Comments on: Does Microsoft Scare Anyone Anymore?

By: seo service provider

seo service provider — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:06:00 +0000

I think you underestimate Microsoft. I think you feel that Google will overtake them because you haven’t considered the entire spectrum of Microsoft’s R&D.

By: James

James — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:40:00 +0000

Although you are right on a lot of things, i disagree with the following statement:

[Folks might say what about Android, but it will be hard to count that as
a success until Google starts making more money on android than
Microsoft currently makes on Android.]

What does success have to do with money? Android is FOSS (Free Open Source Software), they will most likely never make any real amount of money that is comparable to their advertising income. For people like me who are open source fanatics, I always go with the open source alternative as I enjoy the freedom of being able to modify every aspect of the software. This type of software really has no boundaries. Secondly, Android is used by Google to promote its services most noticeably Gmail (You cant use the phone without a Gmail account) and Google Maps.etc. So success for Google is likely not to be about money (they already have a lot of it) but rather (my guess) promotion of its products and dominance. The main point is that you cant compare Android to the other phones/tablets with money as Android is free, Google must have other motives for such a product and success for the Android will be based on how well Google succeeds at these motives.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Microsoft might not be the overtly abusive monopoly it was 10 years ago, but the new kinder face of Microsoft is no less aggressive. Don’t believe me, just look at its relationship with Linux. when Linux ate their lunch on every platform except desktops, Microsoft responded by suing. First they attacked Linux itself through a proxy. when they lost, they started attacking OEMs who use Linux derived products (mainly android), basically selling a protection racket without ever providing any evidence of wrongdoing. When they couldn’t fight Linux on the server side, they bought (again through proxies) their own distribution, so they could integrate it into Windows server software. Today they are talking about replacing BIOS in computers using Windows 8 so as to lock out all other Operating systems other than Windows. Sure they are not claiming that and are spreading FUD about their need for doing this, but the reality is that they are practicing protectionism of the ugliest kind and is only a matter of time before they get called again for anti competitive practices. Microsoft is still abusive of its position in the market place. the marketplace has changed though so it is not as evident. That and Microsoft as become much more sophisticated about how it handles it’s abuse.

By: FlopTech Engineering

FlopTech Engineering — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:08:00 +0000

Re: “Meanwhile, Apple will continue to do what it does best on the hardware side and grow to be even bigger.”

This kind of thinking explains why few if any competitors have any chance of equalling Apple’s success. They think “slick hardware plus great marketing equals success.” Wrong.

The infrastructure that Apple has built over the last decade is what propelled iPod, iPhone, and iPad to greatness. Apple hardware is just the tip of the iceberg. The part you can see. iTunes, then the iTunes Music Store, then the App Store, and now iCloud are the bulk of the iceberg. The part that sinks you if you run into it.

Oh, and good luck with those content deals, Microsoft / Google / etc.

By: Michael Juliano

Michael Juliano — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:29:00 +0000

I think you underestimate Microsoft. The Xbox 360 has become for Microsoft what the iPod was for Apple. Microsoft has been making great strides in innovation on the Xbox, which led to the Windows Phone 7, which is now leading to Windows 8. I think you feel that Google will overtake them because you haven’t considered the entire spectrum of Microsoft’s R&D. The Kinect sensor currently has a beta SDK available to developers on Windows with a license that stipulates that development is for research and that researchers must share their findings with Microsoft. That alone bears the potential to keep Microsoft from being overtaken for much longer than you claim because it will basically allow Microsoft to take everything that anyone develops for their Kinect and use it for their stuff. This is brilliant because the greatest potential for that device lies outside of Microsoft, but thanks to the licensing, they get to use whatever is developed anyway.

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:36:00 +0000

The only strings are the ads we can clealy and random subpoenas by the government that Google gives in to less frequently than most companies.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:49:00 +0000

nothing to do with spying, Implied consent. its common knowledge Google is an advertising company.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Awe… shucks ;) cheers, mate.

By: Bryan Lee

Bryan Lee — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

“…I think you might be a little biased…a huge piece of the market hates WP7 for everything it is…”

Uh, I think YOU might be a little biased. A huge piece of the market probably has no opinion on WP7 since they probably haven’t tried it and haven’t heard much about it. Those that have seem to have a generally favorable opinion of it, with some complaints about missing features. Those features should no longer missing in ‘Mango’, which seems to be getting an even better reception. I saw a survey where Windows Phone customer satisfaction was fairly high, second only to iPhone and way above Android.

