Valve for Windows

FYI: This article was edited on 2/24 to match the article in CPU Magazine.

I wrote this article for the latest edition of CPU Magazine. CPU has not posted it on their site yet, and there may be a few edits - however I felt I should post it before my meeting with Microsoft at GDC. I'll likely write an updated article once we get some more perspective on the latest and greatest news from the Games for Windows initiative.

I'd like to start with an interesting (and valid) quote from Anita Frazier from NPD Group.

"The PC games market is greatly impacted by digital downloads and subscriptions, so there is an undetermined amount of PC games industry revenue that isn't reflected in retail sales. As we've seen from a number of our studies, the PC continues to be a top platform in terms of total game playing time, so I don't think this slight decline in retail sales is anything more than a reflection of a shifting of distribution channels..."

A little over a year ago, Microsoft was making all sorts of noise about its renewed Games for Windows initiative, touting it as the savior of PC gaming and acting like it was the most revolutionary thing since the invention of the joystick.

The Games for Windows vision was compelling; imagine walking into a game retailer and seeing a section of games dedicated to Games for Windows, all of which would support any approved gaming controller out of the box, and some of which would support “Tray and Play.”

Many industry players were interested in the concept of making the PC gaming experience easier, but some of us were a bit skeptical due to the fact that Microsoft was driving the initiative. Trouble is, Microsoft is notorious for starting major initiatives that barely get halfway through development before the company decides either to kill them or launch them. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether there is wide internal buy-in on such initiatives.

I have to admit, I was intrigued with the potential of Games for Windows, and I got caught up in the hype—until, that is, I saw Halo 2 with the Games for Windows moniker on it. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse than an original Xbox port, I tried Shadowrun, which was equally bad. The lack of cross-platform gaming support really buried the program for me.

It was like fool’s gold, and I was one of many who were played by the biggest player in the industry. Perhaps GfW was not as compelling as we once hoped. Shortly after these fiascos, Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, decided to jump ship for EA. In the process, the director of Games for Windows stepped away from his role and was apparently replaced by someone else who I have yet to hear from.

So, where does that leave the initiative? Apparently it leaves a bunch of branded boxes on the shelves with an unknown future and some interesting marketing messages that have successfully generated more confusion over what “Games for Windows” actually means to the end user. On top of that, I’m starting to question whether Microsoft is capable of driving its commitment to PC gaming.

Now, before you start interpreting this as a funeral dirge for PC gaming in general, let me just say that we’ve all heard the rumors of PC gaming’s death over and over again, and like many, I’m tired of hearing them. PC gaming is not dying, so get over it. Valve is arguably the best PC game developer out there. Gabe Newell and his team make some of the best games ever, including the Half-Life series and Counter-Strike.

Over the years, Valve has done almost everything right, and while they’re quiet about it, the success of Steam is undeniable. Recently, Valve announced that Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools including such things as copy protection, social networking services, and server browsing, is now available free of charge to developers and publishers worldwide. In a nutshell, this system could significantly cut down on PC game piracy, which could in turn begin wooing developers and publishers back into the fold. And, of course, it will drive Steam into even more homes.

In implementing Steamworks, developers will gain access to real-time stat tracking, encryption and anti-piracy measures, voice chat, multiplayer matchmaking, and social networking. The buzz on the Internet seems to characterize this as “Games for Windows done right” and hails Valve as the saviors of PC gaming. If you haven’t tried Steam yet, I recommend you take a look. It’s the best game-distribution system on the planet, even remembering your purchases so that when you get a new PC, you can redownload them with no issue. In the meantime, don’t worry about PC gaming—it’s not going anywhere. It continues to grow, and there are new models of monetization coming into play, as well.

As for Games for Windows, well, if anyone at Microsoft would like to discuss this, please feel free to contact me and we’ll set up an interview for another column.

I'm starting a new forum - it's time for you to join!

Many of the readers of this blog (and the articles I write for CPU and Custom PC) consist of Wall Street regulars, enthusiasts of technology, start-up owners, and early adopters. The forum we are creating is a great place to share ideas and concepts with like minded individuals such as yourself. I am starting this as a pilot and if it`s successful it will continue.

