My 2004 wishlist for Microsoft

As a professional Microsoft watcher, I spend a fair amount of time wondering what Bill Gates & Co. should do next. Most of the time, I use this column to poke, prod, and cajole Redmond into doing what I think is best for ZDNet readers specifically and consumers generally.
 
I also try to think about what's best for Microsoft as a company, because accomplishing my user-friendly goals often requires huge infusions of cash.

Today, I'm going to mix what Microsoft should do for the good of you and me with what the company needs to do in its own best interest. The result is my list of Microsoft's Top 10 Challenges for 2004.

My list is informed by another one compiled each year by my friends at the Directions on Microsoft newsletter. Their list has a deeply business-y feel to it, not surprising for a group whose primary audiences are Microsoft's biggest customers and companies that sell stuff to Microsoft. And neither list offers solutions, only challenges, although I do recommend some specific actions and non-actions.

Here goes:

1. The most important thing for Microsoft to do in 2004 is to resist the temptation to do a major upgrade to Windows XP. The company might like to give users a taste of what's in store for them when Longhorn finally ships (in 2005 or 2006). But the last time the company tried something like this was when Windows XP had slipped past its original target date. In response, Microsoft unleashed Windows Me, an OS that really wasn't ready, on an unsuspecting world. I hope Redmond has learned from that disaster. (Hint: This will also be at the top of the 2005 list as well.)

2. Microsoft needs to ship a Longhorn beta that is stable enough for corporate customers to use for development sometime in 2004. Most of what is new in Longhorn is developer-oriented, and will take a while to filter down to users. The sooner developers can start working, the better.

3. Linux is a competitive threat and Microsoft must respond aggressively if it wants to contain more serious competition in the future. This situation is good for customers because a frightened Microsoft has, in the past, been an innovative Microsoft. It also keeps prices customer-friendly. However, a frightened Microsoft has also been later accused of illegalities. So in 2004, Microsoft's priority must be to tear down Linux without winding up back in federal court.

4. A big issue we haven't heard so much about lately is digital rights management, or DRM. Microsoft needs to do a better job of educating customers, lawmakers, and the public on what DRM means in the workplace. Redmond also needs to articulate a position on fair rights issues in entertainment and electronic media. What should consumers be able to do with the content they purchase? Microsoft has the opportunity to make things better for consumers or worse, but seems to be doing nothing.

5. Microsoft must do more for small businesses, which have every reason to feel like the stepchildren of the big enterprise customers. Microsoft could take a lesson from Intuit: the QuickBooks people really know what it means to be close to their customers. One of the things Microsoft needs to do for small businesses is make it easier for them to license its products at reasonable terms and prices.