i used windows me for a year, =( it was bad.

1) I am not a fanboy. Anyone claiming I am is being nothing short of judgmental and spiteful.

2) I never mentioned Windows 95. I gave a general overview of MS as a company from my standpoint. I didn't state everything I am writing is factual, but expressed my point of view.

3) I have nothing against MS nor do I favor the Sony brand.

4) Bill Gates is not the richest man anymore (he is giving away majority of his fortune to charity). The arabs oil sheikhs are worth more then Bill Gates. E.g. The Sheikh family who bought Man City is worth about a trillion.

5) I never said MS are going bankrupt. I said they are losing their edge. there is a big difference in your interpretation and what I actually wrote.

6) Having jokes in an article is not forbidden. It's the lack of humor that should be questioned.

7) Some of you totally missed the point of the article. The idea was to make it easy to read not to fill it with jargon that most people won't understand. I don't get paid to write on here as you can imagine, so I won't be sat here researching and revising hard facts and making notes to quench the thirst of MS fanboys or Sony fanboys. It is meant to be a simple easy read and it shouldn't be taken as anything more then that.

8) 5% may be a small percentage, but convert it into actual numbers and tell me the numbers are still small. No company wishes to lose 5% of their business. If you were a shareholder in a company, would you like your companies shares to drop 5%? If the interest rate on your credit card or mortgage increased by 5% would you consider it small? Suddenly 5% isn't a small number anymore. You need to look at the 5% in context.

9) As for the 360 and PS3 arguments; I didn't say the PS3 was successful, but I mentioned that possible threats it may give to the 360 and how the 360 could have made the console more profitable had it not been for the mentioned facts. A problem is still a problem until it is solved. No one in this forum can disagree with this fact and as long as the problem still exists (which it does), it is worth considering and looking into before it gets worse.

10) If the online issue wasn't such a big deal, why is it MS themselves spoke about it as a "problem" during a documentary screened on BBC? Why is it they have tried to buy out Yahoo if it isn't such a problem? Why would they even care if it weren't a problem? just because IE is the most successful browser at present time doesn't mean competition can be ignored, nor does it mean they are not a problem (please note that a problem can be something other then losing money e.g. health).

11) Anyone claiming I am bashing MS has clearly misinterpreted the thread. How can an article which compliments a company for it's good and bad points be MS bashing? Considering the topic was a question not a statement; followed by a jist of what MS has done; both good and bad proves the thread is not about MS bashing but trying to understand where things may have gone wrong or possibly why. e.g. Why has PS3 not done as well with the PS2 this gen? If i were to list the facts or generally spoken about arguments, would that mean I am Sony bashing? The logical answer is "no". Therefore the only conclusion to anyone calling someone a MS basher if such a topic is raised; it is the the person who calls someone a "basher" who is the actual basher.

12) Rather then not answering the question posed in the thread and calling people "bashers", and if one knows the facts as well as they claim to know, wouldn't it be more sensible to actually answer the question then to avoid it all together? Considering the thread has clearly stated for individuals to come to their own conclusions (what fanboy/ MS basher would allow such a thing?), wouldn't it be more sensible to use this offer to raise your points of view and state your opinions (after all, this is what the thread is asking for).

13) Try not getting too worked up over a thread, psychologically it doesn't benefit anyone, nor does it add to the discussion in the topic in any intellectual way, shape or form.

I do apologise at the same time for any huge inaccuracies in my article and I thank those who have taken the time out to read it. More then anything, the article was to help me improve on my abilities as a writer since that is something I get paid for. I also thank those who have added their factual historical information since it helps the thread to be more informative.

@TheBigFatJ: That's what i was essentially meaning. Getting Windows (and office) as standards have created their virtual monopoly.
Few decades back, Apple took the approach to make its own hardware, that used Apples own software, while M$ made only software, that it tried to push to every platform. M$ used the same methods as for example Google or Opera is using today. In reality, Apple never really competed with M$, Apple competed IBM. Apple and M$ came crossways only after the Intel x86 circuitry became standard.
Now the topic title was valid, since M$ is being pressed from number of directions; Servers run on Linux, a number of companies and governmental agencies have found Linuxes being a cheap solution for their office needs, the cross-platform open source software (such as Firefox) and internet based cross-platform services (like Google) are using the same methods as M$ did decades back, the gaming consoles are expanding their functionalities outside games (i'm actually expecting N6 working as an online hub for 3rd parties services) and the mobile phones can do most of the basic functions of a PC.

M$ became success because of its businessmodel (if you have noticed, M$ have never innovated) and after getting the position they have, all they've done is copy and adding competitors functions to Windows, in order to cut down the competition.

