When a company plays "follow the leader" they are tacitly admitting who the "LEADER is.
When a company's business plan is to do what the other guy does, they are automatically going to be late for every party. In the case of MS, it's like six years late.
Just to compare how it works. Recently a new MS store opened in Danbury mall. I went there during the opening (they were giving free concert tickets, they had some competition and giveaways) and then again a week later, about the same time in the afternoon. The second picture was taken from the distance to be able see at least few people inside...
Opening day (click for bigger size)
One week later (click for bigger size)
I won't even mention my feelings when I walked inside and saw all those fugly plastic laptops and randomly arranged various color desktop components without any matching style and compared the prices to near Apple Store just to find out the prices were almost the same.
This is why Microsoft is loosing money. They don't have their own success strategy. They are simply using their financial strength to try and match every move Apple makes.
Its like trying to win a game of chess by copying your opponents moves.
Well there are blatant examples of Apple doing the same thing, but more to your statement about them not having a success strategy - in recent years they released inarguably the BEST operating system ever made, Windows 7, and are proceeding to bring full Windows functionality to tablets while Apple and Google continue to push for the mobile OS solution.
Not only that, but do you not see the success of the XBox 360? They are dominating PS3, and with the advent of the Kinect, they are poised to absolutely revolutionize home computing, ney, home ENTERTAINMENT. The Kinect will someday bind the gaming consoles with the full function of a PC, and before you know it, you've got Minority Report style interaction with computers, all thanks to Microsoft and their financial strength.
You can say they have no success, but I can show you how to waste money and go under. Using your money properly is a strategy for success, the most obvious one in fact.
- Ok, so with the XBox 360 they are not trying to copy Apple's strategy, they are copying Sony.
- The Kinect, while taking an innovative and somewhat new direction, is still a direct counter to Nintendo's motion controls.
- Windows 7, and the entire direction of their OS division is a direct response of the strong consumer rejection of Vista and the perceived rise of Mac OS.
- Microsoft tries to salvage their reputation by countering Apple's switch adds with "I'm a PC"
Apple cancels their switch adds and takes a new direction in advertising.
- Windows Phone, a direct response to iOS and Android, which both decimated Microsoft's mobile share.
- Windows 8, a direct response to the iPad and the tablet boom.
- Surface Tablet, a response to Google's Nexus strategy.
Every move they make, they are simply trying to catch up with or out-gun their competition.
And while MS tries to match them move for move, their competitors are taking chances and making huge leaps and bounds, like Apple with its Retina display technology or Google with project glass.
And while you can say that Xbox and Windows are both successful platforms, the company still lost money, which is what happens when you throw cash around like that.
A little off the track....but the MS logo looks strange in the photo above. I have never seen one in real life but the all yellow bottom right hand box as shows up in the photo is weird. Sort of says "we are 3/4 sure of what we are doing - 1) make software...2) open shops near Apple .... 3) yellow placeholder ....4) profit!"
I hadn't played around with WIndows 7, since I haven't even touched a Windows computer in several years. I don't know what the Windows users are thinking, but that was the just the most horrific experience I had in a long time. I helping a friend "fix" their laptop. It just gave me one more reason to stick with Apple. And the owner of the laptop wants to replace it with an Apple.
Microsoft can put up all the retail stores in the world, it's not going to change the fact that WIndows is just a COMPLETE bad OS. It's just not friendly at all. It's like a bunch of computer geeks trying to figure out can they can confuse the user as much as possible. It's just a joke.
There were a couple of small features I thought were cool, but the rest of the OS, is junk.
Wow, M$ is going to add 11 retail stores? REALLY? Well, by the time they get 11 more stores, Apple will also have more stores. At the rate M$ is adding stores, it will take them 40 years to catch up.
Yeah, 40 years? That sounds about right.
I believe many Windows 7 users would think you are a liar, and a very sad one.
That is basically a rule of thumb when someone comes out with a strong statement, but incidentally misses to put in any argument at all.
LOL. You beat me to it. How better to promote your company than to advertise a dead product that failed miserably when it was alive.
Seriously, what are these people thinking?
It is not a problem with their thinking, it is a problem with your knowledge.
