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Microsoft Barring Many of its Employees from Buying Apple Products with Company Funds?
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Very sensible post. As the saying goes, know thy enemy. If Microsoft wants to compete, they have to analyze how Apple focuses on user experience and quality and improve their own methods.
In other news, Windows 8 is a complete disaster and doesn't hold a candle towards mountain lion.
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The only way to really know and understand what makes Apple great is to use their products. You're also more likely to find the weaknesses that way and make improvements in the competing version.
Windows will know when they've made their products competitive if they're employees naturally pick windows products instead of being ordered to.
This won't make a significant impact on Apples bottom line at all. It's just Microsoft being incredibly jealous and petty.
Ballmer should have realized at some point Apple was going to clobber his near sighted strategy of just copying competitors and using Microsofts size to push out competitors. In the end the best product won.
Something tells me that, as CEO, Ballmer doesn't pay the same meticulous attention to products and product development that SJ did.
The only way to really know and understand what makes Apple great is to use their products. You're also more likely to find the weaknesses that way and make improvements in the competing version.
Windows will know when they've made their products competitive if they're employees naturally pick windows products instead of being ordered to.
This won't make a significant impact on Apples bottom line at all. It's just Microsoft being incredibly jealous and petty.
Ballmer should have realized at some point Apple was going to clobber his near sighted strategy of just copying competitors and using Microsofts size to push out competitors. In the end the best product won.
Something tells me that, as CEO, Ballmer doesn't pay the same meticulous attention to products and product development that SJ did.
Actually I find Mac stuff quite good value. My father bought himself a $2000 vaio for the 1080p display and it had major software issues out of the box connecting to wifi as well as pronounced backlight bleed.
My $2499 Mbp 17 inch is so much nicer
and I've had no major issues.Honestly, I don't see the problem here. MS is just saying they don't want to pay for the competitor's project.
As some one else said, it's like asking Coke to stock Pepsi products for their employees (rather than saying we'll give you Coke but if you want Pepsi you'll have to buy it yourself).
Or really even just saying what they are willing to spend on their business even if it wasn't a competitor (it's nice when companies give you a choice but that isn't a right. I think my roommate is stuck with Dell machines for his job cause they have a contract with Dell so he doesn't even get a choice of which Windows machine. And he certainly can't use a Mac cause the software they need doesn't run on Mac). If they don't want to spend money on an Apple product, that is their prerogative.
As some one else said, it's like asking Coke to stock Pepsi products for their employees (rather than saying we'll give you Coke but if you want Pepsi you'll have to buy it yourself).
Or really even just saying what they are willing to spend on their business even if it wasn't a competitor (it's nice when companies give you a choice but that isn't a right. I think my roommate is stuck with Dell machines for his job cause they have a contract with Dell so he doesn't even get a choice of which Windows machine. And he certainly can't use a Mac cause the software they need doesn't run on Mac). If they don't want to spend money on an Apple product, that is their prerogative.
Only in Microsoft do they need this rule
I know a few Microsoft employees (high up) who hate MS.
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They used company funds to get Office for Mac. Of course, Microsoft bought Office from another company.
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Yeah, Macs are actually a good value. If you want a low-end Mac, get the older model. It's still nicer than a non-Mac.
Pay $1000 for a new Mac, keep it for a long time, never buy antivirus, OS updates cost MUCH less, and Apple actually helps you with issues. Plus, the expensive Macs have proportionally high specs to start with (although you have to count the hardware quality and niceness for the Air to match this).
But you're also choosing an extreme case. VAIOs are notoriously expensive Windows PCs. Also, 1080p display? Don't MacBook Pros have better resolution than that? My 2006 iMac does 1900x1200.
I know a few Microsoft employees (high up) who hate MS.
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They used company funds to get Office for Mac. Of course, Microsoft bought Office from another company.
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Actually I find Mac stuff quite good value. My father bought himself a $2000 vaio for the 1080p display and it had major software issues out of the box connecting to wifi as well as pronounced backlight bleed.
My $2499 Mbp 17 inch is so much nicer
Yeah, Macs are actually a good value. If you want a low-end Mac, get the older model. It's still nicer than a non-Mac.
Pay $1000 for a new Mac, keep it for a long time, never buy antivirus, OS updates cost MUCH less, and Apple actually helps you with issues. Plus, the expensive Macs have proportionally high specs to start with (although you have to count the hardware quality and niceness for the Air to match this).
But you're also choosing an extreme case. VAIOs are notoriously expensive Windows PCs. Also, 1080p display? Don't MacBook Pros have better resolution than that? My 2006 iMac does 1900x1200.
