Arrington, at TechCrunch, likes the MSFT gadgets the best

November 1, 2005 By

Arrington just posted his review of the Microsoft news today. He was most excited by the gadgets. That’s what gets me too!

A few weeks back I interviewed the team that was doing the gadgets. That really is a significant part of the Live announcement that was made today. Imagine tons of gadgets that do interesting things. You can put them on your desktop. Or on Live.com. Or on your sidebar.

Filed Under: Blog Tips, development, Microsoft Office, Russia, streaming, Web
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  • Dvorak C. Thurrot
  • Dvorak C. Thurrot
  • Dvorak C. Thurrot
  • Dvorak C. Thurrot
  • Ron M.

    I think the OSX dashboard widgets on your desktop thing looks a bit nicer. The whole portal gadget thing is so Yahoo circa 2001.

    Methinks that a certain scoble is jealously craving some of that unshared attention that Google is hoarding! ;)

  • Ron M.

    I think the OSX dashboard widgets on your desktop thing looks a bit nicer. The whole portal gadget thing is so Yahoo circa 2001.

    Methinks that a certain scoble is jealously craving some of that unshared attention that Google is hoarding! ;)

  • Tetra

    Yeah, the gadget/widget path is well-worn. It’s going to be a tough sell to PC-based Konfabulator fans and it’s another thing for Apple folks to lord over Microsoft folks for doing it sooner (and, arguably, better).

  • Tetra

    Yeah, the gadget/widget path is well-worn. It’s going to be a tough sell to PC-based Konfabulator fans and it’s another thing for Apple folks to lord over Microsoft folks for doing it sooner (and, arguably, better).

  • Ron M.

    But this time it’s different – Scoble is EXCITED! Yay! :)

  • Ron M.

    But this time it’s different – Scoble is EXCITED! Yay! :)

  • Goebbels

    “Imagine tons of gadgets that do interesting things. ”

    We’re forced to do a lot of “‘maginin’” with this significant new announcement, aren’t we? Even you are ‘magining it still…

    Why?

    Most of this is already available with better execution. Haven’t you softies gotten out of Redmond lately?

  • Goebbels

    “Imagine tons of gadgets that do interesting things. ”

    We’re forced to do a lot of “‘maginin’” with this significant new announcement, aren’t we? Even you are ‘magining it still…

    Why?

    Most of this is already available with better execution. Haven’t you softies gotten out of Redmond lately?

  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Tetra: our gadgets are different than Konfabulator.

  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Tetra: our gadgets are different than Konfabulator.

  • Ron M.

    Yeah, Tetra, Scoble’s gadgets are webbier!! And you need to have your web browser open! And you need IE!

  • Ron M.

    Yeah, Tetra, Scoble’s gadgets are webbier!! And you need to have your web browser open! And you need IE!

  • Ron M.

    I think the whole web gadgets thing might not be such a bust if they supported cool APIs like Dashboard’s canvas widget (available in Safari, Firefox 1.5 and possibly Opera too) and/or SVG (available in Firefox 1.5 as well). The square webby gadget is boring!

  • Ron M.

    I think the whole web gadgets thing might not be such a bust if they supported cool APIs like Dashboard’s canvas widget (available in Safari, Firefox 1.5 and possibly Opera too) and/or SVG (available in Firefox 1.5 as well). The square webby gadget is boring!

  • Christopher Coulter

    Whoooooo, stupid web-portalish widgets, without even a memory-hog dekstop app like Yahoo or Stardock. Amateur Hour at the O’Microsoft Corral. Stop the world and watch it melt.

  • Tetra

    “Scoble: our gadgets are different than Konfabulator.”

    Okay. How?

  • Christopher Coulter

    Whoooooo, stupid web-portalish widgets, without even a memory-hog dekstop app like Yahoo or Stardock. Amateur Hour at the O’Microsoft Corral. Stop the world and watch it melt.

  • Tetra

    “Scoble: our gadgets are different than Konfabulator.”

    Okay. How?

  • Ron M.

    Chris: hahaha… I like “amateur hour” phrase. The whole start.com thing reeks of alpha-quality, amateur coding. The guys at 37signals and 43things (can’t remember the numbers) are putting out stuff order of magnitude better than this!

  • Ron M.

