Has Microsoft made a success of anything other than Windows ?

[Dr Mike]

After the demise of HD-DVD and having seen many posts on other forums saying that downloads were the future "because MS are backing it" I was left wondering if MS have ever really suceeded with anything other than Windows and Windows software.

Have they ?

Wasn't Windows CE supposed to be in everything by now from Washing Machines to Mobiles ? What happened to that
Xbox has been popular but it sounds as though they haven't made any money on it.
How is their Ipod rival (forgotten it's name) doing ?

[Slackr89]

i think windows was there biggest success. in particular windows 98 and windows xp. all the rest were basically junk

[u_nick]

The Zune is doing well compared to other iPod competitors. Especially the 2nd and most recent model. With the latest update, lots of 'tech' based website, both anti-microsoft, neutral, and pro-iPod sites were considering it to finally be a worthy iPod competitor. At work alone, I know about 5 other people (besides) myself that own a Zune. Me and one other guy just got it out of curiosity, and are for the most part fine with them. Another group of software developers in the Office got them because they were just tired of the iPod hype, and wanted something different, and they seem more than happy with them.

Whether or not customers being happy with them translates into a 'success' for the company, I have no idea. I do honestly believe that if more people can get off the 'MS is the devil and iPod is all that is holy in the universe' bandwagon, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised.

I'd also call the XBox a success. Maybe not in the numbers of Wii and PS, but it's still a competitor and a facotr in thegames market.

[Dr Mike]

Just had a look at MS's earnings statements to have alook at where they make their money and in the 6 months to 31 Dec 07 :

"Client" - ie Windows for PC made $6.7bn on $8.5bn revenue
"Server & Tools" - made $2.1bn on $6.2bn revenue
"Online Services" - ie MSN etc lost $510m on $1.5bn revenue
"Businees Division" - ie MS Office made $5.9bn on $8.9bn revenue
"Entertainment & Devices" - Xbox, Zune made $524m on $5bn revenue
Corperate overheads were $2.3bn making a total profit of $12.4bn on revenue of $30.1bn

So they are making money on Non-windows stuff but it's dwarfed by the Windows and Office bits.

[JakeNRoland]

Yeah, they surely aren't making any money on those Xbox thingies. They're like the one hit wonders of technology.

(sometimes I'm baffled by what is posted in these forums, it's mind bottling)

[Wicked Machine]

Has Ford had any success with anything other than cars?

Did Genghis Khan have any success with anything other than conquering most of Asia?

Has God had any success creating anything after the universe?

[skrill]

Originally Posted by Wicked Machine

Has Ford had any success with anything other than cars?

Actually -- Ford loses money on virtually all of its cars. It makes money (when it makes money) on trucks.

[BLUNT]

Originally Posted by skrill

Actually -- Ford loses money on virtually all of its cars. It makes money (when it makes money) on trucks.

And financing

[skrill]

Originally Posted by BLUNT

And financing

True -- until it's horrid credit rating makes it spin off FMC like GM had to with GMAC. FMC's cost of funds due to Ford's horrible credit quality causes issues.

[jj5206]

well im going to be honest here, and i probably will get a ton of shit for this

I am a huge supporter of Microsoft

I love the 360 and original Xbox, and feel that the 360 beats the PS3 (game wise, movie wise PS3 wins because of blu-ray)

i am a huge fan of windows 98, XP, and Vista

I own and love the Zune more than the I-Pod

I hate anything apple

and im not a huge Playstation fan.....
(only reason im getting a PS3 is because it can play blu-ray and also is profile 2 capable. and i want to play Uncharted)

now lets see how much shit i get for this

[SilverFireshot]

Originally Posted by jj5206

well im going to be honest here, and i probably will get a ton of shit for this

I am a huge supporter of Microsoft

I love the 360 and original Xbox, and feel that the 360 beats the PS3 (game wise, movie wise PS3 wins because of blu-ray)

i am a huge fan of windows 98, XP, and Vista

I own and love the Zune more than the I-Pod

I hate anything apple

and im not a huge Playstation fan.....
(only reason im getting a PS3 is because it can play blu-ray and also is profile 2 capable. and i want to play Uncharted)

now lets see how much shit i get for this

I agree with you on almost all your points. Personally if a game is multi-platform I'll get it for the 360 every time. Mostly because Live and the marketplace are vastly superior to the PS store (which I hope the new update fixes it, it's such a pain in the ass to navigate). I mostly got a PS3 for the Blu-ray as well. Plus there are a few exclusives that I wanted. But I do agree the PS3 is a more stable system although the RROD problems are being resolved.

I agree with Win 98 and XP, but I've had nothing but problems wth Vista. It looks nice, but it's just not stable at all. I have Vista on my desktop but mostly use XP on my MacBook Pro if I need to do any Windows work.

Obviously I can't agree with your Apple statement

I had a Zune and loved it until it died. Since I have a Mac, I switched back to iPod and love it too. I really don't have a preference, other than the Zune 2.0 software sucks. But my wife has a Zune.

