“The bloom appears to be fading from the Redmond rose,” ABC News reports.
“Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp., the most powerful technology company in the world, has faced a variety of legal and operational hurdles this year, leaving some observers to believe the company has peaked and has begun a steady slide from industry dominance,” ABC News reports.
“Co-founder Bill Gates’ announcement last month that he would withdraw from the company’s daily operations over the next two years marked the start of a major shift of the face of the tech giant,” ABC News reports. “The company has suffered increasing trouble getting key new products out on time. Development issues have delayed the release of its much-anticipated new Vista operating system by more than two years. The most recent delay sparked a sharp drop in the Microsoft stock price.”
Full article, with a nice timeline of some of the technical, operational and legal problems that Microsoft has faced in the last several months, here.
Related articles:
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Leopard attack on Vista: Apple taunts Microsoft with much faster operating system launches – July 05, 2006
Should Microsoft reinvent itself and develop new businesses outside of software? – July 02, 2006
Microsoft’s Office 2007 slips again – June 29, 2006
The Wired 40: Apple #2, Microsoft drops to #36, Dell falls off list – June 28, 2006
What Microsoft has chopped from Windows Vista, and when – June 27, 2006
Business 2.0’s 50 People Who Matter: Steve Jobs #5; Top 10 Who Don’t Matter: Microsoft’s Ballmer – June 26, 2006
Analyst Wu: Microsoft unlikely to dethrone Apple iPod+iTunes – June 21, 2006
Windows Live head leaves Microsoft less than 24 hours after launch – June 21, 2006
Bill Gates to transition out of a day-to-day role in Microsoft – June 15, 2006
Moving Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites to Apple Safari Bookmarks when you switch – June 08, 2006
Microsoft CEO Ballmer spends two days unsuccessfully trying to clean Windows PC malware – June 05, 2006
Computerworld: Microsoft Windows Vista a distant second-best to Apple Mac OS X – June 02, 2006
It must be getting really bad: Microsoft brings back the towels – May 19, 2006
Mossberg: Apple’s end-to-end model beats Microsoft’s component model in post-PC era – May 10, 2006
Dvorak: Microsoft malaise – eight signs that Microsoft is dead in the water – May 03, 2006
Couldn’t you just buy a Mac and run Windows? Microsoft CEO Ballmer: ‘No, we prefer real PCs’ – April 29, 2006
Windows Vista to be Microsoft’s last operating system? – April 21, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft collapsing under its own weight, Gates has driven Windows Vista into the ground – April 20, 2006
Pre-Boot Camp report: Apple could double market share on Microsoft defections – April 13, 2006
Apple launches a missle at Microsoft with Boot Camp – April 06, 2006
Microsoft: recovery from Windows malware becoming impossible; better to to wipe and rebuild – April 04, 2006
Harvard prof: Microsoft Windows users ‘may simply end up with a more and more inferior OS over time’ – March 27, 2006
What’s the difference between Mac OS X and Vista? Microsoft employees are excited about Mac OS X – March 22, 2006
Microsoft suffers from malaise, key defections, Windows Vista struggles, lack of towels – September 16, 2005
Microsoft employees leaving due to (and blogging about) malaise smothering company – April 25, 2005
Microsoft’s lack of momentum, malaise won’t end anytime soon – March 16, 2005
Microsoft believed that their ubiquity was evidence of their invincibility. The minute that Microsoft put profits over performance they lost. Mediocrity may benefit you in the short term when you have a monopoly, but, eventually, the sacrifice of innovation and quality will lead you down into the mire of inadequacy, malaise, and confusion. In the end, all you have are the faded memories of imperialistic domination and a bleak future of uncertainty and apprehension. The mind numbing sense of impending doom that Microsoft is now feeling is the cold wave of reality capturing the desperate gasps of a misguided and mismanaged organization.
nani: “Interesting that this article is at ABC which is owned by Disney …”
Are you suggesting that Jobs has enough power at Disney to influence ABC news? Now, that’s a stretch.
Wow, kind of puts the whole Nano scratch brouhaha in perspective eh?
A little misleading the title maybe, don’t think Ms is dying, in decline sure. Mainly due to strong competition , which in a way equals sucky products. Examples MSN search 3 years ago versus Google, MSN did some damage to MS name I think, bloated portal versus pure search, MSN was completely yes completely useless to me, all I wanted was search, Yahoo Mail versus Hotmail which sucks? Microsoft, at least in the products I use often MS usualy comes up mediocre. But they are not dead yet, people like to be dramatic.
The difference is simple, Mac sets standards in the industry, Microsoft steals, buyout–but never to my knowledge set or created an industry standard all by itself–a thief can only steal for so long and then people get fed up-that’s why Bill is getting out, there’s really nothing worth stealing right now or in the forseeable future.
Thanks for all the crap bill, have a nice life
“Microsoft in decline”
Are there not 3 more beautiful words in existence?
The problems with this analogy are
The thing about GM is that that their cars were more expensive than Toyota’s.
Allot of new switcher are going to switch, because they can still install Windows on their new Macs. Therefore giving MS plenty of additional sales. To switch a car brand, you don’t need the old car ‘s steering wheel (or the like)
I think people here are deluded. Out there in the real world, Apple are not having an impact, and people are excited about Vista.
Damn it, Jim, I’m a doctor!!!
Id say, get rid of BALLMERs dumb fat ass…And im even a fan boy of M$…
Microsoft has been criticized for copying not innovating, and following not leading. It seems that Microsoft’s greatest advances in software development come from imitating the form, function, and elegance of products of other tech companies. It is essential for companies to integrate advanced functions into new software; however, it is worth noting that many, if not most, of Microsoft’s advances are not generated internally but come at the expense of other companies efforts. Microsoft, despite its size, is a technological parasite.
Additionally, Microsoft’s reluctance or fear to abandon its support for its legacy DOS operating system for a more secure, robust, powerful, and portable operating system has placed an enormous burden on Microsoft to develop an OS that remains functional with outdated hardware and capable of assimilating newer technologies. The result is delays in release, bloated code, and loss of real functionality
None of these corporate character flaws gives me confidence that Microsoft is able to quickly adapt to changes in technology or demands of consumers for greater elegance and functionality. Microsoft’s resistance to make the necessary changes in developing a truly contemporary and state-of-the-art OS will weaken consumer interest and diminish the economic inertia that Microsoft has enjoyed for the past two decades.