linux computers to the server as needed, without worry of violating server licensing schemes.
The hardest part is believing that it can be that simple. Ignore the smoke and mirrors, abandon overseas tech support, stop drinking the Kool-Aid of the alpha marketing machine, try working with the kindly old gentleman behind the curtain ;~}
More..
Consider the implications of just "handing out" technology to 32 completely untrained users.