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Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

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31–40 of 66 posts

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#31
post #7

> Perhaps they’ve been looking in the wrong direction and can return to their “trusted” Embrace and Extend tactics. Does he refer to the despicable practice of "embrace, extend and extinguish"[1]? It's one of the most disgusting stains on Microsoft's reputation (along with their lock-in and standards hijacking practices). I'm surprised author even suggests to do that as something acceptable. [1] https://en.wikipedia.…

I frankly think that Microsoft more nefarious tactics have hurt them more than helped them over the long run.

Take the browser wars as an example. Bundling IE got massive share which then bred arrogance, stagnation, and lack of standards compatibility. That set that stage for IE becoming reviled for all of those things and the rise of Chrome/FireFox.

There was certainly a bad ride for consumers along the way, but the situation worked itself out. It probably would have had the same outcome even if the DOJ and the EU didn't get involved.

Full disclosure: I worked at Microsoft for eight years and left a couple of years ago. I'm typing this on Chrome on my Mac now.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#32
post #11

I find it somewhat disingenuous when the CEO of Cyanogen makes claims about people wanting use CyanogenMod without the Google Apps. Look at any custom-built CyanogenMod roms out there -- every one of them includes instructions on flashing the Google apps. The only company that has had any success with a forked Android is Amazon, and I suspect that's less about writing replacement apps (as I guess Cyanogen plans to do…

  > Look at any custom-built CyanogenMod roms out there
  > every one of them includes instructions on flashing
  > the Google apps.
Doesn't mean that everyone installs them - my Cyanogenmod is always 100% Google-free.

That said, Microsoft has long been banned from my systems and Google more recently - so when compulsory Microsoft binaries start to appear in Cyanogenmod, it will be time for me to part ways.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#33
post #28

Microsoft is adopting the "Services, not devices" (or OSes) strategy envisaged two years ago ( http://stratechery.com/2013/services-not-devices/ ). Under Ballmer, Microsoft had a brief identity crisis, trying to be a vertically integrated company like Apple. It is clear that Satya Nadella is taking Microsoft the other way to become a horizontally-integrated company like Google ( http://stratechery.com/2013/understand…

>>like Google But in an ironic way! Both companies are the foundations upon which the digital age sits, everybody runs Windows/Office and everybody uses Google search. MS and Google can do whatever the heck they want and fail often without consequence.

For "relatively small" values of "fail" .. like everyone else. It's just that "relatively small" for Google is still pretty huge in absolute numbers.

I bet Google too can't fail in crucial/major ways like failing keeping google.com online..

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#34
post #11

I find it somewhat disingenuous when the CEO of Cyanogen makes claims about people wanting use CyanogenMod without the Google Apps. Look at any custom-built CyanogenMod roms out there -- every one of them includes instructions on flashing the Google apps. The only company that has had any success with a forked Android is Amazon, and I suspect that's less about writing replacement apps (as I guess Cyanogen plans to do…

but I think its going to be easier (easier, not easy) and cheaper to do a android fork and provide dropping replacements for all google api's than developing windows phone.

Its not easy or cheap to fork android, but I think microsoft is one of the few companies with the resources to do it.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#35
post #28

Microsoft is adopting the "Services, not devices" (or OSes) strategy envisaged two years ago ( http://stratechery.com/2013/services-not-devices/ ). Under Ballmer, Microsoft had a brief identity crisis, trying to be a vertically integrated company like Apple. It is clear that Satya Nadella is taking Microsoft the other way to become a horizontally-integrated company like Google ( http://stratechery.com/2013/understand…

>>like Google But in an ironic way! Both companies are the foundations upon which the digital age sits, everybody runs Windows/Office and everybody uses Google search. MS and Google can do whatever the heck they want and fail often without consequence.

"...everybody runs Windows/Office and everybody uses Google search..."