You may visit this group to discuss anything related to hi-tech companies, to pitch new ideas and technologies, and to learn more about the companies you’re investing in. I imagine it will be slow to start, but hopefully we'll build a new and interesting community. I am hoping to learn about new technologies along the way, you never know what might come out of it. In the meantime please excuse the work in progress, there will be many modifications along the way - especially during the beginning.

I am heading to Dubai and India for about five weeks, so I thought I would launch just before I left. I'll monitor it along the way - and I'll try and appoint some moderators as well.

So you're all welcome to join 328KPH.com Rahul Sood's official Tech Entrepreneur & Investor Forum.

Microsoft's Next Chapter

This is the full unedited version of the article I wrote for the Inquirer.

I was planning on writing this article after my trip to Microsoft last week, and thank goodness I did. I must tell you, I was expecting something completely different prior to my visit. Microsoft’s gaming group is full of open and honest people who are quite aware of the competitive landscape – and funny enough they seem understated and modest about it. As a big Microsoft fan it was a refreshing trip. Perhaps they’ll be open to some suggestions.

Is Microsoft Vista driving demand for new PCs? Personally I don’t believe that Vista is creating incremental demand for new computers but I think things are about to change.

Microsoft is investing a significant amount of resources into the entertainment side of Vista, and Games for Windows looks promising. Games for Windows is more than just a marketing campaign, it should add significant benefit to the PC and console gaming experience. Microsoft is pushing for an easier installation experience, XBOX controller compatibility, and a full inter-compatible console/pc communication system. These are just some of the awesome features that Microsoft is driving for, there are many more that I probably can’t discuss until they show up. Rest assured, Games for Windows is not hype and I think developers should take a serious look at it.

Beyond Games for Windows there is still DirectX 10, and I believe DX10 will drive Vista demand significantly. There are new game titles, including Company of Heroes which will eventually support DX10 (not sure when). That said Company of Heroes looks amazing as it is, so it’s hard to imagine what DX10 will do for it. According to the developers there should be some significant tangible benefits.

So I’m really excited for Vista and what it will bring to the gaming experience, although I wish is was ready at launch. As you might guess in an open ecosystem it’s nearly impossible to guarantee that all partners will be ready to execute on a specific date. In fact many of Microsoft’s partners were caught with their pants down when Vista launched and they’re STILL trying to get things working right.

Regardless I am a firm believer that Microsoft’s future success in the OS space will be driven on the back of DirectX and their gaming team. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Intel’s riding success on the backs of their Israeli engineering team. In fact, I said it before and I’ll say it again, Vista’s demand will increase based on tangible benefits of DirectX and Gaming. Sure Microsoft Office is amazing, but I don’t believe Office drives significant incremental demand for Vista because you can buy Office for other platforms as well.

This is where the story gets interesting. At the risk of skipping a few milestones I’m about to cram some history into a few paragraphs.

Microsoft's Next Chapter

Back in the day when IBM OS/2, Amiga, and Apple roamed the land, the competitive landscape was somewhat interesting. Businesses dedicated to Apple, Amiga, and IBM compatible PCs were flourishing. Novell was growing on the enterprise networking side, UNIX was rampant, and Microsoft had recently launched Windows.

Due to their execution, heritage of innovation, a bit of luck, and their commitment to meeting the demands of the mass market it didn’t take long for things to shift in Microsoft’s favour. Ultimately it was Microsoft against the world, and the landscape ended up being somewhat desolate.

Witnessing the death of such movements was a real disappointment for many. Perhaps the disappointment was related to the battle and not so much the outcome.

Either way it was like watching Godzilla run through the city destroying everything with nary a remnant in sight. Yes, the action was short lived, Apple was left for dead, and there was nothing left except hope.

It was soon declared that Microsoft was the king of the PC world and no one would ever attempt to compete with them. I mean, why bother right? Windows did everything we needed it to do for a reasonable price and everyone used it. Over the years there were claims that Microsoft’s monopolist tactics were aggressive and somewhat uncompetitive. I never really paid attention, all I knew was Microsoft helped build many successful businesses. They also managed to kill a few companies along the way. Like them or hate them when you analyze the core of their business, Microsoft was successful because people felt comfortable with them. That said, you know it’s time for a reality check when your customers start to feel comfortable with someone else’s product.

