Microsoft and the Future

So now that I’m back to blogging, I want to talk about Windows Phone 7 Series (which I’ll refer as WP7S) considering how it’s the most biggest thing Microsoft has announced since I last blogged.

First, I want to show you what the next version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system could have been:

Yep, at one point, “Windows Mobile 7” could have been nothing but just another sloppy attempt at making a nice user interface for the OS. You can see that they were still using the outdated 2-pane soft menu, fugly icons, and too much shiny gleam tossed in. They did start implementing the ‘pivot’ stuff, the navigation metaphor that Metro (the interface style that MS has been using in Zune, Windows Media Center, etc.) heavily uses, though of course not in a really aesthetic way. Luckily, about a year ago, Microsoft called a brand new restart on the next iteration of Windows Mobile, and decided that it was time to start anew. Good thinking.

Now Microsoft has came up with Windows Phone 7 Series (I’ll mention my quirks with the name among other things in a different post). It’s completely different from what many have expected Microsoft to do with Windows Mobile. I’m going to go briefly over the main aspects of it, and move on to some questions I still have.

In general, there is a new interface called ‘Metro’ that takes the current Zune HD interface a step further. The homescreen consists of ‘tiles’ which can act either as shortcuts, but also as widgets giving the latest data about something. A further extension of the homescreen, either through a swipe or pressing the arrow along the right, will lead you to a list of applications you can use.

I somewhat like the WP7S homescreen. The idea of customizable tiles (don’t know as to what extent they can be ‘customized’), seem like a nice idea rather than the usual dropping of shortcuts to apps on the homescreen. It’s nice to know you can move them around wherever you want them to be, which ones you want on there, and the ability to pretty much drop a contact, program, file, or whatever onto the homescreen, at least on my assumptions.

(note, recent demos have show a 2007 Outlook icon in place of the envelop in the Outlook tile)

I love the ‘Hubs’ idea. Hubs, or “panoramic experiences” as Microsoft calls it, are basically an aggregation of certain data and applications that basically work well together. All the different apps and related data are placed in a singular ‘panorama’ view (which exists beyond the phone’s screen), and you view each section panel-by-panel. Like the “People” hub below, it’s divided up into recent contacts you’ve interacted with, a list of all contact, latest updates from them, and more.

I love how Microsoft is finally getting serious on putting REAL integration with their other services and products. There’s a Zune hub (or Music+Video, which is really just a media hub), Xbox Live hub, and an Office hub, as examples of the primary platforms that are being integrated together. There’s even a hardwired search button, where any web results are based from Bing.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile, is now simply ‘Marketplace’ and has improved much. It of course adopts the Metro look, allows you test a trial before you buy (length depends on the app’s developer), and you can pay in real monetary currency than Microsoft Points.

There’s also finally a set of minimum requirement that will ensure actual quality devices, unlike before. Windows Phones will actually be fairly decent phones given the specs they are required to have. Windows Phones will at least need to have a capacitive, multitouch screen, specific CPU and speed, memory, accelerometer, 5MP camera, and maybe even more. This is probably a result of past issues with Windows Mobile devices where the specs were rather poor, which hurt the way WinMo performed.

Windows Phones will also use the Zune software as the desktop syncing software, which will really help expose people to how wonderful the Zune software really is, compared to nasty iTunes. Luckily, old ActiveSync method is no longer required.

That’s pretty much the basic gist of what is known so far to the public.

Here are some questions that haven’t been fully answered yet to my knowledge, as well as some commentary as to what I’m expecting or hoping:

1. Will there be international version by launch? How will foreign alphabets that are non-Latin based (like Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, etc.) going to work on this, considering how text-heavy the OS is?

- It’d probably still work the same, but it’d be kinda odd, considering how the UI pulls a lot of attention to the typography. Not that other non-Latin characters aren’t pretty, but the effect doesn’t look like it’d be the same considering how short and sweet they are.

2. Is there any status bar and is there a way to activate it throughout the OS (since I’ve only seen it on the homescreen)? Does the status bar do anything nifty like Android’s does?

UPDATE: According to Long Zheng’s post, such icons typically found on the status bar in most phones (like battery, time, network bars, etc.) only show up contextually when you’re in a screen where that might be useful. For example, when making calls, you’ll see the network bars, time, battery life, and carrier name show up at the top like you would on other phones.

(original image by Long Zheng)

This could answer my question. Maybe it’ll change before it’s released or there might be more that hasn’t been seen.

- I would prefer/hope to see it work like a ‘hidden’ status screen, like the way the Zune HD does it. The Zune HD has a side button on the left side that brings up the playback controls and current battery status, and disappears when you don’t need it. Heck, it would even make a nice screen to quickly do application switching, and check out other innards through a quick glance. I doubt WP7S phones have such a neat button though :(

3. What does the camera interface look like on the phone, and is it standard on all phones or does it depend on the camera manufacturer?

