Possible retrenchment from MS

[Ismail Mohd]

I don't understand what Nadella is doing. In my opinion he should be removed as CEO of Microsoft. Microsoft should have 2 areas of focus: 1 for consumer and other for enterprise. Consumer should be led by Joe Belfiore and I believe his skill set fits well in this area. Whereas, for enterprise Terry Myerson would be a great fit. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[rmark66]

It will take MS at least two years to get AndromedaOS and CShell finished and out for non-mobile Windows 10 computers and Xbox. Then they will likely finally start on mobile and trying to get more parts of Win 10 on mobile (I don't think Win32 will be part of it). By then UWP will have a complete API set (finally) and PWA's will be fully supported by the Microsoft store, Windows 10 and Edge.

MS's only hope in mobile at that point is that AndromedaOS and CShell work great and offer Continuum and DPI much better than today. They will need a complete mobile ecosystem (which makes Groove music pass discontinuing very disappointing). By then Snapdragon processors and even low end Intel processors will be able to do even more for mobile devices including smartphones.

Will Cortana survive with its own interface until then? Or will Cortana just be some AI APIs that Azure and Bing make use of in the background? Will Bing survive if Microsoft doesn't keep enough computers in the market for consumers? Chomebooks will never supply Bing with significant market share.

By then will Google and Apple have a compelling SMB and Enterprise solution?

Microsoft has been so commented to the short term they risk truly being irrelevant even to businesses if they do not attract apps and developers to where they are going with Windows (UWP, Andromeda, CShell, Microsoft Store, Azure).

 

[Aardappelboom]

I loved Groove, had a pass since the early days but...all signs always pointed to the one Windows vision and if they are going to make other products, both in mobile or AR/VR they need high profiled apps and services. If that means canceling their own services I kind of get it, movies and tv are the same. If they cancel that but get all high profiled streaming apps in their eco-system then they have a bigger chance of ever getting it right for consumers.

I never invest emotionally in a company though, Allthough Microsoft still has better products i.m.o.

 

[anon(8547461)]

Yes. I believe the writing is on the wall and MS is moving away from consumer products and will focus more of its energies on the enterprise end. I’d already given up on Windows Mobile over a year ago and went to the iPhone, an experience I’ve been very pleased with, and next year I will transition to Mac for my personal computing.

Sadly with the closing of Groove I think it’s only a matter of time before the Movies & TV app goes the way of the dodo, and thus a decent sized library I grew through the app. Fortunately I was already toying with grabbing an AppleTV which I did last week following the announcement of 4K support. I will continue to support XBox simply because it’s a great console and I have a vast library there, so in the end it will only be a partial divorce, or a divorce with joint custody rights for the kid (the Xbox).

As for my family, my daughters are fairly OS agnostic so whether they had a PC or Mac I really don’t think they would care either way, and the wife will probably join me in the jump to Mac.

 

[lbp775]

The two things keeping me from moving to another mobile OS was the Groove app coupled with music pass and the Windows UI. Now all I have is the UI. Unless Spotify can get their app to operate as good as the Groove app, I will most likely move on reluctantly. This is after I had tried to use Android and iOs earlier this year when I broke my L950. I didn't like it so I bought another used L950. I will however continue to use Windows 10 on PC's.

 

[Stephen Pedersen1]

MS screwed their mobile users. The Spotify app on mobile doesn't function because it hasn't been updated in so long. I'll still use their OS on the laptop but I will not buy anymore movies or shows from their store. Nadella should be fired. They didn't even advertise the music pass. I told my friends and they didn't even know Microsoft had a music service! MS thinks they can get away with not advertise. Remember how long we waited for a "good" music app? That app didn't sprout out of the brow of zeus all well in good. They torched Zune, and it took this long to finally complete. They should have never renamed it. MS is forever renaming things and starting completely new. The problem with starting new is that often features get lost. I personally missed the hearts next to songs, that way when I wanted to play music I could play the best stuff and not get shuffle through audiobook chapters.

Nadella takes half measures and he has a narrow vision.

