Matt Doc's Soap Box

Saving Microsoft: The Zune Network Vision

2009-07-15T14:53:00.002+01:00

To summarise, I think the Zune brand delivering all the services i have suggested would mean Microsoft find themselves in every home in the country. It about delivering content in a variety of ways convenient to the user at a (and this is important) price point the user perceives to be value.

I think Microsoft have the resources, talent and negotiating power to make this happen. They just need to remember they need 'Partners' to do this not minions. Be open, be fair and you'll get the content providers on side, you'll get the manufacturers on side and most importantly - The Public!

Saving Microsoft: Zune OS

2009-07-15T14:36:00.003+01:00

I think it's fair to say that Windows Mobile has a huge fight on its hand from new comers like iPhone and Android and I dare say a major factor in this is the name "Windows Mobile". IT desperately needs to be rebranded with something funky, catchy and all together more appealing.

I'm Proposing "Zune OS". Zune OS should be a platform (like WM) for device manufacturers to build their hardware round. The manufacturers provide the hardware selling points - 10MP camera, GPRS, WI-FI etch and Microsoft supports the hardware. But Microsoft provides the software selling points - such as the Zune network. Access to Music, streaming Music, TV on Demand, streamed TV (IPTV) and movies all on the go (depending on the carrier of course). All of this backup by compatibility with your PC and XBOX - and maybe with DLNA compliance, your TV and photoframes etc.

It of course ties in with the 'Zune Store' not only for buying music / video, but applications and tie in with XBOX Live for games. Perhaps games bought on Live can then be made available to Zune OS devices.

If you combine these media selling point with services like Microsoft's Mesh, Mail, Messenger and Sky Drive services it's got to be a winner.

Again, I'd suggest making the software open. Not necessarily open source but open. Make the software free to manufactures and look long term at revenue streams from the additional services. With all this extra media access, it's a selling point for both the phone company and the phone maker.

*All* you have to do is bring all of this together in a slick interface and you've got it sewn up

Saving Microsoft: Zune Video

2009-07-15T09:55:00.005+01:00

Music wont be enough to push Microsoft to the top, you need a offering that delivers 'Video' in all it's forms - Music Video, TV, Films.

For the most part Microsoft has made a good start on this already with the XBOX movie downloads but they do need to go further. I'd point Microsoft in the direction of services like LOVEFiLM. I think a movie subscription model firstly on XBOX and then rolled out to the 'Zune Network' would be a winner.

It would work by being able to download a number of movies a month (same price for both HD and SD) for a set subscription. I think LOVEFiLM have the right price point also, working out at £1.90 a film. The best bit about the Zune service though would be no traditional logistics, meaning you could pick and choose exactly what film to watch and when. Combine that with being able to watch that same movie on XBOX, PC (via Zune Store) and on Zune OS devices and it's a winning formula with more to offer than both LOVEFiLM and iTunes.

The next longer term step would be for Microsoft to move their IPTV platform on a stage and actually setup an IPTV service - "Zune TV". Again make it open, make the code open and free to use by manufacturers of set top boxes, Internet aware TVs etc. Do this and you could see a wave of devices support the service. The long term view for Microsoft shouldn't be hardware, let the hardware manufacturers take the one of profits for that, Microsoft view should be the long term profits form the advertising on the service itself. Be generous and offer shares, for free, tot he major content providers around the world. Get their buy in, they provide the content, Microsoft provide the infrastructure. Again make this service available across the Zune Platform. Zune IPTV should be available on XBOX, PC and Zune OS (as well as those boxes other manufacturers choose to build).

The key to success is bringing all these services through one (perceived) delivery channel and giving the content providers and product manufacturers the freedom to maneuver! The value to customers would go well beyond anything that Apple / Google / Sony are currently providing and what is better is that Microsoft are probably one of the few companies in a position to make it happen!

Saving Microsoft: Zune Music

2009-07-15T07:44:00.006+01:00

Firstly, it's important to say that none of these things will work purely on their own. Microsoft needs to bring all these services under the Zune banner as quickly as possible. The service itself will not be a unique idea or selling point, but the delivery and availability maybe!

The first step is creating the 'Zune Store'. Like iTunes it should sell Music, Movies and Games and the music streaming service should be integrated here also. Music bought should be DRM free MP3s and available to the entire Zune Family (and other MP3 compatible devices), by that i mean the music should download to the Zune store on your PC which can then be loaded onto your 'Zune OS' (more on that later) device and also pushed out to a Zune Entertainment Device such as the XBOX. Conversely, music bought on the XBOX or Zune OS device from the service should then be pushed down to an iTunes style 'Authorised PC'.