- I’m hoping it’s uniform, with as much advanced options as possible, and turned off only if not present or possible on that phone.

4. Apparently, the phone can multitask, according to this leaked pic from Engadget, but is there a convenient screen to easily manage and switch between running apps, or will you just have to fly around the hubs and various menus to do so? Can apps do side loading?

- Again, I think it would have been really awesome if there was a hidden status ‘screen’ that lets you check out applications and status through a single physical button. Anyway, it’s not clear how app switching will work, if there’s any proper way to do so besides going back through the menus.

5. Can phones have more buttons than what is required? I mean as long as they meet the minimum, could they add extra physical buttons or features?

- I’m thinking Yes, considering the LG WP7S phone has a physical keyboard, but can’t be definite.

6. Is stylus input completely gone now? Is there any form of voice input?

- Ability to use a stylus is still handy to many people, particularly those in Asian countries. Microsoft Voice Command has been commended by many in the past on Windows Mobile, and considering how voice input is part of the “Natural User Interface” imitative that Microsoft plans to better produce in their software, you’d think WP7S would capitalize on that method of input.

7. Will copy & paste make it before RTM or when it officially launches? If not, maybe through an update?

- MS rep apparently said it’s not there now, but could make it in on time. According to Paul Thurrott.

8. Will there be support for saving applications from Marketplace to a microSD card slot? Or even microSD support?

- I recalled there was, but some people have raised doubts to this. Couldn’t find anything official.

9. Is there even an actual central file system, so you could use your phone kinda like a portable flash drive?

There’s a bunch of other stuff that I’m a bit bewildered by, but are minor to me.

That’s just my general thoughts and questions about Windows Phone 7 Series. I’ll publish particular things I like and hope to see in WP7S. Below are some useful links.

OFFICIAL SITE http://www.windowsphone7series.com/

Engadget’s Initial Summary http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/17/windows-phone-7-series-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know/

Paul Thurrott’s Initial Summary http://www.winsupersite.com/mobile/wp7_preview.asp

Engadget’s Summary based on data from MIX10 http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/17/windows-phone-7-series-preview-mix10-edition/

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I’m rather a bit upset that it’s been a real long while since Windows Live has offered some true updates or kept up with itself. Sure, Windows Live Wave 4 is just around the corner, but why should it take that long just for some updates? Or even stay active in the community somehow?

So far, the only new things is:

• a few Hotmail updates - more keyboard shortcuts, improved buddy list, improved contact picker, auto-save drafts, ability to download all files in one zip compared to one-by-one. Nothing really revolutionary here.
• brought back ability to attach photos (now a separate choice)
• another version of Windows Live Movie Maker
• Greater access to Office Web Apps
• Silverlight Streaming is dead
• Live Events is dying

Not much more than that. At least Windows Live Wire is still blogging occasionally, and they’ve finally let commenting come back.

However, there’s been things that should be simple to update, and I don’t see any point in waiting for Wave 4 to come. Such as:

1. More “theme” choices – Does it really take months to work on some nice simple themes? It’s not the most important priority, but given the limited choice of themes you can use (18 as of today), there shouldn’t be any delay in getting some more themes out until Wave 4 comes. At least the ability to customize our own themes, like the way you can use photos in Messenger, would be a nice way to customize.
2. UI update to Gallery, OneCare, My.Live.com – We’re on Wave 3 and OneCare and Windows Live Gallery sites are still stuck on Wave 2, My.live.com is surprisingly still on Wave 1, and I don’t see why the teams are so lazy to update. If these teams can’t update those sites by now, then it makes me less confident that I should bother using Windows Live. The Wave 2 header is so outdated. For instance, Contacts is still used in the place of People (though I do prefer ‘Contacts’), and Live Search is still in place of Bing.
3. Calendar Sync for Windows Live Mobile – If it’s not by Wave 4, Microsoft will really have some disappointed customers. Well more disappointed actually.
4. Cutting the spam in Live Spaces – Ok, I thought Microsoft had finally resolved the problem, but like I mentioned in a previous post, it’s still going on. Thankfully, X-Evolutionist has taken action by personally finding the URL’s of every spammer’s Profile to submit to Microsoft. Perhaps something will get done. Thanks X-Evolutionist.
5. Better account integration with other Microsoft entities – For instance, if I’m already signed into Windows Live, why am I not automatically signed in when I go to Bing or MSN or even Xbox sites? Why do I need to create a different username for different Microsoft entities, when it’s all using Windows Live ID? Sounds rather ridiculous and superfluous. This should be resolved.

