Allchin's Windows Media Device Lament
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A newly released Microsoft e-mail reveals some of the internal debate that went on with respect to the iPod, the company's software and partners' hardware. |
Jim Allchin, co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division, has written yet another pointed e-mail. The last one, with the statement, "I would buy a Mac," got Allchin an ill-placed mention in Apple CEO Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote about two weeks ago.
I debated all weekend whether to post about the most recently revealed Allchin e-mail, because some folks are sure to assume its mention is negative, while others might blow it off as too "inside baseball." But the e-mail is worth mentioning because it reflects on some of Microsoft's processes, which have huge potential impact on partners and customers.
The e-mail became public last week--like the "Buy a Mac" e-mail, as part of a Microsoft court case in Iowa. Allchin sent the email on Nov. 13, 2003, to Amir Majidimehr, who was then general manager of the Windows Digital Media division, and copied six other Microsoft executives.
Allchin wrote about a Creative music player he had bought:
"I have to tell you my experience with our software and this device is really terrible. I expect you already knew this but I had not personally experienced it. Now I spent the time last night really playing with it. My goodness it is terrible. What I don't understand though is that I was told that the new Creative Labs device would be comparable to Apple. That is so not the case."
The Microsoft executive then laid out eight detailed areas of problems with his experience. Allchin concluded: "I am ... really counting on [Windows Media Player 9.1] to fix this terrible experience. Apple is just so far ahead."
The same day, Majidimehr responded, "Now you feel our pain," with a smiley face appended. He continued:
"Tomorrow, we have an entire crew descending on Creative and after that, Samsung and Rio to get them motivated to build the 'right' device. We are putting incentives on the table in the form of cash, technical support, direct interface to developers, early access code for 9.1, etc. In other words, we are going all out and hoping that at least a few will listen If none do, then it is [time] for us to roll up our sleeves and do our own hardware."
To the last sentence, Majidimehr appended a sad smiley.
His statement is quite revealing. Majidimehr articulated a clear, concerted strategy of working with hardware manufacturers, while indicating that Microsoft would make its own device if necessary. The partner strategy eventually did run aground, and Microsoft released Zune.
Majidimehr further explained plans to reveal MTP (Media Transport Protocol) at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2004. The synchronization protocol was supposed to bring experiential parity between Windows Media Player and Microsoft partner devices. The WMP 9.1 discussed by both men would, in late 2004, become Windows Media Player 10 with the MTP support. Around the same time, Microsoft announced the PlaysForSure program, for ensuring a compatible and consistent experience with Microsoft hardware and partner software.
During 2004 and 2005, I tested many devices with WMP 10, but consistently found the synchronization experience to be disappointing. Some manufacturers have privately blamed Microsoft software, while I've heard some Microsoft executives fault partner devices. There's probably plenty of blame all around to share.
But going back to November 2003 for a moment: Allchin responded to Majidimehr, "I think I should talk with Jobs. Right now, I think I should open up a dialog for support of the iPod. Unless something changes, the iPod will drive people away from WMP."
Allchin made an astute prediction that, more than three years later, probably is true. As for those discussions, Apple has rebuffed Microsoft and other suitors, including RealNetworks, about opening its device to other rights-protected formats.
Microsoft could have moved more quickly on its own against Apple, but waited until 2006 before going it alone with Zune. While customers may be Microsoft's lifeblood, partners are the circulatory system. PlaysForSure may now be PlaysForNot, but there most certainly will be a partner strategy with Zune. That's going to mean nothing to enterprise customers in the short term. But in three years, who knows.
[Via: Seattle PI Todd Bishop Blog]
Comments (6)
Microsoft has the problem that it tried to get "partners" whose business involves selling a wide array of products to create products competitive with Apple's everything-in-one-basket iPod. That implies an investment in one product line that most diversified firms won't make. Moreover, such a device if wildly successful might suck sales revenue from their other products.
Apple's strategy of focusing on one killer toy or a very few such animals that generate almost all of their meaningful income is not the strategy of long-lived broad-based gadget-diversified electronics companies.
Apple has to make a killer product with the iPod because if it doesn't, there might soon be no Apple. It is no coincidence that the fluke called the iPod is what makes Apple successful at the moment. And because the Apple Mac line is an upscale brand that isn't as versatile as a PC in terms of software range, it was easier for Apple to popularize a device tailor-made for Mac connectivity, because it is a good fit for the multimedia-savvy Mac line of computers, which are brand-identified with multimedia.
