You had to know Microsoft would respond to former VP Dick Brass saying the company
didn't have "a true system for innovation" in the
New York Times this morning, and it looks like Redmond's VP of corporate communications Frank Shaw is on the move: he's just posted up a reply on
The Official Microsoft Blog. Frank says that what matters is "innovation at scale, not just innovation at speed," and that "it is not sufficient to simply have a good idea, or a great idea, or even a cool idea. We measure our work by its broad impact." Frank also points to OneNote in response to Dick's claim that Tablet PC was doomed because the Office team refused to make a version of Office designed around stylus input, and then refers to the Xbox 360 as an example of Microsoft's leadership -- and says
Project Natal is a "magical experience" that'll keep the trend alive. That's pretty much exactly how we would respond, although we'd also argue that Dick's individual criticisms are less important than his larger thesis about systematic innovation -- and we'd love to hear what Frank has to say about that.
P.S.- Can we all please stop calling everything "magical" for a minute, though? Thanks.
[Image from
Robert Scoble]
posted February 4th 2010 4:00PM
One Note is pretty freaking amazing. I'll hand it to MS, that's one peice of software I could not deal without if I moved to Mac
@Luxury Guy
I do enjoy One Note myself.
And I agree that the term "magical" should never be used by tech companies.
@LAY
But computer is magical.
@LAY i LOLed at that one. couldn't agree more, all the iPad hating aside.
@LAY
I think "magical" has replaced "innovation" and "inspirational." But tech can be understood, therefore it is not "Of, relating to, or produced by magic."
@Luxury Guy
and the one piece of software I'd have to have on a 'slate' device.
@k2001:
I beg to differ. I think computers were much more magical when they consisted of a series of tubes.
@LAY
It's superlative inflation at work again, for several years things were "cool" and "supercool", then they were "amazing" and "incredible". Now everything has to be "magical" or it will appear to be no better than last year's model. Next year "awe inspiring" will be a minimum and truly impressive items will be "god-like".
@LAY
HAA, did you actually think engineers were making computers all this time?
Science is dead man... Science is DEAD..
its all wizards in pointy hats working in apple, microsoft and the like..
/sarc *just in case* ^^
@Luxury Guy
I've heard many awesome things about OneNote. I've been thinking of getting an HP tm2 and wondered if OneNote was worth the money. I think I'll be getting it now thanks to the positive feedback on Engadget.
@Luxury Guy
Agreed, OneNote is great. It is the only piece of software I actually used on my Tablet PCs. Nevertheless, his criticism still stands. Why wasn't the rest of Office updated for Tablets?
The biggest barrier to marketable innovation (rather than a concept) is the Windows/Office monopoly. They are making a boatload of money. Why innovate.
@Mike10010100
i use OneNote on a tx2500 series for taking notes at school and it's amazingly handy, dont have to carry binders around and i can use it in tablet mode for classes that require me to draw chemical formulas and the sort. then for classes where it's just typing down notes it works perfectly as well, especially since i can still draw little things on the side if needed.
definitely worth the money IMO for school related work at least
@LGH
using the office 2010 beta they seemed to greatly improve on that front. ribbon in onenote isnt as bad as i initially thought it would be and Word also works well with the pen
@Luxury Guy
Does OneNote compare to Evernote? And can it sync to the cloud so I can access it from elsewhere?
I was a Google Notebook user, but switched to Evernote after they discontinued it. I've heard a lot of good things about OneNote but haven't really checked it out too closely yet.
@LGH Funny. People complain about MS not changing Office for the longest time. MS tries something new and different with the ribbon in 07, and all people can do is complain about how "they dont see why they changed it, it was better before."
Its like, people get pissed at MS for not innovating, and then get pissed again whenever MS changes anything. MS just can do no right in some peoples eyes.
@gadgetfanboy I haven't tried Evernote, but from what I've read OneNote is better. The strenght of OneNote lies in its ability to let you anotate anything, PDFs, PowerPoints, Webpages, ect. You just print to the OneNote print driver, and you can type,
-annotate
-highlight,
-record your professor or meeting (and it tracks your notetakeing with the recording),
-you can search (your written/typed/recorded or even "printed" notes"
-and organize, and reorganize into virtual notebooks to your heart's concent.
Unfortunately, their isn't good cloud support in 2007, but that seems to be the big thing for OneNote 2010. You can "make" the 2007 version somewhat cloud compatible though using Live Mesh, Sharpoint, or OneNote Mobile for Windows Mobile. Maybe you could use the Office Online features too. Your best bet is to just try to 2010 Beta for free though.
@Malcolm
I hope we go the other way...
"Our new gizmo is pretty good!"
"The new whatchamacallit is incredibly serviceable!"
"Our new web service is somewhat passable!"
"The performance of this new gee-gaw is staggeringly okay!"
@Vai
Yeah, I figured that for drawing circuits, a tablet would be the best device possible to take notes on. When I took summer courses, I must have filled up 3 binders of notes and schematics. One tablet could certainly help lighten the load!
@alexwilks88 I would think that this was developed initially for a tablet and they incorporated it into Office, don't you? Surely they would have to have this on the Courier or Slate, I agree.
I figure they're going to announce the Zune Phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on the 15th. But when will they talk about the specs about the tablet(s)?
@Luxury Guy Every mogul company has their own skeletons in the closet, perhaps, the comment that MS 'failed' is such a rationalization, to think that they got so many projects lining up this year. (natal, pink, tablet etc)
And hey, the 2009 wasn't bad at all either, with their 7 hailed as one of d' most successful OS there is. http://bit.ly/windows-7-why-is-it-amazing-review
I think there's a lot of room for improvement here.
