Embrace our UI innovations

Also: Eliminate the problem of DLL Hell; masters of the schema
Date: 1999

Snippet
>From Eric Rudder Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 9:56 AM To: Bill Gates Subject: latest draft, just to have

The Next Wave.doc

The Next Wave

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3 Establishing the Windows Schema

The idea of a schema is straightforward: it allows us to make intelligent use of data, so that greater integration is possible, data can be put to more uses more easily and more data becomes accessable (through late binding). Once we know that data exists, we want to use it. If we know nothing about that data, we're pretty much hamstrung. If, on the other hand, that data has an identifiable schema, then we can make intelligent use of it. For many of the kinds of data we would store on the typical Windows machine, we'd also have the appropriate set of schema definitions stored as a part of Windows. There will be standard schema for a number of common things; where these things are truly generic, we should define the standard. But each standard must also be extensible, and we must make many of these extensions.

We ensure our ability to add value by ensuring that we are masters of the schema. We can move away from complex object models, complex APIs and proprietary formats, replacing them all by schema, but we only get value in doing so if we effectivly own the schema.

Of course, we'll publish these schema, and perhaps some will be totally standard, totally available for general use. On the other hand, many schema will be private to us, legally owned by us and indubitably controlled by us. That way, there is a serious of natural leverage points for our products: if you have Windows, you'll want to get Office; if you have Office, you'll want to use our services; if you use our services, you'll want to run a CE-based PDA, etc.

We have a strong tradition of owning the platform by owning the ISV's, because they write to our API. Now that API advantage is being eroed, and it's actually highly unlikely that another foray into the API world (c.f. WFC) will win us any more customers. On the other hand, if we show customers, developers and system integrators the brave new world of developing, deploying and using WIndows systems where applications make use of the standard set of schema we provide in Windows, we effectivly move theAPI battle to a different front - the schema is the API. Don't be fooled - we still have competitors, as both IBM and Oracle understand this point. But it is not clear yet that everyone does, and of course it flies in the face of Sun's JAva strategy - hence Sun's constant scrambling to tie XML and JAva inexorably.

In the long term, then, we must ensure that we have defined schema for all objects and events of generic use - our systems (this ranges from schema for cards in a PC through schema for UI generation and schema formanagement events, to schema for system calls), our applications (so that Word's object model, for example, is supplanted by its schema - one can always get to the OM from the schema, if necessary), and our services (we'll define a name, an address, a hotmail user, a credit card, etc.)

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We have along way to go and a short time to get there ...

>From Eric Rudder Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 9:56 AM To: Bill Gates Subject: latest draft, just to have

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2.2 Attacking Complexity

In addition to defining some new areas of excitment, like Activity Centers there are some other areas where we need to continue to enhance the user experience. I will mention just a few. Our PC health initiative means cleaning up the 'error' experience, both preventing errors, and truly helping to fix problems when they occur. We need to continue to leverage Windows Update.. We need to once and for all eliminate the problem of 'DLL Hell' - this means delivering COM+ Deployment, a.k.a Fusion, in timely manner.

>From Eric Rudder Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 9:56 AM To: Bill Gates Subject: latest draft, just to have

The Next Wave.doc

The Next Wave

We have many good new technologies being developed in our product pipeline. However, we seem to be lacking a strategy where we make the whole greated then the sub of its parts. At a time when our core franchises are under such strong attack from competitors, this situation is especially painful.

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2. The user experience

We must innovate in the user inteface, as well as continue to attack some of the complexity that we (and indeed, the entire industry) have created.

2.1 User Interface

Windows has long presented a rich user interface that has been embraced and ado by both end users and application developers. With the rise in popularity of web-based paradigms, developers are now building applications that do not uniquely leverage our UI infrastructure. HTML delivery of UI is seen to be a universal panacea, because it theoretically allows for greater system independence in all ways - operating system, graphic capability, browser version, devce form factor, etc. The fact that this is an illusion does not make our task any simpler. We must compel ISV's, both "traditional" and "modern", to embrace our UI innovations. Our challenge is no less than the need to re-establish thought leadership in user interface design.

We are currently investing in new UI design in a few different areas. We can deliver many aspects of these innovations in Millennium and refine them in Neptune, so long as our @high concepts@ are sucessfull. Amoung the user interface innitiaves in the company today are;

* Neptune - Activity Centers, etc * ePad - New metaphor of links * Agent - Engaging the user in a dialogue.

Our goal for the next generation of UI must take the best from all of these efforts, and deliver an incredibly compelling overall experience for both the novice and the experienced user. Some specific goals are outlined below.

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2.2 Attacking Complexity

In addition to defining some new areas of excitment, like Activity Centers there are some other areas where we need to continue to enhance the user experience. I will mention just a few. Our PC health initiative means cleaning up the 'error' experience, both preventing errors, and truly helping to fix problems when they occur. We need to continue to leverage Windows Update.. We need to once and for all eliminate the problem of 'DLL Hell' - this means delivering COM+ Deployment, a.k.a Fusion, in timely manner.

2.3 A Big Bet

Talk about speech/hw/vision here?

3 Establishing the Windows Schema

Full Exhibit
http://boycottnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/px03073.pdf