“Microsoft announced a streamlined corporate structure designed to boost growth outside its Windows monopoly; reduce the time it takes to get new products to market; and defend its turf more effectively against assaults from Google, Yahoo, Apple Computer and purveyors of free Linux operating software. Seven divisions will be reduced to three, each with its own president and more autonomy. The news, however, did nothing to lift Microsoft shares, which remain stuck in the mid-$20s, where they have been for five years,” The Washington Post reports.
Full article here.
Related articles:
Microsoft executives discuss Apple competition: preventing Apple from leveraging iPod success – September 23, 2005
Microsoft’s Ballmer: It’s true, some of Windows Vista’s features are ‘kissing cousins’ to Mac OS X – September 19, 2005
Microsoft suffers from malaise, key defections, Windows Vista struggles, lack of towels – September 16, 2005
Microsoft’s Bill Gates’ prediction of Apple iPod market share decline fails to materialize – September 18, 2005
PC World: Microsoft innovation – an oxymoron – September 15, 2005
Microsoft debuts Dashboard Widgets, er, ‘Microsoft Gadgets’ – September 13, 2005
Microsoft appropriates Apple’s ‘brushed metal’ look for Office 12 for Windows – September 13, 2005
Microsoft CEO Ballmer: Apple’s moved to Intel? Ho hum – June 07, 2005
Bill Gates: ‘I don’t believe the success of the Apple iPod is sustainable in the long run’ – May 12, 2005
Bill Gates jokes about Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ and calls Apple ‘the super-small market share guy’ – May 03, 2005
Windows czar Allchin says Apple copying Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn – April 27, 2005
Microsoft employees leaving due to (and blogging about) malaise smothering company – April 25, 2005
eWEEK Editor Coursey: Longhorn so far ‘looks shockingly like a Macintosh’ – April 25, 2005
Due in late 2006, many of Windows Longhorn’s features have been in Mac OS X since 2001 – April 25, 2005
Microsoft’s new mantra: ‘It Just Works’ ripped straight from Apple’s ‘Switch’ campaign – April 22, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Microsoft’s Longhorn: ‘They are shamelessly copying us’ – April 21, 2005
Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn will bear more than just a passing resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – April 15, 2005
Microsoft CEO Ballmer: ‘Apple iPod users are music thieves’ – October 04, 2004
Microsoft CEO Ballmer on the digital home: ‘There is no way that you can get there with Apple’ – October 04, 2004
Bill Gates’ sarcasm regarding Apple iPod: ‘Oh, wow, I don’t think we can do that’ – September 07, 2004
Silicon Valley: Apple CEO Steve Jobs previews ‘Longhorn’ – June 29, 2004
Apple CEO Steve Jobs: Mac OS X Tiger ‘is going to drive the copycats crazy – June 28, 2004
Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs previews Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ to ship in the first half of 2005 – June 28, 2004
Apple takes dead aim at Microsoft, ‘Longhorn’ with WWDC Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ ads – June 28, 2004
PC Magazine: Microsoft ‘Longhorn’ preview shows ‘an Apple look’ – May 06, 2004
Microsoft concerned that Longhorn’s look and feel will be copied if revealed too soon – August 25, 2003
Windows ‘Longhorn’ to add translucent windows that ripple and shrink by 2005 – May 19, 2003
Apple leads; Wintel follows as usual – November 11, 2002
“Battling Google, Microsoft Changes How It Builds Software”
Here’s a link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112743680328349448,00.html?mod=most_viewed_day
“Microsoft beleaguered? Not likely. Get used to it, folks. Windows will always be around. It’s the toilet paper of computing.” – justified
Well your right about the toilet paper part. But who would have imagined that Sony would be playing second fiddle to Apple, while losses mount? Mircosoft is rotting from the inside and it will more than likely be responsible for it’s own undoing.
The very attributes that made Mircosoft great are now destroying it.
WSJ reader– good article. Makes me think that competition is going to get fierce in time.
Anyone else feel like Leopard is going to have some really strong stuff? just wondering if we’re going to hear about it until last minute to avoid the copy machine thing.
Microsoft can keep the boring but lucrative enterprise market. The really exciting stuff is happening in the digital lifestyle sphere, and Apple is the undisputed leader there. If only Windows users realised …
Which gets us back to advertising. Even if it doesn’t advertise Tiger, Apple should at least advertise iLife as the complete out-of-the-box digital lifestyle solution.
