4 Things Microsoft Could Learn From Steve Jobs
What words come to mind when asked to describe Microsoft today? Cool, stylish, revolutionary, and innovative are probably out of the question. However, those words could easily be used to describe Apple. So maybe the brains at Microsoft could learn a thing or two from one of the few brilliant CEOs of our times, who just so happens to be the leader behind Apple’s success — Steve Jobs.
Problem #1: Designers, Designers, Designers!
Let’s be real: Microsoft’s products aren’t particularly well-known for their design — they simply aren’t on par with their competition’s offerings. Sure, there was a time when layering in every possible option, button, gizmo, menu bar, and whatnot was all the rage, but those times are long gone. People are looking for something different. That difference is in the design.
People are now willing to pay a huge premium for a well-designed product, and Apple’s fan base (and sales numbers) is living proof of that. But Microsoft hasn’t caught on to this trend. The company has fallen so far behind the times that it has to make one question if Microsoft has had any feasible concept of what design is for most of the past decade.
Furthermore, Microsoft’s focus on developers (developers, developers!) has always been a priority for the company, but computers and software programs are no longer unbelievably complex or used by only the geekiest among us all. It’s now expected that younger (and, in many cases, older) people are computer literate. These people want product designs that are suited towards meeting their needs and getting the job done.
Lesson From Steve
Steve Jobs realized that there is a certain group of people who prefer practicality and beauty over functionality. It might come off as a bit dictatorial, but today’s consumers are increasingly willing to forgo the comfort of control, openness, and customization for an overall improved experience. Apple’s designers have changed the expectations and quality in product design, and Microsoft would be wise to explore these trends — especially if they intend on remaining competitive in the eyes of consumers for the long term.
Problem #2: Lack of Focus
Microsoft has a tendency to create many experiments, products, and concepts, but how many of those turn into successful and profitable endeavors? Very few, just like the Kin, the Courier, and the Zune.
Sure, these projects and experiments are interesting — and it is fun to envision the future of technology — but these pet projects are doing little, if anything, for consumers today. More importantly, it’s a drain on the company’s resources and bottom line. If it isn’t generating consumer interest or revenue, what is the point?
Admittedly, Microsoft has plenty of cash to burn, but this money should be considered as a finite resource, especially for a company that is being dominated by its competition in the consumer marketplace. It also doesn’t help that Microsoft’s revenues have suffered lately from the declining economy.
Lesson From Steve
Steve Jobs doesn’t mess around with crazy experiments and unprofitable endeavors. He ensures that his company’s resources are directed towards improving profitable products and creating new products that result in interest from consumers and, most importantly, generate revenues. As iTunes, Mac OS X, Apple TV, iPod Touch, App Store, and iPhone have revolutionized their respective industries, Microsoft has little to brag beyond its impressive operating system share. So it’s time for Microsoft to knuckle down.
Problem #3: Product Disparity
Another serious issue for Microsoft is that a majority of their products have little connection to each other. This is particularly true with their Internet-based products. Xbox Live, Zune Marketplace, Hotmail, Bing, MSN, and Skydrive are all great products in their own right, but it requires too much of an effort for a user to take advantage of these services with ease.
If you look at larger companies like Apple or Google or smaller companies like Zoho and Facebook, their products have something in common: they tend to work well together, if not seamlessly. They offer a universal experience that helps keep the user interested in all of the company’s various products and services. But Microsoft hasn’t managed to accomplish this, and until the they do, I fear that consumers will continue to leave Microsoft’s products for alternatives that are offered in a more convenient and unified offering.
Lesson From Steve
Jobs has created a single developer and content platform that holds the core of the Apple’s entire future — it is iTunes. He has been executing a strategy to integrate all of Apple’s products into a single platform that is rich with content. It is, in a word, genius (now we know why Mac OS X hasn’t received much love lately and might eventually be phased out). Digital content distribution is the future, and iTunes is in the best position to handle that task. Microsoft doesn’t need to take it as far as Steve Jobs has taken it with iTunes, but there is certainly an impressive lesson here that could be exploited in the future: a single, unified marketplace that combines desktop, mobile, and Web-based products could be huge hit.
Problem #4: Company Image
Finally, brand loyalty is a big part of consumer behavior nowadays. Every company has their loyalists (i.e. fanboys and fangirls), and these people are an integral part of spreading the word about products and services. However, if you asked any tech-savvy teenager or twenty-something to give an example of an impressive technology company, you would be hard pressed to see Microsoft’s name mentioned.
It’s all a perception, and few companies have managed to create an amazing perception of themselves. Apple is cool. Google is cool. Sony is cool. Others, however, haven’t managed to handle their public image: Microsoft is not cool.
Think about it: who actually walks into a store with the sole intention of buying a Microsoft product?
Lesson From Steve
If Steve Jobs has done anything right above all else, creating an impressive image for Apple and himself is it. But Jobs didn’t accomplish this with any one single action: he put in years of effort and consistency to create a company that most can only dream about. Decade-long efforts have constantly produced household-name products year after year, and this is probably the most important lesson that Microsoft could learn from Jobs.
