Making Microsoft a Sexy Tech Company - Part 1

     It's been a long while since I've written. Since my last post I've gotten an iPad an iPhone, a Mac book pro and an AppleTV needless to say, Microsoft has lost a little ground in my home.

     In fact in that time I have gotten rid of my XBOX as well. The problem is not really that Microsoft's products have somehow stopped being easy to use. They have just finally completely lost touch with what people want and how they want it. Sooner or later they will have to figure out that the "we are the big bully on the block" strategy will not work. Until they learn to play nice they are going to lose out to lesser competition. Obviously the boys at Apple are no longer the little pimple they were 10 years ago, but Microsoft is facong woes in every space they are in. Despite practically inventing the smart phone, they've lost the hearts and minds of the masses to Android and iPhone. Why? Because they continued to purvey uncool gray box phones the same way they personify the grey box computer. This is not entirely their fault as the folks at Intel can attest. (See story here.) Their partners at HP, Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo and the many other also-ran companies have solidified that image. This is where Apple, perhaps do to the sheer will of their now former CEO Steve Jobs excels.

     Unlike the boys in Redmond, the folks at Apple, don't view producing their own hardware as beneath them. True Microsoft makes its money licensing software, but imagine if Microsoft were to build a PC that took advantage of the many features that they pack into their software. Features that seem to only be emphasized while the software is being demoed at their many events.

     The MacBook pro is by no means a perfect device, I don't even know how to uninstall software not loaded through the app store, but I can use all the stuff the Apple team highlighted about their new Lion release.

     It's true Microsoft is still the big boy on the block, but most everyone believes their best days are behind them. I do not, but I think they need a radical shift in strategy to "win the future". First they gotta realize their losing that race. My thoughts coming in part 2.