[anon(5335899)]

The recent 'miscommunication' by the group program manager for Cortana team is a major and potential catastrophic blunder on the part of Microsoft. While the back peddling has already started and they are now trying to spin it so it appears less destructive as it is it is really very bad!

This is not a small thing here. It signals that even when Microsoft has not yet released this service to their own ecosystem they are at least thinking of bringing it to competing eco systems. The response has been laughable at best and may actually do even more damage as it, again, brings up they may do this 'at a later stage' and 'after the Windows Phone experience is optimal'.



It's just silly and shows how much within the company there is a severe lack of communication and management at the highest level. If I were Nadella I would have Ash removed and come out myself saying all this was a blunder on his part and corrective action has been taken. That said, it's obviously the truth and they just opened Pandora's box wit this one. All signs so far show that Windows Phone really is not at the forefront of what Microsoft as a whole is doing with key services and apps rolling out for competing eco systems first leaving WP with a less then stellar experience.



Couple that with the IMO horrific excuses Joe Belfiore has been tweeting lately about the dismantling of the hubs in WP where he basically states that instead of MSFT pulling together and creating the best possible built in experience (see iOS/Apple) they decided top open up the API and let 3rd parties do it. This is the worst possible course of action as the '3rd party' developers are just not there (yet) and the few good ones have better things to do then to do MSFTs job for them (for free). They try and spin it as a goo dthing but in reality is makes it all much more ugly and less intuitive. The way you post status updates to social media was clean and simple, it's now already fragmented in how to do this and this will only get worse as the onslaught of sub-standard apps will start to get thrown together by hopeless developers just throwing together a quickie to cash in on ad revenue.



Nokia has done a superb job of pulling WP out of the mud, getting it back on track and moving in the right direction at a decent pace over the past two years. Now, in the short time since MSFT has acquired the Devices and Services part they have managed to derail most of it. Unless they pull a major rabbit with WP9 I am not hopeful the OS will go anywhere and would not be surprised to instead see WP become a AOSP variant with a live tile skin.

[xconomicron]

I have a feeling that Nadella is all for this kind of stuff. (Get as many services to competing platforms where MS will make the most in return). "Chuckle"

But anyway, I think Ash handled the situation well by reassuring us that they will focus on WP first before even thinking about other platforms...Now granted I as a WP loyalist overreacted a bit with this...I'm not going to let this "incident" bother me. I'm the more passive type, "it is what it is" kind of guy. Let MS do what they want, it's their platform.

We all need to just calm down and breathe. Stating that Ash should be removed because of this is going to far though. Why should MS get rid of a great engineer and program manager just from this? We all aren't going to jump ship right now because of something he said disturbed us. -Now, if MS releases Cortana tomorrow on other platforms, then yes, I'd say bring out the pitchforks....but now is not the time...if it even comes to that. We'll see what happens in the next few years. I might have to revisit this topic if WP does good in the market...or even does much worse than it's doing now.

[nicfromwales]

I think you're overreacting, and Marcus Ash made a lot of sense in his clarification of the situation. Microsoft is only "thinking" about what could happen in the future. That's what every successful business has to do. If Windows Phone is a success in the future, Microsoft won't be as compelled to please its Windows customers who use iPhones or Android. It all depends on what happens over the next few years, in which time Microsoft is solely focused on making Cortana the best she can be on Windows devices.

[herbertsnow]

You serious?

[anon(8555314)]

I could not disagree more with the OP. This will do no damage whatsoever to MS. It would be very foolish for MS to listen to the people who over-react on these forums. Everything that was said in the initial post made perfect sense to me, as did everything stated in the follow-up.

[T Moore]

Nope, trying to make something out of nothing.

[Reflexx]

There was no miscommunication.

There was only[b] misinterpretation[/] on the part of people who were looking for something that wasn't there.

The guy from MS didn't say anything different there first time. He said exactly what he said when he clarified again later. Same message said pretty much the same way.

If you're going to blame anyone, blame the WP community fire overreacting without taking a step back and really thinking about what was said.

[Chregu]

If you're going to blame anyone, blame the WP community fire overreacting without taking a step back and really thinking about what was said.

