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Major Microsoft Re-Organization
Robert Scoble writes "Microsoft is unveiling a major reorganization today to help get Vista out the door. Some of the major changes include the appointing of three new officers to the three major divisions. The Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division will be led by Kevin Johnson and Jim Allchin as co-presidents; Jeff Raikes has been named president of the Microsoft Business Division; and Robbie Bach has been named as president of Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division. In addition, the company said Ray Ozzie will expand his role as chief technical officer by assuming responsibility for helping drive its software-based services strategy and execution across all three divisions."
Can you smell it? It's the smell of fear wafting in from Washington state. Either that or Ballmer is "fired up" again. Maybe both. Regardless, let's embrace this as an opportunity:
There may never have been a better time to dethrone Microsoft. If a large portion of the open source community dedicated themselves to a few extra hours a week towards the cause of "cutting off Microsoft's air supply," this would be a great time to unseat them.
We could give the meme/project a label. Since Microsoft has called thier project "Vista", perhaps we could call it "Hasta La Vista". (I'm sure there are more original suggestions out there, as I see that phrase tossed around by pundits.)
What can you do? If you develop software, dedicate yourself to some amount of extra hours a week towards key open source projects confronting Microsoft in its cash cows: Operating Systems and Office software.
If you are a non-programming techie, get involved in a non-programming way. Write documentation. Contribute to a forum. Make suggestions on new features. Test useability. Just make the pledge to donate a certain amount of "extra time" during Microsoft's crunch to crunch them.
If you don't work in tech, vow to break your Windows/Office dependence. Dedicate time each week to make sure that when Vista ships, you won't "need" it. Look at what features are stopping you from making the switch, and let the open source projects know they matter to you.
Everyone can make a difference. Help it happen.
If we roll up our sleeves, band together (if only in spirit), and get fired up about it, perhaps Microsoft will finally get what is due to them.
Microsoft is going to pressure its engineers to put in extra effort to get this polished turd out the door, so let's put in some extra effort to do what the US DOJ couldn't.