Except for rridgely. He hates computers.
...I don't get it...it's like you're all nerds or something...
You're here too!
Except for rridgely. He hates computers.
as do i
They have been on the way out. Just not for the reason(s) they imagine it to be.
MS reckons it is the competition driving them down, & to a degree, they are correct.
They are just missing the reason(s) WHY the competition is getting more of the consumer $$$.
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1) Compatibility -> Windows used to be the only one to use for compatibility/ease of use. Cost was high, but you had to have it. Today, that's rapidly changing. Linux distros, as well as ReactOS & others are rapidly getting interface lifts, bug fixes, & comparable features added at an ever increasingly faster pace. It is proven that closed source MS is like a dinosaur while trying to keep up with world wide open source. It simply cannot keep up. Firefox caused Microsoft to feel the need to improve their browser to try to retain share of the market. Chrome, & Opera just added even more competition.
2) Simplicity -> Used to be, you just bought 98/ME/2000 & your done! Crippling features of XP/Vista/7/8 to sell them as 14 versions when they are all identical except for the disabled features is not only confusing, but misleading the public by trying to market & sell 14 variations of the exact same OS as totally different versions when they are really identical except minor features turned on or off. While this may have seemed like a great money making idea at the time, it backfired as people began to get confused with trying to learn all the versions + licensing costs of each + legalese differences + what is really different on all the versions + the supported RAM for each + (you get the idea)...
3) Cost -> While MS could get away with charging $$$ 100's $$$ for a plastic disk with Windows install back then, MS still thought they could today. Fail. Today, many more people have internet than ever before. Many more have DSL/Cable/high speed than ever. With alternative OS just being a download or purchase away (at up to 10 times or more less than the cost of MS), this model is simply doomed to fail. Over pricing your OS because you can is one thing. Over pricing it because you think you can is another. Competition is too fierce to just charge anything you want like they used to. It is at least exciting knowing that Microsoft is being forced to recognize that if it keeps the high prices up, people won't simply always buy, buy, buy like they used to. Now, they just buy the alternative that works just as good for 10 times cheaper. Once enough people have Microsoft alternatives, Microsoft will no longer be relevant because all people will need is something that works for most people. Whatever that OS/Office/program may be. Microsoft recognizes this, I believe, hence their price on 8 being so much more reasonable than earlier OS offerings.
4) Licensing Fees -> As alternative OS began to catch up in some areas to what MS was capable of, & for free or almost free, businesses began dropping MS for Linux & alternatives when they could because paying $1,000's in licensing fees per OS per machine per core on the machine, etc., began to be taxing on time & money for a lot of businesses. I honestly don't think that MS realizes this part yet, but the days of hounding businesses endlessly to buy extended business support, pay exhorbitant licenses, be subject to random searches & raids simply because someone thought they can call up an anon line and "report suspected piracy" to make a quick $5 or $10 k because MS feels they can get much much more from draining the business like a sponge are likely coming to an end. As people realize cheaper alternatives that don't have all these problems attached to it, MS will be forced to rethink enforcing licenses on business users (after having already bought the OS) or else risk losing ALL of their business consumers to cheaper OS with no licensing fees. Of course, the more that businesses move towards these cheaper alternatives, the quicker MS is going to fall. At one time, MS had around a 90% stranglehold on the market. At the rate they are slipping, I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years or less, the competition has 90%. At this time, it will be very difficult for MS to survive at all unless they change their strategy, pricing, & stop suing anyone who has a dollar. I'd say, this is THE critical time for MS in the right now. Because once the market tips over the 50% point, it will be verrrry & increasingly difficult for MS to gain market traction as they did before. Businesses who adopted the cheaper alternatives such as Linux Mint will demand better compatibility/ease of use/features & it will mature at ever more rapid pace. As it gets better at this more rapid pace, people may even grow reluctant to use MS. I suspect that MS will go all out & attempt a sue all battle with their massive patent arsenal before they go out. If they stop being hardheaded, listen to the people, start treating them with respect instead of brutality... They just might be able to reverse things. I don't know if this will happen, & hence, I just have a bad feeling that MS slippery downhill slide is only starting...
5) Product Activation -> While MS thought to tighten things down, & cause ALL people to buy their OS (Much like the example of the man who had a Golden Goose & tried to get more gold faster by killing the goose)..., what they really succeeded in doing is just scaring a large majority of people into looking alternatives to avoid incurring the wrath of the sue happy patent gods at MS. While seemingly a "Great idea to stop piracy!!!", it caused many to question the true motives of MS & begin to seek alternatives. After all, if MS decides to sue a company, its for (millions? billions? where does it stop?) & could be the death of smaller businesses that can't afford to protect themselves embroiled in lawsuit after lawsuit. Instead of gaining MORE customers as they imagined, they ended up scaring them away instead.
I could be wrong on a lot of this, but long story short, I really believe that MS did this to themselves by being way to greedy in general.
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Read a story once about a guy who had a goose who laid a golden egg.
He would take the egg to market, sell it, then he'd have plenty for his bills.
One day, he wondered what caused it to lay golden eggs. Maybe he can just get ALL of that gold at one time.
So, he killed the goose to look for the gold, & lost it all...
Sounds like MS to me!!!
Another Super Fast novel!
Hey!!! It's not quite as long as Alan's novels!!!
Another Super Fast novel!
Yep. Pretty good analysis, tho.
Still I agree with Hazel, don't write microsoft off just yet. They are capable of responding to changing market forces, even if they are not inclined to do so.
I betcha somebody over there realizes by now what a huge mistake it was to announce the abandonment of xp.
Think how much that cost government agencies, therefore the taxpayer. And microsoft didn't recant until businesses & governments complained about it. We users, who tune up every new version of windows with bug reports and forum discussions, had far too little clout to persuade ms to do the right thing.
Microsoft came out of the gate waaay ahead of the field, back in the eighties, was it? As long as windows was the only OS or was clearly the best OS they stayed ahead. That is changing. If they decide to maintain a "lockdown" of the microsoft environment, I think it will cost them money.
Computers and the communication they enable are maybe the most important innovation of the twentieth century. I would like to see this phenomenon evolve cheaply and safely into something every person can enjoy.
I know, I know, another login123 clownfish treefrog essay , but it seems important.
I betcha somebody over there realizes by now what a huge mistake it was to announce the abandonment of xp.
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-laptops-of-2012-2012-12#lenovo-yoga-6
This is the kind of laptop I certainly like. This would be a good excuse to switch to Win 8. If this laptop has the usual interfaces (HDMI, USB, etc.) then that would be an extra reason to switch to Win 8. This kind of lap-/desk-tops is the thing Microsoft would like to see in every home. If Google would come out with an Android OS for this kind lap-/desk-tops then MS could be "toast" very very soon. That's - IMO - what MS fears most.
Completely off-topic however the Police warn about Apple Maps article on that site was a very interesting read!
Completely off-topic however the Police warn about Apple Maps article on that site was a very interesting read!
No wonder some Apple executives got fired.