Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to once again embrace and extend
By Michael Gartenberg 
posted July 11th 2010 9:00PM
posted July 11th 2010 9:00PM
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
A core part of Microsoft's strategy from days gone by was known as embrace and extend. With a reboot of their mobile platform due later this year, is it time for Microsoft to think about moving some of their services and applications to competitor's platforms? To some degree, it's already happening. Microsoft licenses the ActiveSync protocol which allows Android, iOS and other platforms to wirelessly sync with Exchange. It's developed Bing and Live Messenger apps for iOS and also done a deal to bring mobile Office apps to Nokia's platforms. One could argue that in some of these cases Microsoft has given competitors access to what could have been key differentiators for its own mobile efforts. I'm not sure I disagree with that analysis, but now that it's happening, I think Microsoft should think even more broadly about porting some applications and services. Here's what I'd like to see made available for other platforms.
Office Mobile: Sure, there are other solutions for viewing and editing Office documents on almost every platform, but none of them carry the Microsoft Office brand. A version of Office for mobile (including a touch-enabled version of OneNote) would be an instant best seller on every platform and a become the de facto standard for mobile office applications. A combination of free document viewers and a suite of applications at a reasonable cost would put Microsoft at the top of mobile productivity and at the same time help continue to drive Office sales for PCs and Macs.
Zune Pass: It's one of the best music subscription services around, but it only works on PCs and the few Zunes that have been sold in the market -- and yes, the even fewer Kins. A Zune client that supports streaming and offline downloads would be a great way for Windows users who for one reason or another haven't embraced Microsoft's mobile devices to use more of the company's services. Apple's great iPod success came with the addition of Windows support, and Microsoft can similarly position Zune as a choice for media consumption on non-Microsoft platforms -- mobile and desktop alike.
Xbox Live: It's another perfect app for mobile use and another reason for consumers to consider an Xbox purchase. While Microsoft likely prefers Xbox Live remain a premiere experience for Windows Phone 7 users, there's simply too many XBL members who don't use Windows or Windows Phone 7. It's silly to ignore them. Done properly, Xbox Live could become the standard for mobile gaming without Microsoft having to recreate the entire ecosystem, and provide a strong incentive for developers to create titles for the experience.
It's not likely that Microsoft (or any other vendor) will dominate the mobile platform space they way that Windows dominated the PC industry. While Windows Phone 7 may allow Microsoft to become a strong mobile platform provider, porting applications and services to other platforms can help Redmond become the key provider for core functionality across multiple platforms and devices. As non-PC devices become more important to consumers, this is a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to set the standard for core functionality on every platform and further drive the Microsoft brand into the consumer world. The alternative is to allow others to drive those standards -- and rather than embrace and extend, Microsoft's efforts could be engulfed and devoured.
Michael Gartenberg is a partner at Altimeter Group. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
Office Mobile: Sure, there are other solutions for viewing and editing Office documents on almost every platform, but none of them carry the Microsoft Office brand. A version of Office for mobile (including a touch-enabled version of OneNote) would be an instant best seller on every platform and a become the de facto standard for mobile office applications. A combination of free document viewers and a suite of applications at a reasonable cost would put Microsoft at the top of mobile productivity and at the same time help continue to drive Office sales for PCs and Macs.
Zune Pass: It's one of the best music subscription services around, but it only works on PCs and the few Zunes that have been sold in the market -- and yes, the even fewer Kins. A Zune client that supports streaming and offline downloads would be a great way for Windows users who for one reason or another haven't embraced Microsoft's mobile devices to use more of the company's services. Apple's great iPod success came with the addition of Windows support, and Microsoft can similarly position Zune as a choice for media consumption on non-Microsoft platforms -- mobile and desktop alike.
Porting applications and services can help Microsoft become the key provider for core functionality on other platforms and devices. |
Xbox Live: It's another perfect app for mobile use and another reason for consumers to consider an Xbox purchase. While Microsoft likely prefers Xbox Live remain a premiere experience for Windows Phone 7 users, there's simply too many XBL members who don't use Windows or Windows Phone 7. It's silly to ignore them. Done properly, Xbox Live could become the standard for mobile gaming without Microsoft having to recreate the entire ecosystem, and provide a strong incentive for developers to create titles for the experience.
