5 ms·

- stock is at all-time high - "all the people" is probably actually well under 1% of users - successfully switched all corporate accounts from single-purchase

- stock is at all-time high - "all the people" is probably actually well under 1% of users - successfully switched all corporate accounts from single-purchase w/ occasional renewal to ongoing monthly subscription - also a lot of of consumer subscriptions - Azure - Github - LinkedIn - OpenAI investment I actually agree with you that the Windows experience is getting worse, quickly. But on balance, seems more is going right than going wrong.

flakiness 2y ago
And I think that's why Windows gets worse. They just don't care anymore. I have wanted to like Windows and hoped Microsoft to get serious against these consumer-centric companies like Apple and Google, to use their cloud revenue to pump Windows up. That hasn't happened.
- WWLink 2y ago
  > Microsoft to get serious against these consumer-centric companies like Apple and Google Microsoft can't do that. It's not in their DNA. Every time Microsoft has tried to make something consumer-centric it ended up flopping eventually. Sometimes things lasted a surprisingly long time! But their consumer-focused stuff like Zune, Xbox, even their keyboards & mice, eventually all kinda lost focus. Windows mobile was a weird one because they tried to use the same formula they always use - a corporate OS that had all sorts of knobs and buttons for SysAdmins to manage corporate phones. You could join a Windows phone to a domain and manage it. Xbox was pretty successful for a while because MS just has so much clout with game developers. Zune flopped HARD. I think the Surface product line has been kinda here and there - a total failure for consumers but some businesses like it... but not many, because most businesses have a relationship with Dell.
  - gaudystead 2y ago
    RIP Zune. It was my favorite music player, especially being able to control it without looking at the controls. Tech industries have developed alternatives, but the intuitive features built into the Zune are something I've yet to see be matched. I suspect they moved some of those same UX engineers to the Surface & phone departments, but MS marketing departments seem to have control over things more than the actual UX designers, aaaand it all went to shit. I sincerely wish more people were able to enjoy the UX that their clever engineers designed, but I suspect their marketing departments were the downfall of those efforts.
- rkagerer 2y ago
  What OS does Bill Gates use these days?
tcmart14 2y ago
I don't think stock would be a good metric. If I had to guess, Windows at this point is probably just a cost center. Their main revenue streams are office362 and azure. The Windows OS itself is just a rounding error. Another way to put it. People aren't buying Microsoft stock because of Windows. They are buying because of Azure and Office365.
eitally 2y ago
To be fair, the Windows experience on managed corporate PCs that are imaged without all the fluff and adware is far superior to what consumers get. I frankly don't know why anyone who isn't tied to very specific software requirements would ever choose Windows anymore. I had to replace an aging Pixelbook last year and eventually decided the right decision was to get a Mac. It's stable, the hardware is high quality, it does what it needs to do, most non-enterprise software is available, and the custodian of the operating system isn't licensing my data to 3P advertisers. I almost went Linux -- and have built my own Linux machines dating back about twenty years -- but I just wanted a polished, lightweight laptop I didn't have to worry about. I almost bought a new Chromebook, but the software problem is more acute even if the OS is dead simple, and frankly, the hardware -- ever since the Pixelbook -- has been lacking polish (no matter which OEM you buy from).
- ghaff 2y ago
  The problem with the Chromebook is that it's basically an educational market product. And that's a different market from most professional users. I'd love a new travel-optimized Chromebook to replace one well out of support. But it really doesn't exist (and there really isn't a perfect MacBook either although the Air isn't bad, if pricey).
ghaff 2y ago
Desktop operating systems are increasingly irrelevant (to a first approximation). Windows is still very relevant, especially on servers, but even on corporate desktops; you just don't see a lot of Windows laptops at the sort of events and companies that most of the readers here are probably most familiar with. But it's not like most companies developing software for the largely Linux ecosystem are doing much desktop-specific investment either. Apple's a bit more complicated because they still want to sell Macs so their operating system can't get too bad--but it's only there to sell MacBooks.
- cyberax 2y ago
  > Windows is still very relevant, especially on servers Really? The only remnants of Windows Server, that I've seen within the last couple of years, were running Exchange and ActiveDirectory. Even SQL Server installations are moving to Linux.
ekianjo 2y ago
making profits and having a good product is 2 different things
- listenallyall 2y ago
  yes but making huge profits (and employee compensation rising w/ stock grants and options) explains why nobody there is all that worried that users are unhappy with Windows

flakiness 2y ago

And I think that's why Windows gets worse. They just don't care anymore. I have wanted to like Windows and hoped Microsoft to get serious against these consumer-centric companies like Apple and Google, to use their cloud revenue to pump Windows up. That hasn't happened.

