Money Grubbing Evil Empire - New comment on Microsoft's 2008 - What's Going Well?

SiGiD has left a new comment on your post "Microsoft's 2008 - What's Going Well?":

I am completely astonished at the kind of thought process that could result in a conclusion anything like "Microsoft no longer being perceived as the Evil Empire".
Must be from an Empire Insider; everyone in the real world knows differently.
VISTA - the OS that does nothing well even when given high-end hardware to run on EXCEPT frustrate the user endlessly (tried a large file copy lately?);
DRM - only a money-grubbing Evil Empire could think to force the purchasers of their OS to include such an abomination that provides the user with no benefit and a real disadvantage in favor of MS's profit;
Visual Studio and .NET - enough said about these particular stinkers;
Opposes any and all "Open" software and standards in favor of privately owned and proprietary (read: profitable);
...I have to pick someplace to stop, so let it be here. But to think that MS is *not* the Evil Empire, and growing more evil every day, is wishful thinking!

(Sheesh.)

Flying Monkey Poo - New comment on Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit.

Nikko the flying monkey has left a new comment on your post "Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit":

>Funny... but... sigh...

How are those Zune sales shaping up at Walmart?

I had an interesting conversation with my Russian co-worker about how Microsoft sucked so baaaad (I gave my usual M$ anti windows-xbox spiel) and I did a damn good job at it too explaining how Adam Smith and Karl Marx were genius' of similar schools of thought, and how Microsoft has abused the intent of Adam Smith's concept of an ethical capitalism by inserting evil intent in every marketing plan they ever devised.

Anyway, he sat there (the Russian co-worker) and kept asking what's wrong with owning 95% of the market? and explaining to me how he thought the EU and DOJ were wrong in their decisions against Microsoft.

So I concluded, why would you softies worry about parody Onion stories of fiction when the world outside the US and Europe are sucking up your products as fast as they can steal em? Once again proving that fact is far strange than fiction.

With this I wish you all a joyous holiday season. Oh hell, Merry Christmas anyways.

Funny... but... sigh...

You lost me at M$ - New comment on Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit":

"Rules of the road" look nice, except aren't really tied with reality - namely, the reality of what is the demand for M$ products. With Apple, Google & Linux at its heels, all Microsoft has done over the last 15-20 years has been leading by reaction. Granted, the only way one can lead is by _listening_ first, then doing something - I don't think Microsoft is in the listening game anymore and has become a legend in its own mind over the last 20 years.

If I am 'wrong' (or whatever - you don't agree, bla bla) - then why have Linux, Mac OS X and Google w/its web presence become the new trendsetters? Why have certain segments of the population become 'die-hard' for these few brand names?

How about Microsoft ditches Windows or creates an emulation layer of sorts to fit the needs of 95% of its customers while rewriting Windows and making it look more like UNIX (or their brainchild, Singularity)?

I'll bet you an initiative like that will get all the geeks back in Redmond. But it'll be a long, cold, freezing, bonecrushing day in hell before we ever see that now, isn't it?

Marketing and innovation are the only two things a business like MS should be doing - MS gets a B or C+ for Marketing, but a freakin D or F for innovation (unless you consider reactionery innovation, which again, doesn't count).

Yes - it's hard, and MS is big and all that - but you either will do it, or the next Windows release is going to bring Windows even closer to where it should've been about 5-7 years ago - in its grave.

Stop complaining about your compensation - and first push management to create new, trendsetting products, then expect to get some results. Let's see some announcements first about a TOTAL WINDOWS OVERHAUL - then we can go and bitch about getting results, payraises, bonuses, etc.

There's no doubt that Microsoft's engineers can pull anything off (much like Google's), but something is amiss from the company as a whole ... Blame whom you like for it. I just know what I'm observing, as a MS Windows (as well as a Apple OS X and Linux) user/developer...

(M$? - EEEENK!)

Apple == Britney Spears - New comment on Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Low Hanging Late Harvest Fruit":

>>This is the reason that MS will never, ever have the kind of rabid fans and consumer customer base that Apple and others have. Marketing and "nice UI" is what makes or breaks the experience and the fans.<<

You're pretty much admitting that Apple today is the Britney Spears of technology.

(Match, meet gas. Sorry, I just don't want to fuel the frothing indignation.)