impregnable lineup of partners. |
In order for this to have any value, someone has to link it into a business application, so they've got a big delivery challenge. They've got to convince developers to build front ends, convince their partners to take on the challenge. |
It is more than just a hum in the background, ... There are real decisions being made and money being spent, and Microsoft is starting to see, at the margin, an impact. |
It's a huge departure. It's a big deal. But it's tied to their business model: Apple is a hardware company. |
It's a jewel. It's beautiful, ... It's just a very elegant device. You want to hold it. |
It's a little bit like having an electronic dog. |
It's a story of complexity. |
It's about as easy as a consumer application gets. |
It's all very complicated, which is just crazy. Unless you're a music lover, maybe you don't bother with it. It's hard to find your way around. |
It's hard to dig out exactly why people don't trust some brands, but there are some inferences that can be made. High complexity equals low trust. That's a big deal, and it's something the industry needs to look at. |
It's not going to be a big bang launch, but a trickle launch. |
It's not really about social networking. It's not wide open. |
It's now a footrace. All of the deals have been made with manufacturers and the studios, and the content-protection licensing arrangements are in place. |
Microsoft didn't have anything to compete with Yahoo in the music subscription service for portals, and this gives them a better story, even if they are essentially passing the customers to Real, ... Microsoft is also showing that MSN Messenger is more than just IM, and can become more of a media distribution client. |
Microsoft has changed the way information is stored, so that any application can use WinFS. It essentially turns the hard drive into a database. That makes it much easier to find and back up data. |