A Microsoft Evangelist’s BlogPosts RSS
Posted in Management Thought, Microsoft on Jun 15th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
Takeaway: I don’t micromanage, but I do ask questions that require a discussion of detail.
Takeaway: I “budget” my time.
Takeaway: (on hiring) Tell me about your passion and what makes you so proud of. Your passion lies in your eyes which won’t lie.
Takeaway: Delegate decision-making process, and endorse decisions made by your people.
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Posted in Investment, Microsoft on Jun 7th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
One of the things that is true if you worked at Microsoft, and it’s very stunning for people who come from the outside and come into Microsoft, is that when a company is very, very, very successful, a lot of the challenges that you’re faced with are a direct result of that success. And in Microsoft’s case we have had the ability to say yes and add more over the years in terms of solving more problems for customers, creating more offerings, and it’s really great from an opportunity perspective, because you address more and more of the market. But as a side effect of that you create internal complexity that you really don’t understand until there’s a forcing function that makes you understand it.
- Ray Ozzie (source)
當一間公司相當成功後，接踵而來的挑戰，往往是過去的成功所堆積的包袱…
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每年到了端午節，大家期待吃粽子，我則是期待 AllThingsD Conference。今年Steve Ballmer 接受訪談影片精華片段如下 (而且還已經加了字幕):
大聲喊出BING！BING！這段有經典到。
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Posted in Management Thought, Microsoft, Quote, Thought on May 17th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
老實說一年多來很少見到 Ballmer 談企管心法的文章，總算昨天 (2009/5/16) 紐約時報 Corner Office 專欄請來 Ballmer 暢談想法，這不完整收錄一下是不行的啊！
開始之前，先節錄本日佳句：
Q: How do you assess job candidates?
A: … I try to figure out sort of a combination of I.Q. and passion. I just ask somebody to tell me what they’ve done that they are really proud of and tell me about it. And if it’s something you are proud of, you should be able to answer any question I can come up with, at least at a level that would satisfy my interest. I ought to be able to see your passion. It might be quiet passion; it might be bubbly passion. But I should be able to sense that you are one of those people who just sort of throws themselves into things.
好，訪談全文開始：
This interview of Steven A. Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.
Q. Are there areas you want to improve as a leader?
A. I race too much. My brain races too much, so even if I’ve listened to everything somebody said, unless you show that you’ve digested it, people don’t think they are being well heard. Sometimes you really don’t hear because you’re racing. It’s just the way my brain works. My brain is just chop, chop, chop, chop, chop. And so, if you really want to get the best out of people, you have to really hear them and they have to feel like they’ve been really heard. So I’ve got to learn to slow down and improve in that dimension, both to make me better and to make the people around me better.
Q. What’s it like to be in a meeting run by Steve Ballmer?
A. I’ve changed that, really in the last couple years. The mode of Microsoft meetings used to be: You come with something we haven’t seen in a slide deck or presentation. You deliver the presentation. You probably take what I will call “the long and winding road.” You take the listener through your path of discovery and exploration, and you arrive at a conclusion.
That’s kind of the way I used to like to do it, and the way Bill [Gates] used to kind of like to do it. And it seemed like the best way to do it, because if you went to the conclusion first, you’d get: “What about this? Have you thought about this?” So people naturally tried to tell you all the things that supported the decision, and then tell you the decision.
I decided that’s not what I want to do anymore. I don’t think it’s productive. I don’t think it’s efficient. I get impatient. So most meetings nowadays, you send me the materials and I read them in advance. And I can come in and say: “I’ve got the following four questions. Please don’t present the deck.” That lets us go, whether they’ve organized it that way or not, to the recommendation. And if I have questions about the long and winding road and the data and the supporting evidence, I can ask them. But it gives us greater focus.
Q. How do you assess job candidates?
A. If they come from inside the business, the best predictor of future success is past success. It’s not 100 percent, but it’s a reasonable predictor. For an external candidate, what I’ve found is that reference checks are super-important. I didn’t used to believe so much in reference checks. You can always get somebody to say something nice about you. But the truth is, if you ask enough questions and you ask around, you can really get a profile of who’s accomplished various things and who hasn’t.
And I try to figure out sort of a combination of I.Q. and passion. I just ask somebody to tell me what they’ve done that they are really proud of and tell me about it. And if it’s something you are proud of, you should be able to answer any question I can come up with, at least at a level that would satisfy my interest. I ought to be able to see your passion. It might be quiet passion; it might be bubbly passion. But I should be able to sense that you are one of those people who just sort of throws themselves into things.
Q. Is there a skill or qualification or trait that you’re looking for in prospective hires that didn’t matter as much 10 years ago?
A. Mostly, I’m still looking for what I’ve always looked for: extremely smart and talented people who love to work hard, who are passionate about technology and who have a great foundation in math and science. But compared to 10 years ago, technology is more complex, products and services span people’s lives in new ways, and our business is much more global. So it’s more important that people can think outside the confines of their individual expertise and their product group and connect the dots between technologies, customer needs and markets in new ways.
Q. What’s the most challenging part of your job?
A. Finding the right balance between optimism and realism. I’m an optimist by nature, and I start from the belief that you can always succeed if you have the right amount of focus combined with the right amount of hard work. So I can get frustrated when progress runs up against issues that should have been anticipated or that simply couldn’t have been foreseen. A realist knows that a certain amount of that is inevitable, but the optimist in me always struggles when progress doesn’t match my expectations.
Q. Fill in the blank. You want the culture of your company to be more _____ ?
A. Efficient. The right word is efficient. That’s the direction that every business leader is steering their company culture toward right now. Given the current economic climate and the uncertainty about how long the recession will last, this is a time when organizations need to do more with less, and Microsoft is no exception. We’ve made good progress, but for a company that has grown every year for more than 30 years, learning how to operate under more constrained circumstances is not always that easy.
At the same time, the need to be more efficient drives us all toward sharper focus on what is important and what can truly move the needle in terms of meeting customer needs and taking market share. Of course, we need to be innovative, but we also need to be efficient.
Q. Any books on management and leadership that you’ve found particularly useful?
A. Jim Collins’s book “Built to Last.”
Q. In all the speeches you’ve given, is there a favorite line or story or passage or quotation?
A. In February I was invited to share my business perspective on the economic downturn with House Democrats at their annual retreat. In that speech, I got to share something that my dad always told me growing up, which is a simple piece of advice that really shaped my approach to life and to business.
My dad worked for Ford for 30 years. When I was a kid, he’d say: “If you’re going to do a job, do a job. If you’re not going to do a job, don’t do a job.” What he meant was, if you really want to accomplish anything, you have to be committed, motivated, tenacious and smart about what you do. That’s really just the essence of the American work ethic, but it’s one of the most important things I ever learned.
Q. If you had to choose another profession, what would it be?
A. Education, probably. I like working with young people, and I think it’s really important to encourage talent. I love basketball, so I could see myself as a high school basketball coach. I think a basketball team that I coached would have a really good chance of being a winner.
Q. What would you like business schools to focus on more, or less?
A. I’d like to see more emphasis on the importance of taking the long view. Companies focus too much on short-term results in business. It takes patience to build a great business, and sometimes you have to be willing to make the long-term investment and then keep at it if you want to succeed.
Q. If you could teach any b-school course, including one that you create, what would it be?
A. Leadership. Microsoft has grown from 30 people to more than 90,000 since I started, so I’ve had the chance to play a leadership role at practically every stage imaginable in a company’s growth and development. I’ve learned a lot about leadership along the way from some great people that I’ve worked with and through experience.
I’ve come to believe that to be a great leader, you have to combine thought leadership, business leadership and great people management. I think most people tend to focus more on one of those three. I used to think it was all about thought leadership. Some people think it’s all about your ability to manage people. But the truth is, great leaders have to have a mix of those things.
