Info on Any Device, but Only if It's Windows
Posted by configure on 10 February 2003 - 04:42 · no comments & 64 views
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Microsoft strategists claim that information that sits on Windows computers can best be seen on other Windows-compatible devices, but also are meant to be accessible on non-Microsoft gadgets, from Internet screens to mobile phones.
The world's No. 1 software maker has repeatedly said it supports the industry's highest standards of openness. Officials sit on technology standards-setting bodies that determine how mobile devices, digital music and instant messaging can be made to work together harmoniously, regardless of the device.
But executives and engineers at Microsoft rivals such as International Business Machines Corp. and Sun Microsystems, throw scorn on the "information anywhere" claim, and recent experiences suggest they might be right.
Take instant messaging. The Microsoft Messenger is not available on devices based on Palm software, which dominates the market for wireless handsets made by digital handheld organizers Sony, Handspring, Samsung or Palm itself.
Microsoft's rivals AOL and Yahoo both offer instant messaging specially designed for the Palm-powered gadgets. A Microsoft spokesman said the issue stemmed from conflicts with browser software Palm uses and was not a Microsoft issue only.
Microsoft's decision to ignore devices that run on software from competitors would be foolish in a normal market.
Then again, the computer industry is dominated by competing empires. There's the Microsoft camp and there's the anything-but-Microsoft camp, with the consumer sandwiched in between. By ignoring rivals, Microsoft discourages Windows users from buying competing devices.
"Anyone in Microsoft's position would probably try the same. It's up to the (government) regulators to keep it in check," says Mark Eastwood, an engineer at Handspring's operations in Britain.
Microsoft has weathered legal challenges from regulators in the United States and Europe. It has emerged intact from a bruising late 1990's court battle with U.S. antitrust regulators who accused it of using monopolistic business practices to crush rivals in the emerging Internet market.
THE DISAPPEARING BUTTON
Users of Hotmail, Microsoft's popular Web based e-mail service, face similar conflicts when surfing the Web on fancy Internet phones.
Microsoft's MSN Pocket PC Web site is specially designed for the small screens of computer phones (http://mobile.msn.com/pocketpc), but the user of non-Microsoft devices -- such as the Treo, a combination cellphone, Palm organizer and Web surfing device from Handspring -- will have trouble using the site.
Using the Treo, the Hotmail button, which is normally the top icon on the MSN Pocket PC menu, disappears.
Running the identical Web address on a desktop computer with Internet Explorer delivered the MSN Hotmail button correctly. Hotmail's Web address at http://www.hotmail.com is also inaccessible on the Treo phone's Internet browser.
"It's something that long has confounded people here at Handspring," said Brian Jaquet, spokesman for the Mountain View, California-based company.
Handspring users once faced similar conflicts with America Online Internet services, but AOL eventually decided it was in their best interest to make their products fully compatible with those of Palm and Handspring, Jaquet said.
Microsoft spokesmen said that their company does not support Handspring's Web browser software. Ed Suwanjindar, lead product manager mobile devices at Microsoft turned the issue around.
"The question should be why they (Palm and Handspring) built clients that can't access these services. Hotmail requires (security settings) which Handspring doesn't offer," he said.
While glitches in computer products are commonplace, competitive factors figure here: Microsoft pushes competing software for handheld computers and smart phones. Treo, by relying on software from Microsoft rival Palm, is "not supported."
Admittedly Handspring's Treo is new to the market. Perhaps Microsoft will come around to support these devices as the market grows larger and it becomes worth its while.
But other Web-based e-mail suppliers such as Yahoo, a much smaller and less profitable company than Microsoft, has made its e-mail service available to Treo users.
NO PLAY
In a world where mobile devices increasingly double as music players, there is no Windows Media Player for Palm handheld computers, the world's leading handheld computer operating system. By contrast, Microsoft-powered Pocket PC devices have a Windows Media Player built in.
"Most Palm devices don't support music. Treo doesn't even have stereo audio," Microsoft's Suwanjindar said, adding that Sony, which makes music playing devices based on Palm software has elected not to offer Microsoft's Windows Media Player.
Microsoft stated strategy is to extend its position on the desktop to a world full of new devices such as clipboard-sized "tablet PCs," smartphones that combine phones and the Internet and even the odd Web refrigerator.
"Making the same information available on handhelds and laptops is not something you can easily do with Linux, and we can do it today. That's why we're investing aggressively in extending the platform," Microsoft's European President Jean-Philippe Courtois says. Linux is a software system seen as an upstart rival to Microsoft's own Windows software.
Lately, Microsoft has started to use the slogan "Enabling people to reach their full potential with great software." Disappointed Handspring users will need to look elsewhere for great software.