Does Microsoft Need To Rethink Its Niche?
It’s a recession, so there is no question that Microsoft (among other companies out there) is looking to rethink how it approaches things. And in Microsoft’s defense, it is definitely shacking things up with how it is approaching its upcoming release of Office as free will sound pretty good to most people. But this still leaves us with Windows 7.
If I was ever in a position to where I actually considered giving Windows another shot in my home office, it would likely be with this new release of Windows. And I say this as a very cynical person, but MS has done some really good things with Windows 7. Basically, taking the sludge out of Vista and providing the kind of Windows release that has my attention.
The big problem I see, however, is the way that people are spending on technology is changing. It’s becoming less about platforms and more about cost effective solutions. This explains the boom in netbooks, a move toward consolidating our mobile lives to a singular device, and so on. I also think Windows 7 will do just fine on netbooks, just for the record.
But for desktop users not really “needing” to upgrade hardware, I fear that XP may indeed raise its ugly head once again. I mean, I run it as a VM on my system and it tackles any made-for-Windows software needs I might have. So outside of people buying it pre-installed, I am totally unclear how most folks are going to justify having to buy a full edition of Windows 7 just to do what they have been doing with XP. Help me out on this one.
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9 Comments
Hotrao
July 24th, 2009
at 5:09am
In my opinion Microsoft approached the market by a monopolistic point of view.
Due to their position they were able to influence and in some way drive both technology and hardware changes.
Now market is changing and new players (see Google and Linux), are entering with a wider market share.
This, as an effect, brings a necessary shift in market and organization approach.
In my opinion Its’s not an option for Microsoft to take this challenge.
Microsoft and the approach in doing things « How I see the world
July 24th, 2009
at 5:11am
[...] Microsoft and the approach in doing things Matt Hartley at Lockergnome writes an article on possible Microsoft option to change the way they do things (full article at http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2009/07/23/does-microsoft-need-to-rethink-their-niche/). [...]
Ken McAvoy
July 24th, 2009
at 7:36am
You do realize you are currently the ONLY Tech Writer who has enough intelligence to spot this glaring FACT .. congratulations on a decent piece of thinking. There is absolutely NO DOUBT that existing XP Users will find no compelling reason to rush out and buy W7 especially when they find out there is NO UPGRADE from XP to W7 available. Gee that’s a clever marketing masterstroke Microsoft . When they also discover that the conventional classic start bar has gone and there is no repair/restore option on the W7DVD that actually works they will be even more miffed. The obvious problems may not arise for Microsoft immediately but after 12 months or so when disks fail and the OS gets swarmed by the next wave of virus etc that we will see W7 get tarnished as end users find out there is no easy way to recover their data. I don’t want to be told about the backup features in W7 .. end users don’t understand them and they don’t use them so as a tech support person I came to rely on the repair /restore option in XP as a wonderful get out of jail free card and now its gone.Really stupid Microsoft.
Microsoft have me standing here astonished they think so little of XP Users. After all it was not that many years ago they were waxing lyrical about XP and encouraging us all to upgrade. I think people would like a new OS but one they can easily upgrade to and one that does not take existing features away. Dumb move MIcrosoft and I hope the market punishes you for this arrogance.
william malo
July 24th, 2009
at 7:46am
I will definitely keep xp for my vm but as for a primary os I would have to go with 7 only because of compatibility issues. one day xp wont be supported by software companies. I didnt get vista because I wanted to wait till xp was older since all my programs worked on xp…
but with the release of windows 7 xp is now comparable to windows 2000!!! with the release of 7 microsoft will probably stop making xp available and that will definatly slow down the software making for xp .
Phillip Metzger
July 24th, 2009
at 9:40am
Wow! Your home office? That’s a BIG decision. Microsoft makes billions from businesses producing their own billions and most of them aren’t even in the US. Microsoft understands business, and that is where the money is.
There is a big world out there and much larger picture to look at.
Based off your philosophy of spending on technology. I should not replace my 1980’s vehicle with a new one… because my old one still… drives, kinda.
VoIP Calgary ~ Windows Fanatics
July 24th, 2009
at 12:45pm
[...] Microsoft need to rethink its [...]
Rudy A
July 24th, 2009
at 1:21pm
I agree with the continued use of XP, it is a great OS and has everything I need.
My next W7 machine will be a MAC with OSX now this is a computer that works like it should!
Forget Windows,
Anthony
July 26th, 2009
at 12:34am
I run a business from home. I personally agree MS needs to keep things that work, and focus on improving on new ideas. Instead of starting fresh all the time, with new OS’s. I would like to see MS improve the screensavers, wallpaper, etc. Why? Some of these old settings been on machines since windows 98, come on already! Maybe provide ” Standard ” a ” Restore CD ” with machines, this would save on tech support calls. Heck try a aluminum unit, like Apple did and dont charge a extra $1K. That would be interesting. I mean PC does have some cool standards, that Apple is just now embracing, like SD Card Reader, HDMI Output, Fingerprint Readers, And Remotes on thier laptops, and 6GB ram, and 500GB Hard Drives! Why would I pay $1k more for a Apple that has less memory, no HDMI, no SD Card Reader, and a smaller HDD? What because it has a aluminum chasis? I think not, not me, AL sales for $3.59 per pound, not $1k! I personally think Apple’s laptops suck in spec’s compared to a HP HDX Laptop.
Chris
July 28th, 2009
at 1:09pm
@Anthony that is the big problem with PC fanboys: you put too much stock in specs. You don’t need huge specs if you have a system that can work leaner than a PC like a Mac can. I upgraded my Macbook Pro to 4 GB of RAM and it is performs so incredibly well. It is incredibly stable and provides me with all of the creative features I need. I would definitely need higher specs to do the same things on a PC, though.