Microsoft "on the way out" ?

[Willy2]

http://finance.yahoo...-181558610.html

[Winapp2.ini]

I think this article is more than a little bit extreme.

 

Their first example is that PC sales fell in Q3, and they blame it on the iPad? How about the fact that people held out buying PCs because they knew Windows 8 was on its way?

[login123]

I think this article is more than a little bit extreme. . . .

 

Same here, but it may have some validity.

Most everybody I know just wants a computing device that works when they turn it on and is quick and easy to figure out (and has a shutoff button).

[mta]

love 'em or hate 'em (pretty neutral myself - happy to sit on the fence ) can you seriously imagine a world without Microsoft, or more specifically, without Office.

there are lots of Word equivalents that seem to be very capable of opening .doc files, but I've yet to find a replacement for Excel that will open my .xls files and not bugger up the formulas.

[Winapp2.ini]

Realistically, most companies would probably love to be doing as "poorly" as Microsoft may be right now.

[Alan_B]

I absolutely detest Office and all its rubbish.

 

As volunteer treasurer for a registered charity I used Excel to assist in presenting financial reports to the Inland Revenue and the Charity Commissioners.

I found that when my spread sheet was run on a slightly later version of Microsoft Office the sub-totals did not balance.

I found that some of my Macros were no longer understood by the later version of Excel,

and even worse - its paper-click Wizard did not submit the correct arguments in the correct order either.

 

When job hunting I found that my Resume had the last line of page 1 appearing as the only line on the top of page 2 when emailed attached to another computer.

 

I have never had such grief when Open Office was updated.

[mta]

i used to only use Corel, especially WordPerfect, but found when i was sending out my resume, companies only wanted the Word format.

so i was forced to learn it and have only used Office since.

I've tried OO but have found it cannot handle anywhere near all of Excels 300'ish formulas.

 

you may not like Office but if it didn't have the monopoly, and the inherit standard it has forced on us, image all the competing formats; Libre, OpenOffice to name a few. there would be half a dozen different standards.

 

I'm yet to see an other contender come close to matching Excels power.

(but I do hate the damn ribbon, geez, how hard was File, Edit, View, Tools.....)

[Alan_B]

(but I do hate the damn ribbon, geez, how hard was File, Edit, View, Tools.....)

It gave far too much power to the user, so it had to go

[login123]

Realistically, most companies would probably love to be doing as "poorly" as Microsoft may be right now.

 

You bet'cha.

 

But still, I think they feel a threat . . . and I think they are right somehow.

Persons from 1 or 2 generations after me want a computer the size of a pack of cards that will do everything and still just work. Apple has the edge on that, i guess, if just looking around is any indicator.

 

A few days ago, I made a purchase from a guy who just swiped my card on a portable thingy, hooked to an iphone but no wires. Scared me . . . I had to wonder where that transmission went, who was sitting nearby with some sort of sniffer app, how honest is this vendor, what if his portable thingy gets stolen, etc. These Issues don't seem to occur to the new kids. <--- Confessions of a paranoid dinosaur. :-)

[hazelnut]

I would think that 99% of the people using the internet owe their start on a machine to Microsoft. I personally feel they have made a HUGE contribution to the way the internet and media is today.

 

Sure, things evolve and change, that is the nature of things. But I wouldn't write Microsoft off yet.

 

Modern life dictates that we do things faster with less user input. We want instant, we want it now. Microsoft the big outfit which brought us the systems most of us use today will have to adapt to the shrieks for instant everything.

 

Children of tomorrow will know how to get things instantly via apps and their slim laptops/tablets but it will be the people of yesterday who knew how to put the things there in the first place.

[Andavari]

There was a report on the TV news about those handheld portable devices such as the iPad and smartphones taking sales away from new computers. Personally I'd rather have a desktop computer versus a handheld portable device.

 

I absolutely detest Office and all its rubbish.

 

I would absolutely detest having a computer without Microsoft's Office Publisher installed on it, Publisher is a prerequisite and must have for me. I've never found a suitable free/open source alternative to it, and I seriously doubt I'd bother replacing it will a free/open source alternative due to all the Publisher templates I've made over the last 14+ years. I could however live without Word since there's other very similar word processing programs around which are either freeware or open source.