WWLink 2y ago
> Microsoft to get serious against these consumer-centric companies like Apple and Google Microsoft can't do that. It's not in their DNA. Every time Microsoft has tried to make something consumer-centric it ended up flopping eventually. Sometimes things lasted a surprisingly long time! But their consumer-focused stuff like Zune, Xbox, even their keyboards & mice, eventually all kinda lost focus. Windows mobile was a weird one because they tried to use the same formula they always use - a corporate OS that had all sorts of knobs and buttons for SysAdmins to manage corporate phones. You could join a Windows phone to a domain and manage it. Xbox was pretty successful for a while because MS just has so much clout with game developers. Zune flopped HARD. I think the Surface product line has been kinda here and there - a total failure for consumers but some businesses like it... but not many, because most businesses have a relationship with Dell.
- gaudystead 2y ago
  RIP Zune. It was my favorite music player, especially being able to control it without looking at the controls. Tech industries have developed alternatives, but the intuitive features built into the Zune are something I've yet to see be matched. I suspect they moved some of those same UX engineers to the Surface & phone departments, but MS marketing departments seem to have control over things more than the actual UX designers, aaaand it all went to shit. I sincerely wish more people were able to enjoy the UX that their clever engineers designed, but I suspect their marketing departments were the downfall of those efforts.
rkagerer 2y ago
What OS does Bill Gates use these days?

tcmart14 2y ago

I don't think stock would be a good metric. If I had to guess, Windows at this point is probably just a cost center. Their main revenue streams are office362 and azure. The Windows OS itself is just a rounding error. Another way to put it. People aren't buying Microsoft stock because of Windows. They are buying because of Azure and Office365.

eitally 2y ago

To be fair, the Windows experience on managed corporate PCs that are imaged without all the fluff and adware is far superior to what consumers get. I frankly don't know why anyone who isn't tied to very specific software requirements would ever choose Windows anymore. I had to replace an aging Pixelbook last year and eventually decided the right decision was to get a Mac. It's stable, the hardware is high quality, it does what it needs to do, most non-enterprise software is available, and the custodian of the operating system isn't licensing my data to 3P advertisers. I almost went Linux -- and have built my own Linux machines dating back about twenty years -- but I just wanted a polished, lightweight laptop I didn't have to worry about. I almost bought a new Chromebook, but the software problem is more acute even if the OS is dead simple, and frankly, the hardware -- ever since the Pixelbook -- has been lacking polish (no matter which OEM you buy from).

ghaff 2y ago
The problem with the Chromebook is that it's basically an educational market product. And that's a different market from most professional users. I'd love a new travel-optimized Chromebook to replace one well out of support. But it really doesn't exist (and there really isn't a perfect MacBook either although the Air isn't bad, if pricey).

ghaff 2y ago

Desktop operating systems are increasingly irrelevant (to a first approximation). Windows is still very relevant, especially on servers, but even on corporate desktops; you just don't see a lot of Windows laptops at the sort of events and companies that most of the readers here are probably most familiar with. But it's not like most companies developing software for the largely Linux ecosystem are doing much desktop-specific investment either. Apple's a bit more complicated because they still want to sell Macs so their operating system can't get too bad--but it's only there to sell MacBooks.

cyberax 2y ago
> Windows is still very relevant, especially on servers Really? The only remnants of Windows Server, that I've seen within the last couple of years, were running Exchange and ActiveDirectory. Even SQL Server installations are moving to Linux.

ekianjo 2y ago

making profits and having a good product is 2 different things

listenallyall 2y ago
yes but making huge profits (and employee compensation rising w/ stock grants and options) explains why nobody there is all that worried that users are unhappy with Windows