With Microsoft reporting earnings for its most recent quarter this week we learn that earnings are down 30% from last year, and that they were less than analysts expected, even taking the economy into account. What happened?
Microsoft blames the most difficult economic conditions the company has ever faced.
Could it be something else?
Computerworld’s "cyber cynic", Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, argues that other factors are at work. In his post "The fall of Microsoft", Vaughan-Nichols says
I've long thought it funny when Microsoft-fans would tell me how Linux, open-source, the Mac, whatever would never be important because Microsoft products were clearly better. Now, everyone can get on the joke as Microsoft's earnings plummeted in the last quarter by over 30%.
So, is it just the economy, or are other factors at play? Vaughan-Nichols, thinks Microsoft’s management has gotten sloppy and distracted with projects such as pursuing Yahoo! So what? This hasn’t anything to do with us, here in Linuxland. His other ideas are more interesting.
We know that Linux got off to a promising start on netbooks, only to be cut off at the pass by Microsoft, delaying the retirement of Windows XP for the netbook market. Good plan! Maybe not, here’s what Vaughan-Nichols thinks
Another major reason is that Microsoft may own the lion's share of the netbook market now but it did so by cutting its profits to the bone and beyond. Worse still, if you like Microsoft, this new talk of Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is junkware by any standard, being the Windows for netbooks will alienate customers. Microsoft will have a fit trying to hold onto its current netbooks predominance at changes ripple through this market in the rest of 2009.
I sense opportunity for Linux here to bring rich function and a better user experience to future netbook users. How about you?
Or is this all really about hardware? The latest Microsoft anti-Apple ads suggest that Microsoft has forgotten that it’s a software company, and that it doesn’t make hardware. The ads feature hip shoppers picking out their laptops based on hardware features, not software.
The invincible Roman empire eventually fell from old age and rot from within. Is Microsoft the new Rome? Is it’s day passing?
Doug Yriart Linux Rules!
>> The ads feature hip shoppers picking out their laptops based on hardware features, not software. >>
Wrong. The ads aren't about hardware, they're about PC vs. Mac. The laptops in the ads are running Windows. The shoppers get what they want for a lower price than the Mac laptops running Mac OS. That's true now, always has been, probably always will be. That's also the point of the ads.
I think it's the economy. Just about all companies are down. That includes the sale of Mac computers. Apple is doing better because of the iPod and iPhone, not Macintosh computers.
>> I sense opportunity for Linux here to bring rich function and a better user experience to future netbook users. How about you? >>
Linux already had that opportunity when netbooks came out. But as soon as Windows was available for netbooks, Linux on netbooks went into a rapid decline. Why? People want what they know, what will run the programs they might install. It doesn't matter if Linux is "better." As long as Windows is "good enough," people will stick with it.
I wonder why Vaugan-Nichols decided Win 7 Starter Edition is "junkware." I assume it's because it'll have a limit of 3 applications running at a time, at least as expected at this time. (By the way, that does not include antimalware applications running in the background.) If a netbook is being used for what netbooks are good at (Web, e-mail, low-demand multimedia), you don't need much more than a browser running (one application--you have two left). If you want to run Word and Excel and Photoshop and PowerPoint AND your browser and standalone media player, Starter Edition is not for you. Depending on how much Microsoft charges for an upgrade from Starter Edition, a netbook user who finds that Starter is insufficient may not mind spending the extra.
I think some netbook buyers are just looking for a cheap laptop and don't realize what they're getting in a netbook. It'll be interesting to see if these buyers get a netbook again when they have to replace the first one. I know I certainly wouldn't want to use a netbook as a laptop substitute, especially since you can buy an adequate laptop for under $500. I also notice that netbooks are getting bigger and bigger for larger screens and keyboards, are coming with hard drives, and are costing more as a result. At what point are they no longer a netbook?--Judy M.
I think people who will pay several hundred dollars (or more) extra for "style" are nuts. They can spend their money as they see fit, but that doesn't mean I have to think they're not nuts.<g>
Engineering? First they have to have the money. Many people don't. So being able to pay a premium for "engineering" is not a buying option for large numbers of people. Second, the premium has to be worth it for what is supposed to be superior engineering. Given that I've never had problems with "poorly engineered" computers in 22 years of use, I can't see that the premium for Apple engineering could possibly be worth the extra money it would cost me (even if I had it).
For a lot of people, conspicuous consumption rules. Idiots.
>> the second one, with the guy, never mentions Windows at all, the first one, barely mentions Windows. They never mention OS X (Mac OS). >>
It doesn't matter. To most people, "PC" implies Windows. "Mac" means a Mac and therefore, not Windows. (Never mind that you can run Windows on a Mac.) The ads don't *have to* mention Windows or OS X. Those OSes are implied for PC or Mac. They're not arguing that Windows is better than OS X. They're saying that contrary to what "Mac vs. PC" suggests, you CAN do everything you want on a PC (meaning Windows). And you'll pay less.
>> it's like saying, I'll buy a Chevy instead of a BMW, because they're both cars, without considering what makes a Chevy different from a BMW. >>
Oh no. Now we're back at that "spend more for what is perceived as better." It's not like that in the real world. A BMW is priced out of sight for most people no matter if it was made by God himself. Your choices are circumscribed by how much you can afford to spend and if you can, whether you choose to spend the extra on the car or on something else, like your kid's college fund or your mother's nursing home. --Judy M.
When I was talking about design, I had "pretty" or "cool" in mind. Your examples are another matter.
I agree very strongly that a well-designed case is important. Some cases are not only flimsy or hard to work in, they're downright dangerous if they have sharp edges that can give you a nasty cut.
Program design and interface are important, too. I don't think that a more expensive program will necessarily have a better interface.--Judy M.
I know Apple gets good marks for quality. However, that doesn't mean that anything other than Apple is poor quality or badly engineered. Apple would like you to think so, but it's false.
I also know that Apple gets good ratings for customer satisfaction. I do wonder, though, how much the ratings would fall if you eliminated the cultists from the survey population.
Re my previous comments on the "lies" in the "PC vs. Mac Guy," I thought of one thing that had me screaming at the TV. The Mac ads make it sound like all you can do with a PC is dull business stuff, whereas a Mac lets you do fun, creative things. Baloney! You can be just as creative with a PC (whether Windows or Linux).--Judy M.
