2 nail biting years ahead for Microsoft

[temi]

The next two years will be crucial for software giant Microsoft: Under attack on numerous fronts, it could falter - or it could fight back to become even more dominant.
In the first of two reports, we examine the challenges facing Microsoft.

source/full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4508897.stm

 

[Duke]

I have mixed emotions about the success and future success of Microsoft. For one, I think we should all be greatful to them because I believe they are single-handedly the company to thank for bringing PC's home in the numbers that we have seen over the past few years. They have given us an interface that anyone can use and is easy to learn. In my opinion, they pioneered this and if they hadn't, would there be as many PC's in the home as there is today, I seriously doubt it?

I'm very happy to see Microsoft under competition though. I for one thought the price of upgrading to XP was very excessive and a major rip off pricewise. Perhaps some good competition will make for a bit more reasonable pricing of Microsofts (no longer "cutting edge") software apps. I think competition is necessary to keep the market not only viable, but fair on a feature to feature scale. For evidence of how we all win, one need look no further back than a few years ago when ATI managed to give graphics giant NVIDIA a serious run for their money. There were even a number of times when ATI took over the crown as most powerful Video Card available and I believe this has helped to ground NVIDIA more. Not only that, but pricing has dropped to nickle and diming between the two companies and it's no longer a lock that you have the best video card, regardless of which brand you choose. It's with this type of competition in mind, that I hope Microsoft pulls up their sox and actually offers value instead of hackable, flawed, high-priced software bombs, waiting to disable the family PC.

 

[Paul_KY]

Trust me, M$ never bites its nails, nor the hand that feeds it.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Show me a viable sensible alternative to windows, equaly supported by hardware and software manufacturers and I will laugh in your face. Honestly I know there are BETTER systems out there, but so what? Btamax was better than VHS, so what.

Microsoft know full well that when the new OS comes out and search plus browser is integrated it will be the death knell for many of its competitors encoraochment into the MS core money tree. No Internet explorer, no IE toolbar plugin, what then for Google, Alexa etc?

 

[temi]

OWG,
The sad think is that you are completely right, from where we are today Windows will dominate the desktop for a looooong time but that does not make Microsoft's extremely aggressive use of its dominance right so I think its a good thing that some regulatory authorities are try to clip Microsoft wings. Its extremely dangerous if Microsoft should have its way for example in the early days of the Internet Microsoft tried very hard to make MSN "The Internet" if not for people who developed http and other technology that make the Internet what we know it to be today MSN/Microsoft will be "The Internet" which would have made the internet a very sad place.

 

[Paul_KY]

If it weren't for M$, we wouldn't be posting today. Now everyone wants to throw the book at em'.

JMHO

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Actually Temi, in the early years Microsoft totally ignored the internet, Ask Bill Gates he will tell you. Microsoft totally messed up and allowed Netscape to dominate the web with their browser.

I have to admit to being a big MS fan guys so don't expect me to bad mouth them lol. Bill Gates had a vision, his vision was a computer in every home. He knew that the main reason preventing this was that you had to be a nerd, he knew that the operating system interface was the key to his dream.

Without Microsoft we would not have what wew have today, Just as Paul has posted above, NOR would many of us have businesses. Some 20 years ago we had 8 people working 4 days a week in a studio to produce a newspaper. Today we could do it in a day with 4.

And as for dominating the world, I love the way everyone is constantly Googlebashing, yet no one has Yahoo bashed. Yahoo have bought Overture, altavista, alltheweb, inktomi and many more, yet no one cried foul of them.

Companies grow big by being good. That is the basis of business, provide a product people want at a price they will pay.

 

[Paul_KY]

I'll step in and, "Yahoo!-bash". lol

Yahoo! owns Overture. Overture partners with Claria (Formerly Gator), a well know adware company. Overture derives millions in profits from its relationship with Claria. Overture accounts for 1/3 of Claria's total revenue. Yahoo! is CLEARLY making money off the back's of those poor PC users, who have no idea (due to malicious installs) why their PC is slowing down/Pop-Ups all over the place, etc. Therefore, Yahoo! are in bed with the bad guys. Therefore, Yahoo! are bad lol (Except for their SERPS - I really like how they rank my sites lol).

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sponsor9may09,0,4336962.story?coll=la-home-business

 

[OldWelshGuy]

LOL @ Paul. That is so right Paul. Yahoo have been painted as the white knights, and M$ is bad, when in effect the opposite is true. I don't see the owners of Yahoo trying to rid the continent of Africa of smallpox.

All this M$ hate is coming from two sources, both of which have vested interests. The software developers groups don't like the dominance that MS has, and more importantly, the Banking and business fraternity are scared witless by the philanthropy shown by Gates, and the statements that he intends to give away 98% of his wealth before he dies.

