# getwired.com

> A little bit of this. A little bit of that.


## Posts

- [I hear the train a comin'](https://getwired.com/2012/05/18/i-hear-the-train-a-comin/): Many years ago, when I worked at Microsoft, I took a trip with a person several rungs up my management chain to talk to a software vendor.
- [Goodbye, Google World.](https://getwired.com/2012/05/12/goodbye-google-world/): In my blog last weekend, I set out to discuss whether I could quit Google's software and services.
- [Can I Quit Google?](https://getwired.com/2012/05/05/can-i-quit-google/): If you asked me a few years ago about Google, odds are I would talk your ear off about privacy, about how Google aggregates your life together in a manner you can't imagine.
- [Windows, Apple, and Architectural Escape Velocity](https://getwired.com/2012/05/04/windows-apple-and-architectural-escape-velocity/): In January of 2011, I wrote my first suppositions about "Windows 8" and the ARM processor architecture.
- [User Interfaces - Pencils down](https://getwired.com/2012/04/26/user-interfaces-pencils-down/): In 1998, while on vacation, I recall having an idea about a new kind of computer.
- [The fairest test I've ever given Windows 8. On my iPad?](https://getwired.com/2012/04/15/the-fairest-test-ive-ever-given-windows-8-on-my-ipad/): On Friday Morning, Splashtop introduced a new application, the Win8 Metro Testbed - powered by Splashtop.
- [Force me to use a Mobile Site? Y U Hate Me?](https://getwired.com/2012/04/11/force-me-to-use-a-mobile-site-y-u-hate-me/): I don't have a Ph.D. in ergonomics. I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
- [Windows application installers - the "sanitation engineers" of Windows](https://getwired.com/2012/04/09/windows-application-installers-the-sanitation-engineers-of-windows/): For most of my career at Microsoft, I worked as a Program Manager on Windows Setup. No, not the Windows installer.
- [I'm sorry I missed your call (or, why my office telephone makes me feel stupid)](https://getwired.com/2012/04/05/im-sorry-i-missed-your-call-or-why-my-office-telephone-makes-me-feel-stupid/): This is my office phone. See the red light? Most people who know me know that the best way to reach me is always my cell phone or email (or Twitter).
- [A Law Firm's Twitter Spam Army - hiding in plain sight](https://getwired.com/2012/04/04/a-law-firms-spam-army-hiding-in-plain-sight/): If you've read my blog or followed me on Twitter for long, you know that I love to analyze patterns in spam and scams.
- [User Interfaces - Which way to the Metro?](https://getwired.com/2012/03/29/user-interfaces-which-way-to-the-metro/): In my last blog post, I discussed the different user interface approaches that Apple is currently taking across all of its platforms.
- [User Interfaces - One size doesn't fit all](https://getwired.com/2012/03/25/user-interfaces-one-size-doesnt-fit-all/): This is the first in what I hope to be a series of blog posts about user interfaces; where we are, where we're going, and where we're likely not going.
- [Nest Learning Thermostat - my experience so far](https://getwired.com/2012/03/23/nest-learning-thermostat-my-experience-so-far/): When the Nest Learning Thermostat first came out, I went through a couple of different modes of thought. Let me walk you through them.
- [A clean slate - don't bring legacy baggage to the iPad or Windows 8 tablets](https://getwired.com/2012/03/20/a-clean-slate-dont-bring-legacy-baggage-to-the-ipad-or-windows-8-tablets/): The other day, I was on a panel of 4 pundits where an audience member asked whether we felt Microsoft would approve a Metro app that was data heavy.
- [Natural Fakers - why the word "natural" means nothing](https://getwired.com/2012/03/18/natural-fakers/): Natural. A harmless word.
- [Why Do Not Track is destined to fail (DNT is DOA)](https://getwired.com/2012/03/13/why-do-not-track-is-destined-to-fail-dnt-is-doa/): Privacy. It's a good idea, right? But what the heck is it? For quite some time, I was a paranoid nutjob about Google.
- [Pack it in, pack it out - on finite energy and what's really important ](https://getwired.com/2012/03/08/pack-it-in-pack-it-out-on-finite-energy-and-whats-really-important/): Growing up in Montana, "the backpacker's credo" was gospel.
- [Office on the iPad - Microsoft between a rock and a hard place](https://getwired.com/2012/02/24/office-on-the-ipad-microsoft-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/): Aron Ralston. You may not know the name, but you probably heard of his amazing story.
- [Constant change is constant - and accelerating.](https://getwired.com/2012/02/20/constant-change-is-constant-and-accelerating/): As a child, my parents took my brother and I on several vacations.
- [Windows 8 should have Gatekeeper](https://getwired.com/2012/02/17/windows-8-should-have-gatekeeper/): Yes, I said it. Windows 8 should completely, blatantly steal a feature from OS X "Mountain Lion".
- [Simplify, simplify, simplify.](https://getwired.com/2012/02/17/simplify-simplify-simplify/): I spent three days this week with a rather intense migraine. Hovering between pain and vertigo, I had an idea for a blog post I wanted to write.
- [Features, quality, or date. Choose any two.](https://getwired.com/2012/02/11/features-quality-or-date-choose-any-two/): Recently a peer and I were talking about the phrase in the title of this post.
- [Windows 8 on ARM (WoA). It's the desktop, but not as you know it.](https://getwired.com/2012/02/09/windows-8-on-arm-woa-its-the-desktop-but-not-as-you-know-it/): I've asked repeatedly for more information on Windows for the ARM platform. Today, I got it.
- [The 10 Immutable Laws of Governmental Integrity](https://getwired.com/2012/02/07/the-10-immutable-laws-of-governmental-integrity/): For more than 10 years, I've used Microsoft's 10 Immutable Laws of Security as a "debate ender".
- [A candid Q&A with a Microsoft Office 15 Technical Preview customer](https://getwired.com/2012/02/03/a-candid-qa-with-a-microsoft-office-15-technical-preview-customer/): I was able to find a customer on the Office 15 Technical Preview, and confidentially asked them 10 questions about the Technical Preview, based on just a few days of use.
- [Cleavage (or, how Twitter spammers get the attention of men)](https://getwired.com/2012/01/31/cleavage-or-how-twitter-spammers-get-the-attention-of-men/): Last October, I noted on Twitter that an unusual (I mean highly unusual) number of spammers on Twitter used an avatar photo of a woman. But not just any woman.
- [The shame of wall warts](https://getwired.com/2012/01/28/the-shame-of-wall-warts/): Do the engineers who design the electrical supplies for electronic gadgets hate their customers?
- [Windows 8 - A Potential PC Plus Gameplan](https://getwired.com/2012/01/26/windows-8-a-potential-pc-plus-gameplan/): While reading a friend's Windows 8/ARM article on Forbes, I had what is often described as a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious).
- [Redirection indirection - yet another reason why shortlinks are dangerous](https://getwired.com/2012/01/22/redirection-indirection-yet-another-reason-why-shortlinks-are-dangerous/): I've mentioned before how much time I spend investigating spam.
- [Does Microsoft Suffer from Premature Innovation?](https://getwired.com/2012/01/20/does-microsoft-suffer-from-premature-innovation/): From when I joined Microsoft in 1997 until I left in 2004, and even since then (but especially during the heady days of the DOJ lawsuit), accusations flew fast and furious accusing Microsoft of misusing the word "innovation", that Microsoft couldn't innovate, or didn't innovate.
- [Windows 8 - A Tale of Two Platforms](https://getwired.com/2012/01/12/windows-8-a-tale-of-two-platforms/): In Louisiana, there is a bridge on Interstate 55 that crosses the Manchac Swamp. One of the world's longest bridges, it's over 22 miles long.