It's not likely that Microsoft (or any other vendor) will dominate the mobile platform space they way that Windows dominated the PC industry. While Windows Phone 7 may allow Microsoft to become a strong mobile platform provider, porting applications and services to other platforms can help Redmond become the key provider for core functionality across multiple platforms and devices. As non-PC devices become more important to consumers, this is a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to set the standard for core functionality on every platform and further drive the Microsoft brand into the consumer world. The alternative is to allow others to drive those standards -- and rather than embrace and extend, Microsoft's efforts could be engulfed and devoured.
Michael Gartenberg is a partner at Altimeter Group. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
@Hydra,
What's so great about Zune? I bought Zune HD to my mother in law, because software from Creative was a simple disaster and because thee were good reviews on Zune HD. As an experienced Android user I found Zune software to be somewhere in the middle between OK and mediocre, far less intuitive and logical than Android. Zune OS is like Microsoft struggled to invented something original, but failed to do it in a consistent way.
I think the advice given in this article is pretty bad, I mean those features are pretty much the differentiating software for WP7. Microsoft likes to keep their key properties to themselves and it makes sense for them.
@neurolite the day apple ALLOWS andorid and WP to natively sync with itunes will be a cold day in hell.
these phones have all their exclusive features and its up to you to chose. microsoft isn't about to be dropping xbl exclusivity it wouldn't mke sense.
what I would like is for sony to make some PSN app for their xperias
that'd be nice
Micro-who?
Seriously? Hell to the fucking no. After all the bashing iPhone users did on Microsoft, now that Microsoft is releasing a solid mobile platform they decide it's only right if Microsoft hands over all the new innovative stuff they created for their mobile platform so they can use it on their iPhones and get back to bashing Microsoft for never doing anything right?
This makes sense to some people HOW?
Yeah I second that! Forget about the trite bagel / coffee comment too. It's bad writing - terribly stereotypical. "Delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel" is just wrong; I'd have inverted the adjectives for starters. In addition New Yorkers are dead wrong about their bagel prowess (I live in Montreal and have had both cities offerings - NYCs are lacking) and hearing about it is as cliche as yellow checkered cabs.
As for the article it does seem a little thin and some points I'll-considered.
Embrace, extend and extinguish trick of their won't work against current opponents like iOS and Android.
The software world have long become wise to their tactics.
iOS is completely closed, it can't be embraced nor extended, hence part 3 is not doable.
Android is GPLv2, you can embrace and extend, but all your extensions have to be open source as well or you get your ass sued.
While the old open standard dies, the new evolved standard will becomes the new open standard, foiling the "extinguish" part.
PS:
For those who don't know what it means:
Embrace: Development of software substantially compatible with a competing product, or implementing a public standard.
Extend: Addition and promotion of features not supported by the competing product or part of the standard, creating interoperability problems for customers who try to use the 'simple' standard.
Extinguish: When extensions become a de facto standard because of their dominant market share, they marginalize competitors that do not or cannot support the new extensions.
The old open standard of course dies, getting replaced by MS's proprietary standards which MS controls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish
@PinchofSalt interesting you say that when the only reason iOS and Android phones can sync decently to exchange is because of MS. So in a way they all are under MS control. if MS kills the switch on exchange, bazinga iOS and Android become nothing but a bunch of palm pilots. jk man but true.
@trashoner
I never said anything about their dependences on MS software, just that MS can't use the 3 Es tactic to kill those platforms.
As for pulling exchange, MS can risk it I suppose, but it might not be a good time to make such antitrust-like moves.
The current US DoJ seem to be very aggressive and blood thirsty, given their "fishing trips" at Google and Apple, and MS already has been convicted once in the past of anticompetitive behaviour.
Not to mention there is the EU to worry about.
@PinchofSalt Heh, yeah. The irony is that when they did try to extinguish Netscape Navitator, Netscape was open-sourced, leading to Firefox. That's come to bite them in the ass, hasn't it?
If Steam, OpenFeint, Crystal, Apple Game Center, Plus+ et al all fed into my Xbox Live profile, I would be a very happy man indeed.
it is BEYOND me how the zune isnt Mac compatible. wtf is this, 2002?
