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

[Michael Alan Goff]

Instead of whining about the perception of crappy products, Microsoft should fess up to it's history of making crappy products and promise to deliver innovation from now on. That would go a long way in the consumer mind to healing.

Microsoft has rightly or wrongly traumatized millions of people with ****ty software. Those people have been buying up Macs and iPads for the last 5 years in massive quantities. They are happy as clams now fully ensconced in the Apple ecosystem. Those people are lost forever, but not everyone has done the full ecosystem switch. Microsoft still has a chance to redeem itself.

Traumatized? Really?

Also, large numbers of people are buying Macs? Seriously?

 

[TripsG]

Follow the money. MS stocks have been steady and on the rise in anticipation of what MS has to offer. Google just announced earnings are up 24% and their stock dropped 5% on the news. The markets are fickle and so are the general public. In the great cycle of things MS is riding a nice wave right now and the future looks very good indeed.

 

[Mihir Kandoi]

I hate to say it but Microsoft literally has no future. They came late in everything and people have set themselves in Google and apple ecosystems, hell they don't even want to look at a different OS. Only a miracle like a great marketing technique or if Apple or Google do something very very stupid can only save Microsoft. As far as financials are concerned, Microsoft will continue to rise, they have a hell lot more resources than we think. Thnx to the person who opened this thread, really interesting topic.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

I hate to say it but Microsoft literally has no future. They came late in everything and people have set themselves in Google and apple ecosystems, hell they don't even want to look at a different OS. Only a miracle like a great marketing technique or if Apple or Google do something very very stupid can only save Microsoft. As far as financials are concerned, Microsoft will continue to rise, they have a hell lot more resources than we think. Thnx to the person who opened this thread, really interesting topic.

Why do people keep pushing that Microsoft needs to be saved?


And... no future? Seriously? If you think they have no future, go get a Mac and another phone. Wouldn't want to be stuck on a platform made by a company with "no future".

 

[Reflexx]

Why do people keep pushing that Microsoft needs to be saved?


And... no future? Seriously? If you think they have no future, go get a Mac and another phone. Wouldn't want to be stuck on a platform made by a company with "no future".

People are drama queens.

 

[smoledman]

Why do people keep pushing that Microsoft needs to be saved?


And... no future? Seriously? If you think they have no future, go get a Mac and another phone. Wouldn't want to be stuck on a platform made by a company with "no future".

Which is exactly what millions of people are doing. Now none of us on this board is going to solve the problem. It's up to Satya Nadella to outline a vision and execute it.

 

[tgp]

Why do people keep pushing that Microsoft needs to be saved?


And... no future? Seriously? If you think they have no future, go get a Mac and another phone. Wouldn't want to be stuck on a platform made by a company with "no future".

Ha ha good point. I think possibly what was meant here was not Microsoft as a whole, but the consumer division. Microsoft does very well in enterprise (Office, server OS, Windows) & also in Windows to consumers. However, their mobile division has not done well financially and it possibly never will. Microsoft has the resources to subsidize it until it turns a profit, but how long are the shareholders going to allow this to happen?

 

[Mihir Kandoi]

Why do people keep pushing that Microsoft needs to be saved?


And... no future? Seriously? If you think they have no future, go get a Mac and another phone. Wouldn't want to be stuck on a platform made by a company with "no future".

Bro I didn't want to hurt anybody and I am sorry this hurts you but its true. Accept it or not, Microsoft has lost its fame. And btw I already own a Mac and an Android

 

[Mihir Kandoi]

Ha ha good point. I think possibly what was meant here was not Microsoft as a whole, but the consumer division. Microsoft does very well in enterprise (Office, server OS, Windows) & also in Windows to consumers. However, their mobile division has not done well financially and it possibly never will. Microsoft has the resources to subsidize it until it turns a profit, but how long are the shareholders going to allow this to happen?

You sir, exactly got my point!

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Which is exactly what millions of people are doing. Now none of us on this board is going to solve the problem. It's up to Satya Nadella to outline a vision and execute it.

