Steve Ballmer's Nightmare Is Coming True

Yup, I read the article you've posted and there is certainly lots of potential doom-and-gloom for Microsoft.
The Windows surface with Windows RT is definitely retarded, because there is no desktop and only the start screen.
I'm sure that when more tablets emerge with Windows 8, and Windows 8 Pro, people may give it a chance and reviews will be more positive.
As for phones, Apple definitely has the masses drinking their Kool-aid. I personally love Windows 8 phones, and would take one any day over an over priced iphone.
One thing that these articles don't really account for is the enterprise IT market. Microsoft and Linux dominate the server realm, and most businesses are utilizing Microsoft products
other than just Sharepoint and CRM on the back end. Lets not forget Server operating systems, forefront, System Center, Hyper-V server, and Powershell!
I don't think Microsoft is coming tumbling down like a ton of bricks in the near future, but they may have to further innovate in order to gain market share.

 

Microsoft did not have the vow factor for most of its existence. By comparison, Apple has had it for more than a decade for whatever justification.
However, they were always considered `essential' since the late 1980s. It has thrived on the network effect so vital in info, tech, and communication industries. The more people use one product, the more essential it becomes for the rest. If they lose that in their business, it will not be long. Thus the reason for the Surface and the Windows Phone thrust.

To see the network effect, just consider the history of IE or Yahoo/Google, or Facebook or any other successful service. When I started using the internet in 1996, yahoo was it. Then came along google in 2000-1.

However, no one can predict what will happen in 4-5 years in the tech world.
As for me, I like using my Nokia Lumia, windows 7/8, office products. Will I trade those for an Apple product: not likely at Apple's prices.

 

Same results for me as well. I wind up getting redirected to Digitimes subscription page. . .

 

I also tried and got the paying stuff !!

 

What? He is running out of cocain?

 

Microsoft used to APPRECIATE the VALUE of piracy back in the day. They used to call this practice "educational". Now they are trying to make their OS impossible to use without a license, which will be a strong incentive for many non-corporate users to go out and try an alternative product, or not upgrade at all.

Truth is, if every user has a Windows PC at home, no matter if they have or have not paid for the OS, this user will then go to work and demand a Windows workstation there, too. They won't like Linux, they won't accept Mac, they won't accept any OS other than the one they already KNOW, because people are like that - they hate new things, and they hate having to re-learn everything for scratch. Conservatism is a big thing. Going against it is tough and risky. That's why Linux could never make it into the Desktop market - it simply looks different, feels different and has a steep learning curve and people hate that. Why use Linux if you can pirate a Windows copy and not have to adapt to anything new ? Why pay for a Mac, when you can get a much cheaper PC and never pay for any of the software on it if you don't want to, or can't ?

Your PIRATED windows also ships with

-Microsoft Office, free if you want it to be.
-Internet Explorer. Why bother with new browsers ?
-Games, also free if you want them for free.
-Movies and music, also for free.
-Everything you need to customize it, also for free if you so want.

Why jump to any other platform, where you DON'T know how fast and well you will learn, you DON'T know if it will do the job for you and you DON'T know if you will be able to find the same kind of software for "free", as you did on Windows. Hell, you don't even know if the software alternatives available for this platform will be of similar quality, and you don't know what additional learning curves you will have to deal with. Switching AWAY from Windows is a massive leap into the unknown for your average Joe. They can't do it without the help of a qualified tech guy, and if all the tech guys know and stick with Windows, they are left all alone in the dark. When it comes to Linux, from a user perspective you get better software on Windows, also for "free", and when it comes to Mac, you get the same performance on a PC for a faction of the cost. Your average Word-grade iMac costs as much as your average gaming-grade PC. Why throw money to the wind, when you can get the same stuff without paying an arm and a leg for hardware, which is not even future-proof and 4 years down the road you will be in the market for a Mac again ?

Your average user has every incentive under this sun to stick with Windows.

Until Windows 8.

What do you get with Windows 8, as opposed to earlier versions of Windows ?

-RADICALLY changed interface and workflow. Not a big deal for us, but a massive deal breaker for people who are not very tech savvy. Simply put, it's very distressing and unasked for.
-WORST driver support, ever, since Windows 98. Many hardware pieces will give you BSOD's because of M$'s DRM bulls**t and a lot of hardware will never get new drivers.
-WORST performance ever, unless you are running a new system, built, certified and with an already installed copy of Windows 8, due to hardware support and all.
-WORST availability of "freebies" people took for granted on all other copies of Windows.
-WORST backward software compatibility, ever. Many legit programs simply refuse to run, or run with errors and need overhauls under the hood.
-TABLET look and feel on your desktop, which simply doesn't snap into place, and it's not fit for its intended purpose.

Windows 8 also brings additional, hidden costs for everyone ever willing to use it permanently and seriously.

Home users will have to deal with the following issues.

-HARDWARE upgrades or replacements not because their current hardware is failing, but because there are no more drivers for it and it BSOD's their systems or simply won't work.
-PERIPHERAL replacements and upgrades, because Windows 8 didn't ship with drivers for them and new ones aren't coming so now they have to buy a new printer, scanner, webcam, etc.

