Former Apple exec: Has Microsoft gone nuts?

[CoderGuy]

eggzacklee and if yer pc breaks and yer handy enuff you can repair it yourself with off the shelf parts

eggzacklee jr, and I have actually replaced my wifi card, for 8 bucks from Amazon, and literally 3 minutes work.

[crullers]

I like the Start Screen, but I don't like Windows, or Apple. I think MS might go the way of IBM. Lose the consumer market, but still be pretty locked into the enterprise.

I'm beginning to wonder if that's their end game now. Users are hating Win8 but the ops guys at work are raving about Server 2012. I think M$ is a lot smarter than people give them credit for.

[CoderGuy]

I like the Start Screen, but I don't like Windows, or Apple. I think MS might go the way of IBM. Lose the consumer market, but still be pretty locked into the enterprise.

A few years ago I would have laughed at this, but I am beginning to think it's a real possibility. Mobile platforms like iOS and Android are becoming the norm, and cloud services like Google Docs (and others) provide sufficient consumer needs. There are only a few things people do anymore anyway, like text, play games, take and share photos, video chat, email, and social networking. Mobile, cloud, and free services cover all that pretty completely.

[lxskllr]

A few years ago I would have laughed at this, but I am beginning to think it's a real possibility. Mobile platforms like iOS and Android are becoming the norm, and cloud services like Google Docs (and others) provide sufficient consumer needs. There are only a few things people do anymore anyway, like text, play games, take and share photos, video chat, email, and social networking. Mobile, cloud, and free services cover all that pretty completely.

I think mobile has pointed out to people how non-essential MS software is. There's been good alternatives for years, but people weren't interested in trying. Mobile forced them to use other tools, and they're getting just about as much done as they used to. An Android phone to a Chromebook isn't a big jump, and that takes care of the keyboardy things people need to use.

[CoderGuy]

I think mobile has pointed out to people how non-essential MS software is. There's been good alternatives for years, but people weren't interested in trying. Mobile forced them to use other tools, and they're getting just about as much done as they used to. An Android phone to a Chromebook isn't a big jump, and that takes care of the keyboardy things people need to use.

Exactly. I have used GIMP for years, would never pay 900+ for Photoshop when GIMP actually does more.

[trebli]

... but the ops guys at work are raving about Server 2012. I think M$ is a lot smarter than people give them credit for.

That's something I wonder about, a decade ago all the industry magazines I read were poised for Linux to replace Windows. After all, Linux is free and open source. But, it didn't happen. Windows still has a huge market share. I wonder why? Is Windows that much better than Linux?

[lxskllr]

That's something I wonder about, a decade ago all the industry magazines I read were poised for Linux to replace Windows. After all, Linux is free and open source. But, it didn't happen. Windows still has a huge market share. I wonder why? Is Windows that much better than Linux?

Exchange is MS's killer feature. There really aren't any great competitors in the *nix world. There's also inertia. The stuff businesses have works, and is complicated and expensive to replace. Munich just spent 10 years converting their systems to GNU/Linux. It's not something that can be done overnight. It's worthwhile to start thinking about it though. Building around proprietary software is a time bomb waiting to explode. It limits options, and locks you into a single point of failure.

[wa3zrm]

Microsoft is in the same position Apple was in the early 1990's... tons of $$$ with no market following. I recall many a colleague telling me that Apple was going to just fade away... then the ipod and iphone happened. Don't ever underestimate where technology is going or who will take it there!