Ask HN: What do you want to tell Microsoft?

I would tell Microsoft to go back to their 90s mindset. Less focussed on big corporations, and more on getting (Windows) Microsoft software everywhere. Back then Microsoft was maybe an evil empire, but at least they did some exciting things from a developers viewpoint.

@Balmer: Get rid of .NET. There are people who use it, and some of them actually like it, but it will never become the huge success you thought it would become. This also means Silverlight has to go. The JIT compiler, with an open sourced assembly language, could get a 2nd life in the browser.

For a next OS, have a good long look at Windows 2000. Start from there, and instead of adding millions lines of code, start rewriting to make it smaller and faster. That way you end up with a valid OS to use on mobile devices.

Put more effort into your webbrowser. Make it so that it can be used for any type of application. Don't wait for W3C, if it's up to them we will have to wait till 2019 for a complete HTML5 specification. The other browser developers will either follow, and if not, developers will decide if they make a windows only application. Make the browser the default UI layer of Windows. This time to prevent nasty lawsuits, make it easy for others to add their own navigational toolbar.

So in short, instead of trying to protect business with windows locked in technology, be more open, and out develop the other companies. Become the company again, where it pays off to develop on your platform.

If you're pointed at data which suggests that laptop sales are declining significantly in parallel with the increase in tablet sales, I think you need to provide an argument a little more substantial than bluster.

There would seem to be some evidence that some of the people who have to choose now are migrating to tablets but the real test will be when they come to replace them having experienced both. Do they stay tablet or return to a laptop?

When it comes to Internet related technologies, Microsoft should stop trying to innovate in a Microsoft centric view of the Internet. Of couse this view does not help Microsoft promote their operating systems and tools but it does open them up to be more about standards everyone cares about and not just the Microsoft circle. There is so much innovation in web development in an ongoing basis, it doesn't make sense for Microsoft to always be playing catch-up or keeping their developer base only in their sandbox.

A good example of a Microsoft centric view of the web is when I was lobbied by Microsoft to add IE8 specific code for enhanced IE8 specific functionality to my site. "Other browsers will just ignore the tags" was the reply to my question about cross-browser compatibility. This is a wrong-headed view of the Internet. Make open standards that are valuable enough for everyone to adopt and lead in that area. IE8 only functionality doesn't help anyone but people who will only ever service IE8 users.

Their adoption of jQuery for use in their tools and participation in the community is a good example of where they are doing what I am advocating. Silverlight, on the other hand is an example of a Microsoft only view of the web.

I find my very smart, very talented Microsoft focused web developer friends are often late to the latest trends in web development because they're so focused on what Microsoft is doing and not where the Internet in general is going. I'm sure this is not representative of everyone who is a Microsoft focused developer, but it does seem to be a case with a majority of people I speak with in that area.

An html5 based extension system similar to chrome or safari so that extensions are easily portable between the browsers.

First let me say that I'm a big user of MS technology, I actually one of the few that calls myself an MS fanboy. Xbox owner since 2001, Xbox Live subscriber since 2002, coding in .NET with VS since 2005, Windows machines, etc etc. However I own an iPhone and an iPad. They are the best in class for what they offer.

Here's a very very practical idea that MS can implement very soon: Xbox Live App Store. MS already has 40+ million 360's connected to people's televisions. You have the Indie Game section, and there are some non-games there, but the quality is pretty poor. First off, broaden the scope officially to "Apps" and make them a first class citizen in the dashboard. Market the area, support the area. Just look at what Apple is doing with the iTunes app store and iteratively improve upon that. Also, give indy developers access to Kinect libraries ASAP. Essentially with Kinect, you can do to the TV what Apple did to the Phone - made the advanced "smart" capabilities accessible to everyone. And open it up to developers in a big way because you don't have the resources to make everything yourself. I really can't stress how cool this would be, and how game changing it would be for the "set top box" experience.

Here are a few "big" ideas that I'd like from MS that are more out there: 1) an all you can eat digital media subscription. I would pay up to $100/month to be able to watch any movie (in HD), play any game (PC or 360), read any book I want to, or listen to any music anytime that I want on any device I want. I don't care to own anything or build up any collections. I just want to be able to consume the media that I want to in a ridiculously convenient way that is actually reasonably affordable.

2) Where my physical person is my representation in meatspace, my facebook profile is my representation in cyberspace, my phone should be my representation in digital space. When I walk into a room with my phone every device around me should be aware of my phone and extend my phone's functionality. Let me put it this way: my phone contains a display, speakers, camera, etc. If there is a better display in the room then let me use that display instead of my phone's. If there are better speakers in the space then let me use those speakers instead of the phone's. etc. Essentially "explode" the phone's physical device into the surrounding better devices so you effectively have a "super phone" wherever you are. And subsequently you "collapse" the phone when no such compatible devices are around.

3) somehow get rid of bandwidth caps. Fast ubiquitous wireless with no bandwidth caps would be amazing 3b) somehow make the above reasonably priced no matter if you're "roaming" in another country or whatever

Now for minor complaints: 1) Windows sucks for battery life. OSX is awesome for battery life. This is one of the major reasons why Apple can make decently powerful laptops in a nice form factor. 2) WHY do I have to reboot my computer for every damn little update? It severely impacts my enjoyment of my Windows computers.