Microsoft Tells Facebook It Already Made A People-First Phone, Calling The Whole Concept Into Question

Microsoft is maybe a little jealous of the spotlight shone on Facebook yesterday for its Facebook Home announcement. In a new blog post today, Frank X. Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft used some mild snark and mostly gentle prodding to complain about how his company had already done what Facebook was trying to do on smartphones, which sadly only reinforces the fact that no one had noticed.

The post is mostly a series of questions, which basically suggest that Facebook was asking the same ones when it came up with Facebook Home, but which Microsoft had already answered two years ago with the initial release of Windows Phone 7.5, where it actually employed the tagline “Put people first.”

Shaw glibly says that he checked the calendar to determine whether or not it was somehow still 2011, and obliquely compared the FB Home announcement to an April Fools’ joke, but the real punchline is in how a so-called “people-” centric approach to mobile has worked so far, and both Microsoft and Facebook end up looking the worse for it.

The whole argument of the post is based on the idea that Facebook Home merely accomplishes what Windows Phone already offers, but in a way that requires fewer sacrifices. Facebook Home is “another skin built around another metaphor, on top of what is already a custom variant of the OS,” Shaw argues, and to some extend he’s right. Windows Phone offers a lot of features taken from Facebook Home, baked right into the stock, native OS, including unified messaging and social feeds that put friend social activity front-and-center.

The problem is, Windows Phone hasn’t yet made a significant dent in the smartphone market, as you can tell from the most recent U.S. comScore numbers. Buyers so far haven’t embraced a “people-first” vision of a smartphone platform, at least as espoused by Microsoft. And in my own experience using a Nokia 920, I found that the social aspects didn’t really draw me in or make me feel any more socially engaged – surfacing social updates just reminded me how largely disconnected I actually am from the majority of people in my Facebook stream, in fact.

Microsoft may have wanted to spark consumer interest by piggy-backing on the high profile of yesterday’s Facebook Home announcement, but the net effect was actually to just leave me more skeptical about Facebook’s attempt to provide a similar experience. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about a people-first approach replacing an app-centric model, but if Windows Phone is the only example we have to go on so far of how that turns out, then the prognosis for Facebook Home isn’t all that good.

Microsoft files 'Glacier Blast' trademark

A trademark for "Glacier Blast" was recently filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office by Microsoft. While no other information about it exists, the trademark was filed as game software. Microsoft also registered the domain glacierblastgame.com in late March, according to WhoIs records. The URL currently points to a Bing search.

Using our refined detective skills, we think it's possible that this piece of "game software" is a video game currently in development by Microsoft. With a name like "Glacier Blast," we'll be disappointed if the final product isn't an arctic naval combat game in which large icy masses shoot lasers at an enemy called "Global Warming."

Microsoft Apologizes, But Refuses to Comment on 'Always On'

I was planning on avoiding yet another controversy started on Twitter yesterday, as it seems there’s a new gaming-related one every few hours.

In it, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios Adam Orth kicked things off by saying he “didn’t understand the drama around ‘always on’ consoles” because “every device is now ‘always on’ ” He concluded with the hashtag #dealwithit.

This naturally offended many long opposed to the concept of always-on anything related to gaming, most notably DRM. Orth went on to spar with Bioware’s Manveer Heir and jokingly insulted poorer areas that don’t have access to reliable internet.


I don’t want to talk about Adam Orth. People are entitled to their opinions, and the right to joke, troll or otherwise. That said, it would be wise for someone in such an important position at a company like that to mind what they say in public. Orth has since protected his tweets.

I’m not sure if he’s issued an apology yet, butMicrosoft has, and it’s their reaction that’s more interesting. Via MajorNelson:

“We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”

The apology is just for Orth being rude, but the important part about this is that Microsoft doesn’t even want to tip their hand a little bit about the next Xbox, to the point where they don’t even deny accusations that would immediately bolster support for the device. That in turn makes the rest of us feel like our worst fears about the consoles could be true.

Sony had to deal with the same problem, and DID deal with it. They too were asked point blank if the Playstation 3 would be used titles. They said it would. They were asked if the console would require an internet connection to play games. They said it wouldn’t.

But Microsoft has been asked the same questions, and has said nothing. First, when Durango specs were leaked that seemed to indicate games must be installed to the hard drive to play (presumably eliminating used game sales), Microsoft could neither confirm nor deny that. Now, when an employee is making people think that the game could require an internet connection to play games, Microsoft bundles in a “no comment” in their official apology.

What’s going on here?

There are two options, it seems. The first is that Microsoft wants to be SO secretive with their new console, that ANY revelation, good or bad, is a closely guarded secret. After all, it wasn’t until the PS4 was at least revealed that we got answers to the two questions posed above.

The second option is that Microsoft really is developing a console that despite their labeling, most would not see as “consumer-centric.” If the system goes “full PC” where it blocks used games and requires internet verification for play, it could spell disaster for them if players decide to flock to the less restrictive PS4 instead. Hell, even the Wii U might look good by comparison at that point.

The only way I could see Microsoft succeeding if it did indeed end up employing both of those tactics would be if they either knocked the price of games way down (to Steam level prices, which is how PC deals with this) or sold their console for a fraction of the cost of its competitors. With many speculating the PS4 will cost $400, I’ve heard analysts wonder out loud if Microsoft could go down an odd path by making the next Xbox $99. They’d sell at a loss sure, but it would ensure a HUGE install base as the system is part of Microsoft’s grander plan of living room domination. And as much as players want to play used games and be free of internet restrictions, a $99 console would be hard to pass up.