How do you fail to mention silverlight? already on Symbian coming to everyone else in the near future... they are giving people the opportunity to develop a single app to reach everyone who doesnt own an iPhone... and you can use the best SDK by far to do it
activesyn is crapware
make it go away
Sorry, Michael Gartenberg has it wrong. This is not the meaning of "embrace and extend". Embrace and Extend was the battle cry of Microsoft before the DOJ slapped them into the Microsoft of today. Embrace and Extend was and is the best way to take on, and take down, your competition. It did not mean make your technology available everywhere making the competition's technology better than it deserves to be. It meant make what the competition makes, then make it better. It means make Netscape, then tie it into explorer and have seamless ftp folders - add active X and support developers like only Microsoft can. It means Make an OS that has a mouse and point-and-click AND the best available library of software. This is how the iPhone beat MS in their market. A phone that was designed to be simple and extendable beyond Windows Mobile. Microsoft gave up embrace and extend and Apple adopted it. Look at the UTStarcom 6700 phone. Windows Mobile, full touch screen, add-on apps, outlook, wi-fi. 6 year old tech with a slide out keyboard and stylus. What does the iphone have that improves on this? Big buttons, no stylus, speed and design. Embrace and extend. They made it sleek, fast and simple. They did not make it first. Microsoft does not need to stretch their proprietary intellectual property to the competition. Microsoft needs to embrace the competition's tech and designs and use their intellectual property to extend it so we rely on them once again. The problem is too much of what Microsoft offers is available everywhere. So why do we need them?
@dhallman lets not jump the gun yet friend WP7 is not out yet. I guess we'll see later this year why we need them. I think the key will be interoperability within the ecosystem. I mean we have the desktop, MS sneaked in a freaking beast of a computer right under the TV with the Xbox, and has cars running with sync software. they just gotta get all this crap together make it work seamlessly and nicely and there you have it. WP7 is the last piece of the ecosystem. Its the only piece of hardware that you carry everywhere that will let your car and computer at work know what's going on with the computers at home. If MS misses out on this it could be the end of MS in the phone market though. What do you think?
If zune pass came to android, I would lose it. Seriously it would be that awesome!
Well it is a tough one for Microsoft because the above mentioned features are the ones which will make Windows Phone stand out from Google and Apple OS.But Microsoft have to weigh in to see which is more lucrative to have these features restricted to a windows phone 7 OS or have them across other OSes too.
I'd absolutely buy a Zune Pass subscription if it were compatible with the iPhone. It blows pretty much everything else out of the water. I'm hoping whatever Google comes out with can match up.
I hate reading this guy's shit.
Anyway, who fucking cares about a damn winmo phone? MS won't even be controlling the hardware!
LG, HTC etc will have to PAY for the use of the winmo mobile OS. I don't know why since Android is free.
Does anyone care to comment on why we are even calling this a winmo phone when MS doesn't even want to touch the hardware?
And all the strategic crap about cross pollination with Xbox and zune.
Blah blah fart!
Oppps! I have to change by underwear!
Do we really think that MS, who ain't putting a dime into the hardware side of the phone is going to be controlling the celly makers in their development of winmo 7 phones?
And you know what else is fucked up about the winmo phones? They won't be the same phone on each carrier. Hello! And you think Verizon with their greedy asses are going to let you get down XBOX like that without you ponying up some bucks?!
Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T are all going to get different winmo phones and they will all have to be on the same page to allow this cross pollination of zune, xbox and whatever else.
SHIT!
They are going to have to give you a seamless integrated experience.
BULLSHIT!!!!!!
@pspitts What a totally, utterly useless comment. Kindly STFU and GTFO. That is all.
@pspitts Oh, and, by the way... He's not talking about WinMo 6.x, genius. He's talking about Windows Phone 7. That means NO CARRIER OR PHONE MAKER LOCKDOWN OR CUSTOMIZATION, unlike your precious Android. Don't be a blind dumbass. The only thing a carrier or a phone maker can place on a WP7 phone is applications, start-up screens, and wallpaper. That's it.
While having MS office would be neat on my iPhone, it sort of already is with Docs2go. I just want iWork on my iPhone.
This article sucks!!