Why would a company as big a MS want to defend against someone as small as Apple?
What does God want with a starship?
Here are bunches of cool Apple videos
http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html
The fact is Apple can only advertise so much because their previous chip suppliers can only supply so much.
Using Intel chips won’t be a problem, because for every Mac sold with a Intel chip means one less PC sold with a Intel chip.
M$ is bucking up for a OS war just in case Apple does the unthinkable and seperates it OS from the hardware.
every itunes/ipod user that goes to the apple site is exposeed to massive amounts of advertising
clever
Death Knell – “The very attributes that made Mircosoft great are now destroying it.” What were these again?
Following on from WSJ Reader’s excerpt, I seem to remember that around a decade ago, some Harvard or MIT MBA types who were writing a book wangled an invite to go and see how MSFT operated as the archetype of New Corporate America.
They were apparently somewhat shocked to discover a company where products were being developed without properly written specifications or documentation and with programming teams apparently operating with very little managerial supervision or oversight, which was apparently leading to products with dead-end functionality and no interaction between modules.
I can’t remember where I read this, so if anyone has more information feel free to pitch in.
Justified wrote: “Microsoft beleaguered? Not likely. Get used to it, folks. Windows will always be around.”
They said the same thing about Enron, right up to the time it imploded.
If Microsoft is going down it might be time for Steve to return the favor and bail them out.
“Why would a company as big a MS want to defend against someone as small as Apple? What does God want with a starship?” – Oggy
Remember, David and Goliath?
Anyway, as I recall, it was a single starship that destoryed the Borg invasion.
Just as the iPod has conquered the likes of Sony, Dell, and Mircosoft in the digital music market.
Why would a company as big a MS want to defend against someone as small as Apple? What does God want with a starship?” – Oggy
Remember, David and Goliath?
Anyway, as I recall, it was a single starship that destroyed the Borg invasion.
Just as the iPod has conquered the likes of Sony, Dell, and Microsoft in the digital music market.
WSJ readers are a worry – Enron – anyone remember what the WSJ said about them, and how long it took them to wise up?
You have to face the fact that Microsoft have been holding their breath over the last 2 or 3 years. Why? Because at any moment there might have been -and still could be of course- the virus that really really took Windows down. A major catastrophe at which point MS would be down and out and an alternative would have to be found as no-one would trust Windows again.
It amazes me that the ever increasing numbers of Windows viruses and the larger nature of incidents that no-one has done the risk assessment and hasn’t planned/switched to alternatives already. I guess its the Lemmings again; safety in numbers; ‘no-one got fired yet for using Windows’ etc etc.
I’m glad my company isn’t at the mercy of Windows virus writers. At least I’ll have less to do while others put the world on its feet again..
Fuzzy Bo,
Yes, Microsoft’s sucess is it’s death…
“The pressure of competing with Microsoft appears to be getting to Adobe’s boss. Its CEO, Bruce Chizen, today lashed out at his former employer, describing Microsoft as a bloated, heartless empire.”
“Microsoft has the same basic model in place now as it did between 1983 and 1987 when Chizen worked at the company, he said. The software giant will hire bright kids, give them some level of freedom to innovate but ultimately rely on Bill Gates and Steve to “call all the shots.”
“That model is not very scalable,” Chizen said. “Bill and Steve both could have let go sooner . . . The recent announcements are an attempt to do that.”
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/23/adobe_ceo_microsoft/
Microsoft: beating itself back to health?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/24/microsoft_masochism/
Hopefully they will beat themselves into a coma.
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The quote about stock price gets new meaning when seen in a comparison.
http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/z?s=MSFT&t=my&q=l&l=on&z=m&c=AAPL&a=v&p=s
Can I say it?
Microsoft ReBorganization! Will it matter?
I don’t want to start a holy war here but what is the deal with you mac fans? I mean does any one of you own an xbox? Its something microsoft has done right in the past few years. I know all my friends who own macs also have an xbox. Does the controller burn their skin like holy water on a vampire? No.
I don’t use windows, its weak, I wish google would come out with Earth for macs. But while I’m waiting for those google apps, I’ll play some Halo 2.
plus until osx86 comes out there is only 1 OS that will run on about any off the shelf crap-hardware you can get for cheap at the flea market. Yeah, you get what you pay for but its still a feat.