2 ms·
The Windows 7/Mac OSX example is absurd, but there are plenty of genuine instances where Microsoft emulated and enhanced an existing product, and ended up as th
by michael_dorfman 18y ago
The Windows 7/Mac OSX example is absurd, but there are plenty of genuine instances where Microsoft emulated and enhanced an existing product, and ended up as the market leader-- Word followed WordPerfect and WordStar, Excel followed Lotus 1-2-3, and IE followed Netscape.
The more interesting (and difficult) question is to what degree their overcoming the lack of first-mover-advantage was due to a superior product, and what degree was due to leveraging their strength in the OS arena.
- mindviews 18y agoIE would be the poster-child for leveraging the OS. The products that leverage the OS seem to be the free ones, now - so I guess that hits a price/performance sweet spot. What else is there besides IE that falls in this category? Media Player, maybe. But even though it's free and the default on windows, everyone I know has at least one other media player they use regularly (e.g., iTunes). IIS? Personally, I think IIS is quite good and can stand on its own merit. Sharepoint? I still don't understand its popularity in the corporate world, but you can't really claim it's leveraging the OS - maybe it's leveraging SQL Server? Products that stand on their own merit: MS Office (though PowerPoint looks like the one most in danger of being passed), XBox (it's not #1, but it's clearly competitive), Visual Studio (destroyed the competition) To me, it looks like Microsoft's winners by and large win by delivering a quality product, not being bundled with Windows.