“Microsoft is about to take the ax to one of the stupidest products it ever created,” David Goldman reports for CNNMoney.
“CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday that Microsoft will combine all of its various Windows iterations into one unified version next year. That, thankfully, will mean the end of Windows RT, MIcrosoft’s woefully executed and dreadfully received operating system for tablets,” Goldman reports. “Windows RT was supposed to usher in the tablet era for Microsoft. But Windows RT has two fatal flaws: it’s missing crucial apps, and it’s poorly designed. Unsurprisingly, the stripped-down operating system failed to take off. (Actually, that’s an understatement: Microsoft took a $900 million writedown last year because of awful Surface RT sales, the only mainstream tablet than ran Windows RT.)”
Goldman reports, “Microsoft never made a compelling case for why you should buy a Windows RT tablet over a rival tablet except for the fact that it runs Office. And that argument just went out the window when Microsoft brought Office to the iPad earlier this year. That’s why Windows RT turned into one of the biggest flops in Microsoft’s history. And that’s saying a lot, considering Microsoft conjured up such duds as Windows Vista, Microsoft Bob and Clippy. ”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, unreliable, floundering, clueless Microsoft teaches its dwindling number of pigeons a valuable lesson:
Erratic Microsoft will pull the rug out from under you at any time (Zune, Kin One, Kin Two, Surface RT, Windows RT). Do not risk your hard-earned money on clueless Microsoft’s dead-end products because scatterbrained Microsoft most certainly will Osborne you sooner than later.
GWAK.
As we wrote, as presciently as usual, over two years ago on July 10, 2012:
Is it just us or is instilling confidence among potential tablet buyers and app developers not one of Microsoft’s strong points? Microsoft’s patented method of wildly over-promising and woefully under-delivering just isn’t going to cut it in this new Post-PC world that Steve Jobs hath created.
Watching this Surface debacle unfold is like watching a clown car empty out. At the end, a sweaty Ballmer T. Clown will pop up through the moonroof and scream, “Ta da! It was all just a big fat joke! No, no, no, not me, the Surface!” Then, after laughing maniacally and for far, far too long, he’ll pop a light bulb into his mouth and wander aimlessly offstage…
Stay tuned, there are a lot of clowns packed into that old car.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
I think a lot of Ballmerizms will be tossed in the next year.
Tossed? Don’t you mean squirted? I squirted a Ballmerizm last night so large it took two plungers and a snake to unclog.
I thought Microsoft said they were going to unify under a single version of Windows… And that version will be Windows RT.
No no no.
They will recycle Windows ME.
I seem to remember from back in 2010 the twats at MS held a funeral service for iphone and blackberry saying they would bury the competition with Windows 7 RTM. Blackberry has one foot in the grave and the other on the casket but they got there no thanks to RT.
Imagine being one of those clueless dolts that marched in that “service” and were filmed doing so.
Next up for the “axe” – Windows Phone. Why not…? Microsoft fired most of its employees from the former Nokia. And no one else is licensing Windows Phone.
In Microsoft-speak, “unify” means cancel.
I’m not sure where you will find more flops: Redmond or a World Wrestling Federation event.
Microsoft is about to take the ax to one of the stupidest products … ever created
Sounds more punchy to me without the unnecessary pronoun
It is probably because the stupidest product has stiff competition within their own family… As MDN reminds us, there’s Bob, Vista, Kin, Zune… It is truly a stellar company, though, and very much a dead heat for the coveted title…
This one has the distinction of being almost universally panned by its own supporters prior even to its release; and was made useable only by incremental rollbacks of its “features”; and is now being left 4 dead.
Hard to beat all that for stupid.
The word “beleaguered” prefacing the word Microsoft would have been a nice touch.
Best. Take. Ever!
=:~)
Wow that take 2 years ago was spot on!
Windows 8 isn’t much better than RT or Vista. Stupid Tablet interface on top of a Windows desktop interface. Makes it slow and so hard to get to what you want to use.
“Microsoft will combine all of its various Windows iterations into one unified version next year”
Win Phone and Win 8?!
But … But …
I *LIKED* Clippy …
I hated the pesky, annoying thing! Moreover, its suggestions were useless and confused me more all the time. Thanks God I don’t work anymore in that pesky, annoying windozed company.
HaHa! I won HALF my bet! That kills the Surface RT, right on time!
OK, who owes me money? 😉
Microsoft isn’t killing RT. They are just integrating and merging their Windows development teams. This is a rumor from a misunderstanding of Microsoft’s quarterly report, which has been clarified on sites like Ars.
Someone needs to create a set of ground rules for what qualifies as a flop, then do some research to properly categorize Microsoft’s epic flops.
For example, I think the ‘Kin is Microsoft’s biggest flop if you figure it as a ratio of dollar loss to units sold. Bing is Microsoft’s biggest flop in terms of total dollar loss. Windows 8 and Windows Vista probably tie in terms of negative buzz metrics. Teledesic would be the biggest vaporware flop. Bob would be the biggest WTF flop. Zune would be the biggest plop. etc…
In my life, I’ve never seen anyone use a Windows RT tablet. I only know one person with a Windows phone and he is a geek programmer.
The few hybrid HP tablet/laptop machines I’ve seen look pretty comprlly though. I’d buy an “split apart” 13″ iPad/Mac Air if when split it ran iOS and when together it ran OS X. I think such a product, if done right and doing it right is really hard, would complement my iMac and 9.7″ iPad 1. In my opinion, I think the iPad mini is not for me- too big to fit in a pocket like the iPhone.
The reason why I haven’t replaced the iPad 1 is it is too good- still 10 hours of battery life- for reading, movies, music, web surfing and lite document editing, it still works great.