I have always been a fan of Microsoft. That said, I’m not a fan of complacency, and if left unchecked for years (and years and years) it may lead to adverse consequences. The one thing Microsoft has been lacking is big-time competition in the core operating system space.

How times have changed; Apple, once left for dead, is now a mainstream contender. Companies like Google and Yahoo! come out of nowhere, and Wall Street witnesses as their valuations reach heights that only a few could imagine.

In the meantime some say that Microsoft has become a victim of their own success. Let’s face it, lazy people don’t get rich but rich people sure as heck get lazy. I’m sure there are people at Microsoft that are somewhat unaware of what’s happening around them.

I think we’ve reached a point in time when people would welcome and support a new operating system. The landscape has changed immensely and there are warriors with huge war chests gaining power. These new warriors are out in the open, waiting for the day that they can come out and announce their big plans.

I don’t think it’s as simple as someone launching another half-baked distribution of Linux. Don’t get me wrong, I think Linux is awesome, and while I like open source I think there are limitations when it comes to consistency, support, and ease of use.

I think there are at least three major threats to Microsoft’s dominance in the operating system space.

Imagine if someone setup an industry recognized open source consortium whose sole job is to certifying any modifications and new applications to the OS regardless of distribution. At least we would get some consistency, and people could profit from their work.

Another possible scenario would be for a giant company, like Google, to step out and launch a clean easy to use version of Linux (or something of the like) that does absolutely everything a PC or Mac does but better.

The third and certainly most obvious threat is if Apple decided to license their OS. An interesting prospect, and perhaps not as unlikely as some people would like to think.

Yes, there are many possible threats - I could sit here and list them off, but I don't want to give my competitors any ideas, and I'm sure that Microsoft hires people to focus on strategy all day long.

No matter what happens, Microsoft has gaming in their favour. They should be placing as many resources as possible into their gaming divisions to help carry the company forward through challenging times. Gaming and highly immersive entertainment will also help drive demand for Vista Ultimate.

They also have Microsoft Office, which is successful on both Apple and Windows based machines. There is no better Office productivity suite than Microsoft Office, but it helps if Microsoft influences the rest of the ecosystem as well.

I’m sure Microsoft eagerly searches for young hungry blood, but it’s hard to find good people when companies like Google and Yahoo! exist. Generation X&Y’ers have unique aspirations in life.

Yes, Microsoft has some threats, but I have full confidence that at least some of them are aware of their surroundings. Understanding your threats is half the battle to winning a war. I can only hope that the people I met are representative of those at the top of the totem pole.

I’m also guessing that the industry landscape will be completely different five years from now – let’s see what happens. Feel free to flame me now.

ATI Kung Fu better than Nvidia?

Who would have thought that ATI’s Catalyst would yield the best video experience for Microsoft Vista? I must admit I saw it coming – ATI has been working on Vista for some time now, and somehow they managed to trump the competition in a big way.

What I’m saying here is no secret – and I would have written about this sooner, but I wanted to give Nvidia the benefit of the doubt. I’m not one to hide the truth from my customers, and the truth is that ATI’s drivers are ahead of the game, and there’s no real explanation as to how or why Nvidia missed a step… or is there?

Nvidia has been touting the world’s only DX10 compliant solution for Vista. ATI cannot say the same, at least not until their next generation is launched. I suspect that Nvidia has been working feverously trying to release a working DX10 candidate for their 8800 series of cards.

That said, I still don’t have SLI working on my personal machine and I am less than pleased. Today I had my OMEN ripped apart and I decided to choose Crossfire. Normally I would never make such a harsh decision, but after evaluating ATI’s Vista drivers for some time the decision was effortless. I also have an HP 30” display on my desk with a 2560x1600 resolution, so dual graphics is a must to deliver the ultimate gaming experience.

ATI has done a killer job of designing the Catalyst control panel for Vista. It’s a much lighter weight version of Catalyst than what we’re used to. One could probably assume that ATI’s tight support for Vista may have a significant market ripple somewhere down the line – but that’s just a guess.

