Microsoft Basically The Worst Internet Startup Ever. $2 Billion In loses in 1 year

[DaveSimmons]

Windows desktops and servers are not going anywhere. People will not be using an iPad or Palm at work for creating text documents, spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations in any significant numbers any time soon.

The Xbox 360 is a success. MS has beat the Sony PlayStation in the US market, they're making money now, and the next console generation will see them starting from a position of solid market share and brand loyalty. Yes, it cost billions to reach that point, but that was a one-time loss to enter the market.

It's online where MS has failed badly so far, and probably will continue to fail. Azure might be the exception since cloud-based servers do make sense for some applications with either unknown or highly variable demand. Amazon has the lead there, but MS can potentially offer might better integration with MS tools and smoother migration from MS servers.

 

[Cogman]

I'm a developer and personally I won't touch Windows with a 50 foot pole (unless I have to). At my last company (where I had a less than 1 year stint), there was a guy developing in Visual C++. One day I was trying to help him get something compiled to test a release. While I was in Visual Studio, I noticed there were updates available. I downloaded and installed the updates, which then caused the compiler to barf. I was like WTF? Sure enough the IT guy confirmed that MS released an update that broke the compiler and we had to roll back.

You are in the minority.

In my spare time I investigate programming languages and do development on personal projects. From what I have seen, Microsoft's languages like C# are not any better than the tons of free languages out there.

This is true. The power of C# really isn't inherent in the language.

...their .NET virtual machine is quite useful, and also their IDEs and other supporting technologies are really good.

And this is the truth of the matter. Their IDEs aren't just good, they are the best, hands down. Nothing really holds a candle to Visual studios.

For me though, that's not enough to give up my freedom as a developer. Open source technologies that run on a million platforms and that I can download/fork at will on any box I want without having to install extra bloated junk are the way to go in my opinion.

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For most applications, portability really isn't THAT big of an issue. I don't know your situation for development (it sounds like primarily web development, which really doesn't care about platforms that much) so I wouldn't say if you actually need it or not. The think about OS tech that sort of rubs me the wrong way is how much it touts the greatness of portability without actually taking the time to ask "Why do we really need this portability?". For PCs, there is really pretty much just one architecture, the x86.

(Again, this completely excludes the embedded market which, IMO, is where OS software really shines.)

It is actually a similar situation with the JVM stuff. I've been told that the Java Virtual Machine is really good, but the problem is that Java itself is a crap language.

While C# and Java do share some aspects. C# is not Java. It is, IMO, Java done right. (Not that java is necessarily wrong, just a bit to verbose for my tastes).

 

[Deeko]

This might be one to short. I mean everything they try is a fail save xbox, and windows/office gold mine seem to be waning.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/28/microsoft-online-business/

"waning" is an interesting term here. Yes, people like to spout how the web and smartphones are going to cut into the PC's marketshare, but last time I checked, Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system of all time. If that's "waning", I hope my employer "wanes" my paycheck too.

 

[Perknose]

I thought Microsoft was the liberal wet dream of a monopoly that could never fail?

Link? Any link to support your claim that MS is somehow a "liberal wet dream of a monopoly" whatsoever??

Or was it just the angry asshole voices in your brain pan misfiring and spewing troll political bullshit yet again?

 

[SP33Demon]

Microsoft dividends for how many years? That is all.

 

[McWatt]

Their console division is a massive failure, I am not sure why their investors have not demanded the plug be pulled after so many billions up in smoke for so many years.

There is no telling how much much they could have made if they used all that cash from their console division to buy up video game developers and publishers instead and sell software for all platforms.

The console division that made over half a billion last quarter? Yeah, the investors should pull that plug. They started out in the red, but now it's a massive source of income.