Corporate customers, willing to make the switch will have to deal additionally with costs for

-IT STAFF, as people won't be able to solve even the simplest of issues on the new system, as it's so different, and this will mean more techs running around the place to help people.
-RETRAINING, as many will need someone to help them get started with this new thing. Many are not natural-born fast learners and won't adapt without hand-holding.
-HARDWARE and PERIPHERAL upgrade costs, due to poor driver support. This also means more costs for IT STAFF, because someone will need to handle the massive transition smoothly.

Every sane corporate head will postpone Windows 8 upgrades, until their employees have adopted it at home and learned to use it on their own, to save on training costs, and will wait out until their hardware has all passed through its natural scheduled upgrade cycle, to save on hardware costs and on IT staff costs, in an effort ensure a seamless, smooth transition.

What will happen, though if the people refuse to adopt Windows 8 and stick with Windows 7 ?

-Corporations will NOT switch, as they will be very unwilling to RETRAIN their massive workforce, and on top of that handle the differences between their employees setups at home and their setups at the workplace. Diverse computing environments are way more complex and costly to maintain than a homogeneous environment, where everything works the same way everywhere.

-Corporations will re-examine their contracts with Microsoft, as now they will be skipping upgrades and will require only essential support services, not new products. They will use the situation to also push for better and lower prices, as Microsoft will be in a tough position to negotiate. When nobody wants your stuff, you have to go lower on the prices.

Only one thing can save Microsoft, and that is if Windows 9 looks and feels as an improved version of Windows 7, with lots of Quality of Life improvements, extended driver support, no stupid DRM to make hardware drivers impossible to maintain for extended periods of time for so many hardware pieces, and hindering hardware development due to the complexities of supporting a DRM system even a simple user can crack the first week.

This will work, because corporations already traditionally skip every other Windows release, so poor adoption rates of Windows 8 at the corporate scene are actually factored into the plan, at this time. Disaster will strike when businesses skip the NEXT upgrade cycle in a row, because this will mean no Office sales, no server software sales, and no Windows sales, or at least very very low sales rates. Unless Microsoft agree to pay for all the retraining and increased support costs, while convincing corporate heads that Windows 8 is truly superior and worth it, so they will enforce it on their employees, Windows 8 will die commercially and will probably be deemed a "Mistake Edition". Microsoft can beat this trend only if they release prematurely Windows 9, at the latest a year and a half from now to fix all the deficiencies of Windows 8 and the Vista model software, so when they release Windows 10 another 3 years after Windows 9, corporations will be upgrading to Windows 9 on schedule, like nothing has ever happened and the cycle will not break.

Microsoft have done this before, and if they don't do it now and remain stubborn and unrepentant, they will go down, as this will be the worst thing to do in the face of a global economic meltdown and increasing competition from all sides, coming from niches they were never strong in, but have now become essential, because of the innovations of their competitors in these fields.

 

Did you ever saw the Movie 1984 with Orson Welles? I saw that in the 50.s and it reminded me later many times that MS is like the Big Brother from that Movies who was controlling every aspect of the human life electronically.

 

that`s right vymrdal, it was george orwell, but any person who saw the film in the 50.s is excused in my book...
as for ballmer c.s. : they seem to think the next version will be called windows blue, instead of windows 9, somehow..
but i seem to remember i had windows blue from the time of w 3.0... only it was not yet abbrevated then..it
was called bsod...

 

I don't know what Microsoft thinks, there are so many unnecessary problems introduced in Win8 now.
I'm only stating my personal opinion.

- Can't find Start button in Win8. WTF. Using 3rd party now.
- Metro surface seems to be no selectable option in Win8. Metro has to start only when I want.
- Have to find and use the official Microsoft Win7 drivers for Win8 myself, seems not to be automatically offered through "Windows Update".
- Server 2012 seems to come without free AV (unlike Win8 client). Could at least be a selectable option.
- Server 2012 should have selectable client mode (like Win8 client).
- Automatic activation in Win8, wasting activation counts now only for testing.
- I don't know how many times I can activate my licenses.
- How to bypass new Win8 security system (write protection) to get old software write their configuration to file/registry?

I do not want Visual Studio, although I have free genuine licences for Ultimate, Premium, Pro:

- Windows SDK has no complete command-line build environment anymore.
- WDK seems to be no longer stand-alone.
- Can't find WDK iso.

- Microsoft support not answering repeated same questions about Office 2010/2013 licensing to my satisfaction. Now I don't buy it.

If I would be in charge at Microsoft I would definately change some things here.
There is simply no need for having these problems.
I'm only stating my personal opinion.

 

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Obviously.

@Shenj: As a Win8 power user can you please explain how I can circumvent the "C:\program files\ ...." write protection and the registry write protection so that my installed applications can write their "shareware registration" files/keys? Taking ownership of the directories does not work.

Please forgive me, but I can't see how your pasted link does help in any of the cases.

 

wow Kronz I give you idiot of the week award.

 

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I did look at the New Microsoft Surface then went on down to the Apple store and bought my iPad4.

 

lmao...

sorry