What’s even better is the Outlook Hotmail Connector for Office 2010 supports contact and calendar sync (in addition to email), so everything’s synced without ever needing to plug in a cable to my computer. As more of these mobile-oriented services light up over the next couple months, my anticipation for Windows Phone 7 builds.

Windows Phone 7 service preparations are well under way in the background and soon, everything will be coming together. I’m excited!

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Synchronization Made Clear(er)

The Worldwide Partner Conference is well underway, with some keynotes by Microsoft executives. The cloud has been a cornerstone of all the keynotes thus far, and while it may initially appear to be all business-y, comments yesterday by Brad Brooks and Andy Lees shows how consumers will start benefiting immediately. It is all centered upon the Three-Screens-and-the-Cloud mantra. As people begin to own multiple connected devices, data synchronization has become a priority issue. Although in the past Live Mesh, Live Sync, FolderShare, SkyDrive, and others made for a jumbled mess in the space, it appears these ‘experiments’ are paying off in the form of the architecture that is being settled upon for the consumer space: Live Sync + SkyDrive.

All the details aren’t quite available yet, but what has been shown thus far seems to indicate that no matter what platform you’re using, Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7 or Windows Live, SkyDrive will be the place to store all your data. Live Sync provides the syncing technology for Windows on a PC, and a slightly revamped version of MyPhone and specialized version of Live Sync, which will be named Windows Phone Live, syncs smartphone data to SkyDrive. SkyDrive is either already the storage location for the web-based Live apps (Office Live, Live Mail, etc.) or provided as a network-mapped drive for the rich clients, such as the Live Essentials suite. Microsoft is providing 25GB on SkyDrive, which is generous. I doubt the intention is to allow you to store your entire media library on the cloud, but sharing 12MP photos and home videos in private, especially in HD formats will now be easier. I’m excited there’s now a clearly defined way for me to synchronize data between my laptop and desktop (and perhaps my work laptop as well!).

Syncing Smartphone Data

Perhaps more interesting is the benefit for Windows Phone 7. AnandTech’s recently published article on the Kin euthanasia touched upon one of the well-received components of the product, Kin Studio. As sad as the Kin story is, perhaps something can be salvaged – the excellent sync philosophy that underlies Kin Studio. The author, Brian Klug, loved the automatic and near real-time synchronization of photos, messages, contacts, and more. Many of these features are already available with Microsoft MyPhone, but it’s nowhere near real-time. What was shown yesterday at WPC with Windows Phone 7, however, changes that. One of the features touted was: after a photo is taken, a web-quality version is automatically synced with SkyDrive, ready to be shared. In order to conserve some data, the full quality version and any media downloaded, say from Zune, is synced over Wifi once the device is plopped into its charging cradle. Now, I doubt the interface for Windows Phone Live will be anything like Kin Studio and its interesting timeline – Windows Phone 7 simply doesn’t have the same social intention Kin does. However, I imagine many of the core syncing scenarios have been ported over, and that’s the important part. No more is the phone tied to a computer. After all, why should it be?

I’m also super excited that synchronization doesn’t just stop at photos, documents and other files. With multiple social services like Facebook, MySpace, Live, and my work Exchange account, contacts are all over the place, often duplicated and many times incomplete. Windows Live will now start aggregating and merging contacts from multiple providers. This functionality was also shown during the Windows Phone 7 demonstrations at WPC. While Android smartphones and HTC Sense interface devices have been able to integrate with services like Facebook, there isn’t enough control over the resulting list of merged contacts. Furthermore, these merged listings are never stored in a permanent location, meaning a data wipe also wipes out those links. I’m hopeful now that Windows Live is hosting all this data, it will be persistent and available for easy manipulation.

The Data Availability Vision

Okay, lots of words, but what does it mean for us, the end users? You get the data that is important to you on all your devices, all the time, anywhere you go. Microsoft’s bringing together its often-confusing mish-mash of synchronization and web storage services in a much clearer way, enabling data and settings synchronization between multiple Windows PCs, Windows Phone 7 devices, Xbox, and the cloud (SkyDrive).

In the past, the enigmatic positioning of seemingly similar products indicated Microsoft itself didn’t quite know what it wanted to accomplish in the synchronization space. However, recent disclosures about the technologies that will underly the Personal Cloud, as Microsoft calls it, are solidifying the landscape. Past experiences have been drawn upon. Microsoft’s vision for your personal mesh of devices is finally becoming clear, and the scenarios are enticing.

Fortunately, the little button in the top right shrinks the contact list down to something more manageable, and not dissimilar from what we had in the past. I’ve gone with a two-column layout. The ad banner has changed format, but still takes up a good portion of the application, unfortunately.

There’s a clear focus on the social aspect of Windows Live in the new release. Your name can no longer be changed in the Messenger interface; instead it’s tied to your profile. You’ll have to modify your Live settings to update your name. However, the chat box beside your avatar is more obvious than before, and serves as a status update.