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This would only be news if Microsoft banned employees from buying Apple products with their own money. Why would Microsoft want employees using Microsoft's money to buy Apple products? Even though they are kind of buddy buddy.
So long Microsoft
I have purchased Mac for years and also Microsoft Office. I will stop buying Microsoft products. So long....Microsoft. Dumb policy.
I have purchased Mac for years and also Microsoft Office. I will stop buying Microsoft products. So long....Microsoft. Dumb policy.
I remember this going back to the Zune. I would never work for a company that forbids someone from using the best technology. It's also a horrible business practice. You can't create a better product if you don't know your competition.
I used the consumer preview of Windows 8 for a day at work. It's a disaster that will see unparalleled abandonment of the IT/Business community.
10 years ago I wrote an article for CNet that Microsoft would seek a desperate restructuring by 2015. I may have been wrong. It may come sooner. You can't steal other people's ideas and expect to sustain yourself forever.
I used the consumer preview of Windows 8 for a day at work. It's a disaster that will see unparalleled abandonment of the IT/Business community.
10 years ago I wrote an article for CNet that Microsoft would seek a desperate restructuring by 2015. I may have been wrong. It may come sooner. You can't steal other people's ideas and expect to sustain yourself forever.
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I guess that memo didn't exist in 1997 when Microsoft bailed Apple out to the tune of $150 million. People forget that we probably wouldn't have iAnything without Microsoft.
Absolutely untrue. The maintenance costs of Apple products at most companies today are pretty much zero because most ITs flat out refuse to support Apple at all. So employees who own the superior Apple products do what little maintenance is necessary themselves.
Also, it's obvious why MSFT has formalized this new rule. It is because tons and tons and tons of their employees are asking to be allowed to use Apple products. These employees most definitely have them at home and can see that they could work that much more efficiently if they had access to the same products at work.
Wow, blast from the past. I did not know they were still around. Do they make software, or have they moved on to some other business? Is it the same company, or did someone else just buy the name?
I bet they are the same people who are making clones of the Commodore 64.
I bet they are the same people who are making clones of the Commodore 64.
Smacks of paranoia, but not surprising, MS are fighting hard to retain hardware domination in the PC area where they have ruled the roost for years.
Spending corporate funds on Apple kit would looks little bad form a shareholders point of view to say the least.
Spending corporate funds on Apple kit would looks little bad form a shareholders point of view to say the least.
You'd think Microsoft would want a few of all of their competitor's products around. How else to know how your product compares and where you need to improve
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Seems like everyone is missing the point. MS has always and will continue to purchase Apple products for it's product development. Most famously the PowerMac G5 being used as the alpha kit for the Xbox 360. The group in question is the face of MS to its corporate customers. Imagine a sales rep going into a Fortune 500 with a macBook Pro or an iPad. I bet some idiot did that and it got back to Redmond.
Seems like everyone is missing the point. MS has always and will continue to purchase Apple products for it's product development. Most famously the PowerMac G5 being used as the alpha kit for the Xbox 360. The group in question is the face of MS to its corporate customers. Imagine a sales rep going into a Fortune 500 with a macBook Pro or an iPad. I bet some idiot did that and it got back to Redmond.
A quick google reveals Microsoft bought 18.2 million shares for $8.25 each and sold in 2003. Sale price looks to be around $110 per share. Or $2,002,000,000. Or a profit of $1,852,000,000. Yes some will argue if they kept and sold at $600 they would have got... $10,920,000,000 or a profit of $10,770,000,000. Let's face it Ballmer has been able to utilize those funds for strategic MS investments. I wonder if they pulled this off the reinvested money. I wonder who bought the Apple shares from MS.
"These numbers are pulled from various sources on google and cannot be considered reliable - they were not corroborated by checking multiple sources."
MS decision seems fine. A little bit short sighted considering their products end up on the Apple products. If we assume this is about operating system then I guess the message will also go out about Android products etc.
Or is this a case of "Apple has too much money lets not help them have more."
Ballmer doesn't appear to be the most strategic nor brilliant of leaders. Is he the right person to continue to stumble forward with MS or has his time come.
I agree. Companies should do competitive analysis. If a graphics designer at Microsoft works more effectively on a Mac/PC/Linux/Whatever then they should use what makes them most productive.
Microsoft is really good at copying and has been financially successful from doing so. They need to buy Apple products for copying too.
Microsoft is really good at copying and has been financially successful from doing so. They need to buy Apple products for copying too.
Having Microsoft commit to developing Office for Mac at that time was even more crucial for Apple than the $150 million non-voting stock purchase.
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Indeed.
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Indeed.
How's Mountain Lion working out for you compared to Windows 8? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on how they compare.