Microsoft is Dead • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#151

Post by gregshortdotcom » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:09 PM UTC

Your observation that Macs and Linux machines outnumber computers running Windows is either humorously incorrect, or an outright lie. I work at a newspaper and the only people using Macs are the graphic designers. The rest of us, the vast majority of the company, use Windows.

You need look no further than any old web stats program to see who is online. (A quick look in Omniture at the stats for our newspaper web site shows that 74.4% of the operating systems are running Windows XP. Only 5.2% are using Macs. And just 3.9% are using other operating systems, i.e. Linux.) Or, for the less tech savvy, check the software shelves and see just how many programs support Macs.

It's really too bad. Your essay is otherwise very well written. It's just not founded in fact.

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#152

Post by gregshortdotcom » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:11 PM UTC

Your observation that Macs and Linux machines outnumber computers running Windows is either humorously incorrect, or an outright lie. I work at a newspaper and the only people using Macs are the graphic designers. The rest of us, the vast majority of the company, use Windows.

You need look no further than any old web stats program to see who is online. (A quick look in Omniture at the stats for our newspaper web site shows that 74.4% of the operating systems are running Windows XP. Only 5.2% are using Macs. And just 3.9% are using other operating systems, i.e. Linux.) Or, for the less tech savvy, check the software shelves and see just how many programs support Macs.

It's really too bad. Your essay is otherwise very well written. It's just not founded in fact.

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#153

Post by Elfan » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:11 PM UTC

theoutlander wrote: post #92

BrandonM wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think that Unix is terrible for client-side, then I don't think you've been working in Linux for long. How about the ability to install any of 20,000 programs from a convenient package/portage/rpm directory for free in seconds? How about updating every single program on your computer, including the OS, and recompiling everything, with one command? And as for programming, whenever I'm working in Visual Studio,…

I do like the ability to install on demand! Why is Windows leading client-side? Because it is easy! I am speaking from an average users perspective. Not us! I have used VI and I love it! Visual Studio is NOT like notepad. I'm sorry but AFAIK, VI or Emacs cannot provide intellisense can it? I have used both environments for development and based on my productivity, I concluded that Windows is a better environment for…

VI and emacs both have intellisense like features.

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#154

Post by Wanderlust » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:11 PM UTC

old news

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#155

Post by sachman » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:12 PM UTC

You nailed it - I think it is a cultural and mindset issue and unless they change at the core they are never going to intimidate anyone nor be the powerhouse they were once. Here is an interesting piece that complements yours...

http://republicofinternets.com/2007/03/17/is-microsoft-done/

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#156

Post by yaddoshi » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:12 PM UTC

Please tell all my customers for me so I can start making the switch to providing Apple and LINUX systems.

I'm confounded by the number of customers I run into who are convinced they either need a new Windows Vista computer, or worse, that they need to install Windows Vista on their old computer.

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#157

Post by ernie » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:17 PM UTC

MS is no longer significant to startups because (at large companies):"No one was ever fired for buying Microsoft"

It's a value proposition that panders first to management's Fear Uncertainty and Doubt and second to actual results.

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#158

Post by DITSS » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:20 PM UTC

When did Microsoft die? That's simple. It is the day that Bill Gates decided to leave Microsoft. Not the day he left, but the day that privately, to himself, he decided to leave and devote his life to philanthropy. Everything since then has been just a desperate attempt to grip the sand as it flows through their fingers. The harder they sqeeze, the faster it flows through their fingers (cough Zune and PlaysForSure)

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#159

Post by ka » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:25 PM UTC

I suspect that you're right, but MS is not quite fully dead as yet, but they are dying a long, slow, lingering death because they have been so entrenched for so many years past.

Think of it as a layer of skin tissue. When the a layer of skin tissue is replaced by the body, it doesn't just disappear overnight. Rather, it starts cracking and peeling first, then over time, it is gradually replaced by a new fresh layer from underneath.

MS is currently peeling...

Re: Microsoft is Dead

#160

Post by yb927 » Sat, Apr 07, 2007, 6:26 PM UTC

Paul, As usual brilliantly written and fantastically succinct-even though it is indeed 'Old News'.