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
Wasn't Natal a response to the Wii and its motion sensing abilities? That sounds exactly like what the former exec said.
by broad impact - they're talking about profits
Funny, I'm using Office 2007 without one note and using a stylus in word to write on a form I scanned in and it works just fine.
@TWiz
Office 2007 vs. 1999/2000, when Dick Brass actually suggested it and was kinda put down and shunted under the carpet somewhere.
From the NYT article: "And yet it is failing, even as it reports record earnings. As the fellow who tried (and largely failed) to make tablet PCs and e-books happen at Microsoft a decade ago..."
@The Madman
No, someone made a comment about using a stylus with Office and One Note and I was commenting how you don't even need one note because word now supports it. I guess the reply didn't go to the person who it was meant for. More comment fun Engadge...btw, still no submit button and I've cleared my cookies, deleted temp files etc...
VP responds to M$: And I measure my brass by its broad impact
My mind's went straight into the gutter when I saw "dick," "measure," and "..ass" on the same physical line.
@(Unverified) : you left out "broad impact".
Seems that project Natal is the new savior product for Microsoft. Let's think about that now. A system that lets you translate whole body gestures into game moves.
Hmmm. Sorry, that is not going to revolutionize general computing. I can't conceive of anyone gesturing their way through hyperlinks, or dancing their term paper into their word processor.
Try again please.
I think both sides have valid arguments. I gotta say Microsoft has been lagging in the innovation department. Last great thing that came out of them was Project Natal, which is for the XBox, while Windows is still Windows. As I've said over and over again, MS needs to unify their services (can't we use Windws Live to manage our contacts, mail and calendar on Windows Mobile please?), which goes along with Mr Brass had said. I feel like there are some disaggrements going on between development teams in Microsoft preventing them from utilizing each other's resources to make Microsoft a solid competitor in the future. Microsoft keeps showing off these half-assed items like Windows 7 being more finger friendly, when in reality all thath appens are icons get bigger, but there is no real innovation with touch input besides tapping.
@SDreamer
Agreed that Microsoft needs to unify their services. They definitely need to do some internal restructuring.
@SDreamer Seriously? Windows 7 is just bigger icons? It has gotten rave reviews while even Walt Mossberg says it rivals even Snow Leopard in terms of being an excellent Operating System and is a joy to use.
With Zune HD, 360, Windows 7, Project Natal, Zune Phone?, the MS/HP Slate, etc.... coming out - I'd say MS has been doing pretty danged well.
@Brother Unit No 4
because the world is just so magical...
@SDreamer "half-assed items like Windows 7 being more finger friendly, when in reality all thath appens are icons get bigger, but there is no real innovation with touch input besides tapping."
you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about: http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/03/25/touching-windows-7.aspx
microsoft is in desperate need of google and apple to put them once and for good in a garbage can, which is where they belong
@cntyglghtl Your right so only middle to upper class citizens can own computers, and forget about a school willing to pay for 300 apple computers on campus.
I'm almost positive the "magical" line was tounge-in-cheek.
Even if it wasn't, I'm still chosing to believe it was because it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever that one other company gets seriously called out on their bullshit.
Is it just me or did anyone else read the headline, see the words 'dick' and 'measure' and got fooled into thinking the headline actually read 'We measure our dick by its broad...' ?? >.<
C'mon, be honest!
how magical
This whole discussion is BS. It's NOT ABOUT MS. It's about corporate America. You want to go back to the entrepreneurial spirit, ideas, and successes of the people and smallcaps that created the designs and inventions upon which these megalopolies are based? FIRE THE H.R. DEPT.! Think about all the bad press that Bill Gates received about his personality and oppressive behaviors during his tenure at Microsoft, the company he invented, founded and built, and then answer me this. Do you think that he could get a job at any corporation in America if he had to get past H.R. to do it. Do you think he could pass a personality exam? Do you think his bad reputation press would haunt him. He's Bill Gates. If he needed a job, he could probably get one, but it would NOT be thanks to anyone in H.R. They've gotten so protective from potential litigation that they've dumbed down the corporations just as they've dumbed down the schools and the whole rest of the nation's inventive infrastructure. That's what this story is REALLY ABOUT!
@jbgiraffx
I would say you are partly correct about that. I know some very strong personalities at work, but I think that the larger problem is that corporations get so bogged down in infighting and policy that new stuff just does not get done. I work for a company that has received a number of banking innovation awards recently, but I can personally say that my team moves at a crawl because people won't get along.
Microsoft makes plenty of good products. The 360 is a very refined experience, I enjoy the Zune interface (desktop and the device itself) very much, and I even enjoy Office 2007. But I would wager the ex-VP isn't too far off the target.
id love to see the Courier but honestly its way to advanced for microsoft to pull off without major software issues.
