« Scobleizing on a Saturday Afternoon | Main | Not a preface »
So evidently, my last article, Scobelizing on a Saturday Afternoon
has set Robert all a twitter. He devotes a rather lengthy response to it, so since he responded, I should return the courtesy. What I find interesting is that he initially ignores the overall point of the argument, namely, Microsoft is still a pain in the ass to deal with, and that his cries of "Can't we all just get along" while working for the company that took "Us good, them bad" to levels so high that even Karl Rove is impressed is rather silly. Instead he starts by attacking my points. So let's look at them, shall we?
Robert says:
"I can tell you that from the outside, Microsoft is still a damned pain in the ass."
OK, first of all, he took on FrontPage. Says it writes HTML that only is understood in IE 6. Maybe he thought I wasn't technical enough to call him on this. But, I've been using FrontPage since before it was a Microsoft product. This is TOTALLY untrue. And, even if it was, you could easily fix it by looking at the options a bit and then resaving a page. Feel free to call me on my cell phone if you don't know how to make it save regular old HTML that'll work in any browser. The new version, in particular, writes pretty darn nice HTML code.
Well, I'm not sure where I said I thought Robert wasn't technical. Even if I did, (Actually, I don't have an opinion either way. I don't know Robert well enough to say. But if he wants to impress me, I've a doozy of an OD/AD integration problem that he can come help me solve. Fixing things that vex me is the sure way to show me how technical he is), I'm not quite sure where he got that from. What I said was:
I recently spent three days recoding my son's school's home page into something that I could use, because thanks to the "New Microsoft", Front Page helpfully generated code that was only useable in IE 6 on Windows. Luckily, Adobe and Bare Bones have a more correct definition of what proper HTML is.
Note that I don't say FrontPage can only generate code for IE 6. I said that in this one instance, FrontPage was generating crappy HTML. I'm well aware that once you have set the proper options and settings, you can make FrontPage generate proper code. But most non-technical users are not going to do that. They're going to (wisely) take the defaults, and then, through no fault of their own, follow the wizards, and end up with really crappy code. That's a bad program, since it's all to easy to generate IE only code. The default should be W3C approved code, and you should have to jump through hoops to deviate from that. Again, MS is a pain in the ass here. But in their worldview, IE 6 is the alpha and the omega of web browsing, so if it works there, then it's good code, right?
On to Robert's next rather bizarre point:
Then he continues: "Unlike the amazingly open model of Windows Media 10, which only functions on Windows."
This, too, isn't true. Over at Fry's there's an entire aisle of devices that play WMA (Windows Media files with DRM). NONE OF WHICH run on Windows. For instance, check out the Dell Jukebox. It doesn't run on Windows but plays WMA/DRM files. And, the Windows Media team has a very easy-to-understand licensing agreement to boot. Even has a section where you can see how it compares to MP3.
Oh lordy, he's saying that MP3 Players count. Okay, then in that case, Apple still comes out good, because Fairplay runs on more than just Windows and the Mac OS. This is hair-splitting writ large, and if this is how Robert is used to proving his points, he needs better competition to up his game. The funny thing is, this reminds me of an old joke about a lost helicopter pilot. The punch line is: "You must work for a computer company because you gave me an answer that while correct, is utterly useless".
The last I checked, you aren't going to magically download music files into a Dell Jukebox by plugging a USB cable into a magic jellybean field. You need a computer. And if you want to play Windows Media Files using DRM-10 on a computer, that computer has to be running Windows. Period. You can spin that until the cows come home, but modern WM DRM is a Windows only playground. Which makes Microsoft's oh-so-insincere plea for Apple to open up FairPlay a load of cow droppings. Again, I ask him, and the Windows Media folks at Microsoft, and the Real folks too: Since their media solutions require Windows, in what Universe do they see Steve Jobs excluding Mac users from fully using the iPod? As I've told some commentors, when I can use WiMP on Mac OS X (a Microsoft product mind you) to play WM files that use DRM-10/9/C3-PO, without needing Virtual PC or Citrix, or Remote Desktop, or a Wintel Box, then come tell me you're open. Until then, it's the same standard fecal deluge from the ever-putrid Microsoft Windows PR team.
He then uses the licensing agreement, as if that proves that Windows Media is open. Okay, so Quicktime has those too, and it isn't hobbled to Windows. Hell, I have QTSS and Darwin Streaming Server running on three different operating systems on two different hardware platforms. I can download the non-windows version of Windows Media's Streaming Server, that has the same feature set as the Windows version where?