    Chris: hahaha… I like “amateur hour” phrase. The whole start.com thing reeks of alpha-quality, amateur coding. The guys at 37signals and 43things (can’t remember the numbers) are putting out stuff order of magnitude better than this!

  • Christopher Coulter

    And Salesforce magnitudes better than them. ;)

  • Christopher Coulter

    And Salesforce magnitudes better than them. ;)

  • Ron M.

    I just checked out the site. I think the salesforce guys really are light years ahead!

    Why is Microsoft working on a portal when the pack leaders are off to bigger and better things? They missed the chance to scoop the world on AJAX mail (Oddpost whalloped them on that count) and came out with sloppy seconds.

  • Ron M.

    I just checked out the site. I think the salesforce guys really are light years ahead!

    Why is Microsoft working on a portal when the pack leaders are off to bigger and better things? They missed the chance to scoop the world on AJAX mail (Oddpost whalloped them on that count) and came out with sloppy seconds.

  • http://edico.blogspot.com/ Stefan Constantinescu

    so video interview the office live team, or the live team, who are they, do they have a blog?

  • http://edico.blogspot.com/ Stefan Constantinescu

    so video interview the office live team, or the live team, who are they, do they have a blog?

  • http://bryanrieger.com/ Bryan Rieger

    I first saw this a couple of hours ago and quickly (very quickly) came to many of the same conclusions listed here. So portal-like, other Web2.0 folks are miles ahead, it ain’t no Dashboard/Konfabulator – but then I went for a coffee and for some reason ended up spending the better part of an hour exploring the live and widgets sites. I’m probably dead wrong, but I really do believe there is something very different about what Microsoft is trying to do. It may not have the initial wow factor that Dashboard or Ruby on Rails have enjoyed within the geek community – but from an end-user perspective this is revolutionary stuff that will have an impact on how average users perceive the web/Internet/desktop.

    Personally, if Microsoft is willing to open up and allow others to play in it’s sandbox (data in and out) then I’m really interested to see where this might be going.

  • http://bryanrieger.com Bryan Rieger

    I first saw this a couple of hours ago and quickly (very quickly) came to many of the same conclusions listed here. So portal-like, other Web2.0 folks are miles ahead, it ain’t no Dashboard/Konfabulator – but then I went for a coffee and for some reason ended up spending the better part of an hour exploring the live and widgets sites. I’m probably dead wrong, but I really do believe there is something very different about what Microsoft is trying to do. It may not have the initial wow factor that Dashboard or Ruby on Rails have enjoyed within the geek community – but from an end-user perspective this is revolutionary stuff that will have an impact on how average users perceive the web/Internet/desktop.

    Personally, if Microsoft is willing to open up and allow others to play in it’s sandbox (data in and out) then I’m really interested to see where this might be going.

  • http://www.makeyougohmm.com/ TDavid

    “Personally, if Microsoft is willing to open up and allow others to play in it’s sandbox (data in and out) then I’m really interested to see where this might be going.”

    I agree, Bryan, but there is a big inherent ***IF*** based on history. Hopefully the leopard can change its spots.

  • http://www.makeyougohmm.com/ TDavid

    “Personally, if Microsoft is willing to open up and allow others to play in it’s sandbox (data in and out) then I’m really interested to see where this might be going.”

    I agree, Bryan, but there is a big inherent ***IF*** based on history. Hopefully the leopard can change its spots.

  • Tetra

    “…but from an end-user perspective this is revolutionary stuff that will have an impact on how average users perceive the web/Internet/desktop.”

    I don’t mean to sound flippant, but I hear ‘stock phrases’ like this used and I really can’t make sense of it. What end-user perspective are you talking about? What’s the revolutionary aspect? How exactly does this impact the internet & desktop relationship beyond the current Web 2.0 and AJAX projects around the web?

    All I’m hearing now is “Gabbo is great! You won’t be able to live without it!” I’m genuinely interested that you feel so positively about this Live project and I’d appreciate it if you could convey why.

  • Tetra

    “…but from an end-user perspective this is revolutionary stuff that will have an impact on how average users perceive the web/Internet/desktop.”

