4 ms·

This article loses credibility with the opening line... FTA: After years of missteps, the software giant is among the few titans of the 1990s to figure out the

by rubyfan 10y ago

This article loses credibility with the opening line... FTA: After years of missteps, the software giant is among the few titans of the 1990s to figure out the new world of mobile technology and cloud computing. Saying MSFT have figured out mobile is a little too much of a stretch. They have tried many things in the space, they have figured out more of what doesn't work than what does. Unfortunately the market doesn't reward learnings alone.

stcredzero 10y ago
It takes learnings to get to earnings or to have any other worthwhile yearnings.
- rubyfan 10y ago
  You need to be on the right end of more successes than failures otherwise you learnings aren't worth much.
jbigelow76 10y ago
Knowing when to stop throwing good money after bad is, in a sense, figuring things out.
slezakattack 10y ago
They might not be a huge contender in the smart phone market, but are tablets not considered "mobile"? I agree, it might've been more appropriate to not generalize with saying they solved mobile and instead point out a particular mobile offering that is excelling or something.
- scholia 10y ago
  Tablets, 2-in-1s and most laptops are actually mobile. This is one of the reasons why Windows 10 is in large part a mobile operating system. The next generation of ARM-based Windows 10 tablets, 2-in-1s and laptops will also be much more SIM-friendly.
- rubyfan 10y ago
  I don't agree with the notion that Surface and the chincy touch enabled notebooks are mobile. A laptop with a touch screen is still a laptop. In 2000 no one was talking about Dell or HP/Compaq as leading mobile. They were selling what they still are selling, laptop computers. When Mobile came along people recognized it for what it was, something different than general purpose computing of the past. To say Metro, Windows Phone, Lumia, the write off and destruction of Nokia or touch enabled laptops were anything but failures of MSFT to figure out mobile is misguided.
towndrunk 10y ago
Mobile means more than just phones.
gecko 10y ago
I think if you focus on their mobile apps and services, rather than their mobile phones, the statement has some pretty serious merit. E.g., Azure's mobile services are used very heavily by iOS and Android apps, I see Office all the time on phones, and so on.
- jdmichal 10y ago
  Yes. In fact, one of the common complaints of Windows Phone users is that the Microsoft experience is actually better on Android. (Maybe iOS too, but I don't have any direct experience seeing that.)
  - paulmd 10y ago
    From Microsoft's perspective, I'm sure it's hard to argue with the market share figures. When there's 20 times as many users on a particular platform... that's where the staff time will go. It's not the Office group's job to sell phones, they sell Office. 2016Q2: 87.6% Android, 11.7% iOS, 0.4% Windows Phone, 0.3% Others https://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp https://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp

by rubyfan 10y ago

stcredzero 10y ago

It takes learnings to get to earnings or to have any other worthwhile yearnings.

rubyfan 10y ago
You need to be on the right end of more successes than failures otherwise you learnings aren't worth much.

jbigelow76 10y ago

Knowing when to stop throwing good money after bad is, in a sense, figuring things out.

slezakattack 10y ago

They might not be a huge contender in the smart phone market, but are tablets not considered "mobile"? I agree, it might've been more appropriate to not generalize with saying they solved mobile and instead point out a particular mobile offering that is excelling or something.

scholia 10y ago
Tablets, 2-in-1s and most laptops are actually mobile. This is one of the reasons why Windows 10 is in large part a mobile operating system. The next generation of ARM-based Windows 10 tablets, 2-in-1s and laptops will also be much more SIM-friendly.
rubyfan 10y ago
I don't agree with the notion that Surface and the chincy touch enabled notebooks are mobile. A laptop with a touch screen is still a laptop. In 2000 no one was talking about Dell or HP/Compaq as leading mobile. They were selling what they still are selling, laptop computers. When Mobile came along people recognized it for what it was, something different than general purpose computing of the past. To say Metro, Windows Phone, Lumia, the write off and destruction of Nokia or touch enabled laptops were anything but failures of MSFT to figure out mobile is misguided.

towndrunk 10y ago

Mobile means more than just phones.

gecko 10y ago

I think if you focus on their mobile apps and services, rather than their mobile phones, the statement has some pretty serious merit. E.g., Azure's mobile services are used very heavily by iOS and Android apps, I see Office all the time on phones, and so on.

jdmichal 10y ago
Yes. In fact, one of the common complaints of Windows Phone users is that the Microsoft experience is actually better on Android. (Maybe iOS too, but I don't have any direct experience seeing that.)
- paulmd 10y ago
  From Microsoft's perspective, I'm sure it's hard to argue with the market share figures. When there's 20 times as many users on a particular platform... that's where the staff time will go. It's not the Office group's job to sell phones, they sell Office. 2016Q2: 87.6% Android, 11.7% iOS, 0.4% Windows Phone, 0.3% Others https://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp https://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp