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They lost because their ultimate strategy was "All Roads Lead to Windows." This is what handcuffed all their talented developers and product managers into crea

They lost because their ultimate strategy was "All Roads Lead to Windows." This is what handcuffed all their talented developers and product managers into creating extremely inferior products. The ones that had freedom from the Windows ecosystem, like X-Box, did relatively well in terms of competitiveness. Steve Ballmer was stuck in his dinosaur thinking and couldn't see the writing on the wall. The break away from the Windows monopoly is one smart thing Nadella did, and hopefully it frees up all these talented developers from creating better products.

awm17 10y ago
Microsoft hasn't really given up "All Roads Lead to Windows." They are pushing very hard in the VR/AR space for Windows to be the prime OS, partnering with Oculus, creating HoloLens, adding Windows Universal App support for AR devices. And XBox no longer has the independence it once had -- it must also run a standard offering of Windows.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  If that's true, they're just going to get screwed in exactly the same way iPhone screwed them. Mobile VR is going to be substantially more popular than VR-plugged-into-a-giant-expensive-Windows-box. The subset of people who want to maintain a PC is dwindling. New-to-computing users basically go straight to mobile. Untethered VR is better for social (no cords to tangle, we each control our own device), and that's not even talking about what's going to happen when AR hits. AR tied to a PC makes zero sense outside of industrial uses. Microsoft better have a dedicated VR-centered mobile skunkworks going, or they're just going to repeat this entire "Two Windows' In One!" fiasco all over again. Except now it's going to be three Windows'. You know Apple does. They're going to come out swinging hard with dedicated VR hardware, a dedicated VR OS and I suspect dedicated VR silicon too. With some kind of VR Facetime, VR iMovie, and partnerships with some major iOS app makers. Samsung is already shipping. Microsoft is already struggling not to slip into 4th place, in terms of profit. And Valve is, for the first time, in a position to offer a complete Microsoft-free platform of their own. While Microsoft is trying to compete with Apple at their new game, Valve is gunning hard to out-Microsoft Microsoft at their old game (an open PC platform).
UK-Al05 10y ago
The xbox runs a form of windows?
- awm17 10y ago
  Xbox runs a crazy hybrid of Windows through a couple of virtual machines, but is converging on the OneCore standard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_One_system_software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_One_system_software
finid 10y ago
> Steve Ballmer was stuck in his dinosaur thinking and couldn't see the writing on the wall. How can you see the writing on the wall when you're busing laughing at the competition with your eyes closed. I recall that he even laughed at Android.

awm17 10y ago

Microsoft hasn't really given up "All Roads Lead to Windows." They are pushing very hard in the VR/AR space for Windows to be the prime OS, partnering with Oculus, creating HoloLens, adding Windows Universal App support for AR devices. And XBox no longer has the independence it once had -- it must also run a standard offering of Windows.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
If that's true, they're just going to get screwed in exactly the same way iPhone screwed them. Mobile VR is going to be substantially more popular than VR-plugged-into-a-giant-expensive-Windows-box. The subset of people who want to maintain a PC is dwindling. New-to-computing users basically go straight to mobile. Untethered VR is better for social (no cords to tangle, we each control our own device), and that's not even talking about what's going to happen when AR hits. AR tied to a PC makes zero sense outside of industrial uses. Microsoft better have a dedicated VR-centered mobile skunkworks going, or they're just going to repeat this entire "Two Windows' In One!" fiasco all over again. Except now it's going to be three Windows'. You know Apple does. They're going to come out swinging hard with dedicated VR hardware, a dedicated VR OS and I suspect dedicated VR silicon too. With some kind of VR Facetime, VR iMovie, and partnerships with some major iOS app makers. Samsung is already shipping. Microsoft is already struggling not to slip into 4th place, in terms of profit. And Valve is, for the first time, in a position to offer a complete Microsoft-free platform of their own. While Microsoft is trying to compete with Apple at their new game, Valve is gunning hard to out-Microsoft Microsoft at their old game (an open PC platform).

UK-Al05 10y ago

The xbox runs a form of windows?

awm17 10y ago
Xbox runs a crazy hybrid of Windows through a couple of virtual machines, but is converging on the OneCore standard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_One_system_software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_One_system_software

finid 10y ago

> Steve Ballmer was stuck in his dinosaur thinking and couldn't see the writing on the wall. How can you see the writing on the wall when you're busing laughing at the competition with your eyes closed. I recall that he even laughed at Android.