Every week, I spend some time tweeting on our @MSWindows twitter account. It’s a great way to let people know what’s going on with Windows, as well as hear back from folks about questions they have, cool things they’ve uncovered, or just how they feel. Today, @CallTechAngel tweeted this to us and it’s so good I just had to blog about it. Enjoy!
– Marcus, Windows Community Manager
Today we’re celebrating ten years of Messenger. What a decade it has been! Check out more about the anniversary up on www.messengeris10.com. I thought I’d share with you a few photos of the “Messenger buddies” we displayed on the Microsoft campus a few years ago.
To read more about what Messenger has done for me, check out my previous blog entry: How Messenger Saved Christmas.
– Marcus, Windows Community Manager
Image via CrunchBase
It’s happened to me, and I’m sure it’s happened to you. You’re sitting at your PC and you think “I wish Windows did (or didn’t) do…”.
When you had that thought, I’m curious about what you did next? Did you tweet your feedback? Or did you blog about it? Or perhaps you were using the Windows 7 beta and you clicked the Send Feedback link?
If you did any of these things (or something else to share your feedback), please let me know by leaving a comment below. One of the things I plan to work on in the months ahead is to make sure we’re doing a better job of listening to what customers are saying and making sure more people at Microsoft know what you’re all saying.
Thanks for your help and the feedback you have provided and hopefully will continue to provide!
– Marcus, Windows Community Manager
One of the big things at Microsoft is our software-plus-services strategy. The work being driven by our Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie is a key way we’re going to be thinking about the experience we all have when using our PC. When we talk to customers today, they already see this as the next logical step in computing, and many people don’t even draw the distinction between what’s on their local PC and what they are doing on the web. It is just one seamless experience (or at least it should be).
In the Windows group where I work, we’re seeing this software-plus-services strategy factoring into the work we do with the Windows operating system, Windows Live, and Windows Mobile. I noticed this just the other day when I was exploring the desktop personalization options inside Windows 7 RC. You’ll notice a little link (highlighted in this illustration):
Clicking on that link takes you to a great Personalize your PC page on the Windows website:
Now this might seem like a fairly small step in the broader world of software-plus-services. It’s just a link after all. But to me, it’s an important step. One of the things people like to do most with their PC is personalize it. The easier we can make it for anyone to do that personalization, the better off we all are. The other thing I like about this is the possibilities for partners. Imagine the ability to showcase themes and gadgets from Microsoft and our partners as part of this page, perhaps fitting in with seasons or events. What better way to welcome autumn than a new slideshow theme and desktop gadget for the NFL Season?
I’m not sure what all the future holds for software-plus-services in Windows, but that’s part of the excitement of it all!
What other great examples of software-plus-services have you seen?
– Marcus, Windows Community Manager
Marcus @ Microsoft 