    I don’t mean to sound flippant, but I hear ‘stock phrases’ like this used and I really can’t make sense of it. What end-user perspective are you talking about? What’s the revolutionary aspect? How exactly does this impact the internet & desktop relationship beyond the current Web 2.0 and AJAX projects around the web?

    All I’m hearing now is “Gabbo is great! You won’t be able to live without it!” I’m genuinely interested that you feel so positively about this Live project and I’d appreciate it if you could convey why.

  • http://www.psynixis.com/blog/ Simon Brocklehurst

    Wow! I’m really thinking either people aren’t getting this at all (or I’ve got it completely wrong!). My take on MSFT’s announcement is on my blog ( http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=33 – Windows Live – The First Disruptive “Web 2.0″ Technology?)

  • http://www.psynixis.com/blog/ Simon Brocklehurst

    Wow! I’m really thinking either people aren’t getting this at all (or I’ve got it completely wrong!). My take on MSFT’s announcement is on my blog ( http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=33 – Windows Live – The First Disruptive “Web 2.0″ Technology?)

  • http://bryanrieger.com/ Bryan Rieger

    Ah… yes, ‘revolutionary’ is definately a loaded word. I probably should have thought twice about that. However, I’m not entirely sure that I still wouldn’t have used it. Here’s why:

    1) the concept of user installable web applets (Gadgets) that allow users to customize and extend their ‘portal’ site is really interesting. Granted much of this has been done (poorly) in previous portals (Yahoo!) and some of this is being done well in many Web 2.0 apps (JotSpot, etc) but there’s something about being able to plug-in other Javascript/XML apps from other vendors/sites that I REALLY like.

    http://microsoftgadgets.com/blogs/gadgetnews/articles/377.aspx

    2) while the drag + drop, AJAX stuff has been done better (and x-platform from the beginning) in many Web 2.0 apps, having Microsoft adopt this way of working instead of forcing another ActiveX contrived, Windows only solution is definately a step in the right direction. Of course, they do have that awful sounding ‘WinFX everywhere presentation layer thing’ that I’m really not looking forward to however…

    3) a comment from Bill G that hopefully won’t be forgotten, “…but also that developers on other web platforms could as easily integrate data from Microsoft applications and services into their user experience.) Bill Gates replied with puzzlement, “Of course. There’s no difference between syndicating out and syndicating in. It’s just XML.”

    http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/11/live_software.html

    As for the end-user perspective I’m talking about is that of everyday, normal people who just need to get things done. My mother-in-law who hates installing software, my best friend who can’t be bothered installing or upgrading anything (Skype, Firefox, etc.) and my wife who couldn’t care less about Web 2.0, AJAX or any other technology of the day.

    Lastly, regarding the impact on the internet + desktop, IMO the very fact that these ARE web apps from Microsoft is telling enough. I highly doubt that anybody couldn’t live without these offerings (or any current Web 2.0 app at the moment) – but as a sign of things to come I think having Microsoft engaged in the conversation is a big win for everybody.

    As I said, I’m probably dead wrong – but I’d love to be proven correct.

  • http://bryanrieger.com Bryan Rieger

    Ah… yes, ‘revolutionary’ is definately a loaded word. I probably should have thought twice about that. However, I’m not entirely sure that I still wouldn’t have used it. Here’s why:

    1) the concept of user installable web applets (Gadgets) that allow users to customize and extend their ‘portal’ site is really interesting. Granted much of this has been done (poorly) in previous portals (Yahoo!) and some of this is being done well in many Web 2.0 apps (JotSpot, etc) but there’s something about being able to plug-in other Javascript/XML apps from other vendors/sites that I REALLY like.

    http://microsoftgadgets.com/blogs/gadgetnews/articles/377.aspx

    2) while the drag + drop, AJAX stuff has been done better (and x-platform from the beginning) in many Web 2.0 apps, having Microsoft adopt this way of working instead of forcing another ActiveX contrived, Windows only solution is definately a step in the right direction. Of course, they do have that awful sounding ‘WinFX everywhere presentation layer thing’ that I’m really not looking forward to however…

    3) a comment from Bill G that hopefully won’t be forgotten, “…but also that developers on other web platforms could as easily integrate data from Microsoft applications and services into their user experience.) Bill Gates replied with puzzlement, “Of course. There’s no difference between syndicating out and syndicating in. It’s just XML.”

    http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/11/live_software.html

    As for the end-user perspective I’m talking about is that of everyday, normal people who just need to get things done. My mother-in-law who hates installing software, my best friend who can’t be bothered installing or upgrading anything (Skype, Firefox, etc.) and my wife who couldn’t care less about Web 2.0, AJAX or any other technology of the day.

