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1. Comment - Is there any sense to Microsoft's 800 layoffs?

   (Nov 4, 2009 - 5:12 PM)

   re: "no one is escaping this flourishing economy unscathed"
   Heh. That's actually pretty funny. Mind if I steal it? [grin]
   
   re: "Lyons (aka "Fake Steve Jobs") is wrong about Ballmer's leadership"
   Couldn't agree more. Lyons is so far removed from how decisions are actually made within Microsoft, it's ludicrous. I get the impression he's straight up making stuff up for the purposes of linkbaiting.
   
   Ballmer has been the engine behind Microsoft's growth since Gates was effectively removed as CEO and given the title of Chief Software Architect. (by himself) Gates is a tech - not a business man. Ballmer knows business and is the primary reason, for example, Microsoft's Server & Tools business has become the steady 3rd pillar of profitability for the company, along side the Client & Office/Business divisions.
   
   He also [bravely] greenlighted the $7B budget for Xbox and was instrumental in enabling the division to establish its own identity separate from the slower moving core businesses. While he hasn't paid as much attention to Zune, Online, or Mobile historically, contrary to popular belief, these business are incubational & frankly "budget dust" relative to the other divisions in terms of operational expenses minimizing their drag so-to-speak on the company.
   
   As a stockholder, I'm more concerned about life AFTER Ballmer because unlike Gates-Ozzie, I don't see a viable successor in the executive tree.

2. Comment - Microsoft takes big hit: Q4 revenue falls for all product divisions

   (Jul 24, 2009 - 6:14 PM)

   I just love posters like you that make accusations without substantiation.
   
   re: Microsoft is the underdog
   Against the iPod? Against Oracle? Against Linux on web servers? Doesn't seem inaccurate to me.
   
   re: Vista was only bad due to negative press
   My whole company runs Vista. We're far better run operationally because of it. Our mgmt costs are substantially lower, and our PC's are much more secure. What's your point?
   
   re: Windows 7 is going to be perfect
   You are definitely "fatty" on this asinine line.
   
   re: Google is a monopoly
   56% of the market seems to indicate that, but why don't we let the DOJ make that conclusion - not you.
   
   re: The myth of the Apple tax
   Your point?

3. Comment - Microsoft takes big hit: Q4 revenue falls for all product divisions

   (Jul 24, 2009 - 4:05 AM)

   See my post above on who Joe Wilcox is. Yes, I'm something of a fan, but I'm not a fanboy. I think his former work at eWeek was way inferior to the great analytical content from his former work at Jupiter Research.
   
   re: "MS needs work on their Entertainment Division"
   Yeah. But MS's on the lip of the gravy train in this area, I think. They've hit critical mass in both online subscriptions & consoles sold. The console's getting cheaper annually w/ new chipsets & exponentially more games are getting sold based on attach rate & consoles sold, which MS gets a cut of on each.
   
   And CY2010 release of Natal is certain to stretch Xbox360 interest beyond just the FY2010Q2 Holiday season.
   
   And I agree with you: MS needs to get moving on trying to generate critical mass for Zune by applying the 'give away the razors to sell razor blades model' that Xbox360 has. And that means dropping the price to around the magical '$149/$199' pricelines for the ZuneHD and taking the short term hit to build a base and start concentrating on establishing brand loyalty. If there's a time to entice customers with cheaper products that still have buzz, this is the time.
   
   Zune Marketplace? Wow. That's something that needs better market targeting, dontcha think? I don't think they know who they're selling Zune Pass to, for example. That could be a big win for certain customer segments but I'm not convinced that they've reached out to the right folks.
   
   In any case, at the end of the day, anyone that thinks Zune is a major drain on that division is probably fooling themselves. The hardware's breakeven. The online infrastructure is mainly absorbed by the Online Division. R&D is small. This is nothing but a tough, but huge growth area for MS.
   
   My 2 cents.

4. Comment - Microsoft takes big hit: Q4 revenue falls for all product divisions

   (Jul 24, 2009 - 3:45 AM)

   "Blog" != "Not news"
   
   Joe Wilcox is a decade-long seasoned technology & business analyst of Microsoft, formerly of Jupiter Research where he produced dozens of reports based on his observations of Microsoft. He was usurped, (for better or worse) by Ziff Davis to take over "Microsoft Watch" from rumormonger Mary Jo Foley who I hypothesize got her facts wrong on something resulting in a shuffle of her posts to a blog more along the lines of a "TMZ for technology".
   
   Personally, I've followed Joe's quarterly reports for years since he worked for Jupiter. I think Joe at his best when he concentrates his keen eye on the facts and provides concrete observations instead of the hype-laden, LINK-BAITING garbage that Ziff Davis breeds, which is why I'm hoping his new base at BetaNews will encourage that instead of another lame, muckraking, Mary Jo-clone.

5. Comment - Zune Executive Leaves Microsoft

   (Feb 1, 2007 - 8:09 PM)

   If you knew the success he's had at Microsoft, you'd know that Bryan's not leaving for any reason other than his own. Much of this is documented in Xbox 360 Unleashed.
   
   As for the state of Zune, anyone that's declaring Zune a failure already is incredibly myopic. Since when has any Microsoft product been a roaring success at v1.0? Most first and even second versions suck. Even the first XBox was probably wasn't as successful as Microsoft would have liked, although one could argue that that had more to do with release timing relative to PS2 - something they readily fixed in BIG way this generation, selling 10,600,000 units to PS3's 300,000 units to date.
   
   No, this is a v1.0 product and it's going to get some marginal adoption - not a lot, but some. And at 10%, if that number really is true, that's actually quite amazing considering the lock Apple has on the market.
   
   Instead Microsoft will follow the same, damned formula they've used repeatedly for all their products. Release an initial product with a few solid features, hone it in v2.0, and get it pretty much right in v3.0. And they can do it because they've got more money than anyone else, and they've got the marketing & sales engine to get it out to the entire world.
   
   And what feature does Zune v1.0 have? Why networking of course: Microsoft has a patent on the networked media player. Recall that all a Zune is, is a Hard Drive with a WiFi adapter attached to it. Trying thinking about the potential of this combination:
   - Send & receive media/files from laptops or Wifi connected PC's running Zune software
   - Playback Zune content wirelessly on a home theatre through Xbox 360
   - Purchase music at Starbucks using TMobile hotspots
   - Multicast audio/video from your Zune to others like a DJ
   - Receive media broadcasts (like TV/Radio channels) from Windows-based WiFi connected networks
   - Playback to WiFi connected speaker systems like those sold by Altec Lansing
   - Project video on Wifi connected VGA projectors
   - Act as a storage medium for XBox 360. Instead of 64MB memory cards, store game saves & profiles wirelessly on your Zune.
   
   The bottom line is that Zune is not so much a device as it is the "concept" of the "affordable, portable WiFi-connected hard drive" and that's what makes Zune powerful... not its initial physical implementation, which frankly everyone knows by now was a rush collaboration job done in tandem with Toshiba & its Gigabeat design. Why else would they have not included features like "Bluetooth headset" connectivity & native Windows Vista integration?
   
   No, this is just the beginning of Zune's existence, and the ROM upgrades being released is proof: It's becoming VERY obvious that Microsoft could easily turn off the DRM component the moment it becomes feasible for them to legally do so. The question then is, "When will the media studios acquiesce to such an idea and throw in the towel on music DRM?"