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How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

economist.com

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Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#181

Post by pier25 »

sbisson wrote: post #162
pier25 wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons I won't switch from macOS to Windows 10 for work is how bad search is and the lack of a proper launcher like Alfred. It's absurd that Apple came up with Spotlight in 10.4 (15 years ago) and Microsoft still hasn't caught up with such a fundamental game changer.

See Power Toys Run https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys

I've seen that one and others (eg: Wox), but nowhere near as powerful as Alfred. For example, you can't even just get folders.

There's an issue open here about this:

https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/3347

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#182

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

asveikau wrote: post #115
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 2000 was peak Windows UX. XP was tolerable, but already started the decline with gimmicky UI stuff that made things actually worse. I'll die on this hill.

XP through 7 at least had Classic mode, so you could get it looking like 2k. RIP classic mode.

Oh right, I forgot! The Good Place switch. Didn't fix everything afaik.

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#184

Post by gonehome »

scarface74 wrote: post #130
apetrovic wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Ballmer was a guy who restlessly milked two Microsoft cash cows (Windows and Office) to accommodate investors quarter after quarter. He didn't have a vision or courage to push Microsoft in some other direction, and my impression was that all good things that started under his regime (Azure, more openness) was either reactionary or he simply didn't care (most of early open source push was from his lieutenants).…

As far as Cook. There is no next iPhone. The iPhone was a once in a lifetime product. There were already 1 billion phones being sold a year when the iPhone was introduced - Jobs said he wanted to sell 10 million phones and capture 1% of the market. The smart phone (not the iPhone) has 70-80% penetration. What we call an electronic communication device that’s always connected may change, but there is no larger conceiv…

The next iPhone is likely some sort of AR glasses interface (whenever that hardware becomes plausible).

They’ve been laying the platform groundwork for AR for years now, that’s not an accident.

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#185

Post by na85 »

dannykwells wrote: post #86
apetrovic wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Ballmer was a guy who restlessly milked two Microsoft cash cows (Windows and Office) to accommodate investors quarter after quarter. He didn't have a vision or courage to push Microsoft in some other direction, and my impression was that all good things that started under his regime (Azure, more openness) was either reactionary or he simply didn't care (most of early open source push was from his lieutenants).…

Apple stock has 10x'd under Cook since 2011. Microsoft was flat under Ballmer. So ummm, maybe a slight difference in performance.

Basing your opinion of a CEO solely on stock prices, which can easily be inflated via things like buybacks, is perhaps a bit narrow minded.

A company is more than its stock price.

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#186

Post by dougmany »

thomasz wrote: post #173
hanley wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Windows phone was loved because it had excellent Nokia hardware. The software was not loved and the app store was lacking.

Owned one. It was a damn good phone, had a great UI that remains unsurpassed to this day, but it clearly came at least two years too late to gain the critical mass needed for a thriving ecosystem.

I miss having a copy and paste that worked so well.

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#187

Post by Kipters »

nova22033 wrote: post #154

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I've have a chromium based browser from microsoft on my iphone.

that's not chromium based, Safari is the only engine that's allowed on iOS so all the browsers are just skins that add features on top of it

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#188

Post by jm4 »

apetrovic wrote: post #38
tiffanyh wrote: post #8

I'm as big of a Satya fan as anyone, but someone who doesn't get enough credit is Ballmer. It wasn't a coincidence that on the day Ballmer stepped down and Satya became CEO (2014), Microsoft also announced Office for iOS, Cloud first strategy, and a whole slew of cloud/Azure product announcements. All of which was developed under Ballmer watch and he handed off the launch and continued execution to Satya.

Steve Ballmer was a guy who restlessly milked two Microsoft cash cows (Windows and Office) to accommodate investors quarter after quarter. He didn't have a vision or courage to push Microsoft in some other direction, and my impression was that all good things that started under his regime (Azure, more openness) was either reactionary or he simply didn't care (most of early open source push was from his lieutenants).…

I disagree. Tim Cook has been pretty solid. He's no Steve Jobs, but he's done a fine job. Although he hasn't produced any new cash cows so far, he's been a decent steward of the ones they already had and he's taken the company into new markets with the Apple Watch. It's not the most inspiring product, but it is the premium wearable and clear leader. Then there are the AirPods, which fit in nicely in wearable category. And I love what Apple is doing with their own silicon.

Sure, there are no home runs here, but he's effectively executing a coherent strategy and hasn't really had any big mistakes. I wouldn't put him as high up as Nadella and I certainly wouldn't put him as low as Ballmer. It's tough to be the guy who follows the founder and Cook has handled it well. I don't know who is out there who looks like a better candidate or a suitable replacement for Cook.

Re: How Satya Nadella turned Microsoft around

#190

Post by rcoc »

kabdib wrote: post #135
tiffanyh wrote: post #8

I'm as big of a Satya fan as anyone, but someone who doesn't get enough credit is Ballmer. It wasn't a coincidence that on the day Ballmer stepped down and Satya became CEO (2014), Microsoft also announced Office for iOS, Cloud first strategy, and a whole slew of cloud/Azure product announcements. All of which was developed under Ballmer watch and he handed off the launch and continued execution to Satya.

Ballmer created an indescribably toxic culture around reviews with his David Welch inspired "up or out" and "fire the bottom five percent" policies. Stack rankings were more like knife fights than honest appraisals of people's abilities and contributions. Teams used to deliberately hire underperformers so they could fire them , thus shielding productive people they would otherwise have to get rid of. I'm not going to…

Jack Welch, but your point still stands.
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