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Paul Graham Claims "Microsoft is Dead"

netbuzz writes "He doesn't mean dead as in six feet under, but rather that the software giant no longer instills the kind of fear — particularly among entrepreneurs — that it did back in the day when it was making road kill out of companies like Netscape. Microsoft obits have been around for almost as long as the company, but Graham's stature, style and devoted following are likely to make this one a classic."

2 of 536 comments (clear)

  1. Re:netcraft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: Microsoft is dying

            One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Microsoft community when IDC confirmed that Microsoft market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Microsoft has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Microsoft is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last [samag.com] in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

            You don't need to be the Amazing Kreskin [amazingkreskin.com] to predict Microsoft's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Microsoft faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Microsoft because Microsoft is dying. Things are looking very bad for Microsoft. As many of us are already aware, Microsoft continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

            Microsoft is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Microsoft developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Microsoft is dying.

            Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

            Microsoft leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of Microsoft. How many users of Microsoft are there? Let's see. The number of Microsoft versus Microsoft posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 Microsoft users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of Microsoft posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put Microsoft at about 80 percent of the Microsoft market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 Microsoft users. This is consistent with the number of Microsoft Usenet posts.

            Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, Microsoft went out of business and was taken over by Sun who sell another troubled OS. Now Microsoft is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

            All major surveys show that Microsoft has steadily declined in market share. Microsoft is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Microsoft is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. Microsoft continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Microsoft is dead.

    That crippling bombshell sent Microsoft fans into a tailspin of mourning and denial. However, bad news poured in like a river of water.

  2. Re:Your analogy is false by ClosedSource · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Yes, I'm quite sure you think all the innovators agree with you by definition.