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首先是客場球隊 - Google:
G公司日前宣佈一項新技術：Google Apps Directoty Sync，讓企業 IT 部門可以將Microsoft Active Directory 或 Lotus Domino 的帳號 (alias) 資訊同步到 Google Apps 當中。小弟私以為 AD (Active Directory) 的便利性和延展性是 MS OS/Server 在企業端能佔有一席之地的關鍵性優勢，G公司這個動作等同於攻進五角大樓。值得繫好安全帶看雙方精彩演出。
接下讓我們歡迎主場球隊 – Microsoft:
M公司則是透過 Facebook 最新開放的 API – Open Stream 中大秀兩手。Open Stream 終於讓程式開發人員光明正大摸走存取使用者的狀態即時更新 (e.g. News Feeds)，這和其他服務 mash-up 之後將有無限可能。慶祝新 API 釋出的活動中，來自M公司的兩支團隊只花 72 小時就開發出令人驚豔的兩組應用。其一是建立在 Silverlight 技術之上；另一則是建立在 .NET 技術之上。Demo 影片附於文末。
M公司不虧是 Facebook 的早期投資人 (雖然目前看來是套牢)，然而，套房裡搭起的友誼橋樑不是外人能輕易體會的！FB 與「投資人」之間的曖昧關係，是否暗示著未來將有更多合作機會？我猜 YES。小弟私以為對 Mark Zuckerberg 來說，G公司比M公司更像潛在競爭者。
看看這段 Demo 影片，如果無名小站也開放能 access 到正妹相簿的 API，那另一支基於 Silverlight 技術的 Killer Applicaiton 肯定會很快在台灣問世！
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聽說這系列影片叫做”Home, Work and Play”，首先暴光的是 Home 與 Work 兩支：
第一支還好，第二支後半段…該不會是在暗示微軟未來將轉型切入魔術市場吧！
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1. 營收 $13.65 billion，年減 6%
2. 淨利 $2.98 billion，年減 32% (痛阿)
3. 現金、約當現金、與短期投資部位 $25.3 billion，年增 7%
4. 稀釋後單季 EPS $0.33，年減 30%
心得：近期逢彽介入，等年底回升。
相關連結：官方新聞稿
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Posted in Bill Gates, Microsoft, Thought on Apr 13th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
Steve Jobs: …And I think building a company’s really hard, and it requires your greatest persuasive abilities to hire the best people you can and keep them at your company and keep them working, doing the best work of their lives, hopefully. And Bill’s been able to stay with it for all these years. (一開始雙方互相讚對對方，Steve Jobs 特別指出說服力是公司初期招募與留住人才的關鍵。他本身就把 Steve Wozniak 從 HP 的金飯碗中遊說到車庫，一起創辦 Apple Computer。)
Bill Gates: …And his ability to always come around and figure out where that next bet should be has been phenomenal. (Bill Gates 稱讚 Steve Jobs 在在看趨勢與消費者需求這方面的眼光神準。)
Bill Gates: …And we had really bet our future on the Macintosh being successful, and then, hopefully, graphics interfaces in general being successful, but first and foremost, the thing that would popularize that being the Macintosh. (早期 Microsoft 是 Apple Computer 少數合作密切的 application vendors 之一。Microsoft 也把身家賭在 Apple 的麥金塔電腦。)
Steve Jobs: …But the net result of it was, was there were too many people at Apple and in the Apple ecosystem playing the game of, for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. And it was clear that you didn’t have to play that game because Apple wasn’t going to beat Microsoft. Apple didn’t have to beat Microsoft. Apple had to remember who Apple was because they’d forgotten who Apple was. (Steve Jobs 回憶，直到他1997年回鍋上任以來，Apple 內部仍瀰漫著反Microsoft 情緒，員工腦中裝滿了與 Microsoft 的零和遊戲。但他一走馬上任，第一件事就是告訴大家：Apple 的成功不一定要建立在 Microsoft 的失敗之上。同時也在 1997 Macworld 大會上宣布 Microsoft 將成為 Apple 的 strategic partner。)
Steve Jobs: The art of those commercials (I’m MAC v.s. I’m PC) is not to be mean, but it’s actually for the guys to like each other. Thanks. PC guy is great. Got a big heart.
Bill Gates: His mother loves him.
Steve Jobs: His mother loves him.
Steve Jobs: PC guy’s what makes it all work, actually.
(Steve Jobs 說：是 PC Guy 讓 Mac v.s. PC 系列廣告獲得空前成功，一切都要感謝PC Guy.
)
Steve Jobs: …You know, what’s really interesting is–and we talked about this earlier today–if you look at the reason that the iPod exists and the Apple’s in that marketplace, it’s because these really great Japanese consumer electronics companies who kind of own the portable music market, invented it and owned it, couldn’t do the appropriate software, couldn’t conceive of and implement the appropriate software. Because an iPod’s really just software. It’s software in the iPod itself, it’s software on the PC or the Mac, and it’s software in the cloud for the store. And it’s in a beautiful box, but it’s software. If you look at what a Mac is, it’s OS X, right? It’s in a beautiful box, but it’s OS X. And if you look at what an iPhone will hopefully be, it’s software.
…And so the big secret about Apple, of course–not-so-big secret maybe–is that Apple views itself as a software company… (Steve Jobs 認為 Apple 的成功來自 software design，iPod 說穿了就是成功的software (含iTunes) 在一個漂亮的盒子裡，Mac 說穿了也是一個成功的 software 在一個漂亮的盒子裡。Apple 甚至比較喜歡把自己定義為 software company。說真的，山寨當道，hardware 可以很快被模仿走，software 卻很難，君不見市面流通的山寨版 iPhone OS 還是長得很山寨？獲利模式建立在 software solution 之上的公司，要時時擔心被大量盜版，但若同時擁有 hareware + software 的 vertical solution，可以握有更多對產品品質的掌控度。)
Bill Gates: The mainstream is always under attack. (簡潔有力，Windows, Office = mainstream)
Steve Jobs: …What I’m saying is, I think the marriage of some really great client apps with some really great cloud services is incredibly powerful and right now, can be way more powerful than just having a browser on the client. (WOW, Steve Jobs 也 echoed 微軟的 Software Plus Services 策略。)
Bill Gates: …How quickly all these things that have been somewhat specialized, the navigation device, the digital wallet, the phone, the camera, the video camera, how quickly those all come together, it’s hard to chart out. But eventually, you’ll be able to pick something that has the capability to do every one of those things. (my thought: 創新比較有可能發生在 specialized devices 上，但 specilized devices 終究會匯聚成 genenal purpose devices。然後失去創新動力，然後再引領出另外一波 specialized devices 創新，然後再匯聚，and the process repeats itself again and again.)
Steve Jobs: …No, that wasn’t my answer. You know, when Bill and I first met each other and worked together in the early days, generally, we were both the youngest guys in the room, right? Individually or together. I’m about six months older than he is, but roughly the same age. And now when we’re working at our respective companies, I don’t know about you, but I’m the oldest guy in the room most of the time. And that’s why I love being here.
…And, you know, I think of most things in life as either a Bob Dylan or a Beatles song, but there’s that one line in that one Beatles song, “you and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.” And that’s clearly true here. (回首從前，Seteve Jobs 和 Bill Gates 很早就互相認識，也曾是全公司最年輕的員工，如今兩卻往往是”the oldest in the room”。)
Steve Jobs: …You know, because Woz and I started the company based on doing the whole banana, we weren’t so good at partnering with people. And, you know, actually, the funny thing is, Microsoft’s one of the few companies we were able to partner with that actually worked for both companies. And we weren’t so good at that, where Bill and Microsoft were really good at it because they didn’t make the whole thing in the early days and they learned how to partner with people really well.
And I think if Apple could have had a little more of that in its DNA, it would have served it extremely well. And I don’t think Apple learned that until, you know, a few decades later. (初期 Microsoft 在尋找合作夥伴這方面做的比 Apple 好很多。Steve Jobs 甚至認為，如果當年Apple也多一點”partnering DNA”，情況也許會大不相同。)
Click here to see the original videos
And here is the bonus - Mac. v.s. PC, kiddy version:
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Posted in Marketing Thought, Microsoft on Apr 6th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
繼紅髮 Lauren 後，此次我們找來了美國阿宅擔綱主角演出，這回任務雷同：$1500 美金預算 (比上次多$500)，你能買到符合理想規格的電腦，製作單位就幫你出錢。當然這一切都是模擬情境劇，重點只是在凸顯一件事…
“Mac is so sexy, but…”
Ouch!, price-value ratio, it hurts.
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Basic Developer Needs
(source)
科技業的核心競爭力是developer，so treat them well.