Now on to the Ballmer comment:
It continues: "The head of Microsoft called everyone who uses an iPod a thief." Um, I've read the transcripts and talked to people who were there. Ballmer didn't say everyone was a thief. Personally, if you filled up a 20GB hard drive with legitimately purchased music it'd cost you several thousand dollars -- honestly, how many people are really paying for all the music on these portable music players? Many people wrote me afterward and said, yes, most of music on their portable media players was, in fact, not paid for music. You also missed a small fact. Steve Ballmer, I've learned, owns an iPod. So, if everyone who owns an iPod is a music thief, well, then, you can draw your own conclusions. :-)
Robert, he said the most common form of music on an iPod is stolen. His words. If he couldn't see how this would piss people off, then he's an idiot. So, you decide, Ballmer: Idiot or Clod? As far as the cost of music, well, gosh, I bought my first record in 1975. It was an Elvis K-Tel collection. So, I've been acquiring music for over thirty years. This includes stuff my dad left to me, etc. You see Robert, many people acquire music over time. A record here. A CD there. Couple of tapes when you're driving from Grand Forks N.D. to Miami Fl. on leave. A "Peaches" crate full of records at $.50 a pop so you could get The Beatles "White Album" on white vinyl. Then, through the magic of cabling, and a spell of amplification, you can connect your turntable, or tape player into a larger unit, then run a cable from that unit to your computer, and...ooooh...look, I just ripped 2000 albums. As well, if you think that I don't believe that Ballmer would call himself a thief, well, my response is that self examination is good for him. He may even find what's left of his soul one day :-)
But then Robert goes on into this long winded essay on how "Evangelists aren't cheerleaders", which is hysterical. Of course evangelists are cheerleaders. They sure as hell aren't fair and balanced analysts of their company's actions and products. They rather exuberantly push their company or product to those who would be able to use it, either as an end user, a partner, a developer, etc. Robert gives these bizarre examples of how technical evangelists are.
Well, yes, evangelists are technical. I didn't say evangelists were acephalic morons, collecting dust behind the dresser. I said they were cheerleaders. That doesn't preclude them from being very smart. Let's take a look at the Encarta definition of cheerleader, from Microsoft Entourage, a product I have loved since before it was called that:
cheer·lead·er n
1. any of a group of uniformed performers who encourage the crowd to support a team at sports events
2. an uncritically enthusiastic supporter (disapproving)
Now, since Microsoft is not a sports team, obviously definition 1 doesn't apply. But I'd say that, based on Robert's writings, that definition 2 is reeeeeeeeally close to the mark.
Before he gets his Tablet PC all crooked, I don't think there's anything wrong with Robert being a cheerleader. It's his job, and from what I can tell, he's damned good at it. But when he starts asking "Why all the hostility? Why don't people like Microsoft?", I just laugh. He's either incapable of seeing all the crap Microsoft has pulled over the years, and is still pulling, or he isn't allowed to talk about it in public. Hey, you work for someone, you work for someone. But when he points fingers at others and says "You guys are mean, and encourage this us vs. them mentality", well, I fear for the integrity of electrical devices within 3nm of his current location. If you're going to protest being called a cheerleader, don't do it from the "Big Blog O' ScobleCheering". It just looks silly.
Posted by John C. Welch at 20:05 | Permalink
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.bynkii.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/9
Comments
Good stuff man.
Posted by: No No | November 16, 2004 08:49 AM
You can confront Scoble with the same arguments for months and months, and he will always find a way to talk around the real issue and ignore the point you are trying to make. I guess that's why they employed him - he's nothing but a good marketing droid
Posted by: Ralph Scheuer | November 16, 2004 12:49 PM
As an information-professional-in-training ( that is 21st Century speak for librarian) I should give the whole citations, but it is late in the semester. In reference to "stealing" music off of media you own, there are two problems with that idea:
1) there is the premise of "Right of First Purchase" that says you get to maintain acces to what you bought. Plus, in the real world, if you are not seeking COMMERCIAL gain, you can reproduce stuff. It is how scholars churn out stuff that is better than 50% quotes, and call is "research."
2) there was a case from movie copyright holders that went to the Supreme Court to try and stop commercial sales of VCR's. They lost. Potential gain of the format for the "public good" won out over whinging corporate tools. AH the good ol' days.
G
Posted by: Gypsye Dammette | November 16, 2004 07:05 PM