4 ms·

>"Windows 7 is not a success. It's just a non-failure." So last I heard there were 630 million licenses of Windows 7 sold. Even at OEM prices, that's 63 billio

>"Windows 7 is not a success. It's just a non-failure." So last I heard there were 630 million licenses of Windows 7 sold. Even at OEM prices, that's 63 billion dollars of revenue. If that's not success, you're probably setting the bar too high. >"The only reason people use it at all isn't because it's fantastic, but because it's incrementally better than Windows XP without all the garbage Vista foisted on the user." That's a pretty broad brush you're using there. Really, that's the ONLY reason? And what's wrong with incrementally better? The iPhone has only been incrementally better since the first version, and that's even more true of the 4s to 5. The iPhone 5 is still a fantastic phone! Amount of change from prior versions is a poor measure of quality.

astrodust 13y ago
Success would've been an uptick in PC sales, but this is not happening. Instead Microsoft is king of a shrinking market. A failure would've been a steep decline in Windows license sales. That they managed to not screw this up is not something they should be bragging about. With Windows 8 being very poorly received, this might happen yet. When people go out of their way to get an older version of your software, you know you've done something wrong. Look at the sales curve (http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/05/07/six-months-in-windows-8-is-selling-at-the-same-rate-that-windows-7-did/ http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/05/07/six-months-in-win...) and you'll see that Microsoft has a near literal cash cow. That curve tracks very closely with PC sales in general, following the usual upgrade cycles. The iPhone, and the software behind it, have been improving significantly with each annual iteration. In 2007 the iPhone did not exist. Now it's iOS7, Apple's "Windows 8" moment, which so far looks to be a hit. Microsoft should make a version of Windows specifically for enterprise on a slow release, long support cycle, and branch off a consumer one that's on a much more aggressive schedule.

astrodust 13y ago

Success would've been an uptick in PC sales, but this is not happening. Instead Microsoft is king of a shrinking market. A failure would've been a steep decline in Windows license sales. That they managed to not screw this up is not something they should be bragging about. With Windows 8 being very poorly received, this might happen yet. When people go out of their way to get an older version of your software, you know you've done something wrong. Look at the sales curve (http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/05/07/six-months-in-windows-8-is-selling-at-the-same-rate-that-windows-7-did/ http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/05/07/six-months-in-win...) and you'll see that Microsoft has a near literal cash cow. That curve tracks very closely with PC sales in general, following the usual upgrade cycles. The iPhone, and the software behind it, have been improving significantly with each annual iteration. In 2007 the iPhone did not exist. Now it's iOS7, Apple's "Windows 8" moment, which so far looks to be a hit. Microsoft should make a version of Windows specifically for enterprise on a slow release, long support cycle, and branch off a consumer one that's on a much more aggressive schedule.