Zune nowadays is desktop software, doing pretty much what iTunes does for Apple; media player and organizer, portal to apps, music, movies store etc. It is designed with Metro GUI and works pretty sweet.
It is not a problem with their thinking, it is a problem with your knowledge.
Zune nowadays is desktop software, doing pretty much what iTunes does for Apple; media player and organizer, portal to apps, music, movies store etc. It is designed with Metro GUI and works pretty sweet.
I'm not sure this is entirely correct. MS has been working towards dumping the Zune brand for some time.
[quote]- Ok, so with the XBox 360 they are not trying to copy Apple's strategy, they are copying Sony. [/quote]
Even if that is true, what is the point? Sony was copying Nintendo and Sega. They were copying Atari. Atari was copying darn Pong. Anyway, MS didn't copy Sony - they improved on formula. Xbox Live brought functional online gaming to consoles, and original Xbox, even if not successful, was much better hardware than PS2. And then, X360 came out a year before PS3 and was basically was competing with PS2 for a whole year. Xbox improvement in gaming, both performance and services wise, was comparable to what iPhone brought to smartphone market, compared to competition at the time.
And this comes from PS3/PS2/PSP/PSOne owner and gamer.
[quote]- The Kinect, while taking an innovative and somewhat new direction, is still a direct counter to Nintendo's motion controls.[/quote]
Not true. Nintendo controller is hand-help controler with motion sensors. Kinect is whole-body-sensitive-controller technology. Difference between them, in my mind, is not any lesser than difference between Palm Tungsten and iPhone. Probably larger.
[quote]- Windows 7, and the entire direction of their OS division is a direct response of the strong consumer rejection of Vista and the perceived rise of Mac OS. [/quote]
Windows 7 came 3 years after Vista. Most new Windows OSs came 3 years after previous version. Windows 8 is coming 3 years after Windows 7, regardless of how successful 7 is. 3 years is standard MS timeframe for OS development, XP being a paradox of a sort. Rise of OSX, perceivable or not - and really hardly perceivable from MS perspective, so far - has nothing to do with it.
[quote]- Surface Tablet, a response to Google's Nexus strategy.[/quote]
I cannot recall that that Nexus is offering full desktop features in tablet form. Nor do I recall that Surface (or even Surface RT) are going to compete with Nexus in terms of form factor or price. What are you trying to say here?
I agree that keeping "Zune" moniker is not the luckiest association they could have came up with, but it is still the only software to use for downloading apps, music, TV... from Windows MarketPlace, and for "servicing" Windows Phones and, I believe, Xbox to some degree. At least I'm not aware there is anything else available there.
Just to compare how it works. Recently a new MS store opened in Danbury mall. I went there during the opening (they were giving free concert tickets, they had some competition and giveaways) and then again a week later, about the same time in the afternoon. The second picture was taken from the distance to be able see at least few people inside...
Opening day (click for bigger size)
One week later (click for bigger size)
I won't even mention my feelings when I walked inside and saw all those fugly plastic laptops and randomly arranged various color desktop components without any matching style and compared the prices to near Apple Store just to find out the prices were almost the same.
It looks to me like most of the people in there on the first picture are staff.
Even if that is true, what is the point? Sony was copying Nintendo and Sega. They were copying Atari. Atari was copying darn Pong. Anyway, MS didn't copy Sony - they improved on formula. Xbox Live brought functional online gaming to consoles, and original Xbox, even if not successful, was much better hardware than PS2. And then, X360 came out a year before PS3 and was basically was competing with PS2 for a whole year. Xbox improvement in gaming, both performance and services wise, was comparable to what iPhone brought to smartphone market, compared to competition at the time.
And this comes from PS3/PS2/PSP/PSOne owner and gamer.
Not true. Nintendo controller is hand-help controler with motion sensors. Kinect is whole-body-sensitive-controller technology. Difference between them, in my mind, is not any lesser than difference between Palm Tungsten and iPhone. Probably larger.
Windows 7 came 3 years after Vista. Most new Windows OSs came 3 years after previous version. Windows 8 is coming 3 years after Windows 7, regardless of how successful 7 is. 3 years is standard MS timeframe for OS development, XP being a paradox of a sort. Rise of OSX, perceivable or not - and really hardly perceivable from MS perspective, so far - has nothing to do with it.