“…W8 just isn’t anywhere near good enough…”

W8 isn’t out yet! Boy that iPhone 5 sucks! And that Mac OS11 is a nightmare!

I have to say though I am a little worried about MS screwing up the desktop experience with Windows 8.

“… I haven’t seen Microsoft do anything truly innovative in a long time, if ever…”

The real innovations are done in universities – what company has done something truly innovative recently? The original Google search maybe. Apple? Please. They are good at putting existing technology together well and delivering a good user experience. But they didn’t invent swiping or multi-touch. The iPad is another example of putting things together well (and selling it well), but hardly innovative. Some say Google is really an advertising company – you might as well claim Apple is really a marketing company.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:45:00 +0000

I can assure you I am by no means a fanboy. I may own a Windows Phone and an Xbox 360, but both my computers are Macs, I have an iPad, and more iPods than I can count on one hand. Also, I have a Linux server hosting all my files. I am merely inferring if Apollo is supposed to be a major update like Mango was, then we can expect Microsoft to bring some great new features to Apollo.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Only a fanboy would praise Apollo before he’s seen it.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:20:00 +0000

Google profits 8 billion a year selling ads on its that show up on search pages and ads all over the internet, esp. YouTube. You think they would risk that by spying on people?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:40:00 +0000

The behemoth Google is the domination to look out for, especially because most people are clueless duh!! not aware individuals, who parrot marketing as they are instructed to do so. Google, Funneling billions through backroom analyses of peoples info as the business, while copping consumer products of consumer product companies and then flooding the market with “free stuff” to corporations. OEMS, and carriers love the control and money making from “Free” they then flood the market, push through major corporate business and marketing channels. Most people don’t think. They see marketing and buy what is pushed, they figure it must be good because its ubiquitous. The Google age of implied consent is sneaky with a creep factor. Contrast, Look at Microsoft privacy oriented, its a good company producing cool products, with a transparent business model of selling things they make direct to the user. Same with Apple a good company, people complain about closed, but so what, that is a part of the product it sells, at least its transparent. If anyone thinks Apple, Microsoft, and others would just stand by while a major corporation like Google undermines the consumer product model with its backroom advertising model, to subsidize its consumer front, then wake up! And I say we are better for having consumer companies selling products no strings attached

By: 1234

1234 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:36:00 +0000

By: Radford Castro

Radford Castro — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:52:00 +0000

This is just another flame bait post. Google taking down Microsoft? The author is mostly seeing this from a very ignorant and casual viewpoint as opposed to doing actual analysis. @a53a23d31d62c6a3ceecd25b07fe0941:disqus and @Jerry Nixon completely get it.

By: Guest

Guest — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:51:00 +0000

Also the gadget of the year(2011) – Kinect!

By: KevinP

KevinP — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:04:00 +0000

The guy on this thread who has his eye on the ball is Jerry Nixon. And the guy who is utterly out of touch is Scott Miller. Windows doesn’t matter any more? Uhhh….okay.

Back in the day there is something that Steve Jobs never got. And Bill Gates always got. Gates understood that what mattered to business was stability. And Gates worshipped at the alter of his installed base. He never, ever did anything to disrupt his installed base.

Steve Jobs on the other hand took the attitude Scott Miller shows. Excel spreadsheets didn’t matter to him. They were boring. Jobs offered overpriced computers that despite urban myth, offered inferior functionality to Windows. When our son, now a college sophmore was in second grade, we got him a Mac. I was shocked at how awkward it was to use, completely lacking in creature comforts like a right mouse button and of course the context menus they would bring up.

But there is no news in this, both the public and business were in agreement, which is why Apple never won more than 6% of the PC market. Never.

While Apple is considered to be a tech company, what has vaulted it to the worlds top ‘tech’ company is not technology. Steve Jobs was a master salesman and what he sold was fashion. Jewelry. A statement about how people who are seen with his products are SMARTER than everyone else. Smarter. Cooler. Hipper. They’re intellectually superior.

Apple never beat Microsoft on PCs. Microsoft still owns the desktop, dominates the corporate technology stack and dominates gaming and the living room. If Apple had produced Windows Phone 7, people would be feinting in the streets over the breathless genius of Steve Jobs. There’s no other way to say it. WP7 beats everything else with a stick.

