Can Microsoft Ever Recover? Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox One, Surface, etc.

fatclue_98

Retired Moderator
Apr 1, 2012
9,146
1
38
Visit site
Nobody said ChromeOS was for those crowds. But for the millions of ordinary people, it'll do just fine.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

There seems to be some confusion here. I was mainly responding to jordanzhninja's post that ChromeOS will send Windows to the dustbin of history. Even you are claiming it to be a desktop OS, which I wholeheartedly disagree on but that's another convo. That being said, if the idea is to have a Chromebook for home use, you're right - it may suffice. But to say it can replace Windows (desktop, not mobile) is sheer lunacy.
 

fatclue_98

Retired Moderator
Apr 1, 2012
9,146
1
38
Visit site
I highly doubt a larger number of normal people store massive amounts of movies on their computer. That defeats the whole purpose of a Chromebook. You can use local storage, but everything else is in Google Drive that you save, which is not that much, because this is normal average people.

A Windows tablet is a gimped computer without a keyboard. There is a reason they aren't selling and Microsoft had to license Windows for tablets free. If someone wanted a tablet they would get an actually tablet OS like Android or iOS.

I also highly doubt someone (normal people we are taking about here) is gaming on a Windows tablet. What specific reason would a Windows tablet would be better than a Chromebook? I can't find one as a Windows tablet has more compromises than a Chromebook, at least with a Chromebook I can have a traditional laptop form factor instead of paying for accessories for a smaller screen.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

Many people are confused about RT as much as I was. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong about it. This whole "lack of apps" thing has taken a life of its own in the tech world and is responsible for my ignorance about RT. You mention it's a gimped computer and I couldn't disagree more. It has a full desktop browser onboard that makes up for a lot of missing apps. It also carries the mobile version of IE on the start screen. I also like the fact that it has desktop mode which allows me to add peripherals almost at will through the conventional Control Panel. It's not really a gimped computer as much as it is a tablet on steroids.
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
Many people are confused about RT as much as I was. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong about it. This whole "lack of apps" thing has taken a life of its own in the tech world and is responsible for my ignorance about RT. You mention it's a gimped computer and I couldn't disagree more. It has a full desktop browser onboard that makes up for a lot of missing apps. It also carries the mobile version of IE on the start screen. I also like the fact that it has desktop mode which allows me to add peripherals almost at will through the conventional Control Panel. It's not really a gimped computer as much as it is a tablet on steroids.

But why would I pay for a windows tablet when I can have another tablet from another OS and still be as productive? Besides office for free and flash in the browser what else is there?

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

Jas00555

Retired Ambassador
Jun 8, 2013
2,413
0
0
Visit site
Well it has literally zero marketing so that is expected.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

What do you mean zero marketing? I think it was last year, but they had a gigantic marketing campaign. There were at least 3 every day that I had to watch between The Daily Show and the Colbert Report and I'm sure I saw at least 10 a day just casually watching TV. I see tons of online ads about them too. Clearly, their marketing isn't very effective.
 

Jas00555

Retired Ambassador
Jun 8, 2013
2,413
0
0
Visit site
But why would I pay for a windows tablet when I can have another tablet from another OS and still be as productive? Besides office for free and flash in the browser what else is there?

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

Why would I buy an Android tablet when I can be just as productive AND have Office and Flash and superior multitasking? It goes both ways.
 

fatclue_98

Retired Moderator
Apr 1, 2012
9,146
1
38
Visit site
But why would I pay for a windows tablet when I can have another tablet from another OS and still be as productive? Besides office for free and flash in the browser what else is there?

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

Why not? I love the fact that all my info is synced between my work desktop, my phone, my tablet and my home laptop. I will admit, I can't justify the price of a Surface Pro but I wouldn't mind having one instead of the RT.
 

unstoppablekem

New member
Sep 23, 2011
8,123
0
0
Visit site
I'm all in on the Microsoft train. I've got an Xbox One, a Windows Phone, a Surface RT, a 2-in-1 Windows 8.1, and another Windows 8.1 laptop. I use all their services: Outlook.com, Bing, OneDrive, Office 365, Internet Explorer, etc. I think they make the best product and, as I'm so invested in their ecosystems, I want them to succeed. But, I'm starting to fear that they may never be able to recover.

