David Bridle Design

Microsoft

I am not a huge Microsoft fan, however, I watched this video on TED.  Have a watch and I will join you again after the video with some of my thoughts…

For some people that was amazing, for others it was OK.  Most of us have seen or used Google Maps which seems to have become the ubiquitous online maps application.  However, the video shows stuff that Google have yet to get into.  The live streaming video is amazing for several reasons.  The one that jumps out to me for businesses, especially shops, would be the ability to give a virtual tour to a prospective customer.  Pre-record a video put it up on Bing Maps and everyone can have a greeting from you into your shop any time of the day!  Furthering that would be personal shoppers, yes that’s right virtual personal shoppers.  I love shopping online, it is fast, efficient, time saving and impersonal!  Yes that’s right it is still very impersonal.  There is no face to say hello to, there is no warm genuine greeting, nothing.  This could bring back personality to shopping.  Now I am taking this idea for disabled people, ones who will never get out of their hospital bed due to some disease.  They could go shopping, or visit Victoria Falls, Climb a Mountain anything.  It may not be exactly like being there in reality but this has got to be better than sitting in a hospital bed!

Enough about the video, I am sure you all have ideas on where you could use this technology.  I now want to talk about Microsoft, I don’t normally do this as I am not a fan but here goes.  I am getting a distinct impression that Microsoft is forgetting to define itself in today’s market.  OK it is still the biggest OS in the market, and everyone is using Microsoft Office however, that is built on legacy alone.  They are not being that innovative in the original markets they were in.  The OS isn’t mind-blowing, it was a copy!  Office isn’t better or more refined it is just even more hard to use.  However, I see a future for Microsoft in researching, collating data and coming up with these type of ideas for other more innovative and user friendly companies to use.  What I saw in this TED talk video was a Microsoft pulling massive amount of data together from user content like Flickr, to live streaming video, to astronomical mapping collecting that together and presenting it to the world.  Was it slick? Maybe.  Was it polished?  Kind of.  Was it ingenious? Yes.  It shows they want to think different, they want to try new things and they have the resources to do so.  They can show the masses what is out there in technology, they just lack the final ‘Fan’ appeal that other companies seems to get.

Anyway, there are my thoughts, and if you want to talk more or discuss ideas for your website email me david@davidbridle.net.

P.S – That was a complete post without mentioning Apple!  Wow!