 

[sinime]

OK, now MS has pissed me off.

Anyone know an email at MS that I should send a complaint email to regarding the following?...

So, I was upset about the Groove music closing down and canceled my service. Was kind of OK with it because they refunded the 12 months left + 20%. Now the for the angry part. So my wife cancels her subscription too. She had 13 months remaining, BUT they only credited her for 5 months + 20% because a portion of her Groove pass was from promotional codes. Now I understand that they were free code for months of service, but they were still 8 months of music service. Now it will cost her $80 with another service to get back where she was with her Groove pass. All because MS decided to discontinue the Groove Music Service.

Now I don’t know if she has a leg to stand on, but I am pissed on the principal of the ordeal. About ready to cancel my 365 and Xbox live subscriptions and go elsewhere. And by go elsewhere, Buy a PS4 Pro instead of One X in next February (while I wouldn't get rid of the Xbox because I have too many digital copies of games, all new games might be on PS). Maybe it's also time to try a MacBook Pro? I realize it's only $80 we're talking about, but I spend a lot on Xbox games and am (maybe was) spending $360 a year on services (2 groove accounts, Xbox Live, and Office 365). As it stands right now, anyone asking for PC suggestions is going to get a recommendation from me to stay away from Win 10 and go iPad/Android tablets if at all possible. If not, get a Mac.

 

[naddy6969]

"As it stands right now, anyone asking for PC suggestions is going to get a recommendation from me to stay away from Win 10 and go iPad/Android tablets if at all possible. If not, get a Mac."

I came to that conclusion 2 years ago. I have never liked Win 10. My current PCs have 8.1. I have 10 on a separate partition on my desktop, but it has been probably 6 months since I booted into it. I sold my Windows phones and am now all in on iOS with an iPhone 6s Plus and 3 iPads including the big Pro model.

8.1 has another 5 or 6 years of support. But I am already looking at Macs, probably a mini to start with. It is SO NICE to have actual support, with apps that work and are updated regularly, and even my choice of music streaming services.

I am done beating my head against the wall with Windows. Life is too short to worry about being a "loyal customer". Get over it and move on.

 

[Elky64]

"As it stands right now, anyone asking for PC suggestions is going to get a recommendation from me to stay away from Win 10 and go iPad/Android tablets if at all possible. If not, get a Mac."

I came to that conclusion 2 years ago. I have never liked Win 10. My current PCs have 8.1. I have 10 on a separate partition on my desktop, but it has been probably 6 months since I booted into it. I sold my Windows phones and am now all in on iOS with an iPhone 6s Plus and 3 iPads including the big Pro model.

8.1 has another 5 or 6 years of support. But I am already looking at Macs, probably a mini to start with. It is SO NICE to have actual support, with apps that work and are updated regularly, and even my choice of music streaming services.

I am done beating my head against the wall with Windows. Life is too short to worry about being a "loyal customer". Get over it and move on.

Due to my past and present experiences w/Windows 10 I'd have a tough time recommending it too. Its unpredictability in regards to Microsoft's updates is the main reason. I've been toying with the PC for a very long time so can deal with most problems that arise, but feel real sorry for those less tech savvy. Just in the past month+ we've had three major updates (3-PCs) with ALL being rendered useless (unable to boot into Windows) after these updates. Dealt with similar upon Windows 10's inception (expected), midstream and it's still a going concern today. Getting very very tired of it.

We're fine with using Windows 10 - if it works after an update. If I'd known what we know today would have definitely stuck w/Windows 8.1 or earlier. And there are a lot of reasons for a failed install but c'mon Microsoft, is your OS that stupid it can't figure it out! Apparently so.

Our past 3-4 years dealing w/iOS, Mac, Android and Linux has been the total opposite. Can count on one hand how many time we've had similar encounters yet Windows 10, in this years alone, trumps that by a wide margin. Well at least I can say there is something that Windows 10 is consistent at LOL.

