I used to be a huge Microsoftie. Once, at a conference, I won a raffle of any Microsoft software title on displayed on the table. Instead of taking Word or even Access, I took the Microsoft logo hat (also on display) so that I could proudly display my Microsoft loyalty whilst walking around. However, that was before my experience with XP.
I tried to upgrade a couple of the home PCs from Windows 98 to XP. Technically it went great until the "trial" period ended and all of them went dark. I just couldn't see paying a license for PCs from the mid-90's so that my 5 year old could surf Disney.com.
I switched to Ubuntu on the PCs and my even older laptop and haven't been happier. That was pretty much the end of my love affair with Microsoft. Until last weekend...Halo 3 comes out today and honestly I can't wait. My son and I have navigated the first two narratives together and we're both ready for the third.
Last weekend, I went out and gave MSFT $449 of my money for the Xbox 360 system so that we could get it up and running for tonight's Halo marathon. They keep finding ways to get my money. Now, Microsoft is looking to get into VoIP. It may seem like they are spreading themselves too thin, but they've actually been there before.
That's a picture of the Microsoft Phone base station. It plugged into the serial port on a PC and had a 900MHz phone that worked with it. As long as the PC was on, the PC speakers would do text-to-speech on the inbound caller-ID name. The PC held an address book for easy click to call access. My guess on the year is 1997. Does anyone else remember this product? I am obviously one of the few people who purchased it.
But now, they're back at it. This time, however, it's software, not hardware. The details are still sketchy, but they are telling you not to forklift your existing PBX, but to just add some Microsoft software to it to make it VoIP. Personally, my favorite part of VoIP is that I have a phone in the office, a phone in the home office and a soft-phone on my laptop. All are "me". I doubt that you can get that same geographical independence if your phones are all hard-wired into the PBX.
Yes, I would much rather run a phone system on Linux than on a Windows box any day, but this is Microsoft, so we can't write them off before we've even seen it. Microsoft obviously has deep pockets and a keen business sense. They will launch the product and after a disappointing debut cut and run, a la the Microsoft Phone, or if successful, continue to support it a la, Halo. You can never repeat a first love once it has soured, but they do find a way to keep me coming back for more. Now, it is time to go spend some quality time with my son and Master Chief.