Possible retrenchment from MS

[sinime]

No, the world isn't coming to an end because MS cancelled Groove, however, its just another piece of the puzzle and evidence MS doesn't care about its consumer space.

That's the problem. Canceling Groove, on it's own, doesn't mean a whole lot. But couple that with everything else they are doing, and maybe it's the straw that broke the users back. I was arguing a with a friend a couple of weeks ago about the demise of Windows. I wouldn't be surprised if after 5-10 years, Windows is only for business and high end gamers. Assuming those high end gamers don't find another avenue, like switching to Steam boxes. I'm not sure how Steam Boxes work.. Can you just build your own rig and throw SteamOS on it or do you have to buy a preconfigured box? Regular users don't need anything more than a tablet, and why buy a Windows tablet when there are better app options with either competitor.

I whole heartedly agree that MS doesn't seem to care about its consumer space.

After the Groove announcement yesterday, I was actually a little relieved. I had my music pass paid up till October of next year. My wife and I have been actively debating where to go, iOS/Android and I was concerned at how well I'd be able to use my Groove music pass once we switched. Well I don't have to worry about that anymore.

 

[bh5213]

I will probably always use a laptop/desktop with windows. But I am becoming more interested in a Chromebook just because I don't do much on the computer other than email and browse the internet. I have already moved to Android phone and switched to some of Google services. I still use one drive but may stop since I am an Amazon prime member, I get unlimited cloud storage. I use Amazon music as well. Never used Groove all that much. So yeah, like others stated, MS just doesn't excite me anymore.

 

[sporosarcina]

Windows at its very core has always been an Enterprise solution that has adopted consumer space available or needed. People didn't buy a PC as a consumer device, they bought it to do work, usually because it was what their Enterprise job was doing. Can most people survive on an iOS or Android device, sure, but Enterprise will still need Windows for the foreseeable future, there is just too much high end entrenchment and development entrenchment to offload on essentially a mobile platform. In 5-10 year people will still have laptops (or the equivalent) running Windows and all the apps/programs present in Enterprise, people who say otherwise are still waiting for the "year of Linux"

 

[sporosarcina]

Casual gamers have never been on PC. The consoles have much better OS design for a routine gaming than a PC does (hence the success of the Steam abstraction layer). It will be the same in the future, gamers will be on the consoles and tablets but a small, and lucrative group of hardcore gamers will be on the PC because no where else will they have the freedom to tweak the system to their liking.

 

[BLKahuna]

I've been an MS fan for a long time. XBox, SurfaceBook, Lumia 950 (and 4 WP phones before it), desktop w\Win10 Pro, Office 365.

I've had no problems with Win10 (recently) and like it. By SurfaceBook is great. I love my Lumia and believe that the WP mobile OS is better than iOS or Android.

But.

I've suffered for 7 years with very few apps available to me. The few that I could get and used have been shutting down one-by-one or haven't been updated in many years. I'm becoming a mobile phone island and while the OS is still great and the phone works wonderfully, I'm pining for some apps. I'd like to believe in the mythical Surface phone\device but MS is so tight lipped I can't be sure there is one or what it will look like.

Oddly, the last straw for me is that Bill Gates uses an Android. He must have the inside track on MS development and he's chosen not to wait for a Surface phone. I won't either. I decided to buy last year's flagship LG Android phone (V20). It's $350 and since I'm so app deprived, will seem like a futuristic device to me. Hopefully I can get a couple years out of it and then I'll reevaluate the MS phone offerings (if there are any). Even if there is a Surface phone in the future, I'm not sure I want to invest (what will no doubt be a lot of money) in the first version.

 

[sporosarcina]

I must be the odd duck here. I have a 950, Surface 3 for inking, a college-owned Thinkpad laptop, and my personal gaming desktop at home. I work on a "Microsoft campus." My computers are about work, my phone is for phone functions, snapshots, and social media. I have yet the experience and "oh I have to jump ship" moment on any of my MS devices. Yeah, now I will move the Spotify, but that still works on all my devices. I'm fine with the journey MS is taking out of "W10Mobile" into a single unified system that will most likely incorporate telephony. Where would I jump to that is better than my 950... the only one that at all strikes my fancy is the Note 8 for the inking capabilities, but frankly I would get a midrange Android with hotspot capability and a Note Tab 3 for less money and more useful inking. For now I'm fine with MS.