This is what Apple have done with iTunes and the iPod, they've made a service that is closely integrated and works. Microsoft would have the upper hand by saying that my Zune isn't the only place i want to view my content lets make it easy to get it elsewhere and make an integrated service that not only includes a Zune or Zune OS phone but links with the box under many people TVs - the XBOX. This is a fairly obvious way of getting people to use the Zune service rather than iTunes because it makes your content more widely available and on that note Microsoft could go one step further still.

DLNA is a set of standards which mean media devices are able to talk to each other. The Zune store should be fully DLNA compatible. This has two effects, the first is that it can push the Zune brand by proxy by signing distribution deals with 'Media Streamng' devices such as Philips Streamium range i.e. When you buy a Streamium it comes with the Zune Store software, the user installs it and the Zune Store software acts like a media server pushing out Music, Films and Pictures to DLNA compatible receivers. The second effect is one for the Microsoft brand image. By adopting an open stance and saying anyone who wants to can connect to our software (for free) can do so, you are endearing the consumer to you, why? Well it provides the consumer with more choice and more importantly they don't feel like they are being locked into a particular brand or technology road map, ironically this makes them more loyal and more likely to stick to one road map!

At the moment there is no 'Media Server' leading the market out right. Combine all the factors above and the Micrsoft Zune Store / Media Server software could become the defacto choice. If you can make the Zune software useful for more than loading an MP3 player with content then people may start to look at the Zune Media player because it has similar features to the iPod but fits more easily into the consumers media consumption.

My Plan to Save Microsoft

2009-07-15T07:28:00.002+01:00

Okay, okay maybe Microsoft doesn't actually need saving just yet! Its still making massive profits and remains the market leader in many industries, but it is seeing attacks from all sides in the form of iPhone and iTunes, Wii, Playstation and Googles Chrome OS.

Increasingly Microsoft is seeing its position pushed from first to second, and in some cases even further down the scale. But they've missed a trick and I think i know how Microsoft could get back on form in the entertainment section - Bizarrely, it's going to require making a failing product the focus of it's attentions.

For a company with a large presence in the 'Entertainment Market' Microsoft has done a very poor job of unifying there product lines under one 'Cool' banner, one brand that consumers can identify with. That brand should be 'Zune'!

Microsoft are doing this a little already by relaunching the video market place on XBOX as the Zune market place but it does really go far enough and in my next few posts I'll set down my steps to world dominance.

IPTV the Future of Television

2009-06-28T08:25:00.004+01:00

The idea of IPTV has actually been around for a while. I remember going to the Manchester Science Museum about 10 years ago and saw a presetation from the BBC that said they were working to make their entire catalogue available on demand (10 years ago!), a little like the iPlayer today!

I started thinking about this last night, you see soon the anylog signal will be turned off and at the moment the only freeview i can recieve is Dave and Virgin 1. Yes i could get sky or freesat and if IPTV doesn't come of age then I probably will, but i have reasons for not getting either of those services so far and the advantages of IPTV are a 1000 times fold that of traditional TV services.

My vision of the future of TV and how I would like it to evolve has been inspired by my use of spotify in recent weeks. This is a fantastic service, precisely because it provides music that you like when you like. Okay it has adverts (free version), but when it's providing song after song that you enjoy without the woeful banter of commercial radio you don't mind the ads so much!

I'm not sure if Hulu provides this already (as it's not available in the UK yet), but I see IPTV as service that streamed channels such as BBC1, 2, Sky News etc as they are programmed by the schedulers as you get now, but you could then mix up or build you own schedule made up of programs past and present from all the content providers. The service would be funded by having a minute or two of adverts every 15 minutes, but this being the internet means that you may not mind those adverst as much because web 2.0 doesn't necessarily have a one to many relationship (as normal TV does), it can be a one to one. By this i mean that by telling the service about your tastes and preferences (and even from monitoring what types of programs your watching) you will be delivered adverts that you may actually want to see.

These adverts may even bring in more revenue. Because they can be targeted and because (in some cases) you'll be able to interact with that advert the space becomes more valuable to advertisers! You can then use the advertising system to then ensure that quality programming created. If you simply say that the profit from every advert at the beginning and during each program goes to the content provider. This means that if you make a TV program that people like and want to watch, you make more money!

This type of service then lends itself to integration with the social networks, perhaps sharing user created schedules and rating and reviewing programs - watching the content together! By making the APIs to the service open you encourage this sort of invention and activity, but it would also encourage manufacturers to create compatible set-top boxes / TVs for the service.

For me this is the future and from what i've seen its not far away

War Machine

2009-04-18T08:46:00.000+01:00

Last week I recieved gears of War 2 in the post (I know, I'm a little late to the party) and initially I cannot say I was impressed!

Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean it wasn't good, I just didn't think it was anything better than the original. Again, that's not a bad thing because GOW is a fantastic game - but gears 2 starts with much the same just more blood (chainsaw sequences are fantastic). For that reason I cannot say I was that eager to get through it. But then something changes...

