I don't doubt Microsoft's ability to get Windows 8 into consumers homes as much as I do not doubt their ability to shoot themselves in the foot by pushing yet another half-baked product out the door.
Sure in 2012 millions will experience Windows 8, I would only add that 2012 may be the tipping point with OSX, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, PalmOS and others aggressively vying to inherit their share of consumers who choose to move on.
I'm ambivalent to Microsoft's success or failure, I'm simply extrapolating from current cultural undercurrents, the sentiment even long-time Windows user's now hold towards conventional Windows PC's is haggard at best and they're more open now than ever to exploring alternatives.
The cost structure of computing product manufacturers is changing, there is no longer a dire need for manufacturers to sacrifice margin to Wintel. Windows/office lock-In is dissolving. Any network-effect of being a Windows user is dissipating. As software capability moves to the cloud, and open-standards are adopted there simply isn't room for a bloated/expensive OS.
Decades ago I would not have bet against Windows, but today you can sense a perfect storm of competition approaching their gates.
If in 5 years Windows is still a dominant piece of software I will be surprised. However, I won't be surprised if Microsoft is still a main technology player in 5 years.
Windows will dominate business for at least 10 years.
Office isn't the lock in. It's all those Line of Business (LOB) Apps that run on Windows. Ironically many require internet explorer and are built in...Java, oddly enough.
Marketing departments could switch tomorrow. Operations (depending on industry) are locked in for years. Some are lucky enough to web based options, some are stuck on what they have.
A combination of the ever-lower barriers-to-entry for software development and increasing adoption of open standards.
Nearly all my friends (many non-techie) have switched to mac without a hitch. Some use Office for Mac, some use iWork.
The only users that are tied to Windows/Office are probably corporate/business users and that's certainly Microsoft's last stronghold.
The I.T. workforce has been programmed into the Microsoft ecosystem with a technical education of proprietary standards BUT what happens when it's developers who run the show? As the cloud decreases the need for much of the I.T. staff of your average company the leverage is shifted to web technology companies (and there developer ecosystems).
As we speak, somewhere in the world, an I.T. guy who used to maintain the email servers looses his job and in place Google offers the company hosted Google apps for a fraction of the cost. Google develops it's suite of office apps to be adequate MS office replacements within 3 years and easily convinces the company not to renew it's Microsoft Office licensing. Google Apps marketplace offers web-based alternatives to many legacy Windows software like the tightly integrated Salesforce Suite (with it's own web developer ecosystem). Without the need for Windows applications the company switches to a managed enterprise linux OS.
All the ducks are lined up, now hundreds of capable tech companies are beginning to execute their to-market strategies.
I'm not saying there is no Windows lock-in, what i am saying is that the Windows/Office lock-in strategy is becoming ever less defensible in a highly competitive market with lower barriers to entry.
When you realize that more and more VC capital is going into non-consumer web technologies, once you see that pool of dispersed rapid research and development you begin to see the force Microsoft is up against.
I pretty much disagree with you entirely. I think you're looking at it from your own technical perspective, which doesn't accurately reflect the average.
The growth figures in the article are sourced and you're right Apple only went up a few "degrees" (which because of Apple's relatively small enterprise market share results in a big growth percentage).
I never asserted it was "soooooo hot now", surely I.T. guys everywhere are still smitten with Microsoft and cleverly seeing Apple as rather toyish.
I only brought up Apple's headways into enterprise to prove to 'georgieporgie' that Microsoft's enterprise lock-in strategy is not insurmountable but instead increasingly ineffective.
I don't know why I use url shorteners, i guess they don't break-up the body of paragraphs as much and that makes me feel winning. No this is not twitter.
Being condescending and sarcastic to those whom you share affinity is not cool it merely tends to reverberate a rather toxic attitude throughout an otherwise friendly online community.
Your annoyed sentiment would suggest I came into your home and made disagreeable remarks, only we're in a commons and i was already in a conversation when you decided to balk in protest against misleading information.
BTW a push notification to my iPhone alerted me of your response so I got on my macbook to type this... does that make me a fan boy incapable of seeing apple's short-comings or microsoft's good? Do fanboys make you angry?
then our problem, my friend, has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with philosophy. i recommend you click this shortened url: http://bit.ly/ig2aLF
I don't doubt Microsoft's ability to get Windows 8 into consumers homes as much as I do not doubt their ability to shoot themselves in the foot by pushing yet another half-baked product out the door.
Sure in 2012 millions will experience Windows 8, I would only add that 2012 may be the tipping point with OSX, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, PalmOS and others aggressively vying to inherit their share of consumers who choose to move on.
I'm ambivalent to Microsoft's success or failure, I'm simply extrapolating from current cultural undercurrents, the sentiment even long-time Windows user's now hold towards conventional Windows PC's is haggard at best and they're more open now than ever to exploring alternatives.