- [How Hollywood is Killing Itself with the "Rental Window"](https://getwired.com/2012/01/07/how-hollywood-is-killing-itself-with-the-rental-window/): A few years ago, someone in Hollywood got scared.
- [SEO Games with Games in the App Store](https://getwired.com/2012/01/05/games-with-games-in-the-app-store/): On January 2, 2012, Apple accidentally released an app called "Game Store" to the iOS App Store. I saw this early in the day, so thought I would check it out.
- [How does one become a Microsoft analyst?](https://getwired.com/2012/01/04/how-does-one-become-a-microsoft-analyst/): Last night, a follower on Twitter asked me the following: [blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/robertmclaws/status/154446168846368768"] For those who don't know, my day job is as a research analyst at Directions on Microsoft (DoM).
- [Internet Resonance](https://getwired.com/2012/01/03/twitter-and-resonance/): Last Friday I posted this on Twitter: Netflix/Quickster, GoDaddy, Verizon...
- [Organic is becoming unsustainable](https://getwired.com/2011/12/21/organic-is-becoming-unsustainable/): As a child, my favorite treat was a cheeseburger. Not just any, but a Burger King cheeseburger "minus mustard".
- [Want a free lunch?](https://getwired.com/2011/12/15/want-a-free-lunch/): Who doesn't love a free lunch? C'mon now - you know there's no such thing as a free lunch. Yet why do countless people fall for "the inbox hustle"?
- [The war for the family room – The Content Wars](https://getwired.com/2011/12/09/the-war-for-the-family-room-%e2%80%93-the-content-wars/): Almost a year ago I posted a two part set of posts discussing "The war for the family room", where I discussed an impending battle between the Xbox, Apple TV, and Google TV.
- [Windows 8, "The Desktop App", Win32, and the one ARM man](https://getwired.com/2011/12/09/windows-8-the-desktop-app-win32-and-the-one-arm-man/): It's been almost a year. I can't believe it. For almost an entire year, pundits (including myself have been talking about ARM and Windows.
- [The Desire Path](https://getwired.com/2011/12/02/the-desire-path/): Even if you've never heard the term, you've used a desire path. We all have.
- [3G or not 3G. That is the question](https://getwired.com/2011/11/27/3g-or-not-3g-that-is-the-question/): I remember the original iPhone well. I remember incredibly slow network connectivity but pretty darn good battery life.
- [With iOS, passive "security" apps are worse than nothing](https://getwired.com/2011/11/15/in-mobile-passive-security-is-worse-than-nothing/): I am noticing a frightening trend. On iOS, there is a growing collection of "security" apps.
- [Escaping the Web - how Siri changes the game](https://getwired.com/2011/11/03/escaping-the-web/): I've long been critical of Google's lack of "local" search focus.
- [You're going the wrong way.](https://getwired.com/2011/10/15/youre-going-the-wrong-way/): I don't recall the first time I heard VMware say they were working on virtualization for phones. I do recall my response then, and it's the same as today.
- [Thank you, Steve.](https://getwired.com/2011/10/05/thank-you-steve/): I never met Steve Jobs. It doesn't matter if I had. What do you say to someone who impacted your life so much, other than a feeble, "Thanks"?
- [The Uncanny Bevel.](https://getwired.com/2011/10/04/the-uncanny-bevel/): Most likely, you've seen The Polar Express. The animation technique used in it resulted in animation that is said to result in the Uncanny Valley effect.
- [Swiss Army Knife or steak knife - your call.](https://getwired.com/2011/09/28/swiss-army-knife-or-steak-knife-your-call/): You can cut the split opinions with a knife.
- [iPhoto, indeed.](https://getwired.com/2011/09/27/iphoto-indeed/): It's often said that Apple is a front runner in design and technology, and when you think about it they are only a front runner in the psychology of how we interact with the device and technology itself, not the sociology of how more than one individual interacts with their technology, or even moreso, how media produced on one iOS device can be shared with family and friends.
- [Win32: "The Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."](https://getwired.com/2011/09/20/win32-the-reports-of-my-death-are-greatly-exaggerated/): At the BUILD conference during the week of Sept. 12th, 2011, Microsoft stated many things; of course, they also didn't state many things.
- [The landscape tablet landscape](https://getwired.com/2011/09/15/the-landscape-tablet-landscape/): Something struck me during the initial Windows 8 sessions on Tuesday at BUILD, and I couldn't put my finger on what it was.
- [The grift - part 2 (Chase credentials)](https://getwired.com/2011/09/09/the-grift-part-1-chase-credentials/): The other day I posted about a scam involving Facebook credential grifting. Last week was a great one for scam intel...
- [My Twitter account (@getwired) was suspended. Why?](https://getwired.com/2011/09/08/my-twitter-account-getwired-was-suspended-why/): My name is Wes Miller. Until this afternoon, I had over 1400 Twitter followers, a little over 1000 people I was following, and 21,666 status updates.
- [The grift - part 1 (Facebook credentials)](https://getwired.com/2011/08/31/the-grift-part-1-facebook-credentials/): Starting yesterday, I began receiving several emails with the subject " wants to be friends on Facebook."
- [Timeless waste](https://getwired.com/2011/08/24/timeless-waste/): Twice in the last month I had to ride my bicycle from a VW repair shop in Bothell to my house.
- [Sustainable choices](https://getwired.com/2011/08/15/sustainable-choices/): My birthday is coming up later this month. For more than a week, my youngest has been asking me, "daddy, what do you want for your birthday?"
- [How much HPP does your tablet get?](https://getwired.com/2011/08/09/how-much-hpp-does-your-tablet-get/): At work every Monday, we have an editorial meeting at work where we discuss the current queue of articles, what's going on in the news, and assorted other topics.
- [What is the iPhone 5? Or is it the iPhone 4S?](https://getwired.com/2011/06/15/what-is-the-iphone-5-or-is-it-the-iphone-4s/): Two questions that I often get asked are, "when is the next iPhone coming?" and "what'll be different about it?".
- [It's the attach rate, stupid! ](https://getwired.com/2011/06/10/its-the-attach-rate-stupid/): For over a year, I've struggled to quantify something that I've felt was a truism in the iPhone vs. Android battle.
- [Windows 8 - crossing the chasm](https://getwired.com/2011/06/02/windows-8-crossing-the-chasm/): I've been watching a lot of press response to the Windows 8 announcements yesterday.
- [Spamsplosion](https://getwired.com/2011/04/08/spamsplosion/): Since 2009, I have been working on a research project to learn a little bit more about spam.
- [Hey kids, let's go to Dubuque!](https://getwired.com/2011/02/07/hey-kids-lets-go-to-dubuque/): When you travel somewhere, especially somewhere new, somewhere eclectic - do you ever buy your airline ticket, hop on the plane, and eagerly look forward to planning your activities once you arrive?
- [Unlimited - for a limited time only](https://getwired.com/2011/02/05/unlimited-for-a-limited-time-only/): Know what a loss leader is?
- [Windows on ARM - some notes](https://getwired.com/2011/01/06/windows-on-arm-an-important-note/): This evening, in lieu of a transcript, I listened a few times to Steve Ballmer's CES keynote - specifically around the 3:06:23 mark.
- [Should Microsoft ARM Windows?](https://getwired.com/2011/01/04/should-microsoft-arm-windows/): There has been quite a bit of recent discussion and hearsay about Windows on ARM processors - that is, a rumor that Microsoft is developing a version of Windows (full Windows, not CE/Windows Phone 7 - which already run on ARM) that supports the low-powered ARM processor preferred for mobile devices today.
- [The war for the family room - Part 2](https://getwired.com/2010/12/31/the-war-for-the-family-room-part-2/): With the tepid reception of the first generation of Google TV devices, the article that follows may seem too kind to Google.
