Microsoft's Shifting Strategy in Response to Apple

[surferfromuk]

I basically read this ;

Apple have shown us a way we can make more money but more important than that get more marketshare. If we emulate Apple as well as keeping our current model then maybe we can take some of Apple's business and stop people leaving the windows platform since that is what they appear to be liking. 100% market or die is our new motto...it doesn't really matter if we lose a few billion a year doing it - we'll just buy the last 8% of the market with the money we make from the first 92%...

People who think this guy is just a fool are only half-right. He's a powerful fool with such incredible power and money that he can basically wreck an entire industry trying to get what he wants..

Let's face it they've already killed Vmware...

 

[madmaxmedia]

Yeah, I completely agree with you there. I didn't mean that I really considered Apple a quirk, but that you could call either company a quirk and perhaps there was more reason to consider Apple one than Microsoft.

But in the end, all the talk of models and such is not as important as what the company actually produces, and how good their products are. The Zune is a great example of this IMO- Microsoft got all gung-ho about using Apple's integrated iPod model, except they apparently forgot they needed to create a great player to actually succeed.

Your point about successful companies being led by strong visionaries is also very good. I love my Apple stuff but try not to get religious about Apple the company, or about Microsoft. Microsoft is still one of the great success stories of the modern age. It's a shame really, they still have the resources and position to have a resurgence. They even have some really smart people at the top, but at the very top is where things fall down. That blather from Ballmer about 'no compromises' is the perfect example. Either its crappy-disguised PR spin which indicates no real goal or message, or Ballmer actually believes it which means Microsoft will spin its wheels for another 5 years. Great design and execution always involves hard choices, not trying to have everything.

I agree that Microsoft is not a quirk because they're not. Their day in the sun may be coming to an end, at least in their current form (not saying they're going to die, that is silly). But I wouldn't go so far as to say Apple is the quirk. Companies that are driven to success by a strong leader are not a quirk. In fact, that is usually how things happen. Visionaries bring success, not committees. Committees are good at refining the status quo. Overly large committees are too scared to offend anyone that they usually screw up whatever they're delegated. Overly stupid visionaries think they're perfect and drive themselves into the ground.

 

[clevin]

I basically read this ;

Apple have shown us a way we can make more money but more important than that get more marketshare. If we emulate Apple as well as keeping our current model then maybe we can take some of Apple's business and stop people leaving the windows platform since that is what they appear to be liking. 100% market or die is our new motto...it doesn't really matter if we lose a few billion a year doing it - we'll just buy the last 8% of the market with the money we make from the first 92%...

People who think this guy is just a fool are only half-right. He's a powerful fool with such incredible power and money that he can basically wreck an entire industry trying to get what he wants..

Let's face it they've already killed Vmware...

I doubt $$$ can buy those 2% core mac users, I mean, they survived OS classic 6,7,8,9!

But I think your analysis is about right.

 

[dl13]

Here we go again. Microsoft trying to take over a market that Apple has found success/domination in and will end up coming up short again. The Zune phone will be another one of Microsoft's interesting failures. Hopefully they can bring something to the phone market that'll put Apple on its heel and bring us something completely astonishing.

 

[roland.g]

30-1 PCs to Macs huh. M$ sells an OS, but doesn't sell any PCs.

Zunephone = fail.

 

[kornyboy]

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It says a lot about Apple's success that Microsoft are shifting their strategy.

I agree. It is interesting to see MS taking notice.

 

[neverusedq]

Yes! And I'm sure his answer is going to be Windows 7!

This is no new news... Gates and Balmer sung this song saying the same thing back in Windows 98, when they claimed the whole OS would have a web-interface experience... More recently Ballmer bounced around the stage saying how Windows Vista was going to be the ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE and this innovative new feel for the user.... right.

Ballmer's goal is to sell Microsoft. Do you really think he's going to get on stage and say yea ok, Apple builds the better interface and the better architecture and they can support the system from any of its 360 degree angles? No... he's going to paint the new Windows 7 with so much eye candy that your eyes will rot in their sockets.