Problem #2: Lack of Focus
:D:D:D the only reason microsoft exists, the arent afraid of experiments.
Microsoft shouldn’t learn to much from Apple.
Could you imagine people who prefer functionality only? They need no design perhaps they reject it because it disturbs. Why is Windows XP so successful? Functionality, no irritating Tools, just pure. Break design down to the root is also a possibility.
Sure, it looks not good. Shure, it sucks. Shure, no image.
Therefore I love my Apple machines/OS which tells me of a better world.
BekBob: TL/DR
The only reason Apple has better product integration than Microsoft (which is debatable) is because MS gets slapped with an antitrust suit every time it tries.
People get in such a fervour when you try to discuss the merits or shortcomings of either MS or Apple. It’s the modern day religion for our society, with many on either side showing blind faith to their god and blind hatred to the other.
2010 marks the twentieth year that I’ve been paid to work in the I.T. field. I’ve been paid to work on Mac, Unix, Linux and Windows. Even been paid to work on Amiga back around 1992.
In the last 12 months I’ve switched to Mac in just about every way possible. iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacBook and iPod. I don’t have an unrequited love for Steve Jobs and I’m not a fanboy. It’s just that I’ve been doing this for 20 years and with my experience, in my opinion, they do it all better right now.
I’ve owned a Palm Pilots, a Sony Clie, Pocket PCs, a PSP and several versions of GameBoys. Never took to any of them. Then I found my iPod touch indispensable.
I’ve been given a BlackBerry by my work. Tried it, it’s laughable compared to the iPhone. I pulled the SIM card and use it in a iPhone now. Tried to give my wife the BlackBerry, it was received about as well as a dirty diaper.
Tried to embrace the promise of Windows Vista and Media Centre a few years ago. Built two full fledged HTPC boxes with HDMI output and dual tuner Hauppage cards. Spent months building and configuring and converting CDs and DVDs. Installed a blu-ray drive in one HTPC. Went through untold problems along the way. Bought Media Centre remotes, bought software to create thumbnails of all my media. Looked beautiful. Ran for a day. Then I tried to add a movie. Boom, it all fell apart. Restarted the PC. Boom, it all fell apart. Spend every day trouble shooting before I could watch one minute of video.
Sold one HTPC. Gutted the other and made a server for my media. Bought a bigger case and 5 hard drives to create a raid array. Copied 7 tb of media and movies to my server. Box crashed one day with no one accessing or using it. On reboot the raid array started rebuilding. Then it crashed again during rebuild. At that point I lost 7 tb of media, ripped movies and music. Months of work gone.
Gutted the second Vista box at this point. Bought a standalone Buffalo TeraStation RAID array box. Put the hard drives in this. The TeraStation runs embedded linux. It has run safely for about two years now. Watch streaming movies and music daily from it. Hasn’t crashed once. Haven’t lost a single file. I use three standalone networked media players now on each TV they run embedded linux. Tried several models in the last few years. Started with a Dvico now using two Xtreamers and one Seagate. Love them. about $150 each.
In 2007 I bought an ASUS R2H tablet PC. Almost $2000. Looked beautiful, promised so much. Took it on a cross county trip as my only computer. Thought tablet life was going to be grand. Carry it around, when you have an idea, hit the power button. I tried this. Was on the streets of some foreign town. Wanted to jot down an address. Hit the power button. Then I waited about 5 minutes for Windows Vista to load. Forgot what I even wanted to write down. Bought MS Streets and Trips to use it as a GPS. Discovered there was a bug with Streets and Trips and this device. I tried to plan routes in advance and save them. But if you opened a saved route, Streets and Trips would lose connection to the ASUS R2H GPS hardware. I’d have to reboot to get it back. So for the duration of my trip I’d have to sit in the car, wait five minutes for the ASUS R2H to boot, launch Streets and Trips and then sit there and plan my stops one at time. No saving the route or lose the GPS. Really, is this a joke? Was there a hidden camera somewhere? Was I being punked? In the hotel and motel rooms, the ASUS R2H did work well to call home with Skype. Once you sat it down and waited five minutes to boot. On the road home from one trip I had the GPS running and music playing from the tablet, the audio output plugged into my car stereo. I had a custom bracket holding the ASUS R2H up over my glovebox to see the GPS screen. Maybe tablet life was going to work out after all. About 30 minutes from home the audio started to go distorted. Then my car started to act up. The power adapter I was using to power my ASUS R2H tablet had fried my alternator. Car finally died on the side of the highway about a ten minutes from home. So close. Put the ASUS R2H on eBay and sold it for about $800 less than I paid.
Last year I bought the Navigon app for my iPhone. Have a $5 bracket clipped on my air vent. It’s been my only GPS for a year. It’s plugged into my car stereo. Music plays through iTunes, GPS runs, phone connects through bluetooth. It just works. I can even save routes and addresses.
