What Would You Do Differently?

On Tom’s Hardware, the question was asked about Microsoft. Although I did not respond then, as I was very bleary from being up too long, I now have a few things I would change to make things better ( and hopefully, more profitable – though that’s hardly needed)

There’s no disputing that Microsoft is a highly successful company. It’s ambitions are set very high, and the company’s determination to win in every market it enters is frightening to say the least.

Of course, like all companies, Microsoft has had extremely good times and some not so good times. From faulty starts to run-ins with government entities, Microsoft has been through a plethora of difficult situations. Bet yet, even through all the rough times, Microsoft continues to dominate the computing world. Windows is the undisputed king of desktop and server operating systems, and the company’s venerable Office suite is used in nearly every office around the globe.

In recent years, we’ve seen Microsoft dip its hands into markets that surprised many at the time. When Microsoft announced it would enter the game console market, the news shocked many. Microsoft is also going after the Internet search and online advertising market and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Cloud computing is next up on the software giant’s list, and we’ll hedge our bets that it’ll do well in this space too.

Considering all of Microsoft’s blunders and successes, its world-wide dominance allows it to be the trend-maker and market shaker. So…

The question of the day is: If you were running Microsoft, how would you do things differently?

Some ideas to jog your thoughts:

- Xbox division
- Windows operating system
- Online search
- Zune/Music
- Internet Explorer
- Office
- Servers

There’s plenty of things that could be changed. What would be priority number one?

First, I would stop the idea that an operating system would have a finite life. Now, I know that many  would say this is not a good idea, for many reasons. If, however, you know that with any OS from Microsoft, only 90 days of support is provided, it would be clear that support is not the reason for the limitation, After that, it’s time to pay. This works well for both parties. It keeps people who want to stay with a version happy, and provides Microsoft with additional revenues. Anyone not wanting to pay for a problem resolution will move on when the next revision of the operating system arrives. Others might wait and skip a generation, but forcing the elimination of any version is simply aggravating too many customers.

Microsoft could set a closure on major updates, and that will move people along, but allow those who are happy, and not needing new hardware, to work as they wish.  Artificially limiting the operating system’s lifespan is simply based on greed. Microsoft knows it, The users know it. The people who are paid to write good things, by Microsoft, know it.

Let the market, and their own needs, move them along. If drivers no longer are made for their revision when upgrading to that new video card, or printer, or scanner, then let that be the impetus for upgrade.

Online search should be decided quickly, either do it or shut up about it. Buy Yahoo, or not, do something and stick with it. Personally, if I was Ballmer, and had that much confidence in my programmers, I’d set out to build a better Google, from the ground up. Let’s face it, they have the money, and certainly the time.

Xbox division should be spun off, so that those people can be their own entity, with no ties to anything else. It will further remove problems with those who complain about unfair advantages, and allow moving to hardware that might be difficult for Microsoft to negotiate for other reasons.

Zune and music should die the death it should have if it was a standalone company.  Too many others do this better, Microsoft’s Zune is an also-ran, and should go away – the December 31 bug shows they only halfheartedly looked at the software anyway.

Internet Exploder© should also die, as Microsoft started with a rip off of Mosaic, and it has never worked as well as any other browser, even Mosaic – name one – it’s better than IE.

Office, like it or not, is the standard. It is, however, a pain in the butt with the ribbon interface. This is like the operating system – it should be improved underneath, leaving the look and feel alone. Since we all know how easy it is to craft a new revision by cut and paste, Office 2007 should have been offered in standard (2003 look), and extra-graphically-special (ribbon) editions, for the graphically minded.

Servers are doing ok, though I might think that eliminating one or two of the levels might be a good idea. Microsoft wants to chop up every revision lately, and I think that going the other way might be more beneficial for vendor and users. This is the only division that seems to be headed up by people who have a clue about how business works. Shadow copy – brilliant! I don’t think I’ve said that about anything else Microsoft – except possibly when I first went from Windows 98SE or Me to Windows XP. XP is a crowning jewel, and why Vista is such a disappointment.

Oh, one more thing, an end to stupid naming conventions is called for. For example, cloud computing- when the first rack of computers shows up levitating in and out of a cumulus structure, it will then be appropriate naming. Until then, why not call it what it is – distance computing. If you look above, you also see another ‘what on earth were they thinking’ name, Zune. People name their children with names that will support their success – as this was a ‘child’ of Microsoft, Zune was not it.

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I know this is a bit self-indulgent, but I thought it might spike some conversation, and who knows, someone (with some influence) from Microsoft  might be looking in.

The person who is behind the site ‘istartedsomething’ is reputed to have been able to put Microsoft’s feet to the fire about UAC malfunctions on the upcoming Windows 7.

Could we accomplish something like that here?

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