First let me say that I'm a big user of MS technology, I actually one of the few that calls myself an MS fanboy. Xbox owner since 2001, Xbox Live subscriber since 2002, coding in .NET with VS since 2005, Windows machines, etc etc. However I own an iPhone and an iPad. They are the best in class for what they offer.
Here's a very very practical idea that MS can implement very soon:
Xbox Live App Store. MS already has 40+ million 360's connected to people's televisions. You have the Indie Game section, and there are some non-games there, but the quality is pretty poor. First off, broaden the scope officially to "Apps" and make them a first class citizen in the dashboard. Market the area, support the area. Just look at what Apple is doing with the iTunes app store and iteratively improve upon that. Also, give indy developers access to Kinect libraries ASAP. Essentially with Kinect, you can do to the TV what Apple did to the Phone - made the advanced "smart" capabilities accessible to everyone. And open it up to developers in a big way because you don't have the resources to make everything yourself. I really can't stress how cool this would be, and how game changing it would be for the "set top box" experience.
Here are a few "big" ideas that I'd like from MS that are more out there:
1) an all you can eat digital media subscription. I would pay up to $100/month to be able to watch any movie (in HD), play any game (PC or 360), read any book I want to, or listen to any music anytime that I want on any device I want. I don't care to own anything or build up any collections. I just want to be able to consume the media that I want to in a ridiculously convenient way that is actually reasonably affordable.
2) Where my physical person is my representation in meatspace, my facebook profile is my representation in cyberspace, my phone should be my representation in digital space. When I walk into a room with my phone every device around me should be aware of my phone and extend my phone's functionality. Let me put it this way: my phone contains a display, speakers, camera, etc. If there is a better display in the room then let me use that display instead of my phone's. If there are better speakers in the space then let me use those speakers instead of the phone's. etc. Essentially "explode" the phone's physical device into the surrounding better devices so you effectively have a "super phone" wherever you are. And subsequently you "collapse" the phone when no such compatible devices are around.
3) somehow get rid of bandwidth caps. Fast ubiquitous wireless with no bandwidth caps would be amazing
3b) somehow make the above reasonably priced no matter if you're "roaming" in another country or whatever
Now for minor complaints:
1) Windows sucks for battery life. OSX is awesome for battery life. This is one of the major reasons why Apple can make decently powerful laptops in a nice form factor.
2) WHY do I have to reboot my computer for every damn little update? It severely impacts my enjoyment of my Windows computers.
Here's a very very practical idea that MS can implement very soon: Xbox Live App Store. MS already has 40+ million 360's connected to people's televisions. You have the Indie Game section, and there are some non-games there, but the quality is pretty poor. First off, broaden the scope officially to "Apps" and make them a first class citizen in the dashboard. Market the area, support the area. Just look at what Apple is doing with the iTunes app store and iteratively improve upon that. Also, give indy developers access to Kinect libraries ASAP. Essentially with Kinect, you can do to the TV what Apple did to the Phone - made the advanced "smart" capabilities accessible to everyone. And open it up to developers in a big way because you don't have the resources to make everything yourself. I really can't stress how cool this would be, and how game changing it would be for the "set top box" experience.
Here are a few "big" ideas that I'd like from MS that are more out there: 1) an all you can eat digital media subscription. I would pay up to $100/month to be able to watch any movie (in HD), play any game (PC or 360), read any book I want to, or listen to any music anytime that I want on any device I want. I don't care to own anything or build up any collections. I just want to be able to consume the media that I want to in a ridiculously convenient way that is actually reasonably affordable.
2) Where my physical person is my representation in meatspace, my facebook profile is my representation in cyberspace, my phone should be my representation in digital space. When I walk into a room with my phone every device around me should be aware of my phone and extend my phone's functionality. Let me put it this way: my phone contains a display, speakers, camera, etc. If there is a better display in the room then let me use that display instead of my phone's. If there are better speakers in the space then let me use those speakers instead of the phone's. etc. Essentially "explode" the phone's physical device into the surrounding better devices so you effectively have a "super phone" wherever you are. And subsequently you "collapse" the phone when no such compatible devices are around.
3) somehow get rid of bandwidth caps. Fast ubiquitous wireless with no bandwidth caps would be amazing 3b) somehow make the above reasonably priced no matter if you're "roaming" in another country or whatever
Now for minor complaints: 1) Windows sucks for battery life. OSX is awesome for battery life. This is one of the major reasons why Apple can make decently powerful laptops in a nice form factor. 2) WHY do I have to reboot my computer for every damn little update? It severely impacts my enjoyment of my Windows computers.