Speaking of your Windows Live profile, I hadn’t noticed it much in the past, but with many of the account functions now tied to that web interface, many more people are going to be visiting the site. It looks fairly clean, with your own status updates front and center. It seems like very few of my contacts currently use the service, with Facebook around, so they’ve gone and added the ability to link (one-way or two-way) your social accounts, such as Facebook, YouTube, etc. When I installed Windows Live Writer, I was prompted to link my WordPress blog with Windows Live. A couple clicks later and my recent posts started populating my feed. Pretty neat.

Back to Live Messenger. An oft-requested feature, tabbed messaging, makes an appearance. Furthermore, Messenger now plays nice with the Windows 7 taskbar, removing the superfluous taskbar item, as well as showing each tab as an individual preview. Nice little status buttons on the contact list preview enable quick status changes.

One feature that is indicative of a mindset that makes me extremely proud to be a Program Manager shows up in the notifications. The little gear circled in the screenshot below takes you directly to the notification settings.

When a user sees the little notifier pop up, they’re likely going to think one of three things.

1. Okay, but I don’t care (leaves it to go away on its own, or click the little x)
2. Oh, I meant to speak to him/her (clicks the notification to launch a chat)
3. Gosh, I hate these notifications! (????)

Normally, the third reaction meant the user had to go dig around in the settings until they found what they were looking for, or give up trying. However, the little icon uses up some of the otherwise wasted space and delivers what the user wants in a single click. That’s a much better experience, and that’s the goal of any Program Manager.

I haven’t delved into the rest of the applications yet, although this post was written in the new Live Writer. For the most part, what I’m seeing at a glance are the old apps, now with more ribbon. Perhaps there are little user experience nuggets like the settings link in Live Messenger, helping the interface. I’m also rather excited about Live Sync (+ SkyDrive). I’ve been using DropBox, but it doesn’t work with my own file structure, so I’m curious to see how Live Sync stacks up. Get the Live Essentials Beta here.

While it’s expected that Microsoft would put the emphasis on applications for WP7S at a developer-oriented conference like MIX, the front-and-center placement of the platform during the keynote shows how much they want it to succeed. The applications shown by Joe Belfiore (Associated Press, Hush Hush Diary, Harvest) were of serious quality. Windows Phone 7 Series isn’t just a pretty face, a one-trick pony. There’s going to be some spectacular applications added to the OS by third parties. Plus, there’s a huge pool of .NET developers who I’m certain will love dabbling. I’ve already installed the SDK on my laptop.

Now we just have to hope the install base grows quickly. It’s a chicken and egg dilemma – people will buy when they see a compelling platform and developers will create applications when there is a market that can support them. I don’t mind taking the risk and jumping in as a developer right now.

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Today, I’m proud.

When I tell people I’m going to work at Microsoft after graduation, I usually get one of two reactions. The first is the regular congratulations, typically from people outside of the information technology field. The second starts with a raised eyebrow, then a comment: “I hear it’s pretty stodgy over there.”

Reading blog posts and tech sites disparage this or that about Microsoft makes me cringe. I’m nothing if not loyal. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at some points wish I could tell people I was associated with Apple or Google or Amazon or anyone else.

Hip. Innovative. Modern.

Those are certainly not things that you normally hear said in the same sentence as ‘Microsoft’, except when the word ‘not’ is in there as well. Perhaps that was true up until a few years ago. I even had this conversation with my GPM. Microsoft’s changing on the inside, but no one seems to know it. How can we show people what the Microsoft of the 21st century is all about?

Microsoft’s Reinvention

Different parts of Microsoft are changing at different rates. In the Business Division, things are somewhat more difficult to change. Over in the Entertainment and Devices group, you’re seeing what an increased focus on really delighting the user has already done. Xbox 360, Zune HD, Surface, Project Natal, and, most recently, Windows Phone 7 Series show what is brewing within the ‘Borg’.

It is that latter project that I want to talk about in depth here, both from a product standpoint, as well as its affect on me, several months ago. As you may know, I interned at Microsoft this past Fall (2009) in the Office InfoPath PM team. During my interviews, I had requested a design-oriented position, citing Office’s Ribbon UI overhaul as something I found pretty cool. Well, I got placed on an Office team. Perhaps not exactly what I wanted, but I was determined to make the best of it.

I had a fantastic semester with a great team, but I wasn’t certain if the enterprise space was right for me. Three things convinced me to give it a shot in a full-time position.

1. My team was absolutely phenomenal and the mentoring I received there convinced me that I had a heck of a lot to learn about the PM role, regardless of which team I was on. I am pretty much guaranteed continued mentorship when I return this summer.
2. A PM in the E&D division helped guide my views on the Office group. He was seeing the mentality of innovation and user-centered design spread throughout the company, Office included. He also inspired me to drive that mentality, regardless of where I found myself.
3. This was the clincher. I had several opportunities to talk with one of the PMs on Joe Belfiore’s team about the future of Windows Phone. It convinced me that Microsoft was indeed changing for the better and I wanted to be a part of that.