Sorry to have to be the one to say this but so far, Google remains a one trick pony. They have search, but they haven’t succeeded with anything else. Folks might say what about Android, but it will be hard to count that as a success until Google starts making more money on android than Microsoft currently makes on Android.

Microsoft’s historical success has been based on two things. First, they are a smart, smart company that has always understood the fundamental needs of business. Wimps in the blogsphere have always made themselves feel good by dissing Microsoft’s whimpy products. Products like Power Point, Excel, Word, Outlook, Windows. Don’t look now, but those are the products that make the world go round. They are the life blood of business the world over.

Microsoft’s second strength has always been their pursuit of the long view. I am reminded of how back in the day, Microsoft was mocked and derided for its inability to compete with dBase and Paradox. Microsoft had a product under development for three years. Then Gates took a good look and went nuts. He scrapped the whole thing and made them start over from scratch. It took another three years, so six years in all to develop Access. During all that time the pundits did belly laughs at Microsoft’s incompetence. And once Access was delivered, no one ever heard of dBase and Paradox again.

Prediction. Five years from now, Microsoft will have swatted iPhone and Android away like flies. iPhone will own mobile market share comparable to the market share Mac always owned in PC. Android will be a low end fringe player. Windows Phone will own mobil market share comparable to what Windows has traditionally owned in PCs. Bing will have increased market share against Google. Microsoft’s ownership of the corporate IT stack will be unchanged from today. Microsoft will own the living room stack in the same way it owns the IT stack.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:08:00 +0000

Yeah, sure. The first the implementation of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud offering. Unlike Amazon, who I admit has the largest market footprint, they are not just virtual machines. A virtual machine is a pain. You have to manage them, and somehow back them up and commuincate between them. Microsoft’s apprach is a managed application platform. You publish your application and they handle everything. Microsoft loses points for advertising this, but most of the mangement cost lost in the “savings” of cloud computing is resovled with Microsoft’s cloud. On a lower level, the .Net framework (the base libraries for Microsoft developers) are releasing updates and improvements that are truly mind-blowing. Things too complicated to explain in a blog comment, but to list a few Generics, Linq, Lambda, Dynamics, Parallels, GPU, and (this might be the best) their ability to unify the programming experience across all of their products and platforms to a single experience. Even being as big as they are, somehow their products can interact, have similar APIs, and shared foundational components. And, it’s worth mentioning, that even with Apple getting “it’s so easy” applause, Microsoft leads the world in setting the usability standard through Windows and Office with every single release. You know what, it would be a blast to actually create a survey from a group of people who really know this stuff and get a solid list of the awesome stuff I am suggesting – and with basic explainations to help everyone appreicate why it has any value at all. If you could see SharePoint and how it has changed the face of the intranet in the Enterprise – every single vendor is copying Microsoft. And Exchange, 90% of all the enterprises in the world are Exchange-based email. Not because they have to, because it’s just a freaking solid and awesome email solution. The Kinect is mind-blowing too. Did you know that there are companies using it now in operating rooms so doctors can interact with X-Rays without having to take their hands away from their work? Did you know Microsoft research uses facial recognition magic plus Bing and a national child protection database to scour the internet for missing children? Did you know Microsoft’s SQL server has managed to be the fastest database server, then the second fastest, then the fastest, then the second fastest, but always the cheapest and most widely used inside the Enterprise in the world? Yep, that’s all true. As a developer, the rate at which Microsoft is releaseing new technologies is actually a little scary to me. How will I ever keep up with it all. But there’s no denying it’s amazing how much and how fast is pouring out – they leverage their own tools and products. And it’s clear there’s a one-family philosophy across it all. Of it all, though, it’s Linq that I feel is the coolest invention in the past few years. It’s so clever! Saves me hours of time.

Did you notice I didn’t even mention Windows or Office as innovative? But they certainly are, too, aren’t they? Just look at the patent list.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:57:00 +0000

Especially now that internet usage is the primary use for most consumer computers. If Microsoft shipped Windows without Internet Explorer… ha! They would be the laughing stock of the world because they are shipping an Operating System that is useless. But they aren’t.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:55:00 +0000

You are not the only one who thinks like this. The reason is, the bigger you are the harder you are to love. Misery loves company and most of the world is misreable. They are looking for other suffering sojourners to love. Microsoft has the underdog vibe, so they are harder to hate. Apple and Google, they are living large right now – who likes that?

