'Microsoft's Quest For Short-Term $$$ is Doing Long-Term Damage To Windows, Surface, Xbox, and Beyond' (windowscentral.com) 67
In an op-ed on Windows Central, the site's co-managing editor Jez Corden laments Microsoft's "short-sighted" decision-making and "inconsistent" investment in its products and services, which he argues has led to a loss of trust among customers and missed opportunities in the tech industry. Despite Microsoft's advancements in AI and cloud computing, the company has made "baffling" decisions such as shutting down Windows Phone, under-investing in Xbox, and canceling promising Surface products.
The author argues that Microsoft's lack of commitment to security, customer support, and long-term quality has "damaged" its reputation and hindered its potential for growth. Examples include recent hacking scandals, poor customer service experiences, and the aggressive promotion of Microsoft Edge at the expense of user choice. The author also expresses concern over Microsoft's handling of the Xbox brand, particularly the decision to release exclusive games on PlayStation, which could undermine the reasons for customers to choose Xbox. The op-ed concludes that while Microsoft has the potential to be a leader in the tech industry, its pattern of short-sighted decisions and failure to learn from past mistakes has led to a growing sense of doubt among its customers and observers.
The author argues that Microsoft's lack of commitment to security, customer support, and long-term quality has "damaged" its reputation and hindered its potential for growth. Examples include recent hacking scandals, poor customer service experiences, and the aggressive promotion of Microsoft Edge at the expense of user choice. The author also expresses concern over Microsoft's handling of the Xbox brand, particularly the decision to release exclusive games on PlayStation, which could undermine the reasons for customers to choose Xbox. The op-ed concludes that while Microsoft has the potential to be a leader in the tech industry, its pattern of short-sighted decisions and failure to learn from past mistakes has led to a growing sense of doubt among its customers and observers.
Windows 11 is a prime example of course. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Windows 11 is a prime example of course. (Score:5, Insightful)
Windows 11 combined with Steam/Proton is what finally got me to have Linux as my laptop's daily driver. Thanks, Microsoft!
Re:Windows 11 is a prime example of course. (Score:4, Insightful)
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I'm reeeeeeally starting to think that when I'm due for my next upgrade, I'm going to go that sam
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Recently it was shown that when does 11 lost market share to Windows 10. It's astounding.
We really need to start completely ignoring Statcounter. The same site which says that between November and March the Windows 8.1 market share rose from 0.3% to 1.7% and then back down to 0.2% representing supposedly 21 million users inexplicably deciding to give Windows 8.1 a go as a new years resolution.
Presumably those are the same 21million users who decided to switch from Mac OSX to the 10 year out of date version of Windows, since Mac OSX for no reason what so ever logged a 3% market share drop in Nov
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missed the mark (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:missed the mark (Score:4, Insightful)
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Microsoft used the exact opposite strategy for Windows to gain traction. They were good enough, for home users. They were not good enough for enterprise use but they were capable enough for the home user. As users became familiar it became the platform they wanted at work. Apple followed this playbook with the iPhone, and the platform evolved into good enough for enterprise and office use. I've been wrong about many things in my life, but I think it'd be unlikely for the strategy you suggest to get the tra
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Only because Microsoft finds it impossible to pursue consumers effectively.
I blame personally the structure within MSFT of business units. They rarely are on the same page about anything and the infighting is legendary. But the money keeps flowing in so there is seen to be no need to fix anything. Satya's wisdom is migrate it all to Azure and that'll solve all the problems. I think the logic is that if they can get 50% +1 of the cloud business by doing that, they'll over time crush AWS. Not so sure abo
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No those are just the canaries about trust.
I would not invest in Windows Phone. You know why? Because I previously had a Windows CE/WindowsMobile product that they wholesale dumped support from previously. I was like, "you know what, Microsoft's lack of long term commitment to hardware products really pisses me off"
Despite that I bought an Xbox 360S, with the assumption that it was well past the RROD defects. Nope, fucking hard drive failed when no more were being made.
THIS. This is why I refuse to buy Micr
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"The author argues that Microsoft's lack of commitment to security, customer support, and long-term quality has "damaged" its reputation"
When has MS ever had a commitment to security or customer support or long term quality or ever had a reputation that even could be damaged. The "crapification of Windows" makes it seem that once Windows was good. It was never good.
