The Re-birth of Microsoft

I don't see this happening for a number of reasons already mentioned, but one that nobody is talking about is that Microsoft has long lost its cachet as the place for new college grads.

I graduated from CMU 10 years ago and almost 20% of the graduating CS majors went to Microsoft. People were excited to go work on things like the .NET CLR, Avalon/WPF, and big bets on web services in unexplored spaces.

I'm no longer at Microsoft and I'm interviewing a ton of people from top schools for internships and full-time positions. I ask every one of them where else they are looking and the list is always Google, Facebook, Amazon, and occassionally Apple. Anyone who wants to work on an underdog project is thinking about joining a startup, where they see they see the opportunity to innovate/disrupt without beurocracy and the potential to actually reap the financial benefits of success.

Without the talent, I don't see Microsoft owning the next decade.

This is a pretty optimistic view. Kinect is great. Granted. Windows 7 is great. Granted. Windows Phone 7 is great. I haven't one, but I'll just say Granted. But from there, to say it will erase all traces of Android’s inconsequential existence on this plane. Whoaa!! That's a LOT. Manufacturers choose Android, because they can personalize it and differentiate from the competition. Carriers privilege android, because they want to control what's done with the devices, and ask for changes to the manufacturers. They don't want to change that for now, even if they still have to pay Microsoft for Android's patents.

That's something that Microsoft still has to solve.

And of course, Windows 8... that OS may define Microsoft's future entirely. Will it be a success? I don't know. I hope so, but we'll have to wait. If they manage to impose it as THE real alternative to Apple's tablets (displacing Android from this position at least in this form factor), Microsoft will really show its back on track.

And of course, while the article presents Google as a hyperactive fat kid in a pastry shop who simply doesn’t know what to focus on, Microsoft is struggling in the same way: Remember Bing, they are still trying to figure out how to make people use it. Buying Skype (let's hope they can figure out how to use it better than Ebay). Partnering with Nokia, because the other manufacturers practically ignored them.

I repeat, I REALLY hope that Microsoft gets back on track. It would be great for everyone of us! More competition, more advances! But we have to wait a few key months before we can say something like this.

Rebirth of Microsoft is certainly not happening as talented developers and managers are leaving Microsoft and being replaced by mediocre people. This is obvious once you see that the number of innovative products that Microsoft produces is shrinking with every year. But Microsoft has a lot of money. It'll allow them to stay afloat for a while. They are going to become a company like IBM - big, but largely irrelevant.

The article says Microsoft will succeed because Windows Phone 7 will destroy Android and Windows 8 will power non-shitty tablets running all our favorite apps.

Some of the basis for this? Kinect is great. IE is "trouncing" the competition and Windows 7 is the best OS "barring any Apple offering."

Lots of hyperbole and even more subjectivity. If you're going to make the claim that 2012 and onwards is going to be MSFTs, at least cite some numbers, don't just gush your love and enthusiasm for their products.

I would like to know how much the Author was paid to write this?

"That is not dead which can eternal lie."