COMPUTERS
There bread and butter, Window, is facing steep competition. While I love Windows 8.1, it's clear that it's being panned in the media as another Vista. Consumers are avoiding it. That's not good considering the PC market is drying up. They they're facing increased competition from Apple, with their MacBook Airs and whatnot. Even Google is making a dent with their awful Chromebooks. Sure, nearly 90% of the PC market is Windows, right now. But if you go to any college campus, you'll see more than half of students waling around with MacBooks.

TABLETS
The situation is even worse in the tablet realm. Android and iOS dominate the market. The Surface RT (which I own) was unfairly mocked and misunderstood by media journalists and consumers alike and didn't sell as well as it deserves. App developers still make apps first for iOS and Android, and everyone makes fun of Windows RT. Their tablet market share is in the single digits.

PHONES
Same as tablets. Android and iOS dominate and that'll be hard to change. While we've seen some growth in Europe and Latin America, in Asia and North America, Windows Phone's market share has been stuck at 0-5% for years now. Even now with the release of Windows Phone 8.1, which makes an already superior mobile OS even more superior, all the tech journalist reviews parrot the same non-sense: "Now Microsoft has finally gotten some features iOS and Android have had for years, but they are still dismally behind in the App store, so we say 'don't switch'".

GAMES
Xbox One is doing well, but the PS4 is outselling it, by a lot despite the fact that Xbox One has way more features and way more games. Even worse, the perception among consumers and game journalists is that the Xbox One is inferior, yet overpriced, ignoring all the extra features it has, they are myopically focusing on minute graphical differences, greatly exaggerating them and convincing mainstream consumers that the PS4 is better. I spend a lot of time reading comments on the bottom of articles on major gaming sites, and the bias is so incredibly lopsided. They lampoon Microsoft for the Kinect (which I think is awesome), for the graphical output capabilities of the consoles, how Sony always has better games (which, ironically, if anyone looked at the X1 vs. PS4 lineups would see is the opposite of reality), etc. It's really frustrating trying to respond to them.

SERVICES
Google Search and Maps dominate Bing Search and Maps in market share, even though personally I think Bing is better. Google Docs has significantly eaten into Office's market share. Same goes with Chrome and Safari, to Internet Explorer. The grand majority of people under 40 are completely subsumed in the Google or Apple ecosystems. They have Gmail email addresses, that get them to use Google Docs, YouTube, Google Search, Google Drive, and Google Chrome. This has made it nearly impossible for Microsoft to gain traction in these sectors they used to dominate.

PERCEPTION
Worst yet is the negative perception that everyone has towards Microsoft and their products. I was in the university computer lab the other day and had a problem with OneDrive's click-to-run integration with Office. Tech support came in and isolated the problem as an Internet Explorer problem. "Generally, we advise everyone to not use IE," they said. "In fact, you're pretty much the only student I've seen on campus that even uses IE. Most of the time it's 60-year-old professors." I've had other friends mock me for using Bing, for switching to Outlook.com instead of using my old Gmail account, for using OneDrive instead of Dropbox, for using IE instead of Chrome, etc.

I just feel like there is this impossible mountain for Microsoft to climb because, for some reason, the entire tech world seems biased against them. Every major brand and service they have is scoffed at. Young people use Google and Apple. Even their coolest brand, Xbox, has been destroyed since their "Xbox One DRM" PR fiasco last year (which, by the way, I was on board with their original policies).

Please cheer me up and tell me that Windows Phone will rise to glory, as it deserves; that people will realize Windows 8 is, in fact, much better than Windows 7; that Xbox One is the most ambitious and innovative console to hit the market ever; that IE, Office, OneDrive, and Bing will get the proper respect they deserve, and that public perception of Microsoft as somehow being less cool than Google and Apple will change.

