Replies

You're asking me to grow up, and you're acting like the typical "I hate all things Microsoft" detractor.

Please list the MSFT success stories in the mobile market.

Even with my posts recorded for your review, as many times as you like, you still have a very short attention span. Go back and review. You'll notice that my approach to the subject at hand has nothing to do with defending Microsoft in any of the areas in which they operate. They are a successful company, in many areas, and so is Apple and Google and IBM.

However, when it comes to the smartphone market, Microsoft was indeed there with its Windows Mobile before Apple, and before Google, and as such, they were a "success" in that arena before those other two companies. But, again, that's neither here nor there when it comes the matter at hand. So, why are you going into tangential discussions. Is it because you don't have an answer to the questions I posed?

I’ll get you started....Zune, WinCE,

Yet, when it comes to opinion, many people think of the Zune as a better product than Apple's iPod. Sometimes, being first in market matters, but, success is sometimes not dictated by being "better". It's like the IBM of the old days, when, they were perceived as better because they were bigger or established. But, there were a lot of other products on the market, mainframes and minis that were a lot better than what IBM put out. When it comes to the WinCE, well, again, Microsoft was there before Apple and before Google, the current bigger players. But, being big in a sector, again, doesn't mean being better. Apple and Android are the "standard" right now, but, the WP7, according to many, is a superior product, even with it's current shortcomings, and with the improvements to come, it could ultimately be the better product, not only in features, but in the general appeal to the consumer. Remember that, when it came to the PC world, Apple had a huge head-start against all other PC manufacturers when it came to the graphical user interface, and it was many years before Microsoft took the lead to where it now has around 90% of the PC market for OSes. It's too early for anyone to name a winner in the mobile marketplace, and it's going to be a long time before the dust settles in the mobile market, perhaps another 4 or 5 years. Come back in a few years and we'll talk then.

Please go on and tell me how well they have done. How’s Win7 Mobile doing? Billions to Nokia - buying marketshare ... and how many phones are flying off the shelves?

Not too bright, are you?

Look, Nokia wasn't going to jump on the WM7 bandwagon if the product wasn't convincing enough to them, and they're weren't going to sacrifice their entire product line on just a measly $2 billion dollars which can disappear fairly quickly on expenses alone. Didn't you notice that, Google was also trying to woo Nokia with Android, a more "established" offering? And I'm pretty sure that Google could've offered as much or more for Nokia to go along with Android. Let's face it, Microsoft is a very big and established name in just about everything software and computer technology. It's a giant to be reckoned with, and even Apple can't compete with what Microsoft has to offer as far as number of products and services and market reach. Most times, reality matters more than hype.

Also, one thing that you're apparently very late to recognize is that, in order to become "competitive", one often has to buy the competition or bribe the competition or join the competition. That's a business practice as old as, well, the invention of business. You and I may not like it, but, if it's allowed and doesn't lead to a monopoly, it's going to continue to happen.

How about the rousing success stories in the Tablet market that hit the press about 6 months after the iPad? HP Slate was supposed to set the standard. Remind me what happened to that again? And how about the other’s? Oh yeah, every single product line that was supposed to run Win 7 Home on an Atom processor was canceled - across every single vendor.

You're still off in a huge tangent in this discussion.

However, when it comes to those "Windows" tablets, well they are better, even if not as low in weight, and not as thin, and the battery life might not be as good as the iPad, and perhaps not as low price as the lower end iPad. But, feature-wise and capabilities-wise, those Windows tablets are a lot better than any version of the iPad. Sure, people aren't going to plunk down $800 or $1000 for a Windows-based tablet, but, those tablets are real PCs, with fully capable OSes, in a small package, as opposed to the iPad which is not much more than a screen where you can watch movies and surf the net.

However, you're not keeping up with the times.

Have you heard of the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 Windows 7 tablet?

The STYLISTIC Q550 runs on Microsoft Windows® 7 and is compatible with Windows®' multi-touch capabilities. Users can control applications and input text by touching the screen simply with just a touch of their fingers or by the attached stylus.

The STYLISTIC Q550 is equipped with a next-generation Intel® ATOM™ CPU that is highly-compatible with Microsoft Windows® 7 operating system, energy efficient, and features superior performance. By making full use of Fujitsu's proprietary power supply control functionality, the new series provides effortless operations using a large-capacity battery that can power the slate PC's 10.1 inch screen while still lasting approximately 10 hours(2). Furthermore in terms of maintenance, the battery is removable. The overall unit weighs only 690g when a standard battery is inserted(3).