At the point of investigating the abandoned facility the game play and level design seemed to change for me. It was as if the first half was designed to get you back on your feet after not playing the first game for a while and now it's time to get serious! Gears of War 2 suddenly becomes amazingly fun. There are parts in the game that are going to keep you playing through again and again just to relive those moments. It's truely an 'epic' game, a must buy for any 360 owner!

Lib Dem Idea for Early Years

2009-02-05T19:53:00.002Z

Now it might be because all that politicians have talked about for the last few months is the economy, but it is brilliantly refreshing to hear a policy idea that appears to actually be thought out and further more it's a good idea!

Nick Clegg has today said that he would change the child trust fund into funding for better early years education. He believes that this is the stage most important in a child's educational life, I happen to agree - My better half is an early years teacher and the storeys she comes back with about children's development is amazing. Some of the things that children just don't know can be incomprehensible, simple concepts that just exist for us they have never experienced before. The children she teaches have gone from not knowing what 'A' is to being able to write whole sentences, all that in less than a year and that's with a class of 32. If you can get all these important concepts taught in the early years stages it means that in the next levels of schooling you can move on and it leaves the children with the tools to learn effectively.

Mr Clegg proposes reducing the class sizes and increasing resources for the stage, and i cannot help but wonder how much further you can move children on with that level of attention.

It's got my vote!

Broadband for all - not sure it's fair

2009-01-30T14:34:00.001Z

The Digital Briton interim report was released this week and it revisits a scheme mention by our government toward the end of last year. The scheme I refer to is the one where £300m would be spent on providing an Internet connection and the means to use it. Which would be nice, except that once again the majority of us who are not rich but earn enough not to be considered poor are forgotten about. Yes, you'll only get all of the above if you are poor.

Some may say fair enough, the digital divide is growing and these are the people that need protecting - true, that's what a good society does but there are different ways to achieve this objective.

Part of me wonders if there is a segment of society that needed to be spoon fed everything and cry foul play when it isn't. There were days when the working class were proud and would want to better themselves, today I don't see that.

Okay, so what would I do with the money? Well, I would spend £300m on revamping our libraries and providing high speed Internet links and Internet cafe services in the library. You want Internet access for homework or finding a job or research, use the one in the school or library. What's wrong with that? It's a more known quantity than the other idea making it easier to plan and budget for!

Then there is also the plan for the government to force ISPs to provide website filtering packages. This is nanny state meddling, there are an abundance of packages out there that do this and would provide parents with more control. It surely would be cheaper to start an ad campaign that informs parents of what's available, or better yet, parents start taking responsibility for their children and their children actions (such as sitting with younger children while on the web)

Sheep in Wolfs clothing

2009-01-17T18:55:00.004Z

If I was to ask you what this is ( <- ), you would be forgiven for saying an "Aston Martin"? In fact it's the new Languna Coupe!

It's a turn up for the books for the French to admit that British design is good, not only good but good enough to copy.

I'm a long term fan of Aston Martin and this car leaves me with...i dunno, a bitter taste in my mouth i suppose. I think it's because it cheapens the Aston Martin a little with a lazy design that has borrowed the rear from the V8 and then stuck it to a dull, boring nose. I've not read any reviews regarding it's driving ability as yet but I'm fairly confident that it'll be as lack-luster as the design.

The Laguna's biggest problem however is the V8 Vantage and the fact that it isn't one. I saw a V8 Vantage today and it is of such great quality (and noise) that buying a Languna will be like buying a Parda Bag rather than the Prada one!

As you may have guessed - not one for me!

Windows 7: Making the unmissable, missable

2009-01-14T20:43:00.000Z

For the most part, so far, windows 7 is working fantastically! All the software I use has installed correctly, all that is bar the BBCs iPlayer. Very frustrating, but part of installing a beta I suppose - it did work on vista though so I cannot really see the issue - ne mind :(

Windows 7 Stage 1

2009-01-13T20:21:00.001Z

I've done something very silly, I've gone against all my knowledge as an IT professional and I've installed a Beta, more than that I've installed Microsoft Beta, more than that I've installed a Beta Microsoft OS and I've installed it on my day to day machine!

Yes the Professional gave way to the Geek inside me and i decided that rather than run it on a Virtual machine where in reality I'd hardly ever use it, i decided to put it in the real world.

So far so good, the build was quick and the majority of the drivers for my Acer Aspire 6920G drivers installed first time (still having difficulty with the touch controls). Curiously, however, the installation of my Anti-Virus seemed to take a very long time and Office 2007 took well over 20 minutes for a complete install. Having said that, now both are on they as quickly as before (though i had forgotten how annoying training my AV/Firewall was).

The only problem I've had so far is iTunes, just wont install! Perhaps this new leaner M$ OS takes offense to the blotted Apple app, i dunno, suppose we'll have to see how it takes to the Adobe products!

I'll post again when we've had more time together, but for now - it's looking good!