Microsoft : Will the dominance continue ? Yeah baby !

My last post raised questions about the ability of Microsoft to sustain its competitive edge. As mentioned earlier, one of the strengths of Microsoft has been to churn out new products. Products that people will like. We are now witnessing an era where convergence of the products and services have reached a point where the boundaries between different engineering functions of technology companies has started to blur. So, we have "Apple Computers" change its name to "Apple Inc." and produce products like iPod , iTV and iPhone.

This shift is desirable in the present scenario. Even unavoidable, if I might say. Innovation has always been the foundation of the business in technology companies. We have seen mammoth corporation fall in the past just because they refused to change with time or underestimated the customer. Remember what happened to Digital Equipment Corporation after the advent of the Personal Computers ? Digital used to make minicomputers and its machines were in huge demand in the 1970s and 1980s. As per Wikipedia "Its PDP and VAX products were arguably the most popular minicomputers for the scientific and engineering communities during the 1970s and 1980s". But how many of us reading this blog have ever heard of a company by that name ?

Digital refused to acknowledge the emergence of the PC. It had a glorified past. One where large industrial and scientific applications were designed to run on the proprietary architecture produced by Digital. Digital products served the needs and served it well for a good number of years. And then, something happened. Apple Computers introduced the first personal computer. They called it "Macintosh". That was in 1984. (Its an amazing video, Steve Jobs unveiling the first Mac. Watch it here ). Soon after IBM followed and produced its first PC. The operating system , was designed by Microsoft, called MS-DOS. And soon after that, Compaq successfully cloned the IBM PC. This was made possible b'coz of IBM's decision to open up the architecture of the PC. Compaq soon rose to heights in no time selling clones of IBM PC. In the meanwhile, Digital was still harvesting (or so it thought) the benefits of its minicomputers, thinking personal computer were too "hobbyist" to pose any serious threat to its business. What happened next was that Digital started losing out on the Compaq and IBM machines. Compaq finally bought Digital in 1998.

The advent of new-age consumer-centric companies point to the increased sense of urgency in the businesses worldwide. Even when the Windows and the Office platform were selling like hot cakes, Microsoft felt the need to come up with an X-Box and a Zune. It faltered in its first attempt at gaming, in X-Box. The competition, Sony's Playstation 2 was a winner then. Microsoft, however was determined to learn its lessons, and redesigned the console. What came out was a pleasant product in the form of X-Box 360. Microsoft, notorious for over-extending deadlines, surprisingly did a good job this time of introducing the product a good six months prior to the competition (Sony's Playstation 3).

Zune, the hardware media player from Microsoft fell flat on its face though. The customers didn't find any compelling reason to 'upgrade' to the new Microsoft offering. Plagued by jerky DRM and half-baked features (read wireless sharing), the offering failed to make an impact. But thats secondary. What's important here is that Microsoft attempted a product in a category that it had no business in previously.

Apart from these, two recent technologies from Microsoft have forced me to rethink about Microsoft as a company. One of them is called Microsoft Surface. Surface (codename : Milan) is developed as a hardware and software combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects. Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame. Five cameras that can sense nearby objects are mounted beneath the screen. Users can interact with the machine by touching or dragging their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by setting real-world items tagged with special barcode labels on top of it.

Surface has been optimized to respond to 52 touches at a time. During a demonstration with a reporter, Mark Bolger, the Surface Computing group's marketing director, "dipped" his finger in an on-screen paint palette, then dragged it across the screen to draw a smiley face. Then he used all 10 fingers at once to give the face a full head of hair.

In addition to recognizing finger movements, Microsoft Surface can also identify physical objects. Microsoft says that when a diner sets down a wine glass, for example, the table can automatically offer additional wine choices tailored to the dinner being eaten.

Surface features multi-touch technology that allows a user to interact with the device at more than one point of contact. For example, using all of their fingers to make a drawing instead of just one. As an extension of this, multiple users can interact with the device at once. The computer's "vision" is created by a near-infrared, 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the surface. When an object touches the tabletop, the light is reflected to multiple infrared cameras with a net resolution of 1280 x 960, allowing it to sense, and react to items touching the tabletop.


Another technology thats come to my notice is "Photosynth". Now this one is completely rocking. I suggest having a look at it before you read up any further. Here's the link.

The program works by analyzing multiple photographs taken of the same area. Each photograph is processed by noting specific features, like the corner of a window frame or a door handle. Photos that share features are then linked together in a web. When the same feature is found in multiple images, its 3D position can be calculated. Photosynth's 3D model is a cloud of points showing where these features are in space. This model enables the program to show a particular area from various angles, based on the different angles found in the photos. While the process works when only two photographs are used, it is better with more.

Think about it. The implications of such a technology can be immense. What if this can be coupled togeather with Google Earth and Microsoft Maps. The results will be wonderful. And needless to say, immensely useful. You can then walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle, zoom in or out of a photo , see where pictures were taken in relation to one another and find similar photos to the one you're currently viewing . No surprise I found the video link under the heading "Ridiculously Cool Technology"

Microsoft, once known for being an Operating System company, is trying hard to shed that image. It, however has no intentions to renounce that position. Microsoft is the king of the Operating System and it tends to be at the top in that category for a good number of years. The research going on in Microsoft on the next-gen OS, "Vienna" prove that point. With an entirely new file system in place, Vienna, Microsoft claims, is what can change the way users interact with the computers today. It is said, the physical location of a file will become irrelevant if Microsoft has its way. Good idea, as we don't really give a damn about the physical location of a file anyways. All we want is some information and if this can be classified, without having to worry about its 'geography', well and good.

Microsoft could have easily been a long forgotten company that once supplied IBM with its first ever operating system. But it chose to be different. Churning out products like Windows, Office, Visual Studio made sure Microsoft remains in sight. And now, there is another shift happening in customer preferences. And Microsoft is taking note of it.

Microsoft has enough projects in its kitty to keep the users interested. And users ARE interested. Zune, X Box, Vienna, Surface, Photosynth. Hints galore. Microsoft is here to stay. And stay for long.

For your convenience, the Photosynth video is posted below.