Once upon a time, not so long ago, I was a Microsoftie. I beta tested the latest software, I framed my MCSE with pride, I knew Active Directory back-to-front and could tell you the registry path to pretty much an key you needed.
When Windows XP was released, I can honestly say it was the most stable and easy to use OS I had ever used. I didn’t like the childish look, or the carry over of “My Documents”, “My Pictures” etc. from Win 95. These might be nice and friendly touches if you’re seven, or in your eighties and using a mouse for the first time, but on a ‘Professional’ OS designed for corporate offices? Meh, I digress. These niggles aside, I liked XP – I still do – but then came the news of Vista.
I didn’t like it from the outset, and I hate it now (I know, I’m not alone) – from the stupid notion of 7 different versions, to the fact that a top-spec machine is reduced to a crawl if you leave any of the pretty graphics features enabled.
It doesn’t stop there, Internet Explorer anyone? No, I didn’t think so. Home Server, that you can’t actually use like a proper server or it corrupts files?
It seems to me that there is a direct correlation between the increased involvement of Steve Ballmer and the decrease in product quality.
Bill Gates is, and always has been, a geek. He’s one of us, thus he has an innate understanding of what we want in a piece of technology. Monkey Boy Ballmer, on the other hand is a “businessman” thus profits, market penetration and competitiveness are his purview.
Goodbye baby, I won’t be around any more. I’m packing my licenses of XP Pro and moving to Macville, which has its problems but at least doesn’t ship unusable products (and yes the design is stunning).
But what future for Microsoft, after all they still have the lion’s share of the desktop OS and web browser markets? I think it’s going to come down to where they go from here. Windows 7 is just around the corner, if they can deliver a reasonably priced, stable, functional and attractive OS then there’s every chance they’ll recover from the Vista fiasco and, at least, hold their current ground. If not, expect to see more linux distributions popping up on corporate machines and watch Apple’s market share rise like a well-made soufflé.
The best way for Microsoft to get Windows 7 to the top? As Bill Gates once said “Make it like a Mac.”
Amen.