All that said, I hope Nvidia picks up the pace. The last time Nvidia missed a major step was shortly after the original XBOX was released. They created a new card called the GeForce FX 5800 and it was a total disaster, ATI just skated by as a result. I don’t believe this is a major misstep, but it’s certainly a misstep. Assuming Nvidia prioritized DX10 support over their existing install base of DX9 is a decision that I cannot explain.

So could this flip flop spike a major change in demand? Well, that’s probably a stretch – and I haven’t lost confidence in Nvidia’s ability to deliver a working driver yet. I certainly don't think this is a case of "BADD" - it's more like bad timing.

Then again, I have high hopes for ATI’s next generation R600 – and for the first time in a long time I think ATI should be feared. I’m thinking the R600 might be a monster.

Here are some interesting links from Trentent;

Nvidia driver discussions:
Where are my NVIDIA Drivers for Vista?
TG Daily's Nvidia Opinion

ATI fans rejoice:
ATI's Drivers Rock

...and for a comparison

A really baaaaddd case of BADD

In a recent interview with EGM magazine, Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton was suddenly hit with a really baaadddd case of BADD.

Apparently Jack wasn't paying attention to his customers/fans and the news when word came out that demand for the PS3 wasn't all that great. In fact, it reached a point where people were returning their PS3's in order to upgrade to a Nintendo WII. Yes, there are people who view the jump down in price to a WII as an upgrade to the PS3.

When questioned on why PS3s were sitting upon store shelves instead of consumer homes, Tretton went on record stating "If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than a few minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." He continued, "I can get any retail buyer on the phone with you and get them to verify that not a single retail location in America where there's a PlayStation 3 on the shelf for sale. They've all been sold in a matter of minutes."

ummmm... the first step to curing BADD is admitting you have a problem. Penny Arcade put out a funny cartoon on the situation over here.

Blind Developmental Arrogance Disorder Part 2

Blind Developmental Arrogance Disorder - BADD 40 Scale

I developed the BADD 40 scale to help people grade a company before they make a potentially dangerous investment decision. The BADD 40 scale is totally unscientific; it was borrowed from an industry friend who uses a similar scale methodology for totally unrelated reasons. The BADD 40 scale started out as a bit of a gag, but somehow people in the investment community have embraced the BADD acronym. Truth be told, I couldn’t sleep, and I am sitting at the Los Angeles airport awaiting a flight home so I decided to spend a few minutes to write this article.

Grading something as complex as a strategic investment requires some serious thought. Certainly, this type of grading is more deserving than a simple scale from 1-10. BADD 40 involves grading four key areas – otherwise known as the FACK method.

• Financials
• Arrogance
• Competitive Outlook
• Karma

Typically a company that fails the BADD 40 is one that we should all stay away from. The FACK method will help us come up with the overall score.

1-10 – FINANCIALS: (higher=better)

How is this company performaning financially quarter over quarter? Only focus on the financial performance and nothing more, be very critical, and grading it on a scale of 1-10 should be fairly easy.

1-10 – ARROGANCE: (higher=less arrogant)

Did anyone from the company make any arrogant comments, or does the company have arrogant advertising? Public arrogant comments and advertising are the worst and deserve far less points. If you cannot find any recent arrogant comments anywhere then you should give it a higher score. Remember, the higher the number the less arrogant they are.

1-10 – COMPETITIVE OUTLOOK: (higher=better)

What is the general consumer & industry reaction to this company or product as of late? How is the employee rentention? How does this company compare to their competition? How is their market share growth/shrink? The easiest way to grade competitive outlook is to list off the top 4 competitors, and list them from highest to lowest.

1-10 – KARMA: (higher=good karma)

Does this company give off good Karma or bad Karma? The easiest way to grade Karma is to look at the CEO, look at how much they make compared to his/her performance. Look at how the industry reacts to this person. Most important, is he or she respected by his/her employees? If he or she suddenly passed away, would they go to hell? Bonus points should be awarded to those who donate money to charitable organizations.

Overall scores of 25 or more is pretty darn good if you ask me. I think a 20-25 is certainly worth holding. Any failing grades of below 20 should be taken off your list for now, at least until the arrogance disappates. If you’re a betting person, anything 15 or lower could very well be considered a short depending on the 52 week low and high.

