Pajama Entrepreneur

Microsoft launched a unified communications platform (merging email, instant messaging and telephony) that Business Division President Jeff Raikes claims will put an end to telephone tag:

“The era of dialing blind, the era of playing phone tag, the era of voice-mail jam…that era is ending . . . I don’t want to get in touch with your number. I want to get in touch with you.

Sorry Jeff, but actually most of the time, I don’t want to talk to people. I want them to leave a message in my email box which I can either read or listen to in order to determine whether it is worth responding to. Based on what I hear and read, I will respond.

Why do companies love offering products like this - a hodgepodge of stuff that does not really solve a pressing problem? Right now my problem is I get too many emails from business contacts, friends, family, email newsletters, etc. The last thing I need is people managing to reach me via phone interrupting my already busy day.

I want FILTERS, intelligent ones, and I have a few solutions already using email, but nothing is optimal. Messages from close friends and family go into a mailbox marked “read right away”. I have various mailboxes for different levels of urgency. But what I certainly don’t need is a solution that allows people to talk to me whenever THEY want, not when I want.

Ever since I’ve been using Microsoft Office, first on a PC and since 2002 on a Mac, I’ve bought every single upgrade from Microsoft. Not this time. Microsoft is selling the upgrade for $239.95.

Here are the reasons why I won’t be upgrading:

• $239.95 is too much money to pay for - what? I use Word, Excel and Powerpoint but only its basic features. I do not use Entourage, the email client.
• I have been using Google Docs and Spreadsheet to share documents with people. Those programs are free and integrate well with Gmail, which I also use. Gmail is also free.
• Recently, I downloaded a trial copy of Apple’s iWork suite and have been using their new spreadsheet program called Numbers. I love it. I am thinking of buying iWork. I have already used Pages, their word processing program, and Keynote, which blows away Powerpoint. I like iWork very much and it’s only $79.
• There are many other free alternatives to Microsoft Office, for example, Zoho which offers free online spreadsheet, word processor, customer relationship management system, chat, database creator, etc.