QOTD: What one question would you ask Steve Ballmer?

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Shaun

What would you ask Steve Ballmer about Windows Phone? I would ask if he has a clear strategy or is he willing to continue pebble dashing ideas until one sticks.

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7 Responses to QOTD: What one question would you ask Steve Ballmer?

  1. Chris says:
    May 13, 2011 at 9:58 am

    When will Microsoft support business users who want to use WP7 but cannot sync the new phones with Microsoft Outlook via USB. Not everyone wants to sync to the Cloud – for confidentiality and data protection issues.

  2. Philippa says:
    May 13, 2011 at 10:54 am

    I’d ask when they are going to start leading the competition instead of following and making half-assed copies. Xbox live is about the only thing I can think of where they are obviously head and shoulders above the competition. OS development, phones, UI etc. are all behind.

  3. DavidGreen says:
    May 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    @Chris – Good point! I wasn’t aware of that pathetic limitation. Another reason to avoid WP7.

    I would be wondering why all the strange hardware limitations were insisted upon. No extra hardware buttons, no expandable memory changes. And why doesn’t Metro work in landscape?

  4. Neil says:
    May 13, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    When will Microsoft support business users who want to use WP7 but cannot sync the new phones with Microsoft Outlook via USB.

    Perhaps my ignorance showing through – is this saying that the user is not willing to sync the phone via USB, or that that is no longer supported?

    Similarly, in terms of “the Cloud” – a rather nebulous concept! – do most businesses not run a PIM server, to which the device can sync?

  5. Chris says:
    May 14, 2011 at 10:11 am

    In reply to Neil: it is not possible to sync a WP7 phone to Outlook by USB connection – this was possible with previous windows mobile phones. You need to set up a windows live, or Google account to sync contacts and diary data. The ability to sync with Outlook directly via USB to a PC is possible with Android and IOS phones. I now use an Android phone, which is Microsoft’s loss. I use Outlook extensively and would expect Microsoft to support their users properly. I wish to sync data from my phone to my PC, not via a third party with the concomitant risks.

  6. Neil says:
    May 14, 2011 at 10:13 am

    it is not possible to sync a WP7 phone to Outlook by USB connection

    Wow…. I can understand why Microsoft might want to look at “cloud” solutions, but I am surprised that they force users in this direction.

    I’m in the same boat as you – I would not be prepared to use Windows Live or Gmail to get my email on a device, since I am not particularly trusting of third party services for managing my own data.

  7. DavidGreen says:
    May 14, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    Another one I’d ask would be; Given all the limitations, issues and poor features of the WP7 OS, how on earth did you convince Nokia to use it on their next phones?