In contrast, Microsoft will not be able to get over the conflict-of-interest inherent in the fact that anything that isn't Windows is essentially a consumer dollar competitor to MS's Windows core cash cow, unless tied through Media Player.
The problem being that Media Player appears to have evolved in the less-than-competitive environment of Windows. Always guaranteed distribution with Windows, the layabout Media Player never had any incentive to be a competitive product.
Here we see the great weakness in being a natural monopoly--less ability to be competitive when you need to be competitive. Add to this the fact that third-party hardware makers can't afford to put all their design bucks into one type of electronics device, and MS is stuck in the iMud in terms of jump-starting a great media player.
Posted by Textmaker | January 22, 2007 9:27 AM
It isn't any better today.
Try syncing a Windows Mobile 5 based Pocket PC (in my case, a Dell Axim X51v) with Windows Media Player 11. It's a mess. Yet, it's Microsoft's software on both sides!
You'd think after all these releases (PocketPC 2000, PocketPC 2002, PocketPC 2003, PocketPC 2003se and Windows Mobile 5, just in the last 6 years), they'd have been able to get synchronization working right. Instead, it's gotten slower and less reliable in the last several releases.
And I'm not just talking about music. Whenever I have to hard-reset my Axim, and re-synchronize everything, it takes close to an HOUR just to get my contacts (about 300) and calendar history (about 1500 entries) over to the PocketPC! In prior versions, this used to take maybe 5 minutes.
I may have to seriously consider an iPhone, when they become available.
Posted by Steve Summers | January 22, 2007 12:46 PM
Apple is, at it's core (no pun intended), a fundamentally different type of company than Microsoft. Aside from Apple who builds hardware and software, which is by far more integrated and provides a more seamless experience, Microsoft has become what IBM was when Microsoft started.
MS is now failing to recognize this in themselves, and have been forced into a follower, innovating on the heels of others, and having to catch up with Apple who effectively reinvented itself 10 years ago with Steve Jobs return.
I disagree with Textmaker suggesting Apple has focused on one killer product (iPod). Mac sales are up, and will continue to go up with Apples briliant choice of switching to Intel. However Apple is moving into areas beyond the computer, which is why they dropped that word from their name.
Posted by Joe Alien | January 22, 2007 1:04 PM
Adding to what Joe says, Mac actually run the same amount of software as PCs. All you need to do is put Windows on it using the free software Apple provides called Bootcamp. The days of Mac being limited by software selection are over, they are now perhaps the most versiatile computer on the planet.
Posted by Scott M | April 2, 2007 5:27 PM
Textmaker is repeating arguments that has been made just as unreflectingly before. If this were true, then Apple would have just the iPod to hang all their publicity (for example) on this last half decade.
The iTunes Music store? Runaway market leader. Integrated with the iPod, sure, but it is NOT the iPod. It doesn't even have that much to do with the iPod considering how extremely small a percentage of all iPod music comes from the store. But the store IS the runaway market leader.
Runaway market leader for online TV-show sales. Runaway market leader for online film sales. First DRM-free store. All integrated with the store, sure, but stuff that doesn't automatically comes with having an online store. Not to mention it not automatically coming with making an iPod once, half a decade ago.
OSX. Even by PC mags regarded as the OS to beat. The Apple stores. Standards compliant. Award winning industrial design. Nobody knows either about the Apple TV or the iPhone yet, but from the buzz ...
See a pattern? A string of more or less brilliant decisions and executions. Now look at Microsoft. A string of brilliant decisions? A string of brilliant executions? I rest my case.
Apple know what they're doing. Microsoft doesn't ... err ... quite, and it's apparently hard for them to realize they've lost it and need to regroup. As Joe Alien said, they've turned into the IBM they once mocked, and don't realize it.
Apple isn't infallible, but it makes a heck of a lot more good decisions than Microsoft.
Posted by Kim | April 3, 2007 3:06 AM
I keep hearing how arrogant we Apple users are. Yet I see the windows community attacking Apple for years and now they are
running out of ammunition since Apple has learned from its mistakes and moved on. Microsoft seems to never learn from its mistakes and it is fascinating to watch a company slowy commiting suicide by making the same mistakes over and over.
Posted by Phil | April 3, 2007 2:28 PM