Perhaps we can brainstorm a bit here and if anyone has any suggestions to tweak this scale please post them here.

If you missed the previous article feel free to check it out.

Also, here's an article about a company with a really baaaaaddd case of BADD

Blind Arrogance Developmental Disorder

Every now and then we witness as people in powerful positions are somehow affected by a virus which causes “Blind Arrogance Developmental Disorder" (BADD) -- (anyone have a better acronym?).

When a company, country, or team is led by someone affected with BADD they usually end up turning a corner they wish they never had. There are many examples of BADD in our industry and they almost always end up with unfavorable, sometimes devestating results.

Take for example Nvidia. Many years ago they thought they were unstoppable, their products were excellent, ATI was way behind, and they didn’t expect a change to come. BADD hit, and ATI just skated by (I’m talking way back when the Radeon was introduced). It most definitely wasn’t ATI’s ability to execute better than Nvidia that put them in the lead; it was Nvidia’s own BADD that caused it to happen. Since the failure of the 5800 (way back when) legend has it that Jen-Hsun Huang had a major internal meeting with his team where he openly recognized the company failures and humbly stated “never again…”

Remember when Intel was in a similar position? Intel thought AMD would never break the mainstream – in fact, Intel never even mentioned the “A” word ever, it was like they never existed. BADD set in and ultimately AMD beat Intel out of a few major contracts.

During the lengthy beating of Intel I can only assume that the engineers at AMD truly felt that they were well ahead of the game. Judging by current events one might assume that some sort of BADD set in somewhere at AMD because they entered this new war unprepared.

A few years ago a mild form of BADD hit Voodoo. We assumed only a few competitors in our space would remain. We were under the assumption that Voodoo would grow with few challenges. It seemed that out of nowhere new companies began coming out of the woodwork. Many were just little guys with big heart – although some of them did not possess gaming DNA. Then larger OEMs jumped in and validated the space. Thankfully we didn’t stay blind for too long, and now we’re in a fantastic position.

In February of 2005 Kevin Rollins was quoted as saying something to the effect of “The IPOD is little more than a fad”. Months later I had a conversation with Michael Dell, who happens to be incredibly intelligent; yet he commented that Apple was spending as much on R&D as Dell, therefore “Dell was more profitable”. I’m no numbers guy, but I certainly don’t need to tell you what Apple’s valuation is – and at the time I don’t believe they perceived Apple as a major threat. I guess even the smartest people in the world get caught up in their own arrogance.

The latest example of BADD – and man this is a good one – occurred on January 31st 2007. According to the New York Times, Dave Karraker, a Sony spokesperson, said the Wii did not belong in the same category as the more powerful PlayStation 3. “Wii could be considered an impulse buy more than anything else,” he declared.

Dave, here’s a clue from a 34 year old who has been playing games since I could lift a controller. I’ve gone through every one of those Mattel 9 volt battery LED sport games. I remember when I ran out of batteries I would rip the connector off the back and hook it up to our wall socket to make them extra bright. I grew up on Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, Sega(s), Apple //c , Amiga 500, Neo Geo (yeah a bloody Neo Geo, go try to find one of these), and an IBM compatible -- and then I started Voodoo.

I now own an Xbox, an Xbox 360, and I just purchased a WII. I love the Xbox 360 very much, but I must tell you – try Madden on the Xbox with the highest detail on your HDTV. Then go plug in your WII and run it at standard resolutions and see which system offers you a better experience. BTW – I did have a Sony PS3, because it’s my job. I could have kept it – but instead I returned it. It doesn’t offer a compelling upgrade to the Xbox 360, and it’s nowhere near as fun as the WII.

Dave’s quote is almost as bad as the “Ipod is a fad” quote. Ugh…

Some advice to Wall Street – here is a very unscientific method to understanding the future of a company without actually buying a crystal ball:

• Find the event that you believe triggered a “blind arrogant” reaction.
• Study the company, the product, the competition, the media, and the customer feedback.
• Make a decision; usually the answer is blatently obvious.

