A Developer's View

Microsoft's innovation disconnect

John Carroll — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:55:56 +0000

Microsoft's has had great difficulty creating new businesses that replace Windows and Office from a revenue standpoint. This is largely due to internal organization that makes it very hard for Microsoft to bring to market the good ideas that Microsoft develops in-house.

The message from GSMA Barcelona: fragmentation

John Carroll — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:35:16 +0000

The GSMA World Congress was this week in Barcelona. Though its difficult to identify themes in a conference as large as the GMSA extravaganza, the sense I got from four days wandering its halls was that fragmentation will rule the smartphone market for many, many years to come.

Don't give me special treatment

John Carroll — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:01:53 +0000

The US Congress wants to include "Buy American" provisions in the stimulus bill. I say "no thanks." Protected industries aren't going to pull America out of recession.

What is American?

John Carroll — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:14:22 +0000

A recent post by Brian Sommer noted that H-1B visa holders might be in for a rough ride in 2009 as the weakening economy invites calls for special preferences for the accidental citizens of the United States of America (I say “accidental,” as most of us were bestowed our rights as citizens by accident of [...]

Hiatus till January

John Carroll — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:36:05 +0000

Not that I think crowds of angry people will descend on my West Hollywood apartment because of this, but I am going to be off until January. As noted three weeks ago in my last post (I am a very bad blogger), a startup I co-founded recently received an important dose of financing. As people who [...]

Going back to Windows Media Center

John Carroll — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:15:54 +0000

I’d been using Media Center as my primary DVR since shortly after the release of Windows Vista several years ago. At the time, my intention was to learn more about the other TV-oriented technology at Microsoft, which was of particular interest to me as I worked, at the time, in Microsoft’s IPTV division. I also [...]

SAG follows the path blazed by the UAW

John Carroll — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:16:51 +0000

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is starting a fight over union rules as they apply to Internet-only productions. If they win, they are likely to shift even more content creation opportunities away from major studios in a futile attempt to hinder evolution in a market changed dramatically by technology.

Computers make the case for globalization

John Carroll — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:29:29 +0000

The United States has long been sliding towards trade skepticism, a process that has merely been exaggerated by the recent troubles in financial markets. Low-cost computers and its associated market size makes one of the best cases for globalization, however. Most of us wouldn't have jobs if computers hadn't plugged themselves into a global supply chain for parts.

Remedying the trade imbalance with China

John Carroll — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:33 +0000

Microsoft's attempts to shame Chinese users of illegal copies of Windows by turning their backgrounds black every hour is reflective of a wider problem of copyright enforcement in China. As Henry Paulson, Secretary of the US Treasury, notes in a recent "Foreign Affairs" article, it contributes to America's trade deficit with China and limits business opportunities, both for American companies and Chinese citizens hoping to create their own software companies.

Windows Azure is much more important than Windows 7

John Carroll — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:35:42 +0000

Windows 7 gets all the blogger attention, which makes sense to some extent, as much revenue and developer mindshare is bound up in the success of Windows. Microsoft, however, clearly gave Windows Azure priority at last week's PDC, which is indicative of the importance the company places on its "cloud-based" future.