>> ^dag:
... it's their eagerness to spread Fear Uncertainty and Doubt about rising competitors.


Yeah I hate that, too.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

This isn't an MS vs. Apple thing but- the MS video is giving corporate managers bullet points on why they shouldn't switch away from MS Office. Some of them completely untrue.


>> ^campionidelmondo:
>> ^dag:
... it's their eagerness to spread Fear Uncertainty and Doubt about rising competitors.

Yeah I hate that, too.

Wha? You're saying corporations advertise their products to be better than their competitors', and sometimes thats not completely true?? Stop the presses!

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No, I'm saying that Microsoft lies about competitors products to prop up a bloated Office suite that should should have died in the last century- thereby stifling innovation and perpetuating and supporting a soulless, carpeted cube wall, corporate drone culture.

>> ^campionidelmondo:
Wha? You're saying corporations advertise their products to be better than their competitors', and sometimes thats not completely true?? Stop the presses!

Now lets zoom 10 years into the future... Microsoft has alienated and pissed off the entire world, their apps are calling home every time you pull them up to authenticate your validity, but the Google apps are still free and has been endlessly improved... everyone has more bandwidth than ever and the google apps have checkboxes to skin them like apps you are already accustomed to. Google is the juggernaut, bitch.

I really detest Microsofts draconian measures. I like using Windows. I want Windows 7... but I will not pay for it (or pirate it) when its $200 - $300 and wont even let you install both the x32 and x64 versions simultaneously on a single machine.

I'm more worried about Google to be honest. They're starting to control too much information, spreading into every sector. They just launched a social network, will launch their own phone as well as operating system and so on... Not that M$ doesn't suck, but then again most corporations are evil. Yes, Apple too.

Let's not forget the "Get the Facts" campaign against Linux. But then again, when you have ~90% of the market the shareholders would like to see it stay that way.

The problem is that the alternatives suck for a business. This is where the bread and butter of Microsoft lies, even with all the crap that is part of Office today. Practically everyone else uses it so you had better damn well use it if you want shit to get done. i.e. if you had a computer here at the college minus Office 2003/2007 or minus Adobe Reader or minus Outlook you would be almost dead in the water. Nobody wants to change because buying Macs is too expensive (hardware wise) and Linux is completely out of the question despite being free... and then there is the question of all those in house written applications. No VP wants to sign off on a move to spend the money to switch over when the stuff you have for the most part works.

I won't lie though, if I didn't get 3 licenses of Windows 7 for free from work it is very unlikely I would have paid for it. The price of the OS is still way too damn high vs. the alternatives and one of the major problems still with the company in general. They get away with it because your new PC from the store effectively has that $200 copy of Windows for $10 or so. Manufacturers who tried the "Windows free" or "No OS" versions of PCs (after fighting Microsoft no less) wound up not getting much interest because its a small fraction of the market who wanted this stuff.

It sucks, but if you really want to see things change the competition has to have killer apps that kick the shit out of Office or Outlook so bad that it gives a reason to make the change. Microsoft also has something most other companies lack, extreme patience. We all laughed at the original XBox but now Microsoft laughs all the way to the bank after building up a market from absolute zero and having a healthy chunk of the console market.

Like campionidelmondo said, it wont matter who is on top anyways since it goes back to my first statement. Shareholders in the end only care about the bottom line, not about what is right or wrong. Common sense to you and me is thrown out the window if it makes their portfolio a bit fatter.

Hmmm...I didn't even know google had tools to rival Microsoft office. Now I do, and I will test them on my own and make my own decision. And since it's free, I don't have any obligations and no pressure. If I like it, I'll think about what'll be involved in transferring my company over. If I don't, I will not. I will also consider a partial conversion if I like particular aspects.

Wow, thanks Microsoft, for letting me know I had options!!!

>> ^campionidelmondo:
I'm more worried about Google to be honest. They're starting to control too much information, spreading into every sector. They just launched a social network, will launch their own phone as well as operating system and so on... Not that M$ doesn't suck, but then again most corporations are evil. Yes, Apple too.


Speak of the devil... http://www.gaborcselle.com/blog/2010/02/remail-acquired-by-google.html

This is only one small company, but that is even beyond Microsoft to not only buy them, but remove the product. At least when Microsoft bought Visio they kept selling it!

"More than any other reason, this is why I loathe the company and everything it stands for. "

Because of its email?

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Google's recent activity is worrying. Maybe I should be alarmed by them, but I'm not. Probably because Google is built on a core of innovation instead of copycatting and lawsuits. If Microsoft was a person (and I guess it is, according to the SCOTUS) then I would say it suffers from poor self-esteem. There must be a recognition of that within the company- that they have little innovation to be proud of - and that's what drives their company ethos. Oh and this of course.>> ^Croccydile:
>> ^campionidelmondo:
I'm more worried about Google to be honest. They're starting to control too much information, spreading into every sector. They just launched a social network, will launch their own phone as well as operating system and so on... Not that M$ doesn't suck, but then again most corporations are evil. Yes, Apple too.

Speak of the devil... http://www.gaborcselle.com/blog/2010/02/remail-acquired-by-google.html
This is only one small company, but that is even beyond Microsoft to not only buy them, but remove the product. At least when Microsoft bought Visio they kept selling it!

>> ^dag:
Google's recent activity is worrying. Maybe I should be alarmed by them, but I'm not. Probably because Google is built on a core of innovation instead of copycatting and lawsuits. If Microsoft was a person (and I guess it is, according to the SCOTUS) then I would say it suffers from poor self-esteem. There must be a recognition of that within the company- that they have little innovation to be proud of - and that's what drives their company ethos. Oh and this of course.>> ^Croccydile:
>> ^campionidelmondo:
I'm more worried about Google to be honest. They're starting to control too much information, spreading into every sector. They just launched a social network, will launch their own phone as well as operating system and so on... Not that M$ doesn't suck, but then again most corporations are evil. Yes, Apple too.

Speak of the devil... http://www.gaborcselle.com/blog/2010/02/remail-acquired-by-google.html
This is only one small company, but that is even beyond Microsoft to not only buy them, but remove the product. At least when Microsoft bought Visio they kept selling it!



I understand your concerns given Microsofts history, but at the same time you cite copycatting when you point to DR-DOS... which was well after the fact. Really that was just poor Gary Kildall trying to recoup the old glory that was CP/M since nobody else was using it by that point.

"IBM originally approached Digital Research, seeking an x86 version of CP/M. However, there were disagreements over the contract, and IBM withdrew. Instead, a deal was struck with Microsoft, who purchased another operating system, 86-DOS, from Seattle Computer Products."

Sorry Gary, you had the chance for what was the deal of the century and lost it to Microsoft who saw someone had already made a clone of CP/M, bought it, spruced it up, licensed it to IBM and made billions off a $50,000 investment. Are we really supposed to feel that bad for those who missed that boat in the 80s? Imagine how pissed the dude who sold 86-DOS must be right now.

(Sorry, just nitpicking because even though MS has been a copycat at times... you gave probably the worst example Don't worry we still love you. I would hardly say Microsoft is lacking innovation as well with all of the side projects they have been churning out lately. But I digress I am the Microsoft apologist since they are an easy target I feel the need to make a counterpoint)

Come on we all know most IT purchases are pushed more by upper management because it's "easier to use".