A Brief Interview with the Microsoft Origami Team

Some members of the Microsoft's Origami Project team watch and comment on the forums at their web site. I put a post up asking if I could send over some questions and was pleased with the response I received. Read on:

ThoughtFix: What was the Origami Project's vision as it was being developed? Was that vision realized to your satisfaction?

Origami Team - Sears: Origami is the first step down the path of achieving the grander Haiku vision that Otto talked about in his blog posts on origamiproject.com following the CeBIT announcement. The first software and devices on the market are only a step towards that longer term vision.

ThoughtFix: It seems unclear to me exactly what the target market of the UMPC is. The most positive response I've received seems to be from teens/young adults and medical professionals. Are there specific markets in mind for the UMPC?

Origami Team - Dustin: Over time we see the UMPC as appealing to a broad range of consumers from the busy professional, to the active student, to the stay at home parent. Initially new technology always appeals first to technical enthusiasts and early adopters and the UMPC is following that predicible trend. From Microsoft you can expect to see us continuing to deliver software that will focus on consumer scenarios such as media, entertainment, navigation, etc. to further the broader consumer appeal.

ThoughtFix: The idea of "desktop extensions" or "laptop extensions" seems to rise and fall over the years. How long has the Origami Project been going on?

Origami Team - Sears: It’s been over 4 years from the time Otto first started the initial brainstorming to where we are today. Regarding my team’s specific involvement, we’ve been a part of the project for about a year now.

ThoughtFix: Since the UMPC is best used as a secondary machine (my manual even says "Laptop Extension" at one point) it would be best used as a "client" to another computer. One specific (and oft rumored) example is Windows Media Center Extender functionality. Are there plans in the works for additional applications that take advantage of the UMPC as a client?

Origami Team - Sears: While I can’t comment specifically on the projects our team or other teams are currently working on, I can say that there is a lot of interest within the company around UMPCs. I’d expect to see some very interesting scenarios enabled specific to the UMPC that you wouldn’t traditionally see with notebooks, or even ultra-portables.

ThoughtFix: Many reviewers think that the "rush to market" seriously degraded the capabilities of first generation UMPCs. Now that the devices are on the market, are you continuing to develop applications or application extensions optimized for lower resolution touchscreens?

Origami Team - Sears: Absolutely. Not only is our team working on UMPC-optimized applications, but we’ve been working with groups internally, as well as third party companies externally to build software specifically with the UMPC and lower resolution in mind.

ThoughtFix: Will current devices support Vista and will there be a TouchPak for Vista?

Origami Team - Sears: We’re working with the device manufacturers on Vista support, but ultimately it’s up to them to provide the necessary drivers and application support for the new operating system. As for a Vista Touch Pack, we aren’t ready to make any announcements about upcoming software releases from our team, but I will say that we have some pretty cool stuff planned for the future.

ThoughtFix: How do you personally use your UMPC?

Origami Team - Sears: I use my UMPC at home, in the car, and in the office on a daily basis. At home I use it to read email, browse various websites, check out the Origami Project forums, etc. In the morning before I leave for work, I check the local traffic maps, take a quick glance at email, and queue up a couple of podcasts. When I get in the car, I plug in the tape adapter to the headphone jack, and start listening to the queued podcasts through the car stereo. On occasion I do one last quick check of the traffic to make sure I don’t need to take the back roads rather than the highway.

When I get into the office, I use it quite a bit for testing and experimenting, as well as bring it to meetings for note-taking. At work and home I usually have FolderShare running, which keeps my Podcast folder synced with another computer that does the file downloading, providing me with fresh content to listen to during my commute. And every now and then I use it to stream videos or live/recorded TV from my MCE machine at home. It came in very handy during the World Cup this past summer.

ThoughtFix: What else would you like to tell my readers about the Origami project or tiny computing in general?

Origami Team - Dustin: We fundamentally believe UMPCs have the opportunity to change the way people leverage the power of Windows in ways most users have never imagined. Only recently has the miniaturization of computing power reached the levels where you really can have the full power of a PC in a companion like device. Most devices in the market today are single purpose such as portable DVD players, portable navigation devices, dedicated internet devices and handheld gaming systems. Our research suggests that a portable device that allows the infinite functions of a PC, but packaged up as a device with functional designs and customized user experiences has tremendous market opportunity.

Here is some general information for people who do not stay close to UMPC news:

• Who is Otto? Otto Berkes is the general manager of the Origami/UMPC team. Look for the five part blog series by him entitled "History of Origami by Otto" in the OrigamiProject Blog.
• Where is this forum? http://origamiproject.com/forums/default.aspx
• What is this Haiku thing? If I understand it properly, Haiku is the "mother project" of tiny tablet computing. Origami is one part of that project, expected to grow in the future.
  
• How does Sears stream from his MCE box? He can use Orb or SlingBox to stream live and recorded TV, or he can simply mount his Recorded TV folder over the network and play the DVR-MS files over Windows Media Player.

I want to thank Dustin and Sears for taking the time to answer these questions and clear them through the proper channels. I look forward to seeing what comes of these exciting new development projects coming from the Origami Project team. As for UltraMobileGeek.com, I will continue to provide you with the latest in hacks, tips, and tricks for stuff that's already on the market.