Better Living through Software

I can’t comment on whether I’ve heard rumors of an ipod-killer from Microsoft.  But if I did, I probably thought “someone is telling me this crazy story just to see if I will leak.”  I am happy to say I passed the test.  Someone else failed the test, though, and speculation is running wild.

Now, let’s just say that all of the speculation is true — let’s say we have an elite squad of people secretly working on all-that-is-good, prepared to unleash for this Christmas.  I remember hearing speculation about us releasing a new OS for the past three Christmases, and it hasn’t happened yet either.  And while I agree that XBox and XBox 360 rule, let’s be careful about setting expectations too high.  The OMWatch piece sounds suspiciouly like the typical “OMG, I found a Google beta app that does word processing; they are prepared to take over the world!!” pieces in tech rags.  All of the speculation about cross-product integration possibilities is utterly alluring.  I worked on some of those products, and I can say that I would LOVE it if we did what OMWatch is suggesting.  But I’d even be happy if it turns out we’re doing anything even remotely related, and it doesn’t completely flop.

Hmm, but what if?  Just as Sony and Apple declare bankruptcy next February, and Microsoft takes over all digital entertainment; the revenues from our near-simultaneous launches of Windows, Office, and SQL Server start to add up, and we capture more than 50% of global search market due to AdCenter’s superior integration with video gaming and set-top boxes.  All of the execs who joined Google admit that they were just joking, and come back to MSFT.  And the stock shoots up to 28.  And everyone has cherry pie for free.  And Junior Mints.

OK, I am not saying that it’s impossible.  But please can we have a bit of moderation here?

This entry was posted on Monday, July 17th, 2006 at 7:25 pm and is filed under Life at Microsoft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.