There were just so many choices for this column. Eventually I went for the one you see above, semi-reminiscent of Neal Postman’s famous anti-TV Amusing Ourselves to Death. But “John Dvorak Writes Good Column; World’s Jaw Drops” was a real possibility.
Dvorak, of course, has been tilting at Macs for some time. Now, apparently, he’s advancing in reverse and shooting some of his outrageous slings and arrows at the second incarnation of the Borg.
To put it simply, Microsoft makes money on Windows and Office, and loses money on everything else. And now … Windows and Office have developed an annoying little cough, are sporting some nastly little red spots, and are complaining of pain in the glutes. Free software on the low end and Mac on the high end are eating their lunch and sticking out their tongue at the former playground bully.
But why the cracks in the giant’s armor? Dvorak, like others, highlights that Microsoft has for over a decade behaved like Hammy in Over the Hedge, a microencephalic squirrel who is distracted and distractible by anything shiny, round, black, white, hard, soft, fat, skinny, blue, or angular … in short, anything at all.
Dvorak’s list is possibly the best-laid-out that I’ve seen, however, and funny besides – it’s certainly worth a read …
Here’s just a few on the money pits he mentions:
Years ago in the pre-Internet era, AOL was the talk of the town, so Microsoft had to copy it with MSN. No money was made; no strategic advantage was gained.
Netscape was the rage for a while, so Microsoft threw together a browser and got in that business. The browser was given away for free. No money was made; the strategy got the company in trouble with government trustbusters.
During the early days of the Internet, new online publications appeared. Microsoft decided to become a publisher too, rolling out a slew of online properties including a computer magazine and a women’s magazine. They were all folded.
Computer books became popular; Microsoft began Microsoft Press. After an early splash and success, the company soon lost interest and the division now languishes.
Teddy Ruxpin became a hot toy. Microsoft rolled out a couple of robotic plush toys, including the creepy Barney the Dinosaur who sang “I love you and you love me.” The company soon lost interest and dropped the whole thing.
A valid point that might be made is that many big companies start hundreds of projects. Just like start-ups, most fail, but the ones that hit, hit big, and finance future growth.
I’m not sure that Microsoft, however, has hit anything out of the park other than its big core franchises. Which might make Microsoft the next bird to cross Randy Johnson’s path.
Engadget got a sneak peak at the Disney Netpal, a netbook that Asus is building for Disney … and we (EasyBits) built the Disney Desktop UI … along with the accompanying parental admin application.
Check the video – it’s a good brief overview:
We also built a custom web browser and email app for Disney, among many more apps.
If you email someone about a plan to do something illegal, and you work for a legal company, don’t email from your work email:
Context: I need some help around the house for some general landscaping and handyman chores, so I posted a Craigslist ad. This response is suggesting I hire someone for cash who is not legally permitted to work in Canada.
First of all:
Not a good plan.
Secondly:
Not smart to email from your personal, traceable account.
Thirdly:
Double plus unsmart to email from your work account.
Fourthly:
Really, really, really not smart when you work for a lawyer.
Teresa and I recently bought a new mattress, as the old one was seriously mounding. Like, roll over and slide back down mounding. Like take your crampons and climbing ropes to bed with you mounding. OK, not quite that bad. But you get the picture.
We bought a Simmon’s Promenade mattress from Sleep Country Canada. It’s supposed to be nearly top-of-the-line … better gauge steel springs, separate pocket coils, built-in cushiony plush “high-loft pillowtop” blah, blah, blah, and at regular price it’s more than a nice large flatscreen TV.
Naturally, we got a good deal, or so we thought. But we were wrong, because 2 weeks later, there’s a definite hump between us and two very definite troughs. Not cool. Not comfortable. And, not good for my back.
Teresa did some further research, and found some who claimed that pillow-top mattresses are one of the biggest scams ever, because although the coils are fine, once the soft cushion on the top deforms to the shape of your body (a “comfort silhouette” in the euphemistic language of our mattress salesman) … you’re toast. So much for that mattress. Apparently some pillow-top mattress owners have even tried to cut it off of their mattress!
So … we’re probably returning the mattress in favor of a non-pillow-top mattress, and one that is firm. Hopefully that will not deform within 2 weeks of landing in our home.
The question as to which kind of mattress is better is hard to settle, and we can’t find definitive evidence either way. But comfort and back pain alone tell us that firmer and less “moulded” is better.
The question is, should we step up to a memory foam mattress, like a Tempur-Pedic. But that is a real step-up … as a king-size is something like $4500.
I recently traveled to Cairo to speak at the Intel Learning Alliance summit.
The conference was great, and I met many, many wonderful people. So was the city, and I made sure to take an extra day or so to ensure I could see at least a few of the sights.
Here’s what my lense captured:
Welcome to Sparkplug 9, John Koetsier's blog on technology and social media.
I'm a software exec who cares about UX and UI, scours web & social media, lives in Canada, plays hockey, uses a Mac (mostly). Oh, and I blog and speak at conferences.
Welcome to Sparkplug 9, John Koetsier's blog on technology and social media.
