Ask Paul: November 16 (Premium)

After a week’s hiatus, we’re back. And there are some great questions this week.

Bad Microsoft, good Microsoft

ErichK asks:

Paul, I was wondering, as I understand it you were courageously vocal during the late ’90s and into the 2000’s as far as a lot of Microsoft’s controversial business practices were concerned, even though you were heavily involved in their ecosystem and wrote books about their products and stuff. I was wondering, did you ever get any feedback from Microsoft themselves regarding that? I mean, in ways where they tried to defend themselves from all the bad publicity they were getting because of the anti-trust issues? How did THEY perceive their position in the industry?

Once officially and once not. I did have two major interactions with people at Microsoft and/or its PR firm at the time about this topic.

One involved the Bill Gates deposition, which was recorded and is one of the more miserable things you can ever try to watch. And I tried: When the recordings became available (during or just before the U.S.) trial, Microsoft’s PR firm asked me if I wanted copies of the VHS tapes. (Of which there were about a dozen or so, if I remember correctly.) So I said yes, and had to speak to someone to put the deposition in context.

Gates was slouched in his chair basically the entire time, was surly and unresponsive, and pretended not to remember anything he was asked about. It’s an embarrassing display. But I was told that Gates did this under advice from Microsoft’s attorneys and that I shouldn’t come away with the wrong impression about a man who, at that time, was widely admired in Microsoft circles but was feared by almost everyone else. But it’s impossible to watch any of this and not come away with a negative reaction.

Off the record, I spoke at length about the trial and Microsoft’s business practices with a source I cannot divulge for obvious reasons. He was very forthright about what Microsoft did, why it did it, and that the company was never going to change. He was wrong about that last bit, of course: The antitrust trials hobbled Microsoft more effectively than anyone could have imagined, especially since they seemed to get off more lightly in both the U.S. and the EU that many had anticipated.

These conversations were key to my thinking at the time that this company needed to be split up, to be “scattered to the winds,” as I put it at the time. I envisioned multiple mini-Microsofts, like the mini-Bells before them, split from each to assure that there would be no more anti-competitive collusion, corruption, and market destruction. It was clear to me that Microsoft had a culture problem. And that it could not be fixed from within.

On this topic, I’ll also note that that culture was finally exorcized, mostly, from Microsoft over time as executives departed and, especially, when Satya Nadella took over. There are still small traces of it left. For example, the Surface team came up in the Sinofsky organization and is still a weird vestige of Microsoft Past. But for the most part, the terrible people are gone or are not in a position of power anymore.

(I’m not saying that the Surface team is “bad.” But it exists only because Sinofsky, who was bad, championed the product from within and basically willed Surface into existence against the wants of Microsoft’s board of directors and senior leadership team. How it was kept alive despite multiple attempts to kill it is part of Brad’s book, Beneath a Surface.

And speaking of Brad’s book…

Beneath a Surface on Audible

kzrystof asks:

I am enjoying the podcast, day after day, whether you guys are talking about technology or not. Lately, we have been hearing a lot about Brad’s book.

I wonder if it would be feasible for you to make an audible version of the book à la First Ring Daily. I mean, your podcast is so good that I can easily imagine Paul doing the reading and inserting some sarcastic & insightful comments here and there… and maybe have a discussion with Brad at the end of each Chapter…

Obviously, I have absolutely no idea of what this would imply (logistics and stuff) but I am sure (well… I hope) I would not be the only one to love it 🙂

That is an interesting idea. I feel like this came up briefly. And oddly enough, the idea I had was similar to what you describe above. I compared it to an audiobook I liked (I Drink for a Reason by David Cross) where the author does what you describe and has these interludes that are not in the printed book. (I found this book to be quite funny, but the chapter about “The Belush” is particularly priceless.)

Anyway. Maybe. 🙂

Call of Duty mouse and keyboard

Polycrastinator asks:

If XBox One keyboard and mouse support is added to Call of Duty, would you switch to using that rather than a controller?

I don’t see that happening, but then I wouldn’t have expected Fortnite to get keyboard and mouse support either, so you never know.

I really prefer gaming with a controller. The only way I’d ever switch is if it was patently obvious that keyboard/mouse users had an unfair advantage. But my understanding is that game makers would work to ensure that was not the case. So I hope to never face this question in real life. 🙂

Windows in 2019

Cdorf asks:

What are you looking forward to most with Windows in 2019? Aside from the updategate issues.