Probably going to look at upgrading to a newer Mac although my 7+ year old MacBook Pro is still running strong, and we're on OS #8 High Sierra - Oh, and that's with only one NECESSITATED refresh (wipe) in those 7+ years. Our success with Apple and Android devices is far superior to what Windows offers these days. To put it bluntly, Windows is getting dumber while the competition is getting smarter, at least that is my experience and perspective.

 

[naddy6969]

"To put it bluntly, Windows is getting dumber while the competition is getting smarter, at least that is my experience and perspective."

Well put, and that is my experience also.

 

[Stephen Pedersen1]

I'd still recommend Windows 10, not mobile but for PC. It's a great operating system. I don't know why Elky is having problems with updates, I haven't had a single issue. Windows 10 has been the beset version of Windows ever for me.

 

[tgp]

Windows 10 has been the beset version of Windows ever for me.

I think you have a typo. In trying to counteract the point, you agreed with it! :eck:

 

[anon(9923361)]

I went to IPad and IPhone last week for mobile. I like the apps and notifications. FaceTime is neat since almost all my contacts are iPhone. I stuck with Outlook.com but use native apps. Works well. I have Groove. All my music is in OneDrive. I miss Cortana in my Honda. Siri won’t tell me who’s calling or announce texts. I hate that Apple wants you to use iCloud and ignores OneDrive. Hope MS ports their photo app. Office works the same. Interoperability between two ecosystems is not good. I like Safari but couldn’t import my favorites. Thought about putting Safari on my Windows desktop but version for Windows is old.

 

[Elky64]

I don't know why Elky is having problems with updates

I'd definitely like to know why myself. Yes I've been known to tweak and fiddle too much BUT w/Windows 10, we've been going by the book, not ever going outside it's boundaries. Basically, no different than what the average Joe would be doing.

As an example... My PC (second to get the Creators Update) informed me today some device drivers needed updating - OK I'll bite - Went through the process which then greeted me with "you PC needs to be restarted to finish" - OK I'll bite again - Yup the good ol' face is what I got along with "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We'll restart for you". - after a couple of attempts to restart I was met with the Recovery Console. Lucky it wasn't too long ago that this PC had gotten Microsoft's latest and "greatest" (LOL) so was able to role back to previous version.

Now this same scenario has played out on ALL three PC's that were updated to Creators Update, Microsoft's doing not me forcing it. These PC's were either running Core i5/i7, 8/16GB Ram, NVIDIA or Intel Graphics, SSD's blah blah blah. I know manufactures stop supporting older hardware with every new OS yet these are revisions to an already existing OS, and my hardware was compatible just prior. Either way, finding as each update ensues these days that the chances of them succeeding lessens, almost like we are back in the Beta stages - OH wait, wasn't there another mention of Microsoft retrenching yet again :winktongue: - I simply give up!!!

 

[fatclue_98]

I'd definitely like to know why myself. Yes I've been known to tweak and fiddle too much BUT w/Windows 10, we've been going by the book, not ever going outside it's boundaries. Basically, no different than what the average Joe would be doing.

As an example... My PC (second to get the Creators Update) informed me today some device drivers needed updating - OK I'll bite - Went through the process which then greeted me with "you PC needs to be restarted to finish" - OK I'll bite again - Yup the good ol' face is what I got along with "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We'll restart for you". - after a couple of attempts to restart I was met with the Recovery Console. Lucky it wasn't too long ago that this PC had gotten Microsoft's latest and "greatest" (LOL) so was able to role back to previous version.

Now this same scenario has played out on ALL three PC's that were updated to Creators Update, Microsoft's doing not me forcing it. These PC's were either running Core i5/i7, 8/16GB Ram, NVIDIA or Intel Graphics, SSD's blah blah blah. I know manufactures stop supporting older hardware with every new OS yet these are revisions to an already existing OS, and my hardware was compatible just prior. Either way, finding as each update ensues these days that the chances of them succeeding lessens, almost like we are back in the Beta stages - OH wait, wasn't there another mention of Microsoft retrenching yet again :winktongue: - I simply give up!!!

2007 equipment on 16299.

 

[7VN]

Agree!!! The marketing is a big **** pool.