I cannot recall that that Nexus is offering full desktop features in tablet form. Nor do I recall that Surface (or even Surface RT) are going to compete with Nexus in terms of form factor or price. What are you trying to say here?
Kinect, yes technically very different than wii however, still released to compete with Nintendo. Look at Kinect launch games and its very obvious what market they went after.
Windows 7 was targeted to take back market share from Apple, since Vista was so bad it caused a small boom in Mac adoption at the time. People from MS have even admitted this. It worked too, Windows 7 was a huge success. However, Apple then shifted into their current "Post PC" strategy, which is why we have Windows 8 (countering "Post PC" with "PC Plus"). Not really arguing about how often MS updates their OS, but its very clear when you look at what they are updating and what features they are adding who they are trying to compete with.
And surface tablet? They are designing their own hardware. Probably for the same reasons Google does it with the Nexus platform. Hardware manufacturers apparently need a common target, or benchmark. There isn't really any other logical reason to do it when your primary business is software licensing.
And yes, Surface will compete with Nexus. This is a market with only one clearly successful tablet device. Nobody has figured out how to compete with iPad yet, Nobody knows what price point will be able to compete with iPad. A cheaper android tablet? A more expensive windows one? Only time will tell.
Still, very cat and mouse if you ask me, and the mouse seems to be getting away with the cheese.
The first Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., in October of 2009, attempting to replicate some of the great success Apple has had opening its own stores across the world. The Microsoft Stores borrow ideas from Apple, including a "Guru Bar" akin to Apple's Genius Bars where employees assist customers, and Microsoft even attempted tohire away some Apple retail employees for its own operations.
Majorcrap continues to be in Apple copy me mode with 'borrowing' ideas seemingly the major focus. They can open all the retail stores they want. Too bad they have nothing worthwhile to sell...
I have 5 Apple Stores in my metro area. Including the Mall of America which has the (at the time) largest Microsoft store across the hallway (literally). I think the only thing that keeps the MS store somewhat filled is the LegoLand playground next to it, so one parent can come in while the others are out playing in the duplo pit.
The apple store has a table for the kids, so no problems there;-) The microsoft store... it has nice lightly used couches.
The reason why Apple has 5 stores in the Minneapolis/StPaul area is that the MOA is supposedly the highest value store in US in terms of $$/sqft/year. You would swear that Apple gives away shopping bags at the MOA, as everyone seems to have one as they troll the stores (note, there are 3 Best Buy stores in the mall as well). Microsoft, I have to say I've never seen a MS bag in all my days in the Mall (not many, but at least 4 shopping days a year.)
Heh, I noticed the same thing last time I was at the MOA Apple store. If MS didn't have Xbox NOBODY would come to their stores.
Comments
When a company plays "follow the leader" they are tacitly admitting who the "LEADER is.
When a company's business plan is to do what the other guy does, they are automatically going to be late for every party. In the case of MS, it's like six years late.
If you can't beat 'em, copy 'em.
Just to compare how it works. Recently a new MS store opened in Danbury mall. I went there during the opening (they were giving free concert tickets, they had some competition and giveaways) and then again a week later, about the same time in the afternoon. The second picture was taken from the distance to be able see at least few people inside...
Opening day (click for bigger size)
One week later (click for bigger size)
I won't even mention my feelings when I walked inside and saw all those fugly plastic laptops and randomly arranged various color desktop components without any matching style and compared the prices to near Apple Store just to find out the prices were almost the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chronster
Quote:
Originally Posted by BDBLACK
This is why Microsoft is loosing money. They don't have their own success strategy. They are simply using their financial strength to try and match every move Apple makes.
Its like trying to win a game of chess by copying your opponents moves.
Well there are blatant examples of Apple doing the same thing, but more to your statement about them not having a success strategy - in recent years they released inarguably the BEST operating system ever made, Windows 7, and are proceeding to bring full Windows functionality to tablets while Apple and Google continue to push for the mobile OS solution.
Not only that, but do you not see the success of the XBox 360? They are dominating PS3, and with the advent of the Kinect, they are poised to absolutely revolutionize home computing, ney, home ENTERTAINMENT. The Kinect will someday bind the gaming consoles with the full function of a PC, and before you know it, you've got Minority Report style interaction with computers, all thanks to Microsoft and their financial strength.