Bad communication leads to overreaction. You can't blame the customers, it's Microsoft's job to avoid such situations.

If you don't want your customers to misinterpret your statements, then be clear.

With Microsoft already having the reputation to bring services and apps first to the competition's platforms, it was no wonder there was an overreaction. It was a bad sign, it was just Microsoft doing a terrible job.

[TonyDedrick]

I think this whole situation just proved how out of wack some folks priorities are. You would think we all get paid a salary from Microsoft or get our bills paid the way some people feel some sort of entitlement to having things go their way. Now, I understand if you are a paying customer, there is some level of expectations of a great product and services. But that should be as far as it goes. Some take it way too personally.

[FinancialP]

You guys don't know business.

Cortana(a service) would be wonderful on other platforms for Bing. It makes perfect sense and would allow Bing to gather more information and get better.

[smoledman]

There is no Cortana-Gate. A tempest in a teacup.

[Chregu]

You guys don't know business.

Cortana(a service) would be wonderful on other platforms for Bing. It makes perfect sense and would allow Bing to gather more information and get better.

I agree, it would make a lot of sense to have Cortana on other platforms, at least if it can be done in a way that makes it at least as good as other solutions on this platform as it will never have the same implementation.

However I guess it wouldn't be good for Windows Phone, at least if it should be a key feature that sells the devices. And it certainly will frustrate people that thought they bought something special with Windows Phone.

[smoledman]

You guys don't know business.

Cortana(a service) would be wonderful on other platforms for Bing. It makes perfect sense and would allow Bing to gather more information and get better.

MS could release Cortana the app on iOS/Android and nobody would use it because they already have integrated digital assistants. By the definition of how people EXPECT to launch a digital assistant(1 button press or speech Ok Google/Siri/etc...) Cortana ONLY makes sense as fully baked into Windows OS(Phone, Tablet, XBox).

[FinancialP]

I agree, it would make a lot of sense to have Cortana on other platforms, at least if it can be done in a way that makes it at least as good as other solutions on this platform as it will never have the same implementation.

However I guess it wouldn't be good for Windows Phone, at least if it should be a key feature that sells the devices. And it certainly will frustrate people that thought they bought something special with Windows Phone.

How would it be bad for Windows Phone? Serious question.

Cortana is a service that can only get better by more people using it.

MS could release Cortana the app on iOS/Android and nobody would use it because they already have integrated digital assistants. By the definition of how people EXPECT to launch a digital assistant(1 button press or speech Ok Google/Siri/etc...) Cortana ONLY makes sense as fully baked into Windows OS(Phone, Tablet, XBox).

I use Google Now on my iPhone all the time. So there goes your "Nobody would use it" statement.

From the downloads on iTunes a crapload of other people would disagree with you too.

[neo158]

I'm rather cynical about this as I've experienced what Microsoft was like under Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. That Microsoft was the one that would release a great product and discontinue it a few years later, the Zune Media Players are the perfect example of this. Not focusing on their own platforms is another example, with the Touch version of Office being released on iOS and Android before Windows, and the problem with this is that better experiences are released on competitors platforms first. I don't see this being any different with Cortana!!!!

[tgp]

MS could release Cortana the app on iOS/Android and nobody would use it because they already have integrated digital assistants. By the definition of how people EXPECT to launch a digital assistant(1 button press or speech Ok Google/Siri/etc...) Cortana ONLY makes sense as fully baked into Windows OS(Phone, Tablet, XBox).

That's what I think. Unless Cortana advances more than Google Now & Siri in the future to become miles ahead, I don't see it being used much.

[neo158]

How would it be bad for Windows Phone? Serious question.

Cortana is a service that can only get better by more people using it.

It's bad for WP as people won't move to WP if ALL of Microsoft's services are available on the platform they are currently using and they offer a better experience.

I use Google Now on my iPhone all the time. So there goes your "Nobody would use it" statement.

From the downloads on iTunes a crapload of other people would disagree with you too.

Then you are clearly in a minority as I'm not sure many people would be bothered and would just use what's built in.

[Chregu]

How would it be bad for Windows Phone? Serious question.