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Microsoft added support for automatic mood detection in Windows Live Messenger. “We’re happy to announce that due to the great breakthroughs from Microsoft Research, we have an alpha version working that monitors your real-time physiological state and translates that into a mood (happy, sad, anxious, etc), such that you would never have to enter an emoticon again.” (source)
感謝微軟研究院 (MSR) 學者博士們不眠不休地研發，一個號稱 ”Human Attitude Heuristic Algorithm” 的演算法終於問世。第一個實務運用就是 Windows Live Messenger 2009 即將新增的情緒偵測功能。
MSN情緒偵測模式能即時追蹤你聊天時的心理狀態，並自動將結果轉換為對應的表情符號，省去點選/輸入表情符號的時間。例如：webcam 偵測到你笑的表情，就會自動在對話中幫你加上:)，偵測到你吐舌頭(?!)，就會幫你加上:P，麥克風偵測到你大笑，就會自動幫你加上:D，鍵盤偵測到你輸入速度越來越快，也會幫你的對話補上痛苦或緊張的表情。( 不知偵測到哪種緒才會出現台灣人專用表情 — XD )
往年好像都是G公司、Y公司玩這些把戲玩比較大。愚人節惡搞新聞稿想必是個不錯的PR機會。也可以藉此看出冷冰冰大公司難得的「人味 (personality) 」
愚人節產品發表也能反映區域文化色彩，像是Google China (谷歌中國)，就推出了十分帶有中國特色笑點 (囧) 的愚人節產品…
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你猜到了：Wikipedia
Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft’s goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business. (source: Encarta website FAQ)
比爾蓋茲在 <擁抱未來, The Road Ahead> 一書中(1995)，曾經反覆提到光碟加百科全書就像是撒尿蝦和牛丸的結合一樣有搞頭。如今再次驗證了計畫趕不上變化，變化趕不上聽話這句話。但說到底，微軟還是一間能捨能放的公司。 Sometimes, winners do quit.
這也讓我想起周杰倫感人歌曲 - 聽媽媽的話：
聽 ~ user 的 ~ 話，別讓股東受傷~
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Posted in Marketing Thought, Microsoft on Mar 28th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
我特別喜歡這句：“I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.” (片中女主角逛了Apple店之後發現東西都超貴爆預算所說出的話。)
就是這句話讓這支AD在美國部落圈廣為流傳，什麼都是假的，只有省錢是真的！哈哈。既然常常被虧，那不如跳出來自己虧自己，幽默自嘲人人愛啊！
btw, I’m a PC 之可愛4.5歲妹妹篇也值得一看。
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年紀真的有份量。摩斯漢堡爺爺 (Walter Mossberg) 就是那種長得很有智慧，說話慢慢的，聽他說什麼你都會很想相信的那種。不虧是開箱文界的泰斗啊！
摩斯漢堡爺爺個人小檔案：
WSJ 看似保守，但卻在 digital journalism 這塊有很多大膽作為。光看 All Things D 主筆文章的辛辣程度，以及 kara Swisher 把攝影機拿在手上晃來晃去的突擊式採訪影片就可略知一二。更不用講摩斯爺爺在家裡書房用 webcam 自拍的 product review 影片啦！
(2007年5月比爾蓋茲與賈伯斯在D5同台對談精華 (幽默)片段)
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Posted in Bill Gates, Google, Microsoft, Thought on Mar 25th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
Thank you young guys, you created tons of job opportunities (including mine), you made our life interesting, you disrupted the world once ruled by beauracrats.
let’s see the numbers in detail:
| Founder | Company | Age at Founding |
| Bill Gates | Microsoft | 19 |
| Paul Allen | Microsoft | 21 |
| Steve Jobs | Apple | 20 |
| Steve Wozniak | Apple | 25 |
| Larry Page | 24 | |
| Sergey Brin | 24 | |
| Jerry Yang | Yahoo! | 26 |
| David Filo | Yahoo! | 28 |
| Mark Zuckerberg | 19 | |
| Dustin Moskovitz | 19 | |
| Chris Hughes | 19 | |
| Chad Hurley | YouTube | 27 |
| Steve Chen | YouTube | 26 |
| Jawed Karim | YouTube | 25 |
* The average age: 23
* Two were born in Taipei, Taiwan
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Posted in Marketing Thought, Microsoft on Mar 24th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
Today’s news: Microsoft (MSFT), via its Federated Media ad network/platform/agency, is sponsoring a page that collects Tweets from various executives. Twitter will get an undisclosed payment for giving the site its stamp of approval and for promoting the site on Twitter itself. Federated says it plans on launching similar programs on Twitter with other clients. (source)
你可以在這頁特製的 Twitter aggregator 中，找到各公司高級長官的 tweets。當然，別忘了看看你們公司是不是也已經 ”PeopleReady (for Twittering?!)” 。按一下中間上面的Banner 就可以知道答案。
Brilliant!
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Windwos Mobile 6.5在使用者介面上做了滿大的改變。我特別喜歡「使用者一開手機會想要看到什麼」的思考方向。在WM 6.5，一按下電源，在鎖定螢幕的畫面中，你會看到大大的時間、緊接在下方的下一個行程，以及位於上方的重要通知圖示。按一下上方的通知圖示，你可以先預覽有多少通未接來電、未讀簡訊、未讀郵件等等。
操作上也大量利用了拖–拉的概念。start button按下去之後的蜂巢式(honycomb)圖示加大，上下滑動切換頁面流暢度提昇，也會自動在下一頁自動停下來。
首頁Today畫面以大字體文字加拖拉光棒呈現，應該還滿適合單手操作。橫跨螢幕的光棒很重要，因為當以單手(右手)拿手機時，大拇指才能輕鬆在螢幕靠右處挑選功能。從此大拇指不必再為了按左上方的開始功能鍵ㄍ一ㄥ到抽筋。
選單也讓字體放大，更好按了。
設計師在科技公司日後應該會扮演越來越重要的角色。說不定還會有公司設立CDO – Chief Design Officer 等級的高階職位。有趣的是，幾小時前，Google的首席設計師Doug Bowman才剛在自己的Blog公開因為受不了工程師”Data Driven”文化，憤而離職的消息。
ps. 這支在Mix09 Demo WM6.5的手機是HTC Touch Pro，台灣之光阿！
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Posted in Google, Microsoft, Thought on Mar 20th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
Gmail Blog說以後放錯收件人、打錯字、忘記打主旨等「手滑」等級的失誤，現在都有解了。你可以在Gmail Lab (Eng) 中開啟這項新功能，日後寄出的信件，會有5秒delay時間，讓你取消寄送。不過5秒夠讓潛意識 (或反射神經) 通知大腦 something wrong 嗎？
Outlook 應該也可以加入這個功能，而且如果能設計成可自行設定延遲送出秒數，那應該可以減少許多 email 擦槍走火事件。畢竟很多人都是寄送鍵一按，心境一轉，氣就消了，但這時才後悔口氣下太重，一切都為時已晚。
偉哉科技，國家棟樑應該多朝這種輔助「人性缺陷」的方向，去思考下一個改變世界的發明。
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Posted in Bill Gates, Google, Thought on Mar 12th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
昨天和今天看到兩則新聞，讓我有種改變遲早會出現，但似乎都比想像中早實現的感覺。
第一則是Google Official Blog 在這禮拜三終於掙脫privacy concern的枷鎖，宣佈進軍Behavioral Targeting Ads市場，並同時開放新服務Ad Preferences Manager Beta測試。透過Ad Preference Manager，你可以先挑選自己有興趣的領域、主題，日後Google遞送的廣告就會依你的嗜好過濾，讓廣告對你的干擾度降到最低，你也比較有興趣點廣告，更重要的是，Agency因此賺更多錢，Publisher因此賺更多錢，Google因此賺更多錢，當然，Advertiser的conversion rate也能提高，一切皆大歡喜。
那我怎麼會特別想提這則消息呢？兩年前，我有陣子天天braistorming新idea，也把這些想法順手紀錄在ideaisqueen部落格中，其中開發「讓使用者自行選擇興趣、嗜好的廣告比對服務」就是其中之一。當時很迷StarWars，巴不得所有AdSense送出來的廣告都跟週邊商品相關，自然而然覺得世界上一定還有許多人同我有類似的需求，總覺得Google早該想到這點，讓使用者手動設定廣告遞送的條件。
第二則新聞則是剛出爐的2009年富比士世界富豪排行榜，這回比爾蓋茲重回首富寶座，而我也正好於約莫一年半前，寫過比爾蓋茲13年來首度丟掉首富地位的紀念文一篇。當時榜首被原本第三名的墨西哥電信大亨Carlos Slim取代。然而我相信以股票市值計價的資產，遲早會因市場波動而有所改變，但想不到改變會來得這麼快，想不到我們會在兩年後壟罩於金融風暴當中，也想不到文章寫完半年內，先是巴菲特擠掉墨西哥電信大亨成為2008年首富接棒人，又同時於12個月之間 (道瓊一萬四千點到七千點之間)，將首富接力棒又交還給比爾蓋茲。
把莫非定律改寫一下，我們生活的世界，不就是環繞在下面這句spell當中？
Anything that can change will change eventually.
