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7 Ways To Save Microsoft In 2011

Time: 07:37 EST/12:37 GMT | News Source: InformationWeek | Posted By: Chris Hedlund

2010 started with a bang for Microsoft. The company was riding the momentum from its Windows 7 launch the previous October, CEO Steve Ballmer commanded the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show to tout Microsoft's tablet plans, and its introduction of the KIN social networking phones promised to restore the company's place in the mobile market and capture a new generation of users.

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#1 By 15406 (209.87.228.158) at Wednesday, January 05, 2011 02:55:28 PM

#1 Phone: Too late

#2 Tablet OS: too late

#3 Free Windows: good luck with that

#4 Kinect: it's cool, but how is a cheap peripheral going to save MS again?

#5 IE: Seriously? MS screwed THAT pooch a long time ago. IE's penchant for a weekly zero-day remote code exploit isn't helpful in their goals.

#6 Management: This one is actually legit. MS appears to be lurching & reeling as key execs leave one by one. From what I've read, there is an internal power struggle at MS between old guard and new blood, and this is forcing out some good people.

#7 Relevance? They are seen as old, slow, stodgy, uncool and a combination of inept and malevolent. That rep was built up over many years and won't change overnight.

#2 By 28801 (68.44.220.197) at Wednesday, January 05, 2011 04:17:55 PM

#1: I disagree with your first 2 points. They will probably never be no. 1 with phones but they certainly have a place in that market assuming they continue to improve the OS, especially in the business market.

I've said it before, a tablet should be much more than a big iPOD. Perhaps the next version due this spring will be better from a hardware standpoint (i.e. camera(s), SD/USB slots), but I don't think the underlying OS will change that much. The problem with these tablets is they don't "replace" anything. You will still need a laptop or desktop or both. Yes, it's a cool device, but can you get any "real" work done on it?

People work with MS, they play with Apple.

That said, you can't just plunk Windows 7 on a tablet and expect people to buy it.

I totally agree with your other points except #4. I think this Kinect thing could really take off provided they put some imagination behind it. This could be a problem itself since I believe they were somewhat oblivious to the potential of this thing beyond gaming.

#3 By 2332 (173.13.97.180) at Wednesday, January 05, 2011 04:29:16 PM

It's never too late for a company will tens of billions of dollars of cash to spend.

People said the Xbox would never succeed - but it did. Why? Microsoft pumped billions into the project and made it work. And yes, it's now profitable. Kinect is the fastest selling gadget IN HISTORY. Nuff said.

Free Windows is a very stupid idea for a wide variety of reasons.

IE 9 is great, but the browser itself matters little. The browser has become a true application execution engine - in many ways making the OS itself less important. That's what Microsoft should fear. Not Apple phones or tablets. Not Google and Android. They should fear the coming wave of HTML 5 and other application execution platforms that run inside browsers. That's what most directly threatens Microsoft's cash cows.

As a side note, Internet Explorer is one of the safest browsers you can use thanks to Protected Mode. In fact, when Microsoft introduced protected mode, I predicted it would make using Firefox less safe because it would force hackers to target the "softer targets". And I was right. Was IE a steaming pile of insecure crap before protected mode? Yup. But it's far from that anymore - and their innovations have forced the entire industry to improve.

See: http://www.robertdowney.com/2006/10/how-ie7-on-vista-will-make-firefox.html
And: http://www.robertdowney.com/2007/12/safest-way-to-browse-web-firefox-vs.html

For all its flaws, Microsoft is still one of the most profitable and influential companies to ever exist. They're not going anywhere anytime soon.

#4 By 143 (216.205.223.146) at Wednesday, January 05, 2011 05:42:26 PM

Kinect would make a nice user interface some day. I'm thinking about the movie Minority Report.

#5 By 12071 (203.210.68.145) at Wednesday, January 05, 2011 09:23:30 PM

#2 "This could be a problem itself since I believe they were somewhat oblivious to the potential of this thing beyond gaming."
As long as the keep targeting the markets in which the Wii proved popular (i.e. fitness, dance games, party games) they will do very well out of it. It's a cool little device which just needs better games created for it which will naturally come over time as developers get used to what works and what doesn't. I am a little dubious as to how far the current version will go both from an input point of view (i.e. holding your hand in one position for 5 seconds to indicate a button press isn't natural or fun) and a party point of view (i.e. limited to just 2 players, 20 joins per player or whatever it is) but it definitely has a lot of potential there. Can't wait to see what comes out in the next round of the console wars :)

#4 The thing is... Minority Report looks cool... and it's great for movies and powerpoint-esque presentations and the such... but as an actual day-to-day user interface... you're going to have some might sore arms after a few hours!

#6 By 15406 (209.87.228.158) at Thursday, January 06, 2011 08:47:20 AM

#2: MS will always have a place in any market they choose since they can take losses pretty much forever if they want to gain market share desperately enough, but that won't "save Microsoft". Same with the Kinect. Like I said, it's cool and all, but it's a $150 toy that will certainly not "save Microsoft". However, shareholders won't tolerate endless losses so MS will have to try and be smart about it and not just throw money at the problem.

#3: People said the Xbox would never succeed - but it did. It depends on your measure of success. XBox is popular, but will it ever make money after the RRoD $1 billion writedown? As for IE's Protected Mode, come on. There seems to be a new IE exploit every week these days. And I find your logic a little dubious. The increase in FF attacks was more likely linked to its increased profile and market share, and not because everyone's scared of Protected Mode.

#4: Like Kabuki said, your shoulder caps would be burning after a minute or two.

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