Josh's Windows Weblog - All Comments

re: Was TechEd 2008 a Fail?

Tim — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:45:21 GMT

Personally I went to Devcon and Teched for the Developers. I liked the fact that decided to split up. I thought it was nice. Besides there was more than enough people. I think splitting it was the best thing to do.

re: Was TechEd 2008 a Fail?

Brian — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:57:06 GMT

I usually get more benefit from talking with the MS people and getting questions answered than I do in the sessions anyway. My focus this year was on getting some exams out of the way. I enjoyed Riley's talk the last day on security and IPv6. Also parties with the Krewe were cool.

re: Was TechEd 2008 a Fail?

Gregg — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:41:54 GMT

For me, the split wasn't the reason that it wasn't all that useful for me. The problem was that there wasn't much new information and the product teams presented information that was presented at last year's event. In some cases, the presentations were eerily similar to last years presentations. Vista and Office 2007 were shipped a year and half ago, but there are still presentations on the basics of these products. I know that not everybody has had a chance to use and deploy these products, but I thought this year's theme was supposed to be all about "looking into the future". You would think that this conference would be on the bleeding edge, and at least come up with some new topic ideas that would be useful to people who already have good knowledge on these products. Hopefully next year will be more interesting and we will actually learn new material. It doesn't hurt to get refreshed on material, but there were only a few things I took away from this conference. Sorry if I am being so harsh; the presenters still did a great job. For me the best parts were the free beer on Tuesday/Thursday nights, and that it didn't poor on us at Universal Studios.

re: Apple's Mobile ME where Windows Live needs to be

John — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:47:29 GMT

Ive used their mesh services with sharing files across the internet with my PC's and its a very nifty service. Microsoft could sink apple by doing the same thing and more, and doing it for free.

re: 31 Days of the Dragon Wraps Up

GGCO — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:22:56 GMT

Zane sold it! I thought he needed it for his work?!? Hmm........

re: HP Launches New Lineup

Bernard Lavilliers — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:48:10 GMT

Well a quite good thing, it is stylishly convenient and power (I so hope), and what кщё it is necessary?

re: Apple's Mobile ME where Windows Live needs to be

sscott — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:52:28 GMT

I was really surprised with the integration with Outlook, and I think that is going to appeal to quite a few people.

This is really what I was hoping Microsoft would come up with, but I fear they are getting lost in the direction they are trying to take.

re: 31 Days of the Dragon Wraps Up

Josh Phillips — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:55:52 GMT

some sites choose to add that as a stipulation, we didn't have that, and honestly you would have no way of enforcing it anyway.

re: 31 Days of the Dragon Wraps Up

mdsharpe — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:54:17 GMT

I thought selling the laptop was against the conditions of the competition? Well, it's disgraceful either way.

re: PDC 2008, Sinofsky's First Real Test

bluvg — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:04:42 GMT

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.

re: Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint 2007 Beta Available

Josh Phillips — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:05:11 GMT

Installed fine for me, hence the screenshot. Try RTM of those products.

re: Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint 2007 Beta Available

shkeya — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:31:33 GMT

Anyone have any success installing Microsoft Producer for Powerpoint? I

installed Vista beta 2, and I also have Office 2007 Beta 2 installed. For

some reason, Vista does not seem to like Producer.

re: Microsoft Ships Silverlight 2 Beta 2

shkeya — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:20:44 GMT

Great release. Silverlight is looking better and better.

I understand the need to proceed slowly on some of this stuff, and make sure that you get certain things right before moving on. However, is there anywhere to get a timeline of what you've got planned for Silverlight vNext? Of particular interest is the possibility of 3D support. I'm currently working on a project that will be good in Silverlight 2, but will really pop if I could get some 3D action going.

Even just a simple confirmation or denial would help me know where to concentrate my energies. :)

re: Microsoft Ships Silverlight 2 Beta 2

Bernard Lavilliers — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:41:36 GMT

For a long time at waited Beta for version Silverlight and here has come to pass, thanks for the link:)

re: Add Qik to your Windows Mobile Phone

Jeff B — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 07:10:41 GMT

Not for all WM devices. I believe only out for the Blackjack and Moto Q. Still not available for my AT&T Tilt, damn it.