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(愛護眼睛，點圖放大。來源: 聽說是普遍認為具可信度的Net Applications)
本月(2009/2)特色:
1. Safari 市占率連續成長數個月後，2月份首次下滑
2. IE 市占率雖仍下滑，但幅度減小
我最近總有個未來瀏覽器應該朝企業用戶和一般使用者分兩個版本開發的想法: 企業版本專注於開發高安全性、簡易部署(&管控)、加速瀏覽等核心功能，消費者端則專注於開發多元化 (a.k.a.讓你外掛裝到掛)、簡易操作介面、可個人化、情境化版本 (e.g. 在線上購物模式、線上轉帳模式、線上閒逛模式、線上遊戲模式等不同情境中，自動切換安全性等級與載入控制項等背景行為) 。無論是FF想前進企業市場，或IE想繼續把握消費者市場，都可以考慮考慮。天真的我認為，雙方的弱項 (以及逐漸變成包袱的強項)，應該可以透過開發對應版本，逐漸打下一直吃不到的市場。
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Office Lab的”envisioning”系列影片有更多幫大家幻想未來生活的影片:http://www.officelabs.com/Pages/Envisioning.aspx
不過那幾個觸控手勢似乎已經被玩爛了，是時候想想還有哪些符合人體工學的動作適合運用在觸控界面上。影片嘛，想像空間還很大。
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可以到這邊下載IE 8 RC1，目前支援Vista, XP, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 等OS。根據IE官方部落格的說法，如果在Windows 7安裝，會告訴你，咳咳，不支援，因為你已經是IE8了XD
Note: If you are running Windows 7 Beta, you will not be able to install IE8 RC1. You will get an error message saying that your operating system is not supported since IE8 already ships in Win7. The IE8 RC1 available from Microsoft Download Center is a standalone upgrade for downlevel version of the OS only: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 and Window Server 2003.
如果已經是IE 8 Beta的使用者，可以選擇直接升級。不過裝好記得會需要重新開機一次。
另外剛剛也發現有一個叫做IE的Twitter Account偷偷加我好友 :D。這個帳號1/23號才開始正式運作。想必不久的將來各個產品線，尤其是consumer端的，都應該要有一個Twitter Account呀！
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Wall Street Journal的資深科技專欄作家 - Walt Mossberg，他的評論一向以簡單、公正著名。相信這段review出來，能影響到不少閱讀WSJ的大人物。
(評論原文)
我也是他的(home) video review專欄的忠實觀眾。每次看他穿不同衣服在書房對著webcam講話，非常有鄰家爺爺的感覺呀！WSJ的AllthingsD Video網頁還有Kara Swisher等紅牌專欄作家的vlog/blog，其中Kara的blog - Boom Town，08年以來我覺得已經快變成MicroHoo謠言的發源地了XD。
Walt Mossberg甚至還有一個active Twitter account:
很難想像WSJ玩這麼多新媒體吧！老字號publisher在兩三年前，就搭上next web的列車了，誰說傳統媒體終將式微呢？
(Follow-up Interview: Mossberg最後認為Windows 7 Beta表現已經勝過XP和Vista，但我們真正要看的是，Windows 7有機會勝過今年將推出的Mac OS X - Snow Leopard 嗎？)
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營收沒差多少，淨利卻大幅滑落，這當然要找出剛公佈的成本支出數字來來瞧一瞧：
很明顯地，與去年同期相比，Cost of revenue增加了10.27%，Research and development增加了21.49%，Sale and marketing增加了7.08%，General and administrative減少了22.05%，總營運成本支出增加了7.83%。
我只能說，微軟還是很有誠意的，不畏景氣寒冬，仍然投資重金在R&D上，大家可以好好期待Windows 7和Office 14等產品。反過來說，Sales and marketing的支出比我想像中的還要少…(marketing好艱辛啊！) 但這也形同於告訴大家，微軟不是一間以sales ( IBM) 或 marketing (Apple) 做為核心競爭力的公司。
雖然你現在正在用的軟體可能介面笨了點，速度慢了點，但在你抱怨的分秒之間，這套軟體的母公司已經砸下數千美金在研發與改善之上。如我上次寫過的一篇文章，微軟符合「把市場財富轉換到有價值事物產出」這樣的一個企業使命。(老實說，當你知道你送給廠商的錢。最後被拿去買一堆sales preaching廣告，你會開心嗎？當你知道你送給廠商的錢，最後是被拿去投資研發、技術客服，你會不開心嗎？)
剛剛無聊算了一下，以2.29 Billion美金的R&D費用來算，微軟在9月到12月之間(120天)，每秒平均砸下220.87美金做研發！在抱怨軟體難用(或當機XD)的那幾秒之間，已經有一具數百萬$瓦數的capital engine動了起來，debugging, optimizing, innovating, 為我們許下一個更美好的未來！
真的，暫時忘掉那些五彩繽紛的廣告詞吧，我覺得微軟仍是一間道道地地of the technology, by the technology, for the technology的「科技公司」。它是為了以科技改善人類生活而存在。
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話說剛剛一看MSFT急跌近8% (updated:收盤跌11.71%)，馬上調earning call出來看。哇，全球營收比去年同期成長2%，但淨利比去年同期下滑11%。其中Client的營收掉了8%，Server & Tools的營收增加了15%，EDD拜Xbox 360不景氣中的宅經濟所賜，也有3%的同期營收成長。
節錄自官方公告：
REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 22, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $16.63 billion for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, a 2% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.94 billion, $4.17 billion and $0.47, declines of 8%, 11% and 6%, respectively, compared with the prior year.
Client revenue declined 8% as a result of PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks. However, strong annuity licensing drove Server & Tools revenue growth of 15%. Entertainment and Devices revenue grew 3% driven by strong holiday demand for Xbox 360 consoles with a record 6 million units sold in the quarter.
當然謠傳很久的傳言也成真了：
In light of the further deterioration of global economic conditions, Microsoft announced additional steps to manage costs, including the reduction of headcount-related expenses, vendors and contingent staff, facilities, capital expenditures and marketing. As part of this plan, Microsoft will eliminate up to 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs today. These initiatives will reduce the company’s annual operating expense run rate by approximately $1.5 billion and reduce fiscal year 2009 capital expenditures by $700 million.
在這個時候，就是和米蟲說再見，讓創意和新作法在大公司嶄露頭角的好時機。嘿，地牛翻身，牛轉乾坤，數年才有一回啊！
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在寬螢幕前用手指頭轉動地球，再用兩指zoom in，彷彿真的到未來了…Virtual Earth類型的應用，滿適合放在國小電腦教室，教小朋友認識地球和不同國家。大螢幕multi-touch除了酷炫之外，導入市場後，第一個能充分發揮價值地方應該是教育領域。
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由於距離Windows 7 public Beta release已經好幾天了，網路很容易找到開箱文和測試報告，週末掃過一遍，正面負面評價都有，但正面評價明顯較負面評價來得多。(當然這有可能只是大家拿到新東西爽度高，驚喜之下寫出來的評論，過一陣子等大家冷靜後應該更能排除bias。) Mobile01這篇Windows7顛覆傳統是我目前看到最中肯詳盡的一篇。
話說回來，如果你也裝了Windows 7，衷心希望你遇到Bug時，可以按下bug report，讓Redmond的研發團隊改進問題。(當然可以先用力罵髒話再按沒關係^^”)
相關閱讀：Windows 7官方網站、Windows 7新功能Demo、Windows 7 Beta安裝說明、Windows 7官方開發部落格(中文)、Windows 7 官方Team Blog、Windows 7 Beta下載 (如果還開放的話)
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Posted in Bill Gates, Investment, Quote on Jan 9th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
當年巴菲特怎樣都不想買也不想碰電腦，就連比爾蓋茲打算派全Microsoft最正的女生去教他操作，並保證過程一定會「相當愉快」，巴菲特還是不買單。:D
“Bill started trying to convince me to get a computer. I said, I don’t know what it it’s going to do for me. I don’t care how my stock portfolio is doing every five minutes. And I can do my income taxes in my head. Gates said he would pick out the best-looking gal at Microsoft and send her to teach me how to use the computer. He would make it totally painless and pleasant. I told him, ‘you’ve made me an offer I almost can’t refuse, but I’ll refuse it.’”
