John Battelle has a provocative rant about what Microsoft ought to do about Web 2.0: “Gates needs to do to Microsoft what Jobs did to Apple when he launched the Mac team – give the new guys carte blanche, and get out of their way….Take Search, Live, and a good chunk of MSR (research) and make it a separately traded division of MSFT. Take the damn thing public. Imagine that IPO! Let’s call this new company LiveSoft. It spins out with exclusive licenses from MSFT for integration with Windows and Office. For infrastructure support and access to patents/IP/research/human capital. All the stuff it needs from Mommy Microsoft, it can have. But, it’s kicked out of the nest, and run by a real madman/woman….”
I’m going to print this one out and hand it to Bill G when I meet with him at Mix 06…