Digital Living

Netbooks Increasingly Becoming More Disruptive, Innovative & Interesting!

Netbook computer increasingly becoming even more innovative, disruptive and interesting. This latest prototype model from Toshiba for example, it allows "hand browsing" and "touch navigating" (ala .. you know who). Yet at the same time it also being targeted to come up with a great price that Eee PC pioneered.

Imagine one day at $250-400 price range, people will have their thin portable "internet tablet" up and running. Enabling them to surf the internet better than ever before, with form factor that is larger than iPod/iPhone form factor, yet as thin, with lightness and simplicity that is better than today's ordinary notebook PC, and with navigation capabilities that is as simple as an iPod/iPhone interface.

Imagine also that you can write on top of this "thin surface", makes your "portable paper" experience even more digitized and your jot experience better.

Such would make our net-browsing, net-surfing, "net-writing" and "net-working" experience even more awesome. Through such devices, one day may be we will just "hand-glide" through the internet and "writing to our blogs" with our hand and "digital pen and digital paper", rather than "mousing through" and "typing" into it.

Fascinating future!

What If "Cool Product" + "Trying To Be Cool" Product Combined ?

Recently I come to a conclusion that Microsoft perhaps can be best described as a "work productivity" company, it's product is "working stuff, input, document". Apple is a "life experiences company", it's product is "sound, picture, expressive medium".

Microsoft is trying to be cool through these set of product:

Apple is simply cool through these set of product:

Now imagine what would happen if an integrated-work-processing company can transform Apple's great life experiences product to become integrated part of work productivity activities, and in the process connecting Apple's life experiences product ..

• ... seamlessly with Microsoft's work productivity tools and activities (where necessary).

• ... seamlessly with Open Computing's work productivity tools and activities such as: OpenOffice.org [Office], Firefox [Browser], Thunderbird [Email] .

The synergic transformation would be wonderful.

Microsoft Start Defending Vista

Microsoft start defending Vista. They have taken various "route" to make Vista truly "successful":

• Forcing hardware vendor to adopt Vista.
• Terminating Windows XP (as of June 30).
• Allowing people to buy Vista yet downgrade to XP if necessary.

Now, claimed their site:

• They are "humbled" by the fact that millions of users are adopting and VERY HAPPY with Vista.
• They are proud that NY Times raved "Windows Vista is beautiful".

This is exactly the kind of self-narcissism and typical self-lie crazy moves that is so "Ballmerian" by nature.

In the past, Microsoft never have to justify such claim at all. Microsoft products are simply works. Backward compatibility was just simply excellent. Bloated memory and slowness is rare.

I still remember:

• When IBM claimed OS/2 as the "next GUI based OS", Microsoft humbly simply say: "Windows is the GUI for DOS", the "next step" before transition to "OS/2". No arrogance attached.
• When DOS is being upgraded from version to version, Microsoft backward compatibility is always awesomely great. No "self-proclaim" necessary.

But that was the posture of OUR beloved Microsoft in the 80s, and early 90s.

Now, under Ballmer, Microsoft is trying to "pose a picture" that no matter how louzy, slow, photo-copying MacOSX everywhere, and bloated their software was, it is still a defacto standard and a "great" winning product that people (and the industry) will (or must?) consume and "adopt". People will "swallow" it anyway; by "trick" and "force" if necessary.

Microsoft becomes a tricky dinosauric "sales company", start loosing the strategic, competitive, innovative engineering root that makes it a great, competitive, fascinating, loveable "underdog" company in the past.

Intrinsicly, Ballmer is a perhaps "narcissist salesman", Bill Gates is a "budding entrepreneur". The difference in their inner-value system and leadership-style matters:

• Ballmer loves interpreting/justifiying number the way "he like", Gates loves creating a great,  winning product that win programmer's, industry's and market's heart.

• Ballmer is arrogant. Gates is working, supporting, collaborating, dominating (and competing at the same time) with everybody.

Being humble (a.k.a no arrogance) perhaps was one of the greatest "secret sauce" behind Microsoft greatness in the past. Microsoft never claim something in the past, they just passionately and systematically do. And over deliver it each time. As a consequences: People simply love (and truly passionate) working with Microsoft at that time.

These totally change during Ballmer reign and leadership.

There was a time when Microsoft was a really great loveable company. Everybody love building things on Microsoft platform. We understand Microsoft "internal" cause, competitive stand and  attitude as a company towards the growth and longevity of the "young" PC industry. We were passionate about their cause so much, perhaps as much as we understand and passionate about the  internal working of DOS's B800:0000, INT 21, FAT, and Windows WM_ event-driven messages at that time.

As such:

• We all simply truly passionate about the leading-yet-underdog Microsoft at that time. No need to for Microsoft to hopelessly shout "Developer, Developer, Developer ..." (like Ballmer strangely "does" these days), because developers indeed loves Microsoft at that time. We are all unified behind this great "vision" to make PC a truly great machine that contribute and dominates the computing industry.

• No need for Microsoft to do the "stupid, silly ugly, nerve wrecking, embarrassing" Ballmerian-monkey-dance act -- like what happen recently (which shocked and embarrassed everybody that supported and loved Microsoft in the past) as it resembles nothing about what Microsoft value system is all about.

Everybody in the past loves Microsoft for what it does and stands-for (a.k.a innovating the humble, simplicistic yet fascinating and fastly growing PC industry).

No need for stupid, silly, strange, embarrassing "monkey dance" act to "justify" all that. Great product justify itself. Great company speaks with less arrogance. All things are just naturally happen greatly, in a natural, fun, fascinating, "humbler" yet consistently magical way that was "truly Microsoft's".

