Once upon a time, Microsoft dominated the tech industry; indeed, it was the wealthiest corporation in the world. But since 2000, as Apple, Google, and Facebook whizzed by, it has fallen flat in every arena it entered: e-books, music, search, social networking, etc., etc. Talking to former and current Microsoft executives, Kurt Eichenwald finds the fingers pointing at C.E.O. Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates’s successor, as the man who led them astray.

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer

 

It's a long article, but well worth the read

Hello

The problem for MS today is one of perception, especially amongst the younger generation.

Apple, Google, Facebook ect are seen as young edgy products (despite apple being around for ever)

whereas Microsoft is seen as something your Dad might use.

MS in recent years has failed to innovate and is just reacting to its competitors' products with it's own "me too" products.

 

They've been stuck in a rut since the release of Windows Vista and haven't been able to pick themselves up since then.

They've been stuck in a rut since the release of Windows Vista and haven't been able to pick themselves up since then.

 

Yeah, not really. They picked themselves up pretty good with Win 7. It has been massively successful for the company.

 

 

And Microsoft is still a giant and successful company whether people like it or not. I mean xbox alone is huge.

They picked themselves up pretty good with Win 7. It has been massively successful for the company.

 

They're a huge company that got complacent and has been on the back foot for some years now - releasing plenty of products which are reactions to competitors' products and which turn out to be nowhere near as popular as the competitors'.

 

As for Xbox, yes it has been a huge success but once again watch them shoot themselves in the foot by making second hand games unuseable on the next Xbox.

And Microsoft is still a giant and successful company whether people like it or not. I mean xbox alone is huge.

 

Yes, they are a huge company, but the just of the article talks about how they dropped the ball many times along he way. And now their competition is leaps and bounds larger than they are and more innovative.

 

As the article points out.

 

The Apple iPhone alone generates more revenue in sales than all of Microsoft products combined.

They've been stuck in a rut since the release of Windows Vista and haven't been able to pick themselves up since then.

 

I don't understand why this one still keeps coming up. Windows Vista was a very big success in sales, it was only a failure in the eyes of the minority hardcore user. I didn't like Vista either but how could anyone bash an O/S that actually did well in sales in retrospect.

 

Since Vista I think that Windows 7 is the best O/S they have ever released.

Windows Vista was a very big success in sales

 

That helped a lot the "success" of Vista: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_%28commerce%29

 

Not all vendors and manufacturers allow you to buy their PC without the installed operating system.

 

That helped a lot the "success" of Vista: http://en.wikipedia....ying_(commerce)

 

Not all vendors and manufacturers allow you to buy their PC without the installed operating system.

 

Yep, I know. The large majority of Vista users never cared. It was just the elite that made a lot of noise. The Masses can't even tell the difference between Vista and Windows 7 anyways, so why does the minority elite keep beating the dead horse.

That helped a lot the "success" of Vista: http://en.wikipedia....ying_(commerce)

 

 

Indeed. I'm betting the vast majority of Vista "sales" were actually people buying a new PC and having no choice but to have Vista bundled with it.

Google made its internet fame by supplying links to pirate software, remove the links for ever and it will be just like bing or yahoo.

 

In the early days of google it was the number 1 stop to find illegal downloads and still is.. hell they have even been putting pirate downloads above legal store brought downloads.

Indeed. I'm betting the vast majority of Vista "sales" were actually people buying a new PC and having no choice but to have Vista bundled with it.

 

I suspect the days of any home users "upgrading" an OS are about over. You'll run whatever shipped on your notebook/tablet.

 

scott s.

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I suspect the days of any home users "upgrading" an OS are about over. You'll run whatever shipped on your notebook/tablet.

 

scott s.

.

 

That would hurt sales of a new release of Windows. Remember people used to line up at Midnight to be the one to get the first copy. Not having a Windows 8 upgrade for example would cost MS billions in sales revenue.

 

Shipping a PC with Windows 7 and having the user upgrade that machine to Windows 8 means MS made a profit twice on one machine.

 

Buying a PC with Vista and the user downgraded to XP, then upgraded to Win7 and then perhaps Win8 means MS made 4 profits on one machine.

 

Upgrading over the internet these days is seamless and a great revenue generator. You think that MS would want to give that up???