MSFT FTW!!!!!!!!!!
Office Mobile and Xbox Live had me for Windows Phone 7.
I've played a lot of casual games on the iPhone and wished that the pseudo-achievements (open feint) were xbox live achievements that can carry over my gamertag. So the idea of having achievements on the WP7 is a big plus for me.
I just hope the development process is fast and the good games from the iphone are ported right away to WP7. Here's wishing to fast and successful traction of the Windows Marketplace.
What would be awesome though is to get the beatles sold over the Zune Marketplace. Something that Apple is unable to get under iTunes.
@Michael Gartenberg Did you forget that there is a Zune client for Windows PCs that already allows this? I use it all the time, especially since I have a ZuneHD. They are also allowing people to use Bing Entertainment to stream music and videos on any PC or Mac (although you must have a Zune Pass for music streaming). You can also use Bing Entertainment to purchase music through Zune, iTunes, or Amazon MP3. The entire Zune Marketplace (http://social.zune.net) is also available online and will let you stream, download, and buy music. It won't let you stream music videos or movies or tv shows, but you can still buy them there.
@aschettler Correction... actually, you can preview TV episodes and movie trailers. These require Silverlight to be installed, however.
@HighestRanked2
"well well well, look who's here, my #1 Engadget fan/stalker, Mike the cat! How're you buddy? Already at your truth-twisting shenanigans again eh? no worries."
Don't flatter yourself, troll. I read articles, I read comments. Evidently I read the same articles that you do. And when you start spouting Apple supremacy crap, I just have to go ahead and respond.
"Let's begin with your massive reading-comprehension fail of the day:
"7 copies of Windows 7 per second is reeeally crumbling. lol."
If you notice in my comment, I said MS is crumbling in the MOBILE industry. Unless of course you have some shady scoop about MS installing Windows 7 in smart phones? Allow me to answer that with: LOL."
Awwww. How cute. You seem to ignore that I took the post holistically. Lest we forget about your "anticompetitive" remarks (which I'm pretty sure haven't happened in the MOBILE sector) and the "Their problems are far deeper than that and they don't know how to fix themselves. They'll just go down with the ship." This led me to conclude that you were talking about Microsoft as a whole. I apologize for misunderstanding you.
""Truth is, they made it big the same way that Android is making it big: by being on the most number of handsets from the most carriers provided by the most number of manufacturers."
LOL made it big? nope! MS makes money selling licenses, Android gives them away for free and makes money on ads. The only reason MS -mildly- succeeded selling WinCE devices was because Palm took themselves out due to their own ineptitude to adapt and innovate. By the time MS started gaining user base with WinMo smart phones RIM's BlackBerry smart phones appeared and cleaned the floor with WinMo. So again, MS couldn't compete."
I'm sorry. Again, I was referencing their awesome presence in the PC marketshare. I've never claimed that they've had a dominant role in the mobile sector. That's YOUR massive reading-comprehension fail of the day.
""[iPhone] relegated to a niche marketshare, like we've seen happen to Mac OSX." ahahaha! that's the funniest one by far. It's even funnier because clearly you have no historical understanding of the facts. Again, after MS stole Mac OS code to make Windows, they gained and maintained is lead in desktop PCs by harsh and hostile anti-competitive practices against any competing OSs on the PC (IBM OS/2 backstabbing, etc). At the same time, in the 80's Apple took itself out of the game by its own stupidity, firing Jobs and installing some salesman as its CEO (Sculley)."
And then Microsoft funded Apple to get it back in the game. Yeah, yeah. Spare me the history lesson that I already know. Apple stole ideas from Xerox. Doesn't make anything more right, just means that Apple isn't a saint either. Oh, btw, do you have evidence that Microsoft stole copywritten code from Apple?
Looks like YOU'RE rewriting history. Rofl:
http://www.macobserver.com/columns/thebackpage/2004/20040708.shtml
Read the whole thing. It isn't that hard. Microsoft made a perfectly legal deal with Apple. Apple accepted the deal. There was no "theft" due to licensing agreements.