- [App Ideas - Parking finder](https://getwired.com/2010/12/14/app-ideas-parking-finder/): Name: Parking finder Product: Mobile maps (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, any other mobile device) Problem: When looking up directions to a destination - why not provide parking resources too?
- [App Ideas - Route builder](https://getwired.com/2010/12/11/app-ideas-route-builder/): This is the first post in a series I plan, outlining ideas either for modifications to existing products, or a desire for an entirely new product.
- [Android and Chrome OS - Really a two horse race?](https://getwired.com/2010/12/09/android-and-chrome-os-really-a-two-horse-race/): This Tuesday, Google revealed more about Chrome OS, though it remains likely at least 6 months away from anything available commercially.
- [The war for the family room - Part 1](https://getwired.com/2010/10/28/the-war-for-the-family-room-part-1/): The 1990's saw Microsoft invest considerably in IPTV research as well as investing directly in communications providers, in 1998 they collaborated with Sega on the Dreamcast and they acquired WebTV for $425M in 1997.
- [iPhone Security](https://getwired.com/2009/11/27/iphone-security/): I like opening with that subject - because it's two words that Apple seems to never want to see next to each other.
- [Preying on ignorance](https://getwired.com/2008/12/29/preying-on-ignorance/): I've been spending a bit of time looking into something that has bothered me for awhile. I refer to it as "Predatory Utility Software", or "PUS".
- [Mutually Assured Distraction](https://getwired.com/2013/11/22/mutually-assured-distraction/): A user interface change that completely modifies the way the app works?
- [Plan on profiting off of Windows XP holdouts? There's no gold left in them thar hills.](https://getwired.com/2013/11/04/plan-on-profiting-off-of-windows-xp-holdouts-theres-no-gold-left-in-them-thar-hills/): A few times over the last year, I've had conversations with people about Windows XP holdouts.
- [Jerry Seinfeld on Collaboration](https://getwired.com/2013/11/03/jerry-seinfeld-on-collaboration/): “Let me tell you why my TV series in the ’90’s was so good. Besides an inordinate amount of just pure good fortune.
- [Windows Server on ARM processors? I don't think so.](https://getwired.com/2013/10/30/windows-server-on-arm-processors-i-dont-think-so/): It's hard to believe that almost three years have passed since I wrote my first blog entry discussing Windows running on the ARM processor.
- [How to kill your business ](https://getwired.com/2013/10/12/how-to-kill-your-business/): I've been tidying up my media subscriptions of late.
- [Steve Jobs on optimize or compromise](https://getwired.com/2013/09/27/steve-jobs-on-optimize-or-compromise/): “You're always fighting things that are opposed to each other…So as an example, let’s take the PlayStation Portable, alright?
- [Steve Jobs on coming up with new products](https://getwired.com/2013/09/21/steve-jobs-on-coming-up-with-new-products/): “...Part of the hardest thing about coming up with new products is to figure out a really cool set of technologies you can implement it with, and make it easy, but also figuring out something that people… want to do.
- [iOS 7 - These are a few of my favorite things](https://getwired.com/2013/09/18/ios-7-these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things/): I've been testing iOS 7 from the beginning, and though the UI took a bit of getting used to (and the new icon on the Photos app still makes me do a mental reset sometimes).
- [No, that new application you're hearing about won't replace Microsoft Office.](https://getwired.com/2013/09/17/no-that-new-application-youre-hearing-about-wont-replace-microsoft-office/): For two weeks straight, I've seen prognostications that from will replace Microsoft Office. No.
- [iPhone naming - it's not that complicated](https://getwired.com/2013/09/15/iphone-naming-its-not-that-complicated/): For some reason, there appears to be confusion - still (even among some Apple press) - about why this year's phone is not called the iPhone 6, and is instead called the iPhone 5s.
- [Make them fall in love ](https://getwired.com/2013/09/13/make-them-fall-in-love/): A friend was telling me the other day about his new Mac.
- [Remember the Clipper chip?](https://getwired.com/2013/09/11/remember-the-clipper-chip/): I happened to bring up the Clipper chip in a conversation with a colleague today, where we were discussing the latest NSA-related news, communication privacy, (and of course the Apple 5s).
- [Thomas Jefferson on judicial power and ego ](https://getwired.com/2013/08/20/1686/): “It is not enough that honest men are appointed judges.
- [Thomas Jefferson on congressional corruption and bloat](https://getwired.com/2013/08/06/thomas-jefferson-on-congressional-corruption/): “That a system had there been contrived for deluging the states with paper money instead of gold silver, for withdrawing our citizens from the pursuits of commerce, manufactures, buildings, other branches of useful industry, to occupy themselves their capitals in a species of gambling, destructive of morality, which had introduced it’s poison into the government itself.
- [The Szilard Dilemma](https://getwired.com/2013/08/03/the-szilard-dilemma/): Given recent events, I've been thinking a lot lately about metadata.
- [What's the deal with OWA for iOS?](https://getwired.com/2013/07/31/whats-the-deal-with-owa-for-ios/): Earlier in July, Microsoft announced OWA for iPad and OWA for iPhone.
- [Nimblstand - the laptop deconstructed](https://getwired.com/2013/07/30/nimblstand-the-laptop-deconstructed/): During 2012, I used my iPad as the primary device for writing most of the time on the road.
- [Make stuff that just works, or go home.](https://getwired.com/2013/07/25/make-stuff-that-just-works-or-go-home/): “This is what customers pay us for–to sweat all these details so it’s easy and pleasant for them to use our computers. We’re supposed to be really good at this.
- [Friction-free commerce? Hold on to your wallet.](https://getwired.com/2013/07/15/friction-free-commerce-hold-on-to-your-wallet/): I'll admit it. I have a problem. It's an iTunes problem. Apple doesn't think I have a problem, they're quite happy with me.
- [The  iWatch - boom or bust?](https://getwired.com/2013/07/06/the-iwatch-boom-or-bust/): In my wife's family, there is a term used to describe how many people can comfortably work in a kitchen at the same time.
- [How to make a great product that people love](https://getwired.com/2013/06/21/how-to-make-a-great-product-that-people-love/): Step 1: Find a problem not addressed by any existing product or service.
- [What's the deal with Facebook advertising?](https://getwired.com/2013/06/19/whats-the-deal-with-facebook-advertising/): For a site that has been tracking my life for years, Facebook's advertising is horrible. Not just weak, not just bad, but horrible.
- [Content, not the chrome. Apps, not the phone.](https://getwired.com/2013/06/12/content-not-the-chrome-apps-not-the-phone/): Ahead of WWDC 2013, many people were still expecting Apple to add live tiles, and possibly widgets to iOS 7.
- [Thomas Jefferson on lawyers in Congress](https://getwired.com/2013/06/07/thomas-jefferson-on-lawyers-in-congress/): “I served with General Washington in the legislature of Virginia before the revolution, and, during it, with Dr. Franklin in Congress.
- [Twitter zombies and content theft](https://getwired.com/2013/06/02/twitter-zombies-and-content-theft/): A few days ago, I noticed a new follower that didn't look quite right. Check it out for yourself (@KoriWilbur).
- [Thomas Jefferson on Congress and unity](https://getwired.com/2013/06/01/thomas-jefferson-on-congress-and-unity/): “As to those matters which are referred to Congress, we are not so many states, we are one large state. We lay aside our individuality, whenever we come here."
- [Twitter zombies? My favorite.](https://getwired.com/2013/05/28/twitter-zombies-my-favorite/): Within the last few weeks, a very annoying trend on Twitter began to pique my curiosity.
- [Beware of strangers bearing subscriptions ](https://getwired.com/2013/05/22/beware-of-strangers-bearing-subscriptions/): Stop for a second and think about everything you subscribe to.
