Can it really be time to start loving Microsoft again? Two new products do make you stop and think.
The first one is Microsoft Zune . It looks impressive. Of course it is a "me too" product, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Microsoft can produce a winner by sitting back a while and poaching all the great ideas from competitors. They have used Apple this way before and it has worked. Yes Apple has all the great innovations and ergonomics, but Microsft has a lot of muscle.
The second apparant winner is Internet Explorer 7 ( IE7RC1). I know that Internet Explorer is hardly a new product, but this is so different that you could almost put it in that class. I just upgraded to the IE7 and love it ( I'm using it right now). I have been a die-hard Firefox user, but I realize that many of you prefer the integration of all the Microsoft products.
I would STRONGLY encourage you to upgrade to the Internet Explorer 7, even though is it still a release candidate. So far the stability had been great, and system resource use has been very lean. I love the new tool bar ( gone are the bulky space wasting bars). It is also soooo easy to subscribe to RSS feeds. You just click on the little button. Hey....how about subscribing to this blog?? And of course..........IT HAS TABS! Ohhh tabs lovely tabs.....
Gone are the frustrations of having a bunch of open windows consolidate into one little "mystery" button. Now you can work with a clear organized row of tabs.
IE7....try it, and I think you will love it.
As for Microsoft Zune....it looks great. It is versatile and has great packages. And it has a bunch of little things that make sense....like an FM tuner. And best of all, it is an organic product that can be upgraded as improvements come along. It may give the iPod a good run for it's money. And of course competition tends to be good for the consumer.
I'm not too sure about the name though. I'm sure there is a strong reason for it, but I can forsee a lot of fodder for ridicule and confusion. Are people going to be hunting for an "MS Zoon", or a "Microsoft Tune", or even a "Zoom"? And are there going to be some " MS Looney Zune" jokes going around? Oh well, if that is all Microsoft has to worry about, then they may indeed have a winner.
'till next time
Colin
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