And there are several billion people. There will be people who leave and people who stay. There will be enough of both for several companies to be profitable. Also, Satya isn't exactly doing something new and exciting. Everything he's done so far has been on the way for a few years now. The new vision is the same old thing they were moving for.

Ha ha good point. I think possibly what was meant here was not Microsoft as a whole, but the consumer division. Microsoft does very well in enterprise (Office, server OS, Windows) & also in Windows to consumers. However, their mobile division has not done well financially and it possibly never will. Microsoft has the resources to subsidize it until it turns a profit, but how long are the shareholders going to allow this to happen?

The shareholders seem to be alright with this idea, considering the stock prices are higher than they have been for years. I see a nice future for the Windows Consumer division.

Bro I didn't want to hurt anybody and I am sorry this hurts you but its true. Accept it or not, Microsoft has lost its fame. And btw I already own a Mac and an Android 

​Then why are you here?

 

[architxt]

With cloud and people using multiple devices the choice people have to make these days is for an ecosystem, as mentioned.

I chose Microsoft because I believe they have a better strategy for this. Even now I think their offer is stronger than Google's. This time next year even more.

Apple, for me, is primarily good product design. Just that.

 

[coip]

Sorry, but the Xbox One is simply inferior to the PS4 in every single way I can think of. It costs more, has worse hardware, and all features that would justify buying it are only available in the USA.

You have a point that the best features are only in the USA thus far, and it's absurd that Microsoft couldn't pull off a larger launch, in that sense. But, I strongly disagree about your claim that PS4 is superior in every other way. The only thing it is has an edge in is a small performance advantage. And people that obsessed with eye candy really should be PC gamers, not console gamers because the PC dominates the PS4 in graphics. Everything else, Xbox One is way better. The PS4 is comparably boring: it's a spec upgrade from the PS3. Can't do much more than that. The Xbox One is much more ambitious: better OS with true multitasking, fast app switching, better exclusive apps, better exclusive games, more features (HDMI input, live TV, OneGuide, Skype, OneDrive, instant on, etc.), built-in voice and gesture controls, Kinect games, etc. Yes, all of these features need to be brought to other markets, and fast, but all in all, the Xbox One is just a much more interesting and useful system.

 

[k0de]

Lol Apple and Google! Yes let them enjoy their 15 Minutes of fame. But it will soon be over.

It is not the first time that MSFT has faced fierce competition like this. They have had in the past and have overcome. Put away all your fears and anxiety. Get a hold of yourself.

In a nutshell you are looking in all the wrong places, MSFT is not going anywhere.

Remember last quarter was record breaking at 24 billion. What will this quarter bring?

 

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

I'm not reading these outrageously long posts lol, but I will say that the media (and even government agencies) have always been out to get Microsoft. Always. Its cool to hate them. They've been publicly beaten for the same practices their competitors are involved with. Despite this,folks have always used their products. Microsoft dominates multiple markets. Apple dominates zero. Its perception. While I'm sure Microsoft's goal is to own more markets, specifically gaming, Sony isn't their competitor. As stated here, Google & Apple are. Windows is still the best & most used OS out there. Folks who say otherwise most likely drool on themselves when in deep though. The Xbox brand still dominates the gaming market. IE is still the top browser (& growing again). Enterprise, Office, etc. OP's thread starter couldn't have been more inaccurate

 

[TonyDedrick]

With cloud and people using multiple devices the choice people have to make these days is for an ecosystem, as mentioned.

I chose Microsoft because I believe they have a better strategy for this. Even now I think their offer is stronger than Google's. This time next year even more.

Apple, for me, is primarily good product design. Just that.

Are that many people really choosing devices because of ecosystems? At least for myself, I can't say I'm immersed into one. I'm using bits and pieces from all of them. Most people I know are too. Cherry picking the devices they think are the best for them

 

[anony_mouse]

Are that many people really choosing devices because of ecosystems? At least for myself, I can't say I'm immersed into one. I'm using bits and pieces from all of them. Most people I know are too. Cherry picking the devices they think are the best for them

Agree. Locking yourself to one ecosystem is a huge mistake. It's much better to pick and choose the best option for the things you actually need. A big disadvantage of Windows Phone is that it ties you to Microsoft's services (OK, I know you can use others, but e.g. Dropbox can never integrate as well as SkyDrive). I'm not saying Microsoft's services are bad, but who knows if they will be competitive in the future. And you may some day want the choice to go with devices from other vendors.

