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  • Reply 21 of 29
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    History doesn't apply so much here, since there has never been a company much like MS. In order to follow in IBMs footsteps, there would have to be a competitor offering a product that to the consumer is indistinguishable from MS Windows and runs windows software, or software indistinguishable from windows software. We will certainly see what happens, but I don't think two failed product launches are going to make everyone by macs -- let's face it, Linux doesn't cut it in the consumer segment. I don't care what you say about Suse this or that, it's simply not an elegant workspace, even when compared to Windows. The only thing that would kill MS is if the market changes while they're not watching. There are several ways this could manifest itself, but its hard to believe that MS won't at least be partly concerned.



    Never overlook history. I do think IBM's tumble is appropriate. The tumble wasn't over the PC, the tumble was a complete loss of stranglehold on an entire industry of which the PC was just the second failure.



    Another example - ATT. It took governmental oversight to break it up, MS is seeing a lot of it overseas and once GW is done do you think his successor administration is going to be so quick to deep six any involvement in the case?



    Standard Oil. Where are they now??? Once upon a time they damn near owned it all.



    I could go on and bore everyone but I won't.
  • Reply 22 of 29
    coreycorey Posts: 165member
    Most people are lazy. They don't want to be bothered learning new things. The QWERTY keyboard is a great example. It was designed for mechanical reasons that no longer apply yet we still use it because it?s the "standard." At least as far as America is concerned, the Metric System is another good example. Microsoft's death will be a long, slow, decline, not a mass epiphany of common sense on the part of mankind.



    The only reason I even care is that it drives me nuts when my PC at work crashes for literally no reason. It can just be sitting there doing nothing and lock up. I whine and groan about it because I know that it's an annoyance that I shouldn't have to deal with. My coworkers obliviously reboot and head to the coffee room.



    Speaking of Microsoft crashes, I was half-way through spell checking a report at work last week when in the middle of the spell check I got an error box to the effect of: ?The software for spelling & grammar checking is not installed on this computer.? I rebooted and went for a dump?
  • Reply 23 of 29
    Oh yeah Microsoft is going to die soon. Microsoft could sell a piece of shit that does an operating system and even then it would have like 70% of the pc market. Apple has 6% of the pc market even less and Microsoft is the one thats going to hell. Ahhhhhh the way apple users think about the world. Oh, also vista will not sell for $450.
  • Reply 24 of 29
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by antartican

    Oh yeah Microsoft is going to die soon. Microsoft could sell a piece of shit that does an operating system and even then it would have like 70% of the pc market. Apple has 6% of the pc market even less and Microsoft is the one thats going to hell. Ahhhhhh the way apple users think about the world. Oh, also vista will not sell for $450.



    I agree that MS isn't going anywhere. As for the price of vista, well I would not be surprised to see it sell for $450 for the premium version. Why would they sell it any cheaper?
  • Reply 25 of 29
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hiro

    Never overlook history. I do think IBM's tumble is appropriate. The tumble wasn't over the PC, the tumble was a complete loss of stranglehold on an entire industry of which the PC was just the second failure.



    Second significant failure to enter a high growth computing market. Fumbling something like Vista isn't on the same par...the OS market hasn't seen anything really new in a while. Linux? Unix variant recoded from scratch. OSX? A unix that doesn't suck.



    Microsoft is very aware it has nowhere to go but down, hence the paranoia (leading to abusive practices) and money hoarding. They appear to be investing in nearly every emerging technology in some fashion.



    This is why they sunk money into the XBox. Between MCE and XBox they wont get shut out of any set-top movement. UMPC, which is a bit too early tech wise is an investment in that potential computing development.



    Eh...I don't see that Gates leaving would be a good thing for MS. I think it would be a horrible thing for MS as it would likely lose focus and become ripe for de-throning.



    Just as Apple did when Jobs left. What kind of CEO would they get? Not a tech weenie but a bean counter.



    Quote:

    Another example - ATT. It took governmental oversight to break it up, MS is seeing a lot of it overseas and once GW is done do you think his successor administration is going to be so quick to deep six any involvement in the case?



    Standard Oil. Where are they now??? Once upon a time they damn near owned it all.



    I could go on and bore everyone but I won't.



    I doubt Microsoft would face a US breakup for monopoly reasons. While it has dominance the US enjoys a technical advantage. One of the few outside the defense industry IMHO.



    Vinea
  • Reply 26 of 29
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by vinea

    Eh...I don't see that Gates leaving would be a good thing for MS. I think it would be a horrible thing for MS as it would likely lose focus and become ripe for de-throning.





    MS announced today that Gates is leaving MS in 2008.
  • Reply 27 of 29
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by vinea

    ...



    Microsoft is very aware it has nowhere to go but down, hence the paranoia (leading to abusive practices) and money hoarding. They appear to be investing in nearly every emerging technology in some fashion.



    This is why they sunk money into the XBox. Between MCE and XBox they wont get shut out of any set-top movement. UMPC, which is a bit too early tech wise is an investment in that potential computing development.



    ...




    Excellent post. Claims that Microsoft can't fail demonstrate complete ignorance of the equities market.
  • Reply 28 of 29
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PBG4 Dude

    MS announced today that Gates is leaving MS in 2008.



    If Bill Gates even farts loudly in "retirement", Microsoft will take notes. He may be leaving, but he'll still have a lot of influence. Additionally, if Ballmer gets sacked, that'll be interesting for the company, because they'll lose their top two.
  • Reply 29 of 29
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PBG4 Dude

    MS announced today that Gates is leaving MS in 2008.



    I would say then that the potential for what happened to IBM to happen to Microsoft will increase rapidly over time after 2008...Bill, I think, was a source of that paranoia that drives MS.



    I suppose AMD is one example of a company that transitioned from its founder without losing its focus/edge. I suspect that the number of companies that can say that aren't too many.



    Vinea
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