[OS:N:] Developing for developers and users

[Jeremy Hogan]

> This thread is starting to imply that Microsoft actually invented the
> interface for MS Office.  I don't know any precise history of MS Office,
> but the way Microsoft works is to take other people's work (either by buyout,
> or simply by cloning...  I mean, shit... anyone remember Macintosh?  ...
> and yeah, even that was just a ripoff of the earlier PARC stuff)
> 

MS crafted word purely as an attack on WordPerfect. Focusing on the
deficiencies or customer requests. WP had already proven itself as the
processor to use on DOS, and more so on the GUI. Excel was not even
Excel at the time, and nothing was bundled.

http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/04/27/120944.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/04/28/122004.aspx

So in essence, MS was smart in starting where the world already was, and
while they were focusing on the customer they won. As has been their
track record, at the point of dominance, the customer requests no longer
mattered and they started the "arms race" of bundling and feature shock.
Brilliant marketing convinced the world they were missing the gravy
train on biscuit wheels and so it went, and so it goes now.

MS strength in the early days was much that of Japan in its foray into
the automotive and electronics industry. "Do that. And do it better,
faster and/or cheaper". Note the distinction between invention and
innovation. Innovation is monetizing or tactically using an invention in
a new way, or to solve a different problem than it was initially
invented for.

As far as I can see in their history, invention is not their bag. Bought
DOS, stole the GUI, copied the office suite, stole the browser market,
eventually strong armed AOL into playing ball, continue to beat down
Real and other alternative media players, etc. 

--jeremy