Several years ago you could add "...and everybody uses an iPhone...". Well, not anymore.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#36
post #18

I made the switch from an Android Sony to a Lumia 530 this Christmas. Apart from the LCD TN screen the Lumia is easily the best phone I've ever had at half the price.

I too like my Lumia more than any previous phone I've had. Unfortunately there's one key problem which means I won't be getting another one - I have no way of getting an offline copy of my phone backups. I didn't realise for a while after purchase and it's not such an issue to make me immediately want to get a new phone, but I refuse to relinquish that control by choice.

Nasty regression then. On my lumia 800 (wp7) I could do offline backups to my computer.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#37
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't make a statement like that without qualifying it. Why is it easily the best phone? What do you use your phone for? I know I very rarely use my phone for phone calls. For me, it's all about apps and the capabilities those apps have. My own phones have all been Nexuses. The reasons being that I consider Apple fascist[1], and Android is the only alternative with the combination of lots of apps and a way of rep…

I'm not the OP, but I am a Windows Phone user, and I love it. Obviously, it may not be your cup of tea, but it has an appeal other phones don't for me. First, I don't think MS is "copying Apple". Using Live Tiles is a very different experience than poking at icons on the iPhone. And MS isn't marketing to "narcissists" -- the best selling Windows Phones are all at the very low end of the market. The fit and polish you…

Actually, both Google and Apple are copying Microsoft now. I mean "Material design"? C'mon, come up with something on your own!

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#38
post #13

I made the switch from an Android Sony to a Lumia 530 this Christmas. Apart from the LCD TN screen the Lumia is easily the best phone I've ever had at half the price.

You can't make a statement like that without qualifying it. Why is it easily the best phone? What do you use your phone for? I know I very rarely use my phone for phone calls. For me, it's all about apps and the capabilities those apps have. My own phones have all been Nexuses. The reasons being that I consider Apple fascist[1], and Android is the only alternative with the combination of lots of apps and a way of rep…

> I know I very rarely use my phone for phone calls.

This trend bugs me to no end. I call a lot, I need a really robust, integrated phone app on my phone.

This is precisely I moved away from iPhone to Xiaomi after years of being with iOS. iOS 7 dumbed down the phone app so much, it was unusable for me. Xiaomi on the other end, is probably the most powerful phone for calling purposes that I've used, one click call recording, seamless conferencing, speed dials, auto-detection of which number I use of a particular contact most often (and the one I used last time, right with search results). It is so powerful, meanwhile iOS 7 did away with search using keypad. In iOS 7 and beyond, to make a call, I have to peep into my 2000+ contact list.

From what I know, Windows 8.0 and 8.1, too, has fantastic feature rich phone apps.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#39
post #28

Microsoft is adopting the "Services, not devices" (or OSes) strategy envisaged two years ago ( http://stratechery.com/2013/services-not-devices/ ). Under Ballmer, Microsoft had a brief identity crisis, trying to be a vertically integrated company like Apple. It is clear that Satya Nadella is taking Microsoft the other way to become a horizontally-integrated company like Google ( http://stratechery.com/2013/understand…

>>like Google But in an ironic way! Both companies are the foundations upon which the digital age sits, everybody runs Windows/Office and everybody uses Google search. MS and Google can do whatever the heck they want and fail often without consequence.

Each of those "everybody" should have a huge asterisks next to them.

Re: Microsoft Makes Clever Moves

#40
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not the OP, but I am a Windows Phone user, and I love it. Obviously, it may not be your cup of tea, but it has an appeal other phones don't for me. First, I don't think MS is "copying Apple". Using Live Tiles is a very different experience than poking at icons on the iPhone. And MS isn't marketing to "narcissists" -- the best selling Windows Phones are all at the very low end of the market. The fit and polish you…

Actually, both Google and Apple are copying Microsoft now. I mean "Material design"? C'mon, come up with something on your own!

Whats in Material design related to apple products ? I couldnt understand the connection between two.
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