Some companies may possess a level of “mild arrogance”. They make great partners, and they understand their strengths and they are proud of them. They are more critical of themselves than others, and if they’re lucky they are open and honest about their weaknesses. The cool thing about companies like this is they prepare themselves for war long before the battle begins.

Companies like this are far and few between. Sure, all companies go through tough times as leadership changes and industry moves too quickly but finding the CEO who understands how to overcome BADD before it sets in is like winning a lottery.

There are many current examples of BADD that I have been watching closely. Our industry is full of arrogant bastards. Some might even say this article is somewhat arrogant. Perhaps it is – mildly amusing – I am not blind to that fact however.

Check out the new methodology for calculating BADD

Going back to basics...

Over the last week I have been on a whirlwind trip around Europe - roughly seven countries in seven days. There has been a lack of updates lately as a result.

So the big news, at least according to some, is that Michael Dell took the helm again at Dell. This certainly didn't come as a surprise to me, as I'm sure many others expected it. Though Dell himself stated Kevin Rollins was doing a great job, I think the article I wrote prior to the HP Voodoo acquisition has an interesting perspective. It seems to me that this announcement was a reactionary announcement rather than a proactive move, which could have happened much sooner. Either way I wish him well in his "new" job, better late than never I suppose.

That leads me to the next story which I wrote for CPU Magazine. It’s about Microsoft – a company that I love and appreciate. Love them or hate them, almost everyone uses them.

I believe when a company gets too large they tend to forget what got them there in the first place. I think Microsoft would benefit immensly if they took the time to stop and go back to their core DNA - what made them successful to begin with. Once they find out what it was, they should expound on it to meet today's market needs.

I wrote this article because I care about the company, and nothing more. There are so many new dynamics in this industry. If companies like Microsoft do not arm themselves accordingly it could have profound long term effects on the rest of the industry.

Here is the article;

Over the last few years, gamers have been waiting patiently for Microsoft to launch Windows Vista. Like many of you I have tested various versions along the way, each time reinstalling Windows XP shortly after for one reason or another.

Delay after delay, I had always come to the defense of Microsoft when people challenged the future of Vista because I believed that it would be the ultimate entertainment OS.

Months later and still a big believer, I figured that Microsoft delayed the launch in order to launch a solid product with few bugs. Vista is late—very late—but perhaps it’s better late than never. By the time you read this, you may very well be running Vista yourself, but at press time the big day has not yet arrived.

I recently attended the big Microsoft Vista pre-launch gala at Caesars Palace, though you’d never know it was a Vista party because there wasn’t much in the way of a business message. In fact, I thought the organizers were more interested in packing people in the club rather than driving Microsoft’s business; the event ended up being overcrowded to the point where any chance of effective messaging was lost.

In any case, I have been using one of the later versions of Windows Vista on my home PC and I can honestly say that I am having trouble getting past certain issues. Though I love and appreciate the entertainment and gaming potential, there are other issues that I have run across which probably shouldn’t be overlooked. I understand that there is a weaning period for any new operating system and I’m certainly willing to give it a chance.

If I were a betting man (and you know I am), I would venture a guess that many of you will go insane trying to set up something as simple as a home network. I brought this and other issues up with some good people at Microsoft in a recent meeting at CES. They assured me that my troubles were due to the fact that I’m running a pre-release build, so I’m hoping the later drops are significantly better.

That said, there are also DRM, driver, and security confusion to contend with. The price of Vista Ultimate is so high that I wonder if Apple will consider licensing its OS to combat the giant.

Don't get me wrong, I like Vista very much, and I think it's the best operating system Microsoft has ever put out - but damn, it took too long to come out. Now people are making fun of the fact that they have so many different versions it's confusing -- you think?

I have to admit that I’m a bit concerned for Microsoft; I have a personal allegiance with them. In fact, I cannot currently bring myself to purchase an Apple product. I once won an iPod, which I promptly gave away, and now I proudly carry a Zune (by the way, this device is tight!).

Why the allegiance you ask? I really identify with Bill Gates’ philanthropic mission, and I respect him immensely for proving to the world that he’s more than a “monopolist.” Bill and Melinda Gates are the most generous people on earth, and it’s odd to think that they, being the richest people in the world, are also among the most deserving. Not only this, but I also believe Microsoft has great products, and their success is key to keeping this industry moving forward.

