Tuyen's Blog

Posts for Tag: microsoft

Windows Phone actually looks good ... No for real!

The good folks at Microsoft have built a great demo site to demonstrate the experience of Windows Phone. I have to admit, it looks very slick. Of course, using it in real life situations is another thing all together but so far things seem to work really well. One thing that always irked me about some versions of Android was that it felt clumsy and sluggish. Almost as if scrolling and smoothness were an after thought. Windows Mobile seems to have nailed the scrolling and smoothness factor for me. I don't know if I'd switch but I'm more likely to jump to something like this than Android. Direct link to the demo is below. Best viewed in a mobile browser.

http://m.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/demo/index.html

Apple blows away earnings numbers ... but let's all take a chill pill

via macrumors.com

As expected, Apple destroyed it's Q3 2011 earnings forecasts. It seems like nothing can bring down this juggernaut. But 15 years ago a little company called Microsoft was doing the exact same thing. Year after year, nothing could stop Microsoft's dominance of the computer industry. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer would high-five at analyst meetings where they reported billions upon billions in profits every quarter. Today, Microsoft is still reporting billions of dollars each quarter in profits but they're no longer the king of jungle. But remember, everything is a cycle. It is with absolute certainty that I say Apple will one day falter and another company will step up to claim the crown. Whether it's Microsoft, Google, Facebook or some new entry, somebody will take them down. Such is life in tech.

How Mark Ruffalo and coffee showed me the value of Twitter over Google

I went to grab a coffee this afternoon at Blue Bottle in Oakland and the barista let me know a celeb was in the area - Mark Ruffalo. I have no real opinion about him as an actor. I think I've seen two movies he was in and thought he didn't add nor took away from my enjoyment of said movies. However, I'm always curious when movies or TV shows shoot in Oakland (Moneyball, Matrix Reloaded, etc) so I went to rusty-trusty Google and typed in "Mark Ruffalo Oakland". Nothing remotely relevant came up. Tried a few variations, adjusted some search parameters (only searches within 24 hours - one week) but still nothing that explains why Mark Ruffalo was in Oakland. I then popped over to Twitter and typed in the same keywords "Mark Ruffalo" and got these results:

As you can see, the 5th result down mentioned Mark Ruffalo and Sungevity, a solar startup down the street. Clicked on the link and BAM!, Mark Ruffalo sitting in a Tesla Roadster wearing a Sungevity hat. Looks like he was in the area not to shoot a movie but to pop into Sungevity for something or other.

This brings up my second instance where Twitter succeeded where Google (and other methods) failed to solve a problem/query. Over the July 4th holiday, I wanted to know if Blue Bottle was open on Monday, the 4th. Calling their number didn't help because it was a standard phone greeting offering hours of service during normal weeks but not holidays. Same for their website and any search I did about Blue Bottle and the 4th of July yielded no mention of hours. I then went over to Twitter and found Blue Bottle's account and BAM!, there you go.

Now these are just two specific instances and of course, I still do most of my general search on Google but it's been a long time since I last found the answer to a query outside of Google. It's a death by a thousand cuts for them as Facebook, Twitter, and others start chipping away at their defenses. Google looked unassailable, much like Microsoft 10-15 years ago. Today, there's only one product of Microsoft's that I use, Office. I've switched from Windows to Mac for my hardware, Windows Mobile to iPhone for my cell, and even Exchange to Google Apps for my businesses. The endless cycle of rise and fall in tech is unrelenting and no one is immune.

Why can't Microsoft or Google just build a really really really great phone? Software isn't enough.

via microsoft.com

Windows Phone 7 or WinPho7 (sounds like a tech noodle restaurant) launched today. A definite step up from Windows Mobile but still not enough to make people jump from Android or iPhone. Microsoft is definitely looking for the portion of the population that hasn't made the move to a smartphone yet but unfortunately for them, so is Google and Apple.

What gives me pause about this phone is not the interface. I haven't played with one yet but it looks intuitive and has some innovative features. My issue is the hardware which interestingly enough comes from the same manufacturers of Android phones. Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. just don't make amazing phones. They all make good phones but nothing earth shattering which is what it'll take to overtake the likes of Apple. Every Android phone I've held feels cheap, big, clunky, etc. It'll probably be the same with the new WinPho7 models. The bad part is that because the operating systems need to support multiple models, there will be compromises made to the least common denominator. A recipe for making a mediocre product.

Microsoft and Google have more than enough resources to throw at great industrial design. If this is truly a key market for them then they need to develop their own phone. The money is not in software alone. Google gives away the operating system and makes money on app sales and ads. Microsoft will most likely charge a nominal licensing fee for a WinPho7 license. Apple makes nearly 60% in gross margins on the iPhone because of hardware and software. That's about $300+ per iPhone but it's not all about the money - it's about building a phone that will blow away the competition.

The best PCs are Macs

I just setup my mom with a new PC. Ironically it was an old Mac Mini laying around the office. However, I wasn't going to go through the machinations of teaching her Mac OS so I just ran Bootcamp to boot into Windows XP.

Amazingly, this old Mac Mini is perfect for her small desk. She used to store her massive Dell tower below the desk but it still took up too much space. Also, it had a loud fan that accumulated and swirled a ton dust and lint. When I set it up for her, she thought it was a turbo boosting contraption to make her Dell faster. Imagine her surprise when I told her it REPLACES her Dell tower!