Microsoft said plotting 'major restructuring' with reorganization to happen as soon as July 1

13

Comments

  • Reply 41 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    As it struggles to adjust to the new mobile computing paradigm, software giant Microsoft is said to be mulling a shift in its organizational structure that may leave it better prepared to take on the likes of the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.



    Earlier this month, reports emerged that Microsoft was planning a reorganization that would bring a greater focus on devices and services. Its Xbox console aside, Microsoft's move into computing hardware is a largely new step, as the software giant entered the fray only in the past year with the announcement of its Surface tablets.



    The new arrangement is said to have been guided largely by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, with a number of senior executives outside the loop and somewhat anxious regarding their futures at the company, according to AllThingsD.



    ?It feels like it is going to be titanic ? that Steve is doing this change for his legacy,? said one source. ?And it?s the first time in a long time that it feels like that there will be some major shifts, including some departures.?

     


     


    So Steve Ballmer meets a VP in the hallway with, "I know a secret and I won't tell, but someone's career is goin' to hell!"

  • Reply 42 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post


     


    There won't be a significant increase in MS Office adoption on other platforms because MS doesn't want that to happen.  They won't make a fully functioning version of Office for other platforms.  They may create some viewers and even give minor editing capabilities, but nothing close to the features that Office on a Windows machine will be able to do.  This has been part of their business strategy for decades now.


     


    The day that Microsoft makes a fully functioning version of Office for an OS they don't own is the day they "admit" that their OS division is in real trouble.



     


    I don't quite know how to break this to you, but MS has been making Office for the Mac since forever. Even once including functions before it was available on the Windows OS. 


     


    Also, they have announced Office for iOS, however it's crap, just like the version for Windows RT. 


     


    However, I do expect that iWorks will siphon off a nice chunk of potential Office sales because a lot of people don't need the plethora of features Office dishes out and iWorks will be available cross platform soon — "poof" there goes another reason to load up Office when a more touch-friendly application is at hand (for a lot less money, as well).


     


    I've seen Office on a Surface RT and it's terribly hard to use. It's incomplete, and not optimized for touch as you might expect... a buggy as all hell!

  • Reply 43 of 76
    droidftw wrote: »
    There won't be a significant increase in MS Office adoption on other platforms because MS doesn't want that to happen.  They won't make a fully functioning version of Office for other platforms.  They may create some viewers and even give minor editing capabilities, but nothing close to the features that Office on a Windows machine will be able to do.  This has been part of their business strategy for decades now.

    The day that Microsoft makes a fully functioning version of Office for an OS they don't own is the day they "admit" that their OS division is in real trouble.

    LOL. That day already came and went a long time ago:
    http://www.microsoft.com/mac
  • Reply 44 of 76
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post


     


    I don't quite know how to break this to you, but MS has been making Office for the Mac since forever. Even once including functions before it was available on the Windows OS. 


     


    Also, they have announced Office for iOS, however it's crap, just like the version for Windows RT. 



     


    I was always under the impression that Office for Mac was garbage and lacked features that Office on WIndows offers.  I guess I stand corrected?

  • Reply 45 of 76
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member

    At the center of the reorganization would be a simplification of Microsoft's management structure. Reports from earlier this month floated the possibility that the Windows OS group could be jointly headed by Windows Phone lead Terry Myerson and Windows engineering head Julie Larson-Green.


    Mmm... co-managers -- what a refreshing and exciting new approach!
  • Reply 46 of 76
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    Greater interoperability with the Xbox and window phone???!
    Seriously?!
    MS is a fragmented behemoth. It takes 20 goddamn people to screw in one light bulb over at MS.
    But at the end of the day this is nothing more than smoke and mirrors for Wall Street. MS can't afford to streamline. Its money is made by keeping us in the loop.
  • Reply 47 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Juil View Post


     


    You must be meaning to say "out of all the Windows OS".


     


    I use both Mountain Lion and Win7 at the moment, and I can’t really come to the same conclusion as you... But maybe you are sensitive to things that I am not (and vice-versa).



     


    I would tend to agree that Win7 is the best of the Window OS releases. And again, no comparison to Mountain Lion. I am tied to Windows since I develop on Visual Studio, but at home I shifted to OS X almost 4 years ago.


     


    My office laptop is a MBP that has Win.7 installed via Bootcamp. Booting to Windows takes easily 4-5 times the amount of time booting to ML takes.