Face it: Apple isn't struggling against Microsoft's anti-competitive practices today. In fact, it's easier than ever before to switch from a Mac to a PC. So why doesn't everyone do it? They've certainly tried macs. Macs have their own stores, they're symbols of "coolness" in the indie teenager crowd, and their iPhones and iPads are known via marketing. So why isn't everyone flocking to it? Fact is, PCs are everywhere, they're on everything, and they certainly aren't difficult to use. Windows 7 is the best Microsoft OS yet, and it's as easy to use as anything Apple-made.
"Anyway, forward to present, Jobs is back and Apple is doing better than ever. Everyone wants an iPhone, a Mac and Apple is worth more than MS."
Awww. Even though Macs have about a 3.6% marketshare, you'll still rest on your laurels that they're "worth more" than Microsoft, simply because of a market cap. Little do you realize that Apple's stock is marked as extremely volatile, whereas Microsoft is about the most stable stock you can own.
source: http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2010/04/20/mac-q1-2010-pc-market-share-3-6-percent.aspx
"Lessons learned from the past, Apple is not repeating them, unfortunately MS is not. As to iPhone share, even you have to admit that the latest numbers were published before the iPhone 4's release and after people slowed down buying them due to the news of the found prototype. But don't worry, I assure you next stats will be back on track."
Again, amazing how you have that magical time machine. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Android is doing so well because it's everywhere. Just like in the Computer industry, Windows won the day because of its ubiquity. Apple is relegated to its closed wall environment. The same will happen with Android and iOS. I have no earthly idea how Microsoft is going to do in this game. I wish them well, as Android needs another worthy contender. (Also, that interface is a work of beauty)
Xbox Live on WP7 will run games on top of XNA. XNA is a graphics environment that runs on top of the .Net Framework. Furthermore, one programs in C# when writing an XNA game.
There are multiple issues here as to why the iPhone cannot have XBL.
1. Apple does not allow JIT compiled code on their devices
2. Apple does not allow code not originally written in Objective-C
3. MS would have to port .Net Framework to IOS, ain't happening
Beg Jobs if you want MS to work nicely on Apple.
I normally don't agree with the Entelligence articles, since I find them too dogmatic and one-sided. But this time I must say that I agree.
Microsoft became what it is because it was open and all accommodating. It can only stand to gain by porting its products/services to as many platform as possible.
Only slight exception would be the Zune pass. The only thing MS should do is finally port the Zune player to MacOS and do a worldwide release of the Zune player/pass. MS has an amazing device but it's currently only available for a small part of the market i.e. US/Windows users.
Well I don't think that MS don't want to put zune, on mac osx and iOS, in the long run, because it would most likely take some of the iTunes marketshare, the problem is simply Apple not allowing the competition.
I think Microsoft should CONSOLIDATE, perhaps they are already doing so but we're yet to see it.
Windows PC, Xbox, Mobile, Music Players all should share services...Xbox Live, Office and Bing all should be available in some form throughout the line?
Like Apple! ;)
Embrace, extend and extinguish will only work if MS control the platform the 3 E's are done on and there are no viable competitors to this platform.
What the author fails to point out is that the boot is on the other foot now, and other platform providers can make or break MS attempts to break into their back yard quite easily.
It would also mean Steve Ballmer sanctioning Office for Linux, which is about as likely as MS f@cking killing Google anytime in the near future...
or instead of whining about not having office, zune pass and xboxlive on your phone of choice, get a windows phone 7 and enjoy all the benefits of such platform. Nobody is forcing you to buy an adroid/iphone set. If you like google services get a google phone. If you like apple services get an iphone. similarly if you like microsoft services get a windows phone. what a concept!
This is a ridiculous article.
@HighestRanked2 WOW, YOU ARE THE TRUTH WORD OF THE TRUE LIVING GOD! I have read your posts are right..
I may add it to your post, They are cruel anti-inventors, too..
you have read http://gartenblog.net/2010/07/11/is-it-time-for-microsoft-to-begin-porting-some-services-and-applications-to-other-platforms/ , is it you?
I agree with this article very much. Windows Phone 7 could still be the premiere place to get these services but it is best to reach the most costomers it can. They already do that with Office for Mac which isn't near as good as the PC version but still gets people to use it and get hooked.