 

[A895]

Are that many people really choosing devices because of ecosystems? At least for myself, I can't say I'm immersed into one. I'm using bits and pieces from all of them. Most people I know are too. Cherry picking the devices they think are the best for them

I know there are a lot of people who like to buy something from one ecosystem and buy everything else in it. Like for example, how often do you see people with an iPhone and a iPad and/or a MacBook? Or there are some who just have brand loyalty.

 

[architxt]

Are that many people really choosing devices because of ecosystems? At least for myself, I can't say I'm immersed into one. I'm using bits and pieces from all of them. Most people I know are too. Cherry picking the devices they think are the best for them

Good point... I haven't seen any stats in regard to this.

But the strategies by Google, Apple and MS are to keep users in their fenced gardens so we can expect, as the whole concept of ecosystem is plugged more and more, people looking to stick to familiar experiences.

As products mature they will become more seamless (within their ecosystem). This dynamic has a big advantage.

Also, here we are bunch of tech heads, but does the average Joe seek the best product regardless of what ecosystem it belongs to?

And what about corporate environments? Cherry picking the best solution is good in principle but can be costly.

 

[Cleavitt76]

Are that many people really choosing devices because of ecosystems? At least for myself, I can't say I'm immersed into one. I'm using bits and pieces from all of them. Most people I know are too. Cherry picking the devices they think are the best for them

I think there are a lot of people that could benefit greatly from having a more integrated "ecosystem" experience, but most people don't realize it is possible yet. Mobile is still fairly new and people are just happy to have some of these devices. However, the reality is that people often find these devices to be more effort to maintain, update, and keep synced than they are willing to spend time on. As people become aware that in a good ecosystem all of their devices can work together almost seamlessly, run the same apps, and sync pictures/music/etc automatically I believe they will begin to consider those advantages in their purchasing decisions.

Agree. Locking yourself to one ecosystem is a huge mistake. It's much better to pick and choose the best option for the things you actually need. A big disadvantage of Windows Phone is that it ties you to Microsoft's services (OK, I know you can use others, but e.g. Dropbox can never integrate as well as SkyDrive). I'm not saying Microsoft's services are bad, but who knows if they will be competitive in the future. And you may some day want the choice to go with devices from other vendors.

Those examples don't make much sense. You are basically saying that people shouldn't take advantage of the benefits of ecosystems (specifically Microsoft) because they might lose those benefits some day if they switch to a non-ecosystem alternative. As if never having those benefits (even while all other functionality was similar) is somehow better.

I agree that "locking" yourself into an ecosystem (or proprietary format) is a mistake, but that doesn't mean that there aren't good reasons to align with technology that uses a single ecosystem as long as that ecosystem isn't cut off from other options. An "ecosystem" doesn't necessarily lock you in to anything provided it can be accessed from the outside. It just provides a more consistent and better synchronized experience. Apple's ecosystem absolutely attempts to lock in their users with everything from lightning connectors to proprietary protocols/formats and I avoid Apple products for this reason (although I believe they make good products). However, the Microsoft ecosystem is far more open than most these days. For example, OneDrive, Office, Xbox SmartGlass can be accessed from nearly any competing device. You don't see that very often with Apple and Google is being a bit selective with their "openness" these days too.

... But the strategies by Google, Apple and MS are to keep users in their fenced gardens ...

That is certainly true of Apple and to some extent Google, but MS has been doing almost the opposite. Out of those three big tech companies, MS is the only one that is embracing open standards (like Miracast instead of AirPlay/ChromeCast) and making their services available on nearly all competing platforms. I'm very thankful for that.

 

[Xpider_MX]

Xbox One is selling great, a lot better than Xbox 360 (at 2006), and better than Wii U.