You can say they have no success, but I can show you how to waste money and go under. Using your money properly is a strategy for success, the most obvious one in fact.
- Ok, so with the XBox 360 they are not trying to copy Apple's strategy, they are copying Sony.
- The Kinect, while taking an innovative and somewhat new direction, is still a direct counter to Nintendo's motion controls.
- Windows 7, and the entire direction of their OS division is a direct response of the strong consumer rejection of Vista and the perceived rise of Mac OS.
- Microsoft tries to salvage their reputation by countering Apple's switch adds with "I'm a PC"
Apple cancels their switch adds and takes a new direction in advertising.
- Windows Phone, a direct response to iOS and Android, which both decimated Microsoft's mobile share.
- Windows 8, a direct response to the iPad and the tablet boom.
- Surface Tablet, a response to Google's Nexus strategy.
Every move they make, they are simply trying to catch up with or out-gun their competition.
And while MS tries to match them move for move, their competitors are taking chances and making huge leaps and bounds, like Apple with its Retina display technology or Google with project glass.
And while you can say that Xbox and Windows are both successful platforms, the company still lost money, which is what happens when you throw cash around like that.
A little off the track....but the MS logo looks strange in the photo above. I have never seen one in real life but the all yellow bottom right hand box as shows up in the photo is weird. Sort of says "we are 3/4 sure of what we are doing - 1) make software...2) open shops near Apple .... 3) yellow placeholder ....4) profit!"
Wizards. "Press Next to Continue."
I believe many Windows 7 users would think you are a liar, and a very sad one.
That is basically a rule of thumb when someone comes out with a strong statement, but incidentally misses to put in any argument at all.
It is not a problem with their thinking, it is a problem with your knowledge.
Zune nowadays is desktop software, doing pretty much what iTunes does for Apple; media player and organizer, portal to apps, music, movies store etc. It is designed with Metro GUI and works pretty sweet.
I'm not sure this is entirely correct. MS has been working towards dumping the Zune brand for some time.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/24/2821128/microsoft-kills-zune-windows-live-branding-in-windows-8
Which is a good thing in my opinion. The brand is too closely associated with their failed music player.
Even if that is true, what is the point? Sony was copying Nintendo and Sega. They were copying Atari. Atari was copying darn Pong. Anyway, MS didn't copy Sony - they improved on formula. Xbox Live brought functional online gaming to consoles, and original Xbox, even if not successful, was much better hardware than PS2. And then, X360 came out a year before PS3 and was basically was competing with PS2 for a whole year. Xbox improvement in gaming, both performance and services wise, was comparable to what iPhone brought to smartphone market, compared to competition at the time.
And this comes from PS3/PS2/PSP/PSOne owner and gamer.
[quote]- The Kinect, while taking an innovative and somewhat new direction, is still a direct counter to Nintendo's motion controls.[/quote]
Not true. Nintendo controller is hand-help controler with motion sensors. Kinect is whole-body-sensitive-controller technology. Difference between them, in my mind, is not any lesser than difference between Palm Tungsten and iPhone. Probably larger.
[quote]- Windows 7, and the entire direction of their OS division is a direct response of the strong consumer rejection of Vista and the perceived rise of Mac OS. [/quote]
Windows 7 came 3 years after Vista. Most new Windows OSs came 3 years after previous version. Windows 8 is coming 3 years after Windows 7, regardless of how successful 7 is. 3 years is standard MS timeframe for OS development, XP being a paradox of a sort. Rise of OSX, perceivable or not - and really hardly perceivable from MS perspective, so far - has nothing to do with it.
[quote]- Surface Tablet, a response to Google's Nexus strategy.[/quote]
I cannot recall that that Nexus is offering full desktop features in tablet form. Nor do I recall that Surface (or even Surface RT) are going to compete with Nexus in terms of form factor or price. What are you trying to say here?
I agree that keeping "Zune" moniker is not the luckiest association they could have came up with, but it is still the only software to use for downloading apps, music, TV... from Windows MarketPlace, and for "servicing" Windows Phones and, I believe, Xbox to some degree. At least I'm not aware there is anything else available there.
And you can still download it from http://www.zune.net/en-GB/.