Now -- under Ballmer -- Microsoft is just another Redmond company. A narcist to its greatest degree. Something we love to fight back.

The Line-Up For iPhone 3G Is Still Crazy!

It was reported that even after the 1st million iPhone has been sold in the first week-end since its release on July 11, the line-up for iPhone 3G is still crazy.

People around the U.S are lining up for hours. 4 to 5 hours in New York city. 3 hours in Seattle. Check this out:

I would be extremely interested to "hear" what Mr. Ballmer would say after this. Another boring "pooh pooh"  against the iPhone once again Mr Balm?? >:) *little devilistic smile*

Microsoft really need to be humble and get back innovating once more. It start becoming a dinosaur these days.

As common people and any "student in history" knows: no matter how big and powerful dinosaur once are, once they become irrelevant (and start failing to adapt) to the emerging circumstances that surrounds them, dinosaur -- no matter how big and powerful they ONCE are -- totally vanish from the face of the earth, and start becoming another silent "artifact" in the long  journey of the great world history.

If Microsoft intends to sustain and survive even for the next decade, it shall NOT forever be "dinosauric" starting today.

Stop being "pooh pooh"-ed to anything "not invented at Microsoft" perhaps is a good start. In the past, Microsoft didn't invent DOS, Windows, Wordprocessor, Spreadsheet, PDA, Internet, nor Browser, anyway. Infact, Microsoft greatest strength is when they start embracing something, extending it and making it happen to the greater market. When they start to embrace (and extend) that's when they start to dominate.

This "humble, embrace, extend" strategy is something that the arrogant Mr. Ballmer seem to always "forgot". He's so busy "pooh-pooh"-ing other great products, too oftenly do his "crazy ugly monkey dance", and too oftenly resonating his deepest arrogance (and over-proud feeling) about Microsoft. Something that increasingly become the most "annoying" side of this complicated persona.

ps:

• iPhone 3G is now available in 21 countries—Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US—and will go on sale in France on July 17.

• “iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

• Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

• (Yet -- as of now -- we still don't know where Zune today is in the world radar screen). Microsoft really need to get back to the "root" of their own unique "innovation" approach, which they were once really good at, in the past.

Books I Do Want To Read :-)

While reading a book about "Microsoft 2.0" sounds totally boring to me -- as I expressed yesterday, reading these books (see below) is something that I really fascinatingly did (long time ago), and really look forward to  re-read again, perhaps -- someday -- if time permit. :-)

Techie Entrepreneurs:

• Akio Morita (Sony),
• Bill Gates (Microsoft),
• Steve Jobs (Apple, Next, Pixar),
• Henry Ford (Ford Motor)

Biz Entrepreneurs:

• Carnegie (US Steel),
• Joe Wilson (Xerox),
• Thomas Watson Sr (IBM).

Not only these books are fascinating to read. It also significantly differentiate the approach that these "techie entrepreneur & business innovator people" take towards work, from the "Ballmerian devilistic nature".

True entrepreneurs took their heart, dedication, idealism, imagination ("vision"?) and passion into the business. They put their heart and work towards contribution and advancement for society. They work extremely hard (and extremely smart) to build something "big", kind, useful, beautiful, wonderful and exciting. The bigger their business become, the kinder the "heart" of their organization become as well.

The "Ballmeristic approach" took "something wierd, awful, and cruel" into the business equation. For the "Ballmerian nature" it's about winning and getting bigger without substance. 

What's the fun of company growing bigger if -- in the process -- the heart of your company (and the heart of your people) getting smaller?

What a "monsterous" disaster.

iPhone 3G Is Released Today!

Apple 3G is released today. And with it comes a new way to take a look at the internet from a totally different view, experience and perspective.

Not only the device is a 3G device. It is also offering a new whole way to buy and experience application, on and off the net. Awesome.

Mr. Ballmer will need to start "photocopying" these concept again I assume, and -- while his troop is busy photocopying -- he will, as usual, start announcing his "pooh pooh" statement of what his lauzy Windows mobile system can do (better?) against Apple iphone/itouch system.

What a lauzy leader.

Microsoft After Gates

8 days after Bill Gates leaving Microsoft, Microsoft -- the company that he founded -- are still busy promoting "fighting viruses" and "get rid of spam".

These Ballmerian Microsoft really got it mixed up. While in the past customer doesn't have any choices (except to use Microsoft OS and software), in today's era -- where people get exposure to MacOS, Linuxes and stuff -- why people need to "fight virus" if "avoiding virus" could be the best remedy?

They really still "get mixed" up in the past. If someone can consistently effectively trace this out, Microsoft is out.

Advertising Should Be "Small" !

I wonder why media-people and big-companies are consistently "fighting" for big-size, ineffective, non-communicative, cluttered, confusing advertising placement battle, if a small, thoughtful, effective one could do even better?. I seriously wonder.

Samsung Instinct & HTC Touch Diamon Is Coming!

If iPhone is not moving fast to dominate the market, these iPhone-look-alike might eventually creeping in.

 

The Last Week Of Bill Gates At Microsoft

This would probably be the last week of Bill Gates at Microsoft.
Here's a link to his whole fascinating "career", passion, strategy and story.

And this is one his best best best vision ever; of how computing could be, at those momentous, daring, beautiful time:

Microsoft in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s (when they massively shift to the internet) -- all under Bill Gates direct, intense, passionate leadership -- is really really passionately awesome.

And to those great works and passion which has changed society and humanity for the better, there's only one proper deep word to say:

THANK YOU.

The world is one step ahead to become a better place for everybody.

 

"You don't get it. You don't get it. We are going to put a computer on every desk and in every home". -Bill Gates to Steve Ballmer, back in the early days of Microsoft.