Comments on: Consumer markets: Time for Microsoft to exit? http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/ Musings on strategic design by Kontra, a veteran design and management surgeon, perennially in search of complex problems to operate on. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:15:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: In the shadow of the iPod: Microsoft Zuning out of the Social « counternotions http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-305 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:18:34 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-305 [...] With the iPod having a near-invincible lead, Zune 1 took the alternative, anti-entablishmentarian approach by featuring quirky arts and sharing themed campaigns, which I declared a dud in an earlier article, Consumer markets: Time for Microsoft to exit? [...]

]]> By: Laurence Burrows http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-130 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:52:10 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-130 Microsoft’s real failing is with small business (3-100 users). A few sad examples:

1. MS Server 2003; user profiles in Active Directory (AD) — the ONLY way to print out the settings for a user is screen dumps of each of the 16 AD User Properties tabs. For each user. Sheesh! This was painful in NT Server, but ridiculous in 2007!

2. MS Win XP Pro defaults to saving everything in My Documents on the local C: drive instead of a shared (and backed-up) folder on the server. This is exactly NOT where corporate data should be! Why no simple default setting, either for all user programs, of for each application?

3. MS Hot-Fixes often override regional settings and revert back to Locale:US, Language:English-US. Well, there’s a reason users/IT set appropriate regional settings — language choices affect spelling, sort order, currencey, time zones, database links, etc. So, run the HotFixes, then repeatedly re-set Local, Language and TimeZone! Every bloody time! D’oh!

There are many[, many] other flash points, but using MS Win Server/XP (never mind Vista) is due to a lack of alternative, not lack of will. Like buying a second floor apartment for the view and then finding the first floor is permanently occupied by frat boys.

About thin clients: we’re heavy Lotus Notes users and have been trialing the Lotus Symphony/Notes Productivity Tools office suite. Way cool! Even [technically] unsophisticated users love the tight integration of custom apps, messaging, office suite and contact management. And the low unit price for the small business (Lotus Domino Collaboration Express) plus no install keys makes the products an easy choice for the small IT shop. Once the Notes 8.0.2 release hits the streets we’ll be seriously looking at which OS will best support it.

]]> By: Xbox » Consumer markets: Time for Microsoft to exit? http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-110 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 03:25:18 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-110 [...] hotnews wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptNET – Mira – Media2Go – Origami UMPC – Zune – Windows TV Foundation Edition – Microsoft TV IPTV Edition – MSN TV2 – Microsoft MediaRoom – Xbox Live Video Marketplace – Wireless base stations MN-500/700 – Windows Automotive – Microsoft … [...]

]]> By: Top Posts « WordPress.com http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-106 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:19:03 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-106 [...] Consumer markets: Time for Microsoft to exit? [image] Computerworld has a great story about the mother of a 13 year old girl who told Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer how […] [...]

]]> By: Kontra http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-102 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:43:31 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-102 Microsoft’s response to the latest set of threats from Sony, Google and Apple has been, to be charitable, lackluster. I expect them to make one more attempt, but then I think the Street will demand the heads of current management starting with Ballmer. That’s when we’ll see hasty exits from many areas the company is dabbling in.

]]> By: Jon T http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-101 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:37:09 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-101 Microsoft is dependent for every cent of its profits on enterprise and PC manufacturer monopolies which are going to disappear.

When they do it will be evident they are clumsy, tasteless and pretty nigh useless at producing anything that anyone CHOOSES to buy.

Exit. Full stop.

]]> By: Chuck http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-100 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:11:02 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-100 Hit the nail on the head. MSFT, when forced to have to compete in an open market, can’t. When are people going to realize this? It’s so obvious. And if anyone thinks the Zune 2 is going to take away market share from the iPod, let’s not forget that Windows users are moving to the Mac in droves. Are Mac users going to be able to use a Zune? No. No one seems to realize the Zune doesn’t work with a Mac. How stupid is that? MSFT totally ignores that market, and the market a lot of their users are moving to.

Just stupid.

]]> By: Uncle Paul http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-99 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:43:10 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-99 There are a lot of people who would love to see Microsoft just exit, period.

]]> By: Tom B http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-98 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:39:32 +0000 http://counternotions.com/2007/10/12/microsoft-vs-consumers/#comment-98 “Selling directly to consumers in competitive markets has never been Microsoft’s forte. Behold:”

You missed DRM. MSFT put big bucks into designing DRM systems and people chose Apple’s Fairplay instead. And the whole DRM era seems to be closing, again, thanks to Apple.

MSFT sells LOTS of PC’s to the home market. Because PC’s have more games (which no longer matters because of game consoles) and because people steal copies of office from work.

MSFT sells to Enterprise because business has very, very simple rudimentary needs; nothing really more complex than E-mail. And they sell direct to the easily bribeable IT stiffs who have ZERO regard for users and are not subject to any kind of relevant business or productivity metrics. In a free market, MSFT would have been dead and buried in about 1984.

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