Microsoft is losing it. First there was Zune, the company’s direct knock-off of the iPod. What was with the Brown option anyway? Needless to say, it tanked. Yes, it may have sold a million or so – but it doesn’t rival the ipod and its footprint as king.
Then came Vista. Way overdue, pushed back too many times, and then when it came out, a good portion of the Windows world hated it. Now comes the XP users who are trying to get Microsoft to extend the “force quit” date for XP, when the company intends to take it off the store shelves and discontinue support. Here’s a pretty one too:
In a January 7, 2004 e-mail, the chief of the Microsoft Windows team, Jim Allchin wrote to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer:
“I am not sure how the company lost sight of what matters to our customers (both business and home) the most, but in my view we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems [our] customers face are. I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn’t translate into great products. I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft… Apple did not lose their way… They think scenario. They think simple. They think fast.”
Do I have to mention that the Zune wasn’t compatible with Vista? Enough said.