2 ms·

Whereas I agree that Microsoft's performance and innovation over the past decade has been abysmal, I'm not sure it's just Ballmer to blame. It all started with

by dr_ 15y ago

Whereas I agree that Microsoft's performance and innovation over the past decade has been abysmal, I'm not sure it's just Ballmer to blame. It all started with the Google brain drain - and that happened while Bill Gates was very much involved at Microsoft. Once the brain drain begins, you lose talent at a rapid clip and no matter how great an idea you may have, it's very hard to execute. So then if you can't build it, you buy it. The product and the talent. Hence the Skype purchase. Here MSFT is buying a business and the people who run it, granted at a hefty price, but Skype is well established around the world and I see it as a better integration with Microsoft than eBay, which never made any sense to me. No it didn't cost Apple 1 billion dollars to build Facetime - but it also didn't cause Skype 1 billion dollars to build Skype. I can't say what it's worth now but I do know that I use it a lot since it's been available on the iPhone - great when traveling abroad. Bing is slowly making strides as a search engine, Windows 7 is selling rather well and Kinect is a huge it. And they have partnerships with Yahoo! and Facebook. Ballmer may need to go, but I really don't think Microsoft is entering the early stages of it's finale.

AJ007 15y ago
Buying Skype might have been the first smart thing Microsoft has done in a while. Skype is a relevant brand to consumers globally, Microsoft just is not anymore. The real question is will Microsoft destroy Skype. Bing search is another good move Microsoft has made. Adcenter, on the other hand is an embarrassing disaster on its own two feet and an ugly nightmare in comparison to Adwords. Adcenter is like a buggy crashing version of Adwords in 2005. Given that Microsoft provides the only real alternative search engine to Google that is pretty damn pathetic. I think you hit the nail on the head with the brain drain. The fact is even with a brain drain companies have assets. Apple was effectively a dead company in the late 90s. Microsoft needs this same type of brutally intense focused leadership right now -- not attention deficit disorder look at me showmanship.
- roc 15y ago
  Trick is, I don't think Microsoft bought Skype for the consumer service. I think it's solely to make Exchange/Lync a better enterprise offering. MS has apparently realized that there's still a huge opportunity following the analog PBX shakeout of the last decade. They've been pushing Lync pretty heavily lately and I think the Skype purchase was made so they can directly address the things people ask for when they're evaluating Lync.
mrj 15y ago
Not to mention, they got a great gift last month with PSN going down. XBOX will be picking up even more steam in the future.

by dr_ 15y ago

AJ007 15y ago

Buying Skype might have been the first smart thing Microsoft has done in a while. Skype is a relevant brand to consumers globally, Microsoft just is not anymore. The real question is will Microsoft destroy Skype. Bing search is another good move Microsoft has made. Adcenter, on the other hand is an embarrassing disaster on its own two feet and an ugly nightmare in comparison to Adwords. Adcenter is like a buggy crashing version of Adwords in 2005. Given that Microsoft provides the only real alternative search engine to Google that is pretty damn pathetic. I think you hit the nail on the head with the brain drain. The fact is even with a brain drain companies have assets. Apple was effectively a dead company in the late 90s. Microsoft needs this same type of brutally intense focused leadership right now -- not attention deficit disorder look at me showmanship.

roc 15y ago
Trick is, I don't think Microsoft bought Skype for the consumer service. I think it's solely to make Exchange/Lync a better enterprise offering. MS has apparently realized that there's still a huge opportunity following the analog PBX shakeout of the last decade. They've been pushing Lync pretty heavily lately and I think the Skype purchase was made so they can directly address the things people ask for when they're evaluating Lync.

mrj 15y ago

Not to mention, they got a great gift last month with PSN going down. XBOX will be picking up even more steam in the future.