4 ms·

I disagree. I doubt purchasing Nokia's phone business would make PC vendors any more worried than Surface/Surface Pro did. Windows is still king of the desktop

I disagree. I doubt purchasing Nokia's phone business would make PC vendors any more worried than Surface/Surface Pro did. Windows is still king of the desktop and unless Android becomes a desktop OS or Apple starts licensing OS X there aren't any real alternatives with consumer brand recognition. If Ubuntu were the answer then System 76 would be more than a boutique PC maker. If MS starts making desktops, laptops, and servers... Then yeah it'll be a hectic day for the people responsible for Windows OEM relationships. The worry here for MS, as I see it, is really that they loose HTC and Samsung and any other potential Windows Phone partner. I'm guessing they're prepared to deal with the consequences.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
schuke 13y ago
HTC and Sumsung are almost irrelevant in the Windows Phone ecosystem anyway. They obviously made little effort and aren't likely to make more, with or without the acquisition.
kbaker 13y ago
Idk, sounds like the year of Linux on the desktop is closer than it has ever been. :) But you should really look at Chromebooks/ChromeOS for one glimpse of what a consumer-friendly, non-MS system would really look like. Right now it is the #1 selling laptop on Amazon, and reviews are pretty positive. If I was a shareholder in MSFT, I would seriously be worried for the future of the whole Windows platform, mobile and desktop.
- 300bps 13y ago
  I started using Slackware Linux in 1997. If I had a nickel for everytime someone declared the Linux desktop is imminent since then I'd have more money than Bill Gates.
  - kibibu 13y ago
    I'm not convinced it's been declared 1,340,000,000,000 times, but I get your point
  - stormbrew 13y ago
    If they said it before and they were wrong, surely that means they will be wrong forever!
    - jlgaddis 13y ago
      If they continue to say it every year, they will eventually be correct, right?
  - venomsnake 13y ago
    Next year is always the year of the Linux desktop. But I begin seeing worries in people where MS is pushing the OS (mostly privacy concerns) and is seems running windows in a hypervisor with VGA card passed trough is becoming more and more popular.
    - mynameisvlad 13y ago
      > and is seems running windows in a hypervisor with VGA card passed trough is becoming more and more popular. I know absolutely nobody who does this.
      - BinaryBrainz 13y ago
        I'm guessing that he's being a bit sarcastic since this would be an extremely hodgepodged setup, but I have thought about doing something like this for a home server/personal computer setup. My thoughts where to have something like a rackmounted server machine in my basement with multiple storage drives, oodles of RAM, CPU, and a video card with it all running under an ESX (or whatever) install. Over the hypervisor I could then have running a headless NAS OS (e.g. UnRAID or FreeNAS) for my backups/media/etc and then a full-blown gaming PC running Windows with the GPU being virtually attached to it. Then (oh there's more) I could run all of my keyboard, video, mouse, and USB cables for the virtual gaming PC up through my house to where my desk is located. I figure that with this setup I could consolidate a several physical computers (gaming pc, NAS, etc) into one workhorse computer which would save space and possibly some electricity.
- throwawaykf02 13y ago
  Most Windows Phones were #1 best sellers on Amazon too. Look at where their market share is right now.
- Moto7451 13y ago
  If we allow Android/Linux as a member of "Linux on the Desktop" I whole heartedly agree. I'm not sold on the GNU/Linux variant. System 76 does a great job of making "just works" Linux hardware but they're not exactly a big player. Android and iOS have the advantage that they don't have to work like Windows. Even OS X suffers "this doesn't work like my Windows did" from switchers. Mobile OSes can work like Android/iOS + their own unique flavor and have some leeway that desktop OSes aren't afforded. UI/UX for modern touch devices lacks the expectations that 18 years of mostly consistent Windows UI/UXhas built for the "traditional" Linux desktop.
blinkingled 13y ago
With every passing day Windows is becoming more and more irrelevant - iPads, Chromebooks, non-Windows SmartPhones/Tablets etc. are really the future of consumer computing. So it isn't as far fetched as it was few years ago that OEMs will successfully back Ubuntu/Fedora/Android/ChromeOS and give consumers a laptop that can do everything Windows does for them today. The only holdouts would be power users that rely on Windows software and the Enterprise users - they aren't the majority user base of Windows though.
- Moto7451 13y ago
  This is true but it's not going to happen that quickly. Traditional computers are still where "serious" work like homework is done. In my experience anyone who does more than spend time looking up recipes and checking out Facebook considers their phone to be too limited for "real" work. Some people might be happy with a bluetooth keyboard and a tablet but clearly the billions of dollars in sales of traditional PC hardware shows that the desktop is here to stay for a while. My point, basically, is that no one is going to look back at history and say "Microsoft purchasing Nokia's phone division was the end of the desktop PC." They're going to look at the release of the iPhone and then the time that Android, iOS, Win Phone, etc became just as good (i.e. no one thinks "should I use my iPhoneLapDocTop or my Windows Laptop") for general purpose computing as Windows and OS X every were. I think cloud services and "dockable" phones with proper large screen UI/UX will be key to that. I'm pretty excited about that, assuming it happens, as I sometimes find my MBPr too large but my iPad too limited for some things like interviewing potential hires. Using the same core for each would be very handy, but I've digressed. Also don't discount those holdouts. The fact that Windows gained so much of a foothold in the home because it was what people are/were using in the office. The Mac OS, even if it was 100 times better that Windows at any given time didn't have that ubiquity. Smart phones have the benefit of being in everyone's pocket, but until your boss/HR sets you up with a brand new iAndroidPhone OS laptop for work Windows will still have that crutch to lean on. IMO the patient is terminal but the prognosis is a drawn out death that might be lived on by Windows Phone if any of this works out.
  - slurry 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

schuke 13y ago

HTC and Sumsung are almost irrelevant in the Windows Phone ecosystem anyway. They obviously made little effort and aren't likely to make more, with or without the acquisition.

