The Trouble with Microsoft

Paul Thurrott, a well known Windows expert and advocate, posted an article titled "Microsoft Ignoring Customer Needs with Continued Silence on Future Windows" in which he refers to Microsofts behavior as paradoxical, almost diabolical.

When you read a short, sweet and to-the-point article from a well-known Microsoft Windows expert regarding company behavior, it's a relief knowing that you're not losing your mind. I'm not constantly bashing Vista because I enjoy it. I just don't like seeing newbie computer users taken advantage of, or seeing large monopolies playing games.

According to Thurrott, "On the one hand, you have the Kremlin-style secrecy of the new Windows Division, which has apparently convinced the company's CEO that it hasn't really thought about Windows Vista SP1 or future Windows versions because Microsoft is so busy managing the success of its latest Windows release. And on the other, you have guys like Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, who last week publicly pronounced that the company would follow up its Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 'big dog' releases with more major OS and office productivity suite releases".

He illustrates the point that business customers need detailed information about what Microsoft will be shipping over the next several years so they can budget and plan. It seems the home user isn't the only one being ignored by Microsoft. He reminds Microsoft that Windows is their most important business.

"How bad is this problem? In 2006, Microsoft briefed me on the record about its plans for Vista SP1, which I was told would ship alongside Windows Server 2008. Since that time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has recoiled from press questions about SP1 on two occasions, stating publicly that the company hadn't even thought about that release yet, and had no concrete plans for what it might include. Vista was so good, he said, that SP1 might not be necessary" he writes.

He goes on to note that little is known about Vista SP1 and that more detailed information about it is needed. It's a well written article that brings up very good points about Microsoft's latest actions and makes some recommendations. Definitely worth the read.

This is just my opinion, but if Microsoft spent as much time and money on their technology as they do on marketing, they wouldn't be losing respect or customers. Here are a few of Paul Thurrott's sites:

• Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows -- http://www.winsupersite.com/
• Paul Thurrott's WinInfo on WindowsITPro -- http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/
• Paul Thurrott's Internet Nexus, a technology blog -- http://www.Internet-nexus.com/

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