For years, write once, run anywhere has been the dream of many developers and -- whether or not they knew it -- customers who have wanted to share the same apps across different screens.
Microsoft is getting closer to making that dream a reality, Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein told attendees of the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference during a Q&A session on February 13.
Klein was asked about Microsoft's plans to address the
tablet and phone market with device form factors ranging from 4 inches to 13 inches and beyond.
"We've done a lot of the hard work in the developer platform," Klein said. "We are well set up to respond to demand as we see it" with different-size form factors, he said.
Klein's response echoed that of Windows CFO Tami Reller, with whom I spoke recently. Reller also made a point of saying that Windows 8 was designed from the outset to run on smaller and bigger screens at different resolutions, and that it's the underlying app platform/app model that enables this.
This new "we'll see what customers want" in terms of screen size is a markedly different message from Microsoft officials than just a year ago, when Microsoft execs pooh-poohed the advantage of smaller screen sizes for Windows devices that could act as both creation and consumption platforms.
Klein did note that it's not operating systems that matter in the end; it's more the common experiences -- apps and services like
Xbox Live, Skype, SmartGlass -- that are what really matter to consumers. That said, it's the evolving underlying application programming interfaces (APIs) that will be what enables developers of these apps and services to get closer to cross-platform nirvana.
"We are getting closer and closer every day to write once and run anywhere," Klein said.
Microsoft is forging ahead on attempts to solve this problem, as a recent job post made plain, noting that Microsoft is attempting to unify further its Windows Phone and Windows development platforms and APIs. (The post has since been removed from the company's Careers site because the post was filled.)
"We are looking for a highly motivated and technically strong SDET (software development engineer in test) to help our team bring together the Windows Store and Phone development platforms," the job post read. To make this happen, Microsoft is "bring(ing) much of the WinRT API (application programming interface) surface and the .NET Windows Store profile to the Phone." The ultimate goal: "(T)he code you write for Windows Store apps would just work on the Windows Phone and vice versa."
The "Blue" Windows and Windows Phone updates that Microsoft's Windows client and Phone teams are building are expected to include new APIs and core-level changes that will help increase commonalities between the two platforms, according to my contacts.
In response to questions outside the realm of multi-size-screen support, Klein had nothing new to say about when/whether Microsoft will make Office available on iOS.
When asked about what Microsoft has learned from the Surface launch -- starting back in October when the company made available the Surface RT -- Klein said the company came to understand that users need to touch, see, and play with the Surface. Building awareness alone isn't enough, he acknowledged. Klein also said updates that Microsoft is making to the Surfaces based on user feedback are going to go back into the
Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems and will benefit the entire ecosystem.
This story originally appeared on ZDNet under the headline "Microsoft CFO Klein: We're ready for devices of all sizes."
Microsoft closing in on 'write once, run anywhere,' says CFO
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