 

[TennisGuy45]

Having just come from Ignite and seeing their clear vision and strategy I have no plans to stop using all Microsoft services.

Microsoft is really focusing hard core on schools, businesses, and enterprise.

They are not going to waste time or effort in over-saturated markets where other large companies have already entrenched themselves.

Phone and groove are great examples. Yes, its unfortunate to see them go but it needed to be done.
Skype is getting integrated into other products and its possible to see it go as well.

 

[HeyCori]

I never had faith in Groove, and I don't subscribe to this, "All my digital content must be available through one provider," mentality. So no, I have not lost faith. I look at sales numbers (or sometimes lack of sale numbers), and I try to make logical predictions. That way I'm not blindsided when <insert service/product> gets cancelled.

 

[cdb033]

Why stick around? The Groove thing really hurt. After all these years, this.... It feels like a stab in the heart. I've invested thousands into Microsoft products and services... And that was a total mistake. I blame this on leadership!!!! My heart is sadden. For the first time ever, i looked at my Surface pro 4 differently. I no longer want it.

 

[sinime]

Sent from mTalk

 

[JasonH81]

I'm a little nervous. Nadella has me nervous. If all he cares about are share holders, then i don't know what to think. Is he really gonna go all in on enterprise and put consumers on the back burner? I'm really not a fan of android or iOS. I'll just have to be patient. But sadly i need to get an android phone because i want to do Lyft and some other apps that have no website alternative. It sucks, hopefully Windows retrenchment gets them to focus and get their act together. For me, there's really no alternatives.

 

[jlzimmerman]

I've been a member here since 2009.
I've dumped thousands of dollars into MS products and services.
I've owned a dozen different MS devices.
I've been an Xbox Gold member for 10 years.

I'm done, Microsoft. You created beautiful things to get me to fall in love and believe in what you were preaching, only to say "Just kidding." Kinect, Band, Groove, Windows Phone, OneDrive Placeholders and unlimited storage, Project Spark, Cortana, etc......all cast aside or cancelled.

I remain here at Windows Central because my company is upgrading to W10 over the next year or two. Everything else Microsoft in my life will end as subscriptions expire. I'll continue my migrate my $ervice$ to Google.

My Ninja Cat sticker and my Nokia Treasure Tag hanging in my cube are sobbing, and I stare back with the same sympathy. Back in 2014 everything looked so bright and MS had innovation coming out of every pore. But you, Microsoft, have spoken. I will not support a platform that wants to push me away. Your loss.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I've been an MS fan for a long time. XBox, SurfaceBook, Lumia 950 (and 4 WP phones before it), desktop w\Win10 Pro, Office 365.

I've had no problems with Win10 (recently) and like it. By SurfaceBook is great. I love my Lumia and believe that the WP mobile OS is better than iOS or Android.

But.

I've suffered for 7 years with very few apps available to me. The few that I could get and used have been shutting down one-by-one or haven't been updated in many years. I'm becoming a mobile phone island and while the OS is still great and the phone works wonderfully, I'm pining for some apps. I'd like to believe in the mythical Surface phone\device but MS is so tight lipped I can't be sure there is one or what it will look like.

Oddly, the last straw for me is that Bill Gates uses an Android. He must have the inside track on MS development and he's chosen not to wait for a Surface phone. I won't either. I decided to buy last year's flagship LG Android phone (V20). It's $350 and since I'm so app deprived, will seem like a futuristic device to me. Hopefully I can get a couple years out of it and then I'll reevaluate the MS phone offerings (if there are any). Even if there is a Surface phone in the future, I'm not sure I want to invest (what will no doubt be a lot of money) in the first version.

I got a new V20 at the beginning of August 2017. I've been using it for almost two months now, and it is working very well for me. I'm very happy with it, especially for the camera and quad DAC.

 

[Biff Henderson]

Why do excellent products fail in the marketplace? Poor marketing. So much of the technology sold today is fad, fashion, style, pure pressure. It is all about marketing and has little to do with the actual hardware/software. Good marketing can sell bad products. Bad marketing can kill good products. Microsoft is awful about marketing. The image is that it's not cool to own their products. Instead they are the punching bag. They have too many nerds and not enough marketing experts.

