I’m on something of a mission (…okay… Yet another mission in search of an shadowy and uncertain technology solution).
Mind you, this herculean effort was founded and is now well-seated in stubborness to match my insatiable curiosity for how things work, and potentially can work better.
Consider this recent blog post as point-of-reference:
Microsoft is currently not the Solution
From my perspective, we are faced with such an obvious productivity problem. And, Microsoft’s inability or unwillingness to solve it 
leaves me perplexed. That said, I suspect that the driving reason Microsoft has dug-in it’s heels with this is because it’s leadership is ← “balmy”. I could not resist that. This flaw in their product development strategy is an enormous barrier to adopting their new and evolving products.
to wit…
No surprise: Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer doesn’t make list of top 50 CEOs; approval rating is still under 50%
In any event, I’ll share a recent text messaging exchange I had with the inestimable Aaron Masih this past weekend pertaining to this matter:
Cork: “This is a fiasco. Evidently there is no way to export a simple vCard or complete contact from Apple to Office 365 or Outlook for that matter. Even if you use Gmail as an intermediary you lose data – most notably – the contacts picture. I’ve come to the conclusion that Microsoft somehow does not understand this keeps people from joining or coming back to their platform. It’s an obnoxious barrier that makes them stand alone. Having said that, Office 365 does blend Facebook contacts which generates the image, but only if you use that social media platform. However, no integration yet with Google+, for example.”
Aaron: “Interesting discovery…sorry to hear about your bumps. There is still a “Mac vs. Everything Else” set of solutions that, regardless of where the culpability lies, results in both sides digging in their heels at the expense of people like you and me that just want a true seamless experience.”
Cork: By the way… A reason I’m going through all this is I love my new Nexus 7 better than my iPad. So I started to investigate other devices. I’m intrigued by the Lenovo Yoga. But I need contacts I can use across all three Operating Systems. Gmail might be the only answer.
Aaron: “And as much as I hate to admit it, I think Google is the one who has the greatest chance of coming close, and to benefit the greatest from doing so…”
Cork: Maybe… All the other platforms appear to integrate now. Microsoft appears to be a hold-out. But that’s likely because they are desperately holding onto their user base (if you leave, it’s hard to come back (that evil empire mentality). Ironically there is little chatter about it on the Internet because people don’t care any more.
Cork: Have you seem the Samsung Smart TV? Google and Samsung make a very powerful combo – although my Nexus is an Asus product.
Aaron: Google still lags behind in their work with Cupertino vs their work with Redmond. And some say it’s not all Google’s fault…
Yep; they use Nuance for voice and gesture ironically… Nice TV though.
Cork: https://altomail.com from AOL might be an answer.
Aaron: I’ll check it out this afternoon …gotta go get ready for church. AOL isn’t dead yet…
And, the matter found continued life with the following (this began with the aforementioned blog post and an update on Linkedin):
Allan Tsang: What’s wrong with Gmail? I have not used outlook for over 5-6 years. Works on all the platforms I use. I had to use Outlook 3 years ago while consulting for a company for a few months. I’ve been looking into the AOL altra or something like that. Need to spend some time with it. I have plug ins with Gmail that puls contact’s linkedin tweeter Facebook info on the side instantly… Love it.
Michael Hunter: Yes, Mr Cork – the perspective is that your standards are far to high and confounds companies like Microsoft who have never “really” felt the customer needed to be part of their daily experience. Witness 97, 2000, Vista – etc. in SF will check for you when I get back, or perhaps while here if the right talent shows up.
8 hours ago
Brian Patrick Cork: Thank you Michael. You never cease to amaze me in therms of how engaged with life and relevant you are. We are, collectively, in good hands with men such as yourself.
In fact Allan, Gmail is looking more-and-more like the only platform we can all use across multiple operating systems. We just need to be rid of the “Google” branding, and I guess we’ll be okay. That said, the next issue is me wanting to keep my iCal and Google not being willing (or visa-versa) to integrate with that App. In this case it will be all Google, or nothing – which if you are familiar with my blogging, will require some soul-searching. By the way… AOL’s Alto Mail (https://altomail.com) is slick with it’s “stacks”, once they offer multiple domain integration.
Allan Tsang: “My iCal on my ipad integrates with Gmail and android phone cal very well. In fact I enter most of my events on my phone and it is synced across platform. I use my phone over 90% of my time I know you’re not crazy about Google. I am technology agnostic. Looks like you’re heading that way. Stop fighting it:-)”.
Brian Patrick Cork: Thanks for that insight, Allan. I suspect you are likely right about me needing to be open-minded and open-hearted about Google.
Stay tuned. And, hope for the best from all of these paragons of technology prowess and innovation.
Let’s be part of the Solution.
brian patrick cork
Related articles
- Microsoft is currently not the Solution (briancorkhumancapital.com)
- Microsoft’s Outlook takes aim at Google’s Gmail (sfgate.com)
- Google throws a barb at Microsoft with the new “Gmail Blue” (phonearena.com)
- Google and Microsoft trade insults for April Fools (theverge.com)
- Another Battle In The Google Vs. Microsoft Cloud War [Infographic] (readwrite.com)
- End in Sight for Hotmail? (foxnews.com)