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It was once better than the alternatives. Think mid-90s. Even MacOS at the time was inferior in various respects, despite the rose colored glasses of today. I liked "Dark Castle" as much as the next person, and the Mac Word was a better product for a very long time, but Windows was a better platform for getting stuff done.
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I think everyone knew that the PC at the time was a bit inferior as a professional computer, except for basic office tasks (word processing, spreadsheets), but it was good enough for the consumer market. So the comparisons about what was good or bad depends upon the point of view. For engineering use, Windows 3.11 was utter crap. The Unix Workstation alternatives were vastly better, which is what the mid-90s settled on. For smaller PC systems they tried to push NT instead, as well as OS/2 (and Microsoft
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The 9x versions were superior to MacOS. I should know - I had responsibility for a business that had 140 sites and some idiot thought putting Macs out there was a good idea. Having a bunch of help desk people in Manhattan using Timbuktu Remote and then Timbuktu to get from computer to computer at remote sites was...a WAN was cheaper, even at the exorbitant rates of the 90s, and we eventually got there. If we'd had some kind of professional networking system we'd have had a CLI you could use over those an
Shutting down Windows phone (Score:4, Insightful)
The author of the article sounds a bit nuts.
Shutting down Windows phone was a great decision, not creating Windows phone in the first place would've been an even better decision.
Game exclusivity on console is a cancer, I didn't see why anyone would think that's a great thing.
Microsoft is pushing Edge and it can be annoying, if anyone remembers the days of IE, the behavior from Microsoft vis-a-vis Edge seems relatively lightweight in comparison.
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Shutting down Windows phone was a great decision, not creating Windows phone in the first place would've been an even better decision
You've never used one, have you.
Re: Shutting down Windows phone (Score:3)
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I used one, I wrote apps for one.
It was terrible.
Windows Phone 7 - dumbass broken Windows CE crap that should have died circa 2000.
Windows Phone 8 - sure it's a very auspicious number, but nobody actually put any effort into the the port of Windows Phone "GUI" to the NT kernel, so they just reused the dog slow Windows 8 and ported it to lesser hardware with lesser battery life.
Windows Phone 10 - actual improvement, but at that point the noose was around its neck and there was nothing under its feet.
Another
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So tired of the update process (Score:5, Insightful)
Security updates are great and all, but I'm so tired of the horseshit process I have to go through after each "update". No, I don't want to make Edge my default browser. No, I don't want to subscribe to Office 365. No, I don't want a Microsoft Cloud Storage subscription. No, I don't want an XBox gaming subscription.
No wonder Windows 10 is gaining share on Windows 11. Loss of updates has actually become a feature now.
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No wonder Windows 10 is gaining share on Windows 11. Loss of updates has actually become a feature now.
Leaving aside the fact that Statcounter is wildly inaccurate (Steam hardware survey shows a 3% increase in Windows 11 from Windows 10 while Statcounter showed a 0.7% decline in the same period to Windows 10), why do you think anyone who hates the Edge begging would switch to Windows 10? You realise the Edge begging and Office begging is a "feature" of Windows 10 updates too right?
Your post is non sequitur, ... unless all the people who supposedly switched to Windows 10 are really dumb.
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Windows 10 will be end-of-life next year, thus no more updates.
Windows Phone with the app store lock in is why it (Score:2)
Windows Phone with the app store lock in is why it failed.
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???
Android and iPhone both had the same. Until recently, only through jail breaking does one get around this.
Re: Windows Phone with the app store lock in is wh (Score:2)
Re: Windows Phone with the app store lock in is w (Score:2)
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It failed because it had API limitations that traced back to the compiler team's inability to target ARM very well at that time. Prop up a new API that game and app developers need, find a bug in it, trace it back to the compiler... then wait 8 months for the compiler team to address it. That was untenable position.
Forever growth (Score:2)
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What? Microsoft is doing great. They are changing. They realized the business model they ran up to the early 00s was no longer viable. They removed Ballmer who almost drove MS into the ground and replaced it with someone with a different vision.
What did that get? a "reduction" in Windows share? Not really. it's still high as always, lost some market to Apple but still doing fine. But on the other hand, they have Azure, a stronghold in corporate, and even "open source" developers still use their products (VS
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What? Microsoft is doing great. They are changing.
