PDC 2008, Sinofsky's First Real Test

I think there are definitely things that Microsoft can do... primarily, they need to focus on execution and a unified message.  If they focus on trying to look "cool," they will fail miserably.  As it stands right now, they have NO consumer message, and they seemingly do not care, at least not beyond their obsession with Google.  That's disturbing.  

It reminds me of the story of Eastern Flight 401, where the pilots got so consumed by a burnt-out lightbulb that they forgot about their main job--flying the plane.  Does Microsoft have problems with Windows in the business space?  Maybe with the adoption of Vista, but not with Windows as a whole (XP or Vista, Microsoft gets the money no matter which license you buy!)--it's near the saturation point, and alternatives to Windows for most businesses are still unrealistic at best.  In the consumer space, it's another story, and Apple has an excellent message and execution of product.  Yet, if you look at the focus of Windows 7 (what we know, anyhow), it's still primarily business-oriented.  

I think I know quite well what Jim Allchin meant when his 2004 email came out in discovery--where he said "I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn't translate onto great products."  It seems that problem hasn't gone away.  Apple had the same problem pre-Jobs.  Jobs is a dictator, and dictators can provide a unified message much better than many disparate teams ever could.  Microsoft has its hands full, but it also has a lot of bright people.  What it really needs on the Windows front is a bright *leader*--not so much of the product's parts, but of the execution and the message.  Apple tells a story around some decent technology and crafts a great mindset for the people that view their products.  Microsoft dumps a lot of great technology parts in people's laps and lets them figure it out for themselves.