If Ballmer REALLY wanted to give the user an experience they'd never forget, they'd fix the system instead of changing it around, tricking people into believing it's a brand new Windows, when in fact it's been the same thing since the Windows 95 era. I rest my case.

 

[glennyboiwpg]

Or better yet! How about those radial buttons that give me the options of NO HDDs, RAM, etc. in the system so I can get them somewhere else.

Wow... you don't get it do you. The whole point of apples success is the end to end control, gives you a great experence == success.

Is it perfect? No. Does it suck not having the choices... yeah.


BUT ITS THE WHOLE POINT! Start throwing in different mother boards, HDS, graphic cards, etc and then all of the sudden OSX will start crashing and you'll be the first to say: "WOW apple quality has taken a turn for the worse".


Cake... Can't have it and eat it too my friends.

 

[DarthTreydor]

zune phone?!?!

Bwahahahahahaha!

Nice try M$

 

[IJ Reilly]

Yeah, I completely agree with you there. I didn't mean that I really considered Apple a quirk, but that you could call either company a quirk and perhaps there was more reason to consider Apple one than Microsoft.

I've already describe the historical quirks which were so clearly responsible for Microsoft's success. If you are going to make this argument, you need to name similar historical quirks that were responsible for Apple's success. Good luck.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Every situation is unique, and could thus be considered a quirk. Every business opportunity is different. Another industry will not have the same circumstances, but there will probably be another set of quirky circumstances present.

I do agree with you however. Especially when you consider that Bill Gates/Microsoft didn't even write the original IBM DOS. Other companies could then jump in and try to copy Microsoft's 'model', but at that point the game had changed, simply by the presence of Microsoft. Similarly, Microsoft tried to copy Apple's model and failed, because the circumstances were no longer the same- why buy the Zune system when there's already a great iPod system that works?

Microsoft really is the product of an historical quirk, several really. The key quirk was IBM losing control of the PC hardware platform. Microsoft wasn't responsible for this development, Compaq was. Microsoft just happened to be perfectly positioned to reap the rewards of the PC clone industry -- which IBM certainly never intended to develop, and nobody, Microsoft included, anticipated. This quirk created the very unusual split between the hardware and OS manufacturers, or the "component model" as we're calling it today. Microsoft has been trying for decades to duplicate the success of this model in other markets, with a notable lack of success. Others have also tried and failed. This doesn't come as much of a surprise to those of us who know that its success in the PC market was the result of a series of historical accidents which are unlikely to occur again.

 

[/dev/toaster]

Funny, I was _just_ thinking about this the other day. Microsoft spent so much energy going after Google they forgot about Apple for a while. They screwed up Vista because they were more intrested in getting their search engines up and running or buying Yahoo.

Honestly, I am not worried at all. Ballmer is incompetent at best and everything he says only makes me think of chair throwing and the developers dance remix.

If Bill Gates said it, I _might_ be _slightly_ worried. Sorry Microsoft, you are a dying breed. Finally people are waking up that your products are crap.

Linux = Server world
Mac = Desktop world
Microsoft = The AOL of desktops

Zune phone ?! LOL, Microsoft ... you just don't get it do you.

 

[Beric]

Wow... you don't get it do you. The whole point of apples success is the end to end control, gives you a great experence == success.

Is it perfect? No. Does it suck not having the choices... yeah.


BUT ITS THE WHOLE POINT! Start throwing in different mother boards, HDS, graphic cards, etc and then all of the sudden OSX will start crashing and you'll be the first to say: "WOW apple quality has taken a turn for the worse".


Cake... Can't have it and eat it too my friends.

Uhhh...

Macs use standard PC parts. They don't use some special, "high-quality" components". Just the same parts you see in a standard PC. Putting your own parts in should be absolutely no problem, and if you mess something up, clearly it IS your own problem.