- The Snowball, P623
有趣的是，最後打動巴菲特用電腦的動機竟是是玩網路橋牌，不玩還好，一玩還整個上癮，好幾年來都用T-bone這個帳號遊走江湖。到底有多入迷呢？這邊有段充分顯示出巴菲特“focus”人格特質的段落：
“Before long, Buffett was so engrossed in Internet bridge that nothing could disturb him. When a bat got into the house and flapped around the TV room, banging into the walls and entangling itself in the curtains, Astrid shrieked, ‘Warren, there’s a bat in here!’ Sitting across the room in his frayed terry-cloth bathrobe, staring at his bridge hand, he never move his eyes from the screen as he said, ‘It’s not bothering me any.’ Astrid called the pest-control people and they removed the bat, all without disturbing his bridge game.”
- The Snowball, P 635
可別小看“focus”, 這可是世界首富和世界第二首富(當年)認為自己能小有成就的關鍵：
“…at dinner, Bill Gates Sr. posed the question to the table: What factor did people feel was the most important in getting to where they’d gotten in life? And I said, ‘Focus.’ And Bill said the same thing.”
- The Snowball, P 623
我相信一般人都有focus在手邊工作的能力，但終其一生，focus在一種理念、一種志向、一種夢想，並努力去實踐，就不是那麼容易了。
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Posted in Bill Gates, Investment, Quote on Jan 8th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
The Snowball中，巴菲特生動口述當年初次和比爾蓋茲見面情況，一開始蓋茲還小有抱怨，說股票不是他的菜，爸爸媽媽的和好友的聚會為什麼硬是要逼他去…他本來決定去一下就要閃人…but…
“We talked and talked and talked and talked and paid no attention to anybody else. I started asking him a whole bunch about his business, not expecting to understand any of it. He’s a great teacher, and we couldn’t stop talking.” - The Snowball, P623
兩人能像磁鐵一樣，初次見面就「意外」互相吸引，聊到不鳥身邊其他人。這和兩人性格中，恰好都很強烈的”preacher/teacher”基因有很大關係。話說我也能體會這種種氛圍，當遇到價值觀及興趣領域相似的朋友，外加兩個人都超級愛發表意見，那種越談越High的感覺往往能激盪出突破性的idea。
物以類聚 (雖然當時雙方都不知道對方未來會變成世界首富)，但若不是有「名流社交圈伊莉莎白」之稱的Katharine Graham(Washington Post的家族大老闆)從中牽線，兩人也不會在90年代初有見面機會。貴人(key man/woman)的重要性就像是0或1的權重，哪怕你是商業天才，出生在對的時間對的國家，想出能改變人類的獲利模式，職涯路上，倘若若遇不到貴人，所有的「戰鬥力」(天份 ＋努力+好運)最後恐怕得乘以權重”0″，一切都是枉然，成功遙遙無期。
兩人的友誼有多深呢？往往有人懷疑一切只是巴菲特決定把財產捐給Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation當下，媒體塑造的假象，(我承認一開始我也有點懷疑)，然而本書透過巴菲特口述，細描寫兩位帶著老婆同遊中國、定期約打橋牌、互相參與對方生日派對、婚禮宴會等重要家庭聚會細節，這種等級的互動，你覺得算不算好友呢？
全書描寫巴菲特和比爾蓋茲互動的橋段不少，下回再與大家分享。
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有沒有想過，如果是一群投資銀行家和企業大老湊一起，和微軟說：借我們一些錢，讓我們一起手牽手，心連心，把Yahoo買下來吧！Y的搜尋事業部送(or賣)給你，剩下的留給我們吧(or整個被清算掉變現XD)！微軟債主以後還可以每年從Yahoo的獲利中拿回一部分當保護費…喔不是，是利息….有這麼有創意嗎？！
yes，看來謠言has it:
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Posted in Bill Gates on Jan 4th, 2009 繼續閱讀 »
剛剛看到一則新聞，當年Paul Allen買到Popular Electronics雜誌的那個哈佛廣場小報攤可能會在最近停止租約，走入歷史。1975年一月，Paul Allen就是把這本封面故事為ALTAIR 8800的雜誌拿給Bill Gates看，Microsoft的創業點子從此誕生…
(Source:Wikipedia)
巧合的是，早些時候正好看完Gates 07年在哈佛的畢業典禮演講，開頭相當幽默，一連串Harvard joke連打，也稍微提到微軟誕生的那個tipping point。演講內容則圍繞在global health, social inequity等議題:
我真的要說，Mr. Gates & Allen, 感謝你們當年的idea，讓我現在也能在家裏參加哈佛的畢業典禮！(另一個要感謝的人應該是Sir Tim Berners-Lee : D )
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大四時，第一次聽到教授把電腦的CPU資原比喻為自來水 - 未來人人家裏都安裝像水龍頭的電腦終端機，需要使用時，打開開關，不用時，關掉開關，每個月依照CPU使用率付費。(沒辦法，當年最夯的關鍵字：”on-demand”) 而事實上，CPU或硬碟儲存空間「自來水化」的概念，已在web hosting產業中行之有年。想必雲端朵朵的cloud computing infra service也將採此模式收費。
基於1) 趨勢 2)終結盜版，微軟申請”pay-as-you-go-computing”專利也就不足為奇了：
Microsoft outlines pay-per-use PC vision — U.S. patent application number 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, details Microsoft’s vision of a situation where a “standard model” of PC is given away or heavily subsidized by someone in the supply chain. The end user then pays to use the computer, with charges based on both the length of usage time and the performance levels utilized, along with a “one-time charge.
收費方式同時考慮到質與量的層面，真是滴水不露啊！
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以下是New Rule for the Economy作者Kevin Kelly慶祝New Rules出版10週年，將原著以每兩週一篇的頻率，重新發表到部落格，免費和大家分享。有興趣的人可到此訂閱。今天和大家分享一段和Microsoft有關係的橋段，在當時，全球蔓延在軟體皆產業的熱潮中，微軟的商業模式更是如日中天，大師們紛紛預測，未來數十年，將是微軟，或是「微軟模仿者」的年代…
(注意，這是10 年前寫的，當時MS的股價和身價是開無敵模式)：
…GM is now the counter example. Today, if your company is like GM, it’s in deep trouble (真巧XD). Instead, pundits point to Microsoft. Microsoft is the role model. It is the highest-valued company on Earth. It produces intangibles. It rides the logic of standards. Its sky-high stock valuation reflects the new productivity. So we look ahead and say: In 40 years all companies will be like Microsoft.
History would suggest this is a bad bet. The obvious lesson is that we tend to project the future from what’s fashionable at present (雲端計算？Web ?.0？搜尋？). Right now software and entertainment companies are very profitable, so we assume they are role models.
Brad DeLong, an economist at UC Berkeley, has handy theory of economic history. He says that various sectors of economy wax and wane in prominence like movie stars. The history of the American economy can be seen as a parade of “heroic” industries that first appear on the scene as unknowns, then heroically “save” the economy by doing economic miracles, and for a time are treated as economic stars.
In the 1900s, the automobile industry was heroic: There was incredible innovation, many, many car company upstarts, incredible productivity. It was a wild and exciting time. But then the heroism died away and the auto industry became big, monolithic, boring, and hugely profitable. In DeLong’s view, the latest heroic savior is the information, communication, and entertainment complex. Businesses in the realm of software and communications are now valorous: They pull successes out of a hat, stack up unending innovation, and perform economic miracles. Long live computers!
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Posted in Bill Gates, Quote on Dec 25th, 2008 繼續閱讀 »
As much as I appreciate the goals of the Foundation, I found myself admiring Bill Gates as a person during the course of the interview. The truth is that while he was busy developing software, he’s also worked on developing himself. He is the self-made American who has matured into a role model and leader. He is thoughtful and tactful where a younger version would have been brash and impetuous. Like Windows, improvement for Gates has required multiple iterations but the insistence on getting it right won out eventually. The newest release of Bill Gates is the best yet.
Charlie Rose’s interview with Bill Gates
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話說這個Blog副標題雖然叫做Microsoft Evangelist’s Blog，但我好像很長一段時間沒發表和MS有關的文章了…
沒關係，今天的新聞看到一樣我覺得值得一寫的新玩意兒 - Microsoft Oxite。這個恐怕大家都念不出來的新東西 (阿克賽德)，是微軟12/5釋出的open source版content management system，想成是微軟版的wordpress就對了！
檔案在Codeplex可以下載，目前還是Alpha版。可能要等週末才有時間測試測試。說不定之後Microsoft Evangelist’s Blog就可以堂堂架在MS自家的solution之上囉。
(解說影片)
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兩張殘酷的圖，從今年八月到今年十月兩點連成的斜率可真嚇人…
對企業主來說，IT infra的investment到底是nice to have 還是must have?
