Why Microsoft Ignored The Warnings
from the do-it-over-again dept
It's no secret that Microsoft has seen a lot of pressure from the rapid rise of Google and free web-based services, even if this new competition has yet to demonstrably hit the company's bottom line. What's interesting is that there have been people inside the company warning about the shift in the industry, and the need to embrace alternative revenue models like advertising-based services. The Wall Street Journal offers a nice glimpse inside the company, and how management viewed the warnings. Basically, it felt that as long as the company could out-muscle its opponents by investing more in technology, it could always stay ahead. And as long as the company only had to face competitors with a similar business model, selling software licenses, then it probably would have worked. But once competitors found an end run around the traditional distribution system, no amount that Microsoft could spend could guarantee that it retains its top position. And although the company is now trying to take online ads and services more seriously, it still remains tied to the success of Vista, the ultimate example of its choice to try to out-invest all comers.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Irony
The biggest threat to Microsoft's software revenue is not advertising on Google but the poor quality of their software and, in particular, the multiple vulnerabilities of Windows and Outlook to viruses. Viruses and adware make home computers much less useful than they could be and pose a long term threat to that market.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Irony
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Irony
Why continue to speculate on something nobody really knows and simply complain about reality? Joe's comment lies more in reality than your 'what if' rebuttal since it doesn't really speak to how things are currently.
Fact is M$ ignores known security issues all the time and there is no excuse for that except they don't bother. They deserve the grilling they get for the actions they take (or don't take).
"IF" they are unseated as #1 in the future and our new software overlords aren't any better than you're point might matter but for now it's wasted speculative breath.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Irony
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Irony
It is not just that Microsoft is a big target. They have designed their systems with a low level of security. For example, designing Outlook in such a way that third party applications (viruses) could get access to the address book was simple incompetence.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Irony
True enough, they need tighter security but lets put blame squarely where it needs to be put, on those fools and idiots that write viruses, spyware, trojans, etc.
They need to lock a few of them up for 50 years to set an example, maybe that will get these idiots to start doing something legit with their talents.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Irony
No doubt the criminal is to blame for the burglary but the homebuilder who refuses to put locks on the doors of the houses he builds is still incompetent. Saying it was done by "design" does not make things better - it makes it worse.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Irony
Say I leave my car unlocked with the keys in the ignition in a bad part of town and it gets stolen - who wants to be the sympathy from my insurance company is going to get me a new car assuming the action is known by them?
There is plenty of room to complain about the lack of action taken on M$'s part in regards to protecting their clients from the black hat's of the net.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Haven't heard that before.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Haven't heard that before.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Haven't heard that before.
M$'s production are poor quality because of the LACK OF SECURITY. Not because their general functionality isn't good. Average consumers buy products based on general functionality - NOT SECURITY. They buy a product that works great until they do something that puts them at risk (often unnecessarily so - yeah, cause we NEED to have users running as administrator all the time... *rolls eyes*).
M$ has a responsibility, especially now since there market share is so large, to ensure their users are as protected as they can be from the black hats. We can't expect every user to fully comprehend the technology that is behind each app they use (well maybe you can with your 1/2 a brain). M$ needs to better lock down their software and protect users. End of story.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Haven't heard that before.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Haven't heard that before.
Perhaps if your ten-year old son is stumbling upon virus' and malware, you should take measures against that and aid him while he is on the internet. It isn't exactly a g-rated place.
You make your argument from an out of context slander, and then try and make us feel bad about it? No fair..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Points
2. Spam/viruses infects google's search index also. And will continue to be a problem for any anonymous system.
3. Advertising sales is not an either/or proposition. It's very easy for a merchant to advertise on both networks. So that means the advertising game is going to be about eyeballs and time. I wouldn't count out Xbox in this area.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
RE: Irony
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
morons...
98% do not use it, linux is taking over servers. Why.. hmm it's free... it's better.. and it doesn't have security holes. Well it may have a few but no where near the thousands that MS has had / will always have. As for office, i know companies that have been changing to open office and other OS.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
BS
Even if every virus targeted Linux as well as Windows, the virus could do less damage in Linux than in Windows.
These people that repeat the "Microsoft is only insecure because it is targeted" bs either like MS too much or just don't know much about how other operating systems function. Once you see how the other stuff works, you understand why your stuff sucks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Irony
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Very few times has it happened to me. I have learned to keep important things stored elsewhere, and also - most important of all - servicing my own pc isn't all together that hard. I find it very rare that my computer gets clogged with spyware and trogans. Like someone mentioned before; there isn't a free xbox 360 waiting on the other side of that link, and yeah, sometimes porn isn't that free.
What is everyone complaining about?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Microshaft again!
Has anybody said anything about the cost of xp? $150
and then they come with a service pack not 1 not2 but three and every time they expect you to fork over $250 Each!!???
I can't wait to see Vista and it's service packs galore, at $300 something.
And yes, it's the preferred OS to be attacked since Microshaft does not care. And another service pack.
Pay up buckaroo's.
And just look at what they took out of Vista that they promised would be in there.
And another service pack.
I hope someone will see the light......
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
MS is just bad...
1. The Registry: what the HELL is this thing? Ever tried to learn about it? It is senseless.
2. The web browser and file browser are integrated into the kernel. Why? What does web browsing have to do with running a computer? Same with office software.
3. Users have administrater priveleges by DEFAULT!
Contrast this to *nix:
1. Everything is a file. No registry needed. Config files are text files and well documented.
2. The kernel is isolated from web browsing and file managers.
3. Permissions! You can't make system-wide changes unless you are root. You can't mess with someone else's files without permission.
See the different way of looking at things?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Skippyboy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Skippyboy
"Jim Allchin, Microsoft's senior vice president for personal and business systems, has defended the company's decision to integrate its browser technology into Windows in his written testimony released today."
..." The Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged in its antitrust case filed against the software giant last May that Big Green bundled the Internet Explorer (IE) browser into its Windows operating system (OS) to drive Netscape out of business.
In his 130-page testimony, which was posted on Microsoft's Web site, Allchin provides the most detailed account so far of how, when, and why Microsoft decided to integrate IE into the OS."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh...
The permissions in Linux are very basic (though usually sufficient), and only now some distributions of Linux started implementing Windows-like ACL.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Do Nice Girls Finish Last??
Was she caught between a rock and a hard place - a catch 22?
Was her brash personality needed to get changes?
or Was her brash personality a turn off, so that others naturally resisted her and her ideas?
Was she REALLY brash - or - just not acting like a ladylike stereotype, and would have been expected to act that way if she were a man?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]