I'm sure Microsoft would love to sell as many WP7 phones with their OS as they can, but why not have office and other software for iOS (and other OSes) too? Microsoft is not in the hardware business, so they just want to sell software.Of course they would prefer their OS and office suite, but if people are going to choose a different OS, why not try to seel them some other software? In the end I'm sure it comes down to money, maybe they think the dev time for Office on other platforms woulnd't sell enough to make money. I know I'd be interested in MS Office on iPad though.
Looking forward to the fall and holiday releases from MS. Visual Studio 2010 has been a lot of fun so far.
I love my Zune Pass but no longer wish to carry two devices... If Zune were to cross platforms and allow me to sync my Zune Pass with a Droid, I would be ecstatic.
everybody always gangs up on this gartenberg dude in the comments section. he seems to inspire a lot of hate. can't people disagree with him without wishing him death? anyway, i don't agree with a lot of this article but having a slightly gimped version of office running on android and iOS - i think that's a great idea actually.
No no no no no. Its Extend, Embrace, and Extinguish. That is the Microsoft that many still know.
Office Mobile: MS looks to have the best mobile office suite coming later this year in WP7. Weather they port that experience to other mobile platforms - I don't know but, you will be able to access and colab with Office online from any browser. That means iPhone and Android browsers as well.
Zune Pass: No, Zunes have yet to take off but MS would be fools to open up the Zune service on competing platforms... you don't see Apple putting iTunes on other competing devices except Windows, and thats only because no one would have used it if it were Mac only. However, MS will be opening up the Zune service and Zune Pass to the millions of Xbox 360 users later this year so Zune will grow and reach a much broader audience WITHOUT competing platforms.
Xbox Live: "there's simply too many XBL members who don't use Windows or Windows Phone 7." Come again? What are they using then? I would say as much as over 90% of all Xbox Live members (Silver or Gold) use Windows and MS would again be fools by putting that service on competing platforms. MS just has to give Xbox Live users a reason to want a Windows Phone 7, and with MS creating their own MGS Mobile studio to bring their IPs over from 360 to WP7 (Halo, Gears, Fable etc) to the mobile platform, I think they will get that reason.
IMO, Xbox Live on WP7 will become the standard for mobile gaming just like it is for consoles because only MS has the know how to make a cross platform service thats tightly integrated AND the popular home console to tie it with. They also have actual high profile gaming studios that have produced AAA games. Sony is the only other company that can do this but they lack the ability to create a great cross-platform solution. Apple doesn't actually make games so there out... Google is unknown at this point because of this rumor with the Farmville guys. Then theirs the issue of having Live stay consistant... every different mobile platform has a different set of specs and features... by keeping it exclusive, MS can deliver a better gaming platform that works bests for the end users with the best possible features and specs.
This is a terrible article. All is just a bad idea that simply wouldn't work. How bout you guys write on how iTunes should be ported to Android, and how great of an idea that would be for Apple...
The only feature I want is mobile office. Playing full version dragon age will be nice too, but I doubt it's technically possible. And I don't want to buy 10 new songs every month.
Hmmm, I don't know about this. You don't want to give up too much competitive edge, but at the same time, a mobile platform's greatest highlights and strengths should not be based on killer apps for it. i.e. no one likes Android because of key apps (maybe Google maps, gmail, etc., but those aren't the reasons people get android phones). Same goes for the iPhone/iOS in general. People don't like it because of a few key features. So, even if Microsoft is giving up some kind of competitive edge, it shouldn't be anything that makes or breaks Windows Phone 7.
I would like to see a zune pass thing on android since the amazon music sucks so I had to go to a few other non-offical apps
I just wanted to add that with android being much more open for ms to join in they would be more likely to have android around rather than the iphone, by easily adding apps into the android market and then keeping a competator market that is avalible to your apps seems smart to me
I really hope MS can make WP7 work. Sure the mobile market might feel a little crowded right now, but I am always a fan of innovation because it always breeds more innovation from everybody else. The Kin may have flopped but I hope WP7 is good and has features that are desirable enough to spur the industry forward to compete.
And all of us will win.
I hope Michael Gartenberg doesn't write his own intros, because if so, that first paragraph was corny and self-serving as all hell. Maybe that intro belongs on another page so it doesn't look like he wrote it for himself? haha.
"Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide."