Microsoft's Frank Shaw draws developer heckling over iWork post

Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) corporate VP of communications managed to generate more reaction than anything the company launched last week when he penned a blog post in reaction to Apple's decision to drop fees for its iWork suite of apps. Accusing most tech media of being sucked into Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) "reality distortion field," he also took potshots at the apps themselves:

"Since iWork has never gotten much traction, and was already priced like an afterthought, it's hardly that surprising or significant a move," he wrote. "And it doesn't change the fact that it's much harder to get work done on a device that lacks precision input and a desktop for true side-by-side multitasking."

Though there were a few kudos from users and Microsoft partners, developers on Twitter responded unfavorably to Shaw's post, to put it mildly:

For some, Shaw's post was a good reason to talk more specifically about how much they don't like Microsoft Office...

While others suggested it reflects some ongoing problems within Microsoft's corporate culture:

The worst outcome for Microsoft, however, might be complete ambivalence to its software on mobile devices.