The Microsoft Surface

Update: Vote and view poll results for whether you will buy the Surface here: Surface WSJ Poll
The Surface announcement is a massive kick in the pants to all the OEMs. It signals a tectonic shift in Microsoft’s business model and its relationships with device manufacturers. This is Microsoft's tacit acceptance that OEMs cannot build hardware that showcases the capabilities of their software platform to the fullest.

Based on the press reports, the device is not bulky, is smudge-resistant, and is super responsive. Again, these are all first impressions, but I doubt that Sinofsky will allow a sub-par device to see the light of day. I am glad that they are taking their time to do this right.

This said, here are some of my concerns:
- No pricing information
- No release timeframe: I don’t want a firm date or month, but at least give me a release quarter!

Harken back to 2007; there are a number of similarities between this announcement, right down to the buzz it created and the extreme level of secrecy, and the first iPhone announcement. That announcement turned Apple’s fortunes around and cast the company into a new light. I get a strong sense that this is the recasting of Microsoft and Ballmer’s final chance at redemption. MSFT stock is at 30.87 as of this writing. Let’s see how this plays out…

Windows Phone OEMs be warned. This announcement opens the door to a Microsoft-branded phone!

Missing Plugin: application/octet-stream using Firefox

The plugin that can play files with content-type: application/octet-stream for Firefox is the Shockwave Player from Adobe. Get it from here: Download Shockwave Flash: Adobe

The information on support sites is not really helpful.

One more time - download Shockwave for Firefox to resolve the application/octet-stream missing plugin issue in Firefox.

New Blogger Interface

How can I provide a link for the story that inspired my new post? This is ridiculous; why was this functionality either obfuscated or removed from the standard posting interface?!

Android is in trouble...

:Story link:

Business Insider posted a story about how Android is in trouble. One factor they missed is the announcement from Verizon that they are going to push Windows Phone 7/8 devices this holiday season.

People might have forgotten this, but until the Droid was launched by Verizon with much fanfare, Android was a bit-player in a space dominated by iOS and Windows. This announcement from Verizon is a double-edged sword for the fledgling Microsoft Phone OS. If Windows Phone sales don't pick up significantly post this marketing push from Verizon, it would be safe to ring the death knell for the platform. The flip side is the platform will take off and become a worthy competitor to iOS.

Notice I did not mention Android in 2013. However you dice it, the fact that Verizon is shifting its focus on Windows cannot augur well for the platform. Verizon recognizes that the iPhone sells itself; it needs to be put its weight behind the second platform. Windows Phone is its new "second" platform, dethroning Android. Samsung, HTC and other Android ISVs better switch platforms if they want to stay relevant.

Constant changes to Firefox's user interface

Some of the new user interface and theme changes in Firefox are baffling. A few that come to mind that fall into this camp are: 1. New Download Manager with reduced functionality 2. Removal of site-icons in the address bar 3. Return of the "secure" padlock and removal of the clear "Identity Block" in the address bar We just went through a visual refresh with Firefox 4, which took a long time to develop. A lot of the decisions on what should go in that release were made after long discussions. Those discussions and decisions are being revisited and revised. Some of the behavior is being reverted back to pre-ff 4.0 days. Other, not so ideal, behavior is being introduced. Thinking about user interfaces some more, an application needs to be agile and respond to serious usability issues. But, it needs to stay true to its core look and feel. These changes, trivial when considered in isolation but significant when considered as a whole, impact the overall usability of Firefox. There is going to be a transition cost for these changes, and some of them violate the principle of least surprise[1]. The Australis theme refresh is a good example of the point I am trying to underscore. Was the theme refresh in 4.0 mostly a stop-gap measure? If yes, why introduce it in the first place? This constant back-and-forth points to a lack of UX and design leadership at Mozilla, which will result in more defections if not reined in. For a point of reference on how to manage changes to an application's interface without deviating too far from the original design principles, look no further than Google Chrome. It pains me to say this, but the original designers of that application had their sights set far into the future. Changes to its interface are subtle and rarely jarring. [1]: The Principle of Least Surprise

These are some dark times

Lots of changes afoot, but I have bitten off more than I can chew. Either that or I did not plan this move to the East Coast very well. I think it is the latter, and like the Program Management book extols: "If you don't plan well, you will have to implement a number of workarounds." Hopefully the workarounds are not so many that they are my undoing.

This dark cloud will pass; it will take its toll, but it will pass. And then, I will be a stronger and better organized person for it. No other outcome makes sense...

Fudging the numbers, or how AT&T does smart accounting

At Gigaom:

The 40 percent increase, in most cases, represents traffic AT&T has to absorb without collecting any incremental revenue. A customer on a 2 GB plan who increases his monthly usage from 1 GB to 1.4 GB doesn’t pay AT&T an additional dime. But a new subscriber represents an entirely new monthly revenue stream. If AT&T’s traffic grows from new subscribers, it has more money with which to add network capacity

So let's get this straight. AT&T promised 2GB to all the users that bought the 2GB plan. Now that these users have started using the data promised to them, AT&T is crying foul and complaining to the FCC about spectrum? How I read this, AT&T misrepresented its ability to service the needs of all its customers on the 2GB plan.

Hmm, let's go over the litany of promises made by AT&T to its customers:

Our nationwide network: Fail (more dead zones than Verizon)
Our nationwide 3G network: Epic fail; even metropolitan areas like NYC and Seattle don't have full 3G coverage
Our nationwide network is fast: Fail
Our nationwide network is reliable: Fail; you can have 4-bars of service with no connectivity
And now,
Our nationwide network can handle calls and data: FAIL

AT&T, keeping promises made to you, sometimes not always.