DISQUS

Paul McNamara · 2 years ago

Dead? Microsoft? Company exec says phooey, too. And he offers 4 billion more good reasons.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1...

asj · 2 years ago

You're attacking two different thin gs. his premise that Microsoft's heydey is long over is correct, it's just that he's focusing on the wrong reasons for why this happened - and it's not because of Apple obviously....

Chris · 2 years ago

The guy must be living in a bunker to be making such sensationalist claims. The problem with most of these MS bashing guys is that I believe they have never worked in a big enterprise. Most of them don't even know how technologies from MS enable businesses. That is the sad part of it. There is nothing wrong in criticizing MS but one has to know his facts well before he does.

Jason · 2 years ago

ASJ-

The clarity of my writing could certainly have been a bit more clear. I was attempting to show that he was completely wrong, not just wrong about the title of his essay.

The one area he is correct on is that their shadow doesn't cast itself over the IT industry anymore. However, and this is where I was not being clear, I think he is dead wrong (as is anyone else) that Microsoft is irrelevant. They certainly are not the Microsoft of old but they are far from irrelevant. For Microsoft to have created the Zune in such a short timeframe and be the second best selling DAP in the market the last holiday season is nothing short of incredible. That is moving *fast*.

Graham is wrong. I could have just done a better job showing why ;)

Bridget Stewart · 2 years ago

I realize you wrote this months ago, but I still feel a need to comment.

Apple's recent popularity has not killed, nor appears to be killing Microsoft. Just because there are a lot of iPods roaming around, that doesn't mean that Apple's computer sales have take over Microsoft. Dell still seems to be in business. That must mean that Microsoft isn't dead yet.

Apparently Paul views the world from his limited bubble and no further. People who "care" about computers aren't the only people who USE computers. People who don't like them and who are ambivalent toward them still use them. And I'm quite certain those folks can be found using either brand -- based on their company's purchasing choices, not necessarily their own.

Methinks the guy need to get out in the world and take a look around. There are many different types of people out there. To each his own.

jkratz · 2 years ago

Thanks for the reply Bridget.

You are certainly correct....Microsoft's profits dwarfed Apple's last quarter and the amount was really shocking. And I still think Graham is wrong. I think Microsoft does 'get it' but as usual they're late to the game. They have pretty large coffers to keep refining their stuff though so I don't count them out by any stretch especially in the Flash space. Adobe has a real competitor in the Silverlight product.