“Microsoft’s chief operating officer, Kevin Turner, took to the stage at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference earlier today to stir up the crowd and discuss Apple’s idea of a post-PC era,” Tom Warren reports for The Verge.
“Turner went on to discuss the company’s upcoming Mountain Lion operating system and some mixed press reaction to the future of OS X. ‘We believe that Apple has it wrong,’ says Turner. ‘They’ve talked about it being the post-PC era, they talk about the tablet and PC being different, the reality in our world is that we think that’s completely incorrect,'” Warren reports. “Turner then went on to describe this new era as a “PC+” period, one that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates predicted back in 1999.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
1. Neither Kevin Turner nor anyone else at Microsoft can hold a candle to Steve Jobs or his predictive abilities. There’s a reason why Jobs was hailed as a visionary genius and Kevin Turner isn’t.
1a. Last we heard from good ol’ Kev was that “the iPhone 4 might be [Apple’s] Vista.” Apple’s iPhone 4 went on to become the best-selling smartphone in history until, of course, the iPhone 4S was launched. Turner thought so much of his company’s product, Vista, that he used it as a point of denigration. This was one year after Turner called Vista “the most secure OS on the planet.” No, really, he did.
1b. All this is irrefutable evidence that Kevin Turner is a batshit insane buffoon who whores idiocy for a shitty, floundering, rudderless company. Obviously, Kevin Turner will do and say anything, regardless of veracity, in order to remain what and where he is.
1c. If the dope actually knew what the hell was coming next, or even just looked at his clown of a boss, he’d have fled Microsoft years ago.
1d. The next time he claims to know better than Steven P. Jobs, we won’t go so easy on him and does anybody at Microsoft have even a smidge of fashion sense? The cheesily-moustachioed Turner makes Ned Ryerson look hip. Oh, yeah, that’s right, at Microsoft “they just have no taste, they have absolutely no taste.”
1e. “For the most part.”
2. Microsoft has to cling to the idea that Jobs, of all people, was wrong about, of all things, the future of personal computing, because if Jobs was right, Microsoft is toast.
3. We’re no slouches when it comes to seeing where things are headed, either, and what we wrote ten seconds after we first heard about Microsoft’s plans for Windows 8 works just as well today as it did over a year ago, if not better:
Our initial impression is that Microsoft, in trying to cram everything into Windows 8 in an attempt to be all things to all devices, will end up with an OS that’s a jack of all trades and a master of none (which, after all, ought to be Microsoft’s company motto).
By the time this hybrid spawn of Windows Phone ’07 + Windows 7ista actually ships, one can only dream where Apple’s iOS and Mac OS X will be! For Microsoft, it’ll be more like a nightmare. Perhaps Microsoft will someday put some scare into Google’s Android/Chrome OS, but only time – and a lot of it when measured in tech time – will tell. We simply do not see the world clamoring for the UI of an iPod also-ran now ported to an iPhone wannabe that nobody’s buying to be blown up onto a PC display.
From what we’ve seen so far, Windows 8 strikes us as an unsavory combination of Windows Weight plus Windows Wait.
Not to mention that probably no one on earth knows how much or what kinds of residual legacy spaghetti code roils underneath it all (shudder). Is Microsoft giving up on backwards compatibility? If so, people might as well get the Mac they always wanted. If not, then Microsoft’s unwilling to do what it takes to really attempt to keep up with the likes of Apple or even Apple’s followers. No matter what, if Microsoft’s going to ask Windows sufferers to “learn a whole new computer” (and that’s exactly how they’ll look at it, regardless of how Microsoft pitches it), millions will simply say, “Time to get a Mac to match my iPod, iPhone, and iPad!”
As if they needed it: More good news for Apple.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “thethirdshoe” for the heads up.]
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On the topic of PC+ versus post-PC, here is my eye-opening moment.
I’m a Macuser (20+ years), I’ve used Windows a little (when forced to). When the iPad arrived, I took a good look at it and thought “this is cool, however I am too happy with my Macbook Air so this will not replace it, at least not for many years”.
I could not see the iPad take over the world, I envisaged it becoming an extremely popular tool. Not more, not less.
One evening I’m in one of those huge electronics shops, where they have an Apple corner, to buy some accessories. Who is in there (the Apple corner) ? Me, my wife, and about 10 women aged 40 to 60, some with their kid(s), buying an iPad or an iPad cover or more iPad gear.
This is what’s happening:
1- me (and most of the people on this site) are stuck with our computer ways. No Finder to organize my things the way I want ? This kills the idea of the (current) iOS for me for me, and relegates the iPad to “use on the couch”. Which I enjoy, but this is not “my personal computer”.
2- most people in the world are getting some sort of computer nowadays. The idea that you need a device for spreadsheets and stuff is completely obsolete, you need it for “whatever”, but most people not-in-an-office need something super-accessible to read news, buy stuff and message friends. These people do not even understand what a folder hierarchy is (I know, I have one of those in my house; no names 🙂
3- even for people-in-an-office, the importance of spreadsheets and stuff is going down, starting with top managers and moving down rapidly. Of sure, they need to view those, but have no time to make some. Of, and how many of your collegues have their desktop full of files (folders ? yuk)
So yes, the tablets (notice I did not say iPad) are a revolution. Tsunami is a relevant metaphor. It will not sweep the well-protected office however, but it is already sweeping the-rest-of-the-world. The office will require an evolution of the tablet-OSes to let the people who actually make stuff (and not just manage) have a bit more control.
But the balance between computers-in-the-office and computers-somewhere-else has been altered forever.
The problem with MS is that rather than having a strategy, they tend to read then react.
The rather obvious fact they’ve missed is that Apple still makes PCs and they still sells them in very high numbers.
They need to stop reacting to everything Apple says and does and explain their strategy (if they have one) to their customers.
Every time I see a Microsoft Exec: I think of the film ‘Anchor Man’, smile and instantly pity the poor buggers.
“Microsoft’s chief operating officer, Kevin Turner, took to the stage at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference earlier today to stir up the crowd and discuss Apple’s idea of a post-PC era,”
He needed to dance. As Ballmer showed us, nothing gets those PC partners stirred up and jumping on board like a good Monkey Dance. And no, Tom, just copying a generic line dance won’t do. You gotta give ’em some SWEAT.
Oops…Meant Kevin not Tom,
On MDN’s comment about Kevin’s suit. Microsoft has a thing for brown. The Zune was designed to matched his suits.
Microsoft doesn’t get it. Even in 2012, there are older people and people in their 20s that *still* don’t get file-structures, right-clicking, drag-and-drop, etc.
The “PC+ era” that Microsoft espouses only serves to confuse the regular user *more*, not less. The IT-geek may like, but even that remains to be seen.
The fact that my now-4-year-old-son is exceptionally efficient with an iOS device says much about the device/OS and the thought process in general about how these things should behave. He can navigate without a problem (though he’s quite good at moving icons around to the wrong places :P).
Microsoft — the creator of the PC-Tablet-Fridge-Microwave-Toaster-Bicycle Pump-Humidifier. Technology moving forward.
This moron not only looks like a lousy used car salesman, but talks rubbish and lies like one too. The fact that he is a CEO of spples main rival is a blessing in disguise 😜😝 he is absolutely LOW CLASS POLISH PEASANT
He’s kinda right, at least in today’s world. We are not there yet. You cannot properly maintain an iPad without iTunes and a PC, despite the 1/2 assed attempt with iOS 5.
My iPad1 is painfully slow and sluggish since iOS5. I’ve heard I need to do a backup, full-wipe and then restore to correct this known problem. I need a PC to do this and mine died a while ago. The idea tjat o
I think Microsoft should be aware that their product needs a lot of improvement. The windows mobile phone is totally not a friendly usage.
I’m not siding which is good, as a normal user like me can tell which is better so can you.Apple iPhone 4s product has a look that can last the next 10 years.
Steve Jobs is really incredible and I always believe he has made every user realize how friendly and smart apple products can be.
Mr Kevin Turner needs to reflect a bit of what he said or comment on the Post Era. If Steve Jobs did not mention about Post Pc Era, I believe Mr Kevin Turner won’t even know the word Post era. Changing the original word that is said by Steve Jobs won’t make Microsoft to produce better products.
I believe In Apple products so does everyone.