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"What a week it has been in for Microsoft, at once letting the world know that its fundamental business model is under transformation, and at the same time enduring a very\u00A0embarrassing\u00A0media narrative concerning its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.\r\n\r\nBefore we dive right into the thick of it, do take that the time to ensure that you are following TNW's Microsoft channel on both Twitter and Facebook. Let's begin.\r\nThe new Microsoft\r\nIn an interview late last week, Microsoft detailed how it was transforming from a pure software company into a firm that deploys both devices and services. This is a large change.\r\n\r\nPutting aside the obvious hardware implications of Surface, TNW recently got its hands on a fresh title that was a collection of Bill Gates quotes. They were, to put it mildly, interesting in this context. For example:\r\nMicrosoft is designed to write great software. We are not designed to be good at other things. We only know how to hire, how to manage, and how to globalize software products. The key was to never view ourselves as a services company. We had to be a product company. But it was an approach that would probably not apply to any other business. \u2013 Forbes.com, 1997\r\nThat in the context of Ballmer's notes on how Microsoft is changing, that specific Gates quote is almost damning.\r\n\r\nExcept that's its not, as Microsoft is simply adapting. In the current world, device/software harmony is an asset in and of itself, and now that Apple has managed to delivery luxury goods at affordable prices through manufacturing innovation and scale, Redmond must fight a new game.\r\n\r\nGiven the Surface, it intends to win.\r\nWindows: Ready, or just coming?\r\nWith partners like these, who needs competitors? Bloomberg, take it away:\r\nIntel Corp. (INTC)\u00A0Chief Executive Officer\u00A0Paul Otellini\u00A0told employees in\u00A0Taiwan\u00A0that\u00A0Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)\u2019s Windows 8 operating system is being released before it\u2019s fully ready, a person who attended the company event said.\r\nTo quote everyone at Microsoft who read that story: &amp;quot;Ugh.&amp;quot; Yes, Windows 8 is not the most polished affair; anyone who has tested the software extensively can attest to this. However, to have a critical technology voice - one that likely has a strong influence in the enterprise market - say such a thing publicly casts a pall over Microsoft's work that is hard to scrub off.\r\n\r\nFollowing, Otellini went on to say that &amp;quot;Windows 8 is one of the best things that ever happened to Intel.&amp;quot; I'm sure that undid the damage.\r\nBing's week\r\nBing! In an odd turn of events, Microsoft's search engine finds itself in a positive news updraft concerning its work on, wait for it, iOS.\r\n\r\nYes, following the troubled release of Apple's own mapping tool in iOS 6, and Google's non-presence\u00A0on the platform, Bing had an opening - its mapping app was live an open for use on iPhones. TNW called on it to take a stand.\u00A0A few days later it did, albeit in hushed tones.\r\n\r\nHowever, it was Apple itself who ran support for Microsoft's search technology and mapping tool, in a letter from its CEO apologizing for the maps mistake. To wit:\r\nWhile we\u2019re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.\r\nNo, you are not reading The Onion. That actually happened.\r\nPointer acceptance\r\nAnd finally this week, something different: Microsoft submitted a standard to the W3C that would allow any browser to accept any sort of input - pen, touch, mouse, etc - and have it generate the same output event.\r\n\r\nThis would be great for web developers, as it would simplify the process by which they accept user interaction. The standard isn't gospel yet, but things are looking good.\r\n\r\nNow, go make a firm Irish Coffee, and knock off for the week. Top Image Credit:\u00A0Aanjhan Ranganathan"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2012/09/28/this-week-microsoft-bing-windows-8-new-business-model/>