When the PSP was released, bought it at midnight the day it was released. Took it home and realized I couldn’t use a single one of my hundred Mini-Discs. Sony had shaved the corners off the Mini-Disc and rebadged it the UMD. Effectively orphaning all the loyal mini-disc consumers of the last 10 years. Tried the clunky conversion tools to re-encode movies and store them on memory sticks. Tried to copy music to memory sticks. Clunky and troublesome. Gave up and gave the PSP to my nephew.
The GameBoys I’ve had have been fine. But at the end of the day they just played games well. I liked them but I don’t carry them around. With my iPhone I can play games, listen to music, play video, buy music, buy video, buy games, check email, surf, use GPS, take pictures, record video, upload pics, upload video, book meetings on my calendar that syncs everywhere and make phone calls.
With my iPod touch and iPhone. transferring music is simple and quick. I can sit in bed and surf the net, check email, listen to music and watch videos. Everything works great. I’m out walking the dog, a song pops in my head, I use my iPhone to buy it for a buck and I’m listening to it in 2 minutes. A wonderful experience.
This spring I bought the iPad for my wife. Wonderful device. I have an idea, hit the button and it powers up in half a second. Apps are great and affordable. Interface and OS is great and stable. It just works like it is supposed to and in most cases better than I expected. i’ve bought videos and TV shows for the baby on it. Quick, easy and works. The baby wakes up and reaches for it, watches Dora with her morning bottle. Constantly over achieves, whereas Windows devices constantly under achieve.
Tried again last last year with Windows. Bought Windows 7 and built a new quad core PC. Had to pull out and use my engineering degree to get past windows homegroup and actually see my files from my media players and Macs. Then we’d be watching a movie streamed from the windows 7 box. An hour in to would just disappear. Have to walk over to the box, mess around with it, reboot. Start watching the movie again, once in a while it would disappear again. Other problems and bugs and incompatibilities. A hard drive failed, replaced it. Then windows pops up a box, you must reactivate now. Same as every experience in the past. Turned the Win 7 box off about a month ago. Going to gut it when I have time.
Running all Mac at home now. A few old G5s, an iMac, a MacPro and a MacBook. All just work. The interface, the UI, the OS, the hardware, the software all perform better than I’d expect. Constantly surprises and overachieves.
I have 20 years experience in I.T. and computer support. I can repair and configure windows, but why would I choose to everyday of my life at home. I don’t feel proud of myself when I spend hours getting windows to do something. I feel embarrassed for buying it. If I wanted to spend more than half of my life fixing things, I’d buy a 100 year old house, a british sports car and Windows devices. I’d rather just enjoy my life and experiences. I come home, fire up my Mac and upload pictures of my baby. Then maybe I edit some family videos. After that I watch my daughter learn and make music. It all just works. Better than I expected, but just what I deserve.
I’ve just made the switch from PC to Mac and after a few months I was hoping to have noticed what the big deal is.
Windows 7 kicks Snow Leopards butt in so many ways. To put it simply anything Snow Leopard can do Windows 7 can do it better. The biggest mac lover at my work agrees. I’m constantly saying ‘how can I do this’ – often the answer is you can’t.
MAC FAIL #1
I still cant believe the Mac OS doesn’t have a native address bar in its finder window. It sux having to navigate to folders by clicking… And it doesn’t remember what folder you were in very well. Imagine if the internet was nagigated through folders and not URL’s doesn’t make sense right? Heaven help when I’m trying to access the server or send the location of a document to a work colleague.
MAC FAIL #2
Windows management. By that I mean the crazy amount of windows everywhere that dont take up my full screen when I want them too. The stupid green button doesn’t work very well either. In Windows 7 you just have to drag the window up to the top of the screen, it snaps and fill the viewable area… awesome. Showing the desktop hides all my programs nice and neatly ready for me to start fresh but have everything open still… Sure you can show the desktop in mac but click stuff and everything comes back to where you dont want it.
MAC FAIL #3
Program accessibility. Not everything I had on my PC is available of my MAC and programs that are available aren’t as good. Adobe products aren’t as good mainly due to FAIL #2, drop downs not being controlled my keyboard and my keyboard shortcuts being buggy – such as making a movie clip in flash (F8) pauses my itunes… lame. Even with Apples awesome program development they still haven’t come close to Windows office – admit it ya Mac lover.
Meh i could go on but you get the point.
The short of it is Apple are awesome at marketing and my i7 is the best and fastest computer I’ve ever used but the OS has nothing on Windows 7 functionality, user experience and accessibility. I still love my Mac, iPhones, iPad and will probabaly get and iDog if they realsed one.
As for the address bar in Finder: shift+command+G. There you go.
And if you (or your colleague) spent 5 secs looking at Finder’s menu, you would’ve found it out by your own.
We are well aware of shift+command+G – its just not very good compared to Windows but thanks Franz, for pointing out its major flaw of taking 5 secs to find – I thought Mac’s were supposed to be user friendly LOL
Thats not the point of the article anyway. Microsoft just aren’t as good a marketing as Mac no one can deny that. Maybe if they were a bit more minimal and shiny you would like them.