Example #745 of how Microsoft is Broken
I’m starting an new company again and am going through the getting-all-my-stuff setup ritual.
I’m struck by how much things have changed in just a few years in terms of what’s required to get going — and how small of a role Microsoft plays in this equation.
Here’s what I’m using:
- Conference calls: Skype (priceless)
- Mobile Phone: iPhone (bye bye blackberry)
- Smart Phone / App Machine: iPhone (bye bye blackberry)
- Mail, Calendar: Gmail with iphone sync— no need for exchange support. Bye bye entourage.
- File sharing and collaboration: basecamp (sharepoint? what’s that?)
- Bug tracking: Trac (free!)
- Prototyping: axure (awesome tool, but they need a mac version)
The only real consideration comes down to which version of MS Office to purchase: student/home edition or business edition? For now, I can’t live without powerpoint and excel; google docs isn’t a realistic replacement yet. But here’s where MS is still broken. In looking at the feature differences between the two versions, it’s clear that given my cloud-software choices above, I have no need for the pricier MS Office business edition. Which is funny because I find myself second-guessing since I want to buy the edition called “business edition” since I’m starting a new business and will be using MS Office for “business” purposes, but when looking at the features, it’s clear that student/home edition is all I need.
#msfail #msftfail #packagingfail #cloudwins
