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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: Windows 8 is ‘the end of Windows’
Venture Beat ^
| 10/21/2012
| Sean Ludwig
Posted on 10/21/2012 7:52:06 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
NEW YORK CITY --- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, always game for a little tech trash talk, said that Microsof's Windows 8 operating system would be "the end of Windows" and that "Windows is irrelevant."
Benioff, answering questions at a press conference at the Cloudforce show in Manhattan, mostly kept to the script of promoting Salesforce's cloud services during the QandA session with reporters and analysts. The main Cloudforce keynote mostly mimicked all the announcements at Dreamforce last month, except for the just-announced addition of 20 social analytics services to its Marketing Cloud.
Veering off-script (or was it?), Benioff talked about Windows 8 in regard to the entire computing market. He first spoke about a conversation he had had with an exec-level Salesforce customer and how this customer said she wouldn't move her company to Windows 8.
Then, Benioff turned to his own thoughts on the new Microsoft OS, which launches Oct. 26. He said that people were not having frequent conversations about traditional computers anymore — people are instead talking about which smartphones and tablets they want to buy. He name-checked the iPhone 5 and the Kindle Fire HD as examples.
With that in mind, Windows 8, he noted, was no longer important. He said CIOs had upgraded to Windows 7 because they didn’t have another choice, but now things have changed.
“Windows 8 is the gambit — will [CIOs] upgrade, or will they do something else?” Benioff said. “It’s the end of Windows. … Windows is irrelevant.”
To be fair, Windows 8 will work on desktops, laptops, and laptop/tablet hybrid computers. That flexibility means the OS can help equip all kinds of devices that employees might want or need. Enterprises could adopt Windows 8 tablet hybrids like the Samsung’s ATIV Smart PCs, for example.
And then we’ve got Windows RT, which looks a lot like Windows 8 and runs on ARM-based tablets. Microsoft’s first Surface tablet runs RT and includes a version of Office installed. It looks to like a tool enterprises might take a look at versus Apple’s iPad.
Even with those caveats, Benioff’s words were certainly eye-popping and something that could echo with CEOs and CIOs across the enterprise. As a visionary for cloud computing and cloud-based software, his words carry weight.
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: microsoft; salesforcecom; windows; windows8
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To: SeekAndFind
I doubt that it is the end of Windows. Are corporations really going to throw out billions of dollars of infrastructure, not to mention date, to go with Apple?
2
posted on
10/21/2012 7:57:19 PM PDT
by
Jonty30
(What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
To: SeekAndFind
NEW YORK CITY -— Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, “Windows is irrelevant.”
Off by just about one half billion pc’s.
Missed by thaaaaaaaat much.
3
posted on
10/21/2012 7:57:31 PM PDT
by
Cyman
To: SeekAndFind
To: Jonty30
I’m sure Wang and Honeywell reassured rhemselves similarly back in the late eighties.
To: SeekAndFind
>> As a visionary for cloud computing and cloud-based software, his words carry weight.
Of course, he has no dog in the fight; he’d gain or lose nothing if he were right, or not.
The line between visionary and self-serving dreamer is often not a bright one.
6
posted on
10/21/2012 8:02:31 PM PDT
by
Nervous Tick
("You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.")
To: Cyman
Marc Benioff is one of obama’s lackeys and in most fundraisers for him in NYC.
7
posted on
10/21/2012 8:06:10 PM PDT
by
max americana
(Make the world a better place by punching a liberal in the face)
To: Cyman
Not only that, but Microsoft is now basically ahead of everybody as to where computing is heading. We are heading towards a time, for good and bad, where you can move from one device to another continuing doing whatever you are doing, without missing a beat.
Apple isn’t there and neither is Android.
8
posted on
10/21/2012 8:06:26 PM PDT
by
Jonty30
(What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
To: SeekAndFind
Benioff spends much more time OFF his meds than ON them, much to his detriment.
The most bizarre, self-promoting CEO in existence.
9
posted on
10/21/2012 8:07:09 PM PDT
by
dayglored
(Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
To: SeekAndFind
"But dumb terminals are HOT HOT HOT!"
