Monday, November 17, 2003
Microsoft CTO touts BlackBerry, iPod
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 10:00 PM
"Microsoft's chief technology officer touted the Blackberry e-mail device and Apple Computer's iPod in front of an audience of information technology directors and developers. In addition to owning a Blackberry and loving the iPod, David Vaskevitch said he always carries a digital camera. But he didn't mention using one of Microsoft's own Pocket PC devices.
Vaskevitch, who reports directly to company Chairman Bill Gates and is responsible for developing a strategy and architecture for future Microsoft platforms, was speaking for a discussion panel on wireless devices at the Salesforce.com user and developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. According to Vaskevitch, he carries an Apple iPod, Research in Motion's BlackBerry device and a digital camera when travelling, because each device is tailored to a specific job and does that job very well. The comments raised speculation among his audience that Microsoft may have an eye on developing more specific devices."
This article left a bad taste in my mouth. :? If the CTO of Microsoft won't use a Microsoft OS-based product to listen to music or get his email, who will? Microsoft has this concept called "dog food" where they use their own software internally for everything, including betas of operating systems, office apps, and Exchange servers. They have a belief, and rightly so, that the only way they can make great products is to "eat their own dog food" - if it tastes bad to them, it will taste just as bad to the customer. I've always thought this was a great concept, because it forced them to look at their own products and want to make them better.
So why doesn't this extend to hardware? Why doesn't the CTO of Microsoft "dog food" his own OS to see how it could be made better for digital audio? And why doesn't he use a Windows Mobile-based device for getting his email, so he can see how that experience could be made better?
Vaskevitch, who reports directly to company Chairman Bill Gates and is responsible for developing a strategy and architecture for future Microsoft platforms, was speaking for a discussion panel on wireless devices at the Salesforce.com user and developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. According to Vaskevitch, he carries an Apple iPod, Research in Motion's BlackBerry device and a digital camera when travelling, because each device is tailored to a specific job and does that job very well. The comments raised speculation among his audience that Microsoft may have an eye on developing more specific devices."
This article left a bad taste in my mouth. :? If the CTO of Microsoft won't use a Microsoft OS-based product to listen to music or get his email, who will? Microsoft has this concept called "dog food" where they use their own software internally for everything, including betas of operating systems, office apps, and Exchange servers. They have a belief, and rightly so, that the only way they can make great products is to "eat their own dog food" - if it tastes bad to them, it will taste just as bad to the customer. I've always thought this was a great concept, because it forced them to look at their own products and want to make them better.
So why doesn't this extend to hardware? Why doesn't the CTO of Microsoft "dog food" his own OS to see how it could be made better for digital audio? And why doesn't he use a Windows Mobile-based device for getting his email, so he can see how that experience could be made better?