And I personally would love to see more user customization available. Popping in your own parts that are exactly what you want would be great.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I've already describe the historical quirks which were so clearly responsible for Microsoft's success. If you are going to make this argument, you need to name similar historical quirks that were responsible for Apple's success. Good luck.

Well, how about the strange set of circumstances that brought Jobs back to Apple in the first place? Had they bought Be instead of Next, I think everything changes. And the decision to buy Next was made by one Apple's worst CEO's, Gil Amelio. What if Next was actually more successful than it was? Next might never have been up for acquisition. Etc...

Or the fact that had Apple actually been able to bring a half-assed Copland to the market, they would have never resorted to buying an outside company for a new OS? Copland was an even worse mess than Vista, but fortunately the phoenix rose from the ashes.

Or the fact that Apple didn't develop the original iPod interface to begin with, that someone else brought the design to Apple? I don't give Apple any less credit for the iPod because of that, they recognized and jumped on an opportunity. I would say the same largely goes for Microsoft.

Every success represents some combination of skill and serendipity. I'm not sure why Microsoft's success is only the product of historical 'quirks', but Apple's must be totally the opposite.

 

[FuuFuu]

Yeah, Apple and Microsoft need each other to be at their best, much like a good superhero needs a good villain.

Each should continue trying to out-innovate the other, and ultimately the world wins.

really sums up what i wanted to say. its a good thing that microsoft is up to the challenge. to me, it feels like the mistakes apple has been making was because they don't have anyone to beat up on. microsoft has been a disaster lately.

 

[Popeye206]

They will have to prove it...

Blah, blah, blah... MS will do this, and MS will do that. More MS spew.

Basically, I've seen MS make lofty claims like this over and over. They are powerful, smart and have very deep pockets, but lets face it. MS has to make many fundamental changes to match what other more innovative companies are doing... like Apple.

Apple is not god... they make mistakes too and have bumps in the road, but overall, if you look at how much they give us in a year vs other companies... and the fact that EVERYONE tries to copy them and fails for the most part, Apple is a force that will be hard to stop. Innovation. Quality, service and that ever lingering "wow factor" is hard to overcome.

Remember... MS was going to own the browser market with IE, they were going to take over publishing with MS Publisher (what product is that???), they were going to take over the search engine market with MSN, they were going to "blow our socks off" with Vista...

Need I say more?

MS lacks one thing that can't steal from others... Vision.

 

[shabbasuraj]

ZUNE PHONE?

iPhone KILLLLLLLLLLARRRRRRRR











flop/

 

[Peruchito]

Competitive pressures are not the engine of Apple's quality.

"Competition is good because it pushes Apple" -- this Economics 101 idea is always being touted throughout the MacRumors forums. I think it's worth saying that competition is not what drives Apple/Steve Jobs. They want to make the best products. Not "slightly better than the other guy" products, the best ones. They are not driven by what's out there, or with keeping up with the Joneses. They do not "get nervous" when a competitor adds some feature or reduces the price of something. They do not "worry" that their products have to be up to par with everyone else's. They do not improve a product to compete, they improve it to make it better. Sure, Apple has to play in the same market like everyone else and I'm not suggesting they can totally defy the laws of competitive economics... but I am suggesting that it's not what drives them, and it's not what inspires them, and I don't believe it's what constitutes their decision-making.

Competition is relevant for all those companies' missions of delivering "better." But competition is irrelevant to Apple's mission of delivering the BEST. If they were the only computer company on earth with a 100% monopoly, I believe they/Steve would still be constantly improving their products in trying to deliver the best. That is what drives them.

smartest thing i heard in a while here. and very true.

 

[gifford]

My thoughts exactly. It's always good to have solid competition. Look and Canon and Nikon.

Everyone always says this.

I dont think apple could work much harder than they do, they are stretched pretty thin already. Sure they can hire in more people as they now have the cash, but REALLY talented people dont grow on trees however much cash you have. Ask Microsoft.