Of course that’s all speculation. Microsoft could not be blocking used games or forcing always on, but until they tell us otherwise, we won’t know. And that’s what’s a bit unsettling.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen together again

The Microsoft co-founders reprise a famous photo of themselves from the early days of the company.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates posed in 1981 amid some contemporary computers. They reprised the photo on April 3 at the Living Computer Museum. (Credit: Paul Allen)

Thirty-two years ago, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen took a picture together, surrounded by the computers of the time. It was 1981 and Ronald Reagan had just become president of the U.S. In June of that year, Microsoft incorporated in Washington state, and in August IBM introduced its first PC with Microsoft's fledgling operating system, MS-DOS. At the beginning of 1981, Microsoft had 129 employees. By 2012, Microsoft had more than 97,000 employees and MS-DOS still lives on.

The picture of the older Gates and Allen was taken in Seattle at the Living Computer Museum, which was developed by Allen to preserve the history that led to the founding of Microsoft.

A bearded Paul Allen and glassesless Bill Gates in 1981.

Google and Microsoft trade insults for April Fools

April Fools' Day provides the springboard for companies to make some unbelievable announcements, but for Google and Microsoft, it serves as the perfect time to poke fun at eachothers' shortcomings. With Gmail Blue, Google is teasing Redmond over a product that doesn't officially exist yet, while Microsoft goes back to basics to poke fun at its rival's "vanilla" search engine.


Gmail Blue is said to be the culmination of a challenge to "completely redesign and recreate something, while keeping it exactly the same." While we are left with a distinctly bluer Gmail interface, Google's references to Microsoft's own blue project — Windows Blue — are clear to see, as Microsoft gears up to revamp Windows 8's "metro" mode with new features and some UI tweaks later this year.

For one of its own April Fools pranks, Microsoft fights fire with fire by making Google's iconic start page the target of its affection, serving Bing users with a classic white search page (complete with a multi-colored Bing logo and an 'I'm Feeling Confused' button) when they enter "Google" into the Bing search box. Microsoft also includes the same small boxes found at the bottom of its traditional Bing search page, displaying tooltips including "with so many delicious flavors available, most people still choose vanilla." It's an attempt to advertise its more visually rich search page and perhaps steals some of Google's users in the process, as Microsoft explains: "the main goal here is just to learn more about how our world would look if we hadn’t evolved."

Google's over-the-top dedication to its annual April Fools prank has not gone unnoticed, however. This year, we've seen Google launch Google Maps Treasure Mode, announce the closure of YouTube, and offer the chance to smell search queries via Google Nose,new Google+ emoticons, introduce Google SCHMICK in Australia, expand Google Analytics to include referrals from the International Space Station, offer Google Fiber poles (so far). But Google users have blasted the company for focusing on its April Fools antics, arguing that the time invested in polishing its gags might have been better spent keeping Google Reader alive.

Microsoft skips 'too good' Windows 9, jumps to Windows 10

If you've been looking forward to Windows 9, the OS that will fix what Windows 8 got wrong, you're in for a surprise: There will be no Windows 9. Instead, Microsoft announced it will proceed directly to Windows 10.

"The Windows 9 internal beta was a phenomenal success," said Microsoft PR rep Cheryl Tunt. "I mean, it blew Windows 8 out of the water, and as we all know, Windows 8 is nigh flawless. After discussion at the C level, Microsoft has decided it will not mess with success and will leave Windows 9 exactly as it is. As such, work is now getting under way on Windows 10, which should see a public release."

[ Windows 8 is here, and InfoWorld can help you get ready with the Windows 8 Deep Dive PDF special report, which explains Microsoft's bold new direction for Windows, the new Metro interface for tablet and desktop apps, the transition from Windows 7, and more. | Stay abreast of key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]

Details about Windows 9 are sketchy, but according to internal Microsoft communications obtained by InfoWorld, the OS was fast, intuitive, bug-free, and equally adept with both the Windows Desktop and Metro-style interfaces. "And who would've thought to put the Start button there?!? Genius!" marveled one engineer, though it's unclear where "there" is exactly.

Another engineer likened the OS to the Nintendo Entertainment System's Power Glove accessory, saying, "It's that good a melding of man and machine."

One email chain riffed extensively on how Windows 9 is like the sitcom "Seinfeld" in that it's "about nothing," but also because "there was that one episode where Kramer got the deli meat slicer, and he said he had cut slices of meat so thin, he couldn't even see them. Well, Windows 9 is so transparent, you won't even know it's there. Hell, I'm not even sure I used it!"

"Hey guys, if all this is true, then we can't release this [OS] to the public," one HR manager who had been CC'd on the emails declared. "We have to keep this internal and advertise it as a perk. You know: 'Come work for Microsoft, and you get to use Windows 9!'"

The decision to jump to Windows 10 was announced during an all-company meeting by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who took the stage in front of a banner reading "Mission Accomplished."

"You guys who make Windows are the backbone of this company!" an exuberant Ballmer claimed. "You've really outdone yourselves here. This is exactly the kind of perfection so synonymous with the Microsoft brand that we can't see fit to have it exist anywhere but within Microsoft. It's simply too good to be released. Now, onward with Windows 10! By the way, this meeting counts as your lunch break."

There was at least one beta tester who wasn't quite so dazzled. "Yeah, I tried out Windows 9," he told InfoWorld on condition of anonymity. "I dunno ... it's pretty good, I guess. It's not at all what they're talking about, though -- the engineers might be delirious from lack of sleep. I'm pretty sure the real reason we aren't going to sell it is because it's actually OS X."

Please note: This is an April Fools' joke.