Ask HN: What do you want to tell Microsoft?

Create one edition of Windows at each release - at least keep it simple (stupid). Peope rarely figure out exactly what the differences are, what with abstruse spreadsheet explanations. When they finally get their hands on a version that isn't Ultimate, they are left with the feeling that they don't get the full experience, which detracts greatly from the joy of getting a new version of Windows.

In other words, it's detrimental to the brand and marketing of Windows - and Office, which seems to suffer from the same. There is no "Windows", "Windows 7" or "Office 2007" there is Basic, Somewhat Basic, Student, Enterprise, Ultimate, Blue, Purple, Turqoise, Cyan edition. I don't want Microsoft to be Apple, but just consider how easy iWorks and Mac OS X is to market by comparison. And fit into just one page.

I like that you'll call the next version of Windows "Windows 8", which, to me, is a step in the right direction. But the aforementioned is one of the many things that ensures that "corporate" will always be a part of a sentence about Microsoft.

I'm open to something along the lines of a "Private" and "Enterprise"/"Business" version, but I find it hard to believe that private super users won't want the features in the E/B edition. If you have to create separate versions, maybe you could make a "Basic" and "Advanced", which separates the users who don't need - or understand - the exclusive features from the companies and super users who do, and allows them to get a cheaper version without all the complex dingus.

(FWIW, I use Windows 7 and intend to do so for a while, but I'd love for Microsoft to be more of a start-up than a corporation. It feels complacent in some respects or just out of touch, which I assume is because it has to appeal to many platforms and customer types at the same time - but does it really have to show so much?)

I think PlayStation ads had the logo and a sound at the end of commercials for licensed games since the original PlayStation (although there was a voice that said "play station"). Even Wii ads have that though with the bowing i's in Wii and a sound effect. It seems to be a requirement for video game ads for branding. It's a good branding method, but it isn't distinctly Microsoft and they didn't originate it.

1. Don't buy Nokia; waste of money and no help in sorting out a mobile strategy 2. Port CE to ARM as soon as possible before the entire tablet/phone market is lost 3. Focus on the enterprise market where you potentially contribute value added and move out of consumer software apps which will all be free, web-based in five years 4. Focus all software development on smaller code that assumes no hard drive and 4GB or less of flash memory in the device; really understand products like Dropbox as a means to see a software strategy going forward 5. Abandon the strategy where all the software (Office, IE, etc) only runs on Windows

Be most sensible to others.

Isn't it? It wasn't back in Sun's days, but I've got more apps open in my browser right now than my dock, and so does the person beside me.