4 ms·

Because it prints money without much effort.

by crop_rotation 3y ago

jrockway 3y ago
Only if it remains tolerable, though. I think they're playing around with something pretty risky; they don't integrate with any mobile devices, they don't have a web browser that any sites support, etc. and thus there is not much to keep users from switching away. They're objectively no better than Apple for most use cases, except for games and very niche software. It's a very different world than the late 90s, when they had an OS and a browser monopoly. (Games might not even be a thing for them for much longer. Mobile games are the most accessible, and again Microsoft is not in any position to get revenue from that trend. People that buy consoles or $1900 graphics cards are not nearly as numerous.) I am surprised that more corporate IT departments haven't switched to Linux. They can still supply the same $300 laptops, lock them down to the point of unusability, and everyone can use Word in the cloud. I'd be scared if I were Microsoft, and wouldn't want to make switching away look attractive to anyone. No ad revenue from untargeted ads in an email client could possibly be worth losing Windows as the "default" OS.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  >Mobile games are the most accessible, and again Microsoft is not in any position to get revenue from that trend. Have you been living under a rock that you missed Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, owners of Candy Crush, one of the most popular mobile games? Microsoft isn't stupid, it knows the future revenue makers are software subscription services and IP and not hardware, which is why it's buying up all the IP it can and building a SW service ecosystem around the likes of Azure and ChatGPT based copilots.
  - jrockway 3y ago
    I'm aware that Microsoft bought Activision-Blizzard. All the kids are playing Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. Microsoft gets 0% of their revenue.

4 ms·

Because it prints money without much effort.

by crop_rotation 3y ago

Because it prints money without much effort.

jrockway 3y ago
Only if it remains tolerable, though. I think they're playing around with something pretty risky; they don't integrate with any mobile devices, they don't have a web browser that any sites support, etc. and thus there is not much to keep users from switching away. They're objectively no better than Apple for most use cases, except for games and very niche software. It's a very different world than the late 90s, when they had an OS and a browser monopoly. (Games might not even be a thing for them for much longer. Mobile games are the most accessible, and again Microsoft is not in any position to get revenue from that trend. People that buy consoles or $1900 graphics cards are not nearly as numerous.) I am surprised that more corporate IT departments haven't switched to Linux. They can still supply the same $300 laptops, lock them down to the point of unusability, and everyone can use Word in the cloud. I'd be scared if I were Microsoft, and wouldn't want to make switching away look attractive to anyone. No ad revenue from untargeted ads in an email client could possibly be worth losing Windows as the "default" OS.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  >Mobile games are the most accessible, and again Microsoft is not in any position to get revenue from that trend. Have you been living under a rock that you missed Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, owners of Candy Crush, one of the most popular mobile games? Microsoft isn't stupid, it knows the future revenue makers are software subscription services and IP and not hardware, which is why it's buying up all the IP it can and building a SW service ecosystem around the likes of Azure and ChatGPT based copilots.
  - jrockway 3y ago
    I'm aware that Microsoft bought Activision-Blizzard. All the kids are playing Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. Microsoft gets 0% of their revenue.