3 ms·

"recent pressure from activist investor ValueAct — which has a large stake in the company — had a good chance of succeeding in its efforts to obtain a seat on t

"recent pressure from activist investor ValueAct — which has a large stake in the company — had a good chance of succeeding in its efforts to obtain a seat on the board of Microsoft, especially if Ballmer stayed in place. ... In talks, said sources, it has asked for an aggressive stock buyback and also a dividend increase, which might assuage its efforts to garner a board seat." I agree that Microsoft has too much money, but would much rather see them investing much more heavily into bolstering their devices strategy. But then again, Microsoft was never good at acquisitions. edit- Appears that ValueAct is against the entire devices strategy, but I see no way for Microsoft to compete on the level it needs to without a strong devices play- From: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/19/net-us-microsoft-valueact-idUSBRE96I14920130719 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/19/net-us-microsoft-v... "ValueAct is thought to oppose Microsoft's recent foray into making its own devices."

joe_the_user 13y ago
A while back, someone in response to my critique of Windows 8, said something like "Microsoft can never be destroyed!Their monopoly give them free money". Funny how little people understand capitalism. No, that's not free money to play your BS "Metro interface" games with. It's the stock holder's money and they'll be wanting it back if it looks like you're flushing it down the toilet. Microsoft's "device strategy" (Window 8) was the most crassly opportunistic and generally despicable hi-tech corporate maneuver we've seen in a while (and that's saying something). It's infinitely satisfying to see it go down in flames. If we could toss more careers and people on this pyre, it would be even coolers. While I'm sorry for people for pursue poor strategies as dictated by the market, this was like the final spraying of Microsoft's true evil poison. Yes, we are intended to destroy the whole platform we created just for a chance to steal someone else's platform. Yeah, but that chance came and went. The organizers of Windows 8 are just left with the poison.
- yuhong 13y ago
  I agree, not an excuse. But note that restoring the start menu is not that easy: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1081755-do-you-like-or-hate-windows-8/?view=findpost&p=595048551 http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1081755-do-you-like-or-hat... IMO restoring the start button is not bad for a minor release, and it helps things like RDP (particularly important for server versions).
  - speeder 13y ago
    I use Win 8 (because suddenly noone wanted to sell Linux machines anymore... And I don't figured yet how to install a Linux using USB here, I just cannot disable the godamn secure boot) with Classic Shell Start Menu. The Start Menu from Classic Shell is awesome, and I only look at Metro interface when really forced into... Too bad the "desktop" app of Win 8 is still hell buggy (ie: sometimes it even crash and don't relaunch, leaving you with no desktop, just desktop mode windows, but no icons, no taskbar, no clock...)
    - yuhong 13y ago
      >I just cannot disable the godamn secure boot To enter the firmware setup, use the charms bar to go to Settings, then click Change PC Settings, go to General, then scroll down and find Advanced Startup.
    - joe_the_user 13y ago
      Yes, Windows 8 has "evolved" to the level of Windows 3.1 - "it's great once add third party customization X"
- jbigelow76 13y ago
  If Microsoft rests on the laurels of their enterprise business then activist shareholder sue them and kick up general shit storms for letting mobile and changing markets pass them by. If Microsoft tries a lot of different things, even possibly cannibalizing existing business in the process, to try and stay in step with the market activist shareholder sue them and kick up general shit storms for "losing sight of core competencies" (the enterprise). Public companies are damned if they do and damned if they don't if either strategy doesn't play out. That being said. How is Windows 8 a "despicable hi-tech corporate maneuver"? Shaking down Android OEMs, that falls in my despicable bucket, but taking a stab at a touch optimized interface, not so much, it's just a run of the mill failure.
nl 13y ago
ValueAct wants to make short to medium term money. That sounds reasonable, but investors like that are the death of a technology company. If a technology company starts paying dividends or share buybacks it means it believes the field they are in is so mature they cannot invest the same money in trying to grow the company. For a company like Microsoft - where the field should be anything to do with technology - the fact they can't invest that money in themselves is something of an indictment of how they have lost technological leadership.

joe_the_user 13y ago

A while back, someone in response to my critique of Windows 8, said something like "Microsoft can never be destroyed!Their monopoly give them free money". Funny how little people understand capitalism. No, that's not free money to play your BS "Metro interface" games with. It's the stock holder's money and they'll be wanting it back if it looks like you're flushing it down the toilet. Microsoft's "device strategy" (Window 8) was the most crassly opportunistic and generally despicable hi-tech corporate maneuver we've seen in a while (and that's saying something). It's infinitely satisfying to see it go down in flames. If we could toss more careers and people on this pyre, it would be even coolers. While I'm sorry for people for pursue poor strategies as dictated by the market, this was like the final spraying of Microsoft's true evil poison. Yes, we are intended to destroy the whole platform we created just for a chance to steal someone else's platform. Yeah, but that chance came and went. The organizers of Windows 8 are just left with the poison.

yuhong 13y ago
I agree, not an excuse. But note that restoring the start menu is not that easy: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1081755-do-you-like-or-hate-windows-8/?view=findpost&p=595048551 http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1081755-do-you-like-or-hat... IMO restoring the start button is not bad for a minor release, and it helps things like RDP (particularly important for server versions).
- speeder 13y ago
  I use Win 8 (because suddenly noone wanted to sell Linux machines anymore... And I don't figured yet how to install a Linux using USB here, I just cannot disable the godamn secure boot) with Classic Shell Start Menu. The Start Menu from Classic Shell is awesome, and I only look at Metro interface when really forced into... Too bad the "desktop" app of Win 8 is still hell buggy (ie: sometimes it even crash and don't relaunch, leaving you with no desktop, just desktop mode windows, but no icons, no taskbar, no clock...)
  - yuhong 13y ago
    >I just cannot disable the godamn secure boot To enter the firmware setup, use the charms bar to go to Settings, then click Change PC Settings, go to General, then scroll down and find Advanced Startup.
  - joe_the_user 13y ago
    Yes, Windows 8 has "evolved" to the level of Windows 3.1 - "it's great once add third party customization X"
jbigelow76 13y ago
If Microsoft rests on the laurels of their enterprise business then activist shareholder sue them and kick up general shit storms for letting mobile and changing markets pass them by. If Microsoft tries a lot of different things, even possibly cannibalizing existing business in the process, to try and stay in step with the market activist shareholder sue them and kick up general shit storms for "losing sight of core competencies" (the enterprise). Public companies are damned if they do and damned if they don't if either strategy doesn't play out. That being said. How is Windows 8 a "despicable hi-tech corporate maneuver"? Shaking down Android OEMs, that falls in my despicable bucket, but taking a stab at a touch optimized interface, not so much, it's just a run of the mill failure.

nl 13y ago

ValueAct wants to make short to medium term money. That sounds reasonable, but investors like that are the death of a technology company. If a technology company starts paying dividends or share buybacks it means it believes the field they are in is so mature they cannot invest the same money in trying to grow the company. For a company like Microsoft - where the field should be anything to do with technology - the fact they can't invest that money in themselves is something of an indictment of how they have lost technological leadership.