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Post by sordello on Aug 23, 2013 19:52:30 GMT -5
Okay. So it's just a hypothetical, but if you were the new CEO of Microsoft, what would you do?
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Post by hodagg on Aug 24, 2013 0:07:22 GMT -5
I'd destroy every copy of Windows 8, refund the money to people who bought Windows 8, and roll out a new OS based on Windows 7. But I don't expect that will happen.
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 25, 2013 9:29:47 GMT -5
Okay. So it's just a hypothetical, but if you were the new CEO of Microsoft, what would you do? Keep at the good Enterprise products because we may because server side makes all our client computing possible. Accelerate low power hardware development so mobile devices can have the legacy applications and "tablet" style too. Keep at recent efforts to restructure and streamline the organization. Make your new offerings attractive to developers. I'd destroy every copy of Windows 8, refund the money to people who bought Windows 8, and roll out a new OS based on Windows 7. But I don't expect that will happen. Forgot the way business works or not aware of Windows 8 is built? C:\Windows\System32 is still there after all those years. Yeah, a bold move didn't work out as planned but Windows 8 works well. We log more problems surrounding the problems people have with embracing change and reading simple instructions than we do with the operating system itself. I see people who bought cheap craptops with poor specifications and software load having problems that are not about Windows 8. For my use I confess not liking touch screen laptops. Laptops with large and good track pads, Apple laptops, and some all in one PCs with good pedigree are good ways to use Windows 8. It seems to escape many that you can always get to the program you want or "desktop" by hitting your enter key! It would be easier for me to accept a lot of the stupid criticism of technology advances if the ones criticizing would prove they type their stuff with vi or edit. |
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Post by hodagg on Aug 25, 2013 12:08:25 GMT -5
Okay. So it's just a hypothetical, but if you were the new CEO of Microsoft, what would you do? I'd destroy every copy of Windows 8, refund the money to people who bought Windows 8, and roll out a new OS based on Windows 7. But I don't expect that will happen. Forgot the way business works or not aware of Windows 8 is built? C:\Windows\System32 is still there after all those years. Yeah, a bold move didn't work out as planned but Windows 8 works well. We log more problems surrounding the problems people have with embracing change and reading simple instructions than we do with the operating system itself. I see people who bought cheap craptops with poor specifications and software load having problems that are not about Windows 8. For my use I confess not liking touch screen laptops. Laptops with large and good track pads, Apple laptops, and some all in one PCs with good pedigree are good ways to use Windows 8. It seems to escape many that you can always get to the program you want or "desktop" by hitting your enter key! It would be easier for me to accept a lot of the stupid criticism of technology advances if the ones criticizing would prove they type their stuff with vi or edit. I'm sure the makers of the Edsel said the same thing! The bottom line is that the people don't want it, no matter how good MS says the operating system is. And that is the ultimate factor on whether or not it should be scrapped. It's being blamed for a huge decline in sales of new PCs. From a business standpoint, I'm betting that companies like Dell and HP wish MS had come up with something that would have been embraced by the public a lot more positively. |
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 25, 2013 13:43:31 GMT -5
I'm sure the makers of the Edsel said the same thing! The bottom line is that the people don't want it, no matter how good MS says the operating system is. And that is the ultimate factor on whether or not it should be scrapped. It's being blamed for a huge decline in sales of new PCs. From a business standpoint, I'm betting that companies like Dell and HP wish MS had come up with something that would have been embraced by the public a lot more positively. Nonsense. Apple's Mac sales are down for the same reason Windows PCs are down. Enterprise computing chugs along and consumers have moved toward using mobile devices. Car companies didn't scrap improvements under the hood because people didn't like the latest look. It's same for your computer operating systems. What HP and Dell want? Look at the battery life of most ARM-based mobile devices and then the current lack of Haswell mobile computing devices for that answer. |
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Post by hodagg on Aug 25, 2013 14:11:36 GMT -5
You can spin it however you'd like but I can tell you that in the next three months I'm going to be responsible for my school purchasing almost 100 new computers, and they won't be running Windows 8. That's my decision, but it's also the wishes of my boss, who does have a personal computer running 8.
It's just not a popular OS.
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Post by donalgdon on Aug 25, 2013 15:15:12 GMT -5
There are still a ton of folks running XP since 2001, that that doesn't make it great. In fairness, there are some really good things about Windows 8, but I think Windows 7 will become the new "XP" and hang on for 10 more years for most users who are resistant to change.
Having the new UI forced down their throats really backfired, and a lot of OEMs are bundling Start Menu replacements with W8 now because it's so different. The Surface/RT has all but died, but to be honest, I'd still swap my iPad for one in a heartbeat.
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 25, 2013 16:52:04 GMT -5
You can spin it however you'd like but I can tell you that in the next three months I'm going to be responsible for my school purchasing almost 100 new computers, and they won't be running Windows 8. That's my decision, but it's also the wishes of my boss, who does have a personal computer running 8. It's just not a popular OS. Kind of crazy talk or I'm not understanding what you're saying. The Windows 8 replacement is already released to manufacturers and supposed to be out 6-8 weeks. Wouldn't open license be the most cost effective and responsible way to take care of a bunch of users and systems? Buying 100 new systems for an organization shouldn't be based on one's personal computer or opinions. That adds to my feelings about too much poor management in a lot of school districts or schools. |
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Post by sordello on Aug 26, 2013 7:36:04 GMT -5
Lemme see...
