"The iPad works because it scratches an itch that people had. People like social networking services.
People like getting information from the internet. People like being able to pick and choose when they watch TV. The iPad let's people do that more conveniently, and in a way where the technology they have to deal with recedes into the background because it's simpler, more polished, better packaged."
This is what makes the strength of Windows on a PC a weakness in the smartphone and device world.
The natural tendency on a PC is to tinker, to configure, to fiddle with things. And in doing so,
one discovers things and ultimately learns something new. That's basically how Windows was designed;
it was designed with that mindset and for people who have a curiosity about technical things. You didn't need to be a technical guru, but if you had some degree of curiosity about how things worked, you could be empowered.
In other words - C language software developer.
People like getting information from the internet. People like being able to pick and choose when they watch TV. The iPad let's people do that more conveniently, and in a way where the technology they have to deal with recedes into the background because it's simpler, more polished, better packaged."
This is what makes the strength of Windows on a PC a weakness in the smartphone and device world.
The natural tendency on a PC is to tinker, to configure, to fiddle with things. And in doing so,
one discovers things and ultimately learns something new. That's basically how Windows was designed;
it was designed with that mindset and for people who have a curiosity about technical things. You didn't need to be a technical guru, but if you had some degree of curiosity about how things worked, you could be empowered.
In other words - C language software developer.
But that's not who the customer is on in the device and smartphone world. The customer isn't a developer.
I've talked about this before - http://vultcult.blogspot.com/2010/10/commentary-ms-job-cuts-part-of-bigger.html.
That customer already knows (or at least believes they know enough) about what they can see and find
on the Internet to know they want something to appear and appear at their convenience. And in the case of
content, it's when they want it to happen, not when the computer decides, or the ISP (even though the
reality is that actually is still the case - the technology is hidden behind the scenes to in this customer
experience).
The goal for Microsoft and Windows to survive I think would be the following -
Rather than go out and try and mirror the current smartphone customer experience (which like the previous
battle in online search with Google - trying to compete on their turf with their rules in their game which they defined is a recipe for repeated and expensive failure), what the really need to do is define a new customer experience in this world. They need to leverage that hidden reality I alluded to above but not turn everyone into a developer - can they do it though?
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