The STYLISTIC Q550 employs an ergonomic design, with a surface texture and weight balance that make it fit naturally in the user's hand.

And, from what I've heard, it's in the weight range of the iPad, which is around 1 1/2 lbs.

http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2011/20110224-01.html

So, ounce for ounce, the Fujitsu tablet is a heck of a lot more useful than the iPad, and when compared to the high-end iPad, the price is very comparable. Feature-wise and OS-wise, and usage-wise, the Windows capable Fujitsu tablet is a heck of a lot more than the simple media consumption device that is the iPad, or even the new Android based tablets coming out.

I suggest you pay a little bit more attention to the Industry - because you seem amazingly short on fact, and long on wind.

I would propose that it's you that is being left behind the times, and that it is you that is woefully out of touch with the industry. It's your "facts" that are lacking when it comes to what's happening in the industry.

Can you name 1, just 1 MSFT success story in the mobile market? Just 1.

So, is that how you arrive at your conclusion that, Microsoft tablets and smartphones aren't going to be successful in the future? Logic is not one of your strong attributes.

Look, Microsoft was relatively successful in the smartphone arena before Apple or Google even thought of entering that market. And, WM7 is relatively new, and the market for "smart" phones is still relatively new. The penetration of those smart mobile devices is not even close to what the PC market is now. So, there is still room for a lot of growth, for everybody, including Microsoft. I'm pretty sure that both Apple and Google are not going to be as dismissive about WM7 or Windows tablets as you appear to be.

MSFT does a fantastic job when they have infinite power. Laptops and Desktops run reliably, across numerous vendors, on various chipsets, with different processors, and soon to include the folks like ARM.

And, with Microsoft developing their OSes to be able to run on just about any CPU and on just about any "small-sized" platform, the future in all areas of computing might be still "owned" by Microsoft. I'm not particularly crazy about one vendor "owning" all the different computing platforms, but, being the giant that Microsoft is, it could become reality. Think about the race between the hare and turtle. Sometimes being the fastest or first out of the gate doesn't guarantee you the long-term success.

But, in every mobile attempt they have made - they have failed. And Tablets was a fail of epic proportions. Did you read any of the reviews of the MSFT tablets before they were terminated?

There is a big difference between the past and the present reality.

Microsoft became comfortable with what they had because, the mobile markets weren't as profitable and competitive as they are now. It's a different reality now, and Microsoft, and all other players, have realized that, they need to be in the "new" mobile marketplace, or they will perish or be rendered as just "an also ran". Microsoft cannot concede the tablet or smartphone arena to the competition, and the competition is aware that they awoke a giant which was just getting along with their PC and enterprise success. The market is way different and Microsoft has started answering the challenge. Don't you believe that Apple and Google are beginning to take notice about how Microsoft has become aggressive in that new marketplace, as opposed to their last 10 years or so of complacency?

It if sounds like I'm defending Microsoft, you would be wrong. I'm just noting the facts on the ground, and it's not like you would want to spin them. Like I said in a prior post, I don't have a horse in the race, and I wish them all success, because, for what I do, I don't care who wins or loses, as long as they all do it right. I don't approach a vendor via favoritism or dislike, like you seem to be doing. Just let the marketplace work, and hopefully, everybody reaps the rewards that come from competition.

And I’m the idiot? Geez, coming from you that means less than what it does from a bum on the street.

That statement right there could easily define you as an idiot.

You're assuming that, because somebody is a "bum" and currently out of luck, that that person is incapable of "intelligent" thought. Your way of thinking is pretty dumb and very judgmental and very lacking in common sense or logic.

Do grow up.

It should be quite apparent by now, that, from everything you've posted so far, that the only one that needs "growing up" in this discussion is you. It's either that, or you need to get out of your cave, or you need to do your own thinking instead of just trumpeting what you hear or read in blogs, technology or otherwise.

And, hey, nice try to deflect from the points of the current discussion and from the questions I keep posing to you.

So, again, I ask you...

What is it that you are privy to from Microsoft that would make you conclude that, whatever they do with Windows 8 will be a failure? If you don't know, admit it, and don't turn the subject matter of this discussion into "me" vs "you".

Stay on topic and you'll end up doing better. Changing the topic is a well-known tactic by those whose arguments don't mesh with the facts.