Microsoft business model is over

[Yousuf Khan]

Microsoft business model is over - MarketWatch
"If Intel can provide users with powerful little systems for $99 and has
been pushing prices lower and lower over the years, why can't Microsoft?
Intel makes elaborate hardware in billion-dollar factories. Microsoft
stamps out a disk. "
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Microsoft-business-model-over/story.aspx?guid={4C81119F-100F-4D73-95AD-80424E949DC1}&dist=SecMostRead

 

[Kai Harrekilde-Petersen]

Microsoft business model is over - MarketWatch
"If Intel can provide users with powerful little systems for $99 and
has been pushing prices lower and lower over the years, why can't
Microsoft? Intel makes elaborate hardware in billion-dollar
factories. Microsoft stamps out a disk. "
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Microsoft-business-model-over/story.aspx?guid={4C81119F-100F-4D73-95AD-80424E949DC1}&dist=SecMostRead

*Sigh*

People will continue to pay for what they consider to be providing
value. As it is, the hardware itself has lost it's edge as the
differentiator, and today it's the software content that's the "killer
app". As for PC's, the majority of people don't buy them to 'play'
with - they tend to buy them to help them solve a problem,
e.g. talking to their daughter in another state using Skype or making
spreadsheets to handle their private finances.

Similar example:
When GSM phones first came around - some 15 years ago - Nokia just had
a better radio than Ericsson, and this was a killer at the time.
Magazines did the "cellar staircase" test routinely to see which
models had the best reception, and Nokia won hands down. Nokia spent
quite some time, money and effort to make their own radio, since it
was a differentiator.
As time went by, the other handset providers learned to catch up with
Nokia, and it ceased to be a differentiator in the market. Nokia
stopped doing their own radio and bought from 3rd parties.
Today, Nokia hardly make their own hardware (they've outsourced all
ASIC design). It's software features and design which is the
differentiator in the market, so they have moved their focus to that
instead.

The wheel of innovation (and reincarnation) turns...


Kai

 

[YKhan]

*Sigh*

People will continue to pay for what they consider to be providing
value.  As it is, the hardware itself has lost it's edge as the
differentiator, and today it's the software content that's the "killer
app". As for PC's, the majority of people don't buy them to 'play'
with - they tend to buy them to help them solve a problem,
e.g. talking to their daughter in another state using Skype or making
spreadsheets to handle their private finances.

It's looking like to do all of those tasks, like Skype, email,
browsing, spreadsheets, etc. are mostly available through Linux
already. So it's looking like Windows is no longer necessary to do
these tasks. So Windows might get driven up-market to a specialized
niche. You'll probably still need Windows to play games, so gamers
might be willing to pay that premium, but almost nobody else.

Plus, Linux booting up on a ROM would be a lot quicker to start than
Windows. If you need to get a task done quickly, why wait several
minutes while Windows settles down?

Yousuf Khan

 

[Robert Myers]

Asus did it right with the eeePC and Xandros Linux.
Intel processor, almost free soft.
All we need no is to educate the public.

All you need to do is to tell me what to think? Nothing new there.

I'm using Vista, XP, Fedora. Cygwin-X is no longer a piece of crap,
so, with sufficiently beefy hardware, secure shell, and remote
desktop, I finally have what I expected all along: everything at my
fingertips at the click of a mouse, all served up to me by the Aero
interface. No kvm, no virtualization.

Microsoft did its damage. It's done and it isn't really worth talking
about any more.

More people need to get clued-up about not storing data in Microsoft
proprietary formats, but, other than that, there's not much left to
yell about in the desktop world. Linux will never keep up with
proprietary encoders. I might wish it otherwise, but that's just the
way it is.

Extremely low-power mobile devices are a different universe. Maybe
they will be the death of lots of things, but not yet.

Robert.

 

[Robert Myers]

Yes, indeed. This is a top post.

I just took a look at this dude's profile. At the rate of 10-20 posts
a day, I'm amazed he has time for me.

Robert.

 

[eatnofat]

Microsoft did its damage. It's done and it isn't really worth talking
about any more.

Perhaps that why Bill retired from the day-to-day operations of the
corporation - he saw the writing on the wall.

The flounder-in chief, or whatever you wish to call Mr. Gates is still
doing damage. He and his wife have founded the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation which financially supports abortion and "family planning
services" all over the world. Population control at its most evil.