Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

Since I'm working on these 2008 strategies, I decided to give some advice to Microsoft: kill MSN.  Or rather stop putting anymore money into it.  Stop trying to compete against Yahoo and Google.  Vista was a huge flop and everyone knew it.  DRM, locked down devices, closed, proprietary systems are just so 1980's-2000.  You had your 20 year run, it was great, we had fun, people made money, now it's time to move on.

First Microsoft needs to get rid of Ballmer.  There I said it.  He's not a geek, never will be, and I don't think anyone in the industry really respects him (much less likes him).

Microsoft should not put more money into Facebook.  It's just a bad buy.  Yeah, there's some nice things in there like games, but it's just integration.  You just can do a little bit more than say Myspace.  Sure, they have open APIs, but I just don't see a point still.  I think SNS are great but I don't think anyone will be the be-all-end-all solution that these major companies are looking for.  They're limited in what they can do and the only thing that they have is the occasional returning user.  Great.  Move on.  For that matter, Microsoft should not get into the SNS space.  It just doesn't fit who they are.

I mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again for their sake: Microsoft needs to go more into scientific computing.  It blends with Bill Gates' philanthropic beliefs/causes.  Google has moved into Green technologies, but Microsoft doesn't need to.  Instead, I think a better area would be to focus on areas like medicine, genetics, nanotechnology, space exploration and robotics.  Probably robotics is Microsoft's best bet and I would start shifting more budget into areas like automation.  Think about things like centralized control of home appliances through one's computer.  We have notions of services like networks, telnet, ftp, who, etc. but these are primitive compared to the potential number of services out there.  Why build something 5th rate like Zune when there's probably a lot more practicality in things like timed heating, programmable meals, house cleaning, taking out one's garbage, cleaning the dishes, etc.?  My stupid microwave is in Japanese, but the functions are identical to one sold in the US.  Why should I be put into a situation where my limitation is the localized language?  Imagine if it were controlled through my computer!  You pick up your microwave dinner at the store, the microwave reads the barcode which translates into instructions on your computer.  All you have to do is tell the computer when you want to eat.

Or how about a better vacuum?  Have you ever seen those crappy ones with wheels?  They're small and supposedly can go under your sofa.  But what abouts the corners or ceiling where tons of mold can grow?  I don't need another mp3 player, I need a better friggin' vacuum!  And of course, this is simply AI and robotics.  The funniest part is that this thing is such a common problem why hasn't someone tried to tackle it in an elegant way?  The stuff I see is novel.  I don't want novel, I want elegant and efficient.  I see this situation as being more useful than a stupid XBox.  If my clothes were cleaned, my bed made, my garbage taken out, my food made, my floors cleaned, my walls washed, my toilet scrubbed, then I could focus on more important things in my life (or rather that my place would be more hospital and I'd have more friends come over).  I honestly don't care who solves this problem, but I think Microsoft has certainly the funds and people to make this thing work.