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by aparsons 2001 days ago
Steve hated it. Bill hated what it turned out to be by 1999 (I left around then). Dave Cutler hated it. Eric Engstrom saw it more as a defensive strategy. Microsoft poured an incredible amount of talent and resources that would have gone towards the Web into Xbox.
2 comments
matthewdgreen 2001 days ago
Losing the web is forgivable in retrospect: the web is a very big place and MS still has a very respectable Internet business thanks to Azure. What they can't be forgiven for is their focus on winning the living room rather than investing in mobile. If PocketPC had followed the same consumer/developer-centric trajectory as XBox, I think the mobile world would look very different today.
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TheOtherHobbes 2001 days ago
Considering what MS did to the web with the resources that were left over, it's possible the web had a lucky escape.

Meanwhile Xbox has been a product driver - a big mostly positive influence on Windows gaming and on other platforms.

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pjmlp 2001 days ago
From I am standing, with the Web turned into what is basically ChromeOS, I am not so sure how lucky it was.
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