- [You can't take it with you. ](https://getwired.com/2013/05/15/you-cant-take-it-with-you/): At the end of your life, you take nothing with you. You leave behind everything. If you've spent your life taking, you leave behind a legacy of taking.
- [The Cloud is the App is the Cloud.](https://getwired.com/2013/05/14/the-cloud-is-the-app-is-the-cloud/): During the last week, I have had an incredible number of conversations about Office 365 with press, customers, and peers.
- [Tools to optimize working on the Mac ](https://getwired.com/2013/05/08/tools-to-optimize-working-on-the-mac/): A few weeks ago I wrote about gestures on the Mac vs. Windows 8.
- [The Internet is Made of People.](https://getwired.com/2013/05/03/the-internet-is-made-of-people/): Yesterday I read Paul Miller's piece on The Verge, I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet.
- [On peanut butter and chocolate and APIs...](https://getwired.com/2013/04/23/on-peanut-butter-and-chocolate/): A friend recently posted a link to this blog.
- ["Bring this country to its knees..."](https://getwired.com/2013/04/23/bring-this-country-to-its-knees/): "It's increasingly likely that a small group of well-financed people are going to be able to really bring this country to its knees."
- [Learn one weird old trick to reducing your disappointment in life](https://getwired.com/2013/04/22/learn-one-weird-old-trick-to-reducing-your-disappointment-in-life/): Stop buying more stuff, believing that buying more stuff will make you happy. Happy Earth Day.
- [Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion - separated at birth?  ](https://getwired.com/2013/04/16/windows-8-and-os-x-mountain-lion-separated-at-birth/): Alright - shake out the giggles from the title, and let me show you why I said that.
- [The PadFone is not the future](https://getwired.com/2013/04/14/1471/): I've been pondering the existence of devices like the Asus PadFone and PadFone 2 recently.
- [Windows XP - Hitting the Wall](https://getwired.com/2013/04/10/windows-xp-hitting-the-wall/): Just under one year from now, on April 8, 2014, Windows XP leaves Extended Support.
- [A few of my favorite movies (or: Hollywood - death by 1,000 paper cuts)](https://getwired.com/2013/04/05/a-few-of-my-favorite-movies-or-hollywood-death-by-1000-paper-cuts/): Over a year ago, I wrote a missive about how idiotic Hollywood's "Rental Window" was.
- [The mythology of MinWin, MinKernel, and BaseFS](https://getwired.com/2013/03/30/the-mythology-of-minwin-minkernel-and-basefs/): Beginning with Windows NT Embedded, an effort was started to refactor the Windows operating system in such a way that embedded device manufacturers could tweak the operating system to only include the parts that they needed to run their application or workload.
- [Theology... theology... theology...](https://getwired.com/2013/03/28/theology-theology-theology/): Feedback on yesterday's post, both here and on Twitter, seemed to generally be relatively uniform.
- [The Stigma of Mac Shaming](https://getwired.com/2013/03/27/the-stigma-of-mac-shaming/): I recall hearing a story of a co-worker at Microsoft, who was a technical assistant to an executive, who had a Mac.
- [The care and feeding of software](https://getwired.com/2013/03/25/the-care-and-feeding-of-software/): App hoarding. The dark, unspoken secret. We've all done it. I logged on to a Windows 8 tablet I hadn't used for quite some time, and I was so ashamed of myself.
- [One release away from irrelevance](https://getwired.com/2013/03/24/one-release-away-from-irrelevance/): A few weeks ago on Twitter, I said something about Apple, and someone replied back something akin to, "Apple is only one release away from irrelevance."
- [The death of the pixel](https://getwired.com/2013/03/23/the-death-of-the-pixel/): It really didn't hit me until recently. Something I've worked with for years, is being forced to retire.
- [You're only as safe as your last backup](https://getwired.com/2013/03/22/youre-only-as-safe-as-your-last-backup/): This week, for the second time in a year, I lost the hard drive in my main computer, a 2010 ThinkPad W510 running Windows 8.
- [What's your definition of Minimum Viable Product?](https://getwired.com/2013/03/21/whats-your-definition-of-minimum-viable-product/): At lunch the other day, a friend and I were discussing the buzzword bingo of "development methodologies" (everybody's got one).
- [Bill Hill and Homo Sapiens 2.0](https://getwired.com/2013/03/19/bill-hill-and-homo-sapiens-2-0/): Working on another blog post, and ran across an interview of Bill Hill from 2009.
- [Always Be Unique](https://getwired.com/2013/03/18/always-be-unique/): Earlier today, this tweet showed up in my Twitter timeline.
- [Shut up and eat your GMOs](https://getwired.com/2013/03/16/shut-up-and-eat-your-gmos/): It’s with a fair amount of disappointment (disbelief?)
- [Most smart appliances are stupid](https://getwired.com/2013/03/09/most-smart-appliances-are-stupid/): "Smart". Many device and appliance manufacturers toss that word around like they know what it means. An app platform on a TV? Voila!
- [Windows desktop apps through an iPad? You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!](https://getwired.com/2013/03/06/windows-desktop-apps-through-an-ipad-you-fell-victim-to-one-of-the-classic-blunders/): I ran across a piece yesterday discussing one hospital's lack of success with iPads and BYOD.
- [The machines are coming for your job. Big deal.](https://getwired.com/2013/02/20/big_deal/): This blog post is in response to the TechCrunch piece entitled Get Ready To Lose Your Job. For my entire life, my father was a physician (until he retired).
- [Microsoft Account - Bring Your Own Identity](https://getwired.com/2013/02/19/microsoft-account-bring-your-own-identity/): When you start a new job, there's only one you. You don't get a new identity just because you started at a new company.
- [Delight the customer](https://getwired.com/2013/02/11/delight-the-customer/): At an annual Microsoft company meeting early in my Microsoft career (likely around 1999), Steve Ballmer interrupted the lively flow of the event to read a few letters that had been sent to him from executives around the world.
- [Task-Oriented Computing](https://getwired.com/2013/02/08/task-oriented-computing/): Over the past six years, as the iPhone, then iPad, and similar devices have caused a ripple within the technology sector, the industry and pundits have struggled to define what these devices are.
- [Good Times... Good Times... The book.](https://getwired.com/2013/01/29/good-times-good-times-the-book/): In 1992, I got my first Windows PC. For more than 20 years, Microsoft has been a central force in my life, and fundamentally shaped my career.
- [Office 365 and Office 2013 - A field guide](https://getwired.com/2013/01/26/office-365-and-office-2013-a-field-guide/): One of the most common questions I get asked - by our subscribers, by press, by my friends, by my family...
- [Email 101](https://getwired.com/2013/01/03/email-101/): While talking with my wife the other day, I happened to mention Atos to her.
- [When I worked at Microsoft](https://getwired.com/2012/12/29/when-i-worked-at-microsoft/): Few phrases would strike fear into the hearts of my co-workers in Austin faster than "when I worked at Microsoft".
- [All I want for Christmas - my Windows v.Next wishlist ](https://getwired.com/2012/12/20/all-i-want-for-christmas-my-windows-v-next-wishlist-httpgetwired-comp1173/): For almost two weeks, my main computer - a ThinkPad W510 (circa 2010) has been running Windows 8.
- [100 Days - On Twitter and the virality of exclusive information.](https://getwired.com/2012/12/10/100-days-on-twitter-and-the-virality-of-exclusive-information/): Early Aug. 2012 - Short of information about how the Windows Store, the forthcoming home for Windows Store (nee Metro) applications was doing, I began exploring the store, trying to assess how many applications were actually there.
- [Review: Logitech Touchpad (T650)](https://getwired.com/2012/12/07/review-logitech-touchpad-t650/): If you've known me long, you've known that I've been far from Windows 8's biggest fan. For me, that's been for a specific reason.
