A Developer's View

Curing what ails Microsoft

John Carroll — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:17:16 +0000

Microsoft's biggest problem lies in its inability to maintain consistency across product categories, both from a user interface standpoint, and increasingly, from an API and technology standpoint. What Microsoft needs is more sharing within Microsoft combined with a more concerted effort from the center to impose discipline, from an API and user interface standpoint, across its product lines.

Countering an Apple-favoring .NET critic

John Carroll — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:17:50 +0000

I've been investigating Apple Cocoa API as I plan to complement my Windows and UNIX development skills with skills in Mac development. That doesn't mean I am willing to accept weak attacks what I consider to be a superior development platform: .NET.

Linux, user interfaces and copying Apple

John Carroll — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:39:29 +0000

Bob Sutor of IBM thinks that Linux needs to make innovative user interfaces, pointing to Apple as proof that charting your own path is beneficial. Apple, however, has certain aspects of its business that simply do not apply to Linux, making it harder for the business-focused operating system to achieve much market traction with a trend-breaking user interface.

DVB-H and government overreach

John Carroll — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:09:34 +0000

Germany is facing difficulties finding a workable business model for the mandatory DVB-H mobile video broadcasting standard. Perhaps the problem is that governments are trying to impose technology standards ahead of time -- a strategy that, from an economics standpoint, is questionable.

The Microsoft middle ground

John Carroll — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Microsoft occupies a middle ground between the vertically-integrated control of an Apple and the bazaar-like atmosphere of the open source world. Microsoft abandons that middle ground at their own peril.

Should Microsoft become more Apple-like?

John Carroll — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:16:53 +0000

About a week and a half ago, Mary Jo Foley wrote a piece where she argued that Microsoft was planning to get more “Apple-like” in the PC and phone space, based on various statements from Microsoft executives. I intended to write a response that following Monday, but work intervened, which is all for the better, [...]

Source code and managed runtimes

John Carroll — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:44:40 +0000

Managed runtimes and self-describing code has changed Microsoft's approach to source code protection. We have access to more Microsoft source code than ever before, and that is likely to remain the case so long as Microsoft emphasizes .NET as its platform of the future.

The LA earthquake

John Carroll — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:26:30 +0000

The quake in Los Angeles wasn't that big a deal, proof of which comes from the fact that, within an hour, I fired up my webcam and posted my thoughts, in video form, to CNN. Don't you just love the Internet?

Government, markets and regulation

John Carroll — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:15:09 +0000

Problems in the housing market in the United States provide some interesting lessons about government regulation in general, lessons that have equal applicability to the intersection between Information Technology and government.

Free the XBOX 360!!!

John Carroll — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:29:10 +0000

It's good that Microsoft has begun to allow home users to create XBOX 360 games that they can sell through XBOX Live. Microsoft, however, could do so much more with their TV-attached creation if only they were willing to let third parties take it beyond traditional TV-oriented services.