All said, they have been very accommodating. The company asked me to fly to Redmond and work through my issues, which my contacts truly believe are minor and fixable in fairly short order. I sure hope so, and I have every faith in their sincerity. I have every intention of taking them up on their offer as soon as possible, perhaps prior to launch.

All companies go through similar challenges at one point or another; I have cited many of them in previous articles. I am a big believer that there is one sure way to fix any such problems. It requires going back to basics, going back to what made the company successful in the first place. Microsoft may need to go back to the fundamentals and get rid of the excess fat in certain areas. I believe that deep within Microsoft is the ultimate fighter just waiting to kick butt again.

So yes, I am slightly worried about a thing or two that I have seen in Vista, but I’m not quite in panic mode just yet. I sure hope Bill goes back to Microsoft though, because no one knows Microsoft better than Bill.

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Turn Your Angry Customers Into Evangelists Before It’s Too Late

This is my latest installment in CPU Magazine. Once again, if you haven't got a subscription to it I am going to throw out the shameless plug.

A couple weeks ago, I flew to Chicago on a quick reconnaissance mission with some colleagues from HP. The plan was to arrive on Tuesday afternoon and leave Wednesday evening so I’d arrive back in Calgary in time for an important family event. It seemed simple enough; I would get home in time to spend a few days with my family before I headed back to California on Monday.

Everything went without a hitch until the flight back. I went to the Chicago airport with two hours to spare, and we all checked in for our flights. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:35 PM so we went to the United Red Carpet Club. Upon entering the club I went to the front desk to double-check the arrivals board, and my flight was delayed by 55 minutes. It didn’t take a calculator to figure out that I’d be departing at 6:30 p.m.

At 5:58 p.m. I started to pack my things, and I went to the front desk to make sure the flight hadn’t been delayed again. This time the lady at the counter said, “Oh, your flight is leaving now! They changed the delay to less of a delay.” I freaked. I begged her to call the gate and stop the flight while I ran to my belongings.

I hurriedly swept everything I had into my bags, ignoring the fact that my laptop was still on. I ran like a madman to the gate, where the attendant told me, “Sorry sir, your flight is closed.”

I desperately tried to explain my situation to her but she would hear nothing of it. She snapped, “The flight has left, sir!” But clearly she had forgotten the concept of windows because a glance outside made it abundantly clear that the plane was still there. She then informed me, “The gangway has been removed!” I pointed out that it hadn’t and was in fact still hooked to the plane. The gate attendant then claimed that she had paged me five times, including attempts to reach me in the Red Carpet Club.

Trouble is, at O’Hare there is no way to page people in the Red Carpet Club. She lied to me, she exhibited zero flexibility, she was insensitive, and it was painfully obvious that she hated her job.

She also totally destroyed my plans . . . I ended up taking a flight to Seattle instead of Calgary just so I could get out of Chicago.

I think it’s fair to say that most folks in my situation would be pretty upset, and although one guy’s business might not be a make-or-break proposition for a major airline, in the future when given a choice I won’t fly United. The fact that my gate attendant did nothing to try and make my experience better was really disappointing. Of course, no company is complaint-free; it’s how you deal with the complaints that truly matters.

I’ve said it before; we are living in a completely different age where the “vocal minority” has new methods of communication to get the word out. Gone are the days when customers merely told a few friends and forgot about their problems. Today’s consumer blogs, he participates on forums, and he very quickly emails scores of friends and colleagues about his experiences. Turning off one customer in the Information Age has a far greater impact on a company’s bottom line than just that person’s business.

It’s time for companies to start leveraging the power of the Internet and communicating with their customers. It’s nice to see some of our competitors are following Voodoo’s lead and starting corporate blogs. It’s a great step—but it’s still a small piece of the puzzle.

A year ago this month I wrote a column entitled “I Work In A Glass House” about Voodoo’s open customer communications. You don’t need to tell me about angry customers being vocal; we get this all the time on our forums, especially during the busy season. Sure, I’d love for these problems to disappear, but that’s just not realistic.

Instead, we will work to create evangelists by ensuring that our customer-facing team treats everyone with the utmost respect, care, and attention.