[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Meet Microsoft, the world's best kept R&D secret here

[guider07]

Thanks for the impressive technology. I always believed MS was better than Apple.

[DancesWithRobots]

Very nice pie-in-the-sky.

[JBENZ]

Heh...Elebenty Eight Gazillion bucks on R&D and the best they can do in the real world is the Metro UI and walled garden app stores?

Wouldn't it be nice if they spent a tiny fraction of that money developing an operating system that...wait for it...actually operated the system instead of being just an artificial hunting ground for rabid marketing weasels.

Most people already know where to find toy stores.

[TsarNikky]

Yes, some of those ideas border on amazing. Almost all could work in the consumer marketplace; few in the traditional business marketplace. The danger is getting fixated on the consumer marketplace and abandoning the business marketplace. [Windows-8, as currently constituted, being an excellent example.]

[keithmayer]

Great summary! Thanks for sharing!

[BigBanks]

Good article... Most people think Microsoft is old and behind. This has been the case for years. Even for their released products, they are just thrown into the wild. Unfortunately, this is where Apple succeeds and where people get this silly idea.

Microsoft needs a public relations/marketing guru badly. Good article for unknowning readers. Good article for PC world too.

[ranjeetbassi]

After watching the video on Microsoft's version of the future , I feel that people need to know about Microsoft that it is not racing against its competitors , but already preparing ahead in time to enhance technology for people to use.

[MKZ1945]

Good article. I’m sure Microsoft will be around for many years, as will Apple. I liken it to Ford people and GMC people, or Chrysler for some. It takes something very specific to their “wants” in order for a switch to be made. Meanwhile, one side will always find fault with the others.

[berock212]

I can't wait for the Foveated Rendering to become mainstream. It would be awesome for your computer to be able to play videogames at 6x higher settings without any more lag.

[KLanD]

This is innovation and real R&D.

Taking what they create and cramming it into a shinny box.. is not innovation let alone R&D.

[Robarino]

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Heh...Elebenty Eight Gazillion bucks on R&D and the best they can do in the real world is the Metro UI and walled garden app stores? Wouldn't it be nice if they spent a tiny fraction of that money developing an operating system that...wait for it...actually operated the system instead of being just an artificial hunting ground for rabid marketing weasels. Most people already know where to find toy stores.

Cynical much? Would you prefer they be like Apple who invents a product once then just re-releases it year after year with only marginal improvements? Or how about Google, who spends millions just to find new ways to bombard you product placement ads?

Microsoft will always be around because a lot of their genius get's blended into everyday life. Yesterday, I went to the bank, withdrew money, bought lunch, drove to the airport, rode an elevator, checked-in, and got on a plane. Do you know what everything from the bank ATM, the cash register, the elevator controls, the airport kiosk, the luggage conveyor belts, to the various control systems I interacted with all used?...Hint: it isn't anything from Apple or Google.

[HenryTirebiter]

The sad part is, the company canot create the same output from the R&D that the input builds. The worst thing to happen to Microsoft was the fact that it was NOT split into two companies. That is why it is flailing about with Windows Phone and Windows 8 and Wmicrosoft Stores and the like. They ahve no vision as all ideas are borrowed and innovation is crushed under the marketing vision of a dancing, prancing, shoe salesman gone mad. SOrry, but they would have done better split up. Now, thye really jsut don't have any vision. Windows 8 is a dog pile of garbage and can't wait to see the first lawsuits from epileptics suing over seizures caused by "live tiles" - wwho really needs this type of attention span destroying commercialism and manure?

[DouglasCretsjng5]

You know that Microsoft has done two Accelerators -- and they are doing a third in March -- devoted to startups that leverage Kinect and Azure cloud.

http://www.microsoft...elerator/azure/

[Dougv]

Mindless people have claimed they are failing, or dead, or lack vision, for more than 15 years that I can remember. Meanwhile, Microsoft just keeps putting out more stuff that is used. They own the PC market. They have been #1 in gaming for more than a year. They just came out with great tablets and phones. Their office software is used on more than 95% of the worlds computers. The only thing left would be for Mark Twain to work for them so that he could say, "Rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated."

[Dave1989]

while i'm not disputing how cool some of these innovations are, i can't help but be reminded of the first issue of pc week, circa 1984 (still have a copy). it was a visit to ibm's software labs by william seymour, who predicted how ibm was poised to take over the pc software world.

[MonkeyWrench]

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Thanks for the impressive technology. I always believed MS was better than Apple.

To be fair no one has innovated bevels like Apple.

[karthiq]

To be honest the image of MS being an old traditional company is itself an old image. I think the xbox and the kinect had helped MS shake of this image long back. And win8 did it even more.

Now, with regards to innovations, i hope MS does something about bing too. One search engine dominating the whole planet is scary So it really needs to try to make bing better than google, not just another option to it.

[indian983]

To those who think Kinect was a breakthrough Microsoft innovation. Just have a look at the Sony EyeToy. . It was released way back in 2003. In fact it is cheaper and does the same things that Kinect can do.

Second, Microsoft maybe well into research but every time it releases something the market seems to have gone much further. Let me cite two examples for you... 1) Microsoft releases XBOX 360 much ahead of Sony playstation 3, but the thunder is stolen by Nintendo Wii. 2) Microsoft releases something called as 'Microsoft Surface' (The table) with great fanfare and then its gets shocked by Apple's IPhone which has more practical utility than the bulky table...

Problem with Microsoft is that its researchers think big, but its CEO is a dumbass who has no eye for innovative products. With such a duffer at the head of the org whatever innovation it may be, everything will be overtaken at one point of time or the other by competitors... History is rife with such examples... Xerox GUI being one such example.

[FollTrace]

Quote

To those who think Kinect was a breakthrough Microsoft innovation. Just have a look at the Sony EyeToy. . It was released way back in 2003. In fact it is cheaper and does the same things that Kinect can do. Second, Microsoft maybe well into research but every time it releases something the market seems to have gone much further. Let me cite two examples for you... 1) Microsoft releases XBOX 360 much ahead of Sony playstation 3, but the thunder is stolen by Nintendo Wii. 2) Microsoft releases something called as 'Microsoft Surface' (The table) with great fanfare and then its gets shocked by Apple's IPhone which has more practical utility than the bulky table... Problem with Microsoft is that its researchers think big, but its CEO is a dumbass who has no eye for innovative products. With such a duffer at the head of the org whatever innovation it may be, everything will be overtaken at one point of time or the other by competitors... History is rife with such examples... Xerox GUI being one such example.

Cool story bro!