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229 Comments
- sparc2112, on 10/10/2007, -4/+55You started your comment with "Car analogies suck", and then threw in a car analogy. Crafty.
- fpcyber, on 10/10/2007, -14/+59This won't happen for a while, but when it does I can assume it will be like Toyota surpassing General Motors. The moment they surpassed GM, the criticism turned away from GM to Toyota, Toyota suffered quality issues,... The one at the top is always the targeted one.
- OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -13/+47Car analogies suck.
Look, the tech industry has nothing in common with the auto industry, ok? Cars adhere to industry standards, there's no competition to alter industry standards. Microsoft is so hated because it routinely poisons industry standards to entrench its own knockoffs and gain an edge over competitors. That would be like Toyota getting laws passed that GM cars had to use Toyota's tires made out of recycled bullcrap.
Does quality change with success? That usually occurs when companies become too big for their own good--like Microsoft!
As for the one at the top being "targeted". That's not really true. OS X competes with Linux and vice versa. It's not like everyone is out to get Microsoft, they are out to grow their own marketshare, or create better products, or whatever their business plan is. - cquinnd, on 10/10/2007, -4/+36No.
If you have to ask "Is the era of _____ ending?" then it is far from having ended.
Historical turning points are only recognizable when looking back on events long after they have ceased to seem relevant to current events. We might look back on 2007-2009 ten years from now and say that a specific event or events were a triggering point for change, but chances are Microsoft will still be a prominent company even then.
Unless they choose to break up the company on their own, and even then events might provide them an opportunity to pull an AT&T and reconsolidate their base over time.
Microsoft is and has always been, only a part of the overall era of personal computing. That era, and its affect on MS and other concerns, is only likely to change as we reach new challenges in the widespread adoption of computing devices, network accessibility, and defending the freedom of information while also respecting personal privacy. - shakin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+30Yes, but his car analogy did suck so he's still correct.
- Urusai, on 10/10/2007, -4/+31Microsoft's era will end when we have a year that ISN'T the "Year of the Linux Desktop".
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+19Technically, yes. Anything that has started is in the process of ending.
- ha1f, on 10/10/2007, -11/+28The number of Windows users compared to 'Operating System X' is no where close to even. Buried as lame/ fanbait.
- celkin, on 10/10/2007, -3/+19Buried for saying 'M$'
- Subterfug, on 10/10/2007, -2/+18Failure to adapt = Death for anything, whether it be a person, idea, corporation, anything.
If Microsoft shrivels up and becomes the new SGI (Silicon Graphics Inc), it will be their own fault.
Having said that, Linux has a way to go yet before it can even begin to losen Microsoft's grip on the operating system market. - chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -9/+23No. next.
- waterdrop, on 10/10/2007, -8/+21Not anytime soon.
- Phocion55, on 10/10/2007, -6/+18Isn't "ease" relative to the user?
- cusoman, on 10/10/2007, -18/+28This will make it to the front page because it will be dugg by apple fanbois, without even reading the article.
- Shiftgood, on 10/10/2007, -5/+14Uhhhh Guys!?!!! didnt you see the Microsoft SURFACE?!?! its revolutionary!! the website told me so... how could you even write an article like this.. when such a brilliant and useful piece of technology is out.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -21/+30Doubt it, I've tried every flavor of the week linux distro out there, nothing comes close to the ease and functionality of windows.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9When Microsoft stops reporting profits of $15+ BILLION in a year, then get back to me about them fading out of existance. Until then, quit being stupid.
- Steeple, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11if they just wrote a basic , robust edition of windows they could probably just coast along...it seems to me all their wounds are self inflicted
- Tyr7BE, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10"As for the one at the top being "targeted". That's not really true. OS X competes with Linux and vice versa. It's not like everyone is out to get Microsoft, they are out to grow their own marketshare, or create better products, or whatever their business plan is."
Your comment is not really true. Neither OS X nor Linux are anywhere near top dog, hence they're not hated. Before Microsoft was around, it was IBM who was the big game in town. And how people loved to hate Big Blue. There are old usenet threads kicking around on the internet about IBM being an "evil empire" and how they're anti-competitive.