To: RegulatorCountry
I hear what you’re saying and I don’t know what mistakes Wang and Honeywell that put them on the road to oblivion.
However, one thing Microsoft is doing that many computer companies didn’t, that often led to their demise, is being highly proactive.
11
posted on
10/21/2012 8:10:08 PM PDT
by
Jonty30
(What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
To: SeekAndFind
Windows 8 is a major UI failure. That’s too bad since they’ve really put in a lot of work on the back end.
To: SeekAndFind; a fool in paradise; Slings and Arrows
Marc Benioff: Windows is dead!
God: Marc Benioff is dead!
13
posted on
10/21/2012 8:12:01 PM PDT
by
Revolting cat!
(Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
To: RegulatorCountry
“Im sure Wang and Honeywell reassured rhemselves similarly back in the late eighties.”
We recently replaced the ancient Honeywell thermostat in our house with a new digital Honeywell thermostat. :)
To: Jonty30; Cyman
>
Microsoft is now basically ahead of everybody as to where computing is heading. Thanks for that laugh. It's been a long day, and that made me LOL. Did you forget your /sarc tag?
Microsoft was once a major innovator. That was 20 years ago. They haven't been AHEAD of one single curve -- and made a success of their work -- since Ballmer took over. Windows and Office in business use -- where they specifically DO NOT innovate much because businesses don't tolerate change easily -- have allowed the company to survive despite the fact that 90% of their other endeavors have been weak, "me-too" copies of other ideas, offered late and then dropped. XBox is the only notable exception.
I think Windows 8 will do GREAT on handhelds. It's got a lot of attractive characteristics for handhelds.
On business and home PCs it's gonna die the gooey death, even though MS will try to force it down everybody's throat like Vista.
You're welcome to your opinion, of course, as am I, but what do you say we revisit this exchange in 3 or 4 years?
15
posted on
10/21/2012 8:15:53 PM PDT
by
dayglored
(Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
To: SeekAndFind
It's a shame really, but 30 years later PCs still run on 8086 architecture under what is still an MS DOS based operating system.
(I anticipate a "your a idiot" post from Captain Obvious hisself, but the truth remains that the bases of the two technologies mentioned are still there!)
16
posted on
10/21/2012 8:16:03 PM PDT
by
Revolting cat!
(Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
To: Jonty30
Wang and Honeywell produced terminals connected to mainframes. They were supplanted by the PC.
To: Revolting cat!
The basic design of the Windows OS is based on the micro kernel architecture designed by David Cutler:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Cutler
But yes, there is still a “MS DOS” shell, but then there are many shells available to control basic functions of the OS.
To: Jonty30
“Without missing a beat” is a phrase not often associated with Microsoft. Seriously. Armies of IT tech support in every large corporation. Seamless cross-platform device connectivity is not something with which they have ever demonstrated any particular competence.
Apple has and does.
To: Revolting cat!; RockyMtnMan
>
It's a shame really, but 30 years later PCs still run on 8086 architecture under what is still an MS DOS based operating system. (I anticipate a "your a idiot" post from Captain Obvious hisself, but the truth remains that the bases of the two technologies mentioned are still there!) "MS-DOS"? Hell, it's CP/M based!
We will know that Windows has finally at last cut loose from its CP/M roots at the point where it joins the rest of the world and starts using foward-slash '/' in the GUI for a directory separator. It's been available within the system calls since the beginning, because Microsoft was originally a UNIX company (does anyone else remember that far back?).
But to maintain compatibility with CP/M, which used forward-slash for options instead of hyphen, Microsoft decided that MS-DOS would use the backslash '\' for separating directories.
BTW, RockyMtnMan is right about the Win/NT kernel not being MS-DOS based. But no one except us nerds knows or cares about that. The users are the ones that buy the damn computers. And they see back-slashes to this day. For no good reason -- how many users still type command lines that require forward-slash switches? Except in MS-DOS mode?
I'm still waiting, Microsoft. When will you drop CP/M compatibility?
[fingers tapping]
[crickets]
20
posted on
10/21/2012 8:25:38 PM PDT
by
dayglored
(Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
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