[amon91]

Quote

Frank says that what matters is "innovation at scale, not just innovation at speed," and that "it is not sufficient to simply have a good idea, or a great idea, or even a cool idea. We measure our work by its broad impact." Frank also points to OneNote in response to Dick's claim that Tablet PC was doomed because the Office team refused to make a version of Office designed around stylus input, and then refers to the Xbox 360 as an example of Microsoft's leadership -- and says Project Natal is a "magical experience" that'll keep the trend alive.

This is a response to what Dick Brass said about Microsoft losing its touch. My opinion is Microsoft right now still offers the most compelling products in some areas like gaming, OSes and office but it could lose some of its dominance as smaller companies come up with new ideas. For instance, it might not really be worth for most people to pay hundreds of dollars for an Office app when they have compelling free alternatives. If they knew about OpenOffice, Microsoft would suffer quite a hit in sales. And as those tools become more compelling over time, Microsoft will have a harder time competing with its current pricing model.

Not trying to sound like a Microsoft hater of course. I'm a Windows user in fact and Windows 7 is a great step in the right direction,

So what do you think?

Source: Engadget

[DeathMonkey]

I think Microsoft will further dominate the gaming market in the future - Project Natal is going to absolutely revolutionize XBOX 360.

The windows OS is still by far the most widely used on the market and I don't see that changing any time soon.

You're right about their Office app though - Open Office and aShampoo Office are gaining more popularity and the fact that Open Office is free means that Microsoft need some really special features for people to favour them.

Internet Explorer is rapidly being ditched for the faster, better looking and more customizable browsers such as Firefox and Chrome.

Overall, I think this is the beginning of the end for Microsoft's dominance.

[Karmakaze]

I don't think Project Natal's impact is going to be like what Microsoft and other enthusiasts are predicting. It's Nintendo Wii technology on steroids. That is the only true innovation that Microsoft has had in a while. Microsoft is dominating the gaming world. And it should. The 360 is the best console on the market. Which is why developers are giving the 360 community map packs and other things before releasing them to PC and the PS3.

Apple and Microsoft completely different now, and that is why we are seeing all the innovating coming from Apple. Apple is ran by a geek. Microsoft is ran by a MBA. Microsoft hasn't really innovated anything in the last several years. Aero has been the only thing that Windows has really brought out that people were like "WOW". Windows 7 is great, but it is just a better version of Vista. Vista was a great OS and I still use it. There was nothing ever wrong with Vista. People listen to hearsay and then condemn the operating system without actually using it. That was the entire point of Mojave.

But when you really look at it, I don't think Microsoft really wants to innovate at this point. Or at least, it doesn't seem to. It wants to create software that is essential to everyday needs. And it has done that. Windows, Office, Outlook, etc. However, open source companies are creating software just like it and giving it away for free. And most of the time, those programs are better. Why should I buy Office when I can get OpenOffice for free and it benefits me more than Office would. I can save documents in Office's format to load at school. And then open those documents in OpenOffice when I get home.

This isn't the beginning of the end for Microsft. We're already past that.

[DeathMonkey]

Karmakaze, on 05 February 2010 - 11:39 PM, said:

I don't think Project Natal's impact is going to be like what Microsoft and other enthusiasts are predicting. It's Nintendo Wii technology on steroids. That is the only true innovation that Microsoft has had in a while. Microsoft is dominating the gaming world. And it should. The 360 is the best console on the market. Which is why developers are giving the 360 community map packs and other things before releasing them to PC and the PS3.

Apple and Microsoft completely different now, and that is why we are seeing all the innovating coming from Apple. Apple is ran by a geek. Microsoft is ran by a MBA. Microsoft hasn't really innovated anything in the last several years. Aero has been the only thing that Windows has really brought out that people were like "WOW". Windows 7 is great, but it is just a better version of Vista. Vista was a great OS and I still use it. There was nothing ever wrong with Vista. People listen to hearsay and then condemn the operating system without actually using it. That was the entire point of Mojave.

But when you really look at it, I don't think Microsoft really wants to innovate at this point. Or at least, it doesn't seem to. It wants to create software that is essential to everyday needs. And it has done that. Windows, Office, Outlook, etc. However, open source companies are creating software just like it and giving it away for free. And most of the time, those programs are better. Why should I buy Office when I can get OpenOffice for free and it benefits me more than Office would. I can save documents in Office's format to load at school. And then open those documents in OpenOffice when I get home.

This isn't the beginning of the end for Microsft. We're already past that.

Fair play - lovin' this: "It's Nintendo Wii technology on steroids." XD

[Allan©]

I haven't used any MS or Yahoo search in 3+ years. Google Wins.
I haven't used Outlook in 2 weeks, and switched to Google Apps Mail. Google Wins.
I haven't used GoogleTalk in a year, since it's not near as good as WLM. Microsoft wins.
I haven't used Chrome or Android OS, and have been using Windows x86/x64 and WM for 15 years. MS Wins.

So it's a tie ... 2-2 tied.

[dannytheone]

in comparison though, most of these free apps are not anywhere near as good as the paid for ones. OpenOffice hasn't anywhere near the features of MS office 2007, and definitely nowhere near the features of 2010.

[Mephisto]

Microsoft isn't losing anything really. If anything they are severely gaining. They finally broke even on 360 last year and now nothing but profit is being made. This is including the losses incurred by the original Xbox. They have the biggest online gaming community out there and are holding that Guinness record tight. I've never seen Microsoft (personally) as one that innovates constantly, just improves upon what they already have established. And all the hard work improving goes towards the products people use everyday. They still do that and people still buy their well made products. I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Apple can definitely continue "innovating" all that's going t do is run them into a huge wall the day they can't top what they've done. But that's just how I see it when things get too competitive.