Microsoft’s Desktop Irony
Steve Ballmer is currently in India and has made the headlines of todays Economic Times. Apart from the usual Google/Oracle/Apple/IBM bashing, he vehemently defends the desktop. That’s logical since Microsoft’s main moolah generating engine is powered by the desktop. Isn’t it then ironic, that the one innovative thing to come out of Microsoft - XMLHTTPRequest (backbone of AJAX), is directly aimed at reducing the desktop to merely a device sporting a terminal, keyboard and mouse.
I must confess that I’m not an Excel power user, but Google Spreadsheets seems pretty darn impressive to me. I’m working on this project that involves yield calculation of bonds. A lot of the logic that I need to replicate in my program exists in excel files and Google Spreadsheets does a damn fine job of opening them. And as far as I know, Excel is the killer app to justify a windows desktop.
What was Microsoft thinking when they unleashed XMLHTTP onto the world (way back in 2000)? They probably didn’t realize how disruptive a technology they had created. It’s not like managing/regulating innovation was something they had to deal with in the past.
According to Ballmer, desktop apps are here to stay. Dismissive of the challengers as Microsoft may want to portray, they are responding to the competition. What I can’t understand is, how does launching their office tools online protect their desktop?
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
November 14th, 2006 at 10:33 am
The latest gizmo out of their stable their ipod clone tries to give a good concept for a change of allowing ppl to transfer music but with the most stupid idea of limiting the freedom…I am pretty sure soon u would have mp3 files which by adding a line of code or something are able to get around with this limitation…which would then propel Zune’s business…essentially their whole philosophy ,i guess is to charge the dumb who pay for thier products & service the smarter users…
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Cool site! I’ll be back. game can create tournament