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Even more important to your point. “Microsoft on top” Microsoft is on top in so many categories that they can fall in and out of one hundred a day without caring. They are so big, so diverse, and so universally successful that evaluating them on any small set of indicators is shallow.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:52:00 +0000

You are a comedian? Or, more likely, you have never tried to get real work done without Excel? Let’s just agree – everything you said about file formats is correct. But now, let’s be real, you can get nutrition from a pill, but you prefer a steak dinner, right? Of course you do. Your comment is geared to people who don’t stop and think, “You mean me?” If you are the CFO, you can ram Open-anything on your people. But then, what do you get? Turnover.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Is that the Federal Government? They are the wild card in my eyes.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:46:00 +0000

You are correct. It’s like staring at the other team. The more you look the bigger their guys look and the scarier they appear. But every once in a while, you need to glance back at your own bench and remember that the allstars are on your team. Microsoft isn’t God’s give to computers, but right now, from a purely business point of view, you need to reevaluate if you are counting them out. They have too much good, too many products people love, and too much cash on hand.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:44:00 +0000

I think what you are saying is key. People are currently happy with their phone-like tablets. So much so that Amazon can come out with a does-less tablet and everyone gets excited. But when people realize or experience a full OS at their fingertips, then all this “just run it from the web” crap will need to sit down and shut up. People forget just how much service they receive from Windows. Not just processor management and thread management, but rich application platforms that allow software to do more than knock over pigs with birds and read email.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:42:00 +0000

The reasons people are more fearful of hackers than companies (I agree with you) is because companies, and governments, are doing things that are not making headlines. If we knew what was going on, we would never boot again. (maybe)

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:40:00 +0000

I would like to follow up on your Bing comment. If it was not for Microsoft trying with Bing. Spending real money on Bing. Pushing Bing. And, let’s think about it seriously, sticking with Bing when it wasn’t all that great – then who will stand up to Google? Can we really trust Google, a single vendor to own the Internet? Certainly not. Just like Google introduced Droid because they felt Apple was dangerously owning the mobile market. We need competition. And, frankly, Microsoft plays a good underdog – good products, better practices, and (frankly) they work harder to make their partners rich than any other software company in the universe (as far as I know).

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Yep. That’s right. If Google and Apple had to take on every-court-in-the-known-world just to do business, they would find it hard to move fast, too. And now, inside Microsoft, steps are taken with caution. Google and Apple are starting to get their taste of it now. But even with all that headwind, who can argue that Microsoft owns the enterprise, the living room, and – dare I say it – the computer itself. Falling behind on the phone isn’t terminal – and for those who think it is, then they forgot that Droid, which is smashing Iphone, was only introduced a few years ago. Watch what happens when Nokia makes Microsoft the default mibiole operating system around the world.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:34:00 +0000

Finally a reasonable comment. In a marketplace with this much, IBM can hide in the corners and make billions. Why do we have to assume that there can be only one man standing? This isn’t the Highlander, it’s a market and industry that spans every country, every socialeconomic, and is rolling in money and opportunity. Why would Microsoft kill Google? Why would they kill Apple? If they “regained” what they lost from them, it would not be significant. And, trust me, the leaders in Microsoft are people too – they knew their company was idle and not producing, and they know that Apple and Google, et al, have spurred them to be spry again. You are right.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:31:00 +0000

This is a very insightful comment. I think most of the commenters simply do not know or have visibility into Microsoft’s forthcoming strategy and why Microsoft’s strategy will be driving the board room decisions of Apple, Google, and thousands of other business in the next few years. I think Microsoft will actually benefit from their underdog-like status. While Apple and Google thought they were Masters of the Universe, Microsoft was sinking billions into an infrastructure-rich platform. They are benefiting from the expensive mistakes Google and Apple have learned. And, I thinkyou are very right, with their Win8+Tablet+Phone+Cloud strategy, we will be chuckling at comments suggesting that Microsoft is not an innovator, leader, or force to tangle.

