Microsoft

It used to be said that what was good for General Motors was good for the country. The thinking was that by supporting the engines of prosperity, we’re all going to be better off. Yet it would also seem that, in many cases at least, what makes industry successful can also improve the public sector.

Science fiction writers and fear-mongering pundits have long railed against the “rise of the machines” — a point at which large swaths of daily life would take place without human intervention, with machines interacting with other machines. That future has played out in many ways, though it’s invisible to most of us and lacks the sci-fi drama many envisioned. And it is emerging as a key enabler for radical efficiency and corporate sustainability efforts.

What is marketing in 2013? How do you ignite your ambassadors and the makers of things?

The following presentation was held for Microsoft in Lisbon on the 20th of February 2013.

So I missed the Microsoft Surface launch big time. It was only recently that I managed to have a look at what this product means to the industry.

Peter Bright, at ArsTechnica, writes an insightful editorial explaining that Mr. Softy is not competing against their own OEMs but actually telling them that “we can do this just as well as you can, if we have to” and setting them a challenge “your tablets have to be at least this good”.

So I missed the Microsoft Surface launch big time. It was only recently that I managed to have a look at what this product means to the industry.

What's new with GPS? There were the 3D maps, then traffic information with live refresh every two minutes so to help others avoid heavy traffic jams and GPS watch. What’s next?

Microsoft broke its latest ad campaign last Saturday before a football game: "It's a great time to be a family" pushed the company's hardware and software as technologies that bring people together and connect seamlessly.

Microsoft shares cratered nearly 5 percent last Friday after the company announced a decline in sales of its Windows computer operating system. Its mention of 21% higher revenue in sales of Microsoft Office and Xbox didn't do much to mollify freaked out investors.

Those of you who are Star Trek fans would have felt right at home with me the other day. I went to check out the new Microsoft store which just opened at Fashion Valley mall here in San Diego because I wanted to do a compare/contrast to the Apple store in the same mall. My fellow fans would have felt at home in the Microsoft store not because it was a cool look at the future of culture and technology, but rather because it seemed to be the Mirror Universe.

One of the most challenging things for a large successful organizations is to create an innovation large enough to make a difference. When a company’s on the brink of death, they will entertain many radical alternatives, but economic health is the enemy of change — which is one of Microsoft’s great problems.