Now I agree that Microsoft has pulled some shady moves in its time, and give its recent patent deals with several linux companies, I don't see that changing anytime soon. But that doesn't change the fact that the one on top is the one who attracts the most hate, whether it's deserved or not. - CitizenBane, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11Don't forget the Linazis and the gray beards.
- joshpar, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10Hmm... using sports analogies for operating systems is usually a warning sign. This is simply blog spam...
I love OSS, I code for it, and I use it almost exclusively, but I REALLY don't think it will ever completely have a hold on computers the way MS does. As much as I don't like microsoft, they have done a truly herculean feat in creating a system that will run on just about any piece of hardware out there (and I say this with full knowledge that driver support, etc. is a two way street)... and it will fall, but I don't think it will be Linux that takes its place. Before MS, it would have been hard to predict what the next big thing would be, and I still think that is the case.
OSS will always be used more by power users that don't mind getting there hands a little dirtier and like the power. Most people don't need or want it. I find it very productive for what I do, but I know it is a niche. The next one will be the one that can do it cheaper, easier and more reliably for a bit of time until it too is replaced! - madkahta, on 10/10/2007, -9/+17If the best open source can come up with is Ubuntu and Open Office, Microsoft has nothing to worry about.
- mrmacky, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10I don't view this as the era of "Microsoft", it is an era of Computing in general. Microsoft was merely part of it.
We are moving into a new era, where computers are more used than they were ever expected to be. The question is, will Microsoft be ready, and make it to the new era? - snarkleclackers, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10That was a really great stor.... WAIT A MINUTE! You linked to your own article! Is this an attempt at free diggs?!?
- konstantinr, on 10/10/2007, -4/+11Theyre not going down. They are opening a large support/development center out here in Richmond, BC in the next little while. What dying companies do that?
- mheath, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10The problem with so many articles like this is that they're based on the assumption that there can be only one major operating system. This is a stupid assumption. There should not be one major OS like we have now with Windows. There should be a few major OS's so that OS vendors have to compete which will drive innovation and lower consumer cost.
I hate Microsoft. I would like to see Microsoft disappear but I realize this is not going to happen any time soon. The boat's too big to turn quickly. I don't think Microsoft has to go out of business to solve the problem though. I honestly think I would start to like Microsoft more if they had around a 60% of the OS market share. Even if Microsoft still had more than half the pie, consumers would have a choice. Consumer choice would force Microsoft to comply with industry standards and force them to play nicer because their strong arm tactics wouldn't be nearly as effective. This would be good for the entire industry. Well, good for everyone except Microsoft and Microsoft share holders.
Microsoft isn't going to fade away into the sunset and disappear. The vast majority of computer users aren't going to up and switch which operating system they use. Hopefully over time though, other operating systems like Linux and OS X will continue to increase their market share and take away Windows' monopoly status. - JQP123, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Pitful analogy comparing a corporation to a professional golfer. IBM is a lot older than MS, if this analogy had any validity whatsoever IBM should be history. Corporations are built to surpass, transcend and supercede any single individual, even the likes of Bill Gates. The biggest threat to MS is not Open Source but rather a paradigm shift away from their stronghold --- the corporate desktop. But they are well aware of this and working hard to adapt. Open Source will take over the desktop when MS willingly surrenders it in favor of on-line services and entertainment.
- fkr3, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8"The question is, will Microsoft be ready, and make it to the new era?"
The question is, will anyone else? Everyone pins their hopes on Google who are only relevant for search and ads, open source which only competes on one of MS's offerings and ... that's all? - DolphinGL, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Communism doesn't work.
Socialism != communism.
Socialism DOES work, depending on the scale in which it's implemented. In many cases, socialist programs work very well. - acid0426, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11Yet depends on Windows' staple Office for word processing.
- Phocion55, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9Dugg up for an extremely compelling argument.
- TygerrTygerr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I was thinking that. There's more substance to some of the comments here than the entire article. Not entirely sure why it's been submitted.
- FadieZ, on 10/10/2007, -7/+13This digger sure hopes so.
- snarkleclackers, on 10/10/2007, -7/+12Yes, but once Grammy dies only Linux users will remain!
- blobdole, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Looks like someone reads Paul Graham... then duplicates it poorly.
http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/cliffsnotes.html
I'm looking at you Dana Blankenhorn! - krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+5*****
- phisquare, on 10/10/2007, -4/+8Ouch, so true.