- [Windows Store: Any Way to Figure out Who's On First?](https://getwired.com/2012/12/02/windows-store-any-way-to-figure-out-whos-on-first/): The recent statistics Microsoft handed out about regarding the Windows Store made me think a bit.
- [Windows Store: Developers, don't stuff the store with clones!](https://getwired.com/2012/11/27/windows-store-developers-dont-stuff-the-store-with-clones/): Today while navigating the new Windows Store apps that arrived today, I ran across something that sort of broke my heart.
- [Why no news on winappupdate.com? I've been traveling!](https://getwired.com/2012/11/26/why-no-news-on-winappupdate-com-ive-been-traveling/): Apologies for the lack of updates recently.
- [Social is not the goal.](https://getwired.com/2012/11/14/social-is-not-the-goal/): This week at the SharePoint Conference 2012, I attended a roundtable with two customers who have deployed Yammer within their organization and are pleased with the results.
- [Windows RT, Sideloading, and Office. Oh my.](https://getwired.com/2012/11/01/windows-rt-sideloading-and-office-oh-my/): When you start working with Microsoft licensing - well, to be fair, almost anyone's enterprise licensing, it can be mind-numbing.
- [Windows Store: I'm holding out for a hero app](https://getwired.com/2012/11/01/windows-store-im-holding-out-for-a-hero-app/): Last Thursday, my app counter went rather off the charts.
- [iOS is showing its age](https://getwired.com/2012/10/28/ios-is-showing-its-age/): My iPhone and my iPad are almost always running the latest version of iOS.
- [Windows Store: The Turn](https://getwired.com/2012/10/26/windows-store-the-turn/): The Prestige is one of my favorite movies. Every time I watch it, I notice a nuanced plot twist that I missed before.
- [Windows Store: Taking Inventory at Launch](https://getwired.com/2012/10/26/windows-store-taking-inventory-at-launch/): The last 48 hours have been very significant for the Windows Store.
- [Windows Store: The (almost) Final Countdown](https://getwired.com/2012/10/24/windows-store-the-almost-final-countdown/): Quick post today, working to have a comprehensive rundown of Windows Store stats about mid-day Friday (pending any sort of explosion in either the number of apps or my system that counts them).
- [Windows Store: Top Markets](https://getwired.com/2012/10/18/windows-store-top-markets/): A reader earlier today asked if the overall growth of the global count of apps while US English stayed at a lower count generally meant that non-English markets were growing well.
- [Bill Hill - the authentic type](https://getwired.com/2012/10/18/bill-hill-the-authentic-type/): Looking through my old email - it was apparently 13 years ago this week that I first exchanged email with Bill Hill.
- [VDI? OMG.](https://getwired.com/2012/10/17/vdi-omg/): For two days last week, I was at the annual Chicago installment of our Microsoft Licensing Boot Camp.
- [Windows Store: Wednesday Number Time](https://getwired.com/2012/10/10/windows-store-wednesday-number-time/): Apologies for the brevity of today's post - didn't time my travel to Chicago well. This week has been a rather slow week, as I think next week may be as well.
- [Windows Store: What's interesting today?](https://getwired.com/2012/10/07/windows-store-whats-interesting-today/): I thought for something different, I'd take a look through one day's apps to see what showed up that actually looked interesting to me.
- [Windows Store: Show me the numbers.](https://getwired.com/2012/10/03/windows-store-show-me-the-numbers/): If you haven't yet read my post from yesterday, please do. It's very relevant to this conversation.
- [Windows Store: Charmed, I'm sure.](https://getwired.com/2012/10/02/windows-store-charmed-im-sure/): I noted yesterday on Twitter that many of the apps that are appearing on the store look alike. This is really unfortunate.
- [What's the deal with counting Windows Store apps?](https://getwired.com/2012/09/28/whats-the-deal-with-counting-windows-store-apps/): I've had a few people ask me why I started counting the number of apps. Why should I care? Do I have some sort of vendetta against Microsoft or something? No.
- [What's the deal with counting Windows Store apps?](https://getwired.com/2012/09/28/whats-the-deal-with-counting-windows-store-apps-2/): I just posted an entry on my "regular" blog that relates to this site. Thought some of you might want to read it.
- [Windows Store: A second wind](https://getwired.com/2012/09/26/windows-store-a-second-wind/): It's been a few days since I posted an update on the growth of the store.
- [Windows Store: Two-thousand, seventy-nine](https://getwired.com/2012/09/21/windows-store-two-thousand-seventy-nine/): Milestones. Every one counts. Sure, the iOS app store has considerably more apps than the Windows Store today - that's not news.
- [Windows Store: What's new? A day in the life of the Windows Store](https://getwired.com/2012/09/19/windows-store-whats-new-a-day-in-the-life-of-the-windows-store/): The most common request I've gotten so far is "what is new on the store?"
- [Windows Store: How many apps? How many developers? What's the ratio?](https://getwired.com/2012/09/18/windows-store-how-many-apps-how-many-developers-whats-the-ratio/): I swear - there are other people asking for information too - but the other day Jason again gave me a good question for which I had the data in hand.
- [Flashlight apps - lighting their way into the Windows Store](https://getwired.com/2012/09/17/flashlight-apps-lighting-their-way-into-the-windows-store/): As I mentioned yesterday, I asked my Twitter followers what Windows Store statistics they'd like to see.
- [Welcome to WinAppUpdate](https://getwired.com/2012/09/16/welcome-to-winappupdate/): One month ago today, I began analyzing the Windows Store.
- [Yahoo and Microsoft - Bread and circuses?](https://getwired.com/2012/09/16/bread-and-circuses/): This morning I awoke to the news that Marissa Mayer, the new CEO of Yahoo, was awarding Yahoo employees with a free smartphone, and, from what I can derive, some coverage for service plans as well.
- [Introducing! The new iPhone Disappointment!](https://getwired.com/2012/09/12/introducing-the-new-iphone-disappointment/): No. This isn't going to be one of those posts. It's not going to be derisive about Apple at all.
- [How not to announce a consumer electronics device in 2012 - a lesson from Nokia](https://getwired.com/2012/09/09/how-not-to-announce-a-consumer-electronics-device-in-2012-a-lesson-from-nokia/): When you get a piece of spam, there are a couple of key components to it.
- [Windows to Go where exactly?](https://getwired.com/2012/09/09/windows-to-go-where-exactly/): Recently, I've seen a lot of excitement around Windows to Go, a new feature available in Windows 8.
- [Mobile isn't a URL. Stop treating it like one.](https://getwired.com/2012/08/24/mobile-isnt-a-url-stop-treating-it-like-one/): The other day, a friend on Twitter noted the difficulty he was having in sharing a mobile URL. You know the type - http://mobile.foo.com/.
- [Exchange ActiveSync - it's the new domain join](https://getwired.com/2012/08/20/exchange-activesync-its-the-new-domain-join/): If you have been following the development of Windows 8 - in particular as Windows RT - the variant of Windows destined for ARM-based processors, there's a good chance you heard the collective weeping earlier this year about Windows RT, and what it meant to the manageability (or unmanageability, as the case may be) of Windows RT devices.
- [The odd couple...](https://getwired.com/2012/08/19/the-odd-couple/): Just over two weeks ago, my ThinkPad did the unthinkable. It died. Technically, the hard drive died.
- [My social media rules of engagement](https://getwired.com/2012/07/05/my-social-media-rules-of-engagement/): I'm tired of talking about vapor. I'm tired of beating back rumors and gossip. The rules that follow are for both my followers as well as myself.
- [The Windows Registry - It seemed like a good idea at the time](https://getwired.com/2012/06/24/the-windows-registry-it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time/): Before I begin, I will disclaim two things. First, I am not a developer.
- [Stupid SkyDrive Tricks](https://getwired.com/2012/06/07/stupid-skydrive-tricks/): The iPad is equipped with many things. One of those things is a double-edged sword that can reach out and cut you. The beauty of the iPad is it's simplicity.
