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Microsoft cut Windows licensing fee by 70% to counter Google
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- 02-23-2014 11:45 AMLike 0
- I certainly don't mind the price cut. I do mind that MS is allowing OEMs to install the OS on any hunk of junk they choose. This was part of what caused the Vista debacle, as many OEMs decided to install Vista on hardware that simply wasn't capable enough to run it. OEMs will always cut corners in their pursuit for profits. The masses will always gravitate to the cheapest offerings. This is how MS earned their poor reputation to begin with...
Dropping prices doesn't change strategies. I think that is fine. Dropping certification and allowing the Windows ecosystem to revert back to the wild west of PC computing definitely is a strategy shift. I think that is a poor decision.
It seems like MS doesn't really know how to run their business. They seem to not know whether they want to emulate Apple or Google (who is actually emulating the MS of the 90's), flip flopping back and forth between the two whenever something blows up in their face. It's very reactionary, and it isn't helping them...- Share
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heat 33330 and theefman like this.02-23-2014 12:20 PMLike 2 - Share
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- Jas00555Retired AmbassadorI certainly don't mind the price cut. I do mind that MS is allowing OEMs to install the OS on any hunk of junk they choose. This was part of what caused the Vista debacle, as many OEMs decided to install Vista on hardware that simply wasn't capable enough to run it. OEMs will always cut corners in their pursuit for profits. The masses will always gravitate to the cheapest offerings. This is how MS earned their poor reputation to begin with...
Dropping prices doesn't change strategies. I think that is fine. Dropping certification and allowing the Windows ecosystem to revert back to the wild west of PC computing definitely is a strategy shift. I think that is a poor decision.
It seems like MS doesn't really know how to run their business. They seem to not know whether they want to emulate Apple or Google (who is actually emulating the MS of the 90's), flip flopping back and forth between the two whenever something blows up in their face. It's very reactionary, and it isn't helping them...
This is just a temporary move by Microsoft. Remember Linux notebooks? They were cheap inexpensive products and were gaining a foothold on the market until Microsoft did EXACTLY the same thing that they're doing now. Windows is going to be on dirt cheap hardware (which W8 is more optimized for cheaper hardware than Vista) and people will just pretty much stop buying Chromebooks which will force OEMs to stop supporting it, even if it is a free OS.
Microsoft knows exactly what they're doing and aren't afraid to temporarily become a Google on their trip to becoming Apple.Last edited by Jas00555; 02-23-2014 at 12:58 PM.
02-23-2014 12:47 PMLike 0 - They were cheap inexpensive products and were gaining a foothold on the market until Microsoft did EXACTLY the same thing that they're doing now. Windows is going to be on dirt cheap hardware (which W8 is more optimized for cheaper hardware than Vista) and people will just pretty much stop buying Chromebooks which will force OEMs to stop supporting it, even if it is a free OS.
I also disagree that MS knows exactly what they are doing. They are constantly reacting and have failed to seize the initiative on any mobile front. Instead of sticking to their guns, they are constantly revising strategies and technical goals. They are currently fighting all their mobile battles on Google's and Apple's terms, not on their own...
And that is their fundamental mistake. They shouldn't be trying to temporarily become Google to eventually become Apple. Being a better Google than Google won't work for MS. Neither will being a better Apple than Apple. MS needs to stake out their own ground and make the competition chase them. What you've described is exactly what will remove them from the consumer market.- Share
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theefman likes this.02-23-2014 02:18 PMLike 1 - Share
- Jas00555Retired AmbassadorYou are forgetting one huge difference. Back then, all the software people wanted to use ran on Windows. That is why the price war favoured MS. Very different story today.
I also disagree that MS knows exactly what they are doing. They are constantly reacting and have failed to seize the initiative on any mobile front. Instead of sticking to their guns, they are constantly revising strategies and technical goals. They are currently fighting all their mobile battles on Google's and Apple's terms, not on their own...
And that is their fundamental mistake. They shouldn't be trying to temporarily become Google to eventually become Apple. Being a better Google than Google won't work for MS. Neither will being a better Apple than Apple. MS needs to stake out their own ground and make the competition chase them. What you've described is exactly what will remove them from the consumer market.
You say "all of the programs were on Windows" as if they're taking on the iPad, which is not what this move is about. A Chromebook is a modern day Linux notebook that still doesn't have all of the programs that everyone needs.02-23-2014 03:18 PMLike 0 - I disagree that this is only about Chromebooks. I see them wanting to help make sub-250$ tablets that can fight against the iPad Mini as well.02-23-2014 03:43 PMLike 0
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Android is also replacing laptops. I've seen people using their tablets in keyboard cases all the time just as netbooks with touch screen, and that's stupid, Windows 8 is a much better OS for the job, but the price of any Windows 8 device was just too high for the low end market.
The requirements for Windows 8 are now 1gb of ram and 16 gb of storage. How can you build a machine with lower specs than that in 2014? Android OEMs with uncertified phones and tablets haven't ruined Android. Times changes, the massive consumer market use other rules, inexpensive products with lower quality are acceptable and people understand that there is a risk in buying those products. Someone buying a $70 Android tablet understands that the product is not comparable to a $400 Samsung tablet.
I like the moves that Microsoft is doing.02-23-2014 09:31 PMLike 0 - I work some in PC sales and repair, and this is actually true. Probably 95% of our consumer customers use their PCs for no more than a Chromebook will do. Of course, a few will do more and business users as well, but the average user does email, Facebook, and browsing. That's pretty much it!02-23-2014 10:41 PMLike 0
- I work some in PC sales and repair, and this is actually true. Probably 95% of our consumer customers use their PCs for no more than a Chromebook will do. Of course, a few will do more and business users as well, but the average user does email, Facebook, and browsing. That's pretty much it!
Then we have browser games, which are becoming ever more popular. Netflix is provided through the browser, as is YouTube, and most of the other services people use. My Girlfriend works in the finance industry. She is around office computers all day, but when she is at home, she could easily get by with only a browser.
Yes, Chromebooks are just modern Linux netbooks. The difference that you fail to see is that five years ago, an internet browser wasn't half as capable as an internet browser is today. Today, for a lot of people, an internet browser can even replace MS office. The internet browser is slowly becoming what the OS used to be... it's the foundation on which everything else runs. Google is the main force behind this transformation, and it will continue.02-23-2014 11:21 PMLike 0
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