[Dr Mike]

The point I was trying to make was that whilst MS has had incredible success with Windows etc, but unlike, say Ford, they are trying to extend there sphere of influence into other fields off the back of that success and I was questioning whether any of these ventures had really succeeded.

I sometimes see commentators talk about their "convergence technology" - the "PC in every room of the house" stuff, and seem to raise them to the level of visionary and was wondering if this "everything they touch turns to gold" attitude carried any weight.

For the record, I'm pretty neutral on them overall. Windows does pretty much anything I'd want. In my working life I think Excel is suberb, but find Word and Powerpoint quite annoying. Never had an XBox or Zune so can't comment on either of them.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Originally Posted by skrill

Actually -- Ford loses money on virtually all of its cars. It makes money (when it makes money) on trucks.

Wasn't Fiat in the same sort of situation for a while? Besides, In the war between GM and Ford, it looks like Ford is losing while the new competor, Toyota is just mauling both at the same time.

[Blinkman987]

The 360 I believe was going to show a profit, but then they owned up to their mistake (and to avoid a devestating class action lawsuit) to up the warranty to 3 years.

And yes, MS makes tons of money.

My single experience with the 360 has been a positive one, and I think its presence in the marketplace does a great deal of good for all gamers.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by Dr Mike

How is their Ipod rival (forgotten it's name) doing ?

http://hideapod.com/

[dialog_gvf]

Office has been very successful.

Windows used to be really a loss leader to insure the right OS was running to sell people Office.

Gary

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Office has been very successful.

Windows used to be really a loss leader to insure the right OS was running to sell people Office.

Gary

Yup. MS Office is THE standard for office-related software around the world, which is amazing considering it totally overtook IBM's Lotus suite of software in the early 90's.

Plus, let's not forget Microsoft was pretty much solely responsible for the evolution of PC tech during its first 20 years of life. Not the only contributor, but certainly the strongest. For all the crap MS gets, no one in their sane mind can deny the major contributions and hurdles that have been bounded as a result of a few guys from New Mexico (yes, that's where MS was started... they moved to Redmond, WA later).

The Zune is highly popular. Behind the iPod, it's the preferred digital music player on the market right now.

Microsoft's gaming division has had HUGE success, which started with their purchase of Bungie and re-inventing the Marathon series and renaming it 'Halo'. Plus, let's not forget Asheron's Call, their online MMORPG from 1999, that REALLY helped propel online RPG's into their current incarnations. Also, their flight sims are considered to be the best out there.

Last but not least, they've got the Xbox, which, based on the simple fact that the original Xbox was not just a 1-trick pony and did indeed spawn a successful sequel, proves it was a commercial success. It is now a financial success, which is good. I've had an Xbox 360 for a little over a year and really like it (but I prefer my PS3). I hope MS fixes the concerns and issues with the 360 and improves upon it for a 2.0 version or maybe a new gen console altogether.

[mightypen]

MS also makes pretty good mice

and my old sidewinder kicked ass.

[Roland1919]

Micro-garbage...I hate this organization and there business practices...You only need to look at a 360 and wonder...For starters they were told early in the development process that their processor ran a serious risk of improper ventilation which, tongue in cheek, was ignored. Reason? Money I would guess. OK now lets look at garbage box: Add on HD-DVD player, your gonna tell me the engineers could nat have incorperated that into the design, Wireless Adaptor sold separetely, again you know that R&D didn't miss this detail in the design it just meant more capital, now let look at the Controller, no built in rechargeable battery, thats right they want you to spend extra to buy a battery pack. Paid Live Fees? I could go on but you see my point. PS3 was under a lot of pressure but Sony's incredile track history, business practices and leadership came to the forefront and developed a product that would endure both time and critisism because they were developing the future. Lets face it $100B in R&D is no chump change and an incredible business venture especially if it dosen't work. Sony realized they wouldn't make their money back in one shot, though they tried with a $1000 price tag for intial Blu players. But over time we've watched Sony slowly climb game into the game. I tell you its a great time to be a gamer because these two will go at it you years. At the end of the day I consider myself the winner. I have a great machine that plays Blu and games. I love SONY I've been with them from day one. I still have a sealed mint PS1 that was an extra...I'm a sentamentalist and I never parted with it and will probally have it buried with me.

[WickyWoo]

Plus, let's not forget Microsoft was pretty much solely responsible for the evolution of PC tech during its first 20 years of life. Not the only contributor, but certainly the strongest. For all the crap MS gets, no one in their sane mind can deny the major contributions and hurdles that have been bounded as a result of a few guys from New Mexico (yes, that's where MS was started... they moved to Redmond, WA later).

I bless them every day for stuff like DirectX. They took the wild west of PC hardware standards and forced people to comply to a strict set of rules

90% of the reason Apple "just works" is because they control every piece of a very small pool of equipment that goes into their boxes. The fact that Windows works as well as it does on the millions, if not BILLIONS of hardware combinations out there is a huge feather in their cap

Now totally blame them for their bloatware and evil corporate practices, but you can't fault them on that.