Hacker News Reader

Comment by guelo | Hacker News Reader

If Microsoft really wants to compete with Apple they should kill Office on OS X and revoke license for Windows on BootCamp and all OS X virtualization products. Though really they should have done these things 5 years ago. Apple doesn't allow Windows users to run OS X, Microsoft shouldn't allow the other way.

View on HN

First, how can they revoke a license for Windows on Bootcamp? If I purchase a retail Windows license, I can install it on any PC.

Second, I don't think OS X is the real threat to Microsoft. Sure, the Mac still grows in popularity, but it's relatively marginal. The biggest threat to Microsoft is the popularity of tablets. The iPad convinced people that they can use it for the majority of their home computing. Every time the average consumer buys an iPad it's a lost or delayed PC sale. Imagine what happens when Google gets things right, and the tablet market explodes like the smartphone market before.

Even if Microsoft retains the market they are sliding into trouble. Because they can't extract the high prices in licenses for Windows and Office anymore.

> First, how can they revoke a license for Windows on Bootcamp? If I purchase a retail Windows license, I can install it on any PC.

They could do it the same way Apple prevents you from installing OS X on commodity hardware: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSx86#Legal_issues_and_Apple_ob...

Except that Microsoft's entire business is installing its stuff on commodity hardware.

The larger point is that software companies can restrict what you do with their software, even if you buy it.

Given how large a portion of business users are now buying / owning Mac laptops and/or iPads, pulling Office from OSX would probably do more to damage that very profitable business than hurt OSX. It would just push more people onto the lower cost Office 365, or Google Apps faster than they've already been going - in particular at Universities and other places where the additional functionality of desktop office is mostly wasted on the end users.

It would be a hell of a lot easier than that - simply revoke the ActiveSync licenses for iOS (and Android).

When I heard that iPhones back in 2008 (and later Androids) were going to be citizens in the Exchange world, I did a double-take... in BillG's day this would've never have been allowed.

Full-on Post-PC without Exchange (especially 4 years ago) would have been a tougher sale.

At that time I think MS may have perceived Blackberry as its long term enemy. Now, it's too late.

a) Exchange that doesn't have near-ubiquitous device support is a much less viable product, and leaves a giant gaping hole for a competitor.

b) Yanking support breaks their customer's trust; and could possibly invite more anti-trust attention.

Why would anyone advocate this? The Office division doesn't need to protect any other division. They should make the best product they can on whatever OS's that are profitable to make it on. Office is a cash cow, they don't need to defer to any other division.

The original Vista Home Edition EULA had a clause preventing it from running on any virtualization product. There was such a backlash over it that they removed it later.

What would that accomplish beyond creating an opportunity for Office competitors such as iWork?

Do you really think people will ditch their Macs and go back to Windows?

That must be part of the reason apple built iwork. And there would probably be antitrust issues if ms used their near monopoly in office productivity software to aid their declining near monopoly is OS software.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com