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顧客可以血拼完Apple的商品後，走進I’M A PC的Kiosk錄製一段I’m a PC短片，上傳到LifeWithOutAll網站，聽說還有機會成為系列電視廣告的一部分…
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The starting point is to recognize the unique value of each part. The value of the PC lies in its computing power, its storage capacity, and its ability to help us be more productive and create and consume rich and complex documents and content.
For the Web, it’s the ability to bring together people, information, and services so we can connect, communicate, share, and transact with anyone, anywhere, at any time.
With the mobile phone and other devices, it’s the ability to take action spontaneously-to make a call, take a picture, or send a text message in the flow of our activities. (source)
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Google (apps) sells what they can offer, Microsoft sells what their customers need.
Just look into the different value propositions of Microsoft Office Suites and Google Apps Suite, and you should get the same conclusion as quoted above.
Choice matters, richness of functionality matters.
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Posted in Bill Gates, Microsoft, Quote on Nov 10th, 2008 繼續閱讀 »
DA: What would be the two or three things that would characterize the Microsoft way of computer software?
BG: The key for us, number one, has always been hiring very smart people. There is no way of getting around, that in terms of I.Q., you’ve got to be very elitist in picking the people who deserve to write software. Ninety-five percent of the people shouldn’t write complex software. And using small teams helps a lot.
You’ve got to give great tools to those small teams. So, pick good people, use small teams, give them excellent tools; vast compilation, debugging, lots of machines, profiling technology, so that they are very productive in terms of what they are doing. Make it very clear what they can do to change the spec. Make them feel like they are very much in control of it.
Have lots of people read the code so that you don’t end up with one person who is kind of hiding the fact that they can’t solve a problem. Design speed in from the beginning. A lot of things that have helped us, even as the project teams have become larger, and the company has become a lot larger than it was. It is not some methodology where there is a lot of funny documentation. Source code itself is where you should put all your thoughts, not in any other thing. So, our source codes, all though there are a few exceptions, tend to be very well commented in a very structured way. (source)
“give great tools to those small teams”，歹年冬，不管企業再怎麼想要省錢，”tool”的投資真的不能也不應該減少。玩三國志時都知道要給武將買最好的武器了，在職場上怎麼會不知道呢？
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Posted in Bill Gates, Microsoft on Nov 9th, 2008 繼續閱讀 »
I certainly think that having some dimension, when you’re young, that you feel a mastery of, versus the other people around you is a very positive thing. (source)
記得很多年前，當我還是國小五六年級學生時，曾和一起走路上下學的鄰居好友兼電腦(遊戲)玩伴說過這樣一句話：hey，我們大概是這個鎮上年紀最小，又會編輯DOS的Config.sys和Autoexec.bat的人耶！然後好友接著說：沒錯，而且我們會自己買一條記憶體回來插到主機裡面…
對小孩來說，那種「大家都不會，只有我們會」的感覺真的是挺不錯的。(雖然隨著年齡的增長…這種感覺慢慢消失…)。讓小孩探索超出他們年齡應該做的事，對於培養興趣、自信、專注力和思考力都頗有幫助。
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就在Windows 7與Windows Azure於PDC 2008熱鬧登場之際，Steve Ballmer也”Ally-oops”了一下，發出了一封致所所有使用者的公開信(可在此訂閱)，全文如下：
Subject:
A Platform for the Next Technology Revolution
During the past decade, a dramatic transformation in the world of information technology has been taking shape. It’s a transformation that will change the way we experience the world and share our experiences with others. It’s a transformation in which the barriers between technologies will fall away so we can connect to people and information no matter where we are. It’s a transformation where new innovations will shorten the path from inspiration to accomplishment.
Many of the components of this transformation are already in place. Some have received a great deal of attention. “Cloud computing” that connects people to vast amounts of storage and computing power in massive datacenters is one example. Social networking sites that have changed the way people connect with family and friends is another.
Other components are so much a part of the inevitable march of progress that we take them for granted as soon as we start to use them: cell phones that double as digital cameras, large flat-screen PC monitors and HD TV screens, and hands-free digital car entertainment and navigation systems, to name just a few.
What’s missing is the ability to connect these components in a seamless continuum of information, communication, and computing that isn’t bounded by device or location. Today, some things that our intuition says should be simple still remain difficult, if not impossible. Why can’t we easily access the documents we create at work on our home PCs? Why isn’t all of the information that customers share with us available instantly in a single application? Why can’t we create calendars that automatically merge our schedules at work and home?
This week at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, we shared news with software developers about a new set of platform technologies that will help transcend these limits. I wanted to share my thoughts about the impact that these technologies will have as developers begin to use them to create a new generation of experiences that extend uninterrupted from the desktop to the mobile phone, media player, car, and beyond—to places where we never thought information and communications would be available to us.
A New Platform for Cloud Computing
At PDC, we announced the availability of an early preview release of a new technology called Windows Azure. Windows Azure will enable developers to build applications that extend from the cloud to the enterprise datacenter and span the PC, the Web, and the mobile phone. For the first time, we shared pre-beta code for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows 7, which is the next version of the Windows desktop operating system, will take advantage of software and hardware advances to help eliminate the boundaries between information, people, and devices.
We also previewed Office Web applications, which are light-weight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that are designed to be accessed through a browser. Office Web applications will be part of the next version of Office and will enable people to view, edit, and share information and collaborate on documents on the desktop, the phone, and in a Web browser in a way that is consistent and familiar.
Windows Azure is part of the Azure Services Platform, a comprehensive set of storage, computing, and networking infrastructure services that reside in Microsoft’s network of datacenters. Using the Azure Services Platform, developers will be able to build applications that run in the cloud and extend existing applications to take advantage of cloud-based capabilities. The Azure Services Platform provides the foundation for business and consumer applications that deliver a consistent way for people to store and share information easily and securely in the cloud, and access it on any device from any location.
Windows Azure is not software that companies will run on their own servers. It’s something new: a service that runs in Microsoft’s growing network of datacenters and provides the platform that helps companies respond to the realities of today’s business environment, and tomorrow’s. Windows Azure technologies are already finding their way into products such as Windows Server 2008 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, enabling organizations and Microsoft partners to create their own cloud infrastructure.
Windows Azure will enable organizations to respond to realities such as the need to use the Web to provide customers with comprehensive information and to interact with an audience that has the potential to expand exponentially overnight; to integrate operations with partners — and sometimes even competitors — to meet customer needs; to add new capabilities quickly to respond to new opportunities; and to enable employees to work efficiently and effectively no matter where they are. These realities apply not just to businesses, but to organizations of all kinds: schools, governments, community groups, and more.
Traditional approaches to building technology infrastructure and delivering computing capabilities make it difficult and expensive to adjust to these realities. You need systems with enough capacity to meet the highest possible demand—capacity that includes servers and buildings to house them, the power to run them, and the people to manage them. You have to spread that capacity across locations so there’s a backup if one part fails. You have to solve issues like access for different types of users and compliance with tax regulations in all countries where your customers reside.
Designed specifically to meet the global scale that today’s organizations require, the Azure Services Platform will provide fundamentally new ways to deploy services and capabilities. It gives businesses the option to take advantage of the capacity available in the cloud as it is needed, reducing the need to make large upfront investments in infrastructure simply to be ready when demand spikes. It will enable developers to create applications that run in the cloud and provide the features, information, and interactivity that employees, partners, and customers expect — no matter how many of them there are, where they are in the world, or what device they have at hand.
Software Plus Services and the Power of Choice
The Azure Services Platform reflects our belief that choice is critical for developers, companies, and consumers. It is also based on our belief that the key to delivering value today and in the future lies in combining the best aspects of software running on PCs, servers, and devices with the best aspects of services running on the Web — an approach we call “software plus services.”
Our software plus services approach lets people take full advantage of the incredible power of today’s devices. While there are undeniable benefits to being able to tap into the wealth of information and services that can be accessed over the Web through a browser, the interactive experiences that people expect on their PC, mobile phone, and media player depend on sophisticated software running on powerful processors.
The richness of these experiences will only increase as multicore processors expand the computing capabilities of our devices and new programming languages open the door to a new generation of applications that let us use more natural ways to interact with digital technology such as voice, touch, and gestures.