kbaker 13y ago

Idk, sounds like the year of Linux on the desktop is closer than it has ever been. :) But you should really look at Chromebooks/ChromeOS for one glimpse of what a consumer-friendly, non-MS system would really look like. Right now it is the #1 selling laptop on Amazon, and reviews are pretty positive. If I was a shareholder in MSFT, I would seriously be worried for the future of the whole Windows platform, mobile and desktop.

300bps 13y ago
I started using Slackware Linux in 1997. If I had a nickel for everytime someone declared the Linux desktop is imminent since then I'd have more money than Bill Gates.
- kibibu 13y ago
  I'm not convinced it's been declared 1,340,000,000,000 times, but I get your point
- stormbrew 13y ago
  If they said it before and they were wrong, surely that means they will be wrong forever!
  - jlgaddis 13y ago
    If they continue to say it every year, they will eventually be correct, right?
- venomsnake 13y ago
  Next year is always the year of the Linux desktop. But I begin seeing worries in people where MS is pushing the OS (mostly privacy concerns) and is seems running windows in a hypervisor with VGA card passed trough is becoming more and more popular.
  - mynameisvlad 13y ago
    > and is seems running windows in a hypervisor with VGA card passed trough is becoming more and more popular. I know absolutely nobody who does this.
    - BinaryBrainz 13y ago
      I'm guessing that he's being a bit sarcastic since this would be an extremely hodgepodged setup, but I have thought about doing something like this for a home server/personal computer setup. My thoughts where to have something like a rackmounted server machine in my basement with multiple storage drives, oodles of RAM, CPU, and a video card with it all running under an ESX (or whatever) install. Over the hypervisor I could then have running a headless NAS OS (e.g. UnRAID or FreeNAS) for my backups/media/etc and then a full-blown gaming PC running Windows with the GPU being virtually attached to it. Then (oh there's more) I could run all of my keyboard, video, mouse, and USB cables for the virtual gaming PC up through my house to where my desk is located. I figure that with this setup I could consolidate a several physical computers (gaming pc, NAS, etc) into one workhorse computer which would save space and possibly some electricity.
throwawaykf02 13y ago
Most Windows Phones were #1 best sellers on Amazon too. Look at where their market share is right now.
Moto7451 13y ago
If we allow Android/Linux as a member of "Linux on the Desktop" I whole heartedly agree. I'm not sold on the GNU/Linux variant. System 76 does a great job of making "just works" Linux hardware but they're not exactly a big player. Android and iOS have the advantage that they don't have to work like Windows. Even OS X suffers "this doesn't work like my Windows did" from switchers. Mobile OSes can work like Android/iOS + their own unique flavor and have some leeway that desktop OSes aren't afforded. UI/UX for modern touch devices lacks the expectations that 18 years of mostly consistent Windows UI/UXhas built for the "traditional" Linux desktop.

blinkingled 13y ago

With every passing day Windows is becoming more and more irrelevant - iPads, Chromebooks, non-Windows SmartPhones/Tablets etc. are really the future of consumer computing. So it isn't as far fetched as it was few years ago that OEMs will successfully back Ubuntu/Fedora/Android/ChromeOS and give consumers a laptop that can do everything Windows does for them today. The only holdouts would be power users that rely on Windows software and the Enterprise users - they aren't the majority user base of Windows though.

Moto7451 13y ago
This is true but it's not going to happen that quickly. Traditional computers are still where "serious" work like homework is done. In my experience anyone who does more than spend time looking up recipes and checking out Facebook considers their phone to be too limited for "real" work. Some people might be happy with a bluetooth keyboard and a tablet but clearly the billions of dollars in sales of traditional PC hardware shows that the desktop is here to stay for a while. My point, basically, is that no one is going to look back at history and say "Microsoft purchasing Nokia's phone division was the end of the desktop PC." They're going to look at the release of the iPhone and then the time that Android, iOS, Win Phone, etc became just as good (i.e. no one thinks "should I use my iPhoneLapDocTop or my Windows Laptop") for general purpose computing as Windows and OS X every were. I think cloud services and "dockable" phones with proper large screen UI/UX will be key to that. I'm pretty excited about that, assuming it happens, as I sometimes find my MBPr too large but my iPad too limited for some things like interviewing potential hires. Using the same core for each would be very handy, but I've digressed. Also don't discount those holdouts. The fact that Windows gained so much of a foothold in the home because it was what people are/were using in the office. The Mac OS, even if it was 100 times better that Windows at any given time didn't have that ubiquity. Smart phones have the benefit of being in everyone's pocket, but until your boss/HR sets you up with a brand new iAndroidPhone OS laptop for work Windows will still have that crutch to lean on. IMO the patient is terminal but the prognosis is a drawn out death that might be lived on by Windows Phone if any of this works out.
- slurry 13y ago