 

[Sefin]

I think MS is doomed in the long run. Losing mobile war was something they were not supposed to let happen.

Honestly who except enterprise and gamers need windows and its services? Almost nobody.

With Samsung copying continuum... Why would ordinary man need a computer? With gear VR you won't even need display in the near future...

As was said they are shooting themselves in the foot with every dumb decision and poor marketing.

 

[garak0410]

As stated so many times I like Windows and Windows Phone, my personal set up is a 950XL with dock, Surface Pro 4 with dock and this is my tablet/laptop/desktop, an Xbox One as the base for my entertainment system.

I subscribe to Office 365, Xbox Live, Groove, Skype number and subs.

Similar setups for my wife and family

I do plan on buying the Xbox One X maybe just after the holidays. The main reason being 4K, I want to be able to watch 4k through the Xbox One (Netflix etc.) and improved games graphics.

But then I cannot help but see a period of retrenchment from Microsoft products and services for me, this may not come into effect until midway into 2018 as my setup and my 950XL is currently working OK, but come next year I will probably have to jump ship on the phone front.

If I do this, I know I can get MS products, software and services on Android or Mac systems (Already doing this on my work Samsung).

But why on earth would I continue to give MS money for services when the competition is often better, certainly fleeter of foot when it comes to newer ideas. And more importantly integrated to the ecosystem. I currently use Groove because it is an MS product on MS/Windows devices and certainly not because it is the best music player out there. The same would go for most of the stuff I use.

Anyone else planning a period of retrenchment from MS products and services unless MS manage to get their finger out and fast?

I really feel your pain. I went through my agonizing retrenchment from a Microsoft Ecosystem to a diverse ecosystem in October 2015 when it was known Verizon would not get the 950 of 950xl. I was done then. And let me tell you, it was truly agonizing to shift from what I considered a good ecosystem of "all in" with Microsoft. I immediately left my Lumia ICON and went with Android and the Note 5. The growing pains were rough but I knew I made the best decision.

Now, I have a Note 8, I use Google Music (With YouTube Red) and Amazon Music, I'm mostly in an Amazon Ecosystem with the Echos and Video, I use an Android Wear Smartwatch but at the center of it all, I use a Windows tower PC as my main home file server/media server (With Plex) and a Surface Book. And for consumption and reading, I use a Samsung Tab S3.

It is nice to have everything under one ecosystem...the Microsoft ecosystem was rocking around the time of Windows Phone 8.1. But it is time for even the most loyal fan to move on. I am actually giving second thoughts of remaining on the XBOX, especially since I mainly use it for media.

 

[Gayle Turner]

I have tried them all, Blackberry, iPhone, and Android, but I always go back to my true love...Windows phone. I'm still rocking the 640XL that's been upgraded to windows 10. I love the live photos and the camera is awesome! I wish I could find a 950 XL, but I will have to settle for the Alcatel 4S. Microsoft needs to market their product better. No one believes me when I tell them my Windows phone takes live photos, something most people think only iphones can do.

I have a low cost HP laptop that I only use for the DVD player from time to time. I have the current model MacBook Pro, which is awesome, but I will never use any other mobile phone.

 

[melhiore]

Well, I am already on Android, Spotify and Linux - was using Linux last few years but now it is my main OS. Everything I need is there. O365 subscriptions are now long gone. I was planning to get Xbox One X but Play Station will take that spot. I do not feel sorry, no point in investing any more in unstable ecosystem. Microsoft really ask for this...

 

[melhiore]

but I will never use any other mobile phone.

yeah, was thinking the same until Microsoft started to kill all the services. Wondering what is going to happen when no more Windows mobiles will be available??...

 

[StormNorm99]

No, not retrenching. Just got a replacement battery for my Lumia 950, and it has new life (for how long???)! Microsoft continues to be a company that creates fantastic software, services, and hardware, and while individual products will come and go based on their success in the marketplace, there is no reason to take an anti-MS stand (I'm pro-MS, pro-others too; I don't get involved too much in *religious* wars over companies/platforms).