Stuff like this shouldn’t require a whole ‘wave’ of updates. Nobody appreciates waiting months and months for good updates to come. Instead, a ‘wave’ should just be more of a UI update, with perhaps a few major new features/services, but for tiny or even medium-priority features, they should come out more often. No need to wait.

Anyway, I just wanted to express that I’m a bit tired of the waiting process for Microsoft’s online stuff. I know a few people that are already giving up Windows Live, because they were a bit annoyed with the usual ‘waiting game’. Anyone else feel the same about having to wait for ‘full waves’ to get more good stuff out of Windows Live?

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I know I haven’t been blogging too much lately, as I do have things of other prioities to take care of, but I couldn’t help but stop to write a quick blog about the insane amounts of spam coming back to Windows Live Spaces.

It looks like some Chinese spammers came and plagued my blog posts with their ugly links to some stupid website that sells electronic stuff. As you can see in the picture above, the red arrow is pointing to the tiny scrollbox that looks very miniscule compared to the whole scrollbar. Why? Because there’s that much spam shown in the comments section.

I thought the Windows Live team would have got it by now, but this is really annoying and I don’t like how the page HAS to confirm if you really want to delete the comment or not.

I’m not stupid Microsoft. With so much spam, there needs to be a way to disable dialog prompts like this, because I’m one of those users who are well aware of what they’re about to do, and deleting comments shouldn't be a pain every time! Imagine me having to delete EVERY comment that’s spam, and clicking OK in a the dialog for the nth time!

Anyway, you think the Windows Live team could make it easier to report and shut down spammers? Or make it easier to delete comments? Or how about making text entry just a bit more limited where you can only put up to 4 links per comment? Anything to reduce spam attacks would be nice for us users Windows Live.

I’m always thinking towards the future, so I’ve thought a lot about how technology might be different in the future.Here are 10 trends I expect to see with the upcoming 10-20 years in no particular order:

1. More computer/TV hybrids – Both a TV and a computer require a screen to view its contents, so why not merge both? Many people already do so by using their TV set as a monitor to their computer or using their computer and TV tuner card as a TV set. My dream concept would be an 1080p HD OLED wall mounted hybrid with all the computer components, ports, and slots on the sides or through a wireless base, webcam at the top, along with a wireless keyboard and touchpad/mouse. It ideally saves space and costs less than buying two separate machines. In fact, such a thing already exists with Medion’s X9613 all-in-one multi touch PC.
    