Software plus services also recognizes that for most companies, the ideal way to build IT infrastructure is to find the right balance of applications that are run and managed within the organization and applications that are run and managed in the cloud.
This balance varies by company. A financial services company may choose to maintain customer records within its own datacenter to provide the extra layers of protection that it feels are needed to safeguard the privacy of personal information. It may outsource IT systems that provide basic capabilities such as e-mail.
This balance will change over time within an organization, as well. A company may run its own online transaction system most of the year, but outsource for added capacity to meet extra demand during the holiday season. With software plus services, an organization can move applications back and forth between its own servers and the cloud quickly and smoothly.
Today, companies around the world are implementing Microsoft technologies to take advantage of the best combination of on-premise software and cloud-based services. Using Microsoft Online Services, businesses including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Blockbuster, and Energizer access and manage Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Server, and Live Meeting over the Web through a single, secure infrastructure. In addition, 1 million people rely on Office Live Workspace for sharing and collaborating with friends, family, and colleagues.
Expanding the Definition of Personal Computing
Ultimately, the reason to create a cloud services platform is to continue to enhance the value that computing delivers, whether it’s by improving productivity, making it easier to communicate with colleagues, or simplifying the way we access information and respond to changing business conditions.
In the world of software plus services and cloud computing, this means extending the definition of personal computing beyond the PC to include the Web and an ever-growing array of devices. Our goal is to make the combination of PCs, mobile devices, and the Web something that is significantly than more the sum of its parts.
The starting point is to recognize the unique value of each part. The value of the PC lies in its computing power, its storage capacity, and its ability to help us be more productive and create and consume rich and complex documents and content.
For the Web, it’s the ability to bring together people, information, and services so we can connect, communicate, share, and transact with anyone, anywhere, at any time.
With the mobile phone and other devices, it’s the ability to take action spontaneously — to make a call, take a picture, or send a text message in the flow of our activities.
Through Live Mesh — a service from Microsoft that we announced earlier this year and about which we shared new information week — we’re beginning to bridge the PC, phone, and Web and create this next generation of connected experiences. Built on the Azure Services Platform, Live Mesh enables you to use programs and information stored on your work computer from your home PC, and vice versa. With Live Mesh, you can share folders and ensure that the information is automatically synchronized across your devices.
Live Mesh hints at how our lives will be transformed as the barriers between devices disappear and the option to connect instantly to people, devices, programs, and information becomes a reality.
We’re not quite there yet. Today, the Azure Services Platform is available only as a limited technology preview release. But as developers begin to combine the capabilities of this new platform with the amazing ongoing hardware and software innovations that we are seeing from companies across the industry, it will bring us significantly closer to the time when information, communication, and computing flows along with us seamlessly as we move through our day-to-day activities.
You can learn more about these technologies and the progress we are making by visiting the Microsoft Software + Services Web site.
I look forward to sharing more information with you about these new technologies in the near future.
Steve Ballmer
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Posted in Google, Microsoft, Thought on Nov 2nd, 2008 繼續閱讀 »
大多人(包含媒體)一定還是認為Microsoft是一家software公司，面對Google來勢洶洶，笨笨的微軟竟還在砸大錢研發看不見未來的癡肥軟體，到現在都還沒有想到一套完整的方案對付Google Apps…etc,etc.
真的是這樣嗎？Google Apps的企業版(Premier Edition, GAPE)目前仍然在中小企業市場苦戰，時有正面PR，如前陣子華府公家單位宣佈採用Google Apps solution，也有負面 PR，如8月份的Gmail大斷線，但整體來說，要和Office Suite二分天下，不能只打中小企業城巷戰，還必須和微軟在赤壁之戰那種等級的大型戰區分出勝負才有希望。
(Why big corps are being hesitated to adopt GAPE? My guess: issues of security, privacy, controllability, stability - e.g. uptime, timely backup, ease of management, etc..and most importantly, IT staffs’ resistance - they’re afraid of the fact that one day on-demanded, cloud based automations will replace their roles and responsibilities, and thus resulting their losing jobs.)
在Google大舉進攻的同時，你眼中的Microsoft仍是採取守勢，死守Windows + Office四行倉庫嗎？如果你也這樣想，那就跟不太努力做功課的媒體記者差不多囉。
當線上版服務掛點時，如果企業自家有對應的軟體作為備份，是不是更加安全更加可靠？如果你是企業IT人員，你會希望發生架設在遠方(可能是Google或Amazon或37signals在地球某處的data center)的線上服務中斷，自己卻無能為力搶救的窘境嗎? 這時候如果能拍拍胸補，告訴老闆，放心，我們還有機房的基本對應備援機制，與同步在公司同仁電腦中的檔案備份，可以維持email收發等一般業務的運作。這樣一來，被promote將是你，而被fire掉的，將是隔壁那家把全部IT資源都丟到cloud，導致服務中斷當時，一切運作停擺，只能狂call服務供應商求救(當時應該已經滿線)的可憐IT人員。
鋪陳前面一拖拉庫，我要說的是，yes，微軟不但死守Windows + Office四行倉庫，更以四行倉庫為基礎，開發了一系列「對應」的網路服務，捍衛你的IT職涯。微軟提出的”Software + Services”策略，就是要幫助你避免被fire掉的情況發生。
就【軟體加服務】(S+S)的願景來看，除了前幾天PDC發表的Windows Azure、Office 14 + Office Web Application將內建的online/offline sync-up mode，另有Office Live Small Business以及消費者端的Windows Live、Live Mesh與Office Live Workspace。重點來了，MS其實還有一條產品線，叫做”Microsoft Online Services“，專門提供企業客戶「雲端」版(這個芭樂字最近已經紅到我無意識都會打出來了)的SharePoint, Exchange, OCS, Dynamics CRM等等服務。企業IT部門可以選擇把這些怪獸級server software買回家host在公司機房，或是以算人頭的方式，每個月信用卡繳費使用線上版服務。微軟的理念中，伺服器軟體的on-premises deployment版和online service版算是互補，在節省總預算的前提下，彈性提供企業增強模組，而不是互斥關係。當然，online版也支援Active Directory，在group policy的設定方面仍是輕鬆解決輕鬆管。
Microsoft Online Services目前包含下列產品：
價格從每人頭每月1.75美金到39美金不等，相較於Google Apps企業版的每人頭每年50美金彈性了一些(但也貴了一些)。嗯，但回到本文第五段，我很想說，各位看倌，省錢是一時的，但被公司fire掉，卻是會造成心中永遠的痛啊!
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兩週前謠言紛傳微軟將在PDC 2008公佈除了Windows 7之外的另一樣武器，雲端計算平台，在當時，有人直接猜這個平台的名稱叫做: Windows Cloud。
不過，顯然叫做Windows Cloud太直接了(其實Windows7也滿直接的)，因此，數小時前公佈正式名稱將是： Windows Azure
Azure源自於12世界的法國，是藍色、藍天的意思，Windows Azure讓我馬上聯想到Windows 98 SE開機時，朵朵雲兒在大大的視窗Logo後面飄的畫面：
Azure這個字對我來說還有一份遙遠的熟悉感。話說我們那屆師大附中的畢業舞會也叫做Moulin Azure (藍磨坊)，當年主題是仿當紅的電影Moulin Rouge (紅磨坊)，而附中的吉祥色是藍色，因此有以上的組合。
ok言歸正傳，Windows Azure到底有啥料？我直接引用另外彭老師在今早1:38的Update:
在PDC 2008第一天的Keynote中，Ray Ozzie(微軟的架構長)宣佈了微軟雲端運算服務的正式名稱─Windows Azure(視窗蔚藍)，這是一個以雲端運算為基礎的服務作業平台，其中涵蓋了.NET Service、SQL Service、SharePoint Online Service、Dynamic CRM Service和Live Service。對開發人員而言，可以透過相同的開發工具(Visual Studio)建立解決方案，然後透過Windows Azure的Portal發佈自己的解決方案，透過微軟營運的雲端運算環境對外提供服務給客戶或網際網路世界的使用者。
Windows Azure官方網站今天也正式上線：
http://www.microsoft.com/azure/
可惜背景不是我想象中那種藍…
網站開宗明義指出Windows Azure的三大特色 Choice, Low Risk, No Distractions：
Choice. Windows Azure reduces barriers to entry to creating reliable and scalable web applications because it is based on and works with familiar Microsoft technology. Windows Azure supports Microsoft Web technologies such as ASP.NET, IIS, and Visual Studio 2008, so developers can use their existing skills to efficiently create, test, deploy, manage & monetize web services. Windows Azure supports standards and protocols including SOAP, REST and XML. Windows Azure welcomes third party tools and languages such as Eclipse, Ruby, PHP, and Python.
