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July 25, 2006
Integration vs universality
Integration vs universality: A couple of Microsoft-related items here... the Ars Technica link above discusses how the new Microsoft website is currently available for Microsoft browsers on Microsoft operating systems, no others need apply... when I check the preview site now in Firefox it redirects me to the regular www.ms.com frontpage. It's hard to achieve universality out of the gate -- the Macromedia sites themselves have had problems with particular browsers in the past, but only when these lacked functionality that the rest of the browsers had. I'm not sure what internal group process could lead Microsoft to only support their browser, even on a preview, when so many are wondering how universal Microsoft's cross-platform outreach will eventually be. But a CNET article on the business effects of Microsoft producing pocket music devices has some MS staff quotes which may apply: "'Any experience, whether it is device (or) service (or) software, will be tightly integrated,' a Microsoft representative told CNET News.com... 'We do need a more consistent experience,' Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a January interview. 'That doesn't mean it's bad to have a variety of devices. I think that's great. But there are some things we need to make sure are more consistently delivered across the portable devices.'" It's hard work to achieve "more consistent experiences" within varied environments, but I don't see how it would logically follow that you'd instead restrict your audience's choice in environments in order to do so....
Posted by JohnDowdell at July 25, 2006 01:57 PM
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