3 ms·
I'm not sure how you can neglect to mention the rise of the web in this story. Up until around '96, people wanted PCs primarily to do things like write letters
by caf 15y ago
I'm not sure how you can neglect to mention the rise of the web in this story. Up until around '96, people wanted PCs primarily to do things like write letters and later, e-mails; for this they naturally gravitated towards Windows, because that was the environment they used at the office for the same tasks.
Once the PC became primarily a web browsing platform, the OS didn't really matter anymore - this was Apple's big opportunity, and the release of Mac OS X took advantage of it. It took few years after that for the momentum to shift, and this was certainly helped by the success of the iPod which built Apple's reputation as a company that could deliver quality products.
In terms of breaking Microsoft's stranglehold on the PC business, it was definitely the web wot dun it. Of course Microsoft saw this coming - in the end though, they just couldn't fight it.
- hollerith 15y agoYes. For example, if MS'd put more resources into the fight to prevent Firefox and later Chrome from becoming important (by investing more in improvements to IE) that would have threatened the twin cash cows of Office and Windows. (Windows because the demand for Windows comes mainly from the needs of the masses to run Windows apps, and the faster apps move onto the Web . . .)
- bergie 15y agoMicrosoft saw the risk of the web in the mid-90s, and reacted to it. But later their hands were tied by the means of antitrust, and they couldn't react aggressively enough to the emerging browsers.
- digikata 15y agoTheir hands were tied for bundled releases, but Microsoft could have competed head-to-head with Firefox and any other browser in standalone form if they wished.