Quote:
Originally Posted by afv011
|
I find this strange. The company seems to sell more, despite the shrinking PC-market and unpopularity of Windows 8, they make more profit, and still it's not good enough. I'll never understand shareholders.
The biggest problem is: what happens if Microsoft DOES fail?
Apple almost failed around 1997, just before they got Steve Jobs back, and he got them back on track with regard to profitability. To be honest though, Apple only has a market share of 10% with regard to desktop and notebook computers (in Europe), and in companies this percentage is much lower, except for those that wish to use some Apple-only software.
You can like Microsoft or hate them, but seeing them die and crumble as some (IMHO) short-sighted people want would be a *very* bad thing for our current-day world. Many computing tasks that are now taken for granted will just become impossible, for a very long time, as some of those tasks require either Microsoft software, or Windows-only software for which there is no suitable replacement on the Mac or Linux. Some systems are moving to the web, as Webapps, but there are many companies and people that do not wish to rely on technology outside of their own control, and some applications are quite unfit to be rewritten as webapplications. The more performance that is required, the less change an application will be a webapp.
Imagine Microsoft failing, and Windows grind to a halt, with no version being developed anymore after Windows 9 or so. There are so many Windows-only programs in use throughout the world, programs that are needed by huge companies to do their business, that the mind is repelled from this scenario.
Microsoft failing after 2020 with no new Windows version in sight would plunge the entire world in an indescribable computing crisis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dopedangel
IBM moved to the server market years ago by selling out its consumer division HP and Dell are also moving towards it and cutting their consumer products.
|
In that case, it seems that we, the consumers, will be left with underpowered crap systems in due time. I hope not.
Quote:
|
So what we are seeing is not the end of Microsoft but the slow death of Windows and native os in general. That is a future I am scared off as to me in that future opensource will die small time developers will become irrelevant as most software will run in the cloud that means only large corporation like Google, IBM, Microsoft, Apple will be able to run or afford to run large servers for any software to run.
|
I'll NEVER run my main software in the cloud. I don't even trust Amazon (or any other company) with a few books, let alone that I trust someone software that I NEED. The only reason I accept activation with some software (Windows, Photoshop, and recently, Scrivener) is because there is either no suitable alternative exists (Windows, Photoshop) or loosing the software would only have a small financial impact and would not be a problem with regard to tasks I need to really get done (Scrivener).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankh
And why not continue to use them with the (WinXP) virtual machine?
|
It can be done of course, and I do still have an unused Windows XP retail license from days past, but I'd rather run a heavy program such as Photoshop directly in the main operating system. Running it using a virtual machine and an ancient OS would be the very last resort.