@gadgetfanboy
When it comes to note taking and note management, One Note leaves Evernote far behind. One Note can work as a great collaboration tool when you share it on a network drive. What OneNote 2007 lacks is multi platform support and built-in cloud sync support like Evernote. But you can get around cloud sync by using tools like Live Mesh or dropbox.
One Note 2010 will have cloud sync support. This feature is currently disabled in the Beta which is now available.
Download a free OneNote trial and see the difference for yourself
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/default.aspx
@R Planteer
Wow that's so true. I have so many friends that absolutely despise Word 2007 because they can't find anything anymore, even though if you stop and THINK for a second everything is categorized the way it should be.
Also let's not forget how people hated Vista's new interface... Especially the control panel. When they swapped things around and organized eveything, people screamed bloody murder!
I feel Miceosoft can't win sometimes haha
Uh-oh we all remember the last time a company called a new product magical.
@insky
atleast now we know your short-term memory is working..
^^
@insky
Project Natal kinda justifies it though.
@GON
too bad natal is not a microsoft original ideas in the fact that the tracking software and the thinking behind using it in gaming is from the company Microsoft quietly bought with money.
The courier is questionable since Microsoft CEO Steve admits that he has never heard of it.
@Frank2010
If you will notice he said he had never heard of it with a gleam in his eye. He has to say that because Microsoft has not officially announced it's existence yet. If you look further into the Courier you will see that it is undeniably being produced by Microsoft. Bill Gates has even been talking about a revolutionary tablet product since the 90's.
@Frank2010
Yeah? No-one gives a shit.
@MarkAnderson
No, really. Everyone buys tech and develops it or did you guys think the likes of Fingerworks were always part of Apple?
They all do it.
The guy sounded very veteran-with-a-vendetta-ish to me, just because it was that way when he worked for Microsoft, doesn't mean it stayed the same to this day.
@Nitesh
I totally agree with you. Microsoft has created some great and super-popular products so far. And we yet have to see the Courier taking shape.
@Nitesh 2004 was smack dab in the middle of the Longhorn debacle. Much has changed in their approach since then. Just look at how much has changed since Vista.
@Makis The courier is just the latest in Microsoft's long and distinguished line of vaporware. Don't you ever learn?
@(Unverified): Everyone was calling Natal vaporware too. I wonder what happened to that?
This isn't 3D Realms making the Courier.
@Nitesh And Microsoft showed him its Brass Dick..
I think the former MS exec has a bone to grind...
I've not come across too many large corporations that do not have political infighting. Apple seems to be different because they have a dictator there...however, what happens when he's gone?!
I work for a huge private European company and you wouldn't believe the crap that goes on but if you ask our competitors, they think we are innovators and leaps ahead of them...all about perception...
@lip In his defense whether his reasoning is correct MS has not been ahead of the times lately. In fact laterly they have been a step or two behind the competition. The zune HD is a great device just a little late, winmo is behind, and windows 7 barrowed a lot of it's innovation.
They can change that easily by releasing the courier. This could be the biggest innovation in years. But if they hold off on it too long, someone is bound to beat them to the punch.
@lip
The funny thing is, this response proves exactly what Brass was citing about Microsoft's culture. Frank Shaw doesn't present a very convincing argument himself, and instead, chooses to refute what was claimed. I personally see a bright future for Microsoft. Looks like there is either more decentralization or greater centralized control since they're making so many developments on so many fronts - Xbox Natal, Zune HD, Windows 7, Windows 7 Mobile (if the rumors are believed to be true), Courier (if this is actually by Microsoft), Bing and Live Mesh, and Silverlight. Either all of these products are results of individual innovation or Microsoft is taking the whole "3 screen" philosophy to heart.
Magical!!!
I'll make my judgement after I see Windows Mobile 7 in action -- that will prove just how innovative they can be.
@DoctarPeppar
Based on the high requirements they are putting on devices that can run it, I think they may be aiming for something pretty significant that will need major processing power.
(No, I have seen nothing, nor am I making any predictions!)
@LAY
Well they have already hinted towards XBOX live integration -- that should be pretty sick, no? :)
@DoctarPeppar
There will be blood in Redmond if they left that out!
i think anti trust lawsuits keeps MS from doing a lot of things for one.
however i think they have just been slacking lately...they have some awesome concepts, however those concepts have not come to market, they also seem kind if inflexible...as was mentioned in not making a tablet version of office.
Come on MS. Show us where the goods are and release that Courier. (think that will work?)
@Anatidae as long as it's not the second incarnation of the Origami. remember that? Only microsoft could build so much hype around an anticipated product and then royally screw it up as they did with the UMPC. what a let down that was.
I have to be honest, I stopped reading what he said after reading magical, glad engadget added that comment at the bottom. I mean, natal looks good and all, but magical? I guess magical is going to be synonymous with underwhelming?
God, Nilay, I hope you're right. Magical does not need to become the buzz word of 2010.
Side note: I don't understand how something that can be understood can be magical.
@Jeff "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". In other words, magic is in the eye of the beholder. Technophiles that read Engadget find very few things in our everyday world magical. The other 90+% of the world likely has a different opinion.
Let's deconstruct Microsoft's response that "..."innovation at scale, not just innovation at speed," and that "it is not sufficient to simply have a good idea, or a great idea, or even a cool idea."
In other words, let's appropriate the ideas of others by acquisition or assimilation once they are mature and ready for broad application within the Windows/Office monopoly.
Sorry, but that doesn't sound like a true system for innovation to me. Which is fine. After all, the big contribution of MS to the growth of the tech market was to convince businesses and consumers to pay exorbitant fees for software.
@Ariel Bender
Yeah... but that's what everyone else does.