Low Risk Windows Azure provides you, the developer, with a scalable platform and a rich development environment that allows you to focus on the business logic of your application without worrying about operational constraints or lock-in.
No Distractions. The Fabric Controller technology in Windows Azure, enables you to scale applications seamlessly, as demand rises and falls. The built-in management services give monitoring and tracing capabilities, and allow you to stay focused on what you do best—create and deliver services and applications online.
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Posted in Marketing Thought, Microsoft on Oct 27th, 2008 1 Comment »
今天是Developer界眾所期待的年度大拜拜 - PDC 2008 (Professional Developers Conference 2008)開幕，大家知道微軟如何衝今年的報名人數嗎？答案就在兩大撇步之中：
撇步一：告訴全世界(包含媒體、部落圈)Windows 7將在PDC 2008首次公開亮相，外加與會者能帶走第一手Beta版Windows 7回家測試。
撇步二：邀請全新男子團體，在西方，人稱美國西城男孩的接班人，在東方，人稱台灣天團5566出道以來首次害怕的真正對手 - “4 Softies and a Pizza Guy” (翻譯：4個軟啪啪與1個比薩男)為PDC2008代言，並帶來首張單曲MV:
首波主打旋律不但好聽，歌詞更是令全球Developer毛骨鬆軟，不自主地跟著一起唱…
Verse 1:
I’ve seen you in my dreams, I love you so much
I know I’m gonna love the way that you respond to my touch
So fine, I need to make you mine
When we’re together there ain’t no mountain we can’t climb
Verse 1A:
P-D-C, two thousand eight
Windows 7 is coming and I can’t wait
I’m gonna get the first one, right out of the crate, Wrap your windows around me
Chorus:
I share my best ideas with you
Make them come true, ’cause that’s what you’re meant to do You take me closer to heaven
Tell your dreams and hopes to me
Get close to me, ’cause that’s where you’re ’sposed to be I’m talkin’ about Windows 7. ooaahooo
Verse 2:
You turn me on, with your graphics and text I get so excited when I think about where you’ll take me next
I’m gonna leave with my developer guide
And tons of Windows content on a hundred sixty gigabyte drive!
Verse 2A:
P-D-C, two thousand eight
Windows 7 is coming and I can’t wait.
The desktop and taskbar will integrate,
Wrap your windows around me.
Chorus….
Mid section
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul When I look in your eyes, I almost lose control
We’ve got a strong foundation, efficient applications
And new APIs
When I’m with you I feel energized!
Rap:
7 is my lucky number
At night I get 7 hours of slumber
And Windows 7 at the PDC, twenty o eight, is gonna go and steal the other guy’s thunder Developers and users, be good to your computers
Ya can’t win with another system made for losers. for Windows 7, my love is true Now let me use direct 3d to unlock your GPU!
Verse 1A…..
Chorus…..
此天團出道不到一個月，在歌迷的讚嘆與謾罵中硬是奪得2.5顆星評價，與超過20萬個播放次數，今年想角逐艾美獎的，小心了！
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Posted in Bill Gates on Oct 24th, 2008 繼續閱讀 »
先前研究corporate history，許多第三方人士都認為當年微軟就是不懂得在華府預先埋下政治掮客(lobbyist)樁腳，才會導致反托拉法訴訟案一路敗退。簡單來說，當年的微軟就像快速成長的青春期少年(至少營收是快速成長)，橫衝直撞， 獨霸市場，但就是瞧不起，也忽略了政治槓桿操作。
事過境遷，布希總統上台後，全力支持自由市場，外加911攻擊事件，與網路科技股泡沫帶來的經濟衰退衝擊，美國人逐漸認同到一件事實 - 內憂外患之際，家裏養幾隻大怪獸，才是地球村村長地位的最佳保障。輿論終究一面倒，傾向於：美國以(偉)大企業為榮，不應在此時絆倒巨人。不久，各州接連撤回訴訟，微軟也暫時鬆了一口氣。(但歐洲的訴訟還是沒完沒了)
各種教訓中，微軟學到了重要的一課：維繫好和華府的關係，並善用政治掮客的力量。
2008年，Yahoo宣佈與Google結盟，共同在線上廣告市場分享收益，這回，換成是微軟提出反托拉斯訴訟，不但如此，10年養「客」有成，政治掮客們在這場戰爭中發揮 了策略性的作用。如同台灣的「大x新聞」、「2100全民x講」一般，掮客在華府宮廷對內游說官員，對外則透過各種媒體觀點影響大眾的想法，最終形成輿論壓力，讓法官判決時額頭冷汗直流。
也許再過不久，Google也將被迫學會走出網路世界，邀幾位政治人物和真實世界的農夫公會會長，畜牧公會會長，到Googleplex泡茶聊聊：
Among the complaints from lobbyists to government officials were letters from several farm groups, including the National Association of Farmer Elected Committees and the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association. They said that because farmers use the Internet, they were worried about a Google-Yahoo monopoly. (source)
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Windows Vista Team Blog不久前發表了一篇文章，正式宣佈研發代號為Windows 7的下一代Windows作業系統，將正式被命名為…Windows 7 !
這對SEO會產生什麼影響呢？來看看台灣Google Search的結果：
日後Windows 7的官方產品網站上線後，官網99.9%機率會被排到搜尋結果的第一條，而照Vista的模式來看，Wikipedia說明頁緊接在官網之後的機率很大。沒意外的話…目前排名第二、第三的Mobile01和癮科技，將是這次Windows7正式名稱的SEO最大贏家。2010年後，應該可以導入不少對Window7有興趣的general consumer(a.k.a.婆婆媽媽) 到這兩個網站。
另外也來看看Live Search搜尋Windows 7的結果…
這這這…
大家不要害怕，是Live Search還沒正式推出中文版，等到正式上線，判別語系應該是件簡單的事…
補充：
Windows的各版本數字如下：
Windows 2000 = 5.0
Windows XP = 5.1
Windows Server 2003 = 5.2
Windows Vista / Server 2008 = 6.0
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Posted in Microsoft, Quote on Oct 12th, 2008 3 Comments »
不是我說的，是Richard Stallman說的。(本文以下引述皆來自這篇Guardian新聞來源)
“It’s stupidity. It’s worse than stupidity: it’s a marketing hype campaign,”
不只GNU長輩這樣說，連Oracle大長輩Larry Ellison也說了以下的話：
“The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we’ve redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do,
Stallman用了”stupidity”這個字眼來形容cloud computing，Ellison則是用了”gibberish+insane+idiocy”三個關鍵字來加強他的火力。
最後Stallman除了情緒性發言外，也提出了滿有道理的反cloud computing觀點：
“One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control,” he said. “It’s just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else’s web server, you’re defenceless. You’re putty in the hands of whoever developed that software.”
記者則是解讀為Stallman支持裝在電腦上的軟體。嗯，繼Woz之後，Stallman未來也許也該考慮加盟微軟…
Mr.6也發過一篇專文論Cloud Computing，在此分享一下我的回應：
Hi Mr.6, the following links are for your reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_plus_services
http://www.zdnet.com.tw/news/software/0,2000085678,20130785,00.htm
Per Microsoft’s Chinese definition, 『「雲」「端」運算』 is a combination of services on the cloud and native software based on a desktop OS.
It doesn’t matter how tricky the definition is, it’s how-many-people discussing-about-it that matters. : P
- Tim
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也許未來的資訊世界終究是會走向SAAS模式 (software as a service)，但我相信S+S(software plus service)至少會在過度階段佔有一席之地。我自己也不太確定Microsoft倡導的S+S策略是否為長遠之際，但至少未來5年內MS會站在一個有(穫)利的位置上。
How & Why? Steve Ballmer透漏微軟將在10/27的PDC上首次曝光代號為”Windows Cloud”的雲端作業系統，來幫助developer開發網路應用程式。
Microsoft is set to create its own operating system for cloud c omputing, the company’s chief executive Steve Ballmer said today.
Speaking to a TechNet audience in London today, Ballmer said Microsoft would announce “Windows Cloud” within four weeks, adding he’s “sure we’ll have a snazzier name on launch.” (到時候會有一個更炫的名字)
最近真的看到越來越多”Software Plus Service”在主流媒體上出現。MS重返thought leadership之路越走越快啦！
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