I'm sure if MS completely ditch it or re-brand it, their shops will mirror that change. But for now, Zune it is...
Quote:
Originally Posted by gabberattack
Just to compare how it works. Recently a new MS store opened in Danbury mall. I went there during the opening (they were giving free concert tickets, they had some competition and giveaways) and then again a week later, about the same time in the afternoon. The second picture was taken from the distance to be able see at least few people inside...
Opening day (click for bigger size)
One week later (click for bigger size)
I won't even mention my feelings when I walked inside and saw all those fugly plastic laptops and randomly arranged various color desktop components without any matching style and compared the prices to near Apple Store just to find out the prices were almost the same.
It looks to me like most of the people in there on the first picture are staff.
They are just awesome !! Microsoft products are best
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikon133
Even if that is true, what is the point? Sony was copying Nintendo and Sega. They were copying Atari. Atari was copying darn Pong. Anyway, MS didn't copy Sony - they improved on formula. Xbox Live brought functional online gaming to consoles, and original Xbox, even if not successful, was much better hardware than PS2. And then, X360 came out a year before PS3 and was basically was competing with PS2 for a whole year. Xbox improvement in gaming, both performance and services wise, was comparable to what iPhone brought to smartphone market, compared to competition at the time.
And this comes from PS3/PS2/PSP/PSOne owner and gamer.
Not true. Nintendo controller is hand-help controler with motion sensors. Kinect is whole-body-sensitive-controller technology. Difference between them, in my mind, is not any lesser than difference between Palm Tungsten and iPhone. Probably larger.
Windows 7 came 3 years after Vista. Most new Windows OSs came 3 years after previous version. Windows 8 is coming 3 years after Windows 7, regardless of how successful 7 is. 3 years is standard MS timeframe for OS development, XP being a paradox of a sort. Rise of OSX, perceivable or not - and really hardly perceivable from MS perspective, so far - has nothing to do with it.
I cannot recall that that Nexus is offering full desktop features in tablet form. Nor do I recall that Surface (or even Surface RT) are going to compete with Nexus in terms of form factor or price. What are you trying to say here?
Kinect, yes technically very different than wii however, still released to compete with Nintendo. Look at Kinect launch games and its very obvious what market they went after.
Windows 7 was targeted to take back market share from Apple, since Vista was so bad it caused a small boom in Mac adoption at the time. People from MS have even admitted this. It worked too, Windows 7 was a huge success. However, Apple then shifted into their current "Post PC" strategy, which is why we have Windows 8 (countering "Post PC" with "PC Plus"). Not really arguing about how often MS updates their OS, but its very clear when you look at what they are updating and what features they are adding who they are trying to compete with.
And surface tablet? They are designing their own hardware. Probably for the same reasons Google does it with the Nexus platform. Hardware manufacturers apparently need a common target, or benchmark. There isn't really any other logical reason to do it when your primary business is software licensing.
And yes, Surface will compete with Nexus. This is a market with only one clearly successful tablet device. Nobody has figured out how to compete with iPad yet, Nobody knows what price point will be able to compete with iPad. A cheaper android tablet? A more expensive windows one? Only time will tell.
Still, very cat and mouse if you ask me, and the mouse seems to be getting away with the cheese.
The first Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., in October of 2009, attempting to replicate some of the great success Apple has had opening its own stores across the world. The Microsoft Stores borrow ideas from Apple, including a "Guru Bar" akin to Apple's Genius Bars where employees assist customers, and Microsoft even attempted tohire away some Apple retail employees for its own operations.
Majorcrap continues to be in Apple copy me mode with 'borrowing' ideas seemingly the major focus. They can open all the retail stores they want. Too bad they have nothing worthwhile to sell...
"Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind."
- Bulgarian Proverb -
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Well, then... whatta 'bout Snoop Lion Lion?
I was thinking "Tex As" might be cool, if I wanna drawl out some country western...
"Louis Iana" would be smooth for a jazz act...
Or, a twins act, "North Dakota" and "South Dakota"...
The girl rapper could call herself "Miss Issippi"...
Man, you can do this all day! I think I won't…. :P
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
"Developers".
A "Developer Bar" in the back, "Developer on Developer" sessions…
hey, get a room!