Has Microsoft Lost Its Mojo (Again)?

Did you go down the rabbit hole last November with everyone else?

It was a very difficult time for the insane. I spent a lot of time talking to the staff during the holiday. And it’s been an absolute rocket ship ever since.

Claude Code seems to have it he found thunder there, beat Codexand indeed, the Helper. A few years ago the Microsoft Copilot coding tool seemed to stand on its head. Now it’s Claude Code.

I would respectfully disagree. Code types are a part of it, but Microsoft is a great place for developers. Windows is an open platform on open source tools where people can create anything.

Microsoft wants Scout to be accepted by productivity workers and consumers. AI agents make mistakes and have demons. How many mistakes will people tolerate?

That’s a good question. I don’t know. Believe but prove. Give it a little work, then try it, and see if it works. And then, “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with that. For example, when I tell someone that I’ve given OpenClaw access to my blood sugar, because I have type 1 diabetes, there’s a knee-jerk reaction, “How dare you give an agent access to your health information?” It’s very helpful to let me know about my blood sugar. I don’t think that’s a controversial thing.

I understand this, but right now there are a lot of people who are skeptical or hate AI.

When a new tool is introduced, whether it’s a chainsaw, a power tool, or an internal combustion engine, there is a period of confusion as people figure out how to make this product good for people. I personally am not on AI, because I vote with my feet. I don’t use AI image generation, and I don’t use AI video, because I don’t believe in those things. I use AI for writing, and I find it interesting.

Yes, coders are very fond of helpers, but outside of that group, there is resistance. Microsoft has seen this in the failure of its AI development tools. Are you waiting for a storm of simulating agent AI?

They may or may not like it. I remember when the Walkman came out and people said, “Nobody’s going to wear those things on their heads. Now we all walk around with white Q-tips hanging from our ears.”

Can’t you see that Microsoft is on the way to entry?

I politely push back and say that everyone is up, because you go forward and then you go back and forth. It’s a big fight. I want to remind people that the word “Copilot” was something Microsoft did first, and the word has become like Kleenex.

Do you think this year’s conference has put Microsoft back in the race?

Several Mac users were chatting with me in the background, and they watched Surface Laptop Ultra he announced. They saw all the new hardware, and they looked at us begrudgingly and said, “Dang it, you’re going to make me get a Surface, aren’t you?”

The trash at Fort Mason is full of MacBook Airs now?

This would be a surprising result, although I would not like it create more eco waste.

This is a copy of Steven Levy Backchannel Newsletter. Read previous articles Here.