So far, Microsoft has done a very good job of impressing me the last week. In fact, I have seen some of the best decision-making out of the company in years. Although a lot of this may be due to One Microsoft and other forces already in play, some credit also certainly goes to Satya Nadella in his new role as CEO.

In short, what I saw that I liked:

• Office for iPad – The overnight success of this shows that Microsoft has been leaving money on the table, even with a 30% cut going to Apple. Given its a v1.0 and is this polished, I look forward to what the updates will bring. Hopefully they will update it frequently in the style of a true iOS application and not on a Microsoft ship cadence. It has earned overnight status in my daily-use list and is hopefully a harbinger of a lot more to come of delivering great experiences on other platforms.
• Scott Guthrie – I worked for Scott directly for two years. I would count those as amongst the absolute top highlights of my career. He is a rare mix of technical excellence, but more importantly – customer focus. Including looking beyond the boundaries of the Redmond campus. He is absolutely the right choice to deliver technically innovative products that will do what people want. Congrats to him and kudos to Satya.
• Universal Applications – This has long been one of Microsoft’s biggest opportunities. They finally delivered. And offered some decent migration strategies to boot. Microsoft built much of its success on developers, but that has gone by the wayside for a while. This felt like the start of them getting their groove back. The Xbox One support is a fantastic touch and key differentiator – and may end up seeing me get one even though I am a staunch anti-gamer in the wake of the discontinuation of Flight Simulator…
• Cortana – This one exceeded expectations. Microsoft played to its strengths and brought in context from all of the other things they have the ability to touch, such as your inbox and calendar. And gave you the extensibility to teach it (also playing to one of their historical strengths not seen lately). They acted uncharacteristically cool by maintaining the codename from the Halo franchise, using the actor from the Halo games, and hiring screenwriters to make the dialogue entertaining. Now, can we get a desktop and tablet version please? Maybe, unlike Google Now, it won’t think I work at the local QFC (another story)…
• Mea Culpa on Windows 8 Desktop – The renewed focus on the desktop was great to see. It’s what people fundamentally want. Tim Cook was right on this one; you have to have a device appropriate experience. Which Windows 8 failed to deliver. And coupled with the lack of applications on the tablet side, it turned into a disaster. Giving people the experience they want and a true universal platform gives it hope…we shall see.
• Free Windows on < 9″ Devices – This was the unexpected one (along with offering O365 via the Apple App Store). Microsoft has long held onto its licensing policies with religious fervor. Seeing them be pragmatic with respect to where they are at in the market was a refreshing change, and one guaranteed to not have happened under the previous regime.

What was unimpressive (beyond Cortana) was Windows Phone 8.1, sans the very elegant dual-SIM support (very key for international travelers like me or those in emerging markets where multiple carriers are a reality). This was a me-too play that should have been there all the way along.

Overall, my expectations have been exceeded. Kudos to everyone in Redmond – and especially all of my friends and former colleagues. Congratulations on delivering some of the best in a very long time and finding some of the right grooves again.