Edited December 7, 2012 by Andavari
Fixed typos

[Willy2]

The days that Microsoft "ruled the computerworld" are over. Nowadays there's more competition. So, Microsoft certainly has to tread carefully. Desktops and laptops won't be obsolete tomorrow. They will coëxist alongside with tablets. E.g. typing on a tablet is simply a horrible experience. Just give me a good old fashioned keyboard. And I don't think I will switch away from my current Word version. Newer is not always better.

 

There're a number of things I would like to see improved on a tablet before I even would consider switching to a tablet. And all that weird "cloud" stuff. Too dangerous, IMO. No thanks. So, I'll continue to be a Microsoft customer.

[Andavari]

The days that Microsoft "ruled the computerworld" are over.

 

Maybe not "ruling" it, but they won't disappear. Think of their involvement with portable devices like Windows Phone, etc. Also they have Microsoft powered systems in cars such as KIA's UVO system, etc.

[Winapp2.ini]

E.g. typing on a tablet is simply a horrible experience. Just give me a good old fashioned keyboard. And I don't think I will switch away from my current Word version. Newer is not always better.

 

Not a huge fan of touch screen typing myself. For my tablet, I use Thumb Keyboard (ONLY in portait view, I do not type in landscape) and on my phone, I use SwiftKey (and now SwiftKey Flow beta)

[mta]

one downside to us only having MS all these years is that we know the programs well and have a swag of data written in them.

having just started using Ubuntu, I am finding it hard to get my data across to the Linux platform and still be able to use it in all it's glory.

especially my Excel spreadsheets which have pretty in-depth formulas which the open-sourced Excel wanna-bees can't handle.

 

we are tied to MS even when we try a different OS, we still want things to behave like Office.

[Tasgandy]

Personally I think most of what was said by everyone so far is somehow correct.

 

I find that these days I use my MS desktops at home (MS Office installed), my Mac OSX when traveling (MS Office installed) and my Android smart phone when in my motor vehicle (it has KingSoft Office installed) & UBUNTU with OO installed operated only as a hobby. I did try using Ubuntu and OO for several months prior to retiring and due to problems with data exchange with clients I had to go back to MS Win 7 and MS Office (and happy to do so)

 

Just to make sure I can access all documents across all platforms I usually PDF everything.

 

So for me it's Microsoft and Adobe, like most of us it's what we started with, we know it very well (including some of it's minor inherent issues) we have many $$$ invested in the software (as do many major corporates).

 

The question I hear regularly is "but can I still open it with my existing MS software?"

 

Whilst I think that Microsoft will be on the top rung of the ladder, it will share this position for many years to come..........plus there are many already wondering what Windows 9 will look like!!!!!

[rridgely]

I think Microsoft is in trouble.

The computing landscape is changing and they are being attacked on all sides. The average user is moving to smart phones and tablets. Even MS office is being ditched by a lot of college kids and students. I know a lot of my peers have started using Google Docs for everything simply because its free and their documents are available on every device they have. I don't think the hard core excell user will ever switch but I believe the average user might not have any reason to bother paying for Microsoft software. I cant tell you how many iPads with keyboard cases I saw in the last half of my college career.

 

I also read this article today:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/8/3744314/gabe-newell-valve-console-living-room-steam-box

 

If valve seriously embraces linux gaming computers that are meant for being used in the living room, then MS may very well lose the pc gaming crowd as well. These computers may ship with windows but its really looking like valve is pushing for better graphics support in linux. I don't think Linux will become the new favorite desktop OS because of this but it will probably take a serious portion of the gaming market. Steam is a HUGE player in gaming. They have the best games and often the best prices. I cant wait to see how this turns out.

[Winapp2.ini]

, then MS may very well lose the pc gaming crowd as well.

 

I honestly can't invision openGL or anything else coming close to what DirectX offers, though. Would certainly be interesting though!

[rridgely]

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/133824-valve-opengl-is-faster-than-directx-even-on-windows

 

Valve claims their source engine actually runs faster in Open GL. That article says that open gl supports all of the same features ast direct x. I'm not sure how true that is but that article caught my eye a few months ago. I'm actually kind of excited about this. I would love a well put together pc/console hybrid.

[Corona]

...I don't get it...it's like you're all nerds or something...

 

 

 

[Winapp2.ini]

Except for rridgely. He hates computers.

[Andavari]

...I don't get it...it's like you're all nerds or something...

 

 

 

You're here too!

[Nergal]

Except for rridgely. He hates computers.

as do i

[Super Fast]

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 $$$.

_____

 

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.

_____

 

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!!!

[Andavari]

Another Super Fast novel!