... on my first day on the job as CEO of Microsoft... I would negotiate the purchase/merger and future devopment of Ubuntu.
But... instead of moving Ubuntu, and open source to the Microsoft business model, I would move Microsoft to the Ubuntu service model.
The Windows 8 interface will be dumped and migrated over to Ubuntu UI. The OS would be installed FREE on all new systems but fees will be charged on maintenance service levels (the Ubuntu business model). Of course the really big bucks will come from massive corporate service/support contracts.
Then invest heavily in desktop research. Not the old meaning of desktop where a PC box sat on your desk, but where your whole desktop surface is like a tablet touch screen - except the screen is the size of a desk. (Let's face it, for tablets and phones, the other players have just too much of a head start on Microsoft.)
Regardless of smartphones and tablets, people will always need to spend some time working at a 'desk'. People will want to 'multi-task' with all items visible and available and not have to 'switch' tasks. We need to have the whole desktop operate as a touch screen all-in-one computer. Get all your files converted from paper to computer and cloud and then you can migrate from room to room and any desk in any room can become your desk for the day. Employees can work at home - their work files just migrate to a home desk computer. Gaming possibilities too: one person sits at one end of the desk, another at the other end, and off we go! And 3D printing?....
Naturally, 5 years from now, 3D holograms will be popping out and hovering over your desk. Conference calls with all people near and far right by your desk as live holograms. From Skye to Star Trek holodeck!! ;D
All big hardware stuff, not small - where Microsoft needs to go. Dump 'Surface'. Get real friendly with Android and negotiate mutual usabilty and compliance to prepare the way for the possibility that Apple, 10 years from now gets way too big and only 2 players can afford to be in the market. It will be Apple versus Microsoft(Linux/Android). If Android gets squeezed by Apple, they will have had years of buddy buddy friendship with Microsoft to stay afloat and make a decision then.
(I won't take less than $3million a year in salary for this!)
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Post by donalgdon on Aug 26, 2013 7:45:12 GMT -5
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Post by sordello on Aug 26, 2013 7:48:20 GMT -5
Well really... aren't Windows apps a waste of space? How greedy can they get - they have the two most massive, biggest "apps" out there - the OS and Office! Let Android do the bits and pieces and just stick with Windows and Office. The rest will be hardware, networking and interface development. |
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 26, 2013 9:01:20 GMT -5
Lemme see... ... on my first day on the job as CEO of Microsoft... I would negotiate the purchase/merger and future devopment of Ubuntu. But... instead of moving Ubuntu, and open source to the Microsoft business model, I would move Microsoft to the Ubuntu service model. The Windows 8 interface will be dumped and migrated over to Ubuntu UI. The OS would be installed FREE on all new systems but fees will be charged on maintenance service levels (the Ubuntu business model). Of course the really big bucks will come from massive corporate service/support contracts. Then invest heavily in desktop research. Not the old meaning of desktop where a PC box sat on your desk, but where your whole desktop surface is like a tablet touch screen - except the screen is the size of a desk. (Let's face it, for tablets and phones, the other players have just too much of a head start on Microsoft.) Regardless of smartphones and tablets, people will always need to spend some time working at a 'desk'. People will want to 'multi-task' with all items visible and available and not have to 'switch' tasks. We need to have the whole desktop operate as a touch screen all-in-one computer. Get all your files converted from paper to computer and cloud and then you can migrate from room to room and any desk in any room can become your desk for the day. Employees can work at home - their work files just migrate to a home desk computer. Gaming possibilities too: one person sits at one end of the desk, another at the other end, and off we go! And 3D printing?.... Naturally, 5 years from now, 3D holograms will be popping out and hovering over your desk. Conference calls with all people near and far right by your desk as live holograms. From Skye to Star Trek holodeck!! ;D All big hardware stuff, not small - where Microsoft needs to go. Dump 'Surface'. Get real friendly with Android and negotiate mutual usabilty and compliance to prepare the way for the possibility that Apple, 10 years from now gets way too big and only 2 players can afford to be in the market. It will be Apple versus Microsoft(Linux/Android). If Android gets squeezed by Apple, they will have had years of buddy buddy friendship with Microsoft to stay afloat and make a decision then. (I won't take less than $3million a year in salary for this!) Microsoft is more of an enterprise player than most realize. I'm not so sure about the UNIX and Linux underpinnings as a model, and patents are such a mess that better products would more likely come from firms writing checks to each other. To the latter, maybe Blackberry's problems mean somebody else will have their long press cap. The mobile messaging clients that work well with Exchange use Microsoft's ActiveSync. Crappy Android Exchange clients were and are a big help for the iPhone in business and enterprise scenarios. A blessing and curse not obvious to some is the way 64 bit Windows 7 and 8 systems can usually run software from 20 years ago but not so for Macs. Closer to the topic, is the new Microsoft boss needs to change the attitude toward risk. Balmer killed off some projects that were on target for the world we live in. |
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Post by sordello on Aug 26, 2013 21:06:27 GMT -5
I agree that Microsoft needs to take more risks. Apple has the cash stored away to take risks; MS needs to build up cash. They won't do it by charging $600 for Office when folks can get LibreOffice or Open Office for Free (or the OfficePro Android app for $14). Open source and Android will cut deep into MS's cash flows.
