Office Newswire: Microsoft, burn the boats already!
It’s one of my favorite stories. The infamous (I know too much Mexican history to call him great) Hernando Cortes left Cuba for Mexico to build a colony. He was mischievous and he plann
ed to do more than build a colony. The short story is he landed in Veracruz (True Cross in English) and, when all his men and their supplies were off the ship, he ordered the ships be burned.
There was no turning back. Success lied in the new and wild country before them.
Microsoft is in a similar situation. They find themselves in an entirely new and foreign landscape.
The successes of their past will not help them here. The demands are new. The language is different. People here do not work as they do in the old country of their past.
Microsoft must find it within themselves to match wits with their enemies and succeed.
Most of all, they need to do this while not killing their customers. To me, this means embracing all platforms and devices. Because, face it, a large percentage of MSFT customers use multiple operating systems every day.
It’s time to burn the boats. It’s a new world of work.
Office news & editorials!
- SharePoint, meet Yammer; is it time for Microsoft to burn the boats? :: Okay, so this title inspired my intro today. It’s vivid and it did something for me. Granted, I have a larger take on how Microsoft should burn the boats. They need to do more than what Forrester recommends. They need to take all the valuables off the boats and then nuke that dead wood.
- Microsoft says no Office for iPad :: Case in point. The dead wood I refer to is Microsoft’s Windows-only model. I own MSFT stock. I will buy more some day. Dang it, I want to see Office and other products (hmmm Visual Studio) running on other operating systems… [continued below]
- Microsoft Office is not coming to Linux :: … The reason I want this is because I believe Microsoft makes the best productivity software. Sure there are alternatives… [continued below]
- Business users losing faith in Apple’s iWork office suite :: But these alternatives stink… stank… stunk!
- Top Office 365 questions answered :: Office 365 is a winner. I think it will increase the Office user population dramatically. Now Microsoft needs to grow a pair and burn the boats. Add apps for iOS… for Android, OS X Lion, and Linux (why not). The majority will continue to use Windows but the operating systems are not the future. They are officially a commodity.
Office tips, tricks & tools
- Microsoft Office 2013 Quick Start Guides :: I’m trying to consider Office users here. Looks like Microsoft is too. I love documents like these. So much information packed into a page or two. It’s visual gold.
- Print List App for O365 :: Add a print view to your SharePoint online site. This app supports several types of SharePoint lists… including custom lists.
- Learning roadmaps for SharePoint 2013 :: Lose yourself learning SharePoint. These “maps” are your guide.
- Migration Options for SharePoint 2013: Consider your options carefully :: Upgrading to SharePoint 2013? HA HA HA! No you’re not. You’re migrating to SharePoint 2013.
Office developer items of note
- Project Server 2013 programming tasks :: Did you know Project has an extensibility model? Yeah, neither did I! …
- Project 2013 developer documentation :: I’m only kidding. I did know but I don’t do much with Project and I’m not sure what scenarios are suitable for automation…
- What’s new and what’s out for developers in Project 2013 :: which is why I’m including this Project 2013 developer content in today’s newswire.
- Setting up your development environment for O365 & Azure Development :: Steve Fox… always worthy of your eyes’ attention. By the way, his SharePoint 2013 development book is now available to take your money. He promises to teach you something in return. I believe he will too.
- Exploring the New JavaScript API for Office :: Oh yeah. Office and Javascript have come together for a new Office extensibility model. I’m just curious… what apps have you installed from the Office App Store? I’d love to know. Would you be so kind as to comment?
- New MSDN forum: Publishing apps for the Office Store :: If you are building apps for the Office Store, this new forum will be helpful.