I’ve heard a few mentions of this over the last couple weeks, so finally went over to http://thecodetrip.com/ to check it out.
I have to say, I was rather amazed at how much they copied the AIR bus tour by Adobe this past summer. There’s a field to submit suggestions on the site, so I did so, saying “I suggest a more original idea. This was just done by Adobe. It’s really rather shocking that you would copy it so blatantly.”
I’m not trying to be a Microsoft basher here. Arguments about what computer, operating system, software company is “better” are pretty boring to me. But I really am pretty astounded that they would copy something so blatantly.
Surprisingly, Tim Heuer from Microsoft, apparently the main guy who is running the Code Trip, answered be back directly, with a pretty even handed and well thought out response. From his viewpoint, the idea of traveling around the country visiting customers is not an original idea, and is something Microsoft has been doing for years. True enough, but I don’t think any software company has painted a large recreational vehicle and done a cross country road trip, including “podcasting, video blogging, creating applications on the fly, streaming from the RV” before the AIR tour.
My point in response was, again, not to bash Microsoft for being evil, but to point out that MS already has a bit of a reputation for being a copycat. (If anyone from MS wants to defend this, just know that it’s not my accusation, but pretty well established public opinion.) I don’t see that a move like this helps this reputation at all, only enforces it.
Anyway, good luck to them. If it comes to Boston, I might even drop by and say hi.
[Addition later in the day]
So Tim wrote back and happened to mention something called “MSFT Across America”. A quick Google search brought up the following link, from 2004!
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/oct04/10-05msacrossamericapr.mspx
Including this photo:
Wow. If I weren’t so full of turkey, I might have to eat a bit of crow. 😉
When MS tries to “get funky wit it” it always seems kind of off doesn’t it? Again, not hating, just kind of a fact.
I did the exact same thing, and got a reply to a blog posting about how Def Leppard invented touring or some such nonsense. I am in the same boat as you, although I am a fanboy, I use and like XP every day, I just prefer OS X. However the whole tone and scope of the MS tour is exactly like Adobe’s AIR tour.
For someone who copies but doesn’t seem to get things quite right, this seems like it could be another example. Maybe they should hold 2 day all-day coding sessions… like extended camps… just to add something different.
And since they have the cash, they should give out laptops with VS and Vista on ’em. I’d show up 😉
It is sort of funny how much of a follower they end up looking… but really, it’s not like road-trips are a particularly unique idea are they?
I don’t get the point of all this bus coding! Why would I have to code in a bus if I can code in the comfort of my home?!! 😉
I too got a well thought out response from Tim to this post – http://www.brandonellis.org/?p=71
Tim let me know that the actual tour was not a Microsoft event and that it was put together by MS Evangelists in that part of the country. If that is true, good for them and another missed opportunity by MS.
Wow, didn’t know that either… Well I guess if they weren’t trying so hard to copy Flash with Silverlight I wouldn’t have suspected so hard. Then again I guess AIR was trying to be Desktop apps, so I guess that is invalid too. Ahh well, it probably all started by Apple or Xerox or something anyway ; ).
ericd: you mean like barcamps and codecamps like we’ve all (community in general) been doing? oh wait, adobe followed suit with aircamps as well.
One thing I’ve notice is that the defense against the accusation of copying is often to point out that the person or thing being copied has actually already copied something else. “But he did it first!” 😉
I’m pretty sure we can get to the bottom of this.
I think it all started when Harry Truman campaigned on a train.
It’s all semantics in the end…