Someone else thinks Microsoft's in decline... (and my kid survived the hockey game last night)
Category Microsoft
In the latest issue of eWeek, Aaron Goldberg has an opinion piece titled Microsoft Hits Downslope. In it, he talks about technology cycles and suggests that Microsoft is beginning the end of their cycle of software dominance. Since I've blogged on this before, I thought it was worth a mention here...
The main comparison that Goldberg draws is to the IBM of the '80s. They used to be the dominant company and platform, but due to changes in the customer environment, they lost their edge. In the same way, Windows is reaching the same point in it's lifecycle. He sees this for three reasons... There is now more of an emphasis on cost control, not new features, there are now viable alternatives, and Microsoft has lost touch with the needs of the customer. I like the quote from the third point...
"Third, Microsoft has contracted the same disease IBM had in the mid-'80s. It's called screw-your-customer-itis. The symptoms go from the ill-timed price hikes last year disguised as licence changes to the poorly executed, capricious end-of-life announcements for key products to the carnage they've left in the "Windows-compatible" software business."
He doesn't see this decline happening next year, nor does it mean that Microsoft will become irrelevant. But he contends that the Microsoft of the 2007 - 2010 date range will resemble the IBM of the mid-'80s. I agree with him...
And the hockey game... My kid is 5'4" and is around 155 or so. He's been playing hockey for a couple of years. He's OK, but matched up against kids who have played most of their life, he suffers at the skill position. As a result, he tends to play an aggressive role. He'll try to get under people's skins in order to take them out of their game. And remarkably, he's quite good at it. Two weeks ago, he REALLY got under the skin of another high school player who also happens to play major junior level. The kid is also 6'4" and weighs around 230. Ian goaded him into slashing calls and a 10 minute misconduct (with no penalties in return). Last night was the return match, and Ian was pretty sure it was going to be his last day on the planet. I'm not sure whether he was disappointed or pleased, but the other kid didn't show up for the game. Most of Ian's "friends" were disappointed, as they had all been angling to see who would inherit Ian's earthly possessions. Since he had a new lease on life, Ian had to get OTHER kids on the opposing team to take dumb penalties. And while he did draw a couple of matching roughing calls, he also got another kid removed with a game misconduct. I think I'm raising a goon... :-)
In the latest issue of eWeek, Aaron Goldberg has an opinion piece titled Microsoft Hits Downslope. In it, he talks about technology cycles and suggests that Microsoft is beginning the end of their cycle of software dominance. Since I've blogged on this before, I thought it was worth a mention here...
The main comparison that Goldberg draws is to the IBM of the '80s. They used to be the dominant company and platform, but due to changes in the customer environment, they lost their edge. In the same way, Windows is reaching the same point in it's lifecycle. He sees this for three reasons... There is now more of an emphasis on cost control, not new features, there are now viable alternatives, and Microsoft has lost touch with the needs of the customer. I like the quote from the third point...
"Third, Microsoft has contracted the same disease IBM had in the mid-'80s. It's called screw-your-customer-itis. The symptoms go from the ill-timed price hikes last year disguised as licence changes to the poorly executed, capricious end-of-life announcements for key products to the carnage they've left in the "Windows-compatible" software business."
He doesn't see this decline happening next year, nor does it mean that Microsoft will become irrelevant. But he contends that the Microsoft of the 2007 - 2010 date range will resemble the IBM of the mid-'80s. I agree with him...
And the hockey game... My kid is 5'4" and is around 155 or so. He's been playing hockey for a couple of years. He's OK, but matched up against kids who have played most of their life, he suffers at the skill position. As a result, he tends to play an aggressive role. He'll try to get under people's skins in order to take them out of their game. And remarkably, he's quite good at it. Two weeks ago, he REALLY got under the skin of another high school player who also happens to play major junior level. The kid is also 6'4" and weighs around 230. Ian goaded him into slashing calls and a 10 minute misconduct (with no penalties in return). Last night was the return match, and Ian was pretty sure it was going to be his last day on the planet. I'm not sure whether he was disappointed or pleased, but the other kid didn't show up for the game. Most of Ian's "friends" were disappointed, as they had all been angling to see who would inherit Ian's earthly possessions. Since he had a new lease on life, Ian had to get OTHER kids on the opposing team to take dumb penalties. And while he did draw a couple of matching roughing calls, he also got another kid removed with a game misconduct. I think I'm raising a goon... :-)
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