December 14, 2013 at 11:32 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Regrets of the Last Decade
December 16, 2013 at 8:36 am
The comparison to Apple kind of misses the point. Apple morphed from being a computer company to a toy company about the time it dumped Moto/PPC/etc. for X86. Computers, per se, are about 10% of the company, and falling. Whatever Jobs did, he didn't make it better at what it was doing, but jettisoned what it was doing for something else.
M$, on the other hand, faced Apple's problem, only earlier. There's a reason why folks opted not to update from XP and Office 2000 (or whichever one they got in the first place): XP works fine for most folks, and most folks use only a fraction (if any at all) of the bells and whistles that have been added to basic WP in Office. Not to mention that Excel was at the nexus of most of the quant crap that caused The Great Recession, London Whale, and doubtless countless other screw ups we don't yet know about.
The, yet again, EoL of XP will be interesting to watch. Forcing a full re-install of all user programs is reason enough to not bother. About 40% of Windows is still XP, and works fine for those folks.
Could anyone, including Uncle Bill, have divined another wintel monopoly that made him rich in the first place? That would require another clueless IBM, another nearly bankrupt Intel, a clueless Lotus, and on and on.
December 16, 2013 at 9:12 am
Apple certainly morphed, but Microsoft could have done some of that. Ultimately Apple is still Apple, and seen as a technology company, even though they really sell lots of devices that aren't PC-type computers.
Microsoft fumbled lots of their chances to jump into phones, get search working, to evolve the OS, etc. However, they have still grown in areas, and while I don't think they'll get 90% of a market, they can do well. I am hoping Windows Phone does well, but it seems that whole launch and push has been somewhat mishandled.
December 16, 2013 at 11:10 am
The biggest miss from Microsoft is failing to give the typical consumer what they really want. They were late to the phone and fell flat when they got there (I know 1 person who has a Windows phone). They were late to the tablet and instead of bringing what people like about the PC to the tablet (power, file systems, flexibility), Microsoft decided to bring what people don't like about the tablet to the PC (limited screen size, lack of UI configuration options, swyping through screens to get to what you want).
I have been reasonably happy with the SQL Server advancements in the past decade, especially with the add-on products. SSIS and SSAS were huge. I would say that SSRS has a long way to go to provide more visually appealing online reports with cleaner drill through capabilities).
December 16, 2013 at 11:38 am
Microsoft managed to alienate a lot of developers and independents by pimping a new API every couple of years, abandoning the old ones. The poorly managed shift to Windows 8, RT and Windows phone is a reflection of their management. Killing TechNet and cranking the prices on MSDN doesn't help either. Neither did helping the NSA. Or screwing up the last Patch Tuesday. Or trying to make software, subscription-ware.
You also have a new whole generation of developers that realize the Microsoft isn't the only game in town. iOS, Android, Linux and a maturing universe of OSS allow more freedom to users and developers. What can Redmond do about this? How can they earn trust back?
December 16, 2013 at 11:51 am
chrisn-585491 (12/16/2013)
Neither did helping the NSA.
For those of us on the West Side of the Pond, last night we got to watch ("60 Minutes") the NSA cry crocodile tears over its caning. What was most funny was the litany of computer problems they face, yet they run the leakiest OS on the planet, Windows. You'd think they'd be smarter than that.
December 16, 2013 at 2:43 pm
I used to hate hearing people complain about Microsoft. I didn't feel the statements about virus infection and other things were fair. I still don't given that Adobe and Oracle lead the list of the worst software available today when it comes to security.
However, while I think there were unfair complaints, what is fair is to comment on how badly Microsoft sucks at providing consumer and business operating systems.
Windows 2000 was the first good OS for the desktop. Then they came out with XP, which was also very good, maybe better. Follow that up with Vista, we all know how bad that was. Windows 7 comes along, and behold, they actually made changes that I could tolerate, while improving the quality of the OS. Then they released Vista II (commonly known as Windows 8), which is the biggest pile of dung I have ever seen them attempt to sell.
On top of all that, they lie every time something doesn't go their way. Windows 8 sales not what you expect, lie and tell everyone they are beating not only expectations - but every other OS Microsoft has every sold! Then, after it becomes obvious that nobody is buying it, admit it quietly.
Microsoft's problem is that instead of inventing something and then providing true inovation, they are focused on chasing everyone else. IE isn't doing well, who cares if it doesn't earn you any revenue, make it more like the competitor. Blackberry and others have phones, make a Windows phone. Fail at Netbooks and other tablets, wait for Apple to show how to do it correctly, then force everyone who uses Windows to move to a crappy, buggy touch screen OS on their DESKTOP!!! The list goes on.
I know we are quite a ways away from it, but I am looking forward to Linux on the desktop in organizations. There is still too much thick client usage, but any company that can rely on just web programs can switch today without a whole lot of training. In fact, I think it is easier to learn how to use Linux on a desktop than it is to use Windows 8. The reason this isn't moving forward faster is the lack of thick client real-world applications for the Linux desktop.
If Microsoft doesn't wake up and recognize why people use Windows in business, and stop trying to mimic everyone else, they will remove the one reason they dominate the desktop. Death of a company is not far off at that point.
Windows 8 ruined Microsoft for me. If Windows server operating systems go that route, well I shudder to think of how fast they will fade away.
Dave
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