By: WJMcKz

WJMcKz — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Jerry, Can you provide some examples of MS’s mind-blowing innovations? I am truly curious.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:28:00 +0000

I agree with you that Apple is the biggest threat. They are not the monetarily biggest threat, but they are philosophically the biggest threat. There are only 22M Iphone out there. That’s nothing compared to all the phones on the market. Yet with that small amount Apple has managed to convince the market that Microsoft is marginalized. But the thing is, Apple’s dominance is trivial because it is so narrow and, as Google has demonstrated, so fragile. However, it is, in a way, a game of hearts and minds, and that is why I think Apple remains the significant threat.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:24:00 +0000

All of those parallels are simply weak. They all are based on companies whose products have lost. But Windows has not lost, and is not even losing. You might be thinking that Chrome or Ipad is infringing – but Windows has increased because the number of computers remains increasing. Office has not lost, Exchange has not lost, SharePoint has not lost, SQL has not lost, Biztalk has not lost, Azure has not lost, and Xbox has not lost – to name a few – and all of those are actually the defacto leaders in their markets. Your comments make me think you simply do not have a handle on Microsoft’s ownership of markets. Microsoft does not need to lead the mobile market to win. If you think that, then again, you simply do not have a handle on things. Your comment portrays them as waning, but their P&L shows otherwise. I think the existence of competition has you confused. Quite confused.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:20:00 +0000

That is a very good point. Don’t forget that Microsoft remains huge and they manage to remain under the radar only because their business tactics are not as visible. But anyone who projects the future of these monolithic businesses without mentioning the Patent Wars is simply too much in the dark to adequately understand what is going on here.

By: Jerry Nixon

Jerry Nixon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:19:00 +0000

I do not think it is accurate to say Microsoft rarely innovates. Perhaps you are speaking from a consumer’s point of view or from little knowledge. But as a developer, I can tell you that Microsoft is developing and releasing mind-blowing innovations alomost quarterly. The types of introductions that panic the rest of the industry to keep up. Superficially your comment APPEARS to be correct, but if you know anything you know you are not correct.

By: Treelife21

Treelife21 — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:17:00 +0000

Dont forget that microsoft was so huge at one time, they were forced by the government to allow other companies to rise up!

By: Jeff Kunkler

Jeff Kunkler — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:19:00 +0000

I hate myself for laughing, but laugh I did…

Yes, too soon…

Godspeed Mr. Jobs

By: Bryan Lee

Bryan Lee — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:22:00 +0000

“…Just how does that make Apple a threat? Too whom?” The same way and to the same people that Google is and Microsoft is (or was) a “threat”. I’m not sure I buy any of this “threat” business, some would just call it healthy competition, but if you’re competing directly with any of those big companies then you’d certainly see them as a threat.

The locked-down Apple model has its pluses and minuses – it’s simpler, it’s safer, and as long as Apple does a good job then things work fairly well. On the other hand, there is less freedom – it’s the Apple Way or the highway. Like to have a keyboard attached to the iPhone? Or a bigger screen? Or something other than black or white? Sorry, in that world Apple knows best what you want, so just do what they say.

I have to say though I think Apple is the only company that has managed to successfully completely block a competing product from a country using its lawyers.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:14:00 +0000

LOL…

no really, LOL…

show me an alternative to excel + vba + COM dlls and I’ll jump.

Join the engineering world, and find out how many vendors software is nothing more than a password protected spreadsheet and some calls to a dll. I’ve written a fair amount of code in VBA to talk to 3rd party vendor software via COM so that things can pass data back and forth and integrated with internal tools. Google docs can’t do that, Apple whatever can’t either, nor and openoffice. I guess it may be possible to do with python/openoffice/windows, but not as simply as with excel.

Have a Autocad, Inventor, Revit and Solidworks equivalents(that take the existing massive libraries of blocks for those), that run on OSX/Linux/Google cloud? are they drop in replacements, or are they going to take weeks of retraining? Can I use them to push the parts to my CNC machines, rapid prototype-rs, automated presses, etc? I keep looking, as i’d much rather run linux at work, but I need VBA, and the programs I mentioned.

It would seem the old days are still here…

By: Mick Lam

Mick Lam — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Apple doesn’t not manufacture anything, they design the product and outsource the manufacturing. In an apple dominated market, suppliers will never be able to venture into the pc and handset business, ASUS, HTC, Samsung, Acer and many others have MSFT and Google to thank for their personal electronics business. My point is, I would much rather have a market dominated by MSFT and Google than Apple. If apple becomes dominate, its the consumers and hardware companies that has the most to lose. Their business practices are only protected by their small market share though i wouldn’t consider their handset business small.