Pancho Pistolas's Journal: OPINION: Microsoft's 'new' Origami

The following is just me spewing opinion. You've been warned.

In a recent article
[http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/09/technology/microsoft_origami.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes]
Microsoft is pushing out a new gizmo-- their 'mini-laptop' not-quite-a-PC.

Anybody remember Apple's Newton? It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture of this gizmo in someone's hand. Gut reaction: it's TOO BIG.

To put it most simply...

Putting MP3-player and camera functionality on a cell-phone = Good Idea. It makes YOUR cellphone suddenly a hot item, and better than OTHER cellphones.

Making a new kind of MP3 player (even when there are cellphones with MP3 players in them, because it's smaller than a cellphone, has a spiffy interface, and holds pig-stupid-more songs) and smartly bundling them with a subscription service and the mother of all media blitz campaigns = Good Idea (okay, on principle, Successful Idea-- I think America's gotten too status-object-oriented).

Trying to make a "market" for something so you can slap waaaaay too many widgets on something = BAD IDEA. It looks big, clumsy, it costs waaaay too much for what it does, and who wants to lug this around?

Thinking that marketing glitz and ploys will convince people to plunk down $700-$1000 for a BAD IDEA = THE BASTARD CHILD OF ALL BAD IDEAS. Even our current President's spin doctors understand well that while you can't fool all of the people all of the time, most people will swallow almost any bitter pill if the alternative is getting off their duffs. That principle doesn't work when the bitter pill costs almost a grand. Me, I'll just get up off my duff.

I predict this thing's going to tank like 8-track. ESPECIALLY since people can pay LESS for a real, grown-up lap-tops.

Boo, Microsoft-- wake up and do some honest market research!

I'm SOOO gonna do a Cartman laugh in six weeks.

I want one

[bofh31337]

I have to say, I want one. I really don't like trying to use my laptop while i'm sitting in the car meeting someone. It's just not convient at all.

On another note, I demo'd a newton and really found it useful too :) and look where that went...

Me too

[Red Warrior]

I'm not often a fan of the whole "digital convergence" thing, 'cuz it's hard to get right. Even when the idea is good. 'Fer instance, the whole cellphone/digital camera thing = teh suck. The pictures are almost never decent. Especially if you have standards. Much better going with multiple devices. Same with cellphone/MP3 players. The MP3 part is invariably severly limited. (for the record, my current cellphone has both a camera [which I almost never use] and an MP3 player [which I used for one day, for the