     


    To be fair though, Win.7 is pretty stable. It must have crashed maybe 3 times at the most in the past 2 years. Sad that 3 crashes in 3 years is acceptable though!

  • Reply 48 of 76
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    What ever they do they will have a tiny adoption rate as the last few hold outs for a PC will still mostly be running Windows XP as the ship sinks.
  • Reply 49 of 76
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member


    Microsoft should above all re-think its vision and focus before any strategical decision. Fact is, anything mobile they have touched up to now turned into shit. Another fact is that they cannot loose in the field where they are the best: business computing at almost all sizes, except perhaps large server farms. There are also too many hardware companies totally depending on them. No one can license them better OS than Windows. And there is absolutely no commercial replacement to Windows in SME, not only because of software, but because of unbelievable net of partners worldwide.


     


    MS should above all ask themselves following questions:


     


    - do we really want to race the mobile race?


    - should we spin-off divisions that do not belong to our core business?

  • Reply 50 of 76
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    droidftw wrote: »
    Microsoft isn't doomed yet.  They have a long history of releasing bad versions of Windows followed by much better ones.  Windows 7 is probably the best OS on the market right now.  With the mixed reviews that Windows 8 gets, I would venture a guess that the next version of Windows will probably be pretty good (at least for desktops).  If it's not, then I'll start giving more weight to the naysayers.

    Here's a simplified timeline to consider:

    Win 98 SE - Good

    Win ME - Bad

    Win XP - Good

    Win Vista - Bad

    Win 7 - Good

    Win 8  - Bad
    Win 9 - Good?

    You're right about the odd-numbered versions always being the good ones from MS.

    You're wrong about MS Win7 being the best OS, considering that all of the tech advances over the last few years are all being done on UNIX-based platforms.

    Almost all development (like 95%) for mobile and web ... and by Google itself... is being performed on Macs and OS X. That's actually a fact.

    Edited to add strike-thru because I can't find the #$%^&* link! Also I should add the disclaimer to the above, "that is unless your developing for enterprise-specific apps"... which of course need VB.
  • Reply 51 of 76
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post


    Microsoft isn't doomed yet.  They have a long history of releasing bad versions of Windows followed by much better ones.  Windows 7 is probably the best OS on the market right now.  With the mixed reviews that Windows 8 gets, I would venture a guess that the next version of Windows will probably be pretty good (at least for desktops).  If it's not, then I'll start giving more weight to the naysayers.


     


    Here's a simplified timeline to consider:


     


    Win 98 SE - Good

    Win ME - Bad

    Win XP - Good

    Win Vista - Bad

    Win 7 - Good

    Win 8  - Bad


    Win 9 - Good?



     


    You have forgotten a few - I have used most versions of Windows - including server versions - and I would say that Windows 7 is the best version of Windows - but not the best OS overall. 


     


    Windows 3.1 - networking was really screwy.


    Windows NT - lots of device driver compatibility issues


    Windows 98 - had lots of short comings


    Windows XP - the first version that was truly useable but very unstable and full of security holes


    Windows 7 - with some tweaking to make it look more like XP is very much more stable and secure but still annoying especially when used by folks who don't know or care about anything other than downloading the latest free game and or checking their Facebook and "what do you mean by task bar?"

  • Reply 52 of 76
    droidftw wrote: »
    I was always under the impression that Office for Mac was garbage and lacked features that Office on WIndows offers.  I guess I stand corrected?

    Let me put it this way: it doesn't lack features except VBA, which is a scripting language, and otherwise it's no more "garbage" than Windows Office. Since they stagger the release of Windows and Mac versions in different years, I think there are some minor feature differences, but I couldn't name any because they're not obvious. Unlike Office clones, Mac Office opens Windows office files and formats them correctly. It even has a ribbon. Edits made by one match in the other platform, so it's real Microsoft Office.
  • Reply 53 of 76
    poksi wrote: »
    Microsoft should above all re-think its vision and focus before any strategical decision. Fact is, anything mobile they have touched up to now turned into shit. Another fact is that they cannot loose in the field where they are the best: business computing at almost all sizes, except perhaps large server farms. There are also too many hardware companies totally depending on them. No one can license them better OS than Windows. And there is absolutely no commercial replacement to Windows in SME, not only because of software, but because of unbelievable net of partners worldwide.

    MS should above all ask themselves following questions:

    - do we really want to race the mobile race?
    - should we spin-off divisions that do not belong to our core business?

