A Widening Gulf
2006-07-17
I jumped when I read this article on CNET (cough, cough) entitled Microsoft Shutters Windows Private Folders:
"Following an outcry from corporate customers, Microsoft is removing an add-on feature to Windows that allowed users to create password-protected folders"
This is perfect, I thought.
It's perfect because it perfectly illustrates the problems caused by the widening gulf between Microsoft and its users. Not between Microsoft and its customers, but between Microsoft and its users. I stress that because it is the whole point. Microsoft's customers are big businesses who either make the computers (like Dell), or those that buy the computers (like General Motors). Microsoft's users are the poor folks who have to use the things to get something done.
What happened here is that in order to try to close the widening gulf that exists between themselves and their users, Microsoft added a useful feature that has value to them. But they got beaten up by their customers for whom the same feature has negative value. This shows two things: 1) Microsoft does not understand the people who pay the bills (its customers), and 2) users don't count, even if Microsoft wants them to.
It's beginning to sound a lot like the cell phone market. That's the one that delivers features that users (you and me) want but customers (service providers) don't.
"Following an outcry from corporate customers, Microsoft is removing an add-on feature to Windows that allowed users to create password-protected folders"
This is perfect, I thought.
It's perfect because it perfectly illustrates the problems caused by the widening gulf between Microsoft and its users. Not between Microsoft and its customers, but between Microsoft and its users. I stress that because it is the whole point. Microsoft's customers are big businesses who either make the computers (like Dell), or those that buy the computers (like General Motors). Microsoft's users are the poor folks who have to use the things to get something done.
What happened here is that in order to try to close the widening gulf that exists between themselves and their users, Microsoft added a useful feature that has value to them. But they got beaten up by their customers for whom the same feature has negative value. This shows two things: 1) Microsoft does not understand the people who pay the bills (its customers), and 2) users don't count, even if Microsoft wants them to.
It's beginning to sound a lot like the cell phone market. That's the one that delivers features that users (you and me) want but customers (service providers) don't.
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