I not-so-jokingly compared Windows 10 in the coming year to a Seattle-area Jack In The Box fast food restaurant in the wake of the 1993 E. coli poisonings. By which I mean that was the safest-possible place to eat because of what had just happened.

I expect the same from Windows next year: Slower, more reliable rollouts of 2019 Windows 10 feature update(s). So the question I really have isn’t about 2019. It’s about 2020.

And … I gotta be honest here. From a reliability/problems perspective, I don’t really expect Microsoft to permanently fix any problems. They’ll get complacent after things go well, like they always have, and we’ll be having the same conversations again.

If you’re wondering about what I expect from Windows functionally, I honestly don’t expect or need much. Windows is a legacy platform that works well on all of the form factors it supports. And as far as the PC world goes, I don’t see the need for major changes. What I would like to see, and I think we will get this, is further refinement of the type we did see this past year in 1803 and 1809. Those are the types of functional upgrades that Windows can sustain.

COD GOAT

StevenLayton asks:

What is your proudest Call of Duty moment?

You know, I don’t really remember too many specific moments, though the video clips I thought to capture provide some clue.

My favorite might be a great clip of me using a score/kill-streak missile-from-the-sky to thread the needle into a tiny hole in a building and get the game-winning kill. This is from Call of Duty: Ghosts. (Also note that I had the high score in the game, always a plus.)

Best laptop?

phytio asks:

I’m in the market for a new laptop, and now it feels like we have a good selection to choose from. In the summer you identified the Huawei Matebook X Pro as a good choice. Now that the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 are out, how is the lay of the land?

We are awash in great choices right now, and be sure to look at the Black Friday deals because you might be able to save a lot of money next week.

Obviously, a lot of this will come down to personal taste, but I’d say that Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6 (and their predecessors), HP Spectre x360, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and Yoga, Huawei Matebook X Pro are all on the short list. You probably don’t want a Chromebook, but if you did, the Acer Chromebook Spin 13 is incredible too.

I may have missed a few. But those are all great.

Photo shoot table

spacecamel asks:

Sorry for the off topic question, but in your Macbook Air Articles, my wife noticed the side table you used for the photos and wanted to know where you acquired it.

So this one is slightly embarrassing because that’s the table we had purchased for the podcast studio in Dedham; Brad still uses his every day on FRD. But I’ve not created a podcast studio in the new house, so it was sitting unused. After we remodeled the kitchen, we didn’t have enough space for a full-sized kitchen table, and my wife wanted to get a half table of sorts, something you could use with stools. And then she realized we already had that table.

The problem with it is that it weighs a ton. Easily a few hundred pounds. And it made of very heavy treated wood and iron, so you can kill yourself just moving it around. I had to have the help of my son and a friend to get it up out of the cellar.

Adding to the difficulty, George (the company owner) ordered it specially from a place in North Carolina, so I don’t think it’s something you could buy locally. I’ve searched my email but can’t find the name of the company. And Brad can’t remember either. So I’ve just asked George and will update this when I hear back.

But you don’t want it. 🙂

Update: George tells me that it was made by Oilfield Slang by Manufab, in New Orleans (not North Carolina, so much for my memory). The owner is Katie Katzenmeyer.

iPhone XR

Daninbusiness asks:

Any plans/updates with your iPhone XR review? I am really interested in your thoughts. I picked up one for my wife and I am surprised how much I like it (our last iOS devices were iPhone 6s). Despite my numerous annoyances with Apple (Siri, locked default apps, reliance on iTunes, lack of headphone jack, the “apple jacking” markups…), this still seems like a really solid phone choice to me.

No, I ended up sending it back. But I’ll be buying another iPhone (XS or XR, still debating) to keep soon. I wanted the SIM-unlocked version.

But that said, the iPhone XR is excellent. I had no issues with it at all. Even the single camera system is surprisingly solid. I don’t think you would regret this choice. My only worry is that Apple doesn’t sell its own cases for the XR as it does for all other iPhones. That makes no sense to me.

