You can ask anyone and they will tell you that I rarely cut Microsoft any slack. I have been working in Microsoft technologies for over 10 years now, and I’m pretty good at .NET development. People generally assume that if you make a career working in a technology then you should give the appropriate, unrelenting respect but that’s not how I work. I won’t swoon over every product Microsoft produces because I don’t agree that everything that comes out of Redmond is made of gold. (Also, for what its worth, I don’t swoon over Apple products either. I’m not getting online at 4 in the morning or standing in line outside the Apple store to buy the new iPhone just to have the new iPhone; that’s just not economically sane or reasonable. I swoon for no one … well, maybe except for Nathan Fillion but, come on, he’s Malcolm Reynolds!
It probably doesn’t help that from 1998 to about 2002 I was full blown anti-Microsoft. I would only use Windows if I absolutely had to. My first computer was configured for dual boot which gave me the option to use Linux or Windows and I used Linux 90% of the time I was actively using my computer. Eventually I began to cut Microsoft some slack and when Windows 7 came out, it was a turning point for me. Microsoft has been in business for nearly 40 years so I expect a lot from a company that has been around since the mid-70’s. Is it wrong for me to set the bar that high? Lately I feel as though Microsoft thinks they can throw their weight around and still get their way but this isn’t the 90’s anymore. The vendor no longer controls the market; the users are now dictating what they want and what they expect (I blame social media). If you’re not willing to listen to your users and consumers then you’ll never deliver what the people really want and you’ll get left behind by those that really do respond to criticism and feedback (hence why Apple and Google have been far more successful).
I think a lot of my harsh criticism stems from frustration. I feel like Microsoft has been extremely obtuse and out of touch with the modern world. How do you release something as wonderful as Windows 7 only to turn around and release something as odious as the Metro UI and Windows 8? I get that the industry has become more mobile where gestures and touch enabled devices are paramount for new products but Microsoft’s interpretation of a mobile UI was just awful. I also think that the Windows Phone and the Surface tablet was a terrible idea because the market was already saturated with several successful devices. It’s very disappointing because they made some very poor decisions; but I guess if anyone has the money to throw around its Microsoft. They have never really been afraid to take risks, no matter how terribly they pan out.
I’ve already seen a few rumors swirling around about Windows 9, code named “Threshold” and the early indicators are that they are going to separate the standard computer desktop user from the touch enabled user. Despite all the mud slinging I have been doing lately about Windows 8, I am excited for Windows 9 and to see if Microsoft has learned their lesson. I’m still not interested in either of their mobile devices (until they become less of an eye-sore) however futile it is to resist 😉