    Lastly, regarding the impact on the internet + desktop, IMO the very fact that these ARE web apps from Microsoft is telling enough. I highly doubt that anybody couldn’t live without these offerings (or any current Web 2.0 app at the moment) – but as a sign of things to come I think having Microsoft engaged in the conversation is a big win for everybody.

    As I said, I’m probably dead wrong – but I’d love to be proven correct.

  • http://edico.blogspot.com/ Stefan Constantinescu

    My conclusion is:

    New catagory, it isn’t a web app, it isn’t a desktop app. It is a service, one that brings these two seperate, current, ideas together allowing for more free form user interaction. In essence letting the user have a more fluid experiance.

  • http://edico.blogspot.com/ Stefan Constantinescu

    My conclusion is:

    New catagory, it isn’t a web app, it isn’t a desktop app. It is a service, one that brings these two seperate, current, ideas together allowing for more free form user interaction. In essence letting the user have a more fluid experiance.

  • Jake

    This stuff is really going to make Orbitz, Continental.com, Citibank, ml.com, NY Times, Amazon.com, webex, salesforce.com, My Yahoo, Flickr, and Google that much better? How again?

    When I’m on Windows and IE (the walled garden) working on these web sites, it’s a race with fate that something doesn’t tick off IE to the point of locking up Windows Explorer and all IE sessions at the same time. Why would I want to complicate things and increase risk by sticking in my own dancing baloney?

  • Jake

    This stuff is really going to make Orbitz, Continental.com, Citibank, ml.com, NY Times, Amazon.com, webex, salesforce.com, My Yahoo, Flickr, and Google that much better? How again?

    When I’m on Windows and IE (the walled garden) working on these web sites, it’s a race with fate that something doesn’t tick off IE to the point of locking up Windows Explorer and all IE sessions at the same time. Why would I want to complicate things and increase risk by sticking in my own dancing baloney?

  • Dave

    “… it isn’t a web app, it isn’t a desktop app…”

    Yep. But the extremely poor demo left most people saying only this:

    “It ain’t no app at all yet.”

    The best term for what was shown? Vaporware. Could bbe that it will be something someday, but not today.

    Extremely poor job communicating your message Microsoft. Extremely poor.

  • Dave

    “… it isn’t a web app, it isn’t a desktop app…”

    Yep. But the extremely poor demo left most people saying only this:

    “It ain’t no app at all yet.”

    The best term for what was shown? Vaporware. Could bbe that it will be something someday, but not today.

    Extremely poor job communicating your message Microsoft. Extremely poor.

  • Christopher Coulter

    A good read…

    Software vision ain’t what it used to be at Microsoft

    Live software is pure Web 2.0 pop culture. It’s based on a well-established “service in the cloud” architecture that fuses – and confuses – things already in the market – from IM, social networking, downloadable music services and blogs to hosted email, business intelligence and customer relationship management (CRM) services.

    http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/11/02/software_live_microsoft/

  • Christopher Coulter

    A good read…

    Software vision ain’t what it used to be at Microsoft

    Live software is pure Web 2.0 pop culture. It’s based on a well-established “service in the cloud” architecture that fuses – and confuses – things already in the market – from IM, social networking, downloadable music services and blogs to hosted email, business intelligence and customer relationship management (CRM) services.

    http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/11/02/software_live_microsoft/

  • http://pbeltrao.blogspot.com/ Pedro Beltrao

    Now .. if they (amazon, ebay, google, yahoo, MS, etc) all got together and agreed to merge their identifiers. I hate having to log in to all of these. Make it really about innovation and not about who can grab my attention and my data and lock me into their services.

  • http://pbeltrao.blogspot.com/ Pedro Beltrao

    Now .. if they (amazon, ebay, google, yahoo, MS, etc) all got together and agreed to merge their identifiers. I hate having to log in to all of these. Make it really about innovation and not about who can grab my attention and my data and lock me into their services.

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