 

[Duke]

Hopefully he intends to give at least 8% of it to me.

 

[Paul_KY]

I had no idea, regarding the 98% figure.

Wow! That's provocative.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm

At last count he has given $21 billion he did at the time of setting up the foundation have £46 billion, so half of his wealth went at a stroke. Thing is not many people like to talk about this. Many people see it as bad, and bad mouth him. Look at this guy http://www.randomperspective.com/page.asp?1news143 he draws $46,000 a year salary as a shop manager for oxfam, yet the shop only takes $40,000 a year. How can they justify this? as he says they have to include the donations just to pay his wage. Now call me old fashioned, but would the people be making these donations if it said on the label, 'help us to pay the managers wages, donate here'?

He says that the £168 million the foundation granted was a drop in the ocean. This is a typical response from people who are too damn ignorant to appreciate the man has at a stroke given away 50% of his wealth. I don't see Apple doing this, nor do I see Adobe doing it.

OK so Linux is free, but will the users of linux and other free software donate such volumes to these needy causes such as

$750m eradication of smallpox in Africa and other immunisation schemes.
$168m to fight Malaria
$226m to fight AIDS
$25 million for biofortification - breeding crops with higher levels of micronutrients
$37 Million to Combat Hepatitis B in China
$50 million for the alliance against cervical cancer.

These are just a small selection, so let us stop and ask ourselves this question. Is it better to save a few $/£ on software at the cost of these lives? because IMO the loss of this money would cost lives, children WILL die in Africa and China as a result of lack of funding. OUR loved ones and people we know will have less of a chance of survival as a result of there not being the funding for research that the foundation provides.

As everything in life, there is nothing for nothing. Using linux & dumping Windows and other Microsoft products WILL DIRECTLY affect the ability of Gates & Microsoft to do what they do with their wealth.

Oh Dear, I have gone off on one again lol <sorry>

 

[Paul_KY]

Wow, OWG! Good stuff there.

 

[temi]

Paul,
In what way has MSoft made it possible for us to post? most of the technologies involved in our posting (apart from you desktop computer OS if you use Windows) have absolutely nothing to do with MSoft.

 

[Paul_KY]

"In what way has MSoft made it possible for us to post?"

Well, for one, I most likely wouldn't own a computer, much less know how to operate one.

 

[temi]

That is not correct Paul,
You could buy an Apple Mac, Apple was the first computer to have a GUI way before Microsoft created Windows.

 

[Paul_KY]

Before M$ developed windows, 99.9999999% of the world's population did not use a computer, nor had the desire to do so.

If not for M$, I wouldn't be posting right now.

That is a FACT.

lol

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I am with paul here, in 1993 we had 6 apples (MAC) in the studio a linotype printer a Rip, and some keyboards and Mice. The bill for that lot was £20,000 a year, not really within the average grasp now is it lol.

OK so technically my Amiga was capable of going online, but even then it was not really user friendly. DOS was a language that only its mother could love, but it bridged the gap. And Temi YES your right, Apple had GUI & plug n play way back then, but at a price.

 

[temi]

Yes,
I agree with both of you to a point, what I am saying is that Apple, Amiga, IBM etc had theIR part to play to get us to where we are today, most people give all the credit to Microsoft but I give the credit to IBM. If IBM had not done one foolish thin and one wise thing we will not be where we are today. The wise thing IBM did was to make the i386 and open standard which lead to having cheaper personal computer, where as Apple remain proprietary and refused to make their architecture and software work with other vendors.

The foolish think IBM did was to give a start up company called Microsoft the contract to write a software called PC DOS later renamed MS DOS , IBM lawyers did not scrutinise the contract properly so Microsoft ended up owning the copyright to IBM 's software which lead to the creation of the modern day monster called Microsoft.

So if your really wan to give credit to whom credit is due to in making Computers and Internet what it is today its IBM and US department of defence who developed ARPANET (which evolved to Internet as we know it today). Microsoft is a very very late comer to the part and I am yet to see any significant contribution Microsoft has made to the development of Internet apart from trying to wreck it by introducing proprietary protocols to compete with open internet standards, it was not until Microsoft see that it cannot prevail over IETF that if finally joined the part and change Windows default protocol from NetBui and he one Microsoft stole from Novell NWLink

Sorry for boring you with my University days computer history, but MS is not the gury in the white had Paul is making it to be.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Temi, I agree that much of that is true, but IBM would never have brought things along, and we would never have had such a widely used platform had it not been fr M$ IMO.

As for the Americans inventing the web, I think this bloke might have something to say about that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

And also this bloke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee


Damned Americans try to take the glory for everything lol.


I am kidding of course