Ballmer's swan song?
 

If MS fails in the slate market, will it be the end of Ballmer?

Microsoft To Launch 'iPad Killer' Tablets At CES -- InformationWeek

MSFT has done a weak job with non-PC devices and is even worse with cloud apps.

Q: What is the cloud?

A: It's whatever the salesguy across the table from you is trying to sell you.

Don't get hung up on "cloud" computing, it's just a new buzzword with an ill-defined meaning. Lots of technologies that have been around for more than 30 years are suddenly part of "cloud computing". (I remember 10 years ago when a multi-tier or n-tier architecture as all the buzz, and the same things happened.)

As long as the world stays slaved to Orifice and Winblows, MSFT won't fade away.

I'm seeing middle school kids using google documents instead of office.

yeah .. not from my perspective. I've been using a 1.5lb full windows tablet for something like 4 years. That is, MS tabs have been around for years. It's just that MS doesn't have much in the way of cheap, feature-restricted tablets like the iPad. --not to say that all iPads are cheap, when one can easily drop close to a grand on one of those giant iTouches.

also, John points to the cloud type device (where some big mainframe does all of the heavy lifting) is not MSFT's model. The cheap Window-to-the-web device is where Apple and Google have been pushing consumers. Whereas MSFT has the model of stand-alone pc's which may, or may not be part of the Borg collective.

Take medical, for example. Tablets used there really shouldn't be connected to the WWW. But rather, they do need to connect to the hospital intranet.

Of course, the fanboys will argue that EVERYTHING is fun apps, whimsically pushed around a brite shiny encrusted billet box.

OpenOffice is every bit as good as MS Office - and 100% compatible. And free.

Tell me again why I should go out and spend $600 on the latest oh-so-necessary Office upgrade? Besides the cool box and all...

WRT "cloud" computing - Bill Gates was talking about "dumb boxes" 20 years ago, which is exactly where things have gone - software & data residing on wireless over-the-air networks and PCs with minimal hard drives and processing power to run them since the requirement for stuff actually on those PCs is eliminated or significantly reduced.

Of course the real reason behind this is that whomever controls the cloud, controls everyone connected TO the cloud (and dependent on the cloud...)

I like my software & data local, thanks. I control it, I own it 100%. I can even to choose to share it wirelessly via my own WiFi network, FTP server or Google Docs or Yahoo (for e-mail stuff).

But I still keep all my important stuff on my own hard drive, not on someone else's server.

Anyone else find the old Netscape decision, against MSFT, a bit silly? I mean, here we are, with OS's with the primary function being connectivity to the web. ...'a window to the www.'

Okay, iSuppose that Apple is really more 'a window to the app store' . . .and, being that it can't handle ubiquitous web elements like Flash. :cool:

I desperately want Balmer to leave. He's a dinosaur.

MSFT is never going to move forward with the old guard around milking the enterprise space forever. They make too much money on Windows/back office products. They're fresh out of ideas, and the guys up top won't release the reigns enough for fresh blood to move things forward.

The fact that they call their device operating system 'Windows' shows that they don't understand their market. Why don't you just call it the Edsel?

Like Island said, they have had a tablet around for years. I used one for about 3 years, and it was great for its one purpose (giving technical presentations). But like so many products, they put it out there half baked, didn't give the hardware guys time to make it perfect, then screwed over their partners who had put $$$ R&D by abandoning it.

Crap, I had a Compaq (back when it was it's own company) B&W tablet in 1996. It came with Windows 95. It had a special pen with a battery in it to manipulate the screen, a removable keyboard, and REALLY CRAPPY handwriting recognition software.

The thing that MSFT doesn't do is advertise the crap out of it (like Apple does).

Also interesting, is that Apple is getting the special attention that MSFT used to get. In the 90's so many people had MSFT stock that MS got all sorts of free press. Now thee stock is (has been?*) Apple . . .and with it comes lots of free press and favorable praise.

* maybe Google has that stage. (shrug)

I know what they desperately need...

DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS....

I use that HWR (hand writing recognition) all the time on both my tablet and WM phone. It's great, in that it's fast, and, unlike typing, when I butcher the speeling it knows what I'm spelling. So, unlike a keyboard I don't have to go back and fix things. (so much)

...it's really quite good now . .. productive.

My daughter and her classmates (HS freshman) use Google Docs, not Office. They don't need whatever additional functionality Word or Excel have, they find Google Docs easier, and they can log in and get their homework from school.

On our home Windows PCs (singular, now), we use OpenOffice. Don't miss MS Office at all.

For local O/S, Windows still beats Linux to me, because it comes with the PC and I'm familiar with it and frankly its pretty good. But my kids could care less about the O/S, they just use the browser.

What kids do today matters more than what 50-60-something old farts do.

Notice MSFT trades at 10X forward P/E and 7X EV/EBITDA, a low valuation compared to other large-cap tech stocks. Says something about the market's view on MSFT's future growth.

JYL MSFT has traded a 10X for the past decade. Yet the company keeps on chuggin along. The brakeup value of the company per share is nearly double the share price. Plus they is sittin on 45B in cash.

I'm switching to Ubuntu and OpenOffice. M$ just killed my favorite product (Windows Home Server) and they aren't getting any more of my hard earned $.

.... DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS


sorry, had to..