EDIT: the quote in the post above this, sums up what i was about to explain.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Honestly, I am not worried at all. Ballmer is incompetent at best and everything he says only makes me think of chair throwing and the developers dance remix.

If Bill Gates said it, I _might_ be _slightly_ worried. Sorry Microsoft, you are a dying breed. Finally people are waking up that your products are crap.

One thing that Apple users/enthusiasts still need to get used to is the idea that, really, even if Microsoft starts putting out good product, Apple users still have nothing to worry about.

A few years ago things were different, Apple was struggling to remain relevant and maintain solid financial ground. But currently the only people that have to worry about that are Apple stock investors. But Apple the company will be around for a long time regardless of what Microsoft does.

 

[Popeye206]

really sums up what i wanted to say. its a good thing that microsoft is up to the challenge. to me, it feels like the mistakes apple has been making was because they don't have anyone to beat up on. microsoft has been a disaster lately.

I think Apple has been making mistakes, and in the big picture they are minor in most cases, because they are working hard to stay on the bleeding edge of innovation... everyone is after them right now and they need to move fast to stay ahead. The good part... when Apple messes up... it usually does not take months or years to correct the problem... usually its much faster than that and they usually toss us bone along the way.

 

[(L)]

In response to Apple?

They are definitely conscious of Apple and especially the image that Apple has created for itself, and I'm no Microsoft fan, but it seems more like a response to their own failures in certain markets. The statement also seems contradictory -- is it a move to end-to-end, or not? They want to try to make a grayer gray area?

The irony is that Microsoft is not about choice. They're about lousy software.

 

[Whiternoise]

Sounds good to be honest. Instead of bitching about it all the time, perhaps Apple fans will learn to appreciate Windows for improving.

Look at it this way, if MS improved a lot, so they had minimal driver issues, everything pretty much worked, etc. Apple would have to seriously start working. Because to be quite honest they're coasting at the moment.

Leopard is just a lot of new features, and they've had to devote an entire OS release to add performance increases and stability.

It's like AMD-ATI vs Nvidia, no good slagging one of them off because they're the company that makes yours improve when they bring out better products.

The good part... when Apple messes up... it usually does not take months or years to correct the problem... usually its much faster than that and they usually toss us bone along the way.

Try telling that to the notebook users on these forums.

And before you tell me it's an isolated problem, remember that it's the same thing with all products. Many people are happy with XP and Vista, many people are happy with OS X in it's various forms. But it's no secret that Apple hasn't exactly gone out of it's way to solve all the issues that people have. And they've only got themselves to blame - as it's their hardware, no one elses. It will be a sad day when MS brings out their own hardware - better that they try to make a unified platform for windows, instead of all the mishmash of hardware you can buy.

And to be fair, neither does Windows. If they don't fix it there's usually a free fix somewhere that will.

 

[rxse7en]

And look how well that worked out. It was just another signal that partnering with Microsoft is a dangerous game. This is a company that eats its young.

So true. Guess I'm just saying, don't be surprised if MS grabs a high-end PC maker and starts creating their own end-to-end environment. There's room in the MS ecosystem to support it. Whether MS can pull it off is a whole other story.

I've been following Zune since launch and it's AMAZING how they've fumbled that business. They REALLY had a shot at grabbing some of that iPod pie in the beginning--HUGE fanbase, innovative hardware, industry connections, Xbox ecosystem, etc. But it seems that their enthusiasm perished along with the sales figures. I can see them doing the exact same thing for the PC market. Very saddening to see their die-hard fanbase turn on them this early in the game.

 

[zacman]

PS. Vista sold 180millions and has 18% market share now.

Exactly, Vista is Microsoft's best selling OS ever released.

Springer recently announced that they will switch to Macs. This news was spread over all Mac sites like a huge win for Apple. Though almost never these sites reported that Springer also said in an interview that most of these Macs will run Windows and that they only choose the Mac hardware because of its design and for marketing reasons.