In the phone book, that guy'd be "Brass Dick".
Yeah, I am emotionally 12 yrs old...
Remember folks that Microsoft "measures innovation by its breadth" so many of these previous comments are bogus citing unreleased and unproven products as examples of Microsoft innovation:
Courier - not released, 0 users
Natal - not released, 0 users
Zune phone - not released, 0 users
Windows 7 Mobile - not released, 0 users
Surface - barely released, ~0 users
Others are certainly questionable as "innovation":-
Zune HD - released, 0 users (I kid, but certainly not at "breadth" yet)
Windows 7 - not sure this qualifies as innovative?
Bing - not sure this qualifies as innovative either? (IMHO Bing Cashback is actually the innovative piece of Bing)
Silverlight - see "Flash"
Xbox and Xbox Live were certainly innovators in their field (but 9 years ago?)
Cleartype - yes, again many years ago
OneNote - sure, why not
Not much to show for 100,000 people and tens of billions in R&D.
@Mandingo
Bing CashBack, Bing image search, in search video preview, and Bing Visual search are all very innovative features of Bing.
@Mandingo: Photosynth, Street Side (the precursor to Google Street View), Ford Sync, Windows Media Center (by far, the best DVR on the planet),
Yea, no innovation here. Just go to http://research.microsoft.com. Just because you have not heard of any of their innovations doesn't mean they don't innovate.
@Ruben: And just to counter-act Dick Brass: Microsoft Research exists to discover new ways of using technology that will eventually trickle down to other products (and has, many times). There is their innovation engine right there.
Ballamer reminds me more of a football coach, but he has no sense of direction with MS, you can tell when talks. Its like he doesn't know anything really about his companies products
@Hydra I know Balmer may sound and look a bit erratic. but no one could ever love MS as much as he does.
have u ever seen him scream for MS
Microsoft, why don't you prove your innovation by releasing the courier already, instead of sitting their telling everyone how innovative you are.
because the world is just soo magical...
Two things:
1: If you've ever used it, you know that OneNote isn't even connected to the office group. It doesn't use the Office settings, it doesn't use the Office chrome; it's the bastard child that the Office team doesn't want. If Office wants it, they get it. APIs, UI widgets, programmers. Office owns Microsoft, not the other way around.
2. Dick Brass has some Brass Balls. (heh. heheh. Dick Brass Balls heh)
Get real. the only reason he left is for a HEAVIER PAYCHECK.
If he found microsoft less innovative, why didn't he join someother company, say apple for example. What is he exactly going to innovate with amazon - KINDLE 3.
Microsoft's biggest problem with innovation is the North American and European governments.
If they try to integrate even a portion of the features that Apple preinstalls on OSX (even forcing you to buy a limited set of hardware from them, which all hell would break loose if Microsoft started requiring you to purchase a X-PC 360 to run Windows), Microsoft is hit with anti-trust lawsuits.
Including BluRay playback in Windows Media Player would cost nothing and be easy to do, but the very next day the other companies making blu-ray compatible media players would argue that Microsoft has squashed them by integrating the feature.
What they can do is make a great base operating system as a platform to install the largest base of third party software available while maintaining backwards compatibility with all the software and machines that already exist, and they have done that with the very successful and well received Windows 7.
It sounds to me that the Microsoft spokesman is saying that they prefer to sling as much mud as possible in all directions, and inevitably some of it will stick.
You all fail to see..
Magical = UNICORN
This guy's name is DICK BRASS ??
Isn't that the same as HARD DICK?
I wonder if Dick Brass found his perfect soulmate, Jussi Fany.
???
I propose that Engadget hide a unicorn in the picture for each story where a technology is quoted as being "magical." Who's with me?
Hmmm... They use Project Natal as an example of innovation? Something that isn't released yet, that was apparently acquired from another company?
OneNote may have been invented at Microsoft, but how many Windows users have access to it??
What's the point of innovation, if you don't offer it to the masses? OneNote should be bundled with every Windows install, and Natal should come I'm the box with every xbox.
The iPhone, the Mac, and the iPad are innovative because they tale risks and do things differently to move the world in a more positive direction.
Anyone that has used Office 2007 can attest to the fact that UI innovations at Microsoft have been going backwards.
@rmanke Governments around the world prevent Microsoft from bundling anything more with Windows.
Just look at how much Google bitched and moaned at just integrating basic search functionality into the OS that rendered Google desktop search useless.
OneNote is available everywhere, even your local Best Buy, so I'm not sure how thats being hidden from the masses.