Hahahaha, no. You have fallen for the lies. MS did never "change" and will not do so now. The only single aspect they are doing great in is separating fools from their money. But the house of cards they have and incompetently maintain came almost crashing down once already in 2023.
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Forever growth is impossible, yes.
The longest-running companies, which have operated in the region of 1,000-1,200 years, opted for stability and sustainability over growth.
Microsoft shows no interest in surviving on that kind of timeframe.
Is there something in the water in Seattle? (Score:3)
What with MS and Boeing both making business wrecking decisions for very short term gain.
Re:Is there something in the water in Seattle? (Score:5, Insightful)
What with MS and Boeing both making business wrecking decisions for very short term gain.
Microsoft has been making decisions for at least 20 years that would have shuttered most other businesses. It hasn't hurt them yet, so they keep with what works. They've learned that people will bitch, moan, gripe and threaten, but ultimately do nothing.
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Re:Is there something in the water in Seattle? (Score:4, Interesting)
When you are the dominant player in the field then you can do whatever you like - for a while. But there are limits and if the corporate and government world decides that you are getting too expensive then you are starting to fall down.
Broadcom is now chewing up VMWare and people are seriously looking into alternatives for virtualization.
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When you are the dominant player in the field then you can do whatever you like - for a while. But there are limits and if the corporate and government world decides that you are getting too expensive then you are starting to fall down.
Ummm Microsoft has the most secure monopoly on this planet. They can do whatever they want until only the US government (no other) decides to take it away from them... but even then, only the management will change. No, Microsoft is not going anywhere for many more lifetimes.
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Microsoft isn't going anywhere any time soon but lifetimes? I would definitely not go that far. I grew up in a steel town in Pennsylvania. Bethlehem Steel was a goliath world wide. To think it was going anywhere any time soon was just crazy talk. They produced almost all the steel to build NYC up until the World Trade Center. They were also a big reason why the US was able to outproduce the Germ
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What with MS and Boeing both making business wrecking decisions for very short term gain.
What's with Viol8 jumping to any conclusion from someone who agrees with how he feels, in the absence of all actual data?
Xbox division profits have trended up steadily over the past 3 years, despite the assertion that Microsoft is killing it.
Surface and hardware division profits have trended steady following the same percentage dips as all hardware companies the past year, despite the assertion that Microsoft is killing it.
Microsoft Phone on the other hand never made any money. It was an epic failure that d
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To wit: Your supporting arguments:
Xbox division profits have trended up steadily over the past 3 years...
Awesome possum.
Surface and hardware division profits have trended steady...
No slacking.
Microsoft Phone on the other hand never made any money. It was an epic failure that deserved to be killed.
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most valuable company ever...
I assume you mean in $$$. But presumption is so very gauche, no?
Yep that definitely sounds like "business wreaking decisions"
By your own words, Microsoft is wreaking profit. That's really great.
Now I personally, would like software for my needs first. Me first. My work. My data. My company. My needs first. Non-person business entities get no forgiveness and "everybody does it," isn't a thing for me. No reason exis
Monopolies can thumb their noses (Score:5, Insightful)
Current MBA thinking does emphasize the short term per comparison-ROI-theory, and there's no evidence that's being significantly challenged. The biggest problem is that tech is different than say selling sodas because you can't change complex systems on a dime like you can a soda label (or add a drop of citrus flavor). Intel and Boeing let bean counters run things, and ended up doing their systems up the wazoo.
But MS has no notable biz-sector competition, and thus can do whatever the bleep they want and not be punished for it. Google had a chance to challenge MS, but bailed out because it wasn't profitable in the short term. If you want to give MS a run for its money, you have to play the long game. Someday MS will stumble like the IBM monopoly did in the 80's, but its unlikely their fall will be quick.
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Someday MS will stumble like the IBM monopoly did in the 80's, but its unlikely their fall will be quick.
It just needs another attack like the full Azure compromise from 2023 where the attacker wants to do damage. MS still does not know know the attackers got in that time. A few weeks or months of Azure downtime and completel cloud loss for many customers will do the trick.
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The Cloud business is kind of like the nuclear power business. Even though the average risk is probably lower than the alternatives, mistakes make the news and quickly damage your reputation. All the big cloud vendors will probably suffer at least one embarrassing outage or breach.
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Probably worse. Nuclear accidents are at least somewhat localized. A major cloud outage may well do a lot more damage.