Future of Windows app compatibility

Daishi asks:

Windows’ one real strength is it’s quarter of a century of accumulated software, but no one is going back to recompile any of it and as you point out regularly no one is building new Windows programs. So if they really want ARM and/or S Mode to be viable platforms why have Microsoft not done what seems like the obvious thing and just built a system to let any Windows program be installed in a container to run on these platforms? Why do they persist with the delusion that developers are going to go back to recompile their apps to support Microsoft’ future vision, as they have just done again for 64bit support on ARM?

You are highlight something that I think is key to the future of Windows. Regardless of the technology used, I do believe that putting apps in containers, ideally automatically, is how this will all make sense down the road. This is the middle ground approach between the two extremes (pure Win32 vs. S mode). And I think that Microsoft’s experience with containers and virtual environments (think about the architecture of the Xbox One) will get them there.

Anyway, your idea is right on the money.

Future of Windows app compatibility, continued

ChristopherCollins asks:

This question is inspired by part of what Daishi said and asked (above).

I truly want MS to spend a year on quality and security updates only. For example, the new light mode… With dark mode not even truly finished, why make a new mode? I use OS X a lot too and it’s dark mode wasn’t released until it was far more complete.

The new light mode looks great. The problem I have with is that it’s too light. If they’re going to use this, they need a medium mode (or whatever). And yes, dear God, they need to fix dark mode too.

So, why not fix bugs and get UI consistency on everything currently in Windows, while stripping deprecated or unneccesary things out of the OS for a year? Then, come back in adding things that devs ask for/need. Since Windows is established and people aren’t really recompiling for things for WoA or even worrying with Universal apps, I’d really like to see them take an (hate to say it) ‘Apple style’ step back and fix their OS’s problems and inconsistencies for a year.

The “why” of this is cultural. Microsoft doesn’t reward employees for refining existing products. It rewards them for doing something new, especially if that thing is super-successful. So the A-team players are always moving on to the great new project leaving behind lesser people with little incentive to refine things. I call this Microsoft “finish the job” problem.

Microsoft has pledged to focus on Windows 10 quality going forward. Given our past experiences, and the cultural issue noted above, we are correct to not take them at their word. I feel this effort will be temporary and/or halfhearted. But we can at least enjoy the next year I guess.

We will be using Windows in the business world a lot longer. A new feature freeze until they have UI consistency and enhanced security seems like a very smart move.

I cannot agree more.

Home automation with Google

ChristopherCollins asks:

Can you do an article explaining your Google home automation?

Yes, but I don’t do much in the way of home automation at this point. Our goal was always to implement smart home technologies only where they made sense and not to overdo it. But I am probably overdue in discussing this topic again.

I am particularly interested in how you have handle Chromecast and audio. What is your speaker of choice to integrate with that solution?

Right now, we have three main sets of speakers that I would consider “whole house audio” (though they are all on the ground floor). The idea here is we’re having people over and we want music everywhere. Those speakers are in our sunroom, my home office, and in the living room. Each is different, but each is connected to a Chromecast Audio.

The two sets that are of comparable audio quality are the Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers ($99 on Amazon) in the sunroom and the Mackie CR3 CR-3 Reference Multimedia Monitors (also $99 on Amazon) in my office. For home use, the Edifier speakers are a better choice because they don’t have bright lights (green in the case of the CR-3s). But these speakers both sound as good as any Sonos speaker and they are much less expensive. (We have Sonos speakers upstairs now.) And I recommend them both highly. (Those are affiliate links, btw.)

I would think it isn’t a bunch of Google homes due to the sound quality.

Right. That and the fact that you can’t (yet) pair Google Home devices into stereo pairs. I would have done that in the kitchen if I could have. But now we’re using that Lenovo 10-inch Smart Display in the kitchen instead. And it’s not part of the whole-house audio (though it absolutely could be).

I use Chromecast everywhere. When I shave/shower each day, I have a Chromecast-compatible RIVA ARENA speaker (which I do not recommend) for podcasts, audiobooks, or music. We have a Google Home Mini in the living room for voice control. And A Chromecast Ultra for 4K video casting on the 4K display. When I bring up the Cast screen in Android, I have to wait a few seconds for it to populate.

There, you can see the speaker sets with Chromecast Audio (Pauls Office Speakers and Sun Room Speakers), the Google Homes (Kitchen Home and Living Room Home), the standalone Chromecast-compatible speakers (Master Bath and Soundbar), and one of the groups, Thurrott All, which is the whole-house audio thing.