[Info-vax] Maybe a bit OT, maybe not.. in any case an interesting article

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 5/14/2012 2:35 PM, John Wallace wrote:
> I don't know if you remember, or were aware at the time, but windows
> were around before Windows(r). So were spreadsheets, word processors
> and databases.

WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3 and DBase came way before Word,
Excel and Access.

> None of those were Microsoft's most significant invention. Microsoft's
> most significant invention was probably not Windows, it was probably
> semi-compulsory volume licencing deals with PC manufacturers,
> culminating in the "Windows tax" of the last decade or two, and just
> as importantly, building a commercially-motivated ecosystem around
> things like that.

> MS's dependence on computer vendors, x86 hardware, and the general
> ecosystem that Bill built could also be a contributor to their
> downfall, because these players are all interlinked, and once enough
> of them realise there is more money to be made without MS than there
> is to be made with MS, there is an interesting risk of a domino
> effect. It may or may not happen soon, but the phone market, where the
> commercial deals with manufacturers have never favoured MS, is an
> obvious example of how MS struggle outside their comfort zone. As are
> datacentres, "the cloud", and probably anything which isn't a
> combination of Wintel desktop inextricably linked by things like MS-
> proprietary authentication mechanisms with Wintel server. That sector
> has been a big part of the market for a long time. Before that, VMS
> was a big part of the market for a long time. All things must pass.

The MS eco system are almost gone. MS has taken over most
of the Windows only software market (development tools,
document repository, ERP already done - they are working
on the anti virus market).

MS is a big player in cloud with its Azure products.

MS is trying to get into ARM markets (smartphones
with Windows Phone and tablets with Windows). Windows
Phone has not been a success yet and it is uncertain
whether it will ever be so.

Arne