This is typical Enshitification (Score:3)
So what's new? (Score:3)
"Quest for short-term $$$ is doing long-term damage" is pretty much the description of every single company that ever existed on this planet.
Xbox (Score:2)
There are issues with Xbox, but I don't think releasing games on other platforms is the issue. Aside from Nintendo, no one makes much off the console itself. You're only selling the consoles to sell games (and I guess with system like Xbox and PS, ads as well). Software and accessories is where the big bucks are at. Xbox sells controllers are roughly $70 a pop, and you know the wholesale cost on those things is pretty low.
No, decisions like buying a bunch of developers and then laying off said developers,
I hope they get much worse (Score:3)
Ideally worse to such a point where there would be real money invested in a usable linux desktop. I won't hold my breath that anyone can agree on what that would be, though :D.
lack of commitment to security and quality (Score:2)
I have definitely experienced Microsoft's lack of commitment to security and quality. If you want the O365 logs that show their failures then you need to pay more!
Then when you show Microsoft evidence of their bug they claim its not a bug!
Really atrocious for what they charge. SaaS was supposed to create (and did create) an on-going revenue stream such that the product could continually *improve*. Instead we get constant changes of visual with more bugs introduced and nothing stable ever. We have a constan
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Microsoft has the means to do better.
I doubt that. They do not have the culture, they do not have the vision, they do not have the skills, they do not understand solid engineering or secure engineering. Cleaning up the mess of technological debt they have piled up over the last 20 years is very likely impossible. They would have to throw away most of their own tech and start over with people that really know what they are doing.
Nothing of that can be fixed by money.
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Its just a matter of priorities. Plenty of smart people work for Microsoft.
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"Smart" is not enough at all. And no, it is not "just" a matter of priorities.
The guy running a marketing platform for microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)
The entire user base has been screaming about de-development. About them un-producing their software. Every single aspect of my operating is less effective and less secure than it was a decade ago and there absolutely no new features that I've asked for or used since then.
I bought my computer to write, play games, make art, edit videos and communicate on the internet. These are all very basic functionalities and do not require always-on internet access. Do you know what does require always-on internet access? MASSIVE SECURITY BREACHES.
SAAS as part of a business model is in and of itself a massive security risk and it's also Microsoft's entire business model. This blogger is soft-selling the problem because he works in a Microsoft funded eco-system. He's using vague euphemism and neutral jargon but I'll say it: Microsoft is committing a fraud against the American people right now. They are defrauding our government out of billions in unproductive contracts for software that's both ineffective and dangerous unsecure.
RICO MICROSOFT NOW.
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Do you know what does require always-on internet access? MASSIVE SECURITY BREACHES.
This needs to be restated more often.
Everybody in the geek community loves to scream about how important patches are for security, and how essential it is to use the most up-to-date software. However, if a platform is specifically designed to collect telemetry and push ads, and there is no way to stop it, the platform is fundamentally insecure and even a zillion patches a week will not fix it. The only way to make your data secure is to not give it to anyone.
I will seriously bludgeon the next person that
This makes my job easier (Score:2)
I just convinced my employer to remove all microsoft products from the company. I'm going to sleep better at night knowing we won't have those vulnerabilities in our ecosystem.
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if you think you are safer just because you are getting rid of windows, you don't really understand computer security.
EXACTLY this. The issue is with the end user. Not the OS. No OS out there can fix stupid.
Bottom Taskbar Only & Powershell Stupidity (Score:2)
Microsoft's newest developers have been going out of their way to stupidify their products such as restricting the taskbar to the bottom only on Windows 11 after having the decades of choice on where to have it and the idiocy of forking PowerShell after v5.1 into a not entirely comparable fork for v6 & v7 since legacy modules and snap-ins don't work on the new versions.
I've gotten used to having the taskbar on my left edge so I can read the titles of multiple files when working with many windows. I ste
Gonna party like it's 1995 (Score:2)
"The author argues that Microsoft's lack of commitment to security, customer support, and long-term quality has "damaged" its reputation and hindered its potential for growth. Examples include recent hacking scandals, poor customer service experiences, and the aggressive promotion of Microsoft Edge at the expense of user choice."
Just change that to "Internet Explorer" and we have Microsoft in 1995.
Man Has Opinion . . . (Score:2)
. . . film at 11.