@Mendicate: Google can do a lot more than just "grab a share". Google is the biggest threat to M$ at the moment (remember the Yahoo bid) and even more dangerous when M$ is being pressed from number of directions. Now that the x86 is a standard, it's turned as a weakness to M$.

@ahcheng: It looks like that only if you don't look things outside bank account.
If M$ could use it checkbook to put down Apple, Sony or Google, it already would have done it.
Due to different businessmodels, Apple have never really been a threat to M$ and due to different businessmodels, M$ can't do anything to destroy Apple.
M$ tried to compete Google by buying out Yahoo, it failed. Money didn't help.
M$ have tried to compete Sony, it has cost them 6 billion so far and have gained nothing.

Thanks, awesome read!

according to W3schools its at about 92% for OS

And for browsers its even less

Even on hit links IE has slipped to 72%

The statistics above are extracted from W3Schools' log-files, but we are also monitoring other sources around the Internet to assure the quality of these figures

Of course the results are going to be skewed.  For someone who mods a website that does sales analysis, you should know better than to post that data.  Afterall, webdevelopers are much more likely to use Firefox for it's add-ons.

Here's a slightly better link.  That's 74% IE.

@Fei-Hung

I agree that MS is in a slump.  With that said, I don't think it's for the reasons you mentioned (inacuracies aside).  The Xbox 360 is a very small portion of the company, and is practically a non-factor.  As many have mentioned, their flagships are their OS and Office.  By this time next year, I'm willing to bet that most XP users will have moved on to Vista.  A lot has been fixed in the OS with SP1 and driver support has increased.

In the end I guess it depends on what you think Microsoft is.  Currently, the only things threatening the company are Apple, Linux and itself.  Google and Sony are not direct competition with their core business at this time.  That's why Microsoft created the Xbox and MSN/Live search, to beat the competition before they have the chance to compete.

I'd say MS  by their own actions is more worried about Google than you imply.  They don't like the fact they are building out essentially a free Office suite of programs and I suspect they're not too pleased that Google has added a Browser to the suite recently as well.  I doubt they were so fired up about nabbing Yahoo to beat Apple.  In fact their big competitors I'd say are Oracle (apps/database), IBM (apps/database), Google (apps and threat of future OS) and to a smaller extent (by marketshare) Apple (OS).

In some ways MS has surprised me with its Zune, Xbox, etc. efforts.  Clearly MS want to promote DirectX based devices and want to get into the living room in the same way they are so pervelant on PCs and the Office (be it at home or work) but these moves still surprised me.  At first I thought they'd simply try and ensure that console designers came to them for DirectX and SW but it seems they have different designs.  What I find strange is that they've put themselves in the position of being seen as super dominant in their core fields but the 'poor relation' in others and entered big frays across many diverse battlegrounds - something that is general considered a poor idea if you really feel your core business is under threat.

@noslodecoy: Apple and Linux-based platforms compete M$ only in server/office/operating systems.
Now that you look how people actually use their computers, you'll notice that for most, they are only interfaces for storage and internet.
Now, for Google, it's irrelevant which platform are you using, whether it is Windows, Linux, Mac, Wii, PS3, PDA, DS, PSP, mobile phone etc., they still can offer you the same online services. With the virtual monopoly, PC came synonyme with Windows, just like internet search have became a synonyme with Google.
M$ is driving digital distribution for them to be the first and its own standards like Active X to have control on the internet and get Windows to be the standard platform for it. Since services will be more and more focused on the internet in the future and Google is successfully driving the Web 2.0, it's the biggest threat M$ have faced so far. The Playstation wouldn't pose a threat to M$, as long as it's perceived as a gaming console and all the PC software is done for Windows. But, since internet exists and the likes of Google can create their own platform/services, who don't need Windows anywhere, exists, now a Playstation with internet connection and a storage becomes a real threat. Imagine the day, when you buy an STB to watch digital channels works as your web interface and can store your photos/videos etc., or a day that a games console can do the same. There's a reason why 360 has online access only to a proprietary online platform, Live, instead of having full access to WWW, unlike Wii and PS3.

This guy has taken his time to write an article for us to read and this is how he is treated? i thought this was supposed to be a friendly forum with friendly people. Some of the reactions in this thread have been so ridiculously harsh its not even funny.

I understand there maybe some inaccurate data in his article, but do u have to be so rude about? It seems some many people prefer to be assholes instead of politely criticizing his article, and let him now where he went wrong.

@Fei-Hung
I read your article and thought it was a pleasant read, there are definitely some historical inaccuracies, and maybe it may not be as objective as you probably wanted, but you should give your self a pat on the back for your hard work.

good work