7 ms·

Once again Microsoft being pretty low-key with the fact that this is a Microsoft product just like they did with Sway. [1] * No mention in the title bar or a

Once again Microsoft being pretty low-key with the fact that this is a Microsoft product just like they did with Sway. [1] * No mention in the title bar or above the fold. * First mention of Microsoft is in the footer. * iOS App Store and Google Play links are before the Window Phone Store. * Mockups include iOS looking device and Androidy Device (however the largest one might be a Windows Phone?) [1] https://www.sway.com https://www.sway.com *Although they have now added this annoying Microsoft Toolbar dropdown-thingy which wasn't there on launch day. Interesting.

guardian5x 12y ago
They also change the name from "Windows Intune" to just "Microsoft Intune", and did the same with "Windows Azure" to just "Microsoft Azure". There is definately a shift with Microsoft under Nadella, and i think it can be seen with a alot of small details already. [1] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/windows-intune-now-just-intune-because-it-does-android-and-ios-too/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/window...
tdicola 12y ago
This is from FUSE labs which is a little team inside MS who do research on new experiences and such. They don't really produce 'products' like Office, OneDrive, etc. They make neat demos and if they get enough traction try to influence the bigger products to adopt them.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Kodu was more than a demo.
emp_ 12y ago
I love that direction. Recently stumbled upon "Microsoft Ajax Minifier" which is a prime example of the old way of naming things. What does compressing files have anything to do with async requests? At some point they were just giving the AJAX name to anything javascript related, without thinking or to not have "Java" appear in naming conventions.
- paulirish 12y ago
  > At some point they were just giving the AJAX name to anything javascript related They shipped the ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit back in ~2008, when "Ajax" was generally synonymous with "JavaScript". Google's CDN was called the "AJAX Libraries CDN" until just a few years ago. It happens.
  - BigChiefSmokem 12y ago
    As I recall, the ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit did just that - it enabled AJAX functionality in WebForms. Also, JavaScript is a first-class citizen in WinRT so I'm sure Oracle is getting some money from Microsoft for the brand.
    - girvo 12y ago
      I... I must be silly, but what does Oracle have to do with it?
      - xtrumanx 12y ago
        JavaScript is a trademark owned by Oracle. They got it when they bought Sun. I don't think that they can capitalize on that trademark now though.
        mark-r 12y ago
        For a moment I thought you were confusing Java with Javascript, but I see you're right. I hope this link is persistent: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:agdawj.2.2 http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:agd...
    - Pxtl 12y ago
      Most of the commonly-used functionality in Ajax Control toolkit were things like the date-picker, various animated widgets, and making the deployment guy scream and pull his hair out. The actual ajax-side of it was rarely used, in my experience.
rbanffy 12y ago
"you can xim your photos" Their attempt to use "xim" as a verb right from the start (hint to the marketing staff: it only happens after mass adoption) is very Microsofty. It's, in fact, a dead giveaway. But, indeed, the presence of other phones along with Windows devices is refreshing, as is the multiple store links. Not sure I like it, but I have to recognise Microsoft's effort in rebuilding their brand.
- mattdeboard 12y ago
  Yeah reminded me of Zune
  - rbanffy 12y ago
    Could you "zune" stuff around?
    - soylentcola 12y ago
      No, but you could "squirt" a song from one device to another. I wish I was making that up. Microsoft does manage to make some really useful products and services. Even the Zune you mentioned had a service similar to the now-popular Spotify where you paid monthly for access to a full catalog and you could even choose 10 tracks to (permanently) keep each month so it wasn't solely a rental/subscription service. But their marketing can be some of the worst I've seen coming from a major tech company.
      - rbanffy 12y ago
        Kind of reminds me of "snarfing" stuff in Plan-9.

guardian5x 12y ago

They also change the name from "Windows Intune" to just "Microsoft Intune", and did the same with "Windows Azure" to just "Microsoft Azure". There is definately a shift with Microsoft under Nadella, and i think it can be seen with a alot of small details already. [1] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/windows-intune-now-just-intune-because-it-does-android-and-ios-too/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/window...

tdicola 12y ago

This is from FUSE labs which is a little team inside MS who do research on new experiences and such. They don't really produce 'products' like Office, OneDrive, etc. They make neat demos and if they get enough traction try to influence the bigger products to adopt them.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Kodu was more than a demo.

emp_ 12y ago

I love that direction. Recently stumbled upon "Microsoft Ajax Minifier" which is a prime example of the old way of naming things. What does compressing files have anything to do with async requests? At some point they were just giving the AJAX name to anything javascript related, without thinking or to not have "Java" appear in naming conventions.

paulirish 12y ago
> At some point they were just giving the AJAX name to anything javascript related They shipped the ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit back in ~2008, when "Ajax" was generally synonymous with "JavaScript". Google's CDN was called the "AJAX Libraries CDN" until just a few years ago. It happens.
- BigChiefSmokem 12y ago
  As I recall, the ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit did just that - it enabled AJAX functionality in WebForms. Also, JavaScript is a first-class citizen in WinRT so I'm sure Oracle is getting some money from Microsoft for the brand.
  - girvo 12y ago
    I... I must be silly, but what does Oracle have to do with it?
    - xtrumanx 12y ago
      JavaScript is a trademark owned by Oracle. They got it when they bought Sun. I don't think that they can capitalize on that trademark now though.
      - mark-r 12y ago
        For a moment I thought you were confusing Java with Javascript, but I see you're right. I hope this link is persistent: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:agdawj.2.2 http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:agd...
  - Pxtl 12y ago
    Most of the commonly-used functionality in Ajax Control toolkit were things like the date-picker, various animated widgets, and making the deployment guy scream and pull his hair out. The actual ajax-side of it was rarely used, in my experience.

rbanffy 12y ago

"you can xim your photos" Their attempt to use "xim" as a verb right from the start (hint to the marketing staff: it only happens after mass adoption) is very Microsofty. It's, in fact, a dead giveaway. But, indeed, the presence of other phones along with Windows devices is refreshing, as is the multiple store links. Not sure I like it, but I have to recognise Microsoft's effort in rebuilding their brand.

mattdeboard 12y ago
Yeah reminded me of Zune
- rbanffy 12y ago
  Could you "zune" stuff around?
  - soylentcola 12y ago
    No, but you could "squirt" a song from one device to another. I wish I was making that up. Microsoft does manage to make some really useful products and services. Even the Zune you mentioned had a service similar to the now-popular Spotify where you paid monthly for access to a full catalog and you could even choose 10 tracks to (permanently) keep each month so it wasn't solely a rental/subscription service. But their marketing can be some of the worst I've seen coming from a major tech company.
    - rbanffy 12y ago
      Kind of reminds me of "snarfing" stuff in Plan-9.