 

[5150Joker]

Windows 7 phone devices will start gaining traction after a few OS updates. Personally I hate the fragmented nature of Android and I'm tired of IOS. Win 7 mobile is the next OS I'll be running, most likely on a Dell Venue Pro. MS may be behind Google in creating niche internet markets and lag in the search engine business but that in no way spells doom for them. MS has traditionally started in an industry later than others but eventually they maintain parity or kill off the competitors. Xbox franchise is a good example of them stumbling for a decade and finally dethroning Sony. Nintendo's fad machine is losing it's luster and the 360 will continue to outsell them all. Building a strong market presence takes time and a lot of money.

 

[Zebo]

5150- you're the first I heard say that. Reviews are about a C and I doubt they can overcome iOS/Andriod head start. MS is just not cool either working against them with drivers of this tech, younger people. Thier last phone they sold like 200..

 

[Deeko]

5150- you're the first I heard say that. Reviews are about a C and I doubt they can overcome iOS/Andriod head start. MS is just not cool either working against them with drivers of this tech, younger people. Thier last phone they sold like 200..

Actually, most reviews of WP7 have been very positive. Yes, they note that the OS is young and still needs some features added (which 5150Joker already mentioned), but in all, reviewers love the general approach they are taking here. Will they sell as many devices on 11/8 as Apple did iPhone 4's on launch day? Of course not, but that doesn't mean it can't do well, and can't lay the groundwork for long term success.

Bing may be losing a lot of money, but that's because they're throwing their formidible monetary weight behind getting it going - and frankly, its paying off. Bing has continually gained marketshare since it launched last year, and with the Yahoo deal, they picked up a significant portion of searches on top of that.

Much like the restart of the Windows Phone line, and the xbox, these are long term battles for Microsoft, not one quarter. Yes, they will certainly be very expensive to get off the ground, but that doesn't mean they can't prove fiscally strong in the long run. xbox is a great example of that. It started very red, but now is pouring in more and more money. Who is to say online services can't do the same thing?

 

[5150Joker]

5150- you're the first I heard say that. Reviews are about a C and I doubt they can overcome iOS/Andriod head start. MS is just not cool either working against them with drivers of this tech, younger people. Thier last phone they sold like 200..

Depends on which review you read. Most I have read were positive overall and they did note the OS is still trailing its competitors in some aspects. However, I think the inclusion of Xbox Live in their mobile handsets and a unified operating system across all devices will prove to be the key to trumping Google's Android. IOS will continue strong for the foreseeable future because of Apple's marketing image, not necessarily because of it's technical merits.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Gaming has become mainstream now, and Xbox is a household name in many countries. Microsoft hit a home run with their xbox brand but funny how the media never talk about it. They always focus on parts of Microsoft that are struggling. Meanwhile the media has a wet dream when Apple even announces minor updates to their phones etc.

Yeah, MS may lack innovation in certain parts of their business but Windows 7/Server are total winners (the sales figures for Win 7 are staggering), Office totally dominates, and they have a massive share in gaming in the western world (xbox and PC)

They aint going anywhere soon.

 

[rockyct]

Techcrunch is the real joke here. Not many in the tech industry really take it seriously.

Here's the stats: $16.2 billion in revenue, $5.4 billion in income, and the online division lost $0.5 billion.

The last cycle of Microsoft products have gotten very good reviews and they are continuing to innovate. WinPhone7 has a very unique UI and is very different than iOS or Android. It has been reviewed quite favorably and while time will tell if it sells well, it seems to have found a niche in between Apple and Google.

Xbox was a joke for years from the money it was hemorrhaging, but now it is the main player in online console gaming. Instead of refining the Wii style interface like Sony, they evolved it into Kinect.

Writing Microsoft out may be cool and get hits for Techcrunch, but it's really short sided and it's hard to take people who do it seriously.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Microsoft has been making money off the xbox for years now. They haven't recouped their initial investment yet, but the xbox is actually a major success. XBox Live has more customers right now than Comcast.

And make no mistake, this is EXACTLY the kind of company they are targeting in the long run -- companies like Comcast, Cox, and Time Warner.

I agree with your other comments. The Xbox has been profitable for a few years now, IIRC.