I'm not going to talk about everything you said, but about the games on the Xbox, it is personal opinion about which exclusives one likes. This is why I have both consoles...
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
What do you mean zero marketing? I think it was last year, but they had a gigantic marketing campaign. There were at least 3 every day that I had to watch between The Daily Show and the Colbert Report and I'm sure I saw at least 10 a day just casually watching TV. I see tons of online ads about them too. Clearly, their marketing isn't very effective.

I don't recall a Chromebook commercial campaign. But even then that was a last year. You have to hammer ads into consumers skulls otherwise they won't get it.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
Why would I buy an Android tablet when I can be just as productive AND have Office and Flash and superior multitasking? It goes both ways.

Superior multitasking is kind of subjective. I find Android multitasking very good, so we will have to disagree there. For office, there a number of office app for Android and iOS including the Office app from Microsoft themselves. Flash is something that it depends greatly on the user.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
Why not? I love the fact that all my info is synced between my work desktop, my phone, my tablet and my home laptop. I will admit, I can't justify the price of a Surface Pro but I wouldn't mind having one instead of the RT.

I have a Split X2 and a RAZR M and my info is synced too through Googles services and Chrome. That is a two way street.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

fatclue_98

Retired Moderator
Apr 1, 2012
9,146
1
38
Visit site
I have a Split X2 and a RAZR M and my info is synced too through Googles services and Chrome. That is a two way street.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

Don't know what a Split X2 is but can you sync across desktops with Google services? Syncing with mobile devices is great but I need all my devices to be on the same page. See that's the beauty of choice. What works for you may not work for me. What I don't need is someone (not saying you) to tell me their way is better if it doesn't suit my needs. I think we've discussed this before but this is my definition of an ecosystem. YMMV


Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums
 

Michael Alan Goff

New member
Jan 15, 2012
1,073
0
0
Visit site
Well it has literally zero marketing so that is expected.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

That's a huge lie. Google loves to advertise their crap on their websites, one of which is one of the most popular video sites in the US (and maybe the world, not sure)
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
Don't know what a Split X2 is but can you sync across desktops with Google services? Syncing with mobile devices is great but I need all my devices to be on the same page. See that's the beauty of choice. What works for you may not work for me. What I don't need is someone (not saying you) to tell me their way is better if it doesn't suit my needs. I think we've discussed this before but this is my definition of an ecosystem. YMMV


Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums

I never said my way of doing things is better. Why would I try to push what I do onto someone else? I already know you and others here are vested into Microsoft's ecosystem.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

A895

Banned
Mar 17, 2013
1,171
0
0
Visit site
That's a huge lie. Google loves to advertise their crap on their websites, one of which is one of the most popular video sites in the US (and maybe the world, not sure)

When I am talking about advertisements I am talking TV spots, billboards, ads in magazines etc. Chromebooks never had that.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app
 

fatclue_98

Retired Moderator
Apr 1, 2012
9,146
1
38
Visit site
I never said my way of doing things is better. Why would I try to push what I do onto someone else? I already know you and others here are vested into Microsoft's ecosystem.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

I specifically mentioned NOT YOU. Re-read my post. Look at some of the other posts around here chastising people for not using X or Y system. Anybody who volunteers to pay for my devices and my services is free to tell me what to use. Once again, I'm not referring to you. Post after post you and I have agreed and disagreed like adults.


Sent from my iPhone using WPCentral Forums
 

Michael Alan Goff

New member
Jan 15, 2012
1,073
0
0
Visit site
When I am talking about advertisements I am talking TV spots, billboards, ads in magazines etc. Chromebooks never had that.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

That's also untrue. I've seen it on TV, as has at least one other person in this thread. The fact that you haven't seen them doesn't mean anything. I also barely saw Trojan commercials, but I knew they existed. :\
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,910
Messages
2,242,883
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb