About Me
I’m Charles Fitzgerald and this is my blog. I write infrequently and nominally on the economics of platforms, or whatever else captures my interest.
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Tag Archives: Microsoft
A Perfect Match
I have been asked for perspectives on the EU investigating IBM for mainframe malfeasance. Other than saying how nice it is to see these two fine organizations keeping each other busy, I really don’t have much new to say beyond … Continue reading
Where are the Windows 7 Tablets?
Windows 7 has been shipping with multi-touch support since October 2009 (just over six months ago as I write this). Windows multi-touch technology was presented to PC OEMs in November of 2008 (18 months ago). And it was first demoed … Continue reading
Live SkiFree or Die
Hey, I actually get this obscure xkcd reference: We did three Entertainment Packs for Windows soon after Windows 3.0 came out (tagline: “Not the most fun you can have with Windows, the only fun”). Each had about eight games. Some … Continue reading
When is a Netbook Not a Netbook?
Microsoft’s netbook pricing dilemma continues. It is tough to optimize for both unit share and revenue, but my former colleagues in Redmond remain undaunted. In our last installment, I suggested: Starter Edition seems to be dead on arrival (in fact, … Continue reading
Windows XP Really is Immortal
Yesterday I was wondering how Microsoft will price Windows 7 for the netbook market and speculated that Microsoft could always keep offering the immortal Windows XP if necessary. And just like that, the edict came down from upon high. This … Continue reading
Notes from the Super Heavyweight Bout
A few observations on the super heavyweight, no-holds-barred, ultimate cage match between Google and Microsoft. Some of these have been rattling around in my head for a while so please excuse my inability to embrace the real-time “what are you … Continue reading
Fixations
Microsoft (market cap $182 billion) is fixated on Google. Google (market cap $122 billion) is fixated on Facebook. Facebook (market cap ~$3 billon) is fixated on Twitter. Who or what is Twitter fixated on? Revenue? Uptime? Oprah? Rolling up the … Continue reading
Say It Ain’t So
Flight Simulator is the biggest product casualty of the Microsoft layoffs? The layoffs are a sad day for all the people affected and a disappointing milestone for the company, but Flight Sim is an industry institution dating back three decades. … Continue reading
Nixon White House
We used to joke at Microsoft in the twilight of the 20th century at the height of the dot com bubble and amidst the DoJ proceedings that things had gotten “a little Nixon White House” in terms of tumult … Continue reading
I, RoboChamp
One of the last things I helped kick off before I left Microsoft was a simulated robotics competition for developers called RoboChamps. The first season of RoboChamps is now underway. Because it runs in a simulated environment, you don’t need … Continue reading