Microsoft is dead.
"A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead." begins Paul Graham's essay, Microsoft is Dead. Not really dead but at least no longer a threat. Sort of like the Dark Side without the Force.

It's insightful and I agree with his points.

Yes, Microsoft is still big, still profitable, and still with deep, deep pockets. So deep that they could become a critical force again. Paul tells them how:

So if they wanted to be a contender again, this is how they could do it:

1. Buy all the good "Web 2.0" startups. They could get substantially all of them for less than they'd have to pay for Facebook.
2. Put them all in a building in Silicon Valley, surrounded by lead shielding to protect them from any contact with Redmond.

I feel safe suggesting this, because they'd never do it. Microsoft's biggest weakness is that they still don't realize how much they suck.

via Chr15 P1r1LL0

Labels: microsoft, tech, web2.0

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 10:09 AM |

 
Redux: Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us is the cool video by Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. I blogged about it recently.

In terms of my Web beliefs, I like his "Web is us" ideas. I see that to mean an ever-expanding "us"; the Web today isn't the same Web tomorrow. The potential of mixing and remixing and mashing up global cultures and ideas is awe-inspiring and why we need low-cost hardware and access.

I love the music too. It's "There's Nothing Impossible" by Deus and available for free.

I revisited the video today at YouTube and discovered there have been two drafts of the video with a final version on the way. Prof. Wesch is gathering comments and revising especially factual errors. There is also a transcript and high-quality version available. (See his blurb that displays next to the video at YouTube to get all the links.)

He has posted a version at Mojiti where you can add comments directly to the video. This is an interesting idea that gets to be less interesting in practice. It would probably work better with a limited commenting group.

Labels: web2.0, youtube

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 11:38 AM |