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Ray Ozzie tells Microsoft to 'go beyond the PC' | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Microsoft must think beyond the PC if it is to weather the changes due to hit in the next five years. | Microsoft must think beyond the PC if it is to weather the changes due to hit in the next five years. |
The warning was given by Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie in a memo penned soon after he announced he was leaving the company. | The warning was given by Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie in a memo penned soon after he announced he was leaving the company. |
In it, Mr Ozzie said that the last five years had been "breathtaking" and expected the next five to be the same. | In it, Mr Ozzie said that the last five years had been "breathtaking" and expected the next five to be the same. |
But, he said, the strengths that had helped Microsoft grow in the past now risked holding it back. | But, he said, the strengths that had helped Microsoft grow in the past now risked holding it back. |
The memo, called "Dawn of a New Day" mirrors one Mr Ozzie wrote soon after taking over from Bill Gates as the man in charge of charting the development direction of Microsoft's portfolio of programs. | The memo, called "Dawn of a New Day" mirrors one Mr Ozzie wrote soon after taking over from Bill Gates as the man in charge of charting the development direction of Microsoft's portfolio of programs. |
That first memo imagined a world of seamless computing and kicked off Microsoft's attempts to get its many different programs working together across lots of different devices. | That first memo imagined a world of seamless computing and kicked off Microsoft's attempts to get its many different programs working together across lots of different devices. |
In Dawn of a New Day, Mr Ozzie praised the work Microsoft had done towards that end, but said rivals had done even better. | In Dawn of a New Day, Mr Ozzie praised the work Microsoft had done towards that end, but said rivals had done even better. |
"...their execution has surpassed our own in mobile experiences, in the seamless fusion of hardware and software and services, and in social networking and myriad new forms of internet-centric social interaction." | "...their execution has surpassed our own in mobile experiences, in the seamless fusion of hardware and software and services, and in social networking and myriad new forms of internet-centric social interaction." |
The reason for this, he suggested, was Microsoft's legacy of being intimately tied to the PC. | The reason for this, he suggested, was Microsoft's legacy of being intimately tied to the PC. |
"For the most part, we've grown to perceive of "computing" as being equated with specific familiar "artifacts" such as the "computer", the "program" that's installed on a computer, and the "files" that are stored on that computer's "desktop". | "For the most part, we've grown to perceive of "computing" as being equated with specific familiar "artifacts" such as the "computer", the "program" that's installed on a computer, and the "files" that are stored on that computer's "desktop". |
Such thinking, he said, was becoming less and less relevant as the way people used computers and what they did changed. | Such thinking, he said, was becoming less and less relevant as the way people used computers and what they did changed. |
"...the early adopters among us have decidedly begun to move away from mentally associating our computing activities with the hardware/software artifacts of our past such as PC's, CD-installed programs, desktops, folders & files," he wrote. | "...the early adopters among us have decidedly begun to move away from mentally associating our computing activities with the hardware/software artifacts of our past such as PC's, CD-installed programs, desktops, folders & files," he wrote. |
Connections rather than computers were more important, he suggested, and devices were becoming almost disposable. | Connections rather than computers were more important, he suggested, and devices were becoming almost disposable. |
"They're instantly usable, interchangeable, and trivially replaceable without loss," he said. | "They're instantly usable, interchangeable, and trivially replaceable without loss," he said. |
To prosper and stay relevant, he said, Microsoft must embrace this change and get to grips with a world that cares about "continuous services" rather than computers. | To prosper and stay relevant, he said, Microsoft must embrace this change and get to grips with a world that cares about "continuous services" rather than computers. |
"Close our eyes and form a realistic picture of what a post-PC world might actually look like, if it were to ever truly occur," he wrote. "Those who can envision a plausible future that's brighter than today will earn the opportunity to lead." | "Close our eyes and form a realistic picture of what a post-PC world might actually look like, if it were to ever truly occur," he wrote. "Those who can envision a plausible future that's brighter than today will earn the opportunity to lead." |
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