Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
I agree that Windows Live should have delivered on this long ago. I disagree though about Live Mesh - it seems far more flexible than FolderShare, and I think Live Mesh is the building block upon which Microsoft can come up with something to compete with MobileMe. But when will they do it - a year from now? Two? They move so slowly.
The thing about software services is that the "coat of paint" matters. The difference between a tightly integrated suite of services (MobileMe) and a random gather of disparate software and services (Exchange + Foldershare + Windows Live + OneCare) is very significant and shouldn't be underestimated.
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Jason, I am not disagreeing with you, or anyone for that matter. I think Microsoft severly missed the boat on this one, having had a number of disparate initiatives floating around for a long time.
Exchange, which does what MobileMe is doing sans photos, has been with Outlook since 2000. It's a shame that they just recently started letting you sync other accounts in Office 2007 but, in Office 2003, they wanted to charge to be able to synce Hotmail with Outlook to be able to sync to your Windows Mobile phone.
Some things should have been no brainers. Microsoft moves far too slow and I doubt if we'll see anything from Live Mesh anytime soon.
IMHO, they should have left Windows Live alone and brought those features to WL instead of announcing yet another new thing that could be
at least a year in the making.
Yes, the coat of paint matters a great deal. And once again, Microsoft is off painting the bird house when the main house is what needed the attention. Apple's moving in and changing all the locks.
Apple provided a "turn-key" solution out of the box. Microsoft is still bumbling toward irrelevancy when it comes to a new paradigm and understanding how people want to use technology.