- [Windows 8 - Who moved my desktop?](https://getwired.com/2012/05/29/windows-8-who-moved-my-desktop/): After I graduated from college, I briefly sold Volkswagens.
- [Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 - The fork in the road](https://getwired.com/2012/05/23/windows-server-2012-and-windows-8-the-fork-in-the-road/): I've spent a fair amount of time recently trying to get to know PowerShell.
- [Grief is a wild creature - A Poem](https://getwired.com/2026/08/20/grief-is-a-wild-creature/): Only show you where you hurt.
- [Low-Background Content (or: Avoiding the AI Fuckery)](https://getwired.com/2026/07/26/low-background-content-or-avoiding-the-ai-fuckery/): I feel like this post is going to sound like one of the most grumpy old man posts I’ve ever written on this blog, and that's saying something.
- [Haunted by the Past - A Poem](https://getwired.com/2026/07/25/haunted-by-the-past/): But surrounds me, in the place I call my hometown.
- [AI is Sea Monkeys](https://getwired.com/2026/03/16/ai-is-sea-monkeys/): When I was a child in the 1970’s, I distinctly remember the ads in the back of magazines and comic books advertising “Sea Monkeys”.
- [Sock puppets - A short story](https://getwired.com/2025/09/24/sock-puppets/): “He’s the most amazing developer I’ve ever seen. He’s fast, he writes code that’s maintainable whether it’s by him or by anyone else.
- [The New Normal Sucks](https://getwired.com/2025/05/05/the-new-normal-sucks/): At some point in the future you will have to explain the events of 2020-2023 to young people who either weren’t there or weren’t old enough to understand what exactly happened.
- [On writing and relationships](https://getwired.com/2025/02/15/on-writing-and-relationships/): A book I’ve been recently reading about writing has a really interesting perspective on something that I hadn’t thought about.
- [John Woke Up - A short story](https://getwired.com/2025/02/03/john-woke-up-a-short-story/): John rolled over and checked his phone. "Tuesday, July 24th, 2029". It was 8:12 in the morning.
- [AI - Tailfins for a New Generation](https://getwired.com/2024/12/30/ai-tailfins-for-a-new-generation/): In 1948, Cadillac introduced their first car with tailfins.
- [How I learned to love public speaking... and some advice for those who don't.](https://getwired.com/2024/12/19/how-i-learned-to-love-public-speaking-and-some-advice-for-those-who-dont/): "Nobody remembers a pause."
- [Time for Memories - A short story](https://getwired.com/2024/12/17/time-for-memories-a-short-story/): Chris had always loved garage sales. Especially on Saturday mornings before the good stuff had been looted.
- [Recalling WinFS](https://getwired.com/2024/06/23/recalling-winfs/): I thought multiple times over the last month about Windows Recall vs. WinFS. But not in the way that you might think.
- [Windows Server 2003 - That’s No Way to Start a Server](https://getwired.com/2024/04/24/windows-server-2003-thats-no-way-to-start-a-server/): In my last post, I mentioned how at least for the team I worked on, that Windows releases typically needed to reflect how they aligned with the needs of three customer segments; OEMs who build PCs, businesses who run Windows, and retail customers who would buy it off the shelf to run on their own home PC.
- [FCKG Windows Activation](https://getwired.com/2024/04/23/fckg-windows-activation/): When people would ask me what it was like working on Windows, I would sometimes say, “It’s like a church potluck.
- [The Cliff Clavin Effect - AI and the Truth](https://getwired.com/2024/02/07/the-cliff-clavin-effect-ai-and-the-truth/): When another human tells you something, you may question it.
- [The death of the automobile](https://getwired.com/2023/11/09/the-death-of-the-automobile/): When I was a kid, I was fascinated with cars. I used to joke that my first word was cat, which it was, but I meant to say car.
- [Image-Based Setup (Just like starting over)](https://getwired.com/2023/07/12/image-based-setup-just-like-starting-over/): When I started at Microsoft, there were two independent families of Windows.
- [The Birth of WIM](https://getwired.com/2023/06/28/the-birth-of-wim/): When I joined the Windows setup team in Oct. of 2001, Windows Whistler (what would become Windows XP) was already at beta 2.
- [Dead disk walking](https://getwired.com/2023/04/20/dead-disk-walking/): Windows XP was the first version of Windows that didn’t ship with boot floppies. It only shipped with a CD.
- [Remember the Itanic](https://getwired.com/2023/04/15/remember-the-itanic/): Intel may have had the best of intentions for the Itanium architecture.
- [WinPE and Me](https://getwired.com/2023/04/14/winpe-and-me/): When I joined the Windows setup team in late 2000, just ahead of Windows Whistler Beta 2 (the OSs you know as Windows XP and it's belated sibling, Windows Server 2003), Windows was in this odd limbo when it came to how the OS was put down onto new or existing Windows PCs.
- [On Managing I/O](https://getwired.com/2022/11/01/on-managing-i-o/): For 10 and a half years, I've taught our Microsoft licensing boot camps with Directions on Microsoft co-founder Rob Horwitz.
- [Places that are Lost](https://getwired.com/2022/04/25/places-that-are-lost/): When we would go visit the river, I don't ever remember asking my parents "Are we there yet?" It was obvious when you were there—because everything changed.
- [Frequently Asked Questions for Windows on an Apple Silicon Mac](https://getwired.com/2022/02/21/frequently-asked-questions-for-windows-on-an-apple-silicon-mac/): As I worked on my last blog post, it hit me that there are a ton of "frequently asked questions" that I've already seen around Windows on ARM running on Apple silicon Macs.
- [What applications and devices work with Windows on ARM?](https://getwired.com/2022/02/21/what-applications-and-devices-work-with-windows-on-arm/): In my last post, I discussed the fact that Microsoft seems to have clarified whether people can license and run Windows on an Apple silicon Mac - and by and large, I think the matter is settled from a licensing perspective.
- [Can you run Windows on ARM on an Apple Silicon Mac after all? It depends.](https://getwired.com/2022/02/03/can-you-run-windows-on-arm-on-an-apple-silicon-mac-after-all-it-depends/): Last year, I wrote a long post about using Windows on ARM with Apple silicon Macs, the licensing and support problems with it, and why I felt like it was a bad thing for Microsoft to come out and fully endorse it.
- [Windows on ARM on Apple Silicon - An Open Conversation](https://getwired.com/2021/09/20/windows-on-arm-on-apple-silicon-an-open-conversation/): Microsoft has never sustained Windows on any platform besides x86.
- [On dancing pigs and ACLs](https://getwired.com/2021/05/21/on-dancing-pigs-and-acls/): Throughout the day, it's gnawed at me a little bit, pondering if there is a law that would encompass this.
- [Welcome to the PC Malaise Era](https://getwired.com/2020/11/28/welcome-to-the-pc-malaise-era/): It has long been said that from 1973 to 1983, the American automotive industry was stuck in a rut that is now referred to as the Malaise Era.
- [UNLESS](https://getwired.com/2020/04/01/unless/): “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better.
- [Office on Windows. The Standard.](https://getwired.com/2019/03/22/office-on-windows-the-standard/): Whether we’re talking Office or Windows, I’ve often encountered situations where open source advocates will stand, pitchfork in hand, and denounce the evil and cost of Microsoft software, and the ill intent of Microsoft.
- [Mac utilities that bring me joy](https://getwired.com/2019/01/16/mac-utilities-that-bring-me-joy/): During the past 12+ years I've used a Mac, I've had dozens of little utilities that I swore by for a time, many of which came and went.
