First it was iTunes for Windows. Then Safari for Windows. Sometime in the (maybe distant) future Apple will release the Mac OS for other PCs to be used on top of Windows and applications native to Windows will run using the Mac interface. But knowing Steve Jobs, he may limit this concept to just MacIntosh computers. Apple is attacking Microsoft like a virus and Ballmer can't stop it from spreading. Within a couple of years, Google's (online) Apps and Google Gears will hit Microsoft like a hammer. The small steps they have taken so far with Docs/Spreadsheets, Gmail, Picasa, etc have my imagination running wild. In the long run, this is the biggest challenge Ballmer & co. face. Linux keeps chipping away at the profitability of Windows. OpenOffice is growing in popularity which hits the MS Office cash cow. Google and Apple are also major partners. Ballmer wasn't very convincing in that video. It was a very poor performance where he couldn't hide his grimness with laughter or contrived confidence. The end of Microsoft "as we know it" is approaching and that is a good thing.
Signed, Linux Apple (of the 80's and early 90's) IBM Oracle Netscape/Mozilla The OpenSource community in general, etc. etc. etc. yada yada yada... lol. You act as if this has never been said before. And as long as you're having to store your information on Google's servers for their apps to work, it ain't happenin'.
How does iTunes hurt Microsoft? Safari on Windows is a turd. This is silly. A Mac OS to run on top of Windows? It would be dog slow. How about just create a new PC OS? You want to know why they won't do it? Because it is easier to write an OS on their proprietary system. They control EVERYTHING that goes in it and on it. I'm not knocking the Mac OS because it is nice but they don't have to support the million, billion, trillion different things that go into PC's. If Steve Jobs really wanted to do this, why would they start making Mac's with Intel processors giving them the capabilities to run, you guessed it, Windows. Apple (Mac) is a niche market and is the reason that they got into iPod market. This is completely ridiculous. This I agree with but I don't think it is going to end Microsoft, far from it. I do agree that it is going to be M$ biggest challenge. Not even close. There isn't a major company anywhere that doesn't use M$ technology. I don't see where there is this huge Apple / Google alliance. Do they work together? Sure, but it isn't like everything is a marketing crossover. While his delivery sucked, he was completely right. It isn't worth $600 and it will not work in a business environment.
"The end of Microsoft"... I'm afraid I'd have to see that to believe it. The phone is very impressive, though, now that I've had a chance to play with it. Very slick, very well integrated, great interface, lots of features. Really hits you when you actually get a chance to use it.
Wow! What a reaction. I said the end of Microsoft "as we know it" (deliberately using quotations), not the end of Microsoft completely as a strong company. Microsoft's domination has peaked out and it's downhill from here on. If you don't believe that then you are free to be wrong. What's happened the last couple of years will continue. Just because simplistic doomsayers were wrong in years past about "evil" MS falling on it's face doesn't mean MS' position from here on isn't eroding. I also never said Office or Windows would disappear from "major companies" but their profitability will fall dramatically over time. This is an undeniable fact. Apple and Google have made it plain they plan to work closely and their partnership is just starting. There isn't much to it, yet. Microsoft's position will weaken over the years and they realize it even if some of you don't. DoD, doubt online applications and the concept of Google Gears all you want, but bookmark this thread for 3 years from now and enjoy the crow. It isn't for everyone but it IS for a lot of folks and businesses that otherwise would be stuck with MS. MB, iTunes (which by itself doesn't hurt MS) and Safari (yes it's awful right now) are just the beginning. I didn't realize bringing this up was such a tripwire on the forum. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Let's get back on topic. Sorry for the diversion (I mean that sincerely).
I got an Ocean a few days ago and am blown away. I'm in love with it... I've never really had a device like this before and this is just what I was looking for... the always on unlimited web and messaging is great and I was using the GPS and maps lots today, it's weird to lose that sense of "oh crap I better go print out directions for that place before I leave" Oh yeah as for the YouTube issue -- the only page they block is the home page m.youtube.com... if you go to another page, such as m.youtube.com/?blah it will redirect you to the video index and you're good to go. Videos play in the phone's full screen built in movie player. Very cool!
Where did I doubt the viability of online apps? They've been in the making since the mid-90's. lol. As an example, consider Google's spreadsheet. If I'm a corporate office, I don't want my corporate documents stored on Google's servers, and that, combined with the fact it doesn't have the functionality to even do charting/graphing yet means it's pretty worthless. In 3 years maybe it will have all those options, but I don't know that yet. As for your comment about "Microsoft as we know it". I think most of us did understand you because it's been said before. Microsoft started as an OS company, then they started making productivity apps, then they started making hardware, then they started making games, then they started gaming consoles, now they're in biotech, restaurant, cell phones, supercomputing, hell, they even have a connected health framework for medical corporations. Microsoft has always changed and progressed their thinking. The companies that didn't are the ones that got destroyed over the past 20 or so years. The only people that don't understand that Microsoft won't be as we know it are the ones that still think Microsoft is as what we knew it to be. No one company is going to topple Microsoft anytime soon. Apple, with all its supposed "innovation", still has a paltry marketshare in the operating system market, and you'll have to excuse me when I chuckle at the iTunes hurting Microsoft to any big extent. Google, well, is an ad company. The two together may be able to make some waves... but they'll have to do it on Microsoft's software for now because the operating systems dominate the market.
Last comment: Going forward, Google and online apps are a huge threat to Microsoft's revenue streams. Stay tuned. Of course the idea has been around a while, but there is a big difference between now and the 90s. Yes, MS has evolved over the years (as they are now) but their position of dominance is decreasing, which was my point. They don't inspire the same fear in competitors and partners and they aren't able to choose winners and losers like they used to. It won't be one company that will topple MS because they won't really be toppled at all, just diminished from what they were and are now. MS will remain a huge and profitable company for a long time. I'm not saying the walls will fall down. On Apple: They will remain relatively small and focused but their success/growth in multimedia and computing is just another bump in MS' profit/influence machine. One benefit of the iPod is that it (hopefully) prevents MS from eventually dominating another category just by throwing their considerable weight and resources behind a product. Just because something has been said many times before doesn't mean it won't happen. And just to clarify: I'm saying MS' dominance has eroded the last few years and will continue to do so over time. I'm not saying one company, one product or any single dramatic event will cause them to "fall". They will remain greatly successful and their products will remain cornerstones in the world but their ability to control innovation, intimidate others and generate profits by leveraging their monopoly is slip sliding away. That is good.
I'm so glad you like the Ocean. My only real complaints were battery life (it's not awful, but not great), web browsing could be better, minor bugs, and very quiet speakerphone. Otherwise, it was the best phone I've had. Tons of features, seemed durable enough, looked cool, worked great. It was the first time I'd ever had a phone other than the free one from the provider, and so I was really nervous about it. The Ocean dispelled all my fears, and now I miss it like crazy. You'll practically become wholly dependent on the GPS/Google Maps, the more you use it. I was in a tight spot today where I needed to go to an address that I had no idea where it was, and I could've REALLY used Google Maps. It will become integrated into your life, so much that you don't know how you lived without it. For the youtube thing -- yeah, I'm well aware of the workaround. But I don't care. There shouldn't BE a workaround. Helio advertises itself as being different than other carriers. No nickel-and-diming you. "Internet without walls" . . . the whole "Don't call it a phone, don't call it a phone company" mantra. The way they handled the whole situation was pretty crappy, IMO, and I just didn't like the precident it set. If they start charging for youtube, what's to say they won't start charging for other sites as well? I couldn't abide that, and so, completely on principle, I dumped Helio. If they recant (and rumors today are that they will), I may return.
Oh, was it any surprise that this was gonna turn into an Apple vs Microsoft warzone. (Rhetorical) I hate Apple too much, I'll never buy a product from them. I'm proficient on their OS, sometimes I'm forced to use those damned Macs on the job. Only thing they make I think is remotely good is Logic Pro, but there are many other options on PC and for half the price. ...ya, I'm biased and completely aware of the fact. But my bias is warranted. There is no end in sight for Microsoft, thankfully!
I would first start by looking at how a thread about a new apple product has all the MS fanboys on a major defensive..
I'm no fanboy. I just think what he has said is silly and naive. Anyone that knows anything about IT and it's economics knows that this is just a stupid statement.
Yes, really good argument there. Because people don't think the iPhone is as good as the hype, it means MS "fanboys" (what the hell is that?) are on a defensive? So basically, your argument is that you can make any absurd claim, and when people argue otherwise and ask you to defend it, your response can be "see, you're being defensive - it shows I'm right!"
I stand by what I posted but I was out of line for hijacking the thread. I surrender this thread back to the original topic. The issue will come up later. My bad. Lesson learned. Let's continue talking about the iPhone.
