ON MICROSOFT VISTA BEATING APPLE?

POINT/COUNTER-POINT

(Update:  These posts at Mano's Blog and from Robert Scoble highlight the many features of Windows Vista, the subject of this post)

CNET reports that Microsoft has a new code name Vienna for it's operating system after it's upcoming Vista. 

But let's stay on Vista for a moment.

Microsoft's Vista has a long-list of features.  Many are  already available on Apple's OS X, but some are not, like the one I'm about to discuss.

The feature I'm most looking forward to when Vista is released (late 2006/early 2007) is it's ability to support an "Auxiliary Display".  What does that mean?

Microsoft calls it Windows Vista Sideshow. 

As they explain it on it's web site:

"The Windows Vista SideShow platform will also enable hardware manufacturers to build auxiliary displays in a wide range of peripheral devices such as keyboards, LCD display casings, remote controls, and cell phones. These devices can then display information received from a Windows Vista-based PC, providing even more convenience to your everyday computing...

This display can be used to easily view the critical information you need, whether the laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode.

The convenience provided by these auxiliary displays will save time and battery life by allowing you to quickly view meeting schedules, phone numbers, addresses, and recent e-mail messages without having to start up your laptop."

And this feature doesn't need wires...it can be wireless as well.  As Microsoft explains further:

"The auxiliary display platform is connection agnostic. It doesn’t matter whether an auxiliary display is connected through USB, Bluetooth, TCP/IP, or other future protocols, as long as the appropriate user mode auxiliary display transport driver is present."

OK, so what's the big deal?  Well, the big deal is that this "Sideshow" platform can potentially enable some pretty useful features on hardware we almost take for granted today, and enable new hardware we've not imagined yet.

It connects the most dominant PC operating system on the planet today to a wide array of devices that currently don't do JUST Windows.

And it's not JUST about Sideshow. 

Already there are hardware designs afoot to make various Microsoft operating systems work together on small, hand-held devices.  An example would be the DualCor cPC which I discussed in a post back in December, which  allows both Windows XP AND Windows Mobile 5.0 to co-exist and share a miniature hard drive on the same device.

These types of approaches COULD be a game changer. 

And that's what this post is about.

The post was inspired by seeing the following gadget from Sandisk on "Anything but iPod". 

Looks a bit like a cross between an iPod Nano and video iPod, no?

As the post above puts it:

"SanDisk’s new e200 line of MP3 players will top out at 6GB with the e270. They will also have a 2GB (e250) and 4GB (e260) versions. The prices will MSRP for $200, $250, and $300 respectively. You will be able to enjoy your audio, video, and picture playback on its 1.8 inch color screen."

Remember, Sandisk are the folks that actually provide the Flash memory that goes into digital cameras, mp3 players, USB drives, mobile phones and other many other gadgets.

And they're going upstream, competing with some of their customers.

Now imagine if the device above, from Sandisk or someone else, has a "Windows Vista Auxiliary  Display" and a bluetooth/wifi wireless connection, along with a USB connection for physical connection to any PC and/or laptop.

And imagine if it also had the option of a miniature hard drive with 60 GB or more, like a video iPod.

What if it had the features of Foldershare, a company that Microsoft bought recently.  Foldershare enables the automatic synchronization of multiple files and folders across many computers over the Internet.  The product is a personal favorite that I've written about before.

Why then, the device becomes a miniature computer-to-go that's a perfect complement to your desktop and/or laptop PC.

And it could be on Windows. 

Miniature, USB and wireless enabled computers-to-go are a subject I've talked about quite a bit in the past (see here, here and here).

In previous posts I've talked about how Apple could potentially change the game against Microsoft with it's iPod/iTunes and Intel-based Mac platforms.

Well, the above scenario described how Microsoft could bring most of the COMPUTING ASSETS a user values on their Windows PC/laptop onto any number of possible devices.

But what about MUSIC and video?  Doesn't Apple have an 80% share plus there with it's iPod/iTunes franchise?

Well, yes today, but what about tomorrow?

Microsoft just announced that they'll stop developing their Media Player software for the Macintosh platform.  This means that Microsoft's DRM (Digital Rights Management) software won't be available on Apple going forward. 

The other MAJOR DRM technology that the media companies are comfortable using is Apple's, but it's ONLY available on Apple products and services.  Steve Jobs won't share his marbles with the other kids.

In the meantime, Microsoft is busy making sure it's Media Player and DRM technologies are getting built into every conceivable type of device in the next year or so. 

Russell Beattie had a great post a few days ago explaining this:

"Microsoft’s DRM strategy and Windows Media WMA codec are going to allow them to have a massive advantage in the consumer electronics market, which includes everything from MP3 players, to mobile phones to your set-top box, to a host of other converged devices."

And Apple is not going to be in those places, except by the virtue of its current and future products.  One company against dozens and eventually hundreds.

We've seen this movie before...in fact it was the prequel with the same companies playing the leading roles.

So it could also go the other way.

Starting in earnest in a little over a year.

Imagine that.

UPDATE:  Chris Seibold of AppleMatters has an interesting post on the potential "marginalization" of the iPod.

Comments

[Ward]

Clayton Christiansen has said similar things could happen to Apple.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060109_432937.htm

[Ravi d]

As steve jobs said the only way to beat the Ipod is for a company(microsoft) to create it's own mp3'esque player that integrates semelessly with windows. Love the new Sandisk though.