Donovan - Thanks for the thoughtful reply...and...I am a relic
I don't follow the internal politics at Microsoft and was not aware of their internal products. I'm not surprised to hear about them.
I used the E & L Intruments breadboard computer while in college getting my electrical engineering degree. I got into computers during the Imsai, MITS, et al. days. I sold computers back in the days of Northstar, Eagle (I was an Eagle dealer), Franklin, Chromemco, and others.
I was there when IBM and Microsoft brought sanity to the computer world. They brought standards. I compare today's Google/Android environment to the Digital Research/CP/M days of total chaos. This was back when we had 8" floppies: single sided vs double sided, with hub rings vs no hub rings, single density vs double density. Roll your own serial cable if you wanted to connect a printer to your computer.
Microsoft/IBM came along and brought standards. They may not have had leading edge technology, but they were consistent...compared to what was available at the time. They buried CP/M and MP/M. Microsoft sold to any manufacturer. IBM generally allowed competition although they did sue Eagle for making too close a copy. Today, Apple is still Apple. A device manufacturer cannot purchase iOS to use on their hardware.
Google is like Digital Research, except Android is free.
I'm betting Microsoft will do to/with the smartphone/tablet industry what they helped do to/with the microcomputer industry in the early eighties. Windows Phone may not be technologically the best OS but they will concentrate on the OS and sell to the device manufacturers. They will bring order to chaos. They will keep plugging away, slowly improving their product.
One of my clients' LOB software is DOS based using dBase/Clipper Summer '87. This software runs in Windows 8 on our Acer W500 test tablet. Granted, it can't use the virtual keyboard, but then again, it never could use the mouse.
Does iOS have that kind of backward compatibility? Android?
Years ago I bet on Microsoft for my computer OS, and for my livelihood. I'm willing to bet on them again for my phone with Windows Phone 7. I did not bet on Windows Mobile.
Every manufacturer has had their lemons/duds. Microsoft has had theirs. Apple has had theirs. They're both still around and they're both still competing with each other, much the same as in the early eighties.
FWIW, My first 'real' computer was the Apple II+. I added the 16K RAM card to take it all the way up to 64K. I used Applesoft (Microsoft) BASIC. I installed the Microsoft Softcard (Z-80 Softcard) to get CP/M capability. This is where dBase II from Ashton-Tate came in. Back in the day, Apple played fairly well with others. Not any more.
BTW - I was born and raised in Ohio and still live here, just outside of Columbus. When at a 4-way stop where several drivers arrive simultaneously, the driver to your right has dibs to proceed through the 4-way. Doesn't everyone know this? - Mark