- [Robotic Process Automation Mayhem](https://getwired.com/2018/11/20/robotic-process-automation-mayhem/): Until 8 months ago, I don't think I'd ever heard the term "bot" or "bots" used in any context other than search engine crawlers or FrontPage technology .
- [Why is software licensing so complicated?](https://getwired.com/2018/10/13/why-is-software-licensing-so-complicated/): I’ve worked around Microsoft licensing for almost 7 years at my current employer, but even when I was doing Web development back in the 1990’s, Microsoft’s licensing —particularly for SQL Server—was infamous for its complexity, or at least for how hard it was for someone new to the realm to wrap their head around.
- [Thoughts on my Nintendo Switch](https://getwired.com/2018/08/31/thoughts-on-my-nintendo-switch/): A little over a week ago, I purchased a Nintendo Switch. We can perhaps call this impulse closure, but not an impulse buy.
- [A tenancy to overreact](https://getwired.com/2018/08/22/a-tenancy-to-overreact/): I'm often accused of being pedantic.
- [A blog post a week for a year](https://getwired.com/2018/08/22/a-blog-post-a-week-for-a-year/): The other day, I pondered deleting my blog entirely.
- [Plane crazy](https://getwired.com/2018/05/16/plane-crazy/): I love planes. I always have. I love any mechanical contraption, so why wouldn't I love planes?
- [iPhone X... just for the camera?](https://getwired.com/2018/01/18/iphone-x-just-for-the-camera/): When Apple did their annual phone hardware announce last year, I couldn't have been less excited. I was reasonably happy with my 6s, but it wasn't acting ideal.
- [A few thoughts on Windows 10 S...](https://getwired.com/2017/08/22/a-few-thoughts-on-windows-10-s/): A few months ago, before Microsoft announced their new Surface Laptop or Windows 10 S, I had several conversations with reporters and friends about what might be coming.
- [Creatures of habit](https://getwired.com/2017/03/16/creatures-of-habit/): As I head into the weekend, I'm prepping for my second work trip of the year. First up was Orlando, back in January.
- [Little joys can make a difference](https://getwired.com/2017/02/02/little-joys-can-make-a-difference/): Find the little joys. Treasure them.
- [The cult of tribalism and the death of the United States](https://getwired.com/2017/01/26/the-cult-of-tribalism-and-the-death-of-the-united-states/): "Death of the United States?", you ask, shaking your head at the lunacy of a blog post that dares to suggest such a thing.
- [Is this for Dieter?](https://getwired.com/2017/01/26/is-this-for-dieter/): A quick audio clip I recorded last night, of an amusing event from my childhood. Apologies if the audio isn't perfect.
- [Kaby Lake Haters...](https://getwired.com/2017/01/05/kaby-lake-haters/): There has been much written over the past year about Intel and the arrival of the end of Moore's law - at least as we knew it.
- [Windows 10 on ARM. What does it mean?](https://getwired.com/2016/12/08/windows-10-on-arm-what-does-it-mean/): Yesterday, when I heard the news from Microsoft's WinHEC announcements stating, "Windows 10 is coming to ARM through a partnership with Qualcomm", my brain went through a set of loops, trying to get what this really was, and what it really meant.
- [Tired Mac prose](https://getwired.com/2016/11/30/tired-mac-prose/): Over the last several weeks, a Skylake full of ink has been spilled over this fall's Apple crop.
- [Goodbye, Twitter](https://getwired.com/2016/11/27/goodbye-twitter/): Almost exactly three years ago, I decided to kill my Facebook account. Not log off. Delete it. It's been gone since then, and honestly, I never miss it.
- [It doesn't have to be a crapfest](https://getwired.com/2016/08/28/it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-crapfest/): A bit ago, this blog post crossed my Twitter feed. I read it, and while the schadenfreude made me smirk for a minute, it eventually made me feel bad.
- [Compute Stick PCs - Flash in the pan?](https://getwired.com/2016/06/27/compute-stick-pcs-flash-in-the-pan/): A few years ago, following the success of many other HDMI-connected computing devices, a new type of PC arrived - the "compute stick".
- [An iPad Pro is not a Mac](https://getwired.com/2016/06/24/an-ipad-pro-is-not-a-mac/): Last year, Christopher Mims wrote about how Apple should kill off the Mac.
- [The Autostadt, brand spaces, and marketing](https://getwired.com/2016/06/07/the-autostadt-brand-spaces-and-marketing/): Following my recent trip to Germany, I've spent the last month thinking about the idea of brand spaces.
- [Taken for a ride](https://getwired.com/2016/02/09/taken-for-a-ride/): Last week, as I entered the elevator of the building, another tenant turned to me and gleefully exclaimed, pointing across the garage at a new Jeep, "See that Jeep?
- [Surface Pro and iPad Pro - incomparable](https://getwired.com/2016/02/03/surface-pro-and-ipad-pro-incomparable/): 0.12 of a pound less in weight. 0.6 inches more in display area. That’s all that separates the iPad Pro from the Surface Pro (lightest model of each).
- [Simulated gambling in the App Store? The only winning move is not to play.](https://getwired.com/2015/10/31/simulated-gambling-in-the-app-store-the-only-winning-move-is-not-to-play/): From the arrival of Apple's iPhone App Store, they've elected to keep the platform, shall we say, "Family Friendly".
- [The Apple Watch is perfect. On paper.](https://getwired.com/2015/09/27/the-apple-watch-is-perfect-on-paper/): This week, I'm doing something that I don't remember ever actually doing before. I'm taking back an Apple device, for a refund.
- [You have the right... to reverse engineer](https://getwired.com/2015/09/22/you-have-the-right-to-reverse-engineer/): This NYTimes article about the VW diesel issue and the DMCA made me think about how, 10 years ago next month, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) almost kept Mark Russinovich from disclosing the Sony BMG Rootkit.
- [How I learned to stop worrying and love the cloud](https://getwired.com/2015/09/07/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-cloud/): For years, companies have regularly asked me for my opinion on using cloud-based services.
- [The curse of the second mover](https://getwired.com/2015/08/21/the-curse-of-the-second-mover/): When I lived in Alaska, there was an obnoxious shirt that I used to see all the time, with a group of sled dogs pictured on it.
- [Continuum vs. Continuity - Seven letters is all they have in common](https://getwired.com/2015/08/18/continuum-vs-continuity-seven-letters-is-all-they-have-in-common/): It’s become apparent that there’s some confusion between Microsoft’s Continuum feature in Windows 10, and Apple’s Continuity feature in OS X.
- [Windows 10 and free. Free answers to frequently asked questions.](https://getwired.com/2015/06/03/windows-10-and-free-free-answers-to-frequently-asked-questions/): I keep hearing the same questions over and over again about Windows 10 and the free* upgrade, so I have decided to put together a set of frequently asked questions about the Windows 10 promotion.
- [Be the toolmaker](https://getwired.com/2015/05/22/be-the-toolmaker/): We are toolmakers, humankind.
- [Farewell, floppy diskette](https://getwired.com/2015/05/22/farewell-floppy-diskette/): I never would have imagined myself in an arm-wrestling match with the floppy disk drive. But sitting where I did in Windows setup, that’s exactly what happened.
- [Comments closed](https://getwired.com/2015/05/21/test-post/): I'm tired of filtering out spam from the comments. As a result, if you want to comment on a post, find me on Twitter. Thanks for reading.
- [Bring your own stuff - Out of control?](https://getwired.com/2015/02/12/bring-your-own-stuff-out-of-control/): The college I went to had very small cells... I mean dorm rooms.
- [Mobile devices or cloud as a solution to the enterprise security pandemic? Half right.](https://getwired.com/2014/12/24/mobile-devices-or-cloud-as-a-solution-to-the-enterprise-security-pandemic-half-right/): This is a response to Steven Sinofsky's blog post, "Why Sony’s Breach Matters".
