Category: Microsoft

David Pogue is a pussy

But his post is still worth a read.

David Pogue pens a hilarious walk down memory lane with all those brilliant prognosticators who sagely predicted Apple’s imminent demise in the mid-1990s.

The Macalope’s only complaint: other than Microsoft’s Nathan Myhrvold , Pogue doesn’t name names.  [Correction:  he also mentions David Winer – so Microsoft and bloggers are fair game, but not journalists… hmm…]

Ah, the privileges of membership in the big media boys and girls club.

C’mon, Pogue! Bwaaak-buck-buck-buck-bwaaaaa!

That’s a chicken sound, in case you can’t tell.

Details of Office 2007 for the Mac.

You have to hand it to the folks at the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit.

As is convention for the Office family, at this early stage the product is known only by its version number as ‘Office 12′. “That won’t be the name it goes to market with — we’ll have something brilliant, like the year it launches, as the name!” laughs Mary Starman, group product manager for Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU).

They’re very good-natured about their position in the Mac world. Why, they even realize what some silly pundits don’t: you can’t just tell Mac users to “boot into Windows”.

“Mac customers would prefer to run a native version of Office on their Mac” says Sheridan Jones, Lead Marketing Manager for the MacBU “We don’t expect and I don’t think Apple expects lots of their customers and our customers to be running the Windows version of Office on their Mac.”

Indeed.

You can tell a man by the spin he spins

George Ou – illogician.

The Macalope hates to harp on George Ou…

(Well, not really, but play along.)

…but while he was perusing Ou’s site for that SecureWorks bombshell he promised over a week ago, he came across a rather… telling… bit of Ou “logic.”

Discussing the cracking of Microsoft’s Plays4SureDudeLikeTotally DRM, Ou writes:

While the music companies will cringe at this technology, this might ironically have an upside for Microsoft’s soon to be released Zune player since many consumers view a weaker DRM as a better DRM.

Uh, right.

George, what you call “weaker DRM” most people think of as “DRM that gives the customer more rights to play the music they purchased anywhere and any way they want.” As opposed to restrictive DRM that’s implemented poorly.

Do you see the difference?

The Macalope has seen this kind of spin before. No matter what happens, events must always favor Microsoft. The iPod has claimed 75 percent marketshare? Surely it just means people will be burned out on it and it’ll soon no longer be “cool.” Zune 4 evah!

At the end of the day, what kind of DRM do people really like?

Well, the kind that plays on an iPod, of course.

Now if they could just come up with some headphones that don’t get all tangled in your antlers.