Microsoft is a dying consumer brand

that's a good question....i never saw it on sale either but i do know it's available through the msdn library

 

Are you from Mars?

 

I felt like many of the posters especially riding on the waves of the posted profit margins of Microsoft are missing the point and the article brings a valid point. CNN knowingly posted this with advanced knowledge of Microsofts expected growth and not without reason.

Microsoft unquestionably still has a strong economic presence in the traditional orientated operating systems market, but still is losing presense in just about every market except their OS. In fact the majority of the 4.5 B profit posted was because of the OS. Their smartphones sector remains dominated by the iphone, PC sales are continuing to decline along with the presence of their internet explorer and Microsoft remains zero growth on tablet based systems.

Is Microsoft dying? No. Is its consumer brand dying (which implies its prestige of image to the public along with real economic consequence)? This has yet to be answered as the OS can leverage Microsoft to remain dominant within the traditional market it has always been within; but the consumer brand itself remains imperiled as Microsoft has shown no growth in primarily consumer based markets even after its astounding showings in the profit margins riding on the back of Windows 7.

I researched the profit margins myself and how it relates to Apple but I came across these two articles which may be helpful and more quickly summarizes the situation, you could further research the profit margins if you are skeptical of the articles here Poll: Is Microsoft really a dying consumer brand? and here Android Vs. iPhone iOS: Latest Numbers Says Android OS Rules the SmartPhones.

By no means am I an Apple fan, in fact I hate them. I do hope though that CNN's article and my own belief Microsoft is being eclipsed by Apple's great Market Machine of Terror will not kill them off. Perhaps CNN can inspire Microsoft to wake up and return to their lost mantle of brand innovation. Oh, one last thing, if anyone thinks there's some profit conspiracy connection between Apple and CNN they are very sadly mistaken. In fact two times in just his quarter CNN has been a reason for a steep decline in Apple growth (google Steve Jobs fake death report, first of the big three news companies to report fatal iphone flaw).

 

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I recall from the DOS days that the computer press would complain that MS DOS was an incomplete operating system because it didn't supply a good disk backup utility, a disk cache, etc. When Microsoft started adding features that "infringed" on third party utilities markets, the computer press screamed "monopoly" long before the government became involved in anti trust proceedings. Controversy sells press.

I still need a PC and right now Microsoft provides a good operating system for PC's. I think we'll see new top management at MS that will overcome the current inertia and become more innovative.

 

The thing is, the vast majority of sales numbers and record profits are from OEMs. When you buy a new computer with Windows, part of what you pay goes to Microsoft. Windows does not come free with your computer. The OEMs have a volume licensing agreement with Microsoft, and then pass on that cost to their customers.
We don't really have a choice unless you build your own system, as nearly all of the premanufactured systems come with Windows. I'd say that grossly inflates Microsoft's market share and earnings. See what I'm saying? Microsoft has a lot of products, software and hardware, but I think the vast majority of their earnings come from Windows through OEMs.

 

I don't think they actually charge OEMs that much - possibly less than you would pay for a legal OEM copy.

Yes, it will be a significant part of their income, but not necessarily as much as other business products.

 

Diversification my good man. that's how you make (and keep) a profit. As long as they don't usurp control over all of them, I have no problem with it.

 

Yeah I tend to agree with that because I usually buy a new computer with the release of a new OS. If I have NO PLANS on buying a new computer i'll chug down to my local Office Depot and snag a copy of the latest Windows OS.

 

Well, whether or not someone chooses to wipe their drive with another OS, Microsoft still made the sale, and it's included in their total sales figures.

 

Indrek addressed that point.

The number of people who do that is very small and, therefore, insignificant. It barely inflates the figures.