Microsoft 2.0: Interview with Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrott
I listen to about a dozen podcasts every week. Some video, some audio. Just to keep up with what's going on. One of the audio podcasts I listen to each week is Paul Thurrott's "Windows Weekly" with Leo LePorte. It's not the typical all-geek discussion. It's often hardly about Microsoft, let alone Windows, but I still like to listen in on the discussions. Probably for the same reason I like to listen to Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak on "No Agenda", go figure.
The latest episode of "Windows Weekly", however, is a three-way discussion with Mary J. Foley, Paul and Leo, in which they dig into some of the issues in Mary's new book "Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Remain Relevant in the Post Gates Era". Get the MP3 download here. It's kind of funny to listen the part about Microsoft and Yahoo! now that it's old news (this was recorded the day before Microsoft announced it was walking away from the Yahoo! fiasco).
Rarely have I listened to a dissection of Microsoft and nodded in agreement throughout the entire duration. Almost every "pundit" I've listened to seems to come close, but miss the mark on what seems to me (at least) to be the reality or the most probable probabilities. Say that ten times (go ahead, I dare you). What gets me is how tough it must be to be Paul Thurrott and have to struggle to instill a realistic perception in the media. He's not as pro-Microsoft as most assume. He's often pro-Apple. He's pro-MS about certain things, but most would be stunned to realize just how pragmatic he often is when it comes judging Microsoft from both a business and technology aspect. Anyhow, Mary Jo Foley is always interesting to listen to. If you haven't seen her interview on MSDN Channel 9, check it out also.