Microsoft needs to team up against Apple or lose. The model used by Ubuntu is ideal: lock all your corporate customers into long or medium-term support contracts, create stability and legacy and eventually no corporation will dare take the risk of abandoning all that legacy, and knowledge and staff-wide training to move over to another platform. Make the software free or near-free and charge like bulls for support and business-specific software tweaking.
Make sure that the OS and Office are near free for the plebians on the street, so when businesses hire staff, they are hiring people 'pre-trained' in their in-house business software. That's alot of money saved not having to train your newbie staff who has been using MS Office since s/he was 10 years old!
I'd even suggest MS buy up Wikipedia, keep it free for end users, and then
spend a fortune in the development of a solid, consistent, international education-knowledge delivery model. Develop and contract 'learning-delivery' to governments and universities.
The old MS dinosaur should have been developing this stuff 5 years ago!
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Post by donalgdon on Aug 26, 2013 21:27:16 GMT -5
I agree that Microsoft needs to take more risks. Apple has the cash stored away to take risks; MS needs to build up cash. They won't do it by charging $600 for Office when folks can get LibreOffice or Open Office for Free (or the OfficePro Android app for $14). Open source and Android will cut deep into MS's cash flows. Microsoft needs to team up against Apple or lose. The model used by Ubuntu is ideal: lock all your corporate customers into long or medium-term support contracts, create stability and legacy and eventually no corporation will dare take the risk of abandoning all that legacy, and knowledge and staff-wide training to move over to another platform. Make the software free or near-free and charge like bulls for support and business-specific software tweaking. Make sure that the OS and Office are near free for the plebians on the street, so when businesses hire staff, they are hiring people 'pre-trained' in their in-house business software. That's alot of money saved not having to train your newbie staff who has been using MS Office since s/he was 10 years old! I'd even suggest MS buy up Wikipedia, keep it free for end users, and then spend a fortune in the development of a solid, consistent, international education-knowledge delivery model. Develop and contract 'learning-delivery' to governments and universities. The old MS dinosaur should have been developing this stuff 5 years ago! That price tag is why piracy is so rampant in the MS world. IF they charged less per unit, they'd make a higher profit because they wouldn't price themselves out of a sale. People either pirate, or use something alternative for free, or they pay the huge fee. Not much choice. |
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 26, 2013 21:51:06 GMT -5
I agree that Microsoft needs to take more risks. Apple has the cash stored away to take risks; MS needs to build up cash. They won't do it by charging $600 for Office when folks can get LibreOffice or Open Office for Free (or the OfficePro Android app for $14). Open source and Android will cut deep into MS's cash flows. Microsoft needs to team up against Apple or lose. The model used by Ubuntu is ideal: lock all your corporate customers into long or medium-term support contracts, create stability and legacy and eventually no corporation will dare take the risk of abandoning all that legacy, and knowledge and staff-wide training to move over to another platform. Make the software free or near-free and charge like bulls for support and business-specific software tweaking. Make sure that the OS and Office are near free for the plebians on the street, so when businesses hire staff, they are hiring people 'pre-trained' in their in-house business software. That's alot of money saved not having to train your newbie staff who has been using MS Office since s/he was 10 years old! I'd even suggest MS buy up Wikipedia, keep it free for end users, and then spend a fortune in the development of a solid, consistent, international education-knowledge delivery model. Develop and contract 'learning-delivery' to governments and universities. The old MS dinosaur should have been developing this stuff 5 years ago! I'm not sure you know Microsoft all that well or the extent they're an enterprise products firm. $76.21 billion is a fair amount of cash. finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT+Key+StatisticsCanonical Ltd. might not have as many employees as Microsoft might have janitors. The support, administration and consultancy Canonical does around Linux is really the old school model others had before both Canonical Ltd and Microsoft as an enterprise player. Apple may have more to lose than Microsoft? Apple's mostly a consumer products firm by comparison. Consumer fashion and trends change more than foundations. Still, Microsoft has a lot of revenue from Office. The Office 365 product certainly is a good step if we're talking about consumers or cheaper products. $100 for 5 anything seats and 50 GB of storage is a better value than old MS Office sales. Watching kids look at Linux, Apple products and new Microsoft products has been interesting. Mine would take a Surface as first choice if their favored apps where there. It was a big surprised when my daughter said it was better than the iPad.  P.S. For any insult Balmer may have had in the stock going up, he's got to be laughing to the bank too. He's been there so long that the jump in share price has to be a jump in net worth. |
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