Is Microsoft losing their edge to competitors?

[Mendicate Bias]

TheBigFatJ said:

Mendicate Bias said:
@TheBigFatJ

You do realize that Bill Gates is still the richest person on the planet and Microsoft is still one of the biggest most powerful corporations in the world. You can rant all you want about how incompetent MS is, in the end all the problems you listed really don't mean shit because MS is still going to be as rich and powerful. Trust me if MS was so vulnerable then they would have lost their power long ago, there's a reason Bill Gates is still on top.

It's a fact that they're vulnerable.  Why do you think they make office compatibility so difficult?  Why do you think they're breaking antitrust laws?  Why do you think MS strongarms companies like Dell into selling little or no Linux to home users?  Why do you think they're struggling so hard to find another way to be profitable despite failing over and over and over again?  Why do you think they keep trying to acquire successful companies?

Yes, Microsoft did create the single wealthiest people in the world through successfully stealing products and ideas.  No one, not even Microsoft will dispute these facts.  Look at /Pirates of Silicon Valley/ or /Triumph of the Nerds/ and you'll see that these things are true. 

The problem MS has is that they can't seem to replicate that success through normal business methods.  And their time with Office being on top is limited -- Google, IBM, Apple and Sun are among the best companies that would all love to release an Office program.  Google already has a suite that is gaining popularity with business users.  When Office falls, Windows won't be far behind and those are the only two areas that Microsoft makes money on right now.

So you can see, can't you, why MS is trying so damn hard to be successful somewhere else.  Because while Windows and Office are insanely profitable, that profit is not gauranteed forever.

 

That might be obvious for the well informed like you and me however for 99% of the population, they couldn't care less. Google could create a version of office a hundred times better than microsofts but I can gaurantee you that the majority of people will continue to use Microsoft Office because its the program they have always used and the only thing they are comfortable with. Windows has become so ingrained with the PC that your everyday average joe can't mentally seperate the two. Sure Google might eat a bit into MS's share of the market but at the end of the day our moms and dads and little sisters are still going to be using MS's products.