Ask HN: Why does Microsoft think we want to draw on webpages?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9467656

by altern8 • 11 years ago

2 3 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I just watched the ad for Microsoft's new browser. They make it a big deal and show that you can finally draw circles and smileys on web pages. Why does Microsoft think people want to do that? It looks to me like they always struggle with products :-/

Nadya• 11 years ago

Useful for corporate users.

For example - if I want to show a coworker how to navigate to a specific area on a website to accomplish a task. Removing a few steps and making this easier can save quite a lot of time. It also allows IT support to do the same for customers, which could make sharing instructions easier as well.

Remember a large portion of Microsoft software users are Corporate - not only Personal.

_random_• 11 years ago

And who uses voice control? There should be as many different input options as possible.

ChaoticGood• 11 years ago

The new feature Microsoft is offering allows their Egde browser to be divergent enough to stand out. All while allowing a push for a more dynamic web experience where the user is not just a content consumer, but a content creator. This ability to remix content is the future of a more collaborative web. It is also reminiscent of Genius push for annotations. I actually really like the product vision MS is offering here and look forward to actually using Edge.

The future of the web is a real time collaborative medium that dynamically shapes around us. We have been traveling down the info super highway in an analogous individual experience to being in a car. The future of the web will be more of collaborative group experience of traveling down the info super highway in a magic bus. Given this new feature allows us to get one step forward to that remixable future.

Ask HN: Why does Microsoft think we want to draw on webpages?

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