Is Microsoft doomed?
By Benny Har-Even in Editorial
Posted in Windows, Microsoft on
Following on from my ‘ Windows 7 is ace’ post yesterday I came across this blog post from Computerworld in which Mr Vaughan-Nichols crows about the fact that Microsoft recently posted a last quarter earnings drop of 30 per cent, its first year-on-year decline in its public history.
Now reading the post its clear the Mr Vaughan-Nichols is an open source advocate and has an anti-Microsoft axe to grind. However, I do think he has a point.
As I said yesterday, I do like Windows 7. I also like the idea of Microsoft Mesh, though it still needs work, and Windows Live Messenger got a good looking spruce up recently too. Windows Server 2008 is also pretty well thought off too. However, I don’t see the point on Hotmail, when you’ve got Gmail and the less said about Live Search the better.
Windows XP, the OS that refuses to die, has also got a new lease of life on Netbooks, but that’s not necessarily been to the benefit of its bottom line, as it’s simply slashed prices to claw market share away from the ‘evil Linux threat’.
In fact to my mind, Microsoft’s approach to dealing with Linux is akin to how the US government used to deal with the cold war threat from Communism. Get in there, disrupt things and overthrow incumbents without much of a long term strategy. What do you end up with Windows XP given away for practically for free, Linux squashed underfoot, and the future promise of Windows 7 Starter Edition, which unbelievably is said to only let three applications be open at once.
The problem though for Microsoft is not that it just hasn’t made much of a dent in Google’s search and online advertising business, but that it’s earned far less over the past year in its office, server and Windows divisions – namely the cash cows of its business.
Naturally there are those who will point to the current economic climate as the reason for Microsoft’s trouble, but the degree of its losses are such that it just feels like more than that. And it’s also worth pointing out that Apple has managed to post a 15 per cent growth figure in the same time frame.
The suggestion is that Microsoft has become that which is originally sought to destroy and to take down - it has become IBM. It’s relevancy it’s fading, it’s clearly struggling for influence.
Is this true? In my opinion, it is and this could be a first clear marker of an overall downward trend.
Of course that’s not going to change the fact the Windows 7 is a real positive move but I think that to become as successful as it once one, Microsoft is really going to have innovate in other areas, and historically, it’s just not that sort of company. And while super cheesy salesman Ballmer is in charge, I don’t think that’s likely to change.
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[…] Benny Har-Even placed an observative post today on Is Microsoft doomed?Here’s a quick excerptFollowing on from my ‘ Windows 7 is ace ’ post yesterday I came across this blog post from Computerworld in which Mr Vaughan-Nichols crows about the fact that Microsoft recently posted a last quarter earnings drop of 30 per cent, its first year-on-year decline in its public history. Now reading the post its clear the Mr Vaughan-Nichols is an open source advocate and has an anti-Microsoft axe to grind. However, I do think he has a point. As I said yesterday, I do like Windows 7. I also lik […]
Pingback by - April 28, 2009 on 3:17 pm
[…] Benny Har-Even placed an interesting blog post on Is Microsoft doomed?Here’s a brief overviewFollowing on from my ‘ Windows 7 is ace ’ post yesterday I came across this blog post from Computerworld in which Mr Vaughan-Nichols crows about the fact that Microsoft recently posted a last quarter earnings drop of 30 per cent, its first year-on-year decline in its public history. Now reading the post its clear the Mr Vaughan-Nichols is an open source advocate and has an anti-Microsoft axe to grind. However, I do think he has a point. As I said yesterday, I do like Windows 7. I also lik […]
Comment by Passer-by - January 25, 2010 on 4:46 pm
It is very interesting for me to read that article. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.
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