Cortana is a service that can only get better by more people using it.

True. It doesn't make Windows Phone worse in any way. But it takes away exclusivity.

It's not that Windows Phone users want Cortana to become better, it's that they think it makes Windows Phone special and unique. They want Windows Phone to become a success, and they think that taking away this exclusivity is almost treason.

Well, users that care about those things that is. Most people haven't even heard of Cortana or Windows Phone 8.1.

Disclaimer: That's just how I interpret things, maybe I'm off. Personally I don't care about voice assistants.

[smoledman]

That's what I think. Unless Cortana advances more than Google Now & Siri in the future to become miles ahead, I don't see it being used much.

Actually due to the advantage of a baked-in digital assistant, Cortana the App can never be as functional as Siri/Google Now. However, Cortana has infinite potential.

[tgp]

However, Cortana has infinite potential.

Yes, but so do Google Now & Siri. They'll probably advance at roughly the same rate.

[neo158]

True. It doesn't make Windows Phone worse in any way. But it takes away exclusivity.

It's not that Windows Phone users want Cortana to become better, it's that they think it makes Windows Phone special and unique. They want Windows Phone to become a success, and they think that taking away this exclusivity is almost treason.

Well, users that care about those things that is. Most people haven't even heard of Cortana or Windows Phone 8.1.

Disclaimer: That's just how I interpret things, maybe I'm off. Personally I don't care about voice assistants.

It's not that, releasing it on other platforms removes a USP of Windows Phone.

[Sir William Wiener]

I could not disagree more with the OP. This will do no damage whatsoever to MS. It would be very foolish for MS to listen to the people who over-react on these forums. Everything that was said in the initial post made perfect sense to me, as did everything stated in the follow-up.

Microsoft is being foolish because they're following the model set by Blackberry (a company now in a tail spin) when they should be following and emulating the successful models set by Apple. When taking cues from competitors you're supposed to emulate the successful ones not the failing ones. Do we see Apple porting Siri or iMessage to Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8?

[Chregu]

It's not that, releasing it on other platforms removes a USP of Windows Phone.

Right. But why would you care as an user?

It doesn't make your product worse after all.

The most rational thing I can think of: As an user you want to become your platform to become successful that apps are coming to this platform and you get some updates. Personally I think it's usually more about being reassured to have made a good decision when buying your product.

Hence my assumption that people are more emotionally upset than rationally.

[FinancialP]

It's bad for WP as people won't move to WP if ALL of Microsoft's services are available on the platform they are currently using and they offer a better experience.

Ask Google how this is bad for them. All of their services are on iOS?

Then you are clearly in a minority as I'm not sure many people would be bothered and would just use what's built in.

Just like this forum. The vocal minority are the loudest.

True. It doesn't make Windows Phone worse in any way. But it takes away exclusivity.

It's not that Windows Phone users want Cortana to become better, it's that they think it makes Windows Phone special and unique. They want Windows Phone to become a success, and they think that taking away this exclusivity is almost treason.

Well, users that care about those things that is. Most people haven't even heard of Cortana or Windows Phone 8.1.

Disclaimer: That's just how I interpret things, maybe I'm off. Personally I don't care about voice assistants.

I understand you. We're just have a discussion, nothing personal. It's good to actually converse without someone name calling.

I see your point and hopefully you see mine.

Reality is most people don't care about exclusives.

Hubs? Semi live tiles? Office mobile...

[Sir William Wiener]

True. It doesn't make Windows Phone worse in any way. But it takes away exclusivity.

It's not that Windows Phone users want Cortana to become better, it's that they think it makes Windows Phone special and unique. They want Windows Phone to become a success, and they think that taking away this exclusivity is almost treason.

Well, users that care about those things that is. Most people haven't even heard of Cortana or Windows Phone 8.1.

Disclaimer: That's just how I interpret things, maybe I'm off. Personally I don't care about voice assistants.

It's bad because we don't see the US market leader (Apple) doing anything similar with Siri and iMessage. They could in theory increase their Siri and iMessage user base by porting it over to competitors, but in practice they know better. It would only serve to undermine their own product.