Ask HN: Will Microsoft ever become cool again?

When IBM went to the PS/2 architecture, and the OS/2 software, to try to kill the PC clone market and lock up the PC hardware and OS market for themselves, Microsoft was the champion of freedom and openness. Really.

Windows 95 and 98 were when the GUI became cool. Well, cool and available - it was cool on the Mac, but nobody had Macs.

Re: Ask HN: Will Microsoft ever become cool again?

#8

Post by akulbe » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 7:43 PM UTC

They're doing a hell of a lot more cool things than Apple, these days. Windows is moving. macOS is terrible.

(Says the guy who's been a Mac user for >15 years and bought every new product Apple has come out with.)

Apple is doing this to themselves. As a dev platform, their appeal is waning. (Stop making shit laptops, and make your macOS stable again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Microsoft, under Nadella, is making the right moves, listening to their userbase. It was enough to get me to switch back.

Re: Ask HN: Will Microsoft ever become cool again?

#9

Post by agitator » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 7:58 PM UTC

akulbe wrote: post #8

They're doing a hell of a lot more cool things than Apple, these days. Windows is moving. macOS is terrible. (Says the guy who's been a Mac user for >15 years and bought every new product Apple has come out with.) Apple is doing this to themselves. As a dev platform, their appeal is waning. (Stop making shit laptops, and make your macOS stable again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) Microsoft, under Nadella, is making the right moves, li…

I agree that they are moving, but they seem to be innovating without focusing on the user. It's like a bunch of enginerds working on cool projects that they are coming up with. Yeah they might be cool, but will people buy/use them?

Maybe it's still too early to tell, and all of these moonshot concepts will result in useable devices, but so far I feel like the device ecosystem and interoperability of devices just isn't at all at the level of apple or even google for that matter.

Re: Ask HN: Will Microsoft ever become cool again?

#10

Post by Finnucane » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 8:16 PM UTC

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #7

Finnucane wrote: post #3

Again?

When IBM went to the PS/2 architecture, and the OS/2 software, to try to kill the PC clone market and lock up the PC hardware and OS market for themselves, Microsoft was the champion of freedom and openness. Really. Windows 95 and 98 were when the GUI became cool. Well, cool and available - it was cool on the Mac, but nobody had Macs.

Yeah, I could see how finally getting their GUI system more or less working a decade after everyone else could be seen as cool. And yes, keeping the corporate drone market away from a technically better product, also cool.