At the time, I was strongly considering graduate studies in the HCI space, hoping to work on the next generation of mobile computing. I surmised that the mobile phone, of all computing technology, was most aligned with a task-oriented operating design. The concept of applications is, in my opinion, already kludgy on the desktop and laptop. It makes even less sense on a smartphone. I saw mobile phones as the first place where an operating system could change the way people use computing technology today.

Task-Based

Instead of opening and closing applications, which has little analog with the mental and physical tasks we perform in the real world, the mobile should be centered around accomplishing logical (groupings of) tasks. I want to communicate with my friend. How, be it SMS, email, phone, or Facebook, is really secondary to that primary goal. I don’t want to think about which application to launch, because that precedes the goal of communication with a conscious and limiting decision. Once I have that SMS app up, I’m limited to 140 characters. Perhaps what I had to say requires many more. Over to email I go. That’s no good.

Windows Phone 7’s concept of ‘hubs’ are task-centers in disguise. Look at how they’re designed. One is people-centric. I want to communicate with a person. Let me decide how to do that after I get all the information I want/need about that person.

Another is media-centric. I have some time to kill. Launch the Zune hub and all my media needs can be satisfied there, whether it be radio, stored music, streamed music, or videos. No separate apps for Pandora. It’s all in one place.

Then there’s the Productivity hub, with Mobile Office. Again, you’re not launching individual Office applications. Instead, your documents are there – the application itself isn’t important – and you can work on any of them within the same hub experience.

Photographs can come from a multitude of places. They could be saved. They could be taken on the camera on the device. But in addition, Flickr, Picasa, and Facebook are just a few of a multitude of services that are connected in the cloud. Again, why have applications for each service? I want to view photos and all of these services provide photos. Give them to me in one place so I can accomplish my task in one place.

The design doesn’t punish a poor or wrong decision. It removes that potential for a wrong decision altogether, but still gives all the options.

Several of the screens shown are quite busy, as many have noted, especially the homescreen. The METRO UI theme takes cues from mass data displays such as airport flight monitors, which also update rather frequently. It’s proven to be an efficient way to present a lot of data in many situations, so perhaps it’ll work on the phone as well. Albert Shum, Director of Mobile Experience Design alludes to this in the following video.

I believe Windows Phone 7 is easily the closest out of all the smartphone platforms to reaching that task-oriented design I dream of. I’m very excited about Windows Phone 7, sure, but more than that, I’m interested to see if this is the start of a more task-oriented design to all the computing technology that surrounds us. That means PC operating systems as well. I’d be a staunch supporter of  such a design path.

Let’s be clear here – the Windows Phone 7 Series announced yesterday isn’t the end of the journey. It’s the beginning. There are so many more things in the pipeline that continue to break down the walls between siloed applications. More and more, the operating system will be about helping you accomplish tasks in an efficient and delightful way.

The Team

As I mentioned earlier, I had the privilege to get a look into the workings of the team that worked on Windows Phone 7. Hopefully I’m okay to write about it now, since the product has been announced. You might have noticed that Joe Belfiore mentioned he came to the Windows Phone team from Zune a bit more than a year ago. The person I spoke with also previously worked on the Zune team. I even met the lead designer for the Zune UI, and you guessed it, he was also working on Windows Phone. The UI shown today makes it clear that this was an ex-Zune team led effort. In fact, I imagine the upper echelons of the Zune team were simply plucked up and placed in Windows Phone somewhat more than a year ago.

That also gives you an idea of the time frame of what was accomplished and why it’s going to take until the holidays 2010 for shipping product.

But that team. It’s very different. I’m sure they were this way when they were working on the Zune, but upon moving to Windows Mobile/Phone, the team grew significantly. Getting everyone on board with the user-centric design mentality was a monumental accomplishment. I spoke with the PM on this point – how can you sufficiently convince people of such a large shift in design philosophy? Numerous points were discussed, but the short of the story was the team belief in creating a fantastic user experience, and progress along that path only solidified the idea that this was simply the right thing to do. The results created a feedback loop of buy-in. Of course, the stick had to come out a few times, to make sure things didn’t degenerate into the previous mess, but all in all, a very successful story of a real shift in the workings of a major team within Microsoft.

The team is simply different from any other I’ve seen thus far Microsoft. The people are ‘hip’. They talk about emotional design. They believe in it. I had a chance to see the lab where a lot of the magic happens, and my, my, I imagine Apple’s design labs aren’t much different. You see some of it in the video earlier on. The team is even physically laid out in a different way from most of the rest of Microsoft. I hope to take some of those learnings anywhere I go. It looks like it works.

Windows Phone 7 was a highly guarded secret, and the shock and awe value they got today was exactly the effect they were aiming for. I happily kept my mouth (and fingers) shut for the past couple months because that’s the least this wonderful team deserves, to reap the fruits of their hard labor.

This is why I’m super proud. Congratulations Windows Phone 7 team! I’ll be looking forward to the end of this year with great anticipation!