Microsoft is having trouble executing

I’ve been watching some of the old Apple keynotes from when Jobs just took over, especially the 1997 one, and I see some of what Apple was in what Microsoft was. Microsoft’s general ability to not execute, no unified plan, and general stagnation. Now, I do like Windows 7, and Office 2010, but what else has Microsoft done, especially considering that the smart phone market has exploded, and is starting to become rather important. And let’s not forget the web, and how Microsoft doesn’t have a strong enough presence. Microsoft is a big company, and is not going anywhere soon, but they need to make a few changes to stay competitive and create a good environment for their users.

Microsoft has some smart people, but they have to deal with the burocracy, and how large Microsoft is. I’m not saying that Microsoft needs to get smaller, but they need to focus on one thing at a time, and then they could

Bing: Stop making Bing only about search. Do you want to know why Google is so popular? It’s because they have a number of online apps, and give people a reason to use the search engine. What does Bing have? Hotmail? Bing Maps? Why not have some kind of RSS reader called Bing Reader? I think that would bring some people on over. Also, rip off iGoogle, and allow people to customize their home page, and have weather there, and such. Does Bing have a calendar? Not that I know of. Google is winning because they present a better online and combined experience. Bing barely offers anything except search, some maps, and Hotmail. Make some Bing mail, and have it be like Gmail in its simplicity and ease of use.

Zune: The Zune is good hardware, and ok software. But, there are two things that bother me. The Zune is not compatible with WMP12, and there are no commercials. Apple pummeled the public with iPod commercials, and now they are the king. The same with the iPhone; people know about it and think it is cool. People do not know about the Zune, and thus it is labeled as lame. Get some commercials out there (some good ones) and get the word out on what Zune can do. Also, I would make Zune work with WMP12. It doesn’t have to do all the wireless sync stuff, but just let me click and drag music and playlists over to it. That would be nice. Why don’t you throw in some commercials for Windows Phone 7 while you are at it as well.

Office: Office costs too much. Microsoft should sell Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for about 60$, about as much as a game. That way, people could more easily swallow it rather than steal it or use open office.

Phone: Make you own phone, but also let other people make a phone with your phone OS. That way you can have a flagship phone, and say this one will get upgraded faster, and such. This one is hard for me to comment on as I still have a dumb phone, so I think other people may have better ideas.

All and all, Microsoft just needs to focus on one thing at a time, and go all out with that one thing for a year plus, and then they will have a fighting chance for making it to the next level.