- GMorgan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Their domination was an accident. At the time their major competitors were busy self destructing. Apple because of vertical integration (which naturally made it niche), IBM because of management incompetence (nobody wanted to take the blame if this PC thing never took off), Amiga because Commodore gave it an image as a gaming machine and the big Unix boys because at the time they were busy trying to extend and extinguish all the standards and AT&T were busy ripping everyone's throats open.
Really MS were the only option at the time. Sheer stupidity from the others meant that. Or do you really think MS-DOS and Win 3.1 could compete with serious solutions if legal ***** and management idiocy wasn't the norm. Linux was better than MS-DOS almost immediately. Reality is MS were handed the market on a plate. - brianbennett, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4There's been a story like this every few months for the past decade... and guess what, they're still here. Maybe a couple years after Bill G's departure, this stuff might actually be warranted.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -3/+7Windows will be around for a good long time yet. But Microsoft is a long way from its peak in the late 90s when they were the center of the technology universe. Back then, few software companies could execute at the same level as Microsoft, and as a result MS held immense influence over the industry.
That certainly isn't the case anymore. Microsoft stood still while others (Google, Yahoo, Apple, etc) improved their processes. Technology-wise, the center of gravity has moved far away from Microsoft's operating systems and development tools. - FutureGuy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Secure system like Linux or OSX? The only way someone has managed to crack Vista is by going through a bug in ATI's driver (which would happen in any OS). Vista is atleast as secure as the other OS, so is Win 2003 server.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070624-vista-the-most-secure-os-according-to-researcher.html
I know the this was published by a guy working for MS but he has numbers, if you can disprove him then go for it. - replica, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Prove that it is ending. They increase revenue and profit each quarter. They are increasing server market share each quarter and will soon be #1 in that space. They are stronger than ever. Some of you are delusional.
- gtfo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+7It would be nice if the author actually talked about the reasons why she fells MSFT's time is coming to an end - at least that way it would make her speculation seem more credible.
- CitizenBane, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Well, good. And if that's all she's going to do, an old PC running Linux is perfect.
- whiteyMcBrown, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4There's too much money tied up in Microsoft products for them to disappear anytime soon. Businesses tend to hang onto their software longer than digg users because it's not about a romance with technology... these are actual tools of business. Also, despite being an Apple fan, Microsoft makes pretty good products, too... especially their bread-and-butter OS and Office, and people with business training learned everything they know on these tools. The thing about Linux is that no one out of the tech hobbyist circles really cares enough. Open source is catering to the hobbyists, rather than the businesses. Generally, the best programmers/designers/usability experts/marketers want to be paid and will work for the companies who can best fulfill this, making it a very uphill battle for open source.
- MasterGrief, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I don't like you.
- kroenecker, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Ubuntu is extremely nice. The only downside (as you might expect): games and some video media.
- unclefire, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7The author of this article is in a fantasy land. MS' hold on the market is huge. Linux is nowhere near the mainstream level it needs to be to suplant MS desktop producs. OS aside, the key is software-- most major, market dominant games and apps are on the MS platforms. Most people (and corps) view open source with skepticism. Open source stuff is great for tinkerers and geeks. Most users don't want to deal with it. They want preloaded software that works (for the most part) and supported by somebody well-known with tons of options for software they need to do their tasks.
Don't get me wrong-- MS infuriates me - virus', bugs, not being able to find crap, etc.... Frankly, with Apple OS/hardware going to Intel chipsets, it would seem to me that a great coup would be for apple to get their OS to work on "traditional" PC type platforms (e.g. HP's, Dell, etc.)...
The analogy is all wrong as well-- OS's go thru evolutions and even completely new versions. Atheletes don't-- they just get old and retire.
Buried for lameness... - mheath, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3VMWare already runs just fine on Linux. Lots of people run Windows inside of Linux right now with VMWare. I've been meaning to set this up on my workstation but since I never use Windows anyway, I can't find a motivation to do so.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Yes but the "user" for this argument has to be the common man because the common man will decide which OS gets used the most. And since theres no reason for the common man to switch OS's (especially since he's become so comfortable to one and it has support), the small portion of users who think Linux is easier than Windows will be marginal.
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