- [Who shot Sony?](https://getwired.com/2014/12/15/who-shot-sony/): I'm curious about the identity of the group that broke in to Sony, apparently caused massive damage, and compromised a considerable amount of information that belongs to the company.
- [Shareholder Shackles](https://getwired.com/2014/12/03/shareholder-shackles/): Recently, Michael Dell wrote about the after-effects of taking his company private. I think his words are quite telling: "I’d say we got it right.
- [Is Office for mobile devices free?](https://getwired.com/2014/11/06/is-office-for-mobile-devices-free/): As soon as I saw today's news, I thought that there would be confusion about what "Office for tablets and smartphones going free" would mean.
- [On the Design of Toasterfridges](https://getwired.com/2014/10/19/on-the-design-of-toasterfridges/): On my flight today, I rewatched the documentary Objectified. I’ve seen it a few times before, but it has been several years.
- [It is past time to stop the rash of retail credit card "breaches"](https://getwired.com/2014/10/12/it-is-past-time-to-stop-the-rash-of-retail-credit-card-breaches/): When you go shopping at Home Depot or Lowe’s, there are often tall ladders, saws, key cutters, and forklifts around the shopping floor.
- [On the death of files and folders](https://getwired.com/2014/09/07/on-the-death-of-files-and-folders/): As I write this, I’m on a plane at 30,000+ feet, headed to Chicago. Seatmates include a couple from Toronto headed home from a cruise to Alaska.
- [My path forward](https://getwired.com/2014/08/06/my-path-forward/): Note: I'm not leaving Seattle, or leaving Directions on Microsoft. I just thought I would share the departure email I sent in 2004.
- [You have a management problem.](https://getwired.com/2014/07/25/you-have-a-management-problem/): I have three questions for you to start off this post. I don’t care if you’re “in the security field” or not.
- [Is the Web really free?](https://getwired.com/2014/06/17/is-the-web-really-free/): When was the last time you paid to read a piece of content on the Web? Most likely, it's been a while.
- [Engage or die](https://getwired.com/2014/05/20/engage-or-die/): I'm pretty lucky. For now, this is the view from my office window. You see all those boats?
- [BMW China CEO on how quality affects sales through word of mouth](https://getwired.com/2014/05/17/bmw-china-ceo-on-how-quality-affects-sales-through-word-of-mouth/): "One of the most important ways to sell a car in China is word of mouth.
- [Live in the moment.](https://getwired.com/2014/05/06/living-in-the-moment/): The younger you are, the more you wish you were older, so you could do the things you're not old enough to do yet.
- [Job titles are free.](https://getwired.com/2014/04/27/job-titles-are-free/): "The Sunscreen song", which is actually named “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)”, by Baz Luhrmann, has been a (potentially odd) source of wisdom for me since it came out in 1998, just a few years after I graduated from college.
- [Complex systems are complex (and fragile)](https://getwired.com/2014/04/13/complex-systems-are-complex-and-fragile/): About every two months, a colleague and I travel to various cities in the US (and sometimes abroad) to teach Microsoft customers how to license their software effectively over a rather intense two-day course.
- [Portraits](https://getwired.com/2014/04/12/portraits/): “...there is still something to be said for painting portraits of the people we have loved, for trying to express those moments that seem so inexpressibly beautiful, the ones that change us and deepen us.” Excerpt From: Lamott, Anne.
- [Measures <> data](https://getwired.com/2014/04/09/measures-data/)
- [Startups and Getting Things Done](https://getwired.com/2014/04/09/startups-and-getting-things-done/): A year or so ago, a good friend from Microsoft told me he was leaving the company, and was pondering a few ideas about what do next.
- [The end is <del>near</del> here!](https://getwired.com/2014/04/07/the-end-is-near-here/): Imagine I handed you a Twinkie (or your favorite shelf-stable food item), and asked you to hold on to it for almost 13 years, and then eat it. Aw, c'mon.
- [The trouble with DaaS ](https://getwired.com/2014/03/12/the-trouble-with-daas/): I recently read a blog post entitled DaaS is a Non-Starter, discussing how Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is, as the title says, a non-starter.
- [Henry Ford on watches](https://getwired.com/2014/03/07/henry-ford-on-watches/): “As a lad he became expert as an amateur watchmaker.
- [Considering CarPlay](https://getwired.com/2014/03/05/considering-carplay/): Late last week, some buzz began building that Apple, alongside automaker partners, would formally reveal the first results of their "iOS in the Car" initiative.
- [Here's a fun game... guess the executive](https://getwired.com/2014/03/03/heres-a-fun-game-guess-the-executive/): No Googling - that's cheating. Tell me the executive (a former CEO) and the company. I've paraphrased a couple of parts that would give it away.
- [Running Windows XP after April? A couple of suggestions for you](https://getwired.com/2014/01/17/running-windows-xp-after-april-a-couple-of-suggestions-for-you/): Suggestion... If you have an XP system that you ABSOLUTELY must run after April, I'd remove all JREs, as well as Acrobat Reader and Flash.
- [What did I learn from Nest?](https://getwired.com/2014/01/14/what-did-i-learn-from-nest/): So today Google announced that they will pay US$3.2B for Nest Labs.
- [Bimodal tablets (Windows and Android). Remember them when they're gone. Again.](https://getwired.com/2014/01/05/bimodal-tablets-windows-and-android-remember-them-when-theyre-gone-again/): I hope these rumors are wrong, but for some odd reason, the Web is full of rumors that this year's CES will bring a glut of bimodal tablets; devices that are designed to run Windows 8.1, but also feature an integrated instance of Android.
- [My predictions for wearables in 2014](https://getwired.com/2013/12/29/my-predictions-for-wearables-in-2014/): It's the season for predictions, so I thought I'd offer you my predictions about wearables in 2014.
- [Security and Usability - Yes, you read that right. ](https://getwired.com/2013/12/20/security-and-usability-yes-you-heard-right/): I want you to think for a second about the key you use most.
- [Goodbye, Facebook](https://getwired.com/2013/12/17/goodbye-facebook/): As I posted on Facebook earlier today. Don't worry, FB, I'm still not using G+ either, as you two rapidly collide into each other.
- [Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Eli Whitney Regarding the Cotton Gin](https://getwired.com/2013/12/15/letter-from-thomas-jefferson-to-eli-whitney-regarding-the-cotton-gin/): Jefferson, Thomas Nov.
- [Thomas Jefferson on congressional conflict of interest](https://getwired.com/2013/12/09/thomas-jefferson-on-congressional-conflict-of-interest/): “I said that the two great complaints were that the national debt was unnecessarily increased, that it had furnished the means of corrupting both branches of the legislature.
- [Siri, Topsy, and the Web - Context is everything](https://getwired.com/2013/12/08/siri-topsy-and-the-web-context-is-everything/): Last night, my youngest child and I were talking, and I wound up telling her about the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey where the HAL 9000 computer, as he is being disassembled, sings the old song Daisy to Dave Bowman.
- [Walter Chrysler on Troubled Companies](https://getwired.com/2013/12/03/walter-chrysler-on-troubled-companies/): “The first thing I do when I start to look into the affairs of a failing company is to study the personnel of the organization and the individuality of the men.
- [Jeff Bezos on Disruption](https://getwired.com/2013/12/02/jeff-bezos-on-disruption/): In general, the 60 Minutes interview of Jeff Bezos felt largely like a marketing piece. But what Bezos says at 13:30 is great.
- [Resistance is Futile or: GenTriFicatiOn](https://getwired.com/2013/11/27/resistance-is-futile-or-gentrification/): The vocal minority. You’ve heard of them, but who are they? Companies often seek to change their status quo by modifying how they do business.

## Optional

- [Agent (MCP protocol)](websites-agents.hostinger.com/getwired.com/mcp)

[comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)