4 ms·

Microsoft can afford to fail many times before succeeding. It beat Lotus Notes, Borland C Compilers, Playstation, people continue to pay for Windows even thou

Microsoft can afford to fail many times before succeeding. It beat Lotus Notes, Borland C Compilers, Playstation, people continue to pay for Windows even though Linux is free. You don't measure what's going to happen in the future by taking a tiny slice of the present and projecting forwards.

cryptoz 16y ago
> people continue to pay for Windows even though Linux is free 99% of that is only because Windows is available in stores and Linux typically is not. I think this will all change in about a month when Chrome OS comes out and is preinstalled on cheap computers in stores like Best Buy, Futureshop, or wherever people buy computers these days. Most consumers no longer care that they are running a specific OS; they want to type documents, read email, watch videos, look at pictures and use Wikipedia. And Chrome OS will satisfy that perfectly. If stores decide to stock Chrome OS devices, I bet you'll see a huge rise in consumer "desktop Linux" usage.
- iterationx 16y ago
  I can appreciate your optimism but I don't think that's how its going to play out. I think you are so technical that you have lost touch with the everyman user.
- rubinelli 16y ago
  In my experience, the first thing consumers ask once they turn on the computer is "Where's Word?" I think how well Chrome OS machines answer this question will make or break them.
  - cryptoz 16y ago
    Chrome OS defaults to opening Office files with Office Live, whch is a pretty good answer I think.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - FiddlerClamp 16y ago
      Any word processor that can't round-trip Word files without messing up formatting (and specifically headers/footers, track changes, and text boxes) is not going to succeed for people who collaborate with others in Word. I've tried every online word processor and many Linux ones, and they all fail at retaining this moderate-level formatting.
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Consumers nevered cared about a specific OS. They've always just wanted a set of applications. The problem is that Chrome only answers one class of apps that people must have... web browser. But it lacks Office (Open Office and Google Docs are not replacements for most people). Lacks a decent gaming ecosystem -- does it even have the Sims? And is missing a lot of applications that users use along the long tail... such as CS5 and iTunes. Chrome is a non-player IMO. I think a low cost Mac and the evolution of the iPad is a LOT scarier (by an order of magnitude) to Microsoft.
  - cryptoz 16y ago
    > But it lacks Office Chrome OS will open Office files using Office Live, online. That seems like an excellent solution to me, and given that the service is provided by Microsoft I assume it works well with Microsoft documents. > Lacks a decent gaming ecosystem -- does it even have the Sims? And is missing a lot of applications that users use along the long tail... such as CS5 and iTunes. That is not the target market for Chrome OS. Google has said many times that Chrome OS should not be your primary operating system; if you buy a machine with Chrome OS you should use it as a portable, small machine to quickly access the web with. There's still a place for full-blown operating systems outside of Chrome OS. The vast majority of users don't run CS5. > Chrome is a non-player IMO. Chrome hasn't hit the market yet. I think it's a big mistake to take something that Google is developing and say, "nah, won't work" before release.
    - kenjackson 16y ago
      Chrome hasn't hit the market, but plenty of us have used it extensively. If Chrome's target market is the secondary web browsing machine then its competition is iPad, and eventually Windows tablets (running on Oak Trail). I think it may do decently, but it's not a real PC compete. Regarding Office apps, opening in Office Live is fine if your competition is iPad. Although Office Live is missing a lot of features, at least today, to make it a real Office replacement.
  - jbarham 16y ago
    > I think a low cost Mac and the evolution of the iPad is a LOT scarier (by an order of magnitude) to Microsoft. Considering the cheapest Mac you can buy is the $700 mini and you still have to buy a keyboard and screen, I don't think MS is too worried that. Apple is much more interested in margins than market share when it comes to PCs. On the other hand, the $500 iPad is definitely something that should be keeping Ballmer up at night...

cryptoz 16y ago

> people continue to pay for Windows even though Linux is free 99% of that is only because Windows is available in stores and Linux typically is not. I think this will all change in about a month when Chrome OS comes out and is preinstalled on cheap computers in stores like Best Buy, Futureshop, or wherever people buy computers these days. Most consumers no longer care that they are running a specific OS; they want to type documents, read email, watch videos, look at pictures and use Wikipedia. And Chrome OS will satisfy that perfectly. If stores decide to stock Chrome OS devices, I bet you'll see a huge rise in consumer "desktop Linux" usage.

iterationx 16y ago
I can appreciate your optimism but I don't think that's how its going to play out. I think you are so technical that you have lost touch with the everyman user.
rubinelli 16y ago
In my experience, the first thing consumers ask once they turn on the computer is "Where's Word?" I think how well Chrome OS machines answer this question will make or break them.
- cryptoz 16y ago
  Chrome OS defaults to opening Office files with Office Live, whch is a pretty good answer I think.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - FiddlerClamp 16y ago
    Any word processor that can't round-trip Word files without messing up formatting (and specifically headers/footers, track changes, and text boxes) is not going to succeed for people who collaborate with others in Word. I've tried every online word processor and many Linux ones, and they all fail at retaining this moderate-level formatting.
kenjackson 16y ago
Consumers nevered cared about a specific OS. They've always just wanted a set of applications. The problem is that Chrome only answers one class of apps that people must have... web browser. But it lacks Office (Open Office and Google Docs are not replacements for most people). Lacks a decent gaming ecosystem -- does it even have the Sims? And is missing a lot of applications that users use along the long tail... such as CS5 and iTunes. Chrome is a non-player IMO. I think a low cost Mac and the evolution of the iPad is a LOT scarier (by an order of magnitude) to Microsoft.
- cryptoz 16y ago
  > But it lacks Office Chrome OS will open Office files using Office Live, online. That seems like an excellent solution to me, and given that the service is provided by Microsoft I assume it works well with Microsoft documents. > Lacks a decent gaming ecosystem -- does it even have the Sims? And is missing a lot of applications that users use along the long tail... such as CS5 and iTunes. That is not the target market for Chrome OS. Google has said many times that Chrome OS should not be your primary operating system; if you buy a machine with Chrome OS you should use it as a portable, small machine to quickly access the web with. There's still a place for full-blown operating systems outside of Chrome OS. The vast majority of users don't run CS5. > Chrome is a non-player IMO. Chrome hasn't hit the market yet. I think it's a big mistake to take something that Google is developing and say, "nah, won't work" before release.
  - kenjackson 16y ago
    Chrome hasn't hit the market, but plenty of us have used it extensively. If Chrome's target market is the secondary web browsing machine then its competition is iPad, and eventually Windows tablets (running on Oak Trail). I think it may do decently, but it's not a real PC compete. Regarding Office apps, opening in Office Live is fine if your competition is iPad. Although Office Live is missing a lot of features, at least today, to make it a real Office replacement.
- jbarham 16y ago
  > I think a low cost Mac and the evolution of the iPad is a LOT scarier (by an order of magnitude) to Microsoft. Considering the cheapest Mac you can buy is the $700 mini and you still have to buy a keyboard and screen, I don't think MS is too worried that. Apple is much more interested in margins than market share when it comes to PCs. On the other hand, the $500 iPad is definitely something that should be keeping Ballmer up at night...