When Apple brought out the iPod, Microsoft quickly copied all of the features and released the Zune, which quickly stole the market. Apple then added in the new feature of having your iPod be a phone and released the iPhone. Microsoft quickly copied that feature and released Windows Phone by combining their Windows Mobile offering with Zune to copy all those features and stole the market again! Apple released some nice new hardware Macbook Airs - but not to worry, Microsoft and partners quickly brought out 'ultrabooks' which are beating all sales records and nobody would touch a Macbook Air anymore!
On the Google side, Google gives away their search with some mere advert backing. Google obviously doesn't care too much about search, they just throw it around to everyone! Their maps too. Given away for free. Anybody could easily come and charge money for maps and just take all of Google's maps users away. Users want 24/7 phone support for their maps, and search! Clearly, Microsoft can come into any market Google plays in and quickly beat Google out by offering far superior solutions. Bing is a clear example - it's just about killed off any reason to use Google Search and shows how good Microsoft is at features.
Can't believe how anybody could argue against Microsoft at this point - their record of success over the last 10 years speaks for itself!
So a man with - quite literally - a vested interest in Microsoft is... boosting Microsoft? Film at 11.
I would have enjoyed reading a more detailed presentation of Charles Sizemore's analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the three companies he discusses; this soundbite-y stuff is a bit weak and unsatisfying. Why, for example, is end-to-end control of the platform worse than only owning a bit of it? Why is advertising unsustainable as a business model? There isn't enough here to agree or disagree with, it's just an opinion by someone who's (probably unfairly) made to sound like another ex-frat boy with an MBA and a limited supply of non-sporting metaphors.
It's difficult to take this article seriously. No claims are corroborated. Interesting to observe that HN took a sensational headline and upvoted. Wish there was a downvote, as it's not worth flagging, but a downvote definitely.
> According to one industry watcher, however, they should all be watching out for Microsoft (MSFT).
Indeed, just a few years ago an advanced research team at Microsoft found out that any rectangle may be closely approximated by a sufficiently straight parallelogram, thus reopening the door to the World of Innovation.
"You really thought", commented Steve Ballmer, Chief Officer of Plane Geometry, "that all those squares in Metro were actually square? Foo!"
Apple did not comment on the issue. However, rumors about the NeXT cube "not being exactly a cube, either" started to run rampant on the 'net.
tl;dr Apple is not building any features that MSFT can't copy, because Google gives it away for free it must be a toy to them.
Sounds more to me like an analyst who either a.) bought a lot of MSFT shares or shorted Google/Apple, or b.) works for a company that bought a lot of MSFT shares or shorted Google/Apple. His 'criticisms' of both are specious at best.
To rebut his claims about Apple: "no one ever got fired for buying IBM". And as for Google, RedHat has a $1b a year business case for free software.
This guy doesn't understand mobile at all. It's sad if he's able to move the markets with his comments.
If you look at the words on the linked page, the "analysis" is from Charles Sizemore of Sizemore Capital, and Sizemore Capital "holds a long position in Microsoft".
A somewhat tangential point. Like how lawyers have to specify that they're not giving legal advice. and how it's 'best practice' in auto-journalism to disclose when a manufacturer has provided you with perks while 'reviewing' their vehicle. I'd like to see 'analysis' which carries a similar disclaimer, Has a long position in Microsoft, in the original article. Not a link to it. that way no one can copy the press release and miss 'the only important point of the article' which as you say is linked.
Microsoft can't win with "muscle" or brute force or any back room competitive shenanigans.
Microsoft will win when they design great things that make their users happy. It's that simple. That's the world we live in now.
These guys had to cut component orders for the Surface because they skipped the part where they made a product people would enjoy using. There's too much choice now, the standards have grown too high. Microsoft has to compete on day-to-day ownership happiness. And that's tough because they've been leaning on vendor lock in and Enterprise IT fiats for their success a little too long.
Ballmer's the one who needs muscling out. Microsoft needs a leader with a deep understanding of consumer products if they want a seat at the table for the next generation.
When Apple brought out the iPod, Microsoft quickly copied all of the features and released the Zune, which quickly stole the market. Apple then added in the new feature of having your iPod be a phone and released the iPhone. Microsoft quickly copied that feature and released Windows Phone by combining their Windows Mobile offering with Zune to copy all those features and stole the market again! Apple released some nice new hardware Macbook Airs - but not to worry, Microsoft and partners quickly brought out 'ultrabooks' which are beating all sales records and nobody would touch a Macbook Air anymore!
On the Google side, Google gives away their search with some mere advert backing. Google obviously doesn't care too much about search, they just throw it around to everyone! Their maps too. Given away for free. Anybody could easily come and charge money for maps and just take all of Google's maps users away. Users want 24/7 phone support for their maps, and search! Clearly, Microsoft can come into any market Google plays in and quickly beat Google out by offering far superior solutions. Bing is a clear example - it's just about killed off any reason to use Google Search and shows how good Microsoft is at features.
Can't believe how anybody could argue against Microsoft at this point - their record of success over the last 10 years speaks for itself!
</sarcasm>