Tweet

Steven Sinofsky

28 Jan, 9 tweets, 3 min read

@SubstackInc

ANNOUNCEMENT: tl;dr Please sign up for my new @SubstackInc "Hardcore Software—Inside the Rise and Fall of the PC revolution”. Tune into @joinClubhouse "Good Time" show 6pm ET *tonight* for a chat about it. …rdcoresoftware.learningbyshipping.com/about?utm_sour…

1/ It’s more than a book about Microsoft…

2/ Hardcore Software is my first-person account of Microsoft events from pre-Windows 3 through the rise of Office, building a new Windows, and disruption. Along the way came the internet, pivot to enterprise, antitrust trial, product quality crises, reorgs, Apple, …much more.

3/ My substack is a serialization of a book, or two, I wrote. I realized in working with a traditional publisher that I could tell a much better story for many more people by using Substack. So that’s what I chose to do. Here’s why:

4/ There were just too many stories to fit in a book—stories I’m asked to share all the time with founders. I have photos and memorabilia that can help tell the story, but aren’t part of modern books. Simply, the content and story telling is much richer on Substack.

5/ I’ve also seen the value of a community around these stories. Subscribers can bring their own perspective and memories and join in a discussion of the events.

6/ Serialization is a way to "snack" on the stories. Each week I will send out a post or two. You can read them in order, in your inbox, or (always) on the site. There will be a table of contents just like a book. And when I’m done, there will be a compendium with an index.

7/ This format makes it easy to share stories which is something that is too difficult with a printed book. Posts can be serve as jumping off points for discussions in team meetings about similar situations (hey, invite me!) or just fun recollections for those that were there.

@GoodTimeShowCH

8/ The About page contains background information and we’ll talk tonight on @GoodTimeShowCH. Posts start next week. Please subscribe now. …rdcoresoftware.learningbyshipping.com/about?utm_sour…

PS/ The About page also has information on pricing and discounts so everyone can participate as a member.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @stevesi

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

28 Jan

https://twitter.com/asymco/status/1354826189374808067

The number of iPads being sold is huge. It is worth putting it in context. (Horace does the best analysis and accounting of Apple's business) 1/

https://twitter.com/asymco/status/1354826189374808067

2/ Just finished a "blow out" year for PC sales, at 275 million. Sounds huge from a growth perspective, but that still doesn't approach estimates of 450 million or more from a decade ago.

3/ The underlying shift that started in 2010--towards low power, high reliability, "sealed case", app store, connected to phones, WWAN, and more computers epitomized by the iPad -- remains in full swing.

Read 9 tweets

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

9 Jan

Today is the 13th anniversary iPhone announcement—easily one of the greatest launch events and moments of technology change in history. What was the "world" like at the time? When something changes the world so much it seems obvious in hindsight. That was not at all the case. 1/

2/ First, Apple itself was on a bit of a rebound with the iPod and iMac. But that only made Apple part of culture and healthy, but still a fringe player in computing. In all 2006 Apple sold about 5M Macs, which was strong for them but not compared to 235M PCs (98%share).

3/ Apple in the midst of the "Get a Mac" advertising campaign. That’s the "I’m a Mac" and "I’m a PC". These ads were brilliantly executed and brutal relative to Microsoft. These really hit where it hurt the most. So much we had endless fights over if they were true. They were.

Read 27 tweets

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

2 Jan

Here's an interesting (to me) graph. The grey line are unit sales of all "personal computers" starting in 1981 (IBM PC, Apple, Tandy, Sinclair, and more). 1981=35,000 units WW.

What is the related sold blue line that is a much nicer exponential curve?

The solid blue are internet hosts. People have a lot of difficulty understanding exponential growth. Few understood the implications of "every desktop and every home".

And even many of those people didn't understand "...connected to the internet."

3/ A few have asked about what I counted. Prior to NAT (home internet addresses like 192.168...) every computer connected to the "internet" over tcp/IP had an address that had to be allocated and maintained. That was easy to measure. Here is the source. tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1296

Read 4 tweets

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

30 Dec 20

A Chinese Covid-19 Vaccine Has Proved Effective, Its Maker Says nytimes.com/2020/12/30/bus… // This vaccine made w/a traditional time-proven technique and deployed in several places. Might sound less effective than headlines but subject selection likely different than US. 1/3

2/3 for example... Arab nations first to approve Chinese COVID vaccine — despite lack of public data nature.com/articles/d4158…

3/ Two Companies Say Their Vaccines Are 95% Effective. What Does That Mean? // This older story explains efficacy v effectiveness and what that 95% number means in practice. nytimes.com/2020/11/20/hea…

Read 4 tweets

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

4 Oct 20

I make fun of many home “IoT” gadgets but wanted to share two trivial installations that are really good and deliver on the promise easily.

1. Leviton Smart WiFi Light Switch
2. Schlage Encode Deadbolt WiFi Lock

(Obv not compensated and this isn’t a review)

1/5

2/ Generally I hate the idea of smart switches because using the app is annoying and I am not a fan of elaborate macros and the like. Plus adding a hub is problematic for many reasons. Light switches are a legacy interface that is reliable :-)

3/ These switches require no hub and connect directly to WiFi. When attached to a single light you want to control remotely they “just work”. App control and schedule.

Only wish — the app should have a randomized time on/off to simulate the value prop of “pretend you’re home”.

Read 5 tweets

Steven Sinofsky

@stevesi

21 Sep 20

https://twitter.com/DavidElfstrom/status/1307799544697163777

1/ This is quite a significant development. Some will say “finally”. Some might say this is wrapped up in politics. For me, journey to this conclusion is kind of a big deal. A look back…

https://twitter.com/DavidElfstrom/status/1307799544697163777

2/ When the first cases hit, public statements from NIH/CDC were solidly about transmission via p2p contact, consistent with cold and flu. Of course there was the famous Fauci comment on handshakes - that was as late as April. npr.org/2020/04/16/836…

3/ Going back before then, however, there were early papers out of China. But these were viewed as anecdotal PLUS many thought information from China was “suspect” at the very least they were not peer reviewed.

Read 22 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Share this page!

Steven Sinofsky

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @stevesi

Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Like this author's thread?