Mary Jo Foley (@maryjofoley) is the author of the “All About Microsoft” column at ZDNet . She does a great job at keeping people informed about the world of Microsoft and she wrote a book herself not so long ago titled “Microsoft
2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era.”
I recently interviewed Foley about a number of Microsoft’s moves.
Highlights from our discussion included:
- Foley sees vertical opportunities for the Kinect SDK for Windows, from health care to education. Integrating the Kinect technology will also play a part in interacting with PowerPoint, ERPs and CRMs. [Discussed
10 seconds in.] - How has the rollout for Windows 8 been different from previous operating systems? “Beta” doesn’t mean what it used to — Google, for example, has many products in perpetual beta — but Foley thinks there’s more to the Windows 8 release than just that. The Windows 8 rollout is a signal of how Microsoft develops the OS now, with the company setting things in stone earlier than with previous software products. [Discussed at 2:41.]
- If you think Microsoft will loosen its grip on Metro design guidelines, think again. Foley pointed to Windows on ARM (WOA) as an example — there, Metro is the only choice. [Discussed at 4:39.]
- What would someone choose a Windows 8 tablet over an iPad or Android tablet? Foley said the competitive difference may lie in sleeker hardware and integration with Microsoft’s Office suite.
[Discussed at 6:16.]
You can view the entire interview in the following video.