This year's Microsoft developer conference was bolder and brasher than Apple's—methinks; Steve Ballmer's crew is more forthcoming with information than was Steve Jobs' gang.
Apple's developer conference, where the CEO unveiled the iPhone 3G, was closed to the press. Participants agreed to NDAs. By stark contrast, Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference was open to the press, and pretty much anything and everything was public. Secretive Apple tightly holds close its future product plans, while Microsoft revealed information that competitors could use before new products reach market, such as Office Web, Windows Azure and Windows 7.
Contrasting styles are just the beginning of the differences. Microsoft articulated the clearest strategy I've seen anywhere for the PC, mobile device and Web service. Apple has got nothing even close. But for all Microsoft's talk, there is no real mobile strategy. Yet. By contrast, Apple's mobile strategy is well-formed and rapidly expanding.
6 Comments - Add comment