2. More all-in-one portable devices – Imagine having a PMP (portable media player), cell phone, camera, GPS unit, calculator, remote control, and maybe even a thermometer all in ONE device. In fact, that’s already possible with the most ubiquitous example being the iPhone along with other fancy smartphones. These super devices offer a lot of functionality through it’s hardware and built-in apps, and extended ones with third party applications. The portability, extensive functionality, and the slickness of some of these devices make all-in-ones very keen to have. They can only get more popular as the years go by.
3. Less standalone GPS units – GPS units can easily get lost, stolen, or useless when the subscription expires. There have been many cases where thieves have broken windshields to get a GPS unit. These days, GPS functionality is becoming very popular with cars having them built-in or on the user’s cell phone, so standalone GPS units are going to continue to be decline in popularity, except for the ones that are used for hiking outdoors.
4. More wireless controllable devices – The simplicity of being able to control your devices on one remote, instead of having to go to each and manually activate them is very appealing. Remote controls do most things, but not everything. I can see Bluetooth equipped touchscreen phones serving as our new remote controls, rather than the standard IR soft button remotes. Bluetooth appears very more precise and fast for connection between device, and the touchscreen will make the controls more flexible and show just the buttons you need when you need them. Controlling things will be even better with home automation.
5. More biometric technology – Biometric data can be very secure, and not as easy to be tampered with, as compared to just a password. More airports will use them, more computers will have biometric scanners, more government agencies will have them, etc. Perhaps there will be a super secure database of all the country’s citizens with biometric data, that will be used for verifying people’s identities for security reasons. Only limited data is shown, unless the person accessing it has biometric clearance to dig in deeper. Probably the only data most people that have these scanners will see is just a picture ID and name.
6. Less use of portable physical storage mediums – Floppy disks have died, CD’s are going away with DVD’s and USB flash drives, and now simple file sharing or streaming over the Web has become the way of transferring data. Why? It doesn’t take up space, it’s less riskier to lose data, and it’s convenient. Physical hard drives will still be there of course, for backup and security reasons, but when going portable, it will be much simpler to send things over the web or through streaming. While portable USB flash drives are convenient method right now, they usually easily get lost and the data can be very crucial. I’ve lost my SanDisk flash one and haven’t been able to find it since. So I really think that transferring data through the Internet or streaming will be the trend.
7. More electronic kiosks – Would you rather deal directly with an employee, or would you rather deal with an easy-to-use electronic kiosk? I’d pick the kiosk. If designed very well, kiosks should easily let you pick exactly what it is you want, exclude things you might not want (like contents of a burger or hotel package), add notes to supply additional info., and is very easy to pay through. Your order goes from the machine to the staff and they respond to it efficiently with the information you supplied, and in no time they’ve got it done. You do not have to deal with communication barriers (language, speech irregularities, etc.), scornful attitudes, and all that other stuff with direct communication. With a well designed electronic kiosk, you tell exactly what you want, pay, receive, and that’s it. I really believe that electronic kiosks are the way to go for efficiency and better service.
8. Less oversaturation in particular markets – There’s got to be like a bazillion different cellphones, cameras, and computer models out there. Many often with names like the HP G60t laptops, or the Sony Ericsson W380a, or even the Canon PowerShot SD990 IS. Horrible names you’d probably never remember. Now there’s nothing wrong with choices of course; choices are great. However, flooding the market with a bunch of similar-sounding devices the have only one or two difference but a completely different name is both confusing and ultimately disliked by consumers. If a camera comes in 7 different colors, should there be 7 different model names? Not in my opinion. Consumers love it when there are choices that have clearly distinguishable features, very good ecosystem of accessories or 3rd party add-ons, and well known so it’s easy to find help or content for it. Apple has generally done a very good job of diversifying their products just enough, without making obscure variations or multiple names of pretty much the same product. Buy some generic dumbphone or an obscure PMP from some random company’s product lines or a computer model that’s hasn’t been popular and you just don’t get the same benefits.
9. More paperless workspace – Paper is often inefficient at any workplace. Organizing them, sorting them, transporting them, spending money on them, and the waste they create when going to landfills instead of recycling facilities is troubling. Those among other reasons are why people will move towards paperless offices, and not having to deal with the inefficiency of paper. There will probably still be paper for important documents or archiving, but probably most things will be created and sent digitally. A paperless office or school would make working so much better to deal with, and the fact it saves trees is even better.
10. Telecommuting anywhere and everywhere – As more office work is being done on computers, there is less need to physically go to the workplace to do work. You can communicate to coworkers and bosses by e-mail, IM, or videoconferencing. As long as the person is still productive wherever he/she is, I don’t really see a problem with telecommuting, though I doubt very private and important documents will ever leave the workplace, due to the risk of a stranger seeing the document on the employee’s screen. There was an article in the paper the other day about how coffee shops are becoming places to work with sometimes free WiFi, good coffee and a somewhat relaxing environment. Most owners don’t mind as long as you buy something. In fact, there’s a business in Houston, called Caroline Collective, that dedicates itself to serving independent employees who need a good office space with amenities, for a flat fee every month.

Perhaps these trends are obvious, and perhaps they might seem peculiar. That’s just the way I see things going.

What are trends that you think will happen in the the next 10 years?

Just as I presumed, Microsoft will do away with the flash-based Zunes that are currently being sold.

It’s disappointing, but pretty logical I guess. The Zune probably hasn’t been making much of a profit in that division, so they’re banking all their resources on the upcoming Zune HD, and not bothering with the other Zune device for awhile, by ‘discontinuing’ them. I’m guessing that if the Zune HD is actually successful as Microsoft hopes it to be, then the non-touch Zunes will pop back up with a hardware refresh and Zunes of all types will exist again.

However, if the Zune HD does awful, then I have a feeling Microsoft isn’t going to bother with Zune anymore. They’ll disband it, and say sorry to people that invested in it, and move on. I really hope not though.

Why should the non-touch flash Zunes still exist? Because:

• Not everyone needs a touchscreen player – I know some guys that like the tactile feel of the dpad/Zune Squircle on their device, and touchscreens on devices often cost higher. Also, they may worry if the screen gets damaged, they might not be able to use their Zune
• People want higher storage capacities – The Zune HD capped at 32GB maximum is not enough for them. They need more. Now personally, I don’t see any point in dropping your whole media library in one device just for the sake of ‘convenience’, but that’s what some guys evidently want. A Zune HD with 120GB will be hard to make with the capacitive screens, and it’s going to cost so much more.
• Microsoft needs a PMP for the lower end of the market – There will be many people that can’t afford something as nice and juicy as the Zune HD, so the Zune 4 and Zune 8 are good matches for them. They’ll probably splurge on Zune accessories when they scrounge up enough cash, and maybe consider buying Zune content on Marketplace. The thing is, instead of buying the generic (and awful) iPod Shuffle and Nano, they’ll have a greater choice if the Zune 4 and 8 are around.

Those are the main reasons, and I think Microsoft should have a presence in all the major areas of the PMP market. Dropping everything to the Zune HD makes me worried how successful this will be.

Do you use a Zune? What do you think of Microsoft discontinuing the non-touch flash players?