Comments on: Can the MSFT Titantic Change Directions?

By: Imagina

Imagina — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:43:24 +0000

Well OpenXML just got ECMA approval. Once again MSFT gets at the ground floor to force other to work with them.
On another note, they should really put more focus on Xbox development. Back in 2000 I saw a presentation from Sony that talked about how they were going to develop the box that will be the entertainment hub of the household. This is where Microsoft should also focus the Xbox. With Voice over IP, Video/Audio Conferencing, Video Calling, Collaboration, Games, Music, Movies, Web 2.0 etc. the power of the processor is almost limitless for basic applications on a broadband connection.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:50:19 +0000

XBOX is a side project?
Wow, could not disagree more. Whilst they have lost money on it is a multi-billion $ product line that has taken share from Sony PlayStation, generated some successful titles (Halo), and has 8M+ users in the XBOX Live community.
That hardly is a side project.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:12:17 +0000

I agree with much you have said and I do believe Microsoft shouldn't try to be something it is not. However I want to remind people of a few important facts that may help change some thinking. As in the past, Microsoft has done something really clever… it has some how managed to get a say in big standardization projects. It first started out with several of the common protocols now used in much of the technology used today… they managed to get a say in hardware development techniques and standardization for compatibility with windows.
Microsoft gets in on the ground floor of tons of projects…. even as I type this Microsoft is in deep with OpenXML which is going up for standardization approval in front of the ISO here real soon. This could mean a bigger part for Microsoft in the future of Office online and merging much of what is done with desktop apps with the Internet.
I cannot count how many times Microsoft has managed to bully markets around by developing the very heart of what other companies use. Other companies that do this (for example IBM) all manage to hold onto their respective markets because of it.
While the MSFT Titanic may be hard to steer, and take years to turn around on a good idea, they are more like an arctic icebreaker that can break the market ice… so in the end MSFT always gets where it needs to be and very few can stand in its way. (Except for maybe the Google and Yahoo icebergs which are more like an ice shelf… but we shall see what happens).