    It seems they already have done the strategic rethink when they went for broke in Windows 8/RT/Phone. That is going to be Steve's legacy. Whether he'll leave before that vision pays off (or fails) is to be determined. Chairman Bill Gates is bullish on Steve's vision, so he's not going to get fired, yet.

    A reorg at this point will probably consolidate his power, clean house of undesirables in upper management, and (maybe) tear down a few walls within Microsoft. I don't expect anything radical because Microsoft isn't in dire straits. My prediction.
  • Reply 54 of 76
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post





    Mmm... co-managers -- what a refreshing and exciting new approach!




    What's wrong with that!


     


    It worked for Research In Motion.


     


    Oh.... wait...

  • Reply 55 of 76
    krreagankrreagan Posts: 218member
    Ballmer's like a dear in the head lights of this "titanic" heading straight for an iceberg and paralyzed by the fear of thinking different!
  • Reply 56 of 76
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by krreagan View Post



    Ballmer's like a dear in the head lights of this "titanic" heading straight for an iceberg and paralyzed by the fear of thinking different!




    Paralyzed by the fear of thinking different?


     


    Hardly.


     


    Windows 8 was a huge leap for Microsoft.


     


    Into the fire.


     


    Thinking brilliant is a totally different concept. So far Ballmer has shown none (or, at best, very little) of that.

  • Reply 57 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post




    Paralyzed by the fear of thinking different?


     


    Hardly.


     


    Windows 8 was a huge leap for Microsoft.


     


    Into the fire.


     


    Thinking brilliant is a totally different concept. So far Ballmer has shown none (or, at best, very little) of that.



     


    I'll grant them that they did rethink Windows 8, and managed to get it out quicker than they did Vista.


    Microsoft is playing the long game here, so they believe that over time, people will get used to "Metro" and Windows 8 will become the new normal. They cite how Windows XP was regarded as ugly back in the day (it replaced Windows 2000, which was just the Windows 95 UI with gradient ramps), but went on to become a very accepted OS over nearly a decade when it was retired. And Windows 7, which uses Vista's UI, is now accepted as terrific, or "the best." Ballmer & Co really believe that this will happen with Windows 8.

  • Reply 58 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


     


    I'll grant them that they did rethink Windows 8, and managed to get it out quicker than they did Vista.


    Microsoft is playing the long game here, so they believe that over time, people will get used to "Metro" and Windows 8 will become the new normal. They cite how Windows XP was regarded as ugly back in the day (it replaced Windows 2000, which was just the Windows 95 UI with gradient ramps), but went on to become a very accepted OS over nearly a decade when it was retired. And Windows 7, which uses Vista's UI, is now accepted as terrific, or "the best." Ballmer & Co really believe that this will happen with Windows 8.





    I think that Ballmer has his head in the 80s when they had time on their side. In this day and age things change a little too quickly and Microsoft is being left behind in the consumer game. MS will continue to do well in the enterprise for a long time but I think its day of relevancy has come and gone.

  • Reply 59 of 76

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lilgto64 View Post


     


    You have forgotten a few - I have used most versions of Windows - including server versions - and I would say that Windows 7 is the best version of Windows - but not the best OS overall. 


     


    Windows 3.1 - networking was really screwy.


    Windows NT - lots of device driver compatibility issues


    Windows 98 - had lots of short comings


    Windows XP - the first version that was truly useable but very unstable and full of security holes


    Windows 7 - with some tweaking to make it look more like XP is very much more stable and secure but still annoying especially when used by folks who don't know or care about anything other than downloading the latest free game and or checking their Facebook and "what do you mean by task bar?"



    Agh! Visions of installing Trumpet Winsock coming back!! *shudder*

  • Reply 60 of 76
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member
    droidftw wrote: »
    I was always under the impression that Office for Mac was garbage and lacked features that Office on WIndows offers.  I guess I stand corrected?

    Let me put it this way: it doesn't lack features except VBA, which is a scripting language, and otherwise it's no more "garbage" than Windows Office. Since they stagger the release of Windows and Mac versions in different years, I think there are some minor feature differences, but I couldn't name any because they're not obvious. Unlike Office clones, Mac Office opens Windows office files and formats them correctly. It even has a ribbon. Edits made by one match in the other platform, so it's real Microsoft Office.

    Actually the VBA editor was added to the Mac version a couple of years ago (2010?), so there is currently no functional difference between the Mac and Windows versions.
Sign In or Register to comment.