Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Posts Record Earnings
sriram_2001 writes "Microsoft has just had a record quarter where their profits have doubled from the previous quarter. Total sales are at $10 billion, exceeding both internal and external expectations. Microsoft has attributed the rise in earnings to increased server sales (where *nix-based systems are supposed to be doing well) and more XBox units being sold. For a company that most Slashdotters would say is on the decline, Microsoft sure has weird financial results!" To put it in perspective, Microsoft's income is about the same as New York State receives in taxes - below California, and well above the other 48 states.
And in YET other news:
Fools and their money were lucky to be together in the first place!
A quarter is what, three months? In the grand scheme of things, that's a momentary spike. Meanwhile they still have the same problem they've had for the last ten years...Namely, no clue of what to do with themselves in the OS space (their heartland) after NT 4. (XP does NOT count...it's NT 5.x with eye candy) Longhorn has been essentially cancelled, which in a history of mistakes was probably the single dumbest thing MS has ever done.
Big picture, Microsoft needs to do three things:-
1. Get a concrete, long-term operating system plan in place...and not one which is implemented one minute and scrapped the next, a la Longhorn. They need to find something and run with it.
2. Get a substantial new OS release out the door ASAP. It's been way too long since the last one...and as anyone who writes software knows, for the most part you're only considered as good as your last release.
3. Do something serious about Ballmer's constant gaffes and idiotic, embarassing behaviour...this ties in with an urgent need for MS to clean up its image in a big way in general.
If Bill can pull off these three things, and also post *sustained* gains, (and instead of one, try eight or so) then I might believe that in a long term sense, he's back in the game. Until then, an isolated decent quarter here and there is so much hollow optimistic hot air, IMNSHO.